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Q&A: Liya Kebede on Lemlem’s Designer Collaboration With H&M

Published by Tadias Magazine May 7th, 2021 in Featured. Closed

In a Q&A with Elle magazine Liya Kebede discusses her H&M designer collaboration, finding joy during a pandemic, and advice to “accidental entrepreneurs” like herself. (Photos: Courtesy of H&M)

Elle

Liya Kebede Continues Lemlem’s Sustainability Mission With H&M

Some people were born into entrepreneurship, others planned for it. Then, there’s Liya Kebede who considers herself an “accidental entrepreneur.” For most international supermodels, you can almost predict their trajectory—supermodel status, then brand ambassador, then beauty brand or clothing line will follow suit. But Kebede’s path wasn’t that clear cut. When she refers to herself as an accidental entrepreneur, she truly means the launch of her brand Lemlem was a mere coincidence birthed from a stroll through an Ethiopian market street.

“[Lemlem’s] designs share the story of the art of handweaving and amazing talent, diversity, and inspiration to be found in Africa,” she tells ELLE.com via email. During a walk through the Ethiopian market, Kebede noticed a group of traditional weavers struggling to sell their hand-woven garments. Given the name—an Amharic expression that translates to “bloom” and “flourish,” Kebede used her own money to build her team from the ground up to help the weavers do exactly that. Collaboration has been central to the brand’s DNA from its genesis, from employing weavers to combine traditional techniques and Western style, to designer collabs with Moncler, to Kebede’s latest trick: an H&M collection.

Launching today, May 6, in the US and Canada, Lemlem x H&M continues the mission-driven story of celebrating artisanship, creating job opportunities for traditional weavers across the continent. The collection features warm-weather staples (crop tops, caftans, dresses, jewelry and more) that marry H&M’s trend-forward aesthetic with Lemlem’s timelessness, doused in summer brights like yellow, orange, blue, and white. What’s more, H&M will donate $100,000 to the Lemlem foundation to continue providing opportunities for women artisans.

Ahead, Kebede talks her H&M designer collab, finding joy during a pandemic, and advice to “accidental entrepreneurs” like herself.

Joy was hard to find in the past year. How have you been making sure to celebrate joy in your life?

It has been a complicated year but also a time of reflection and learning. And I have found true joy in seeing the ways people have reached out to old and new friends offering support and caring for one another in this time.

A lot of clothing brands were birthed as a solution to a larger problem in fashion. What would you say was the problem Lemlem was created to fix?

Lemlem was created to share the best of the craftsmanship I grew up with at home in Ethiopia – and to help the incredible community of artisans there. That’s what motivated me and it’s the story of Lemlem. I never thought about having my own brand until I suddenly saw it as a solution to create sustainable jobs so traditional weavers from my country could make a good living doing what they love, channeling their incredible skill into the beautiful, modern collections that we sell around the world.

Where does the name Lemlem come from?

Lemlem means to bloom and flourish in my native Ethiopian language, Amharic. When our designer at Lemlem and I were first brainstorming – this name popped off the page at me immediately. Not only did it so perfectly reflect our story and our goals, but it was also a nickname my family used for my daughter when she was little.

How does the H&M x Lemlem collection continue this story?

The collaboration was about combining things we both love to create a joyful collection of beach and swimwear and accessories using sustainable materials.

When H&M approached you about this collaboration, what was the most important thing you wanted to bring to this collection?

From the start, we wanted to make a joyful collection that reflected the story and spirit of Lemlem– and this took on extra significance as we designed this together through the pandemic. We want people to jump to get every piece and have great times wearing them out and making new happy memories as we get out into the sun again.

Why did this collaboration make sense to you?

H&M has been at the forefront of doing cool collaborations with brands for years. So for Lemlem, it was a very exciting proposition to become a part of this. And we appreciate H&Ms incredible global reach. To be able to introduce our brand to the H&M community is a wonderful opportunity.

Where did you draw inspiration from this time around?

The beauty and strength of sisterhood—embracing things that connect rather than separate us—was the central idea that very much inspired me while designing the collection and the campaign.

What was it like designing in collaboration with a huge retailer like H&M versus how you operate on your own?

It was an incredible experience working with H&Ms teams and learning about their processes. When we first started planning back in 2019 I imagined that we would be in a design studio together, brainstorming, looking at fabrics, and fitting together. Designing the collection together virtually during Covid called on our creativity in a different way. We drew from our experience at Lemlem bridging the distance to work closely with our partner weaving workshop in Ethiopia. In the end, I’m so happy and proud of the group effort and what we were able to create.

What is the Lemlem x H&M guide to lounging?

Keep it loose! I love to size up and wear the trousers from our collection with a big shirt or caftan. That’s my repeat look at home.

Vogue: Liya Kebede & Her Daughter Bring A Touch Of Ethiopia’s Artisanship To H&M

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

Liya Kebede says working with her daughter was wonderfully emotional and a proud moment in her career. (Vogue)

Vogue

Liya Kebede & Her Daughter Bring A Touch Of Ethiopia’s Artisanship To H&M

Liya Kebede has been quietly working to preserve the art of weaving in her native Ethiopia since she founded her artisanal brand Lemlem, which means “to bloom” and “flourish” in Amharic, in 2007. By employing traditional weavers and breaking their cycle of poverty – the once thriving industry creating custom habesha kemis garments suffered as young Africans turned to modern imported fashion – Kebede has reinvigorated a community, and kept an important element of the culture of Addis Ababa, where she was born.

Kebede is working with H&M on ways the high-street giant can benefit the Lemlem Foundation. Community is at the core of Lemlem and it was crucial that this was reflected in the H&M collaboration. (Vogue

The UN ambassador and maternal health advocate’s craft-focused business model can be seen as a lesson in sustainability – one that is spoken about less frequently than eco-friendly textile innovations and circularity initiatives. “Lemlem is about the human element of sustainability,” explains Kebede over Zoom, still as radiant as when she started modelling at the age of 18. “In philanthropy, there’s always this issue of making something sustainable. For me, enabling and educating people, giving them jobs and making them independent is a sustainable way of doing aid.”

The work of the Lemlem Foundation, which runs in tandem with the clothing brand and connects female artisans in Africa to healthcare, education and jobs, struck a chord with H&M, a pioneer in the high-street sustainable fashion movement. When the Swedish fast-fashion giant invited Kebede to design a capsule collection, she didn’t balk at the prospect, but saw it as an opportunity to spread the word about Lemlem’s mission. “The idea of H&M collaborating with a brand like ours, which is very much based on sustainability, brings that kind of awareness to their customers,” Kebede explains of H&M’s mammoth outreach. “I think that’s really important and great to be a part of.”

Effortless-yet-elegant is the style takeaway from the edit. Jewellery is to be worn stacked and passed down through generations. (Vogue)

After deciding that the shipping of fabrics back and forth between Ethiopia and Europe would pose major carbon footprint issues and that the quantity of stock would overwhelm Lemlem’s weavers, Kebede agreed to create a line of effortless daywear in the spirit of Lemlem’s archive, but made in Europe. Sustainably sourced organic cotton and linen and recycled polyester were selected to give the same texture as Lemlem’s artisanal pieces, while the joyful mood of the striped beachwear and breezy separates emulates the brand’s signature colourful aesthetic. “I love the whole energy of layering and everything sort of going with each other, even though it’s not the same,” says Kebede, who has been living in the samples.

Jewellery, a new category for Lemlem and one Kebede is thrilled to experiment with, comes in the form of stacking trinkets made from recycled zinc, among other materials. It’s designed, like the rest of the sunny edit, to be passed down from generation to generation, and Kebede chose her daughter Raee to star in the lookbook with her – an experience she describes as emotional. “These classic pieces are wonderful items that you can always wear forever,” she says of the seasonless Lemlem ethos she extended to H&M.

Raee, who loves the sustainable Lemlem X H&M crop tops and swimwear, and her friends, who mostly shop vintage, are indicative of the shift in consciousness around fashion’s negative impact on the environment. Kebede, who says there were no conversations around sustainability when she began modelling, is buoyed by this. “When people first started talking about it, everybody said, ‘If I make [clothing] sustainable, I’m going to be limited, so I won’t be able to make it as gorgeous as I want.’ Now that has completely changed,” she asserts. The healthy food movement, she believes, is helpful at illustrating this: organic food was once conceived as good for you, but lacking in flavour. Now, it is widely-accepted. With change-makers like Kebede spreading the message about quality, beautiful and ethical fashion, sustainability is firmly on the menu.

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Liya Kebede, who oversaw every finish, has been living in the samples since developing the collection. (Vogue)

Shop Lemlem x H&M, which is priced from £7.99 to £39.99, from 22 April. As part of the collaboration H&M has made a donation to the Lemlem Foundation to bolster its important work.

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Video: Tadias Conversation With Tigist Kebede of Habeshaview

Published by Tadias Magazine April 1st, 2021 in Featured and Interviews. Closed

Tigist Kebede, Co-Founder & Operations Director of Habeshaview and Journalist Tsedey Aragie. (Photo: Tadias Magazine)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 3rd, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — Tadias recently had a conversation with Tigist Kebede, Co-Founder and Operations Director of Habeshaview — the first international Ethiopian film distribution and online streaming company.

As Tigist explains, Habeshaview works with filmmakers both in Ethiopia and the Diaspora to curate, produce, screen and distribute high-quality original Ethiopian films. Their current offerings include the feature film Enkopa, which is based on the true story of a young Ethiopian migrant at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers; as well as Enchained, an award-winning movie that reflects on Ethiopia’s ancient and culturally-rooted legal system.

The interview was conducted by journalist Tsedey Aragie for Tadias.

Watch: Tadias Conversation with Tigist Kebede of Habeshaview

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You can access the Habeshaview App at user.habeshaview.com.

Spotlight on ‘Enkopa’: New Ethiopian Movie Based on True Story of a Young Migrant

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Spotlight: Alitash Kebede, Among The Top Five Black Women In The Art World

Published by Tadias Magazine September 7th, 2020 in Art. Closed

Alitash Kebede was the long-time proprietor of a gallery in Los Angeles, Currently, her consultancy business manages collections and appraisal services for corporate and private clients, and organizes exhibitions that travel to museums across the United States and throughout the world. - Forbes (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: September 23rd, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Last week, Forbes magazine featured Alitash Kebede among “the top five Black women you should know in the art world.”

The short list was selected by Alaina Simone who is a prominent African-American art curator and consultant “known for championing the work of Al Loving, Ed Clark, Emilio Cruz, Herbert Gentry, Richard Mayhew and Nanette Carter, among other artists.”

Forbes notes that “Alitash Kebede was the long-time proprietor of a gallery in Los Angeles, Currently, her consultancy business manages collections and appraisal services for corporate and private clients, and organizes exhibitions that travel to museums across the United States and throughout the world.”

From Simone: “Alitash Kebede had one of the first auctions at Christie’s that was centered around her collection of artists of the African diaspora in 2008. She opened my eyes to the movement of art on the market. Since 2008, prices for black artists have soared at auction houses. Alitash was one of the first dealers to represent Kehinde Wiley, among many other art stars.”

Alitash Kebede with Ethiopian American artist Tariku Shiferaw. (Courtesy photo)

Alitash, who was born and raised in Ethiopia, is a groundbreaker in the African-American as well as the African Diaspora art communities and one of only a handful of women in her industry. Alitash points out that she also works with artists outside this genre. According to her bio: “Alitash Kebede opened her first gallery in 1994 after working as a private dealer for 10 years. The gallery earned a reputation for being a source for first time and seasoned collectors, as well as for being a supporter of artists working in a variety of media. At the gallery. Kebede presented the first solo exhibitions in Los Angeles of numerous New York artists including: Al Loving, Ed Clark, Emilio Cruz, Herbert Gentry, Richard Mayhew and Nanette Carter, among others. Author Terry McMillan had her first book signing for her debut novel Mama at the gallery in 1987, and later the gallery provided art for the movie based on McMillan’s novel, How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”

As Alitash told Tadias previously the American artist, author, and songwriter “Romare Bearden along with the pioneer Ethiopian artist Skunder Boghossian was an inspiration for my venture into the art world…I feel so fortunate to be associated with [two] of the most innovative artists of the 20th century.”

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Alitash Kebede on Romare Bearden’s 100th Birthday Exhibition at Macy’s

Four Generations of Black Women Artists in California: Exhibition by Alitash Kebede

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Liya Kebede Among 22 Most Stylish Supermodels of All Time (Harper’s Bazaar)

Published by Tadias Magazine October 3rd, 2019 in Featured. Closed

Liya Kebede. (Harper's Bazaar)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

October 3rd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — The fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar has named Liya Kebede among 22 most stylish supermodels of all time.

“By and far, models are known for other people’s fashion, not their own,” the monthly publication states. “But, of course, there are those special few who have not only conquered modeling itself but also gained acclaim for their own personal style.” The magazine noted that Liya Kebede is “able to swing from cool-girl athleisure to red-carpet glam,” and added: “Kebede always makes an impact.”

Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Liya launched her modeling career in Paris in the late 1990′s soon after graduating from Lycée Guebre Mariam high school, and gained international prominence in 2003 when she was selected by Estée Lauder to become the first black model to represent the global cosmetics brand.

As The Business of Fashion website — that covers the global fashion industry — shared: “Although Kebede still models for the likes of Tom Ford, Donna Karan and Roberto Cavalli , she is now focused on philanthropic ventures. These include Lemlem, a clothing line founded to protect traditional Ethiopian weaving techniques and support women, which is sold at Barney’s, J Crew, Net-a-Porter and numerous boutique shops. Kebede has also been a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health division since 2005. In 2013, Kebede was named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year for her philanthropic work through her Liya Kebede Foundation. She has two children and resides in New York.”

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FT on Liya Kebede’s Brand Lemlem

Published by Tadias Magazine July 3rd, 2019 in Podcast. Closed

The supermodel implemented a sustainable approach while sponsoring her foundation for African women. (Photo: Founder Liya Kebede at Lemlem's Muya workshop in Addis Ababa/FT)

THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Liya Kebede’s brand Lemlem offers Ethiopian craftsmanship that sells

When supermodel Liya Kebede was growing up in Addis Ababa, she wore comfortable Ethiopian clothing — ample dresses made from strips of woven cotton sewn together. But traditional clothes were beginning to disappear, replaced by the spread of western fast fashion and access to cheap second-hand garments.

Since 2007, her fashion label Lemlem has revived commercial interest in Ethiopian weaving, putting back on the map the artisanship that was at risk of falling into oblivion.

“I wanted to reinject an energy and fuel back into the artisans and into the artisanal industry,” Ms Kebede explains. “The idea is to inspire others to look at Africa as a source of high-end artisanal work, and not just be a place to which you outsource for cheap labour.”

Tailors all over the continent make clothes using traditional techniques, with patterns and styles that are often unique to their culture. But the arrival of faster production methods threatens this treasure trove of skills and traits, in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

“Few in the fashion industry thought it possible to ever use Africa’s traditional skills on a commercial scale,” she says. “We are showing local creators and local entrepreneurs [how] to invest in their own local skills and skill makers, and not just look to the outside.”

Although Lemlem, which means “blooming” in Amharic, shipped 35,000 items last year, 85 per cent of which were made in Ethiopia, Ms Kebede admits it is still “uncharted territory”.

Experienced suppliers do not exist in Ethiopia — each partnership must be built from scratch, workers need to be trained and exports are arduous.

Liya Kebede with Ethiopian artisans working on cotton garments © Gilles Bensimon

This results in long production times and expensive individual products — most of Lemlem’s dresses sell for between $250 and $450.

As the fashion world wrestles with questions of sustainability and wastage, Ms Kebede believes there are opportunities for African brands such as Lemlem, in creating a small number of “beautiful, unique” garments, for consumers who want fewer, better-made clothes.

“The whole world is thinking about excess in general, and in the fashion world there is so much of it,” she says.

Lemlem is now working with 300 artisans, up from 50 when it started, but it will not push for very high production volumes.

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Four Generations of Black Women Artists in California: Exhibition by Alitash Kebede

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

Kenturah-Davis. (Courtesy of The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: Wednesday, February 8th, 2017

New York (TADIAS) — As part of the month-long nationwide celebration of Black History Month, Ethiopian American Alitash Kebede, owner of Alitash Kebede Arts, is the exhibition consultant for a show entitled “Enduring in Vision and Linked in Tradition: Selected Works by Four Generations of African American Women Artists,” which is being displayed at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA) at California State University, San Bernardino. The exhibition will run from Feb. 11th – April 8th, 2017 with an opening reception on Thursday, Feb. 9th, 7-9 p.m.

The show is “an intimate yet captivating exhibition featuring works by thirteen highly accomplished artists representing four generations of African-American women in the art world from the first half of the twentieth century to the present,” the museum said in a press release. “The exhibition features two renowned Los Angeles artists, the city’s native Betye Saar and New Orleans-born, Samella Lewis. Highly regarded, celebrated and influential, both artists still live and work in Los Angeles today; during the second half of the previous century both were major force in the city’s vibrant art scene.”

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If You Go:
CSUSB Art Museum
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, CA 92407-2397
Phone: (909) 537-7373
E-mail: raffma@csusb.edu
http://raffma.csusb.edu.
The museum is open Monday – Wednesday and Saturday, 10am-5pm, Thursday 11am-7pm and is closed
Friday and Sunday.

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Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede the Berlin Marathon Queen Once Again

Published by Tadias Magazine September 25th, 2016 in Sports. Closed

Aberu Kebede wins the women's title at the 2016 Berlin Marathon. (www.photorun.net) © Copyright

IAAF

The women’s race saw Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede take victory in commanding fashion, running 2:20:45 to come home more than three minutes clear of compatriot Birhane Dibaba.

Kebede, Dibaba and fellow Ethiopian Ruti Aga ran together through 10km in 33:12 and 15km in 49:40, but Kebede began to press on alone before halfway, which she reached in 1:09:27. From there, she extended her advantage all the way to the finish, coming home just 15 seconds shy of her personal best of 2:20:30.

“I’m very happy to have won here for the third time,” said Kebede. “It was a big ambition to break 2:20 and it still is. I hope to have another chance to achieve this in Berlin.”

With her third Berlin win after 2010 and 2012, Kebede joins the city’s record winners Uta Pippig (Germany) and Renata Kokowska (Poland). Birhane Dibaba (2:23:58) and Ruti Aga (2:24:41) made it an all-Ethiopian podium in Berlin.

41,283 runners from 122 countries entered the 43rd edition of the race, which is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

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Liya Kebede in Historic Super Bowl 50

Published by Tadias Magazine January 22nd, 2016 in Featured. Closed

Designed by Liya Kebede, Lemlem for Super Bowl 50

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, January 22nd, 2016

Design by Liya Kebede’s Lemlem Featured in Historic Super Bowl 50 Collection

New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede is one of 50 notable fashion designers who has created a one-of-a-kind bespoke football in celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Super Bowl, which is scheduled to take place in San Francisco Bay Area on February 7th, 2016. The designer footballs were developed through a collaboration between the National Football League (NFL) and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Time magazine reports: “The two organizations have collaborated on 50 bespoke designer footballs that will be up for auction from Jan. 20 through Feb. 14 on the NFL Auction site” with proceeds going to the NFL Foundation.

Other featured Super Bowl 50 fashion designers include Kenneth Cole, Tadashi Shoji, Prabal Gurung, Clare Vivier, and Rachel Roy.

The Lemlem brand, founded by Liya Kebede, produces Ethiopian hand-woven cotton scarves, women’s clothing and children’s dresses made by traditional artisans in Ethiopia.

Liya Kebede. (Photo: Lemlem)

“We are pleased to partner with the NFL once again on this creative endeavor, which highlights CFDA Members unique talents and passion for creativity while giving back to youth and important fundraising initiatives,” said Adam Roth, the CFDA’s Director of Strategic Partnerships. “With our collaboration, the NFL offers a unique take on the iconic football, particularly for women who care about fashion and also love the game.”

DC: Vigil Held for Emebet Kebede

Published by Tadias Magazine August 26th, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

Hundreds gather at Southern Ave. in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 to remember Emebet Kebede, the woman killed in a hit-and-run Friday night while walking to the Metro. (Ben Rice/ WJLA).

WJLA

BY WJLA STAFF

LANHAM, Md. — Hundreds gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil to remember the life of Emebet Kebede.

Kebede was walking across Southern Avenue heading toward the Metro Friday evening when she was struck by a car and killed.

The incident occurred in front of the United Medical Center.

Police say the vehicle that hit Kebede was a late model black Chevy Tahoe

The Metropolitan Police Department is asking anyone with information about this case to call the police at (202) 727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.

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Friends and Family Remember DC Hit and Run Victim Emebet Kebede — WJLA TV

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

56-year-old Physician assistant Emebet Kebede was killed in a hit-and-run outside of a Washington, D.C. hospital where she worked last Friday, August 21st, 2015. (Photo: WJLA TV/ABC 7)

WJLA

BY ROZ PLATER

Lanham, Md. — Dozens of friends and family gathered in Lanham Sunday evening to mourn the sudden loss of Emebet Kebede.

“I don’t know what to say… I lost my partner of 31-years… my wife my best half a wonderful person,” said Kabede’s husband, Habte Michael.

Now her family wants to see justice served.

Police say Kebede was struck and killed Friday evening, by a hit and run driver.

Kebede’s relatives say she had just crossed Southern Avenue and was headed toward the metro when she was hit.

The accident happened right in front of United Medical Center.

Police released a photo of a person of interest in the case. They say they vehicle that hit Kebede was a late model black Chevy Tahoe.

Anyone with information is asked to call D.C. Police.

Video: Friends and family remember hit and run victim Emebet Kebede

Suspect Sought in DC Hit and Run Death of Physician Assistant Emebet Kebede

WTOP

By WTOP Staff

WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the perpetrator in the hit and run fatality of a 56-year-old Lanham woman who was walking on the street Friday in Southeast Washington.

Police say the woman, identified as Emebet Kebede, was struck by a newer model black Chevrolet Tahoe at approximately 6:10 p.m. Friday on the 1300 block of Southern Avenue, SE. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

According to The Washington Post, Kebede worked as a physician’s assistant at the United Medical Center, which is located in the block where she was killed.

Police are looking for his man in connection with a Friday hit-and-run in Southeast D.C. (Metropolitan Police)

The crash remains under investigation. The Metropolitan Police Department is asking anyone with information about this case to call the police at (202) 727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.

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Super Natural: Liya Kebede is One of the World’s Most Successful Models

Published by Tadias Magazine June 6th, 2015 in Featured. Closed

Scouted as a teenager in Ethiopia, 37-year-old Liya Kebede is now one of the world’s most successful models, an influential philanthropist and fashion designer. (Ben Morris)

Sunday Times Style

By Katie Glass

Club 55 — where Elton John lunches when he’s in St Tropez — is the kind of ultrachic beachside restaurant where people in diamond-encrusted Rolexes indulge in three-hour lunches of lobster, while out-ordering each other with magnums of champagne. But when I arrive there to meet the supermodel Liya Kebede, she is not flashing cash among the ostentatious throng. Instead, she’s sitting alone on the beach.

Kebede is here to launch The Outnet’s edit of high-summer clothes: a collection of beachy cover-ups, swimwear and flirty dresses. Today she’s wearing loose cotton trousers and an orange shirt that could pass for pyjamas. “I like being comfortable. I like being effortless,” she says. She has no make-up on, her hair is messily up and she’s drinking a full-sugar Coke, so it’s hard to believe this was the woman photographed in a Dior Haute Couture jumpsuit and curls on the cover of May’s Paris Vogue.

Read the full article at Sunday Times »
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Style: Liya Kebede Talks Lemlem’s Evolution

Published by Tadias Magazine July 27th, 2014 in Profiles. Closed

Supermodel Liya Kebede. (Style.com)

Style.com

July 25, 2014

Having spent roughly half her life in the fashion biz, Liya Kebede has come a long way in the industry since leaving Ethiopia at the age of 18 to model in Paris. In the following decades, Kebede has established herself as a bona fide icon—not only as a “super” still busy with runway and editorial work, but additionally as a philanthropist/advocate for maternal health and an emerging entrepreneur. Back in 2007, she launched her ready-to-wear brand, Lemlem, as a way to create new opportunities for the traditional weavers and artisans based in her hometown, Addis Ababa. The word lemlem means “to bloom” in Amharic and is also a nickname Kebede gave her 8-year-old daughter, Raee. Indeed, the line itself—comprised of beach-ready wares that are handwoven and embroidered in Africa—has been flourishing in a big way: Just this week, Kebede was announced as a new member of the CFDA.

