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Dutchman Claims He Owns Teff Since 2003, But Ethiopians Have Been Eating Injera for Millennia

Published by Tadias Magazine July 2nd, 2018 in Podcast. Closed

The European Patent Office lists a Dutch national as the “inventor” of teff flour and associated food products since 2003. Now Ethiopia wants its intellectual property back. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office announced that it would do everything in its power to reclaim the teff patents, including legal and diplomatic action. (Mail & Guardian Online)

Mail & Guardian

Whose injera is it anyway?

Injera, Ethiopia’s staple food, was invented by a Dutchman in 2003.

That’s according to the European Patent Office, which lists the Netherlands’ Jans Roosjen as the “inventor” of teff flour and associated food products. Teff is a plant endemic to Ethiopia, and the grain is used to make [injera] that Ethiopians eat with their meals.

Roosjen also has a patent for the “invention” in the United States — though he is patently not the inventor of a product that has been around for millennia.

Ethiopians are nonplussed.

“For someone from Europe, from across the ocean, in a different continent, to come and say we patented teff and the copyright is ours …” Kassahun Gebrehana, owner of the Little Addis Café in Maboneng, Johannesburg, shakes his head…

Superfood

The story of how Ethiopia lost the intellectual property for teff and its associated products in Europe began in the early 2000s, with a bright idea: If Ethiopians love teff so much, why wouldn’t the rest of the world? The tiny grain — the world’s smallest grain, in fact — is gluten-free and rich in nutrients, beloved by hipsters and dieticians alike. It was, and remains, perfectly poised to take advantage of the global health food trend. Teff could be the next kale or quinoa.

Dutch researchers formed a company, which eventually became Health and Performance Food International, to explore options to market teff in Europe. Roosjen was a director. After many negotiations with different government entities, the company reached a deal with Ethiopia to plant and distribute teff in Europe. In return, it would send a hefty slice of the profits back to Addis Ababa.

These details are all courtesy of researchers Regine Andersen and Tone Winge, who in 2012 published a comprehensive paper on the subject for the Fridtjof Nansen Institute.

At the time, the deal was hailed as ground-breaking: for once, an African country was actually going to benefit from its precious natural resources. But not everyone was impressed: in 2004 the Coalition Against Biopiracy gave the Dutch company its award for the “most outrageous” deal: “The company appears to be oblivious to the fact that they are seeking to monopolise teff varieties that were developed over millennia by Ethiopian farmers and community plant breeders,” reads the citation.

In 2003, Ethiopian officials boxed up 1 440kg of teff seeds and shipped them off to the Netherlands. From there, it was supposed to find its way into kitchens all over Europe. Ninety-one Dutch agrarian entrepreneurs started growing teff, and that year 620 hectares were harvested.

But things did not go according to plan. The demand for teff never materialised, and the much-lauded deal earned the Ethiopian government a mere pittance: just €4 000 in total. In 2009 the Dutch company went bankrupt, meaning in effect that the contract was terminated.

But Health and Performance Food International had already applied for and been granted patents for the production and distribution of teff in Europe, and these did not lapse when the company went bankrupt. These patents are incredibly broad, covering most forms of teff flour, as well as all products that result from mixing teff flour with liquids. These include bread, pancakes, shortcake, cookies, cakes and, of course, injera.

Read the full article at Mail & Guardian »

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As Injera Goes Global, Teff Gets Expensive

Published by Tadias Magazine April 25th, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

Injera being made at Mama Fresh, Ethiopia’s large-scale producer of teff products. (Photo: James Jeffrey)

Aljazeera America

By James Jeffrey

Six days a week, an Ethiopian Airlines flight departs for Washington, D.C., with a fresh batch of 3,000 injera on board…Outside Ethiopian diaspora communities — and Ethiopian restaurants — teff remained largely anonymous for decades. But growing appetites for traditional crops and nutritious foods mean customers ranging from families to hipsters in New York and London are now seeking their fix too. The crop is now grown in about 25 U.S. states, but Ethiopians claim you can’t beat teff grown in its homeland for flavor and quality.

Previously heralded so-called superfoods, however, such as Andean quinoa, have illustrated hidden consequences for locals when their indigenous staples find eager customers in more affluent countries. Even before the growth in international demand, poor Ethiopians were struggling to afford increasingly expensive teff.

“A piece of injera used to cost about 50 santeem ($0.02), but now it’s nearly four Ethiopian birr ($0.19),” said Nathaniel, the manager of a hotel in the eastern Ethiopian town of Dire Dawa. It’s estimated that 29 percent of Ethiopia’s population lives on less than $2 a day.

Nathaniel said that the tables on the hotel terrace lacked lunch patrons because people can’t afford to eat out and that many locals, faced with low incomes and high food prices, skip breakfast each day and eat only a midmorning snack followed by an injera-based meal later in the afternoon

Injera In Harlem: Black Atlas Spotlights Zoma

Published by Tadias Magazine October 13th, 2010 in Interviews and Podcast. 3 Comments

Above: Nelson George shares Ethiopian food with Tigist Selam
at Zoma in Harlem as part of a travel piece for BlackAtlas.com.

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Wednesday, October 13, 2010

New York (Tadias) – In a video posted on BlackAtlas.com, the website’s travel expert-at-large Nelson George visits Harlem, highlighting the historic neighborhood’s evolving culture. Near the end of the segment, the filmmaker stops by Zoma restaurant, located on 113th & Frederick Douglas Boulevard, for a taste of Ethiopian food. He was accompanied by his friend actress Tigist Selam, host of Tadias TV.

“Growing up mainly in Germany, I always romanticized Harlem for it’s political and cultural significance, and when I moved to New York from London in 2005, I already knew that I wanted to live in Harlem,” says Tigist. “What I didn’t know about was the existing and rapidly growing Ethiopian community in Harlem.”

She says: “These days, I am happy to claim Harlem as my home. Thank you for allowing me to share my favorite dish with Nelson George and Black Atlas!”

Watch

Teff luck: What Has Piracy Got To Do With The Price of Injera?

Published by Tadias Magazine January 31st, 2010 in Featured, Interviews and Opinion. 12 Comments

Above: The media never resists stories of sea attacks, but
there is another type of piracy that hardly gets attention:
the looming intellectual property warfare in Africa.

Publisher’s Note: This week we have feature opinion piece on
piracy, patenting, and intellectual property in the developing
world by contributing writer Nemo Semret.

Nemo Semret, who is based in New York City, is an individual
who is concerned about the expanding scope of intellectual
property among many other things.

Tadias Magazine
By Nemo Semret

Published: Sunday, January 31, 2010

New York (Tadias) – A few months ago, three Somalis pirates were at the center of world news as they haplessly tried to extort money from an American ship in the Indian Ocean. Three guys coming out of an anarchic isolated part of the world, risked their lives at sea. Two were killed and one now faces the death penalty in the US. Around the same time, three Swedes were found guilty of piracy — as in facilitating the sharing of copyrighted material on the Internet. In the widely publicized case of The Pirate Bay, a Bittorrent index service, three techies with the digital world at their fingertips, thumbed their noses at the law and faced, at worst, some time in the notoriously comfortable jails of Sweden.

The obvious analogy and contrast between these two stories is of course an easy target of ironic comment: piracy, old/new, physical/digital, poor/rich. But it also got me thinking about longer term connections. Indeed, which of those two events is more important symbolically for the future political economy of Africa? Which has more to do with the price of injera or ugali?

Armed men attacking ships at sea was a curious manifestation of the 18th century popping up in the 21st century. Western media and comedians in particular reacted to it as they would to a woolly mammoth buried in the permafrost of Siberia for 10,000 years suddenly thawing and starting to ramble around, Jurrassic Park-style. A pirate story is hard to resist, pirates captivate the imagination of kids, they make western adults feel smug about their own “more civilized” society where such things disappeared 200 years ago, but they also have a kind of radical chic, there’s a certain coolness to their image as rebels standing up to “the man”. They are many interesting things, but there’s also a less exotic reality: those pirates are increasing the cost of shipping anything through that part of the Indian Ocean, which in turn affects the cost of everything from food to energy in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and even further inland, endangering the livelihood of millions of people in the region. Like drug traffickers, in reality they harm not only the world at large but mostly their own people. Unfortunately there’s nothing new about that. In fact, the story of Somali pirates over the last few years fits with the well-worn gloom and doom scenarios of Africa in the 21st century: failed states, increased marginalization, the danger of slipping into a modern dark ages, etc. you know the story.

But how about those Swedish Internet pirates? What do they have to do with Africa, where copyrights and patents have never been respected, and where there isn’t enough bandwidth for it to matter on the global scale anyway? A lot actually. It has got to do with something huge that is quietly reshaping the world: the ever expanding scope of intellectual property. Ok, just in case that was not emphasized enough, this is the thing we’re talking about: the expanding scope of intellectual property. The digitization of entertainment and the difficulties that industry faces from file-sharing are merely the tip of the iceberg. By now it’s old news that, thanks to technology, things that were previously easier to limit and control are now easy to copy and share. But also and more importantly, many things which previously were “free” are now going to get entangled in webs of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and so on. And now we are entering the phase where this will profoundly affect the lives of all of humanity, not just the world of computers and information.

Digital coffee – a trip down memory lane

Years ago (”Digital Coffee”, Nov. 1999), I tried to make the link between coffee and intellectual property, using a comparison of buying $1 of Starbucks stock versus $1 of coffee on the commodity markets. So let’s see where we are today with that hypothetical $1. As illustrated in the chart, invested in SBUX stock in 1993, it grew to $6 by 1999, and would be worth $15 in 2009. While the poor dollar invested in coffee itself, which had reached $1.30 in 1999, would continue to inch up, reaching $1.75 by 2009. The conclusion that, if you consider the chain of value that leads to a cup of coffee, “at the end of the chain it’s $100 a pound, while on the commodity markets it’s $1 a pound, and the grower probably gets $0.10″, has been exacerbated. The coffee farmer, despite doing the most difficult part, gets a shrinking share of the total value. Most of the value in the final product of coffee is really information; it’s in the distribution, and marketing of the coffee experience. That “information goods” part of coffee, which is intellectual property even if it’s not rocket science, is worth more and more while the physical commodity is worth relatively less and less. (That doesn’t happen with oil because there’s a finite supply). And it’s a huge market as I pointed out then, coffee is second only to oil among the world’s commodities in total value. Therefore the producers needed to figure out ways of get in on the information goods game.

Fortunately, awareness of this reality has increased dramatically in recent years. For example, a movie called “Black Gold ” brought some attention to the plight of coffee farmers in the global economy. The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office engaged it in earnest, staked a claim in the digital coffee realm by trademarking some of the Ethiopian coffee names. Starbucks correctly identified this move as encroaching on their territory (the “information goods” side of coffee) and this caused a huge battle which was widely covered. With the help of organizations like Oxfam, the EIPO managed to move the battle to the court of public opinion. Thus Starbucks an extremely successful western corporation of whose brand “social responsibility” is a core part, whose customers are the very stereotype of the bleeding heart liberal, found itself in the position of the big bad exploiter of poor third world farmers. It was a strategy worthy of Sun Tzu’s Art of War: if you are a smaller, move the battle to a territory where your enemy’s superior firepower is worthless. Game over. Starbucks capitulated, and EIPO got not only the trademarks, but a promise from Starbucks to help the country in more ways than before. My hat goes off to EIPO and Oxfam for this.

Would you rather collect rent or charity?

But coffee is only one example. A dutch company called “Soil & Crop Improvement BV” is patenting a method of processing of teff flour. The invention results in a gluten-free flour, which helps people with Celiac disease. Celiac is a common genetic disorder, affecting people all over the world. For example in the United States, more than 2 million people have the disease. The disease makes the victim unable to eat gluten, a protein that is found in wheat, rye, and barley, which covers a pretty large fraction of the typical western diet. Thus gluten-free food has a huge market. Sounds like there might be a lot of money to be made from Teff!

So let’s see what this patented invention consists of. As far as I can tell, it has two main ideas. First, you wait a few weeks after harvest before grinding the teff, so that the “the amount of undigested sugars in the starch” is lower than it would if the grain was ground immediately. Second, you pass it through a sieve, so only the small grains go through. Pretty simple stuff. Which of course is good! Saving lives is great, and simple solutions that save lives are the best. Except the whole patenting thing… You see, there’s this thing called “prior art”. In the many centuries since Teff has been the staple in Ethiopia, surely someone had the idea of waiting a few weeks before grinding it and taking the finer grain! But those ideas now belong to a dutch company, because the Netherlands has the intellectual property infrastructure that Ethiopia doesn’t. The winner is determined not necessarily by an actual innovation but by things like having patent offices, and membership in the World Traded Organization. So if this works out and it turns out that 100 million Celiac disease sufferers will switch to a Teff-based diet, the bulk of the profits will flow to the dutch company, not the Ethiopian teff farmer. Sound familiar? SBUX redux. Except in this case it might even go further. It’s not “just” a marketing and distribution advantage which gives a larger slice of the total value, the patent owner can actually bloc the farmer entirely out of that market!

Now there’s nothing particularly evil about Soil & Crop nor is there about Starbucks. In fact, for what it’s worth, they both seem to try to be “socially responsible” corporations. But there’s a big difference between charity and obligation. Suppose you own a house and a tenant came to you and said: “let me take your house and in exchange, each month that I earn more than I spend, I promise to share some the excess to help your kids go to school, and buy you some gifts” You’d say: “Wow, thanks you are very generous Mr. Potential Tenant. But no thanks, here’s a lease, just sign here and pay me the rent.” Right? In other words, you would prefer to have a profitable business relationship with them, rather than accept their charity. So why, when it comes to multi-billion dollar markets for living products that are indigenous, why should it be considered OK that companies can own the brand, the patents, and all the associated information goods value, thus controlling 90% of the final value, while tossing the original owners a few crumbs of charity? Why is enough for them to make the profits and “give back” on a discretionary basis? Shouldn’t they pay rent instead of give charity? So perhaps the “digital coffee” conclusion didn’t go far enough. Now commodities are not just becoming information i.e. controlled by branding and marketing, they are becoming intellectual property, through copyrights and patents too. But who owns this property and who should own it?

Even the birds and the bees

This question affects more than just the potential export markets. The owners of the intellectual property can actually come and extract money even from people who were doing the same thing they’ve been doing before the patent ever existed! For example, in a famous case, some farmers in Canada are forbidden from growing crops that they use to grow — rapeseed (canola) — because they might accidentally mix patented seeds into their crops. Even if they don’t want to use the new seeds and try to avoid it, because birds and bees (and wind among other things) will accidentally mix seeds over large distances, the farmers will infringe on these patents that belong to Monsanto and have to stop…. even though they are only doing the same thing they did before the patent. They have effectively been check-mated out of their own traditional business.

You might think that could never happen in Africa right? The very idea of enforcing a patent against a farmer in rural Africa seems laughable. But think ahead. Intellectual property is a key condition to participating in World Trade Organization and the international community in general. Even China is being forced to do something about copyrights to please the WTO. Not being part of WTO is a huge handicap, and Ethiopia is trying hard to get in, like any country that wants to be part of the world economy. So at some point, it’s quite possible that Ethiopians could find themselves in the position of having to choose between accepting the established intellectual property system under which they are screwed, or rejecting the system at enormous costs i.e. going the pirate route.

Which brings us back to our Swedish pirates. Putting aside their guilt or innocence, they exist because a huge number of people feel locked out of the “information goods” and these people create an enormous black market for copyrighted movies, music, and software. And bittorrent, the protocol their service facilitates, just happens to be the most efficient current form of file sharing, so they are current poster children, the latest incarnation of Napster, in the on-going saga of intellectual property on the Internet. But it’s not just pirates. The world of property in information is a dangerously unstable one even among the big players. A long time ago, a researcher from IBM explained the world of corporate patents to me as follows. Patents are like nuclear weapons, they don’t want to use them but they have to have them because their opponents have them. They hold them as deterrents, they sign patent “treaties” where they agree not to sue each other and cross-license patents to each other. But sometimes they actually use these “nuclear weapons” i.e. they sue: vast sums of money are extorted, untold hours of effort are expended in futile wars, and companies are driven out of business, etc.

So if things like coffee and teff are going to become information goods, then what kind of world are we heading into? If you extrapolate from other areas where intellectual property dominates, namely software, digital entertainment, and pharmaceuticals, the current trends do not bode well for the vast majority of humanity. It’s a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, much faster than what has occurred with physical commodities over the last couple of centuries. Those who are locked out of the web of intellectual property ownership will be like non-nuclear powers in a nuclear world, except the super-powers won’t be a stable pair, it will be a multi-polar unstable world, with constant threats and actual disastrous fallouts… and of course pirates! Imagine a world of patented food, and the inevitable black market like narcotics today but much much bigger.

But are we really heading toward this dystopian future of bio-patent wielding powerhouses dominating the world, alternately fighting each other and enslaving the rest? Well of course not necessarily. Fortunately, some farsighted people are already on the case some scientists are calling for a bio-patent ban for example. One of them in fact is an Ethiopian. These are scientists, so of course they are not against scientific advancements and their practical use; they are protesting some forms of ownership. Maybe there will be open-source bio-technology and pharmaceuticals, that are as successful and significant as open source software, and all the key processes and ideas of future life will be freely or fairly available to the whole world. But maybe not. What if that open-source nirvana fails to occur? Banning bio-patents may not be the right answer anyway. Until the right balance emerges in this “informationalization” of everything, all sides have to arm themselves to the teeth for intellectual property warfare lest they be marginalized and reduced to piracy. We are probably already in the early stages of a mad scramble, just like the scramble for African raw materials during the industrial revolution/colonial era. Now it’s not grabbing land with timber and gold but about claiming as much as possible of the DNA of plants and animals, patenting potentially lucrative variations of traditional processes… In the case of Ethiopia for example, it’s not just coffee and teff, it’s also (to take random example, I’m sure there are many more) flaxseed, an important source of Omega-3 acids. Hey has anyone filed a patent for a process to create a convenient form of Telba?

Israel’s Ethiopians Forced to Give Up Injera

Published by admin June 6th, 2008 in News. Closed

Above: An undated photo shows teff grain being processed
near Adis Abeba (Addis Ababa), Ethiopia. Rising food prices
around the world combined with drought have caused Ethiopia
to clamp down on teff exports, forcing many expatriate Jews now
living in Israel to go without the injera bread that traditionally
accompanies their meals. Photograph by Michael S. Lewis/NGS

Israel’s Ethiopians Forced to Give Up Traditional Bread (National Geographic News)

Mati Milstein in Bat Yam, Israel
for National Geographic News

June 5, 2008

Part seven of a special series that explores the local faces of the world’s worst food crisis in decades.

The crisis that has sent food costs spiraling upward around the globe is causing Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel to give up something priceless: a piece of their culture.

Tens of thousands of the expatriates are being forced to abandon their traditional diets because of the skyrocketing cost of teff grain.

Teff, a nutritious and hardy cereal domesticated in Ethiopia thousands of years ago, is the primary ingredient in injera, a round flatbread that accompanies most Ethiopian meals.

A drastic shortage has caused the price of teff to jump by some 300 percent over the past year.

A 110-pound (50-kilogram) sack now runs at least 600 New Israeli shekels (about U.S. $179).

The price increases hit Israel’s Ethiopian community particularly hard, as it is a struggling group with about three-quarters living below the poverty line, according to official figures. Read More.

Spotlight: The Texas BBQ Joint with Ethiopian Twist

Published by Tadias Magazine March 29th, 2023 in Podcast. Closed

Fasicka and Patrick Hicks, owners of Smoke’N Ash BBQ - Tex-Ethiopian Smokehouse, in Arlington, Texas. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: March 29th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) — How does injera with Texas barbecue sound?

Well, that’s exactly what you get at Smoke’N Ash BBQ – Tex-Ethiopian Smokehouse, a one-of-a-kind restaurant in Texas.

Owned by Fasicka and Patrick Hicks, this joint serves up traditional American BBQ with a unique Ethiopian twist: With a creative menu featuring dishes like Rib tibs, Shiro, brisket, Doro Wat, and Ethiopian veggie combos, it’s no wonder Smoke’N Ash was named one of the top 50 restaurants in America by the New York Times last year.

The couple’s journey started with Patrick’s passion for barbecuing, which soon turned into a thriving business. Customers couldn’t get enough, and the couple decided to take the leap and open their own restaurant.

According to their website: Fasicka, who was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Patrick, a native of Waco, Texas, met in 1997 and quickly discovered their shared love of barbecuing. They began with a smoker trailer, selling BBQ dishes at weekend pop-ups, and eventually moved into a brick and mortar restaurant as their customer base grew.

As the business expanded, Fasicka added traditional Ethiopian family dishes to the menu, blending the flavors of Ethiopia with Texas-style smoked meats to create Tex-Ethiopian barbecue. Smoke’N Ash BBQ is now the first restaurant in the world to offer this unique cuisine.

Now, customers from all 50 states flock to try their famous Tex-Ethiopian BBQ.

Watch: Smoke N Ash restaurant combines Texas barbecue with Ethiopian spices

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Why is Biden Admin Killing Century-old Historic American Diplomacy in Ethiopia?

Published by Tadias Magazine September 21st, 2021 in Opinion. Closed

Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie at President John F. Kennedy’s funeral on November 25, 1963. The Ethiopian leader was the only African head of state who attended the U.S. President's funeral. (Photograph credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston)

Medium

By Denton Collins (American. Lover of injera and the people in the Horn whom I’ve served)

Food Aid as a Weapon in Ethiopia, the Death of US Diplomacy and the Power of Brain Washing for State Destruction

I am old enough to intimately remember Emperor Haile Selassie as the first among world leaders at the side of JFK’s casket in on 25 November 1963. Front. And. Center.

17 September 2021, will go down in history as the death of this historic relationship dating from 1903. This compelled me to put pen to paper on a foreign policy topic for the first time in years. To my Ethiopian friends, I am with you.

How does one even begin to apologies for the Biden Administration’s humiliating foreign policy record so far? (Within the last 48 hours America has lost historic allies in Ethiopia and France — the latter recalling her ambassador. How poetic that de Gaulle and Haile Selassie are standing side by side above.)
Look at this picture and take a moment for it to sink in. Ethiopians like to say gold in your hand feels like a piece of bronze.

[On Friday, September 17th], President Biden issued an executive order imposing sanctions on warring parties in Ethiopia — which in reality is targeting the Government of Ethiopia- the most democratically elected in the history of the ancient nation.

It is not the first time that Ethiopia, a nation that has sent diplomatic mission abroad since before the United States existed, has been thrown under the bus by the West. Recall when Ethiopia — one of only a handful of African nations in the League of Nations — was allowed to be overran by the same League that it was member of AND by another League member. Double standards and colonialism have never been part of your vocabulary.

Yesterday’s Executive Order has parallels to the British and French foreign ministers at the time of the League’s decision: Sir Samuel Hoare and Pierre Laval, secretly planned to divide the country and give a piece to Mussolini (Hoare and Laval lost their jobs as a result)….

Surly coincidental, also yesterday, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) declared that of the 445 large food aids trucks sent to to Tigray province only 38 have returned. Suppress one news story with another is as old as…Ethiopia. The message from WFP characterized the missing trucks (not one or two, but several hundred in a war zone) as “concerning” — if that’s not the understatement of the century, I don’t know what is.

Read the full article at medium.com »

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Spotlight: Review of Mimi’s Ethiopian BBQ in DC

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

Mimi’s is named for Siham Mohammed (bottom left), whose mother used to call her “Mimi” as a child. [Siham] is an entrepreneur, just like her parents were back in Gondar. Her restaurant Mimi’s Ethiopian BBQ is located on Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Wahington, DC. (The Washington Post)

The Washington Post

Mimi’s Ethiopian BBQ brings a delicious taste of East African cooking to a new audience

A woman tends to a small portable grill she has placed atop a picnic table at Anacostia Park, just steps from a pirate ship that has, for the moment, separated children from their phones long enough to explore every inch of the three-masted playground. From my own picnic table, I can’t tell what she is cooking, but it has the unmistakable aroma of meat charred and caramelized on a hot grill.

Of course, I have my own platter of grilled meat, which I had bought minutes earlier at Mimi’s Ethiopian BBQ, just up the way on Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Long, ropy lengths of beef are coiled and tangled on a bed of injera, each strip slathered with awaze red-pepper paste and blackened from a brief stay on the grill. Some sections have this sublime crustiness, which forms best, I think, when thickly marinated meats hit a superhot grate. To be honest, I can’t tell who’s enjoying their afternoon more: the children on the pirate ship or me with my zilzil tibs.

Mimi’s is named for Siham Mohammed, whose mother used to call her “Mimi” as a child. Mohammed is an entrepreneur, just like her parents were back in Gondar, in the northern reaches of Ethiopia. Aside from Mimi’s, Mohammed also owns the supermarket a few doors down where, according to the signage, you can get groceries, accessories and your checks cashed. To my mind, the sign doesn’t begin to cover the vast array of foods, services and household goods found in Mohammed’s store.

Mimi’s, by contrast, has only a few offerings. It has even fewer workers. Its principal employee is Hikmah Tasew, older sister to Mohammed. Tasew serves as prep cook, baker, chef, dishwasher, cashier, you name it. She arrives early in the morning and leaves late at night, six days a week. She’s a crew of one, layered in clothes from top to bottom, from her floor-length striped dress to her tawny-colored headscarf. The only visible parts of her body are her hands and her face, which radiates kindness.

“It breaks my heart seeing her working hard, to be honest with you,” says Mohammed. “She makes everything on a daily basis. She doesn’t make anything for the next day. … She makes everything fresh, just like at her house.”

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Q&A: Ethiopia’s High Flying Female Pilots Amsale Gualu and Tigist Kibret

Published by Tadias Magazine March 7th, 2021 in Podcast. Closed

March is International Women’s Month and in the following timely interview the British national Afro-Caribbean weekly newspaper, The Voice, features Ethiopian pilots Captain Amsale Gualu and Capt. Tigist Kibret. As the publication notes these two women "have defied the statistics to get their wings – and hope that more young females across the world will be inspired by their success." (The Voice Online)

The Voice

International Women’s Month: Meet Ethiopia’s high flying female pilots Amsale Gualu and Tigist Kibret

Captain Amsale Gualu is inspired by the female pioneers who came before her, and would like to change society’s perceptions

IN A male-dominated field, to become a female pilot is a feat in itself. The International Society of Women Female Pilots estimates that of the world’s 130,000 pilots, just 4,000 – or three per cent – are women.

But two Ethiopian women – Captain Amsale Gualu and Capt. Tigist Kibret – have defied the statistics to get their wings – and hope that more young females across the world will be inspired by their success.

In December 2017, the pair made history in being part of the world’s first-ever all-female crew for a special Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa to Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria.

The 13-member crew, supervised by Captain Amsale Gualu and then-First Officer Tigist Kibret, flew 391 passengers to the Nigerian capital on Boeing B777-300 ER, in a groundbreaking journey that took four and a half hours.

As part of The Voice’s feature celebrating incredible black women, we speak to the two trailblazers and discuss their ambitions, personal lives and hopes for the future.

First, we spoke with Captain Amsale Gualu, who says she is inspired by the female pioneers who came before her, and would like to change society’s perceptions.

What are your hobbies?

I have several hobbies. I love travelling and discovering new places. I enjoy staying physically active by doing yoga and occasionally swim. I also like design and decorating in my spare time.

What advice would you give to a young girl who is aspiring for a male dominated career?
I would advise that being a girl or woman should not stop them from doing what they want. It’s not that things are difficult, but we don’t dare to try it in the first place. If something has not been done before, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done – it’s just a matter of perspective and practice.

If you were asked to name three role models in your life who would they be and why?
Firstly, my parents who were very supportive, encouraging and gave me the confidence to achieve my dream. Secondly, Muluembet Emiru was the first Ethiopian woman who flew an aeroplane in the 1930s, in a time where such things were unthinkable. And Dr Catherine Hamlin, an Australian obstetrician, and gynaecologist doctor, who came to Ethiopia in 1959 and settled. She dedicated her life to providing free fistula treatment for a poor woman suffering from early childbirth.

Why did you decide to become a pilot?

Since I was a kid, I was always curious about planes, watching them fly; I knew early on this was a profession that fascinated me.

Please share with our readers one of your greatest achievements outside of aviation?

Before joining pilot training school, I graduated from Addis Ababa University with BSc in Architecture and Urban planning and still practice it as a hobby and enjoy it.

How do you conquer your fears?

I overcame my fears by taking the time to immerse myself in the comprehensive training and understanding of the aircraft’s operation and systems. By doing so, I built up my confidence and conquered my fears.

What is your favourite song and why?

I enjoy listening to Ethiopian and international songs, especially the 90s music. I particularly like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and also enjoy more modern artists like Ed Sheeran.

What’s your favourite traditional Ethiopian dish?

Doro Wot is my favourite traditional Ethiopian food prepared from chicken with different homemade organic spices.

If you could meet a celebrity, who would it be and why?

Generally, I admire celebrities who go forward from obstacles and difficulties, but there is no specific celebrity that I would like to meet.

What has been the greatest challenge?

The biggest challenge, aside from being a working mum, is changing society’s perception toward women’s leadership capability.

Captain Tigist Kibret says she is proud and honoured to be considered a role model for others – and uses each day to learn and grow further.

Who inspires you to succeed?

My success resulted from support and love from my family and various people that I came across in my life.

Although I have had different people who have inspired me, my ultimate inspiration is my mother, who embodies strength and open-mindedness.

She never placed limitations or ideas on what I could be and who I could become.

What has been your greatest career challenge and how did you overcome it?

As a pilot, our day-to-day life is full of challenges, as I am responsible for passengers and crew’s lives on board and the operation of multi-million- dollar equipment.

I usually have to deal with rapidly changing situations, which I overcome by putting my training and skills in effect.

Besides that, my most significant career challenge has been during the pandemic, especially in the first season.

It was tough for us to fly to different parts of the world under restrictions and leave our families behind.

How do you relax in your spare time?

I am a wife and a mother, so I spend most of my spare hours having quality time with my husband and the kids. But when I am not with my family, my extra hours will be a selection of reading, a coffee get-together with friends, going to the spa or a movie.

Please share with our readers one of your greatest achievements.

Being told that I am an inspiration by my peers and those I encounter is my greatest achievement.

You are a role model for many women across the world, how do you feel about that and what would you say to them?

I feel very proud and honoured for being a role model for others. And I would say to them; it’s never late to become the person you want to be.

Stumbling should not stop you from owning what is yours.

How do you keep motivated?

Being a pilot is motivation as there’s always something new to learn. The latest updates to company training and courses keep me motivated and the varied people I encounter and learn from daily – be it my senior or junior team members.

How do you balance family life with your career?

I try to make the best of my time; as I mentioned earlier, I spend most of my spare time with my family. But if no one is at home during my days off, I spend it reading, checking emails and being up-to-date with my work.

What is your favourite food/ dish and do you cook it?

I love almost all Ethiopian food. But my favourite would be Kechin Shiro with Tikus Injera. And yes, I sometimes cook it, it’s easy to cook.

Do you listen to any inspirational music before flying?

No.

Tell us a little about the training you had to undergo to become a pilot.

I went to one of the best aviation schools in Africa (Ethiopian Aviation Academy), which gives several training types under Aviation, Cargo, Catering, Ground services, and Maintenance and Overhaul.

After the recruitment, I joined the school for thorough theoretical, computer-based, simulator, and actual flight training and several aiding courses.

It was one of the unforgettable experiences of my career.

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Spotlight: Zion Taddese Introduces Teff to California’s Famous Farm Industry

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

Zion Taddese, owner of the Queen Sheeba Ethiopian restaurant in Sacramento, California, is introducing Teff to California's internationally renowned agriculture industry. The restaurant owner started a new organization called Sheba Farms that will bring jobs to Sacramento. “Creating the processing center where we can mill it, clean it and distribute it,” says Zion Taddese. (Photo: ABC10)

ABC10

This Ethiopian grain could be California’s new superfood

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The people who make Northern California Strong are those who inspire us and make our communities a great place to live. ABC10 wants to highlight their strength by recognizing what they do. This week we want to introduce you to Zion Taddese.

California is the Nation’s leader in food production, a third of the fruits and two-thirds of all vegetables are grown here, but there is one plant that golden state grows very little of until now. It’s called Teff and it’s a Gluten-free gain, high in iron and fiber. It’s also the main ingredient that Zion Taddese uses at her restaurant, Queen Sheeba Ethiopian Food in Sacramento.

“We use it in our injera, all gluten-free made from Teff,” said Taddese. “This is Teff growing in California for the first time.”

Teff is an African grain that Taddese grew up eating in Ethiopia, but after migrating to Sacramento and starting her restaurant she found that Teff was difficult to buy in the US.

“There is a high demand for Teff, but there is not enough supply,” explained Taddese.

To remedy her supply problem, Zion enlisted the help of UC Davis to find a strain of Teff that would grow in California.

“I am working with UC Davis to create the knowledge, the training, the technology to share with farmers,” said Zion.

The technology is well on its way. UC Davis researchers had a successful crop last year and now farmers William and John Gilbert are preparing to plant Teff in their vacant Walnut orchard in Wheatland.

“We are interested in Healthy food. The incentive to grow it is the healthier the food the more people buy it,” says William Gilbert.

Taddese is on a mission to make Teff California’s new Super Grain. The restaurant owner started a new organization called Sheba Farms that will bring jobs to Sacramento. “Creating the processing center where we can mill it, clean it and distribute it,” says Taddese

Through Teff, Taddese wants to make her community Northern California strong and someday share that strength with her homeland of Ethiopia.

“I hope to feed the world through Sheba Farms because no child should be left behind when it comes to food and nutrition.”

Helping to diversify California agriculture and create new jobs, Zion Taddese is NorCal Strong. If you want to nominate a strong Northern Californian send a text (916) 321-3310 and put NorCal Strong in the text. Feel free to send pictures and or web links in the submission.

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2 DC Ethio-Jazz Greats Have New Albums

Published by Tadias Magazine April 30th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Selam Woldemariam’s new album “Grace” was released in January. (Courtesy of Selam Woldemariam)

DCist

Two Local Ethiopian Jazz Greats Have New Albums

Every Friday from 2016 until recently in a small, second-floor room of the Crystal City restaurant Enjera, Ethiopian guitarist Selam Seyoum Woldemariam has led his trio through minor key, groove-filled renditions of 20th century Ethiopian songs. For the crowd of mostly 40-something-and-up Ethiopians in attendance, Woldemariam’s catalogue brought back memories of when these tunes were the radio soundtrack to their lives. The band stands on a tiny stage jammed up against a wall, playing their lounge-funky East African jazz for an audience of roughly 50 people who enjoy plates of Ethiopian and Eritrean food with spongy injera or just drink and socialize at tables close by.

