President of Loyola Marymount University Timothy Law Snyder, Founder of TSEHAI Elias Wondimu, Director of the Marymount Institute Professor Theresia de Vroom and Senior Vice-President for Student Affairs Elena (Lane) M. Bove. (Courtesy photos)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: February 27th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — This weekend in Washington D.C., the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, who is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie, will host the annual Victory of Adwa Commemoration dinner & award ceremony at the Army and Navy Club.
Among those who will be recognized with the Victory of Adwa Centenary Medal at this year’s celebration include four individuals from Loyola Marymount University in California, which is home to Tsehai Publishers. The honorees include Founder of TSEHAI, Elias Wondimu; President Timothy Law Snyder; Senior Vice-President for Student Affairs, Elena (Lane) Bove; and Director of the Marymount Institute, Professor Theresia de Vroom.
In a statement earlier this month the Crown Council said: “This year’s awardees are selected for their lifetime achievements and community service.”
“The LMU delegation was chosen for their contributions in sustaining the publishing program of TSEHAI,” the university said in a press release. “Since 2007, TSEHAI has been affiliated with Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.”
The announcement added:
“Under the direction of Dr. Theresia de Vroom, a professor of English, the Marymount Institute of Faith, Culture and the Arts developed a deep partnership with the publisher. Since then, TSEHAI, the Marymount Institute Press, and their two additional imprints have published more than 120 books.”
Since the closure of Howard University Press, TSEHAI remains the only African-owned and operated publisher of books at any university outside of Africa. With this great responsibility, TSEHAI strives to publish works that fight against misinformation about Africa and Ethiopia in particular. In both English and Amharic, these publications range from prose and poetry to political texts, such as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent works Medemer and Fruit of the Lips. TSEHAI also publishes two academic journals focusing on Ethiopia — the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies and the Ethiopian Journal of Religious Studies.
The first honoree, Elias Wondimu was previously recognized by the Crown Council in 2017, when he received the distinguished award of Grand Officer of the Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II. Since then, Elias has continued his work in service of Ethiopia, returning to his home country for the first time in nearly twenty-five years in 2018.
Timothy Law Snyder, serves as the sixteenth President of Loyola Marymount University and has been a professor and administrator for nearly thirty years in Catholic Jesuit education. One of his principal missions is “global imagination,” which acknowledges the role of the university as key in forming young people who are conscious of global cultures and issues.
Lane Bove, began her career as Senior Vice President for Student Affairs at Loyola Marymount University in 1987. As the Board Chair of the Marymount Institute, Bove has played an instrumental role in bringing TSEHAI Publishers to Loyola Marymount University and sustaining it as a vital program at the university.
Theresia de Vroom is Professor of English Literature, Director of the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture and the Arts, and Editor of the Marymount Institute Press. As Director of the Marymount Institute, Professor de Vroom is responsible for bringing TSEHAI Publishers to Loyola Marymount University and plays an important role in its current global operations.
The 9th Annual Victory of the Battle of Adwa Commemoration dinner will be hosted at the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C by the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia on February 29th, 2020. The Battle of Adwa was a monumental event in African history as it resulted in a victory of Ethiopia over the Italians.
For decades, TSEHAI has published books and journals to educate, inspire, and empower its readers with comprehensive and diverse narratives. In keeping with this tradition, TSEHAI is delighted to announce the launch of the quarterly TSEHAI Picks Series.
From cultural tastemakers to historical figures, TSEHAI Picks celebrates individuals from all walks of life and fields of expertise. In this first edition, the TSEHAI team is giving your summer playlist a makeover with a list ten songs from phenomenal musicians of Ethiopian origin whose art represents the rich and diverse Ethiopian heritage and narratives on the world stage.
The combination of Kelela’s sultry vocals with the hypnotic synthesizer and beat in “Rewind” immediately pull you in. On the podcast, Song Exploder, Kelela talks about her process of working with five different producers on this song. I was blown away by how she melded together elements from each producer to create one dynamic layered sound. “Rewind” is a great testament to Kelela as an artist: complex, unique, and forged from a melting pot of experiences.
Drawing from many genres including jazz, blues, reggae and funk music, Haile Supreme creates a unique blend of Ethiopian culture with contemporary hip-hop/R&B in both his music and his persona. “Danjahrous” is a chill jam that goes down as smooth as honey wine.
Mereba is a multi-talented musician, songwriter, producer, and rapper. Her brilliant album, The
Jungle is the Only Way Out, is a must listen for soulful vocals, intricate production, and poetically incisive lyrics. Her song “Black Truck” is an ode to her father who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia and the perseverance of her ancestors.
In “Walk Up,” Meklit’ssoft vocals are accompanied by an eclectic assemblage of instrumental sounds. The lyrics of this song reminds me of Meklit’s brilliant TED talk, “The Unexpected Beauty of Everyday Sounds” on how music can be found all around — from the emphatic lilt of Amharic language to the sound of birds.
SIIMBA SELASSIIE serves up clever and honest lyricism in an irreverent package that expands the definition of a hip-hop artist. Donning traditional dress and referencing his Ethiopian roots in his lyrics, SIIMBA is not one to shy away from his heritage.
Kibrom is a humble music visionary who embraces traditions in EthioJazz and EthioFolk music. His talent in piano and vocals shine in “Abune.” The powerful artistry of his music is truly arresting.
Arima Ederra has the kind of angelic voice that will capture your attention within the first few notes. “Free Again” evokes the feeling of the first day of summer, ripe with infinite possibilities and childlike energy. I also love how the album art for this record draws from traditional Ethiopian illustration styles.
Ruth B.’s regal voice remains soothing and pleasant, even as she takes you through her innermostfeelings. Currently signed with Columbia Records, it is exciting to see what she will do next.
Gabriel Teodros is an Ethiopian-American son of a refugee, which strongly influences his music. He creates music motivated to heal and promote positive social change. When he’s not creating music, Gabriel is actively involved in local youth communities and advocates on the treatment of immigrants in the US.
For my last pick, I chose “Eye” by Helen Hailu. “Eye” is the perfect song for a slow Sunday morning. Her jazzy vocals and instrumentals rock steady as she invites listeners to join in her proclamation of independence: “I’d rather be me, myself, and I.”
Ethiopian-American publisher Elias Wondimu receiving the 2018 Hidden Heroes Recognition Award at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, November 3rd, 2018. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: November 11th, 2018
New York (TADIAS) — Elias Wondimu, Founding Director of TSEHAI Publishers, was recognized with the 2018 Hidden Heroes Award at Loyola Marymount University on November 3rd, 2018. Elias was one of five honorees from the University’s community that were nominated for the award. As part of the award ceremony Elias’ life story, as written by David Johann Kim, was performed by actor Desean Terry in a drama narrative.
The Center for Reconciliation & Justice at Loyola Marymount University annually honors winners of the Hidden Heroes award by selecting “individuals and groups who exemplify justice and reconciliation in their lives.”
“I was really happy that my dad saw it with me,” Elias said of the ceremony, which took place on Saturday, November 3rd at Loyola Marymount University’s Murphy Hall.
Watch: Elias Wondimu, Founder of Tsehai Publishers, Receives Hidden Heroes Award at LMU
From Left: Shonda Buchanan, Editor of the Harriet Tubman Press; TSEHAI Publishers Founder Elias Wondimu, Congressmember Karen Bass and CNN and NPR analyst Angela Rye at the launch event for 'Voices from Leimert Park Redux,' the debut book by Harriet Tubman Press, an imprint of TSEHAI Publishers, in Los Angeles, California on October 14th, 2017. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: October 15th, 2017
New York (TADIAS) — TSEHAI Publishers celebrates its twentieth anniversary this month along with the launch of the first book under its new imprint, Harriet Tubman Press entitled Voices from Leimert Park Redux.
Founded by Ethiopian American publisher Elias Wondimu, TSEHAI Publishers — which is located at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles — is the only African or African-American owned press housed in a U.S. university (Howard University Press closed in 2011). “The launch of this historic imprint boldly reinforces the necessity and value of giving place for our voices in the national and global discourse on race, culture, the arts and so many more important facets of our collective humanity,” says Elias.
The book launch event was held in front of the Vision Theatre in Leimert Park on Saturday, October 14th sponsored by PEN Center USA and LA Review of Books. The program included live readings by the poets featured in the inaugural publication highlighting the “diverse voices of Los Angeles” and speeches by Congresswoman Karen Bass, Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, CNN and NPR analyst Angela Rye, as well as Elias Wondimu and Shonda Buchanan, Editor of the Harriet Tubman Press and the press’ first book Voices from Leimert Park Redux.
“It is going to be a great continuation of LMU and TSEHAI’s Harriet Tubman Press’ engagement in the Leimert Park Community,” Elias added.
Tsehai Publishers in collaboration with Loyola Marymount University is launching a new imprint called the Harriet Tubman Press focused on African American fiction, nonfiction and academic titles. (courtesy Image)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — The California-based Tsehai Publishers in partnership with Loyola Marymount University has announced the launch of its new imprint: The Harriet Tubman Press for African-American Literature (HTP), adding to its collection of books on Ethiopian and African history.
Founder of Tsehai Publishers Elias Wondimu will be managing the new imprint. “We chose the name Harriet Tubman for several reasons,” Elias said in a statement. “To follow her example in paving a new path towards an equal and just society; in honor of our ancestors who endured so much to provide us our freedom; and to proclaim our commitment to document and share our stories to the world over.”
The joint press release from LMU and Tsehai Publishers stated: “HTP will be the newest imprint of TSEHAI Publishers, which is housed in the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture and the Arts at Loyola Marymount University. Until now, TSEHAI has specialized in publications about African politics, history, social justice and literature. HTP will provide a home to books that share stories by African-American writers and scholars about what is happening in the United States.”
“Harriet Tubman Press will provide a new home for both established, as well as up-and-coming literary writers and scholars who strive to give authentic voice while chronicling the challenges and triumphs of their communities,” Elias shared.
Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University hosted a book signing for 'Temsalet' at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Yoseph Wondimu )
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Monday, July 11th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Below are photos from last month’s Temsalet Book Signing at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. hosted by Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University.
The program, which was held on Saturday, June 25th included a presentation by Founder of Tsehai Publishers Elias Wondimu and a book talk by Editor Mary-Jane Wagle featuring Temsalet: Phenomenal Ethiopian Women published by Tsehai last year.
Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University will host a book signing for 'Temsalet' at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Cover image of the book Temsalet)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Continuing their East Coast ‘Experience TSEHAI’ presentation series, California-based Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University announced they will be hosting a book talk and signing at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. this weekend. Tsehai Publishers is one of the only remaining independent presses affiliated with a university that focuses on African literature and Pan-African voices.
The program at the Library of Congress on Saturday, June 25th also includes a book talk by Editor Mary-Jane Wagle featuring Temsalet: Phenomenal Ethiopian Women published by Tsehai in 2015 and a presentation by Founder of Tsehai Publishers Elias Wondimu.
(Poster courtesy of Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University)
The book Temsalet highlights 64 remarkable Ethiopian women photographed by award-winning Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh including Amsale Gualu, the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines; Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu, Founder of Enat Bank and prominent lawyer who was depicted in the award-winning film Difret; Marta Mesele Woldemariam, Ethiopia’s first female construction tower crane operator; Meshu Baburi Dekebo, women’s activist and founder of the Jalala Women’s Association; actress and playwright Alemtsehay Wedajo; children’s television program creator and producer Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse; and art curator and cultural activist Meskerem Asegued Bantiwalu.
At the NYC book launch for Temsalet -- 64 profiles of Ethiopian women role models -- at the Schomburg Center in Harlem on Saturday, April 16, 2016. (Photograph: By Kidane M. for Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Monday, April 18th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Call of Ethiopia — a poem by the distinguished African American writer Langston Hughes — was read by Elias Wondimu during his presentation of Tsehai Publishers on Saturday, April 16th in the lobby of the Schomburg Center in Harlem dedicated to the poet. Tsehai Publishers is one of the only remaining independent presses affiliated with a university that focuses on African literature and Pan-African voices. Saturday night’s program also included a book talk by Editor Mary-Jane Wagle featuring Temsalet: Phenomenal Ethiopian Women published by Tsehai in 2015.
During her presentation Mary-Jane Wagle highlighted some of the 64 remarkable Ethiopian women photographed by award-winning Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh and featured in the book including Amsale Gualu, the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines; lawyer and women’s bank founder Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu (who was also the attorney and real-life inspiration for the award-winning film Difret); Ethiopia’s first female construction tower crane operator, Marta Mesele Woldemariam; women’s activist and founder of the Jalala Women’s Association, Meshu Baburi Dekebo; actress and playwright Alemtsehay Wedajo; children’s television program creator and producer Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse; and art curator and cultural activist Meskerem Asegued Bantiwalu.
The presentations by Elias Wondimu and Mary-Jane Wagle were followed by a book signing session. Guests enjoyed Ethiopian food and coffee catered by Bunna Cafe as well as Sheba Tej and wines from Ethiopia, Chile, and South Africa served by Tsion Cafe.
This event was part of the Tadias Salon Series and co-hosted by Tadias Magazine, Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University.
Temsalet is a book featuring the stories and images of 64 accomplished Ethiopian women. (Courtesy photos)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, April 08, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Join us on Saturday, April 16th for the New York book launch & presentation featuring Temsalet – a photographic portrait of sixty-four phenomenal contemporary Ethiopian women who have broken through age-old barriers to advance in their fields. Temsalet‘s editor, Mary-Jane Wagle, will be present to give a book talk followed by a book-signing, and Elias Wondimu will present Tsehai Publishers — one of the only remaining independent academic presses in the United States dedicated to African literature and Pan-African voices.
Edited and compiled by Mary-Jane Wagle with photography by Aida Muluneh, Temsalet is a project of the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association and is published by Tsehai Publishers of Los Angeles, California.
This event is brought to you as part of the Tadias Salon Series and co-hosted by Tadias Magazine, Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University.
— If You Go:
Tickets: $17 per person (Limited space available Click here to RSVP)
WHEN: Saturday, April 16, 2016
From 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM
WHERE: Schomburg Center in Harlem
515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037
(Ethiopian hors d’oeuvres & drinks will be served)
“When you think of Africa, what are the first three things that come to mind?” This is the first question I was asked when I began working at Tsehai Publishers at the beginning of the semester. Like I’m sure most of us would, I had trouble coming up with a sufficient answer to the question. It is for precisely this reason that Elias Wondimu, exiled Ethiopian journalist and current CEO of Tsehai Publishers, founded the company.
Finding few books on Ethiopia in the United States, Wondimu sought to fill a hole in the American book market by venturing into previously unchartered waters and creating his own publishing company that would simultaneously print scarcely distributed books and raise the standard of integrity in the publishing industry.
“The lack of positive narratives about my country led me to a path of discovery about the realities of all marginalized societies – including Africa, women and the poor among us. Institutions who control what stories get told controls our true information that we consume, our perceptions and by that our future society,” Wandimu said when discussing his motivation for launching Tsehai.
Tsehai means “the sun” in Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language, but Wondimu also named the publishing company after his late mother. The company was founded in 1998 with the intention of sharing his passion for Ethiopian and African issues, correcting media misinformation and bias about Africa, fostering intercultural dialogue and social justice and providing a platform for African creativity and knowledge to flourish. In 2007, Tsehai joined forces with LMU’s Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture and the Arts and from that partnership the Marymount Institute Press was born, embodying the Institute’s mission statement.
New York (TADIAS)– Selected speeches delivered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1963 at the inaugural meeting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), along with beautifully illustrated portraits, biographies, and other facts about member countries are all part of an upcoming book by Tsehai Publishers entitled Uniting A Continent. “This book is the first of its kind, as it showcases the founding of the OAU and exemplifies the rich and unique cultural heritage of each African nation,” the publisher announced via Indiegogo, an online crowdfunding platform, where a campaign has been launched to fund limited print editions.
Tsehai Publishers also announced that the book includes rare photographic highlights of Secretary Generals as well as an overview of OAU’s history featuring its formation and the challenges and successes in the last fifty years.
The book ”includes historic speeches made at the organization’s inception, the founding charter of the OAU, and a timeline of significant milestones during the organization’s history, including maps, flags, emblems, geographical information, and interesting facts about each member country. It also presents the dates of independence, the dates the country joined the OAU/AU, and the names of the current heads of state.”
“We believe this book contributes to the telling of a necessary story, for we cannot understand and plan for Africa’s future unless we appreciate the challenges and triumphs of the continent,” the announcement added. “The book’s modern layout and engaging facts will appeal to a broad audience. Both children and adults will be able to pick up the book and learn new information that is difficult to find anywhere else.”
Belwo is a video message about the project from Elias Wondimu, founder of Tsehai Publishers:
— You can learn more and support Tsehai Publishers at www.indiegogo.com.
Elias Wondimu, Publisher & Editorial Director of Tsehai Publishers, at his office at Loyola Marymount University in Southern California on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. (Photo credit: Missha Scott)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Friday, February 3, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – In sixth century Ireland, a king was asked to adjudicate one of the world’s earliest legal cases concerning book piracy. A monk named St. Columba had admitted copying by hand, apparently without permission, a manuscript that belonged to another writer. The original author accused St. Columba of theft and illegal copying, arguing that the book was his brainchild. In his famous ruling against the pirate-monk, the king pronounced: “To every cow belongs her calf, to every book belongs its copy.” In other words, only the publisher has the legal right to control its intellectual property.
This brings us to the modern day piracy of Mengistu Hailemariam’s memoir that was recently scanned and distributed without authorization from the book’s copyright holder Tsehai Publishers. Unlike St. Columba, however, the responsibile party in the Mengistu case remains, at least for now, faceless behind the computer screen, and communicates only via a website based in Europe. The copyright infringers claim justification under the “Son of Sam Law,” an American law designed to prevent criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes.
We recently spoke to Elias Wondimu, Publisher & Editorial Director of Tsehai Publishers about the controversy.
TADIAS: Thank you Elias for your time. Please tell us about the recent unauthorized distribution of Tsehai Publishers’ Mengistu Hailemariam’s memoir. What exactly happened?
Elias Wondimu: On Jan. 14th, Debteraw, an EPRP affiliated website based in the UK along with Finot Radio, scanned the book and distributed it for free on the Internet. The group explicitly stated that their actions were in protest of Col. Mengistu Hailemariam’s book. This was done maliciously, attempting to punish the publisher for daring to produce the book. They also hoped to discourage us from publishing future books by Col. Mengistu or similar authors that they don’t agree with.
In “About us” section of their website, it states that they are “campaigning” for “free and independent media.” But, their recent actions have shown the hypocrisy of their claims. By trying to silence me as a publisher, they violated all notions of freedom of press and freedom of expression. Apparently, for this sect of the EPRP, “free and independent media” refers only to publications that align with their own views.
TADIAS: Where were you when you first learned of this? How did you feel?
EW: When I first heard the news, I was in my office working on our next book, a memoir by Rita and Richard Pankhurst, which was to be released next month. Since we’re in the final stages of editing, I was working late on a Friday night. At 9:00pm I received a phone call from a friend. He asked me in a distressed voice if I knew what had happened. When I said that I didn’t, he directed me to the website, where I saw the article. I clicked on the link and saw the entire book I had worked so hard on download onto my computer. At first I thought it was just a prank or some sort of a bad joke and didn’t take it seriously. I couldn’t even fathom something like that being done.
The first thing I did was to see if there was any altered content in the scanned file. I noticed that, while it contained all the front matter such as the contents, copyright page, and publisher’s note, I noticed that six pages at the end had been removed. These pages contained our best books that we thought that our readers should know and other upcoming Tsehai Publishers books. Even now, I am still puzzled why they did this.
Thinking they will take it down when they realized what they have done, so I didn’t do anything. But, when Monday came around I realized the gravity of the situation, and that I would have to take legal action. There are no words to describe the frustration I felt. After working so hard and devoting my life to the cause of freedom of press in Ethiopia and around the world, I could not imagine that something so devastating could happen. But, although I was discouraged and angry, I knew that I had to keep fighting for what I believed in.
TADIAS: Please tell us more about the book. How did you obtain the content?
EW: It has now been almost seven years since I was introduced to Col. Mengistu. Since I received the first manuscript, my staff and I have worked tirelessly to bring the book to press, preserving the highest quality of publication that is accustomed with Tsehai. As I wrote in the Publisher’s Note, this book is the first time in our long history that an Ethiopian leader has written a book, sharing his experiences after leaving office. Even though Emperor Haile Selassie was the first to write a two-volume political memoir while in power, throughout Ethiopian history, none of our leaders lived longer to tell us their experiences and challenges while ruling the country. However, we have had many chronicles, most of these were written much later on by people who had a political bias either for or against them.
This book gives us an unparalleled window into how the government was run. It also presents some of the major issues in our history, such as how the Derg was formed, and how some of the major governmental decisions were made, how the Somali war was started, and Ethiopia’s victory came about. Despite what others or even I might think about Col. Mengistu himself, I am proud to give the first unadulterated first-hand account from an Ethiopian leader. The publication of this book is a historical moment, and I wholeheartedly stand behind its publication.
TADIAS: Debteraw.com has issued the following comments in justifying their actions: “Mass murderer and brutal dictator Mengsitu Haile Mariam (exiled in Harare, Zimbabwe) has written a 500+ pages book that has been published by Tsehai Publisher[s] of Los Angeles. This mass murderer has not yet atoned or paid for his horrendous crimes and the mass killings of the Red Terror. He now hopes to benefit from the sale of his book of lies. We strongly feel that this criminal should be tried before a court of law and should be hindered from benefiting from his crime. Thus, we have published the book in PDF and we are posting it for free usage of all interested readers.” They also say that they are legally justified. What is your response and what steps are you currently taking to halt the piracy?
EW: Professional publishers publish books coming from various political and ideological quarters and by people who have been involved in all kinds of activities. This does not mean publishers agree with the contents of the book they publish. Publishers are not politicians or judges. They are not agents of censorship. They believe in freedom of expression, in the intelligence of the reading public, its capacity to separate the wheat from the chaff and to make informed judgments. This is precisely the perspective of Tsehai publishers also.
The claim “that they are legally justified” is a false one. There is no law that permits the violation of copyright laws. In fact, what they did is nothing less than a blatant violation of internationally accepted copyright laws.
Currently, we have retained a law firm known for its intellectual property law, including copyright and book publishing works. Our attorney, Steven Rohde, is the Past President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and vice president of PEN USA. Among many accomplishments, representing a different client a few years ago, Mr. Rohde personally took the California Son of Sam Law to the California Supreme Court and the law was struck down as a violation of the First Amendment protection for free speech and free press. So, Debteraw and its associates have seriously misunderstood the nature of the Son of Sam Laws and their legal status.
TADIAS: We also understand that this is Tsehai Publishers’ 10th year anniversary. Congratulations. Do you have any plans for the anniversary?
Thank you! Even though Tsehai was started couple of years earlier, it was ten years ago this time that I dedicated my full time attention into it. So we are very excited to celebrate a decade at Tsehai.
To celebrate the anniversary, we decided last year to publish a book every month in 2012. Because of the recent events, we were forced to postpone the publication of our first book this month. But we are determined not to let the unfortunate circumstances hold us back any more than this. We plan to get back on track and plan to release a book every month from February on.
We are also planning to host public events in selected cities in the coming months. If your readers would like to be informed or to get involved, we highly encourage them to visit and Like us at our Facebook page.
TADIAS: Please tell us briefly about Tsehai Publishers’ inception and key works in the past ten years.
Living in Los Angles in the mid 1990s, I noticed a major void in the publishing field on the subject of Ethiopia. Hardly any literature was available on Ethiopia, and what was there was seriously incomplete and flawed. I was tired of waiting for change to happen, and decided to take matters into my own hands. I founded Tsehai in 1997 with just this aim. Tsehai was named after and dedicated to my mother who had passed away the same year. In 2001, I left a job at UCLA and began running Tsehai full time. Since then Tsehai has published over 60 books, started three academic journals, and founded three imprints—African Academic Press, Marymount Institute Press and Chereka Books.
Over the years we have published many books that I am very proud of, one of which is The Conquest of Abyssinia. In the current religious and social climate in the world, Ethiopia is at the crossroad of fundamentalism, and has experienced it all. This book gives the first hand account of what happened during the tumultuous religious conflict in Ethiopia. Another notable book is Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was published originally in 1952. The book documents the struggle between the Unionists and Separatists in Eritrea. Currently, situations in Eritrea are not going well. Although the areas are separated politically, people are beginning to understand that they need a common ground. Because of the Separatists hold a monopoly over the literature available, the young Eritreans are not able to access information about their grandfather’s struggle to reunite with Ethiopia. This book is our contribution to the people of Eritrea, giving them back a piece of their lost history. Finally, our book The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews addresses the ever-increasing number of Ethiopian Jews that now live in Israel. The book documents their incredibly complex history, from a captivating Ethiopian perspective. Similarly, all our books are selected and published to address issues that are affect our understanding and engagements among ourselves today.
TADIAS: What about the various journals you have started. What inspired them?
EW: Early in 2000, I was working at UCLA for Azlan a journal of Chicano Studies. The journal had been founded 30 years ago by Chicano students who were looked down on because of their Mexican heritage. These students realized that if there was to be any hope for their own academic future and next generations, they would need a forum for Chicanos to publish, which was non-existent at the time. The journal is now a major international academic platform and most scholars who published in it are leading figures in the field internationally. This story inspired me to do the same for Ethiopian Studies, which was just as lacking on the market. Except the one at Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University, all the scholarship on Ethiopia was produced by European and American institutions. This was the impetus to begin the academic journals at Tsehai.
Our first journal was the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (IJES), which is now currently available on JSTOR. IJES was the first academic journal to be started by an Ethiopian institution outside of Ethiopia. With the help of leading scholars in the field, we created a nurturing environment where academicians could publish scholarly theoretical and empirical papers and their research findings on Ethiopian social, political, economic, cultural and historical issues.
Our second journal is the Ethiopian Journal of Religious Studies (EJRS), which tackles the complex religious climate of the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is the home of the major religions in the world, but there was previously no forum where we can study or document its development. EJRS is the first religious Ethiopian journal, and is breaking new ground on this fascinating subject.
Our most recent journal is Ethiorica, which combines the words “Ethiopia” and “America” or “Africa.” Although Ethiopia has a very long and rich literary culture, there is currently no platform for burgeoning writers to show their talent. Because of this, there is no stimulating forum for inspiring and promoting Ethiopian literature, particularly among the youth. Ethiorica was our way of addressing this issue. The journal gives a platform for the best new writers to showcase their writing.
TADIAS: We know that you are also in the process of launching a children book series, tell us about it?
EW: We created an imprint called Chereka Books and it is dedicated to bringing accessible, joyful, and child-friendly illustrated books to children and young readers. These books are intended to entertain, inspire, and educate the children their culture and history. Currently, we have about twenty books in different stages of development and we will announce the details soon. In the mean time, you can be sure that the stories, illustration and production of the books will be as good or better than the many books that we have produced in the past.
TADIAS: Please share with us about yourself as well (where you grew up, how you developed your passion for publishing)
EW: I was born and raised in Addis Ababa. Although I had originally planned to pursue a career in medicine, I gave up that path and resolved to become a journalist. I believed that this would enable me to make the greatest difference for my country and in the world.
In September 1994, I left Addis to participate in the Twelfth International Ethiopian Studies conference at Michigan State University in East Lansing. But, my three-week travel plans became indefinite when the government clamped down on the press. Later that year, I joined the Ethiopian Review magazine in Los Angeles, serving as its editorial staff for the next six years. In these years, I got to work with many scholars, political activists and public intellectuals on issues of local and global interest.
As a journalist, I had fought for freedom of press and expression, and these experiences made me realize that I wanted to continue this through publishing. I cared deeply about Ethiopia, and wanted to make my contribution by publishing and distributing works of scholarship on Ethiopia by Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians throughout the world. After founding Tsehai, I realized how very rewarding the experience could be, and devoted myself fully to it. Today, with our three imprints, we publish a diverse list of books and journals, and we endeavor to encourage the acquisition of knowledge, and to bring quality and diversity to the publishing industry for many generations to come.
TADIAS: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers that we have not asked you about?
EW: I would like to remind your readers of one fundamental issue. Circumstances in Ethiopia and elsewhere show how precious freedom of expression is. Without freedom of expression, there is no progress, no development, no democracy, and no vibrant culture. Ethiopia has lost many of her brilliant children because they stood up to defend freedom of expression. According to my humble opinion, it is our duty to struggle for freedom, equality, and justice to defend the freedom of expression of all Ethiopians, at home and in the Diaspora.
Last but not least, I would like to use this opportunity to say thank you to the many who came out in our support, donated money, purchased books, called and emailed to show their solidarity. We are also grateful to the wonderful editors, authors, staff and interns who work so hard to contribute knowledge that heals our wounded souls. You all are our heroes, so thank you!
—– Related:
New York (Tadias) – An intergenerational poetry reading and panel discussion examining four decades of Ethiopian immigrant’s life in the U.S was held this past weekend in Los Angeles.
The Tsehai Poetry Jam, which was presented in cooperation with PEN USA, the Ethiopian Heritage Foundation and Tsehai Publishers, was held at Messob Restaurant & Lounge, located in the official neighborhood of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Avenue.
A similar event in Chicago is scheduled for early July in conjunction with the The Fourth Annual Tsehai conference.
Below are photo highlights from the L.A. event courtesy of Tsehai Publishers.
Photos by Richard Beban
The Ethiopian American Vote and the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election
The Ethiopian community in the United States is proving itself to be a solid voting block and a strong advocate for the 117 years U.S. - Ethiopian relations. (Image courtesy of Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris)
By Fiqir Taye
Published: November 2nd, 2020
Los Angeles, California — With just hours remaining until the final votes are counted, a collective anxiety flows throughout the country. The 2020 presidential election has been one of the most controversial to date, circling issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to the current state of rampant domestic racism, both of which have infected the nation. This election is monumental in many ways, as it is the first to call so strongly upon the action of the Ethiopian community. As a video surfaced just days before the closing election day, Ethiopian-Americans and Ethiopians across the world were shocked and disgusted as they heard Trump’s insidious words in a conversation with the Sudanese and Israeli Prime Ministers. This video captures President Trump suggesting that Egypt will bomb the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, after the United States has already backtracked millions of dollars worth of aid that were intended to go towards Ethiopia. Many view these claims as a threat of war, and as this message plays on the background of countless anti-African acts on behalf of the current administration, the Ethiopian community is experiencing an unparalleled level of political activism and mobilization.
The last three and a half years have been filled with injustice and violence perpetrated by the hands of the state. Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, an Ethiopian-American serving as the Democratic representative of the 42nd district of Nevada, called upon the administration’s actions of family separation and biased deportation in his own district. This serves as a devastating example of exactly why citizens need to vote now more than ever, as he points out that “[voting] is a responsibility bestowed upon us by those who paid so much sacrifice to build this amazing democracy that we enjoy, that is literally being torn apart”. Other influential leaders in the Ethiopian-American community such as Dr. Menna Demessie, the senior vice president of Policy Analysis and Research of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, have also directly addressed Ethiopians and African Americans at large to get active, underscoring that “On a humanitarian level of respecting our democracy, this [election] could not be more important.”
In a recent public forum, Mimi Alemayehou, former Vice President of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation as appointed by Barack Obama, took the time to remind voters what is at stake for the next coming years. She delineated that this election covers questions of women’s rights, affordable health care and education, and criminal justice and immigration reform. When a number of votes is what stands between access to such essential human rights,the Ethiopian community has stepped up to the plate in terms of fulfilling their civic duty, and will hopefully continue to do so until the ballots close this Tuesday night. Addisu Demissie himself, as the Senior advisor of the 2020 Democratic Convention, has also addressed his fellow Ethiopian-Americans, saying that they “[should] not underestimate your power and our power as a community as people of Ethiopian descent”, as the Ethiopian voting bloc has the numbers to change the outcome of this election. This powerful sentiment is carried on by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas representative, who spoke of the Ethiopians in her state, saying that “they are a part of this election, and a part of the victory, we count on them”.
