Archive for the 'Featured' Category

Ethiopian American Researcher hopes to put fuel cells on the fast track

Published by News Room January 5th, 2009 in Featured. 2 Comments

Above: Left: Fuel cell pioneer Sossina Haile. Right: A stack
of fuel cells created in Haile’s lab. (Photo courtesy
Superprotonic, Inc.)

NASA

Written by Joshua Rodriguez/Global Climate Change

The slow evolution of clean-energy solutions is about to kick into high gear, if Sossina M. Haile has anything to say about it. As a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., she hopes to make this “technology of the future” practical for today’s applications.

Current fuel cell technology is hamstrung by impracticality. The most efficient and powerful fuel cells need large amounts of heat and space, whereas those suitable for smaller scale operation require lots of precious, expensive platinum. “If we converted every car in the U.S. to fuel cells, we’d need more platinum than there is in the proven reserves,” Haile says.

Haile’s research, which initially began several years ago with fuel cell researchers at JPL, has led to breakthroughs in more “consumer-ready” fuel cell technology. She’s developed fuel cell systems that strike a balance between power and manageability –- perfect, she says, for standalone residential generators. Her team has worked hard to reduce the amount of platinum needed for each system.

Haile’s team has also taken on one of the biggest roadblocks to widespread fuel cell use — their reliance on hydrogen as a primary fuel. Hydrogen requires lots of energy to extract and it’s difficult to store and distribute.


Size comparison of a dime and a single fuel cell - the device pictured at
the top of the page is a stack of these individual cells.

In fact, Haile thinks that the verdict is still out on whether hydrogen “makes sense” as the fuel of the future. “When most people hear ‘fuel cells,’ they think hydrogen,” says Haile. “That’s a common misperception — fuel cells aren’t necessarily restricted to hydrogen.”

Haile’s team has focused on developing fuel cells that can run on more traditional fuels, like ethanol or biomass, while also solving many of the problems of conventional hydrogen fuel cells.


Zongping Shao, who is now a professor at
Nanjing College of Chemistry in China,
listens to an MP3 player being powered
by two fuel cells.

Fuel cells that use carbon-based fuels still produce carbon emissions, but at a much lower rate than their internal-combustion counterparts. Because fuel cells extract energy from electrochemical reactions instead of burning their fuel, they are much more efficient and environmentally friendly. “It’s a unique middle ground,” explains Haile — one she believes will speed the integration of these new technologies into the current energy infrastructure.

For Haile, the incentive to design practical, unconventional fuel cells is simple: “Science should be in the service of society.” She thinks that fuel cells that can use renewable energy resources like biomass will help end what she calls she calls “drawing from the bank” — using fossil fuels as a source of energy.

“There’s scientific proof that CO2 concentrations have been rising for decades to levels not felt on the Earth in millenia,” Haile says. “We need to have a diverse approach to solving the problem before it’s too late.”

Images from Ethiopia

Published by Lifestyle Editor January 5th, 2009 in Featured. 0 Comments

Above: Andrew Geiger stands in his studio at Eastside Brick
surrounded by images from Ethiopia for his
upcoming show. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon


Flathead Beacon
By Keriann Lynch , 01-03-09

Photographer Andrew Geiger is afraid the subjects of his favorite work are going extinct.

The self-sustaining tribes scattered across the remote regions of Ethiopia. An elderly woman in Burma whose ethnic group had been all but wiped out. Centuries-old architecture and traditional rituals, dress and cultural norms.

“I go back to some of these places and everyone is wearing Nike-swoosh T-shirts,” Geiger, of Kalispell, said. “It disgusts me because I don’t think my kids will get to see these places and people. And I want to capture the rawness of what the reality is now in my pictures.”

In addition to a busy commercial photography schedule, Geiger has made it an ongoing personal project to document countries where he feels capitalistic or Western ideas are changing the culture at a rapid rate. After becoming interested in that type of work, Geiger began in earnest after being successfully treated for cancer about eight years ago.

“It was kind of an epiphany,” he said. “It made me think if I was going to do this I needed to get going, and really amped up my efforts.”

Since then, the project has taken Geiger to Burma, Mali and, most recently, Ethiopia.

On Jan. 22, Geiger will bring his work much closer to home, marking the opening of his new Kalispell gallery with a free event and a series of images from Ethiopia. Geiger’s gallery is in the lower level of the Eastside Brick apartments, the site of the old Kalispell hospital on Fifth Avenue East.

Geiger’s photos from Ethiopia feature tribes where life has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. With detail shots and portraits, Geiger’s photos pay particular homage to the beautiful array of body art by scarring, piercing and painting used by the Mursi tribe.

One of the most famous of all the indigenous Ethiopian tribes, the Mursi are located in the Southern Omo Valley. Geiger’s trip there began with a stop at a military headquarters where he and his traveling companions were assigned two armed guards. From there, Geiger’s interpreter, a pre-teen boy, helped him communicate with the native residents.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “In some of these places, if you don’t have a local, you don’t get in.”

But as evidenced by his work, Geiger’s planning, patience and interpreter gained him extensive access. There are close-up shots of Mursi women who split their lower lip and insert a round clay plate at a young age, stretching the bottom of their faces into a broad oval. Men and women alike cut their skin in elaborate patterns, rubbing ash in the wounds to infect them and create a raised look.

Geiger even photographed a cow-jumping ceremony, a traditional event marking a Mursi boy’s transition to manhood. As part of the day-long ceremony, Mursi women taunt and encourage the tribe’s men to hit them with wooden switches.

“It’s bloody and intense and unlike anything we think is OK or normal,” he said. “But when you’re there, it’s different. You’re an observer, but also kind of an invader.”

Geiger spent most of his childhood in Glendive, before moving to Kalispell where he graduated from Flathead High School. He accepted a scholarship to study engineering at the University of Montana but, already an avid photographer, left school about a year later to start shooting full time.

Geiger freelanced across the western states and Australia before moving to New York to establish a larger and more diverse client base. But the more connections and work he found in New York, the more he ended up returning to Montana.


Andrew Geiger in his studio - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

“People kept sending me on assignments out here,” he said. “They figured that because I was from Montana I could shoot it better. Finally, I decided enough of this, I’m moving back.”

For the past 12 years Geiger and his family, wife Dena and daughters Hannah, 5, and Madison, 1, have lived in Kalispell. Geiger satiates his love for travel with photo assignments around the country and abroad – and, of course, with his private project.

He has traveled to more than 25 countries – a number he describes as “not that many, not enough” – and his client list includes names like Cabela’s, Audobon, Field and Stream, Forbes, Newsweek, People, Timberland and Discover, among others.

“A lot of photographers like to stick to one kind of work, say commercial or portraits or landscape,” Geiger said. “I can’t do that; I’d get bored. And being able to do a lot of different things has sort of become my niche.”

If You Go:
Gallery Opening, Images from Ethiopia
Andrew Geiger’s Gallery, 723 5th Avenue East Loft #44B, Kalispell
Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Khat - is it more coffee or cocaine?

Published by News Room January 3rd, 2009 in Featured. 1 Comment

“Flower of Paradise”: photo by Nasteex Faarax / AP

Los Angeles Times

The narcotic leaf is a time-honored tradition in Africa but illegal in
the U.S., where demand is growing.