Performing live, Woldemariam says, gave him “the utmost satisfaction and a chance to meet my fans,” who he says treasured his shows and aren’t fans of going out to other types of nightlife like dance clubs or hookah bars.

Woldemariam, 65, is one of the stars of a lively Ethiopian music scene that, before the pandemic, encompassed local clubs and restaurants, most notably in D.C., Silver Spring, and Falls Church. But as the novel coronavirus has spread, restaurant closures and bans on large gatherings has put everything on pause, including gigs for two popular Ethiopian artists who just released new albums.

Hailu Mergia, a 74-year-old keyboardist and accordionist based in Fort Washington, typically brings his funky Ethio-jazz to larger venues, such as the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage or the 600-person capacity Hamilton. On March 27, Mergia released his new album, Yene Mircha. The Washington Post and music website Pitchfork have hailed both hailed the new work, but because of the pandemic, Mergia has been unable to translate that acclaim into live appearances: His American and European tour have been cancelled.

Woldemariam also recently released a new album, Grace, in January, under the name Selam “Selamino” Seyoum. (Seyoum is his father’s last name and Woldemariam is his grandfather’s last name.) He was able to put on some album release shows locally and one in Texas before the pandemic, though planned shows in Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles have been cancelled.

Both artists, best known for being part of the 1970s Ethiopian music scene that later reached a fanatic audience through a collection of retrospective albums called Ethiopiques, mix traditional Ethiopian pentatonic scale chords with sounds from elsewhere in Africa, plus American R&B, jazz, and rock to create their funky afro-psychedelic Ethiopian styles.

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New York City’s Only Ethiopian Food Truck

Published by Tadias Magazine March 2nd, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Eritrean parents, Eden G. Egziabher wanted to create a space where people can experience authentic Ethiopian cuisine on-the-go. (Instagram)

Black Enterprise

Food trucks are abundant in New York City, with nearly every type of international cuisine you can find driving through the crowded streets. For Eden G. Egziabher, she wanted people to experience the food from her home country and created the city’s first Ethiopian food truck.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Eritrean parents, Egziabher wanted to create a space where people can experience authentic Ethiopian cuisine on-the-go. In 2017, she started the Makina Cafe, which featured a menu of her favorite dishes from her home country, including injera bread, gomen, and tasty sambusas. (The word “Makina” translates to “truck” in all three languages.) She wanted the food to reflect the mix of Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Italian cultures that define her childhood. Egziabher is the first Eritrean-American female entrepreneur in the city with a food truck serving Habesha food.

It wasn’t an easy transition: Food trucks are notorious for being very competitive and a male-dominated space. “When you show up and you are expected to fail, you are going to work harder,” she told Vice’s Munchies. “The other food truckers did not welcome us at all. When they see a woman behind [the truck]…they take it as a joke.” Through word of mouth, her truck started to grow in popularity.

To ensure the food she serves tastes like the food she grew up with, Egziabher travels to Queens and even as far as Washington D.C. (home to the largest Ethiopian community in the country) to buy the right ingredients to maintain the flavor of her dishes, including spices that aren’t available at most grocery stores.

Read the full article at blackenterprise.com »

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10 Restaurants in LA’s Little Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine February 3rd, 2020 in Featured. Closed

Little Ethiopia, the officially designated neighborhood in Los Angeles since 2002, is a hub of Ethiopian culture and food in Southern California. In the following feature the dining website Eater.com highlights ten restaurants from the neighborhood. (Photo: TADIAS)

Eater.com

10 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles’s Little Ethiopia

For nearly 30 years now, the stretch of Fairfax Avenue between Olympic and Whitworth has been home to Little Ethiopia, and the second-largest concentration of Ethiopian emigres in the United States after Washington, D.C. And though the neighborhood has gone through changes over the decades, it remains a vibrant cultural center with an annual street festival, a host of art galleries, antique shops, and a rich dining scene.

Naturally, most of the restaurants in this neighborhood serve traditional Ethiopian cuisine but even that is beginning to evolve. From a soulful take on Ethiopian home-cooking that received a nod from the Michelin Guide, to a completely vegan Ethiopian restaurant, to a modern take on old school Italian food, here are 10 must-visit restaurants in Little Ethiopia.

1. Awash

5990 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(323) 939-3233

While technically a few blocks from the official neighborhood borders, Awash is a heavy-hitter of Ethiopian cuisine. Beef is the specialty here, whether raw as kifto smothered in chile and butter, or sauteed with onion and garlic as tibs. The space is rather tight and nearly always busy, so grab a drink at the back bar and save room for some traditional honey wine with your meal.

2. Meals By Genet

1053 S Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 938-9304
Visit Website

A perennial favorite in Little Ethiopia, chef Genet Agonafer has had heaps of praise bestowed on her 20 year old restaurant: Michelin Bib Gourmand, James Beard Award semi-finalist, and a fixture on the LA Times’s 101 Best list. The crisp white table cloths put this dining room in stark relief to the surrounding restaurants, but Agonafer’s warmth and the depth of her flavors keep the space intimate. The spicy doro wat is a popular order here, while the vegetarian combination is a great way to sample Agonafer’s range.

3. Messob Ethiopian Restaurant

1041 S Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 938-8827
Visit Website

Named for the traditional Ethiopian bread basket that doubles as a table, Messob arguably created modern Little Ethiopia when the original owner, Rahel Woldmedhin, opened it in 1985. Today, Messob remains a staple of the neighborhood, and a classic date spot where couples engage in gushra — hand-feeding your partner in a loving gesture. For those looking to try a range of entrees, the super Messob exclusive offers nine samples of entrees including the split lentil Yemisir Wot and the sautéed beef Zelzel Tibs.

4. Rahel Ethiopian Vegan Cuisine

1047 S Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 937-8401
Visit Website

After opening Messob over three decades ago, Rahel Woldmedhin left in 2000 to open her namesake restaurant serving a fully vegan menu. Find a gluten-free version of injera, a fava bean ful, and various stews based on lentils, zucchini, and mixed vegetables. The full Ethiopian coffee ceremony is a special treat.

Read the full list at la.eater.com »

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How This Ethiopian Entrepreneur Came Up with Idea of Growing Teff in California

Published by Tadias Magazine October 5th, 2019 in Featured. Closed

Zion Taddese owns the Queen Sheba Ethiopian restaurant in Sacramento. (Sacramento Business Journal)

Sacramento Business Journal

Restaurateur wants to grow more of this Ethiopian superfood

Lunchtime at the Queen Sheba Ethiopian restaurant on Broadway in Sacramento is filled with flavorful aromas, colors and steaming stews of beans and vegetables…

“We eat injera in Ethiopia every day,” she said. “For breakfast, for lunch, for dinner.”

Lately, however, Taddese has begun making the injera a little differently. She adds barley to the mixture of teff flour, which serves as the basis for the injera dough. Teff, a grain native to Ethiopia, has gotten more and more expensive. Since Taddese opened the restaurant 15 years ago, the price she pays for teff has risen from around $15 per 20 pounds to $60. For comparison, the barley she mixes with the teff to make injera is $10 per 20 pounds.

“There’s not enough supply,” she said. “That’s why it’s so expensive.”

And that’s when she can get it at all. Taddese gets the teff from one of the only U.S. sources — a grower in Idaho.

“You have to order six months in advance because they run out of it so fast,” Taddese said.

So Taddese came up with the idea of growing teff in California. She also wants to expand her restaurant and build a new company, Sheba Farms, which will process, mill and package teff flour.

These are ambitious plans, but Taddese has taken on big challenges before.

She grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. She left for England when she was 16, and while she was in college in London, worked in her aunt’s Ethiopian restaurant.

Read the full article at bizjournals.com »

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Dashen, Only Ethiopian Restaurant in Central NJ, Holds Grand Reopening

Published by Tadias Magazine August 22nd, 2019 in Events. Closed

Dashen Ethiopian restaurant in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The family owned restaurant is operated by husband and wife team Tsigereda Lemlemayehu and Alemayehu Hailu. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 22nd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — Dashen Ethiopian Cuisine, which is located in New Brunswick, has been highlighted as one of the “10 hotest restaurants” in New Jersey by NJ.com. It is also the only Ethiopian restaurant in Central New Jersey since the closing of Makeda (the state’s first Ethiopian restaurant) a few years back.

“The void of Ethiopian cuisine in New Brunswick was deliciously filled by Dashen,” NJ.com had noted in a feature published soon after the eatery opened four years ago. Located on Albany Street the restaurant had originally opened under the name Desta. Now re-named as Dashen it is set to hold a grand re-opening this weekend (Saturday, August 24th) to inaugurate its newly expanded space.

The family owned restaurant is operated by husband and wife team Tsigereda Lemlemayehu and Alemayehu Hailu who are long-time residents of Central Jersey and are best known for their homemade injera favored by local Ethiopians.

Below are a few photos of the restaurant:

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If You Go:
Dashen’s Grand re-opening in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Saturday, August 24th, 2019
88 Albany Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone number (732) 249-0494
www.dashenethiopiannj.com

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A CNN Hero, A Midwife, MeTooEthiopia: 3 Great News Stories You May Have Missed

Published by Tadias Magazine May 10th, 2019 in Featured. Closed

(Photos: CNN Hero Freweini Mebrahtu, midwife Selamawit Lake and image from Shades of Injera Instagram)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: May 10th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) – A CNN Hero from Ethiopia, an award-wining midwife, and the burgeoning #MeTooEthiopia movement that began as an Instagram post launched by an Ethiopian American activist in the Diaspora are among the timely human-interest stories that have received international coverage this week, but unfortunately has garnered very little media attention in our community.

Below are brief summaries and links to each story:

CNN Hero Freweini Mebrahtu

CNN celebrated Freweini Mebrahtu, a U.S.-educated chemical engineer and owner of the Mariam Seba Sanitary Products factory in Ethiopia — that produces its own patented reusable menstrual pad — as its 2019 CNN Hero for her efforts in creating public awareness about women’s health in the country and dispelling the traditionally negative perception surrounding menstruation.

“More than 80% of the pads she manufactures are sold to non-governmental organizations that distribute them for free,” CNN notes. “Mebrahtu, also worked for years to end the stigma around this issue by speaking to students at schools.”

As Freweini told CNN: “The whole goal was not only making the pads, but also attacking the cultural baggage to it.”

Award-wining Midwife Selamawit Lake Fenta

NPR featured a Q&A session with Ethiopian Midwife Selamawit Lake Fenta who was named one of this year’s five champions by the International Confederation of Midwives.

According to NPR, “the group picked the five from nominations submitted by members from 122 countries. The goal was to honor midwives who’ve made an impact in their community. Fenta, 30, works at the Tibebe Ghion Hospital in Bahir Dar City in Ethiopia and is the department head and a lecturer of midwifery at Bahir Dar University.”

NPR also noted that eight year ago, when Selamawit was just 22-years-old, she led a crusade for higher pay for midwives in Ethiopia, where a majority of her colleagues earn about $56 to $84 a month. “We are not paid fairly,” Selamawit said.

#MeTooEthiopia: ‘Assault is a crime, not a culture’

Public Radio International (PRI) recently highlighted the growing online campaign under the hashtag #MeTooEthiopia, which started out on the Instagram page called “Shades of Injera” in 2014 before it was transformed into a global platform for the rights of Ethiopian women a few months ago following the release of the explosive documentary ‘Surviving R. Kelly.’

Describing efforts to promote #MeTooEthiopia PRI noted that: “on International Women’s Day this year the page featured the face of the country’s first female president photoshopped onto an image of Rosie the Riveter.”

PRI spoke with one of the Ethiopian Americans running the Instagram page who declined to share her real name — and goes by ‘S’ in the interview “because she wants to continue to post questions and speak freely about sensitive topics” and “has received threats over things she’s posted.”

PRI adds: “S. says the R. Kelly documentary made her ask, “Who are the men in their own Ethiopian community who prey on younger women?” Within days, hundreds of women and some men began sharing their own stories of sexual assault. “Everyone was saying, ‘I’ve actually never shared this before. This is my first time saying it,’” says S. “People were desperate to do something and, you know, get their story out.” The response was so overwhelming that they created a separate website called #MeTooEthiopia with the tagline, “assault is a crime, not a culture.”

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Watch Ethiopia Episode of Marcus Samuelsson’s PBS Show No Passport Required

Published by Tadias Magazine August 16th, 2018 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

Marcus Samuelsson's show No Passport Required featured Ethiopian immigrant community in DC as season finale (photo courtesy: Eater.com)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: August 16th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — The season finale of Marcus Samuelsson’s PBS show, No Passport Required, aired on Tuesday, August 14th featuring Ethiopian food and culture in Washington D.C. The full episode highlighted the inspiring stories of Ethiopian entrepreneurs as well as how to make traditional dishes such as kitfo and ful, and eskista dancing.

Zenebech, who started her injera business as a newly arrived refugee in the United States, invited Marcus into her kitchen and they make the hearty lamb dish of tibs as she recounted the early days of her entrepreneurial journey and then later launching an Ethiopian restaurant in 2010.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), one of the largest television program distributors in the United States, premiered Marcus Samuelsson’s new show No Passport Required on July 10th, 2018. As host of No Passport Required Restaurateur, Chef and Author Marcus Samuelsson highlighted food, art and culture in immigrant communities across America — from Little Kabul in Fremont, California to the Vietnamese shrimpers in Louisiana, and the Indo-Guyanese community in Queens, New York.

“Chasing flavors has been my lifelong passion,” shared Samuelsson in recent press release. “To now be able to bring viewers on that journey with me to these amazing communities in cities across the U.S. is truly a dream come true. We get to go deep into the markets, pull up to the roadside stands, and be welcomed into homes — all the places where people share and celebrate food together.”

No Passport Required is produced by Vox Media in collaboration with PBS.

Watch a preview of the Ethiopian community episode of No Passport Required below:

To watch the full season finale episode featuring the Ethiopian community in Washington D.C. click here.

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The New York Times Reviews Makina Cafe

Published by Tadias Magazine June 28th, 2018 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

Makina Cafe. (Photo: Instagram)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Thursday, June 28th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — The first Ethiopian food truck in New York City aptly named Makina Cafe is owned by Eritrean-American entrepreneur Eden G. Egziabher who was born in Ethiopia from parents of Eritrean descent and was raised “amidst a vibrant mix of Ethiopian, Eritrean and Italian cultures.”

“At the bright yellow Makina Cafe truck, which has been plying the streets of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens since last summer, the injera is..delivered fresh every morning to the truck before it sets out for lunch service,” The New York Times highlights in a review published today. “The identity of its maker is a prized secret. Eden Gebre Egziabher, the truck’s owner and chef, said simply, ‘I have a lady. She’s the best.’”

During the height of the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the late 1990s, Eden’s mother who was visiting friends in the U.S. at the time was prevented from returning to Ethiopia. Eden told NYT: “One minute everyone was living together. The next, families were ripped apart.”

The newspaper adds: “While she fled with her father and older sister to Kenya, her mother applied for asylum in the United States. A year later, they were reunited in Charlotte, N.C.”

“Now, Ms. Gebre Egziabher hopes to turn the food of her childhood into an American staple — “to bring my culture to Main Street,” she said…For her menu, she intentionally chose dishes whose ingredients would not be intimidating to diners unfamiliar with the cuisine.. as in fossolia, a gingery simmer of string beans and carrots, and tikel gomen, cabbage gently broken down with carrots and potatoes — although not too much, so it keeps a memory of crunch.”

Read the full review at NYTimes.com »

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The 10 Best Tadias Arts & Culture Stories of 2017 in Pictures

Published by Tadias Magazine December 25th, 2017 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

Beteseb Painting Session at the Smithsonian African Art Museum in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 2017. (Photo by Victor Mayeya Odori)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: December 26th, 2017

New York (TADIAS) — As we close 2017 and wish our readers a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year, we also look forward to celebrating our 15th anniversary in 2018 with you.

The first issue of Tadias Magazine was launched in 2003 with the purpose of creating a platform that connects the Ethiopian American community and chronicling both the successes and challenges of the Ethiopian experience worldwide. Looking back we are happy to say that as documented in the rich archives of our publication Ethiopian Americans of all generations have risen to new heights in various fields and disciplines including in the sciences, arts, business, as well as serving as advisors to the President of the United States and as global cultural icons.

Below are the ten most popular stories that we featured this past year:

Beteseb Painting Session at Smithsonian in DC

In June 2017, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. hosted an evening of painting and Ethiopian Jazz “under the summer skies” with Beteseb Center and Feedel Band. We featured the Beteseb art program when it was first launched two years ago as a weekly Saturday painting session for amateur artists in a rental space on 18th street in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. We are delighted to see the program is still going strong.

Antu Yacob Performs “In the Gray” at United Solo Theatre Festival in New York

Antu Yacob’s Ethio-American play “In the Gray” was featured at the 2017 United Solo Theatre festival in New York City this past September. Antu was the first Ethiopian American to have a play staged at the festival, which is the largest solo theatre festival in the world. The 75-minute storytelling and performance art narrates Antu’s personal experience while growing up in the United States as she forms and re-negotiates her Ethiopian-American identity first as a teenager and later an adult pursuing a career in the theatre and film industry. In the Gray features Antu playing several engaging characters including herself, her 8-year-old son, as well as her muslim and Oromo activist mother who lives in Minnesota.

Four Ethiopians on 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 List

From top left: Tsion Gurmu, Legal Fellow at African Services Committee, Saron Tesfalul, Vice President, Bain Capital; Lilly Workneh, Senior editor, Black Voices, HuffPost; and Awol Erizku, Artist. (Photos: Forbes)

In November Forbes Magazine released its influential annual list of 600 young trailblazers in 20 different industries. The 2018 list features four Ethiopian American professionals in their twenties working in finance, media, art & style as well as law & policy. The Ethiopian Americans highlighted in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list include Tsion Gurmu, Legal Fellow at African Services Committee in New York City; Saron Tesfalul, Vice President at Bain Capital in Boston; Lilly Workneh, Senior Editor, Black Voices, HuffPost in New York; and Awol Erizku, Artist, also from NYC.

Scientist Sossina Haile Honored With GE Grand Central Video Installation

Ethiopian American Scientist Sossina Haile honored with a GE video installation on the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017. (Courtesy photo)

Professor Sossina Haile, an expert in materials science and fuel cells research, was one of 12 female scientists who were honored in September with a spectacular video installation, projected on the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, as part of a display called “Unseen Stars” recognizing “outstanding women in science.”

Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School Names Yohannes Abraham 2017 Fellow

Former White House advisor Yohannes Abraham. (Courtesy Photo).

Yohannes Abraham was a 2017 Fellow at the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard Kennedy School this Fall. “Yohannes Abraham has not only had a front row seat, but was an active participant in the complex process of shaping national and international policy [under President Obama],” said Cong. Bill Delahunt, Acting Director of the prestigious institution. “His willingness to share his White House experience with students will provide them a rare first-hand perspective on the challenges of governing.” Yohannes served as Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Public Engagement & Intergovernmental Affairs and Senior Advisor to the National Economic Council during the Obama administration. He is currently Senior Advisor to the Obama Foundation.

New “Deseta Emojis” App on iTunes Celebrate Everything Ethiopian

(Courtesy of Deseta Design)

In your next text message you may now include Deseta Emojis to express yourself with Ethiopian humor. The digital icons often used to communicate ideas and emotions comes courtesy of Deseta Design. Announcing that its keyboard app contains over 200 small emojis Deseta Design says that the current collection is available for download on the App Store (Android version coming soon). Deseta emojis include icons of injera, buna, jebena and goursha. The images “celebrate everything Ethiopian in all of its glory,” says Maro Haile, owner of Deseta Design, an NYC-based online creative venture.

Long Distance Runner Almaz Ayana: 2017 World Athlete of the Year Finalist

Almaz Ayana. (AP photo)

Our highlight of Olympic champion and world 10,000m titleholder Almaz Ayana’s second nomination for the World Athlete of the Year award last month was one of the most viewed stories of the year on the Tadias website. Almaz was the winner of last year’s Female World Athlete of the Year prize given by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). We wish Almaz Ayana continued success as she represents Ethiopia in future world events.

In New Release Meklit Pays Homage To Ethio-Jazz

This year musician Meklit Hadero released one of her best albums yet. The CD entitled When The People Move, The Music Moves Too includes a beautiful tribute to Meklit’s own musical role models hailing from Ethiopia and the United States in a song called I Want to Sing for Them All (watch the video above). As Vibe magazine points out: “I Want to Sing For Them All is her musical manifesto, and how she intertwines both of the music of American and Ethiopian heritages.” Meklit adds: “We came to this country when I was about two. I am an immigrant, so I guess you could say this is immigrant music. But I would not be who I am without Jazz, and Blues and Hip-Hop and Soul. This music is Ethio-American, just like me. I find joy in the bigness of that space.”

Gebisa Ejeta Receives $5M Grant for Grain Research

Gebisa Ejeta is an Ethiopian American plant breeder, geneticist and Professor at Purdue University. In 2009, he won the World Food Prize for his major contributions in the production of sorghum. (Photo: Purdue)

Per AP: “Gebisa Ejeta received the four-year grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Journal and Courier reported. “It is the second foundation that has donated to the cause. It’s very helpful a grant such as this for the kind of programs that they support in developing countries because it allows us to engage beyond the normal boundaries we operate,” Ejeta said. Ejeta developed a hybrid sorghum seed that’s drought-tolerant and resistant to striga, which strips food sources from its nutrients. Ejeta is credited with helping feed hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa with his work developments.”

Marcus Samuelsson to Host New PBS Show Celebrating Food, Art, Culture & Immigrants in America

Marcus Samuelsson, pictured outside his Red Rooster Harlem, will travel across the United States from DC to the Bay Area in California to spotlight the cuisine in local immigrant communities. (Photo: by Matt Dutile)

Next year Marcus Samuelsson is set to Host a New PBS show, tentatively titled No Passport Required that highlights food, art and culture from the vibrant Ethiopian restaurant scene in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to Little Kabul in Fremont, California and the Vietnamese shrimpers in Louisiana. “No Passport Required will celebrate America’s diverse cultural mosaic as Samuelsson travels to under-explored parts of American cities to showcase the people, places and culinary flavors of immigrant communities,” PBS announced, noting that the series will premiere in 2018.

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OP-ED: Ethiopian Legacy of Canadian Robert Thompson by Fikre Germa

Published by Tadias Magazine December 13th, 2017 in Featured. Closed

In the late 1980's as a young student in Canada Ethiopian physician Fikre Germa, pictured above (standing) 21-years-ago with his his father Dr Germa Amare, Robert Thompson, his wife Evelyn Thompson, and a visiting friend, met and befriended Thompson (Center) who lived in Ethiopia from 1944 to 1958 and also served as vice-Minster of Education. The following piece submitted to Tadias is an excerpt from an upcoming book by Fikre Germa. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Tadias Magazine
Op-Ed

By Dr. Fikre Germa

Updated: December 15th, 2017

Ontario, Canada (TADIAS) — In 1988, I arrived in Vancouver anxious to find a way to continue my medical studies and establish myself as a physician. I had little social support and even less money but a hunger for connections with Ethiopia, my home country. And I made them. I found injera. I met other Ethiopians. But I never expected that one of my strongest connections would be a retired Canadian, a former teacher, missionary, and politician.

Most Canadians who recognize Dr. Robert (Bob) Thompson’s name likely recall him as a politician and former leader of the Social Credit. Few know that between 1944 and 1958 he helped Ethiopia rebuild, or that he later befriended and mentored young Ethiopian immigrants in British Columbia.

I first met Thompson at an Ethiopian community event in Vancouver in the late 1980s, where he stood out as the only foreigner in the midst of many Ethiopians. I introduced myself and received an invitation to his home where he was going to host another Ethiopian mixer.

As our relationship evolved over the years he became a mentor and grandfather figure to me. I admired him for having learned to speak and write Amharic and for his enduring love for Ethiopia and its people and potential. Like many others in the Ethiopian Diaspora at the time, I found it difficult to identify confidently with the Ethiopian culture because our family had fled a country in turmoil after a Marxist coup in 1974. From Thompson, I gained a deeper appreciation of my homeland’s contribution to language, literature, faith, and culture. I also absorbed Thompson’s respectful and sustainable model for developing Ethiopia’s potential, one I would try to apply in my own work for Ethiopia.

Thompson, who was born in the United States to Canadian parents and raised in Alberta, had been a teacher and a chiropractor before World War II. Between 1941 and 1943, he served as an instructor in the Royal Canadian Air Force. During his service, he became friends with a chaplain who had known Emperor Haile Selassie while he lived in exile in Great Britain during the 1936 Fascist occupation of Ethiopia. The chaplain recommended Thompson to the emperor as someone who could help Ethiopia rebuild.

In 1944, Thompson, his wife, Hazel, also a chiropractor, and their children went to Ethiopia, where he worked with the government and the Sudan Interior Mission (now Serving in Mission).

I was elated to learn that Thompson had lived in Ethiopia and served under Haile Selassie for a number of years. Thompson was seconded to the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. One of his first assignments was to organize the curriculum and supervise the teachers at Ethiopia’s first high school, the newly opened Haile Selassie Secondary School. Later he became its head master. Emperor Haile Selassie I, himself the Minister of Education, appointed Thompson first as the Superintendent of Schools of Kaffa Province and later as Deputy Minister of Education. The nation’s public school system needed rebuilding because the occupiers had destroyed educational structures and not allowed many Ethiopian children to go to school.

Thompson’s mandate was to establish schools in the capital city of each of the twelve provinces and in all of the main provincial towns. Thompson flew to Britain, India, Canada, and the United States, recruiting teachers for Ethiopia. In twelve months, twenty-six schools were opened. Within five years, the Ethiopian school population grew from zero to almost ten thousand. He used to say that it is the teachers who loved Ethiopia that were very effective as opposed to those who had a lot of degrees — he was very attentive to culture and human relationship.

The Emperor, a devout Christian and head of the Office of the Ethiopian Coptic Church, quickly felt a bond with Thompson and gave him freedom to tackle the tasks that Thompson felt were a priority. Thompson became an intimate friend of the Emperor, whom he respected, and a confidante and mentor to the royal family, who referred to him as Fikurab, a term of respect and endearment.

One project that greatly pleased the Emperor was Thompson’s proposal to build a leprosarium for the Arise people in the Rift Valley in Shashamane, one of the most under developed areas of Ethiopia. The Arise were semi-Nomadic and fiercely independent; leprosy had brought them much sorrow. The Ethiopian government agreed to supply the land for this leprosarium and Sudan Interior Mission supplied the staff and supplies. Herein, Thompson was able to integrate his philosophy of having government agencies work together with non-governmental agencies to achieve a common goal. This was his belief based on the growing understanding that in many situations the private sector can do things cheaper and more efficiently than a bureaucratic government.

Years later, in his book entitled From the Marketplace, Thompson wrote, “The expertise of such agency personnel is rarely obtainable through normal channels of government recruitment. It has been estimated that a dollar spent in this way and down to earth, close to people project is worth at least $4 of government onset aid.” Through these experiences, Thompson grew in his understanding of human nature and the most diplomatic ways to accomplish political ends.

Thompson also wanted to help the Arise become self-supporting by teaching them to farm. When my father, Germa Amare, and I visited Thompson and his second wife, Evelyn, in 1996, we learned about the egg project. On one trip to Alberta he purchased twenty eggs of certified Rhode Island Reds and carried them in a basket for more 24 hours in his flight back to Addis Ababa. At the leprosarium, he gave four eggs to five families from the hospital and village. They were not to eat the eggs but to use them for breeding. All twenty eggs hatched and by the end of the year there were over a hundred chickens. Within a few years, there were millions of Rhode Island Red chickens throughout southern Ethiopia. The Emperor was pleased and joined the lepers in nicknaming Thompson, Abbadoro, Father of the Chickens. The egg project illustrates what that he always said — that the first principle of development aid is that must be practical.

On his return from Ethiopia in the 1950s, Thompson adapted his experience in education and government to service in Canada. He first earned a master’s degree in Educational Studies. He had supported the Social Credit Party of Alberta in his youth, and in 1958, he became active again. In 1961, he became leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada; under his leadership, and that of deputy leader Réal Caouette, the Social Credit won thirty seats in the 1962 election, and played a role in the balance of power during that minority government and those of 1963 and 1965. In 1967, Robert Thompson became a Progressive Conservative. He served as a Member of Parliament for Red Deer, Alberta from 1962 to 1972, serving on many standing committees including that for external affairs.

After his retirement from politics, Thompson taught political science at Trinity Western College in British Columbia and worked in its administration. And he continued to serve Canada and Ethiopia through diplomacy. When Emperor Haile Selassie visited Canada in 1963 and in 1967, our centennial year, Lester Pearson, the prime minister asked Thompson to act as the Emperor’s aide-de-camp, meeting the Emperor in New York, before escorting him to Ottawa. Robert Thompson said that the Emperor’s visit allowed him to renew friendship with members of the Ethiopian party who had been personal friends in Ethiopia. One was the Ethiopian foreign minister Ketema Yifru, who had been one of his students in Addis Ababa.

The 1967 visit proved quite memorable. Thompson met the Emperor on April 30, in Vancouver and was in attendance at a dinner. The Emperor was seated with the newly appointed Governor-General, Roland Michener, Prime Minister Pearson and John Diefenbaker, Ketema Yifru, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Manassie Haile, the Ethiopian Minister of the Pen, equivalent to the Canadian Secretary of State. Robert Thompson had also taught him in high school.

Thompson, who was seated across from the Emperor, recalled the Emperor pointing at the miniature medals on my dinner jacket. Thompson recounted:

He then sent Menassie Haile to ask why I was not wearing my Ethiopian decorations. I replied simply that I didn’t have any. When Menassie Haile relayed my answer, the Emperor shook his head and frowned. He later called his Foreign Minister, Ketema Yifru, who carried the message to me, “This is no time for making jokes. Where are your Ethiopian medals?” I again replied, “Truly, my Emperor, you have not given me any. After dinner, Menassie Haile came to me stating that the Emperor was very embarrassed and wanted to invest me immediately with the proper decorations. Ketema Yifru had already been sent to bring the appropriate medals from the Emperor’s quarters. I explained that this could not be done because Canadians were not allowed to receive decorations from foreign nationals. This rule has been broken frequently, but never without the consent of the government. After an impromptu conference, Mike Pearson and Paul Martin related their problem to me. They wanted to accommodate the Emperor and suggested a compromise. The new Canadian award, the Order of Canada, was to be officially inaugurated on July 1, 1967, so I could accept the decoration as long as I did not publicize the matter until after the first of July, when the reciprocal awards would be possible and formally correct. Later that evening, the Emperor invested me with the Order of Ethiopian Star, and made it seem as though I was doing him a favour in receiving it.”

Eventually, Thompson’s contributions to Canada were recognized with the Order of Canada.

As I have said, Thompson’s views on international development influenced me; they shaped my own volunteer work in global health in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Drawing on his own experience in a one-room school in Alberta, he believed in practical education. He remembered the degree of motivation that came from having to use the resources and materials were at hand. He thought practical education was needed for adults as well as youth. He said the mature students contributed with life experiences.

He was cautious about the use of technology, saying said that all too often sophisticated Western technologies had little to offer the villages of Ethiopia. Aid experts are slowly coming to realize that a village’s needs cannot be satisfied by the advanced Western technology or the cast-offs of Western industry. Thompson also acknowledged that aid must also share of the values of freedom.

Of all things that really touched me was Dr. Thompson’s view that world peace could only come through following the highest law, the law of love and self-giving. In his political memoir, A House of Minorities 1957-72, he wrote:

It will come from true charity between nations, not simply the giving of material aid but the personal sacrifice necessary to understand and help with the problems of others. Satisfactory progress for any nation or people comes not from technical training but from God-endowed wisdom. This wisdom respects the human being as a divinely created creature whose very nature demands freedom. Progress to this end is a matter of education and training.

He also said, “I believe it’s our responsibility as a people, as a nation, to help others less fortunate than ourselves attain such wisdom aside from direct political and economic involvement.”

Dr. Robert Thompson died at age 83 on November 16, 1997, in Langley, the site of Trinity Western University. Today, you can find a Canadian-Ethiopian treasure, at the university, the archives of Dr. Robert N. Thompson (1914–1997).

When my father and I have visited his archives, we were deeply touched by the resources available on him and on Ethiopia, and by the Ethiopian flag squarely sitting comfortably in the archives.

Robert Thompson also inspired my present focus on supporting cultural wellness through community engagement and supporting the development of an Ethiopian language program and an Ethiopian Studies program at the University of Toronto.

For me, cultural wellness is as important as physical wellness and plays a significant role in global health. We are here because of our interest in Ethiopia, in higher education, and our communities.

Like Robert Thompson, let’s each continue to strengthen bonds between Canada and Ethiopia and contribute well to the education and well-being of our youth and communities.

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Friends Partner to Open 95-Seat Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant in Virginia

Published by Tadias Magazine October 8th, 2017 in Featured. Closed

Longtime friends Philipos Mengistu and Daniel Solomon opened Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant on Van Dorn Street near the Landmark Mall in Alexandria, Virginia on Monday. (Photo: Alexandria Times)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

October 8th, 2017

New York (TADIAS) — Philipos Mengistu, owner of the popular NYC restaurant Queen of Sheba, has partnered with his childhood friend Daniel Solomon of Virginia to open Makeda — a new 95-seat Ethiopian restaurant and bar located in Alexandria.

Makeda, which is located at 516 S. Van Dorn St., “features traditional and authentic Ethiopian fare,” notes The Alexandria Times newspaper. “Chef Senait “Mimi” Tedla is running Makeda’s kitchen.” The new menu includes traditional fare alongside Makeda Tibs, Quanta Firfir, Assa Dullet, and Assa Goulash. Extra food options at Makeda include rice and pita bread as well as a kids meal section. “In addition, Makeda will offer gluten-free injera and is working to make sure its menu caters to health-conscious eaters,” says Philipos.

The food news site DC Eater adds: “The plan is to create a vibrant bar scene. The restaurant features a full lineup of beer, wine, and liquors, and plans to offer live music in the evenings.”

