Tadias Magazine

Announcement by Olympic Legends Haile & Feyisa Capture Ethiopia’s Mood

In Diaspora protestors call out Joe Biden’s foreign policy in Ethiopia

Ethiopia Struggles to Find Its Voice in Western Media Amid Misinformation

Yale hosts Ethiopia conference amid social media controversy, disinvites speaker

BUSINESS: Forbes on Why Team Biden Shouldn’t Mess With US-Ethiopia Trade

In Africa, America’s Hysterical Western Media Driven Ethiopia Policy Reaches Dead End

What’s Wrong With Blinken? Goes to Africa to Talk Ethiopia, But Skips Addis & AU?

In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

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In Jamaica Pan-Africanists Rally in Defense of Ethiopia Outside US Embassy

Published by Tadias Magazine December 13th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Peaceful protesters outside the US Embassy in Jamaica this weekend. Organizers of the gathering, which included pan-Africanists, Rastafarians and Ethiopians, said they were calling out the widely panned and misguided US posture in Ethiopia's conflict with TPLF. (Photos: Jamaica Observer & Jamaica Gleaner)

Jamaica Observer

By Observer staff reporter

‘America must mind its own business’

Local Rastas march on US Embassy protesting its backing of Ethiopia rebel forces

“Leave Ethiopia alone and mind your own business.” That was the message wrapped up in the chants of scores of Rastafari, Ethiopian, and pan-Africanist representatives yesterday as they staged what they called a peaceful protest outside the US Embassy in St Andrew.

The demonstration signalled the groups’ disapproval of the USA’s backing of rebel forces in Tigray, Ethiopia, who are fighting against Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Veteran Rastafarian reggae artiste Tony Rebel, who was part of the protest, said the move was to show solidarity with their black brothers and sisters in Ethiopia.

“When His Majesty Haile Selassie came forward, he said Ethiopia and Jamaica, we are one. We are saying to the United ‘snakes’ of America that they should take their hands out of Ethiopia,” he said.

One female protester, who requested anonymity, directed her rebuke not only at the US Government, but also Western media, which she asked to “back off of Ethiopia”.

“America must mind their own business. They are promising sanctions on Ethiopia and trying to demonise the prime minister. The US has been backing the rebel forces and demonising the Ethiopian Government. We in Jamaica have always seen ourselves as Ethiopians abroad because Halie Selassie came here in 1966 and said that Ethiopians and Jamaicans are blood brothers, so when there is a crisis in Ethiopia it affects all of us,” she said.

She stated that the average Jamaican will watch news from foreign outlets and think it is a tribal war that they should not care about.

She however said it’s our business, and Jamaicans should stand up to the USA and its propaganda.

“We were sending the US a message that they should leave Ethiopian people alone and stop taking sides with a terrorist group. Last week the Ethiopians in America went to CNN headquarters telling them to stop telling lies in the media that Ethiopia is creating genocide. Nothing like genocide is happening. All the prime minister is doing is defending the sovereign rights of the people,” she said.

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Rastas protest US meddling in Ethiopian conflict

The Gleaner

Inspector Earle Grant speaking with Rastafarian protesters during a demonstration in front of the United States Embassy in Liguanea, St Andrew, yesterday. The group said they were objecting to what they termed as the meddling of the United States in the yearlong conflict between the Ethiopian government and rebels.

One of the leaders of a protest staged yesterday across from the United States (US) Embassy in Liguanea, St Andrew, objecting to what is said was that country’s meddling in the current Ethiopian conflict, has declared that he would have no objection to the US yanking his visa for his stance.

There have been mounting global concern and calls for a peaceful resolution to the yearlong conflict between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and rebels, who have joined a coalition of opposition groups, threatening his hold on power.

The United States has been one of the harshest critics of the Ethiopian government during the crisis, repeatedly calling for an end to the conflict as it urges the parties to hammer out a ceasefire agreement.

The United Nations has said that all parties to the conflict had violated international humanitarian law, citing reports of massacres, gang-rapes and ethnic cleansing with most of the offences carried out by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.

Yesterday, Haile Mikael Brissett, a deacon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jamaica and one of the leaders of the protest, blasted Western media for what he said was its spread of propaganda regarding the conflict as he and scores of Rastafarians gathered across from the American embassy.

“We are proud Ethiopians abroad and we stand in solidarity with what’s going on in Ethiopia. We say, ‘All for one and one for all’. Ethiopia was the only African country that wasn’t colonised. Ethiopia also is the Horn of Africa, so we here in Jamaica want the world to know that Africans at home and Africans abroad should be saying the same thing,” Brissett told The Gleaner.

“What we are doing here today is very symbolic. It’s a peaceful protest and we really appreciate the solidarity of our brothers and sisters – not just Rastafarians, but also Pan African members, Maroons; members who really want to see freedom,” said Brissett.

Some of the Rastafarians told The Gleaner that they chose to protest across from the US Embassy as a form of outcry at the position they said the US has taken, along with its allies, mainly in Europe, which are in support of the rebel forces.

The protesters said they were standing in solidarity with the people of Ethiopia in their efforts to restore law and order and to put down armed insurrection from the rebel group led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and against all forms of foreign interference in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.

Brissett, who still holds a US visa, once travelled to Ethiopia in 2012 for clergy training and he had a connecting flight from Jamaica in Washington DC before arriving in Ethiopia.

“You have to lose some things to gain some things, so if a visa is lost, no problem with that for me, personally,” he said. “So if they want to revoke my visa, Jamaica is full of so much potential, Jamaica is so rich, Jamaica has so much wealth, so if I’m to stay here for the next 20, 30, 40 years, or the rest of my life, I am good with that because Ethiopia is within me.”

Brissett’s view was shared by other members of the Rastafarian community who were protesting.

Although the permit granted by the police to the protesters outlined that they should have been located on a parcel of land across from the US Embassy and at the entrance to Standpipe, some minutes after 10 a.m., some protesters walked on to the sidewalk immediately in front of the US Embassy, with cops advising them to leave.

Inspector Earle Grant, Matilda’s Corner Police Station commander, also instructed the protesters repeatedly to go within the boundaries of the area within which they applied for 10 persons to protest, while observing social distancing, but they refused and took to the sidewalks of Liguanea with their placards, some of which read ‘United Nations and America Need to Repent’, ‘War in Tigray’, ‘Hands off Ethiopia’, and ‘Defend Ethiopia Now’.

“They were given permission to demonstrate within the perimeters of the fencing area. It was in their application to the commissioner of police, hence permission was granted for them to demonstrate within that land space and not on the outskirts,” Grant told The Gleaner.

“The police can take some action, but we don’t want to ignite the situation. We just want to have a peaceful protest with respect for the rule of law, and we ask for compliance, not to obstruct pedestrians and using the sidewalk, and not to cause a traffic congestion,” he added.

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These Stone Monoliths in Southern Ethiopia Are 1,000 Years Older Than Thought (WSU)

Published by Tadias Magazine December 11th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Published in the Journal of African Archaeology, the team applied radiocarbon dating to monoliths from the Sakaro Sodo archaeological site in the Gedeo zone.“This is one of the most understudied archaeological sites in the world, and we wanted to change that,” said Ashenafi Zena, lead author of the study and a former Washington State University doctoral researcher now at the State Historical Society of North Dakota. (WSU))

WSU

Ethiopian monoliths are 1,000 years older than previously thought

Researchers from Washington State University have suggested that the giant stone monoliths of southern Ethiopia are 1,000 years older than previously thought.

Published in the Journal of African Archaeology, the team applied radiocarbon dating to monoliths from the Sakaro Sodo archaeological site in the Gedeo zone.

Sakaro Sodo is known to have the largest number and highest concentration of megalithic stele monuments in Africa, with an estimate of more than 10,000 stelae in sixty or more clusters.

The monoliths were first studied by French researchers in the 1990’s, where they proposed a construction date of around AD 1100.

With the results obtained from the latest study, this has been revised to sometime during the first century AD.

“This is one of the most understudied archaeological sites in the world, and we wanted to change that,” said Ashenafi Zena, lead author of the study and a former WSU doctoral researcher now at the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Zena, an Ethiopian native, originally decided to conduct a study of the stones after traveling to the region with his doctoral advisor Andrew Duff, a WSU professor of anthropology, in 2013.

“It was shocking to see such a large number of monuments in such a small area,” Zena said. “Looking at the stones, many of which had fallen to the ground and some have broken into pieces, I decided to focus my dissertation work there instead of investigating cave sites in southern Ethiopia.”

In addition to pushing back the date of the earliest monoliths’ construction by a millennium, the researchers also determined where the ancient builders of the site likely quarried raw stone for the project. They also identified, for the first time, the earliest known sources of obsidian artefacts that were recovered from the Gedeo stele sites.
Surprisingly, most of the obsidian the researchers identified at Sakaro Sodo originated some 300 km away in northern Kenya, illustrating that the people at Sakaro Sodo obtained most of their obsidian raw materials through some form of exchange or trade.

While little is known about the pastoral and/or agricultural people who populated the Sakaro Sodo region of southern Ethiopia at the turn of the first millennium, the new construction dates of the stele monuments identified by Zena and Duff appear to coincide with the arrival of domesticated animals in the region and the beginnings of more complex social and economic systems.

“One of the reasons why this research is important is because it has the potential to shed new light on what the earliest people in this area were doing for a living as well as what their cultural and social practices were,” Duff said.

Existing archaeological, ethnographic, and living megalithic stele traditions in the region suggest that the oldest stele sites in Ethiopia at Sakaro Sodo and other nearby locations were likely created for two purposes: to commemorate the transfer of power from one generation to the next or to record and commemorate group achievement.

“The diversity of function of the stele in Ethiopia is really fascinating,” Duff said. “For example, we know that the more recently constructed stele monuments of Tuto Fela in the north part of Gedeo were used as burial markers. While the linear placement pattern of the earliest stones at Sakaro Sodo makes us think they may have been markers to signify the passing of generational leadership.”

While the political situation and the recent escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia make following up on the investigation in the near term difficult, the researchers have several future projects in the works that they hope to continue as soon as possible.

One project involves more additional archaeological investigations at other stele sites in the areas with colleagues at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. The other is a project led by Duff and current WSU doctoral student Addisalem Melesse who are working with the Ethiopian Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management to determine how the stele sites can be better managed to both preserve the heritage of the region and generate tourism.

“Developing a better understanding of the function of these stones and how they were erected is really useful in terms of gaining a UNESCO World Heritage designation,” Duff said. “This could in turn help generate tourism revenue, which is a major economic factor for the country.”

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Warning to Democrats: Ethiopian American Voters Ready to Bolt Over Foreign Policy

Published by Tadias Magazine December 8th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Across America Ethiopian American voters, who are traditionally a reliable democratic base, are mobilizing on social media and other platforms - as they did in Virginia this past November -- to support the Republican take over of the U.S. Congress next year. As the following report from North Carolina indicate the community at large feels deeply disappointed as well as ignored and betrayed by the Biden administration's now ridiculous approach towards Ethiopia. (Photo: Ethiopians protest in Raleigh, North Carolina/Indy week).