Fresh off of the haute couture and menswear circuits (in Paris, she walked Dior and posed for pal Haider Ackermann’s presentation), Kebede joined Style.com to preview her new collection. At our appointment, the supermodel was the epitome of summertime casual in a gray T-shirt, striped Lemlem skirt, and canvas sneakers. While the has introduced new jersey and merino wool categories in recent seasons, Resort ’15 focused on best-selling gauzy tunics, caftans, and scarves in vibrant hues. Kebede personally gravitates toward some of the more directional silhouettes, including strapless jumpsuits, raw-edged maxi ponchos, and long boy shorts. Our takeaway? Both Kebede and her beachy clothes are beautiful in every way. Read on below for five things we learned about Kebede and Lemlem.

Read more at .style.com »
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In Search of Family Ties’ By Laura Kebede

Published by Tadias Magazine December 25th, 2013 in Opinion. Closed

Laura Kebede met many members of her family for the first time when she traveled to her father's homeland in Ethiopia in January. (RTD)

Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LAURA KEBEDE

I once convinced a Tunisian guard I was Tunisian to avoid a foreigner’s fee at a museum. All it took was sunglasses to hide my hazel eyes and a Tunisian friend to, eh, explain that I was deaf.

In Cambodia, I put my brown arm up to a dark-skinned girl’s arm when she obsessed over my friends’ lighter skin because she believed white American skin was ideal. When she noticed our similar skin tones, it put her more at ease — that is until she discovered my unusual poufy hair.

So going to Ethiopia, my father’s home, should be easy, I told myself in January before I embarked on a three-week father-daughter trip. I’m quick to find common ground no matter where I am, and these people are half my heritage.

Accordingly, half of everyone I interacted with assumed I spoke Amharic, the official language, or Tigrinya, my father’s language. The other half could tell a mile away that I was American. It must have been my marvel-glazed eyes.

All I had imagined about Ethiopia was coming to life, and I’d been imagining for a long time: the mountains, the food, the ancient rock-hewn churches and, of course, the coffee — Ethiopia’s gift to the world.

I also often wondered about my father’s only sister and her nine children. I had only overheard her and my father talk in the familiar tones of Tigrinya some nights when she happened to travel from their rural birthplace of Adeba to somewhere with a phone.

Read more.
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Liya Kebede Honored at Glamour Women of the Year Awards (Video)

Published by Tadias Magazine November 13th, 2013 in Profiles. Closed

Liya Kebede at New York’s Carnegie Hall during the Glamour Women of the Year Awards and Gala on November 11th, 2013. (Photo: INF)

Atlanta Black Star

November 13, 2013

Supermodel and businesswoman Iman presented fellow models Liya Kebede and Christy Turlington with the Role Model of the Year award at the Glamour Women of the Year awards held at Carnegie Hall in New York on Monday evening.

Both models were honored for the work done through their respective foundations that help make motherhood safer for women everywhere. Turlington’s Every Mother Counts is a campaign to end preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world, and the Liya Kebede Foundation supports maternal health care in Ethiopia.

Other notable honorees included, 16-year-old Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, and former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Watch Iman present the award to Turlington and Kebede.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Getaneh Kebede Returns to Ethiopia Squad For Nigeria Tie

Published by Tadias Magazine November 12th, 2013 in Podcast. Closed

Striker Getaneh Kebede has returned to the Ethiopian national team for Saturday's World Cup play-off second leg against Nigeria in Calabar. (BBC)

BBC Sport

By Betemariam Hailu

Addis Ababa – The 21-year-old Bidvest Wits player missed the first leg, which ended 2-1 to Nigeria , because of a knee injury.

Coach Sewinet Bishaw will be delighted to have his joint top scorer back as the Walias aim to make it to Brazil 2014 for their first World Cup finals.

Striker Saladin Seid and midfielder Shimels Bekele are also in the squad.

Getaneh trained on Monday along with his team-mates, who are mostly home-based players.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Kenyans Dominate 2013 NYC Marathon: Buzunesh Deba, Tsegaye Kebede Finish 2nd

Published by Tadias Magazine November 3rd, 2013 in News. Closed

Priscah Jeptoo (above) and Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya cross the finish line Sunday to capture the 2013 New York City Marathon in the women’s and men’s races respectively. (Getty Images)

New York Daily News

Priscah Jeptoo and Geoffrey Mutai have won the women’s and men’s titles in the New York City Marathon in its triumphant return after a 1-year hiatus.

The two Kenyans waved their flag in celebration while thousands cheered in Central Park.

Jeptoo, 29, overtook Bronx resident Buzunesh Deba with an impressive final kick and sped across the finish line to thunderous applause, clocking in at 2 hours, 25 minutes and 7 seconds for the grueling 26.2-mile race.

Deba, 26, finished second for the second straight time, having claimed No. 2 in 2011 as well.

Jeptoo trailed the Ethiopian-born Deba by more than three minutes halfway through. But she made her move as the race entered Manhattan and passed Deba with more than two miles to go.

Tsegaye Kebede Wins London Marathon

Published by Tadias Magazine April 21st, 2013 in Podcast. Closed

Tsegaye Kebede celebrates after winning the men's race at the London Marathon 2013. (Getty Images)

The Associated Press

Published Sunday, Apr. 21 2013

LONDON – Tsegaye Kebede claimed a second London Marathon title on Sunday, cheered through the streets by thousands of spectators reassured by enhanced security at the first major race since the twin bombings at the Boston event.

A race that started with a tribute to the Boston victims with a moment of silence ended with a thrilling conclusion under clear blue skies.
—
Related:
London Marathon: Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede wins for second time (BBC)
Ethiopia’s Kebede Wins London Marathon, Beating 2011 Champ Mutai (Bloomberg)
Ethiopian Kebede overhauls rival for London Marathon victory (Irish Independent)
London Marathon 2013: Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia wins men’s race (The Telegraph)
Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo Win Boston Marathon (CNN)
—
Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook

Alitash Kebede on Romare Bearden’s 100th Birthday Exhibition at Macy’s

Published by Tadias Magazine February 22nd, 2012 in Art and Featured. 3 Comments

Romare Bearden, who died in 1988 at the age of 76, was an African American artist and writer. (Photo: Romare Bearden, The Calabash, collage, 1970, Library of Congress)

Tadias Magazine

Art Talk | By Tadias Staff

Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – For Black History month last week, Macy’s held a series of in-store celebrations that honored the legacy of the distinguished African American artist Romare Bearden. Window displays of paintings by Bearden, as well as other artists, were featured in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. The week-long events included an opening reception, children’s activities, live music, cooking demonstrations featuring Bearden’s favorite recipes, and a celebration of the artist’s 100th birthday if he were alive.

The California-based Alitash Kebede Gallery provided several of the works exhibited at Macy’s Los Angeles and San Francisco stores. “I was delighted when I was asked by the Bearden Foundation to be a part of the Celebration,” gallery owner Alitash Kebede said in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “Romare Bearden along with the pioneer Ethiopian artist Skunder Boghossian was an inspiration for my venture into the art world.”

Alitash, who was born and raised in Ethiopia, recalled that when she first encountered one of Bearden’s most famous series, Prevalence of Ritual, in the 1970s, she had no idea who he was. “I certainly didn’t know that he was a celebrated American artist,” she said, reflecting on Bearden’s work. “I also had no idea that one day I would end up being in the art business because of him.”

“Life works mysteriously,” Alitash said. “The 100th birthday celebration happens to fall in 2012, which happens to be the 30th anniversary of my art business.” She added: “It is in 1982, not knowing how long it would last, that I started my art venture out of my West Hollywood apartment showing the work of Romare Bearden.”

Four years later, Bearden’s friend, the artist Herbert Gentry introduced Alitash to Bearden. “He took me to his studio in Long Island City and there I thought I was in heaven,” she said. “It is when I met Bearden, the artist who inspired me, that I decided that I was destined to be an art dealer.”

Alitash continued: “I feel so fortunate to be associated with one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century, and someone I’m privileged to call my friend,” she said. “Not only was he a master of the collage medium, he was also an author, a songwriter and had a wide range of scholarly interests in performing arts, history, literature and world art, which highly informed and inspired his work.” She added: “He was also known as one of the most generous people in the art world who helped many artists personally and through institutions that he co-founded, such as the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has certainly helped me, in more ways than one; and I will forever be indebted to him.”

The exhibition “Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections” will open at the Newark Museum, on May 23, 2012. “The Bearden Project” is presently at the Studio Museum in Harlem. This and other exhibitions are all part of the 100th Birthday Celebration.

Photo credit: Alitash Kebede by Lily Kebede at Alitash gallery.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Music Video Buzz: Bole Bole by Liya Kebede; Tadias by Hahu

Published by Tadias Magazine December 12th, 2011 in Art. 1 Comment

Above: Screen grab of footage from Bole Bole music video directed by Liya Kebede - inverted colors.

Tadias Magazine
Art Talk

Published: Monday, December 12, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – Among youth worldwide, hip hop is a universal language, and so too among Ethiopians.

Two new music videos have been getting a lot of buzz lately: The first is called Bole Bole, which was staged at Studio 21 in New York, is directed by Supermodel Liya Kebede.

The second video is made by the Ethiopian hip-hop group Hahu, who have come out with a single entitled ‘Tadias.’

Both videos have positive lyrics combining Amharic and English words with a fusion of Eastern and Western beats and rhythms.

Click here to watch Bole Bole.
Click here to watch Tadias by Hahu.

Teenager Sara Kebede hopes to help aspiring athletes in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine October 21st, 2011 in Featured. Closed

Sara Kebede and her father, Mizanu Kebede, at home in San Clemente, California. (Photo: Paul Bersebach, The Orange County Register).

Voice of America
Jackson Mvunganyi

Sara Kebede is not your regular 16-year-old American. She gets perfect grades and is a champion runner for her school. Now she’s using her interest in running as a way to help children in her father’s homeland, Ethiopia.

Kebede lives in California, where she recently started an effort to collect shoes for Ethiopian children. She calls it Shoes for Sheba, and its goal is to send running shoes to poor children who can’t afford to buy them. Many have to run bare-footed on the rough terrain of Ethiopia’s hilly countryside.

Kebede relates to them, since both she and her parents run. “Since I was five I have been running races…so running has always been part of my life.”

Among her heroes is international icon Haile Gebreselassie, who ran his way to superstardom. Kebede has met him and says he is her inspiration.

Her interest in helping began when she visited Ethiopia as a 10-year-old. Kebede says she was impressed by children who would approach her to ask for pencils for school instead of money.

Currently on the high school track team in Orange County, California, Kebede watches with surprise as teammates throw away running shoes that are still in good condition to get the latest pair on the market – even when their old ones still have many miles left in them. She has placed collection points at schools and around town to gather shoes for her project.

Kebede hopes the contributions will help improve the situation for many Ethiopians who turn to running to escape poverty.

Shoes would also encourage female runners in a country where men have long dominated the sport. Some Ethiopian women are taking the international stage and are winning international races. “If I could provide them with the basic tools — just shoes — they could better their situation.”
–
Learn more about Sara Kebede at: www.shoesforsheba.com.

Liya Kebede Named New Face of L’Oreal

Published by Tadias Magazine June 21st, 2011 in Featured and Profiles. Closed

Above: Liya Kebede photographed at the 2010 annual Time 100 Gala in NYC, has been named the "new face" of L'Oréal.

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Wednesday, June 22, 2011

New York (Tadias) – The Ethiopian-born supermodel, actress and maternal health advocate, Liya Kebede, has been named the “new face” of L’Oréal – joining Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Julianna Margulies and Freida Pinto- in her new role as the global beauty brand’s spokeswoman.

“It is important for me that I represent a brand that reflects my personality,” the 33-year-old said in a statement. “I’m pleased to play a part in sharing the uniqueness, the charisma, and the incredible stories of women of all origins and from all regions of the world.”

Liya Kebede, who is a mother of two children, was first spotted by a modeling agent while attending high-school at Lycee Gebre Mariam in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has since become one of the best-known and successful models in the world. She was the first black face of Estée Lauder.

In 2005 she was appointed as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador, and in recent years, she has been focused on that role advocating on behalf of maternal, newborn and child health issues. The same year she established the The Liya Kebede Foundation, an organization designed to provide women access to life-saving care in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations, corporations and affected communities.

In 2007, she launched her green clothing line Lemlem (Amharic for “flourish” or “to bloom”), which features handcrafted collection of women’s and children’s clothing that is made by traditional Ethiopian weavers from her homeland. Lemlem is carried by Barney’s, J.Crew, Net-a-Porter.com and numerous boutique shops.

Liya has also made a successful transition to the big screen starring in the film-adaption of the autobiography Desert Flower, the true story of fellow model Waris Dirie, who escaped a childhood nightmare in Somalia and became a global supermodel, as well as acting in movies such as The Good Shepherd and Lord of War.

She was named one of Times Magazine’s 100 influential people in 2010.

We congratulate Liya on her accomplishments.
—

Learn more about Liya Kebede at www.liyakebede.com.

CNN’s African Voices: Award-Winning Journalist Dawit Kebede

Published by Tadias Magazine May 24th, 2011 in News and Podcast. Closed

Dawit Kebede, Editor of Awramba Times newspaper in Ethiopia, was honored with CPJ's 2010 press freedom award.

Tadias Magazine
News Update

Published: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

New York (Tadias) – The Award-winning Ethiopian journalist and independent newspaper Editor Dawit Kebede is the subject of this week’s CNN’s African Voices, which according to the cable news channel “highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera.”

Dawit Kebede, Founder and Managing Editor of Awramba Times, was one of four journalists who was honored at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner on the evening of Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. He was one of the first journalists to be jailed for reporting on the violence following Ethiopia’s 2005 national elections. He was released two years later by presidential pardon. He continues to live and work in Addis Ababa where he publishes an independent political Amharic newspaper.

Watch:

Related from Tadias archives:
Spotlight on Dawit Kebede: Winner of the 2010 Press Freedom Award

Liya Kebede: A Woman Apart

Published by Tadias Magazine March 7th, 2011 in Events and Reviews. Closed

Above: She’s no ordinary model. In the upcoming Desert Flower
the designer & WHO Goodwill Ambassador tells a tale of triumph
the world won’t soon forget. (Photograph Credit: David Roemer)

Desert Flower opens in New York and L.A. on March 18, 2011.

Marieclaire.com
By Katie L. Connor

There’s a gravitational pull toward Liya Kebede. The slight frame, the uncertain smile … these are obvious attractions. But it’s her eyes from which there is no escape. Deep, dark, and soulful, they command the attention of all in her orbit. Among her biggest supporters: Tom Ford, whom she credits with her first big break in 2000; Dolce & Gabbana; and Proenza Schouler. In 2003, the Ethiopian native became the first woman of color to represent Estée Lauder. Having walked countless runways and shot a slew of ad campaigns (and had two children), the world-famous model turns her focus toward the big screen. The film Desert Flower—based on the book of the same name—is the true story of Waris Dirie’s journey from tribal Somalia to top model. In the lead role, Kebede takes on Dirie’s every anguish. The most excruciating: Dirie’s crude female circumcision as a child. As Dirie’s confidante, Golden Globe Award winner Sally Hawkins serves as comic relief Marilyn, much needed when Kebede’s eyes, welling with tears, shoot straight into your soul. It’s a tale for all women—and those who love them. Here, Kebede discusses her life’s story thus far.

Read the interview at marieclaire.com.

Video: Desert Flower Movie Trailer – English

In the Woods: Liya Kebede Stars Alongside Yoko Ono

Published by Tadias Magazine January 19th, 2011 in Podcast and Reviews. 2 Comments

Supermodel Liya Kebede (pictured in “Desert Flower”) acts in a new online video directed by Jennifer Elster. (NY Mag)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New York (Tadias) – Per New York Magazine: “After starring in 2009′s Desert Flower, model Liya Kebede continues her crossover into film. Her latest oeuvre is an arty online video directed by Jennifer Elster, which features Debra Winger, Terrence Howard, Rufus Wainwright, Yoko Ono, and other actors and artists trudging through empty woodlands and wondering aloud things like, “What do we want? And what are we willing to sacrifice to get it?” Titled In the Woods, the film will be released in small segments on Elsner’s website, ITWPathway.com.” You can watch the clip here.

Spotlight on Dawit Kebede: Winner of the 2010 Press Freedom Award

Published by Tadias Magazine November 24th, 2010 in Featured, News and Podcast. 3 Comments

Above: Dawit Kebede, Editor of Awramba Times newspaper in
Ethiopia, was honored with CPJ’s 2010 press freedom award.

Tadias TV
Events News

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian journalist Dawit Kebede, Founder and Managing Editor of Awramba Times, was one of four journalists who were honored at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner on the evening of Tuesday, November 23rd at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. Dawit Kebede was one of the first journalists to be jailed for reporting on the violence following Ethiopia’s 2005 national elections. He was released two years later by presidential pardon. He continues to live and work in Addis Ababa where he publishes the last independent political Amharic newspaper in the country.

The CPJ event, which attracted nearly 1000 guests, also paid tribute to award winners Nadira Isayeva of Russia, Laureano Márquez of Venezuela and Mohammad Davari of Iran (Davari did not attend the ceremony because he remains imprisoned in Iran).

The awards dinner raised a record of nearly $1.5 million for CPJ. It was chaired by Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and President of Sony Corporation, and hosted by former “NBC Nightly News” Anchor Tom Brokaw. The award presenters included Christiane Amanpour, Host of ABC News’ “This Week,” Victor Navasky, Chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review, and Robert Thomson, Editor-in-Chief of Dow Jones & Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal.

WATCH

Forbes’ Interview With Liya Kebede About The WIE Symposium

Published by Tadias Magazine September 12th, 2010 in News. Closed

Above: Forbes.com interviews WIE Symposium panelist Liya
Kebede about the women that have inspired her. © Kristie/AP

Forbes.com
Posted by SUSAN GUNELIUS
Sep. 12 2010 – 5:32 pm

On September 20, 2010, Sarah Brown, Global Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and wife of the former UK Prime Minister, will chair the first ever WIE Symposium (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise) in New York City, with co-hosts designer and Urban Zen Founder Donna Karan and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington.

The theme of the event is “Women Inspiring Women” and brings together prominent women from the fields of politics, philanthropy, media, fashion and the arts to inspire and empower the future generation of women leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs.

In the weeks leading up to the event, I had an opportunity to speak with featured WIE Symposium panelist Liya Kebede (model, actress, fashion designer, and activist whose charity, The Liya Kebede Foundation, works toward ensuring maternal health and saving the lives of women and children around the world) about the women that have inspired her and her thoughts for the next generation of women leaders.

Liya is not a stranger to Forbes.com, having appeared on the Forbes list of top earning models in both 2007 and 2008.

Read the interview at Forbes.com.

Liya Kebede: Protests Aren’t What We Should Remember About The G8

Published by Tadias Magazine July 13th, 2010 in Featured, Interviews and Opinion. Closed

Above: Supermodel, actress, and maternal health advocate,
Liya Kebede applauds the G8 for its $5 billion commitment to
maternal health. Photo: Liya at the Usher Fragrance Launch.

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2010

New York (Tadias) – In an article posted on The Huffington Post, Supermodel and maternal health advocate Liya Kebede highlights a topic that failed to garner media attention amid news of protests and arrests during the recent G8 summit in Canada.

“Something important was overlooked — critical progress towards saving mothers’ lives. During this meeting of the world’s top leaders, mothers were finally at the top of the agenda. Almost every death resulting from childbirth is preventable yet politicians have historically shown little will to save these women’s lives. Last weekend, the G8 leaders proved otherwise with a $5 billion commitment to maternal health. Not only is this great news for women across the globe, but essential for the health of their children and the future economic development of their communities,” writes Kebede, who serves as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador.

“In Ethiopia — where I was born — most women still give birth alone. Medical facilities are often too far away, overcrowded or under-equipped to help them. Across Africa, dedicated health workers like the doctors at the Durame Hospital in Ethiopia struggle to serve too many with too little. The nurses, midwives and doctors at these hospitals are superheroes — they work tirelessly to save lives every day — but they cannot do it alone. With funding from the G8 and G20 countries, we can support these hospitals and set up clinics to serve isolated communities. For many women and children, especially those with health complications, this would mean the difference between life and death.” Read more.

Related:
Liya Kebede Makes TIME 100 List

Video: Supermodel Liya Kebede talks maternal health on Riz Khan – 11 Oct 2007

Liya Kebede: Star of Africa

Published by Tadias Magazine June 12th, 2010 in Featured. 6 Comments

Above: Liya Kebede models Lemlem’s autumn/winter 2010
range, all of which is made from cotton woven in Ethiopia.

Guardian.co.uk
Eva Wiseman
Sunday 13 June 2010

She was one of the world’s biggest fashion models and the first black face of Estée Lauder. But when Liya Kebede returned home to Ethiopia and saw the chronic problems of maternal health her career took a new turn. Her campaign continues – and now she has set her sights on sustainable fashion.

Flicking through Liya Kebede’s pile of fashion magazine covers passes a calm and perfumed afternoon. In 2002, French Vogue declared May was “All About Liya” month, dedicating a whole issue to the African supermodel after the editor saw her in Tom Ford’s Gucci catwalk show. Describing the day they first met, Ford recalls: “She looked me in the eyes, and I was quite literally stunned. Liya projects an aura of goodness and calm that outshines even her extraordinary physical beauty. Later in the day,” Ford continues, “when trying to remember what she looked like, I could only remember her eyes.” Read more.

Related:
Liya Kebede Makes TIME 100 List

Video: Riz Khan Interview With Supermodel Liya Kebede – 11 Oct 07

Liya Kebede Makes TIME 100 List

Published by Tadias Magazine April 30th, 2010 in Featured and Profiles. 20 Comments

Above: Liya Kebede has been named by Time Magazine as one
of the 100 influential people who “most affect our world.”

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Friday, April 30, 2010

New York (Tadias) – President Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey, Glenn Beck, Lady Gaga, and Liya Kebede are among the 100 individuals who made the cut into Time Magazine‘s annual list of influential people.

The 2010 TIME 100 – categorized as Leaders, Heroes, Artists and Thinkers – is made up of a diverse group of global newsmakers who are known for their powers of persuasion as well as for sparking controversy.

The Ethiopian-born model ranks number fifteen out of 25 “Heroes” on the 2010 list and joins notable personalities, such as former President Bill Clinton and Iranian reformist politician Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Kebede, 32, who is being recognized mostly for her role as the World Health Organization’s Goodwill Ambassador, has focused her advocacy work on maternal, newborn and child health issues since her appointment in 2005. She is also one of two Ethiopians who were recently named “Young Global Leaders” by the World Economic Forum.

“I first met Liya Kebede about 10 years ago in Paris. I was casting models for a show, and Liya came in. She looked me in the eyes, and I was quite literally stunned…,” writes fashion designer and film director Tom Ford in Time Magazine. “In today’s world, celebrity advocates are not rare. What is rare is to encounter one whose devotion and drive come from a genuine desire to better our world. Liya’s work comes from a place of sincerity, and her beauty is much more than skin-deep.”

We congratulate Liya Kebede on the honor given to her by Time Magazine.

Video: Liya Kebede on World Health Day in 2005

Video: Riz Khan – Supermodel Liya Kebede – 11 Oct 07 (Al Jazeera)

Cover photo: FRANCO ORIGLIA / GETTY IMAGES

Video: TIME 100 Unvailed (NYPost.com)

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Tsegaye Kebede Wins London Marathon

Published by Tadias Magazine April 25th, 2010 in News. Closed

Above: Tsegaye Kebede crosses the line first to secure victory
in Sunday’s London Marathon at 2:05:18.

Sports News
CNN
April 25, 2010 — Updated 1430 GMT (2230 HKT)

CNN) — Last year’s runner-up Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia has won the 2010 London Marathon in a time of two hours, five minutes and 18 seconds.

Olympic bronze medallist Kebede forced the pace with six miles remaining to finish over a minute ahead of his rivals.