Philipos and Daniel have known each other for more than four decades going back to their growing up days in Ethiopia. Solomon has been a resident of Alexandria since the early 90s and looked forward to opening an Ethiopian restaurant with Philipos.

“We opened [Queen of Sheba] to introduce Ethiopian food to New Yorkers and to serve the international community. We’ve loved sharing with family and friends and now we’ve brought that experience to Alexandria,” Philipos tells The Alexandria Times as Makeda opened its doors last week.

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Spotlight: New “Deseta Emojis” App on iTunes Celebrate Everything Ethiopian

Published by Tadias Magazine August 25th, 2017 in Art and Featured. Closed

(Courtesy of Deseta Design)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

August 25th, 2017

New York (TADIAS) — For your next text message you may now include Deseta Emojis to express yourself with Ethiopian humor.

The digital icons often used to communicate ideas and emotions comes courtesy of Deseta Design. Announcing that its keyboard app contains over 200 small emojis Deseta Design says that the current collection is available for download on the App Store (Android version coming soon). Deseta emojis include icons of injera, buna, jebena and goursha.

The images “celebrate everything ethiopian in all of its glory,” says Maro Haile, owner of Deseta Design, an NYC-based online creative venture, whom we featured here three years ago highlighting her Ethiopia inspired holiday cards.

(Image: Courtesy of Deseta Design)

So how does this cool looking app work?

According to Deseta Design the emojis work in several ways including “a sticker pack that you can use while you are in iMessages and a keyboard that you can use in multiple messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Viber, and Facebook.

Deseta Design states: “As messaging apps keep evolving and new platforms keep getting introduced – such as Snapchat, Fitbit – we will continue to release new versions that will work with them as well.”

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Click here to download Deseta Emojis on iTunes.

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Photos: Denver Taste of Ethiopia Festival

Published by Tadias Magazine August 13th, 2017 in Events. Closed

Youth from the Colorado Ethiopian Cultural Dance Group perform traditional Ethiopian dances at the Taste of Ethiopia festival in Denver at Parkfield Lane Park on Aug. 5, 2017. (The Denver Post)

The Denver Post

Taste of Ethiopia brings together food, culture and role models in the immigrant community

Denver isn’t in the dark about Ethiopian food.

In some cities, Ethiopian cuisines are a niche market for adventurous foodies. But Colorado has become a hub for African-inspired restaurants serving the country’s famous spicy-sour mix of injera bread and stews.

That why for the last five years, thousands of locals have flocked to the annual Taste of Ethiopia…

The food isn’t the only thing that draws people to the festival and keeps them coming back. The rich culture does as well.

“We’re bringing the community and culture to those who have left Ethiopia and it’s our way of passing our heritage to the next generation of kids who are born here in American society,” said. Neb Asfaw. “We want to preserve our heritage and also bring it to the local community.”

Most important to the festival and the Ethiopian community was to take the time to honor model citizens who are involved with and supporting the immigrant community.

Investment manager and business owner Mel Tewahade said he moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia 35 years ago with little more than $20 in his pocket.

“I help people in the community to get acclimated to American way of life and adjusting to cultural differences,” Tewahade said. “Making life easier for newcomers. How should they dress themselves and cut their nails and present themselves to have opportunity in labor market.

Tewhade said he sees a lack of role models in the black community and is trying to fill that void.

Read the full article at The Denver Post »

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NYT Spotlights Harlem’s Tsion Cafe

Published by Tadias Magazine September 1st, 2016 in Podcast. Closed

Beejhy Barhany, the chef, and her husband, Padmore John, a native of Dominica, opened Tsion in 2014 in the historic Harlem district of Sugar Hill. (Photo: The New York Times)

The New York Times

At Tsion Cafe in Harlem, Food From Ethiopia via Israel

On one side lie eggs scrambled with lox over a drape of injera, the sour, springy Ethiopian flatbread as thin and pliant as a crepe and perforated like coral. On the other side, challah French toast, its egg coating spiked with awaze, a meld of earthy-hot berbere and tej, or Ethiopian honey wine, a drink of millenniums past.

At Tsion Cafe in Harlem, breakfast is biography. Beejhy Barhany, the chef, was born in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, into a community of Beta Israel, as Ethiopian Jews are known. In 1980, when she was 4, her family and almost the entire population of her village fled on foot to Sudan, walking only at night to evade detection and resting on the Sabbath.

They hoped one day to reach the Holy Land, invoking Israel’s Law of Return, which welcomes those of Jewish heritage as immigrants. (According to one origin story, Ethiopian Jews are descended from King Solomon and Queen Sheba.) After three years, Ms. Barhany’s family was smuggled through Kenya and Uganda by Land Rover, then flown to France and, finally, Israel.

She spent four years on a kibbutz tilling the land, an experience that taught her to respect ingredients in their natural state. At Tsion, Ethiopian vegetable stews betray little tinkering beyond the near-melt of slow-cooked onions, garlic and ginger that gives body to every dish, and an occasional shot of berbere, a concatenation of 17 spices, the strongest among them cumin, cardamom and chile.

The New York Times on Berhanu Nega

Published by Tadias Magazine August 31st, 2016 in Podcast. Closed

Berhanu Nega. (Photo: The New York Times)

The New York Times

Once a Bucknell Professor, Now the Commander of an Ethiopian Rebel Army

Berhanu Nega was once one of Bucknell University’s most popular professors. An Ethiopian exile with a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in Manhattan, he taught one of the economics department’s most sought-after electives, African Economic Development. When he wasn’t leading seminars or puttering around his comfortable home in a wooded neighborhood five minutes from the Bucknell campus in rural Lewisburg, Pa., Nega traveled abroad for academic conferences and lectured on human rights at the European Parliament in Brussels. “He was very much concerned with the relationship between democracy and development,” says John Rickard, an English professor who became one of his close friends. “He argued that you cannot have viable economic development without democratization, and vice versa.” A gregarious and active figure on campus, he rooted for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Cavaliers, campaigned door-to-door for Barack Obama in 2008 and was known as one of the best squash players on the Bucknell faculty. He and his wife, an Ethiopian-born optometrist, raised two sons and sent them to top-ranked colleges, the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon. On weekends he sometimes hosted dinners for other Bucknell professors and their families, regaling them with stories about Abyssinian culture and history over Ethiopian food he would prepare himself; he imported the spices from Addis Ababa and made the injera, a spongy sourdough bread made of teff flour, by hand.

Nega remained vague about his past. But students curious enough to Google him would discover that the man who stood before them, outlining development policies in sub-Saharan Africa, was in fact intimately involved in the long-running hostility between Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea, a conflict that has dragged on for half a century. By the start of the millennium, its newest incarnation, a border war over a patch of seemingly worthless ground just 250 square miles in size, devolved into a tense standoff, with the two nations each massing along the border thousands of troops from both official and unofficial armies. One proxy army fighting on the Eritrean side, a group of disaffected Ethiopians called Ginbot 7, was a force that Nega helped create, founding the movement in 2008 with another Ethiopian exile, Andargachew Tsege, in Washington. The Ethiopian government, which had previously detained Nega as a political prisoner for two years in Addis Ababa, now sentenced him to death in absentia. Bucknell students who did learn about their teacher’s past were thrilled. “It made his classes exciting,” Rickard says.

Preview of 11th Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum & Awards Dinner

Published by Tadias Magazine August 5th, 2016 in Events. Closed

(Photo courtesy: Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, August 5th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — This weekend, for the eleventh year in a row the annual Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum and Awards Dinner will convene at George Washington University in the nation’s capital.

The 2016 conference will focus on “investments in the manufacturing sector,” says Yohannes Assefa, who organizes the yearly forum, pointing out that this year’s Pioneer Ethiopian Diaspora Business Person of the Year Awardees are Dawit Belay, Founder & CEO of Advantage Industrial (a transformer and power distribution manufacturing company) and Sara Menker, Founder & CEO of Gro Intelligence (an open source data analytics firm based in Nairobi and New York).

“The 2016 Diaspora Champion Awardee is Dr. Liesl Riddle, Associate Professor of International Business at The George Washington University, for her tireless efforts to promote Diaspora investments in Africa,” Yohannes added.

“The purpose of the forum is to promote entrepreneurship among the Ethiopian Diaspora community here as well as worldwide,” Yohannes said in an interview with Tadias. “And, yes, also to build a business-to-business relationship between the U.S. and Ethiopia.” He added: “There is a misconception that we’re all about investment promotion to Ethiopia; no, this is an independent initiative to build an entrepreneurship culture among the Diaspora worldwide.”

“As a community we have had a lot of professional success, but not business success,” Yohannes said. “We are limited to the traditional immigrant business niche such as restaurant, bodega, taxi or other trades such as importing spices and injera, but you don’t see that many Ethiopians in the manufacturing sector, for example, so as a community we need to have a better mix. We need to create a culture of starting and managing a business venture beyond the stereotypical.”

In addition, Yohannes noted that the forum is their “key showcase platform to discuss major issues that come up in the Diaspora business community throughout the year offering a continuing flow of information and exchange of ideas among forum participants, which could include policy challenges, access to finance, etc,” he explained. “Regarding access to finance every year we have a panel addressing that issue and there is always something new to learn.” And last but not least, “there is the networking aspect,” he said. “Connections are forged, information is exchanged and investments are made among forum participants.”

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If You Go:
The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum
Saturday, August 6, 2016 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM (EDT)
The George Washington University
Elliott School of Int’l Affairs
1957 E ST NW, , WASHINGTON, DC
Click here for more info & RSVP

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Photo of the Week: NYC Mayor’s Daughter Chooses Ethiopian for Graduation Lunch

Published by Tadias Magazine June 19th, 2016 in Podcast. Closed

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's daughter, Chiara de Blasio, and family pose for a photo with restaurant owners after a graduation luncheon at Walia in San Jose, California on Saturday June 11th, 2016 . (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Sunday, June 19th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — Here is another fun graduation season story: Last week New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter chose Ethiopian food for graduation lunch with her family at San Jose’s famous Walia Restaurant – located not very far from Santa Clara University, her alma mater, in California.

“The Walia crew prepared special Ethiopian traditional dishes in honor of the graduate [Chiara de Blasio] and invited family members,” the owners told Tadias. “The daughter and the Mayor said that there were no other choices for the luncheon but Walia. We are greatly honored by their choice.”

It’s not the first time that the De Blasio family dined at Walia, however, as they were sighted last June enjoying injera at the same popular spot.

Below are more photos courtesy of the restaurant:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and family pose for a photo with Walia restaurant staff in San Jose, California on Saturday June 11th, 2016. (Courtesy photo)

The food prepared by Walia staff for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter graduation lunch on Saturday June 11th, 2016. (Courtesy photo)

(Photo courtesy of Walia Ethiopian restaurant)

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s security personnel take a photo at Walia Ethiopian restaurant in San Jose, California on Saturday June 11th, 2016. (Courtesy photo)

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Photo of the Week: Google Co-Founder Larry Page at Walia Ethiopian Restaurant

Published by Tadias Magazine April 29th, 2016 in Featured. Closed

Larry Page poses for a photo with Walia restaurant staff in San Jose, California. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, April 29th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — Google co-founder Larry Page was the latest Silicon Valley technology leader to pose in front of the green, yellow and red painted sidewall at Walia Ethiopian restaurant in San Jose, California. Page, who is currently the CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. dined at the restaurant on Sunday, April 24th with his wife and kids, according to the owners. Page follows in the footsteps of Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, who was spotted enjoying injera at Walia in 2014. Like Zuckerberg, Page also took a moment to pose for a photo with Walia Restaurant staff.

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You can learn more about Walia restaurant at www.waliaethiopian.com.

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Desta, Only Ethiopian Restaurant in Central New Jersey, Opens in New Brunswick

Published by Tadias Magazine October 8th, 2015 in Events. Closed

Desta Ethiopian restaurant is located at 88 Albany Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Friday, October 9th, 2015

New York (TADIAS) — The only Ethiopian restaurant in Central New Jersey since the closing of Makeda (the state’s first Ethiopian restaurant) will open this weekend in New Brunswick.

Desta Ethiopian Restaurant is having its grand opening on Saturday, October 10th.

The family owned business, whose name is translated as “happiness” in Amharic, is operated by husband and wife team, Tsigereda Lemlemayehu and Alemayehu Hailu, who are long-time residents of Central Jersey and are best known for their homemade injera favored by local Ethiopians.

Below are a few photos of the new restaurant:

Photo credit: Janet Mendez

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If You Go:
Desta’s Grand opening in New Brunswick, New Jersey
October 10th at 2:00 pm
88 Albany Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone number (732) 249-0494
www.destaethiopiannj.com

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In Oakland, Ethiopian Refugee Begged to Return Home Before Fatal Police Encounter

Published by Tadias Magazine September 25th, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

At a candlelight vigil for Yonas Alehegne, an Ethiopian immigrant who was shot and killed by an Oakland police officer in August, in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, September 13, 2015. (Photo: Sarah Rice/SF Chronicle)

San Francisco Chronicle

By Rachel Swan

A man shot and killed by an Oakland police officer in August left behind only a small pile of luggage and a few family photographs, one of which had a phone number scrawled on the back.

The number belonged to the 30-year-old man’s mother, Genet Alemu, who sells injera bread to support a family of seven in Ethiopia. She last heard from her son, Yonas Alehegne, several months before his death.

CASE HISTORY

Police are seen at the scene of a police involved shooting at MacArthur Boulevard and Van Buren Avenue in Oakland, Ca. on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The incident left the involved police officer in the hospital and the suspect dead at the scene. Man shot dead by Oakland cop had violent past. An officer was injured and a suspect was shot by police in Oakland on Thursday morning. Oakland cop shoots suspect dead after chain attack.

“I feel like I’m dead,” Alemu said from her village in Dire Dawa, where she lives in a house that her other son, Habtamu, describes as “almost a tent.” Alemu was reached by phone Sept. 12 — the day of the Ethiopian new year. Dawn had broken and a rooster crowed insistently in the background.

Remembering “Yonas,” Alemu wailed.

“He was my first son,” she said, speaking through an interpreter in Amharic, the language spoken in Ethiopia. “He came to the U.S. to help us.”

Whatever dreams and ambitions Alehegne had when he arrived in the United States in 2012 were soon replaced by distress and desperation.

Photos From Aster Aweke’s Concert at SOB’s in New York City

Published by Tadias Magazine June 8th, 2015 in Events. Closed

Aster Aweke performing at SOB's in New York on June 5th, 2015. (Photo credit: Kindane Mariam for Tadias)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Monday, June 8th, 2015

New York (TADIAS) — The queen of Ethiopian pop music, Aster Aweke, was back in New York City for a live show at SOB’s on Friday, June 5th. The concert was presented by Orit Entertainment Group and sponsored by several Ethiopian restaurants including Bunna, Ghenet and Bati in Brooklyn, as well as Awash, Meskerem, Injera and Queen of Sheba in Manhattan.

Below are photos from the event:

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Aster Aweke Live in NYC June 5th

Published by Tadias Magazine May 17th, 2015 in Events and Featured. Closed

Orit Entertainment Group presents Aster Aweke at SOB's in New York on June 5th, 2015. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Sunday, May 17th, 2015

New York (TADIAS) — Aster Aweke returns to SOB’s in New York City on Friday, June 5th.

The opening act for Aster’s concert is Dance Theater of Nepal Master Musicians who will be fundraising for the victims of the earthquake in their country. “We are combining the two cultures to show that Ethiopians are extending their hands to Nepal,” the announcement said.

The event is sponsored by several Ethiopian restaurants in New York including Bunna, Ghenet and Bati in Brooklyn, as well as Awash, Meskerem, Injera and Queen of Sheba in Manhattan.

Aster, who has been dubbed the queen of Ethiopian pop music, has been entertaining her fans around the world for more than 30 years. Her label Kabu Records notes: ”Her songs have become anthems to her fans in Ethiopia, as well as to Ethiopians living abroad, and she continues to win the hearts and minds of world music lovers.”

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If You Go:
Aster Aweke Live at SOB’s
Friday, June 5th, 2015
Door opens at 11pm
Admission $30 in advance
For info and Table reservation call:
917.943.7817 or 917.821.9213
www.sobs.com

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Meet Chef Chane, Ethiopia’s Version Of The Infamous ‘Soup Nazi’

Published by Tadias Magazine March 18th, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

Customers enjoy a meal at Chef Chane's in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He runs his restaurant like a fiefdom, dispensing food and insults majestically from the kitchen, which doubles as a serving station. (NPR)

NPR

By Gregory Warner

I didn’t travel all the way to Ethiopia just to meet a character out of the sitcom Seinfeld.

But when I heard Ethiopians describe a particular popular restaurant called Chane’s, I couldn’t help recognize a resemblance, in its owner and lead chef, to the famously brusque soup man.

Just like his New York doppelganger, the 71-year-old Chef Chane runs a restaurant with its own unwritten rules. Rule No. 1: Come on time. Lunch is served only from 12 to 1 and he always runs out of food. Rule No. 2: Don’t ask for a menu. You’ll eat whatever dish the chef decided to cook that day. Rule No. 3: When you step up to the counter and face the imperious chef in his tall white hat, don’t, whatever you do, hold up the line.

When I arrived at his restaurant — in the Kazanchis neighborhood of Addis Ababa — well before the noon open, I found the line already 40 long, snaking inside a crumbling courtyard across from a bunch of new high-rises. In the line, Nebiat Mebea is prepping his girlfriend, Kehalit Nikusei, for her first visit, like Seinfeld preps Elaine. He warns her that the 71-year-old Chef Chane might suddenly berate his assistant when the spongy sourdough, called injera, isn’t placed perfectly on the plate. Or he’ll tell talkative customers to “praise God and eat!” (In super-polite Ethiopian culture, this apparently equates to “shut up and get out of my kitchen.”)

“He’s mean in a good way!” says Nebiat, with a grin.

Read more at NPR.org »
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From Ethiopia to Israel to Harlem: Q&A with Beejhy Barhany, Owner of Tsion Cafe

Published by Tadias Magazine January 21st, 2015 in Featured and Profiles. Closed

Beejhy Barhany. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Hasabie Kidanu

Published: Wednesday, January 21st, 2015

New York (TADIAS) – In the historic neighborhood of Sugar Hill, Harlem we celebrate one of its newest additions — Tsion Café and Bakery. Formerly known as Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, 763 St. Nicholas Ave had housed the famous eatery and hangout frequented by jazz musicians, writers and poets; Malcolm X worked there washing dishes. Now converted into a trendy cafe and bakery Tsion is located a few doors away from the former St. Nick’s Pub – a renowned jazz club established in the 1940s. That’s where, according to The New York Times, “The musicians Frank Lacey, Olu Dara, Sarah Vaughn and Wynton Marsalis played through Harlem’s ups and down. The pub drew famous faces and busloads of tourists.”

Today, the most delicious Ethiopian food with a Mediterranean and Israeli twist comes out of the same kitchen as Jimmy’s Chicken Shack. It’s a space where you can finish your novel, meet a friend for lunch, sip on fair trade, organic coffee, or simply hang out.

The owner and founder, Beejhy Barhany, was born in Ethiopia, raised in Israel and moved to New York fifteen years ago. Beejhy says her mission is to carry on the essence of the establishment’s former identity – a meeting place for wholesome food, art, culture and musical performance. Behind Tsion Café is an incredibly rich life story that led her here; from bungee and cliff jumping in the Amazon, to trading diamonds in New York, to serving in the army in Israel. Her passion to communicate her Ethiopian heritage, while highlighting her Jewish upbringing has led her to establish a space and platform where the richness of her life experience can be heard, seen, tasted, and experienced. Tsion Café is the physical manifestation of Beejhy Barhany’s personal story spanning continents and cultures.

With sweet traditional tunes humming in the background, we start our chat.

TADIAS: What was the inspiration behind Tsion Café, and why did you choose a location in Harlem?

Beejhy Barhany: It is important for me to highlight Ethiopian culture and its rich heritage, and paying homage to my Jewish background. I moved to New York in 2000, and after living and working here for a few years, I founded BINA (Beta Israel of North America) as a way to create a platform to raise greater awareness about Ethiopian Jews. I started organizing events, film screenings, showcasing cuisine, stories, and music. It kept growing, expanding, I had an office, but I always wanted a venue. And I always wanted something in Harlem; it’s historical, it has some connection to Ethiopia. I was looking at a lot of different places, and I was interested in this particular venue. Jimmy’s Chicken Shack was once this exact place, where all the poets and musicians were spending time, I wanted to bring that back and carry on the tradition, I wanted to honor writers, artists, have readings and performances, and this place simply worked.

TADIAS: Your drive to highlight the beauty of Ethiopian culture is so heavily influenced by your life; you’re Ethiopian, Jewish, a New Yorker. It seems Tsion is a byproduct of your experiences, and even with heavy revision, you’ve had a jam-packed life so far, so I wanted to start at the beginning, tell us a bit about your childhood.

Beejhy: I was born in Tigray, in a small village; I don’t have much memory of Ethiopia since I left at a very young age. From the stories and vague memories, it was a peaceful life, surreal; I remember rivers, cornfields, eating fruit, climbing trees. I left the country with my family and started a journey to Israel, the holy land; we did it because of a strong determination connected to our religious ideology. In a way, we escaped with a mission in mind. We had people show us the way, make sure we didn’t bump into roadblocks, maneuver between villages, take us to Jewish villages to stock up with food and water.

TADIAS: I think this particular journey that you have partaken in comes in story form to the rest of the country and the West, do you think the stories of the Ethiopian Jewish community may be somewhat misrepresented?

Beejhy: I think it is something that is a bit exaggerated, we didn’t suffer in Ethiopia, I think that history needs a bit of revision. It depended on what area you came from. The image of Ethiopia in general that is exported into the West is not completely accurate. Surely, it was a difficult journey but it was a pure and spiritual passage that Ethiopian Jews carried out, not for economic opportunities, not because we were unhappy in Ethiopia, but because we wanted to be in Israel. The level of devotion was incredible, it was difficult on various levels but the people had an unbelievable drive. For instance, there was a pregnant woman walking among us, when she gave birth, people waited until she recovered to continue. We wouldn’t walk during Shabbat – the group had that level of devotion.

TADIAS: I would imagine you had to take intentional detours, to avoid roadblocks and dangers?

Beejhy: Yes, so we walked to Sudan and we stayed there for almost three years. I had a few family members and a cousin who worked with different NGOs and Mossad (the national intelligence agency of Israel) who had secret missions to get families to Israel. So, we were told to prepare, take pictures, pack, and one night we were picked up with a Land Rover and a Scottish and Kenyan driver, all under a secret operation. At the age of 7, I continued this epic journey, I remember sitting on the roof of the truck amongst suitcases looking at wild animals in the safari. It was magnificent time for me, but surely, for the elders it was frightening, especially passing through borders with a Scottish driver who was up for much interrogation. He was consistent in claiming he was a “tour guide.” The authorities wanted to know more, but with the connection and good sum of money, they were able to transport us through multiple borders. At some point I could see Ethiopia from Kenya, but that was the route you used to smuggle. We arrived in Uganda and hid there two weeks, until proper documentation was ready, from there we flew to Israel.

TADIAS: So, after several years, you were finally in Israel. How was the first reaction, reception, and adjusting to a new life?

Beejhy: It was a group of incredibly sincere people who had carried out this journey, and it was an absolutely emotional moment for us. The reception was two-pronged. There were so many who were excited to welcome us, the new Jewish Diaspora! Yet, there was some discrimination. The whole interaction between white and black was not easy – there was name calling on both sides. There was also the notion that you were not good enough, even after that level of devotion during the trip you had to reclaim your religion anew with Mikveh (the ritual immersion in a bath to symbolize the conversion into Judaism, to regain purity before entering the Temple). I was young, but I understood the process of the ‘new immigrant.’ I started a new life, new language, new home. I was integrated into all of it. I learned Hebrew. I met kids form Ethiopia and Russia, and after some time I started taking regular classes – I grew up. I learned to be very independent since all of my family members were integrating into a new life as well. I had to do homework by myself for instance. I decided to do my high school in a Kibbutz (a collective community based on agriculture, a co-operative life where everything is shared). Then I decided to join the army, and I served for three years. After that I wanted to travel the world, so I started with the U.S.

TADIAS: Okay, so now we are getting closer and closer to New York and Tsion. Tell us about the journey that ended in you moving to New York City in 2000.

Beejhy: I had saved some money and went backpacking. I was twenty-two. I traveled a bit in the U.S., the Islands, then to Latin America. I traveled to Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, hitchhiking and backpacking. I did the Machu Picchu trail for a week. I mean the adventures were endless – I bungee-jumped, trekked snow mountains, did 100 feet jumps from bridges into rivers, walked the jungles of Peru. It was madness. I went back to Israel and I could not stay. I had seen too much. I went back to New York in 2000 and started babysitting for a Jewish family. I soon started a job in the diamond district managing an office. I started designing jewelry and trading diamonds while going to school, and graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

In 2003 I founded Beta Israel of North America Cultural Foundation (BINA). Throughout my encounters in life, people did not know about Ethiopian Jews or Ethiopia in general. I wanted to create a platform to bring that richness to the world. I started organizing events and BINA was incredibly important in its role of discarding the negative images of Ethiopia; we are strong people with such a magnificent history, and it was important to underline that. After some years, it was clear that I wanted a venue, so the scouting for Tsion Café started.

TADIAS: How did you decide on this particular location?

Beejhy: It is quite ironic because when I first moved here, people told me not to go to Harlem. Now I live and work here. It was serendipity that we ended up here. I wanted a location that was near to home, because of my family, but also a place that demonstrated the history of Harlem. When I first saw the space I felt there was something to it, but didn’t know what. It was only just before construction began that we learned of the historic significance — any lingering doubts about the space was removed at that time. But, the place was like a junkyard, layers of flooring had to be taken out, walls taken down, everything had to be cleaned up. But eventually, it was up and running.

TADIAS: Your staff is a creative bunch; the head chef is Samson Kebede, a bass player for ARKI sound, an Ethiopian Jazz band. Beniam Asfaw is the Art Director and curates work for the Tsion Art Show. Was that intentional when it came to things like designing the menu or the general ambiance?

Beejhy: The food celebrates my upbringing, so we wanted to craft up something that was Ethiopian with a Middle Eastern, Jewish twist, a sort of hybrid. So we have something like Firfir (a dish made from shredded Injera, in a spicy buttery sauce) that is traditionally Ethiopian/Eritrean, but we also have the Malawa (a layered puff pastry dish served with eggs and tomato dip or honey), which is more of a reference to Yemen/Israel. We also try to be efficient with our ingredients; we serve fresh, organic food. The Ethiopian influence is there for sure, but we add a bit more to it. Soon, we will have some fresh bread and pastries to sell. We also have Ethiopian honey wine, and of course, we will have the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

TADIAS: What are your hopes for Tsion Café in the coming years?

Beejhy: I see it becoming a gathering place for the community – where writers can be comfortable to come here and finish their books for instance. We want to highlight art and culture. I see it as a place where we celebrate the diversity within Harlem, a place for growth of ideas, spirituality, and respect for one another, and in a way you will have a better understanding of Ethiopia. It is a space that is envisioned as a positive addition to Harlem. A gift from my family and me to the Harlem community. Tsion means the ‘ultimate spiritual place.’ You come here, and we fill you with good food and a good cultural grounding to all things Harlem — old and new.

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If You Go:
Tsion Cafe
763 St. Nicholas Ave.
Harlem, NY 10031
www.tsioncafe.com

To submit artwork: Please be ready to provide your artist bio and artwork list (i.e. title, medium, dimensions and retail price for each artwork). Please include your name, address, email and phone number on your artist bio and artwork list and submit your art to Tsioncafe@gmail.com to be considered.

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Ethio Express Grill Takes the Wait out of Ethiopian Cuisine (The Washington Post)

Published by Tadias Magazine December 3rd, 2014 in Family. Closed

Ethio Express: Is it the first to push Ethiopian cuisine into the fast-casual market? (Tim Carman/The Washington Post)

The Washington Post

By Tim Carman

The fast-casual market has already swallowed up Mexican burritos, American hamburgers, seasonal salads, Italian pizzas, Vietnamese sandwiches, and it’s still hungry for more. Enter Ethiopian natives Yisak Fiseha and Selam Gebreyes, who have fresh meat to feed the beast: their breezy new take on Ethiopian cuisine.

The husband-and-wife team opened Ethio Express Grill on Nov. 18 at 952 Sligo Ave. in Silver Spring, just a door or two down from Jackie’s. The couple left the software industry to try their hand in the hospitality business, hoping to find a niche in the rapidly growing fast-casual market.

“We were looking at the Ethiopian food business,” Fiseha explained over the phone. “We thought it can be presented in a better way than it is being presented now.”

Fiseha laid out his multi-point plan to make Ethiopian cuisine “more mainstream” and “more accessible”: Ethio Express, he says, is conceived to prepare meals fresher, cheaper, faster and healthier than the standard peddler of Ethiopian platters.

The “fresher” part boils down to a decision the owners made to focus on, as the best fast-casual concepts do, only one or two dishes. In Ethio Express’s case, it deals in grilled tibs. You can select your protein (beef, chicken, lamb or tofu), your base (injera, pita, spaghetti, brown rice or mixed greens) and your sauce (Ethio hot, Ethio mild, yogurt honey, among others).

Read more »
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Buzunesh Deba Greets Nike NYC Runners at Queen of Sheba Restaurant

Published by Tadias Magazine October 31st, 2014 in Featured. Closed

Ethiopian-born long distance runner Buzunesh Deba of New York with Coach Knox Robinson of Nike + NYC at Queen of Sheba Restaurant in New York City on Thursday, October 30th, 2014. (Photograph: Tadias)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, October 31st, 2014

New York (TADIAS) – “I usually ask a question about pizza because it’s New York,” said Knox Robinson, Coach for Nike + NYC, speaking at a gathering at Queen of Sheba Restaurant on Thursday evening after their local run. But tonight Buzunesh Deba had joined them in a surprise visit and Robinson modified his question amid cheers on her arrival: “What do you eat before and after a race?”

“Before the race.. one bagel and one banana,” The Bronx-based, Ethiopian-born athlete answered. “After the race spaghetti with chicken.. and of course especially Injera.”

“We are overjoyed, honored and humbled to be joined tonight by Buzunesh Deba who, as we know, is not only one of the greatest marathoners in the world, but also a New Yorker.” Robinson said. “She is one of us, so we are excited to surprise the runners with her presence.”

The gathering at Queen of Sheba Restaurant in Manhattan featuring Buzunesh Deba was sponsored by Nike and preceded by a 4-mile local run. Buzunesh, who finished second in the 2011 and 2013 New York City marathons, told her fans that this year, God willing, she’ll win, and posed for photos with the runners, some of whom will be joining her at the 2014 NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 2nd. Buzunesh also posed with the restaurant owners who had welcomed her into their home when she had first arrived in the U.S. to build her career. “This is truly a family gathering” Robinson told the audience.

Coach Robinson told Tadias Magazine that the group chose to stop by Queen of Sheba after their local run because “this is where the world’s best marathoners come to celebrate their victories.”

Below are photos from the event:

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Report and Photos: ‘Lion of Judah Dinner’ Held in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Published by Tadias Magazine July 6th, 2014 in Featured and History. Closed

The writer of the following article, Professor Ted Vestal, is pictured at the dinner in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 18th, 2014. He is the author of the book: "The Lion of Judah in the New World." (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Ted Vestal, PhD | OP-ED

Published: Sunday, July 6th, 2014

Tulsa, Oklahoma (TADIAS) – On June 18th, Oklahoma University (OU), Tulsa’s Center for Democracy and culture and the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Office of International Studies and Outreach sponsored a very special “Lion of Judah Dinner” celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first visit to Oklahoma by a reigning foreign head of state, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. A sold-out audience of 54 enthusiastic attendees, a cross-section of the local populace, gathered at Harwelden Mansion overlooking the Arkansas River in Tulsa to view artifacts from the land of Prester John, eat traditional Ethiopian food, and learn about the close and historic ties of Ethiopia with Oklahoma. Dr. David Henneberry, OSU’s Associate Vice President, Division of International Studies and Outreach, joined Prof. Rodger Randle, Director of OU’s Center for Democracy and Culture and former Mayor of Tulsa and former Peace Corps Volunteer, in welcoming the guests and providing background about the Emperor’s visit and its significance to the state. The dinner was the city’s first public ceremony honoring an African country and its people.

During the Emperor’s first state visit to the United States in 1954, he made a singular stop in his 7,000 mile tour of the country to thank the people of Oklahoma for assisting in modernizing agriculture and education in his nation. Haile Selassie was an iconic figure of the 20th Century, a defender of the principle of collective security before the League of Nations, military commander of the first Allied victory in World War II, champion of the United Nations whose troops fought for the UN in Korea and the Congo, Cold-war ally of the United States, staunch anti-colonialist, and a noted Pan-Africanist and founding father of the Organization of African Unity. The Emperor was honored with a reception and dinner in Stillwater that was described as “the social event of the century” in Oklahoma. The timing of the visit and its venue were auspicious. Only one month before the U.S. Supreme Court had handed down its landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education, ending racial segregation in public schools. The Emperor and his entourage were honored at a racially integrated event in an officially segregated state.

Haile Selassie held a special audience for the family of the late Dr. Harry Bennett, the president of Oklahoma A&M who established Oklahoma’s connections with Ethiopia through President Truman’s Point Four program. At the Tulsa celebration, Thomas E. Bennett, Jr., grandson of President Bennett spoke about his family’s memories of meetings with the Emperor. Tulsans Judy Burton, whose father was chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines (EA) from 1955-1960, and David Duke, who instructed EA mechanics the finer points of airplane engine maintenance in 1964 talked about their time in Addis Ababa. Patricia Vestal, who taught art at the Creative Arts Center of Haile Selassie I University from 1965-1966, reminisced about attending a reception at Jubilee Palace and having Halie Selassie attend her students’ art show. Ethiopianist Ted Vestal spoke about the Emperor’s state visit and gave details about the Oklahoma segment of the journey.

Before the program, photographer Hoyt Smith, a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher at Tafari Makonnen School in Addis Ababa from 1962-1965, showed slides from his collection while guests dined with a traditional Ethiopian meal of injera and wat. For a departing gift, filmmaker Mel Tawahade presented all attendees with a copy of his video “Point Four Ethiopia.”