By Cynthia Dizikes
January 3, 2009

Reporting from Washington — In the heart of the Ethiopian community here, a group of friends gathered after work in an office to chew on dried khat leaves before going home to their wives and children. Sweet tea and sodas stood on a circular wooden table between green mounds of the plant, a mild narcotic grown in the Horn of Africa.

As the sky grew darker the conversation became increasingly heated, flipping from religion to jobs to local politics. Suddenly, one of the men paused and turned in his chair. “See, it is the green leaf,” he said, explaining the unusually animated discussion as he pinched a few more leaves together and tossed them into his mouth.

For centuries the “flower of paradise” has been used legally in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as a stimulant and social tonic.

But in the United States khat is illegal, and an increased demand for the plant in cities such as Washington and San Diego is leading to stepped up law enforcement efforts and escalating clashes between narcotics officers and immigrants who defend their use of khat as a time-honored tradition.

In the last few years, San Diego, which has a large Somali population, has seen an almost eight-fold increase in khat seizures. Nationally, the amount of khat seized annually at the country’s ports of entry has grown from 14 metric tons to 55 in about the last decade.

Most recently, California joined 27 other states and the federal government in banning the most potent substance in khat, and the District of Columbia is proposing to do the same.

“It is a very touchy subject. Some people see it like a drug; some people see it like coffee,” said Abdulaziz Kamus, president of the African Resource Center in Washington, D.C. “You have to understand our background and understand the significance of it in our community.”

Increased immigration from countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia has fueled the demand in this country and led to a cultural conflict.

“We grew up this way, you can’t just cut it off,” said a 35-year-old Ethiopian medical technician between mouthfuls of khat as he sat with his friends in the office.

In the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East, khat is a regular part of life, often consumed at social gatherings or in the morning before work and by students studying for exams. Users chew the plant like tobacco or brew it as a tea. It produces feelings of euphoria and alertness that can verge on mania and hyperactivity depending on the variety and freshness of the plant.

But some experts are not convinced that its health and social effects are so benign. A World Health Organization report found that consumption can lead to increased blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia, constipation and general malaise. The report also said that khat can be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems.

“It is not coffee. It is definitely not like coffee,” said Garrison Courtney, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. “It is the same drug used by young kids who go out and shoot people in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is something that gives you a heightened sense of invincibility, and when you look at those effects, you could take out the word ‘khat’ and put in ‘heroin’ or ‘cocaine’.”

Khat comes from the leaves and stems of a shrub and must be shipped in overnight containers to preserve its potency. It contains the alkaloid cathinone, similar in chemical structure to amphetamine but about half as potent, according to Nasir Warfa, a researcher in cross cultural studies at Queen Mary University of London.

The United Kingdom determined last year that evidence does not warrant restriction of khat. In the United States, the substance has been illegal under federal law since 1993.

But the world supply of khat is exploding. Countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya now rely on it as a major cash crop to bolster their economies. Khat is Ethiopia’s second largest export behind coffee.

Khat usage has grown so much in San Diego that Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) wrote a 2008 bill that added cathinone and its derivative cathine to California’s list of Schedule II drugs along with raw opium, morphine and coca leaves.

As of Thursday, Anderson’s bill made possession of khat a misdemeanor in California, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Possession of the leaf with intent to sell is a felony that carries a three-year maximum sentence in state prison.

In some cases, khat seizures have resulted in warnings and probation. In other instances, like New York City’s “Operation Somali Express” bust in 2006, which led to the seizure of 25 tons of khat worth an estimated $10 million, the perpetrators were sent to jail for up to 10 years.

“In my mind, [such arrests are] wrong,” said an Ethiopian-born cabdriver who was arrested in November in a Washington, D.C., khat bust and spoke on condition of anonymity. “They act like they know more about khat than I know.”

Khat leaves are sold attached to thick stalks or dried like tea leaves. A bundle of 40 leafed twigs costs about $28 to $50.

The plant’s cost has been linked to family problems, including domestic abuse, said Starlin Mohamud, a Somali immigrant who is completing a dissertation on khat at San Diego State University.

In fact, within the East African community in the U.S., there are many who welcome the khat restrictions.

“I have seen what it does,” Mohamud said. “Families who are trying to make ends meet on a daily basis cannot afford it. It just creates so many problems between a husband and wife to the point where a broken family is going to be the result.”

Not all lawmakers, however, support the increased efforts to prosecute khat sellers and users. California state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) called khat use “a minor problem that may be nonexistent and little understood” and voted against Anderson’s bill.

“The Legislature cannot continue to add on penalties and punishments filling up critically overcrowded prison system without weighing the consequences on how this will affect California,” she said.

Even though khat smuggling continues to grow in the United States, the level is nowhere near that of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroine and methamphetamine. Still, law enforcement officials worry that in a refined, stronger and more portable form, khat could spread outside the immigrant communities.

In Israel, a pill known as hagigat (essentially Hebrew for “party khat”), has emerged on the club scene.

“I don’t think we are going to see American teenagers chewing the plant,” said Phil Garn, a U.S. postal inspector in San Diego. “But based on what I saw with meth and how it spread across the country, I can absolutely see how khat in a refined form could be a major problem.”

cynthia.dizikes@latimes.com

Inauguration Feels Special to Many in Washington

Published by News Room January 3rd, 2009 in Featured. 0 Comments

Above: “Voters are not looking for categories. They’re looking
for results,” said Adrian M. Fenty, the mayor of Washington, a
predominantly black city. Mr. Fenty, like President-elect Barack
Obama, won an election as a more liberal bi-racial candidate who
relied on a populist message. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

NYT
By IAN URBINA
Published: January 2, 2009

WASHINGTON — Presidents come and go from this city. Hosting inaugurations is nothing new. But for residents here, over 92 percent of whom voted for President-elect Barack Obama, his inauguration this month is special.

The day ushers in hopes and expectations for a president who speaks to local residents and brings with it the excitement of a predominantly black city welcoming the nation’s first black president.

With the inauguration scheduled for the day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the timing also strikes a chord for a city that was racked by riots after Dr. King’s assassination.

“For D.C., this inauguration is less like hosting a visiting official and more like throwing a homecoming party for a family member,” said Ronald Walters, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

He added that normally, the inauguration is an exclusive black-tie affair. “This time,” he said, “it feels like the city has taken ownership of what is becoming a people’s party.”

At Ben’s Chili Bowl, one of the city’s oldest and most famous restaurants, the inauguration offers a certain historical reconciliation.

“It took about 40 years,” said Kamal Ali, the owner and son of the restaurant’s founder, Ben Ali. “But in terms of race relations, the celebration that day will bring this neighborhood, this city, full circle.”

In April 1968, four days of race riots after the King assassination left 12 people dead here. Huge swaths of what was then called Black Broadway for its concentration of black-owned clubs and theaters were destroyed. Ben’s Chili Bowl was one of the only restaurants along U Street that was not burned or ransacked. Read More.

In St. Louis, an Ethiopian Pursues American Dream Via a Taxi Cab

Published by News Room January 3rd, 2009 in Featured and News & Hot Shots. 3 Comments

Special to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Repps Hudson
01/02/2009

Driving a cab is almost a stereotypical way for immigrants and refugees wanting to get started in their new country to earn a living and put down roots.

One who has done so successfully is Ezezew Biru, who left Ethiopia as a teenager and now runs a small taxicab company that is struggling against the system to get larger.