In a 1-2-3 for African nations, Kenya’s Emmanuel Mutaim finished second, adding to the silver he won in the world championships in Berlin, with Morocco’s Jaouad Gharib in third place.
.
However, there was bitter disappointment for two of the pre-race favorites for victory. Read more.

Click here to watch video.

Liya Kebede Plays Waris Dirie in The Movie “Desert Flower”

Published by Tadias Magazine September 2nd, 2009 in Featured and Reviews. 13 Comments

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, September 2, 2009

New York (Tadias) – Liya Kebede stars in the new movie Desert Flower, based on the true story of a former African supermodel who rose from a nomadic life to the top of the international modeling business.

The movie is an adaptation of the autobiography of Waris Dirie, who was born in Somalia and moved to London at age of 13 primarily to break loose from an arranged-marriage to a much older man, and a culture that subjected her to female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was only 5-years old. While in London she struggled to make ends meet working at McDonald’s and other odd jobs until she was discovered by photographer Terence Donovan, whose portraits of her would propel her into international stardom. She eventually graced the catwalks of New York, London, Milan and Paris, and was featured on the covers of Vogue, Glamour and Elle magazines. She was depicted in the 1995 BBC documentary entitled A Nomad in New York. In 1997, she ended her modeling work to become a full-time advocate against female circumcision, and subsequently was named a UN ambassador for the abolition of FGM by former Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Kebede, a supermodel herself, appears to be making a smooth transition into the world of acting. Her previous movie stints includes a role in the epic drama The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert De Niro, and the movie Lord of War featuring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Moynahan.

The independent film is scheduled to appear at the Venice Film Festival this month and will be released in Germany on 24 September.

Video: Desert Flower Movie Trailer – English

The Helen Show Hosts 8th Annual Empower the Community Weekend in DC

Published by Tadias Magazine July 21st, 2024 in Events. Closed

The annual Empower the Community Weekend hosted by Helen Mesfin of the Helen Show on EBS TV takes place July 27th, 2024 at the Washington Convention Center. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: July 21st, 2024

New York (TADIAS) — The Helen Show on EBS TV is set to host its 8th annual Empower the Community Weekend on Saturday, July 27th, 2024, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

This highly anticipated annual event offers a wide range of activities including panel discussions, entertainment, educational resources, career advice, arts, finance, health and wellness tips, giveaways, cultural activities, and vendors and exhibitors showcasing their products and services.

The event is designed to be family-centered, ensuring that attendees of all ages can participate in activities that promote growth and well-being. According to the press release, “the event focuses on providing resources and information to attendees, enabling them to lead productive lives and thrive.”

Launched in 2017 by the producers of The Helen Show on EBS TV, Empower the Community Weekend (ECW) has become a cornerstone event for the community in the Washington, DC metro area.

The 2024 event will feature sessions on a variety of topics, including Business & Leadership, The Future of Tech, Real Estate Investment in the US and Ethiopia, and Navigating the Job Market in the Current Climate. Notable speakers include:

Business & Leadership:

Menassie Taddese, MBA, Global Biopharma Expert, Corporate Board Director
Menelik Solomon, President, GE Honda Aero Engines, LLC
Anna Getaneh, Founder & Creative Director, African Mosaique
Abiy Yeshitla, Board Member, Digital Transformation, Business Expansion, New Market Entry

The Future of Tech:

Hilina Kebede, Vice President, Technology Strategy at Edelman
Esete Seyoum, Regional Director SLG, Cloud Security, Microsoft
Selemon Getachew, Senior Vice President, Market Risk Management, PNC
Neby Ejigu, Senior Partner at FINN Partners

Self-Care: Prioritize Your Well-Being – Mind, Body & Spirit:

Dr. Tison Berhane, Double-Board Certified General Surgery and Surgical Care, Cosmetic Surgeon
Haben Girmay, Founder, Shikorinha by Habi, Holistic Skincare and Wellness Brand
Wintana Kiros, RDN, LDN, Founder, Reset Lifestyle
Tiemert Letike, Certified Life Coach, Unchaining Me, Moderator

Power Panel Session: Breaking Barriers – Insights from Young Trailblazers:

Bemnet Debelo, Vice President of Sales Engineering at Incapsulate
Tati Amare, Emmy Nominated Producer, TV Host, Live in the D, WDIV-Local 4
Makda Mehari, M.A., Executive Director, Civil Courage Prize
Hamara Abate, North America Product Strategy & Operations, Visa

Breakout Sessions:

Invest in Your Future: Owning Home in US & Ethiopia:

Bruk Alemayehu, Director of Sales & Marketing, OVID Real Estate
Merron Treadwell, Branch Manager, NMLS ID#1468532, Bay Equity LLC
Nya Alemayhu, Global Real Estate Advisor at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty & Head of US Operations, ROCKSTONE Real Estate

Navigating the Job Market in the Current Climate:

Edna Makonnen, Director for Human Capital & Strategic Initiatives, National Security Council
Brooke Asegu, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Global Human Resources Director
Haben Mebrahtu, SHRM-CP, Sr. HR Business Partner at RSI
Aster Gubay, Sr. Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, & Deputy Executive Director, YEP

Future-Ready Careers: Unleashing Potential in Tech Jobs:

Yebio Mesfin, Senior Technical Manager (Lead Solution Architect)
Zerubabel Kassa, MBA, PMP, Co-Founder and CEO, CDI Inc
Yared Gudeta, Senior Solutions Architect at Databricks
Adiam Miller, Systems Engineer, MITRE
Alem Abreha, Lead Systems Engineer, SalesForce

Unlock Opportunities: Small Business Resources & Support:

Esayas B. Gebrehiwot, Managing Director of ECDC Enterprise Development Group
Abera Bezuneh, Fairfax Insurance & Financial Services
Elias Woldu, Chairman of the Board, Ethio-American Chamber of Commerce
Selam Habte, Economic Developer with an Equity Focus
Alem Beshire, Founder, Yogaso Marketing, Moderator

Breakout Session: Minding YOUR Mind – Mental Illness & Mental Wellness:

Dr. Medhin GebreAmlak, DNP/PMHNP/FNP/MSN, Addis Health Services
Kedest Gebreselassie, RN, FNP-BC, PMHNP, Bright Behavior Health LLC
Dr. Eden Taye, DNP, MSN.Ed, MIS, BCN, PMHNP-BC, Dr. Eden Healthcare Services LLC
Meron Kassa, RN, BSN, ENANA’s Public Relations Officer, Moderator

Parents’ Journey: Raising Children with Special Needs:

Azeb Ataro Adere: Respected Leader and Advocate for Autism Support
Meron Worku, Licensed Master Social Worker
Samuel Tsadiq, Father, Special Needs Advocate
Haimanot Gulilat, RN, Special Needs Advocate, Board Member, EESNC

Empower Z: Amplifying Gen Z Perspectives:

Essey Workie, Managing Principal, Executive Coach, Senior Consultant at Multicultural Coaching
Liya Hizkias, Digital Storyteller
Isabel Bekele, Commerce Writer at InStyle Magazine
Meron Henok, Strategic Communications and PR Associate at Google
Emmanuel Ermias, Co-Founder of The Dome Podcast

High School to College Admission: Essential Tips and Resources:

Chernet Weldeab, Ph.D., Education Specialist, Montgomery College, Educational Opportunity Center
Melkam Lengereh, Ph.D., DCPS Early-Stage Program

Additional Activities:

Health & Fitness Pavilion:

Health & wellness games, activities, and giveaways provided by Kaiser Permanente
Free health screenings, CPR training, and Narcan training provided by MedStar Health and Ethiopian Nurses Association
Personal trainers & fitness consultants, martial arts demonstrations
Eskesta Workout with Fantish & Fikre
Healthy cooking demo by Chef Beth

Kids’ Corner:

Storytime and performances by Mama Kebe, Open Heart Big Dreams, Etan Comics, and Mad Science: Things That Go Boom, sponsored by The Goddard School of Bowie
Habesha Kids Club with various games and activities
HIS Academy providing arts & crafts and various summer camp style activities

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If You Attend:

Empower the Community Weekend 2024
July 27th
Walter E Washington Convention Center
VIRTUAL REGISTRATION & LIMITED IN-PERSON SEATING
Registration Here
More info at: www.empowercw.com

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Historic Debut: Pianist Girma Yifrashewa Takes Center Stage at Carnegie Hall

Published by Tadias Magazine June 17th, 2024 in Events and Reviews. Closed

Tonight, Ethiopian pianist and composer, Girma Yifrashewa, will make his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. At Zankel Hall, he will present "Peace unto Ethiopia: An Anthology of Original Works and Tributes." (Photo by Josh Sisk)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: June 17, 2024

New York (TADIAS) — Today, Carnegie Hall will witness a historic moment as Girma Yifrashewa, the first African classical pianist, takes center stage. His groundbreaking performance marks a significant milestone for the world of classical music, heralding a new era of recognition for African musicians in the classical genre.

The concert, titled “Peace Unto Ethiopia: An Anthology of Original Works and Tributes,” is a poignant and timely composition by the esteemed Ethiopian ethnomusicologist Dr. Ashenafi Kebede.

Girma Yifrashewa, a celebrated Ethiopian pianist, is known for seamlessly blending Western art music with Ethiopian folk melodies, showcasing his artistry and commitment to sharing Ethiopia’s rich cultural heritage.

The Message

The concert serves as a powerful, non-political reminder of the universality of peace, extending to individuals, nations, continents, and the entire world. It also highlights the all-encompassing nature of peace, extending even to wildlife.

Background

Ethiopia has a rich history in the arts, contributing notable figures like Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, a legendary composer and pianist who left an indelible mark on the world of music.

This concert is not just a performance; it’s a call to unity, inviting a diverse audience to celebrate the power of music to bridge divides and promote peace.

Video: Watch Girma Yifrashewa Live in Ethiopia January 30, 2020

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If You Go:

The organizer, African Symposium, is dedicated to producing socially responsible events in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

For tickets and more information, please visit Carnegie Hall.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Update: Tickets Go on Sale April 22 for Girma Yifrashewa’s Carnegie Debut

Published by Tadias Magazine April 18th, 2024 in Events. Closed

Tickets will be released on Carnegie's website starting Monday, April 22nd, 2024. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: April 18th, 2024

New York (TADIAS) — Secure your seats for Girma Yifrashewa’s eagerly awaited performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City this summer. Tickets will be released for purchase on Carnegie’s website starting Monday, April 22nd. The concert, entitled “Peace unto Ethiopia: An Anthology of Original Works and Tributes,” marks Girma’s inaugural appearance at this prestigious venue and is slated for June 17th at Zankel Hall.

Organizers have disclosed that Girma will present a repertoire of original compositions and pay homage to Ethiopian composers Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou and Dr. Ashenafi Kebede. Renowned for his seamless fusion of Ethiopian and African folk melodies with Western classical music, Girma will also feature works by Louis Moreau Gottschalk alongside his latest compositions.

About Girma Yifrashewa

As detailed on his website, Girma Yifrashewa, hailing from Addis Ababa, discovered his passion for music in his formative years, mastering the Kirar before transitioning to the piano at the age of 16. His musical journey led him to the Yared School of Music in Addis Ababa and later to the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria, where he pursued a Masters in Piano under the tutelage of Professor Atanas Kurtev. Despite facing numerous challenges, Girma’s determination brought him back to Bulgaria, where he distinguished himself as a solo pianist, interpreting renowned classical works. Returning to Ethiopia in 1995, Girma shared his expertise by teaching at the Yared School of Music while continuing to showcase Ethiopian and classical music on the global stage. His international tours and collaborative ventures have graced prestigious venues worldwide, garnering acclaim from The New York Times and invitations to esteemed festivals and symposiums.

This year, Girma will make his debut at Carnegie Hall, a testament to his international recognition and artistic brilliance. Additionally, as a faculty member at Addis Ababa University and the director of the Ashenafi Kebede Performing Arts Center, he spearheads a new wave of music, solidifying his position as a distinguished pianist and ambassador of Ethiopian music and heritage.

Video: Watch Girma Yifrashewa Live in Ethiopia January 30, 2020

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If You Go:

Reserve your seat at carnegiehall.org when tickets become available on April 22, 2024.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

DC: The Kennedy Center Presents Historic Musical Tribute to Ethiopian Icon Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

Published by Tadias Magazine September 26th, 2023 in Events and Featured. Closed

(Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: September 26th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) – This fall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. will host an extraordinary musical tribute in commemoration of the 100th birthday of the late Ethiopian pianist and composer, Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. Emahoy, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 99, left an indelible mark on the world of classical music.

This historic event, scheduled for Tuesday, November 7th in the illustrious Terrace Theater, promises to be an unforgettable evening of classical music celebrating the legacy of a remarkable artist. The highlight is the debut of never-before-performed compositions by the late pianist and composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. Audiences will also be treated to the premiere of a previously unreleased recording featuring selections performed by the virtuoso herself.

At the heart of this celebration is Thomas Feng, a renowned classical pianist and composer. Mr. Feng has dedicated himself to the preservation of Emahoy’s extensive archive of written and recorded music. During the event, he will provide insights into the technological marvels employed to safeguard and showcase this musical treasure trove.

The stage will be graced by exceptional performers, each with their own connection to Ethiopia and classical music:

John Paul McGee, a Jazz Pianist of remarkable talent.
Meklit Hadero, a Jazz/Blues Vocalist whose voice captivates hearts.
Thomas Feng, the Classical Pianist devoted to honoring Emahoy’s legacy.

If You Go:
TICKETS AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2nd, 10:00am!

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Related

Watch: Labyrinth of Belonging – Documentary about Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

Pianist & Composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru Passes Away at Age 99

Tadias Magazine

Updated: March 28th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) — Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, the renowned Ethiopian nun Pianist & Composer, has passed away at the age of 99 in Jerusalem, where she had been living at the Ethiopian Monastery for almost 40 years. According to Fana Broadcasting, she died on March 23rd.

Emahoy Tsege Mariam was born as Yewubdar Gebru in Addis Abeba on December 12, 1923. She was sent to Switzerland at a young age, where she studied the violin and then the piano at a girls’ boarding school. After returning to Ethiopia, she was taken prisoner of war with her family during the Italian occupation and deported to the island of Asinara, north of Sardinia, and later to Mercogliano near Naples.

After the war, Yewubdar resumed her musical studies in Cairo and returned to Ethiopia accompanied by her teacher, the Polish violinist Alexander Kontorowicz. She then became a nun and took the title Emahoy and her name was changed to Tsege Mariam.

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Left: Yewubdar Gebru, 1940s. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Yewubdar Gebru as prisoner of War on the Italian Island of Azinara. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Although she was raised in privilege with her father, Kantiba Gebru Desta, a former mayor of Gonder and Addis Abeba, Emahoy’s life was marked by struggles beyond her musical pursuits. She was taken as a prisoner of war by the Italian forces, and after their defeat, she faced obstacle from Ethiopian officials, who blocked her from obtaining a scholarship to study music in London.

Despite these challenges, she maintained a resilient attitude and famously remarked:

“We can’t always choose what life brings. But we can choose how to respond.”

(Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

After releasing her debut album in 1967, Emahoy Tsege Mariam dedicated the proceeds to charitable causes benefiting children. With the assistance of her family members residing in the United States, she eventually established the Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation, which aimed to provide children with opportunities to study music.

Emahoy gained international recognition through her solo compositions, which were published in the “Ethiopiques 21″ CD series by the French label Buda Musique in 2006. She is known for her classical and jazz music compositions, which are reflective and pensive, with ‘Homeless Wanderer’ being one of her most notable works.

Emahoy Tsege Mariam’s life has been one of resilience and commitment to her art. When she was denied the chance to study music in London, she entered the Guishen Mariam monastery in the Wello region at the age of 19. Within two years, she was ordained as a nun. During the 1960s, she studied the music of Saint Yared in Gonder, and in 1967, her first album was released in Germany.

Album: Éthiopiques 21 – Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru ‘The Homeless Wanderer’

Later Emahoy survived Ethiopia’s Marxist revolution in the 1970s and continued to create music, with her piano compositions being released in 1973 to raise funds for orphanages.

Her niece Hanna M. Kebbede emphasizes the teaching moments that can be drawn from Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s life, stating that “It is a uniquely Ethiopian story, but at the same time the lessons are universal.”

Emahoy’s music has been featured in several films, including the Oscar-nominated documentary Time and Rebecca Hall’s Netflix drama Passing. Journalist and author Kate Molleson made a documentary about Emahoy Tsege Mariam for BBC Radio Four called ‘The Honky Tonk Nun.’

In her interview with Alula Kebede on his Amharic radio program on the Voice of America, Emahoy said, “Although I did not have money to give them, I was determined to use my music to help these and other young people to get an education.”

The music and life of Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru continue to inspire young people, artists, and students around the world. Her unwavering commitment to using her talents for the betterment of others is a legacy that will endure.

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Habeshaview Signs Agreement With Ethio Telecom to Provide IPTV Service

Published by Tadias Magazine May 4th, 2023 in Business. Closed

Habeshaview CEO Tigist Kebede (right), stated that the partnership would offer a user-friendly and cost-effective option for accessing live news and entertainment channels. (courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: May 4th, 2023

New York (TADIAS) — Habeshaview Technology and Multimedia, a leading media, entertainment, and advanced technology company, has signed a partnership agreement with Ethio Telecom to provide IPTV (Internet Protocol television) services to Ethio Telecom’s mobile and data customers as a value-added service.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in Addis Ababa and the service is set to launch immediately.

According to the CEO of Habeshaview, Tigist Kebede, the partnership will provide an easily accessible alternative way of watching live news and entertainment channels at an affordable price. Tigist also added that the partnership will provide a home for many talented Ethiopian filmmakers and support them to showcase their work and earn revenue in the process.

At the Habeshaview and Ethio Telecom IPTV launch event in Addis Ababa on Thursday, May 4th, 2023. (Courtesy photo)

Habeshaview is a versatile media, entertainment, and technology company with its main office located in Virginia and additional branches in London and Addis Ababa.

Habeshaview and Ethiotelecom signed the agreement in Ethiopia on Thursday, May 4th, 2023. The announcement highlights that the collaboration also gives audiences access to exclusive Ethiopian films straight after their cinema release on any internet connected devices. (Photo: Courtesy of Habeshaview)

The press release noted that the service will offer a wide variety of national and international content, including video on demand, games, audio channels, and a catch-up service of original content sourced from a wide variety of studios worldwide with multiple language options at affordable prices.

Habeshaview is a multi-faceted media, entertainment, and advanced technology company that provides a user-friendly OTT platform and apps to provide a premium viewing experience. Established in 2015, Habeshaview is headquartered in Virginia, United States of America, with offices in London, United Kingdom, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It has a data center and technology development office in The Netherlands.

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You can access the Habeshaview App at habeshaview.tv.

Related:

Watch: Tadias Conversation with Tigist Kebede of Habeshaview

WATCH: Q&A with Cast and Crew of “Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) Live From Ethiopia

Spotlight on ‘Enkopa’: New Ethiopian Movie Based on True Story of a Young Migrant

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Spotlight: Ten Great Musicians From Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine April 3rd, 2023 in Podcast. Closed

Hello Music Theory highlights ten popular artists from Ethiopia including Aster Aweke, Teddy Afro, Mulatu Astatke, Gigi, Abinet Agonafir, Mahmoud Ahmed, Ali Birra, Zeritu Kebede, Betty G, and Abby Lakew. (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: April 3rd, 2023

New York (TADIAS) — Which Ethiopian musicians would make it to your top ten list?

According to a recent compilation by Hello Music Theory, created by music students in London, the list includes Aster Aweke, Teddy Afro, Mulatu Astatke, Gigi, Abinet Agonafir, Mahmoud Ahmed, Ali Birra, Zeritu Kebede, Betty G, and Abby Lakew.

While there are many other new and established talents that could be added to the list, Hello Music’s selection is impressive and highlights the increasing popularity of Ethiopian music beyond its borders.

Aster Aweke:

Legendary musician Aster Aweke is considered one of the best Ethiopian singers of all time. She is celebrated for her compelling vocals and captivating lyrics. Although born in Gondar, Aster spent her formative years in Addis Ababa, where her father worked. She began singing at the age of 13, driven by her passion for music. In her youth, she even performed alongside prominent bands in clubs throughout the city.

In 1981, Aster Aweke made a significant move to the United States, and that proved to be a pivotal moment in her career. That same year, she released her debut album on a US label, titled “Aster.” The song that brought her international acclaim, “Anteye,” has sold millions of copies, firmly establishing her as a star.

Teddy Afro:

Teddy Afro (real name Tewodros Kassahun Germamo) is one of the most popular contemporary musicians among Ethiopians worldwide. The renowned Singer-songwriter is admired for his exceptional songwriting abilities and revolutionary tracks. Teddy, who grew up in Addis Ababa, released his debut album in 2001. Four years later he dropped his third CD, Yasteseryal, which gained widespread attention due to the political turmoil in Ethiopia at the time. Although four of the songs on the album were banned, it still managed to sell millions of copies, solidifying Teddy Afro’s place as a prominent figure in Ethiopian music.

Mulatu Astatke:

Of course, Mulatu Astatke, the pioneer of Ethiopian Jazz, is also on the list. The composer and arranger is indeed a trailblazing figure in Ethiopian music. He is credited with creating a unique fusion of Ethiopian traditional music and jazz, which he called “Ethio-jazz.” Mulatu Astatke is known for his distinctive sound, which features complex rhythms and harmonies, and incorporates traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the krar and the washint.

Mulatu’s music gained international recognition in the 1960s and 70s, when he studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and performed with jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. He went on to release a series of influential albums, including “Afro-Latin Soul” and “Mulatu of Ethiopia,” which helped to establish him as a leading figure in the world music scene.

Today, Mulatu continues to tour and perform around the world, and his music has influenced a new generation of Ethiopian musicians. He is widely regarded as a cultural ambassador for Ethiopia and a pioneer in the development of African jazz.

Gigi:

Ejigayehu Shibabaw, known by her stage name Gigi, is a renowned vocalist. Her early exposure to traditional Ethiopian music came from an Orthodox priest during her upbringing.in northwestern Ethiopia.

Gigi rose to fame with the release of her self-titled album “Gigi” in 2001, which featured collaborations with several American jazz musicians. The album was a fusion of traditional and contemporary music, and it received critical acclaim and commercial success, making waves in her home country.

Following the success of her debut album, Gigi went on to release two more albums in 2003 and 2006, which further solidified her position as a prominent musician in Ethiopia. Notably, her captivating vocals were featured in the movie Beyond Borders, where the famous actress Angelina Jolie played the lead role.

Mahmoud Ahmed:

Mahmoud Ahmed, an iconic singer, rose to prominence in the 1970s and gained international recognition across Africa and Europe. Mahmoud began his singing career at an early age while residing in the Mercato district of Addis Ababa.

Initially, he started as a band singer and performed with various prominent groups of that era. Later on, he embarked on a solo music career and released several successful singles that gained him recognition in Ethiopia.

However, his global recognition came after the release of his album Ere Mela Mela, which was a compilation of tracks from two of his LPs. This was a time when Ethiopia was going through political turmoil. His most significant achievement was in 2007 when he won the BBC World Music Award.

Ali Birra:

Ali Birra.is another legendary Ethiopian singer featured by Hello Music. He was born in Dire Dawa. He is one of the few notable artists who popularized funk, jazz, rock, and reggae beats in East Africa.

Ali Birra was only 13 when he joined a cultural group to promote Oromo music and culture. His first singing engagement involved him singing “Birra dha Bari’e,” which gave birth to his nickname. Ali is from his first name, while Birra is from the song.

Ali Birra began his singing career in Addis Ababa after relocating from his native home. He met various nationalists, such as Ahmad Taqi, who influenced his music career. His big break came in 1971 when he released his first album, which was also the first album in Oromo music history.

Zeritu Kebede:

Zeritu Kebede represents the new era of Ethiopian music. Listening to her voice is a sure way to ignite a love for music.

Zeritu grew up in Addis Ababa and had a passion for music from an early age. She used to listen to her parents’ collection, which featured renowned musician Mahmoud Ahmed.

After completing high school, Zeritu pursued her passion for singing professionally, and she released her debut album in 2005. The album’s standout track was “Yane,” which quickly became a fan favorite in Ethiopia and propelled the album to great success.