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Cool Moment: Zuckerberg Enjoys Ethiopian Food at Walia Restaurant in San Jose

Published by Tadias Magazine June 17th, 2014 in News. Closed

Mark Zuckerberg poses for a photo with Walia restaurant staff in San Jose, California. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

New York (TADIAS) — When it comes to authentic Ethiopian cuisine Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, has very good taste. He was recently spotted enjoying Injera at Walia restaurant in San Jose, California. Not only did Zuckerberg wait ten minutes to be seated last Saturday, we are told, he also took his time to pose for a photo with the Walia staff.

You can learn more about Walia restaurant at www.waliaethiopian.com.

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Charles Sutton Named Envoy for Yessera Organization

Published by Tadias Magazine February 10th, 2014 in Featured and Interviews. Closed

Orchestra Ethiopia 1967. (Photograph: Courtesy Charles Sutton)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Monday, February 10th, 2014

New York (TADIAS) — As a teenager growing up in Ethiopia in the 1960′s Aklilu Gebrewold, now Executive Director of the U.S.-based non-profit organization, Yessera, remembers rushing to join the long queue to watch musical shows at his high school that sometimes included Charles Sutton playing the Massinko. More than four decades later Aklilu said he was more than pleasantly surprised to receive a message from “Mr. Charles” (as Sutton is popularly known among Ethiopians) wanting to support Yessera, which provides vocational training to young adults in Ethiopia. Sutton, who had served in Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer and music performer in the late 1960′s still keeps close ties with many friends in the country. And recently he dedicated part of the proceeds from his latest album Zoro Gettem to Yessera. In an interview with Tadias Magazine — following last week’s announcement that Yessera has named Charles Sutton as its envoy to help promote its programs — Aklilu warmly recalled: “For my generation he was a delightful presence, his deep respect and knowledge of Ethiopian culture, language, music and customs.” Aklilu added: “If there is anyone who embodies a true global citizen in today’s age of globalization, it has to be Mr. Charles.”

Established in 2001 by a group of friends who spent time in the West Coast in the 70′s and 80′s, Yessera is mostly funded by contributions from its founding members that now reside scattered across the United States. “Whenever we gathered in coffee shops or at our residences, just like many Ethiopians, we talked about home and what we can do to make a difference,” said Kassahun Maru, owner of Zelalem Injera, who has supported the organization from the beginning. “Yessera is a result of that, its few friends finding a way to give back through, small, manageable and meaningful projects that can bring lasting benefits.”

“I first became acquainted with Yessera a few years ago, when I was introduced via email to its Executive Director, Ato Aklilu Gebrewold, and to a Yessera Board member, Ato Negesse Gutema, by Ato Dan Close, a fellow Returned Peace Corps volunteer,” Sutton told Tadias. “I had the pleasure at that time of cooperating with Ato Negesse in the sale of the Zoro Gettem – Reunion CD that I had recorded with former colleagues Tesfaye Lemma, Getamesay Abebbe, and Melaku Gelaw for the benefit of this most worthwhile organization.”

The non-profit covers tuition, room and board, transportation, and other miscellaneous costs for an average of 10 to 12 students per year. Each student travels from various locations in Ethiopia to attend a vocational school in Addis Ababa. “We require that they must have at least a 10th grade education, demonstrate financial need, and most importantly, have the inner drive to succeed” Aklilu added. “Our goal is not only to equip them with industrial vocational skills, but also the ability to start and run their own small enterprises, such as in the construction field, that they can use to employ each other and thereby contribute to the larger community.”

Aklilu also gives credit to their Ethiopia representative, Solomon Retta, general manager of Discovery Consultancy Services (DCS), for overseeing the candidate selection process. He noted that so far participants have hailed from Awassa, Debre Birhan, Bekoji, Assosa, Ebinat, Metu, Bonga and this year from Addis Ababa.

For me, Sutton continued, “this opportunity, and honor, is the culmination of an association going back nearly 50 years with Ethiopia, its music, and its people, that has brought great joy to me and enriched my life more than I can possibly say. Now, as Yessera’s Ambassador, I am looking forward to carrying our cooperation a step further by bringing Yessera’s mission and message, to the best of my ability, before a wider audience both in Ethiopia and in the U.S.A.”
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You can Learn more about Yessera at www.yessera.org.

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An Art Project Giving Voice to Ethiopia’s Children of the Tumultuous 80s

Published by Tadias Magazine January 28th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

Matti Pohjonen at the World Heritage Site the Semien Mountains National Park. (Courtesy Photograph)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopia in the 1980s was widely televised as a tumultuous history of famine, drought, war and dictatorship. Politicians, historians, and development experts have all weighed in and written their version of the stark conditions, but what is still missing from that narrative are the voices of the children (both Ethiopian and expatriate) who grew up there during these trying times. Finnish researcher, writer, and visual artist, Matti Pohjonen spent his middle and early teen years in Ethiopia and experienced the contrast of witnessing camps filled with drought victims when he was 9 years old, coupled with the memories of daily life in the capital, Addis Ababa. Since then he has led a largely nomadic life, getting degrees in journalism, international studies, anthropology and media & cultural studies.

Returning to Ethiopia after 20 years he found a rapidly changing society. Yet his memories of the 80′s were once again awakened and he started a Facebook group, now comprising of 488 members, to find other individuals who could share their stories of growing up in Ethiopia during this period. The anecdotes starting pouring in and Matti resolved to create an art-based project called Injera Westerns — a nod to both Ethiopians and foreigners who lived through these times juxtaposing hardship and “normal” daily life.

The stories shared are anything but ordinary — learning to roller-skate in a leprosy ward, noticing that canned milk and nutritional supplements stamped as aid donations for famine victims were being sold as regular goods in markets in the capital city, and everyday coming-of-age tales of friendships, parties, and heartbreaks in the lives of teenagers.

In his own words Matti tries to describe the sentiments born of this endeavor: “I think the untold truth of our lives is simply stranger, more poetic and more surreal than any fiction I have read or any movie I have seen,” he says. “These stories need to be now heard as widely as possible. Moreover, these stories are not about Ethiopia only but touch on universal themes everybody can relate to in their humane laughter and sorrow.”

The Injera Westerns art project aims to tell these stories in a book combining oral and written histories shared over social media accompanied with original photography of Ethiopia’s majestic landscape, as well as ink and watercolor sketches — an ambitious attempt to create a more nuanced version of cultural and political history that includes the children who experienced them first-hand.

If enough funding is received through the indiegogo campaign Matti also looks forward to developing a touring art exhibition of Injera Westerns and the launch of a foundation to benefit Ethiopian organizations that utilize artistic and social work in innovative ways.

Below is a trailer for the Injera Westerns art project crowd funding campaign:

Injera Westerns trailer from Matti Pohjonen on Vimeo.

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You may contribute to the project at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/injera-westerns

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Azla + Tesh: Contemporary Artisan Ethiopian Food & Merchandise in LA

Published by Tadias Magazine December 22nd, 2013 in Featured and Profiles. Closed

Nesanet Teshager Abegaze and her mother Azla Mekonen at their family owned business Azla+Tesh in Los Angeles. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Aida B. Solomon

Updated: Monday, December 23, 2013

Los Angeles (TADIAS) — Walking into the Mercado La Paloma on a Saturday evening, you feel an immediate tranquility from the busy streets of Downtown Los Angeles. The open space of Mercado La Paloma presents a line of eateries, with an unexpected new tenant nestled into one corner: Azla Ethiopian Vegan. Alongside the simple white countertops is a joint space labeled Azla+Tesh, filled with goodies ranging from jewelry to vinyl records to original stylish crop tees. As someone who has frequented Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District since childhood to indulge in Ethiopian cuisine and merchandise, pleasantly surprised is an understatement to describe this newest modern addition to the LA food scene.

So who was the mastermind behind Azla? Needlessly to say, it was a family effort as Nesanet Teshager Abegaze tells Tadias Magazine. With mother Azla Mekonen as the head chef behind the vegan and gluten-free menu, and siblings Nesanet, Sonny, and Banchamlak Abegaze as the brains behind the lifestyle brand and boutique next door named Azla+Tesh. Nesanet runs the day-to-day operations, while Banchamlak, an attorney, handles the legal and financial aspects of Azla. Their brother Sonny Abegaze, a DJ and manager of the Ethio-jazz group Ethio-Cali, dons the title of “Chief Vibe Creator” curating merchandise and producing events. Together the powerhouse family has created not only nutritious vegan treats, but also an empowering space for Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians alike to come together around the concepts of wellness, health, and creativity.

Nesanet’s journey to opening Azla first began after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology. She soon began working for The New World Foundation in New York City, supporting non-profits advocating for environmental justice and workers rights among other causes. Nesanet’s work in the nonprofit sector took her to the South where she became increasingly involved in education policy. She went on to obtain a Masters at UCLA in science education, and began working at various schools, eventually becoming an assistant principal. However it was Banchamlak opening her own law firm that would shift Nesanet’s career from school administration to management. After a few years, one of Banch’s clients offered both sisters an opportunity to work at Atom Factory, an entertainment company. Nesanet served as Vice President of Operations for the creative division, managing campaigns including superstar Lady Gaga’s perfume line, Fame and clients like Barneys New York. Nesanet was able to explore her love of marketing and design and gain confidence in her creative skills.

Combining her work experience with her passion in health and nutrition, Nesanet developed the concept of a contemporary, family-owned Ethiopian restaurant – Azla – that serves traditional Ethiopian vegan cuisine alongside modern artisan fare. Azla emphasizes supporting local, organic farmers and uses their produce in designing their menu.

“Throughout all of my career transitions, the common denominator has been my love for food and wellness. It’s been a lifelong dream to create a space to share our family’s love of healthy cuisine, as well as Ethiopian art, fashion and culture. We are very excited to share the rich culinary and art/design tradition of Ethiopia with our customer base, which includes neighboring USC students and professors, downtown professionals, creatives, and members of Los Angeles’ thriving Ethiopian community,” Nesanet says.

Azla has been open for just six months and is already creating a buzz with its fresh vegan Ethiopian meals, as well as their signature Ethiopian pizza made with a berbere marinara sauce, soups, and inventive desserts. It was a no-brainer to the family that the restaurant be named after the matriarch, Azla, whose family dinners are said to be nothing short of legendary. Azla’s genuine love for cooking fresh meals for her six children and husband was contagious, as Nesanet says that all of her siblings not only share a passion for food, but are also vegetarian/vegan. “For us my mother really expressed her love through food.” And the customers agree. “A lot of customers have told us that they can taste the love in the food. They say it tastes like a big hug. We love seeing how people respond to the food, often coming by to meet chef Azla.”

What also sets Azla’s menu apart is the incorporation of ingredients such as kale to a classic collard green (gomen) dish and making gluten-free injera to ensure not only taste but healthier food options, which is a vital aspect of Azla’s mission.

“I feel that Ethiopian cuisine has so much to offer as the awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet grows,” Nesanet said. “Oftentimes, people turn to processed meat alternatives when exploring vegetarianism, but Ethiopian food offers abundant flavor and texture with unprocessed whole foods.”

Nesanet cites The China Study written by T. Colin Campbell as a personal favorite in her personal journey of following a plant-based and vegan diet. The book argues that most chronic diseases can be reversed through a plant-based diet, and Nesanet says that the rest of the public is catching on and becoming more empowered. “A lot of customers who eat meat religiously come in and are open to trying our food because they realize their current diet is making them sick and lethargic. They often say ‘I never knew vegan food can taste like this.’”

In addition to the cuisine at Azla, Azla+Tesh next door offers unique jewelry including colorful acrylic and wood Orthodox cross earrings, apparel including crop-tees and sweatshirts with graphics such as the Lalibela churches and a vintage Alemayehu Eshete album cover. Honoring timeless design elements from Ethiopia, while incorporating current fashion elements is the approach that the Abegaze siblings take in order to attract both Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian customers to the merchandise. “We’ve always been enchanted by Ethiopian crosses and the intricacy of their designs,” Nesanet shares. “We’ve worked to create jewelry that explores new materials such as acrylic and wood with pop colors to speak to a younger demographic.” The collection also includes necklaces with vintage bridal pendants and telsum beads from Ethiopia, using thicker bold chains, and a juxtaposition of modern and classic that guides the Azla+Tesh design aesthetic. In addition to accessories and clothing, Azla+Tesh offers old-school vinyl records, Ethiopian literature and films, and artisan food products that are packaged in beautiful mason jars.

As for what the future has in store for Azla and Azla+Tesh, there will be a series of free monthly events for the community, including guest speakers in acupuncture and yoga, vegan supper clubs in collaboration with local vegan chefs, as well as musical performances and networking events. The Azla team is dedicated to providing customers with a wonderful dining experience, as well as inspiring a more healthful lifestyle by providing cooking tips, recipes, and cooking demonstrations. Sure enough, Azla is already making its mark in Los Angeles not only for its fresh and tasty vegan dishes, but by providing a new space for Ethiopians and Non-Ethiopians alike to indulge in history, fashion, music, and health all in one place.

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You can learn more about the restaurant at www.azlavegan.com and shop for Azla+Tesh products at www.azlaandtesh.com. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Soundcloud handles are @azlavegan and @azlaandtesh.

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8 Ethiopian Artists Bringing East Africa to the Future (MTV)

Published by Tadias Magazine October 22nd, 2013 in Art and Featured. Closed

The following list isn’t a top ten of the most famous groups. It’s meant to be more of a smorgasbord where you can taste the different kinds of artists making music in Ethiopia and its diaspora today. (MTV)

MTV

By Marlon Bishop

Electrified lyres. Auto-tuned vocal acrobatics. Undulating digital synths. Extremely funky dance moves, all happening above the shoulders. Those are just a few of the awesome things to expect when you go to see an Ethiopian pop music concert in 2013.

African pop music is steadily gaining exposure abroad as Nigerian afrobeats take over Europe, azonto goes viral and South African rappers get big record deals. Yet up in the Northeast corner of Africa, nothing of the sort is happening. The modern music of Ethiopia is very little known outside the country and its diaspora. That’s a shame, because Ethiopian music is amazing and sounds like nothing else on the continent — or in the rest of the world, for that matter.

If Ethiopia sounds different from the rest of Africa, that’s because the country is pretty different. It was the center of some of Africa’s most powerful historical empires, home to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, and the only African territory (other than Liberia) to stay independent through the colonial era. Ethiopian languages are written in their own cool-looking alphabet. Culturally, it’s long been influenced by the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean as well as the rest of Africa. Chances are you’ve tried that spongy injera bread once or twice.

Most people familiar with Ethiopian music know it for the “ethio-jazz” sound which thrived in 1970s Addis Ababa, during the final years of Emperor Haile Selassie’s reign. Musicians like Mulatu Astatke took American jazz and soul and refashioned it with the eerie, ancient-sounding pentatonic scales of Ethiopian traditional music, with swinging results.The sound has made popular abroad by the 28-disc Ethiopiques series put out by the French Buda Musique label over the last decade. Ethiopiques piqued the interest of beatniks the world over and has inspired a number of revivalist groups, like Daptone Records‘ Budos Band.

While bands in New York and Tokyo relive the 1970s, Ethiopia has moved on to make pop music for the present day. Those same ancient scales and melismatic vocals are there, but instead of jazz, the tracks are influenced by tinges of synthy funk, reggae and R&B. It’s a sound that was developed to a large degree by a guy named Abegaz Shiota, a Japanese-Ethiopian producer who has cut records for virtually every major Ethiopian pop singer over the past few decades. For much of that time, Shiota worked out of the Ethiopian community in Washington DC, where the music scene largely relocated during the military dictatorship years of the 70s and 80s.

“There’s a really strong focus on vocals and lyricism,” says Danny Mekonnen, leader of the Boston based “ethio-groove” group Debo Band. Mekonnen says he’s not crazy about the reliance on digital synth sounds in the musical arrangements, but he thinks there’s still a lot to love about Ethiopian pop. “A lot of artists are taking pop music forward by pulling elements from the past, not in a nostalgic way, but honoring the past to create something new.”

Unlike many other regions of Africa, where hip-hop and other foreign styles are coming to dominate the soundscape, Ethiopia sticks close to its roots in sound and style. A lot of younger artists are even including the traditional masengo fiddle and krar lyre on the tracks, playing along with the high-flying synthesizers. And while it’s true that the production-quality can be a bit chintzy, the success of South African Shangaan electro music and digital-traditional artists like Omar Souleyman has proven that younger “world music” audiences can get into the lo-fi aesthetics of the developing world. If you find yourself able to get down, Ethiopian pop music is hypnotizing and hot all at once.

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At Last Week’s Ethiopian Festival in Silver Spring: Food, Fashion, And A Whole Lot More

Published by Tadias Magazine September 20th, 2013 in Events and Featured. Closed

Jeremiah Alemu, 6, strums his guitar on Sunday, on September 15, 2013 in front of his father’s vendor tent at the third annual Ethiopian Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Lindsay A. Powers/The Gazette)

The Gazette

By St. John Barned-Smith, Staff Writer

At the third annual Ethiopian Festival in Silver Spring on Sunday, Teru Fentike was dishing out plates of lentils, greens and injera — a traditional starch.

“I’m so excited!” she said.

Fentike lived in Silver Spring when she first came to the U.S. 26 years ago. Now, the Bowie resident still runs a restaurant, Bete Ethiopian, just blocks from Veterans Plaza, where music boomed, and Ethiopians, friends and festival-goers mingled, many sporting soccer jerseys or traditional dress.

The area, and the Ethiopian community, has changed since then, she said.

“When we came here a long time ago [and saw another Ethiopian] we’d hug and say, ‘It’s another Ethiopian!’ Now, look,” she said, waving at the thousands of people packed into the plaza.

“The Ethiopian community is growing rapidly,” she said, grinning.

Silver Spring’s — and the metro Washington, D.C., area’s — Ethiopian population has exploded in recent years, according to festival organizer Tebabu Assefa. There are more than 75 Ethiopian small businesses in the greater downtown area of Silver Spring, many of which have opened since 2008, he said.

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For Ethiopian Women, Construction Jobs Offer A Better Life (NPR)

Published by Tadias Magazine August 7th, 2013 in Podcast. Closed

Mekedes Getachew, 19, has been working at construction sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, since she was 15 years old. She earns $1.50 a day. In comparison her male coworkers earn $2. (Gregory Warner/NPR)

NPR

By Gregory Warner

Earlier this summer in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, I heard a complaint from many professionals that they could no longer find cheap house cleaners and nannies.

The apparently endless supply of girls and young women from the countryside who would work for peanuts just for a chance to move to the capital was drying up. It turns out more and more of them are finding work on one of the city’s many construction sites.

Unlike her male coworkers, Mekedes Getachew does not wear a hard hat, but instead sports a bright purple headscarf with tassels under a newsboys cap. She says a hard hat is just too heavy.

The 19-year-old Mekedes is one of six women working alongside 60 men at a construction site that will next year be a new wing of a city hospital. She wears a paint-spattered sweatshirt and a skirt over her jeans, a nod to her Orthodox Christian upbringing.

While she typically does lighter jobs like cleaning and shoveling sand, roles on the site are always fluid. She’s tackled even the heaviest lifting jobs since she showed up to work as a day laborer at age 15.

Less Than $1 A Day To Start

She was paid 75 cents a day initially; the men were paid $2. She didn’t take issue with the salary, reasoning to herself it was because she’d be doing lighter jobs.

But then one day they were mixing cement from bags weighing about 110 pounds, heavier than Mekedes. One of the foremen looked around for someone to haul the bags and his eyes landed on her.

“My boss told me to do it and I did not want him to find out that I’m scared or I did not want him to know that I may not be able to do it,” she says.

She needed the job, and it was either haul the bag of cement or haul herself back to Semen Shewa, the tiny village in the north where she was born.

“If I was going to lift it on my own maybe I may not have been able to do it, but the boys are the ones who lifted it and put it on my back, so, I did it,” she says. “I carried it … so that gave me the confidence.”

Growing up, she never would have imagined herself working alongside men in the open air and climbing scaffolding of raw timber. Girls from her village usually drop out of school by fourth grade to prepare for an arranged marriage.

“My father’s plan was to give me a husband. He wanted me to get married and have a family,” she says.

Young Mekedes had other plans, however. The first was to finish her education, and for that she needed money. Against the pleas of her father she went to Addis Ababa and, at the age of 11, found work as a live-in maid earning $4 a month.

She looked after three children — aged 6, 8 and 12 — washing laundry, picking them up after class and preparing their lunches.

That meant rising before dawn in the cold to cook injera, a spongy flatbread. In the end it was the cold that got her; she caught pneumonia and the woman of the house kicked her out, withholding six months of her salary, a whole $24. That left her little to take back home to her father.

Atlanta Fundraiser Benefitting Clinic at a Time

Published by Tadias Magazine May 15th, 2013 in Events and Health. Closed

Mulusew Yayehyirad wrote the book "You Can Make Injera" to support her organization 'Clinic at a Time.'

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Wednesday, May 5th, 2013

Atlanta (TADIAS) — The U.S. based non-profit organization Clinic at a Time that works with rural public hospitals in Ethiopia to expand their existing facility and services, announced that it will hold a fundraiser this weekend at Lona Gallery in downtown Lawrenceville, Georgia.

The founder, Mulusew Yayehyirad, a nurse who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, said the event is scheduled for Saturday, May 18th; it’s titled “A Night of Hope” and will raise funds for a construction of four room maternal care recovery unit inside Bichena Clinic in the Gojam region.

The dinner is being hosted by Kindred and Meredith Howard, adoptive parents of twin brothers from northwestern Ethiopia, who lost their mother due to birth complications and lack of medical attention.

“What if Marta [the twins' late mother] had access to maternity care?” the couple said in a statement. “What if there was a clinic nearby that Marta could have gone to while in labor instead of giving birth in her mud hut alone, while her husband was walking for hours to find the closest midwife to help her?”

“Our goal is to reduce these problems by assisting to improve what’s already working,” Mulu said.

According to the UN Population Fund 1 in 14 Ethiopian women face the risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth due to largely preventable health injuries. “To be honest, for me the clinics have not changed much since I was a child,” added Mulu who grew up in the region. “It’s mostly as I remember it.”

“People travel for days to get to the clinic, but they have to sit outside in the sun once they get there because that’s the waiting area,” Mulu said. “If we can build a patient waiting space, that’s one progress. In addition if we include laboratory equipment, delivery beds, etc, all contribute to the betterment of the present resource.”

Besides her book You Can Make Injera, which the nurse authored to generate revenue for Clinic at a Time, Mulu pointed out that the event will also feature Ethiopian cuisine catered by Piassa Restaurant and American food by Mimi Maumus.
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If You Go:
A Night Of Hope: Fundraiser Benefitting Clinic at a Time, Inc.
Hosted By: Kindred & Meredith Howard
Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM (EDT)
Lawrenceville, GA
Click here to buy tickets.
Learn more at www.clinicatatime.org.
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Vipassana Meditation in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine April 26th, 2013 in Health. Closed

The following article is a reader submission from Ethiopia. The author, Yacob Gabremedhin, pictured above, is a 37-year-old certified yoga teacher as well as co-owner of a civil engineering consulting company in Addis Ababa. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
Reader Submission

By Yacob Gabremedhin

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Imagine sitting quietly at a retreat center in Debre Zeit for 10 days, meditating for more than 11 hours a day. That’s where I had my first real experience in meditation.

I started out in January 2009, a year after the first Vipassana meditation course had been offered. And there I was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, in complete silence with 30 other participants receiving instructions both in Amharic and English. The first course in Ethiopia was organized in 2008 by former students who took similar lessons abroad.

Having been born and raised in Addis, where I attended Cathedral and Saint Joseph schools, and later part of the Technology Faculty at Addis Ababa University, I read and dabbled a bit in such things, this was not my first introduction to meditation. But it would prove later to be the most meaningful and lasting.

Ten days of silent meditation from 4 AM to 9 PM — no reading, no talking, no cell phones, internet or music. This is Vipassana meditation. It means ‘seeing things as they really are.’ Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. It is the process of self-purification by self-observation. One begins by observing the natural breath to concentrate the mind. With a sharpened awareness the person then proceeds to notice the changing nature of body and mind, and experiences the universal truths of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. For this reason, it can be practiced freely by everyone, at any time, in any place, without conflict due to race, community or religion, and it will prove equally beneficial to the individual and those around them.

In the last 45 years alone business and national leaders across the globe including the President of India have taken Vipassana training. The Roman Catholic Church has allowed more than 6000 priests and nuns to take the course. There are coachings especially tailored for executives as well. Not to mention that federal governments of different countries, such as India, Israel and the US have come to understand the effectiveness of the technique and started teaching it in prisons as well. An introduction to Vipassana as rehabilitation was filmed in 2007 inside a maximum-security prison called the Donaldson Correctional Facility in Alabama. The documentary, The Dhamma Brothers, was featured on Oprah the same year and was awarded ‘Best Documentary’ prize at the “Wood Hole Film Festival” in Massachusetts.

Courses are run solely on a donation basis. There are no charges for the classes, food or accommodation. All expenses are met by contributions from those who, having completed a lesson and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the same opportunity.

All trainings given around the world are completely identical in format, timetable, activity and organization. The only difference is in the cuisine as each country serves mainly local dishes. All selections, however, must be vegetarian. In Ethiopia, we prepare yetsome megib (fasting food); injera or bread with shiro and misir wot, salads and cooked veggies.

The initial Vipassana mediation course in Ethiopia was led by former students who had studied with S.N. Goenka, who started teaching in 1969 after learning the tradition from Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma. In Debre Zeit approximately 30 students enrolled in the first retreat held from January 30th to February 11th, 2008.

To date, eleven such gatherings have been held in the country. Though those who come to attend are mainly Ethiopians residing in Addis and other large towns, students have also come from other nations in Africa, Europe, Asia the US, Canada and more. A number of Ethiopians residing in America have also taken classes here.

Having had an unforgettable experience at the end of my first session four years ago, I still continue to practice regularly whenever time and other resources allow, including a couple of workouts in Northern California and Georgia where I traveled to visit family and friends.

Today, as meditation continues to grow in Ethiopia, so are efforts to strengthen the establishment of a Vipassana Trust. Vipassana is not for adults only. There are also trainings designed for children. The program offers young people, between the ages of 8 and 16 years, an introduction to Anapana meditation, which is a practice of the observation of natural breath to focus the mind.

Those seeking to get in touch can contact us at: info@et.dhamma.org.

For more information about Vipassana Meditation courses in Ethiopia and rest of the world, readers can visit the website: www.dhamma.org.

Below is a slideshow of images from Debre Zeit:

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UPDATE: Interview with Buzunesh Deba: Eyeing the 2012 NYC Marathon

Published by Tadias Magazine October 23rd, 2012 in Featured and Profiles. 1 Comment

Bronx resident Buzunesh Deba at the end of a morning training session at Fort Washington Park in Manhattan on Saturday, October 20th, 2012. (Photo by Jason Jett for Tadias Magazine)

UPDATE: 2012 New York City Marathon Canceled

Tadias Magazine
By Jason Jett

Updated: Thursday, October 25, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – Having come so close to winning last year’s New York City Marathon, finishing second by a mere four seconds, Buzunesh Deba will be chasing victory again in one of the world’s greatest marathons which eluded her and instead was grasped by Ethiopian compatriot Firehiwot Dado a year ago.

Firehiwot, who pulled away from Buzunesh over the last 200 yards of the 26.2 miles event, will not defend her crown this year after withdrawing from the race last week with what her manager said was a foot injury.

This time around Buzunesh faces 2012 London Olympics marathon winner Tiki Galena and 2011 World Marathon Champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, among a deep elite international field.

This will be Buzunesh’s fourth New York City Marathon; she finished seventh in 2009 and 10th in 2010. A resident of the Bronx, she will be a hometown favorite and she knows the course well.

She also knows most of her competition — both their faces and their paces. There is no awe or intimidation when she speaks of the other elite runners, only self-confidence and the conviction that if she runs as well as she is capable she will win.

“I believe I will win, it is my dream,” said Buzunesh. “God will decide.”

She trains diligently, some say maniacally, six days a week, but she says the seventh day she devotes to attending St. Mary of Zion Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Yonkers, New York. An Orthodox Christian, her bedroom is decked with illustrations of the Virgin Mary. And, born in the Asela region of Ethiopia, Buzunesh said: “When I am running, and I get tired, I call on God,” she said. “That is my power.”

Buzunesh has trod through some valleys since her podium finish a year ago in Central Park. She spent the winter training at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was accompanied by her husband Worku Beyi, who is also her coach and manager. Their relocation was made easier by sharing living quarters and training schedules with friends Genna Tufa, Serkalem Abrha and Atalelech Asfaw — all among a group of Ethiopian runners who left New York for the benefits of living and training at high altitude.

Returning to New York in April, Buzunesh was poised to stake her claim at a World Marathon Majors championship by following her second-place finish in New York with a win at the Boston Marathon. (Top-finishers in the New York City, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin marathons compete for the $500,000 prize awarded every two years.)

Training had gone well winter into spring leading up to Boston. However, after completing her final pre-marathon track workout just days before the race Buzunesh miss-stepped, turning an ankle, as she walked off the synthetic surface and onto the stadium infield.

Neither prayer nor treatment could chase away the pain in time for Buzunesh to compete in the Boston Marathon. Ultimately, she was not able to return to running until mid-summer. Unable to train, Buzunesh became a spectator of the sport as she followed the race results of her friends and rivals during sleepless nights.

“When I am training, I go to bed early,” she said. “But when I could not run I would be up two and three o’clock in the morning on my computer.”

Buzunesh finally resumed training in August, and competed for the first time this year at the Rock n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sept. 16. She finished eighth, in a time of 1:14:54.

The result was mind-boggling to running experts, fellow competitors and even enthusiasts: Buzunesh had run 1:09:18 over the half-marathon distance in winning the 2011 Rock n’ Roll San Diego Marathon in 2:23:31. Yet she ran five minutes slower over an equally fast Philadelphia course (Sharon Cherop of Kenya won the race in 1:07:19, followed by Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia in 1:07:44.).

Buzunesh was disappointed, of course. And Worku did a bit of head-scratching before reasoning it was simply a bad day.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I saw her that day and she looked heavy.”

“She was not able to run fast that day, but she had had only six weeks of training at the time,” he added. “She will have had six more weeks before New York.”

There are critics that doubt Buzunesh will be competitive this year, let alone win. They point to Philadelphia, and note that she has barely raced this year.

“Look at her Philadelphia Rock n’ Roll results,” said Hicham EL Mohtadi, an agent-manager of runners based in New York City including Ethiopian Mekides Bekele. “She had lots of time off from competing on a high level due to injury. She still is not at full-force. I don’t see her being a factor in this year’s marathon.”

Mohtadi noted that despite these issues he is still rooting for Buzunesh. He added: “Though I’d love to see her win it because she’s a dear friend and a lovely young lady.”

Bill Staab, president of West Side Runners New York, which supports a large number of Ethiopian runners in the city, said Worku is the best barometer of Buzunesh’s chances.

“Due to her foot injury last April and the fact that her time at the Rock n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon was not up to her PR (personal record), it is hard to judge her chances.” he said. “But we all know Buzunesh trains with fervor.”

Buzunesh’s resilience has been further tested in recent weeks. Worku’s father died in early October, and there were several days of mourning. The funeral in Ethiopia took her husband and coach away from their marathon training for several more days.

And then there are the stomach cramps that Buzunesh said contributed to her being unable to hold the lead after pulling Firehiwot Dado along in overtaking Mary Keitany of Kenya at the 25-mile mark last year in New York. Firehiwot would pass Buzunesh in the final mile, and Keitany finished third. (Keitany, who won the 2012 London Marathon and was fourth in the London Olympics marathon, is not competing this year in New York.).

“She gets cramps after some workouts,” a concerned Worku said of his wife. “There is pain, and sometimes she throws up.”

Buzunesh hopes the problem does not recur during the marathon. She knows from training runs of 24 miles in Central Park and 26 miles on the New York Greenway along the Hudson River that she can cover the marathon distance without such pain.

And, she has her own belief-system for support. Buzunesh radiates a confidence steeped in humility. She does not boast, or deride other runners; she simply believes in herself. It is a belief rooted in her faith, which she takes as much care recharging every Sunday as she does her body following training sessions other days of the week.

Having a husband who is a good cook helps when it comes to revitalizing the body. A training-table dinner last week in the Buzunesh and Worku’s home, an apartment in Kingsbridge, consisted of a salad of green leaf, tomatoes, avocados, green peppers and oil-vinegar dressing, a vegetable medley of carrots, potatoes and broccoli, halved hard-boiled eggs and chunks of white-meat chicken.

While Buzunesh and Worku prefer traditional Ethiopian cuisine, or injera, they eschew it during training season in favor of lighter fare. Vitamin bottles and other supplements cover a tabletop in their home. Buzunesh noted she takes supplements when she remembers — indicating with her face and hands that often she does not. However, she is more reliant on the energy-electrolyte drinks that Worku prepares before and after workouts.

Buzunesh and Worku occasionally can be spotted running in Central Park or Riverside Park, but the bulk of work occurs at their favorite training site — Rockefeller State Park in Tarrytown, NY. Van Cortlandt Park, near their home, is their most-frequented site given its proximity.

They elected not to train at altitude for this marathon, having decided sufficient benefits can be gained simply through hard and smart training in New York. That belief has Buzunesh undaunted by Galena, Misikir Mekonnen and Kenyan runners coming directly from high altitude to compete in New York.

Hours after Buzunesh finished the 2011 New York City Marathon, reporters and photographers gathered around her and Worku following a news conference in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle. Hugging his wife, a beaming Worku held up his other hand leaving scant daylight between the thumb and index finger.

“She came this close,” he said. “She made a little mistake. We will correct it for next year.”

On Nov. 4, 2012 the couple will learn whether or not they were successful in making the necessary correction.
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Below are slideshow of photos taken during Buzunesh’s morning training session on Saturday, October 20th, 2012.

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Photos From California: Ethiopians in Bay Area Celebrate Meskel

Published by Tadias Magazine October 1st, 2012 in Events. Closed

Lines of men and women formed around the Demera during the celebration of Meskel in Oakland, California on Sunday. (Photo by Mark Anderson)

Oakland North

Ethiopians from around the Bay Area came to Medhane Alem church in Oakland on Sunday to celebrate Meskel… During the late afternoon celebration, crowds gathered in the soft glow of the afternoon sun to eat injera, recite prayers, and dance around a replica of the True Cross, which was lit on fire soon after sunset….Today, the holiday is as much an occasion for the Ethiopian diaspora to celebrate their roots as it is a community event to raise funds for traditional religious institutions like the Medhane Alem church, and an occasion to spend time with friends and family.