With the strength of the Ethiopian vote, the success of a Biden-Harris administration has implications far greater than our community here in the United States. Congresswoman Karen Bass, the current Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, describes that under a Biden presidency, “Africa will become a priority and become the partner that it should be.” The participation of Ethiopian-Americans and the various communities of the African diaspora can be the ticket to an America that focuses on our needs domestically, and is able to foster political and economic harmony with the African continent at large. This unique opportunity could not be better summarized than with the words of Amb. Daniel Yohannes, the first Ethiopian-American to be appointed as high official in the U.S. as former President Obama selected him to serve as the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and later as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. Reflecting on this election, he reminds Ethiopians that “it is in our hands to take action in this election and propel the result we want to see. Our vote represents our voice, and through a united Ethiopian front, we have the power to change the next 4 years and American history”.
The Ethiopian community in the United States is proving itself to be a solid voting block and a strong advocate for the 117 years U.S. – Ethiopian relations.
About the Author:Fiqir Taye is a TSEHAI Media fellow. She earned her B.A. in Political Science with a Concentration in International Relations from Santa Clara University in California.
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Related:
Video: Tadias Panel Discussion on Civic Engagement and Voter Mobilization
On Sunday, October 25th, Tadias Magazine hosted a timely virtual panel discussion on civic engagement and voter mobilization featuring a new generation of Ethiopian American leaders from various professions. You can watch the video below. (Photos: Tadias Magazine)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: October 28th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — The U.S. presidential election is only one week away and Tadias hosted a timely and lively discussion on building political power through civic engagement and voter mobilization on Sunday, October 25th featuring a new generation of Ethiopian American leaders from various professions. You can watch the video below.
Panelists included Henock Dory, who currently serves as Special Assistant to former President Barack Obama; Tefere Gebre, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO; Selam Mulugeta Washington, a former Field Organizer with Obama for America, Helen Mesfin from the Helen Show DC, Dr. Menna Demessie, Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles (moderator) as well as Bemnet Meshesha and Helen Eshete of the Habeshas Vote initiative. The event opened with poetry reading by Bitaniya Giday, the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate.
Ethiopian Americans are as diverse as mainstream America when it comes to our perspectives on various social and political issues, but despite our differences we are all united when it comes to the need to
empower ourselves and participate in the democratic process through our citizenship rights to vote and run for office.
So vote on November 3rd.
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Related:
‘Habeshas Vote’ Phone Banking Event This Week Aims Outreach to Ethio-Americans
(Photo courtesy of Habesha Networks)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: October 19th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — We are now almost two weeks away from the November 3rd U.S. presidential election. This week the ‘Habeshas Vote’ initiative and the non-profit organization Habesha Networks in partnership with Tadias Magazine and Abbay Media will host their first virtual phone banking event to reach out to the Ethiopian American community.
The online event, which is set to take place on Thursday, October 22nd from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT, will feature various panel discussions, public service announcements and cultural engagements.
Organizers note that there will be a brief training on phone banking as well as “some amazing prizes” for those that call and text the most voters.
Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris Hosts Virtual Conversation
Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris is a volunteer-led group that supports the candidacy of Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: October 19th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — As the highly anticipated 2020 U.S. presidential election fast approaches on November 3rd, various Ethiopian American associations are organizing voter turnout and education events across the country.
The latest to announce such an event is the newly formed, volunteer-led group, Ethiopian-Americans for Biden-Harris, which supports the candidacy of Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris and will be hosting an online conversation next week Friday, October 23 at 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT.
“As one of the largest African Diaspora groups in the United States, the community has historically supported causes championed by the Democratic Party, including but not limited to, immigration reform, healthcare reform, promotion of democracy, human rights and improved trade and investment between the United States and Ethiopia,” the group states in its press release. “Ethiopian-Americans believe that a Biden-Harris Administration will champion equitable access and opportunity for all Americans, restore mutually beneficial relationships with Ethiopia and improve America’s standing among the community of nations.”
(Courtesy photo)
The virtual event, which will be moderated by Dr. Menna Demessie, Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, features Congresswoman Karen Bass, who has represented California’s 37th congressional district since 2013; Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas; Gayle Smith, president and CEO of the One Campaign and the former administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG) leading the firm’s Africa practice. Thomas-Greenfield was also the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
Ethiopian American speakers include Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian-American elected to public office in the United States and the first African immigrant to serve in elected office in the State of Nevada; Addisu Demissie, who served as Senior Advisor to U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden, and was responsible for organizing the nominating convention for the Democratic Party this past summer; Marcus Samuelsson, an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist and food activist; Mimi Alemayehou, a development finance executive who has served as Executive Vice President of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and as United States Executive Director of the African Development Bank.
Ethiopian Americans: Election is Approaching, Let’s Make Sure our Voices are Heard
In this OP-ED Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles, urges Ethiopian Americans to participate in the upcoming U.S. election that will directly impact our lives for many years to come, and shares resources to help our community to get involved in the democratic process. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Helen Amelga
Updated: October 16th, 2020
Los Angeles (TADIAS) — How many people of Ethiopian descent live in the United States? 300,000? 400,000? 500,000? We don’t really know for sure. But with the 2020 census, we will for the first time have the opportunity to get a truly accurate count. If you haven’t done so already, go to 2020cencus.gov and complete your census today.
While the exact numbers are yet to be determined, it is clear that there is a significant Ethiopian-American population in the United States. Why is it then that we do not have a strong political presence?
We know our community can organize. We have Iqub (እቁብ), mahbers (ማህበር), business associations, and our faith based groups are extremely organized. We need to use those same skills to mobilize politically.
We must equip ourselves with the knowledge of political systems, major policies and voter rights, not only to serve as advocates for our community, but so that we ourselves can occupy positions of power and authority to be the decision makers who shape the society and world we want to live in.
We know it’s possible because we already have trailblazers such as Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian American to be elected into office in the Nevada Legislature and the first Ethiopian American ever elected in the U.S. to a state-wide governing body as well as Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term his year.
We cannot afford to give our vote away to candidates who are not serving our needs. We are ready to spring into action when there is a problem in our community, but it is not enough to go to our elected officials once we have a problem and try to convince them to help us. We need to be proactive.
We must purposefully engage to get the right people elected in the first place. We must identify candidates who align with and will fight for our values. Then, we must do everything we can to make sure those candidates are elected.
Here are a few steps you can take to get involved:
Bitaniya Giday, age 17, is the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Bitaniya is one of the young interviewers in a timely upcoming Zoom event on October 14th titled “The Youth Vote: A conversation about leadership, ethics and values and how they factor into choosing a candidate.” (KNKX PUBLIC RADIO)
KNKX PUBLIC RADIO
Young people make up a projected 37% of the 2020 electorate, yet historically they vote less than other age groups. Will it be different this time? The pandemic crisis and the call for racial justice and institutional changes are top concerns as we move closer to this high stakes election. Ethics and values also underpin our decisions. This virtual event aims to bring together first-time and new voters with older adults with a track record of civic leadership to discuss a number of issues through the lens of beliefs and values, touching on things like:
What does it mean to be a leader?
In thorny situations, how do you speak for a community?
If there are three important issues facing your community and you only have enough resources to address one, how would you choose?
Because this is leading up to the general election, we want to frame this conversation around the power to change systems for the greater good and how that ties in with being an informed voter.
The six young interviewers will ask the four speakers questions relating to the themes of conflict/failure, challenges, accountability, transparency, priorities and representation, with the speakers drawing on their personal and professional experiences; and offering examples of how they have faced challenging situations and how that speaks to leadership and community building.
Young Interviewers
Bitaniya Giday, age 17, is the 2020-2021 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. She is a first-generation Ethiopian American residing in Seattle. Her writing explores the nuances of womanhood and blackness, as she reflects upon her family’s path of immigration across the world. She hopes to restore and safeguard the past, present, and future histories of her people through traditional storytelling and poetry.
Ethiopian Americans Hold Virtual Town Hall Ahead of November Election
The nationwide town hall event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, 2020 plans to emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process. The gathering will feature panel discussions, PSAs, and cultural engagements. (Courtesy photos)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: September 23rd, 2020
Los Angeles (TADIAS) — Ethiopian Americans are holding a virtual town hall this week ahead of the November 3rd U.S. election.
The nationwide event, which will be held on Thursday, September 24th, will emphasize the importance of exercising our citizenship right to vote and to participate in the U.S. democratic process.
According to organizers the town hall — put together by the ‘Habeshas Vote’ initiative and the non-profit organization Habesha Networks — will feature various panel discussions, public service announcements and cultural engagements.
“We intend on discussing various subject matters related to civic engagement issues affecting our community at the moment,” the announcement notes, highlighting that by the end of the conference “participants will be able to understand the importance of taking ownership of our local communities, learn more about the voting process and gain a better [appreciation] of why we should all care about voting.”
Speakers include Helen Amelga, President of the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles; Dr. Menna Demissie, Senior Vice President of Policy Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, the first Ethiopian American to be elected into office in the Nevada Legislature and the first Ethiopian American ever elected in the U.S. to a state-wide governing body; Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term this year; and Girmay Zahilay, Councilman in King County, Washington.
(Courtesy photos)
Additional presenters include: Andom Ghebreghiorgis. former Congressional candidate from New York; Samuel Gebru, former candidate for City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and current managing director of Black Lion Strategies; as well as Hannah Joy Gebresilassie, journalist and community advocate; and Debbie Almraw, writer and poet.
Entertainment will be provided by Elias Aragaw, the artist behind @TheFunkIsReal, and DJ Sammy Sam.
The announcement notes that “voting is a core principle of being American, but to exercise this basic right we must be registered to vote! That’s why Habesha Networks and Habeshas Vote are proud partners of When We All Vote and supporters of National Voter Registration Day.”
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Watch: Students Interview Kamala Harris (U.S. ELECTION UPDATE)
Fana R. Haileselassie, a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, asks Sen. Kamala Harris a question during a virtual Q&A hosted by BET featuring the Democratic nominee for Vice President and students discussing the interests of millennial voters. (Photo: BETNetworks)
BET News Special
HBCU Students Interview Kamala Harris
A virtual Q&A hosted by Terrence J featuring Democratic nominee for Vice President Sen. Kamala Harris and HBCU students discussing the interests of millennial voters.
Watch: Sen. Kamala Harris Answers HBCU Students’ Questions About Voting, Student Loan Debt & More
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Related:
Virginia’s Era as a Swing State Appears to be Over
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave after a campaign event in May 2012 in Richmond. (Getty Images)
The Washington Post
Updated: September 18th, 2020
No TV ads, no presidential visits: Virginia’s era as a swing state appears to be over
Barack Obama held the very last rally of his 2008 campaign in Virginia, the longtime Republican stronghold he flipped on his way to the White House.
Four years later, Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney made more visits and aired more television ads here than nearly anywhere else. And in 2016, Donald Trump staged rally after rally in the Old Dominion while Hillary Clinton picked a Virginian as her running mate.
But Virginia isn’t getting the swing-state treatment this time around. As in-person early voting got underway Friday, President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden were dark on broadcast television. Super PACs were clogging somebody else’s airwaves. Even as Trump and Biden have resumed limited travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, neither has stumped in the Old Dominion.
There’s really no discussion about the state being in play,” said Amy Walter, national editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “If you’re Ohio or New Hampshire, or Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, you’ve always been in that spotlight. Virginia got it for such a short period of time.”
The last time presidential candidates stayed out of Virginia and off its airwaves was 2004. The state was reliably red then, having backed Republicans for the White House every year since 1968. Now Virginia seems to be getting the cold shoulder because it’s considered solidly blue.
“Virginia was the belle of the ball in 2008, and again in 2012, and still once more in 2016, but in 2020, the commonwealth is a wall flower,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist.
Mike Bloomberg to spend at least $100 million in Florida to benefit Joe Biden
Former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million to help elect Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest. (Getty Images)
The Washington Post
Updated: September 13th, 2020
Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million in Florida to help elect Democrat Joe Biden, a massive late-stage infusion of cash that could reshape the presidential contest in a costly toss-up state central to President Trump’s reelection hopes.
Bloomberg made the decision to focus his final election spending on Florida last week, after news reports that Trump had considered spending as much as $100 million of his own money in the final weeks of the campaign, Bloomberg’s advisers said. Presented with several options on how to make good on an earlier promise to help elect Biden, Bloomberg decided that a narrow focus on Florida was the best use of his money.
The president’s campaign has long treated the state, which Trump now calls home, as a top priority, and his advisers remain confident in his chances given strong turnout in 2016 and 2018 that gave Republicans narrow winning margins in statewide contests.
Watch: Former 2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg slammed Trump during his Democratic National Convention speech on Aug. 20.
Bloomberg’s aim is to prompt enough early voting that a pro-Biden result would be evident soon after the polls close.
Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania (ELECTION UPDATE)
In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump. (Reuters photo)
The Washington Post
Updated: September 9, 2020
Biden Leads by 9 Percentage Points in Pennsylvania, Poll Finds
Joe Biden leads President Trump by nine percentage points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that Trump narrowly won four years ago, according to a new NBC News-Marist poll.
In the survey, Biden, who was born in the state, draws the support of 53 percent of likely voters, compared to 44 percent who back Trump.
In 2016, Trump carried Pennsylvania by less than one percentage point over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The NBC-Marist poll shows Biden getting a boost from suburban voters, who side with him by nearly 20 percentage points, 58 percent to 39 percent. In 2016, Trump won suburban voters in Pennsylvania by about eight points, according to exit polls.
Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden stand outside the AFL-CIO headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa., on Monday. (Getty Images)
The poll also finds the candidates are tied at 49 percent among white voters in Pennsylvania, a group that Trump won by double digits in 2016. Biden leads Trump among nonwhite voters, 75 percent to 19 percent.
Pennsylvania has been a frequent destination for both campaigns in recent weeks. Vice President Pence has events scheduled there on Wednesday.
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Kamala D. Harris Goes Viral — for Her Shoe Choice
Sporting Chuck Taylor sneakers, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) greets supporters Monday in Milwaukee. (AP photo)
The Washington Post
Updated: September 8, 2020
It took roughly eight seconds of on-the-ground campaigning for the first Black woman to be nominated on a major party’s ticket to go viral.
At first glance, little seemed noteworthy as Sen. Kamala D. Harris deplaned in Milwaukee on Monday. She was wearing a mask. She didn’t trip. Instead, what sent video pinging around the Internet was what was on her feet: her black, low-rise Chuck Taylor All-Stars, the classic Converse shoe that has long been associated more closely with cultural cool than carefully managed high-profile candidacies.
By Tuesday morning, videos by two reporters witnessing her arrival had been viewed nearly 8 million times on Twitter — for comparison’s sake, more than four times the attention the campaign’s biggest planned video event, a conversation between Joe Biden and Barack Obama, had received on both Twitter and YouTube combined.
Harris’s sister, Maya, tweeted Monday that Chuck Taylors are, indeed, her sister’s “go-to.” A few hours later, Harris’s official campaign account tweeted the video with the caption “laced up and ready to win.”
Read more »
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81 American Nobel Laureates Endorse Biden for Next U.S. President
The Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine “wholeheartedly” endorsed the Democratic nominee in an open letter released Wednesday. “At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy,” they said. (Courtesy photo)
Press Release
Nobel Laureates endorse Joe Biden
81 American Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine have signed this letter to express their support for former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election for President of the United States.
At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy. During his long record of public service, Joe Biden has consistently demonstrated his willingness to listen to experts, his understanding of the value of international collaboration in research, and his respect for the contribution that immigrants make to the intellectual life of our country.
As American citizens and as scientists, we wholeheartedly endorse Joe Biden for President.
Name, Category, Prize Year:
Peter Agre Chemistry 2003
Sidney Altman Chemistry 1989
Frances H. Arnold Chemistry 2018
Paul Berg Chemistry 1980
Thomas R. Cech Chemistry 1989
Martin Chalfie Chemistry 2008
Elias James Corey Chemistry 1990
Joachim Frank Chemistry 2017
Walter Gilbert Chemistry 1980
John B. Goodenough Chemistry 2019
Alan Heeger Chemistry 2000
Dudley R. Herschbach Chemistry 1986
Roald Hoffmann Chemistry 1981
Brian K. Kobilka Chemistry 2012
Roger D. Kornberg Chemistry 2006
Robert J. Lefkowitz Chemistry 2012
Roderick MacKinnon Chemistry 2003
Paul L. Modrich Chemistry 2015
William E. Moerner Chemistry 2014
Mario J. Molina Chemistry 1995
Richard R. Schrock Chemistry 2005
K. Barry Sharpless Chemistry 2001
Sir James Fraser Stoddart Chemistry 2016
M. Stanley Whittingham Chemistry 2019
James P. Allison Medicine 2018
Richard Axel Medicine 2004
David Baltimore Medicine 1975
J. Michael Bishop Medicine 1989
Elizabeth H. Blackburn Medicine 2009
Michael S. Brown Medicine 1985
Linda B. Buck Medicine 2004
Mario R. Capecchi Medicine 2007
Edmond H. Fischer Medicine 1992
Joseph L. Goldstein Medicine 1985
Carol W. Greider Medicine 2009
Jeffrey Connor Hall Medicine 2017
Leland H. Hartwell Medicine 2001
H. Robert Horvitz Medicine 2002
Louis J. Ignarro Medicine 1998
William G. Kaelin Jr. Medicine 2019
Eric R. Kandel Medicine 2000
Craig C. Mello Medicine 2006
John O’Keefe Medicine 2014
Michael Rosbash Medicine 2017
James E. Rothman Medicine 2013
Randy W. Schekman Medicine 2013
Gregg L. Semenza Medicine 2019
Hamilton O. Smith Medicine 1978
Thomas C. Sudhof Medicine 2013
Jack W. Szostak Medicine 2009
Susumu Tonegawa Medicine 1987
Harold E. Varmus Medicine 1989
Eric F. Wieschaus Medicine 1995
Torsten N. Wiesel Medicine 1981
Michael W. Young Medicine 2017
Barry Clark Barish Physics 2017
Steven Chu Physics 1997
Jerome I. Friedman Physics 1990
Sheldon Glashow Physics 1979
David J. Gross Physics 2004
John L. Hall Physics 2005
Wolfgang Ketterle Physics 2001
J. Michael Kosterlitz Physics 2016
Herbert Kroemer Physics 2000
Robert B. Laughlin Physics 1998
Anthony J. Leggett Physics 2003
John C. Mather Physics 2006
Shuji Nakamura Physics 2014
Douglas D. Osheroff Physics 1996
James Peebles Physics 2019
Arno Penzias Physics 1978
Saul Perlmutter Physics 2011
H. David Politzer Physics 2004
Brian P. Schmidt Physics 2011
Joseph H. Taylor Jr. Physics 1993
Kip Stephen Thorne Physics 2017
Daniel C. Tsui Physics 1998
Rainer Weiss Physics 2017
Frank Wilczek Physics 2004
Robert Woodrow Wilson Physics 1978
David J. Wineland Physics 2012
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Related
Biden Calls Trump ‘a Toxic Presence’ Who is Encouraging Violence in America
“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? (Photo: Joe Biden speaks Monday in Pittsburgh/Reuters)
The Washington Post
Joe Biden excoriated President Trump on Monday as a threat to the safety of all Americans, saying he has encouraged violence in the nation’s streets even as he has faltered in handling the coronavirus pandemic.
For his most extensive remarks since violent protests have escalated across the country in recent days, Biden traveled to Pittsburgh and struck a centrist note, condemning both the destruction in the streets and Trump for creating a culture that he said has exacerbated it.
“I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting,” Biden said. “It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.”
The former vice president also rejected the caricature that Trump and his allies have painted of him as someone who holds extremist views and has helped fuel the anger in urban centers across the country.
“You know me. You know my heart. You know my story, my family’s story,” Biden said. “Ask yourself: Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”
While the speech was delivered amid heightened tensions over race and police conduct, Biden did not outline new policies, instead focusing on making a broader condemnation of Trump.
He called the president a danger to those suffering from the coronavirus, to anyone in search of a job or struggling to pay rent, to voters worried about Russian interference in the upcoming election and to those worried about their own safety amid unrest.
“Donald Trump wants to ask the question: Who will keep you safer as president? Let’s answer that question,” Biden said. “When I was vice president, violent crime fell 15 percent in this country. We did it without chaos and disorder.”
Pointing to a nationwide homicide rate rising 26 percent this year, Biden asked, “Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?”
“If I were president today, the country would be safer,” Biden said. “And we’d be seeing a lot less violence.”
It was a marked shift for Biden from his convention speech less than two weeks ago, in which he never named Trump in his remarks. During his speech Monday, he mentioned Trump’s name 32 times.
“Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years,” Biden said. “Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make it a permanent part of our nation’s character?”
Spotlight: The Unravelling of the Social Fabric in Ethiopia and the U.S.
As Ethiopian Americans we are increasingly concerned about the decline of civil discourse and the unravelling of the social fabric not only in Ethiopia, but also here in the United States where in the era of Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic politics has also become more and more violent. Below are excerpts and links to two recent articles from The Intercept and The Guardian focusing on the timely topic. (AP photo)
The Intercept
August, 29th, 2020
The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, if Not Unravelling: Why, in the world’s richest country, is every metric of mental health pathology rapidly worsening?
THE YEAR 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous in modern American history. To find events remotely as destabilizing and transformative, one has to go back to the 2008 financial crisis and the 9/11 and anthrax attacks of 2001, though those systemic shocks, profound as they were, were isolated (one a national security crisis, the other a financial crisis) and thus more limited in scope than the multicrisis instability now shaping U.S. politics and culture.
Since the end of World War II, the only close competitor to the current moment is the multipronged unrest of the 1960s and early 1970s: serial assassinations of political leaders, mass civil rights and anti-war protests, sustained riots, fury over a heinous war in Indochina, and the resignation of a corruption-plagued president.
But those events unfolded and built upon one another over the course of a decade. By crucial contrast, the current confluence of crises, each of historic significance in their own right — a global pandemic, an economic and social shutdown, mass unemployment, an enduring protest movement provoking increasing levels of violence and volatility, and a presidential election centrally focused on one of the most divisive political figures the U.S. has known who happens to be the incumbent president — are happening simultaneously, having exploded one on top of the other in a matter of a few months.
Lurking beneath the headlines justifiably devoted to these major stories of 2020 are very troubling data that reflect intensifying pathologies in the U.S. population — not moral or allegorical sicknesses but mental, emotional, psychological and scientifically proven sickness. Many people fortunate enough to have survived this pandemic with their physical health intact know anecdotally — from observing others and themselves — that these political and social crises have spawned emotional difficulties and psychological challenges…
Much attention is devoted to lamenting the toxicity of our discourse, the hate-driven polarization of our politics, and the fragmentation of our culture. But it is difficult to imagine any other outcome in a society that is breeding so much psychological and emotional pathology by denying to its members the things they most need to live fulfilling lives.
Ethiopia falls into violence a year after leader’s Nobel peace prize win
Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, centre, arrives at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa in July. Photograph: AP
By Jason Burke and Zecharias Zelalem in Addis Ababa
Sat 29 Aug 2020
Abiy Ahmed came to power promising radical reform, but 180 people have died amid ethnic unrest in Oromia state
Ethiopia faces a dangerous cycle of intensifying internal political dissent, ethnic unrest and security crackdowns, observers have warned, after a series of protests in recent weeks highlighted growing discontent with the government of Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prize winner.
Many western powers welcomed the new approach of Abiy, who took power in 2018 and promised a programme of radical reform after decades of repressive one-party rule, hoping for swift changes in an emerging economic power that plays a key strategic role in a region increasingly contested by Middle Eastern powers and China. He won the peace prize in 2019 for ending a conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
The most vocal unrest was in the state of Oromia, where there have been waves of protests since the killing last month of a popular Oromo artist and activist, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, in Addis Ababa, the capital. An estimated 180 people have died in the violence, some murdered by mobs, others shot by security forces. Houses, factories, businesses, hotels, cars and government offices were set alight or damaged and several thousand people, including opposition leaders, were arrested.
Further protests last week prompted a new wave of repression and left at least 11 dead. “Oromia is still reeling from the grim weight of tragic killings this year. These grave patterns of abuse should never be allowed to continue,” said Aaron Maasho, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
‘How Dare We Not Vote?’ Black Voters Organize After DC March
People rally at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it.” (AP Photos)
The Associated Press
Updated: August 29th, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tears streamed down Brooke Moreland’s face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans.
But for the Indianapolis mother of three, the fiery speeches delivered Friday at the commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom also gave way to one central message: Vote and demand change at the ballot box in November.
“As Black people, a lot of the people who look like us died for us to be able to sit in public, to vote, to go to school and to be able to walk around freely and live our lives,” the 31-year-old Moreland said. “Every election is an opportunity, so how dare we not vote after our ancestors fought for us to be here?”
That determination could prove critical in a presidential election where race is emerging as a flashpoint. President Donald Trump, at this past week’s Republican National Convention, emphasized a “law and order” message aimed at his largely white base of supporters. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has expressed empathy with Black victims of police brutality and is counting on strong turnout from African Americans to win critical states such as North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
“If we do not vote in numbers that we’ve never ever seen before and allow this administration to continue what it is doing, we are headed on a course for serious destruction,” Martin Luther King III, told The Associated Press before his rousing remarks, delivered 57 years after his father’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. “I’m going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and what’s at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. What’s at stake is the future of our children.”
As the campaign enters its latter stages, there’s an intensifying effort among African Americans to transform frustration over police brutality, systemic racism and the disproportionate toll of the coronavirus into political power. Organizers and participants said Friday’s march delivered a much needed rallying cry to mobilize.
As speakers implored attendees to “vote as if our lives depend on it,” the march came on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man – 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday — sparking demonstrations and violence that left two dead.
“We need a new conversation … you act like it’s no trouble to shoot us in the back,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. “Our vote is dipped in blood. We’re going to vote for a nation that stops the George Floyds, that stops the Breonna Taylors.”
Navy veteran Alonzo Jones- Goss, who traveled to Washington from Boston, said he plans to vote for Biden because the nation has seen far too many tragic events that have claimed the lives of Black Americans and other people of color.
“I supported and defended the Constitution and I support the members that continue to do it today, but the injustice and the people that are losing their lives, that needs to end,” Jones-Goss, 28, said. “It’s been 57 years since Dr. King stood over there and delivered his speech. But what is unfortunate is what was happening 57 years ago is still happening today.”
Drawing comparisons to the original 1963 march, where participants then were protesting many of the same issues that have endured, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said it’s clear why this year’s election will be pivotal for Black Americans.
“We are about reminding people and educating people on how important it is to translate the power of protest into the power of politics and public policy change,” said Morial, who spoke Friday. “So we want to be deliberate about making the connection between protesting and voting.”
Nadia Brown, a Purdue University political science professor, agreed there are similarities between the situation in 1963 and the issues that resonate among Black Americans today. She said the political pressure that was applied then led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other powerful pieces of legislation that transformed the lives of African Americans. She’s hopeful this could happen again in November and beyond.
“There’s already a host of organizations that are mobilizing in the face of daunting things,” Brown said. “Bur these same groups that are most marginalized are saying it’s not enough to just vote, it’s not enough for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party to ask me for my vote. I’m going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and I’m going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. And for me, that is the most uplifting and rewarding part — to see those kind of similarities.”
But Brown noted that while Friday’s march resonated with many, it’s unclear whether it will translate into action among younger voters, whose lack of enthusiasm could become a vulnerability for Biden.
“I think there is already a momentum among younger folks who are saying not in my America, that this is not the place where they want to live, but will this turn into electoral gains? That I’m less clear on because a lot of the polling numbers show that pretty overwhelmingly, younger people, millennials and Gen Z’s are more progressive and that they are reluctantly turning to this pragmatic side of politics,” Brown said.
That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday — a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice.
“I don’t necessarily see elections as achieving justice per se because I view the existing system itself as being fundamentally unjust in many ways and it is the existing system that we are trying to fundamentally transform,” said Bree Newsome Bass, an activist and civil rights organizer, during the convention’s panel about electoral justice. “I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.”
— Biden, Harris Prepare to Travel More as Campaign Heats Up (Election Update)
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris. (AP Photos)
The Associated Press
August 28th, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — After spending a pandemic spring and summer tethered almost entirely to his Delaware home, Joe Biden plans to take his presidential campaign to battleground states after Labor Day in his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.
No itinerary is set, according to the Democratic nominee’s campaign, but the former vice president and his allies say his plan is to highlight contrasts with Trump, from policy arguments tailored to specific audiences to the strict public health guidelines the Biden campaign says its events will follow amid COVID-19.
That’s a notable difference from a president who on Thursday delivered his nomination acceptance on the White House lawn to more than 1,000 people seated side-by-side, most of them without masks, even as the U.S. death toll surpassed 180,000.
“He will go wherever he needs to go,” said Biden’s campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman. “And we will do it in a way the health experts would be happy” with and “not the absolutely irresponsible manner you saw at the White House.”
Richmond said it was “always the plan” for Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris to travel more extensively after Labor Day, the traditional mark of the campaign’s home stretch when more casual voters begin to pay close attention.
Biden supporters hold banners near the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, Thursday evening, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington, while Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech from the nearby White House South Lawn.(AP Photo)
Biden has conducted online fundraisers, campaign events and television interviews from his home, but traveled only sparingly for speeches and roundtables with a smattering of media or supporters. His only confirmed plane travel was to Houston, where he met with the family of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, sparking nationwide protests. Even some Democrats worried quietly that Biden was ceding too much of the spotlight to Trump. But Biden aides have defended their approach. “We will never make any choices that put our staff or voters in harm’s way,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in May.
Throughout his unusual home-based campaign, Biden blasted Trump as incompetent and irresponsible for downplaying the pandemic and publicly disputing the government’s infectious disease experts. Richmond said that won’t change as Biden ramps up travel.
“We won’t beat this pandemic, which means we can’t restore the economy and get people’s lives back home, unless we exercise some discipline and lead by example,” Richmond said, adding that Trump is “incapable of doing it.”
As exhibited by his acceptance speech Thursday, Trump is insistent on as much normalcy as possible, even as he’s pulled back from his signature indoor rallies after drawing a disappointing crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20. Trump casts Biden as wanting to “shut down” the economy to combat the virus. “Joe Biden’s plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather a surrender,” Trump declared on the White House lawn. Biden, in fact, has not proposed shutting down the economy. He’s said only that he would be willing to make such a move as president if public health experts advise it. The Democrat also has called for a national mask mandate, calling it a necessary move for Americans to protect each other. Harris on Friday talked about the idea in slightly different terms than Biden, acknowledging that a mandate would be difficult to enforce.
“It’s really a standard. I mean, nobody’s gonna be punished. Come on,” the California senator said, laughing off a question about how to enforce such a rule during an interview that aired Friday on “Today.” “Nobody likes to wear a mask. This is a universal feeling. Right? So that’s not the point, ’Hey, let’s enjoy wearing masks.′ No.”
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. (AP Photo)
Harris suggested that, instead, the rule would be about “what we — as responsible people who love our neighbor — we have to just do that right now.”
“God willing, it won’t be forever,” she added.
Biden and Harris have worn protective face masks in public and stayed socially distanced from each other when appearing together at campaign events. Both have said for weeks that a rule requiring all Americans to wear them could save 40,000 lives in just a three-month period. While such an order may be difficult to impose at the federal level, Biden has called on every governor in the country to order mask-wearing in their states, which would likely achieve the same goal.
Trump has urged Americans to wear masks but opposes a national requirement and personally declined to do so for months. He has worn a mask occasionally more recently, but not at any point Thursday at the Republican National Convention’s closing event, which violated the District of Columbia’s guidelines prohibiting large gatherings.
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Related:
Joe Biden Claims the Democratic Presidential Nomination
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday evening during the last day of the historic Democratic National Convention, August 20, 2020. (AP photo)
The Washington Post
Updated: August 21st, 2020
Biden speaks about ‘battle for the soul of this nation,’ decries Trump’s leadership
Joe Biden accepted his party’s presidential nomination, delivering a speech that directly criticized the leadership of Trump on matters of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and racial justice.
“Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said, calling on Americans to come together to “overcome this season of darkness.”
The night featured tributes to civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, who died in July, as well as to Beau Biden, Joe Biden’s son who died in 2015.
— Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Nomination for Vice President of the United States
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) accepted her party’s historic nomination to be its vice-presidential candidate in the 2020 U.S. election on Wednesday evening during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. (Reuters photo)
Reuters
Updated: August 20th, 2020
Kamala Harris makes U.S. history, accepts Democrats’ vice presidential nod
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president on Wednesday, imploring the country to elect Joe Biden president and accusing Donald Trump of failed leadership that had cost lives and livelihoods.
The first Black woman and Asian-American on a major U.S. presidential ticket, Harris summarized her life story as emblematic of the American dream on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.
“Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods,” Harris said.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama told the convention Trump’s failures as his successor had led to 170,000 people dead from the coronavirus, millions of lost jobs and America’s reputation badly diminished in the world.
The evening featured a crush of women headliners, moderators and speakers, with Harris pressing the case against Trump, speaking directly to millions of women, young Americans and voters of color, constituencies Democrats need if Biden is to defeat the Republican Trump.
“The constant chaos leaves us adrift, the incompetence makes us feel afraid, the callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot. And here’s the thing: we can do better and deserve so much more,” she said.
“Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose,” she said, speaking from an austere hotel ballroom in Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden leads Trump in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, bolstered by a big lead among women voters. Throughout the convention, Democrats have appealed directly to those women voters, highlighting Biden’s co-sponsorship of the landmark Violence Against Woman Act of 1994 and his proposals to bolster childcare and protect family healthcare provisions.
Obama, whose vice president was Biden from 2009-2017, said he had hoped that Trump would take the job seriously, come to feel the weight of the office, and discover a reverence for American democracy.
Obama on Trump: ‘Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t’
“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe,” Obama said in unusually blunt criticism from an ex-president.
“Millions of jobs gone. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before,” Obama said.
The choice of a running mate has added significance for Biden, 77, who would be the oldest person to become president if he is elected. His age has led to speculation he will serve only one term, making Harris a potential top contender for the nomination in 2024.
Biden named Harris, 55, as his running mate last week to face incumbents Trump, 74, and Vice President Mike Pence, 61.
Former first lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who lost to Trump, told the convention she constantly hears from voters who regret backing Trump or not voting at all.
“This can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.” Clinton said. “No matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”
Clinton, who won the popular vote against Trump but lost in the Electoral College, said Biden needs to win overwhelmingly, warning he could win the popular vote but still lose the White House.
“Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose,” Clinton said. “Take it from me. So we need numbers overwhelming so Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) accepts the Democratic vice presidential nomination during an acceptance speech delivered for 2020 Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., August 19, 2020. (Getty Images)
Democrats have been alarmed by Trump’s frequent criticism of mail-in voting, and by cost-cutting changes at the U.S. Postal Service instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump supporter, that could delay mail during the election crunch. DeJoy said recently he would delay those changes until after the election.
Democrats also broadcast videos highlighting Trump’s crackdown on immigration, opposition to gun restrictions and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.
‘DISRESPECT’ FOR FACTS, FOR WOMEN
Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told the convention she had seen firsthand Trump’s “disrespect for facts, for working families, and for women in particular – disrespect written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct. But we know what he doesn’t: that when women succeed, America succeeds.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive who ran against Biden in the 2020 primary, spoke to the convention from a childcare center in Massachusetts and cited Biden’s proposal to make childcare more affordable as a vital part of his agenda to help working Americans.
“It’s time to recognize that childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation — it’s infrastructure for families,” she said. “Joe and Kamala will make high-quality childcare affordable for every family, make preschool universal, and raise the wages for every childcare worker.”
In her speech later, Harris will have an opportunity to outline her background as a child of immigrants from India and Jamaica who as a district attorney, state attorney general, U.S. senator from California and now vice-presidential candidate shattered gender and racial barriers.
She gained prominence in the Senate for her exacting interrogations of Trump nominees, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Attorney General Bill Barr.
The Republican National Convention, also largely virtual, takes place next week.
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Democrats Officially Nominate Joe Biden to Become the Next U.S. President
It’s official: Joe Biden is now formally a candidate to become the next President of the United States. Democrats officially nominated Biden as their 2020 candidate on Tuesday with a roll-call vote of delegates representing all states in the country during the second day of party’s historic virtual convention. (Photo: Courtesy of the Biden campaign)
The Associated Press
Updated: August 19th, 2020
Democrats make it official, nominate Biden to take on Trump
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee Tuesday night, as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention.
The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats’ desperate desire to defeat President Donald Trump this fall.
The roll call of convention delegates formalized what has been clear for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections’ chase for the nomination. It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition for a second consecutive night, this time blending support from his party’s elders and fresher faces to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Trump has created at home and abroad.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry — and former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell — were among the heavy hitters on a schedule that emphasized a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, also made an appearance.
“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple,” Clinton said. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos.”
In this image from video, former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, center, and others, speak during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)
Biden formally captured his party’s presidential nomination Tuesday night after being nominated by three people, including two Delaware lawmakers and 31-year-old African American security guard who became a viral sensation after blurting out “I love you” to Biden in a New York City elevator.
Delegates from across the country then pledged their support for Biden in a video montage that featured Democrats in places like Alabama’s Edmund Pettis Bridge, a beach in Hawaii and the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
In the opening of the convention’s second night, a collection of younger Democrats, including former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were given a few minutes to shine.
“In a democracy, we do not elect saviors. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve,” said Abrams, 46, who emerged as a national player during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and was among those considered to be Biden’s running mate.
She added: “Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage.”
On a night that Biden was formally receiving his party’s presidential nomination, the convention was also introducing his wife, Jill Biden, to the nation as the prospective first lady.
In this image from video, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, and members of the Biden family, celebrate after the roll call during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)
Biden is fighting unprecedented logistical challenges to deliver his message during an all-virtual convention this week as the coronavirus epidemic continues to claim hundreds of American lives each day and wreaks havoc on the economy.
The former vice president was becoming his party’s nominee as a prerecorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states airs, and the four-day convention will culminate on Thursday when he accepts that nomination. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will become the first woman of color to accept a major party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.
Until then, Biden is presenting what he sees as the best of his sprawling coalition to the American electorate in a format unlike any other in history.
For a second night, the Democrats featured Republicans.
Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush and appeared at multiple Republican conventions in years past, was endorsing the Democratic candidate. In a video released ahead of his speech, he said, “Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family. For Joe Biden, that doesn’t need teaching.”
Powell joins the widow of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cindy McCain, who was expected to stop short of a formal endorsement but talk about the mutual respect and friendship her husband and Biden shared.
While there have been individual members of the opposing party featured at presidential conventions before, a half dozen Republicans, including the former two-term governor of Ohio, have now spoken for Democrat Biden.
No one on the program Tuesday night has a stronger connection to the Democratic nominee than his wife, Jill Biden, a longtime teacher, was speaking from her former classroom at Brandywine High School near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware.
“You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors,” she said of the school in excerpts of her speech before turning to the nation’s challenges at home. “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding—and with small acts of compassion. With bravery. With unwavering faith.”
The Democrats’ party elders played a prominent role throughout the night.
Clinton, who turns 74 on Tuesday, hasn’t held office in two decades. Kerry, 76, was the Democratic presidential nominee back in 2004 when the youngest voters this fall were still in diapers. And Carter is 95 years old.
Clinton, a fixture of Democratic conventions for nearly three decades, addressed voters for roughly five minutes in a speech recorded at his home in Chappaqua, New York.
In addition to railing against Trump’s leadership, Clinton calls Biden “a go-to-work president.” Biden, Clinton continued, is “a man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide.”…
Kerry said in an excerpt of his remarks, “Joe understands that none of the issues of this world — not nuclear weapons, not the challenge of building back better after COVID, not terrorism and certainly not the climate crisis — none can be resolved without bringing nations together.”
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Democrats Kick Off Convention as Poll Show Biden, Harris With Double-Digit Lead
Democrats kicked off their historic virtual convention on Monday with the keynote speaker former first lady Michelle Obama assailing the current president as unfit and warning Americans not to reelect him for a second term. Meanwhile new poll show Biden, Harris with double-digit lead over Trump. (Getty Images)
The Associated Press
Updated: August 18th, 2020
Michelle Obama assails Trump as Democrats open convention
NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama delivered a passionate broadside against President Donald Trump during Monday’s opening night of the Democratic National Convention, assailing the Republican president as unfit for the job and warning that the nation’s mounting crises would only get worse if he’s reelected.
The former first lady issued an emotional call to the coalition that sent her husband to the White House, declaring that strong feelings must be translated into votes.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” she declared. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”
Obama added: “If you think things possibly can’t get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.”
The comments came as Joe Biden introduced the breadth of his political coalition to a nation in crisis Monday night at the convention, giving voice to victims of the coronavirus pandemic, the related economic downturn and police violence and featuring both progressive Democrats and Republicans united against Trump’s reelection.
Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. The DNC released excerpts of her speech ahead of the convention start. (Democratic National Convention)
The ideological range of Biden’s many messengers was demonstrated by former presidential contenders from opposing parties: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who championed a multi-trillion-dollar universal health care plan, and Ohio’s former Republican Gov. John Kasich, an anti-abortion conservative who spent decades fighting to cut government spending.
The former vice president won’t deliver his formal remarks until Thursday night, but he made his first appearance just half an hour into Monday’s event as he moderated a panel on racial justice, a theme throughout the night, as was concern about the Postal Service. The Democrats accuse Trump of interfering with the nation’s mail in order to throw blocks in front of mail-in voting.
“My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” Sanders declared.
Kasich said his status as a lifelong Republican “holds second place to my responsibility to my country.”
“In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times,” he said of his participation at the Democrats’ convention. He added: “Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path.”
Post-ABC poll shows Biden, Harris hold double-digit lead over Trump, Pence
The race for the White House tilts toward the Democrats, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally over President Trump amid continuing disapproval of the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Democrats [kicked] off their convention on Monday in a mood of cautious optimism, with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), leading Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. The findings are identical among a larger sample of all voting-age adults.
Biden’s current national margin over Trump among voters is slightly smaller than the 15-point margin in a poll taken last month and slightly larger than a survey in May when he led by 10 points. In late March, as the pandemic was taking hold in the United States, Biden and Trump were separated by just two points, with the former vice president holding a statistically insignificant advantage.
Today, Biden and Harris lead by 54 percent to 43 percent among those who say they are absolutely certain to vote and who also report voting in 2016. A month ago, Biden’s lead of 15 points overall had narrowed to seven points among similarly committed 2016 voters. Biden now also leads by low double-digits among those who say they are following the election most closely.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris. (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: August 17th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — Joe Biden’s campaign has announced its speaker lineup for the Democratic National Convention that’s set to open on Monday, August 17th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Below are the list of speakers that will be featured “across all four nights of the Convention which will air live August 17-20 from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern each night.”
Dr Catherine Hamlin passed away at her home in Addis Ababa on Wednesday March 18th, 2020. (Photo: The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: March 19th, 2020
In Loving Memory: Dr Catherine Hamlin 1924 – 2020
New York (TADIAS) – Dr. Catherine Hamlin — who along with her late husband Dr. Reginald Hamlin had founded Ethiopia’s first fistula hospital — passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96.
When the Hamlins had moved to Addis Ababa in 1959 they had never seen a fistula patient before. In a 2003 interview Dr. Catherine had told Tadias that fistula “is the oldest medical cause in the world. There is currency dug out of pyramids containing images of fistula, yet in the 21st century it is the most neglected cause.”
Since it was launched in 1974 the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital has treated over 60,000 women, the majority of whom have been cured and have returned to their homes to live healthy, normal lives. While the Australian-born Dr. Hamlin had received honorary Ethiopian citizenship in April 2012, she was presented by PM Abiy Ahmed with the prestigious Eminent Citizen Award in May 2019 along with the unveiling of a statue of her and Dr. Reginald Hamlin in recognition of their more than six decades of service in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Health Minister Lia Tadesse noted on Twitter: “Very sad to hear the loss of Dr. Catherine Hamlin, a symbol of empathy & compassion with extraordinary contributions that changed the lives of thousands of women with obstetric fistula. She will always remain in our hearts.”
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also took to social media to express his condolences. “Ethiopia lost a true gem who dedicated more than sixty years to restoring the dignity of thousands of women,” he tweeted. “I wish her loved ones, friends and colleagues comfort. May she Rest In Peace.”
Below is the official obituary of Dr Catherine Hamlin courtesy of the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation:
Dr Catherine Hamlin 1924 – 2020
(Photo: The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation)
“When I die, this place will go on for many, many years until we have eradicated fistula altogether – until every woman in Ethiopia is assured of a safe delivery and a live baby.” – Dr Catherine Hamlin
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40
The world is mourning the death of Australia’s most renowned obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr Catherine Hamlin AC, who died, age 96 at her home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Wednesday March 18th, 2020.
Catherine, together with her late husband Dr Reginald Hamlin OBE, co-founded Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, a healthcare network treating women who suffer from the debilitating effects of an obstetric fistula – a horrific childbirth injury.
To say Catherine was a remarkable woman is an understatement. In our eyes, she is a saint. She was much-admired for her work in Australia and globally. She was twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and has been recognized by the United Nations as a pioneer in fistula surgery. In 1995 Catherine was awarded Australia’s highest honor – the Companion of the Order of Australia, and in 2018 she was named NSW Senior Australian of the Year. In 2012, the Ethiopian Government awarded Catherine Honorary Ethiopian Citizenship and in 2019 the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed presented her with Eminent Citizen Award in recognition of her lifetime of service to the women of Ethiopia.
In 2020 Catherine celebrated her 61st year in Ethiopia. She lived most of her life there, in her original house on the grounds of her Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, adored by her patients, staff and the Ethiopian people. She was often referred to as “Emaye” meaning Mother. Catherine was not just committed to spending her life treating thousands of women, she spent her whole adult life changing lives – for the better.
Women and girls who suffer from obstetric fistula have been described as our modern-day lepers. Obstetric fistula is a horrific childbirth injury, that leaves women incontinent. It is caused by long, unrelieved obstructed labour. Tragically, 93% of obstetric fistula survivors give birth to a stillborn baby. Women with obstetric fistulas live with a constant stream of leaking urine and, in some cases, feces. These women and girls are often ostracized from their communities and rejected by their husbands.
Catherine Hamlin lived to give these women their life back.
Elinor Catherine Nicholson was born on January 24th, 1924 in Sydney. One of six children to Elinor and Theodore Nicholson, the family lived in the Sydney suburb of Ryde, and Catherine completed her schooling at Frensham School, Mittagong, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Following an innate desire to help women and children, she enrolled in medicine, graduating from the University of Sydney’s Medical School in 1946. After completing internships at two Sydney hospitals; St Joseph’s Hospital, Auburn and St George Hospital, Kogarah, Catherine accepted a residency in obstetrics at Sydney’s highly regarded Crown Street Women’s Hospital. It was at Crown Street that she met and fell in love with Dr. Reginald (Reg) Hamlin. They married in 1950 and had a son, Richard, in 1952.
In 1958, the Hamlins answered an advertisement in The Lancet Medical Journal for gynecologists to set up a school of midwifery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Together with their six-year-old son, Richard, they travelled to Ethiopia to take up the contract. What had been intended as a three-year stay in Addis Ababa turned into a lifetime of service to the Ethiopian people.
Once Catherine and Reg started work at the Princess Tsehai Memorial Hospital, they found themselves treating women suffering obstetric complications on a scale unimaginable in a Western hospital. Before the Hamlins arrived in Ethiopia, patients with obstetric fistulas who sought medical help at the Princess Tsehai Memorial Hospital were turned away as they had no cure for their humiliating condition. The Hamlins had limited knowledge about obstetric fistulas as they had never had to deal with one before. Confronted by the tragic plight of women with obstetric fistula, and never having seen this condition in Australia, Catherine and Reg had to draw on medical literature from the 1850s to develop their own surgical technique. The technique they perfected is still used today.
As news of the Hamlins’ work spread, more and more women came to them for help. At first, they built a 10-bed fistula clinic in the grounds of the Princess Tsehai Memorial Hospital. Then, amidst the communist revolution, they built their Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital which opened on May 24th, 1975. There are now six Hamlin Fistula Hospitals across Ethiopia. Over the past 61 years, more than 60,000 Ethiopian women suffering with an obstetric fistula have received life-changing reconstructive surgery and care, thanks to the Hamlins’ vision.
Catherine’s strength and passion to offer free fistula surgery wavered only once in her lifetime, following the death of her beloved Reg in 1993. Days after his funeral, Catherine felt overwhelming fear at the prospect of running the hospital by herself. In this moment of grief, her long-time gardener Birru knelt by her chair, “He took my hand in his, kissed the back of it and said, ‘Don’t leave us; we’ll all help you.’” A deeply religious woman, Catherine felt these words were an enormous blessing and from that moment Catherine knew that she would be “quite alright.”
Her initial goal of training midwives became a reality in 2007 when she founded the Hamlin College of Midwives. High school graduates are trained in a four-year degree, then deployed to rural midwifery clinics, where they are most needed, breaking the cycle of unrelieved obstructed labour and thereby preventing obstetric fistula from occurring in the first place.
In 1983, Catherine was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and in 1995 appointed to the higher rank in the Order, a Companion (AC) for ‘service to gynecology in developing countries particularly in the field of fistula surgery and for humanitarian service to improving the health dignity and self-esteem of women in Ethiopia’. In 2001, the Australian Government recognized Catherine’s ‘long and outstanding service to international development in Africa’ by awarding her the Australian Centenary Medal. In recognition of her humanitarian work in Ethiopia she was included on the Australian Living Legends list in 2004. In 2009, Catherine was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the Alternate Nobel Prize. In 2011 she was among 50 prominent Australians invited by Her Excellency the Governor-General Quentin Bryce to lunch with the Queen. In 2015, Catherine received the Australian Medical Association’s President’s Award. In 2017, a Sydney Ferries Emerald-class ferry was named the ‘Catherine Hamlin’ after thousands of Australian supporters voted for her.
Despite all these tributes, Catherine was always humbled in the extreme by all the media attention and awards. Drawing on the courage of Ethiopian women is what inspired her to accept such accolades, and awards were always an opportunity to promote the heartbreaking plight of the fistula patients and the needs of the hospitals treating them.
Catherine was most proud of her Hamlin Model of Care – holistic healing that is part of every patient’s treatment. “We don’t just treat the hole in the bladder, we treat the whole patient with love and tender care, literacy and numeracy classes, a brand-new dress and money to travel home.”
Today, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a healthcare network of over 550 Ethiopian staff – many trained by Catherine – servicing six hospitals, Desta Mender rehabilitation centre, the Hamlin College of Midwives and 80 Hamlin supported Midwifery Clinics. Hamlin is the reference organization and leader in the fight to eradicate obstetric fistula around the world, blazing a trail for holistic treatment and care that empowers women to reassert their humanity, secure their health and well-being, and regain their roles in their families and communities.
Catherine published her autobiography, co-written with Australian journalist and author John Little, The Hospital by the River: A Story of Hope in 2001. In the book, Catherine makes clear that she and Reg saw their work as one of Christian compassion for the suffering. Then in 2004, she was profiled internationally on the Oprah Winfrey Show giving the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital the kind of worldwide publicity that Reg could never have imagined.
During the last years of her life, Catherine was confident that her legacy would live on, “When I die, this place will go on for many, many years until we have eradicated fistula altogether – until every woman in Ethiopia is assured of a safe delivery and a live baby.”
Catherine will be buried alongside Reg in the British War Graves Cemetery in Addis Ababa, her home for 61 years. At the 60th anniversary celebrations in 2019, Catherine said “I love Ethiopia and I have loved every day here. Ethiopia is my home.”
Catherine is survived by her only son Richard and his four adult children: Sarah, Paul, Catherine and Stephanie, her sister Ailsa Pottie and brothers Donald and Jock Nicholson.
“Catherine lived an incredible life having made an enormous difference to the lives and health of thousands upon thousands of women in Ethiopia. Her passionate commitment to women and maternal health through her trust and belief in fulfilling God’s work with love and devotion to others is something that we are all in awe of,” said Julie White, Chair of Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation.
“Most of her 96 years were generously given to help the poor women of our country with traumatic birth injuries. We are all thankful for Catherine’s lifelong dedication. We promise to continue her legacy and realize her dream to eradicate fistula from Ethiopia. Forever,” said Tesfaye Mamo, Chief Executive Officer of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia.
We are all committed to ensuring Catherine’s dream to eradicate obstetric fistula in Ethiopia becomes a reality.
Mr. Aklilu Demessie received the prestigious Knight Grand Cross from Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie during the annual Victory of Adwa Commemoration dinner & award ceremony held at the Army & Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on February 29th, 2020. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: March 13th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — Mr. Aklilu Demessie, a Board member and Vice President of the Menelik Foundation in Cleveland, and one of the founders of the Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora (SEED), has been honored by Ethiopian Crown Council for his lifetime achievements in community service. The announcement notes that Mr. Demessie is “an active member of the core group that has helped establish a Sister Cities agreement between the city of Cleveland and Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.”
Mr. Demessie received the prestigious Knight Grand Cross from Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, who is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie, during the annual Victory of Adwa Commemoration dinner & award ceremony held at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on February 29th.
Mr. Demessie is “one of the select group of holders of the Knight Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Star of Ethiopia — one of the most venerated decorations of the Solomonic gift,” the announcement stated. “The honor is one of the highest Ethiopian rankings and included the formality of a dubbing with Imperial Court Sword on both shoulders by Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie.”
The press release added that Mr. Demessie is also “a member and Vice President of the board of the International Community Council and Worldwide International Network (ICC-WIN) of Cleveland Ohio in which 121 countries are represented. He has served as the President of the Northeast Ohio Ethiopian Community Association (NEOECA) as well as President of the Ethiopian Cleveland Connection (ECC) in the 1990s. Mr. Demessie is one of the founding Board members of The Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora (SEED) which gives scholarships to outstanding high school graduates and identifies future leaders among American-born kids of Ethiopian heritage, and encourages good citizenship and community service in addition to honoring and awarding their adult role models on the same stage annually.”
Mr. Aklilu Demessie holding his award after the ceremony at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on February 29th, 2020. (Courtesy photo)
Mr. Demessie as featured in the award program. (Courtesy photo)
Mr. Aklilu Demessie pictured with with legendary singer Mahmoud Ahmed at the annual Victory of Adwa Commemoration dinner & award ceremony at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on February 29th, 2020. (Courtesy photo)
Aklilu Demessie holds an M.S in Engineering Mechanics and B.S in Civil Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to that he spent a year as an American Field Service, AFS scholar in the USA and graduated from Oberlin High School in Oberlin, Ohio in 1971.
Per the announcement Mr. Demessie “started his professional career at Cleveland Pneumatic Company as a Stress Analyst and progressed to a Supervisory position in the Engineering Department over the years. Mr. Demessie worked as a Senior Engineer/Group Leader at the former Goodrich Landing Gear with over 40 years of experience as a professional in this area. Currently, he is retired, but works part time at Collins Aerospace in the Landing Gear Division in Independence, Ohio.”
Mr. Demessie, who lives in Hudson, Ohio is married and has two adult children, Menna Demessie, Ph.D., Nebyat Demessie, MHSA (both graduates of WRA) and his wife of 42 years, Zufan L. Demessie, RN, B.Acy.
Rita Pankhurst, a life time friend of Ethiopia and the wife of the late historian Richard Pankhurst, died on May 30th 2019 at the age of 91. At the time of her death, she was working on Volume 2 of her autobiography 'Ethiopian Reminiscences.' Below is Rita's bio courtesy of the Pankhurst family. (Photo: Tsehai Publishers/Ethiopian Reminiscences video)
Tadias Magazine
Rita Pankhurst’s biography courtesy of her family
Life Time Friend of Ethiopia Rita Pankhurst (1927- 2019)
Rita was born in Romania in 1927. She immigrated to the UK with her parents in 1938. After attending the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge she studied modern languages (French and Russian) at Oxford (LMH) and obtained her MA in 1948. She spent the next year in Paris boarding with Russian-speaking Armenians and
attending the Ecole Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes, obtaining a Diploma in Russian. Her first job was in the Press Library of Chatham House. She worked there until 1956 when she joined Richard and Sylvia in Addis Ababa.
Rita Pankhurst was a librarian who lived in Ethiopia for over 60 years and worked at the National Library, the Kennedy Library at Haile Sellassie I University and the library of the Economic Commission for Africa. As wife and companion of Richard Pankhurst, she shared his passion for Ethiopia and worked with him on many of his writing including his books, the publishing of the journal, the Ethiopia Observer, taking part in numerous conferences of Ethiopian studies and supporting the Friends of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. She also wrote several articles on Ethiopian culture, notably on women in Ethiopian history, and on the history and development of libraries in Ethiopia, starting with a publication on “The Library of Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala” published in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies vol. 36 in 1974.
Rita began work at the National Library of Ethiopia (Womezekir), along with distinguished Ethiopian scholars: such as The World Laureate Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle, the Honorable Dr. Kebede Mikael, and Artist Ale Felegeselam, and began correspondence courses in Librarianship. She married Richard in 1957 and had two children: Alula Andrew, who had two children Henok and Heleena and Helen Sylvia who had two children Laura and Alex. Alula was born on 27 September 1960 exactly two years after Sylvia’s death. Rita resumed her courses, interrupted by childbearing, and was awarded the Associateship of the Library Association (ALA) in 1964. (She was awarded an Honorary Fellowship in 1987). Thereafter most of Rita’s working life was spent in academic librarianship. She became University Librarian of Haile Sellassie I University, a post she held for a decade.
When the family returned to London in 1976, she was appointed Head of Library Services of the City of London Polytechnic, and remained in charge for eleven years until she and Richard returned to Ethiopia. During this period she was instrumental in acquiring the library of the Fawcett Society for the Polytechnic. The Fawcett Library later formed the core of the present Women’s Library, now under the stewardship of the LSE.
Rita co-authored a number of publications with Richard over years on various topics including “A Select Annotated Bibliography of Travel Books on Ethiopia” published in 1978 in the African Journal vol. 9, no 3, “Ethiopian Ear-Picks” published in Abbay, no.10 (1979), and Ethiopian Figurines from Mugar Monastery in Shawa” published in African Arts vol. 37, no 3, (2004). She was involved with Richard in initiating the first International Conference of the History of Ethiopian Art in London, and attended successive International Conferences of Ethiopian Studies presenting papers such as “An unpublished Letter of King of Kings Tewodros II to the Egyptian Governor of the Sudan” at the Ninth International Conference in Moscow in 1986.
Rita and Richard returned to Ethiopia in 1987, and Rita undertook library consultancies, editing books and university theses. She became involved in voluntary work and was Chair of the United World Colleges National Committee – Ethiopia; Chair of the Programme Committee of the Society of Friends of the
Institute of Ethiopian Studies and Board member of the Ethiopian Gemini Trust. She was an active member of the Horticultural Society of Ethiopia.
Rita continued to take part in successive conferences of Ethiopian Studies, contributing papers including “International Conferences of Ethiopian Studies I-VI, 1959-1980: author and subject bibliography” published in S. Rubenson (ed.) Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, University of Lund, (1982), “The legacy of the Magdala collection” in the Proceedings of the 8th International Conference held in Addis Ababa published in 1988, “Observations on a letter from Emperor Yohannes IV to the Protestant Missionary Martin Flad” presented at the 9 th International Conference of Ethiopia Studies held in Addis Ababa in 1991, and “in quest of Ankobar Church libraries” both the published in the Proceedings of the 12th International Conference held in Michigan in 1994.
A growing interest in Ethiopian art, led her to conceive the idea of convening international conferences on its history, and she contributed to four conferences: the second at which she presented a paper entitled “The Bull and the Bicycle: a new genre of popular memorial art in the Ethiopian Rift Valley,” published in Paul Henze ed. Aspects of Ethiopian art from ancient Axum to the 20th Century; the third conference where she presented “Art in the Service of Diplomacy: A drawing on a letter of King Menilek to Queen Victoria”; the sixth at which she presented an article with the photographer Denis Gerard entitled “The Life and Art of Desso Hordofa, a Contemporary Self-taught Sculptor”; and the seventh where she presented “Art in the Service of Diplomacy in Shäwa in the early eighteen forties: A Treaty and a Letter from King Sahla Sellasé to Queen Victoria” published in Ethiopian Art – A Unique Cultural Heritage and Modern Challenge, edited by Walter Raunig and Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Lublin, 2007. She also contributed a chapter to a book on the renowned artist Gebre Kristos entitled “Gebre Kristos Desta through the eyes of friends and relatives”, in Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis, et al., eds., Gebre Kristos Desta: the Painter-Poet, Addis Ababa (2006). She also wrote a tribute to the eminent historian Tekle Tsadik Mekouria (1913-2000)” published in Aethiopica, vol 4 (2001). Rita also compiled successive bibliographies of the works of her late husband Richard, the most recent entitled “Bibliography of publications, written, edited or annotated by Richard Pankhurst” published in 2017 in the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies vol.11 no.1.
Her publications on Ethiopian women include: Senedu Gabru: A role model for Ethiopian women?” in Tsehai Berhane-Selassie (ed.) Gender Issues in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, (1991). “Women of power in Ethiopian history and legend” Salamta, vol.13 no.1 (1996) “Forgotten women in Ethiopian history” CERTWID [ Centre for Research, Training and Information on Women in Development] Informs, vol. 6, no.2 (2001) and “Taytu’s Foremothers: Queen Eleni, Queen Säblä Wängél and Bati Del Wämbära.” presented at the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Trondheim, 2007. About her mother-in-law she wrote “Sylvia Pankhurst: Portrait of a Radical” in Women’s Studies International Forum, vol.11, no.3, (1988).
Over the years Rita wrote a number of academic and popular articles on the history and development of libraries in Ethiopia including on the National Library published in Ethiopia Observer vol .1. no. 2 (1957), and“ Provision of libraries in Post-Revolutionary Ethiopia” in Focus on International and Comparative Librarianship vo.19 no. 2 (1988) and on the women’s library in London: “Collection development and women’s heritage: the case of the Fawcett Library”. Women’s Studies International Forum, vol. 10 no.3 (1987).
She also wrote on cultural topics such as Ethiopian spices and on the coffee ceremony which she presented at the 13th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Japan and was also published in Selamta vol. 15, no 3 in 1998, and “Names in Amharic: A Categorisation”, in Baye Yimam et al., Ethiopian Studies as the End of the Second Millennium, Fourteenth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa, 2000, vol 1, 2002.
Rita spent her final years with Richard working on a joint autobiography entitled ‘Ethiopian Reminiscences‘ based on the weekly letters she wrote home to her father which was published by Tsehai publishers in 2013.
Her life and her work along with her husband Richard were celebrated by the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and Society of Friends of Institute of Ethiopian Studies (SOFIES) in 2011 with a Festschrift dedicated to her and her husband Richard Pankhurst in the Journal of Ethiopian Studies (2007).
Rita died on 30 May 2019 at the age of 91. At the time of her death, she was working on Volume 2 of ‘Ethiopian Reminiscences’.
Addis Abeba’s City Administration Shares Vision of New City Library
New York (TADIAS) — Addis Abeba’s City Administration just shared its new vision for a city library and it’s impressive. In a recent tweet by Addis Standard, a brief video of the library plan reveals the project as scheduled to be built across from the Parliament building and situated on approximately 38,000 square meters of land. The city library is slated to have theater halls and meeting spaces as well as include an adult and children’s library sections.