Betty G:

Betty G, also known as Bruktawit Getahun, is a renowned Ethiopian singer-songwriter. She was raised in Addis Ababa and pursued higher education in Office Management, but her studies did not deter her from following her passion for music.

Initially, Betty G was not well-known in the Ethiopian music industry. However, after collaborating with prominent musicians like Nhatty Man, she started gaining recognition.

In 2015, Betty G made a name for herself with the release of her first album, Manew Fitsum. Since then, she has worked with other famous musicians such as Teddy Afro and Zeritu Kebede. Her second album, Wegegta, was released to critical acclaim and received six AFRIMA nominations.

Abby Lakew:

Abby Lakew, the final musician on this list, is an artist who sings in both English and Amharic. She was born and raised in Gondar until she relocated to the United States at the age of 13.

Her first album, produced in both English and Amharic, was released in 2005. She went on to release several other albums, including popular tracks like “Shikorina” and “Abrerew.”

In 2015, Lakew’s career skyrocketed with the release of her hit single, “Yene Habesha,” which amassed over 54 million views on YouTube. The song catapulted her to international fame, and in 2016, she was nominated for the Best Traditional Female Artist for Africa award, solidifying her place in the music industry.

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Pianist & Composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru Passes Away at Age 99

Published by Tadias Magazine March 27th, 2023 in Podcast. Closed

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, an Ethiopian nun and pianist who composed more than 150 original works of music, has passed away at the age of 99. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Tadias Magazine

Updated: March 28th, 2023

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Left: Yewubdar Gebru, 1940s. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Yewubdar Gebru as prisoner of War on the Italian Island of Azinara. (Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Despite these challenges, she maintained a resilient attitude and famously remarked:

“We can’t always choose what life brings. But we can choose how to respond.”

(Photo: Emahoy music foundation)

Album: Éthiopiques 21 – Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru ‘The Homeless Wanderer’

Later Emahoy survived Ethiopia’s Marxist revolution in the 1970s and continued to create music, with her piano compositions being released in 1973 to raise funds for orphanages.

Watch: Labyrinth of Belonging – Documentary about Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

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Spotlight: Three Ethiopian Titles at the 2022 New African Film Festival in Maryland

Published by Tadias Magazine March 3rd, 2022 in Featured. Closed

This year's New African Film Festival features three Ethiopian films including 'A Fire Within [ፍትህ],' the groundbreaking Ethiopian-American courtroom drama executive produced by Liya Kebede, as well as two new documentaries made in Ethiopia: 'Among Us Women' & 'Stand Up My Beauty.' (Photo: @AFireWithinDoc)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: March 9th, 2022

New York (TADIAS) — The U.S. debut of two recently released Ethiopian documentary movies and an historic Ethiopian-American courtroom drama are part of the lineup at the 2022 New African Film Festival, which is set to kick-off this month in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Organizers announced the “American premieres of powerful Ethiopian documentaries Among us Women and Stand Up My Beauty” in a press release highlighting this year’s program that promises to showcase “the vibrancy of African filmmaking from all corners of the continent and across the diaspora to the Washington, DC, area.”

The annual festival, which celebrates its 18th anniversary this year, takes place from March 18 to 31 at AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in downtown Silver Spring.

The press release added: “This year’s fully in-person festival features 28 films from 17 countries, including five U.S. or North American premieres.”

The featured films include A Fire Within [ፍትህ], the groundbreaking Ethiopian-American courtroom drama executive produced by Liya Kebede and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Chambers. Organizers note that the screening of A Fire Within will feature a Q&A with Chambers.

Below are descriptions and trailers of the Ethiopian films courtesy of AFI Silver Theatre.

A FIRE WITHIN

Special Features: Q&A with filmmaker Christopher Chambers following the March 20 screening

[ፍትህ]

After suffering through the Red Terror, a dark time in Ethiopia’s history during which many educated young people were tortured and murdered, Edgegayehu “Edge” Taye fled to the United States in 1989 as a refugee. Settling in Atlanta, she found work at a hotel, only to discover that the very man who was responsible for her torture in Ethiopia was also working there. Along with several friends who were victims of the same man and are now all living in the U.S., Taye embarks on a landmark human rights case to bring their tormentor to trial. Executive produced by Ethiopian actress and activist Liya Kebede, this incredible and chilling true crime documentary shines a light on a painful time in Ethiopia’s history and reveals the healing power of restorative justice. Winner, Audience Award, Best Documentary, 2021 Atlanta, Naples and North Dakota Human Rights film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Christopher Chambers; PROD Ermias Woldeamlak. U.S./Canada/Ethiopia, 2021, color, 85 min. In English and Amharic with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.

Run Time: 85 Minutes
Genre: Documentary
Opening Date: Sunday, March 20, 2022

U.S. Premiere

AMONG US WOMEN

Sat, March 26, 12:25 p.m.; Wed, March 30, 7:00 p.m.

The first feature-length documentary by German director Sarah Noa Bozenhardt and Ethiopian filmmaker Daniel Abate Tilahun follows Hulu Endeshaw, a young Ethiopian farmer who is awaiting the birth of her fourth child and finds herself caught between the modern and traditional systems of midwifery in place in her rural village of Megendi. On one hand, she regularly attends checkups at the local health center, where staff are fighting high maternal mortality rates. On the other, Hulu is apprehensive of a system in which she feels unheard and turns to the traditional midwife Endal Gedif for support and comfort. Surrounded by many varying female perspectives, Hulu wrestles with the roles she is expected to play as a mother, a wife and a woman. To unravel her personal wants and needs, she takes the film’s narrative into her own hands, exploring her burning past and her uncertain future. Both because of her fellow women and despite them, Hulu holds onto the desire to define her own path, and gradually unveils the secrets she has kept close to her chest. In English and Amharic with English subtitles. NOT RATED

STAND UP MY BEAUTY

Special Features: North American Premiere

Nardos, an Azmari singer from Addis Ababa, dreams of telling stories about the lives of ordinary people through her music. In her search for stories for her songs, she meets Gennet, a poet who lives on the streets with her children. As Nardos puts the lives of Ethiopian women, their visions and power at the center of her creation, the documentary dives deeper and deeper into a rapidly changing country. (Note courtesy of Deckert Distribution.) Official Selection, 2021 Locarno Film Festival. DIR Heidi Specogna; PROD Heino Deckert, Rolf Schmid. Switzerland/Germany, 2021, color, 110 min. In Amharic with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Run Time: 110 Minutes
Genre: Documentary – music
Opening Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022

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Learn more about the festival at AFI.com

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Ethiopia to U.S.: Stop Misinformation

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

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

Reuters

Ethiopia Warns US Against Spreading False Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read the full article at reuters.com »

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Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Spotlight: “A Fire Within” A New Historical Ethiopian American Documentary Premiers at Atlanta Film Festival

Published by Tadias Magazine April 22nd, 2021 in Featured and Reviews. Closed

A new documentary film, A Fire Within, will premiere at the 45th Atlanta Film Festival with a special event outdoor “Drive-In” screening on April 30th at 8:00pm at the Plaza Theatre Atlanta. (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 28th, 2021

New York (TADIAS) — This week A Fire Within, which is executive produced by Liya Kebede and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Chambers, is set to make it’s world premiere at the 45th Atlanta Film Festival with a special event outdoor “Drive-In” screening on April 30th at 8:00pm at the Plaza Theatre Atlanta. In addition, the film will also be available for viewing online.

The new documentary A Fire Within brings to life the dramatic and widely reported story of three Ethiopian women in the U.S. that played out in an Altanta courtroom in the 1990′s when one of the women Hirute Abebe-Jira sued a former Ethiopian police official named Kelbessa Negewo as the person who tortured her in prison during the ″Red Terror″ era in Ethiopia.

At the time the Associated Press reported that “the suit was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows aliens to seek relief in federal court for human rights violations in other countries. According to the suit, Negewo commanded police forces in part of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa” during that period.

As the press release notes:

“A FIRE WITHIN recounts the remarkable coincidence when Edjegayehu “Edge” Taye, Elizabeth Demissie, and Hirut Abebe-Jiri, three Ethiopian women who immigrate to the United States after surviving torture in their home country, discover the man responsible for their torture is living in America and working at the same restaurant as Edge in midtown Atlanta’s Colony Square Hotel. In Ethiopia, Kelbessa Negewo was a government official who tortured and executed scores of civilians during “The Red Terror”. At the Colony Square Hotel, he was the dish washer.

After confirming Negewo’s identity, the women vowed to find a way to bring him to justice. Atlanta-based lawyers Miles Alexander, Laurel Lucey and Michael Tyler at Kilpatrick Townsend law firm, along with ACLU Director Paul Hoffman, took the women’s case pro bono. Their legal strategy would hinge on the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, a section from America’s first Judiciary Act. Since 1979 (Filártiga v. Peña-Irala), American human rights lawyers have used the Alien Tort Statute to bring cases against human rights violators. The film documents the women’s harrowing journey to justice, bringing them face to face with their own torturer in what became a historic trial in modern American human rights law.

“Making this film has been a powerful, humbling experience,” said Chistopher Chambers, director. “The resilience of these three women, refusing to be intimidated into silence by their abuser, relentlessly pursuing justice, while struggling to start new lives as immigrants and refugees, is nothing less than heroic. These women represent the best of what “American values” can and should be.”

A FIRE WITHIN is executive produced by Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede. Kebede is also an award-winning actress, former World Health Organization (WHO) Ambassador, women’s rights activist, and founder and creative director of lemlem fashion brand.

I was so touched and moved by this story,” said Kebede. “We don’t often get to hear about such stories — the “other” stories. The stories that do not get told. It is very rewarding to be a part of this film and to bring the story of these courageous women to light.”

A FIRE WITHIN was filmed using interviews, archival footage and narrative recreations in 10 cities across the globe, including Atlanta, Georgia; Ottawa, Canada; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, narrative recreations were filmed with a locally-hired, all-Ethiopian cast and crew.

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You can learn more about the film and screening at www.facebook.com/AFireWithinDoc

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In Harlem Ethiopian Church Faces Eviction In City’s Affordable Housing Deal

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

Board members Atsede Elegba (left) and Almaz Kebede outside the Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Church on March 28, 2021. The church is set to be evicted from its home on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. due to a city deal with a local nonprofit. (Photo: Patch)

Patch

A celebrated deal to create permanently affordable housing in Harlem will leave the neighborhood’s last Ethiopian Orthodox church homeless.

HARLEM, NY — When leaders of the Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church received an eviction notice in 2019, displacing them from their longtime home, they assumed their landlord had reached a deal with some private developer to construct a new set of condominiums or a luxury tower.

“We thought it was some huge corporate structure who was just wanting to buy the building to make money,” said Atsede Elegba, a church board member.

It was not until March of this year that the church learned the more complicated truth: their landlord, the city’s Housing Preservation Department, had reached a much-heralded deal to give their building to a neighborhood nonprofit, which will convert it into permanently affordable housing.

Now, members of the church — the last remaining Ethiopian Orthodox institution in Harlem — are packing up icons and incense at their home on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard and West 121st Street ahead of their May 28 eviction date.

In this pre-pandemic photo, crowds gathered inside Beaata Le Mariam for a bishop’s visit in 2019. (Courtesy of Atsede Elegba)

They are also contending with internal disagreements over how to find a new home, and conflicted feelings about the group that is displacing them.

“I’m very sad,” said Mezgebu Zikarge, the church’s head priest and administrator. “I cry to God.”

“People from all over”

Behind Beaata Le Mariam’s modest corner storefront, about two dozen people were gathered on a recent Sunday after finishing that day’s services. Families sipped coffee and tea and tore off chunks of dabo bread; women wearing traditional netela scarves spoke in English and Amharic as children ran between rooms.

In the inner sanctuary, Zikarge pointed at portraits of Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Jesus’s crucifixion as the smell of incense wafted in. The church, which welcomed up to 100 congregants on past Sundays, has continued holding smaller, socially-distanced services during the pandemic.

Mezgebu Zikarge, priest head and administrator of Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, inside the church sanctuary on March 28, 2021. (Nick Garber/Patch)

The Ethiopian Orthodox church first made inroads in Harlem in the 1950s, arriving at the request of Black Americans who were drawn to it as one of the few Christian churches in Africa that predated colonialism.

Today, Beaata Le Mariam is “a rare combination of Western-born and Ethiopian-born parishioners,” said Elegba, whose family were early converts to the faith in the 1960s. Starting in the 1970s, Black American and Caribbean congregants were joined by native Ethiopians and Eritreans immigrating to Harlem during those countries’ civil war.

Over the years, fellow churches around Harlem have shut their doors as parishioners moved to other boroughs and the suburbs. Beaata Le Mariam opened in 2003 in Lower Manhattan, sharing space with an Armenian orthodox church before moving into its Harlem home in 2006.

“We have a lot of people from all over,” said board chair Almaz Kebede, citing congregants who travel from the Bronx, New Jersey and Connecticut to attend weekly services.

A historic housing deal

For more than a decade, Beaata Le Mariam paid just $1,267 per month to occupy the ground floor of the five-story brick building at 2020 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.

Despite repeatedly asking for a permanent lease, the church was kept on a month-to-month basis by HPD, which the agency says is standard practice as it works to convert its properties into affordable housing.

Then, in April 2019, came the eviction notice.

Since December 2019, the church has been allowed to pay no rent, and was granted an extension on its eviction through June 2020 after negotiating with the city. Due to the pandemic, the deadline was extended into 2021, before the firm May 28 deadline was handed down earlier this year.

Congregants celebrated Easter inside Beaata Le Mariam in 2013. (Courtesy of Atsede Elegba)

It was only through media reports this spring that church leaders learned what had happened: their building had been transferred to the nonprofit East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust (EHEBCLT), in a historic agreement announced last fall and hailed by housing advocates.

In the deal, the EHEBCLT purchased four HPD-owned buildings for $1 each, promising to renovate them and turn them into housing that would be kept affordable in perpetuity.

“In anticipation of this property’s substantial renovation as part of the East Harlem El Barrio Community Land Trust (EHEBCLT) project, the former commercial tenant was issued a standard 30 day vacate notice,” HPD spokesperson Jeremy House said.

“We don’t have the money”

As the deadline nears, congregants are split roughly in half between those who want to find a way to stay, and others who see the eviction as a chance to start fresh elsewhere, Elegba said.

But as church leaders hunt for a new home in Harlem, they are facing a stark reality: few spaces are available with rents as low as what they are used to paying.

“We don’t have the money to rent a market-rate facility,” Elegba said. “It just seemed as though we were disregarded.”

Congregants served food at Beaata Le Mariam for a 2013 celebration. (Courtesy of Atsede Elegba)

Now, elders are moving the church’s possessions into a storage locker in the Bronx, after outreach to the mayor’s faith-based pandemic advisory council and City Councilmember Bill Perkins’s office failed to yield any relief.

Reached for comment, Athena Bernkopf, a project coordinator for the EHEBCLT, said the group could not comment on legal proceedings, but has “always been open to being in conversation with community members regarding community land.”

Members of Beaata Le Mariam were hesitant to draw attention to their eviction, Elegba said, in part because they support the land trust’s mission of creating affordable housing.

But the desire to find a new home for the church outweighed their reluctance, Elegba said.

“A part of me hopes that if someone writes about it, maybe someone else will have the heart to say, ‘Maybe you can move here.”

The storefront home of Beaata Le Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard and West 121st Street, March 28, 2021. (Nick Garber/Patch)

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Lucy Kassa: ‘I Reported on Ethiopia’s War. Then Came a Knock at My Door’ (LA Times)

Published by Tadias Magazine February 11th, 2021 in Opinion. Closed

Lucy Kassa is a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. (Courtesy photo)

Los Angeles Times

By Lucy Kassa

I Reported on Ethiopia’s Secretive War. Then Came a Knock at My Door

Around 10:30 Monday morning, there was a knock at my door. When I answered, I saw three men I did not recognize. They barged in, knocking me to the floor.

They did not introduce themselves; they didn’t produce any kind of ID or search warrant. They began to ransack my house.

For nearly two years I have been reporting on Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where government forces last November launched an operation to oust the regional ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF.

As an ethnic Tigrayan, I have roots in the region. But as a freelance journalist based in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, my motivation is to uncover the truth of a war that has gone mostly unreported because the Ethiopian government has severed communication lines and blocked media and humanitarian access to much of Tigray since the start of its offensive in November.

I had just filed a story to the Los Angeles Times about a Tigrayan woman who was gang-raped by soldiers from Eritrea, who are fighting alongside Ethiopian forces, and held captive for 15 days with almost nothing to eat. The story wasn’t published until today, but it quickly became clear that the men in my house knew about it.

They were wearing civilian clothes but carried guns. They asked me if I had relationships with the TPLF. I told them I had nothing to do with them and don’t support any political group.

In the shadow of the war, Addis Ababa is a tense place for ethnic Tigrayans these days. In Tigray itself, at least six journalists were arrested in the first week of the fighting, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Last month, unidentified gunmen shot and killed a reporter from a state-run TV station in Mekele, the regional capital. The reporter, Dawit Kebede Araya, had previously been detained by police and questioned about his coverage of the war.

The men in my home threatened to kill me if I kept digging into stories about the situation in Tigray. They also harassed me about my past coverage.

They took my laptop and a flash drive that contained pictures I had obtained from a source in the Tigrayan town of Adigrat, which showed evidence of Eritrean soldiers in several villages. Ethiopia and Eritrea officially deny that the troops are inside the country, but my reporting and many other accounts indicate otherwise. The photos I received showed uniformed Eritrean soldiers in their makeshift camps in Tigray, including some in houses they’d seized.

A few days earlier, a therapist who has been treating the rape survivor I wrote about told me that the woman had also received a threatening phone call, warning her not to identify Eritreans as her assailants. The therapist told me to take as much care as possible with the woman’s safety, and pleaded with me to reveal little of her identity in the article.

Before the men left, they warned that things would be harder for me the next time. On Thursday the Ethiopian government issued a statement saying I was not a “legally registered” journalist, an attempt to discredit my work.

I no longer feel safe here. I have only my Ethiopian passport, and leaving the country is difficult anyway because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I worry the men might return, searching for more evidence of a war Ethiopia has tried to keep quiet.

Lucy Kassa is a special correspondent.

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Spotlight: Webinar on COVID19 Vaccine Hosted by Ethiopian Diaspora

Published by Tadias Magazine February 3rd, 2021 in Events. Closed

The online conference, which takes place via Zoom on Saturday, February 6, will focus on "plans, preparation and strategies for COVID-19 vaccine introduction in Ethiopia." (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: February 3rd, 2021

New York (TADIAS) – This weekend People to People & Ethiopian Diaspora Advisory Council on COVID-19 are hosting a timely webinar titled “Addressing Fear and Hope – COVID-19 Vaccines.”

According to the announcement the online conference, which takes place via Zoom on Saturday, February 6, will focus on “plans, preparation and strategies for COVID-19 vaccine introduction in Ethiopia.”

Featured guests include Ethiopia’s Minister of Health Dr. Lia Tadesse and Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Fitsum Arega who are scheduled to deliver opening remarks as well as Dr. Ebba Abate, Director General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI).

The keynote speaker is Prof. Tilahun Yilma, Distinguished Professor of Virology at the University of California, Davis, whose presentation covers “the safety and efficacy of available vaccines for COVID-19.”

Other speakers are Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi, Chief of Infectious Disease at Unity Health Care in Washington DC; Dr. Muluken Yohannes, Special Advisor to Anglophone Africa at GAVI board; Prof. Yonas Geda, Psychiatrist and Behavioral Neurologist; and Dr. Zelalem Mekuria of Ohio State’s Global One Health initiative (GOHI).

The program notes that Webinar topics include “COVID19 vaccine diplomacy” (Ambassador Fitsum Arega), “COVID19 epidemiology and public health measures in Ethiopia” (Dr. Ebba Abate), “COVID-19 vaccine introduction, planning and strategies” (Dr. Muluken Yohannes), SARS COV2 variants of concern (Dr. Zelalem Mekuria), “Discipline: the missing link between public health measures and ‘being caught by Corona’” (Prof. Yonas Geda).

The event will be moderated by Prof. Demissie Alemayehu of Columbia University’s Department of Statistics. Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, President of P2P & Chair of EDAC-C, while closing remarks will be made by Dr. Kebede Begna, Hematologist/Oncologist at Mayo Clinic.

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If You Attend:

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Unrealized Victory of the Battle of Adwa: By Professor Ayele Bekerie

Published by Tadias Magazine February 1st, 2021 in Featured and History. Closed

February is Black History Month and below is Professor Ayele Bekerie's reflection on the 125th anniversary of Ethiopia's victory at the Battle of Adwa, which is considered "a turning point in modern African history." (Photo: War Veterans heading to Adwa hand-in-hand to celebrate the victory at the Battle of Adwa in March 1896. By Ayele Bekerie)

Tadias Magazine

By Ayele Bekerie, PhD

February 1st, 2021

Unrealized Victory of the Battle of Adwa: Unity Then for Freedom and Unity Now for Transformation

Mekelle University, Ethiopia (TADIAS) — The Ethiopians, 125 years ago, reversed the course of colonial history. At the Battle of Adwa, on March 1, 1896, they successfully unsettled the colonizers and paved the way for anti-colonial resistance in Africa. They charted a new strategy to ultimately defeat colonialism in Africa and elsewhere. The united and highly disciplined Ethiopian force achieved irreversible victory at the battlefield and obliged the Italians to retreat and return back to their native land. To be concise, at Adwa, Africa defeated Europe. Simply put, Adwa became a turning point in modern African history.

The Italians call the Battle of Adwa, the Battle of Aba Gerima, a mountain top location that was used as a command center for the Ethiopian military leadership. It was next to Aba Gerima, at the foot of Mount Kidane Mehret, the first and by far the most decisive battle took place. Later, the battle site was named mindibdib, which means total annihilation. The Italians’ ambition for colonial expansion came to a halt at the foot of the majestic mountains of Abba Gerima, as well as Mount Kidane Mehret and Mount Gesseso. These mountains, including Mount Belah, Mount Raeyo, Mount Enda Kidane Mehret, Mount Solado and Mount Zubin Daero, form not only spectacular landscape of Adwa and its surroundings, but they also remain as mountains of natural fortress for Ethiopian fighters. They are remarkable landmarks of Adwa. Ethiopians fought the Italians at sites of their choosing.

The mountains of Adwa, Permanent Landmarks of Victory. (Photo by Chester Higgins of the New York
Times)

Imminent historians and other scholars have written extensively about the Battle. One of the most comprehensive and scientific historical narratives on the Battle of Adwa is Raymond Jonas’s The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire in 2011. Jonas’s widely praised book for its fair treatment of all the key players and deeds of the Battle, is a second book on the subject. The first book on the Battle was written by a British Journalist August Wilde, who witnessed the Battle and wrote the first book entitled Modern Abyssinia in 1903. Contrary to Jonas, Wylde wrote the book ‘to prevent another white failure in Ethiopia.’

The major newspapers and magazines of the world placed the victory in their cover pages. Afro-Brazilian newspaper, which is recently revived, named itself ‘O Menelick.’ Parents were quick to name their offspring, from Hungary to France, Menelik, Taitu, Balcha, and Allula. The European Press reported the victory favorably. Vanity Fair, for instance, published in its cover page, a colored lithograph of Emperor Menelik II. Le Petit Journal also had the victory in its front page. Even the victory at Amba Alage triggered Italian students from Rome University to march on the streets of Rome shouting ‘Viva Menelik!’

Pan-Africanist Benito Sylvain travelled to Addis Ababa from Paris to congratulate Emperor Menelik on his victory. He later served as a delegate to the first Pan-African Congress in 1900 in London representing Ethiopia and Haiti. The Haitian Dr. Sylvain had a chance to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Haitian Revolution of 1804 in Addis Ababa.

The National Archive and Library Agency (NALA) has a large collection of manuscripts and documents in Amharic on the Battle of Adwa. Among the Ethiopian scholars who documented and written about the Battle are: Belata Mersea Hazen Wolde Qirqos, Dejazmach Doctor Zewde Gebre Selassie, Dejazemach Kebede Tesema, Aleqa Taye Gebre Mariam, Fitawrari Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariam and Dejazemach Zewde Reta as well as Paulos Gnogno. A useful source of the Battle also includes Tsehafe Tezaz Gebre Selassie’s Tarike Zemen Ze Dagmawi Menelik Nehuse Negest Ze Ethiopia (Historical Period of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia) published in Amharic in 1967.