Despite his frustrations, Biru is a happy man with a growing family — he just adopted three relatives from Ethiopia.


Ezezew Biru

Position: Co-owner and operations manager, Metropolitan Taxicab Corp.

Age: 45

Career: After leaving his native Ethiopia at 19 in 1982, he worked as a laborer in Khartoum, Sudan, until immigrating to the United States in 1987; hotel worker in Washington, 1987-1988; factory worker and cab driver in St. Louis, 1988-1995; founded Riverfront Cab Co., 1997; joined with fellow Ethiopians to create Midwest Cab Co., 2001; which became Metropolitan Taxicab Corp., 2004

Education: Studied computer science at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
Personal: Lives with his wife, Meselu Shumye, and three boys and three girls in St. Peters

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke with Mr. Biru in his small office at 4427 Geraldine Avenue in the city.





NYC revelers usher in ‘09 with cheer, optimism

Published by News Room January 1st, 2009 in Featured. 0 Comments

By CRISTIAN SALAZAR –

NEW YORK (AP) — Despite months of economic gloom, revelers throughout the country welcomed the new year with merrymaking and even optimism, though some festivities fell to hard times and others were subdued.

“The worst part of last year was probably trying to get through financially,” said Liza Mazzotte, a composer who had come from California to join the hundreds of thousands of celebrants in frigid Times Square to see the Waterford crystal ball drop. “I’m not worried about what I lost. I’m going to be looking to the future.”

As the clock struck midnight Wednesday, a ton of confetti fluttered down on the revelers bundled up in fur hats, coats and sleeping bags. Fireworks burst atop the tower where the ball was lowered. Noisemakers screeched, partygoers kissed and cheers echoed through the corridors of midtown Manhattan.

Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton, expected to be secretary of state in President-elect Barack Obama’s administration, joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lower the ball atop 1 Times Square for the 60-second countdown to midnight.

The National Weather Service said the midnight temperature at Central Park, just blocks from Times Square, was 18 degrees and the 16 mph wind blowing through the urban canyons made the wind chill just 3 degrees.

The temperature had fallen a couple of degrees when city sanitation crews started sweeping up the confetti and other party trash Thursday morning. Last year, crews removed more than 40 tons of garbage. Read more.





Top 10 Events of 2008 Covered by Tadias

Published by Lifestyle Editor December 25th, 2008 in Featured and Reviews. 1 Comment

Year in Review by The Tadias Team

Published: Thursday, December 25, 2008

New York: (Tadias) - The following are our top ten favorite Ethiopian-American related events that we attended and/or featured in 2008. We wish all our readers “Happy Holidays!” We look forward to the New Year, and to continue highlighting events and personalities that make ours one of the most vibrant immigrant communities in the country. Happy New Year from all of us at Tadias.com!

Counting down: Top 10 Events of 2008 Covered by Tadias

10). The seventh annual anniversary of Little Ethiopia in L.A.

The seventh annual anniversary of Little Ethiopia took place in Los Angeles on September 14, 2008. The celebration was organized by the Little Ethiopia Business Association, which is chaired by Woizero Negest Legesse. Among the most active organizers of the event were: Mesob Restaurant, Rosalind Restaurant, Rahel Vegan Cuisine, Nyala Restaurant, Ferede Child Care Center, Selam Travel, and the Ethiopian Airlines. The office of the Mayor of Los Angeles and City Councils also provided assistance for the event. Read more about this event.

9). The Annual Ethiopian Soccer Tournament (D.C. 2008).

North America’s largest African soccer tournament, hosted by the Ethiopian Sport Federation of North America (ESFNA), was held in the nation’s capital this year. The Washington D.C. Metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Ethiopian population in the country, and tens of thousands of Ethiopian immigrants attended the event this year on July 4th weekend. Read More.

8). Historic Ethiopian out of doors Concert in New York

On the evening of Wednesday, August 20, 2008, Damrosch’s Park in New York was packed with Ethiopians and curious New Yorkers who were treated to an astonishing concert of fusion rock, jazz and Ethiopian music. The historic event at the Lincoln Center’s out of doors concert series, one of the longest-running free summer festivals in the U.S., featured Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete accompanied by the Either Orchestra, and the legendary saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya in collaboration with Dutch band the Ex. The trio performed for the first time at Damrosch’s Park. Read more and see hot shots from the event.

7). Ethiopia 2000 @ the Schomburg Center

The final event of the Ethiopian Millennium Celebration Series hosted by the BINA foundation included a panel discussion entitled “Ethiopia: The Three Faiths” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which attracted a diverse and large audience on Saturday, June 21, 2008. Read more about this event.

6). Sojourner Truth Awards Celebration

Abaynesh Asrat: Distinguished Women Awardee
Ethiopian-born Abaynesh Asrat, Founder & CEO of Nation to Nation Networking (NNN), was recognized with “The Sojourner Truth Award,” which is given each year by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. Abaynesh is a member of Harlem’s legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church delegation to Ethiopia in 2007, which took place as part of the church’s bicentennial celebration and in honor of the Ethiopian Millennium. Other awardees, that were honored at the 80th Annual Founder’s Day of the New York Club of Women’s Clubs, include: Robert T. Johnson (The District Attorney of Bronx County since January 1, 1989), Debra Wallace (Ebony Magazine), Kim M. Williamson (Director of Prime Time Programing for Food Networks in New York City), Joyce Johnson (CEO of the Black Equity Alliance), among others. The event took place on Sunday, April 27, 2008, at the Eastwood Manor in Bronx, NY. Read more about Abaynesh’s work at NNN.

5). Obama & McCain at Columbia University Forum

Presidential nominees Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain participated in a discussion regarding the importance of engaging in service and civic responsibilities on the seventh anniversary of 9/11 in New York at Columbia University. The Presidential Forum was part of a two-day summit which included speeches by Al Gore, Governor Patterson, Columbia President Bollinger and Barnard Provost Elizabeth Boylan. The forum was moderated by Judy Woodruff of PBS’ “NewsHour” and Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time magazine. Read more and view photos of this event.

4). Ted Alemayuhu’s Keynote at Columbia University

The third Annual Health Disparities Conference at Columbia University was held on Friday, March 7th and Saturday, March 8th, 2008. Ethiopian-born Ted Alemayuhu, Founder & Chairman of U.S. Doctors for Africa, was one of the featured keynote speakers. View photos from this event.

3). Sheba Highlight at Choice Eats 2008

The Queen of Sheba Ethiopian restaurant in New York was featured at the first Annual Choice Eats tasting event organized by The Village Voice, the nation’s first and largest alternative newsweekly. The event took place on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at the historic Puck Building in Manhattan. Queen of Sheba Ethiopian restaurant was one of thirty-three favorite restaurants of Voice food critic Robert Sietsema, author of Secret New York. Sietsema has reviewed more than 2,000 restaurants in the last 14 years and this year’s Choice Eats covered samples from all corners of the world. Read more about this event.

2). CNN Hero in New York

Yohannes Gebregeorgis, 59, was recognized by CNN for his remarkable efforts to bring free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of children in Ethiopia, including the country’s first Donkey Mobile Library. One of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008, spoke at Cafe Addis in Harlem, New York on Saturday, December 13, 2008. Tadias TV was there to record the event.