#Ethiopia: #AddisAbeba City admin unveils plan to build "AA City Library" located opposite the Parliament building. It will rest on 38,687 sq m land & will host 3,500 ppl at a time. It will also have separate sections for kids & adults, 3 meeting halls, theaters & a parking lot. pic.twitter.com/Powyv0blU0
Currently there are several children’s library initiatives including through the non-profit organizations Ethiopia Reads and Whiz Kids Workshop. To date Ethiopia Reads has launched over 80 public school and mobile libraries across the country, which serves over 100,000 children per year. Ethiopia Reads has also trained 150 librarians to date. The award-winning television series, Tsehai Loves Learning, launched by Whiz Kids Workshop has also expanded to include a classroom library project that provides children’s story books, flash cards, and 32 episodes of the TV series on DVD to enhance early childhood literacy skills.
For adult readers, a brief compilation of public and academic libraries in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Abeba, which was published in Against the Grain (Vol 20, Issue 1) by Marie Paiva lists Addis Ababa University as housing a multi-branch academic library with over 500,000 items as well as the Addis Ababa Public Library that is accessible for all residents, which holds mostly text collections in English. There is still a great need for more libraries and related resources in the city as well as greater opportunities for librarian training. Addis Abeba’s new city library project is a positive step in the right direction, and we hope will include texts and content that are multi-lingual and extensively diverse in subject matters.
Elias Wondimu, who is a Founding Director of TSEHAI Publishers at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA is one of five awardees who will be honored on November 3rd with the 2018 Hidden Heroes Recognition Award. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: October 27th, 2018
New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopian-American publisher Elias Wondimu has been named the recipient of the 2018 Hidden Heroes Recognition Award at Loyola Marymount University in California. The annual award is given by the university’s Center for Reconciliation & Justice to “individuals and groups who exemplify justice and reconciliation in their lives” LMU stated. “Each awardee will be honored through the telling of their story in a dramatic performance.”
Elias, who is Founding Director of TSEHAI Publishers at the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts at LMU, is one of five honorees chosen from the nominated faculty, staff, alumni, and students from Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School.
“This year’s theme for the Hidden Heroes Recognition is ‘reconciliation,’” the announcement said. “The awardees selected are those who work mostly ‘under the radar’ to build bridges for justice and repair broken human relationships, similar to the life of St. Joseph, patron saint of the CSJ Community and its LMU Center for Reconciliation and Justice.”
Tsehai Publishers celebrated its 20th anniversary last October alongside the launch of its first book under its new imprint, Harriet Tubman Press, entitled Voices from Leimert Park Redux. Tsehai Publishers is the only African/African-American owned press that is housed in a U.S. university (Howard University Press closed in 2011).
Elias told Tadias that he is on his way back to the U.S. from Ethiopia to accept the award after having recently returned in September to his homeland for the first time in almost 25 years following Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s invitation to exiled Ethiopians to come home. Elias is currently a member of the Advisory Council of the recently launched Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund.
LMU’s press release added that “as part of the recognition award, Wondimu’s life story will be enacted on stage as a dramatized narrative as written by David Johann Kim and acted by Desean Terry. The award ceremony and performances will take place on Saturday, November 3rd at Loyola Marymount University at Murphy Hall.”
— If You Go:
To RSVP click here. This event is free and open to the public.
Dr. Lemma W. Senbet, the William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance at the University of Maryland, College Park has returned to the United States after five years leading the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), based in Nairobi, Kenya. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: October 12th, 2018
New York (TADIAS) – After a successful five-year term as the head of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) — a Kenya-based non-profit organization that conducts independent research concerning the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa – Professor Lemma W. Senbet, an internationally recognized leader in finance studies has returned to continue teaching at the University of Maryland, College Park.
“I am now back in Washington from an incredibly satisfying five-year Africa journey in the service of the Motherland,” Professor Lemma told Tadias. Before leaving the U.S. to lead AERC Lemma had shared with us in an interview that he “will be embarking on strategies for full global integration of AERC and its visibility beyond Africa as an organization that is at the cutting edge of best policy research practices.”
In 2015 under his leadership AERC received the highest possible rating as the most transparent think tank in the world. According to a report released by Transparify AERC was one of 31 major centers of research worldwide, out of 169 examined, that was given a five-star rating. The list included several American policy research establishments such as the Center for Global Development, Pew Research Center, Stimson Center, Woodrow Wilson Center and the World Resources Institute.
Last year Dr. Lemma was also one of the presenters during a high–level panel held in Rome, Italy comprising of representatives and experts from the G7 and selected African think tanks. The conference “focused on Africa and addressed three key issues related to Agenda 2030: food security, innovation and mobility.”
Now back in the U.S. Professor Lemma shares that his next steps involve working with the recently formed Diaspora committee that will help to raise funds for Ethiopia. His background as an economist as well as his non-political, non-partisan and fact-based approach to complex issues will certainly bring a much-needed skill set to the group — which also includes several highly qualified individuals whose work we have previously featured in Tadias such as Dr. Bisrat Aklilu, retired United Nations official; Elias Wondimu, Publisher of Tsehai Publishers; Dr. Menna Demissie, Vice President of Police Analysis & Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Mimi Alemayehou, Managing Director of Black Rhino Group & Executive Advisory and Chair of Blackstone Africa Infrastructure; and Obang Metho, Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia and a noted human rights activist.
In his departing speech to his colleagues at AERC, Professor Lemma told his audience that he will continue to advocate for Africa once he returns to the U.S. and he has already hit the ground running.
Watch: Closing Remarks – AERC Executive Director Prof Lemma Senbet
Cover of the new book 'Struggle From Afar' by Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw. (Courtesy of Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
January 22nd, 2018
New York (TADIAS) — In her newly published book Struggle From Afar the late educator and social justice activist Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw, who passed way two years ago, left behind a gem for future researchers by meticulously documenting the history of Ethiopian women grassroots activism in the Diaspora.
In Struggle From Afar Dr. Maigenet also debunks the myth that Ethiopian female millennials are not as passionate about human rights issues as their parents’ generation or their male counterparts. “It would be unfair to say that, unlike our generation, all young Ethiopians are disinterested in social justice movements,” she writes, emphasizing that as one young Ethiopian woman told her that today they simply follow a “different platform.” Dr. Maigenet explains that a “different platform” meant “focus on the humanitarian component of social activism.”
Women activists interviewed and featured in the book include former opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa as well as the acclaimed actress and playwright Alemtsehay Wedajo. In addition, Dr. Maigenet also highlights intimate conversations with several women across various fields including Abeba Fekade, Berhane Ras-Work, Fekerte Gebremariam, Lemlem Tsegaw, Mary Tadesse, Meqdes Mesfin, Meron Ahadu, Tsehai Berhane-Selassie and Wessenyelesh Debela.
“When I interviewed the women activists for this book their political views was not my primary interest,” Dr. Maigenet states. “I was only interested in what motivated them to become activists to work on peace, democracy and human rights issues.” She adds: “I was also interested, for those who were political activists, what challenges they had in participating in the male-dominated arena of political activism.”
Moreover, Dr. Maigenet cites American civil rights hero Rosa Parks as an international role model of the power of nonviolent noncooperation and resistance by individual citizens that changed the course of history in their own countries and beyond.
Another remarkable person mentioned in the book is British suffragette leader Sylvia Pankurst (1882-1960), who became a lifelong advocate for Ethiopia because of her strong opposition to fascism during World War II. “She marched, spoke in conferences, and argued with members of the British Parliament against Italian fascism and the invasion of Ethiopia,” Dr. Maigenet points out. “She founded the New Times and Ethiopia News, which was published in London in the 1930′s. She later turned the paper into the Ethiopia Observer, published in Addis Ababa, after the end of the Italian occupation.” Sylvia Pankurst eventually moved to Ethiopia where she lived until her death on September 27th, 1960 and was buried in Addis Ababa with great honor. Dr. Maigenet noted: “This is an exemplary example of disciplined and sustained peaceful resistance.”
Dr. Maigenet passed away at the age of 68 on February 24th 2016. She was an Associate Professor in adult education at the University of the District of Columbia for 20 years. She also worked as an education consultant at the World Bank and the U.S. Department of Education.
The book Struggle From Afar is published by Fanos Books (a TSEHAI imprint) for the Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW), which Dr. Maigenet helped establish and served as its President at the time of her passing, and with a foreword by her husband Professor Getachew Metaferia.
CREW will be hosting a book release event this coming weekend in Silver Spring, Maryland.
— If You Go:
Book release: ‘Struggle From Afar’
Saturday, January 27th, 2018
Doors open at 4PM
Silver Spring Civic Center
Silver Spring, Maryland centerforethiopianwomen.org
Book covers for Maaza Mengiste's 'Beneath the Lion's Gaze,' Asfa-Wossen Asserate's 'The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie,' Nega Mezlekia's 'Notes Form the Hyena's Belly' and Abraham Verghese’s 'Cutting for Stone.' (Images: Amazon.com)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
October 30th, 2017
New York (TADIAS) – In their travel section published today The New York Times highlights three books for first-time visitors to read before going to Ethiopia so they may acquaint themselves with the history and culture of the country.
We liked the choice of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Ethiopian-American author Dinaw Mengestu. As the Times notes “In his first novel, Mengestu evokes two cities: Washington, D.C., where the protagonist Sepha Stephanos currently lives in exile, and Addis Ababa, the city where he was born. His father had been murdered during Ethiopia’s Red Terror, and Sepha was trying to make a life in the United States. Seventeen years later, he still did not feel settled. Our reviewer wrote that Mengestu is particularly adept at capturing conversations between immigrants: “He gets, pitch perfect, the warmly abrasive wit of the violently displaced and their need to keep alive some textured memories — even memories that wound — amid America’s demanding amnesia.”
Here are additional books by Ethiopian writers that travelers to Ethiopia may also find educational:
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
We recommend Maaza Mengiste’s debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze that depicts Ethiopia in the 1970s, when the country was undergoing a political revolution. The military had just deposed an archaic monarchy system with a promise of peaceful change. But what followed Emperor Haile Selassie’s removal was anything but peaceful. The country would soon plunge into unimaginable violence. (Tadias Q & A with Maaza Mengiste)
Notes Form the Hyena’s Belly
Also worth checking out is the highly acclaimed work by Ethiopian author Nega Mezlekia, Notes From the Hyena’s Belly, which is the winner of the Governor General’s Award and a Library Journal Best Book of 2001. “Part autobiography and part social history, Notes from the Hyena’s Belly offers an unforgettable portrait of Ethiopia, and of Africa, during the 1970s and ’80s, an era of civil war and widespread famine.”
Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone is “an epic novel about a young man’s coming of age in Ethiopia and America. From fascinating social and political portraits of Ethiopia in upheaval, Cutting for Stone zooms into a territory where few have gone before: the drama of the operating theater and the mysteries inside the human body. There can be no doubt that this novel is the work of a seasoned writer who has led many lives in many places.” (Tadias review of Verghese’s ‘Cutting for Stone’ and Tadias Interview with Dr. Abraham Verghese)
King of Kings: The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Asfa-Wossen Asserate’s recent book provides an authoritative, insider’s perspective and a refreshingly balanced look at this fascinating international figure who was the global face of Ethiopia for most of the 20th century. It helps that the author is Haile Selassie’s grandnephew. (Tadias Review: New Book on Triumph & Tragedy of Ethiopia’s Last Emperor Haile Selassie).
New York (TADIAS) — This coming weekend at the Army and Navy Club on Farragut Square in Washington, D.C., Ethiopian guests will gather for a black tie event hosted by Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and head of The Crown Council of Ethiopia. The event is both a celebration of Ethiopia’s historic victory at Adwa as well as to give out honorary medals to selected individuals who have distinguished themselves through their dedicated contribution to Ethiopian society at large.
This year the most prestigious award the “Grand Officer of the Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II,” which was founded in 1924 during the reign of Empress Zauditu, will be bestowed on Elias Wondimu, the Editorial Director & Founder of Tsehai Publishers in Los Angeles, California. In a statement Prince Ermias shared that Elias is being honored for preserving “the national identity of Ethiopians and Africans, and contributing to a greater understanding of Ethiopia and Africa by people outside the continent.”
In addition Denver, Colorado-based businessman Mel Tewahade, among others, will be given the “Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Honor” (GOSE) during the private ceremony to be held on February 25,2017 at the Annual Victory of Adwa Commemorative Dinner, according to Gregory Copley, a Strategic Advisor to the Crown Council of Ethiopia.
The newspaper Negarit — The Journal of The International Society for the Imperial Ethiopian Orders — notes that the annual event, now in its sixth year, commemorates the victory of Emperor Menelik II over invading Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896.
Mahmoud Ahmed performed live at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Sunday, October 23rd, 2016, becoming the first major artist from Ethiopia to give a solo concert at the world-famous venue. The 75-year-old Ethiopian cultural icon, who is one of Ethiopia’s most eminent musicians, played at Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage and brought the audience to its feet for several songs. Read more and see photos »
34-year-old Ethiopian-born actress Ruth Negga has become the talk of Hollywood and Oscar mentions following her highly acclaimed performance in the new civil rights movie Loving, which depicts the 1967 historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage in a case called “Loving v. Virginia.” Ruth who was born in Addis Ababa grew-up in Limerick, Ireland and has resided in London for the past ten years. Asked by The Hollywood Reporter on how she became an actress, Negga replied: “You know when you’re a kid and you get to pick a movie every Friday? I watched everything. There’s no particular genre that was appealing. I just loved the idea that you could dress up and play.” This month Vogue magazine declared “the Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga has become a star for our time.” Read more and see photos »
Photographer Girma Berta, an instagrammer and artist from Ethiopia, was the winner of the 2016 Getty Images Instagram Grant. “Berta uses his iPhone to photograph vibrant, gritty street life in Addis Ababa, crossing street photography with fine art by isolating his subjects against backdrops of rich color,” Getty Images said. The grant is for videographers and visual artists who feature local stories and document “underrepresented communities around the world.” Read more and see photos »
Mulatu Astatke returned to New York City for a live show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 9th, 2016. The concert, which was part of the MetLiveArts program, was presented in collaboration with the World Music Institute. “Known as the father of Ethio-jazz, composer and multi-instrumentalist (vibraphone, piano, keyboard, organs, and percussion) Mulatu Astatke leaped to international fame in the ’70s and ’80s with his unique mix of Western traditional Ethiopian music and admirers like Duke Ellington and John Coltrane,” stated the announcement from The Met. “Known for his fearless experimentation, his music begins and ends with improvisation.”
Thank you again to everyone who joined us on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 for a sold out Tadias Salon Series show at Ginny’s Supper Club as Lemn Sissay shared his incredible life journey & poems from his new book Gold From the Stone, and Grammy-nominated Ethiopian American singer and songwriter Wayna (@waynamusic) gave a soul-shaking music performance, along with DJ Mengie. Special thanks to Marcus Samuelsson and Ethiopia Alfred as well as our sponsors for making it happen.
Ethiopian Pianist and Composer Girma Yifrashewa at Ginny’s Supper Club in New York on Sunday, November 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
This year the Thanksgiving weekend program at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem, New York featured a special Ethiopia-inspired dinner menu prepared by Chef Marcus Samuelsson followed by a live performance by classical Ethiopian pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa. Girma’s amazing concert on Sunday, November 27th, 2016 included his original compositions that evoke “Ethiopian melody making,” as he told the audience, “decorated” with sounds of the classical music tradition in combination with Ambassel, Bati, Anchihoye and Tizita based on Ethiopian music’s unique tone scale system. Read more and watch video »
(Photo: Owners of Azla Vegan Nesanet Teshager Abegaze and her mother Azla Mekonen at Coachella Festival in Los Angeles, California)
Los Angeles, California, which is home to the only official Little-Ethiopia neighborhood in America, is also headquarters for Azla Vegan, a family-owned Ethiopian restaurant — located near the University of Southern California (USC) — that we featured in 2013 in an interview with owner Nesanet Teshager Abegaze as it first opened. This year, Azla Vegan was featured on the Food Network‘s television episode of “Cosmopolitan Comfort: Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.” Read more and see photos »
Ethiopia-inspired furniture by U.S.-based Jomo Tariku, Founder of Jomo Design Furniture and Hamere Demissie of Actuel Urban Living was featured at the 2016 international Dubai Design Week festival in October. Jomo and Hamere’s works were selected as submissions from design weeks around the world including Design Week Addis Ababa, highlighting “the modern-inspired minimalist spirit of traditional Ethiopian design made locally by skilled artisans.” Hamere Demissie’s Actuel Urban Living previewed “a collection of furniture, rugs and textiles with a refined organic feel, while Jomo Design Furniture will display a contemporary take on traditional African chairs crafted in hardwoods, inspired by African hand carvings, baskets and traditional woven textiles,” according to the media release from Dubai Design Week.
Ethiopian American journalist Bofta Yimam was promoted as Weekend Morning Anchor at Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Television in 2016.
Congratulations to Bofta Yimam who was promoted to Weekend Morning Anchor at Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Television (WTAE) this year. Bofta received three Emmy nominations and won the Regional Emmy Award (Nashville/Mid-South Chapter) for excellence in the ‘Continuing Coverage’ category in 2013. “There are so many avenues of journalism that you have to put yourself out there, and have a kind of go-for-it type of mentality,” Bofta shared in a past interview with Tadias. “You gotta get the skill sets and be willing to hit the ground running.” Read more and watch video »
The new documentary film If Only I Were That Warrior — which chronicles the reactions of the international Ethiopian and Italian community regarding the recent building of a memorial for the Fascist General, Rodolfo Graziani (“The Butcher of Ethiopia”) in his hometown of Affile, Italy — has finally been released on DVD and is also now available for streaming online. Read more »
(Teddy Yo 2016 new music video ‘Alegntaye’ produced by Africology)
NYC-based music & entertainment company Africology this year released their first music video production entitled “Alegntaye” featuring popular Ethiopian hip-hop artist Teddy Yo and Joe Lox.
Renowned Ethiopian American artist Julie Mehretu returned to Ethiopia this Summer for her inaugural show at The Modern Art Museum Gebre Kristos Desta Center in Addis Ababa. The exhibition entitled Julie Mehretu: The Addis Show — which was jointly presented by the Gebre Kristos Desta Center and the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa — was opened on July 8, 2016 and remained on display through August 6, 2016.
‘The Red Rooster Cookbook’ (2016) by Marcus Samuelsson pays homage to modern Harlem. (Photo: Book cover)
“When chef Marcus Samuelsson opened Red Rooster on Harlem’s Lenox Avenue, he envisioned so much more than just a restaurant. He wanted to create a gathering place at the heart of his adopted neighborhood, where both the uptown and downtown sets could see and be seen, mingle and meet – and so he did, in a big way. Ever since the 1930s, Harlem has been a magnet for more than a million African Americans, a melting pot for Spanish, African, and Caribbean immigrants, and a mecca for artists. Named after a historic neighborhood speakeasy, the modern Rooster reflects all of that, from the local art showcased on its walls, to the live music blaring from its performance spaces, to the cross-cultural food on its patrons’ plates and the evocative cocktails in their hands.” Read The Times review at NYTimes.com »
What does it mean to be Ethiopian American? The answer depends on who you ask, but for Playwright Antu Yacob — whose parents immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia when she was barely five years old — the identity is not as clear-cut. In the Gray is the title of Antu’s latest one-person show, which explored precisely this question when it was staged in New York City as part of the Women in Theatre Festival by Project Y Theatre in Manhattan this past summer. “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. “I knew that I wanted to write about my experience not only as an actor, but also as an Ethio-American professional in the entertainment industry,” Antu told Tadias in an interview following her show. As a playwright Antu says she tries “to experiment with social and political activism in an entertaining way” noting that “America is made up of so many different cultures, and there is room to honor that diversity without sacrificing the beauty of who we are as a people. As Ethiopian Americans we make up a part of the larger American experience.” Read more and see photos »
The film ‘Hairat,” which documents one man’s nightly ritual near Ethiopia’s historic city of Harar, is directed by Jessica Beshir. (Courtesy photo)
Last but not least, a big thumbs-up to Director Jessica Beshir whose documentary short film Hairat from Ethiopia was selected this year to be featured at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. “This is a visual and lyrical exploration of the nightly ritual between a man in Eastern Ethiopia and his feral companions,” the Sundance Institute wrote describing Hairat in a press release. In the film Director Jessica Beshir, who was born in Mexico City and raised in Ethiopia, “returns to the city of her childhood to tell the story of one man’s extraordinary ritual that unfolds nightly in the outskirts of the walled city of Harar.” Jessica’s short film is one of 68 works from around the world that will be screened at Sundance from January 19th through 29th, 2017. Read more »
Keith Bowers autographs his book "Imperial Exile" at Tsion in Harlem on Tuesday, September 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, September 29th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Earlier this week at Tsion Cafe in Harlem former BBC executive producer Keith Bowers held a book talk and signing featuring his new book Imperial Exile, which has just been published in the United States by Tsehai Publishers, highlighting Emperor Haile Selassie’s refugee years in Bath, England from 1936 to 1940.
Keith Bowers, author of Imperial Exile, making a book presentation at Tsion Cafe in Harlem on Tuesday, September 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
Imperial Exile book event at Tsion in Harlem on Tuesday, September 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
At Tsion in Harlem on Tuesday, September 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
Wayna live at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on Saturday, September 24th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias Mag)
Last week the Grammy-nominated Ethiopian American singer and songwriter Wayna was back in New York City where she gave another memorable performance at Rockwood Music Hall as part of a special live showcase of “An Acoustic Gold Evening” presented by NYCROPHONE.
In addition to her show at Rockwood Music Hall “Wayna has performed across the US and abroad – including shows at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Essence Fest, the White House, the Blue Note and Blues Alley,” the media release states. “In 2015, she joined the iconic Stevie Wonder as a supporting vocalist and soloist in his live band, touring extensively with the Songs In the Key of Life Tour and in various performances throughout the US and Canada.”
Wayna at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on Saturday, September 24th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias Mag)
New book, Imperial Exile, chronicles the refugee years of former Emperor Haile Selassie in Bath, England during the Second World War. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, September 15th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Here comes a captivating publication shining a spotlight on the previously unexplored period of the public life of Ethiopia’s former Emperor Haile Selassie during his years as a refugee in Bath, England from 1936 to 1940. The book entitled Imperial Exile by Keith Bowers, a former executive producer for the BBC, will be released in the U.S. this month by Tsehai Publishers. “With the plight of refugees constantly in the news” this profile “is as timely as it is intriguing,” states the press release.
“Emperor Haile Selassie was forced to flee Ethiopia to escape the invading armies of the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini,” Tsehai Publishers notes. “Imperial Exile reveals the full depth of the debilitating struggles that all exiles face. It tells the story of how the emperor is nearly crushed by a myriad of financial, political and personal pressures before a sudden twist of good fortune intervenes. The book is packed with beguiling eyewitness anecdotes, supported by a range of rare and fascinating photographs of both Britain and Ethiopia.”
In his endorsement of the book historian Richard Pankhurst states: “The important period of the Emperor’s exile in Bath has not received much attention. This thoroughly researched book fills the gap.” Scholar Ian Campbell, author of The Plot to Kill Graziani, adds: “it is a must-read for anyone interested in the modern history of Ethiopia.” And British political commentator and writer Jonathan Dimbleby argues that the book “adds substantially to the story of this important and fascinating world figure.”
A book release is scheduled in Washington D.C. on September 22nd at the Library of Congress hosted by Tsehai Publishers with author Keith Bowers in attendance.
On his website Bowers shares: “I love both Bath and Ethiopia, places which are at the heart of Imperial Exile. I have lived in Bath since 2013 and enjoy exploring the nooks and crannies of the city on my bike as well as the exquisite surrounding countryside. My first trip to Ethiopia was in 2001 and I was instantly entranced by the country’s history, culture, music and cuisine. Before that I worked for the BBC for 20 years and started the Correspondent international TV programme.”
—- If You Go:
Book release events for Imperial Exile
Date: Thursday, September 22nd, 2016 (12 noon-1pm)
Venue: The African & Middle Eastern Reading Room at the Library of Congress
Address: 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20540
Date: Saturday, September 24th (3:00pm)
Venue: The Arta Ale restaurant
Address: 2310 Price Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
240-221-3349
info@ertaaleethiopianrestaurant.com
Lemn Sissay at Ginny’s in New York on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016. (Photo: Anastasia Kirtiklis for Tadias)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Saturday, August 13th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Our latest Tadias Salon Series, held in NYC on Tuesday, August 9th, featured a sold-out live show with renowned British-born Ethiopian poet and author Lemn Sissay at Marcus Samuelsson’s Ginny’s Supper Club/Red Rooster Harlem. The dinner and entertainment program included a musical performance by Grammy-nominated Ethiopian American singer and songwriter Wayna as well as an eclectic collection of Ethiopian music by DJ Mengie.
Special thanks goes to our sponsors Nation to Nation Networking (NNN) and ECMAA, as well as our partners Ginny’s Supper Club, Ms. Ethiopia Alfred and Massinko Entertainment.
Ambassador Daniel Yohannes, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), speaking at the White House Ethiopian American Policy Briefing. (Photo: Tadias)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, June 17th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — On June 8th, 2016 the White House Office of Public Engagement convened its first Ethiopian American Policy Briefing where leaders representing a diverse sector of the community — including non-profits, small business ventures, young professionals organizations, faith-based groups and academia members — attended and participated in the historical gathering. Tadias Magazine was honored to attend the briefing.
Hosted by senior administration officials Daniel Yohannes, U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OECD, and Yohannes Abraham, Chief of Staff of the White House of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, the briefing was organized by Henock Dory of the White House Office of Public Engagement with panels moderated by Dr. Menna Demissie, Vice President of Policy Analysis and Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
The briefing focused primarily on the Obama Administration’s domestic policy priorities through panel discussions presented by Administration experts featuring White House initiatives in education, healthcare, criminal justice reform, small business policy and civic engagement.
The purpose of the event was to brief leaders from the growing Ethiopian American community – students, faith leaders, young professionals, and business leaders – on Administration priorities, while also offering a forum for White House officials to hear directly from the community on issues facing Ethiopian Americans in United States.
Ambassador Daniel Yohannes, Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation gave the opening remarks encouraging greater civic engagement among the Ethiopian American community.
“While I’m very proud of my heritage, history, culture, and tradition of Ethiopia, I am equally proud of the unmatched opportunity that this country, the country that I chose, has provided to me,” Ambassador Yohannes shared. “America’s melting pot is the recipe for success, and as daughters and sons of Ethiopia born there, or the first, second and third generation born here we’re a part of that mix. I stand before you precisely because I’ve been where you are today. I can tell you first-hand that what we make of our immigrant experience is up to us. So I encourage you to get informed, get educated, and get involved.”
Ambassador Yohannes summed up his key message of getting informed by stating: “Whether we teach ourselves something new on our own, or attend this country’s best schools, never stop learning. Education is key.” He also called for civic engagement at the local, state, and national levels and emphasized that “we should not stay on the sidelines, insulated or isolated. Rather we must help the community we call home, contributing our talents whether it’s in our schools or communities.”
Henock Dory of the White House Office of Public Engagement. (Photo: Tsehai Publishers)
Yohannes Abraham, Chief of Staff of the White House of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. (Photo: Tsehai Publishers)
Chief of Staff for the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, Yohannes Abraham, gave the closing remarks and encouraged the continuation of this dialogue in the wider Ethiopian American community.
The NYC book launch & presentation for Temsalet takes place on Saturday, April 16th. (Click here to RSVP)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, April 14th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — Today “nearly 65 percent of Ethiopians are young people under the age of 25; the future of Ethiopia is in their hands,” states the introduction to Temsalet, an intimate photo journal compilation of 64 women who may serve as role models for the country’s vast, diverse and resourceful millennial generation. “About half, or nearly 30 million, of those young Ethiopians are girls who will share their country and their future with the young boys they are growing up with.”
The women featured in the book range in age from their 20s to 90s, and include many firsts in their professions including the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines, the country’s first female neurologist, first female professor with full rank, first female Olympic marathon gold medalist, first Ethiopian woman to have a solo art exhibition, and Ethiopia’s first female construction crane operator.
Edited and compiled by Mary-Jane Wagle with photography by Aida Muluneh, Temsalet is a project of the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association and is published by Tsehai Publishers of Los Angeles, California.
“We started writing this book because we want Ethiopian girls and young women to know that there are phenomenal women,” Saba Gebremedhin, Executive director of NEWA, and Mary-Jane Wagle, the book’s Compiler and Editor, co-wrote in the introduction. “We want them to be able to imagine how they can realize their dreams by reading the stories of some of these women. We hope the women in this book will be Temsalet - role models – for them.”
Join us on Saturday, April 16th for the New York book launch & presentation featuring Temsalet. The editor, Mary-Jane Wagle, will be present to give a book talk followed by a book-signing, and Elias Wondimu will present Tsehai Publishers — one of the only remaining independent academic presses in the United States dedicated to African literature and Pan-African voices.
This event is brought to you as part of the Tadias Salon Series and co-hosted by Tadias Magazine, Tsehai Publishers and Loyola Marymount University.
— If You Go:
(Click here to RSVP)
Tickets: $17 online, $20 at the door. Kids free.
WHEN: Saturday, April 16, 2016
From 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM
WHERE: Schomburg Center in Harlem
515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037
Berhane Daba being awarded the 2015 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award by the National Peace Corps Association at a ceremony in Berkeley, California on Saturday, June 6th, 2015. (Photo: Courtesy of NPCA)
Tadias Magazine
BY KASSAHUN ADDIS
Published: Sunday, June 14th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — Last week in Berkeley, California, Berhane Daba made history as the first woman and the first disabled person to win the prestigious Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award by the American Peace Corps alumni organization, National Peace Corps Association.
The story of Berhane is one that would make a great inspiring novel. She was born to a poor rural farming family in Holeta town, some 50 miles from Addis Ababa. In 1968, polio stricken by age two, she was left along a dusty roadside by her father in the hopes that a very important person visiting the town would feel pity and help.
“I was put by my father on the road that King Haile Selassie was passing by as he was visiting our town. My father was hoping the king could take me to Addis Ababa where they already established an orphanage for the sick and abandoned. The stars were aligned that day. The king saw a baby with two disabled legs and with no adults around, inquired about me and told his men to take me in and put me in Addis Ababa for treatment,” Berhane remembers.
Once in Addis, she was placed at St. Paulos Hospital for treatment. A few weeks into her stay at the hospital, a young American nurse, Mary Myers-Bruckenstein, came and started providing therapy for the chronically damaged nerves and tissues caused by crawling. In the words of Berhane, who spoke to Tadias Magazine following the award ceremony, “meeting Mary was one of the defining moments” that profoundly changed her life. Mary had arrived as a member of the newly launched U.S. Peace Corps program. At the age of 22 she had joined the mission after graduating with a nursing degree.
“When I met Berhane and saw her condition, I felt that I could help reduce her pain. I saw her strong spirit and started working with her. But the facilities at Paulos hospital were barely enough,” Mary recounts looking back at her first days of encounter with Berhane.
Mary decided to move the little polio stricken baby to Princess Tsehai (renamed Tor Hailoch) hospital where she worked with Berhane to help her regain more strength. Eventually Berhane was able to walk upright using crutches and her spirit was uplifted. Mary took Berhane into her home until it was time for her to leave Ethiopia, and the relationship between them continued to endure as Mary made a common friend promise to continue to take care of Berhane in her absence.
“After she left Ethiopia, I was admitted to Kechene orphanage where I started school, and our common friend, Tekle, would follow up on me and pass on messages of goodwill and postcards from Mary to me. He would read me a letter from her and help me write one to her too,” says Berhane.
As the Emperor was deposed and socialism was declared the state ideology most Western programs in Ethiopia were shut down and the Peace Corps program became a casualty in 1977. It would take another 18 years for the Peace Corps to return to Ethiopia following the overthrow of the same regime that caused its interruption.
Despite the political and social turmoil over years the relationship between Berhane and Mary endured largely due to Tekle. Berhane talks of Tekle as a man “who took his promise seriously over the years and who still remains a good friend.”
At Kechene orphanage, Berhane completed high school and started working at the National Museum as a librarian. Working hard, and along the way proving stereotypes about disability wrong, she rose up through the ranks. In 2008 she earned her Bachelor of Science in Information and Communication Technology from Admas University. Strengthening her educational and career profile was just one of many battles that Berhane says she “enjoyed.” At the same time she was building a small network of disabled women in a bid to explore what they could do to help other disabled individuals in a society that “considers disability as a curse or sin.”