Abuna Gerima’s summit was the command center in which the commander of the Ethiopian force (foot soldiers and cavalry), Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael monitored troop movements of the enemy. He had the height advantage to survey and give orders to his lieutenants. The Italians gathered at their fortress at Sawrya not far from the final battle fields and headed to Adwa. They marched at night with the intent of surprise attack at the break of day. The fateful night was rainy and the Italians got lost in the many mountains of Adwa. By the time, they made their way to the first battlefield, the Ethiopians were ready to encircle and defeat them within hours. The Ethiopians were aided by spies who provided the latest information regarding the movement of the Italians.

Ras Mekonnen’s memorial statue in Harar, eastern Ethiopia, was sadly destroyed by a mob following the assassination of Artist Hachalu Hundesa in 2019. Ras Mekonnen served his country both as diplomat and military commander. He was by far the most trusted advisor to the Emperor. His army from eastern Ethiopia fought battles at Amba Alage, Mekelle and Adwa. In all the three cases, they were victorious, given that they made priceless sacrifices to achieve their goal. Fighters from Harar sustained heavy losses in an attempt to dislodge the Italians from their fortress at Endayesus in Mekelle. The freedom we enjoy and the country we love was made possible because of the sacrifices of our gallant fighting traditions of our ancestors. Erecting and keeping monuments to our heroes are the least we can do to ascertain our Ethiopian identity and nationhood ascertained by historical deeds.

Abuna Gerima is the site of one of the oldest Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church monasteries. It houses a rare collection of religious manuscripts. It is now famous worldwide, for it is home to the earliest illuminated parchment bible in the world. The Bible (Old and New Testaments) is carbon-dated in a laboratory at Oxford University to circa 6th century of the Common Era. The manuscript was written in Ge’ez, which literally means free, is the ancient and classical language of Ethiopia. Abune Gerima. given its multiple historic relevance, ought to be preferred destination for visit and spiritual fulfillment. Besides, the great general Ras Alula Aba Nega, who started resisting the Italian colonizers long before the Battle of Adwa during the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV and continued at Adwa, buried at the monastery. His cemetery is built few years ago and is standing intact.

The Italian colonization strategy was based on exploitation of ethnic and religious differences in Ethiopia. They tried to play one regional king against another. They also attempted to draw Muslim Ethiopians to their side. Often the colonizers strategy rests upon the introduction of Christianity to the so-called natives. That was a trick that cannot be duplicated in Ethiopia. Ethiopians embraced Christianity almost since the beginning of the faith. Christianity was perhaps introduced here earlier than Rome. Simply, Christianity has deeper roots in Ethiopia and therefore cannot be used as a tool of colonization. Furthermore, divide and rule strategy was decisively countered when Ethiopians were able to set aside their differences and fought the enemy as one. Besides, Menelik and Taitu as leaders and partners were harmonious and understanding with each other. They both vigorously campaigned for the unification of the empire. They were also endowed with strategic acumen.

Their exemplary joint campaign did not stop at Adwa. In post-Adwa Ethiopia, the co-leaders were engaged in establishing, for the first time, the instruments of modern state. The co-leaders introduced electricity, automobile, telephone, photography, and railway. In addition, bank, hospitals, hotel service, piped water and police force.

In the last three decades, systematic campaign was carried out by the enemy from within in an attempt to diminish the significance of the victory at the Battle of Adwa. Some said the Battle was not necessary, others lament that the victory did not result in unity, and the rest from the enemy camp resorted to raw insults of the heroic leaders. It is one thing to conduct constructive criticism of the execution of the Battle and historical journeys of the post-Adwa Ethiopia. That was not the case. Recent events in the north clearly showed that the enemy from within was aiming to dismember the country. Scramble for Africa may have begun in 1884 and left behind a colonial legacy that will take years to fully undress and undo. What we have witnessed in the last few years was an attempt to restore the scramble for Africa with the intent of settling accounts in Ethiopia, the only country that has never been colonized. Enemies from within and without collude to write what they thought would be the final chapter of the scramble for Africa. This time it is planned but failed to be executed in Ethiopia by covertly engaging in destabilizing the state. It is clear from the remarkable unity displayed by Ethiopians in supporting the Ethiopian National Defense Forces when attacked in the north. The Ethiopians are saying no to scramble for Ethiopia.

Apart from wanton destruction of Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael’s statue in Harar, these past years, we have witnessed additional physical assaults on memorials of our heroines. The cemetery-monument of Ras Abate BwaYalew, the young and skillful gunner, at Debre Libanos Monastery, was dismantled in the name of development. The monument was built by his family members. Since they have saved the monument in picture forms, heritage guardians should mobilize forces to rebuild the Ras Abate’s memorial at the chosen site.

Two years ago, Ethiopians in the diaspora and at home, sought to lay a foundation stone to build a memorial park for Empress Taitu in Adwa Bridge Park in Addis Ababa. Announcement was made and guests were invited to undertake the event. Alemtsehay Wodajo, who runs Taitu Cultural Center, an institution named after Empress Taitu in Washington D.C., was a co-host of the event together with the Addis Ababa City administration. Unfortunately, the event was unexpectedly cancelled without any explanation. Empress Taitu made significant contribution to the building of modern Ethiopia. She led her own specialized forces at the Battle. She also organized 10,000 women logisticians to provide water for the army at the battlefields. She certainly deserves a statue in Addis Ababa she found.

While we are at it, it is important to remember that the first hotel in Addis Ababa, Taitu Hotel was damaged by fire. To this date, it is not fully restored. Tadias did a story on the damaged caused to the historic building at the time of the incident.

Another disappointment regarding Adwa is the unfulfilled dream to establish Adwa Pan-African University (APAU). The foundation stone is laid in the presence of the former Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn and some African leaders, including President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in April 2018. Land is endowed. Concept paper is written. Local and international conferences conducted on the subject. Architectural design is completed. And yet APAU still remains a dream deferred.

While the implementation of APAU in Adwa is on hold, the Addis Ababa City Administration is constructing a massive cultural and commercial center at ground zero, the center-most of Addis Ababa, not far from the statue of Emperor Menelik II and St George Church in Arada sub-city. The complex structure displays the letter A for Adwa on its roof. The Center once completed will have a museum, shopping centers, cafes and entertainment units.

Contrary to the popular and misleading notion, the Ethiopians were well-armed and prepared to confront the invading Italian army. For instance, the Ethiopians acquired artillery that was by far superior to the Italians. While the Ethiopian artillery hit range was 4,500 meters, the Italians counterpart was limited to 3,800 hit range. The Ethiopian army had 70,000 modern rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition. The Battle was not fought with spears and shields alone. The cavalry unit may have used spears and shields extensively. And yet, historians have recorded the agility and the speed with which the horses manage the hills up or down during battle engagements. In short, as one observer puts it, “Emperor Menelik II built an army that is reasonably comparable to the European colonizers in weaponry and personnel.”

Children playing with an abandoned artillery left at Mindibdib, the site of the first decisive battle. Ethiopians routed the Italian battalion within hours of the engagement. (Photo by Ayele Bekerie)

One-hundred-and-a-quarter century passed since the Ethiopian army defeated the Italian colonial invaders at the Battle of Adwa. As if to compensate for the gallant but unsuccessful resistance against the colonial encroachment of the 18 th and 19 centuries in Africa, the Ethiopians decisively affirmed with their victory the beginning of the end of colonialism. The Italians were assigned the Horn of Africa at the 1884/85 Berlin Conference where 14 European countries were in attendance. Once Austrian-occupied Italy expected a quick victory for their almost 20,000 strong invasion forces.

As one observer puts it, given Italy’s fractured nature of nation-state building and imperial ambition, they were not capable of challenging the Menelik’s war-tested and united force and diplomatically sophisticated Ethiopian state. Emperor Menelik engaged Europe diplomatically to acquire modern weapons. He successfully played one European colonial power against another in order to keep Ethiopia free of their colonial encroachments. Local or European diplomats like Alfred Ilg conducted effective public relation campaign in Europe.

The Ethiopians also excelled the Italians in intelligence gatherings and effective use. The Ethiopians had the latest information, thanks to the works of Basha Awalom and Ato Gebre Hiwot, who chose to serve and remain loyal to the national agenda of. As a result, their intelligence gathering and sharing information regarding the movement of the Italian battalions with the Ethiopian military leadership at Adwa, made a critical difference in tilting the victory to the home front.

Instead of enhancing historical achievements thereby addressing peaceable co-existence, we expend a great deal of resources to narrow and stultify our sense of who we are. Ethnic identity seems to have absolute priority over our Ethiopian identity. Our approach to ethnicity is so dangerous that we are willing to carry out the most heinous violent crimes against those who are conveniently labeled outsiders.

In the last thirty years, identity gravitated to extreme and divisive positions. Identity is defined by negative legitimacy. That means, one defines his or her identity by mere sense of victimhood and by blaming and hating others.

I argue that the full meaning and relevance of the victory at Adwa has yet to be realized within Ethiopia, as Maimre Mennsemay also noted. It was the power of multiple and united voices that enabled Ethiopians to be victorious. That formula of unity should be repeated now to counter the large-scale displacements and violence encountered by our fellow Ethiopians throughout the country to this date.

Killel is a killer. Killel discriminates. Killel hast turned into fatal division of us versus them. Killel is a thriving ground for political opportunists and ethno-racists. Killel appears to be a sure way to let ethno-nationalists, driven by selfishness, continuously make attempts to dismember the country. Killel or what has evolved to be self-governing mechanism is in actuality an instrument to displace and kill those who are labeled outsiders. The maxim of Adwa is to respect geographical and cultural diversity and to strive in unison as one country and people to build a better and stronger nation. Most historians also agree that Adwa paved the way for the ultimate demise of colonialism in Africa and elsewhere.

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About the author:

Ayele Bekerie is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of PhD Program in Heritage Studies and Coordinator of International Affairs at Mekelle University’s Institute of Paleo-Environment and Heritage Conservation. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University in the United States. Ayele Bekerie is a contributing author in the acclaimed book, “One House: The Battle of Adwa 1896 -100 Years.” He is also the author of the award-winning book “Ethiopic, An African Writing System: Its History and Principles” — among many other published works.

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Spotlight: ‘Free Art Felega,’ A Virtual Ethiopia Exhibition by Yenatfenta Abate

Published by Tadias Magazine December 12th, 2020 in Art, Events and Featured. Closed

Founded by artist Yenatfenta Abate, the 'Free Art Felega' project offers a platform for Ethiopian artists of various disciplines internationally to display their work as well as to discuss, exchange ideas and learn from each others experiences. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: December 16th, 2020

‘Free Art Felega,’ A Virtual Ethiopia Exhibition by Yenatfenta Abate Bringing Artists Together

New York (TADIAS) — There are positive and optimistic art projects growing amidst the challenges of the current COVID-19 era as a much-needed meeting space for Ethiopian artists around the world. Among them is an online exhibition that was held this week called Free Art Felega 5 Disrupt, organized by German-based Ethiopian artist Yenatfenta Abate.

“The basic concept is based on the focus of life and work of the participating artists in times of COVID-19 and the reflection of joint work in the context of the social challenge caused by the changing environment,” the announcement notes. “Artists from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Diaspora with a studio in Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, are involved.” It added: “With Free Art Felega 5 – Disrupt, a virtual platform is being created for the first time, on which artists who collaborated on prior projects work together, discussing their designs and work results and showing them online in a virtual exhibition.”

Yenatfenta, who now lives and works in Berlin and Hamburg, Germany is a graduate of the Ale School of Fine Arts and Design in Ethiopia. She staged the inaugural Free Art Felega exhibition in Ethiopia in 2004 after being awarded a scholarship by the Karl-Heinz Ditze Foundation, having started the project 8 years earlier in 1996 as an artist participating in an exchange program between Germany and Ethiopia. The program was eventually expanded into a series in partnership with the Goethe Institute Addis Ababa, which sponsored subsequent Free Art Felega shows in Ethiopia. In 2019, Free Art Felega 4 – Identity was held in collaboration with charity organizations in Addis Abeba.

“The objective of the ongoing project is the development of the abilities and skills of Ethiopian artists, especially the “liberation” from applied art in the extensive overall context of modern visual arts,” Yenatfenta says. “The original artistic training is given special consideration and is further developed through the concept of free art. She adds: “In terms of content, “Free Art Felega” guarantees to strengthen the quality of the artistic exchange, to create artistic identities and to enable artists to have a common platform in the long term.”

In 2019, Yenatfenta Abate decided to take the group of Free Art Felega 4 – Identity to charity organizations in Addis Abeba. There, the artists helped elderly and mentally disabled people, and children to deal with their everyday struggles by helping to express their feelings and thoughts through art. (Courtesy photo)

So far, there have been five complex projects of the series Free Art Felega. Yenatfenta Abate has run all projects in Addis Ababa, in cooperation with institutions like the Goethe-Institute and CIM. (Courtesy photo)

(Photo Courtesy of Free Art Felega)

The latest exhibition, Free Art Felega 5 Disrupt, is an online show that opened via Zoom on December 10th reflecting our contemporary reality, but has also provided an opportunity for a diverse and an eclectic group of Ethiopian artists to take part from various parts of the world including Germany, Ethiopia and the United States. “I am proud of all participants and especially the fact that we intensely used our times during the last months and that we worked concentrated together in those times of CoVid19,” Yenatfenta says, noting that she is working on a follow upcoming events.

Watch: Free Art Felega 5 – Disrupt – Virtual Exhibition (2020)

Free Art Felega is a project series created by artist Yenatfenta Abate. Yenatfenta developed the concept “Free Art Felega” – the search for free art – from her experience of intercultural work in artistic exchange between Germany and Ethiopia. (Video: Free Art Felega YouTube page)

Free Art Felega 5 includes several artists in two categories: “The Master Group” and the “Identity Group.”

The former features artists such as Adugna Kassa, Engedaget Legesse, Hailemariam Dendir, Henok Getachew, Leikun Nahusenay, Leykun Girma, Mekasha Haile, Mihret Dawit, Mihret Kebede, Mulugeta Gebrekidan, Ousman Hassen, Seyoum Ayalew, Simret Mesfin, Yacob Bekele, Yordanos Wube, and Zerihun Workineh.

Participants in the second group include: Alemayehu Bekele, Ananiya Zerihun, Bethelhem Tadele, Birhan Beyene, Brook Yeshitila, Etsubdink Legesse, Fasil Eyasu, Israel Woldemichael, Meron Ermias, Mulu Legesse, Omar Gobe, Selome Getachew, Selome Muleta, Tewodros Nigussie, and Tirsit Mulugeta.

As Yenatfenta sums it up”: “Art is not limited by its material but by its creator. And if the creator has a free mindset with the wish to create something new, everything is possible.”

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You can learn more about the Free Art Felega project at www.freeartfelega.com.

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Diaspora Hosts Online Conference on ‘Pandemic & Armed Conflict’

Published by Tadias Magazine December 9th, 2020 in Events. Closed

According to the announcement the objective of the conference -- which is scheduled to take place on December 12th -- is "to marshal the technical, financial, and logistical resources of Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia at home and in the Diaspora, in support of healthcare facilities, academic institutions and professionals who are at the forefront during this national emergency." (Getty Images)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: December 10th, 2020

Diaspora Hosts Online Conference on ‘Mitigating Dual Health Care Challenges in Ethiopia: Pandemic & Armed Conflict’

New York (TADIAS) — This week the Ethiopian Diaspora High Level Advisory Council on COVID-19 and People to People (P2P) are hosting a timely online conference called “Mitigating Dual Health Care Challenges: Pandemic and Armed Conflict.”

According to the announcement the objective of the conference — which is scheduled to take place on December 12th — is “to marshal the technical, financial, and logistical resources of Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia at home and in the Diaspora, in support of healthcare facilities, academic institutions and professionals who are at the forefront during this national emergency.”

The event’s strategic co-hosts include the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), and MoSHE advisory council, Alliance for Brain-Gain and Innovative Development (ABIDE), University of Gondar.

The program will open with introductory remarks by Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Fitsum Arega, Health Mister Dr. Lia Tadesse, Minister of Science and Higher Education Professor Afework Kassu and Director-General of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute Dr. Ebba Abate.

The announcement notes that ‘perspectives from frontline health care institutions’ will be presented by Dr. Asrat Atsedewyn from Gondar, Dr. Fetien Abay from Mekelle and Dr. Ferew Tegegne from Bahirdar.

Additional sessions include ‘updates on COVID-19′ (Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi); the impact of ‘psychosocial trauma’ (Professor Yonas Geda); ‘best practice on the issue of expired medications and devices during time of crisis’ (Prof. Bisrat Hailemeskel); ‘current surgical resource needs for crisis response’ (Dr. Mensur Osman); ‘MoSHE Advisory Council experience’ (Dr. Damtew Teferra); and ‘COVID19 Advisory Council experience’ (Dr. Kebede Begna).

The event — which will be moderated by P2P board members Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, Dr. Anteneh Habte, Dr. Hanna Demeke and Dr. Kassa Darge — will conclude with closing remarks on the “role of professionals in the diaspora mobilizing resources in time of crisis” by Prof. Wondwossen Gebreyes.

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If You Attend:

Mitigating Dual Health Care Challenges: Pandemic and Armed Conflict
December 12, 2020
8AM – 11AM EST (4:00- 7:00 pm Ethiopian time)
Registration à https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Sg-3D8kGTg-SP0siHeD0Cw

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Meet The Trailblazing Ethiopian American Office Holders in U.S.

Published by Tadias Magazine November 10th, 2020 in Featured. Closed

The highly competitive 2020 U.S. election saw not only an active participation by Ethiopian American voters across the country, but also the growing political power of the community as more Ethiopians were elected into office, including Samra Brouk of New York and Oballa Oballa of Austin, Minnesota. (Courtesy photos)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: November 13th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — As Ethiopian Americans we can all breathe a sigh of relief now that the 2020 U.S. election is behind us. This year’s highly competitive election saw not only an active participation by Ethiopian American voters across the country, but also the growing political power of the community as more Ethiopians were elected into office including Samra Brouk, a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, who won a seat in the New York State Senate and Oballa Oballa, a refugee from Gambella, Ethiopia who captured a City Council seat in Austin, Minnesota.

Samra and Oballa — who both became the first Black candidates to win their respective races — follow in the footsteps of other trailblazers such as Assemblyman Alexander Assefa of Nevada who two years ago became the first Ethiopian American to be elected into a statewide office; Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States who was re-elected to a third term this year; and Girmay Zahilay, a Councilman in King County, Washington, as well as the late Mike Mekonnen who served as Councilor for the city of Chelsea, Massachusetts for more than a decade.

Below are the bios of the current Ethiopian American office holders in the United States:

Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson

Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson has served as a Leon County Judge in Tallahassee, Florida since 2008. (Photo: Tallahassee Democrat)

Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States, was re-elected to a third term in 2020. Born in Ethiopia, Nina came to the U.S. as a young girl. She was raised by her late father Professor Ashenafi Kebede, the renowned Ethiopian composer and musicologist, who was the Founder and first Director of the Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia. According to her bio: “Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson has served as a Leon County Judge in Tallahassee, Florida since 2008. Prior to her election, she spent the majority of her career representing teachers and university faculty as in-house counsel with the Florida Education Association and as adjunct faculty at Barry University’s Tallahassee campus. She has distinguished herself as a first in many categories, including as the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States and the first African-American elected president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association. She is also a former president of the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court. The Conference of County Court Judges of Florida awarded her the Distinguished Leadership Award in 2016, and she was also the recipient of the Florida Bar’s 2019 Distinguished Judicial Service Award.”

Assemblyman Alexander Assefa

Assemblyman Alexander Assefa was elected to the Nevada state Assembly, where he has been representing the 42nd district since November 7, 2018. (Courtesy photo)

Assemblyman Alexander Assefa is the first Ethiopian-American elected to a state-wide office in the United States and the first African immigrant to serve in elected office in the State of Nevada. According to his bio: “Alex was born and grew up in Ethiopia. While still a teenager, he was subject to life as a refugee in Kenya. In Nairobi, he had the opportunity to root himself in the Christian faith while he lived where refugees are not always welcomed, often faced persecution and intolerance. Harbored in his church family, he avidly studied the bible. He then went on to serve his fellow refugees in various roles in the church, including in the choir, as audio/video technician and a bible study leader at several locations in Nairobi. In the year 2000, Alex immigrated to the United States and was resettled in Alexandria, VA. He learned English as his third language and attended TC Williams High School. Alex attended flight school at Averett University in Danville, VA and became a pilot. He continued his education to earn a Political Science degree. He moved and permanently settled in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006.”

Girmay Zahilay, a Councilman in King County, Washington

Girmay Hadish Zahilay, born May 6, 1987, is an Ethiopian-American attorney who serves as a member of the King County Council in Seattle, Washington. He was elected in 2019. (Photo: The Daily)

Girmay Zahilay is a Councilman in King County, Washington. Per his bio: “The son of Ethiopian refugees, Zahilay moved from Sudan to South Seattle at the age of three. His family spent some time in a Union Gospel Mission homeless shelter before bouncing between a number of Seattle’s public housing projects. He graduated from Stanford University and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Later on, he interned at the White House during the Obama administration, worked for the Congressional Hunger Center in Washington D.C. and at a corporate law firm in New York, and founded Rising Leaders, a nonprofit that partners with middle schools across the nation to give underserved students access to mentorship opportunities and leadership training.” He was elected in 2019 as a member of the King County Council from District 2 in Seattle, Washington.

Samra Brouk, New York State Senator-elect

Samra Brouk was elected in 2020 to represent NYS 55th district in the New York State Senate. (Courtesy photo)

Samra Brouk was elected as a New York State Senator representing the 55th district, one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate, during the 2020 election. Samra, a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, is the first Black woman to win her seat. According to her bio: “Samra was born in Rochester, New York and raised in the suburbs of Monroe County. After serving in the Peace Corps, she worked for organizations that protect the environment, help seniors age in place, and address education inequities.” Samra who credits her parents for her decision to go into public service says her father “fled his home country of Ethiopia during the civil war, overcoming major cultural and financial barriers to earn his degrees in math and engineering here in Western New York. She adds: “From my parents, I learned the importance of education, hard work, and the need to be resourceful when faced with obstacles.”

Oballa Oballa, newly elected city council member in Austin, Minnesota.

Oballa Oballa, who fled genocide in Gambella, Ethiopia 17 years ago, is a newly elected city council member in Austin, Minnesota. (Photo: Courtesy of Oballa Oballa)

Oballa Oballa, a refugee from Gambella, Ethiopia, is the first Black city council member in Austin, Minnesota. He won his seat during the 2020 U.S. election. According to the website Africans in America, Oballa who became a naturalized citizen less than one year ago, made history this election by winning a city council seat in southeast Minnesota. On the campaign trail and in interviews, Oballa described a dramatic personal history. His family fled Gambella, Ethiopia, in 2003, following what he describes as a genocidal attack on his community. They spent the next 10 years living in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp. In 2013, the family moved to the U.S., and by 2015, Oballa had settled in Austin.”

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IN ETHIOPIA Elections Board Wants to Push Delayed Vote to Mid-2021

Published by Tadias Magazine November 1st, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Polling material at a National Electoral Board of Ethiopia warehouse, in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s elections were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Getty Images)

Bloomberg

Ethiopia’s elections board wants to hold the Horn of Africa nation’s first multi-party vote in late May or early June after delaying the exercise due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Consultations with civil society organizations are ongoing to fix an exact date, according to Solyana Shimeles, a communications adviser to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia. The election in Africa’s second-most populous nation was initially scheduled for August.

“It is NEBE’s mandate to decide the election date based on the feedback it gets from different stakeholders,” she said.

Unrest has flared since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed began freeing up the country’s once tightly regulated political space when he came to power in April 2018. Abiy has given room for opposition parties and rebel groups to operate, which critics say has stoked fragmentation and long-suppressed rivalries among ethnic communities.

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Ethiopia Braces for Election Amid COVID19

Health minister tells parliament country can hold parliamentary election after necessary precautions. (AA)

Updated: September 18th, 2020

Addis Getachew Tadesse | ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopia may now be in a position to hold parliamentary election after taking precautionary measures against COVID-19, the health minister said on Friday.