Indy week

Ethiopian Americans Dissatisfied with the Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy Positions Towards the African Nation Could Mean Democrats Can’t Rely on Their Votes in Next Year’s Elections

Last month, Teshale Gebremichael helped organize a protest for members of North Carolina’s Ethiopian American communities who condemned the U.S. government’s support of what they describe as a “terrorist” group that is attempting to usurp their country’s democratically elected government.

On November 21, the demonstrators assembled in front of the old state capitol grounds near the intersection of Hillsborough and Salisbury Streets at about three p.m. before marching to the front of the old Wake County Courthouse on Fayetteville Street. There, a man with a bullhorn exhorted the crowd to a call-and-response protest.

“African solutions for African problems!” he shouted into the bullhorn.

“African solutions for African problems!” his countrymen and women replied in unison.

“We are united!”

“No more! We say no more!”

“We stand with Ethiopia!”

“We stand with the Ethiopian government!”

Gebremichael, an Ethiopian American, has been living in the Triangle for over a decade.

“Why is the Biden administration standing with bad people? Why is Biden standing with gangsters?” Gebremichael asked, while speaking with the INDY last week. “And now our country is about to fall apart.”

Nearly 200 Ethiopian Americans, many of them wrapped in the red-green-and-gold flags of one of the world’s oldest nations, assembled at the old state capitol and voiced their disapproval on a day when similar protests were taking place across the globe.

The Ethiopian American protesters were joined by expatriates from neighboring Eritrea and gathered under a banner stating #NoMore to denounce what they described as the Biden administration’s “disastrous foreign policy” by way of sanctions that have hurt their country; the threat of sending U.S. ground troops into the country, and a disinformation campaign carried out by Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to discredit the current government.

It’s a complicated issue.

A civil war erupted late last year between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and inhabitants of the country’s Tigray region…

That conflict is more than 8,000 miles away in the country’s northern region. The fighting and subsequent U.S. government sanctions could have dire consequences for Democratic Party candidates during the 2022 election. If President Joe Biden does not lift the sanctions, Ethiopian Americans here and across the United States are threatening to vote for Republicans next year.

Ethiopian Americans typically cast their votes for Democratic Party candidates, but they are deeply hurt by the Biden administration’s decision on September 17 to authorize sanctions that do not single out specific factions but hold the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea and the Tigray forces responsible for participating in a civil war that has left “nearly one million people living in famine-like conditions” while “millions more face acute food insecurity as a direct consequence of the violence,” according to a White House statement.

“I am appalled by the reports of mass murder, rape, and other sexual violence to terrorize civilian populations,” stated President Biden, who added that the “sanctions are not directed at the people of Ethiopia or Eritrea but rather the individuals and entities perpetrating the violence and driving a humanitarian disaster.”

But Ethiopian Americans here in the Triangle, and across the globe, say the sanctions are hurting their families and neighbors back home in an impoverished country that ranks 173 out of 189 countries and territories in human development, according to the 2020 Human Development Report.

On November 2, Biden suspended Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) “for gross violations of internationally recognised human rights,” according to Reuters. Days later, officials with the global fashion giant PVH Corp. announced that the company was shutting down a manufacturing factory in Ethiopia, owing to the loss of duty-free access to the United States because of the war.

Muna Mengesha, one of the organizers of the Raleigh protest and a real estate agent and mother of two, told the INDY the factory closing has left 150,000 people without work, but according to Reuters, officials in her homeland warned the shutdown “could take away 1 million jobs, disproportionately hurting poor women, who are the majority of garment workers.”

Mengesha says that in addition to factory workers losing their jobs in Addis Ababa, the country’s suspension from AGOA is also being felt in the rural parts of the country.

“Without AGOA, small farmers can’t send what they produce to the United States tax free,” she explains. “That’s their livelihood. That’s how they send their kids to school. That’s how they provide for their family.” Raleigh’s protest organizers say there’s currently a global movement among Ethiopia expatriates to heed Prime Minister Abiy’s call to return home for the Christmas holidays with the aim of supporting their country’s economy to offset the Biden administration’s sanctions.

“It’s a big movement right now,” Gebremichael said. “I’m not going because I went back last year. But I wish I could.”

Ethiopian expatriates point to last month’s gubernatorial election in Virginia where the Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin, narrowly beat incumbent governor Terry McAuliffe. According to reports, a coordinated effort from Ethiopian expatriate voters helped contribute to Youngkin’s narrow margin of victory.

“That’s the plan here, too,” Mengesha said. “Personally, I don’t want to vote Republican, but at the end of the day that’s my homeland. In Virginia, people who don’t ever vote voted just because of the Biden administration and the way they handled the situation.”

Another Raleigh protest organizer, Fitsum Kedebe, 37, is a native of Ethiopia now living in Durham. During the past presidential election, Kedebe helped Democratic Party candidates by canvassing in Bull City neighborhoods.

“Donald Trump was saying things no world leader should ever say,” Kedebe, a married father of two children, told the INDY. “But I was never expecting Biden to go this extreme. I never expected him to go this far to support Tigray. Even [the U.S. government] has been saying since 1992 that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front is a terrorist group.”

Kedebe acknowledged the Sisyphean irony of casting a vote for an American political party enamored with misinformation to help bring about the downfall of a political party in his native country that also thrives in a false news ecosystem. He brushes aside the suggestion that a Republican administration may feel more comfortable with TPLF holding the reins of power in his country.

“The Democratic Party says it looks out for the poor, but it’s fractured,” he said. “It’s losing ground. The only reason Biden was elected was because of Black Lives Matter, and 79 million people still voted for Trump. We should be united. We see freedom losing.”

Read the full article at indyweek.com »

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Asia Times: US hands China a victory in Ethiopia

Pictures: The Wall Street Journal on Ethiopia’s volunteer ‘citizens’ army.’

Media: Ethiopia Flipping the Script on Foreign Coverage

Watch: PM Abiy’s press secretary Billene Seyoum on Fox News

US policies on Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Covid in Africa come under fire in Congress

UPDATE: Ethiopia Recaptures World Heritage Site Lalibela From TPLF

China’s Top Diplomat Visits Addis, Takes a Jab at Foreign Interference in Ethiopia’s ‘Domestic Affairs’

US halts decision on genocide designation to pursue diplomacy in Ethiopia

Announcement by Olympic Legends Haile & Feyisa Capture Ethiopia’s Mood

In Diaspora protestors call out Joe Biden’s foreign policy in Ethiopia

Ethiopia Struggles to Find Its Voice in Western Media Amid Misinformation

Yale hosts Ethiopia conference amid social media controversy, disinvites speaker

BUSINESS: Forbes on Why Team Biden Shouldn’t Mess With US-Ethiopia Trade

In Africa, America’s Hysterical Western Media Driven Ethiopia Policy Reaches Dead End

What’s Wrong With Blinken? Goes to Africa to Talk Ethiopia, But Skips Addis & AU?

In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Spotlight: Marcus & Maya Expecting Daughter Grace Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine December 6th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

"We will be welcoming a baby girl in the new year and naming her Grace Ethiopia," the family announced in an Instagram post. "Our fellow Ethiopians have experienced such a difficult year, so it means a lot to us to honor and celebrate our country of origin through the birth of our daughter. We are sending our joy and light to you and our community." (Getty Images)

People

Marcus Samuelsson and Wife Maya Expecting Baby No. 2 — Find Out the Meaningful Name

Marcus Samuelsson is adding to his family!

The Top Chef Family Style judge, 50, took to Instagram on Friday to reveal that he and wife Maya Haile Samuelsson are expecting their second baby together, and the name they’ve chosen for their little bundle of joy has a sweet and special meaning behind it.

“Maya and I are very excited to share that Zion is going to be a big brother!” the award-winning chef captioned an adorable picture of Maya, their son and himself, who are all wearing matching white tops. The couple welcomed their son in 2016.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marcus Samuelsson (@marcuscooks)

“We will be welcoming a baby girl in the new year and naming her Grace Ethiopia,” Marcus, whose native country is Ethiopia, continued. “Our fellow Ethiopians have experienced such a difficult year, so it means a lot to us to honor and celebrate our country of origin through the birth of our daughter. We are sending our joy and light to you and our community.”….

In September, the No Passport Required host joined the PEOPLE Every Day podcast hosted by Janine Rubenstein to talk about some of the challenges he faced as a young Black chef working in all-white kitchens.

“One of the … challenges when you’re a Black chef coming into a space and you’re very, very ambitious was finding role models,” said Samuelsson. “I worked in all-white kitchens and the chefs very upfront said to me, ‘You have to lower your ambition, because there is no Black chefs that owns restaurants like ours.’ ”

However, the lack of diversity in the kitchens he worked in only pushed Samuelsson to further challenge the status quo and be an advocate for those under-represented in the industry.

“I didn’t see a lot of women in the kitchen,” Samuelsson, who co-owns Red Rooster Harlem with chef Andrew Chapman, told Rubenstein. “I made a commitment to make sure that we have 50% women in our kitchen. Everything I did not see, I can now create.”

Read the original article on People »

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Forbes: Still Time for US to Reverse ‘Huge Mistake’ on Ethiopia AGOA Exit

Published by Tadias Magazine December 6th, 2021 in Business. Closed

Under stark review, the concept of exiting the Ethiopian AGOA partnership is possibly a huge mistake – one that probably should (and could) be reversed. (Photo: An employee at a textile factory in Hawassa, Ethiopia, on Oct. 12, 2021/by Michael Tewelde/Getty Images)

Forbes

The United States announced a plan to remove Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the first day of January – and shock waves quickly rolled through the U.S. apparel and footwear industries – like a tsunami that no one expected. Manufacturers were alerted that perhaps their good-will African investments – were made in vain, and retailers started to think about pulling out of Ethiopia.

Under stark review, the concept of exiting the Ethiopian AGOA partnership is possibly a huge mistake – one that probably should (and could) be reversed, resolved, extended, or at least peppered with exemptions. America encouraged the apparel and footwear industries to make investments in Ethiopia, and now is potentially leaving “the ask.” Plus, all things considered, an abrupt exit (with only two months’ notice) has frightened other sub-Saharan African investors. They worry that the United States won’t renew AGOA in 2025, and won’t have their back the next time that trouble breaks out.

Of course, China is watching America’s every move and they immediately pounced on the weakness. For years, they have made significant investments in Ethiopia, and the country is sometimes referred as the China of Africa. In keeping with that mindset, they immediately announced a plan to purchase $300 billion worth of goods from Africa over the next three years and invest about $10 billion dollars. China also sent their Foreign Minister Wang Yi directly to Ethiopia’s Capital City (Addis Ababa) to show support for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s elected government

America, on the other hand, worked a different strategy. Sanctions were announced, followed by a 60-day notice of a planned AGOA-EXIT. The United States sent U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to nearby Kenya for negotiations, advised US citizens to leave the country, and asked for “precautionary assurances” for USA diplomats. Taking a page from the Administration’s “Diplomacy First” playbook, Secretary Blinken said that all the unrest and atrocities: “Needs to stop.”