1). The day Barack Obama was elected President

Nothing this year tops the spontaneous celebrations that broke out around the world on November 4th 2008, the day Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. Memorable photos from this historic day was captured in Harlem by Tadias Magazine’s contributing photographer Jeffrey Phipps. View photos from election night 2008.

Ethiopia’s double Olympic champion Dibaba to run indoors in Birmingham

Published by News Room December 23rd, 2008 in Featured. 1 Comment

The Daily Mail Online
By Sportsmail Reporter
23rd December 2008

Double Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba will bid to regain her 3,000 metres indoor title at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham on February 21.

Dibaba, 23, won the 5,000m and 10,000m in Beijing and now intends to embark on a
serious indoor career.

In a magnificent career, Dibaba won the 5,000 metres title at the 2003 World Championship in Paris, and claimed the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the World Championship two years later in Helsinki.

She then successfuly defended her world 10,000 title in Osaka last year.

Meanwhile UK Athletics have appointed Australian Kevin Tyler as strategic head of coaching and development. Read More.

Christmas in Ethiopia for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Published by News Room December 21st, 2008 in Featured and News & Hot Shots. 0 Comments

Photo - Jolie with daughter Zahara, NYC, 2007 (Purseblog.com)

Showbizspy.com

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are set to spend Christmas in Ethiopia, according to a news report.

The Hollywood super-couple will fly out to the country’s capital, Addis Ababa - which is the birthplace of their adoptive daughter Zahara, reports Britain’s Sunday Mirror.

As well as Zahara, Pitt and Jolie have five other children - Maddox, Pax and Shiloh as well as twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

Meanwhile, Brad and Angelina have been forced to deny recent reports they have hammered out a $200 million prenuptial agreement.

It was claimed Pitt wanted something in place that spells out everything - the couple’s finances, their property and who will raise their children in case something happens.

But Tomb Raider star Jolie’s rep said, “There is no truth to any of these claims.”

Interview: Teodross “Teo” Avery

Published by Lifestyle Editor December 19th, 2008 in Featured and Profiles. 3 Comments

By Adey Tsega

Published: Friday, December 19, 2008

New York (Tadias) - What does Teodross “Teo” Avery have in common with jazz giants Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and Arturo Sandoval? They all have graced the stage of The Blue Note, one of New York’s legendary jazz clubs in the heart of Greenwich Village.

Avery, a talented Ethiopian-American musician is carving his own niche in hip-hop jazz, and all eyes were on him as he played his tenor saxophone with confidence and ease, seamlessly transitioning between his original work and pieces from Earth Wind & Fire, John Coltrane and Mos Def.

Avery has recorded and collaborated with other powerhouse musicians including: Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Shakira, Wu Tang Clan, and Amy Winehouse. Films such as Love Jones, Brown Sugar and Beauty Shop also carry songs he has either written or produced.

His own lyrics entitled New Day New Groove and My Generation capture the proactive, idealistic and determined energy of his generation.

Avery’s strong interest in music developed at an early age. He was born and raised in the Bay Area, California, from an Ethiopian mother and African American father. His parents encouraged his interest in music by exposing him to a wide variety of music. His mother fondly recalls the comments of a Bay Area piano store owner as perhaps the earliest testament of Avery’s destiny as a musician. Intervening on behalf of the then 4 year old, crying hysterically at his mother’s stern words not to touch any of the pianos at the store, the owner gave little Teo permission to play on any of the pianos for as long as he liked, telling his mother to encourage her son’s interest in music and that he may become a great musician some day.

Avery credits his father as the earliest and most significant supporter of his artistic aspirations. His father bought him his first guitar at the age of 5 and enrolled him in classical guitar lessons. After years of guitar lessons, Avery developed a strong interest in jazz and later settled on the saxophone as his instrument of choice. His father recalls that in his early teens, Avery often took his horn to Bay Area jazz concerts and joined the likes of Nat Adderley, Jimmy Smith and Art Blakey on stage.

Avery went on to win a full scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music at the age of 17 and later earned his Masters degree in Music from NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education. His talent and versatility is demonstrated by the diversity of artists he has worked with including: Matchbox Twenty, Leela James, Talib Kweli, Ethiopian artists Abegaz Shiota and Henok Temesgen, Dee Dee Bridgewater and the late great Betty Carter, among many others.

I had a chance to chat with Teo about his music and his upcoming show in Washington D.C. at the Blues Alley.


Teodross “Teo” Avery

How would you describe your musical style?

My style of hip-hop jazz is instrumental… hip-hop beats with jazzy horns on top. I also mix jazz with house music, funk and Brazilian music. Sometimes I feature rappers, but most times I feature the instruments.

Tell us about your latest album. Why is it titled “Bridging the Gap”?

Bridging The Gap is a concept that I came up with after witnessing the huge gap between jazz and hip-hop. There’s a group of people that like jazz but often are ignored. They are the same jazz listeners that listen to Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Common, and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Bridging The Gap represents that link.

You give a tribute to John Coltrane at your shows. How has he influenced your music?

Well, John Coltrane single-handedly influenced me to become a jazz musician. His music is full of love and emotion, and it’s always challenging. When I listen to John Coltrane, I hear a love for God and Coltrane’s desire to become a better person. I’ve always been a person that likes challenges and I’ve always wanted to go beneath the surface.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your life as an artist?

The most rewarding time is when I see people connect to a song that I wrote. See, people don’t know the struggle that artists have to overcome before they’re inspired to write songs. They hear the final product. Any artist that has struggled in life to be here today and to tell their story through their instrument is lying if they say that they don’t appreciate fans that love their art. The fans make it all worth it!


Teo, photo from teodrossavery.com

Any plans to work with Ethiopian artists?

I have already worked with Ethiopian artists. I played with Abegaz Shiota and Henok Temesgen. They’re good friends of mine. We attended The Berklee College of Music together. Mulatu Astatke has expressed some interest in working together. I also played a concert in Oakland with Mahmoud Ahmed. Wow! He gave a great show.

————-
Teo will perform at the Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., on February 3rd, 2009.

Download the “Bridging the Gap” mix tape at www.teodrossavery.com. For more information on Teodross Avery’s upcoming show in D.C., please visit www.bluesalley.com.

About the Author:

Adey Tsega is an Epidemiologist based in New York City.





Aida Muluneh: Reshaping our global image through photography

Published by News Room December 18th, 2008 in Art and Featured. 3 Comments

By Tadias Staff

Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008

New York (Tadias) - Desta, the Amharic word for happiness, is the name of a popular candy brand in Ethiopia. It’s also the acronym of choice for Photographer Aida Muluneh’s ambitious new project to reform the African continent’s long history with negative imagery.

Through photography, Muluneh has found a medium of transformation. Incorporating natural light from a crisp, dawn Ethiopian morning, or that of a sentimental sunny afternoon, Muluneh projects inspiration captured in moments of daily life - portraits of cab riders, priests, and street children in bustling Ethiopian cities and towns.

Her new organization, appropriately named DESTA for Africa, is a local NGO based in Addis Ababa. Muluneh (pictured above) hopes to encourage a new generation of African Photographers who are able to compete in the global media industry while reshaping the image of Africa reflecting their personal experiences.

“I have spent most of my artistic career promoting alternative images of Africa. DESTA For Africa was born out of my belief that we have to be accountable for how the world perceives us. Even though Africa is ever growing and rapidly changing, the images that we see in the mass media are not reflective of that, ” Muluneh says in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine.