Lia Kebede told an emergency session of the House of Peoples’ Representatives the country could now hold the parliamentary election provided all the necessary precautions are put in place against the spread of the coronavirus.

A landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia postponed its sixth parliamentary election twice due to internal conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, in clear defiance of the federal authority, the north Ethiopian Tigray regional state conducted a regional election that was categorically rejected both by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and the House of Federation, the upper house of the parliament.

The minister said the nation built preventive capacities in mitigating the circumstances that might lead to the spread of the virus, the local broadcaster FANA quoted Lia as saying.

The country’s testing capacity, she said, increased as the ministry managed to conduct over 11.7 million laboratory tests, detecting 66,224 cases and recording 1,045 deaths.

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Ethiopia Expects to Hold General Elections in Next 12 Months

Ethiopia expects to hold general elections within the next year after a vote scheduled for August was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, PM says. (Photo: A woman prepares her ballot in a voting booth near Mekele on September 9, 2020. in an election that parliament has deemed illegal/Getty Images)

Bloomberg

By Samuel Gebre and Simon Marks

Updated on September 10, 2020

Ethiopia Expects to Hold Delayed Elections Within Next Year

Ethiopia expects to hold general elections within the next year after a vote scheduled for August was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I personally believe there will be elections in the year 2013,” Abiy said on state television on Wednesday. Ethiopia, with its own 13-month calendar that is about seven years behind the Gregorian calendar, celebrates the start of 2013 on Friday.

The ballot will be a test of reforms unleashed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has been opening up the country’s once tightly regulated political space since coming to power in April 2018. His unbanning of opposition and rebel groups has stoked political fragmentation and long-suppressed rivalries among ethnic communities.

The 44-year-old premier has also pledged to open up state-owned industries, from telecommunications to energy, to increased foreign investment in one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

Abiy announced the new timeline for the election on the day that the nation’s Tigray region held its own parliamentary vote, defying a ban by the federal government.

Ethiopia became one of the first African nations to postpone elections because of the coronavirus pandemic when it delayed the ballot in March. Lawmakers voted to extend the government’s mandate until elections are held, from the previous Oct 10 deadline.

Authorities have had time to learn about the virus, and a vaccine will probably be available to protect people during the election, Abiy said, adding relevant institutions will make a final decision on a schedule.

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Ethiopian Region Proceeds With Vote Banned by Federal Government

Voters gathered in Mekele on Wednesday for an election that has been declared unconstitutional by parliament, which had postponed the national poll due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: Twitter/@rcoreyb)

Bloomberg

Updated: September 9th, 2020

Ethiopia’s Tigray region began holding an election outlawed by the federal government.

Polls opened at 6:00 a.m. in the northern Ethiopian region, said Abdel Guesh, a spokesman for the Tigray electoral commission. Voting will continue until 6:00 p.m., he said.

The ballot is a direct challenge to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration, which postponed general elections earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the latest in a series of challenges Abiy has faced since he began implementing political reforms two years ago in response to intensifying anti-government protests.

Tensions between the Tigrayan and federal authorities may spawn unrest that could jeopardize Abiy’s plans to open up the economy to foreign investment, according to the International Crisis Group. Some federal officials have said they’ll stop the vote, while the nation’s upper house of parliament on Saturday said the results won’t be recognized, state-controlled Ethiopian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Depending on how far the dispute goes, it may push the ethnic Tigray group to consider “constitutional secession procedures, further raising the stakes and intensifying conflict risks,” the ICG said last month.

Lost Influence

Tigray’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front was formerly the pre-eminent party in Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, after it helped oust the nation’s Marxist Derg regime in 1991. The party has set itself in opposition to Abiy, an ethnic Oromo, since he came to power in April 2018. In December, it refused to join the Prosperity Party he formed to replace the coalition.

Abiy played down the prospect of the election stoking instability.

“This merry-go-round should not be a headache for us,” he said on state television on Tuesday. “We are not going to lift our hands every time someone shouts asking to affirm their existence.” Security officials on Monday stopped journalists and observers from boarding a flight to Mekele, Tigray’s capital, without providing a reason. The authorities confiscated phones and laptops.

About 3 million people are expected to vote for representatives to Tigray’s 190-member parliament. The results are expected by Sept. 13.

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Ethiopian Region Votes, Defying Federal Government and PM

The Associated Press

By ELIAS MESERET

September 9th, 2020

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — People began voting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on Wednesday in a local election defying the federal government and increasing political tensions in Africa’s second most populous country.

Tigray officials have warned that an intervention by the federal government would amount to a “declaration of war.” They have objected to the postponement of the national election, once set for August, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the extension of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s time in office.

Over the weekend, Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament called Wednesday’s election unconstitutional. Ethiopia’s leader has ruled out a military intervention, but there are fears any punitive measures by the federal government could further escalate tensions.

The standoff with the northern region is the latest challenge to the administration of Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year in part for introducing political reforms. He took office in early 2018. The Tigray region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, was the dominant one in Ethiopia’s previous government.

“This election is illegal because only the National Election Board can conduct elections in Ethiopia,” Abiy said in an interview with the state broadcaster, EBC, on Tuesday evening. “TPLF’s rule over the region is extended until the upcoming election. If the party doesn’t take part in the general election, it won’t be acceptable.

“These types of small gatherings won’t be a headache for us,” Abiy added.

Some 2.7 million people in the Tigray region were expected to cast their votes at more than 2,600 polling stations, regional election officials said.

A regional broadcaster, Tigray TV, showed voters lining up in the early hours Wednesday. Two residents of the regional capital, Mekelle, told The Associated Press there was tight security in the city and surrounding areas. Bikes and auto rickshaws were banned from the city as of Tuesday evening.

On Monday, Ethiopian security officials removed reporters from a plane heading to the region, confiscating their I.D.s, cameras and other equipment. Separately, a non-governmental organization told the AP they were barred from observing the election “for no sufficient reason.”

The group, Seb Hidri, said the Tigray People’s Liberation Front was behind the ban.

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Ethiopian Lawmakers Call Region’s Vote Unconstitutional (AP)

Regional officials in Tigray have opposed the year-long postponement of Ethiopia’s general election, once planned for August, and the continuation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s mandate beyond term limits. They have organized their own election for Sept. 9. The federal government has said the postponement relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and should be respected. (Getty Images)

The Associated Press

By ELIAS MESERET

September 5, 2020

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament on Saturday called elections planned next week in the northern Tigray region unconstitutional, amid a confrontation between the federal government and regional officials who have warned that any intervention amounts to a “declaration of war.”

“The decision by the House of Federation treats the act of the Tigray regional state as void from the very beginning,” legal expert Kiya Tsegaye told The Associated Press. “This makes the election unconstitutional and illegitimate. I think this decision will be the base for the next legal action by the federal government.”

Members of the upper house of parliament from the Tigray region boycotted its meeting Saturday.

The Sept. 9 vote will elect members of the regional parliament, which in turn will elect the region’s cabinet and administrators.

Ethiopia’s prime minister has ruled out a military intervention to deal with the confrontation, but there are fears that any punitive measures by the federal government could escalate tensions further.

The standoff with Ethiopia’s northern region is just the latest challenge to the administration of Abiy, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year in part for the sweeping political reforms since he took office in early 2018.

The loosening of the former government’s repressive measures, however, have opened the way for certain long-held grievances and requests by some regions for more autonomy. The former government was largely led by people from the Tigray region, exacerbating the tensions.

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2020 Ethiopia Election Canceled Due to COVID-19

Photo Courtesy: @NEBEthiopia

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: March 31st, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — The highly anticipated 2020 national election in Ethiopia has been canceled for now due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced that it has shelved its plans to hold the upcoming nationwide parliamentary polls on August 29th after an internal evaluation of the possible negative effect of the virus pandemic on its official activities.

“After conducting detail assessment of the impact COVID-19 would have on its operation, NEBE decided to cancel the current electoral calendar and suspend elections operations of the coming national elections planned to be conducted in August 2020,” the Board said.

The 2020 national election was widely expected to be the first formal measure of public approval for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration.

In its announcement NEBE did not provide an alternative date, nor is it clear how opposition parties will react given that the election is constitutionally required in order to renew the ruling party’s governing mandate.

Ethiopians around the world were hoping that 2020 would be the first transparent and credible election in the country’s history. During the last election in 2015 the incumbent party claimed to have won 100% of the vote.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.

After conducting detail assessment of the impact COVID-19 would have on its operation, NEBE decided to cancel the current electoral calendar and suspend elections operations of the coming national elections planned to be conducted in August 2020. https://t.co/TJxcf2jn1J pic.twitter.com/EFWqdzGhNN

— National Election Board of Ethiopia- NEBE (@NEBEthiopia) March 31, 2020

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Ethiopia Elections Postponed to August

2020 is Election Season Across Africa

Ethiopia Election 2020 Campaign Update

Ethiopia: Board commences election materials printing

Electoral Board Making Preparations For 2020 Elections

#Ethiopia: Board commences election materials printing https://t.co/y5MIzcA57o pic.twitter.com/LXLJoB3zzH

— FANA BROADCASTING C (@fanatelevision) December 18, 2019

Efforts to End Ethiopia’s Ruling Party Draw Criticism from Within

Ethiopia braces for highly-anticipated parliamentary election in May 2020

Ruling Coalition Seeks to Further Unite Ahead of Vote

Prominent Abiy Critic Says to Stand in Ethiopia Election (AFP)

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COVID-19 & Elections: Media Round-up From Ethiopia & U.S.

In Ethiopia the election has been postponed while the country has declared a State of Emergency due to the Coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Birtukan Mideksa (right), the head of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, being sworn in on November 22nd, 2018)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: May 18th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) – As Ethiopian Americans we were eagerly looking forward to two major elections this year, which directly impact our lives here in the U.S. as well as our communities back in Ethiopia. But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic turned everything upside down.

In just a matter of weeks the U.S. unemployment rate has gone from the best in 50 years to the worst since the Great Depression altering the conversation surrounding the 2020 U.S. election. And in Ethiopia the national election has been canceled for now while the country has declared a State of Emergency due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The election delay in Ethiopia has also exposed an impending constitutional problem: What happens when the ruling party’s term of office expires in the next few months before an election is held? Interestingly, the historic legal predicament has also sparked a robust civil discourse in social media in regard to the role of the constitution as well as possible solutions for next steps, which is a pleasant surprise in comparison to previous election seasons. The timely and elaborate discussions include diverse and informative viewpoints from scholars, legal experts, journalists, civil society leaders, government advisors as well as politicians.

In the case of Ethiopia, the 2020 vote was supposed to be the first transparent and credible election in the nation’s history coming on the heels of prior highly contested election processes. In a statement announcing the decision in late March the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said: “After conducting detail assessment of the impact COVID-19 would have on its operation, NEBE decided to cancel the current electoral calendar and suspend elections operations of the coming national elections planned to be conducted in August 2020.”

In a recent Facebook post Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed further warned that his rivals were “trying to exploit uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic to seize power, risking instability,” AFP reported, adding that the opposition was quick to push back asserting that Abiy’s comments amounted to “a threat to silence and intimidation.”

As AFP notes: “Ethiopia’s constitution does not spell out how the postponement should be handled — a situation which has stoked concerns that Abiy’s government may soon face legitimacy issues,” and this month “lawmakers in parliament’s lower house formally asked the upper house to provide a ‘constitutional interpretation’ that could offer a way out of the impasse.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S. several voter-driven and non-partisan initiatives are similarly underway across the country aiming to diversify the existing voting options for the 2020 election season including this campaign led by former first lady Michelle Obama who is pushing for voting by mail, early in-person voting, and online voter registration. Unfortunately, the White House has also created a firestorm after Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner indicated that he was ‘not sure’ that the November 3rd elections would be held as scheduled. The Washington Post reported that “hours after his remarks to Time Magazine generated a strong reaction on social media [last week], Kushner issued a clarification, saying he was unaware of and not involved in any “discussions” about changing the date of the 2020 election,” adding that “neither Trump nor Kushner as his adviser has any legal authority to change the timing of the presidential election.”

Americans are also openly discussing another potential concern – which the Washington Post describes as the “need to prepare for the possibility of Trump rejecting election results.”

Below are links to some of the latest online arguments and analyses taking place in Ethiopia as well as the Diaspora:

To resolve constitutional dilemma, interpretation is insufficient: by Girmachew Alemu

Ethiopia’s poll has been pushed out by COVID-19. But there’s much more at play: by Mulugeta G Berhe

Seeking constitutional interpretation: Not ideal but legitimate: by Yonatan T. Fessha

A constitutional path towards political normalization: by Mamo Mihretu

The limits of legal solutions: by Mehari Taddele Maru

Elections and emergencies show constitutional limits on states’ rights: by Brightman Gebremichael

Beating around the bush on the constitutional conundrum: by Adem Kassie Abebe

Ethiopian regions cannot hold elections without federal approval: by Markos Debebe

Ethiopia’s Impending Constitutional Crisis and why we need a political solution: by Jawar Mohammed

Constitutional based national dialogue the best way to avert constitutional crisis triggered by deferred elections: by Solomon A. Dersso

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12th Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education

Published by Tadias Magazine October 16th, 2020 in Events. Closed

Organized by People to People Inc. (P2P) and the Network of African Diaspora Healthcare Professionals, the virtual gathering is set to be held on Saturday, October 17th, 2020 from 8:30 A.M. to 2:30 PM. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

October 16th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This year, the annual Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education is aptly focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic as “a health, social, and economic crisis.”

Organized by People to People Inc. (P2P) and the Network of African Diaspora Healthcare Professionals, the virtual gathering is scheduled to be held on Saturday, October 17th from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

Guest speakers include Ethiopia’s Minister of Health Dr. Lia Tadesse, who will deliver the keynote address as well as Ambassador Fitsum Arega who will give the opening remark.

The program starts with a panel titled “COVID-19: Where did we start and where are we heading?” that will be moderated by Dr. Demissie Alemayehu and featuring physicians Dr. Assefa Jejaw and Dr. Gebeyehu Teferi.

Additional sessions in the conference include a panel discussion on “triangular partnership” with presentations by Dr. Kebede Begna (moderator), Dr. Elias Siraj, Keneni Dibaba and Obse Tesfu.

The final event on the agenda titled “Equity and Fairness in the Era of COVID-19″ will be moderated by Dr. Egbe Osifo-Dawodu featuring panelists Dr. Kechi Achebe, Dr. Confidence Moloko and Ms. Bukayo Hanidu.

The conference is free and pre-registration required.

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If You Attend:

12th GLOBAL ETHIOPIAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE ON HEALTH CARE AND MEDICAL EDUCATION
Date & Time: Saturday, October 17th, 2020 8:30AM to 2:00 PM EST
Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4FRAZ2SBTmebtP_Bmxe36A
Click here for more info

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Ethiopia Braces for Election Amid COVID19

Published by Tadias Magazine September 18th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Health minister tells parliament country can hold parliamentary election after necessary precautions. (AA)

Addis Getachew Tadesse | ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopia may now be in a position to hold parliamentary election after taking precautionary measures against COVID-19, the health minister said on Friday.

A landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia postponed its sixth parliamentary election twice due to internal conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister said the nation built preventive capacities in mitigating the circumstances that might lead to the spread of the virus, the local broadcaster FANA quoted Lia as saying.

The country’s testing capacity, she said, increased as the ministry managed to conduct over 11.7 million laboratory tests, detecting 66,224 cases and recording 1,045 deaths.

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Spotlight: Trace Muzika, A New Channel for Music From Ethiopia & Diaspora

Published by Tadias Magazine July 31st, 2020 in Featured. Closed

Trace Muzika, which is set to launch on Aug 1, 2020 on habeshaview-app, aims to be an international hub for urban and contemporary Ethiopian music targeting audiences both at home and abroad. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: August 1st, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — This month Trace Muzika, a channel dedicated to non-stop music from Ethiopia and its Diaspora will launch on the online streaming service habeshaview.

“TRACE Muzika is the only channel exclusively dedicated to the latest and greatest music videos from Ethiopia,” the announcement states, noting that the channel will be available starting Aug 1st on the habeshaview-app. “It airs the most popular music genres, focusing on the latest in Ethio Rap, Gospel, Ethiopian Reggae, and Afrobeats.” The press release added that the channel includes music from diverse regions in Ethiopia and features various artists including “Lij Michael, Betty G, Zerit Kebede, Asge Dendasho, Rahel Getu, Sancho, Tsedi, and Sayat Demissie.” Trace Muzika also shares a “daily Top 10 Eskista Countdown, and an official ranking of the Top 10 Ethiopian songs.”

ABOUT HABESHAVIEW TV

habeshaview is a privately held film distribution and media company that was established in 2014. habeshaview promotes the rich cultural heritage of several diaspora communities, history, traditions, socio-economic development, business environment, tourism and current affairs. habeshaview’s vision is to work with different nations and to bring their national TV content and selected films and programs to the international market. We believe that this is the best way for diaspora communities to stay in touch with one another and to keep up to date with development taking place within their own countries. Visit habeshaview.com for more information.

ABOUT TRACE

TRACE is the first global ecosystem that leverages afro-urban entertainment to connect & empower the new generation and the creators with activities in 162 countries and more than 350 million users. TRACE is a signature hub for afro-urban entertainment and offers TV channels, FM radios, mobile and digital services, content, events etc. to millennial and young adults’ audiences.

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Learn more about Trace Muzika and habeshaview at www.habeshaview.com.

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Spotlight on ‘Enkopa’: New Ethiopian Movie Based on True Story of a Young Migrant

Published by Tadias Magazine July 9th, 2020 in Featured. Closed

Enkopa portrays the efforts for survival against the brutal and inhumane treatment of traffickers. It's a film dealing with displacement, betrayal, false hope and strength. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: July 17th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Enkopa is a timely new feature film based on the true story of a young Ethiopian migrant at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers. The film delves deeper into familiar headlines of a generation of Ethiopian women and their efforts to survive the often brutal and inhumane treatment they are faced with as they travel illegally through Sudan and other neighboring countries in search of a better life abroad.

The press release added: “During the journey from Ethiopia to Canada, the main character, Enkopa, is faced with sexual abuse, the constant demand for more cash from her traffickers, as well as lack of support and huge expectation from her family back home. Despite the challenges, she does encounter friendship and love. Enkopa is a film dealing with displacement, betrayal, false hope and strength.”

Enkopa is the latest release from Habeshaview, the first international Ethiopian film distribution and online streaming company. Tigist Kebede, Habeshaview’s Operations Director, says the company “is committed to raising the profile of Ethiopian films and providing audiences around the world with quality movies that inspire.”

Watch: Enkopa (እንቆጳ) NEW! Ethiopian Movie Based On True Story – Trailer

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Enkopa is currently streaming on www.habeshaview.com.

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Ethiopia Relaxes COVID-19 Restrictions

Published by Tadias Magazine June 19th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

14 days of mandatory quarantine for inbound travelers cut to as little as 3 days for some. (Anadolu Agency)

By Addis Getachew Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia on Friday relaxed a number of COVID-19 emergency preventative measures, including shortening a mandatory 14-day quarantine of arrivals from abroad.

Passengers from abroad who hold COVID-19 negative certificates are mandated to isolate themselves for only three days after giving samples, and stay for 14 days at home before joining the community, local broadcaster FANA quoted Health Minister Liya Kebede as saying.

Families of COVID-19 victims can now arrange funerals, but the number of people allowed to attend burials remains at 15, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The Horn of Africa country has so far confirmed 4,070 corona virus cases, 72 deaths, and 1,027 recoveries.

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Dr. Asefa Jejaw Mekonnen: Op-Ed on COVID-19 Phase 3 Vaccine Studies

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Enchained (ቁራኛዬ): Special Lockdown Screening & Q&A – Sunday, May 24th

Published by Tadias Magazine May 18th, 2020 in Events. Closed

Director Moges Tafesse and Lead Actor Zerihun Mulatu, as well as other main characters, will join a discussion moderated by BBC journalist Hewete Haileselassie following a virtual screening of the film Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) on May 24th. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: May 18th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) – This coming Sunday on May 24th the cast and crew of the award-winning Ethiopian film Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) will participate in a live Zoom Q&A session from Addis Ababa answering questions from audiences around the world including the Ethiopian Diaspora community in the U.S.

The film’s Director Moges Tafesse and Lead Actor Zerihun Mulatu, as well as other main characters, will also join the discussion from Ethiopia. The virtual event, which is hosted by Habeshaview in collaboration with Tadias, will be moderated by BBC journalist Hewete Haileselassie.

“Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) discusses the commonly practiced justice process of early and mid-19th Century in Ethiopia, where institutional punitive prison did not exist, and the justice process was restorative,” the announcement states. “This practice has now been largely forgotten. Enchained sold out shows in Addis Ababa, London, New York and Washington DC. It was also selected as the opening film at the New African Film Festival, Silver Spring Maryland in March 2020.”

“Following the digital release of Enchained, we are delighted to announce that in collaboration with the New York online magazine, Tadias, we will be co-hosting an exclusive virtual discussion about the film with invited guests, cast and crew,” added Tigist Kebede, Co-Founder & Operations Director of Habeshaview.

“Let’s come together and spend this time to have an open discussion about love, justice, culture and poetry – all in one place!”

The movie Enchained (ቁራኛዬ) is currently available to watch on Habeshaview.

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If You attend:

Click here to RSVP and receive a code to join the online conversation.

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1st Ethiopian-American Judge Nina Ashenafi Re-elected for 3rd Term

Published by Tadias Magazine May 11th, 2020 in Featured. Closed

Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Leon County, Florida is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: May 11th, 2020

First Ethiopian-American Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson Re-elected for Third Term

New York (TADIAS) – Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States, has been re-elected to a third term.

Judge Ashenafi Richardson was automatically reelected to the Leon County bench in Florida “after her lone opponent dropped out, saying the coronavirus crisis made it too difficult to proceed,” reported The Tallahassee Democrat. “Stephen M. James, a Tallahassee attorney who filed to run in February, notified the Supervisor of Elections Office on Friday [April 24th] — about an hour before qualifying ended — that he was exiting the race.”

According to the newspaper: “James would have had to collect 2,132 voter signatures or pay a $6,072 fee to qualify for the race and appear on the ballot. Ashenafi Richardson paid the fee.”

Born in Ethiopia, Nina came to the U.S. as a young girl. She was raised by her late father Professor Ashenafi Kebede, the renowned Ethiopian composer and musicologist, who was the Founder and first Director of the National Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia. Professor Kebede taught Ethnomusicology in the U.S. and served as the Director of the Center for African-American Culture at Florida State University, where his daughter later earned her law degree. He was also the Director of the Ethiopian Research Council, comprised of Ethiopian and American academics and professionals, which was founded by African American scholar Leo Hansberry.

Judge Nina Ashenafi-Richardson (Photo: Tallahassee Democrat)

Per her bio: “Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson has served as a Leon County Judge in Tallahassee, Florida since 2008. Prior to her election, she spent the majority of her career representing teachers and university faculty as in-house counsel with the Florida Education Association and as adjunct faculty at Barry University’s Tallahassee campus. She has distinguished herself as a first in many categories, including as the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States and the first African-American elected president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association. She is also a former president of the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court. The Conference of County Court Judges of Florida awarded her the Distinguished Leadership Award in 2016, and she was also the recipient of the Florida Bar’s 2019 Distinguished Judicial Service Award.”

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Spotlight: Ethiopian Movie ‘Enchained’ to Screen Online During Lockdown

Published by Tadias Magazine April 10th, 2020 in Events. Closed

The award-winning Ethiopian movie, ቁራኛዬ (Enchained), is set to be streamed online starting on April 18th, 2020. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Updated: April 10th, 2020

New York (TADIAS) — Thanks to the Internet we don’t necessarily have to break the “stay-at-home rule” during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to entertain ourselves with the latest film releases. You can add to your list the upcoming online screening of the award-winning Ethiopian movie ቁራኛዬ (Enchained) that’s set to be streamed on the Habeshaview online platform beginning on April 18th.

“This will be the first time Enchained will be screened outside of a cinema, in collaboration with The International Emerging Film Talents Association (IEFTA),” Habeshaview announced, noting that the film will be made available for paid viewing through its app for a limited time next week.

The announcement added:

Enchained is a lush historical drama set in 1910, and was selected as the opening movie of the prestigious 2020 New African Film Festival in the United States. The Ethiopian production has won the top prize at the Alem Cinema Awards as well as the Lizzo Awards. The film has previously screened internationally in New York, Washington DC, London and Addis Ababa.”