Ethiopia’s civil war is constantly marred with accusations of humanitarian, political, and even geopolitical problems, but AGOA’s charter calls for the development of a market-based economy, observing the rule of law, political pluralism, the right to due process and reducing poverty – plus combatting corruption and protecting human rights. There is no right or wrong with considering the cessation of AGOA in Ethiopia – simply because America needs to follow the charter. However, if one takes a holistic view of sub-Sahara Africa, the announced AGOA plug-pulling may be the last straw for the struggling trade program, simply because the Ethiopian exit has reverberated well beyond the country’s borders.

Truth be told, AGOA is not the best trade program that the USA has ever created, but many developing countries have found it to be extremely helpful. For twenty-one years, the AGOA performance has been somewhat lackluster. This year’s trade volume shows little growth from the very first year that the program was created (back in 2001). One explanation is that the program is approximately divided between 55% energy and 45% non-energy sectors. In energy, there is not much duty savings, so oil is shipping to the USA because it is cheap, not because of AGOA

When looking at the results of AGOA, it is more important to focus on the non-energy sector – because that creates the most jobs and helps the most people on a humanitarian level – especially with apparel manufacturing in Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, and (of course) Ethiopia.

Non-energy shipments were $1.3 billion in 2001 and only $3.8 billion in 2019 – signifying not much growth in 18 years. But, after all this time, it was Ethiopia that finally broke the mold and achieved significant growth in the non-energy sector. That improvement provided thousands of jobs and added to Ethiopia’s growing GDP; exhibiting that the program could really be effective. Now, with America weaponizing AGOA (as a tool to resolve a country conflict), retailers are faced with another significant and growing loss of international supply. To put this in a different perspective, just a few days ago one very large and responsible USA mega-brand announced that they were closing their operations in Ethiopia. Other brands and retailers will probably follow suit.

During the last few years, modern manufacturing facilities were erected, and numerous industrial parks dotted the Ethiopian landscape. Assembled products could now be shipped back to the USA free of duty – which is a significant advantage because (for example) apparel duty rates could average around 20% or higher.

The duty-free incentive was created to offset the cost of development, and the lower worker productivity rates. By accepting the terms of AGOA, the impact on local employment was huge. Ethiopia quickly became the African model for others to follow. However, with AGOA now sitting on the chopping block (along with Mali and Guinea) retailers wonder if the investment was worth the risk, and that line of thinking creates an even bigger problem for all of Africa, because the AGOA program comes up for renewal in just a few years.

The United Nations, the African Union, the United States, and several other countries are working hard to broker a resolution to the Ethiopian conflict. News reports indicate that there is little progress – except for some notice that humanitarian aid is finally reaching the Tigray region. There are also claims that government forces have re-gained control of several key areas that had been overrun by the insurgent Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The USA, for its part, should never approve any country’s bad behavior, but there is a distinct difference in terminology – if skills are being taught and families are being fed. Investors knew that Ethiopia was risky, but they expected America to stand behind their investment. Somehow, over time , there has been a failure to distinguish between a sewing machine operator earning a living, and an insurgent fighting a battle (all within the same country)…

Most everyone hopes that AGOA doesn’t become a missed opportunity.

There is still time between now and January 1st.

Maybe, just maybe, something will change.

Read the full article at forbes.com »

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Watch: PM Abiy’s press secretary Billene Seyoum on Fox News

US policies on Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Covid in Africa come under fire in Congress

UPDATE: Ethiopia Recaptures World Heritage Site Lalibela From TPLF

China’s Top Diplomat Visits Addis, Takes a Jab at Foreign Interference in Ethiopia’s ‘Domestic Affairs’

US halts decision on genocide designation to pursue diplomacy in Ethiopia

Announcement by Olympic Legends Haile & Feyisa Capture Ethiopia’s Mood

In Diaspora protestors call out Joe Biden’s foreign policy in Ethiopia

Ethiopia Struggles to Find Its Voice in Western Media Amid Misinformation

Yale hosts Ethiopia conference amid social media controversy, disinvites speaker

BUSINESS: Forbes on Why Team Biden Shouldn’t Mess With US-Ethiopia Trade

In Africa, America’s Hysterical Western Media Driven Ethiopia Policy Reaches Dead End

What’s Wrong With Blinken? Goes to Africa to Talk Ethiopia, But Skips Addis & AU?

In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Media: Ethiopia Flipping the Script on Foreign Coverage

Published by Tadias Magazine December 5th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Although misinformation in foreign press is still abundant, following the string of victories against TPLF in the past few days it appears that some Western media outlets are trying to adjust their unbalanced coverage of the situation in Ethiopia (See below an excerpt of AFP's latest news explainer). Meanwhile, the Biden administration says its shelving its dangerous 'genocide' PR scheme against the country as its runaway policy is receiving much-needed congressional criticism and oversight. (Photo: Ethiopians protest in DC/Reuters)

AFP

Ethiopia’s military this week regained control of territory previously claimed by [TPLF] rebels, a potential validation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s decision to join soldiers to conflict-hit areas…

Just a month ago, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group appeared to be on the offensive, claiming to have captured Dessie and Kombolcha, towns on a key highway headed towards the capital Addis Ababa.

They reportedly reached as far as Shewa Robit, around 220 kilometres (135 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa by road.

But after Abiy announced last week he would lead operations in the field, the government announced a string of victories and the rebels acknowledged making adjustments to their strategy.

State media has responded with triumphalist wall-to-wall coverage.

There’s little doubt the government can claim to have the “upper hand” in specific areas, said Awet Weldemichael, a Horn of Africa security expert at Queen’s University in Canada…

- A surprise shift -

All the while, though, the exact nature of the TPLF advance was in dispute.

“I don’t know whether we should call it an advance,” one Western security official told AFP in mid-November.

“There’s not a huge column of tanks and armoured vehicles driving down the road towards Addis. It’s more complex than that. There are foot soldiers going into the mountains, they shoot and surround certain areas” but do not seem to fully control cities and towns, the official said.

The latest battlefield shifts unfolded swiftly.

The government first claimed towns in Afar, near a critical highway bringing goods to Addis Ababa, then on Wednesday it declared victory in Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site that fell to the TPLF in August.

On Friday state media announced that towns on the road heading north towards Dessie and Kombolcha had been “liberated”.

The news could be a sign that government forces, as well as many thousands of new recruits who have enlisted in recent months, have more fight than they’ve gotten credit for.

“I was quite surprised by the latest counteroffensive by the government,” said Mehdi Labzae, a sociologist who studies land issues and mobilisation in Ethiopia.

“I have seen all the people who were mobilised… but the thing is I thought they were not trained and I thought they would just be destroyed.”

The path ahead

The African Union is trying to broker a ceasefire to avert further bloodshed, though there has been little progress so far.

The TPLF insists it will have the advantage in whatever fighting is to come…

One possibility, said Awet of Queen’s University, is that the government’s superior air power has turned the tide — at least for now.

“Drones are claimed to have played a decisive role in active combat, the full extent of which we are yet to find out,” he said.

“But so far, it appears like they have helped halt [TPLF] counterattacks and advances.”

Click here to read the full article »

—

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SPOTLIGHT: Ethiopia’s Lalibela, One of the Wonders of the World

Published by Tadias Magazine December 2nd, 2021 in Featured. Closed

Lalibela is back in the International news after Ethiopia announced a major victory this week that it has recaptured the historic town from TPLF. Home to some of Ethiopia's ancient churches Lalibela, which was designated a Unesco world heritage site in 1978, is considered one of the wonders of the world for its stunning architectural designs. Below is a Unesco description. (Photo: The Church of Saint George in Lalibela/By Chester Higgins, Jr.)

UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century ‘New Jerusalem’ are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilmigrage and devotion.

A pilgrimage to Lalibela’s churches. (Getty Images)

Getty Images

Brief synthesis

In a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, some 645 km from Addis Ababa, eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a ‘New Jerusalem’, after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the holy Land. Lalibela flourished after the decline of the Aksum Empire.

There are two main groups of churches – to the north of the river Jordan: Biete Medhani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biete Mariam (House of Mary), Biete Maskal (House of the Cross), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins), Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael); and to the south of the river, Biete Amanuel (House of Emmanuel), Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of St. Mercoreos), Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biete Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael), and Biete Lehem (House of Holy Bread). The eleventh church, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), is isolated from the others, but connected by a system of trenches.

The churches were not constructed in a traditional way but rather were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks. These blocks were further chiselled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs etc. This gigantic work was further completed with an extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages, some with openings to hermit caves and catacombs.

Biete Medhani Alem, with its five aisles, is believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, while Biete Ghiorgis has a remarkable cruciform plan. Most were probably used as churches from the outset, but Biete Mercoreos and Biete Gabriel Rafael may formerly have been royal residences. Several of the interiors are decorated with mural paintings.

Near the churches, the village of Lalibela has two storey round houses, constructed of local red stone, and known as the Lasta Tukuls. These exceptional churches have been the focus of pilgrimage for Coptic Christians since the 12th century.

Criterion (i): All the eleven churches represent a unique artistic achievement, in their execution, size and the variety and boldness of their form.

Criterion (ii): The King of Lalibela set out to build a symbol of the holy land, when pilgrimages to it were rendered impossible by the historical situation. In the Church of Biet Golgotha, are replicas of the tomb of Christ, and of Adam, and the crib of the Nativity. The holy city of Lalibela became a substitute for the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and as such has had considerable influence on Ethiopian Christianity.

Criterion (iii): The whole of Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia, including, next to the eleven churches, the extensive remains of traditional, two storey circular village houses with interior staircases and thatched roofs.

Integrity

The drainage ditches were filled up with earth for several centuries, before being cleared in the 20th century, and have been disrupted by seismic activity. This has resulted in a severe degradation of the monuments from water damage, and most of them are now considered to be in a critical condition.

Structural problems have been identified in Biet Amanuel where an imminent risk of collapse is possible, and other locations need to be monitored. Serious degradation of the paintings inside the churches has occurred over the last thirty years. Sculptures and bas-reliefs (such as at the entrance of Biet Mariam) have also been severely damaged, and their original features are hardly recognisable. All of this threatens the integrity of the property.

Temporary light-weight shelters have now been installed over some churches and these, while offering protection, impact on visual integrity.

Other threats include encroachment on the environment of the churches by new public and private construction, housing associated with the traditional village adjacent to the property, and from the infrastructure of tourism.

Authenticity

The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela are still preserved in their natural settings. The association of the rock-hewn churches and the traditional vernacular circular houses, in the surrounding area, still demonstrate evidences of the ancient village layout. The original function of the site as a pilgrimage place still persists and provides evidence of the continuity of social practices. The intangible heritages associated with church practices are still preserved.