“I feel that African artists have a responsibility to manage how the continent’s image is portrayed, and we can do that by actually providing the necessary education and resources to those who are interested in documenting their own realities.”


School is over for the day. These boys enjoy their time-off playing in their
neighborhood streets in Addis. (Photo by Aida Muluneh. Image featured on BBC)


BBC: A dignified Ethiopia - Aida Muluneh living in New York sent these images
depicting life in Ethiopia. She hopes these photos will show her country in a
different perspective.


Timkat (Epiphany) is the most colourful event in Ethiopia when churches parade
their Tabots (Replica of the. Ark of the Covenant) to a nearby body of water. Here
priests and deacons begin the religious procession from their individual churches and
walk, carrying flags, to Meskel Square where they all assemble.
(Photo by Aida Muluneh. This image was also featured on BBC).

The organization’s first batch of trainees is from Addis Ababa University, which lacks a permanent department of photography. ” We offer our workshop to undergraduates and graduates of the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts and Design, with the aim to provide them with viable and self-sustainable opportunities in the photography industry,” Muluneh explains.

Yet the giving is reciprocal. Muluneh is learning from her students as they receive training. “My students are an example of what can happen when countries invest in cultural production, and support efforts to reshape Africa’s image. And they also give me strength and inspiration to continue on this mission,” she says.

Muluneh’s biggest stumbling block is lack of basic teaching resources. “You won’t believe how much of a difference it makes to have one photography book or art book,” she says. “I have been teaching with three cameras shared among 13 students, yet the students have been with me since February 2008 with the same enthusiasm and passion as on their first day.”

And what can the Diaspora do to help?

“We are continuously looking for photography books, cameras, film…the list goes on, but the first thing I would like to stress to the Ethiopian American community is the importance of cultural preservation, and managing cultural production, she says. “Culture determines not only how we experience daily life, but how we transmit vital information about our history, health, and general economic and political development.”

For those who are interested, Muluneh will be hosting a fundraiser and introduction of DFA at Almaz Restaurant tonight in Washington D.C. (The event took place on Thursday, December 18th, 2008). “We will be showcasing the works of the students and also selling prints to help continue our work in Ethiopia, and beyond,” she says. “For those who are not able to attend, it is possible to make donations through our website at www.destaforafrica.org.”

Here are few recent images from Muluneh’s students in Ethiopia.

Anyone interested in a partnership, or has information about corporate
sponsorships, should get in touch with DESTA Production
Manager, Selam Mulugeta (smulugeta@destaforafrica.org).



Interview with a CNN Hero

Published by News Room December 12th, 2008 in Featured and Profiles. 8 Comments

By Tadias Staff
Above photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias Magazine

Published: Tuesday, December 9, 2008

New York (Tadias) - We recently spoke with Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008. He was recognized for his remarkable efforts to bring free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of children in Ethiopia, including the country’s first Donkey Mobile Library. Mr. Gebregeorgis, 59, was born in Ethiopia and came to the United States as a political refugee in 1981. He eventually put himself through college, earning a graduate degree in library science and worked as a librarian in San Francisco for nearly two decades before embarking on his current project.

Here is our interview with Yohannes Gebregeorgis:


Yohannes Gebregeorgis

Tadias: Yohannes, congratulations for being selected as one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of 2008!

Yohannes Gebregeorgis: Thank you. I appreciate Tadias Magazine for consistently covering Ethiopia Reads and making it possible for a lot of Ethiopians and other people to know our work. It’s very helpful when media like Tadias give coverage to such works. Thank you again.

Tadias: CNN’s Anderson Cooper said: “Our Top 10 CNN Heroes are proof that you don’t need superpowers — or millions of dollar, — to change the world and even save lives.” Please tell us about your organization, Ethiopia Reads, and your efforts that led to this recognition.

YG: It’s very true that one doesn’t have to be a superpower or a millionaire to change the world. Even though Ethiopia is not a super power, we know that there are millionaires in Ethiopia. However, they are not using their wealth to make an effective change or to save lives. I think the recognition that Ethiopia Reads has received is primarily for the recognition of the importance of literacy to the development of a country’s future; for it’s power to change individuals and society. What we’ve accomplished in the last six years is a drop in the ocean compared to the need. It’s a good beginning that needs to be kept alive and going until we cover all regions of Ethiopia. We’ve established two free public libraries for children and youth; one in Addis and one in Awassa. We’ve established one donkey mobile library and adding three more by January 2009. We’ve established 16 school libraries and adding another 18 in the next 6 months to one year. We’ve published 8 children’s books and distributed over 30,000 books freely to children with another 75,000 to be distributed freely in the next six months to a year.


Children reading in Awassa, Ethiopia.

We have over 100,000 children that make a visit to all our libraries; We’ve instituted an annual Ethiopian Children’s Book Week, a children’s book award – the Golden Kuraz Award, we’ve provided basic library and literacy training to about 120 teachers and assistant librarians, we’ve taken thousands of children on a march to parliament, and in our annual Book-A-Thon, we’ve made it into the local news media many times advocating reading and literacy. We’ve been widely featured in international media. We’ve created a solid foundation from where we can launch massive campaigns to cover all of Ethiopia given that we have the resources.

Tadias: Among your projects that has received the most press attention is Ethiopia’s first Donkey Mobile Library. What inspired you to come up with this creative concept?

YG: The Donkey Mobile Library was conceived because of the need to reach out to children in rural communities.. The idea of portable and mobile libraries existed in other countries. For example, there is a boat library in Colombia, south America, a camel library in Northern Kenya, a bicycle library and other forms of book delivery methods. The donkey mobile library is similar to a book mobile, a bus that carries books to different communities in developed countries. I’ve seen a donkey pulled satellite station in Zimbabwe several years ago and that has given me the idea of the donkey mobile library. I designed the whole donkey mobile cart with the shelves and storage areas. A very experienced Ethiopian metal engineer built the units from sketches and guidance I gave him. An artist made the necessary logos and designs on the cart and it turned out to be the best.


Donkey pulls mobile library.


Yohannes with the donkey mobile library.

Tadias: Can you share with us an anecdote describing some of the experiences children had when they first visited one of your libraries? How did it change his or her life?

YG: When we first opened our first library in Addis Ababa and the Donkey Mobile Library in Awassa, we noticed several children who were holding books upside down. This children had never held a book before. One of these children, who was nine years old at the time is now a Star Reader, one of many children who are chosen annually for their reading skills and for reading out loud to other children. We select 12 Star Readers from thousands of children who come to our library annually. Robel has visited the library everyday since he first came six years ago. He’s participated in every program that we offer at the library such as English lessons, theater, art and crafts and the sanitation program. Robel is also doing very well in his school as his grades have improved significantly.There are others like Robel who are part of the library family as we’ve known them for as long as the library’s existence.

Tadias: Eighteen years ago, you gave Mammo Qilo (the popular Ethiopian children’s story) its American debut. You are the author of “Silly Mammo”, which was the first bilingual Amharic-English children’s book. Why Mammo Qilo?

YG: I’m so glad that Kilu Mammo has become famous in America! When I first thought about producing a book for Ethiopian children, Kilu Mammo was the only story that came to mind which appealed to me. Many Ethiopians remember the story from their childhood as I did. It’s a very simple but nice story. Children like silly stories to begin with and Mamo Kilu amuses not only children but also adults.