“At a time when many people are spending more time indoors, Habeshaview is proud to share exclusive and excellent Ethiopian entertainment to its audiences around the world,” says Tigist Kebede, Habeshaview’s Operations Director. “Habeshaview is committed to raising the profile of Ethiopian films. With Enchained we provide audiences around the world with quality movies that inspire.”

About Enchained (Quragnaye)

Until the early and mid-19th century in Ethiopia, institutional punitive prisons did not exist and the justice process was restorative. The film Enchained illustrates the rift between the prior oral system that incorporated socio-cultural practices into the legal process and the current legal judicial system largely operated through the national court system.

About Habeshaview tv

Habeshaview is a privately held film distribution and media company that was established in 2014. Habeshaview promotes the rich cultural heritage of several Diaspora communities, history, traditions, socio-economic development, business environment, tourism and current affairs. Our vision is to work with different nations and to bring their national TV content and selected films and programs to the international market. We believe that this is the best way for Diaspora communities to stay in touch with one another and to keep up to date with developments taking place within their native countries.

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For more information visit habeshaview.com.

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Ethio-jazz Icon Hailu Mergia’s New Album

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

This is Hailu Mergia’s second brand-new studio album on Awesome Tapes from Africa. (#vinyloftheday)

Vinyl of the Day

Ethio-jazz musician Hailu Mergia has a new album on the way.

Titled Yene Mircha, which translates to “my choice” in Amheric, the six-track album is due for release on March 27 via Awesome Tapes from Africa.

The reissue label made its name for reissuing obscure albums from Ghana and the wider region of Africa. Yene Mircha is one of several original releases by the label, expanding their repertoire from the usual reissues.

This is Hailu Mergia’s second brand-new studio album on Awesome Tapes from Africa.

Hailu Mergia is a well-known figure from the label. His 1977 album Tche Belew — recorded with backing band The Walias — was rescued from obscurity by Awesome Tapes in 2014.

The label’s reissue campaign granted Mergia an important place in the narrative of Ethio-jazz and popular Ethiopian music. Previously, the multi-instrumentalist migrated to the United States in the 1980s and stopped performing not long after.

A growing interest in his music allowed Mergia to tour worldwide and record new music aside from his day job as a taxi driver in Washington D.C..

At 74 years old, Mergia appears to be creatively renewed than ever. He’s expanding his sound on Yene Mircha with the help of guest musicians, aside from his newly-established trio with drummer Kenneth Joseph and bassist Alemseged Kebede.

The album is now available for pre-order on vinyl here, and you can preview the album with ‘Abichu Nege Nege’ below.

Tracklist

1. ሰሜንና እና ደቡብ
Semen Ena Debub
North & South
(Hailu Mergia)

2. የኔ ምርጫ
Yene Mircha
My Choice
(Hailu Mergia)

3. ባይኔ ላይ ይሄዳል
Bayine Lay Yihedal
He Walks In My Vision
(Asnakech Worku)

4. አቢቹ ነጋ ነጋ
Abichu Nega Nega
How Are You, Abichu
(trad., arr. Hailu Mergia)

5. የኔ አበባ
Yene Abeba
My Flower
(Hailu Mergia)

6. ሼመንደፈር
Shemendefer
Chemin de Fer Railway
(Teddy Afro)

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11th Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education

Published by Tadias Magazine October 18th, 2019 in Events and Health. Closed

The 2019 Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education will be held in Arlington, Virginia on Saturday, October 19th. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

October 18th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — The 11th annual Ethiopian Diaspora Conference on Health Care & Medical Education will take place this weekend in Arlington, Virginia.

Hosted by People to People Inc. (P2P) and the Network of Ethiopian Diaspora Healthcare Professionals, the yearly gathering attracts a diverse group of health practitioners across the country including physicians as well as medical and allied health students. The theme for this year’s conference is “End Stage Renal Disease in Resource Malaligned Countries – Issues of Ethics and Equity.”

Guest speakers for the program include the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States, Fistum Arega, and several distinguished medical professionals covering a wide array of presentation topics such as enhancing the availability and affordability of pharmaceuticals in Ethiopia as well as promoting “Partnerships in Health; Diaspora Professionals as the link between Ethiopian and US Institutions.”

The event is scheduled to be held on Saturday October 19th at the Residence Inn Arlington, Pentagon City with sponsors including the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development (MCSCPD).

Below are some of the speakers listed on the program courtesy of P2P:

Alodia Gabre-Kidan, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Alodia Gabre-Kidan is an assistant professor of surgery specializing in colorectal surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. She earned her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a masters of public health degree from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She completed general surgery residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia Campus and a colorectal surgery fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Florida. She performs a variety of colorectal surgical procedures including minimally invasive options

Getachew Begashaw, PhD

Getachew Begashaw was born and raised in Ethiopia. He completed his undergraduate studies in History at Haile Selassie I University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Economics at University of California, Santa Cruz. He did both his Masters and Ph.D in Economics and Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University. He is the founder and President of Vision Ethiopia. Dr. Begashaw’s area of studies and research, beside general theories of economics, are primarily focused in public service expenditures, international trade, and economics of development.

Fasika Tedla, M.D.

Dr. Fasika M. Tedla is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Associate Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. After graduating from Jimma University Faculty of Medicine, he completed his residency in internal medicine at a teaching affiliate of New York Medical College (formerly Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center) and his nephrology, transplant nephrology, and interventional nephrology training at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. He also has graduate training and board certification in clinical informatics.

Maaza Sophia Abdi, M.D.

Dr. Maaza Abdi is a gastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency and fellowship at MedStar Georgetown University Medical Center. She worked in a private practice setting for ten years before joining Johns Hopkins, where she currently works as a GI hospitalist caring for patients with a variety of gastrointestinal disorders at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Momina Ahmed, M.D.

After training as an ISN Fellow at the University of Witwatersrand Hospital in 2011 and through a growing collaboration with the University of Michigan, Dr. Momina Ahmed established nephrology programs at SPHMMC to cater for more kidney transplants and treat acute kidney injury.

Tigist Hailu, M.D.

Dr. Tigist Hailu is a general cardiologist in the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute of the Division of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her medical residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and pursued a fellowship in cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell Campus.She practiced in a private cardiology group for 4 years before joining Johns Hopkins in 2009. In addition to practicing clinical cardiology, she is expert is cardiac imaging including echocardiography and nuclear cardiology.

Sosena Kebede, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Sosena Kebede is an Internal Medicine physician with over 17 years of combined clinical, public health, and quality improvement experience with a committing to finding solutions to health system challenges in the US and abroad. She completed her medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Internal Medicine residency at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. She obtained a masters of public health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She specializes in the areas of population health, and health service delivery improvement and has several years of domestic and global experience in scientific research and health workforce training.

Merfake Semret, MD

Dr. Merfake Semret is practicing Nephrology at Peninsula Kidney Associates, in Hampton/Newport news/Williamsburg, Virginia. He received medical degree from Addis Ababa University Medical Faculty (Black Lion) and MPH from Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands. He then proceeded to serve as Public Health consultant in different parts of SNNPR(Ethipia). Dr. Semret immigrated to the U.S. in 2002 and completed Internal Medicine residency at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan and Nephrology fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Currently he is practicing Nephrology at Peninsula Kidney Associates, in Hampton/Newport news/Williamsburg, Virginia

Ergeba Sheferaw, M.D.,M.P.H

Dr. Ergeba Sheferaw is a radiologist at Advanced Radiology in Baltimore, MD. She specializes in breast imaging and completed her fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. She is interested in improving breast cancer care in Ethiopia and recently worked with the first breast imaging fellows at St. Paul Millenium College Hospital. She has been an active member of People to People and now serves as a board member and assistant editor of the newsletter. She completed her medical degree and Master of Public Health from University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill.

Yewondwossen Tadesse Mengistu, M.D.

Yewondwossen Tadesse Mengistu is a Consultant Nephrologist and an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine of Addis Ababa University (AAU), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Yewondwossen did his undergraduate medical studies at the School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University graduating as an MD in 1984. He did his internal medicine residency training in the same school and completed a fellowship training in Nephrology at the University of Kwazulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, 1999-2000. He has served as the head of the renal Unit in the department of Internal Medicine of the School of Medicine, AAU and the Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa for nearly two decades. He has also served two terms as head of the department of Internal Medicine. Yewondwossen’s research interest is in the epidemiology of kidney diseases and other non-communicable diseases. He is a Past President of the Ethiopian Medical Association and serves in the Council of the African Association of Nephrology (AFRAN). Yewondwossen is a member of the Africa Board of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) as well as the Continuing Medical Education Committee of the ISN.

Micheas Zemedkun, M.D.

Dr. Zemedkun received his MD degree from Harvard Medical School. His residency in internal medicine form New York medical College, fellowship in cardiovascular medicine form MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He is board certified internist and cardiologist from American Board of Internal medicine, and currently practicing around the metropolitan Washington DC area.

Wudneh M. Temesgen, MD

Dr. Wudneh Temesgen is a surgeon who practices general surgery with a focus on minimally invasive surgery. He obtained his medical degree from Gondar College of Medical Sciences. He completed his general surgery residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and his fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery at Brown University. He is currently practicing general surgery in the Maryland and DC area.

Demissie Alemayehu, PhD

Demissie Alemayehu, PhD, is Vice President and Head of the Statistical Research & Data Science Center at Pfizer Inc, and holds a joint appointment with Columbia University, where he is also Director of Graduate Studies (MA) in the Statistics Department. Dr. Alemayehu obtained his first degree from Addis Ababa University, where he was the recipient of the 1980 Science Faculty Gold Medal. Subsequently, he earned a PhD degree in Statistics from the University of California at Berkeley. In the United States, Dr. Alemayehu has received numerous accolades, including election as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in recognition of his superlative achievements in original research, teaching and service to the profession. Dr Alemayehu is an active member of various professional societies and institutions, and serves on advisory boards in major universities, including Stevens Institute of Technology and RUSIS at Oregon State University. He has served as a reviewer for and on the editorial boards of major scientific journals. He has published extensively on statistical methodology and applications in medical research and has coauthored at least two monographs. Dr Alemayehu’s research interest spans diverse topics ranging from asymptotic theory in mathematical statistics to leveraging modern machine learning tools in drug development. More recently, Dr Alemayehu has been interested in exploring the potential of the digital revolution to influence decision making in such developing countries as Ethiopia, with emphasis on the advancement of good governance and protection of natural and cultural heritage.

Anteneh Habte, MD

Dr. Anteneh Habte is currently serving as Chairman of People to People’s (P2P) Board of Directors. He is the Medical Director of the Community Living Center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV and clinical faculty at both the West Virginia School of Medicine and the Lewisburg School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Anteneh is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and a certified educator of palliative and end-of-life care (EPEC). He coordinates People to People (P2P)’s effort to promote the training of medical personnel and provision of clinical services in hospice and palliative care in Ethiopia. Dr. Anteneh is one of the editors of a series of web based modules in Hospice and Palliative Care for Ethiopia prepared under the auspices of the Mayo Clinic Global HIV Initiative. He is also a contributor to P2P’s recently published ‘Triangular Partnership’ manuscript.

Dawd S. Siraj, M.D., MPH&TM, FIDSA

Dr. Dawd S. Siraj is a Professor of Medicine, and an infectious disease physician at the University of Wisconsin. He received his medical degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia. He completed his internal medicine residency training at St. Barnabas Hospital Bronx, NY. He subsequently completed an Infectious Diseases fellowship and a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, at Tulane University,in New Orleans, Louisiana.. He currently serves as the Vice President and Board Member of Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc and People to People (P2P. He has actively participated in numerous Infectious Diseases and HIV activities in Ethiopia,

Enawgaw Mehari, MD.

Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, Adjunct Professor in Clinical Neurolgy is a Neurologist at Kings Daughter Medical Center in Kentucky and founder of People to People USA (P2P). He founded P2P at the end of his residency training and has since expanded the services of P2P, including opening the People’s Free Clinic in Morehead, KY, in 2005 for the working poor who have no health insurance.

Melaku Demede M.D., MHSc, FACC, FSCAI

Dr. Melaku Demede graduated from AAU faculty of Medicine in 1995 and completed internship, residency and fellowship from SUNY Downstate Health Science Center Brooklyn, NY. Had done Post graduation from Victoria University of Manchester in MHSc Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Currently, He is Chief of Cardiology and Medical Director of Cardiac Cath Lab in ARH Beckley, WV. Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine West Virginia University School of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine UK community Faculty, WVU DO School and Lincoln Memorial University School of Medicine. Board Certified in Intervention Cardiology, Cardiovascular Medicine, Internal Medicine, Echocardiography and Nuclear Cardiology.

Kebede H. Begna, M.D., Msc.

Dr. Kebede H. Begna an Associate Professor and consultant haematologist, practicing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He received his medical degree from Gondar University in Ethiopia. He finished internal medicine residency at St. Vincent Medical College, an affiliate of New York Medical College, where he was the Chief Resident. He completed hematology and medical oncology fellowship and obtained Masters in clinical research at the University of Minnesota, and later joined the Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology in Rochester, Minnesota. He authored and co-authored many publications and book chapter. He currently serves on the board of Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.

Fasika A. Woreta, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Fasika A. Woreta is an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her medical degree, internship, and residency at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She performed a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at the Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami and a cataract fellowship at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, UK. She is the director of the eye trauma center and program director of the ophthalmology residency program at Johns Hopkins. She specializes in corneal and external eye diseases, including cataracts, ocular trauma, and refractive surgery.

Tinsay A. Woreta, M.D., M.P.H

Dr. Tinsay A. Woreta is an assistant professor of medicine and a gastroenterologist/hepatologist at Johns Hopkins University school of medicine.. She received her medical degree, internal medicine residency, and gastroenterology/transplant hepatology fellowship from Johns Hopkins University. She specializes in acute and chronic liver diseases, and has authored many publications and book chapters.

Yonas E. Geda, M.D.

Dr. Yonas E. Geda is a Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry. He is a Consultant in the Department of Psychiatry & Psychology, and Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic. Following a formal search process, Dr. Geda was recently named Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion for all the 5 colleges/ schools at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Geda earned his doctor of medicine (M.D.) degree from Addis Ababa (Haile Selassie) University, and subsequently pursued his trainings in Psychiatry, Behavioral Neurology, and a Master’s of Science (MSc) degree in biomedical sciences at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. His research examines the impact of lifestyle factors and neuropsychiatric symptoms on brain aging and mild cognitive impairment. He has published over 115 peer reviewed papers in major journals including in Neurology, JAMA Neurology, JAMA Psychiatry and American Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Geda has several institutional, national and international leadership roles. He is a member of the Science Committee of the French Alzheimer’s research group (Groupe de Recherche sur la maladie d’Alzheimer; GRAL). He is the current chair of the award committee of the Neuropsychiatric syndromes professional interest area (PIA) of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC). He is a recipient of many awards, including a medal from the City of Marseille, France in 2003, and from the City of La Ciotat, France in 2016 for his contributions to the field of Alzheimer’s research. As a resident, he won the prestigious Mayo Brother’s Distinguished Fellowship Award.

Keith Martin, M.D

Dr. Keith Martin is the founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) based in Washington, DC. The Consortium is a rapidly growing organization of over 170 academic institutions from around the world. It harnesses the capabilities of these institutions across research, education, advocacy and service to address global challenges. It is particularly focused on improving health outcomes for the global poor and strengthening academic global health programs. Dr. Martin is the author of more than 150 editorial pieces published in Canada’s major newspapers and has appeared frequently as a political and social commentator on television and radio. He is currently a board member of the Jane Goodall Institute, editorial board member for the Annals of Global Health and an advisor for the International Cancer Expert Corps. He has contributed to the Lancet Commission on the Global Surgery Deficit, is a current commissioner on the Lancet-ISMMS Commission on Pollution, Health and Development and is a member of the Global Sepsis Alliance.

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If You Go:

Saturday, October 19th, 2019
Time: 7:30AM – 5:45PM
Residence Inn Arlington Pentagon City
550 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 22202

Registration Fees
Physicians and professionals: $150(all day); $100 (half day)

Allied Health Professionals, residents and fellows:
$100(all day); $75(half day)
Medical and allied health students: free (with ID)

(Fee will also covers cost of food and refreshments)

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Ethiopia Mourns Elias Melka

Published by Tadias Magazine October 8th, 2019 in Podcast. Closed

Musician and composer Elias Melka died on 4 October. (Music in Africa)

Music in Africa

The news of his death was made public by Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC)… FBC said Milka was receiving treatment for diabetes and kidney complications at a hospital in the country’s capital.

Several prominent Ethiopians have shared their fondest memories of the musician, while others have spoken about what his music means to them.

“Saddened to learn the passing of renowned lyricist and composer, Elias Melka. We lost a talented and influential figure in the music industry. My condolences to his family and fans,” Addis Ababa mayor Takele Uma Banti said.

Radio and TV journalist Berhane Negussie said: “What heartbreaking news. Elias Melka was a musical genius of our generation This is a loss to the Ethiopian music industry. Not only as a musician, but he was also an amazing and extremely kind as a person. Rest in heaven, my brother.

Ethiopian political analyst Esayas Girmay wrote: “Farewell to a legend! Elias transformed modern Ethiopian music like no other. His influence on traditional Amharic music was also something to remember him by. Tigrigna, Oromifa, Kunama and Guragigna have also benefited from his amazing talent and creativity.”

Melka began his career in the 1990s after graduating from Yared Music School where he majored in cello, piano and the krar.

Melka’s discography includes more than 40 albums, which mainly contain socially conscious songs. His songs touched on topics such as HIV/AIDS, road accidents, African unity and minorities. In 2003, he composed ‘Negarit’ (War Drum), which highlighted the plight of about 13 million people facing starvation in the country.

The award-winning musician composed music for prominent Ethiopian artists, most notably activist Teddy Afro, Gossaye Tesfaye, Zeritu Kebede, Haile Roots, Mikia Behailu, Eyob Mekonnen, Michael Belayneh, Aster Girma, Abush Zeleke, Berry, Gedion Daniel and Dan Admassu.

He will be remembered for being one of the first musicians to introduce the one-man band studio production concept in Ethiopia and for being part of the team that launched the Awtar Music App this year.

Before his death, he was one of the judges on the Fana Lamrot talent show, which airs on FBC.

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Life After Death of ‘Love Bug’ in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine July 10th, 2019 in Podcast. Closed

Volkswagen will halt production of its latest version of the Beetle model car at its plant in Puebla, Mexico on Wednesday. Production of the original version of the curvy little vehicles ended in 2003. But, in Addis Ababa, Beetles enjoy a kind of life after death; their parts are never discarded but re-used to keep the city's remaining Beetles on the road. (Photo: Ishetu Kinfe, 59, a mechanic, poses next to his 1965 model Volkswagen Beetle car at a garage in Addis Ababa/Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Reuters

In Ethiopia authentic spare parts of the original Beetle model are hard to come by. So mechanics there have to “slaughter” some cars to keep others alive.

“If one is in a bad condition, we will cannibalise it and give its parts to other cars. That is how we extend their life,” said Kinfe, the 74-year-old garage-owner who has been working on Beetles for six decades.

“I wish the Germans had continued producing them. They abandoned them and things started falling apart.”

“They are lovely cars,” said Teferi Markos, a mechanic in Kinfe’s garage. “You get satisfied when you fix them. If you want to change the colour, they absorb any paint.”

About 8,000 commercial and other vehicles are assembled in Ethiopia for the home market, about a quarter of them cars. The numbers of expensive imported models on the roads is also rising as a new middle class emerges.

“My brother-in-law owned a Beetle and I learned to drive with it when I was a young student,” said Workineh Kebede, 41, a businessman in the capital.

“I like them because they are so easy to drive. So I bought it because of my love for them since that time. It is not for economic reasons – I could afford to buy other cars.”

Read the full article and see photos »

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Ethiopian Summer Festival in Vancouver

Published by Tadias Magazine July 7th, 2019 in Events. Closed

There are an estimated 10,000 people in the Ethiopian community in the Greater Vancouver area. “This is the beauty about Canada. It’s a multicultural country where you can celebrate your culture and also contribute to the cultural mosaic of Canada, ”said festival organizer Bereket Kebede. (CTV News Vancouver)

CTV News Vancouver

Ethiopian Summer Festival in Vancouver, Canada Marks 10th Year

It was a feast for the eyes and mouth as a Burnaby stadium was given some Ethiopian flair.

Hundreds of people celebrated at the annual Ethiopian Summer Festival at Swangard Stadium Saturday.

There were soccer games for the kids to play on the field and the adults pitched in to prepare traditional cuisines to enjoy.

Ethiopia’s culture is over 3,000 years old. The country is where coffee was discovered.

Traditional coffee ceremonies took place where the beans are roasted in a pan over flames and brewed to a rich dark drink enjoyed by many on this cloudy chilly day.

Many colourful fashions were on hand as people gathered to celebrate and promote their culture.

“This is the beauty about Canada. It’s a multicultural country where you can celebrate your culture and also contribute to the cultural mosaic of Canada, ”said festival organizer Bereket Kebede.

Music was played throughout the day and when Ethiopians hear their music — spontaneous dancing takes place everywhere.

There are an estimated 10,000 people in the Ethiopian community in the Greater Vancouver area.

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Ethiopia Finally Has Its Internet Back

Published by Tadias Magazine June 19th, 2019 in Podcast. Closed

Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s sole provider, restored service Tuesday after intermittent outages left most of the country’s 16 million internet users unable to access the web or social media for the past week. (AP photo)

VOA

By Salem Solomon

WASHINGTON – This report originated in the Horn of Africa service. Alula Kebede contributed to the story.

After days without access, internet users in Ethiopia can once again get online.

The telecom giant, also the country’s main mobile phone provider, acknowledged the outage and apologized for inconveniencing their customers, waiving monthly fees and extending times to use prepaid plans.

The shutdown also affected access to Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging app many Ethiopians use on their mobile phones.

NetBlocks, an independent civil society group that tracks internet shutdowns around the globe, first identified the outage in Ethiopia June 11 and recorded episodic starts and stops since then.

Neither the government nor Ethio Telecom has confirmed why the shutdown happened, but some have speculated that officials cut the internet to prevent high school students from cheating on a national exam.

In 2016 and 2017, the government shut off the internet to block the leak of stolen exam answers.

Tilaye Gete, Ethiopia’s minister of education, told VOA Amharic his ministry did not order the shutdown. “It is not the work of the Ministry of Education but the work of Ethio Telecom, and I want to confirm that the exams weren’t stolen,” he said.

Tilaye added that the federal government has taken into custody more than 100 people accused of distributing stolen exam answers. About 1.5 million 10th grade students took the exam at 2,800 testing centers, he said.

Similar shutdowns in Ethiopia have also occurred during protests and civil unrest, raising concerns about the government’s commitment to a free and open society, despite rhetoric vaunting the benefits of democratic participation.

“It worries me that the government response for every problem has become shutting down the internet without any due process,” Atnafu Berhane, an Ethiopian blogger and a co-founder of the Zone 9, a collective of outspoken political bloggers, told VOA in an email response.

“People have the right to access to information, and the government is taking away that right from the people,” he added.

Investors also worry that frequent shutdowns could ensnarl Ethiopia’s efforts to open and expand its economy — one of Africa’s fastest growing. Any businesses that rely on internet access will experience disruptions with a shutdown, especially with country-wide blackouts like the most recent outage.

Internet disruptions have a tangible financial impact, according to NetBlocks. In Ethiopia, a complete shutdown costs the country about $4.5 million a day, the group estimates.

Internet access in Ethiopia remains low, with just 15% of the population benefiting from regular, reliable access. On the whole, Africa is one of the least-connected places on Earth, with a continent-wide access rate of 37%. But some countries fare better. In Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, 56% of people have reliable access. In Kenya, the most-connected country, the number stands at 83%.