Read the the full story and see a photo slideshow by Mark Anderson at Oakland North.

As Americans Embrace Ethiopian Cuisine, Its Farmers Grow More Teff

Published by Tadias Magazine July 30th, 2012 in Featured. Closed

Ethiopian food is becoming more mainstream in the United States. According to the The Washington Post, Ethiopians aren’t the only ones spurring the demand for teff. A combination of factors are driving the popularity and marketability of injera and teff in America. (The Washington Post)

The Washington Post.

By Emily Wax, Published: July 29

It’s almost midnight, but Zelalem Injera, an Ethiopian bread factory housed in a cavelike Northeast Washington warehouse, is wide awake. As its 30-foot-long injera machine hums, Ethiopian American businessman Kassahun Maru, 61, proudly explains that it cranks out 1,000 of the fermented Frisbee-shaped discs every hour for the region’s growing number of ethnic grocery stores, health food boutiques and Ethiopian restaurants.

TADIAS Speaks to Marcus Samuelsson About His Memoir ‘Yes, Chef,’ – Video

Published by Tadias Magazine July 8th, 2012 in Featured and Interviews. 12 Comments

Marcus Samuelsson (right) during an interview with Tadias Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Tseday Alehegn at Red Rooster Harlem. (Photo by Kidane Mariam for TADIAS)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: Monday, July 9, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – The day before TADIAS sat down with Marcus Samuelsson at Red Rooster to interview him about his memoir entitled, Yes, Chef, he received the congratulatory news that his book was listed at number 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list. And as NYT’s book review had highlighted a week earlier: “Mr. Samuelsson, as it happens, possesses one of the great culinary stories of our time.”

From contracting tuberculosis at age 2, losing his birth mother to the same disease, and being adopted by a middle-class family in Sweden, Marcus would eventually break into one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, rising to become a top chef with a resume including cooking at the White House as a guest chef for President Obama’s first State Dinner 3 years ago. Since then, Marcus has morphed into a brand of his own, both as an author and as owner of Red Rooster in Harlem.

“I first started to work on the memoir about five years ago”, Marcus told TADIAS. “I have been asked for many years to do a book. I just started to get to know my journey myself.” He added: “You know, there was always new layers, whether it was leaving Aquavit, coming uptown, building Red Rooster, getting married, or learning about my birth father.”

Marcus who lives in New York with his wife, Ethiopian-born model Maya Gate Haile, said he feels at home in Harlem as he does in Sweden and Ethiopia. “Harlem has a sense of home to it,” he said. “It’s a neighborhood in a very busy city, every time I come back to Harlem I feel I am at home in a way that I feel like when I am in the West Coast of Sweden and even when I am in Addis I feel like I am at home in a different way.”

Describing Harlem Marcus said, “You see signs of the Ethiopian and the Harlem community constantly, whether it’s when Haile Selassie visited Harlem or you see the Abyssinian Church, still to this day they do so many trips back to Ethiopia. So it’s something that I am extremely proud to continue on the tradition of the link between Ethiopia and Harlem.” He continued, “Obviously my space is food so it’s also a way to break bread. You know, when I serve dried injera here or berbere roasted chicken, I am continuing a legacy that has been here way before me and hopefully it’s going to continue way after me.”

You can watch the video below for our full interview with Marcus Samuelsson.

We say rush to get your own copy of Yes, Chef, it’s a fantastic read!

Video: Interview with Marcus Samuelsson About His Memoir ‘Yes, Chef,’ (TADIAS TV)

Ethiopian St. Patrick’s Day Concert with Todd Simon’s Ethio-Cali Ensemble

Published by Tadias Magazine March 16th, 2012 in Events. Closed

Todd Simon’s Ethio Cali Ensemble concert in celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Los Angeles this weekend also features a selection of East African music by DJ Lesanu "Sonny" Abegaze. (Photo by Farah Sosa)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, March 16, 2012

Los Angeles (TADIAS) – Lesanu (Sonny) Abegaze, aka DJ Son Zoo, believes this weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day concert featuring Todd Simon’s Ethio Cali Ensemble at the Del Monte Speakeasy in Los Angeles will be a joyful occasion.

“I’ll be dj’ing for this show which is taking place in Venice, California,” Sonny said. “It falls on St. Patrick’s day so it should be a festive time.”

The band leader is Todd Simon, a trumpeter, composer, and arranger, well-versed in the Ethiopian Jazz tradition, having performed with Mulatu Astatke for the inaugural Mochilla Timeless concert series. Ethio-Cali followed up their debut concert last summer at the Hammer Museum/UCLA with a sold out performance opening up for the Budos Band last month at the Echoplex. The group features, among others, Alan Lightner, Dexter Story, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Tracy Wannomae, and Kamasi Washington.

(Sonny, right, with his friend Moises at a Southern California record store – Courtesy photo).

Sonny, whose parents moved from Gonder to California, via Sudan, when he was an infant said he became attracted to Ethiopian music when he visited his ancestral home in his college years. “I was born in Sudan, but moved to the U.S. when only a few months old,” Sonny told us. “I grew up in various parts of Cali, and later had the opportunity to live and study in Ghana during my undergrad years.” He added: “This was when I travelled to Ethiopia for the first time, and really got into Ethiopian music. While abroad, I also started a radio show at the University of Ghana in Legon, which is how I got introduced to the whole world of dj’ing.”

Regarding the Todd Simon’s Ethio Cali Ensemble, Sonny said: “They play music inspired by the golden era of Ethio-Jazz, and also bring some modern elements into the mix through some original compositions. The members of the band come from diverse backgrounds and all have a deep appreciation for Ethiopian music.”

As to growing up in California, Sonny quipped: “I find myself eating way more burritos than I do Injera, kinda comes with the territory when you live in the city of angels.”
—
If You Go:
Saturday March 17, 2012
The Del Monte Speakeasy
9:00 pm – 2:00 am
21+
Cover: $5.00
At the Del Monte Speakeasy
Order pre-sale tickets at http://TBCTickets.com/
Venue URL: http://townhousevenice.com

Ten Arts and Entertainment Stories of 2011

Published by Tadias Magazine January 1st, 2012 in Art and Reviews. 3 Comments

21-year-old Abel Tesfaye, a Toronto-based R&B singer, better known by his stage name "The Weeknd," is one of the most talked about international musicians of 2011. He gained popularity last March after releasing his first album, House of Balloons. He is an artist to watch out for in 2012. Watch his video below.

Tadias Magazine

By Tigist Selam

Updated: Monday, January 2, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – As we enter the new year and review last year’s contributions in the area of arts and entertainment, 2011 was a year of new beginnings from comedy, to music and fine arts, which should bode well for 2012.

Below are 10 favorite highlights. Happy New Year!

The Simpsons Eat in Little Ethiopia

I almost fell out of my chair when I watched the Simpsons episode in Little Ethiopia last November. Like many Ethiopians who tweeted and posted the video in social media, I was excited to share something funny that recognized Ethiopian culture – albeit in a respectful way. I laughed at every moment of the segment. Little did we know that the Simpsons (and Hollywood) would make 2011 the year of Gursha. My favorite part is when Bart and Lisa feed each other leftover injera at home and Homer Simpson telling his wife: “Marge, the kids are acting ethnic!” Hilarious! Watch it here, if you haven’t already.

Ethiopia Habtemariam: The New Boss at Motown

In 2011, a young Ethiopian American music executive was appointed as the new head of the legendary Motown label now owned by the Universal Music Group. The company named Ethiopia Habtemariam, 31, Senior Vice President of Universal Motown Records. The promotion makes Ms. Habtemariam one of the most prominent women, as well as one of the most influential blacks in the music industry.

Abel Tesfaye’s Rapid Rise to Fame

My 17-year old cousin introduced me to the new R&B/rapper sensation Abel Tesfaye, a 21-year old Ethiopian artist born in Canada who has taken the music industry by surprise. He exploded into the music scene in spring 2011 after releasing his first nine-song free album, House of Balloons, via the internet. Abel, who goes by his stage name The Weeknd, has already been highlighted by Rolling Stone magazine, MTV News, BET and more. John Norris of MTV has dubbed him “the best musical talent since Michael Jackson.” And his first album, House of Balloons, has been named one of The Best Albums of 2011. But The Guardian wasn’t so enthusiastic. “The singing and songwriting on House of Balloons aren’t especially strong by R&B standards,” noted the UK newspaper. “What’s getting the Weeknd so much attention is [his] command of mood.” While a review by the Frontier Psychiatrist declared that the songs are “brilliant, disturbing, and not safe for work.” As to the lyrics: “So unsafe it should come with a child-proof cap.” Nonetheless, TIME magazine says: “Tesfaye has explored some of the dankest, darkest corners of our world, and thus has crafted some of the most compelling and captivating music for its genre.” There could be no doubt that Abel is a gifted musician and endowed with a soulful voice. He is an artist to watch out for in 2012. The following video is entitled The Knowing, the last track from the House of Balloons album. The mysterious meanings in this futuristic video is open to interpretation but its Ethiopian influence is obvious.

Debo Band & The Fendika Dancers Rock New York

The event held on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 was attended by thousands of people. It was described by The New York Times as “generous, warm, high-spirited real entertainment for a big audience.” The Debo/Fendika collective was the second Ethiopian music ensemble to ever perform at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors event, following in the footsteps of Ethiopia’s leading musicians Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, and legendary saxophonist Getachew Mekuria, who made a historic appearance here in 2008. Watch TADIAS’ video coverage of the 2011 Lincoln Center Out of Doors concert at the Damrosch Park Bandshell in New York.

Yemane Demissie’s Film on Haile Selassie

The 8th Annual Sheba Film Festival in 2011 featured the New York premiere of Yemane Demissie’s film Twilight Revelations: Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie. The screening took place at the Schomburg Center on Thursday, May 26th. The documentary, which features rare archival footage coupled with exclusive interviews and firsthand accounts, takes a fresh look at the mixed legacy of one of the most controversial African leaders in modern history. Check out the trailer here.

Zelalem Woldemariam Wins Focus Features’s Award for Short Films

I am a huge fan of NBC Universal’s Focus Features program and last year they named Ethiopian Filmmaker, Zelalem Woldemariam, as one of the recipients of its 2011 grant for short films from Africa. His upcoming film entitled Adamet (Listen) is about preserving culture. “My film is about an Ethiopian drummer who learns about his identity and traditional music in an unexpected way,” Zelalem said during an interview with Tadias Magazine. “I have always been fascinated by our music and I have wanted to do a film that showcases this rich and colorful part of our culture for a long time.” You can learn more about the self-taught filmmaker at www.zelemanproduction.com.

Music Video: Bole Bole directed by Liya Kebede

Like hip hop, house music is fast becoming a universal language among youth worldwide and so too among Ethiopians. A new music video called Bole Bole, which was staged at Studio 21 in New York and directed by Supermodel Liya Kebede, is getting a lot of buzz online. The lyrics are entertaining.
Click here to watch Bole Bole.

Singer/Songwriter Rachel Brown

Ethiopian-American Singer/Songwriter Rachel Brown is another artist to watch for in 2012. After graduating from Harvard, the up-and-coming musician has been carving a niche for herself both in New York and around the country. With her effortless style, self-confidence and beautiful voice, she is mesmerizing. We look forward to hearing more of her in 2012. Listen to Rachel at rachelbrownmusic.com.

Ezra Wube’s Hisab: The Hustle and Bustle of Addis

I’ve followed Ezra Wube’s work since 2004. I simply can’t take my eyes off some of his paintings. I continue to giggle at his recent short animation film Hisab (stop action animation painted on a single surface canvas). The video tells an urban folklore by bringing to life the sights and sounds inside Addis Ababa’s popular blue-and-white minibus (a cross between a bus and a taxi). The short film’s main characters are the city’s four-legged residents – donkeys, dogs and goats. Watch the video below.

Point Four: New Film Features Rarely Seen White House Photos

Some rarely seen historical images from the Kennedy White House years, with the President and First Lady hosting Emperor Haile Selassie, are part of an upcoming film entitled Point Four — a documentary about Haramaya University (previously known as Alemaya College). Haramaya University is an agricultural technical college that was established in 1956 in Ethiopia as a joint project between the two nations. Watch the trailer here.

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The list was updated on Sunday, January 1, 2012 to include Ethiopia Habtemariam.

Taste of Ethiopia Introduces Organic, Packaged Ethiopian Food in Markets

Published by Tadias Magazine December 9th, 2011 in Featured and Interviews. 23 Comments

Hiyaw Gebreyohannes (center), owner of Taste of Ethiopia, with his mom (left) and his aunt (right). (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn

Published: Friday, December 9, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – We recently spotted a selection of ready-made Ethiopian vegetarian food at a natural food market in midtown Manhattan and learned of Hiyaw Gebreyohannes’ Taste of Ethiopia brand. The organic misir wot, cabbage and greens, along with gluten-free injera is now available at grocery chains such as Fairway as well as in food co-ops and smaller markets.

Hiyaw was born in Djibouti. His parents walked for 17 days before crossing from Ethiopia into Djibouti, and they stayed there till Hiyaw turned one-year-old. In the 1980s his family moved to Toronto, Canada and eventually opened two Ethiopian restaurants — Blue Nile and King Solomon. Hiyaw says he literally grew up in the kitchen.

“There were hardly any Abesha people in Toronto in the 1980s and I spent many nights at our restaurant with the family,” he said. “There even was a bed in the large coat check room, and another bed at the back of the bar. I spent a lot of time at the restaurant and grew up around Abesha food.”

When Hiyaw’s mom moved to Michigan and opened two restaurants there, Hiyaw ran and operated an African fusion restaurant called Zereoue in New York. He then took a year off to travel, going twice to Ethiopia before experimenting with packaging Ethiopian food in Michigan.

“I knew that I wanted to focus on Ethiopian food, and I knew I didn’t want to work in another restaurant,” he told us. When the packaged food venture succeeded in Michigan he told himself it was a no-brainer to introduce the concept in New York.

Taste of Ethiopia currently offers vegetarian Ethiopian cuisine. The organic cabbage, carrot, and collard greens are sourced locally from farms in upstate New York while Ethiopian spices such as Berbere are imported from Ethiopia.

“I’ve tried to stay as close to my mom’s recipes, and not to lose the flavors of the cuisine,” Hiyaw pointed out. “But I’m also focused on using the freshest ingredients.”

Hiyaw would like his brand to be more than just the sharing of ready-made Ethiopian food. “A big part of why I did this includes the fact that as Americans we don’t eat well,” he noted. “It’s such an irony that Ethiopia is not known for food. Ethiopian food is nutritious and healthy.”

When thinking of how to grow his business, Hiyaw not only looks at being able to have Taste of Ethiopia products on Whole Foods shelves, but also to encourage school boards to be part of the initiative of getting healthy food into schools. He mentions that his goals are reflective of national health promotion campaigns such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity ‘Let’s Move’ program.

“With Taste of Ethiopia,” Hiyaw said, “we’re also talking about a social aspect, of changing how we eat to a more healthier alternative.” Hiyaw is also looking to hire within the community as his business grows.

Hiyaw Gebreyohannes. (Courtesy photo)

Taste of Ethiopia on display at a market. (Courtesy photo)

The Taste of Ethiopia brand. (Courtesy photo)

Describing the competition in the food packaging industry Hiyaw admitted, “It’s definitely hard. It’s not just about cooking the food. If you don’t have the right labels, right look, right marketing, if it’s not on the right shelves then it doesn’t really matter what you have inside the container, no one would try your food.” Having said that, however, he knows that the market is large and there is space to work hard, make good connections with buyers, and succeed immensely.

Hiyaw mentioned Cafe Spice (distributors of packaged Indian food) as a model success story. “They started from being a mom-and-pop restaurant in New York and became a $100 million business operating out of a 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art kitchen and distributing their products across the nation,” he said. “I’m only in the beginning stages, but I look at businesses such as Cafe Spice when I’m working to expand my business.”

In terms of mentors Hiyaw feels blessed to have learned from his mom and family. “I have so many wonderful women in my life — mom, aunt, sisters,” he shared. One doesn’t usually find too many Abesha men in the kitchen environment, but he says his mother was instrumental in making him feel comfortable and teaching him how to cook Ethiopian food. “I don’t only cook Ethiopian, I also do a lot of traveling and I try cooking food from different regions. All this comes from being comfortable in the kitchen.” As far packaging Ethiopian food in particular, Hiyaw said: “I’m going to venture out there and say that I think I’m the only person doing this. For this avenue I don’t necessarily have someone that I can look up to.”

Grocery chains and natural food stores have been interested in selling Taste of Ethiopia products and Hiyaw is careful about his limitations when it comes to distribution.

“There are challenges in negotiations and making sure that you’re not over-scaling what you can do,” he said. “Sometimes people are afraid that if they don’t say ‘yes’ they may lose the opportunity, but if you do say yes and then you don’t produce the amount agreed upon then you’ve closed the door completely.”

Right now Hiyaw wears many hats. “I’m owner and assistant and cook. It’s all about being humble, not being scared, and doing the hard work,” he told us. “I’ve learned this from my mom. She did everything — cooking, washing. She was the first one to get to the restaurant and the last one to leave. I’ve modeled my business after her restaurant.” Hiyaw’s brand is named after his mom’s restaurant in Michigan (also called Taste of Ethiopia) and whose motto is: “Be Authentic.”

Hiyaw also credits his mom’s entrepreneurial spirit for igniting the same passion in him. “I told my mom at age 10 or 11 that I’d never work for anybody, and I’ve had a few jobs, but never one that was 9 to 5,” he said. “So my mom plays a big role. All I’ve ever seen her do is her own business. Being right there at the table. It’s a great thing as an entrepreneur to sit at the table.”

Like any business Taste of Ethiopia also has its own set of challenges,but Hiyaw also sees the challenge as a moment of opportunity. “Rejection, failure — these things motivate me further. It’s thrilling to be able to watch problems and scenarios play out and then see the end results,” Hiyaw said. He is also heartened by the opportunity to share his work with the community. “When I get phone calls like this,” he added “it’s wonderful that someone wants to hear what my story is.”

Hiyaw also mentioned the recent cartoon episode featuring Ethopian cuisine. “Did you the see the Simpson’s episode? I am most proud that Abesha food can be shown in a different light. I grew up listening to Ethiopia being equated with famine, and being so self-conscious, I didn’t want to have the smell of spices from the restaurant on my jacket. I preferred french fries and hamburgers. Now that has changed.”

In addition to selling Taste of Ethiopia products Hiyaw also regularly organizes underground dinners, which consist of invite-only meals prepared and served at various non-restaurant locations. One theme, for example, was the communal table and the sharing of food from several African countries. Hiyaw sees this as an opportunity to get invited guests to open their senses and experience new food cultures. Hiyaw is also working on launching a food truck to further promote his business. “At the end of the day, it’s all about good food, great packaging, and hard work” he said.

Taste of Ethiopia products are currently available for purchase in the following New York locations: Fairway, Foragers Market, Park Slope Food Co-op, Westerly Market, Westside Market, Union Market (in Brooklyn), Integral Yoga Natural Food Store, and Blue Apron. Gourmet Garage and Dean & Deluca (on Spring St) will start carrying Taste of Ethiopia in the new year, with hopefully many more stores as well.
—
Tseday Alehegn is Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine.

Shiro, The Sure Thing: Why It’s Good For You

Published by Tadias Magazine November 26th, 2011 in Featured and Health. 19 Comments

In this piece Dr. Asqual Getaneh, an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York, looks at the health benefits of "shiro." (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Dr. Asqual Getaneh

Saturday, November 26, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – Whether or not it is made from toasted or raw beans, cooked thick or thin, spiced up or buttered, shiro along with other legumes is perhaps the most nourishing, ubiquitous and affordable dish in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, shiro appears less frequently on dinner tables as a result of economic and social success. The trend is an irrational and en masse adoption of Western commercial diets (along with culture and politics); yet, the same diets are the main culprits for the growing health problem in the U.S. and Europe. We grab on fistfuls of processed foods in beautifully designed packets in lieu of our traditional diet. In this, we, Ethiopians, are not alone. Very few traditions have successfully resisted the marketing lure and the temptation of colorfully wrapped easy-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals. It does not help, that no one celebrates with shiro and that it is used to express pity or religious compunction. As a result, shiro recedes even further from our esteem and creative culinary imaginations.

Against this tide, we would like to argue that shiro and other legumes should be celebrated victuals in Ethiopian households (and non-Ethiopian households) for the following reasons. First, shiro is a healthy source of both macro-and micro-nutrients. Depending on regional preferences, a typical shiro dish is made from one of three legumes, broad (fava) beans, chick peas (garbanzo) or round peas, or as in the current trend, from flour mixture of all three beans. Although there are some differences in nutrient content, each of these legumes is a low fat source of protein, carbohydrate, fiber, iron and folate, among numerous other vitamins and minerals.

For those of you worried about getting adequate protein from beans, according to the USDA the average woman and man require 46 grams and 51 grams of protein per day respectively. However, for elite athletes the daily requirement is as high as 1.37 grams per kilograms of body weight per day. A cup of shiro provides about 16.3 grams of protein. Compare this with 20 grams of protein in a serving of chicken breast, 19 grams in salmon and 22 grams in beef steak.

Second, shiro is usually served with tomato salad and vegetables such as collard greens (gomen), cabbage, or string beans and carrot (fasolia), dishes that are rich in vitamin A and C. In addition gomen and cabbage have vitamin K and folate and are filled with phytochemicals including diindolymethane, and sulforaphane — antioxidants that boost the body’s cancer fighting potential. Carrots and tomatoes have carotenoids and tomatoes contain lycopene — a specific type of carotenoid that has a strong antioxidant property. When mixed with berbere, shiro provides additional vitamin A.

Shiro as many other Ethiopian dishes is never eaten without injera, preferably injera made of teff -a super grain that rivals quinoa in its proportional protein and superior calcium and iron content. In sufficient quantities, Teff also provides a third of the daily requirement for riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate and other micronutrients. Those of us living in the United States and outside of the Washington DC area, are not lucky enough to easily obtain teff-based injera and have to resort to various other combinations that are not as nutritious and that can be more calorie dense than teff-based injera. So, when consuming non-teff based injera, it is prudent to assess calorie and carbohydrate content, especially if one is concerned about obesity, metabolic diseases or have diabetes.

Third, “shiro yum!”. Ok, we may be shooting for the stars trying to sell creamy delicious shiro to kurt-loving readers and during the holiday season. But get into your meditative zone and consider all the possible flavors in shiro like coriander, cardamom, garlic, and berbere; also visualize other bean dishes like buticha, yeshimbra asa and ful. And, if only for an interesting addition to your bean dish cornucopia, foray into the unique land of hilbet, boquilt, siljo, or gulban. I guarantee if not your taste buds your body will be tingling happily. To err is human, so if you are not convinced enough to have shiro and other legumes frequently, we hope that this will at least engage your culinary imagination to include shiro in some form in your diet.

In sum, shiro is a great source of protein; and when combined with vegetables and tomato salad shiro-based meals provide almost all of the average daily requirements of folate, vitamin A, C and K. Include the goodness of teff and the meal will have additional micronutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin B6. For individuals concerned about carbohydrates, injera made of teff has low glycemia load by virtue of its proportional fiber and protein content (estimated glycemia load of 84 for a cup of uncooked teff, compare this to 104 for a cup of uncooked rice). Add the antioxidant properties of carotenoids and phytochemicals, and shiro and its accompaniments are now in the realm of food-as-medicine. Above all shiro tastes heavenly. At a minimum, we should curb our flight into the dizzying glitter of substitute foods, even as many in the West reverse their course through the growing slow, organic, farm-to-table and locovore food movements.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Buzunesh Deba Eyes NYC Marathon

Published by Tadias Magazine October 26th, 2011 in Featured, News and Profiles. 8 Comments

Buzunesh Deba training at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Monday, October 24, 2011. (Photo by Jason Jett for Tadias Magazine).

Tadias Magazine
By Jason Jett

Updated: Thursday, October 27, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – Buzunesh Deba “is not in the local race, she is in the big race this time,” her husband-coach Worku Beyi emphasized last week in reference to the Ethiopian-born runner’s bid to become the first New Yorker to win the New York City Marathon since 1976 — before the race left Central Park to touch all five boroughs and become the world’s largest marathon.

On November 6 she will pursue the $130,000 overall top prize that goes to the first man and woman finishing the 26.2-mile race through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.

Deba has the runner’s resume to be considered among the top five in the elite women’s field at the 2011 New York City Marathon.

Last June she won the Rock n’ Roll San Diego Marathon in 2:23:31, blazing the first half of the downward course in 1:09:53. Three months earlier she won the Honda Los Angeles Marathon. Last year she was victorious at the Twin Cities and Grandma’s marathons in Minnesota.

Deba was among the top-10 finishers both times she competed over the marathon distance in New York City, finishing 10th, in 2:29:55, last year and seventh two years ago in 2:35:54.

The New York City Marathon is a demanding 26 miles, 385 feet (42.195 kilometers), with five climbs onto bridges, that runners seeking fast times typically avoid in favor of running over relatively flat courses in Berlin or Chicago.

Beyi insists if the weather is pleasant, Deba has a good chance of beating the New York City Marathon course record of 2:22:31.

“In San Diego she ran the first 5K in 16:0-something,” he said. “Her 10k time was 32 minutes, she was on world-record pace. Then until 23 miles, she was on sub-2:20 pace.”

The husband-coach told Tadias that he first met Deba when she was age 13, and a year later attended one of her races, positioning himself along a clearing about 400 feet from the finish line.

“Buzunesh was second, a good distance behind the leader, when she came by,” said Beyi. “I shouted ‘go, go, go’ the next thing I knew she began to run faster. She passed the other girl and won the race.”

“When I congratulated her after the race I asked her how did she manage to pass the other girl so quickly?” he continued. “She said, ‘You gave me power. You are my power.’”

His wife’s pre-New York marathon workout routines peaked this fall to 130 miles a week, covered in two-a-day training sessions. Recently, Deba has slowed to about 90 miles a week with robust-morning and easy-evening sessions.

“Nutrition is very important for running a marathon,” Beyi said. “Marathon training is very hard, you have to eat properly. Up to one month before the marathon we ate a lot of meat and injera, but injera makes you heavy. Now we eat mostly vegetables, with a little chicken and some lamb soup.”

Deba gives a lot of credit for her success to Beyi — both his training and cooking.

Beyi, a world-class athlete, competes less now because of a medical condition and instead focuses on coaching Deba. Quite a cook also, friends say, Beyi said he prepares their meals so Deba can stay off her feet after training.

For Deba, the ascension was gradual. She arrived in New York on an athlete’s visa in 2007, and her early performance was hampered by chronic ankle problems.

With uneven success, she competed across the country at various races. It was not until September 2009 that Deba ran her first race over a 26.2-mile course — The Quad Cities (Iowa) Marathon — and won.

She found her winning stride, and with coaching from Beyi and altitude training in New Mexico, victories followed at the 2009 and 2010 California International Marathon as well as in Minnesota, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Buzunesh Deba trains under the watchful eye of husband-coach Worku Beyi as members of the Manhattan College Jaspers track and field team look on at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Monday, October 24, 2011. (Photo by Jason Jett for Tadias Magazine).

Buzunesh Deba, far right, holds trophy after winning the 2010 Chris Thater Memorial 5K in Binghamton, New York. (Photo by Jason Jett)

Now Deba is on the brink of a life-changing achievement. If she wins the New York City Marathon next week, it would mark the first time a female runner has left her homeland as an adult and rose to world-class status on the North American road-racing circuit. Only Khalid Khannouchi, who was born in Morocco and lived first in Brooklyn and then in Ossining, NY, has done that to date, winning the 1999 Chicago Marathon in a world-record time of 2:05:42 that since has been broken. Meb Keflezighi, winner of the 2009 New York City Marathon, was born in Eritrea but as a child moved with his family to the United States and grew up in San Diego.

In recent days, Deba has been besieged with media requests – which included interviews with The New York Times and The New York Daily News.

With a victory in New York, Deba would take a big step from her colleagues who survive by the same pattern she had followed in the U.S. until this year — racing here and there, virtually anywhere, to secure enough funds to support themselves and send home to family in Ethiopia.

More than dozen Ethiopian runners living in New York and Washington, D.C., are pursuing with season-highlight anticipation that New York City Marathon race-within-a-race from which Deba is attempting to move on. For them there is still gleam in the prospect of being the first city resident or New York Road Runners member to finish, and the money that comes with the distinction.

Pride unites the network of Ethiopian runners who live in and around New York, training in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Rockefeller State Park in Tarrytown and in Manhattan’s Central Park.

The pride is both for their homeland and in their resettlement in a country that offers greater opportunities — if they can find them amid all the competition from other Ethiopian nationals not to mention Kenyans, and East Europeans on the running circuit.

Friendships survive the race competitions, in which one runner’s success often means another’s failure in monetary terms ranging from several hundred to thousands of dollars.

Schadenfreude is a reality after each race, with everyone getting to share in it at some point as they hope for better for themselves in their next competition.

That is the manner in which relations within the network are affected by the hands of fate. One’s success is shared; one’s failure means there is opportunity for some other runner to move up.

The New York City Marathon brings local media attention to the running community each year. The scrutiny has not always been embraced by its members.

Nearly three years ago Village Voice reporter Graham Rayman extensively interviewed Ethiopian and Kenyan runners living in the Bronx for a post-New York City Marathon story. Rayman and photographer Jesse Reed spent days into weeks interviewing and photographing the runners in their homes as well as at training grounds in Van Cortlandt and Rockefeller State parks.

The result was a front-page story with a full-page picture of Ethiopian runner Abiyot Endale, who has photogenic looks to match his athletic prowess. However, photoshopped onto the bib of Endale’s running shirt was the headline: Will Run For Food.

The Ethiopian running community in New York was outraged.

Kassahun Kabiso, a Bronx runner who was featured in the report, said Rayman had befriended the runners and they had accepted him and his photographer into their homes and apartments. “He was our friend,” Kabiso said. “Maybe his editors changed the story.”

Rayman did not respond to a request for comment sent to his email account at the Village Voice.

The article, published December 17, 2008, is still viewable online along with additional comments but sans the cover photograph shown below.

The Ethiopian running community in New York is still stinging from the article, and wants the world to know that while their lifestyle is not luxurious neither is it impoverished.

“That was a bad article,” Beyi said, shaking his head, after leading Deba through a training session last week.

Endale and Derese Deniboba, who live at a Perry Avenue address in the Bronx that for the past six years has been home for Ethiopian runners, note that while they may live four people to an apartment the conditions are clean and well-maintained, if not spartan.

Deniboba recently recalled a conversation he had last summer with his absentee landlord.

“He called me over and said, ‘You know, you are not like the tenants I used to have. You guys are quiet, and never cause any trouble. Where are you from?’”

“I told him Ethiopia,” said Deniboba. “Then he asked, ‘What you do?’”

“I told him we are runners,” added Deniboba. “Then he said, ‘You guys are disciplined, you are in good shape. None of you are fat. I think I will take up running, too.’”

Will Run For Glory

Deba is running the New York City Marathon for the glory and the money.

Her six-figure annual earnings and a $40,000 Mizuno sponsorship, along with a 2011 Honda Insight hybrid car that was part of her prize for winning in Los Angeles, has her and Beyi preparing to buy a house in their adopted city — as she pursues United States citizenship.

Should Deba not win the New York race, but finish second, she would earn $65,000; plus bonus. A third-place finish would net her $40,000, fourth $25,000, fifth $15,000, and so on, plus bonuses.

November 6 likely will be a big payday for all the hard work and discipline Deba has put in every day the past few months, including rainy days on which Beyi suggested she rest but she insisted on going out and running in the rain for hours.

“I will do my best,” Deba said this week with a confident smile, which may have been a bit of humility coming from a runner who, when asked by a reporter after winning the 2009 California International Marathon at what point did she know she had won the race, replied: “At the start line.”
–
Related:
View more photos of Buzunesh Deba on our Facebook page
Buzunesh Deba: New York’s Hope at ING NYC Marathon

Tutu Belay’s Ethiopian Yellow Pages: Life, by the book

Published by Tadias Magazine June 9th, 2011 in Family and Podcast. Closed

Above: Tutu Belay’s Ethiopian Yellow Pages have helped to
make her a prominent member of DC’s Ethiopian community.

The Washington Post – Lifestyle
By Emily Wax,

Published: June 8

With her bulky Ethiopian Yellow Pages jostling in the passenger seat, “Mama Tutu” Belay lurches her black Mercedes to a stop. She squints suspiciously at a new bakery operating in a basement on Georgia Avenue that claims to use clay plates to make an authentic version of injera, the spongy bread that is a dietary staple of her homeland. “It’s suspect!” Mama Tutu decrees while looking over the bakery, which is painted pumpkin orange and flies American and Ethiopian flags. “I need to make sure it’s legit before it goes anywhere near my book.”

Her book is the Ethiopian Yellow Pages, which includes hundreds of the Ethiopian American businesses that have taken over once-blighted storefronts across the Washington region. Read more at The Washington Post.

Interview With E/O Bandleader Russ Gershon

Published by Tadias Magazine January 24th, 2011 in Events, Featured and Reviews. 4 Comments

Above: Russ Gershon, Charlie Kohlhase, Alemayehu Eshete, Mahmoud Ahmed at Stonehendge, June 2008. (Courtesy, RG)

Tadias Magazine
By Liben Eabisa

Published: Monday, January 24th, 2011

New York (Tadias) – Saxophonist and Composer Russ Gershon is the founder and bandleader of Either/Orchestra (E/O), the large American jazz ensemble also known for its Ethiopian song selections and notable collaborations with musicians such as Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Teshome Mitiku, Getatchew Mekurya, Tsedenia Markos, Bahta Hewet, Michael Belayneh, and Hana Shenkute.

As Gershon tells it, his first introduction to Ethiopian music came in 1988 when he heard Mahmoud’s Ere Mela Mela. But he did not fall in love with Ethio-jazz until his encounter in 1993 with a compilation album entitled Ethiopian Groove: the Golden 70′s – produced by Francis Falceto as part of the Ethiopiques CD series on the French label Buda Musique.

Later, as a graduate student at Tufts University, Gershon named his masters thesis The Oldest Place, a string quartet inspired by the music and instruments of Ethiopia. His team eventually traveled to the country at Francis Falceto’s invitation to perform at the 2004 Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa. Either/Orchestra became the first U.S. big band to appear in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington’s Orchestra in 1973. The 2004 concert resulted in a remarkable double-disc set called Ethiopiques 20: The Either/Orchestra Live in Addis, which was described by critics at the time as “the best live album of the year—in any genre—and one of the E/O’s finest albums.”