Watch: 60 Minutes Features Lalibela: A place where faith, mystery and miracles coexist

—

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UPDATE: Ethiopia Recaptures World Heritage Site Lalibela From TPLF

Published by Tadias Magazine December 1st, 2021 in Featured. Closed

In a major victory since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to the front lines last week to lead the fight against TPLF Ethiopia said it has recaptured the historic city of Lalibela, a Unesco world heritage site and a popular tourist destination, that was taken by the rebels in August. Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen has taken charge of the day-to-day running of government while Mr Abiy is on the battlefield. (Getty Images)

BBC

Ethiopian troops have recaptured the historic town of Lalibela from [TPLF] rebels, the government has said.

This is the latest victory claimed by the government since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to the front lines last week to lead the fight-back…

Lalibela, famous for its rock-hewn churches, was captured by the rebels in August.

It is a Unesco world heritage site in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, and was a popular tourist destination before the civil war broke out in Ethiopia last year…

Earlier on Wednesday, government spokesman Legesse Tulu was quoted by state media as saying the military was also confident of retaking the strategic city of Dessie “in a short period of time”.

The TPLF captured Dessie last month…Other towns retaken from the rebels included Shewa Robit, about 220km (135 miles) from Addis Ababa, the government said.

State-linked TV aired footage of Mr Abiy on Tuesday in military jungle fatigues, scanning the horizon with binoculars.

Read the full article at BBC.com »

—

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History: Toast of the U.S. President at Luncheon Hosted by Ethiopia in America

Published by Tadias Magazine November 28th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

There was once a friendly, cordial and respectful U.S.-Ethiopia relations going back to 1903 before it was replaced with the modern version of team Biden's duplicitous Horn of Africa diplomacy. The following is a transcript of a speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy during a luncheon hosted by Ethiopia in his honor at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland on October 2nd, 1963. (Photos: Kennedy Library)

The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara

Note: The President spoke at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. at a luncheon given in his honor by Emperor Haile Selassie…

The Emperor, speaking before him, began by mentioning the warm and friendly relationship between his nation and the United States. He referred to the growing number of Americans who go to Ethiopia–as members of economic and military aid missions, in the Peace Corps, as businessmen, and as tourists. Such associations, the Emperor continued, cannot but help the Ethiopian and American peoples to know each other better. Mutual understanding has also been broadened, he pointed out, by the many young Ethiopian leaders who have studied in the United States. “If their number now declines,” he added, “it will be because of the new university which has, with the generous help of the people and the Government of the United States, now assumed the responsibility for providing higher education in Ethiopia.”

The Charter of Unity recently signed in his capital by African heads of state demonstrates, said Emperor Haile Selassie, the will of their peoples, inspired by America’s example past and present, to prepare for themselves a future of unity and brotherhood.

He concluded with a toast to the President and to the two peoples, who are, he said, distant in geography but proximate in friendship and in spirit.

President Kennedy’s Remarks at the Luncheon

October 02, 1963

Your Majesty:

On behalf of all of my fellow citizens, I want to express our great appreciation to you for having traveled across so many thousands of miles to visit us once again and also for the pleasure that you have brought us all in bringing with you your granddaughter, and the benefit you have brought us in bringing the members of your Government.

As you say, Ethiopia and the United States are separated not only by geography but by history and culture, but I think that they are bound together by necessity, and that is the necessity for all sovereign free countries to maintain the most intimate association.

So we are very proud to have you here because of what your country has done, what it is doing, because of the hospitality you have shown to my fellow countrymen when they have gone there to work or to visit.

Most of all, we are glad to have you here because of your own extraordinary record. Those of us who have held office for a comparatively brief time are somewhat awed to realize that you have borne the responsibility of leadership in your country for more than 45 years. For a good part of this century, with all the changes that it has brought to not only your own country but to the continent of Africa, and so much of the West during this whole period, the central thrust of burden has been borne by you. And to have borne it with such distinction in other days and to still bear it with such force-demonstrated by the fact that your capital was chosen by your fellow leaders of Africa to be the center of this great, cooperative movement which was symbolized by the summit meeting in your capital and which was made a success by your own very patient efforts–brings accord out of what could have been on occasion perhaps a disagreement.

So, looking to a long past, looking to a promising future, we want to say, Your Majesty, that we are proud to have you here, we have been honored by the visit, and I hope that this short time here in Washington will remind you once again of how strongly your place is secured in the affection of all of the people of the United States. I hope all of you will join with me in a toast to His Imperial Majesty.

—

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SPOTLIGHT: Meskerem Mees, Winner of The Montreux Jazz Talent Award 2021

Published by Tadias Magazine November 26th, 2021 in Art and Featured. Closed

The Ethiopia-born Belgian singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees is the winner of the 2021 Montreux Jazz Talent Award. According to organizers the up-and-coming musician was "elected unanimously by a jury that comprised both professional judges and members of the public." (Montreux Jazz Festival)

Press Release

Montreux Jazz Festival

The Montreux Jazz Talent Award 2021 has been awarded to the Belgian singer and composer Meskerem Mees. The 21-year-old artist performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival alongside eight other emerging talents selected by the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation. Meskerem Mees was elected unanimously by a jury that comprised both professional judges and members of the public, as well as an Artists Committee, including Yaron Herman, Anne Paceo, Shabaka Hutchings and Michael League.

The Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (MJAF) invited eight artists to perform at the Montreux Jazz Talent Awards, between the 2nd and 17th of July 2021. Each candidate was carefully selected by the booking team for their diverse interpretations of jazz and soul-inspired music.

The eight artists performed during the 55th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in front of a jury of professional judges and members of the public. Four musicians, who work closely with the MJAF, also participated in the vote: Yaron Herman, Anne Paceo, Shabaka Hutchings (Sons of Kemet) and Michael League (Snarky Puppy).

THE VOTE FOR MESKEREM MEES WAS UNANIMOUS

Beautifully composed tunes, a magnetic presence and a distinct velvet voice: Meskereem Mees was a true revelation during the competition, impressing all three juries. The 21-year-old Flemish musician says she is inspired by artists such as Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Courtney Barnett. After releasing a handful of singles including the stunning “Joe”, Meskerem Mees is set to release her highly anticipated debut album, Julius, on November 12, 2021.

“I feel very honored to be the winner of a talent award competition hosted by a festival as renowned as the Montreux Jazz Festival. I’m looking forward to learn from some of the world’s best musicians at the Montreux Jazz Academy. Thank you all, once again, for this amazing opportunity.”

— Meskerem Mees

PRIZES AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT

Meskerem Mees has been awarded a one-week artistic residency at La Becque on the shores of Lake Geneva. She will also perform at the Montreux Jazz Academy under the musical direction of Shabaka Hutchings, Edward Wakili-Hick and Alexander Hawkins. The 7th edition of the Montreux Jazz Academy will take place at the Autumn of Music festival, organised by the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation between the 27th and 30th of October 2021.

At a key point in their careers, they also get long-term professional support from the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (MJAF) and the Festival’s large network of contacts. The MJAF is regularly involved in the programming of concerts in Switzerland and abroad, for instance at the Swiss cultural centres in Paris and in Rome.

—

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Ethiopia to U.S.: Stop Misinformation

Published by Tadias Magazine November 26th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Ethiopia is responding to the Biden administration's flurry of panic-inducing social media posts and press releases concerning the country -- which is usually echoed by the mainstream American media without much skepticism or context -- asking the U.S. government to refrain from disseminating "shameful fake news and defamation regarding Ethiopia." (Photo: Addis Ababa skyline, November 3, 2021/Tiksa Negeri/REUTERS)

Reuters

Ethiopia Warns US Against Spreading False Information

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s government has asked the United States to stop spreading what it considers falsehoods against the country, the state minister of communication Kebede Dessisa said Thursday, after the State Department issued an alert about potential “terrorist attacks.”

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and rebellious forces from the Tigray region in the north have been fighting for more than a year…

Kebede, the state minister of communication, was quoted by state broadcaster EBC as telling a news conference the U.S. government should refrain from disseminating “shameful fake news and defamation regarding Ethiopia.”

He referred to a statement Wednesday on Twitter by the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa that urged its citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance due to “the ongoing possibility of terrorist attacks in Ethiopia.”

Earlier this month, tens of thousands of Ethiopians lied in the capital to support the government, where they denounced the United States for alleged interference in Ethiopia’s internal affairs. Washington has urged its citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately while the security situation still permits.

On Thursday, dozens of protesters took their anger to the U.S. Embassy in the city, where they displayed banners reading “Interference is Undemocratic” and “Truth Wins.”

Read the full article at reuters.com »

—

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Announcement by Olympic Legends Haile & Feyisa Capture Ethiopia’s Mood

Published by Tadias Magazine November 24th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

BBC: "The prospect of some of Ethiopia's most venerated sporting figures heading to the front lines to fight captures something profound and powerful about the mood in Addis Ababa and beyond." (Getty Images)

BBC

Ethiopian Olympic heroes Haile Gebrselassie and Feyisa Lilesa say they are ready to go to the front line in the war against rebel forces.

Their announcement comes after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he would go to the front to lead the war…

Earlier, Gebrselassie, 48, was quoted by state television as saying: “I am ready to do whatever is required of me, including going to the front line.”

Gebrselassie is regarded as a legend in Ethiopia…During his 25-year career as an athlete, he claimed two Olympic gold medals, eight World Championship victories and set 27 world records. He announced his retirement from competitive running in 2015.

Expressing his support for the war, Feyisa, 31, was quoted by the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation website as saying that he was ready to draw inspiration from the “gallantry of my forefathers” and go to the front line to “save my country”.

The athlete won the marathon silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He became famous for holding up his crossed wrists as if they were shackled to draw global attention to the crackdown on demonstrators demanding political reforms in Ethiopia…The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was the dominant party in government at the time. Following the protests, Mr Abiy became prime minister and the TPLF lost the grip on the country it had held for 27 years.

Feyisa Lilesa attends a news conference in Washington, DC during his exile in the United States on Sept. 13, 2016. (Reuters photo)

[TPLF] later retreated to its stronghold of Tigray, from where it launched a rebellion last November after a huge fall-out with Mr Abiy over his reforms…

The African Union is leading efforts to find a negotiated end to the fighting, but neither side has committed to talks…

The prospect of some of Ethiopia’s most venerated sporting figures heading to the front lines to fight captures something profound and powerful about the mood in Addis Ababa and beyond.

At a time of intense crisis, many Ethiopians are clearly rallying behind their flag and prime minister, and are keen to play their part in galvanising public support for a military campaign…

It is clear many people see the military threat posed by the TPLF and their assorted allies as an existential one for Ethiopia.

Added to that is a profound dislike of the TPLF itself, which stems from its decades heading an authoritarian national government.

Read the full article at BBC.com »

—

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Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

UPDATE: U.S. Reports ‘Progress’ in Ethiopia Peace Efforts

Published by Tadias Magazine November 23rd, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

US Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman, who spoke to reporters following his most recent trip to Ethiopia this week, said Prime Minister Ably Ahmed told him his priority is to get the TPLF out of the areas they now occupy in the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, and “we share that objective.” ( Photo: ASHRAF SHAZLY)

The Associated Press

NAIROBI – A United States envoy said Tuesday he sees “massive progress” in talks with Ethiopia’s warring sides, but he fears it will be outpaced by “alarming” military developments in the yearlong war in Africa’s second-most populous country.