Tadias: We understand that you hold a graduate degree in library science and you served as Children’s Librarian at the San Francisco Children’s Library. How big, would you say, is the pool of trained librarians in Ethiopia that can assist with new library projects?

YG: There aren’t many Ethiopians who have a library training. There is no institution that has a training program as the Addis Ababa University folded its library science program some five or so years ago.I don’t think Ethiopian education authorities think of libraries as something very essential. Besides, there are no library policies in the educational policy of the country that I know of, therefore it makes it hard to have training programs where no one would hire the people that are trained. We have difficulty finding trained librarians. We’ve been hiring librarians ever since we started our program in Ethiopia. We’provide basic library training program for the school libraries that we establish.

Tadias: What are your long term plans to expand your program across the country? And what kind of help do you need?

YG: Our plan is to expand our projects and programs to all regions of Ethiopia by expanding to at least one region every two years. We now have projects in place that can easily be duplicated. In order to accomplish this ambitious goals we need, first and foremost financial support, then other material support such as books, computers, etc., and then any other kind of support such as volunteers.

Tadias: How can your U.S.-based fans help to further your organizational goals?

YG: There are so many ways that our fans in the US can help. For example, we’re about to embark on a membership drive that is geared towards Ethiopians. We’ve seen how enthusiastic Ethiopians have become when they discovered the work we do in Ethiopia. We see a very positive attitude and desire to help by a large number of Ethiopians. We’d like Ethiopians to support our work by becoming members and donating ten, twenty or whatever amount of money they could. Every book week has a theme around which we can raealy afford on a monthly instalment. We’d like to get a few thousand Ethiopians signing up for this monthly donation. Those who can afford can sponsor a library in memory of someone they love, sponsor a Donkey Mobile Library, sponsor publishing of a book, etc. There are so many ways our fans could be involved. People can find more information on our web site ethiopiareads.org.

Tadias: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Since 2003, Ethiopia Reads has organized an annual Ethiopian Children’s Book Week, an annual celebration of books, reading and libraries. During our first book week, we took more than a thousand children on a march to the Ethiopian Parliament with a petition asking the government to provide libraries and boks for children. We’ve special programs everyday of the week such as Read-A-thon, Book-A-Thon, Bread and Books Day, International Children’s Book Day, Book Launch, Golden Kuraz Award, the Star Reader Award, Art Day and many other activities take place during the one week. Every book week has a special theme as a focus. Readers are Leaders, Libraries for Rural Development, Bread and Books for Children, Those who read Bloom, Ethiopia Stretches her Hands, are the book week themes of the last six years. Special posters that reflect these themes are made and distributed. The next book week is the Sixth Ethiopian Children’s Book Week to be held April 1-7, as it always is, with a theme “Ethiopia Reads” (Ethiopia Tanebalech). What we want to share with Tadias readers is to celebrate book week with us by reading to children, by making books available to your family, support Ethiopia Reads and other organizations that work in Ethiopia.

Tadias: Thank you so much for your time, Yohannes, and good luck with your work.

YG: Thank you Tadias for your interest in the work of Ethiopia Reads and for supporting us by writing about our work.

—
Yohannes will speak in Harlem (New York)
Saturday, December 13 at 2:00 PM at Cafe Addis (435 West 125 Street, NY, 10027). Phone: 212-663-0553 (Mekonen or Negus).

Yohannes in Maplewood, New Jersey
Yohannes will appear at the Maplewood Public Library in Maplewood, NJ on Thursday, December 11 at 7 pm

Yohannes in Silver Spring, Maryland
Wednesday December 17 - 7:00pm Abol Restaurant, 8628 Colesville Road (across the street from the AFI Silver Theater) Silver Spring, MD 20910 (RSVP: Matt Andrea 202-232-9085, Maureen Evans 301-386-5610).



Wisconsin Concert to raise funds for health care clinics in Ethiopia

Published by News Room December 5th, 2008 in Events and Featured. 0 Comments

Natty Nation will perform at the Clinic at a Time benefit
concert Dec. 13. (State Journal archives)

Wisconsin State Journal

MICHAEL JONES
For the State Journal
FRI., DEC 5, 2008

Mulusew Yayehyirad is figuring out new ways to give brighter futures to those halfway around the world.

The Ethiopian native and registered nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital looked at the damage of her home country due to poverty and disease and felt she needed to do something about it. So she started Clinic At A Time, a non-profit charity whose mission is to combat her homeland’s ills with better supplies, facilities and education.

On Saturday, Dec. 13, CAAT will host a benefit concert, starring the acclaimed reggae-funk-rock group Natty Nation, at the East Madison Community Center with the goal of sending Yayehyirad and a group of volunteers to her hometown of Bichina to help the local clinic next year. Already, the group has raised enough to help construct a new waiting facility in the clinic, a common problem in impoverished areas where diseases can be transmitted between people as they are waiting extremely long hours for care from health care workers who are ill-equipped and sometimes undereducated.

“The volunteers can help out by giving immunizations and sharing their educational and professional experiences with the health care workers,” said Yayehyirad.

According to the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Ethiopia’s health care system is considered one of the most underdeveloped in Africa, leading to a current life-expectancy rate of 54 years with the prospect of it free-falling to 46 years due to high rates of HIV/AIDS. The institute estimates up to 80 percent of the country’s health problems stem from preventable, communicable and nutritional diseases. Yayehyirad believes these problems can be combated with a combination of education, better facilities and better access to supplies.

“In all of these clinics there is no running water, gloves are high commodities, syringes are hard to get. There is no equipment to do minor stitches or if there is, they are not sanitized properly which puts the public in much higher risk for disease transmission,” said Yayehyirad. “We need to build more rooms in these clinics so that the woman who is having a baby is not in the same room with a tuberculosis patient, which is a reality.

“It is important educating the health care workers and the public about HIV/AIDS and other diseases coupled by providing the material which could be educational and equipments for the clinics. You can’t teach them the importance of sanitization or proper use of equipments if they don’t have one to use,” she said.

Yayehyirad has been able to bring this all together in addition to raising four children with her husband and holding down a nursing job with the help of her family, friends, CAAT’s board and her faith.

“I manage my busy schedule with the help of my husband, my mother and my kids, most of all with the grace of God. Everyone in my house understands and values one another. When you have that kind of support … you can accomplish a lot,” she said. “My board members are also helpful and supportive of what we do as an organization, which takes some of the responsibilities off of my shoulder.”

In addition to Natty Nation’s musical stylings, there will be a video presentation with further information about CAAT’s mission and accomplishments. Also, people will have a chance to try some Ethiopian dishes such as ingera, a flat bread made from three different flours with beef stew or a vegetarian option. Whether you come down for the music, the food or the mission, every penny will go toward the people that need it the most — something very important to Yayehyirad.

“I think it is important for my contributors and donors to know that their contribution is directly going to the people who need the help,” she said.