Ethiopian music is just one of the many international sounds that E/O is known for. The band members are an eclectic bunch hailing from several countries, including the U.S., the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. The ensemble experiments with various grooves, often mixed with Afro-Caribbean and African influences.

Gershon, who was born in New York in 1959 and grew up in Westport, Connecticut, credits his global taste in his youth to the time that he spent summers working for his grandfather in New York’s Garment District, not far from the record stores and concert venues of Manhattan.

Either/Orchestra celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and will mark the event with a reunion show at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City on February 11th, 2011.

We recently interviewed Russ Gershon.

Above: Mahmoud Ahmed, Francis Falceto and Russ Gershon, Paris 2006.

Tadias: Please tell us a bit about how Either/Orchestra was first formed and
what kind of music you wanted to create/play.

Russ Gershon: I started the E/O in 1985 as a rehearsal band, never expecting to tour and make records, to have the fantastic adventure we’ve had. I was coming off of a year at Berklee College of Music, following several years of playing in fairly successful original pop bands, and I was just getting a handle on writing arrangements and understanding the techniques of jazz. I was a big admirer of Sun Ra’s Arkestra, Gil Evans, and other unconventional large jazz groups, and wanted to do something like that. I should also add that I had been a radio DJ for many years, and was used to having all the recorded music in the world at my fingertips, trying to put together interesting combinations of music from all over the map.

So I invited a motley mob of musicians to come to my house and play music I was writing. Everybody had a good time, liked the music, and within a couple of months we had our first gig, in the children’s room of the Cambridge MA public library. We were immediately semi-popular and just went from there, making albums and touring. I think my experience in pop and dance bands made me more aware than most jazz musicians of connecting with audiences.

Tadias: Your music infuses Caribbean, Latin American and East African beats, tunes, and rhythms with the free-flow of jazz. Would you consider yourself an international jazz band?

RG: The E/O is indeed an international jazz band in several ways: we have members from the US, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico; we play music with many Afro-Caribbean and African influences, and of course we’ve gotten thoroughly involved with Ethiopian music. All American music has such a huge African component, through [African-Americans], so that the music of three continents flows naturally and easily together. I’ve also been a big fan of African music, starting with Fela Kuti, South African jazz and field recordings of traditional music.

Tadias: Over the years, you have worked with some of the best-known Ethiopian musicians. Who/what was the catalyst? How did you discover Ethiopian music?

RG: In 1988 I heard Mahmoud’s “Ere Mela Mela” LP and it made an impression, and I heard Aster Aweke live in about 1990, but I really fell in love with Ethiopian music in 1993 when a friend brought back the compilation “Ethiopian Groove: the Golden 70′s” from France, where Francis Falceto had assembled it from some of the best tracks recorded in Addis at the end of the imperial period. I loved the horns, the passionate singing, the modes, the way it took American influences and spiced them with musical berbere, making something familiar and new at the same time.

After a couple of years I started arranging Ethiopian songs as instrumentals for the E/O, and both the band and the audiences loved it immediately. Teshome Mitiku heard our recording of his song Yezamed Yebada, and called me up, we became friends. Soon after that, Francis contacted me and began telling me about the history of music in Ethiopia and playing rare recordings for me — material that he has been releasing on the Ethiopiques series. In 2003, he and Heruy Arefe-Aiene invited us to play in the 2004 Ethiopian Music Festival, and we got deeper into the music to prepare for the trip. While we were in Addis in January 2004, we met Mulatu, Alemayehu, Getachew, Tsedenia Markos, Bahta Hewet, Michael Belayneh and others and invited them to play on our concert, which was eventually turned into Ethiopiques #20. This led to collaborations with Mulatu in the States, Mahmoud in Paris in 2006, Hana Shenkute, Setegn Atanaw and Minale Dagnew, and on and on. Most recently we finally started working with Teshome, debuting at the Chicago Jazz Festival. He’ll be featured in our upcoming 25th Anniversary Concert in New York on February 11, and we’ll be playing with Mahmoud in Cambridge, MA on March 24 and Amherst, MA on March 25.

Mulatu Astatke and Vicente Lebron of Either/Orchestra, Addis Ababa, 2004

Teshome Mitiku and Either/Orchestra at the Chicago Jazz Festival, September 2010

Setegn Atanaw, Minale Dagnew, Hana Shenkute, Joel Yennior, Colin Fisher, MA 2006

Tadias: You are also credited for helping to popularizing Ethio–Jazz in the U.S., especially through the Ethiopiques CD release as well as subsequent tours and performances. What would you says is your most memorable concert featuring Ethiopian artists?

RG: There have been so many amazing concerts with our Ethiopian friends that I can hardly pick one. The concert in London with Mahmoud, Alemayehu, Getachew and Mulatu was pretty great, one in Milan with Mulatu and Mahmoud was off the charts, Chicago with Teshome….

Tadias: What’s your favorite Ethiopian tune?

RG: More than a favorite Ethiopian tune, I’ll say that anchi hoye is my favorite mode. We jazzers love dissonant harmonies, and we can find them in anchi hoye. I even wrote string quartet – violins, viola, cello – based on it, thinking about masinko and with a section called Azmari. I also arrange Altchalkum (bati minor) for the Boston Pops Orchestra, and they played it beautifully.

Tadias: Regarding your trip to Ethiopia, what was that experience like?

RG: The visit to Ethiopia in 2004 was a wonderful, life-changing experience for me and the band. We were concerned that people wouldn’t approve of how we were playing Ethiopian songs, but instead they were very interested and enthusiastic. Also, hearing Ethiopian music at the source – and seeing the dancing – really helped us to understand the rhythms and melody. And finally, it is an important experience for Americans, with our wasteful, materialistic culture, to have a chance to see an African city, where so many people have so few things and get by on little. It reminds us that the most important things in our lives are our relationships with friends, family, everybody – and that music is a beautiful way to develop and expand these relationships, across borders, languages, generations. In the U.S. it’s easy for people to hide in their own space, to play with their toys, to NOT relate to other people. Of course it’s great to have the comfort, safety, conveniences that we have here – but it’s not nearly enough.

Tadias: In a recent article Boston Globe noted that your “wide-open sensibility” is rooted in your exposure to the New York Music scene in 1970s. Can you describe your time in New York and how it influenced you?

RG: NY in the 70′s was an exciting place to hear jazz. The spirit of Coltrane was still very much alive, Miles and his former sidemen and others were bringing electric instruments and grooves into jazz, the Midwestern avant-garde was arriving in town. There were concerts at Carnegie Hall, traditional clubs, and artists were taking advantage of the decline in the city’s economy to find cheap space and open performance lofts. Every generation of jazz, from Count Basie and Benny Carter to Lester Bowie and Woody Shaw, was alive and playing. I was an avid concert and club goer from about 1975 on, and I feel fortunate to have heard just about every living legend and the rising generations.

The Either/Orchestra at the Yared School of Music in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2004

E/O trombonist Joel Yennior with the Yared School Trombonists, Addis Ababa, 2004

Tadias: Please tell us about your upcoming 25th Anniversary concert in New York.
What should your fans expect?

RG: The 25th Anniversary Concert will be an amazing collection of players who have all contributed to the E/O over the years. We’ll have the ten current members of the band plus 16 former members, plus Teshome. Four drummers, seven saxophones, five trombones, and so many more. The alums include jazz stars like John Medeski, Matt Wilson and Josh Roseman, and great hard working sidemen. We’ll touch on all the eras and styles of our music, and sometimes have 25 musicians on stage. It will be spectacular, Teshome is representing our Ethiopian connection, and we’ll play Yezamed Yebada and a new Ambassel that we wrote together last summer. We may even play an instrumental version of Muluquen Mellesse’s Keset Eswa Bicha.

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

RG: Le Poisson Rouge is not a really big place, so I recommend buying tickets in advance and showing up on time. The show is 7 to 10 pm, very early, then we’re done. We can all go out for injera!

Tadias: Thank you Russ and see you on February 11th.
–

You can learn more about the band at: http://either-orchestra.org

Photo credit: All images are courtesy of Russ Gershon.

Video: Mulatu Astatke and the Either/Orchestra play Munaye

Video: Mahmoud Ahmed and the Either/Orchestra: Bemen Sebab Letlash

Video: Either/Orchestra w/ Tsedenia Markos live in Ethiopia

Video: Alèmayèhu Eshèté with the Either Orchestra, Aug 2008

Ethiopian Torontonians Gearing Up For 12th Ethiopian Day Celebration

Published by Tadias Magazine September 7th, 2010 in Events and Featured. Closed

Above: 12th annual Ethiopian Day Celebration, hosted by the
Ethiopian Association in the GTA- scheduled for this weekend.

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Tuesday, September 7, 2010

New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian Torontonians are gearing up for their city’s 12th annual Ethiopian-Canadian Day Celebration, scheduled to take place this coming weekend at Christie Pits Park in Toronto.

The day long event features a variety of booths, arts, crafts, food and live entertainment – including Ethiopian music, reggae and other African grooves, organizers announced.

The yearly festivities, which also serve as a celebration of enqutatash (New Year) for the estimated 50,000 Ethiopians in the Greater Toronto Area, is organized by The Ethiopian Association in the GTA and Surrounding Regions. “It is with sense of obligation to preserve and promote our heritage that the Ethiopian Community in Toronto has taken over the task of organizing such an event,” the organization noted on its website following last year’s activities. “As in the past, our Association took charge of planning, budgeting and coordination of tasks.”

According to Yeamrot Taddese, Tadias Magazine’s contributing reporter from Toronto, the upcoming event is a high-spirited affair for Ethiopians in Canada.

“In no other festivity do local Ethiopians’ spirit, talent and culinary skills shine as they do on the annual day-long Ethiopian New Year’s celebration,” Yeamrot wrote in her recent series of articles about the city’s Ethiopian soccer team Ethio Star’s pending bid to host the 2011 tournament managed by the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA).

“The event, also dubbed ‘Ethiopian Day,’ is the most anticipated gathering in the community that features live music, rising Ethiopian entrepreneurs, social justice advocates and lots of injera.”

If You Go:
12th annual Ethiopian-Canadian Day Celebration
Saturday, September 11, 2010
10am to 11pm
at Christie Pits Park
Learn more at Ethiocommun.org
–

Cover Image: Photos from the event flyer.

Note: Is your city hosting Ethiopian New Year’s celebration? Send us the details at info@tadias.com.

Maids in Ethiopia: A Sign of Elitism?

Published by Tadias Magazine August 14th, 2010 in Opinion. 15 Comments

Above: What I did not know as a child but know now as an
adult is that maids and those who they take care of live in
two social strata. (Commentary from the host of BC Radio)

OPINION
By Teddy Fikre

Posted here: Saturday, August 14, 2010

Growing up in Ethiopia, we used to have maids that helped around the house. For the most part, the maids were considered part of the family. Although my mother attended to my needs and that of my siblings, the maids nonetheless were a ubiquitous presence inside our house. Whether they were helping to clean up, make injera and wot, or other tasks around the house, they were present in our lives on a daily basis. As a child, I never really took the time to be introspective or to question why these strangers were all the sudden part of our family. All I knew is that I would eventually befriend the maids and would become part of the memories of Ethiopia that I left behind.

In retrospect, when looking back at it, I wonder if having a maid put my family as part of the haves in Ethiopia. What I did not know as a child but know now as an adult is that maids and those who they take care of live in two social strata. Maids were a part of the working poor, mostly women who came to Addis from the country side to find an opportunity much the same way migrant workers from Mexico travel to the United States to escape the clutches of poverty in the homes they left behind. So I find myself grappling with one inescapable question, did the employment with my family present an opportunity for our maids or did we somehow take part in the exploitation of Ethiopians who were desperate for a prospect at a new life.

Grant it, exploitation is a jarring word. Not one family I know in Ethiopia forced any of their maids to stay against their will. The maids were given shelter and food, and paid for their services. Compared from the places most of the maids came from, most were living a relatively better life. Yet, the idea of an Ethiopian being a maid for another Ethiopian is something which is hard for me to accept. Maybe it is because the social inequities of class and wealth are that much more evident when you see one Ethiopian serving another. After all, I never really think too much about it when I see Mexican maids in America or janitors coming by my office on a daily basis to clean up after the office workers. Somehow, when I see Ethiopians serving other Ethiopians, it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. To be honest, I don’t fancy myself as one that wants to be served by others to begin with, but it hits home when that person is from my own country. I guess it is the same reason we are more shocked when we see a homeless Ethiopian yet we are not quite as phased when we see homeless people everyday in DC.

This same level of discomfort follows me to this day. When I see Ethiopians working at a hotel and offer to take carry my luggage or Ethiopian limo drivers chauffeuring other Ethiopians, it smacks of elitism to me to be served by my own community. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I came from being part of the relative haves in Ethiopia to being a part of the working class, from having maids in Ethiopia to watching my father work multiple jobs that I understand the sacrifices that people take to find a better path in life. So is it in fact elitist to have an Ethiopian maid in Ethiopia? I am not sure what the answer to that is, I guess that is a value judgment for each one of us to make. Hopefully, my conscience won’t get in my way the next time I am eating at an Ethiopian restaurant and realize that it is an Ethiopian woman who is making the wot in the kitchen.

Source: Browncondor.com (BC Radio)
Live TV : Ustream

By the same author:
The Ethiopian Flag: Stop putting political symbols on it

Farmers in Kansas seek to expand test plots of Ethiopian grain into marketable fields of teff

Published by Tadias Magazine July 29th, 2010 in Health. Closed

Above: Teff is gluten free and known for its flood and drought
resistance. This year 150 acres was planted in Kansas, down
from the 250 acres projected due to untimely rains. (Injera)

By Roxana Hegeman

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – When black farmers in Kansas first began growing an Ethiopian cereal grain known as teff five years ago, they were intrigued by the crop’s connection to Africa.

Now, the Kansas Black Farmers Association is working with conservationists to expand test plots of teff into market-sized fields that farmers across the state can plant as an alternative crop.

“We get calls monthly from people wanting any teff we have so they can mill it for food,” said Darla Juhl, coordinator for the conservationists group, Solomon Valley Resource Conservation and Development Area. Some of those calls have come from people as far away as the Netherlands and Mexico.

Teff is gluten free and known for its flood and drought resistance. Read more.

Related from Tadias Archives:
Teff luck: What Has Piracy Got To Do With The Price of Injera?

Above: The media never resists stories of sea attacks, but
there is another type of piracy that hardly gets attention:
the looming intellectual property warfare in Africa.

Tadias Magazine
By Nemo Semret

Published: Sunday, January 31, 2010

Digital coffee – a trip down memory lane

Would you rather collect rent or charity?

Even the birds and the bees

Photo Journal: San Jose Ethiopian Soccer Tournament 2010

Published by Tadias Magazine July 7th, 2010 in Featured and News. 11 Comments

Thousands of people across the country descended on San Jose last week for the annual Ethiopia soccer tournament.

Tadias Magazine
Events News – Photos by Kal Kassa

Published: Wednesday, July 7, 2010

San Jose, CA (Tadias) – The recently concluded Ethiopian Soccer Tournament in San Jose, California was attended by thousands of Ethiopian-Americans and their families.

The annual event, designed to promote goodwill among the various Ethiopian communities in the United States and Canada, is organized by the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA), a non-profit organization founded in 1984 to help popularize amateur soccer while celebrating commonly shared traditions.

The week-long gathering, which this year celebrated its 27th anniversary, goes far beyond sports entertainment, allowing families and friends to come together in celebration of their cultural heritage. The festival week is a popular time for networking, alumni gatherings, small business catering, music performances, and reunion parties.

The colorful 2010 tournament at Spartan Stadium showcased 27 teams – along with food vendors, artists, artisans and entrepreneurs, offering items ranging from injera to T-shirts and everything in between.

ESFNA has yet to announce the host city for next year’s tournament. Meanwhile, here are few photos from San Jose.

Related from Tadias Magazine:
Toronto Says It Has What It Takes to Host the Ethio Soccer Tour

Toronto Says It Has What It Takes to Host the Ethiopian Soccer Tournament

Published by Tadias Magazine June 29th, 2010 in Featured, News and Reviews. 37 Comments

Ethiopian community leaders in Toronto say after 10 years of waiting, it is time for Canada to host the annual Ethio Soccer Tournament ------ -- (Photograph by Yohannes Ayalew)

Tadias Magazine
By Yeamrot Taddese

Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Toronto (TADIAS) – Toronto is a member of the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA), but most Ethiopian Torontonians have a fading recollection of the last time their city hosted the soccer tournament. Many others had not yet arrived here when the games came to Toronto in 1992 and later in 2000.

The Ethiopian community, in one of biggest and most diverse cities in North America, says it has what it takes to accommodate the games for the first time in a decade.

“The community has grown ten folds since the last time tournament was hosted here,” said Dr. Retta Alemayehu, the Director of the Ethiopian Association in the GTA during a meeting with ESFNA President Demmissie Mekonnen. “The preparation for the games will reflect this change.”

Samuel Getachew, the communications director of Toronto’s Ethiopian soccer team, Ethio Star, says the games are long overdue. “If we call this organization a North American sports federation, different cities should get an opportunity to host the tournament instead of repeating venues,” he said. He added that the local government and Tourism Toronto have agreed to make financial contribution to host the tournament.

Getachew is running for Toronto City Council representing ward 43. One of the goals on his platform is to officially label a section of the famous Danforth Avenue between Greenwood and Monarch Park as “Little Ethiopia” on the city map. The area is alive with several Ethiopian restaurants, cafes, clubs and other businesses.

Rendezvous restaurant and bar is located in the aspiring Little Ethiopia. Its owner, Banchi Kinde, says the Ethiopian community in Toronto is more prepared than ever to host the soccer tournament. “In ten years, I have witnessed an unbelievable amount of growth in populace and businesses. We have now more than enough restaurants to accommodate everyone,” she said. Kinde also noted that economic booms in cities like Calgary will surely draw people from other parts of Canada.

The Bloor Street and Ossington Avenue area, also located near the downtown core, is known for its Ethiopian cuisine.

Tameru Tesfaye, a member of the organizing committee of Ethio Star, said if Toronto wins the bid this week, the event venue will be set up in downtown Toronto, making it convenient for guests to access attractions and Ethiopian community areas through the city transit system.

Toronto annually attracts visitors to thrill-evoking events such as the Luminato arts festival and Caribana. In March 2010, the Ethiopian Students Association International (ESAi) chose Toronto to host its 10th annual summit and anniversary celebration. Young professionals from several parts of the U.S, Canada and even Ethiopia flocked to Toronto for the ESAi’s first ever summit outside the United States. Ellal Aklilu was one of the attendees of the event from Pennsylvania. After his first visit to Canada’s biggest city, Aklilu says he would come back any day. “I was awed to see such a well-established Ethiopian community in Toronto. The city’s atmosphere was very diverse and welcoming,” he said.

In no other festivity do local Ethiopians’ spirit, talent and culinary skills shine as they do on the annual day-long Ethiopian New Year’s celebration. The event, which is also dubbed “Ethiopian Day,” is the most anticipated gathering in the community that features live music, rising Ethiopian entrepreneurs, social justice advocates and lots of injera. With the kind of fervor Toronto has for hosting the next soccer tournament, the New Year’s extravaganza just might happen twice next year.
—

About the Author:
Yeamrot Taddese is a journalism student at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is also a contributing reporter for Tadias Magazine.

Bati, The Jewel of Fort Greene

Published by Tadias Magazine June 15th, 2010 in Family. Closed

Above: Owner Hibist Legesse has described the food as
“traditional Ethiopian with a focus on nutrition and health”
and the food tastes healthy in the ways one wants it to.”

Restaurant Review (New York)
By Berhan Tsehai TsehaiNY.com
Posted: 14 June 2010
I recently dined at Bati with a few of my friends on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Upon entering, I noticed the restaurant’s décor. It is decked with original paintings from Ethiopia with sounds of traditional music adding to its intimate setting. Bati was full of patrons but it didn’t take long for us to be seated. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly. Read more.

Bati Yummy, Now Open for Lunch
VillageVoice.com
Posted by Hailey Eber

New York – Bati (747 Fulton Street, Brooklyn), the new Ethiopian restaurant in Fort Greene, is now open for lunch after a soft opening the weekend before last.

A friend and I tried Bati last weekend and had some of the best Ethiopian food either of us had had in recent memory. The restaurant is still waiting on its liquor license, so it’s BYOB for now, which does always help my culinary memory. We were more in a beer mood, so I grabbed a six pack at Fresh Gardens (729 Fulton Street, Brooklyn), an organic bodega just down the block that has a far better (and less pricey) beer selection than the Provisions market right next door to the restaurant. I assembled a mix-and-match six pack of craft IPAs, including my current favorite, Lagunitas, to complement the spicy food. If you prefer to grab wine, there’s the Greene Grape (765 Fulton Street) wine store one block over.

Once having procured proper libation to bring with, it was time to eat.

My dining companion is vegetarian, so we had a meatless meal, which isn’t a problem, since Bati, like most Ethiopian places, is quite veggie friendly. We started with Ye Timatim Fitfit ($5), a mix of tomato salad and torn up bits of injera–Ethiopian flat bread. The tomatoes tasted deliciously fresh on yet another dreary winter night and the bits of injera were brushed with just enough kibe–clarified butter with herbs–to impart a buttery goodness without heart-attack thoughts.

For our main course, we split a vegetarian combination platter ($14), which, with the appetizer, was more than enough for the two of us. Of the four dishes on the platter, the clear winner was the Buticha–ground chick peas blended with spices, onion, and pepper. It reminded me of a drier, fluffier Ethiopian take on hummus and provided a fresh, cool counterpoint to the warmer, saucier elements on the platter.

Owner Hibist Legesse has described the food as “traditional Ethiopian with a focus on nutrition and health” and the food tastes healthy in the ways one wants it to–the vegetables are fresher and the flavors cleaner than many other things we’ve scooped up with injera, and the injera itself is spongy and flavorful without being too heavy (very important when consuming with IPAs aplenty)–while still retaining the tasty unhealthy elements–butter!

The space itself is lovely. The panes of the large windows facing the street have been painted a shade of vermilion that perfectly complements the dark wood, and the artwork is minimal and soothing. Its dimensions are more East Village than Brooklyn, though, and the place can get a bit too cozy when full. Service is warm and friendly but still working out some kinks, as to be expected in the early weeks. It took a while to get our food and there seemed to be a napkin shortage, rather comical when you’re eating with your hands. All are minor inconveniences, however, easily washed down with another IPA. In a neighborhood has some great eating options from Africa—from South African fare at Madiba (195 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn) to Senegalese food at Abistro (154 Carlton Avenue, Brooklyn)–this Ethiopian addition is a very welcome one.

FOXNews: Food 101 – Dishes of Ethiopian Cuisine From New York’s Queen of Sheba

Published by Tadias Magazine January 30th, 2010 in News and Podcast. 3 Comments

Above: FOX’s Food 101 features New York’s Queen of Sheba
Ethiopian restaurant located in midtown, Manhattan.

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, January 30, 2010

New York (Tadias) – FoxNews.com’s Diane Macedo explores how to prepare authentic Ethiopian cuisine at New York’s Queen of Sheba restaurant.

The eatery was also 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.

Among those dishing out delicious and eclectic cuisine at last year’s second Choice Eats tasting event organized by The Village Voice, was the staff of Queen of Sheba, serving injera rolls with fillings of either spicy lentil or beef sauces. Eager tasters waited patiently in rows to pick up the wraps. In it’s description of the Queen of Sheba restaurant, the event publication wrote: “New York finally has its own Queen of Sheba, providing intriguing and sometimes fiery spice combinations.”

Diane Macedo explores the unique flavors of Ethiopian cuisine

Related Video from Tadias: QS at Choice Eats 2009

Cross-Cultural Music Improvisations: A Conversation with Dan Harper

Published by Lifestyle Tadias November 16th, 2009 in Art. 9 Comments

Tadias Magazine spoke with Dan Harper about his new album "Punt Made in Ethiopia" and his work to create cross-cultural conversations through music. (Courtesy photo).

Tadias Magazine
Interview by Tseday Alehegn

Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009

New York (Tadias) – As an aid worker for a British NGO in Ethiopia, Dan Harper (Invisible System) lived and traveled throughout Ethiopia for three years. He also nurtured his first love: music, and built a studio from scratch to produce and collaborate with Ethiopian musicians. Harper describes his Worm Hole studio equipment as something which “can be setup around scarce resources such as in an outhouse with corrugated iron roofing (interesting in the rainy season), carpets and breeze blocks. It is also now constructed in a more solid form in Frome, Somerset whilst maintaining its nomadic and professional feel and look.” Harper co-wrote and sound engineered Dub Colossus’ album “A Town Called Addis” with Nick Page, and most recently came out with his own album “PUNT Made in Ethiopia” (Harper Diabate Records) featuring an incredibly diverse list of musicians, ranging from talent he spotted at a traditional Azmari joint to sessions with singer Tsedenia and the legendary Mahmoud Ahmed. Harper stresses that the collaboration is not trying to imitate how Ethiopians play music. Rather it’s an entirely improvisational recording. Invisible System has played at the Addis Music Festival as well as several live concerts in the U.K. Proceeds from the album are helping to establish a charity focusing on providing resources to artists and musicians in the developing world, an issue which Harper believes is often neglected by international NGOs.

We spoke with Dan about his first album release on Harper Diabete Records and his work to create genuine cross-cultural conversations through music.

Tadias: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How you ended up living and working in Ethiopia?

Harper: Before I start, I’d like to say it’s really nice to be involved with Ethiopians and Ethiopian culture and music. I have very fond memories of Addis, and I traveled all around the country. I had volunteers all over the place. I’ve been to Jimma, up to the North, I’ve been to the South, Lake Langano, Awasa. It’s been so long now that I’ve even started to forget the names of all the places… Gonder, Mekele. Fantastic country really.

Okay, so I grew up in England. Mother was born in India, raised in New Zealand and she moved to England when she was 18. My dad comes from a working class coal miner and army background. He later became an academic. I grew up in the southwest of England. I always wanted to go to Africa..always fascinated. Even as a kid, when I was 12 I was listening to bands that infused African rhythm and sound. Something always hit the mark for me. A lot has driven me to Africa. Also, I’ve always had a thing about development and the problems of developing countries and the injustice of it all. And that is ingrained from a young age as well. I used to complain when we had three course meals when I was 11 or 12 saying there were people who can’t eat in the world. It’s just been part of me. So that’s me: I love art, I love music. I’m interested in international culture. I love different ways of talking, and eating, and interacting, and different clothes and hairstyles. I think that’s what’s magical about the world.

I’ve always been fascinated with music since the age of 7. I’m obsessed with it I think. I’ve taught myself to play everything. I’ve taught myself to produce, to sound engineer. I’ve built my own studio. I’ve done it without the equipment being bought for me. I’ve had to work hard for it. And I’ve had to build it bit by bit. And I’ve been in constant debt for it, so it’s an absolute love, and passion, and something I can’t stop doing.

When I left school I bought a camp van and I worked and I drove around Europe and down to Turkey with my girlfriend, and had an interest in international development and culture since then. Since seeing people live in cardboard boxes as I drove around. And at university I changed very quickly from studying computing management to studying environmental management, although I probably should have done, music, technology or both. But there you go. Both things come together. I had wanted to work abroad in NGOs.. I was always quite anti-government. I grew up in Thatcher’s government so plenty of reasons to be upset. And I had to volunteer for years..there was no paid work in Environment. There was no way to go to Africa. You had to pay for yourself. I had no money. I was trying to build a studio that was getting me in debt, and eventually I had to go into business. Didn’t enjoy working in business. Had to cut my hair which was awful and wear a suit which was awful – not me at all. And I ended up working for the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University in quite a basic, boring admin job. I knew it would springboard me overseas and I took a job up in Mali eventually, which I was very lucky to get after a few years work experience. I learned French and worked for a local environmental NGO. I was in the middle of the desert. It was really hard work, hard conditions, teaching kids about environmental issues. And I met my wife out there, and I worked there for four and half years and I have a daughter.

We could afford to get on as a family there so I thought I better try to get a better paying job, as I wanted to stay overseas. I wanted to stay in Africa. And a job with a British NGO came up and I got it and it was in Ethiopia. And unfortunately Ethiopia, I think, has been spoiled by the media and the problems of the famine. Because everyone thinks about famine and dry, desert conditions including me. I was as guilty, because I thought “I’m going from one desert to another.” And it’s not is it? I mean how green, and lush and beautiful is Addis, Jimma and even some places in the North. Not that barren. I’m not going to get into the history and the problems. Those are things for us to discuss another time. Complicated history and reasons. But sure I was out in Ethiopia for three years, and I have a fair idea of what went on. I have a few Ethiopian friends who I’m still in contact with. But that’s how I ended up living and working in Ethiopia. And it was a three year contract. I had a great time with the Ethiopians I work with. I had volunteers out helping government and non-governmental organizations in HIV/AIDS and small business. I didn’t enjoy working for voluntary service agencies – the British organization. I didn’t like their obsessiveness with bureaucracy and paperwork, and they weren’t getting the volunteers out efficiently as it could have been. I didn’t like the attitude of the country directors who were British. I didn’t think that they treated the Ethiopian staff as well. But Ethiopia was great, Addis was great. I had a fantastic circle of friends. I had a great social life. And I was trying to help in every which way I could through the development work, and bringing as many volunteers as I could out to work with people from all over the world. My idea was to create more volunteer positions, and get volunteers out there and make a change. So that’s how I ended up out there with my family.

Tadias: Can you describe the role of music in your life? When did you start producing music?

Harper: God, without music it would be awful. When I’m listening to and playing music that is my ultimate meaning of the world. Work could get boring everyday, you know, doing things that you don’t always want to be doing. [Music is] escapism in a way, but it’s like my religion, it’s like my spiritual being. It’s my way of releasing all the creativity, the need to make colorful and creative things and sounds, and this is my way of doing it. And without it I would be bored and grey and depressed. There’s more to life than writing paper, for me anyhow. I think everyone’s different. I started producing music when I was about seventeen, and I bought and taught myself how to play an electric guitar, and started playing in a band. I borrowed a friend’s four-track tape recorder and started overlaying guitars like that, and you know it’s gone on ever since. Teaching myself the guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, synthesis, sound engineering production, using the studio.. the full works. It gradually increases. I’ve never had enough time for it. I’ve always worked full time. It always been get in, fighting fatigue from work drinking coffee to write and produce music. And it’s difficult because you never have enough energy, and at the weekend you’ve gotta clean your house, and well now deal with the kid as well, and try to have a social life so. Yeah it’s been going on since I was 17. I am now 37. I should have had an album out years ago. But there you go.

Tadias: And the artwork on your CD cover?

Harper: The art work was a mixture of myself and Bos / Warp (Paul Boswell) a graffiti based artists in Frome who is well known for his work in Bristol, and Moussa from Addis. The painting of the musicians was created by Moussa to say “thank you” to me. Moussa was an orphan and he was lucky enough to make it to study music at Addis University. He is a lovely guy and I sorted him out with a job teaching my neighbour’s child the guitar. My neighbour was English and she had married an Ethiopian in Addis. We forwarded him some salary and when I was in the UK I purchased him an electric guitar that my neighbour brought back to Addis for him. He was so happy he made me that painting. I changed it color and vibrancy-wise to match the feel of the album, but the original is also wonderful and will be published perhaps on the next album.

Punt, Made in Ethiopia album cover.

I love Bos’s humour, it always makes me laugh but with the album, the faces he had painted by chance reminded me of the Ethiopian painted faces you often see with big eyes. I liked the connection due to the fusion nature of the album covering styles of Ethiopian, Pop, Dance, Trance, Rock, Dub, Reggae, Drum and Bass, Punk and Grunge. It all fits! And the other painting of the chap/creature in the suit and tie reminded me of how it feels to be an artist trapped in the office in a suit and tie during the day! Personal! I have always combined aid work, which includes offices and suits and ties with my art.

Bos also plays bass on one track on the album and plays live with me sometimes with the UK Invisible System setup, which has a Jamaican born UK based reggae singer doing the vocals. I am also in another more punk/psycehdelic/jam based band with Bos on bass, me on guitar and Merv Pepler from the Ozrics Tentacles and Eat Static on drums. We have not decided on a name yet but some suggestions have arisen…Flaps, The Mutes and The Coalminers are three!

Tadias: Tell us a bit more about the music scene in Addis and your collaboration with various local and internationally known Ethiopian musicians.

Harper: When I first got to Addis, I found there was a lot of buzz where people would sing in front of electronic keyboards, with electronic drums, which wasn’t quite my kind of thing. And then I found the Azmari bets, which I loved more. The traditional..seeing the masinko, singing and clapping and dancing. I bumped into most of the people that I worked with within odd clubs around Addis, say kind of at two in the morning. That’s where I found Nati on the album, that’s where I found Desta. Just people whose voices I liked. I approached them after. Sometimes I needed translating because my Amharic wasn’t good enough – their English wasn’t good enough just to communicate. I often have my music on an MP3 player, and I’d put headphones on them and say “do you want to come and jam?” And that’s how a lot of it kicked off actually. Tsedenia was introduced to me via my wife’s hairdresser. My wife was having her hair done down the road and saying that I was recording in the studio at home making music. Mahmoud was a chance because I sold a mike to someone who turned out to be a friend to Mahmoud’s saxophone player who came, walked into the studio and loved what I was doing. He told Mahmoud that he has to come down and listen, and Mahmoud came and listened and loved it as well and just asked to be a part of it, which was fantastic. I knew who he was but hadn’t heard that much of his music to be honest. I have cracking cassette of Mahmoud that I bought out in Jimma. A really old one. I love it. I love the old rough sound of it..the scales and just things that wouldn’t come to the Western mind.

We grow up in such different cultures that even the tonalities sound different to us and bring up different emotions – it’s what makes the world go round. I loved working with people over there and I never tried to emulate what the Ethiopians were doing when they played. I think Nick tried to do that with Dub Colossus. But I’d invited everyone over and people were quite reserved. They’d say “What do you want me to play? How do you want me to play?” And I’d just say “Do what you want. Do what you feel.” I played them some music that I put together to improvise what you feel. “Don’t worry about what you think I want.” And that’s the magic of it for me. It all comes from each other’s soul. That nothing’s pre-arranged. It’s just pure music from our hearts and soul and that’s what it’s about at the end of the day. To put those two things together that come from the different languages and culture and feelings for me is what it’s all about.