Jeffrey Feltman spoke to reporters after his latest visit to Ethiopia… Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday announced he will lead “from the battlefield”…

Feltman said the warring sides are now talking about elements they expect to see on the table in talks, but “the tragedy is” that while the elements are similar, views differ on which to tackle first.

“Unfortunately, each side is trying to achieve its goals by military force and believe they are on the cusp of winning,” he said…

The U.S. envoy said the Tigray forces must halt their advance on the capital…They “would be met with unrelenting hostility if they entered Addis today,” Feltman said.

The envoy said Ethiopia’s prime minister told him his priority is to get the Tigray forces out of the areas they now occupy in the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, and “we share that objective.”

Read the full article at apnews.com »

—

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Finally, Stolen Ethiopia Treasures Begin to Return Home From England

Published by Tadias Magazine November 22nd, 2021 in Featured and History. Closed

The return of some of the many looted treasures is being called the most important heritage restitution in Ethiopia’s history. Ethiopia's ambassador to the United Kingdom Teferi Meles said: "We couldn’t manage to bring back all of them, but this is the first time in the country’s history to bring back looted artefacts in this quantity." (Photo: Embassy of Ethiopia, London)

Reuters

After a century and a half, Ethiopian artefacts return home

ADDIS ABABA – After a century and a half hidden in private collections, 13 stolen Ethiopian artefacts have finally returned home following months of negotiations.

“Our country’s ancient civilization’s history, artefacts, fingerprints of indigenous knowledge, culture … have been looted in war and smuggled out illegally,” said Ethiopia’s tourism minister, Nasise Challa.

The items, which include an intricately latticed processional cross, a richly coloured triptych depicting Jesus’ crucifixion, and an ornate red and brass imperial shield, are part of the largest act of restitution in Ethiopia’s history, officials said.

These artefacts were taken in 1868 after the battle of Maqdala between the British and Ethiopian empires. Some of the objects had been offered in an auction in Britain in June by a private seller descended from a British soldier who fought in Maqdala.

“There are many artefacts that were looted from Maqdala,” said Teferi Meles, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, where many of the treasures were. “We couldn’t manage to bring back all of them, but this is the first time in the country’s history to bring back looted artefacts in this quantity.”

Several of the objects were acquired by The Scheherazade Foundation, a cultural nonprofit, and handed to the Ethiopian embassy in September. They were returned to Addis Ababa this weekend and will go on display in Ethiopian museums. But the work is far from over, officials said.

“We have started negotiations with the British Museum to bring back 12 tabots,” said Teferi.

Tabots are replicas of the Ark of the Covenant that are sacred in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the world’s oldest churches. The tabots were also taken after the Battle of Maqdala.

“We believe we will be successful in bringing them back and the negotiations will continue, with other artefacts abroad,” Teferi said.

The British Museum said it held “cordial discussions” with an Ethiopian delegation in September and noted “The Museum has long-standing and friendly relations with the National Museum in Addis Ababa and with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in London and in Ethiopia.”

British museums have long resisted campaigns for the return of artworks, often citing legislation that bans them from disposing of their collections.

But the debate has heated up and British Museum said last year it would loan some works from Nigeria to a new museum there due to open in 2023.

“At this moment, it is clear that our treasures are being destroyed; it is obvious our treasures are being looted and smuggled out of the country illegally,” said Teferi, without offering detail.

Ethiopia has been mired in conflict for over a year, with the federal government fighting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and cultural artefacts are believed to have been damaged in the fighting.

“If there is no treasure, it means there is no history; if there is no history, there is no nation,” Teferi said.

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Foreign Powers are Intervening in Ethiopia. They May Only Make the Conflict Worse.

Published by Tadias Magazine November 22nd, 2021 in Opinion. Closed

Photo from the huge #NoMore rally held outside the White House in Washington, DC this weekend. The rally was part of a global Ethiopian Diaspora event that took place simultaneously in major cities around the world -- including in DC, London, Los Angeles and New York City -- to denounce foreign intervention in Ethiopia. (Image via Twitter/@answercoalition)

The Washington Post

By Yohannes Woldemariam and Nic Cheeseman

Foreign powers are intervening in Ethiopia. They may only make the conflict worse.

Amid the violence in Ethiopia, Eritrea and the United States have engaged in an escalating war of words. On Nov. 12, Washington imposed fresh sanctions [on Eritrea]. The Eritrean Information Ministry responded by alleging that the “illicit and immoral sanctions” were designed to harm the Eritrean people.

It’s a useful window into just how internationalized Ethiopia’s civil war has become. Like so many conflicts in the Horn of Africa during the Cold War — when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a series of proxy wars — the violence has domestic roots, but is shaped by foreign powers. Each foreign player presents its intervention as a constructive contribution toward Ethiopia’s future. But in reality, global competition for influence in one of Africa’s most economically and militarily significant states has become a major barrier to resolving the conflict.

Read the full article at washingtonpost.com »

—

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Ethiopia Struggles to Find Its Voice in Western Media Amid Misinformation

Published by Tadias Magazine November 20th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

This week, in a letter to several Western Media organizations including CNN, BBC, AP and Reuters the exasperated Ethiopian Media Authority said the heavily slanted foreign press coverage of current affairs in Ethiopia has “sowed seeds of animosity among people and compromised the sovereignty” of the country. The letter comes on the heels of this shocking report that the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, had explored ways "to embarrass the Ethiopian government" during a policy brainstorming session with staffers. (Getty Images)

Bloomberg

By Samuel Gebre

Ethiopia Considers Withdrawing Licenses of Foreign News Agencies

Ethiopia said it would consider revoking the licenses of CNN, the British Broadcasting Corp., the Associated Press and Thomson Reuters Corp. for alleged reportage that authorities say could endanger the interest and peaceful coexistence of the people in the Horn of Africa nation.

Stories published by these news agencies on ongoing events “sowed seeds of animosity among people and compromised the sovereignty” of the country, the Ethiopian Media Authority wrote in a letter to the media houses Friday and posted on its Twitter account. “In the absence of ethical and professional journalistic operation, the authority would be compelled to revoke the license granted to your institution to operate in Ethiopia,” it said.

Conflict has been raging in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an incursion into the northern Tigray region in November 2020 after forces loyal to the regional administration attacked a federal army base. The fighting has now spread to two other regions and the forces allied to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front advancing and capturing key towns in neighboring Amhara region.

The authority claims news and analysis of these media outlets assist the TPLF’s objectives.

The conflict has claimed lives of thousands of people, displaced hundreds of thousands and left millions in need of humanitarian aid. Earlier in November Ethiopia detained 16 United Nations staff and their family members as well as some 70 truck drivers contracted by the UN but most of them have since been released.

—

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In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

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BUSINESS: Forbes on Why Team Biden Shouldn’t Mess With US-Ethiopia Trade

Published by Tadias Magazine November 19th, 2021 in Business. Closed

In the following article Forbes magazine highlights one of the Biden administration's most irrational recent actions against Ethiopia: threatening to suspend the country's access to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) within sixty days. As Forbes points out "that action is of great concern for American retailers. The proposed “AGOA-EXIT” strategy is meeting resistance - because [it] flies in the face of USA retailers and brands who have invested in Africa and this unique action also frames America as a cut-and-run partner." (Getty Images)

Forbes

Team Biden Should Avoid Harming AGOA

As day turns to night in Ethiopia, International crisis negotiators are feverishly working to avoid an all-out civil war…

America has utilized several pressure tactics in an attempt to bring this outbreak to a resolution, but none have worked so far. The latest is to give Ethiopia a 60-day notice of withdrawal from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and that action is of great concern for American retailers. The proposed “AGOA-EXIT” strategy is meeting resistance – because a significant amount of the Ethiopia’s GDP growth is centered on the success of AGOA, and dislocation from the program could make the situation even worse for Ethiopia and perhaps for all sub-Sahara countries. On top of that, there are many American retail companies involved with manufacturing in Ethiopia and a quick withdrawal means having only a few months to wind down production – and that is simply not enough time.

The abrupt “AGOA-EXIT” plan flies in the face of USA retailers and brands who have invested in Africa and this unique action also frames America as a cut-and-run partner in a geographic area that everybody knew (going in) was fraught with risk. When the conflict finally gets resolved (and it will), losing AGOA means that thousands of Ethiopians will be put out of work, and products destined to the USA retail markets will be transferred back to more stable locations at a great cost to the investors – forcing additional price inflation back home in America.

President Biden is now being cast as the one who is delivering former President Trump’s trade messages to China and to Africa. The Biden team failed to lift Trump’s inflationary retail tariffs on China and, at the same time, inadvertently blocked the China exit doors – as retailers look for other locations to source product with fewer and fewer choices. Now that Ethiopia is suddenly coming off line, it appears that sourcing options are being eliminated faster than they are being added.

For more than a year, terror has reigned in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia…

While only 6% of the overall population, the Tigray group dominated Ethiopia politics for more than 25 years until Prime Minister Abiy came to power in 2018 using a coalition government. Since then, with the help of American and Chinese investment, Ethiopian GDP has been growing at a rapid rate and the second most populous country in Africa has been relatively stable. However, the Tigray group was marginalized from governing, and fighting broke out in the north. Forces from neighboring Eritrea also teamed up with the government against the Tigray, and the conflict accelerated from there. Humanitarian aid to Tigray has been blocked, there are serious reports of atrocities and famine in the region.

Options for U.S. Government to resolve the crisis have been limited, but the steps taken over the last year have also been ineffectual…

On November 1st the United States Trade Representative announced the 60-day “AGOA-EXIT” warning for Ethiopia, but some think it was a poor choice and not helpful for Ethiopia or for Africa. The U.S. State Department then advised that U.S. citizens should quickly leave the country.

While the USA should not extend privileges to any country that performs adversely to any trade agreement, the Ethiopian issue needs to be put in context. Over the years, it has been U.S Government practice to suggest that retailers and sourcing executives work in emerging foreign countries. The idea is that providing entry level jobs and training will create stability for the population, and it is a system that has worked well as the federal government provides a duty-free environment in return. The problem of late is that the U.S. government is not standing behind their “ask” and not helping to protect the investments that companies have make on their behalf. In this case, it would be more reasonable if they offered a time extension to manufacturers (so they can evaluate their options with regard to losing AGOA), or if they offered exemptions to industries like apparel and footwear that provide significant local employment.

This described loss of “protection” for the investments is fracturing a private-public partnership that has existed for years. Using a trade agreement (like AGOA) as a political negotiating tool, doesn’t jibe with the Ethiopian sewing machine operator who is one year into their first-ever job. The workers shouldn’t be blamed for human rights abuses in their country – when it is someone else who is abusing the power.