“Being disabled is one thing, being disabled in an environment that doesn’t have enough safety nets is another. Then being a disabled woman is just too much” says Berhane. She reasons that for a long time the culture in Ethiopia had a utilitarian view of women in general, and that is that they are good “either to help in household chores like fetching water and cleaning and cooking or bringing a rich husband. When one is a disabled woman one is thought to be useless, no good to fulfill any of these expectations. You can’t help in the small chores and you cannot bring that rich husband.”
Berhane and the small network of disabled friends commenced to use their own resources to help each other as well as other disabled women. “We soon realized that we should get ourselves organized and help each other and others who lacked the access and opportunities we had,” Berhane adds, recounting the beginning of the establishment of the Ethiopian Women with Disabilities National Association (EWDNA) — an organization that works to empower women with disabilities and provides them with the skills and confidence they need to become economically self sufficient. The association was founded by Berhane and her seven friends, and today it boasts more than 3,000 members. It started with a women’s resource center and now provides technical, financial and vocational training along with counseling and guidance services to members and non-members. Berhane tells of “the huge challenge of placing trainees in the mainstream job market” — hence EWDNA’s subsequent focus on assisting individuals to start their own small businesses as well.
Berhane is optimistic about the future. She has seen some changes in attitudes towards disabilities in the course of her life. She exclaims, “In the past people used to feel pity for us and openly express it as if we are some helpless creatures. You do not see that often these days. People are witnessing that disability is not a curse and that with the right support system, which for that matter everyone needs, disability can be overcome.” She also sees the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by Ethiopia as a step in the right direction.
Berhane met Mary once again at the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award ceremony. “We both were happy that I won this award,” shares Berhane. “And afterwards we talked and stared into each other’s eyes and saw the best of human spirit in each other.”
— About the Author: Kassahun Addis is a New York-based contributing writer for Tadias Magazine.
Berhane Daba of Ethiopia, winner of the 2015 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, June 4th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — Berhane Daba, President and Founder of Ethiopian Women with Disabilities National Association, has been named winner of the 2015 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award, a prestigious annual prize given by the National Peace Corps Association. Daba will be honored in Berkeley, California this weekend and then will meet with national disability rights activists and Congress members next week on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
“The Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award honors an outstanding global leader who grew up in a country where Peace Corps Volunteers served, whose life was influenced by the Peace Corps, and whose career contributed significantly to their nation and the world in ways that reflect shared values in human dignity and economic, social, and political development,” the National Peace Corps Association said in a press release. “It is the highest honor bestowed upon a global leader by the National Peace Corps Association.”
Daba’s organization, the Ethiopian Women with Disabilities National Association (EWDNA), works to empower women with disabilities with the skills and confidence they need to become economically independent. According to the press release “Daba advocates for equal access for women and people of disability so that they can reach their full potential — and she understands these obstacles because she has conquered them herself. Diagnosed with polio at the age of four, Daba faced not only an inability to walk, but also widespread estrangement from her community. She was placed in a wing of the Princess Tsehai Hospital with orphaned and disabled children by the age of five.”
The Peace Corps Connection
It was during this period that Daba would meet Peace Corps Volunteer and nurse Mary Myers-Bruckenstein. Seeing Daba as a unique and valuable person with potential, Myers-Bruckenstein decided to take her into her home. Daba then entered an environment where she had an opportunity to heal and to attend school.
Daba viewed gaining an education as her greatest opportunity to live an independent lifestyle. She refused to accept limits placed on her by society, and it is through this process of bettering herself and overcoming prejudice that she found her calling—to assist others and to champion equal access and opportunity for people with disability.
Since founding the Ethiopian Women with Disabilities National Association in 1995, Daba has worked to expand the organization’s member base from its original eight members to over 2,100 today. Beyond providing technical and vocational training, EWDNA offers counseling and guidance services to further empower members to confidently enter the workforce.
EWDNA uses a sustainable business model to fund its programming, operating a bakery where members can work, and thus promoting the organization’s goal of socio-economic empowerment for disabled women.
Daba has become an international leader on behalf of her cause, and has travelled to Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa for meetings and conferences. This summer she plans to attend leadership training in Italy sponsored by the International Labour Organization.
“My future plan is to continue struggling for [the] disability moment and support the forgotten disabled people,” states Daba on moving forward. “And if God helps me, I will do something for my birthplace.”
The selection committee noted that “Berhane Daba’s story is emblematic of the direct and life-changing impact that Peace Corps Volunteers can have in communities where they serve, and how that impact can ripple outward. Berhane is a catalyst for changing attitudes about how people with disabilities are viewed, not only in her native Ethiopia, but around the world.”
The NPCA will present Berhane Daba with the 2015 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award on Saturday, June 6 at Peace Corps Connect – Berkeley. Daba will be in Washington, DC the following week meeting with disability rights activists and members of Congress.
About the Wofford Award:
The Wofford Award is named in honor of Harris Wofford, former U.S. Senator and special assistant to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps. Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, successful businessman and philanthropist, endowed the Award. He is also the Award’s first recipient, presented to him in September 2011 at the NPCA “Promise of the Peace Corps Gala” celebrating Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary.
Prof. Donald N. Levine signing his book at Tsehai Publishers journal launching ceremony in Los Angeles -- November 27, 2006 at Ramada Hotel / Culver City. (Photograph courtesy of TSEHAI Publishers)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Thursday, April 9th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — Professor Donald N. Levine, who passed away on Saturday, April 4th at the age of 83, is being remembered by his friends in Ethiopia and the Diaspora as a beloved Ethiopianist, educator, sociological theorist, author, collaborator, advocate, mentor, sensei and friend.
In addition to his well-known credentials as a respected scholar of Ethiopian studies, Levine was also an Aikido sensei and the co-founder of the first Aikido dojo in Awasa, Ethiopia.
Below are reflections and photos sent to us from Don Levine’s friends and colleagues in the U.S. and Ethiopia. Feel free to send us your own reflections at staff@tadias.com. We’ll keep this page updated.
From Tesfaye Tekelu
Aikido Ethiopia & Awasa Youth Campus
“Don was a mentor, a teacher, a sensei and in many ways a father figure to me. I have known him for more than 12 years and he has taught me, trained me, supported me like a father would a son. He was the architect of our project. He helped me found Aikido Ethiopia and the Awasa Youth Campus (Action for Youth & Community) and supported and guided us until the last day of his life. He loved our country and the people, and he was talking about Ethiopia days before he passed away. We will cherish his work and continue working on what we started in our country. Rest in peace, Ethiopiawiwu ye Selam Arbegna.”
From Dag Andargachew
Washington, D.C.
Dag Andargachew and Don Levine. (Courtesy photo)
I’ve known Don’s work for many years and had the pleasure of meeting him 15 years ago when he was in the Bay Area for a meeting. We kept in touch since then and got to hang out again in 2003 when he came back to California to visit an Ethiopian that was imprisoned. Afterwards we went to Yoga Mandala in Berkeley for their 1st anniversary yoga session which was my first ever yoga class!! After that day I was a regular student at that studio till I left the Bay Area and have been hooked on yoga ever since! Thank you Don!!!!
Fast forward a few years and I was living in Addis for a couple of years and had the honor to help Don with administrative staff – organizing meetings, meet and greet events etc. when he came to Ethiopia in Jan 2008, to meet with human rights activists & leaders as well as recently released journalists. I also had the privilege to organize a meeting for him with Gash Mesfin (Prof. Mesfin), who had also been recently released from prison. It was an awesome opportunity for me to sit amongst these two giants and listen-in to their conversation, debate and old stories.
I have driven with Gash Liben to Awasa to check out AYC’s overall progress as well as the setup of the dojo and saw him in action in his beloved Aikido.
It was a pleasure to be around Don and to see him interact with ease with the young, not so young, important officials/diplomats and not so important people attentively and with respect!
Interestingly I found out that my Dad was an undergrad student at AAU when Don first came to Ethiopia and was one of the people that taught him Amharic. I’m glad they got to hang out after so many years in Chicago when my Dad was visiting, and again in Addis when Don visited last.
Don is a true sensei in the whole sense of the word!!
From Mel Tewahade
Denver, Colorado
Don Levine (second from right) with Menze family in Amhara region of Ethiopia. (Courtesy photo)
I am blessed to have known Dr. Don N. Levine. The God that created heaven and earth is pleased in this Easter day, to receive his servant and our friend into his kingdom. May his writing and teaching touch many lives forever and ever. He has willingly accepted and loved being Ethiopian. He dedicated 55 years of his life studying, writing, teaching, advocating and praying for Ethiopia and Ethiopians. He encouraged all of us to dig deeper into the spirit of Menze and Shoa. He also showed us to live our lives with abundance. He reminded me that Queen of Sheba took gold and incense when she visited King Solomon in Jerusalem. He motivated us to develop our skill of negotiation that our ancestors had once mastered. He showed us how to express what we want with class and dignity using what our ancestors called Wax and Gold. He wanted to show Ethiopians not to be ashamed of our history and heritage. For that alone I am eternally grateful. Gashe Liben, as he is called by his Ethiopian name, We will continue your work and be true to ourselves. May you rest in peace.
From Elias Wondimu, Founder of TSEHAI Publishers
Los Angeles, California
(Courtesy of Tsehai Publishers)
I was blessed enough to work with Gash Liben on several initiatives. To mention a few, he was an editorial advisor and author of TSEHAI Publishers, editorial board member and regular contributor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, and a founding board member and senior scholar of the Ethiopian Institute for Nonviolence Education and Peace Studies, but most of all he was one of the few people who took time to answer any questions that I may have. For me, I lost a mentor, a major supporter, and a collaborator on all of my projects, and an author extraordinaire that I had the privilege of publishing his very last book (Interpreting Ethiopia) among other writings and his classic book: Wax and Gold.
The reaction of our people from across international borders is not due to one or few of his successful writings, but it is due to his life-long engagement with Ethiopia and his advocacy to her citizens’ dignity wherever they might be. What we lost today is not only an acclaimed scholar, but a dear friend of our people and a citizen of the world who cares deeply for its future.
From Professor Ayele Bekerie
Mekele, Ethiopia
Professor Donald Levine, the Ethiopianist Insider Remembered
It was June 2004 and the Honorary Doctorate recipients for the 2004 Addis Ababa University Commencement were assembled in the Office of the University’s President prior to our march to Genet Hall of the Sidist Kilo Campus where the Commencement ceremony took place. Among the recipients were Professor Donald Levine, the Late Professor Ali Mazrui and Professor Ephrem Isaac. I accompanied Professor Ali Mazrui to the event from the US. As we passed the Ras Mekonen Hall, Professor Levine looked up the door of the Hall and excitedly pointed the motto of the University posted at the top. He asked us if we know the meaning of the motto written in Ge’ez.
“Kulu Amekeru Wezesenaye Atsneu,” Professor Levine read the motto loud. He then quickly shared with us the meaning as if to free us from the instant question he posed to us. The motto, which translates to “Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good,” was known to Professor Levine since his time as a Professor in the then Haile Selassie I University over fifty years ago. The motto became part of our conversation as we marched to Genet Hall. This anecdote typifies the nature and personality of Professor Levine and his extraordinary immersion into Ethiopian history, culture and society.
Professor Levine has always maintained an insider view, that is, he studied the language, assumed the position of being empathic with the culture and looked at the history and culture of the people Ethiopia from the inside out. Professor Levine was so intimate with the field of Ethiopian Studies that he was able to produce, as most agree, two outstanding and classical books on aspects of Ethiopian culture and society: Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture (1967) and Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of Multiethnic Society (1974).
While Wax and Gold demonstrates the extent and depth of Professor Levine’s understanding of the nuances and complexities in Amharic language and the people who speak it, Greater Ethiopia expanded his scholarly reach within Ethiopian Studies and he ably argued in favor of Ethiopian multiethnic identity. These two books are by far widely quoted and referenced works in the field of Ethiopian Studies. Of course, Professor Levine wrote 5 books and a hundred journal articles. He successfully conducted scholarly works in Social Theory, Ethiopian Studies and the Martial Arts.
Professor Levine to many Ethiopians at home and abroad is known as Gashe Liben. This is an earned name. He earned the most gracious and affectionate title as a result of his remarkable accessibility to Ethiopians and their organizations, be it in social, cultural, educational and political settings. Gashe Liben prefaced many books authored by Ethiopian or Ethiopianist scholars. He contributed a great deal of articles for various journals in Ethiopian Studies. He organized international conferences and gave many media interviews. Gashe Liben helped several Ethiopians with their immigration cases.
More importantly, he always offered his advice, critical but balanced, with regard to current issues of Ethiopia. He always cautioned fellow Ethiopians to seize the moment and get engaged with the modernization of Ethiopia informed by tradition. He urged us to stop missing opportunities.
To me, Professor Levine’s seminal contribution in the field of Ethiopian Studies was his definition and articulation of what he calls the Ethiopian national epic. The professor argued that Kebre Negest is a national epic or mythology. A people with national epic, according to him, are a people with deep-rooted identity. A people confident of their identity are capable and willing to defend it. True, the mythology has to be expanded and should include the multiple mythologies of our people. But as a tribute to Professor Levine, we should all agree that our multiethnic identity is founded on a great epic of a great people.
From Kidist Tariku, Coordinator of Ethiopia’s Long Live the Girls program
Hawassa, Ethiopia
We are very sad to lose such a loving and intelligent man. His name and work always remains in our organization’s history. He is our founder; he will always be respected and loved for what he did for our community. May his soul rest in peace.
Long Live the Girls is a girls’ empowerment program through creative writing initiative founded in 2012 through a partnership between Action for Youth & Community Change & Break Arts: International Arts & Education Collaborative. Using creative writing to spark the imagination and see the world as if it could be otherwise, our model for engagement is unique — we create safe spaces for girls and women to speak and write with freedom, often using both political and poetic documents as the springboard for conversation, writing & performance.
From Dr. Theodore M. Vestal
Professor Emeritus, Oklahoma State University
Ted Vestal. (Courtesy photo)
A Tribute to Professor Donald Levine
Ethiopia lost a stalwart friend, scholar and benefactor of the common good with the death of Professor Donald Levine this week in Chicago. His books about Ethiopia, especially Wax and Gold and Greater Ethiopia, are classical studies of the society, history, and culture of the Land of Prester John that so fascinated him. His many articles and public addresses about Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa leave a profound legacy for Ethiopians to ponder in the years to come. His thoughts about Ethiopia and prescriptions for its future were informed by his life as superbly trained American academic and public intellectual.
Don came to Chicago fresh out of high school and took advantage of the University of Chicago’s accelerated degree program begun during the university’s presidency of Robert Hutchins. In a seven year span from 1950 through 1957, he completed his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology and went to Ethiopia to undertake field work. He resided in a rural Manz, an Amhara area and learned firsthand about the people and their ways. He studied Amharic and could converse with the subjects of his research. He then became a professor at Haile Selassie I University where he was teaching during the attempted coup in 1960. Levine joined the faculty at his alma mater, the University of Chicago, in 1962 and rose through the academic ranks to become Professor of Sociology and holder of the endowed Peter B. Ritzma chair. He also served as Dean of the College in the 1980s.
Levine’s teaching, speaking, and writing about Ethiopia reflected his grounding in the Chicago method of higher education characterized by independent thought and criticism that is created in the interest of the progress of society. In his continuing dialogue with and about Ethiopia, Don was open-minded and welcomed different points of view. In the process of doing this, he extended the bounds of understanding and wisdom about that ancient land. He epitomized the great professor of cultural studies: one who lived and worked among the people, took part in their festivals and celebrations, learned the language, and studied the literature and great books of their tradition. This “Dean of Ethiopianists” as I fondly called him, set a high bar for those who aspire to study and understand Ethiopia.
I met Don for the first time when we served as international election observers in Addis Ababa during the 1992 general elections. As a two-man team, among other things, we visited several precincts and noted some concerns about electoral activities that were included in the African-American Institute’s An Evaluation of the June 21, 1992 Elections in Ethiopia. We subsequently met in Ethiopian-related meetings all over the world, and he was a pleasure to be with. His devotion to searching for the truth about Ethiopia was inspirational. He will be missed.
From Chuck Schaefer
Valparaiso University, Indiana
(Courtesy photo)
Don Levine will be genuinely missed. He had a profound influence on Ethiopian studies. As his grad student, mention of his name open doors for me in Ethiopia even in the dark days of the Derg in the mid 1980s. Deans and/or Vice Ministers may not have always agreed with Don’s “greater Ethiopia” thesis, but they knew it and respected the deep sociological analysis that was at its core.
He was the father of American Ethiopianists. His rapacious appetite for all things involving Ethiopia meant that he served on dissertation committees of sociologists (of course), anthropologists, religious scholars, historians (including myself), linguists, political scientists and probably in a number of other disciplines both here and in Great Britain. To a degree he defined the Ethiopian character in the waining years of the Imperial era, and his “wax & gold” dichotomy ensured that all subsequent scholars had to reckon with Ethiopians as complex, conniving, compassionate peasants and peers alike.
Perhaps Don’s most enduring contribution was his deep understanding of social mobility up and down Ethiopia’s feudal ladder. This made writing a dissertation that would pass his inspection a difficult task, for the normal tropes like social classes had to bend and mend themselves to the realities of Ethiopia’s multiple paths to upward and, simultaneous, downward mobility. Even simple translation had to either be thrown out or appropriately nuanced. For Don, western univocal translation of texts was like paring down a Rembrandt painting to a charcoal sketch, for he was transfixed by the ambiguity inherent in Amharic, its texture, rich meanings and multiple depths of interpretation.
I dropped by Don’s house to discuss an issue related to the 1960 coup d’etat this past summer while Don and Andrew DeCort were editing proofs of “Interpreting Ethiopia.” To the last he was a scholar and a teacher.
I will miss him.
From Ashenaphy Fentie
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ashenaphy Fentie. (Google Profile)
Donal N. Levine, a distinguished and great Ethiopianist of all time just passed away at the age of 83. He published important works such as, “Greater Ethiopia”, “Wax and Gold” and “Translating Ethiopia”. GREATER ETHIOPIA is his iconic book that I suggest as a must-read by every Ethiopian. As far as impartiality, evident history and the common past of the Horn are the concerns, I personally do not know any other single writer, both from Ethiopia and abroad that can be credited like Levine. He was much more patriotic to Ethiopia than even those Ethiopians, who think they are historians.
Those of you, who are not familiar with Levine and his works, please, read “Greater Ethiopia” and some of his journals on Ethiopian Studies, then you will find out for yourselves who this man really was. He actually was one of the very reasons that brought me into the study of history. I’m so so inspired by him, and very sad we lost him so soon. Regarding the history of Ethiopia and the Horn in general, I believe, no other single writer has ever taken us as far as Levine already did. His sociological studies of the Horn conducted in the late 1960s and his related conclusive theory of the study were incredibly proven to be accurate 40 years later, by the young and contemporary science of Population Genetics.
Rest in peace, our hero Donald Nathan Levine. Thank you for your irreplaceable and immortal contributions in the history and sociology of our beloved Ethiopia.
From Mulugeta Wodajo
Bethesda, Maryland
I had known Don for close to 60 years when we were both graduate students at Chicago and Columbia University, respectively. His two books on Ethiopia, Wax and Gold and Greater Ethiopia have been considered “must read” classics about our country’s society, history and culture ever since they were first published in the 1960s and ‘80s, respectively. He had recently completed another book for publication also on Ethiopia. He had shown me the finished manuscript of that book less than a year ago; hopefully it will see the light of day very soon. Additionally, he had previously published three major books and numerous articles in professional journals in his field of expertise, social anthropology, that were highly valued by experts in that field. He was a highly regarded professor of sociology at Chicago University until his retirement a few years ago and continued to do so from time to time, even after his retirement..
While doing field work for his first book, Wax and Gold, in Menz in the late 1950’s, he took on the name “Liben”, after a close Menzie friend he got to know well during his field work. Many of his Ethiopian friends, including myself, used to call him by that name until the very end. That pleased him a great deal as one could see from his reaction when called by that name. More recently, he also adopted the name of “Gebre Ethiopia” as he considered himself a genuine servant of our country.
I will greatly miss Don. He was one of the few friends left from those bygone years. He has now joined the great Ethiopian scholars – Ethiopian as well as foreigners – gone forever from our midst. May he rest in peace!
From Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam
Boston, Massachusetts
From right: Don, Alex and Hans. (Courtesy photo)
In memoriam: Donald Nathan Levine, 1931-2015
I have known Donald Levine at close range. He was a great friend, spiritual father, and mentor. I would have called him “an intellectual soulmate,” as he has referred to me in a note he wrote on his last book, Social Theory As Vocation (2015). To give you a sense of his generosity, when he learnt that I ended up jobless and without a means to support myself and my family in Addis Ababa after my return from Europe as a result of Jimma University’s decision to dismiss me from my teaching job in absentia, he extended his helping hand. He sent me money and books on several occasions whenever he finds people traveling to Addis Ababa. He was a frequent interlocutor from a distance and we used to exchange tones of emails between Addis Ababa where I was living and Chicago where he was based. Then I came to the US upon his invitation in October 2011. I audited one of his seminar courses on George Simmel at the University of Chicago, practiced aikido on the matt under him at the University of Chicago Dojo, arranged for me to audit Nathan Tarcov’s seminar course on Leo Strauss at the Committee on Social Thought, and generously vetted me to be part of one of the panels in the International Conference on George Simmel in 2011. It was also a great honor and pleasure to have helped him with two of his last books, Interpreting Ethiopia and Social Theory As Vocation, in which he has generously acknowledged my assistance.
Levine was a keen student of Ethiopian civilization for over half a century. His initial scholarly encounter with Ethiopia dates back to 1958 when he, as a young postdoctoral fellow, started his ethnographic work living among the “extraordinarily handsome people in a setting of great natural beauty and [an] [idyllic] climate” of North Shoa, Ethiopia, which “offers a gate through time to a state of being that is richly medieval.” (1965). That ethnographic fieldwork resulted in his Ethiopian classic Wax & Gold (1965). In the realm of Ethiopian studies, he is also most famous for his magisterial book Greater Ethiopia (1974), which has long been considered a major contribution to understanding the phenomena of ethnic diversity and national unity in Ethiopia. Shortly before his death, he managed to put together a collection of essays on Ethiopia, Interpreting Ethiopia (2014), in which he offers his observations on the ethos and worldview, education and literature, history, politics, and cross-national connections of the cultural area that he calls Greater Ethiopia. Levine’s oeuvre is the outcome of a serious scholarly odyssey through Ethiopian civilization over space and time. He has travelled extensively through every quarter of the cultural area that he fondly calls “Greater Ethiopia” –from Massawa to Jimma, from Addis to Aksum. His intellectual odyssey pushed the frontiers of Ethiopian Studies, extending the reach of his research from the culture of the Amhara, in Wax & Gold, to that of a multiethnic society, in Greater Ethiopia, from Aksum As a Seedbed Society to Reconsidering Ethiopian Nationhood, as necessitated by the advent of the internet and immigration.
In explaining what provided the bond that has continued to link him with Ethiopian over the years, he went on record, in one of his personal communication with me, saying: “the greatest thing in life is “aimless camaraderie,” as Frank H. Knight called it. Much of what has bonded me to Ethiopians over the years has been the joy of aimless camaraderie in their company.” Those of us who had the privilege to meet him in Chicago or Addis know what he means by the joy of the interaction in aimless camaraderie with fellow Ethiopians.
Besides his scholarly engagement with Ethiopia, Levine was also an activist. His more activistic engagement dates back to his critical 1961 article on Haile Sellassie’s authoritarianism, which cost him his teaching job at the Haile Selassie I University. He was an ardent advocate of freedom in Ethiopia. More often than not, he voiced his concerns for academic freedom, free press, free association, free and fair elections, and loyal opposition in Ethiopia. It was in the spirit of public service that he gave a testimony before the U.S. Congress on the human rights abuses of the Dergue in 1976, engaged himself in a critical analysis of the Addis Ababa University fiasco in 1993, gave a spirited acceptance speech in defense of academic freedom at the award of an honorary doctorate from Addis Ababa University in 2004, where he emphasied the traditional mission of AAU as a university by reciting the Geez motto: “Kulu Amekeru Wezesenaye Atsneu” (Examine everything, and hold fast to what is best). Indeed, the dialogic turn that he brought to bear upon sociology and Ethiopian studies has also oriented his activistic engagement. It has been his lifelong wish and prayer for Ethiopians of all generation and walks of life to transcend the limitations inherent in their cultures soda as to dissolve the either/or metazez wey meshefet (“obey or rebel”) mentality through dialogue.
In both his scholarly and activistic odysseys, what always strikes me as quite distinctive of Levine is the strength of his character. He was as much courageous in his scholarship as much as he was in his activism. In his activism, he never succumbed to fears of retribution. He criticized the incumbent as well as the opposition in an even-handed manner. In his scholarly pursuits, he refused to succumb to political correctness, which he once described to me in a personal communication as: “Political correctness is the hobgoblin of little minds. That’s the kind of statement that corrupts the search for truth, IMHO. The Janjero who committed human sacrifice can be glossed as culturally inferior to the Dorzes who created polyphonic music and beautiful weavings as central expressions of their cultures.”
Donald Levine is a towering figure in Chicago sociology and social thought in the same league as Robert Park, George Mead, Albion Small, John Dewey, Edward Shils, and Arnaldo Momigliano. Hi sociological oeuvre includes critical interpretations of Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, S.N. Eisenstadt, and above all Georg Simmel. In the realm of social theory, his work focused on bringing into fruitful dialogue, if not reunifying the sociological traditions and imaginations, in a book venture that he titles Visions of the Sociological Tradition (1995). One evening during my visit at the University of Chicago in November 2011, as we were walking to his home where he generously hosted me for the first week, he started telling me how sociology used to be as big as Humpty Dumpty and how it had a terribly great fall in the 1960s. And after Humpty Dumpty had that fateful fall and it broke into pieces, all sociologists and social theorists that came “couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty in his place again.” That was exactly what he wanted to do with his magisterial book Visions of the Sociological Tradition in which he wrote, “For most of its first century as an institutionalized discipline, the proponents of sociology envisioned it as a unified field. The vision was elusive and consensus hard to come by. Yet for all their profound differences about what sociology should be and do, its principal spokesmen —figures like Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Park, and Parsons—agreed that sociology should be framed as a coherent enterprise demarcated by clear and defensible boundaries. The narratives constructed by Park and Burgess, Sorokin, Parsons, and others were part of the more general effort to justify’ such a unified vision.”(259)
In his Festschrift, Hans Joas and Charles Camic extol Levine’s achievements in the field of social theory as follows:
the idea that dialogue among different intellectual perspectives is a paramount cognitive and ethical objective in its own right, particularly in the context of the current postdisciplinary age—receives its fullest development at the hands of University of Chicago sociologist Donald N. Levine, whose extensive writings on the subject provide the point of departure for the twelve essays in this volume. As a distinguished theorist and historian of sociological thought, Donald Levine has been closely familiar with these pluralist currents within sociology throughout his career….
At last year's International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora. (Photo: by Kebadu Belachew)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — How do you hold elections without the role of civil society? That’s the primary question, organizers say, that panelists will try to answer at the 4th Annual International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora when they gather this coming weekend in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The conference hosted by the Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW) will be held on March 7th at the Silver Spring Sheraton. The day-long program includes discussions focusing on the impact of Ethiopia’s Societies and Charities Law, which severely restricts the activities of nongovernmental organizations, including women’s associations.
“Because of this Law, these organizations are not likely to have any impact in the upcoming 2015 elections,” CREW said in a statement. “The conference will create an enabling environment for networking among participants to challenge the Society and Charities Law and advocate for the respect of basic human rights, women’s right and the rule of law in the country.”
Guest speakers include Dr. Tsehai Berhane-Selassie, Mr. Kassahun Yibeltal, Dr. Melakou Tegegn, Dr. Erku Yimer, Ms. Soliyana G. Michael, and Mr. Obang Metho.
In addition, CREW said, their event features the screening of Hayal Hayl, a documentary film by Elias Wondimu of Tsehai Publishers, which looks at non-violent movements that brought about fundamental social changes in the 20th century.
Bruktawit Tigabu, founder of Ethiopia's Whiz Kids Workshop, has been selected as one of two individuals awarded the 2014 Tremplin Prize, in partnership with UNESCO, in recognition of “social entrepreneurship.”
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, December 4th, 2014
New York (TADIAS) – Bruktawit Tigabu, co-founder and CEO of Ethiopia’s Whiz Kids Workshop, has been awarded the 2014 Tremplin Prize, which recognizes innovative social business projects. The award given in partnership with UNESCO includes a $10,000 subsidy along with a year of international consulting and media coverage.
Bruktawit launched Whiz Kids Workshop in 2006 and developed Ethiopia’s first educational TV show for preschool kids entitled Tsehai Loves Learning that is watched by approximately 5 million children and broadcast in schools, refugee centers, and clinics. The educational TV show has earned several other international accolades including the Japan Prize International Contest for Education Media, Next Generation Prize at Prix Jeunesse International (2008) and Microsoft Education Award (2011). Bruktawit was named a Rolex Young Laureate in 2010.
The award ceremony will take place at the UNECA building in Addis Ababa on December 5th.
New York (TADIAS) — Learning how to play the krar, a five stringed traditional Ethiopian lyre, at age 8, Kibrom Birhane found himself enthralled by Orthodox chanting. “Always it moves me when I hear music,” he says. And from that time on he knew he wanted to pursue a career in music. Kibrom eventually began teaching piano to other students for about three years before receiving a scholarship to attend the Los Angeles College of Music where he developed a passion beyond Ethiopian folk music, and became a songwriter and composer focusing on the fusion of Ethiopian folk with jazz and gospel sounds. His debut album entitled ‘Kibrom’s Tizita’ was recently released by Tsehai Records, a new division of Tsehai Publishers. Kibrom describes his new album as “an exploration of Ethiopian heritage through folk and pop music with a jazz backbone.”
Kibrom is also a record and mixing engineer and says he “learned to play all of these different roles over time, and with that came new innovations” in his music and sound. His solo pieces are among his most personal works, and Kibrom shares that they are “an expression of what I feel at the moment. I don’t study or learn solos; I just play them.”
Kibrom hopes to reach the younger generation with his music. He sees the power of fusion as a way to expose individuals to Ethiopian music while adopting a style that is already familiar to them (such as jazz). Kibrom has already garnered some success including writing the score for the documentary film ‘Sincerely Ethiopia,’ singing in the award-winning documentary ‘Get Together Girls,’ and composing music for the documentary on the African Union’s 50th year celebration.
“The raw sincerity of Birhane’s music seeks to make strong connections with listeners as they are transported on a musical journey. And a journey it is – Kibrom uses Ethiopian scales, which are rarely heard in Western music. The distinct nature of these scales makes for hypnotic listening,” states Tsehai Records.
Photo Courtesy: Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Sunday, May 11th, 2014
New York (TADIAS) — In a Mother’s Day tribute to Ethiopian women around the world, the Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW) has gathered a collection of essays, poems and photos reflecting motherhood.
Among the featured contributors include Ethiopian-American author Maaza Mengstie, exiled journalist Serkalem Fasil (wife of Eskinder Nega), migrant domestic workers issues activist and filmmaker Rahel Zegeye (a former migrant worker from Ethiopia who currently resides in Beirut, Lebanon), as well as Meron Ahadu, Dr. Tsehai Berhane-Selassie, Dr. Menna Demessie, Tizita Belachew, Helen Afework, Fekerte Gebremariam and Tsigereda Mulugeta.
The tribute to Ethiopian women also recognizes imprisoned Ethiopian female journalist Reyot Alemu, winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
In a statement Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw, President of CREW said: “For generations, Ethiopian women have played major roles in their society. They are the center of the family and shouldered immense responsibilities. They are strong and courageous fighters for freedom. They have come a long way, but they still have a long way to go to achieve equality. The major obstacles in women’s advancement in Ethiopia are the abject poverty and the traditional harmful practices that hinder women’s progress. Because of these, women have continued to face enormous hardships. On the other hand, their resilience in the face of all impediments is quite amazing.”