Tadias: Can you explain the name that you chose (Punt, Made in Ethiopia) for your current CD?

Harper: I chose PUNT because Punt was the name given to that area of land that they believe was Ethiopia and what the Egyptians used to call Punt. The magic land. Where people would come back with artifacts, not just animals such as giraffes or lions but also myrrh and other kinds of incense that were biblical and were apparently from this magical land called Punt. I love the history of Ethiopia and England, and the kind of pre-commercialism culture and the spiritual culture. I like the kind of druids and animists that lived in England and Africa before. I’m sure it was hard in other ways. I do like modern life as well, but to go back to that kind of working Azmari musicians and the Masinko and the kind of traditional human element of it, and the magical way the music that we create was done. It all makes sense to me to call it Punt. So that’s where Punt came from. Looking backwards but moving forward.

PUNT is an album that was improvised, from scratch – all instruments and vocals. We are not into using Ethiopian (or Malian) samples or trying to quickly learn and imitate Ethiopian musicians who have their sounds, modes, scales, feelings and soul from their culture and country else we would be the neo-colonialists. We are into sharing, learning and exchange over time. The music is based on real life experience not from reading. It is played from the heart and soul of everyone involved. Their own interpretation thus tapping the ebbs and flows of our lives.

Tadias: What are your favorite memories of Ethiopia? Africa?

Harper: Wow, you just asked a huge question. My favorite memories of Ethiopia and Africa. They’re so many. I miss going out and eating injera and hot food. And seeing all those beautiful and incredible faces all around. And I miss going to Elsie’s bar – the kind of bohemian culture. And I miss my friends and I miss traveling around. I miss the hot spring pools like Wondogenet. I miss the more openness of a culture of people that are out and about more. It’s cold here. We all live in tiny little houses. It’s cramped in and tiny gardens in England. I’m not saying people don’t in Ethiopia and Africa. You know it depends where you live, but I miss the fact that people are out and walking more, and talking more. And I miss that I can push my daughter down the road and people would kiss her and pick her up and I won’t be scared. I won’t think there’s a problem with a child molester. And I can go to a restaurant and she’ll be off having a tour and the waitresses would take her off to the kitchen and the lack of the excessive rules and regulations we have here in driving and living and existing. I do see Ethiopia as quite bureaucratic also and I suppose especially in Mali I miss the slight element of chaos.

When I went back to play at the Addis Music Festival last year, and we were in the car and I just realized that all the cars were worming their way through a massive non-road of road. I miss all that. I hate all these straight lines and everything here. So there are so many things. There really are so many things. And I miss being in a foreign culture. It’s boring being in England all the time. Everything gets a bit grey and even the language and clothes and too many people are in mono-culture. I like being dropped in what appears to me a more exotic place because I don’t come from there. If someone came from Ethiopia and they were here for three years it would be exotic for them. I got married and had a kid so there are other good memories and I’d like my daughter to keep coming back to Africa. She loves Ethiopia. She used to understand Amharic and she was only three years old when we left and unfortunately she’s forgotten that now. So there are so many [memories] I couldn’t even put them down so I’ll move on.

Tadias: What are the highs and lows of independent music production?

Harper: The highs are: you can create what you want, when you want it, how you want it. You don’t have to argue with someone that a song should sound differently or needs to be more commercial or what order they run on the CD or what art goes on the CD. It’s a great freedom. The need to be an artist for me is to have the freedom of expression, whereas at work you have to curtail how you do things and what you write and how you present yourself. Art for me is about being you, being genuinely you, and doing it independently with your own studio, label and your friends and musicians around you..that you have a common desire together. And it’s fantastic. And also feeling and creating something off your own back..that you had a vision that became a reality and developed into something real.

Now the downsides of it are, well, money because I don’t have any. I’ve had no money to back this and it’s done on credit. There’s no money for getting visas and passports to bring Ethiopians over to play. You know it’d have to be backed by someone. The promotion is really difficult, because I’ve got no one to pay to do the PR. So on top of a full-time job and a family and trying to finish CDs and write more music, you’re trying to get your CD out there and contact people and journalists and send them copies – it’s endless. It goes on an on. It’s fantastic, it’s nice to be able to do it but I’m constantly tired, obviously. So you haven’t got any help is what I’m trying to say. And you haven’t got any resources. And the distribution is quite tricky as well even, because unless you’ve got a lot of money to pay a distribution company that’s hard as well as organizing gigs.

If you are signed to a contract with a major label you can be able to say “okay I can take two years off work” because I guaranteed that income. But I wouldn’t want it to have been any other way. I’ve loved the way it has happened. You can get professional sounds with your studio at home, the only problem is space. Sometimes you can work as loud as you need to, because you’re disturbing your kid’s sleep. We’ve got a tiny house here and my garage is my live room. It would be nice to have more space. When I worked in Peter Gabriel’s studio with Dub Colossus I could get the same sound here. I don’t think you need that expensive equipment. You need good equipment but not that expensive. But the space was nice.

I wouldn’t mind one day for someone to say to me “we’ll give you this much money” so you can concentrate on it properly for a year or two, and I wouldn’t mind some help getting Ethiopians over here to play with me and touring the world of course. It would be absolutely amazing.

Tadias: Anything else that you’d like to tell Tadias readers?

Harper: I just want to say that I loved being in Ethiopia and I loved going back to play at the Addis Music Festival, and I know I’ll go back again and I can’t wait to go back again. My daughter so wants to go back, because she remembers it and we have videos of her being there. And I really hope to get to America someday. I’ve never been to America and I’d love to play a concert with some Ethiopians. It would be wild. It would be fantastic. I really hope that you get to see us play live. I don’t know how it’s gonna happen but I hope. And I hope you all enjoy the album. I know Ethiopia may be different once you’ve been out but it’s a very strong country and it’s very proud, which I think is great. It’s never been colonized and Amharic is still the first language. But this album could be quite a shift in style and way of listening and thinking. I know that they don’t particularly like Dub Colossus over there yet. Tsedenia says they just kind of go “oh yeah it’s interesting,” but they prefer the traditional, but I’ve had fantastic feedback from people in Addis actually for the album which thrilled me because you’re always worried when you’re not fluent in Amharic. You think you might have chopped a sentence at a bad point because it sounds good to you, but if you’re not sure what they’re saying you might have ended it at the wrong place. I just hope you guys get something out of it and enjoy it and please buy it. Don’t pirate it because we’re setting up a charity here and it can help us with good hard work. Real work. And I want to keep this growing so please don’t pirate it. That’s the only other thing that I’d like to say. And get in touch. I’d love to hear from you all. Give me your thoughts. I miss speaking to you all out there. Thanks for the interview. Take care.

Tadias: Thank you Dan! We enjoy your album and look forward to seeing you in concert in North America sometime.

Dan Harper can reached at Dan@harperdiabate.com. Harper Diabate, 1 River Walk, Frome, Somerset, BA11 5HU: myspace, facebook.

About the Author:
Tseday Alehegn is the Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine.

About the Album:
PUNT (Made in Ethiopia) by Invisible System
Invisible System present a 12 track fusion album of Ethiopian, Dub, Dance, Rock, Drum & Bass, Psychedelia, Trance, Electronica & live music. Traditional vocals / instruments meet the modern, electronic and brass. Live Europeans meet live Ethiopians. Our guests include:

Mahmoud Ahmed & Bahta Gebrehiwot (Ethiopiques)
Hilaire Chabby (Baba Maal)
Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Strange Sensation, ex Jah Wobble’s Invaders)
Tsedenia, Mimi, Tarmeg & Sami (now signed to Realworld Records)
Joie Hinton (ex-Eat Static & Ozric Tentacles / Here and Now / IGV)
Martin Cradick (Baka Beyond/ex-Outback)
Captain Sensible (The Damned)
Ed Wynne (Ozric Tentacles / Noden Inctus)
Simon Hinkler (ex-The Mission)
Dubulah (ex-Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound, Natasha Atlas etc)
Perch (Zion Train)
Juldeh (Justin Adams, Realworld etc)
Elmer Thudd (ex-Loop Guru)
Gary Woodhouse (The Rhythmites)
Bos (ex-Junk Waffle and Warp Graf/Eat Static Artist)

Why Girls Gotta Run: Interview with Dr. Patricia E. Ortman

Published by Tadias Magazine October 29th, 2009 in Featured and Profiles. 12 Comments

Dr. Patricia E. Ortman, founding member of the Girls Gotta Run Foundation. (Photo by Michelle Mikki Parrish).

Tadias Magazine
By: Martha Z. Tegegn

Published: Thursday, October 29, 2009

Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) – “Why shouldn’t a girl have a pair of sneakers?” That’s the question that Dr. Patricia E. Ortman, a Washington, D.C.-based retired Women’s Studies Professor and artist, posed to herself as she embarked upon the task of raising money for Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF), a volunteer organization she helped establish three years ago to provide new shoes for girls in Ethiopia who are training to be runners.

Dr. Ortman was inspired by a 2005 Washington Post article by Emily Wax entitled: Facing Servitude, Ethiopian Girls Run for a Better Life. The piece highlighted the grim realties faced by young girls in Ethiopia, including having one of the lowest rates of female enrollment in primary schools. Young girls in Ethiopia also face one of the highest rates of childbirth injuries in the world. According to the United Nations Population Fund 1 in 27 mothers in Ethiopia face the risk of dying during labor. In comparison, as The Huffington Post notes in the introduction of World Editor Hanna Ingber Win’s Mothers of Ethiopia series, “In the U.S., a woman has a 1 in 4,800 chance of dying from complications due to pregnancy or childbirth in her lifetime.” Perhaps Wax’s most powerful line comes from a 13-year-old girl named Tesdale Mesele who says: “I also run because I want to give priority to my schooling. If I’m a good runner, the school will want me to stay and not be home washing laundry and preparing injera.”

“After reading that article,” Ortman says, “I was faced with two choices: to go “oh well” and go about my life, or to get involved.”

Getting involved she did; she called a couple of friends and expressed her interest in starting a program to help Ethiopian girls stay in school. “Originally” Ortman says, “I wanted to do this as a project, and as people were coming [up to me] and saying they wanted to help, I started calling a lot of international woman organizations.” But the overall lack of interest by these organizations, whose names she would not mention, left Ortman and her friends with little choice but to start Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF).

Despite the obstacles, there was a light at the end of the tunnel for Ortman. In recent years, running has emerged as a path to success for many girls in Ethiopia. Female athletes, such as double Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba and her colleague Meseret Defar, are blazing a trail for a new generation of aspiring female runners. Today, some of the highest paid athletes in Ethiopia are women.

“It takes a lot of personal gumption,” says Ortman. “Some of these girls have predetermined lives. Nothing is expected of them but marriage, a lifetime of labor.”

Ortman argues that proper running shoes are the most important gear an aspiring athlete can own to remain healthy. “In some cases, girls are forced to give up on their dream of becoming professional athletes due to injuries caused by lack of proper attire and shoes,” Ortman says. “That’s the big reason why GGRF focuses on sending them money to buy running shoes.”

Asked why GGRF sends the girls money instead of shoes? Ortman answers: “Our goal is not just to help girls to have running shoes. By sending them money we avoid the huge shipping cost, and we also help the Ethiopian economy by allowing them to buy new sneakers from local merchants.”

GGRF has developed creative partnerships with artists and athletes to raise money. The organization hosts several exhibitions annually featuring donated art work, and athletes participate in local meets to raise money. Sheena Dahlke, an athlete who also doubles as the foundation’s Secretary, says she finds it personally rewarding to take part in running competitions to support the young women in Ethiopia. “I see the girls that GGRF supports as intelligent, driven and strong. The girls are also very inspiring. They inspired me to raise money for them while I trained for the Boston Marathon in 2009,” she said. “It was motivating to imagine them training for their races and I wanted to help them to have the resources and equipment that they needed. For them, running is a way to escape poverty and avoid early pregnancy. In many cases it also gives them a chance to continue their education which gives them hope beyond their running careers.”

Today, GGRF sponsors forty girls participating in three teams: Team Tesfa, The Semien Girl Runners, and Team Naftech.

Members of Team Tesfa (Photo by Sarah Murray).

The Simien Girl Runners training in July 2008. (Photo: GGRF).

Menna, program head for Team Tesfa, Olympic medalists Meseret
Defar, and Meseret Birhanu, member of Team Tesfa. (GGRF).

The largest team, Team Tesfa, was founded by Tesfa Foundation, an organization that funds early childhood education for disadvantaged children in Ethiopia. We spoke with Dana Roskey, one of the Directors of Tesfa during his recent trip to Washington D.C. Roskey was the first individual to team up with GGRF to create and oversee the team’s activities in Ethiopia. “The situations for some are really extreme, it is not only a matter of running – it becomes a survival issue,” Mr. Roskey told Tadias. “Assisting them means offering them an opportunity to be leaders of their own life.”

And what is his organization’s relationship with GGRF?

“GGRF covers some of the nutrition, coaching and transportation costs,” he said. “And they are our major gear providers.” But Mr. Roskey is quick to note that running alone cannot be the solution. “Girls are more vulnerable to exploitations and misfortune, and their fate is somewhat limited,” he explained emphasizing his organization’s focus in primary education. “Because ultimately running is not their only destiny, there are other options.”

Garrett Ash, Co-Founder and Director of Running Across Borders (RAB), a non-profit that works to bring economic success to East African youth through running, says GGRF sponsors five of its female runners in Addis Ababa, all of whom come from rural parts of Ethiopia and are selected because they show both talent and passion for long-distance running. “Our first project is focused specifically on Ethiopia and we have established a training facility in the Ayat area of Addis Ababa, which has provided 14 Ethiopian youth (9 male, 5 female) with access to opportunities in athletics, education, and vocational training,” he said. “GGRF provides us with donations that cover food and also transport to training venues like Sulutaa and Sendafa (regions in Ethiopia) for all 5 of the female athletes in our program and these are some of the most significant costs that we face when we add girls to the program, so to have a single foundation that covers these costs for our entire female contingent is a huge asset.”

Ortman agrees with Mr. Roskey that running alone can’t serve as a one-way-ticket to success. “In most cases the girls would be lured to drop out of school and to join [a professional team], and eventually they will get worn out,” says Ortman. “All of the teams have arranged for the girls to go to school and stay in school,” she adds. “If they don’t make it as runners they will have an alternative plan to fall back on.”

Ortman, who has yet to visit Ethiopia, says that the ultimate goal is to empower these children. “We have a pact with the girls that if and when they become successful we expect them to ‘pay up,’ not necessarily to us, but they need to help people in their country – girls who want to follow in their footsteps.”

–
If you would like to help or join GGRF, you may reach Dr. Patricia Ortman at pat@girlsgottarun.org. Click here for the Foundation’s calendar of events. Check out GGRF’s current art exhibition at Friendship Heights Village Center (4433 South Park Avenue Chevy Chase, Md 20815).

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Ethiopia’s staple grain Teff taking root in Kansas

Published by Tadias Magazine September 26th, 2009 in News. Closed

Above: Teff is an important food grain in Ethiopia and
Eritrea, where it is used to make injera, and less so in India
and Australia. It is now raised in the U.S. – Kansas and Idaho
in particular. (Wikimedia Commons).

By SCOTT CANON –
The Kansas City Star

NICODEMUS, Kan. — A new “it” grain is blooming in the fields of northwestern Kansas. Teff has a ready-made market of Ethiopian expatriates hungering for a taste of home with virtually no supply of the grain for their beloved injera bread. Teff packs more protein per pound than wheat. And because it produces gluten-free flour, it could open a buffet line of breads and pastas to people with celiac disease. It also can withstand drought and floods and, so far, it hasn’t fallen prey to pests that bedevil other Midwestern crops. Read more.

Young & Hungry Dining Guide: Meaza Ethiopian Cuisine

Published by Tadias Magazine July 25th, 2009 in Reviews. 2 Comments

Above: Meaza Zemedu at her namesake restaurant. Her
Arlington, Virginia, Ethiopian eatery is one of the 50
restaurants featured on this year’s Young & Hungry
Dining Guide on Washington city paper.

Washingtoncitypaper.com
Because the Ethiopian community has historically been tied to the District, whether in Adams Morgan or the U Street corridor, the suburbs typically get overlooked as a source for fine injera-based food. Yet I can’t escape the simple fact that Meaza is often far superior to the restaurants on that strip of 9th Street NW known as Little Ethiopia. Read More.

DC Restaurant: Little Ethiopia Makes Diners Feel Right at Home

Published by Tadias Magazine May 19th, 2009 in News. Closed

Above: Yehune and Tutu Belay take a seat in their new
restaurant, which is decorated with imported arts and
crafts. (Photos By Lois Raimondo — The Washington Post)

WaPo
By Tom Sietsema
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The co-owner of the Ethiopian Yellow Pages of the Washington area estimates there are more than 45 dining rooms serving doro wot and injera. So how does Yehune Belay, who just added the title of restaurateur to his résumé, hope to distinguish his place in Shaw from the pack? By re-creating the atmosphere of an Ethiopian home, he says. Read more.

Related from Tadias archives: Little Ethiopia in LA: How it happened

Tadias Magazine
By Azeb Tadesse & Meron Ahadu
A perspective from the people behind the idea

Los Angeles (Tadias) – By now, most people have heard of Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles, a place named for its unique ability to put forward a serving of Ethiopia. Along with the news, there have been many speculations on how this event came about and what it took to visibly acknowledge the essence of the area. As with most things in this world, Little Ethiopia began as a notion. Over a 10-year period, a number of Ethiopian restaurants and specialty store businesses slowly began to relocate to a strip on Fairfax Avenue. The neighborhood was soon transformed from an abandoned boarded up drive-by strip into a hub for community life, buzzing with colors, aroma, and affability of Ethiopian’s ancestral home. As years passed, Ethiopians and Angelinos began to label the area as “Little Addis”, “Little Ethiopia”, and “Ethiopian Restaurant Row”.

The notion began to take hold after PBS aired a segment of Huell Howeser’s popular “Our Neighborhood” show entitled “Little Ethiopia”. Meron Ahadu, co-author of this article, was the tour guide for that segment and the show got its title from the fact that the strip offered visitors a slice of Ethiopia.

The chain of events that led to the fruition of Little Ethiopia began when Meron Ahadu and Tirsit Asrat organized a fundraising for Congressman Mervyn Dymally, who played a key role in the mid 80’s in helping Ethiopians get amnesty. At the time, he was running for a seat in the California State Assembly. Unfortunately, the turnout by the Ethiopian community was disappointing. Nonetheless, it was at this event that the idea of Little Ethiopia was put forth and the Congressman pledged his support.

Five women came together to plan another benefit for the Congressman with a goal to get better participation from the Ethiopian community. It was at this time that the need became apparent to form a non-partisan organization that stood for an increased involvement of the Ethiopian community in the U.S. democratic process. Hence, the Ethiopian-American Advocacy Group (EAAG) was established. In addition to raising funds for Congressman Dymally, the function held on July 26, 2002 was the launching ceremony of EAAG. Various city and state officials attended this highly successful event. One of the short- term projects presented at this occasion was Little Ethiopia and it won the support of Herb Wesson, Speaker of the House for the California State Assembly, and Councilman Nate Holden of District 10, where Little Ethiopia was proposed to be located.

On August 7, 2002, the motion to name Little Ethiopia was presented to the Los Angeles City Council. Consequently, as a result of aggressive lobbying of several political personalities by EAAG members, the City Council voted unanimously to designate the area on Fairfax Avenue, between Olympic and Pico, as Little Ethiopia. The enormous support and candid enthusiasm of the City Council members and the larger Ethiopian community came as a pleasant surprise to many, even to those who worked on the project. A highly successful street festival organized by the community followed on November 24, 2002, to inaugurate the area as Little Ethiopia. A one-block stretch of Fairfax was closed to through traffic for a street festival featuring children’s village, cultural dance and music, fashion show and contemporary Ethiopian music. Approximately 5,000 people attended the festival from all walks of life and congratulations were received from around the globe. City officials and community leaders unveiled the sign designating the place as Little Ethiopia and thus the area was renamed bearing Ethiopia’s name.

This event was truly significant in many respects; firstly, this was the first time in the entire history of the United States that a city has recognized an African country by naming an area after it. Secondly, Little Ethiopia is the only place outside of Ethiopia that bears the name of the motherland. As one drives through the area, it is difficult to ignore the official sign designating the area. In that respect, it indicates that Ethiopians have arrived, are here to stay, and have stood up to be counted as vibrant members of the City of Los Angeles. Finally, yet importantly, this is a legacy for the next generation of Ethiopian-Americans. They will not be burdened with the task of establishing their identity but will have a footnote in the history books to refer to as they strengthen and build their presence in the U.S. and aboard.

It is quite overwhelming to realize that a deed at the local level should have such a universal significance. However, this only bears witness to the importance of engaging one’s surrounding, and begs the question: what can be accomplished if we focus on our commonality by setting aside our differences? What could the 65,000 Ethiopians in Southern California do if they join forces? How about the more than 500,000 Ethiopians in the U.S.? Better yet, what could a coalition of a couple of million African immigrants accomplish? EAAG hopes we will find out in our lifetime.

Simple Menu Offers Inexpensive Feast at Elfegne Ethiopian Cafe

Published by Tadias Magazine May 1st, 2009 in News. Closed

Above: Owner Emu Kidanewolde displays some of the
entrees on the menu. (Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara
Haddock Taylor / April 22, 2009).

The Baltimore Sun | By Richard Gorelick | April 30, 2009
Elfegne Ethiopian Cafe is a peach. Owned and operated, pretty much single-handedly, by former mortgage broker Emu Kidanewolde, this small and tidy 20-seat storefront cafe is more than just a great place to feast on inexpensive home-cooked Ethiopian food. Elfegne also acts as a de facto community center for the residents of Washington Village (aka Pigtown). It opens at 7 in the morning for breakfast (Kidanewolde will have been there for hours already, making homemade injera, the fermented Ethiopian bread staple) and stays open through dinner. When we visited, a few neighbors had dropped in for a bite to eat but also to keep Kidanewolde company and even lend a hand. This was the day when the Susan Boyle video went viral, and all of us in the restaurant ended up watching it together on one of the neighbor’s laptops. Read more.

2nd Zed’s Ethiopian Restaurant to open in Prince William

Washington Business Journal | By Missy Frederick | April 8
Who said you need to go to U Street for good Ethiopian
food? An established D.C. restaurateur is bringing her
take on the food to Gainesville. Read more.

From Tadias Archives: Memo to Obama Team:

Wine and Dine in Little Ethiopia
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, January 15, 2009

New York (Tadias) – The Washingtonian Magazine, D.C.’s top source of information for dining, shopping and entertainment has tips for the new Obama team on how they may ease their transition to the nation’s capital, which incidentally is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Ethiopian communities in the country.

The magazine lists the usual hot spots like Ben’s Chili Bowl. But that’s just the icing on the cake. The newbies are forewarned that they’re not real insiders until they have ventured to Little Ethiopia, the nickname for the neighborhood on U Street NW, in the Shaw section of Washington known for its cluster of Ethiopian restaurants and shops. The Washingtonian recommends the delicious chili-laced tibs and wet at Etete restaurant.

The chili-laced tibs and stews at Etete are good
examples of one of the city’s most enduring ethnic
cuisines. Photograph by Matthew Worden.

Here is an expanded list of Washington D.C.’s Ethiopian restaurants courtesy of Ethiopianrestaurant.com:

Abiti’s
1909 9th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Addis Ababa
2106 18th St NW
Washington, DC 2000

Awash
2218 18th St NW
Washington, DC 2000

Axum
1934 9th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Continental
1433 P St NW
Washington, DC 20005

Dynasty Ethiopian
2210 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Habesha Market
1919 9th Street NW
Washington DC 20001

Dukem
1114-1118 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Etete
1942 9th St NW
Washington DC 20001

Fasika’s
2447 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Lalibela
1415 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005

Madjet
1102 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Meskerem
2434 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Habesha
1119 V St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Roha
1212 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Nile
7815 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20012

Queen Makeda
1917 9th St
Washington DC 20001

Salome
900 U St. NW
Washington, DC 20001

Sodere
1930 9th St NW
Washington DC 20001

U Turn
1942 U St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Zed’s
1201 28th St NW
Washington, DC 20007

‘Taste of Ethiopia’ to be held Sunday at West Virginia State University

Published by Tadias Magazine April 22nd, 2009 in Events. 2 Comments

The Charleston Gazette

April 22, 2009

The Ethiopian Student Association at West Virginia State University will host its third annual “Taste of Ethiopia” from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday in the Student Union Grand Hall.

Community will have the opportunity to taste injera (Ethiopian bread), doro wat (chicken stew), siga wat (beef stew), teqele gomen (cabbage) and other dishes, while enjoying fashion, music and other elements of Ethiopian culture. Read More.

Finding the right wine for Ethiopian spice

Published by Tadias Magazine March 5th, 2009 in News. 1 Comment

The Chicago Tribune
By Bill Daley
March 4, 2009

Ethiopians have for centuries made a honey wine known as tej. You can sometimes find this meadlike beverage for sale at some Ethiopian restaurants. Or, you could try a mead made domestically.

For most diners looking for that Ethiopian meal out at a restaurant or for takeout, the drink of choice most likely will be beer or a grape-based wine.

The question is: What sort of wine to pour with Ethiopia’s highly seasoned meat and vegetable dishes, most of which are served on rounds of injera, the tart Ethiopian flat bread made from teff flour. Read More.

Related: A friend to remember – Ernie of Sheba Tej

By Liben Eabisa & Tseday Alehegn

New York (Tadias) – Ernest McCaleb, founder and CEO of Sheba, Inc., the company that produced the Ethiopian honey wine Sheba Tej, died last year after a long struggle with cancer.

The African American entrepreneur initiated a joint collaboration with Cesar Baeza, an internationally-renowned Chilean winemaster and the owner of Brotherhood Winery, a national historic landmark and America’s oldest winery (established in 1837 in Washingtonville, New York), to produce an Ethiopian wine called Tej , made from pure organic honey.

Eventually the new dessert wine became part of the winery’s premium wine list.

McCaleb (Ernie – as he is known by his friends), enjoyed telling audiences during his fun tasting sessions that his unique wine recipe contains no sulfites nor grapes, just pure honey.

His eyes would light up when he told the legend that Tej was one of the many gifts carried by Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, to Jerusalem’s King Solomon.

During an interview with Tadias Magazine in 2005, he talked about his passion for his business and the history and culture behind it.

“Since I’ve begun doing this,” McCaleb said, “I’ve learned more about this rich history, and as I give tasting sessions I have become even more inspired. This is beyond the commercial success. It’s about pride and heritage…”

Ernest McCaleb, Founder & CEO of
Sheba, Inc.

Ernie was a friend to the Ethiopian-American community and a great spirit.

A memorial for McCaleb was held at The Ethiopian Restaurant. The Upper East Side eatry is one of Sheba Tej’s several Ethiopian customers in the city.

It is also the location where Ernie introduced us to his dear friend Bobbi Humphrey (“First Lady of Flute”), the first female signed to Blue Note Records.

As she noted in her latest post on the Tadias blog: “Rest in Peace, my dear Ernie. You sweetened the times with your smile, and your Honey wine.”

Click here to read more: Sheba Tej: America’s Favorite Ethiopian Honey Wine (Tadias)

Ethiopia PM defends arrest of opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa

Published by Tadias Magazine February 14th, 2009 in News. 3 Comments

Above: The opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa was detained after disputed 2005 elections

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the arrest of the country’s opposition leader was not a political decision, arguing the authorities were left with no other choice.

Authorities arrested and sentenced Birtukan Midekssa to life in prison in January after she reportedly said she never expressed remorse to obtain a pardon in 2007. She was given three days to deny or confirm the reports.

“We were put in an almost impossible situation politically and legally. The law says if a pardon is given under false pretenses it has to be annulled,” Meles told journalists late Friday. Read More.

Related: Birtukan Mideksa – The Judge Who Refused to Say Sorry
The Independent, U.K.
By Daniel Howden
Tuesday, 3 February 2009

Birtukan Mideksa has been sentenced to life in prison. She spends her days and nights in solitary confinement in a two-metre by two-metre cell. She cannot leave it to see daylight or even to receive visitors. Previous inmates say the prison is often unbearably hot.

Her crime: refusing to say sorry. The judge, aged 34, is the head of Ethiopia’s most popular political party, the only female leader of a main opposition party in Africa.

The government in Addis Ababa had her arrested on 28 December, claiming she had violated the terms of an earlier pardon.

Her previous release in 2007, which came after serving two years in prison, was conditional on her signing an apology for taking part in protests against fixed elections.

In November, the woman who is becoming a democratic icon in Ethiopia told an audience in Sweden that she had not asked for a pardon. On returning to Ethiopia it was demanded that she sign further apologies and, when she refused, she was re-arrested. The Ministry of Justice then issued a statement reimposing her life sentence. Read more.

Ethiopian Opposition Leader Mideksa Ends Prison Hunger Strike
VOA
By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
11 January 2009

A leading Ethiopian opposition politician, who was imprisoned for life last month after a dispute with the government, has ended a hunger strike and told relatives she wants to begin legal proceedings to win her freedom.

The leader of Ethiopia’s Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, Birtukan Mideksa, has called off the fast she began December 29, when she was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in Addis Ababa’s Kaliti prison.

Birtukan’s mother Almaz Gebregziabher told VOA her daughter had eaten the soup and Ethiopian bread (injera) she had brought to the prison Saturday and Sunday.

In an interview at her home, Almaz said Birtukan told her she had decided to fight the court ‘s move to revoke the pardon she received in 2007 – nearly two years after she and dozens of other opposition politicians were arrested in the wake of Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 election, and convicted of treason. They had been given life terms, then pardoned after signing a document effectively admitting their guilt and apologizing.

But during a visit to Sweden late last year, Birtukan denied having asked for a pardon, then refused a demand by the government to retract her statement.

Speaking in Amharic, Almaz expressed tearful frustration at her daughter’s action, which leaves her to care for Birtukan’s three-year old daughter.

Almaz also had strong words for government officials, whom she said had violated her daughter’s constitutional rights.

She said the government promised freedom of speech, democracy – she talked and ended up in jail.

Birtukan, a lawyer and former judge, is the first woman to head a major Ethiopian political party.

Her imprisonment changes Ethiopia’s political landscape a year and a half before the next scheduled parliamentary elections. Her Unity for Democracy and Justice is an outgrowth of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, which was a major force in the disputed 2005 elections.

She was widely seen as the party’s most charismatic figure and a prime minister hopeful, with potential for wide support among members of Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, Oromos and Amharas.

Government spokesman Bereket Simon earlier told VOA politics had nothing to do with the court order sending Birtukan back to prison. He said it was a simple matter of the judge in the case enforcing the law, and suggested the government has no interest in any further legal proceedings on the issue.
—————

Jailed Ethiopian Opposition Leader Mideksa on Hunger Strike

Bloomberg
January 8, 2009

By Jason McLure

Ethiopia’s leading opposition politician is in her 10th day of a hunger strike after she was jailed for life on Dec. 29 following a dispute with the government, according to her mother.

Birtukan Mideksa, 34, has been taking only juice and water and is being held in solitary confinement in a windowless 3-meter by 4-meter (10-foot by 13-foot) cell in Ethiopia’s Kaliti prison, said her mother, Almaz Gebregziabhere, who visited her in prison yesterday.

“I didn’t recognize her because of how she’s changed,” said Gebregziabhere, 72, in an interview today at her home in Addis Ababa. “I begged her for the sake of her daughter to eat, but she didn’t.”

Prison officials have banned all visitors except Gebregziabhere and Mideksa’s 3-year-old daughter, Halle, from visiting her, Gebregziabhere said. Gebregziabhere, speaking in Amharic through a translator, said the family had been unable to hire a lawyer for Mideksa because those contacted on her behalf have turned her down as a client, fearing government reprisals.

Mideksa, a leader of the now-dissolved Coalition for Unity and Democracy party, was first jailed after Ethiopia’s 2005 elections, in which the CUD claimed victory. She and dozens of other opposition leaders were sentenced to life in prison, though they were released in 2007 after a pardon agreement with the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

She was re-arrested Dec. 29 after she rejected government demands that she make a public statement saying she had formally requested the original pardon.

‘Humane Condition’

Bereket Simon, an adviser to Zenawi, said he wasn’t aware of Mideksa’s fast.

“We have a prison system whereby we hold prisoners in a humane condition,” Simon said. “This is a case where she has said that she didn’t ask for pardon and the decision of the judiciary is being applied. At this point, I don’t think it requires intervention by lawyers.” Read more.
————–
US concern over Birtukan Midekssa’s arrest
AFP
Dec 31, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — The US embassy in Addis Ababa on Wednesday voiced concern over the fate of an opposition leader who was jailed after her pardon from a life sentence was revoked.

Birtukan Midekssa, head of the Unity for Democracy Justice party, irked the regime when she reportedly claimed during a recent visit to Europe that she had never voiced remorse or acknowledged any mistake to obtain her pardon in 2007.

“The United States is concerned about the government of Ethiopia’s arrest of Unity for Democracy and Justice Party leader Birtukan Midekssa,” the embassy’s information officer Darragh Paradiso told AFP.

“We are particularly concerned by reports that Birtukan’s pardon has been revoked and she has begun a life sentence in prison.”

The 35-year-old woman, who was detained with dozens of opposition figures and supporters in the aftermath of disputed 2005 elections, was last week given a three-day ultimatum by the authorities to confirm or deny the reports. Read More.

—————
Bloomberg.com
Ethiopian Police Re-Arrest Opposition Leader Mideksa
December 29, 2008

By Jason McLure

(Corrects attribution in sixth paragraph.)

Ethiopian federal police re-arrested opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa a year after she was released on a pardon following her arrest during the country’s disputed 2005 elections.

Mideksa, a leader of the now-dissolved Coalition for Unity and Democracy, was taken into custody today, said Temesgen Zewde, a lawmaker, who is a member of Mideksa’s new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice.

“She has been arrested,” Zewde said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. “No charges have been made public yet. We don’t know exactly where she is being held.”

Mideksa was arrested after refusing to acknowledge that she had requested a pardon that led to her release from jail in July 2007, said Bereket Simon, a spokesman for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. She and dozens of other opposition leaders were initially jailed following the 2005 elections and sentenced to life in prison following a May 2007 trial on treason charges. Read More.