Multiple Industrial parks were built in Ethiopia, and thousands of Ethiopians have been employed. For the apparel sector, exports are generally consigned to the United States under the AGOA umbrella. As Team Biden starts to peel back these AGOA benefits, it punishes the investors, the employees, and adds significant turmoil to a country already in turmoil. It would be a one-off if this was only happening in Ethiopia, but lonely eyes also turn to Guinea, to Mali, to Myanmar, to Cambodia, and to Nicaragua – where similar threats against U.S. trade benefits exist.

All of this turmoil brings trade wonks to ask if the U.S. Government is working for or against investors by pulling trade benefits when the going gets tough. It appears that Uncle Sam may not have their back, and with four years left the current AGOA term, it also seems like the Trumpian ideology of individual “bi-lateral” country trade agreements will prevail, even as the AGOA folks are talking about bilateral versus unilateral – to keep the agreement from going away.

Read the full article at forbes.com »

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What’s Wrong With Blinken? Goes to Africa to Talk Ethiopia, But Skips Addis & AU?

In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

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ART TALK: In Ethiopia Annual ‘Addis Calling’ Exhibition Goes on Display

Published by Tadias Magazine November 18th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

This year, Addis Fine Art is proud to introduce the following artists: Eyasu Telayneh, Kerima Ahmed, Micheal Hailu, Wendimagegn Demeke, Yasmeen Abdullah and Michal Mamit Worke. (Courtesy photo: Addis Calling IV Group Show, Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa, on view until 25 December 2021)

Press Release

Addis Fine Art

Addis Fine Art is proud to present Addis Calling IV, our regular group show featuring new works by a selection of exciting talent across Addis Ababa and the Horn of Africa. This year, Addis Fine Art is proud to introduce the following artists: Eyasu Telayneh, Kerima Ahmed, Micheal Hailu, Wendimagegn Demeke, Yasmeen Abdullah and Michal Mamit Worke.

(Courtesy of Addis Fine Art)

Featured Artists

Eyasu Telayneh’s paintings are scenes into the mysterious private lives of colors, breaking the rhythm of daily life and offering a fresh new view. He uses rapid cognition to absorb visual elements in his daily life, these observations serving as points of entry for his artistic practice. Telayneh is the winner of the Emerging Painters Invitational 2020 prize. His works have been shown in Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Barnard Gallery in Capetown, and Circle Gallery in Nairobi. He works as a full-time artist at his studio on Entoto mountain.

Michael Hailu’s works question the necessity of war in reaction to the outbreak of recent conflict in Ethiopia. He asks the motivation for violence, if war can be justified and if the instinct for violence is natural or through social conditioning. Michael is currently studying Art Education at Ale School of Fine Art, Addis Ababa University. His works have been exhibited at the Modern Art Museum Gebre Kristos Desta Center and other galleries in Addis Ababa.

Wendimagegn Demeke’s paintings use humor and absurdity to invite viewers to deal with complex interrelationships between technology, data privacy, capitalism, conflict, and power. Wendimagegn Demeke’s works have been shown at the National Museum of Ethiopia, Alliance Ethio-Francaise, Pop up East African artists Shanghai, and Arkane Afrika Artcop22, Morocco. He studied fine art at Entoto TVET College. He works as a studio artist, illustrator and teacher.

Symbolism and dreamscapes are hallmarks of emerging Sudanese artist Yasmeen Abdullah’s (1992) idiosyncratic paintings. The figures in her canvases possess a profound sense of interiority that radiates from their person, and shapes the settings they reside in. Inspired by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Abdullah sees her paintings as a visualisation of his sensitive verses. Taking poetry to paintbrush, Abdullah’s works are rich with simile and symbol – a warming ray of light stands as a pictorial metaphor for hope, and ideas take the form of darting fish. The profound effect is a multi-layered world of image and meaning, which begs the viewer to gaze beneath the surface.

Kerima is a full-time studio artist based in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Art and Design in Painting. Her work celebrates Ethiopian culture, drawing on the traditions of Ethiopian painting. Her works have been exhibited in a solo show at the C Art Gallery, as well as a group show in Seattle. In 2013 and 2014, Kerima’s work was featured at the Ethnic Gallery at the Municipal Tower, Columbia City Art Gallery and Tobya Art Gallery in Seattle.

Michal Mamit Worke, winner of the 2020 Lauren & Mitchell Presser Contemporary Art Grant, is figurative painter. Born in Ethiopia in 1982 she immigrated to Israel on “Moses Operation” in 1984 and currently works and lives in Tel Aviv. Worke explores scenes and people from everyday life. Worke explores the act of painting, seeking to dechipher the gaze and questions the power relations at stake. Worke studied at Shenkar College of Art and has appeared in various group and solo shows across Israel at Herzliya Museum and Eretz Israel Museum.

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If You Go:

Learn more at addisfineart.com.

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In Africa, America’s Hysterical Western Media Driven Ethiopia Policy Reaches Dead End

Published by Tadias Magazine November 18th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

The New York Times, which has fast become one of the least trusted Western publications among Ethiopians both at home and in the Diaspora, made a thinly veiled admission in its latest post that the belligerent U.S. policy towards Ethiopia, which is largely driven by the hysterical, one-sided Western Media coverage and propaganda, has failed. The paper noted that as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrived in Africa this week, it became apparent that his approach towards Ethiopia so far "seemed to have achieved little." (Pool photo)

The New York Times

NAIROBI, Kenya — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s first visit to sub-Saharan Africa was intended to be a grand gesture of American support for the continent. But his first day also illustrated the frustrating limits of American influence in a region…

It is an unhappy context for Mr. Blinken’s visit to Africa, where he plans to give a speech on Friday in Nigeria outlining the Biden administration’s vision for a continent…

Mr. Blinken’s team has poured much diplomatic energy into East Africa over the past year, hoping to stop the atrocity-laden war in Ethiopia and protect Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy. But as he landed in Nairobi, those efforts seemed to have achieved little.

Speaking to reporters alongside his Kenyan counterpart, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo, Mr. Blinken said the war in Ethiopia “needs to stop,” calling on both sides to enter talks without preconditions. For more than a year Mr. Abiy has been battling rebels from Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray…

For now, though, his offers appear to be falling on deaf ears.

In Ethiopia, the Biden administration has turned to increasingly coercive means…including visa restrictions on Ethiopian officials…

In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

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What’s Wrong With Blinken? Goes to Africa to Talk Ethiopia, But Skips Addis & AU?

Published by Tadias Magazine November 16th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

The New York Times reports that Blinken is in Africa apparently on a diplomatic mission to solve Ethiopia's domestic political problem with a five-day trip to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. Strangely, or unfortunately, neither Ethiopia nor the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, which has been leading local peace-finding efforts in the country, are on the list of scheduled stops for the U.S. Secretary of State. Below is an excerpt from the NYT report. (Getty Images)

The New York Times

Blinken Heads to Africa as U.S. Tries to Avert Ethiopia Disaster

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken departed early Tuesday for a five-day swing to Africa, where he will lend support for democratic principles and seek to advance diplomacy aimed at preventing Ethiopia from descending into a catastrophic civil war.

Mr. Blinken plans to begin his trip with a stop in Kenya, which borders Ethiopia and which has played a key role in diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful resolution to a conflict between the country’s central government and rebels in its northern Tigray region…

Mr. Blinken had planned to visit Africa in late summer, but postponed the trip after the sudden Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August.

The Biden administration has not articulated its vision for the continent, something Mr. Blinken was to address during a stop in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, where he planned to deliver a speech on the United States’ Africa policy. He plans to conclude his trip with a visit to the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

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In U.S Ethiopian American Voters Send Biden a Message, Flipping Virginia Red

Published by Tadias Magazine November 15th, 2021 in Featured and News. Closed

Just as they did in 2008 when Ethiopian American voters helped to flip Virginia for the Democrats, The Washington Post reports that this year the community swung for Republican candidates sending a message to the Biden administration about its rather belligerent and failed foreign policy towards Ethiopia. (Photo: Protesters rallied outside of the White House on Nov. 8 to denounce President Biden's approach to the conflict in Ethiopia/The Washington Post)

The Washington Post

Why some Ethiopian voters in Virginia swung for Youngkin — and how it may spell trouble for Democrats elsewhere

Girma Makonnen had long considered himself a loyal Democrat. Since emigrating from Ethiopia and then settling in Northern Virginia more than two decades ago, he donated, phone-banked and door-knocked for a long list of liberal candidates.

Except this year, when the 52-year-old voted for Glenn Youngkin — and other Republicans down the ticket.

“The Democratic Party right now is the Biden administration, and they blindsided us on foreign policy,” said Makonnen, an engineer who lives in Ashburn. “We were Democrats because we believed in the system. But everybody in the Ethiopian community is feeling the pain of neglect.”

Like him, some Ethiopian Americans in Virginia heeded calls to cast a vote for the GOP at the polls earlier this month amid a coordinated effort to express disapproval with how President Biden has handled growing conflict in the East African nation.

Those involved in the effort support Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago but has since led the country into an escalating civil war, vowing to “bury this enemy with our blood and bones.”

Leaders of the effort say that by authorizing sanctions on Ethiopia and cutting off trade benefits, Biden has effectively empowered the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a repressive regime that led the country before Abiy.

And with seemingly no response to their concerns from the White House, organizers said, Abiy supporters in Virginia took their message to the polls — despite, or perhaps because of, the Ethiopian community’s long allegiance with Democrats.

“The government’s approach is so illogical at this point that we have to show we are disappointed in an area that can potentially hurt the Democratic Party,” said Mesfin Tegenu, chairman of the American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee (AEPAC).

Organizers with the group said they put out mass messaging on social media, canvassed at Ethiopian Orthodox churches and restaurants in the D.C. suburbs, and texted thousands of people in hopes of rallying community members to vote for Youngkin.

Whether it made a difference in the election is difficult, if not outright impossible, to quantify. Although the Northern Virginia suburbs are home to one of the largest Ethiopian communities in the country, there is little data on how it functions as a voting bloc — or how members of the Ethiopian diaspora voted in Youngkin’s narrow victory over former governor Terry McAuliffe (D) earlier this month.

Virginia is home to about 30,000 immigrants from Ethiopia — about 1 in 8 of all Ethiopians nationwide, according to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute. Fairfax County and Alexandria have some of the highest concentrations of Ethiopians in the country.

A look at heavily East African precincts in the area, including those in Woodbridge and West End Alexandria, does not show a strong swing to Youngkin compared with previous years or other precincts in heavily blue Northern Virginia.

Still, community leaders from across the political spectrum — including some who campaigned for McAuliffe — say it was impossible to ignore an unprecedented set of rumblings, one that may offer a warning to Democratic campaigns elsewhere.

“It was pretty widespread,” said Bert Bayou, an Ethiopian American who helped canvass for McAuliffe as the vice president of Unite Here Local 23. “Ethiopians felt betrayed by the U.S., but specifically by the party.”