New York (TADIAS) — In a new book by Dr. Belete Belacehw Yihun, entitled Black Ethiopia published by Tsehai Publishers, the diplomatic history of Ethiopia and the legacy of Haile Selassie is revisited with the scales of history rebalanced to show more sides of the embattled leader. According to Dr. Christopher Clapham at the Centre of African Studies at Cambridge University, “This book tells the remarkable story of how Ethiopia seized the diplomatic leadership of Africa.” While many historical materials on Haile Selassie’s diplomatic efforts remain inaccessible to the general public, Belete’s book is among the few compiled resources on Ethiopian diplomacy in modern Ethiopia, which studies the time period between 1956 and 1991 as Ethiopia took the reigns of African diplomacy that continued in subsequent governments.
“If we are to truly understand the events of the present, we must look to the past for answers,” adds Elias Wondimu, founder of Tsehai Publishers. “We must look with a critical eye toward the past and examine why events happened and why people are perceived and ultimately preserved a particular way.” The scarcity of compiled documentation of Ethiopian diplomacy, especially in a time of great change and modernization, makes this book a particularly valuable piece of history.
Just over two years ago, on the the eve of the fifty year anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) / African Union (AU) was celebrated as the new AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia opened its doors for its inaugural summit to large fanfare. The celebration included the unveiling of a bronze statue of one of the most famous leaders of the organization, Kwame Nkrumah. A quote from Nkrumah was inscribed in front of the statue in golden letters, “Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God. Africa must unite.” The quote epitomizes the significant role that Ethiopia played towards the founding of the OAU.
Nkrumah, the leader of the Casablanca Group, fought for a completely united Africa under the motto “One continent, one nation”. Nkrumah’s contributions to African unity are invaluable, and yet the statue has stirred debate not just in Ethiopia, but worldwide as Nkrumah’s legacy is only one part of OAU’s origins. Emperor Haile Selassie, who was a uniting figure among the different factions, is another person who played a major role in convincing African leaders to bypass their ideological divisions to work together. As a well-regarded international statesman of his time, Emperor Haile Selassie led the way to the establishment of the OAU in Addis Ababa in 1963.
Dr. Theodore M. Vestal, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Oklahoma State University, sums up Ethiopia’s impact on African politics in the following way, “Ethiopia has a long history of leadership in the Pan-African Movement, the complicated mosaic of continental and regional political and economic association liberation movements and mediation efforts.” Undoubtedly Haile Selassie was a major part of this tradition as he set a standard of statesmanship that has helped to advance Ethiopia and all of Africa towards a united global force.
At the 2014 International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora. (Photo: by Kebadu Belachew)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) — The lively and diverse crowd at the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Women in the Diaspora — that was held at the Sheraton in Silver Spring, Maryland this past weekend (Saturday, March 22nd) — featured several speakers (both women and men) discussing current issues affecting Ethiopian women globally. Some of the presenters participated via Internet from Colorado, Kentucky and California.
The conference commenced with a motivational speech by Chereace Richards, a successful business woman and author of Faith, Focus, Action: The Journey to Becoming Who You Are, followed by a segment of Dagmawi Yimer’s movie Like a Man on Earth, a moving story of Ethiopian migrant workers in Libya. “We showed the clip of the film and Dagmawi gave a brief speech,” said Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw, President of CREW (Center for the Rights of Ethiopian Women) who organized the conference. “The movie and his speech left a lot of people in the audience sobbing.”
Others presenters included data visualization expert Jomo Tariku, as well as the editor and senior researcher of the Bahrain-based migrant-rights.org Rima Kalush, an advocate for migrant rights in Middle Eastern countries. Dr. Maigenet shared that during her several previous communications with Rima, who joined the conference online from Caliofrnia, she never asked about her birth country. “To me, she is just a powerful and strong woman from the Middle East who is defying her own culture and works for migrant workers,” she said. “And at the conference, I asked where Rima was from originally and she said she is from Libya.” She added: “What a story to tell. Thank you, Rima, for all what you are doing. You are a role model to all.”
In a letter to supporters and participants Dr. Maigenet added: “Our first session began at about 10:30 a.m. by bringing Drs. Minga Negash and Seid Hassan via Skype from Colorado and Kentucky, respectively. [The speakers] set the framework for the conference by explaining the push and pull factors of migration in general and Ethiopian outmigration in particular. ”
Another panel was focused on the current situation of Ethiopian women migrant workers in the Middle East and about the returnees from Saudi Arabia. “Our moderator was the young and vibrant, Dr. Menna Demissie, who is senior policy analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation,” Dr. Maigenet said. “Speakers on this panel included filmmaker Dagmawi Yimer, technologist and designer Jomo Tariku, Researcher Helen Afework, and our own Genet Derbe, a social worker and the treasurer of CREW.”
Speaking of Helen Afework, a young researcher and a graduate student at the European Masters in Migration Studies in Germany who is currently in New York on a fellowship program at the National Domestic Workers Association to study domestic workers in the United States, Dr. Maigenet said she became the recipient of the 2014 CREW scholarship sponsored by Tsehai Publishers.
“She read on Tadias Magazine the coverage about our upcoming 3rd conference and wrote us,” Dr. Maigenet recalled her conversation with Helen. “We contacted her and interviewed her. She was really God-send, and because of her extensive work on domestic workers in the Middle East, she became our 2014 CREW scholarship recipient.” The scholarship is designed to encourage Ethiopian women researchers to present their papers and findings at CREW’s annual conferences. “With more sponsors we hope to invite at least two Ethiopian women researchers every year,” she said. “There are many who wrote us to sponsor them, but due to our limited resources, we were unable to do that.”
Tadella Fanta, a gender specialist with many years of experience in Ethiopia and other countries, addressed “the gendered nature of migration” based on research she had conducted regarding Ethiopian migrant workers in Yemen and Sudan. “She is one of the founding members of CREW, which has provided her a platform to present her research papers,” Dr. Maigenet said.
Dr. Maigenet noted that “a lot of people inquired later about how we brought all these dynamic young professionals and senior scholars [together],” Dr. Maigenet said. “It was through contacts from the National Press Club roundtable that was organized by Tadias Magazine in December 2013 where we were introduced to a number of the panelists.” Dr. Maigenet also thanked additional media sponsor ESAT television and radio and CREW member Birtwait Girmay who is a producer, Voice of America (VOA) Amharic Service, Netsanet LeEthiopia radio, Addis Dimtse Radio, and ECADForum.
CREW looks forward to hosting a fundraising event in May.
New York (TADIAS) — As a primary school teacher in Addis Ababa, Bruktawit Tigabu wanted to improve literacy skills not only for children in her classroom but also for those who had limited educational opportunities. In 2006 she launched Whiz Kids Workshop and developed Ethiopia’s first educational TV show for preschool kids entitled Tsehai Loves Learning, which is watched by approximately 5 million children and also broadcast in schools, refugee centers, and clinics. 25 million listeners also hear Tsehai Loves Learning via radio. The educational TV show is highly successful and has earned several international accolades including the Japan Prize International Contest for Education Media and Next Generation Prize at Prix Jeunesse International (2008) and Microsoft Education Award (2011). Bruktawit was named a Rolex Young Laureate in 2010.
Following Tsehai Loves Learning Bruktawit released a TV series made by students called Involve Me in 2010. She was featured as one of the ‘Most Creative People of 2012′ by Fast Company and is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to launch her latest idea — building Tsehai’s Amharic Classroom Library Project and establishing 60 classroom-based libraries in several public elementary schools in Addis Ababa. Bruktawit’s dream is to have classroom libraries in schools across Ethiopia.
TADIAS: Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you started Whiz Kids Workshop. What inspired you to develop it?
BRUKTAWIT: I began my career as a teacher in my hometown of Addis Ababa. After a few years as a classroom teacher, I noticed most children entered the school system as late as age seven. This is because Ethiopia lacks public kindergartens. At Whiz Kids, we call this the early education gap and it is one of the main contributing factors to the high illiteracy rate in Ethiopia. These early years between ages three and six are developmentally critical to a child’s educational success; I knew something had to be done to fill this education gap for so many children. Whiz Kids Workshop began as an idea of how the power of television could close the gap. My husband Shane and I started out by making short films using some of the low-cost media technology that was becoming available to us at the time. We tested our films in classrooms and then conceived of the character of Tsehai, a curious young giraffe who loves books and music. Her show, Tsehai Loves Learning (Tsehai Memare Tewedaletch), has become a national hit that reaches millions weekly throughout Ethiopia on public television. Although our television show continues to reach and impact more and more children, we decided, a few years ago, to increase this impact by going beyond television into radio programming. This season, Tsehai’s radio programs will be reaching up to 25 million young listeners. We have also created Tsehai classroom libraries, where children and teachers can have a rich experience of our reading materials that include storybooks, workbooks, classroom posters and flashcards, developed by a large team of literacy experts, writers and artists.
TADIAS: Can you share some highlights of achievements and lessons learned from producing the Tsehai Loves Learning educational series?
BRUKTAWIT: Since we began in 2005, we have produced over 60 episodes of Tsehai Loves Learning that are viewed regularly by over 5 million children across the country. We continue to be the longest standing children’s TV series in the country. We have also been recognized for our work with over six international awards including Japan Prize in 2008, 2009 & 2010, Prix Jeunesse International – Next Generation Prize in Germany, 2010 Rolex Young Laureate award in Switzerland, and Microsoft Education Award 2011 of The Tech Awards in the USA. We recently won All Children Reading grant which helped us produce 32 episodes of Tsehai Loves Learning television and radio series.
We have learned many valuable lessons in this amazing journey of developing an educational series for children in Ethiopia. The three most meaningful are:
First, we never compromise on quality. Despite the challenge of producing for children, we have learned that to ensure and maintain quality—children’s production must be educational, fun, culturally and age appropriate, and relevant. To guarantee that we meet this standard, we spend close to a thousand hours of work for each episode of Tsehai Loves Learning. Besides the labor of love, we also use research, music, beautiful artwork and animation to bring it to life.
Second, dedication and persistence is a must to overcome the daily challenges of being a pioneer of such innovative work in Ethiopia. We face numerous challenges including financial, human resource capacity in the field, and bureaucratic hiccups on a daily basis. But we have learned that when we stay focused on our goal—reaching the millions of children who eagerly wait to see what we are producing and the vision of a better Ethiopia because we are providing children’s education– we are incredibly energized to persevere.
Third, building community — We have learned that no development or growth is sustainable or successful without the involvement of its community. We believe that every child in Ethiopia deserves the very best educational materials, regardless of their economic background. That’s why we are so excited to be reaching out to Ethiopians across the world to make this campaign succeed.
TADIAS: You recently announced the launch of an innovative crowdfunding campaign for an Amharic Classroom Library Project. Please tell us more about the initiative. Is this also in conjunction with the TV series?
BRUKTAWIT: Reading is a foundational skill for all learning in school. In some regions of Ethiopia, according to the 2010 Early Grade Reading Assessment, a majority of children have 0% comprehension, even at the end of grade 2. The same research showed that having teachers who provide focused reading instruction and story books, are a promising approach for identifying and beginning to remedy this critical problem. This is the reason we are building Tsehai classroom libraries beyond our TV and radio programs; to ensure sustainable reading success, the reading materials must be in the children’s hands.
Each classroom library revolves around a set of powerful elements that achieve reading success. Our classroom library materials includes 32 full-color, original storybooks that focus on one of the families of Ethiopian fidel; 32 beautiful classroom posters of all the fidels; 297 illustrated flashcards for learning the fidels; a wall-mounted sleeve used for teaching the fidels; five shelves for displaying the books, mounted at the right height for children to reach; and a mural featuring the beloved character Tsehai to create a special space for reading and exploration. We also include teacher training videos to demonstrate to teachers how to these materials in the classrooms most effectively.
Our initial goal will be to establish 60 classroom libraries in public schools in Addis Ababa. But if we go beyond our initial $25,000 goal it means we will be able to reach more schools in the country.
The new season of Tsehai Loves Learning is fully integrated into this initiative. Each of the 32 new episodes of the show features one of the books as an animated short within the show, with the characters reading them along with students and using the flashcards to learn the fidel. We will be including these episodes in each classroom library set on eight DVDs.
TADIAS: What is one thing you absolutely enjoy about running Whiz Kids Workshop?
BRUKTAWIT: I love to see people’s reactions to our work. It never gets old for me to see children sing along with Tsehai as they watch the show or to see a teacher’s reaction to the new classroom set we have developed for them. Most Ethiopian children know and love Tsehai; today’s teens grew up with her and adults keep telling me how much they wished for our materials to have been available when they were growing up.
TADIAS: Where do you hope to take your organization in five years?
BRUKTAWIT: Over the next five years we will continue to produce more innovative episodes of Tsehai Loves Learning that help children develop capacities in literacy, science, math, the arts, and moral values. We are going to keep building our library of books and supplementary materials, not only in Amharic, but in other Ethiopian languages. We want to create a nationwide movement based upon an appreciation of the importance of reading as the foundation of success in education and in life! This campaign is the beginning of raising awareness among parents, teachers, and school administrators to elevate the importance of helping children fall in love with books and learning to read by putting the right kind of learning materials into their hands. I can also see the Tsehai brand expanding beyond the borders of Ethiopia to develop curriculum in other African languages.
TADIAS: Is there anything in particular that you want to share with Tadias readers?
BRUKTAWIT: Having lived in the U.S. for a few years with my children, I know how hard it can be to maintain our language and culture while we are away from Ethiopia. We all know how important it is for us to help our children stay connected to our people and our heritage while we are far away, but it isn’t an easy task when they are immersed in another culture and strongly influenced by it.
With this new campaign, we are reaching out specifically to Ethiopians living abroad and giving them two important ways to meaningfully strengthen their connection with their country and people. By becoming contributors to our campaign, they will be the very first to get access to our new set of books, videos flashcards and posters to enjoy with their family. At the same time, they are making a direct contribution to the improvement of quality education in Ethiopia – critical to the development of our country.
– To participate in the crowdfunding campaign to build Tsehai’s Amharic Classroom Library Project please visit: www.highercircle.com/campaigns/tsehai-loves-learning-libraries
— Tseday Alehegn is Co-Founder & Editor of Tadias.
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Washington D.C (TADIAS) – The life and accomplishments of Ethiopian poet and playwright, Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, was celebrated last Friday in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The event highlighted Fasil Yitbarek’s book entitled Soaring on Winged Verse, which is the official biography of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin — one of Africa’s most important literary figures. The gathering, which was hosted by Taitu Cultural Center during its popular monthly poetry night YeWeru Gitm Mishit on July 26th, was attended by a large number of people from the Ethiopian community including families and friends of the late Poet Laureate who would have marked his 77th birthday this August.
The biography was printed by Tsehai Publishers in 2011 and is dedicated “to those whose creative inspirations springs from their love of Ethiopia.” In his book, Fasil chronicles the remarkable story of Mr. Tsegaye’s humble beginnings in rural Ethiopia from the town of Boda, near Ambo, to become one of the most recognized men of letters in the country as well as one of the most prolific and acclaimed writers of his generation. The poet’s distinguished resume spans luminary works of more than 45 plays and an influential collection of Amharic poetry entitled Isat Woy Abeba (Blaze or Bloom).
Poet Laureate Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin passed away in February 2006 at the age of 69 while receiving medical treatment in New York. His body was flown back to Ethiopia and buried at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.
In a Q&A with Tadias Magazine, Fasil said Soaring on Winged Verse is based on several interviews, which he conducted in New York with the late Tsegaye some ten years ago at the poet-playwright’s request.
“We used to meet once a week for a couple of hours and I was able to record about 30 cassettes on various occasions,” Fasil said. However, Tsegaye passed away before they completed the interviews for the book, and he fondly recalled their weekly sessions as “unforgettable moments in my life.” Fasil said he was able to fill the gap through further research of both published and unpublished sources.
“I was lucky to be chosen by Tsegaye to write this book.” Fasil added.
Yodit Tsegaye, one of Tsegaye’s daughters agreed, “We really appreciate Fasil’s determination to finish the memoir,” she said. “This book tells us what we didn’t know about our father.”
Below are photos from the event.
— You can learn more about the book and order your own copy at www.tsehipublihers.com. “Soaring on Winged Verse” is also in the process of being translated into Amharic.
Bruktawit Tigabu, Co-Founder of Whiz Kids Workshop and creator of the Ethiopian Childern TV Show ‘Tsehai Loves Learning,' has been invited to participate as a panelist in the 2013 African First Ladies Summit “Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa,” in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Monday, July 1st, 2013
New York (TADIAS) – As President Barack Obama and his family wind down a three-country Africa tour this week in Tanzania, their stay in Dar es Salaam will coincide with the African First Ladies Summit. Hosted by the George W. Bush Institute the summit features keynote addresses by President and Mrs. Bush as well as expected appearances by First Lady Michelle Obama, Ethiopia’s First Lady Roman Tesfaye, Tanzania’s First Lady Salma Kikwete and other African first ladies.
In addition, Bruktawit Tigabu, the co-founder of Whiz Kids Workshop PLC and co-creator of the Ethiopian educational children’s TV program ‘Tsehai Loves Learning,’ has been invited to participate as a panelist to discuss interventions that utilize public-private partnership models, cross-sector collaborations and technology to improve access to literacy and teacher training.
“The summit will bring together African First Ladies, government officials, private organizations, NGOs and academics to discuss best practices that can reap sustainable, replicable results, benefit women and strengthen society,” the Bush Institute said in a statement. “Many African countries are committed to introducing critical interventions in education, health and economic opportunity led by First Ladies that will benefit women and strengthen society. Investing in women results in better outcomes for entire families, communities and nations.”
“‘Tsehai Loves Learning’ is an educational preschool program, broadcast nationally on Saturday mornings by the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency,” Whiz Kids Workshop PLC said in a press release. “New episodes of ‘Tsehai Loves Learning’ are currently in production, which aim to make reading simpler, more engaging, rewarding and fun.”
— Watch webcast of the African First Ladies Summit at bushcenter.org.
New York (TADIAS) – Novelist and writer Dinaw Mengestu, winner of the 2012 MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grant,” is one of several Ethiopian-Americans highlighted in an upcoming coffee table book by California-based Tsehai Publishers. The publication documents the professional success of first and second generation Ethiopians in the United States and the Diaspora.
Additional features include entrepreneurs, artists, authors, musicians, and scientists such as Dr. Sossina M. Haile, Professor of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at California Institute of Technology and an expert in materials science and fuel cells; Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged, Director and Curator of the Department of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences and the paleoanthropologist who discovered the 3-year-old Selam (nicknamed Lucy’s baby), which lived 3.3 million years ago in Ethiopia and is considered the earliest known such fossil excavated in the history of Paleontology; Dr. Dagmawi Woubshet, Assistant Professor of English Literature at Cornell University; as well as chef Marcus Samuelsson, artist Julie Mehretu, Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Wayna (Woyneab Miraf Wondwossen), and Grammy-nominated musician and philanthropist Kenna (né Kenna Zemedkun), who in 2010 led a group of celebrity friends to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise awareness about the international clean water crisis.
“The book is an attempt to change global perception of Ethiopia by focusing on the many accomplishments of successful younger Ethiopians living throughout North America and Ethiopia today,” said Elias Wondimu, the book’s Publisher and Editorial Director. “These individuals are the sons and daughters, and younger siblings of those who lived through the 1970s Ethiopian political turmoil. By focusing on these individuals, we want to tell their parents’ story of resilience and share with the world the proud heritage that they commonly inherit as Ethiopians.”
Elias said the book’s working title, Yezare Abebawoch: Yenege Frewoch, is borrowed from the famous line by the former Ethiopian television children show host Tesfaye Sahlu. “In his infinite wisdom each time before telling a story, Ababa Tesfaye used to address his captive television audience — the children of yesteryear’s — as ‘flowers of today, seeds of tomorrow,’” he said. “The book focuses on these individuals who are doing beautiful work today, creating seeds for an even more wonderful future. It is the flowers of today that create the seeds of tomorrow. We are also trying to inspire Ethiopian children with these stories.”
— Tsehai Publishers is seeking public funding for the book via Kickstarter, an online funding platform. Click here to learn more and support the project.
Bruktawit Tigabu is the Founder and Director of the Ethiopia-based Whiz Kids Workshop. (Photo: Fast Company magazine)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – What do Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed chef & author, and Bruktawit Tigabu have in common? They both have been named among The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2012 by Fast Company magazine. Bruktawit, who lives in Ethiopia, is the Founder and Director of Whiz Kids Workshop, which produces educational programs for children, including Tsehai Loves Learning , a popular television series that is broadcast twice a week on Ethiopian national TV.
“Whiz Kids has a staff of nine, but Tigabu sews the puppets, outlines the story, reads Tsehai’s part, and supervises editing–when she’s not securing grants from UNESCO and others to meet her meager $100,000 annual budget,” noted Fast Company in its recognition of Bruktawit’s work. “Prior to shooting, she takes storyboards of an episode into schools to show young students.”
“I observe their attention,” she says. “If the storyboards work, the live action will too.”
As for Marcus, Fast Company notes that “after a celebrated run as executive chef at Aquavit Restaurant, the Ethiopia-born Marcus Samuelsson performed gustatory magic in Harlem.” The magazine adds “he built a spot both critically heralded and reflective of the area’s many cultures.”
“I bike and I walk every corner of Harlem, and see so much diversity that’s unexpected,” Marcus says. Then he builds a menu around those encounters.
We congratulate both Bruktawit and Marcus for their achievements.
Dr. Catherine Hamlin who is from Australia has lived in Ethiopia since 1959. Dr. Hamlin is the founder of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which specializes in providing medical and social services to childbirth injury patients. (Photo credit: Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital)
Tadias Magazine
Editorial
Published: Sunday, April 29, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopia’s recent conferring of an honorary citizenship on Dr. Catherine Hamlin, founder of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, is a well-deserved recognition for a remarkable woman who has spent a better part of her life in the service of her adopted home. According to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), Prime Minister Meles Zenawi vested the honorary citizenship at a ceremony held at his office in Addis Ababa on Thursday, April 26th. Meles announced: “Dr. Hamlin was awarded the citizenship for serving the fistula patients for more than five decades by establishing a fistula hospital in the country.”
“When we first arrived we were rather taken with the country because we saw our eucalyptus trees,” Dr. Hamlin, had told Tadias Magazine a few years ago in an interview recounting her memories of arriving in Ethiopia in 1959. The Australian native initially traveled there on a three-year government contract to establish a midwifery school at the Princess Tsehay Hospital. “I felt very much at home straight away because the scenery seemed very familiar to us,” she said. “We got a really warm welcome so we didn’t really have culture shock.”
Until her journey to Ethiopia, Dr. Hamlin, a gynecologist, had never met a fistula patient. “We had read in our textbooks about obstetric fistula but had never seen one,” she admitted. After arriving in Ethiopia with her husband Dr. Reginald Hamlin – a New Zealander who was also an obstetrician and gynecologist – she was warned by a colleague “the fistula patients will break your heart.”
Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury that affects one out of every 12 women in Africa and approximately three million women worldwide. In developing nations where access to hospitals in remote areas are difficult to find, young women suffer from obstructive labor which can otherwise be successfully alleviated with adequate medical support. Unassisted labor in such conditions may lead to bladder, vaginal, and rectum injuries that incapacitate and stigmatize these women. Most patients are ousted from their homes and isolated from their communities.
Dr. Hamlin described the professional environment in the country as one where they “worked in a hospital with other physicians who were trained in Beirut and London.” However, as the only two gynecologists on staff they found it difficult to get away even for a weekend. For the first 10 years of their work with the hospital Reginald and Catherine Hamlin took weekend breaks at alternate times so as to have at least one gynecologist on call at all times, barely managing to take a month off each year to travel to the coast in Kenya. It is during their time at Princess Tsehai hospital that they first encountered fistula patients.
Since surgeries to cure fistula were not considered life-saving, few operating tables and beds were available for such patients at Princess Tsehai Hospital. Fistula patients were also not welcome and were despised by other patients and it wasn’t long before Reginald and Catherine decided to build a hospital designed to help these women, some of whom traveled hundreds of miles to seek treatment.
Speaking of her late husband, Hamlin noted, “When he saw the first fistula patient he was really overwhelmed. He devoted his whole life to raising money to help these women. He was a compassionate man and if he took on anything he would take it in with his whole heart and soul. He worked day and night to build the hospital.” The dream was realized in 1974 and soon the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital received 1 to 10 fistula patients at its doorstep on a daily basis. Women who heard about the possibility of being cured traveled to the Capital from distant villages across the country. Today the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital is a state-of-the-art, full-service medical facility entirely dedicated to caring for women with childbirth injuries.
Asked what her greatest satisfaction has been in this endeavor, Dr. Hamlin responded “It is in knowing that I am working somewhere where God has placed me to work. And I think that we gained more by living [here] and working with these women than we lost by leaving our own countries.” She fondly speaks of her late husband and his infinite compassion for his patients and his attachment to the country. “He loved the whole of Ethiopian society and when he was dying in England it was his final wish to return and be buried in Ethiopia,” she stated.
Dr. Hamlin equally enthused about her ‘home away from home’, emphasizing the joy she feels in seeing a happy, cured patient and her continued enjoyment of the landscape of Ethiopia and its people. Amidst her busy life she had found time in the “early hours of dawn” to write down the story of her life in her book The Hospital by the River, which was a bestseller in Australia. Her humble personality is evident as she replies to our inquiries about her past nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by saying she didn’t know about it. Indeed along with being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 she has also been awarded the Haile Selassie Humanitarian Prize in 1971, the Gold Medal of Merit by Pope John Paul in 1987, and an Honorary Gold Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1989. In 2003 she was nominated as an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and she was the co-winner of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award.
At the ceremony last week, she said: “Although I was not born in Ethiopia, I love the country very much.”
We welcome Dr. Catherine Hamlin’s induction as a fellow Ethiopian!
The recent online distribution of the unauthorized, scanned copy of Mengistu Haile Mariam's book is receiving strong criticism. (Photo: From the book cover)
Tadias Magazine
By Professor Donald N. Levine
Published: Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The leaders in the EPRP organization who authorized the scanning and posting of the book published by Tsehai Publishers on debteraw.com committed an act that was illegal, unethical, and imprudent. To my mind, that marks it as “un-Ethiopian.”
As I have come to know Ethiopians in many traditions and walks of life, at first hand and through the reports of numerous scholars, I find them essentially law-respecting, ethical, and prudent human beings. Whether it is in observing the laws enacted by an Oromo gumi gayo assembly, a Sidamo town meeting, or Tigrayan court of justice, Ethiopians traditionally express a strong sense of devotion to validly formulated laws and judicial pronouncements. (This trait captured me memorably when, after the new Constitution of 1955 was published, janitors could be seen in the Department of Justice leaning on their brooms and studying it closely!)
Again, whatever religious belief system they follow – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or the worship of Waaq – Ethiopians exhibit a keen sense of respect for moral standards. What is more, I have found Ethiopians of many classes and ethnic groups to be mature in cautioning against impulsive and socially destructive behaviors. Indeed, what I have glossed as the culture of Wax and Gold reflects a wish to avoid saying things that will illicit negative reactions from those with whom they associate.
The brazen act of the debteraw.com website in scanning and posting the text of Tiglatchn by Mengistu Haile Mariam is patently illegal and so repeats the very behavior that they condemn. On this point, a number of attorneys have assured me that such action stands in clear violation of international and national copyright laws. Although the responsible party claims justification by virtue of a “Son of Sam Law” which prohibits criminals from profiting from their crimes by selling their stories, Colonel Mengistu, however, has not been paid for this book. The publisher not only gave him no money for the manuscript but stands to incur a loss in producing this publication.
It is, moreover, unethical, since it violates commonly shared ethical standards by virtue of responding to a displeasing act with an effort to destroy the perpetrator.
Finally, it is doubly imprudent. On the one hand, illegally posting this manuscript in digital form only serves to increase exponentially the distribution of what this website has condemned as a “book of lies.” Indeed, the point should be emphasized that such a wide distribution will likely strengthen the credibility and endurance of Mengistu’s claims rather than their condemnation. What is more, it aborts the opportunity that publication provides for serious critical scrutiny of a book that patently contains a great number of unsustainable claims. This action might also discourage the Press from publishing a memoir of the EPRP.
On the other hand, the attack on Tsehai Publishers reinforces a tendency among Ethiopians to vilify and defame one another when they disagree. As I have argued for decades, this tendency stands to impede the formation of productive public discourse and to reinforce cycles of violent conflict.
The victim of this triply unscrupulous revenge, Tsehai publisher Elias Wondimu, is a truly heroic Ethiopian, who has invested a huge amount of his life in producing a harvest of publications that can help Ethiopians understand themselves and appreciate their rich traditions and complex society. I can think of no more appropriate response by all Ethiopians, including enlightened EPRP members, than to proceed forthwith to tsehaipublishers.com and order three books. It would be no less appropriate to send a contribution to the Press for the legal defense fund, which they will need to resolve the legal aspect of this unfortunate affair.
— About the Author: Donald N. Levine served as the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. His research and teaching interests focus on classical social theory, modernization theory, Ethiopian studies, conflict theory and aikido, and philosophies of liberal education.
New York (Tadias) – A special celebration honoring the life and work of Ethiopia’s Poet Laureate, the late Tsegaye Gebremedhin, will be held in Addis Ababa and Washington DC throughout the year.
“Family and friends of the late Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin are celebrating the poet’s 75th birthday anniversary and his work,” the press release states. “Author of around 34 plays in Amharic and about 10 plays in English, along with several volumes of poetry Gabre-Medhin is widely recognized as among Ethiopia’s most prolific and acclaimed writers. As part of an ongoing effort to keep his literary legacy alive, family and friends are organizing a year-long series of events in Addis Ababa and Washington DC.”
A few years ago, in an essay entitled A Short Walk Through His Literary Park, Professor Negussay Ayele described the writer’s earliest influences: “Poet Laureate Tsegaye is of the generation—numbering a dozen or so who are extant — of Ethiopian men of letters who were born during the crucible of the Fascist invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s. As such, his early childhood gestation period was molded by the trauma of that war of aggression against which his patriot father fought. Born in the vicinity of Ambo and the environs of the source of Awash River in Shewa region, the young Tsegaye was also influenced and shaped by the subcultures, languages and the blending of his Oromo and Amhara heritages. Indeed, as he was to relate later on, he considers himself as one who represented an Ethiopian amalgam or bridge between the two cultures. And it did not take long for this child prodigy not only to absorb Oromifa and traditional Zema and Qine in Ethiopic (Ge’ez) as well as Amharic in the traditional neighborhood church school but also to rapidly learn English in the contemporary modern school or Asquala. Indeed, the young genius, Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, was barely a teen when in 1942 (Eth.Cal.), he wrote his first play, The Story of King Dionysus and of the Two Brothers, and saw it staged in Ambo Elementary School. It was watched by, among others, Emperor Haile Sellassie himself.”
And one of our most favorite definitions of Ethiopia comes from our own Poet Laureate. “The Ethiopia of rich history is the heart of Africa’s civilization,” he wrote. “She is the greatest example of Africa’s pride. Ethiopia means peace. The word ‘Ethiopia’ emanates from a connection of three old black Egyptian words, Et, Op and Bia, meaning truth and peace, up and upper, country and land. Et-Op-Bia is land of upper truth or land of higher peace.” No one has put it more eloquently. Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin is a revered soul who brought out the best of his homeland – her stunning peaks and valleys, her triumphs and struggles, and always reminding us to rise and grow into our best selves.
– If You Go:
26th August,6:30 pm – Book launch Historical Plays of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin (in Amharic)
(Addis Ababa University Press, 2011)
Performance of excerpts by Taytu Cultural Center
Admission: Free
Unification Church, 1610 Columbia Rd. NW
Washington DC
The official biography of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin Soaring on Winged Verse: The Life of Ethiopian Poet-Playwright Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin By Fasil Yitbarek
(Tsehai Publishers, 2011)
December 2011 – Book launching (biography in English), Washington D.C.