The ‘peculiar’ city of Addis Ababa , the Capital of Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine February 4th, 2009 in Featured. 1 Comment

Above: Tourists view the a replica of hominid “Lucy” at a
Museum in Addis Ababa recently.

The Daily Nation, Kenya
By HENRY OWUOR in Addis Ababa
Tuesday, February 3 2009

Why Ethiopian capital is unique

Addis Ababa or Addis Abeba or “new flower’’ in Amharic is what one can rightly call, in some well known parlance, a “peculiar’’ city.

There are many factors that make this city very unique. One of these is the fact that the city was never planned by Europeans since Ethiopia was never colonised.

Given its unique history, in Addis, street names hardly exist and the few that exist have their local names that are not the ones that are displayed.

In Addis, if you tell a taxi driver to take you to Ethio-China Street, he will have no idea what you are talking about. But, if you say the street is known as Wollo Sefer, he will have no problem getting there. Or if you say, take me to Nigeria Street, no response, but if you say Posta Bet, you will soon be there.

In this city, hardly any violent crime exists and carjackings are very rare.

Addis is a place where shops just leave used soda bottles on the verandah and no one steals the crates or the bottles.

Says Mr Jason McLure, the Ethiopia Correspondent for Bloomberg news agency: “Addis Ababa is the safest city in Africa. If someone tries to pick your pocket, you just shove them away, they won’t pull a gun or a knife on on you.’’

But, Addis is actually a very cold place, especially at this time of the year and as such malaria is not a problem here.

As a city that was created by a king, Addis is very hierarchical and residents hardly question any government policy.

Since Ethiopia was among the first places on earth to be christened, it has its own alphabet, its own church and its own calendar which currently says the year is “2001” and last year, they celebrated the millennium.

In the Ethiopian calendar, there are 13 months in a year hence the delay of their millennium. Tourism brochures talk of ”13 months of sunshine.”

In Ethiopia, the word “Queen of Sheba’’ is very common. This originates from the fact that one of the Israeli kings, Solomon had an Ethiopian wife known as Sheba and the city Addis was created by one of the direct descendants of Solomon, Emperor Menelik who was taking orders from his wife who insisted that he must move his palace to Addis Abeba, the new flower.

Another peculiar fact about Ethiopia is that unlike most of Africa, here, people dance with their shoulders, not the hips but this applies mostly among the northerners.

And in Ethiopia, if you order a drink, the drink can never be opened if you are away because there are beliefs about magic being applied on the drink.

There is also what is called Injera which is the Ethiopian standard food. Here, only the very poor eat maize and as such the price of maize meal is much lower than ‘’injera,’’ even under famine conditions, Ethiopians stick to injera.

Raw beef

What will also strike foreigners as very strange is that Ethiopians eat raw beef right in the heart of the capital city. This is a meal that is served to the most respected guests.

In terms of holidays, the most important festival is not Christmas. The most important holiday in Ethiopia is “Timkat’’ which marks the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist, marked on January 19.

The second most important holiday in Ethiopia after “Timkat” is Meskel which celebrates the finding of the “true cross’’ that Jesus was crucified on. Legend has it that an Ethiopian found it and brought it here but ask, where is the cross? No one seems to have an idea.

The third most important holiday in Ethiopia is Christmas which comes nine days after the Christian Christmas under the Orthodox calendar.

And, there is another unique event in Ethiopia. This involves large groups of worshippers outside any Orthodox church in Addis Ababa on any Sunday.

The reason here is that under church rules, anyone who has had sex in the last 48 hours or any woman who is on her periods should not enter church.

This rule extends to holy islands on Ethiopia’s Lake Tana where monks live and where no woman is allowed, the monks are not supposed to interact with any woman or even set eyes on any woman.

Bati: New Ethiopian Restaurant in Brooklyn Now Open for Business

Published by Lifestyle Tadias January 31st, 2009 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

Bati Yummy, Now Open for Lunch
VillageVoice.com
Posted by Hailey Eber

New York – Bati (747 Fulton Street, Brooklyn), the new Ethiopian restaurant in Fort Greene, is now open for lunch after a soft opening the weekend before last.

Once having procured proper libation to bring with, it was time to eat.

African immigrants (mostly Ethiopians) help shape Portland’s small black community

Published by Tadias Magazine January 19th, 2009 in News. 2 Comments

Above: Ethiopian immigrant Sonya Damtew features injera
and sweet potato pie at her Killingsworth cafe. Damtew says
the African American and African communities are one and
that she considers her own child — who was born here —
to be African American. (Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)

The Oregonian

By Nikole Hannah-Jones,
Sunday January 18, 2009,

In a stylish beauty salon on Killingsworth Street, Snoop Dogg thumps over the buzz of hair dryers and Barack Obama fliers are tacked to the mirrors. Salon owner Jestina Fasasi peeks through a plume of smoke rising from the hot curlers and gossips in a thick Sierra Leone accent with her African American client.

To the shop’s left, an Ethiopian cafe bustles with a lunchtime rush, and the Nigerian-owned African International Food Market displays a sign saying the owner will return in an hour. Tucked in the heart of Portland’s traditionally black neighborhoods, a little Africa is emerging.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Sacramento to Killingsworth streets and west on Killingsworth to Michigan Avenue, about a dozen African-owned businesses share the streets with longtime soul food joints and black barbershops and the new feminist bookstores and posh cafes ushered in by gentrification.

The African grocers, restaurants and beauty shops create a sharp visual of how Portland’s black population is changing. As more African Americans move to the suburbs, an infusion of African immigrants is the only thing holding Portland’s small black population of 35,000 steady.

Nearly all of Sierra Leone immigrant Jestina Fasasi’s clients at Salon Radiance
are African American. Fasasi’s salon is one of a handful of African-owned businesses
on Killingsworth Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)

Recent census estimates show Portland’s population of U.S.-born African Americans has declined slightly since 2000. But its African-born population increased nearly 90 percent from 2000 to 2007 and now makes up about 12 percent of the black population.

Just as President-elect Barack Obama’s heritage has spurred a conversation about African American identity — his father was a Kenyan immigrant who met his mother while attending school in Hawaii — the influx of African immigrants here is spurring a changing definition of Portland’s black community.

“We’ve been watching this evolve over a period of time,” says Avel Gordly, Oregon’s first black female state senator and a black studies professor at Portland State University. “It provides a rich and wonderful opportunity for African Americans to connect with their culture, to move past stereotypes that say Africans and African Americans don’t have anything in common.”

African immigrants first trickled into Oregon in the 1970s, mainly as students from West African countries. In the 1980s, resettlement agencies began to relocate refugees from war-torn nations such as Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the Portland area, and those numbers accelerated in the 1990s and this decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with refugees coming from Somalia, Liberia, Chad and Togo.

Portland is 12th in the nation for refugee resettlement, according to a 2007 report by the Brookings Institution, bringing in 34,000 refugees from across the globe between 1984 and 2003. But it’s also one of the whitest cities in the country.

Ethiopian immigrant Sonya Damtew was 16 when she came to live with a white host family in Salem to attend school. The family didn’t know any black people, Damtew says. When she watched “Roots” she cried for a week and felt even more alienated. This was the history of her host family’s country, she says, and they didn’t know it.

“Before coming here, I understood class and gender,” says Damtew, 47. “Race I had to learn. I had to learn it the hard way.”

Damtew went on to work for an organization that assisted resettlement agencies with African refugees. These days, she runs a chic restaurant called E’Njoni Cafe on Killingsworth.

As a sweet aroma of cloves and ginger swirls along walls painted the color of red lentils and ocher, she explains how the resettlement agencies she worked with tried to ease the refugees’ transition by plopping them into African American neighborhoods.

But the African and African American communities didn’t always mesh well at first.

In trying to teach American history to the new immigrants, for example, the agencies showed documentaries with the footage of race riots and civil rights protesters being hosed down by police, she says. The images led some African immigrants to view African Americans as violent and morally broken, she says.

“For years, there was no connection,” Damtew says.

Resistance came from the African American side as well.

Fasasi, the salon owner, recalls taking courses at Portland Community College and asking an African American woman why she was always so unfriendly.

“She told me, ‘Africans sold us into slavery. You can come here today and then back home and have your culture, but all I have is this,’” Fasasi says. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Such friction between native-born and immigrant groups is common, says Portland State University black studies chair Dalton Miller-Jones. “We have very different histories. But in time, Africans begin to assimilate into African Americans.”
Through the years, Damtew says, she’s seen both communities open up to each other.

Older immigrants who fought to hold onto their cultural identities became more American through their children, who readily identified with African Americans. They attended African American churches and listened to African American music. African Americans who at first looked on their new neighbors with suspicion found friends who could connect them to a culture lost through slavery.

The groups realized their common threads. They ate some of the same foods: yams, black-eyed peas, collard greens. Their homes were often multigenerational. Their music carried a similar beat. Even their mannerisms at times echoed each other.

“It’s things like the universal head nod,” says McGodson Ben-Jumbo, a 23-year-old son of Nigerian immigrants and a Portland State student. “The cultures overlap.”

But more than anything, says Miller-Jones, the common American racial experience united them.

Fasasi puts her next African American client under the dryer, then says she considers the African community distinct from African Americans.

Yet she also notes that people often don’t see the difference. She points to the 1988 hate-crime murder of an Ethiopian immigrant in Portland and says no matter whether a person is African or African American, they are both black and will get treated the same.

After two decades in this country, she says, she has a good relationship with her African American clients — who account for most of her business. “They like me, and to me, I have taken on some American ways.” She grins. She enjoys black music and has adopted some slang.

Omar Hashi opened Hashi Halal Market on Killingsworth about six months ago.
The meat market is also a gathering spot for members of the Somali community.
(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)

Immigrants who’ve landed in Portland more recently have found a community that already has a place for them.

Yonnas Yilma arrived from Ethiopia nearly seven years ago. Portland’s black community felt like home, he says.

“When I first came here, (African Americans) clasped my hand and said, ‘Hey, brother,’” Yilma recalls from a table in Sengatera, the small Ethiopian eatery he opened seven months ago on MLK. “That touched my heart.”

He still prefers Ethiopian music — though he enjoys American gospel and old-school hip-hop –and he can’t adjust to eating anything other than food from his homeland. But it doesn’t matter.

“I don’t believe we’re separate.” He slaps his hand together. “We’re together. In my heart, black is black.”

For longtime Northeast Portland resident Kecia Parker, the Somali meat shop, Ethiopian restaurants and African markets are a welcome addition, in part because she’s glad to see more black businesses in a neighborhood that’s becoming less so and because they add new flavor to the black experience.

“They are part of the community but distinct,” Parker says. “Everyone doesn’t have to assimilate.”

The African American community has never been monolithic, Miller-Jones says. Groups from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America have seasoned the culture.

Portland’s small African American community, he says, will feel the impact of the African influx more intensely. Last year, Portland saw a 26-year-old Liberian immigrant and Jefferson High grad become the nation’s youngest NAACP branch president.

Damtew sees America’s president-elect as the bridge between Africans and African Americans — and as a symbol to emulate.

Along with the Ethiopian kaffa (coffee) brewing in the traditional jebena, she stocks her dessert case with an African American favorite: sweet potato pie.

“African American is birth and tradition, but it’s also who people say you are,” she says. “It’s not enough to be African, because that’s just who you are by yourself. If you are African American, then you are part of a community.”

Our Beef with Kitfo: Are Ethiopians in America Subscribing to the Super Sizing of Food?

Published by Tadias Magazine August 23rd, 2008 in Health. 1 Comment

(Photo by Ayda Girma for Tadias)

Tadias Magazine
By Dr. Asqual Getaneh & Dr. Adam Waksor

Updated: Saturday, August 23, 2008

New York (TADIAS) – Every few years a new fad diet, which promises to slim, beautify, energize and prolong life hits the media and ends up on the shelves and kitchen tables of America. It is a staggering 30 billion dollar market. Paradoxically, Americans continue to expand and suffer signiﬁcant obesity related morbidities. Ethiopians in the U.S. usually ridicule the folly of these diets. We also do not heed the numerous sound directives from the U.S. Surgeon General on healthy diet, tobacco cessation and exercise. Celebrating one of the most complex cuisines in the world, most of us continue to indulge in the sinfully rich kitfo, downing it with a stiff Black Label as often and as much as possible and with humor. Some of us ﬁnish off with a well-branded cigarette [or Shisha].

True, a few of us might choose the heart friendly red wines; and humor does contribute to healthy arteries. The effect, even so, is an ever growing mid-riff, inﬂamed and clogged arteries and the associated health problems. Anecdotal information shows that the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are on the rise both among Ethiopians living in the West and the affluent urbanized population in Ethiopia. These conditions, individually and together with tobacco, are the leading causes of heart attacks and strokes. Among Ethiopians in the U.S., a coronary artery bypass surgery after an unexpected heart attack in a man in his 40’s is no longer a rare occurrence. In fact he is considered lucky to have survived.

Ethiopians living in the West (or the urbanized in Ethiopia), in general, have undergone a nutrition transition. In content, our diet has changed from a relatively diversiﬁed menu, which included legumes (shiro), vegetables (like gomen) and high ﬁber grains (teff) to an almost exclusively meat-centered (kitfo/tibs), reﬁned carbohydrates (rice/wheat based injera) and animal fat diet (kibae). In quantity, we have subscribed to the American super sizing of food, or in Ethiopian restaurant parlance – a “combination plate”. Large quantities of rich food, which would have been eaten over several days in Ethiopia are consumed as a meal. Thanks to the many Ethiopian eateries and tireless family members who pack luggages full of food, there is easy access to a cheap, familiar and delectable meal every day. In addition, we have an appetite for fatty and spicy cooking. The preference for fat might be biological and not unique to Ethiopians. The key however is our conscious contribution to a sustained fat consumption, which in itself leads to changes in our brain. As a result, our appetite cues and energy expenditure are negatively inﬂuenced. In a nutshell fat begets fat through a complex neurological and chemical regulation.

Not only are we consuming high fat and large portions of food, but also our lifestyle has not kept up with our energy consumption. Unless expended, the body stores all excess energy from dietary fat, alcohol or vegetables as body fat for use in time of caloric need. In affluent societies there is no time of need if it is not artiﬁcially introduced, for example as aerobic exercises. A high-energy diet requires a consciously planned parallel program of energy expenditure. Admittedly, having an exercise plan and adhering to it is difficult in the era of long-commutes, parking garages, office jobs and the rush to attain the trappings of life in the West. Our relaxation and socialization also revolves around elaborate meat-centered feasts and alcohol and not enough around physical activity.

Besides its many direct toxic effects on brain, blood and liver cells, drinking moderate to heavy alcohol limits one’s exercise capacity. It increases the risk of dehydration through its diuretic effect and reduces endurance and blood sugar levels limiting the duration of physical activity. Heavy alcohol use also contributes to weight gain, which in turn limits exercise capacity. However, it has been shown that low to moderate consumption of alcohol has beneﬁcial effects on energy intake and on lipid (cholesterol) proﬁle.

We admit that Kitfo and alcohol together do not have as much devastating effect as cigarette smoking on health. Sporting Marlboro Light, Camel or Winston reeks havoc on the human body from skin changes, to cancers to heart attacks and strokes. If one were to do only one thing today to beneﬁt his health, smoking cessation will be the most important step towards better health. However, we will leave this main health hazard for a later issue.

So, our beef with kitfo is its frequent and excessive use, its high content of butter, its frequent coupling with heavy alcohol and smoking in many cases, and the lack of any mitigating lifestyle habits such as exercising, a balanced diversiﬁed diet and normal weight.

A few tips…

*Keep kitfo and other heavy fat meals as delicacies, for special occasions.

*Keep your midriff slim without plastic surgery. Plastic surgery does not have beneﬁcial effect on health as loss of abdominal fat. Know your waist to hip circumference ratio and keep at goal. This ratio should be less than 0.8 for women and less than one for men.

*Know your body mass index (BMI) and keep at goal: BMI is calculated as follows. Weight in kilogram divided by height in meters squared. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 reﬂ ects normal weight. Between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. Over 30 is in the obese range, which is associated with a signiﬁcant risk for developing diabetes, high blood pressure and their complications, arthritis, liver and gall bladder diseases.

*If the portion of meat is more than the size of your palm (3 ounces or 85 grams), it is too much. And, in general you should not have more than two of these a day.

*A gram of fat has 8 calories, a gram of protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories and a gram of alcohol has 7 calories (one teaspoon of butter has 5 grams of fat).

*If your plate does not contain more than one color, you are not getting adequate nutrition and are most likely consuming more calories than you need. Different colors in fruits and vegetables are a low caloric source of various vitamins and minerals.

*If you are having more than 5 drinks a week, your body is taking too much. More than two units for women and three units of alcohol a day for men are excessive.

*Cigarettes are passé and no longer chic or cool.

—
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Taste of Ethiopian Veggie in Tel Aviv

Published by Tadias Magazine August 21st, 2008 in News. Closed

The Jerusalem Post

By ASI GAL

Aug 21, 2008

I recently went to Habash, an Ethiopian restaurant located in the ever so depressing area of the Opera Tower on Tel Aviv’s promenade. This was my first time at an Ethiopian restaurant, though I have eaten Ethiopian food in the past and loved it. But, more than the food, I loved the atmosphere. In the past, I’ve worked as a guide in a hostel and, as such, was invited into the homes of different Ethiopian families. The visits were never short. Food was served, drinks were poured and the injera in ample supply. It always amazed me, the ever-present bowl of dough, waiting to be made into the Ethiopian version Yemenite lahuh.

Of course, I might be stereotyping. There might be some Ethiopian families who eat mainly hamburgers and fries and rarely consider purchasing the unique teff flour used in making injera. Yet, I believe that is the case with the younger generation. For that reason, according to Yitzhak, Habash’s manager, the restaurant was established. “The younger generation must remember its roots. And, the Israeli people should know of our traditions,” he said. The menu includes nothing but Ethiopian food.

You forget the ugly area outside as you enter the restaurant. The place is designed like a big hut. As E, my dining partner, described it, the atmosphere’s like “entering the dining room of the old temple.” To that end, the main design flaw is the plasma screen showing Ethiopian singers and decidedly ruining the temple vibe.

E and I are both vegetarians, so we ordered the vegetarian mix: four different legumes in different spices and one vegetable dish. All was served on one big injera with an extra four on the side. No forks of course and we dug in, wiping the different dishes away with our delicious sour flat breads – after all, when in Rome. Read more.

Interview With Marcus Samuelsson at Merkato 55

Published by admin August 11th, 2008 in News. Closed

By Liben Eabisa
Photos by Jeffrey Phipps

Updated: August 11th, 2008

New York (Tadias) – This past spring, I ventured to Gansevoort Street, the heart of the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, to interview Marcus Samuelsson at Merkato 55, his new restaurant venture named after the largest open-air market in Africa. Samuelsson’s dishes, a sundry assortment of appetizers and entrees hailing from all four corners of the African continent are paving the way for Pan-African fusion to be the next big thing for New York foodies.

Certainly, traditional African cuisine has long been around in this city, teeming with immigrants, and we have had our share of authentic Senegalese, Moroccan, or Ethiopian dishes, but what Samuelsson’s Merkato 55 aspires to provide to our palates is a distinct culinary adventure. It is as much a subtle re-introduction of traditional African flavors to the western taste as it is an advertisement for the continent’s food contribution to the world.

Simulating the architectural hues, warm brown colors and landscapes across the African continent, Merkato 55′s interior, designed by Dutch architect Menno Schmitz, is a two-story restaurant and bar, capable of holding approximately 150 people. It is the largest African restaurant in New York. It’s menu is equally daunting in its extensive offerings.

Above: Upstairs dining area . Photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias.

Above: The bar downstairs. Photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias.

Samuelsson, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, is best known as the co-owner of New York’s finest Scandinavian restaurant, Aquavit. After having excelled at the Swedish side of his culinary heritage, Samuelson travelled extensively throughout the African continent, culminating his trips by sharing with us some of the most profound lessons that he learned about food and the sharing of food within African cultures, in his award-winning book aptly entitled The Soul of a New Cuisine.

Merkato 55 offers this new cuisine – a fusion of the old and new tastes, flavors, colors, and even sights of the scintillating diverse heritage of Africans.

“This is about adding something new to the New York landscape of restaurants”, Samuelsson says to me. “It’s an ambitious and grand New York African restaurant”.

It is indeed daring to launch the largest African restaurant in New York, bound not to one region or ethnic food, but rather infusing Africa’s indigenous foods with Samuelsson’s own chef-inspired artistic experiments.

Above: Marcus Samuelsson sat down for an interview with Tadias
on Monday, April 14, 2008 at Merkato 55. Photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias.

Samuelsson is unpretentious about the fact that his African-inspired dishes might not have the same authentic taste as those dishes that he watched being prepared, and which he tasted on his travels. He points out that what most New Yorkers consider as African restaurants mainly consist of Ethiopian, Moroccan and Senegalese ethnic eats. He mentions to me some of the great ones such as Ghenet, Queen of Sheba, and uptown Senegalese eateries.

Merkato 55, however, is very much an effort to introduce the flavors of various African cultures not only to Westerners but also to each other as Africans. Samuelsson points out, “We are very proud of our own food, but we know very little about each other’s food. We know pan-African music, but we don’t know pan-African cuisine. An Ethiopian might know music from Mali, but not food from Mozambique”.

I can recall, in my case, not hesitating to mix an occasional meal of Mexican black beans and rice alongside Caribbean-inspired deep fried plantains, all in one sitting. But when it comes to Ethiopian food, I usually wouldn’t venture to use our kibe (spiced butter) or the fiery mitmita pepper on anything more than my favorite kitfo (beef tartar) or our traditional stews.

In true fashion, I had carried this same cautious tradition when I dined at Merkato 55 with Tseday Alehegn, editor of Tadias, and our friend Assefa, an Ethiopian New Yorker from Brooklyn. After scouring through the menu for something ‘Ethiopian’, and hence familiar, we settled on a main entree of Dorot Wot (chicken stew) and Dulet (spiced tripe) preceded by an appetizer of Plantain Chips and Spicy Shrimp Chili. The Doro Wot was familiar enough with the traditional injera bread and cottage cheese in the pot, but the Dulet took us all by surprise. It tasted nothing like the tripe we grew up eating in our parents’ and grandparents’ homes so we spent a few minutes debating whether it was really Dulet or not. Yet, it was the dish that we unanimously voted was the best tasting one. Needless to say, the only thing that mattered is that it was simply delicious. Now, of course, we know that we can eat Dulet in more ways than one.

This is the genius of Marcus Samuelsson’s fusion of African cuisine that brings creative “unity and harmony through food.” Samuelsson’s Merkato menu plainly asks us to be more assertive in our choices: How about a Berbere rack of Lamb with Grains of Paradise and Spring Garlic instead of the traditional Berbere with Injera? Perhaps even Grilled Shrimp Piri Piri as a side dish?

Beyond the borders that we place on what is or is not authentically African, there is a space, where Africa’s culinary gifts are not left relegated to basement ‘mom & pop’ stores – segregated into national and ethnic enclaves.

Samuelsson puts it more succinctly, “We are trying to show Africa in a different light, without the masks.”

How many of us know, for example, that the peanut butter that we fondly call ‘All-American’ was introduced to us straight from West African traditional cuisine? Rice, now a necessary global staple, has been part of the traditional West African diet since the 1500s and was successfully cultivated in the New World by the first Africans in the Carolinas. Spices such as coriander, grains of paradise and tamarind, and vegetables such as cucumbers and okra originated in Africa. Grains such as millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff, now popularly re-introduced in natural food stores as alternatives to wheat, have a long tradition of being served alongside spicy currys, breads or beans in East and West African cuisines. Even the beans for our daily fix of coffee are said to have originated in the Ethiopian highlands.

When we pause to reflect, we are already familiar with many of the ingredients commonly found in African-inspired menus. But Merkato 55 is bold – not only for mixing East and West, North and South, but also for unveiling the depth of African variety, the richness of the flavors, both those which are indigenous and those brought over to the continent through historical and colonial trade routes.

“I do know food and I have deep knowledge and love for African food” Samuelsson says.

And indeed it’s time for a true connoisseur of food to give Pan-African cuisine its limelight and to break down our self-imposed restrictions of how to savor African cuisine.

I have learned my lesson. After my interview, Samuelsson prepared for us Grilled Shrimp Piri Piri Baby Romaine, inspired by a dish from Mozambique. I also had a taste of North African Hummus and Baba Ghanoush, Spicy Shrimp Chili and Apricot Blatjang with Mint from the Kidogo Sample, which includes an assortment of African Breads.

Above: The Kidogo Sample. Photo by Jeffrey Phipps.

Above: Marcus Samuelsson prepared for us this Grilled Shrimp Piri Piri.
Monday, April 14, 2008. Photo by Jeffrey Phipps for Tadias.

Next time I am in the Meatpacking District, I may just as well try the Steak Dakar with Coriander Butter and Merkato Fries, and a glass of South African Wine.

——
Liben Eabisa is Founder and Publisher of Tadias Magazine.
Additional reporting by Tseday Alehegn

The Untold Story of Ethiopians in Cuba

Published by Tadias Magazine August 10th, 2008 in Interviews and News. 27 Comments

Aida Muluneh (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Sunday, August 10, 2008

New York (TADIAS) – In 1979, under Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam, the Ethiopian government sent thousands of Ethiopian children to Cuba to be educated. Cuba, an ally of Ethiopia in the Ethio-Somali war, offered housing and education for war orphans. The Cuban government accepted 2,400 Ethiopian students, aged seven to fourteen, to study at Escuelas Secundarias Basicas en el Campo (basic rural secondary schools) – on the small island of Isla de la Juventud.

The following is an interview from our archive with photographer Aida Muluneh, who is filming a documentary about their lives in Cuba.

Tadias: How did you become interested in the “Ethio-Cuban” story?

Aida: I went to a group photo exhibit in Havana in 2003 and prior to my trip I had heard about the Ethiopian students in Cuba. After searching for them, I finally met around 30 students who had been in Cuba for over twenty years. It was an amazing experience meeting these fellow Ethiopians. I soon realized that I had to come back. So in 2004, I went back and begun interviewing them to start telling their story and also to help them get out of Cuba.

Tadias: Why haven’t they left Cuba? And why haven’t they returned to Ethiopia?

Aida: They have had the opportunity to leave Cuba and return to Ethiopia; however they have no means of supporting themselves in a country they left twenty years ago. There is no incentive for them to go back to Ethiopia and resettle because life would be just as difficult, if not worse in Ethiopia. As for other countries i.e. Europe or North America, the remaining student just recently qualified for their UN refugee number. This basically means that they can get in line for a chance to immigrate to those countries.

Tadias: This was a coordinated effort between the Cuban and Ethiopian governments. What efforts did Cuba make to help Ethiopian immigrants adjust to Cuba?

Aida: The Cuban government has been extremely supportive within their means from day one. Even prior to the students arriving, Cuba played an instrumental role in helping Ethiopia during the Ethio-Somlia war. Therefore, upon the student’s arrival, the children were given the basic necessities in order to become acquainted with life in Cuba. One thing that needs to be put into perspective is that as a young child, it is difficult to adjust to any place that is foreign, especially when one is so far away from home. The Ethiopians expressed to me that as children they had missed their country more then anything and I believe this yearning to return is what made it extremely difficult for many. The Cubans have gone above and beyond in providing support to the Ethiopians to this day.

Above: Teenage Ethiopian Girls in Cuba

Above: Ethiopian boys in Cuba

Above: Teenagers in Cuba

Tadias: Although The Unhealing Wound focuses on those Ethio-Cubans still in Cuba, we understand there have been a number who have managed to leave Cuba and live elsewhere. When did they leave and where do they live now?

Aida: In addition to providing primary education, the Cubans have also educated University students during this time period. For many of the Ethiopian students who attended universities in Cuba they have managed to return back to Ethiopia and find viable means of supporting themselves. In fact during the Derg period, many of the students that completed their education were given housing and job opportunities upon their return to Ethiopia. However, after the fall of the Derg government, many of the students felt that returning back to Ethiopia would lead to further economic hardship. In 1991, the Soviet Block fell and many of the students begun leaving to countries such as Spain, Greece, Holland, U.S., etc. I am not exactly sure how many returned to Ethiopia and how many went to other destinations. My assumption is that the greatest number of Ethiopian-Cubans are in Spain.

Tadias: Is there a network of Ethio-Cubans abroad that help others still in Cuba to immigrate to other countries?

Aida: As far as I know, there is no organized effort by Ethio-Cubans that continuously assists the Ethiopians to leave Cuba and resettle to a third country. Although it is a tightly knit community in Cuba, once abroad, it’s more so through the efforts of individuals helping new comers than an established network.

Tadias: What kind of relationship do Ethio-Cubans have with Cuba? Do they identify in any way as Cubans?

Aida: From my observation of the Ethio-Cubans, there is a special relationship between the Cubans and these Ethiopians. It is clear that they still identify themselves as Ethiopians but they have fully taken on Cuban mannerisms and cultural habits in the ways they interact with others and express themselves.

Tadias: You mentioned that many Ethio-Cubans faced challenges in adjusting to their new environment when they moved to Cuba. What were some of those challenges?

Aida: The challenges were similar as any immigrant faces when they arrive to a new country, but imagine that through the eyes of a ten year old. The first problem that they had was the climate. The temperature was a big issue. They were moving from the highlands of Ethiopia to a tropical island. The second was the food. The food in Cuba consisted of pork, rice and beans in contrast to eating Injera their whole life. Then, of course, language and homesickness were major issues.

Tadias: You left Ethiopia as a child as well. Is there a relationship between your interest in the Ethiopian students in Cuba and your own experience?

Aida: There was definitely a relationship to my life. I went to boarding school at a young age in Cyprus away from my family. One of the things that attracted me to the whole story and enabled me to empathize with them was the struggle I faced as a child who felt alone in a foreign land.

Tadias: Does the Ethio-Cuban story fit into the themes that you address in your photography work?

Aida: My beginning as an artist is in photojournalism and this story at first was supposed to be a series of photographs about these Ethiopians. However, I decided that their story was too compelling to be told solely in still photography. The Unhealing Wound is an exploration of themes that captivate me as a photographer and a filmmaker. It all comes down to capturing life and in this case it is capturing our past history and also documenting the history as it is happening. I hope that thirty years from now, anyone can look back at this film and have a better understanding of our struggles, triumphs and sacrifices as Ethiopians in the landscape of the immigrant life.

Above: Aredo. Photo by Aida Muluneh

Above: Motbaynor. Photo by Aida Muluneh

Above: Teddy. Photo by Aida Muluneh

—-
Find out more about the film at pastforwardfilms.com.

Portland Family Enjoys a Taste of Ethiopia

Published by admin August 5th, 2008 in News. Closed

By Angela Obery

Published: August 5, 2008

Portland, Oregon (Statesman Journal) – Looking back on local family trips, I must admit that many of them revolve around food.

After all, we have to eat; we might as well make the meal an adventure!

Recently while visiting friends in Portland, my husband, sons and I were invited to dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant.

I was eager to see my old friend but wary about his ability to choose a child-friendly restaurant. A confirmed bachelor, I was unsure if he understood the intricacies of dining with a 3-year-old.

Holding the printed directions in one hand and a map in another, I navigated while my husband drove into a north Portland neighborhood previously unknown to us.

Parking on a side street and walking past other business, we saw the chosen restaurant — it had an old sign welcoming us to the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Bar.

I momentarily thought our bachelor friend has steered us terribly wrong, however a second look unveiled an additional sign that read: “and Restaurant.’

I silently sighed as my husband and I shared a look of uncertainty.

Slowly stepping through the front door we were greeted by the restaurant owner and immediately shown to a roomy table by the front window.

Glancing around the small room, I saw a few other tables seated with groups including children. The place was a buzz with activity and so the adventure began.

Reading the menu, I was confused. Ordering would not be easy. Although the menu gave short descriptions of the offerings I still had no real sense of what was being offered.

Meats, vegetables, lentils and spices were all clearly named, but where as Japanese, Italian, and French bring certain flavors to mind, I had no background knowledge to consider Ethiopian.

Sensing our general confusion, the waitress was incredibly helpful when ordering. She told us which dishes were favorites with other families with small children and she guided our order to include several items considered mild and two with a bit more spice for the adults in our group.

As she walked away from the table I knew only that, among others, we would be trying dishes #1, #6 and #27.

When the meal arrived, the adventure continued as all the items were served family style on one large platter.

Injera, the traditional flat bread of Ethiopia, was provided and everyone tore off small pieces so as to scoop up the entrée and side dishes. My 3-year-old watched all the adults dig in and shyly asked, “Where are the forks?”

He seemed amused by the idea that no one would use utensils at this meal.

Injera is a flat, spongy bread and after several bites with the meal, my 6-year-old then ate several more bites of the bread alone. Holding up a small piece he commented, “It looks like a pancake, but it doesn’t taste like a pancake.”

I agreed.

Our party continues to scoop, wrap and dip as the meal continued. I found my sons and I most enjoyed the wat, or stew, of potatoes, carrots and beans. My husband favored the chicken and mushroom combination, while our friends ate up most of the spicier dishes.

The time passed quickly between eating and conversation and, before I knew it, the platter before us was almost wiped clean.

Paying our bill and heading out into the pleasant evening air I was pleased to have ventured out of our comfort zone with my family to try this new restaurant.

Time had passed since our last gathering with this old friend, but the feelings of care and loyalty for him are still strong.

Mix that up with two kiddos who are willing to try anything new and you have the perfect recipe for an adventurous Kid Trips to Portland, or to Ethiopia, or to whatever lies ahead.

—
Angela Obery lives in Salem with her husband and two young sons. Look for the Kid Trips column each Tuesday in this section. Contact Angela at Kid Trips, the Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309-3009. Letters can be faxed to (503) 399-6706 or e-mailed to sjkidtrips@yahoo.com.

Merkato 55: Interview With Marcus Samuelsson (Tadias Exclusive)

Published by admin April 21st, 2008 in Featured and Reviews. 6 Comments

By Liben Eabisa
Photos by Jeffrey Phipps

Published: Monday, April 21, 2008

New York (Tadias) – I recently ventured to Gansevoort Street, the heart of the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, to interview Marcus Samuelsson at Merkato 55, his new restaurant venture named after the largest open-air market in Africa. Samuelsson’s dishes, a sundry assortment of appetizers and entrees hailing from all four corners of the African continent are paving the way for Pan-African fusion to be the next big thing for New York foodies.