If you go

What: Benefit Concert for Clinic At A Time

When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: East Madison Community Center, 8 Straubel Court, Madison 53704

Audience: All ages

Cost: $20, kids under 5 are free

Details: www.clinicatatime.org

More than two-thirds of African journalists detained without charge

Published by News Room December 5th, 2008 in Featured and News & Hot Shots. 0 Comments

Above: CPJ International press freedom awardee Andrew
Mwenda of Uganda while in police custody. (CPJ/2008)

Online journalists now jailed more than those in any other
medium

December 4, 2008

New York (CPJ) — A total of 23 journalists remained jailed in connection with their work in Sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds held without charge, according to an annual report released today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Thirteen journalists were held in Eritrea, which was the fourth jailer of journalists worldwide behind China, Cuba and Burma. The survey found more Internet journalists jailed worldwide today than journalists working in any other medium.

CPJ’s survey found 125 journalists in all behind bars on December 1, a decrease of two from the 2007 tally. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist.) China continued to be world’s worst jailer of journalists, a dishonor it has held for 10 consecutive years. Cuba, Burma, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan round out the top five jailers from among the 29 nations that imprison journalists. Each of the top five nations has persistently placed among the world’s worst in detaining journalists.

Eritrea’s secret prisons held but four of at least 17 journalists worldwide held in secret locations. Eritrean authorities have refused to disclose the whereabouts, legal status, or health of any of the journalists they have been detaining for several years. Unconfirmed reports have suggested the deaths of at least three of these journalists while in custody, but the government has refused to even say whether the detainees are alive or dead.


What’s become of the people in this photo?
Taken in 2000, near the end of a two-year border war with
neighboring Ethiopia and during the hey day of a burgeoning
private press movement in Africa’s youngest nation, the photo
shows the staff of Setit newspaper.

Two other Eritrean journalists were being held in secret in neighboring Ethiopia, while the government of The Gambia has declined to provide information on the July 2006 arrest of journalist “Chief” Ebrima Manneh. Many international observers, from the U.S. Senate to the West African human rights court, have called on authorities to free Manneh, who was jailed for trying to publish a report critical of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

About 13 percent of jailed journalists worldwide, including those imprisoned in Eritrea, Ethiopia and The Gambia, face no formal charge at all. Countries as diverse as Israel, Iran, the United States, and Uzbekistan also used this tactic of open-ended detention without due process. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 out of 23 journalists were behind bars without charge.

Antistate allegations such as subversion, divulging state secrets, and acting against national interests are the most common charge used to imprison journalists worldwide, CPJ found. About 59 percent of journalists in the census are jailed under these charges, many of them by the Chinese and Cuban governments, but also by countries like Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast.

The survey found that 45 percent of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors. Online journalists represent the largest professional category for the first time in CPJ’s prison census. At least 56 online journalists are jailed worldwide, according to CPJ’s census, a tally that surpasses the number of print journalists for the first time.

This trend applied in Sub-Saharan Africa where at least one online journalist remained imprisoned as of December 1, 2008.

“Online journalism has started to change the media landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa and eased access to communication,” said CPJ’s Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “But some governments have reacted adversely to this trend and a growing pattern of harassment of online journalists has developed.”

The number of imprisoned online journalists has steadily increased since CPJ recorded the first jailed Internet writer in its 1997 census. Print reporters, editors, and photographers make up the next largest professional category, with 53 cases in 2008. Television and radio journalists and documentary filmmakers constitute the rest.

“Online journalism has changed the media landscape and the way we communicate with each other,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “But the power and influence of this new generation of online journalists has captured the attention of repressive governments around the world, and they have accelerated their counterattack.”

In October, CPJ joined with Internet companies, investors, and human rights groups to combat government repression of online expression. After two years of negotiations, this diverse group announced the creation of the Global Network Initiative, which establishes guidelines enabling Internet and telecommunications companies to protect free expression and privacy online. Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft have joined the initiative.

Illustrating the evolving media landscape, the increase in online-related jailings has been accompanied by a rise in imprisonments of freelance journalists. Forty-five of the journalists on CPJ’s census are freelancers; most of them work online. These freelancers are not employees of media companies and often do not have the legal resources or political connections that might help them gain their freedom. The number of imprisoned freelancers has risen more than 40 percent in the last two years, according to CPJ research.

“The image of the solitary blogger working at home in pajamas may be appealing, but when the knock comes on the door they are alone and vulnerable,” said CPJ’s Simon. “All of us must stand up for their rights—from Internet companies to journalists and press freedom groups. The future of journalism is online and we are now in a battle with the enemies of press freedom who are using imprisonment to define the limits of public discourse.”

Nowhere is the ascendance of Internet journalism more evident than in China, where 24 of 28 jailed journalists worked online. China’s prison list includes Hu Jia, a prominent human rights activist and blogger, who is serving a prison term of three and a half years for online commentaries and media interviews in which he criticized the Communist Party. He was convicted of “incitement to subvert state power,” a charge commonly used by authorities in China to jail critical writers. At least 22 journalists are jailed in China on this and other vague antistate charges.

Cuba, the world’s second worst jailer, released two imprisoned journalists during the year after negotiations with Spain. Madrid, which resumed some cooperative programs with Cuba in February, has sought the release of imprisoned writers and dissidents in talks with Havana. But Cuba continued to hold 21 writers and editors in prison as of December 1, all but one of them swept up in Fidel Castro’s massive 2003 crackdown on the independent press. In November, CPJ honored Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, who at 65 is the oldest of those jailed in Cuba, with an International Press Freedom Award.

Burma, the third worst jailer, is holding 14 journalists. Five were arrested while trying to spread news and images from areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis. The blogger and comedian Maung Thura, who uses the professional name Zarganar, was sentenced to a total of 59 years in prison during closed proceedings in November. Authorities accused Maung Thura of illegally disseminating video footage of relief efforts in hard-hit areas, communicating with exiled dissidents, and causing public alarm in comments to foreign media.

Uzbekistan, with six journalists detained, is the fifth worst jailer. Those in custody include Dzhamshid Karimov, nephew of the country’s president. A reporter for independent news Web sites, Karimov has been forcibly held in a psychiatric hospital since 2006.

Here are other trends and details that emerged in CPJ’s analysis:

1. In about 11 percent of cases, governments have used a variety of charges unrelated to journalism to retaliate against critical writers, editors, and photojournalists. Such charges range from regulatory violations to drug possession. In the cases included in this census, CPJ has determined that the charges were most likely lodged in reprisal for the journalist’s work.

2. Violations of censorship rules, the next most common charge, are applied in about 10 percent of cases. Criminal defamation charges are filed in about 7 percent of cases, while charges of ethnic or religious insult are lodged in another 4 percent. Two journalists are jailed for filing what authorities consider to be “false” news, including Senegalese journalist El Malick Seck. (More than one type of charge may apply in individual cases.)

3. Print and Internet journalists make up the bulk of the census. Television journalists compose the next largest professional category, accounting for 6 percent of cases. Radio journalists account for 4 percent, and documentary filmmakers 3 percent.

4. The 2008 tally reflects the second consecutive decline in the total number of jailed journalists. That said, the 2008 figure is roughly consistent with census results in each year since 2000. CPJ research shows that imprisonments rose significantly in 2001, after governments imposed sweeping national security laws in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Imprisonments stood at 81 in 2000 but have since averaged 128 in CPJ’s annual surveys.

5. The United States, which is holding photographer Ibrahim Jassam without charge in Iraq, has made CPJ’s list of countries jailing journalists for the fifth consecutive year. During this period, U.S. military authorities have jailed dozens of journalists in Iraq—some for days, others for months at a time—without charge or due process. No charges have ever been substantiated in these cases.