August 2012 – Book launching (biography in Amharic), Addis Ababa
For more information, please contact: tsegayegm75@gmail.com.
Every week CNN International’s African Voices highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. This week we profile Bruktawit Tigabu, co-creator of Ethiopian children’s TV show “Tsehai Loves Learning.”
(CNN) — For millions of Ethiopian children, it’s the most cherished moment of their day: a wide-eyed, smiling giraffe hops in front of them, crooning funny songs in a language they can understand.
The beloved sock puppet, known as Tsehai, is the star of a ground-breaking TV show that’s been revolutionizing childhood education in the east African country.
The brainchild of Ethiopian educator Bruktawit Tigabu and her husband Shane Etzenhouser, “Tsehai Loves Learning” is the only children’s TV show in Ethiopia in Amharic, the nation’s official and most widely spoken language. Read more.
Above:Rebecca Emiru explains why you should vote for her
so she takes part in an entrepreneurship program in Kenya.
Opinion
By, Rebecca Emiru
Monday, January 31, 2011
You should vote for me because I will use this opportunity to begin making a difference. I hope to use this program as a stepping stone to a career in entrepreneurship and development in East Africa. I am currently a senior Political Science major at Amherst College. My experiences working with and leading groups on my campus, volunteering abroad, and interning with various organizations- including the United Nations- all led to my interest in social entrepreneurship as an alternative to the current development paradigm.
A social entrepreneur is someone whose returns benefit not just themselves but the community of which they are a part. By extension, social entrepreneurship is an approach to business ventures whose returns are not necessarily monetary and whose benefits are extended beyond the involved individual to the group in which they live. Social entrepreneurship represents a way of actively tackling social problems at the local level rather than waiting for government policies to do the trick. It represents a very necessary fusion of a practical, business approach with an ideological approach that addresses structural societal problems.
Essentially, the social entrepreneur has to have a clear understanding of how markets contribute to poverty alleviation. Markets are the primary means through which rural communities relate to urban centers and global markets and rural communities in turn are defined by their distance from cities and in their ability to transport their agricultural goods to markets where these can be sold. For instance, in Ethiopia, the largest producer of coffee in Africa, markets are essential to rural coffee farmers to sell their crops but also to keep abreast of the developments of the coffee market. Any attempt at rural poverty alleviation must address this fundamental feature of rural communities. Thus, facilitating access to markets can alleviate rural poverty in two ways. First, through the improvement of infrastructure such as roads and communication, rural actors can have better access to markets and information regarding their goods. Second, structures can be built that improve the position of rural actors within the market to bargain and act autonomously. To return to the example of Ethiopia, the establishment of the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange by Eleni Gebremedhin gave coffee farmers accurate information about the global coffee market so that they could make more informed decisions.
If we can capitalize on the connection between markets and poverty alleviation through social entrepreneurship, then we can strengthen Africa’s role in the 21st century significantly. Regardless of how much money aid donors pledge to send or how many loans the World Bank and IMF decides to lend or how many well-meaning activists Western countries dispatch, the fate of Africa lies in the hands of its inhabitants. There are two possible outcomes. On the one hand, Africa may continue to serve as a source of raw materials and markets for the global economy, serving as an object to be spoken of and rather than spoken to. On the other hand, Africans can change this negative trajectory by addressing the health pandemics, demanding more representative government, and adapting economic and political models to its own needs. This change can only come about if the masses of people will it to, coupled with responsive and responsible leadership. Although often cited as a repository of bad leadership, the continent also has a history of innovation. Politically, the African Socialism of Julius Nyrere, the pan Africanism of Kwame Nkrumah and the “people’s power” philosophy of the African National Congress and the United Democratic Front in South Africa demonstrate that Africa is a source of ground-breaking custom-built solutions. This role can be expanded in the 21st century as Africa continues to occupy this position. For instance, the active participation of developing countries in the global dialogue regarding climate change has expanded the focus from conservation and reduction of emissions to include sustainable development and the harm done to less-developed nations by industrialized nations in the developed world.
I want to be part of the Innovation Institute because it rejects the traditional donor-recipient relationship between the developed and developing world. Instead, the program emphasizes the fact that participants are there to learn rather than to give, which enables a two-way exchange between the community and program participants, like me. By making the needs and choices of the local community paramount, ThinkImpact is facilitating people’s empowerment, which is more long-lasting than any shipment of supplies.
—
Above:Alfa Demmellash, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
of Rising Tide Capital, develops entrepreneurship programs.
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Published: Thursday, January 27, 2011
New York (Tadias) – After graduating from Harvard University, Alfa Demmellash launched Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit based in Jersey City that develops and implements entrepreneurship programs focusing on women, minorities, immigrants and other socio-economically underserved communities. Since its inception in 2004, Rising Tide Capital has successfully helped approximately 400 entrepreneurs in New Jersey to build small businesses. Nearly 70% of Rising Tide Capital clients are women and over 90% are minorities. In 2009 Alfa Demmellash was featured as a CNN hero. President Obama also cited Rising Tide Capital’s influential work and stated: “If we empower organizations like these, think about the number of young people whose lives we can change, the number of families whose livelihoods we can boost, the number of struggling communities, we can bring back to life.”
“Did you know? The phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats” is often used to describe a top down approach to economic revitalization” states the non-profit’s web site. “But we believe it is important to help entrepreneurs see the tide and build strong boats that could rise with it – hence our name Rising Tide Capital.”
Below is our interview with Founder and Chief Executive Officer Alfa Demmellash as she discusses her work to build and support small business owners through entrepreneurship training.
CBA Winter 2009 Graduation (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias: Please tell us about where you grew up, where you went to school.
What was your catalyst to get into non-profit ventures? Your role models?
AD: I grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I attended Cathedral Nativity School for girls in Addis. In the US, I attended high school at Boston Latin School and completed my studies at Harvard University. The catalyst for starting Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit venture, was the influence of my entrepreneurial mother and my experiences and family. I knew I wanted to be involved in alleviating the suffering of others by recognizing the best in them and helping them overcome challenges that trap their creativity and stifle their ability to realize their full potential. I was also greatly influenced by my studies and experiences in Rwanda as I learned about the 1994 genocide and its aftermath. My role models are too many to name, especially amongst my family and clients, but Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Oprah, and Barack and Michelle Obama are a few of the most well-known ones.
Tadias: You’ve described the vision of Rising Tide Capital, your non-profit organization, as an effort “to harness the entrepreneurial community that already exists in underserved communities, to strengthen lives, to transform communities, and to create vibrant, thriving communities from within.” Can you tell us more about your work with business owners in the State of New Jersey?
AD: We have worked with about 400 entrepreneurs and small business owners in New Jersey. Nearly 70% are women and over 90% are minorities. We are building a model for assisting individuals who are looking to start a business but don’t know where to begin or to take those who have already started a small business to the next level. For many of the entrepreneurs we work with, they are looking to start or grow their business as a way to generate more income to supplement their low-wages from another job or out of necessity because they are unable to secure a job. New Jersey, one of the most expensive states to live in, has a big problem when it comes to the gap between those who are wealthy and those who are barely trying to survive. Many, especially in the distressed urban areas, are minorities and immigrants that make up a large segment of the “working poor.” Rising Tide Capital works with those that are already entrepreneurial to help them find ways of breaking the cycle of economic marginalization.
Tadias: In your speech at the United Nations Global Summit for Women in 2008 you described Rising Tide clients as follows: “The average entrepreneur at Rising Tide Capital is a 39-year-old woman, a single mom of three children, earning less than 27,000 dollars a year.” Why did you choose to primarily focus on women entrepreneurs?
AD: Actually, it is the other way around. More women chose to work with us and take advantage of our programs. This is the case across the globe where women who are often the primary providers for poorer households are seeking ways to improve their economic standing so they can feed, shelter and educate their children. However, I believe it is important to educate and empower both women and men. At the end of the day, if the men in a community are disenfranchised and undereducated, they are likely to cause a lot of problems that produce tremendous distress and barriers to the success of women and children. Men have to be a huge part of the solution. We are really happy to see that in those households where the men support and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of their wives, partners, and siblings the likelihood of business success is very high. I have witnessed this in my own mother’s case who was fortunate enough to have found a partner, her husband and my adopted father, who was supportive of her goals and her business. He was always there to encourage her and to affirm her efforts as contributing to a shared vision of success. I hope more men take that to heart and invite the grace and joy that can come into their lives as a result or at the very least, commit to do no harm.
Spring 07 graduation (Courtesy Photo)
Spring 07 graduation (Courtesy Photo)
Portraits and PPG lunch 2-26-08 (Courtesy Photo)
Courtesy Photo
Tadias: You also said most of your clients remind you of your mother. Can you say more?
AD: Many of the clients who come to us remind me of my mother because they are pursuing their business dreams primarily as a vehicle to achieve a bigger dream –that of giving their children more opportunities than they had been afforded. They are often single mothers, almost always struggling with extreme economic hardship and face barriers that seem impossible to overcome. In my mother’s case, she arrived in America without any money, separated from her baby and not sure how she will support herself let alone reunite with her child. But, like many of our clients, she made a decision that regardless of how long it took her – she would work all the hours she could, educate herself and start a business to generate more money that she could save for her larger goal. When she got off her job as a waitress – where she stood all day starting at 4am, she would go home to cook, clean and spend the evening sewing gowns, fitting customers and planning fashion shows until well past midnight. She did this for over 10 years before she saved enough to bring me to America and provide me with a stable home and a solid education. When I got to the airport finally, she showered me with her tears and showed me the baby picture of me she carried in her wallet every day to remind her of her big dream starting from her days as a refugee.
Tadias: What are some of the challenges you faced when starting and running Rising Tide Capital? What are some of most memorable and rewarding experiences?
AD: The first big challenge to starting anything – a business or a non-profit – is that you are the “center of energy” for the whole project. You have to show why something is valuable and start effecting change and adding value even before you ask people to join you or to give you money. For the first two years of the project, my co-founder (Alex Forrester) and I did all the work never being sure of what the next moment would bring. We were forced to be creative and entrepreneurial. We would run our seminars out of community centers and meet with people at their businesses or we would conduct house visits where we would sit with mom-entrepreneurs working on their plans over the kitchen table as the kids were running around. They loved it because we were not a social agency or a big government program – so they didn’t feel like they were getting a handout. We were just two young people who really believed in them and their dreams and were willing to apply our education and work extremely hard on their behalf to get them on a stronger path for success. Most importantly, we were always careful to uphold their dignity and never make them feel like they didn’t know enough or a dream was too big for them. But of course, our passion alone was not enough to pay all the bills. I remember one time when we had no money left and knew we would have to go back to sleeping on our parents sofa again. So we decided to take all the money we had and bought tickets to Ethiopia. I had promised Alex that regardless of what happens, I would show him the beauty of my country and the resilience of its people. So, we got to Addis, quickly dropped off our luggage at the very affordable and centrally located Wutuma hotel in Addis and hit the road to see Ethiopia. It was much cheaper than trying to survive in America! The love, the kindness, the generosity and faith of the people of Ethiopia was on display everywhere from the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Gondor to the lush breadbasket of my grandfather’s farm in Becho. When we left, we were inspired and reminded to be more faithful, to work harder and to have even more grit and determination. Shortly after our return, we learned that Goldman Sachs has seen our work in our community and would like to support the project. From that moment on, we never looked back and just worked harder and stayed true to our mission. Five years later, a fellow Ethiopian living nearby (Berhan Tsehai – who now runs www.TsehaiNY.com) nominated us to be CNN Heroes and we were selected out of many thousands from all over the world to be featured. That was a huge honor and definitely one of the most memorable moments of running Rising Tide Capital. Thousands of people sent us messages of support from all over the world in different languages and many more sent requests for our programs and services than we could have ever imagined. While we were sad not to be able to accommodate all the requests for services, we were affirmed that we were on the right track and that the world is full of entrepreneurial people busily changing their local economies and communities the world over.
Tadias: In June 2009, you were featured on CNN Heroes, and also invited to the White House. President Obama commended your work and noted: “70% of their clients are single moms. All of them rely on their businesses to support their families. So far Rising Tide has helped 250 business owners in the State of New Jersey. So imagine if they could help 500 or a 1000.” How do you seek to expand your organization’s reach in the next five years?
AD: We are currently seeking support from individuals, corporations and foundations to grow our programs and impact more individuals and communities. People from all over who believe in our mission send us as little as $5 to help support the project and we are humbled and grateful. In 2011, our programs will be offered in more distressed communities surrounding our city. We are also working with other organizations around the nation to explore opportunities to benefit more people living in financial distress who may not live near us but need our services. Our goal within the next 3-5 years is to double the number of people we work with annually while we offer even deeper assistance to those who have started their businesses and need further support to grow and create jobs for others beyond themselves. This is a grassroots movement that will someday be a very loud voice for economic hope and possibility coming out of places we least expect and from people who are, for the moment, invisible.
Tadias: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
AD: Ten years from now, I hope to continue my advocacy and work for entrepreneurship education and empowerment amongst the least privileged in countries struggling to rebuild a more equitable, peaceful and just society. There are many lessons from the process of starting and building Rising Tide Capital that can be applied anywhere in the world where there are individuals seeking to turn ideas into reality. I am particularly excited to look towards Africa and my homeland of Ethiopia to see in what ways we can invest in the entrepreneurially driven in both the social and business sector. And of course, I also hope to become a mom (my grandpa is asking when he will see his grandchildren) and hopefully do my part in inspiring the next generation of change makers who will build on the progress and sacrifices of the generation before them.
Tadias: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?
AD: I would like thank your readers and Tadias magazine for taking the time to learn about my journey and Rising Tide Capital. I would also like to challenge your readers to think about philanthropy, to seek out organizations that do work on the ground at a grassroots level and support them. They should abolish cynicism from their hearts and minds — it only eats away at the precious time they have left to do something positive and make a difference. Finally, they should take action in pursuit of their dreams even when don’t know how it will all work, never give up and keep working hard towards what they know to be right. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Tadias: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and best wishes in your endeavors.
–
Highlights from the most popular Ethiopian Diaspora arts and popular culture stories of 2010 via Tadias Magazine.
Tadias Magazine
By Tigist Selam
Updated: Monday, December 27, 2010
New York (TADIAS) – As we wrap up the year and review the contributions in the area of literature, fine arts, film, music and enterprunership, I can’t help but notice that it has been a year of rejuvenation for arts and popular culture among the Ethiopian Diaspora — from the publication of Dinaw Mengestu’s How To Read The Air, to Julie Mehretu’s Grey Area, and from Kenna’s Summit on the Summit to Dawit Kebede’s Press Freedom Award, this year was packed with big achievements and new beginnings. As you may notice, there are many other great stories that are not noted here. It was a tough list to choose from. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.
The award-winning Ethiopian American novelist and writer Dinaw Mengestu, whose work has become a voice for his generation, has given us a new gem by way of his book entitled How To Read The Air. As The New York Times notes, the young writer – who was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – populates his novels “by exiles, refugees, émigrés and children of the African diaspora…” This book, of course, goes far beyond the Ethiopian American experience, even though Dinaw does extremely well in this regard as well. As he put it succinctly during a recent interview, “It’s less about trying to figure out how you occupy these two cultural or racial boundaries and more about what it’s like when you are not particularly attached to either of these two communities.” The new book follows the author’s highly successful début novel The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, described by Bethonie Butler in the Washingtonian magazine as “a poignant novel set in DC about immigration, gentrification, and assimilating to the new amid memories of the past.” The reason why I love this New York Times bestseller is because the substance of the book mirrors my own feelings and reflection about my own generation.
2. Julie Mehretu’s ‘Grey Area’
Artist Julie Mehretu
I couldn’t help but lose and find myself in each of Julie’s Mehretu’s paintings at the Guggenheim Museum earlier this year. She is not only one of the most admired American female artists, but also the most high-priced Ethiopian born artists of all time. Her work ‘Untitled 1’ sold for $US1,0022,500 at Sotheby’s in 2010. Her collection of semiabstract works displayed at the Guggenheim was inspired by “a multitude of sources, including historical photographs, urban planning grids, modern art, and graffiti, and explores the intersections of power, history, dystopia, and the built environment, along with their impact on the formation of personal and communal identities.”
3. Davey and Rasselas’ Atletu (The Athlete)
Abebe Bikila (SBCC Film Reviews)
I have my fingers crossed this will be the first Ethiopian film that will win the Oscars. But either way, the story of Abebe Bekila – the barefooted Ethiopian man who stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in Marathon at the 1960 games in Rome – is one to be told and in this regard the movie is doing a superb job. I really hope it will get the recognition it deserves in the coming year.
(Meklit, Tsehai Poetry Jam – L.A.’s Little Ethiopia)
This sweet and amazingly talented singer/song-writer takes me on a musical journey to the heart of the Bay Area and Brooklyn, as well as to the countryside of Ethiopia. I have never heard such a sincere, poetic and soulful blend of American and Ethiopian music. Reviewers have compared Meklit’s voice to that of the legendary singer Nina Simone. “Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it,” NPR’s Allison Keyes reported. Meklit obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yale University before moving to San Francisco to pursue her true love – music. NPR’s guest host described Hadero’s sound as “a unique blend of jazz, Ethiopia, the San Francisco art scene and visceral poetry…It paints pictures in your head as you listen,” she said. I can’t agree more.
5. Haile Gerima’s Film ‘Teza’
Mypheduh Films
Haile Gerima’s award winning film ‘Teza’ continues to draw crowds at special screenings around the country. The most notable in 2010 was the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, September 13th, honoring the late Teshome H. Gabriel, a long serving Professor at UCLA and a leading international figure on third world and post-colonial cinema. The director himself is a professor of film studies in the East Coast. Per NYT: “Among the courses Haile Gerima teaches at Howard University is one called ‘Film and Social Change.’ But for Mr. Gerima, an Ethiopian director and screenwriter who has lived here since the 1970s in what he calls self-exile, that subject is not just an academic concern: it is also what motivates him to make films with African and African-American themes.” Personally for me though, there has never been such an accurate, honest, insightful and simply well-made film about the Ethiopian experience abroad and in the homeland. This film continues to influence my professional, but more importantly, personal life.
6. Marcus Samuelsson’s ‘Red Rooster’
Marcus Samuelsson at the Red Rooster Harlem
I hope Marcus’ long awaited restaurant brings together artists, musicians, writers, and alike from the Ethiopian Diaspora and beyond right into the heart of Harlem. From the menu to the décor, I am certain that I won’t have to drag my downtown friends to hangout uptown. But for Marcus, it is clear that the aim is much bigger than fine dining. In a way, it is a contribution to the revitalization of this historic neighbourhood and we salute him for that.
7. Mulatu Astatke Still on The Move
Mulatu Astatke (Source:Telegraph)
The father of Ethiopian Jazz doesn’t seem to stop. As Peter Culshaw wrote of him on the UK paper Telegraph earlier this year, “At the age of 66, Mulatu Astatke is having the time of his life. The jazz composer and performer from Ethiopia is in the midst of a full-blown Indian summer in his career. He received a huge boost when influential film-maker Jim Jarmusch used his music for his 2005 film Broken Flowers, and was also a key figure in the 2007 The Very Best of Ethiopiques compilation, one of the most unlikely best-sellers of the last decade. Once heard, Astatke’s music is not easily forgotten. His signature vibraphone playing style uses the distinctive five-note Ethiopian scale and is like jazz from a parallel universe, by turns haunting, romantic and a touch sleazy, as though the soundtrack to some seductive espionage B-movie.” Enjoy the following video.
8. First Addis Foto Fest
Curated by the exceptionally talented and award-winning photographer Aida Muluneh, this festival showcased works by notable visual artists from around the world at venues throughout Addis Ababa for the very first time. My hope is that, with events such as Addis Foto Fest, local artists continue to network with international artists from all disciplines. Here is an interview with Aida Muluneh about photography.
9. Dawit Kebede’s ‘Press Freedom Award
Dawit Kebede at CPJ Awards 2010, NYC
As the editor of Awramba Times, an independent and local Ethiopian newspaper, he spent almost two years in prison after reporting on the Ethiopian election in 2005. Five years later he receives an international award, encouraging others to write without fear. He is an inspiration to many around the world, particularly to those in our profession.
Inspired by his father’s water-borne disease, Ethiopian born Academy Award-nominated Hip Hop artist Kenna climbed the Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the global water crisis. He was followed by an MTV crew. I salute Kenna on his artistry, as well as dedication to educate the youth on global issues affecting all of us. Watch Kenna talk about the project.
— About the Author: Tigist Selam is host of TADIAS TV. She is a writer and actress based in New York and Germany. (Tigist’s photograph by Ingrid Hertfelder).
Above:NYT said it stands by its story after Haile criticized the
paper regarding an article on his retirement, un-retirement and
political pressure during an appearance on Ethiopian Television.
Haile Gebrselassie Reconsiders and Won’t Quit Racing The New York Times
By JERÉ LONGMAN
Published: November 15, 2010
Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, the distance-running star who stunningly announced his retirement after dropping out of the New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, said Monday that he had reconsidered and would continue racing.
“Running is in my blood, and I decided to continue competing,” Gebrselassie wrote on his Twitter account. “My announcement in New York was my first reaction after a disappointing race.”
Jos Hermens, Gebrselassie’s agent, said from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, that Gebrselassie had reacted emotionally after leaving the New York course at 16 miles of the 26.2-mile race. He also felt guilty for having dropped out of a half-marathon in New York earlier this year.
“He wasn’t thinking when he said he wanted to stop,” Hermens said. “He was too emotional.” Read more.
Above:Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam poses for Tadias.com
at Queen of Sheba restaurant on Monday, November 8, 2010.
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Photos by Marie Claire Andrea
Published: Friday, November 12, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Gebre Gebremariam, last Sunday’s surprise winner of the New York City Marathon, was treated to a victory dinner on Monday night at Queen of Sheba – the popular Ethiopian restaurant located in Midtown Manhattan.
Gebremariam gave Ethiopians something to cheer about after the highly anticipated appearance by Haile Gebrselassie ended in mid-course due to injury, forcing the legendary runner to prematurely announce his retirement. He has since changed his mind about the retirement decision. Haile was also a no-show on Monday evening in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where he was the scheduled speaker at Girls Got To Run Foundation’s fundraiser. (Click here for Tadias TV’s coverage of this event)
Below are exclusive images from Gebre Gebremariam’s victory dinner at Queen of Sheba restaurant on Monday, November 8, 2010.
Gebre Gebremariam at Queen of Sheba restaurant, Nov 8.
Victory dinner for Gebre Gebremariam at Queen of Sheba in Manhattan.
Philipos Mengistu, owner of Queen of Sheba, opens the Champagne.
Cheers for Gebre Gebremariam – Winner of the 2010 New York City Marathon
Gebre Gebremariam poses with Queen of Sheba staff. (November 8, 2010)
Above:Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam crosses the finish line
in Central Park in his marathon debut. (Associated Press)
BY Wayne Coffey
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Originally Published:Sunday, November 7th 2010, 12:03 PM
Updated: Monday, November 8th 2010, 1:15 AM
He took his gloves off in the 23rd mile, flinging them into the air as if they were autumn leaves. His ski cap came off not long after. Soon Gebre Gebremariam was gone, shedding his two top competitors next, a rawboned Ethiopian ruling a remarkable race that included a stunning retirement, an indomitable miner and the largest field in the annals of sport.
“It’s my first marathon, and I’m number one here,” said Gebremariam, 26, not long after he crossed the finish line in two hours, eight minutes, 14 seconds, to capture the 41st ING New York City Marathon Sunday. “I am so happy to win.”
In achieving his upstart triumph on a day when a record 45,344 runners started, the 5-10, 123-pound Gebremariam became the first rookie to win the race in 27 years, taking a prize that most figured would go to his 37-year-old countryman, Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record-holder and a man widely acclaimed to be the greatest distance runner in history.
Above: Abraham Zegeye, owner of Abe’s Six Pack Shop in W.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will travel this month to Ethiopia to
deliver supplies for his new school. (Photo by Monica Cabrera)
By Spencer Soper, OF THE MORNING CALL
9:53 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2010
Last year, Lehigh Valley businessman Abraham Zegeye started raising money to build a school in his father’s native village in Ethiopia.
When the children attend classes later this month, they’ll find a larger, block building with a concrete floor and windows has replaced the cramped stick-and-mud shack with a dirt floor where they used to learn.
Zegeye, who has raised $15,000 for the $30,000 project, will visit the school at the end of the month to deliver supplies for its 250 students.
“I want to make sure they have books, blackboards and desks,” said Zegeye, owner of Abe’s Six Pack shop in west Bethlehem. “It’s not hitting me yet because I am not there to see their faces and their expressions. It’s hard from here to imagine it. But when you get there and see the kids coming and smiling it will be unbelievable.”
Zegeye’s story is one of reflection and reconnection. Raised in Ethiopia’s capital city of Addis Ababa, he left his war-torn homeland as a teenager in 1982 for the stability and opportunity of America. The brutal Derg regime ruled the country at the time, imprisoning and executing those suspected of resistance.
Zegeye’s memories left him bitter and he vowed to never return to his homeland. But those feelings changed over time, and he took a trip to Ethiopia a few years ago. While there, he visited for the first time his father’s native village of Hurufa-Kelate, about six hours from the capital by car and donkey.
He was shocked to see villagers fetching water from a muddy ditch where cattle and goats drank and others did laundry. He and his family members contributed $5,000 to build a well used by 2,000 villagers. Clean water now flows through a spigot instead of bubbling up from a muddy ditch.
But Zegeye, of Lower Nazareth Township, said he wanted to build a school to increase opportunity for the villagers. The small school could only accept children up to fourth grade. Those who wanted to continue schooling had to leave their families during the week to take a grueling walk to another village. Often, only boys were allowed and girls stayed behind to work family farms, Zegeye said.
The new school has sufficient room for children up to eighth grade, so children can continue learning without leaving their families. The government provides instructors as long as communities provide the school, he said.
“Education is the only way for them to come out of this poverty,” Zegeye said. “They can get a better life for themselves and their parents.”
His initial plan was to build a school and clinic for nearly $100,000, but he scaled that back when fundraising fell short. He was able to finance school construction, which has allowed him to build the school before raising all of the money.
Zegeye said he is grateful to his customers and others who helped him raise $15,000. He posted photos of the project and a collection jug in his shop. He also established a trust for the school project through Lafayette Ambassador Bank for donations. Donations ranged from $500 to spare change, he said.
“Day-to-day, people dropped a dollar, quarters, 50 cents,” Zegeye said. “It is making a difference.”
BrownCondor.com’s BC Radio in collaboration with Tadias Magazine will conduct a four-month online-poll for the 3rd annual listing of the “Best Ethiopian Websites of the Year.”
Encouraged by readers’ feedback, the 2010 categories will include Alexa’s global ranking as well as voters choices of the most popular internet resources pertaining to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diaspora.
Poll-takers will vote under three categories: News & Opinion, Entertainment News & Views (including music sites, videos, blogs, etc), and non-profit organizations.
In order to ensure the integrity of the poll the two sponsoring blogs will be excluded from “Readers’ Favorite Picks,” and the winners will be announced at the end of December both on Tadias.com and BC radio. Voters’ top choices from the non-profit category will receive a certificate of recognition along with feature stories on Tadias Magazine and BC Radio.
The voting process will end on 17th December 2010. If you do not see your favorite website on the drop-down menu, please do not be alarmed. Send the name to info@tadias.com. We will update the list on a regular basis.
Good luck.
About the Author: Teddy Fikre is the founder of BrownCondor.com and host of BC Radio.
Note:If you do not see your favorite website on the drop-down menu, please send an email to info@tadias.com. We will update the list on a regular basis.
Above:Professor Ayele Bekerie and his former students, Yeshi
Abebe and Tsehai Abebe, attend an event on the South Lawn
of the White House on June 29, 2010. —— (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Friday, July 2, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Tadias recently received a wonderful note from Professor Ayele Bekerie at Cornell University. Two of his former students had sent him an invitation to attend an event on the South Lawn of the White House honoring appointees who had been involved in the Obama Presidential campaign and now had government jobs.
Below are Professor Bekerie’s synopsis and photos:
In 1999 nine students of Ethiopian background graduated from Cornell University. The majority of them took one or more courses with me while they were undergraduate students. Among these graduates were Yeshimebet Abebe and Tsehai Abebe, who are sisters. Yeshi, Tsehai and their third sister Saba work for the Federal Government. They were actively involved in the campaign to elect President Obama in Iowa where they were born.
On June 29, 2010, the White House invited political appointees (those who work for the Government as a result of Obama’s Presidency) to a summer event on the South Lawn of the White House. The appointees played a critical role in the election of President Obama. Each appointee was also allowed to invite a person of their choice. Yeshi chose me to attend the event. Her act is an expression of a great tradition in which she and her sisters wanted to acknowledge my service to them as a professor as an advisor.
The summer event on the South Lawn was attended by thousands of appointees and their guests. After passing through elaborate security clearance, we arrived at The Lawn, which is vast, memory-laden and beautiful; it was filled up with guests who sat around picnic tables, on the grass, or simply walked around. At service tents, guests can got soft drinks, ice cream, and ice cold water – It was the most sought after drink in the hot and humid Washington summer afternoon. A great live band played a variety of selections drawn from great American music traditions throughout the event.
President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama joined their guests a little after 5:30 pm. The President spoke briefly and his main message was a message of gratitude. The appointees critical role in his election is publicly acknowledge and appreciated. He also cited some of his administration’s accomplishments in the last eighteen months, such as the largest public projects to improve roads and bridges, free health insurance to all needy children, health insurance that will allow over 30 million Americans to have insurance coverage, financial regulation and new approach to foreign policy.
The President and the First Lady interacted with the guests, shook hands and engaged them in conversation. My cherished moments, of course, was when I shook hands with both President Obama and the First Lady. I also got a chance to take pictures. The Summer Event on the South Lawn ended at 7 pm. The sisters treated me to a dinner before I returned to Ithaca.
Here is a slideshow of photos from the event:
Toronto Says It Has What It Takes to Host the Ethiopian Soccer Tournament
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.
Above:Team Abay has been described “Built New York Tough”
The group is one of 27 teams taking part at 27th annual Ethio
Soccer Tournament in San Jose, California. (Photo: TsehaiNY)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopians from across the U.S. are gathering in the Bay Area this week for the 2010 Soccer tournament – an event which also doubles as an annual cultural festival for the community.
The California festivities, which opened at San Jose State University’s Spartan Stadium on Sunday, features over 27 teams from various cities in the U.S. and Canada.
The annual gathering – which this year celebrates its 27th anniversary – goes far beyond sports entertainment, allowing families and friends in North America’s Ethiopian immigrant community to come together in celebration of both sports and their cultural heritage. The tournament week is a popular time for networking, alumni gatherings, small business catering, music performances, and reunion parties.
Stay tuned for our usual “Hot Shots” and other events coverage from San Jose.
—
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.
Above: At the 16th annual ATHENA Women’s Leadership
Summit in Chicago, Dr. Mulu Muleta was presented with
the 2010 Global ATHENA Leadership Award. (Tsehainy)
Tsehainy.com
Posted here on June 8th, 2010
The ATHENA International Global ATHENA Leadership Award acknowledges, among many qualities, women who show excellence, creativity and initiative in their work; provide valuable services to improve the quality of life in their communities and whose work has national or international significance. While studying at Addis Ababa University Medical School, Dr. Muleta met the founders of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Reginald and Catherine Hamin. After graduating, Reginald Hamin recruited Dr. Muleta to work at the hospital. Read more.
Above:NPR revisits its March interview with Meklit Hadero.
She is scheduled to perform in New York today, June 1st.
(Photo: Tsehai Poetry Jam – 2009, L.A.’s Little Ethiopia)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
New York (Tadias) – NPR’s Allison Keyes revisits her conversation with Ethiopian-born Meklit Hadero, who appeared on the show back in March.