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Letesenbet Gidey Just Smashed the Half-Marathon World Record . . . by a Lot

Published by Tadias Magazine October 28th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

Ethiopian Long-distance runner Letesenbet Gidey. It's the fourth world record now held by Gidey, joining her records in the 5K, 10K, and 15K. She also won a bronze medal in the 10K in Tokyo and has a silver world championship medal in that distance. (Popsugar)

Popsugar

Letesenbet Gidey had never run a half marathon before, but [this week], she made a debut to remember. Racing at the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso, Gidey smashed the women’s half marathon world record by a margin of 70 seconds, coming in at 1:02:52 (pending ratification).

It’s the fourth (!) world record now held by Gidey, joining her records in the 5K, 10K, and 15K. She also won a bronze medal in the 10K in Tokyo and has a silver world championship medal in that distance.

As for the half marathon, Gidey was all confidence after her history-making run. “I knew I could run this kind of time as my training sessions in the altitude of Addis Ababa have gone very well,” she said afterward, having held a 4:48 per mile pace during the run. Ruth Chepngetich, who recently won the Chicago Marathon, set the previous half marathon record of 1:04:02 earlier in 2021.

What’s next for Gidey? After the race, she hinted that she’s “thinking of competing at the marathon distance,” though she’s not sure when she’ll debut. After adding yet another world record to her résumé, we can only assume she’ll make a splash in that distance, too.

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Haile Gerima Is Having a Hollywood Moment. It’s Left Him Conflicted

Published by Tadias Magazine October 18th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

The Ethiopian American filmmaker Haile Gerima said he had “no trust in, no desire to be a part of” Hollywood. The director, an eminence of American and African indie cinema, is being recognized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Netflix. But he has long rejected the industry. (NYT)

The New York Times

Haile Gerima doesn’t hold back when it comes to his thoughts on Hollywood. The power games of movie producers and distributors are “anti-cinema,” he put it recently. The three-act structure is akin to “fascism” — it “numbs, makes stories toothless.” And Hollywood cinema is like the “hydrogen bomb.”

For decades, Gerima, the 75-year-old Ethiopian filmmaker, has blazed a trail outside of the Hollywood system, building a legacy that looms large over American and African independent cinema.

But as he spoke with me on a video call from his studio in Washington, D.C., Gerima found himself at an unexpected juncture: He was about to travel to Los Angeles, where he would receive the inaugural Vantage Award at the opening gala of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is also screening a retrospective of his work this month. A new 4K restoration of his 1993 classic, “Sankofa,” debuted on Netflix last month.

After 50 years, Hollywood has finally come calling. “I’m going with a lump in my throat,” Gerima said with his typical candor. “This is an industry I have no relationship with, no trust in, no desire to be a part of.”

Gerima’s ideas about self-distribution influenced Ava DuVernay and other filmmakers. (Photo: The New York Times)

Gerima tends to speak directly and without euphemism, his words propelled by the force of his conviction. The filmmaker has been at loggerheads with the American film industry since the 1970s, when he was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. There, he was part of what came to be known as the L.A. Rebellion — a loose collective of African and African American filmmakers, including Charles Burnett (“Killer of Sheep”), Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”), Larry Clark (“Tamu”) and others, who challenged the mainstream cinematic idiom.

Gerima’s first project in film school was a short commercial called “Death of Tarzan.” An exorcism of Hollywood’s colonial fantasies, it provoked a response from a classmate that Gerima still remembers fondly: “Thank you, Gerima, for killing that diaper-wearing imperialist!”

The eight features he has since directed bristle with the same impulse for liberation, employing nonlinear narratives and jagged audiovisual experiments to paint rousing portraits of Black and Pan-African resistance. In a phone interview, Burnett described Gerima’s work as coursing with emotion: “People have plots and things, but he has energy, real energy. That’s what characterizes his films.”

The stark, black-and-white “Bush Mama” (1975) charts the radicalization of a woman in Los Angeles as she navigates poverty and the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of welfare. “Ashes and Embers” (1982) — which opens with the protagonist driving into Los Angeles with dreams of Hollywood before being abruptly stopped by the police — traces the gradual disillusionment of a Black Vietnam War veteran. In “Sankofa,” one of Gerima’s most acclaimed films, an African American model is transported back in time to a plantation, where she’s caught up in a slave rebellion. Other films, like “Harvest: 3,000 Years” (1976) and “Teza” (2008), explore the political history of Gerima’s native Ethiopia.

For the filmmaker and his wife and producing partner, Shirikiana Aina, these visions of fierce Black independence are as much a matter of life as art. Most of Gerima’s movies have been produced and distributed by the couple’s company, Mypheduh Films, which derives its name from an ancient Ethiopian word meaning “protector of culture.” Mypheduh’s offices are housed in Sankofa, a bookstore and Pan-African cultural center across the street from Howard University, where Gerima taught filmmaking for over 40 years. This little pocket of Washington is Gerima’s empire — or his “liberated territory,” as he likes to call it.

“When I think of Haile’s cinema, I think of the cinema of the maroon,” Aboubakar Sanogo, a friend of Gerima’s and a scholar of African cinema at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, said in an interview, invoking a term for runaway slaves who formed their own independent settlements. “It’s very much a cinema of freedom. Hollywood is the plantation from which he has escaped.”

If Gerima is now ready to dance with the academy (which, incidentally, has never awarded a best director Oscar to a Black filmmaker), it’s because of the involvement of a kindred soul: Ava DuVernay.

The “Selma” filmmaker, who co-chaired the Academy Museum’s opening gala, has been the driving force behind the Haile-ssance of 2021. Array, DuVernay’s distribution and advocacy collective, spearheaded the restoration of “Sankofa.” The company also rereleased “Ashes and Embers” on Netflix in 2016, in addition to distributing “Residue,” the debut feature by Gerima’s son Merawi, last year.

Speaking by phone, DuVernay said that in collaborating with Gerima, she felt she had come full circle: Years ago, she modeled Array on the example set by Gerima and Aina’s grass-roots distribution initiatives.

See the full list at BBC.com »

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Spotlight: Two Ethiopia Buildings Among Africa’s 12 Iconic Architectures

Published by Tadias Magazine October 13th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Lideta Market, Ethiopia - 2017. This shopping centre was built in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, with lightweight concrete. The considered design includes a perforated façade that controls the flow of natural light and ventilation within. Moreover, the cut-out pattern decorating the building's gleaming white shell imitates a traditional Ethiopian fabric. (BBC)

BBC

Africa’s iconic architecture in 12 buildings

While the pyramids of Egypt are recognised around the world, much of Africa’s architecture remains unknown – something architects Adil Dalbai and Livingstone Mukasa hope to change.

They are part of the team that has recently published the seven-volume Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa. Their in-depth study encompasses buildings from earlier eras, the colonial period – like the recently renovated railway station (above) built in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, in 1910 – to more modern masterpieces.

Here are 12 of the most innovative, historic and iconic entries:

Palace of Emperor Fasilides, Ethiopia – early 17th Century

This palace is located in Ethiopia’s northern city of Gondar, within a fortified compound known as the “Fasil Ghebbi” (Royal Enclosure).

The site includes some 20 palaces, royal buildings, elaborately decorated churches, monasteries and unique buildings.

The design of these buildings were influenced by the baroque style brought to Gondar by Jesuit missionaries.

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UK Celebrities Urge Return of Plundered Sacred Treasures Back to Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine October 12th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

The Guardian reports that high-profile Britons are calling for the return of sacred treasures hidden away in England for over a century back to Ethiopia. According to the report celebrities including the Ethiopian-British writer Lemn Sissay have written a letter to the country's Museum trustees urging them to return the "plundered altar tablets." (Photo: Ethiopian priests carry tabots during the Timket festival of Epiphany/Alamy)

The Guardian

They are hidden religious treasures that have been in the British Museum’s stores for more than 150 years, never on public display – with members of the public strictly forbidden from seeing them.

Now hopes have been raised that Ethiopian tabots, looted by the British after the battle of Maqdala in 1868, could finally be returned home following a new legal opinion and an appeal backed by Stephen Fry, the author Lemn Sissay and the former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.

The wood and stone tabots are altar tablets, considered by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as the dwelling place of God on Earth and the representation of the Ark of the Covenant. They have, everyone agrees, huge spiritual and religious value for the people of Ethiopia.

A letter has been sent to British Museum trustees signed by supporters including Fry, Sissay, the actor Rupert Everett and the former British ambassador to Ethiopia Sir Harold Walker. It says the museum has acknowledged the sanctity of the tabots and has never put them on display, allowed them to be studied, copied or photographed. “Instead, they sit in the vaults, where they remain over 150 years later, unknown to the vast majority of people of this country.”

It continues: “We believe that today the British Museum has a unique opportunity to build a lasting and meaningful bridge of friendship between Britain and Ethiopia by handing the tabots back to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.”

A number of attempts have been made by Ethiopia to get the tabots returned but the museum argues it is forbidden by the British Museum Act of 1963 to restitute objects in its collection.

Campaigners sought a new legal opinion that proves, they say, that the tabots can be legally returned.

The opinion, seen by the Guardian, has been drawn up Samantha Knights QC and was commissioned by the Scheherazade Foundation. It points out that the 1963 act has a provision that allows disposal of objects “unfit to be retained” and that can be disposed “without detriment to the interests of students”.

It argues the tabots fall within this category, that they have “no apparent use or relevance to the museum”.

The website has no image of them and only the briefest of descriptions. “As such they are currently and apparently always have been in effect treated very differently to the rest of the collection and could be properly said to be ‘unfit to be retained’.”

On the question of detriment to students, no student is permitted to study them, the document says.

Eleven tabots are in the museum collection; nine can be directly linked to British looting after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, an event that came about after the Emperor Tewodros II had taken British hostages. More than 500 Ethiopian soldiers were killed and the emperor killed himself rather than be taken prisoner.

Hundreds of objects were subsequently plundered. They are in a number of collections. The V&A, which has Maqdala treasures including a gold crown and a royal wedding dress, has floated the idea of a long-term loan.

The British Museum said in a statement: “These documents need to be reviewed and addressed with full consideration, and more time is required before this can be looked at by trustees.”

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ART TALK: Julie Mehretu’s Mid-Career Survey Opens at The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis

Published by Tadias Magazine October 11th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

This midcareer survey features more than 75 drawings, paintings, and prints made from 1996 to the present. (Image: Haka and Riot, 2019, Ink and Acrylic on Canvas, 144 x 180 inches. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. © Julie Mehretu)

Press Release

WALKER ART CENTER

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and based in Harlem, New York, Julie Mehretu (b. 1970) is best known for abstract paintings layered with a variety of materials, marks, and meanings. These canvases and works on paper reference the histories of art, architecture, and past civilizations while addressing some of the most immediate conditions of our contemporary moment, including migration, revolution, climate change, global capitalism, and technology.

This midcareer survey features more than 75 drawings, paintings, and prints made from 1996 to the present. It covers a broad arc of Mehretu’s artistic evolution, revealing her early focus on drawing, graphics, and mapping and her more recent introduction of bold gestures, sweeps of saturated color, and figurative elements into her immersive, large-scale works.