CPJ does not apply a rigid definition of online journalism, but it carefully evaluates the work of bloggers and online writers to determine whether the content is journalistic in nature. In general, CPJ looks to see whether the content is reportorial or fact-based commentary. In a repressive society where the traditional media is restricted, CPJ takes an inclusive view of work produced online.

The organization believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. CPJ has sent letters expressing its serious concerns to each country that has imprisoned a journalist.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated at midnight on December 1, 2008. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughout the year; accounts of those cases can be found at www.cpj.org. Journalists remain on CPJ’s list until the organization determines with reasonable certainty that they have been released or have died in custody.

Journalists who either disappear or are abducted by nonstate entities, including criminal gangs, rebels, or militant groups, are not included on the imprisoned list. Their cases are classified as “missing” or “abducted.”
——-

Source: CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.

Oakland: A hub for Ethiopians in the Bay

Published by News Room November 27th, 2008 in Featured, News & Hot Shots and Reviews. 2 Comments

Above: Genet Asrat, owner of Albo African Gift shop in Oakland,
California.

A fragrant shop helps Ethiopians far from home

By ISABEL ESTERMAN
(Oaklandnorth.net)

Posted on 26 November 2008

Inside Oakland’s Albo African Gift shop, at the corner of Alcatraz and Telegraph, a deep herbal aroma wafts from a row of colorful bottles labeled ‘frankincense.’ Ethiopian Singer Hamelmal Abate’s mournful vibrato pours out of the stereo, crooning over an incongruously lively beat, while the store’s owner, Genet Asrat, sits behind the counter, her black sweater brightened by a bold patterned scarf with a yellow border. The phone rings nearly continuously, and Asrat switches back and forth between English and Amharic as she fields calls, raising her precisely-arched eyebrows and flashing a big, quick smile as she taps away at her keyboard.

The store is filled with baskets, scarves, jewelry and clothing in brilliant shades of orange, red, pink and purple. The walls are lined with African-themed carvings and paintings. Customers come in to browse racks of T-shirts and books with African themes. And while T-shirts are the store’s big sellers, the repeat customers, like the young man who stands shyly by the door until Asrat beckons him forward, are immigrants who come to the store to wire money back to their families in Ethiopia, a service Asrat offers at less than half the price Western Union charges.

Businesses like Asrat’s may provide a touch of the exotic to the neighborhood, but for Ethiopian immigrants, they create a familiar space, and serve as a valuable link to their native country. Some of the phone calls, Asrat explains, are from customers looking for help booking flights home. Asrat doesn’t just a keep a shop or send remittances. “I’m also a travel agent,” she says. Many immigrants, she says, “don’t have the know-how” to look for discounted tickets online and are uncomfortable working with an English-speaking agent. “It’s easier for them, and it’s convenient for them to call and buy them from me.”

Meanwhile, Asrat’s old friend Fetlework Tefferi — whose businesses, Café Colucci and Brundo grocery store, are located to either side of Asrat’s shop – works to source spices from businesses in Africa that use organic ingredients and employ women. “I want to help women preserve their culinary heritage,” says Tefferi, an energetic woman who runs between Colucci and Brundo donning and removing a pair of rubber gloves while supervising the cafe’s redecoration, signing forms, and tasting new batches of spices.

Businesses like these make North Oakland a hub for the Bay Area Ethiopian community, even though neither census data nor anecdotal evidence indicates there is a particularly high concentration of Ethiopian immigrants living in the neighborhood. “They live everywhere,” says Tefferi. “They just have their businesses on Telegraph.”


Inside Oakland’s Albo African Gift shop

According to the 2000 census, there are 1,444 foreign-born Ethiopians in Alameda County, and 228 living in north Oakland, although Rebecca Lakew, program director at the Ethiopian Community Center in Oakland, says that number is much too low. Some of the discrepancy may come from how people answer census takers or fill out government forms, Lakew says. “A lot of Ethiopian people, the people who are here as immigrants or refugees, they don’t say they are from there,” she says. “They mark ‘other’ or just ‘black.’”

Along with Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and Houston, the Bay Area has one of the largest Ethiopian populations in the United States. Lakew estimates the number of Ethiopians in the Bay Area to be at least 20,000, and says the largest community event, the annual Ethiopian New Year festival, can draw as many as 40,000 people from Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose. “Every year it grows,” she says.

Large waves of Ethiopians began migrating to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, as the political and economic situation in Ethiopia deteriorated. Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, and was immediately faced with a series of counter-coups, uprisings and border skirmishes. In 1977 – 1978, Mengistu attempted to crush opposition with a massacre known as the “Red Terror,” during which human rights groups estimate as many as 500,000 people were killed, tortured or disappeared by government-sponsored militias.

Mengistu continued to spend heavily on the military, especially to counter rebellions in the country’s north. When a devastating series of droughts and famine hit the country in the 1980s, the government was ill-prepared for the crisis, and nearly 1 million Ethiopians starved to death in 1984 and 1985.

Mengistu was forced to flee the country in 1991, and the first multi-party elections were held in 1993, but problems in Ethiopia continue to push people to emigrate. “There is a lot of corruption, there are no jobs, the standard of education is low,” says Lakew. Many look for opportunities abroad, she says, for the same reasons as emigrants from anywhere in the world. “They have to eat,” she says. “They have to work, they have to support their families.”

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program — which provides 55,000 Visas each year to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States — has opened up greater possibilities for Ethiopians wishing to immigrate. Nationally, Ethiopians have consistently been among the top groups receiving these visas, topping the list with 3,427 visas in 2005.

Lakew refers to the Diversity Visa program as “fortunate, but unfortunate.” Applicants are required to have either a high school diploma or at least two years experience in a skilled occupation, but many face still face high barriers when they arrive. “It’s the language, the lack of experience, even the cultural difference. They have a culture shock,” says Lakew. “The moment you arrive in the states, you expect everyone to be there for you. And they’re not.”

Newcomers are forced to rely on friends and relatives, and on community agencies like the Ethiopian Community Center, which provides job, housing and heath-care referrals, and works with Laney and Peralta college to get immigrants into English classes and career training.

This disorientation helps to explain why Ethiopian immigrants, no matter where in the Bay Area they live, congregate along Telegraph Avenue. “It’s creating a community in a way,” says Tefferi. “I think immigrants do that as a matter of course. We want to be all in the same neighborhood, so in case something happens, we can all be together, help each other.”

When Sheba Ethiopian restaurant opened on Telegraph in the 1980s, Tefferi says, local Ethiopians started going there to eat, and liked the area. The university, in particular, was a “natural draw,” Tefferi says. “Ethiopians congregate around schools. It’s like prestige, education.”

The diversity of the neighborhood was attractive as well, says Asrat. “It was very open, very international, it was very easy to mix.” So Asrat opened her shop in June 1991, and Tefferi followed, opening Café Colucci about two months later. “It just happened,” both Asrat and Tefferi say. “We congregate,” says Tefferi. “And the competition is not even spoken of as such.”

Tefferi, who lives in San Francisco, says she loves coming to work on Telegraph. “It’s like traveling to Ethiopia–I come here and it’s like I’m home,” she says. “I feel very complete when I’m here. I’m surrounded with the music, the spices, the food. I have the best of both worlds, and I’m always thankful for that.”
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