 In 1935, Awate was conscripted by the Italians to serve in the colonial army of the Eritrean Ascari.Beside his fluency in Arabic, English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Tigre, Tigrinya, Nara, Hedareb, and Kunama, Awate learned the Italian language very well within a short period of time and was sent to Rome for a course in military intelligence.After returning from Italy, he was appointed as a security officer in western Eritrea.