Mehretu’s paintings begin with drawing; she then develops the works by incorporating techniques such as printing, digital collage, erasure, and painterly abstraction. She is inspired by a variety of sources, from cave paintings, cartography, Chinese calligraphy, and 17th-century landscape etchings to architectural renderings, graffiti, and news photography. Drawing on this vast archive, Mehretu explores how realities of the past and present can shape human consciousness. As the artist says, her visual language represents how “history is made: one layer on top of another, erasing itself, consuming itself, inventing something else from the same thing.”

Julie Mehretu is co-organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

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If You Go:

WHEN: Oct 16, 2021–Mar 6, 2022
WHERE: Galleries 1, 2, 3, and D/Perlman Gallery
More info at https://walkerart.org/

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In Pictures: AMSALE Fall 2022 Brings Brides into a Romantic Dreamscape

Published by Tadias Magazine October 9th, 2021 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

AMSALE’s first major rollout since before the pandemic, today’s launch included all ranges within the bridal house. This season also represents a homecoming for AMSALE Designer Michael Cho, who previously worked closely alongside the brand’s esteemed late founder, Amsale Aberra, for more than eight years. (Courtesy photo)

Press Release

LUXURY BRIDAL HOUSE AMSALE BRINGS BRIDES INTO A ROMANTIC, NATURE-INSPIRED DREAMSCAPE WITH ITS FALL 2022 COLLECTION

NEW YORK, October 6, 2021—Lately, brides are rethinking what a wedding looks like in the modern world; and, likewise, AMSALE has once again reimagined the modern wedding gown. Fueled by optimism, the luxury design house today unveiled its Fall 2022 collections. It’s a season of rebirth, wherein pure creativity, emotion and design come together like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon.

“Our direction this season was to focus on diversification and craft, so that each gown represents the vision of a different bride,” says Chief Creative Officer Sarah Swann. “The collections feature an exciting variety of textures, silhouettes and styles.” This season also represents a homecoming for AMSALE Designer Michael Cho, who returned to the label in March. Cho previously worked closely alongside the brand’s esteemed late founder, Amsale Aberra, for more than eight years.

(Courtesy photo)

For Fall 2022, Cho’s imagination was sparked by the hidden world of forest streams where life is nurtured and renewed amongst lush mossy banks. Sweeping architectural lines found in the silhouettes are reminiscent of the graceful carvings along the stream bed left by decades of gently flowing water. Branching patterns worked into the embroideries reflect the climbing flora that bloom along mossy pebbles. The lamella of rare aquatic mushroom caps inspired ribbed threadwork embellishments, while butterfly koi transform into romantic trains and skirts of pleated tulle. In contrast to the romantic natural world, Cho was also influenced by the old world of the Mediterranean region, where artistic bas relief designs carved from precious stone and sculpted from plaster adorned the architecture. “After more than a year of uncertainty and harsh realities in the wake of the pandemic, I wanted to bring to our brides a hopeful vision of renewed life and reinvigorated romance, like seedlings budding into a new world,” Cho says.

(Courtesy photo)

AMSALE’s first major rollout since before the pandemic, today’s launch included all ranges within the bridal house: AMSALE, Nouvelle Amsale, Little White Dress, Amsale Bridesmaids and Amsale Evening.

(Courtesy photo)

About AMSALE

Founded by Amsale Aberra and Neil Brown, The Amsale Group is one of the world’s leading luxury bridal houses, and widely credited as the inventor of the modern wedding dress. A Black-owned business headquartered in New Your City, with a salon on Madison Avenue, the collections including Amsale, Nouvelle Amsale, Amsale Bridesmaids, Little White Dress and Evening are carried in some of the finest bridal salons and specialty stores worldwide.

(Courtesy photo)

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Whistleblower: Facebook Fueling Violence in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine October 6th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who testified at a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, accused the social media platform of fueling violence in Ethiopia. (Getty Images)

CNN

During much-anticipated testimony Tuesday before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen repeatedly pointed outside of the country for examples of how the social network could be used to dangerous ends — so much so that lawmakers wondered during the hearing if they should meet to specifically discuss national security concerns.

The former product manager referenced a series of links between activity on Facebook and deadly violence in Myanmar and Ethiopia, and spying by China and Iran.

“My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning. What we saw in Myanmar and now in Ethiopia are the opening chapters of a story so terrifying no one wants to read the end of it,” Haugen said, referring to recent bloodshed in both countries.

Facebook admitted in 2018 that it failed to do enough to prevent the spread of posts whipping up hatred against the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar. It has since vowed to limit the spread of “misinformation” in the country after a military coup earlier this year.

Asked by one senator whether Facebook is used by “authoritarian or terrorist-based leaders” around the world, Haugen responded that such use of the platform is “definitely” happening, and that Facebook is “very aware” of it.

Her last role at Facebook was with the company’s counterespionage team, which she says “directly worked on tracking Chinese participation on the platform, surveilling, say, Uyghur populations around the world.”

“You could actually find the Chinese, based on them doing these kinds of things,” she said.

In March, Facebook’s security staff revealed that Chinese hackers had targeted Uyghur activists and journalists living outside the country with fake Facebook accounts and malware.

Haugen’s team also observed “the active participation of, say, the Iran government doing espionage on other state actors. This is definitely a thing that is happening,” she said.

This summer, Mike Dvilyanski, Facebook’s head of cyber espionage investigations, told CNN the company had disabled “fewer than 200 operational accounts” on its platform associated with the Iranian spying campaign, and notified a similar number of Facebook users they may have been targeted by the group.

Haugen blamed “a consistent understaffing of (Facebook’s) counterespionage information operation and terrorism team” for the ongoing proliferation of such threats however, and said she was also speaking with other parts of Congress about them.

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UPDATE: In Ethiopia Parliament Confirms Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister

Published by Tadias Magazine October 5th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed takes oath during a ceremony at the Parliament building in Addis Ababa, October 4, 2021. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/REUTERS)

Reuters

By Dawit Endeshaw

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s parliament confirmed incumbent Abiy Ahmed as prime minister for a five-year term on Monday…

Abiy’s party won a landslide victory in June’s election. He was sworn in on Monday, and a ceremony was being held later in the capital Addis Ababa attended by several African heads of states.

President Sahle-Work Zewde told parliament on Monday that government priorities included easing inflation – which has hovered around 20% this year – and the cost of living, as well as reducing unemployment…

Abiy was appointed prime minister by the then-governing coalition in 2018 and promised political and economic reforms.

Within months of taking office, he lifted a ban on opposition parties, released tens of thousands of political prisoners and took steps to open up one of Africa’s last untapped markets.

Read the full article at Reuters.com »

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Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma Claims Men’s London Marathon Win

Published by Tadias Magazine October 4th, 2021 in Sports. Closed

Sisay Lemma won the men's London Marathon in a time of two hours four minutes and one second after breaking away from the leading pack late in the race on Sunday. (Getty Images)

Associated Press

LONDON — Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma won the men’s London Marathon in a time of two hours four minutes and one second after breaking away from the leading pack late in the race on Sunday.

Lemma, who finished on the podium last year, crossed the line 27 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Vincent Kipchuma with Mosinet Geremew third.

Meanwhile, in the women’s race, opting for the London Marathon over the defense of her New York title next month paid off for Joyciline Jepkosgei after the Kenyan won on her debut in the British capital on Sunday.

Jepkosgei won in two hours, 17 minutes, 43 seconds — making her the seventh fastest woman in history. Degitu Azimeraw of Ethiopia was second with compatriot Ashete Bekere third.

It was the first full-scale staging of the London Marathon in more than two years due to the pandemic, with around 40,000 runners joining some of the world’s best on the the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) route from Blackheath in southeast London to The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace in the center of the city.

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UPDATE: Ethiopia Kicks Out UN Officials for ‘Meddling’ in Its Domestic Affairs

Published by Tadias Magazine October 2nd, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Sept. 25, 2021. The foreign ministry said in a statement that it is kicking out seven United Nations officials and accuses them of "meddling in the internal affairs of the country. (AP photo)

Bloomberg

Ethiopia told seven senior United Nations staff members to leave the country within 72 hours for allegedly meddling in its internal affairs…

The government said the UN officials were going beyond their duties in the country, which has been engulfed in conflict since late last year when federal troops retaliated to an attack by regional soldiers on an army base.

“They were found engaged in activities that contradict the law and they operated out of their mandate,” Dina Mufti, spokesman for Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry, said of the UN officials, without providing details. “They know the law and they should not fail to obey it.”

Read the full article at bloombergquint.com »

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NYT on International Legacy of Ethiopia’s Music Legend Alemayehu Eshete

Published by Tadias Magazine September 29th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

Alemayehu Eshete in concert at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park [in New York] in 2008. His admirers compared him to both Elvis Presley and James Brown. He became a swaggering star in the late 1960s, when Addis Ababa experienced a golden age of night life and music. Decades later, he was rediscovered. (Getty)

The New York Times

Alemayehu Eshete, a soulful Ethiopian pop singer widely known as the “Abyssinian Elvis” who became a star in the 1960s when a cultural revolution took hold of Addis Ababa, died on Sept. 2…

For years under Haile Selassie’s imperial rule, Ethiopia’s music industry was controlled by the state. Orchestras dutifully performed patriotic songs at government events, while defiant bands played Little Richard songs at night in clubs. It was forbidden to record and distribute music independently.

“All the musicians used to work for the government,” Mr. Eshete said in a 2017 documentary about the era, “Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul.” “When they told you to perform, you had to perform. We were treated like average workers, not like real artists.”

But in the late 1960s, as Selassie grew old and the grip of his rule loosened, Addis Ababa experienced a golden age of night life and music, and Mr. Eshete became a swaggering star of the so-called “swinging Addis” era.

The sound that dominated this period was distinct: an infectious blend of Western-imported blues and R&B with traditional Ethiopian folk music. It was typified by hypnotic saxophone lines, funky electric guitar stabs and grooving piano riffs.

As a teenager, Mr. Eshete was smitten with American rock ‘n’ roll, and his idol was Elvis Presley, so when he started singing in the clubs of Addis he imitated his hero. He sported a pompadour and wore big collared shirts as he gyrated onstage.

.“I dressed like an American, grew my hair, sang ‘Jailhouse Rock,’” he told The Guardian in 2008. “But the moment that I started singing Amharic songs, my popularity shot up.”

He was soon enlisted in the fabled Police Orchestra, a state-run band composed of Ethiopia’s finest musicians, and he began playing with the ensemble at government functions in the city. After hours, he found refuge in the underground music scene.

In 1969, the defiant act of Mr. Eshete and a young record shop owner named Amha Eshete (no relation) galvanized the scene.

The acclaimed “Éthiopiques” album series, begun in 1997, ignited international interest in Ethiopian music. Two releases in the series are devoted to Mr. Eshete’s work. (Photo: Buda Musique)

Amha Eshete decided to found a label, Amha Records, to commit to vinyl the Ethiopian pop music that bands were performing in clubs. Few musicians were willing to flout the law with him until Alemayehu Eshete stepped forward and offered to record the funky tune “Timarkialesh,” and Amha then had it manufactured as a 45 r.p.m. single in India.