The San Francisco- based songstress, whose voice has been compared to that of the legendary singer Nina Simon, is currently on tour in the East Coast – where she headlined Bernos’ 4th anniversary celebration this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and is scheduled to perform at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on June 1st.
“It is an honor to have Meklit Hadero perform at our 4th year anniversary,” said Beshou Gedamu, business partner at Bernos. “She is an amazing artist with a powerful voice that resonates.”
In her introduction of Hadero, the NPR host says: “Her sound is a unique blend, it’s an infusion of jazz, rich Ethiopian culture, and that artsy San Francisco flavor. It’s also got a spicy dash of visceral poetry that paints pictures in your head as you listen. Hadero’s first musical performance was just five years ago. At her first show she sang songs that were written by other artists, but now she is writing her own music. Her debut album is called On A Day Like This. Back in March Maeklit joined me to talk about her journey and we started out by playing her song Float and Fall. ”
Above: Meklit Hadero will perform at the Warehouse loft in
Washington D.C. on May 29, 2010. (Photo Credit: Tsehai
Publishers).
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Friday, May 14, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero will headline the concert at Bernos’ four year anniversary event in Washington, D.C. next weekend on May 29th, 2010.
The Ethiopian-born artist has been attracting national attention with the release of her new album On A Day Like This. Reviewers have compared her voice to that of the legendary singer Nina Simone. “Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it,” NPR’s Allison Keyes recently reported.
Hadero obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science before moving to San Francisco to pursue her true love – music. NPR’s guest host described Hadero’s sound as “a unique blend of jazz, Ethiopia, the San Francisco art scene and visceral poetry.” “It paints pictures in your head as you listen,” she adds.
The upstart fashion company Bernos says that it is excited to host Hadero at its upcoming celebration.
“Every year is a milestone for Bernos. We wanted to do something different this year. We are influenced by African arts and music. One can see it reflected throughout our t-shirts, photoshoots and in our blog. It is an honor to have Meklit Hadero perform at our 4th year anniversary,” said Beshou Gedamu, business partner at Bernos. “She is an amazing artist with a powerful voice that resonates. In addition we’ll have Munit and Betty ‘Bsheba’ Tekeste open for her. We are looking forward to a night of musical bliss.”
–
If You Go: The event takes place at the Warehouse loft in Washington D.C. on May 29, 2010. Learn more and buy tickets at Bernos.org.
Listen here to NPR’s Interview with Meklit Hadero:
–
Above:An evening with Danny Glover and Haile Gerima was
held at Dwyer Cultural Center on April 1, 2010 to mark TEZA's New York debut. (Photo by Kidane Mariam for Tadias.com)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Photos by Kidane Mariam
Published: Friday, April 2, 2010
New York (Tadias) – “Lethal Weapon” actor Danny Glover hosted a reception on Thursday, April 1, 2010, celebrating the New York premiere of Teza.
The gathering at the Dwyer Cultural Center, which also featured the director Haile Gerima, is the first in a series of events designed to promote the film’s release.
Teza uses the power of memory and flashbacks to recount the historical circumstances that have framed the context in which contemporary Ethiopia exists.
The critically acclaimed film opened in Manhattan on Friday, April 2, at Lincoln Plaza Cinema.
The reception was sponsored by Sheba Tej, Tsion Enterprises LLC, Africalling.com and Settepani.
Tadias Magazine’s contributing photographer Kidane Mariam attended the event. Here is a slideshow of photos.
Slideshow: An Evening with Danny Glover and Haile Gerima
–
More Local Events Surrounding TEZA’s NYC Premiere:
Friday, April 2, 2010 Teza starts playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
Showtimes: 11:05 AM, 1:35 PM, 4:15 PM, 7:05 PM, and 9:55 PM
Buy tickets online at: www.lincolnplazacinema.com
Friday, April 2, 2010 Opening Night Mix and Mingle
At Settepani
196 Lenox Avenue (at 120th Street)
’till 2 am | Friday 4/2/10
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Q&A: Haile Gerima Discusses the Challenges of Independent Film-Making.
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
408 West 58th Street (on 9th Avenue)
Moderator: Tigist Selam
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Wednesday 4/7/10 www.cccadi.org
RSVP – slewis@cccadi.org or call 212.307.7420 ext. 3008 for more info.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 Reception
Skoto Gallery
529 West 20th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenue)
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Thursday 4/8/10 www.skotogallery.com Sponsors: Bati Restaurant; Sheba Tej/Tsion Enterprises LLC; Settepani
Friday, April 9, 2010 Panel Discussion: Making Teza: Narrative, Cinematography, and Music
Schomburg Library
515 Malcolm X Boulevard
Moderator: Dagmawi Woubshet | Panelists: Haile Gerima, Yemane Demissie, Danny Mekonnen
7:00pm – 9:00pm | Friday 4/9/10 www.nypl.org
RSVP@tezathemovie.com Sponsors: In memory of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin; Queen of Sheba Restaurant; Assegid Gessesse; abesha.com; TsehaiNY; Africalling.com
Saturday, April 10, 2010 Panel Discussion: Owning Cultural Property — Telling Our Own Stories
Dwyer Cultural Center
258 Saint Nicholas Avenue (at 123rd Street)
Moderator: Dagmawi Woubshet | Panelists: Haile Gerima, Chester Higgins, Skoto Aghahowa
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Saturday 4/10/10 www.dwyercc.org
RSVP to info@dwyercc.org or call 212-222-3060
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Q&A: Haile Gerima Discusses Cultural Contexts of Teza
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
408 West 58th Street (on 9th Avenue)
Moderator: Kassahun Checole
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Wednesday 4/14/10 www.cccadi.org
RSVP – slewis@cccadi.org or call 212.307.7420 ext. 3008 for more info.
The movie focuses on the tumultuous years of the Mengistu era, as told by an idealistic Ethiopian doctor who recounts dreams and nightmares.
Teza follows the personal narrative of Anberber, who after leaving Ethiopia for Germany to become a doctor, is led to return to his home village by lingering spirits and haunting visions from his childhood. Using the power of memory as its primary device, Gerima recounts the historical circumstances that have framed the context in which contemporary Ethiopia exists.
The film has already earned some prestigious awards including the Oscella Award for Best Screenplay, the Leoncino d’oro Award, SIGNIS Award, and Special Jury Prize conferred at the 2009 Venice Film Festival; the Golden Unicorn Award for Best Feature Film; the UN-World Bank Special Prize; and Golden Stallion award for Best Picture presented at the 2009 FESPACO Pan-African Film Festival.
Above:Teza opens in New York today at Lincoln Plaza Cinema
and there are several local events lined-up surrounding the film's NYC release (See the list below).
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Updated: Friday, April 2, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Haile Gerima’s latest movie Teza will make its New York debut today.
Here are a few local events lined-up surrounding the film’s NYC premiere:
Friday, April 2, 2010 Teza starts playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
Showtimes: 11:05 AM, 1:35 PM, 4:15 PM, 7:05 PM, and 9:55 PM
Buy tickets online at: www.lincolnplazacinema.com
Friday, April 2, 2010 Opening Night Mix and Mingle
At Settepani
196 Lenox Avenue (at 120th Street)
’till 2 am | Friday 4/2/10
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Q&A: Haile Gerima Discusses the Challenges of Independent Film-Making.
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
408 West 58th Street (on 9th Avenue)
Moderator: Tigist Selam
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Wednesday 4/7/10 www.cccadi.org
RSVP – slewis@cccadi.org or call 212.307.7420 ext. 3008 for more info.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 Reception
Skoto Gallery
529 West 20th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenue)
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Thursday 4/8/10 www.skotogallery.com Sponsors: Bati Restaurant; Sheba Tej/Tsion Enterprises LLC; Settepani
Friday, April 9, 2010 Panel Discussion: Making Teza: Narrative, Cinematography, and Music
Schomburg Library
515 Malcolm X Boulevard
Moderator: Dagmawi Woubshet | Panelists: Haile Gerima, Yemane Demissie, Danny Mekonnen
7:00pm – 9:00pm | Friday 4/9/10 www.nypl.org
RSVP@tezathemovie.com Sponsors: In memory of Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin; Queen of Sheba Restaurant; Assegid Gessesse; abesha.com; TsehaiNY; Africalling.com
Saturday, April 10, 2010 Panel Discussion: Owning Cultural Property — Telling Our Own Stories
Dwyer Cultural Center
258 Saint Nicholas Avenue (at 123rd Street)
Moderator: Dagmawi Woubshet | Panelists: Haile Gerima, Chester Higgins, Skoto Aghahowa
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Saturday 4/10/10 www.dwyercc.org
RSVP to info@dwyercc.org or call 212-222-3060
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Q&A: Haile Gerima Discusses Cultural Contexts of Teza
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
408 West 58th Street (on 9th Avenue)
Moderator: Kassahun Checole
6:30pm – 8:30pm | Wednesday 4/14/10 www.cccadi.org
RSVP – slewis@cccadi.org or call 212.307.7420 ext. 3008 for more info.
The critically acclaimed film focuses on the tumultuous years of the Mengistu era, as told by an idealistic Ethiopian doctor who recounts dreams and nightmares.
Teza follows the personal narrative of Anberber, who after leaving Ethiopia for Germany to become a doctor, is led to return to his home village by lingering spirits and haunting visions from his childhood. Using the power of memory as its primary device, Gerima recounts the historical circumstances that have framed the context in which contemporary Ethiopia exists.
The film has already earned some prestigious awards including the Oscella Award for Best Screenplay, the Leoncino d’oro Award, SIGNIS Award, and Special Jury Prize conferred at the 2009 Venice Film Festival; the Golden Unicorn Award for Best Feature Film; the UN-World Bank Special Prize; and Golden Stallion award for Best Picture presented at the 2009 FESPACO Pan-African Film Festival.
NPR: Soul Searching Led To Meklit Hadero’s Debut Album
Above: Singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero at Tsehai Poetry Jam,
May 31, 2009 @ Messob Restaurant in L.A.’s Little Ethiopia.
NPR Ethiopian Singer: Soul Searching Led To Debut Album
March 24, 2010
Once you hear her smooth and silky voice it will be hard to forget it. Yet, years passed before she realized she wanted to become a singer. Ethiopian native Meklit Hadero went to college to major in political science, but after moving to San Francisco she found her true love: music. Now, only five years after her first public performance, she is out with the new album “On A Day Like This.” Guest host Allison Keyes talks with singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero about her life and finding herself through music.
Listen to the Story Here:
– You can read the transcript of this interview at NPR.ORG.
Book Cover:Tsehai Publishers released a new book entitled:
“Education, Politics, and Social Change in Ethiopia” – making
a compelling case for education reform in the African nation.
Tadias Magazine
Article contributed by Sean McEvoy
Published: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Education, Politics, and Social Change in Ethiopia analyzes the historical and cultural events that have shaped modern Ethiopia and displays them through a panoramic view. Edited by Paulos Milkias, Professor of Humanities and Political Science at Marianopolis College in Canada, and Messay Kebede, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Dayton University in Ohio – the book compiles several articles concerning the past, present and future of Ethiopian education. Through the perspectives of philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, anthropologists, and university researchers, the book displays a multidisciplinary analysis of the complexities influencing the future of Ethiopia.
“I recommend this book to anyone interested to feed their intellectual-soul on education, development, and politics in Ethiopia” says Dr. Worku Negash, Vice President of Administrative Services at Mission College in California.
This book is comprised of articles, including Towards a Critical Ethiopian Theory of Education by Maimire Menasenmay, The Curse of English as a Medium of Instruction in the Ethiopian Education System by Tekeste Negash, and The Challenge of Modernity: Western Education and the Demise of Feudalism in Ethiopia. Each author approaches the issue of Ethiopian education from a different perspective, sharing theories and critiques that span across several academic disciplines. Although the authors speak through different lenses, the need for educational reform echoes as the resounding message in the book. The Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA) believes that education is the “single most important change needed to hasten the socio-economic development of poor nations like Ethiopia.” But it is not only the availability of education that is needed to better Ethiopia socially and economically; the quality and method of teaching is essential to solving Ethiopia’s problems in the twenty-first century.
The articles included in this book were presented and debated at a workshop on “Education and Social Change in Ethiopia” held at the University of Dayton on May 13th and 14th, 2006. The workshop highlighted features of modernization in many African nations, which did not adequately address the issue of education reform.
Education, Politics, and Social Change in Ethiopia critiques the benefits and drawbacks of a western system of education, emphasizing the correlation between education and politics. In order to educate all Ethiopians, not just the privileged few, on the politics and ideologies of regimes who have governed Ethiopia in the past, a new system of educational goals must be implemented. The current content and guiding principles of Ethiopian education are not conducive to the creation of an educated people capable of promoting economic prosperity, democratic values and national integration. To have these changes occur it is not enough to only change the person in power. It needs to be reflected in the system of education. In essence, the effectiveness of an educational system should be tested and strengthened in order to assist a new generation of citizens to solve global dilemmas.
The multi-disciplinary approach used in this book demonstrates the interpretive nature of reform, and that our best solutions will come from multiple sources. Dr. Damtew Teferra, Director of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa praises this book as “a must read by all those interested and engaged in Ethiopian education.”
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Above:Little Ethiopia – Los Angeles, California. (Photo courtesy
of Tsehai Publishers, May 31, 2009).
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
New York (Tadias) – Congressman Mike Honda, (D-CA), Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Ethiopia and Ethiopian Americans, has released a statement on health care reform submitted by various Ethiopian American organizations. Honda represents the 15th Congressional District of California, which includes Silicon Valley, home to a sizeable Ethiopian immigrant population. Below is the press release from the Congressman’s office:
For immediate release
October 28th, 2009
Over the past several months, the debate on health care reform has produced extensive dialogue amongst many communities in our nation. From dining room tables to talk radio, our country has engaged in a uniquely American process fueled by the diversity of opinions we enjoy.
This is why today, as Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Ethiopia and Ethiopian Americans; I am honored to present statements on health care reform submitted by the Ethiopian American community. These statements have been offered by the community to ensure that their voices are heard during these historic times. I formed the Caucus in 2003 with the goal of providing a legislative voice to the Ethiopian American community, and to strengthen a long-established relationship between Ethiopia and the United States. As the largest immigrant group from the African continent, Ethiopian Americans extend themselves to every aspect of American society, thereby making a real impact on American culture.
Health care is a critical issue to the Ethiopian American community. Presently fewer and fewer Ethiopians have health insurance, and therefore cannot afford good medical care. Much like countless other Americans, many hard working Ethiopian Americans are employed in the hospitality services and small business industries. Many jobs in these sectors fail to provide any health insurance benefits to employees and their families. As a result, most of members of the community are not in a position to get preventive help and basic medical services. In addition, many original Ethiopian refugees from the 1970 refugee admission boom are starting to become eligible for Medicare. These issues allow the Ethiopian American community to provide unique insight into the current debate.
While we all may have different ideas about how best to achieve health care reform, there is a fundamental consensus that the need for health care reform is dire. The following statements show that opening up the conversation to all areas of our diverse nation provides for a healthy and robust debate.
If you are interested in submitting your own statement, I encourage you to contact my office and ensure your voice is heard. The Congressional Caucus on Ethiopia and Ethiopian-Americans works to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Ethiopia and is a legislative voice for Ethiopian-Americans across the United States. The Caucus serves the Ethiopian-American community as it continues to grow in population and influence, and supports the community’s interests both here and in Ethiopia.
Dr. Catherine Hamlin has been named co-winner of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award. (Photo courtesy FS)
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
Updated: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
New York (TADIAS) – “It is the oldest medical cause in the world. There is currency dug out of pyramids containing images of fistula, yet in the 21st century it is the most neglected cause,” Dr. Catherine Hamlin tells us. While the last American hospital for fistula patients closed its doors in 1895, the first one of its kind opened almost 8 decades later in Ethiopia. Since its inception in 1974, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital founded by Dr. Reginald and Catherine Hamlin has treated over 25,000 women, the majority of whom have been cured and have returned to their villages to live healthy, normal lives.
Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury that affects one out of every 12 women in Africa and approximately three million women worldwide. In developing nations where access to hospitals in remote areas are difficult to find, young women suffer from obstructive labor which can otherwise be successfully alleviated with adequate medical support. Unassisted labor in such conditions may lead to bladder, vaginal, and rectum injuries that incapacitate and stigmatize these women. Most patients are ousted from their homes and isolated from their communities.
Until her journey to Ethiopia, Dr. Catherine Hamlin, a gynecologist and a native of Australia, noted “we had read in our textbooks about obstetric fistula but had never seen one.” After arriving in Ethiopia with her husband, she was warned by a colleague “the fistula patients will break your heart.”
“When we first arrived we were rather taken with the country because we saw our eucalyptus trees,” Dr. Catherine Hamlin recounts. “I come from Australia and I felt very much at home straight away because the scenery seemed very familiar to us. Of course the people were different but we got a really warm welcome so we didn’t really have culture shock.” She described their professional environment as one were they “worked in a hospital with other physicians who were trained in Beirut and London.” However as the only two gynecologists on staff they found it difficult to get away even for a weekend. For the first 10 years of their work with the hospital Reginald and Catherine took weekend breaks at alternate times so as to have at least one gynecologist on call at all times, barely managing to take a month off each year to travel to the coast in Kenya. It is during their time at Princess Tsehai hospital that they first encountered fistula patients.
Dr. Reginald and Catherine Hamlin.
Recounting their mutual desire to open a hospital primarily dedicated to the fistula patients, Dr. Catherine Hamlin emphasized their keen focus on raising money for this cause. Both Reginald and Catherine worked arduously to create a place that would pay more attention to the large number of women who lived in tremendous hardship as a result of their childbirth injuries. Since operations to cure fistula were not considered life-saving operations, few operating tables and beds were available for such patients at Princess Tsehai Hospital. Fistula patients were also not welcome and were despised by other patients and it wasn’t long before Reginald and Catherine decided to build a hospital designed to help these women, some of whom traveled hundreds of miles to seek treatment.
Speaking of her late husband, Catherine noted, “When he saw the first fistula patient he was really overwhelmed. He devoted his whole life to raising money to help these women. He was a compassionate man and if he took on anything he would take it in with his whole heart and soul. He worked day and night to build the hospital.” The dream was realized in 1974 and soon the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital received 1 to 10 fistula patients at its doorstep on a daily basis. Women who heard about the possibility of being cured traveled to the Capital from distant villages across the country. Today the Fistula Hospital treats approximately 1,500 women annually. Five surgeons conduct surgeries three times a week and work alongside Dr. Catherine Hamlin in an operating theatre equipped with four operating tables. The majority of operations become success stories and the women who are cured happily return to their homes.
A very small percentage of women (three to four annually) who arrive at the hospital, however, have irreparable damage and cannot be completely cured. For these women a 60-acre plot of land has been set aside as a place for them to stay. This compound is known as ‘Desta Mender’ – Village of Joy. Describing Desta Mender, Dr. Hamlin states, “women who are unable to resume normal lives in their villages are allowed to reside permanently in Desta Mender. Since there isn’t a lot of beds available at the hospital, those young girls who need to be strengthened prior to their operations are also allowed to stay temporarily at Desta Mender prior to their scheduled surgeries. It is called Desta Mender because it is a place of joy and it is designed for the women to be able to live lives similar to the ones they had in their villages.” Women who are unable to have surgery right away are able to undergo physical therapy and recuperate from their long walking travels at Desta Mender while those who cannot return to their villages even after surgeries are able to live in their new homes enjoying their work on the farm land and producing their own food.
Few individuals have dedicated a lifetime for a cause as noble as this. Asked what her greatest satisfaction has been in this endeavor, Dr. Catherine Hamlin responds “It is in knowing that I am working somewhere where God has placed me to work. And I think that we gained more by living there and working with these women than we lost by leaving our own countries.” She fondly speaks of her late husband and his infinite compassion for the fistula patients. “He loved the whole of Ethiopian society and when he was dying in England it was his final wish to return and be buried in Ethiopia,” she states.
Dr. Catherine Hamlin equally enthuses about her ‘home away from home’, emphasizing the joy she feels in seeing a happy, cured patient and her continued enjoyment of the landscape of Ethiopia. Amidst her busy schedule she has found time in the early hours of dawn to write down the story of her life in her book ‘The Hospital by the River’, which was a bestseller in Australia. Her humble personality is evident as she replies to our inquiries about her past nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by saying she didn’t know about it. Indeed along with being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 she has also been awarded the Gold Medal of Merit by Pope John Paul in 1987, and an Honorary Gold Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1989. In 2003 she was nominated as an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Her message to Ethiopians in the Diaspora is clear and simple. “You can help spread the word,” she says. “There are approximately eight to nine thousand women annually who suffer from fistula in Ethiopia. We are currently working on building five regional hospitals and have received funding for two. We need doctors to come back to Ethiopia to help us in our work. There is no money in it but there is enormous joy to the doctors and nurses treating and curing these patients.” She challenges us to help raise awareness and the financial assistance needed to keep this work going. In light of her 50-year dedication to the eradication of fistula, answering her appeal is the very least that any one of us can do.
Tadias Magazine congratulates Dr. Catherine Hamlin on her well deserved recognition as the co-winner of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award!
– Interview with Dr. Hamlin conducted by Mahlet Teklemariam and Emmanuel Mekuria.
Above: A woman saluted as a CNN Hero was among a
group of creative philanthropists honored Tuesday by
President Obama. The White House event highlighted
nonprofit programs that are making a difference. Alfa
Demmellash was invited after White House staffers saw
her being profiled on CNN. Demmellash runs Rising Tide
Capital, a company in New Jersey that helps low-income
entrepreneurs start or grow their businesses. (CNN).
Watch: Obama Recognizes Alfa Demmellash
CNN Hero Alfa Demmellash reacts to being recognized by
President Obama for her nonprofit work
Another Ethiopian-American CNN Hero Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Thursday, July 2, 2009
New York (Tadias) – Here is another CNN hero to cheer for. Alfa
Demmellash, a graduate of Harvard, is a New Jersey based social
entrepreneur whose organization, Rising Tide Capital, serves aspiring
business owners living in distressed urban communities in her state.
Video: Alfa’s interview with TsehaiNY
Related: CNN Hero: Ethiopian Woman builds school after hyena kills girl
When Washington manicurist Lidia Schaefer returned to her native
village in Ethiopia, she was troubled by what she saw: children
walking three hours each way to attend classes held not in a
school, but under a tree. CNN.com/Heroes
Related Video: Ethiopian CNN Hero Meets Supporters in NYC
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008,
at Cafe Addis in Harlem, NYC. The event took place on Saturday,
December 13, 2008.
New York (Tadias) – Here is another CNN hero to cheer for. Alfa Demmellash, a graduate of Harvard, is a New Jersey based social entrepreneur whose organization, Rising Tide Capital, serves aspiring business owners living in distressed urban communities in her state.
Video: Alfa’s interview with TsehaiNY
Related: CNN Hero: Ethiopian Woman builds school after hyena kills girl
When Washington manicurist Lidia Schaefer returned to her native
village in Ethiopia, she was troubled by what she saw: children
walking three hours each way to attend classes held not in a
school, but under a tree. CNN.com/Heroes
Related Video: Ethiopian CNN Hero Meets Supporters in NYC
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008,
at Cafe Addis in Harlem, NYC. The event took place on Saturday,
December 13, 2008.
Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown at the de Young Museum in San Francisco
Art News
Source: San Francisco Sentinel.com
10 June 2009
The de Young Museum hosts Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown: Light, Shadow, and the Quiet Song Between through June 27th as part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Artist-in-Residence Program in the Kimball Education Gallery. Read more at San Francisco Sentinel.com.
Ethiopia native MEKLIT HADERO is a singer, musician, cultural activist, and previous director of the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. Meklit has lived in twelve cities, on three continents, and her musical explorations span cultural influences and genres. In December of 2007, Meklit released her first recording, titled Eight Songs. She is the recipient of a 2008 Individual Grant from the Belle Foundation for Arts and Culture. Currently, she is organizing a group of Ethiopian Diaspora artists from across North America to return to Ethiopia for a festival of traditional music at the end of this year. Meklit was selected as a 2009 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Global Fellow. The TED conference is a large gathering of artists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and designers who are at the cutting edge of their fields. Along with Brown, she is a central composer, lyricist and co-founder of the musical ensemble Nefasha Ayer. Listen to Meklit’s work: MEKLIT HADERO.
Photos from L.A.’s Little Ethiopia Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
New York (Tadias) – An intergenerational poetry reading and panel discussion examining four decades of Ethiopian immigrant’s life in the U.S was held earlier this month in Los Angeles.
The Tsehai Poetry Jam, which was presented in cooperation with PEN USA, the Ethiopian Heritage Foundation and Tsehai Publishers, was held at Messob Restaurant & Lounge, located in the official neighborhood of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Avenue.
A similar event in Chicago is scheduled for early July in conjunction with the The Fourth Annual Tsehai conference.
Below are photo highlights from the L.A. event courtesy of Tsehai Publishers.
Photos by Richard Beban
For an Ethiopian Painter in Paris, new levels of public recognition
Fikru Gebre Mariam in his Paris Studio - 2005 (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Donald N. Levine
Published: Thursday, January 8, 2009
New York (Tadias) – Featured in exhibitions in two prestigious French galleries in Autumn 2008, Galerie Alternance in the north and Galerie Cabotse in Paris, the work of Fikru Gebre Mariam has reached new levels of both aesthetic power and public recognition. The moment is ripe for looking back at Fikru’s oeuvre and taking a fresh look at his artistic development.
Inspired to pursue an artistic career after winning an award at age 13 at the International Children’s Painting Exhibition in Beijing, Fikru began formal study at the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts, founded a half-century ago by the distinguished artist Ale Felege Selam, who introduced modern methods of teaching drawing and painting, which he had studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s. There he became a protégé of instructor Tadesse Mesfin, who not only taught him painterly skills but gave him a graphic theme which he would embrace, struggle with, and grow through, ever since. The motif was a variant of a genre of contemporary Ethiopian painting sometimes glossed as “2 women,” a phrase used to represent women doing everyday tasks like spinning and making pottery, as shown in one of his paintings. Although some Ethiopian artists often dismiss their works in this genre as mere touristic products, not expressive of their true selves, others have turned it into a serious genre. In Fikru’s hands, it became a vehicle for one epiphany after another. He has gone from depictions of groups of women standing, to more abstract representations, often with masks, to purely abstract creations.
At each phase similar qualities strike the viewer. They convey a blend of rich hues, emotional intensity, immediacy of impact, and a touch of austerity. If asked to compare them to European artists, I would say that Fikru’s compositions offer a blend of Modigliani figures in a Giacomettian “Still Ladies” stance presented with Braquean geometric abstraction. In a conversation with the artist, Fikru let me know that Braque was indeed his favorite artist. Even so, there is no mistaking the deeply Ethiopian flavor of these paintings. They display hints of Ethiopian miniatures and church paintings. They are imbued with African earth tones. They use the colored garments of Harari women. They capture the somber mood of much Ethiopian life.
The Dream – 120×120 cm – Oil on canvas – 2004. Upcoming
shows – 2007: solo exhibition National Museum, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. 2007: May 1-30: solo exhibition, Galerie François 1er,
Aubigny sur Nère (18700), France. Opening on May 5th at 5pm.
2008: summer: Galerie Alternance Guy Lignier, Hardelot, France.
Blue dream 100×81 cm Oil on canvas 2004. Painting by Fikru
G/Mariam (Addis Ababa & Paris).
The world of Ethiopian painters is, like much else about contemporary Ethiopian life, divided between those who have remained at home and attempted to be true to Ethiopian realities, and those who have emigrated and whose offspring evince a passion to emulate Western styles to a high degree. With studios in Paris and Addis Ababa, where he spends half a year each, Fikru savors all he can of both worlds. He insists that it is essential for his art that he remains close to his Ethiopian roots–and indeed has continued to live in his father’s gibbi until now. At the same time, Fikru finds it no less essential to spend half of each year abroad. As he wrote me, “I believe the freedom of being out of Ethiopia has amazing value in my life and work. Both in Europe and the U.S., especially in Paris . . .visiting museums and art galleries bring dramatic important changes in my work. It is like seeing yourself in the big mirror, even if you think you know yourself.”
Seriousness but not somberness is immediately evident when one meets the artist–a rugged, good-looking, almost athletic Ethiopian male in his mid-thirties. He could be, and really is, an assiduous businessman. He works without stop, producing a seemingly endless flow of polished products. His studios in both cities are packed with canvasses like rush-hour traffic. This enables him to live fairly inexpensively and yet maintain a wealth of paintings for sale, in contrast to Ethiopian artists in the Diaspora who often find it difficult to make ends meet.
Even so, it is not mainly a commercial motive that drives his prolific output. His social conscience remains alive and well; his many awards include posters against AIDS and for Family Planning. Beyond that, Fikru’s being patently manifests his relation to art as a vocation in the deeper sense. It offers him a constant challenge to let his spirit grow. This is one reason why I believe his work has such an impact on viewers. It certainly had on me.
That said, the exceptional value of the art of Fikru Gebre Mariam may lie in its capacity to mediate Ethiopian and Western worlds, yet at a level that marks him as one of Ethiopia’s most acclaimed international painters.
Learn more about Fikru Gebre Mariam at www.fikru.fr.
About the Author: Donald N. Levineis the Peter B. Ritzma Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Chicago. “He is the author of many books, chapters and articles on Ethiopia and has had direct involvement in Ethiopian affairs since the 1960s. His works on Ethiopia include: Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture (1965), now reprinted by Tsehai Publishers and Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society (1974), a second edition of which, with a new preface was published, in 2001. Other publications include Visions of the Sociological Tradition (1995) and, most recently, Powers of the Mind: The Reinvention of Liberal Learning.” (The Ethiopian American.). Professor Levine’s research and teaching interests focus on classical social theory, modernization theory, Ethiopian studies, conflict theory and aikido, and philosophies of liberal education.
Cocktails for Reading: Oct 11th in Washington D.C.
New York (Tadias) – Bernos in collaboration with Ethiopia Reads and Tsehai Publishers announced the launch of ‘Cocktails for Reading’ a social networking event for readers, publishers, authors and writers in the Ethiopian American community. Aimed at promoting reading among Ethiopians, the first gathering is scheduled to take place on October 11th at Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C.
“The format is simple,” Bernos Founder Nolawi Petros tells Tadias. He describes it as “a party promoting reading among Ethiopians with cocktails, speakers, books, and souvenirs thrown in the mix.” The Cocktails for Reading website includes a signup email list and takes advantage of online Google and Yahoo calendar reminders as well as popular social networking site Facebook to attract a diverse population of attendees.
The October Cocktails for Reading event will be hosted by Elias Fullmore from the Burntface music group and featured keynote speakers include CNN Hero Yohannes Gebregeorgis of Ethiopia Reads and Elias Wondimu, Founder of Tsehai Publishers and Distributor. The event will also host tables for authors who will be selling their recent books and participating in book signing. Invited participants to include Nebiyou Mekonnen, Fasil Yitbarek, Dej. Zewde Gebresellasie, Andarge Asfaw, Getachew Metaferia, Tewodros Abebe and Tayitu Entertainment.
Bernos is an innovative clothing company that creates high-quality, eye-catching t-shirts featuring African themes.
Ethiopia Reads works to improve literacy and create a culture of reading in Ethiopia, in order to bring hope, vision and educational skills to this generation of Ethiopian children. They plant libraries for children to provide quality reading materials, publish books in local Ethiopian languages and train teachers and librarians to nurture a love of reading and books.
Tsehai Publishers and Distributors is a publishing company founded with the intention of spreading currently absent knowledge about underserved communities, such as the African Diaspora.
— Cocktails for Reading, Saturday October 11th, 2008 at 5:30pm (Touchstone Gallery, 406 7th Street NW 2nd Flr, Washington, DC 20004. For more information about the event please email reading@bernos.org.
President of Loyola Marymount University Timothy Law Snyder, Founder of TSEHAI Elias Wondimu, Director of the Marymount Institute Professor Theresia de Vroom and Senior Vice-President for Student Affairs Elena (Lane) M. Bove. (Courtesy photos)