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Summer Previews of Ethiopian Art in the Diaspora – Media Roundup

Published by Tadias Magazine June 17th, 2019 in Featured. Closed

The Addis Fine Art gallery, which was established in 2016 by Mesai Haileleul and Rakeb Sile, has been cited by Artsy among the 27 rising galleries from around the world that are "shifting the global conversation around contemporary art." (Portrait of Mesai Haileleul and Rakeb Sile courtesy of Addis Fine Art)

Tadias Magazine

By Liben Eabisa

Published: June 17th, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — From New York to Chicago and London this summer has seen the opening of several exhibitions and global news coverage profiling Ethiopian artists. Below are a few highlights:

Elias Sime

Elias Sime’s current New York exhibition, Noiseless, at James Cohan gallery continues to receive rave reviews before it closes on June 29th. Most recently Sime’s exhibit was featured in Brooklyn-based online arts magazine Hyperallergic, which notes that the Ethiopian artist “makes wall sculptures from castoff computer parts that evoke the toxic dumping of these materials around the world.” In the review titled “Mosaics of Motherboards, Keyboards, and Wire” the writer John Yau says that Sime’s ‘Tightrope: I BURNED IT’ piece is among his favorite and shares that “it is made of hundreds of tiles covered in different hues of red, white, blue, and green insulated wire, woven into patterns and abstract configurations that are unique to each piece” adding “I don’t remember ever seeing Simes do anything like this before. He is always methodical and meticulous, but when he is pictorial and uses the computer components toward pictorial ends, he begins to lose me…This disruption infuses the work with staying power, as it pulls us into the realm of speculation and reflection.”

“Elias Sime: NOISELESS” at James Cohan Gallery, Chelsea, installation view: left: “Tightrope: Noiseless 23” (2019); center: “Tightrope: Noiseless 10” (2019)

As Tadias magazine reported a few weeks ago Elias is also gearing up for his first traveling U.S. museum exhibition later this year. The inaugural show will take place at the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College from September 7 through December 8, 2019 and will feature a collection of his work created in the past ten years. According to organizers the exhibit entitled Elias Sime: Tightrope includes “a large outdoor site-specific sculpture, created out of repurposed computer parts, electrical wires, bronze and clay.”

Aida Muluneh

In its June issue The Atlantic magazine features an insightful piece by journalist Hannah Giorgis, who covers culture for the American publication, titled “The Photographer Fighting Visual Clichés of Africa,” and highlighting Aida Muluneh as “one of Ethiopia’s reigning image-makers.” Aida, who is a former Washington Post photojournalist and a New Yorker tells Hannah: “You can’t fantasize about making an impact in Ethiopia by being in New York or somewhere else…You have to actually be on the ground.” Hannah adds that “Muluneh’s vibrant acuity, as disorienting as it is alluring, has the power to evoke a place—Africa—and at the same time subvert conventional ideas about it.”

Denkinesh/Part One. (Aïda Muluneh)

You can read Hannah’s full article at theatlantic.com.

Merid Tafese

The work of Ethiopian artist Merid Tafese and his solo exhibit at Gallery Guichard in Chicago was also featured in Rollingout Magazine, which covers music, politics and culture with a focus on the African American community.

“For Merid Tafese his fondest memories are of his father’s extensive book collection, which would play a major role in him becoming an artist” the article notes. Merid’s exhibition is called “A Stream of Consciousness,” and as he told the magazine this is the first time in his two-decade career as a contemporary artist that he is represented by a gallery. “And the fact that the gallery is a Black-owned gallery makes it even more special,” Merid says. Merid’s work in this exhibit includes “a collection of easily five years work and change of medium, thought, mood.”

Artist Merid Tafese (Photo credit: Tony Binns for Steed Media)

Reflecting on the influence of his father’s international book collection on his work as an artist Merid — who is the sixth generation direct descendant of King Sahle Selassie — notes that “[At] a time of fear, terror and being disconnected from the rest of the planet, the collection of books was my scope to look beyond what was happening in my beloved country in the Dergue military junta time. [In] the same way, my art was my outlet and the only free space to be creative and say anything I want. So both the books and my creative process of doing art worked hand-in-hand contributed to my development as an artist.”

You can read Rollingout’s full interview with Merid Tafese here.

Julie Mehretu, Kebedech Tekleab and Mezgebu Tesema

The Wallace Art Gallery at Columbia University in NYC also has group show exhibiting the work of ten international artists including three who are Ethiopian: Julie Mehretu, Kebedech Tekleab and Mezgebu Tesema. The exhibit, which opened on Friday, June 14th is titled ‘After the End: Timing Socialism in Contemporary African Art’ and focuses on “how temporality shapes new forms of politics, history, subjectivity and the turn to neoliberal global politics.” According to the gallery “It features artists looking at countries including Angola, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. Less than thirty years since independence from colonialism, the end of the Cold War brought down socialist governments and sparked a wave of upheaval among young African nations. The need to reimagine national narratives gave rise to a generation of artists that seek to make sense of the dramatic shifts witnessed by their countries.” The show is on view through October 13th, 2019.

Addis Fine Art’s Mesai Haileleul and Rakeb Sile

Founders of Addis Fine Art Mesai Haileleul & Rakeb Sile. (Photo: Addis Fine Art)

Last, but not least, the Addis Fine Art gallery, which was established only three years ago by Mesai Haileleul and Rakeb Sile, has been cited by Artsy – the online art collection and education platform — as being among the 27 rising galleries from around the world that are “shifting the global conversation around contemporary art.”

Addis Fine Art is Ethiopia’s first gallery to focus on contemporary art from Ethiopia and its Diaspora. Artsy notes: “It took an art dealer in Los Angeles and a business consultant in London to create Ethiopia’s most exciting young gallery. After attending the 1-54 African Art Fair in London, Rakeb Sile wondered why there weren’t more Ethiopian artists who were globally known. She discovered Mesai Haileleul, a gallery owner who had been in L.A. for 30 years selling Ethiopian art, and had not returned to his home country in decades. Sile went to L.A. to find him and lured him back to Africa, convincing him to dive into the local art market. The two opened a gallery in Addis Ababa, and it quickly became the go-to place for Ethiopian art, especially after opening a sister space in London to connect the artists with collectors in European markets.”

You can read the Q&A with Mesai and Rakeb at artsy.net.

Liben Eabisa is Co-Founder & Publisher of Tadias.

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Rita Pankhurst (1927- 2019)

Published by Tadias Magazine June 1st, 2019 in Profiles. Closed

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.

Ethiopian Reminiscences – Rita and Richard Pankhurst from TSEHAI Films on Vimeo.

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’.

May her soul rest in peace.

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Review of the Play ‘EthiopianAmerica’

Published by Tadias Magazine May 18th, 2019 in Podcast. Closed

“EthiopianAmerica,” is a new play by Sam Kebede making its world premiere at Definition Theatre in Chicago. (Photo: Simon Gebremedhin and Freedom Martin in "EthiopianAmerica" by Definition Theatre Company/ by Joe Mazza)

Chicago Tribune

‘EthiopianAmerica’ really captures immigrant, teenage lives as they are lived.

The children of immigrants long have written plays and novels about what it’s like to be a first-generation American, trying to build a life in a new country under the watchful eyes of foreign-born parents.

In such works, mostly penned by the young and the restless (you know, Eugene O’Neill, Ayad Akhtar and so on), these parental figures are most usually severe, determined and troubled figures whose own lives involved great risk and who are determined that their offspring will recognize the importance of an education that might help them thrive and prosper in a new world these parents both admire and deeply distrust. For their part, the kids want to respect the traditions and ancestors of whence they came, but also make their own path in a country with different priorities. Their work is usually about trying to reconcile the pull of two forces that seem to be thrusting them in different directions.

“EthiopianAmerica,” a new work by Sam Kebede now in its world premiere by Definition Theatre, is one of those plays, the work of a first-generation American with Ethiopian-born parents. But it’s far more interesting and original than most. That’s partly because of its topic: When did you last see a play about Ethiopian Americans? I have known some members of that community in Chicago very well, and over a long period of time, and, for much of “EthiopianAmerica,” I was thinking it was time to get on the phone and make a recommendation, until Kebede took his play in a different and more critical turn toward his father’s generation of men. Even so, I think “EthiopianAmerica” would be widely respected.

That’s because Kebede writes about domestic life (in California, but if could be anywhere in America) with real veracity. Anyone who has teenage kids (I have two myself), or tough parents, can relate to the inter-generational struggle that fills this play. Kebede really gets the clash of the authority figure and the young person, striving to find a place in a changed world, and he does so with real understanding of what it is like to be the child of someone born in a different country. (It’s not easy.)

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Spotlight: Addis Calling III Group Show at Addis Fine Art Gallery

Published by Tadias Magazine January 23rd, 2019 in Featured. Closed

Addis Fine Art Gallery prepares for new show, Addis Calling III, scheduled to open on January 29th, 2019 in Addis Ababa featuring up-and-coming artists Tizta Berhanu, Yohannes Tesfaye and Frew Kebede. (Photo: Addis Fine Art/Instagram)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: January 23rd, 2019

New York (TADIAS) — Addis Fine Art Gallery, which focuses on contemporary fine art collections from Ethiopia and the Diaspora, will host its third annual group exhibition next week titled “Addis Calling” featuring emerging local artists.

The gallery announced that this year they are presenting works by Frew Kebede, Tizta Berhanu and Yohannes Tesfaye. The show is set to open on January 29th and will be on display thorough March 23rd, 2019.

Below are preview images and descriptions of each artist courtesy of Addis Fine Art Gallery:

Yohannes Tesfaye (1978) focuses on two and three-dimensional paintings in acrylic, oil on canvas, wood, fiberglass and a variety of mixed media. His paintings reference African traditions and culture. Using contemporary materials and techniques, his current work examines the practice of ritual tribal scarification in a twenty-first century artistic and historical context.

Tizta Berhanu’s (1991) main inspiration is human emotion in all its facets, portraying her subjects expressing love, hate, sadness, loneliness etc. Trying to capture the true emotion underneath the surface of their skins. Her paintings are often ambiguous, almost unrecognizable, painted with broad confident brush strokes in deep intense colours. Blues, purples and deep-sea greens, dominate the canvasses creating an almost uncomfortable atmosphere wherein the viewer comes voyeuristically close to the emotions of the portrayed.

Frew Kebede (1982) is a multidisciplinary artist working in a variety of mediums but his current focus is painting. As a musician, Jazz music plays an important part in his life and is one of his main inspirations. In his paintings, he is exploring the visual aspects of jazz music, transforming notes and rhythm into paint and brushstrokes creating colourful, vibrant canvasses, engaging the viewer into seeing things from different perspectives.

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If You Go:
Addis Calling III Exhibition
January 29th – March 23rd, 2019
Addis Fine Art gallery
(3rd Floor, Red Building Behind Mafi City Mall)
Bole Medhane Alem
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251 913 426553
www.addisfineart.com

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Ethiopia Corruption Crackdown (UPDATE)

Published by Tadias Magazine November 13th, 2018 in Podcast. Closed

Former Director General of METEC, Major General Kinfe Dagnew, was arrested on corruption charges on November 13th, 2018. (Photo: Fana Broadcasting)

By ELIAS MESERET | Updated November 13, 2018

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia has detained the former head of a large military-run industrial conglomerate, a day after the country’s attorney general disclosed that several hundred million dollars was embezzled from the firm.

The state broadcaster ETV reported that Maj. Gen. Kinfe Dagnew, former head of the Metal and Engineering Corporation, was arrested near the Sudanese border where he was trying to flee.

The arrest is viewed as a direct hit on Ethiopia’s military establishment, the latest of several major changes implemented by reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 42, since he came to power in April.

Images of the former official in handcuffs arriving by helicopter in the capital, Addis Ababa, have been aired repeatedly by the state broadcaster. The news of Kinfe’s arrest has captured the attention of many in this East African nation as he was one of the most feared figures in the country until a few months ago.

“He was a dictator who was not willing to solve our problems,” Desalegn Kebede, who did business with him, told the Associated Press. “I’m very happy that he is now under custody. We hope that he will get what he deserves.”

Ethiopia’s Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye stated on Monday that 27 suspects were arrested from the military-run company on allegations of corruption. He alleged that an estimated $2 billion worth of procurements were made without an open tender.

In addition, a further 36 individuals were apprehended for alleged human rights violation.

The previous government of Ethiopia, a close security ally of the West, was often accused of rights violations by international groups and activists. Abiy’s new government has carried out several reforms including releasing several thousand political prisoners, permitting opposition groups to return from exile, dropping terror charges against prominent opposition leaders and relaxing restrictions against the media.

But still ethnic-based clashes have broken out in some parts of the country and pose the most serious threat to Abiy’s leadership of Ethiopia’s 100 million people.

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Related:
Video: Former Director General of METEC, Major General Kinfe Dagnew, who was taken into custody today, arrives in AddisAbaba (Fana Broadcasting)

Ethiopia Arrests 63 Suspected of Rights Abuses, Corruption

By Elias Meseret

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia has arrested 63 intelligence officials, military personnel and businesspeople on allegations of rights violations and corruption, the country’s attorney general announced Monday.

The sweeping high-profile arrests carried out in recent days are a result of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s order for a months-long investigation into misdoings under the previous government.

Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye told the media that some of those arrested are suspected of abuses of prisoners including “beatings, forced confessions, sodomy, rape, electrocution and even killings.”

Some of those arrested are accused of mismanaging a state-owned military corporation, the Metal and Engineering Corporation, that was looted in a multi-billion dollar corruption scheme, he said.

Berhanu also said that Ethiopia’s former spy chief is suspected of involvement in an attempt to assassinate the new prime minster at a rally on June 23. While other officials implicated in the plot have fled the country, the former intelligence chief is now residing in northern Ethiopia and should turn himself in to authorities, he said.

Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye told local journalists on Monday, November 12th the detention comes after five months of investigation. (Photo: Fana Broadcasting)

Yilikal Getnet, an opposition figure, told The Associated Press the public had demanded the arrests of the former officials.

“These have been issues that we in the opposition have long been calling for, too,” he said, adding that Ethiopia needs a truth and reconciliation process to investigate past misdoings. “The ruling party alone can’t bring justice for all these atrocities committed in the past.”

Under the previous government, Ethiopia, a close security ally of the West, used to be accused of rights violations by human rights activists. Since Abiy, 42, came to power in April his new government has released several thousand political prisoners, permitted exiled opposition groups to return home, dropped terror charges against prominent opposition politicians and permitted the media to operate more freely.

Despite the reforms, ethnic-based clashes are continuing in some parts of Ethiopia and pose the most serious threat to Abiy’s leadership of this East African nation of 100 million people.

Amnesty International welcomed the arrests.

“These arrests are an important first step toward ensuring full accountability for the abuses that have dogged the country for several decades,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s East Africa Director. “Many of these officials were at the helm of government agencies infamous for perpetrating gross human rights violations, such as torture and the arbitrary detention of people including in secret facilities. We urge the government of Prime Minister Abiy to take further steps to ensure justice and accountability for all past human rights violations and abuses, while at the same time ensuring all the individuals arrested receive fair trials.”

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Birtukan Mideksa, the Right Person to Help Build Democratic Institutions in Ethiopia

Published by Tadias Magazine November 9th, 2018 in Featured. Closed

Former judge and opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa returned home to Ethiopia on November 8th, 2018 after seven years of exile in the U.S. ( Photo: Fana Broadcasting)

Tadias Magazine
By Liben Eabisa

Published: November 9th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — The first time that Tadias featured an interview with Birtukan Mideksa six years ago we were celebrating the former judge, political leader, human rights activist and a mother of a young daughter, as one of our heroes for women’s history month; it had been less than a year after she had moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia as a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.

This week Birtukan returned to her beloved homeland after seven years in exile. Prior to being forced to emigrate to the U.S. she had been twice imprisoned in Ethiopia as leader of an opposition party that won more than one-third of the seats during the tumultuous 2005 elections. In a public speech that year at the memorial tribute for Vaclav Havel — the former President of the Czech Republic who was also a playwright and poet — Birtukan described her second imprisonment for 19 months in solitary confinement as being “alone in every sense of the term.” She candidly shared that “after all the pain that was inflicted on me and my dear ones, I had to ask myself if the struggle was worth it.”

Indeed, in more ways than one, Birtukan has paid her dues to encourage democracy in Ethiopia and that’s why it was deeply moving for me personally to watch her from afar, from here in the U.S., as she received a well-deserved, warm reception back in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

I first met Birtukan in early May of 2012 when she came to New York to attend an award ceremony recognizing journalist Eskinder Nega, who was then still behind bars. Eskinder, her friend and former prisoner of conscience, was being honored with PEN America’s prestigious “Freedom to Write” award at the literary organization’s annual dinner held at the American Museum of Natural History. Later, I also had an opportunity to visit Birtukan at Harvard when she was a student there; we also attended civic leadership events together during the US-Africa Leaders Summit hosted by the U.S government in D.C. four years ago. Birtukan is one of the most brilliant, inspiring and kindest individuals I had the privilege of meeting in my many years of work as Publisher of Tadias. In addition to her gracious, non-assuming personality and quiet humor the most memorable and contagious part of being around Birtukan was her heartfelt commitment to freedom of expression, human rights and advancing democratic principles in Ethiopia.

“What helps me most to survive the hurdles I faced is the depth and intensity of the ideal and vision I have with regard to the worth and dignity of the individual citizen and the way our society should be organized based on this universal ideal of human rights and the rule of law,” Birtukan told Tadias during our women’s history month interview. “My belief and conviction that we can and should change the status quo, though it appears to be daunting, has kept me going.” She added: “And my trust in the power of the individual to bring about change enables me to consider the price I paid as a sacrifice made for a worthy causes and purpose.”

Birtukan was born and raised in Addis Ababa and attended public school both for her elementary and high school education before she graduated from Addis Ababa University with a degree in law. “I believe my passion for politics has a strong correlation with the fact that I was brought up in a community whose members are strongly committed to maintaining healthy social relations and to looking after the well-being of individual members,” said Birtukan who grew up in the Ferensay Legacion neighborhood of Ethiopia’s capital. “My training as a lawyer later on gave me some coherent narrative and vision for this aspiration of mine.”

If it was up to Birtukan Mideksa Ethiopia by now would have had a fully functioning democracy consisting of equally powerful opposition parties that are credible, peaceful and loyal to the constitution. While living in exile, where she also managed to earn a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Birtukan never ceased to speak up in defense of human rights and democracy in Ethiopia whenever the opportunity presented itself, albeit with her trademark respectful tone.

In an Op-Ed article titled “Embracing Development and Security Means Embracing Free Expression,” published by Freedom-now.org in 2014 — shortly after the US-Africa Leaders Summit and while the former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegen was still in charge – Birtukan urged the U.S. government and other Western countries to rethink their approach to Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular. “The Ethiopian government has long relied on the same arguments to defend its actions — falsely claiming that the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation copies equivalent European standards,” Birtukan wrote. “The international community can no longer tolerate these kinds of wholly inadequate explanations, especially when respect for human rights impacts the prospects for growth and security on the continent so greatly. If we are serious about development and peace in Africa, we need to hold the government accountable and reinforce the proposition that there can be no robust, sustainable growth without respect for the fundamental rights for all Africans.”

Before she departed for Ethiopia on Wednesday Birtukan told Voice of America’s Alula Kebede that she hopes to contribute in helping to build democratic institutions. And in my opinion there is no one more qualified than Birtukan Mideksa to help assist Ethiopia’s ongoing transformation into a more democratic and peaceful society. She has the passion, legal education and real-life experience to do the job and the scars to prove it.

It goes without saying that at whatever role and capacity that Birtukan wants to participate, there could be no doubt that she has earned the right to have a say in leading the future of Ethiopia.

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Liben Eabisa is Co-Founder & Publisher of Tadias Magazine.

Related: Birtukan Mideksa in Pictures:

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P2P Diaspora Healthcare Conference

Published by Tadias Magazine October 20th, 2018 in Events and Featured. Closed

(Photo from past conference courtesy of People to People, Inc.)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: October 20th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — Since its founding in 1999 People to People Inc. (P2P), a U.S.-based network of Ethiopian Diaspora healthcare professionals, has been the prime example of how “the Diaspora can be the bridge to transfer knowledge, technology and experience.”

This weekend in Arlington, Virginia P2P is hosting its 10th global conference on health care & medical education in Ethiopia. The theme of this year’s conference is “the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases in Ethiopia.”

Speakers include Ethiopia’s new Minister of Health, Dr. Amir Aman. “Dr. Aman is a physician by training, and a dedicated public health official,” the announcement notes. “He has served as a medical practitioner for many years in rural Ethiopia. Prior to his current position, Dr. Aman served as the Director of Human Resources and Development Directorate, Plan and Policy. In addition, he played a major role as a Finance Director General of MOH.”

Below are additional featured speakers courtesy of the conference website:

Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph

Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph. is the Provost of Howard University. He previously served in various roles at the University including as Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Assistant Provost for International Programs. Dr. Wutoh has also served as Director for the Center for Minority Health Services Research, and the Center of Excellence.

Anteneh Habte, MD

Dr. Anteneh Habte is currently serving as Chairman of People to People’s (P2P) Board of Directors. He is the Medical Director of the Community Living Center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV and clinical faculty at both the West Virginia School of Medicine and the Lewisburg School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Anteneh is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and a certified educator of palliative and end-of-life care (EPEC). He coordinates People to People (P2P)’s effort to promote the training of medical personnel and provision of clinical services in hospice and palliative care in Ethiopia. Dr. Anteneh is one of the editors of a series of web-based modules in hospice and palliative care for Ethiopia prepared under the auspices of the Mayo Clinic Global HIV Initiative. He is also a contributor to P2P’s recently published ‘Triangular Partnership’ manuscript.

Asefa Mekonnnen, M.D., F.C.C.P

Dr. Mekonnen is a pulmonologist and sleep specialist currently practicing in Maryland. He attended Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia for medical school. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of Illinois, and pulmonary and critical care fellowship training at Northwestern University. He then pursued post-doctoral studies in Clinical and Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. His current focus is in the field of sleep medicine. Dr. Mekonnen is Founder and Director of the Premier Sleep Disorders Center, an AASM accredited center. He has managed and supervised more than 10,000 sleep studies. A frequent speaker in the area of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Disorders, he has delivered more than 100 invited lectures.

Ayalew Tefferi, M.D

Dr. Tefferi is a Professor of medicine, and world renowned hematologist currently practicing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He went to medical school at the University of Athens in Greece. He completed his internal medicine residency training at St. Joseph’s hospital in Chicago and hematology fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. His research involves clinical and laboratory research in myeloid disorders. He has had over 1000 publications in peer reviewed journals and serves as the associate or section editor for the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Leukemia, American Journal of Hematology, European Journal of Hematology, and Hematological Oncology. He is also in the editorial board of several other journals. Dr Tefferi has given more than 700 national and international invited lectureships and serves as faculty for the annual Hematology and Oncology Board review courses at George Washington University in Washington DC, Cancer Medicine and Hematology offered by Harvard institutes in Boston MA, and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX.

Bisrat Hailemeskel, MSc., Pharm.D., R.Ph.

Dr. Bisrat Hailemeskel is a full-time faculty at the rank of Associate Professor, Vice Chair, & Co-Director of International Grants in the College of Pharmacy, Howard University (HU). He received his B.Pharm, MSc (Addis Ababa University (AAU)), and Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (University of Toledo, Ohio). Dr. Hailemeskel was the recipient of 2007 -2008 Fulbright Scholarship as teacher/research fellow, a distinguished Award from the US Department of States, to teach and conduct research in Ethiopia. In 2010, he was also received the “Outstanding Faculty” Award from HU Alumni Association. As a principle Investigator, he has also received a multi-year grant for the “HU-AAU Twinning Partnership” project to promote pharmaceutical care education in Ethiopia from the American International Health Alliance and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Dr. Hailemeskel awarded to become a Fulbright Visiting Professor by the US State Department since 2014. Dr. Hailemeskel is well published with over 50 research papers

Dawd S. Siraj, M.D., MPH&TM, FIDSA

Dr. Dawd S. Siraj is a Professor of Medicine, and an infectious disease physician at the University of Wisconsin. He received his medical degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia. He completed his internal medicine residency training at St. Barnabas Hospital Bronx, NY. He subsequently completed an Infectious Diseases fellowship and a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, at Tulane University, in New Orleans, Louisiana.. He currently serves as the Vice President and Board Member of Ethio- American Doctors Group, Inc and People to People (P2P). He has actively participated in numerous Infectious Diseases and HIV activities in Ethiopia.

Elias S. Siraj, M.D., Dr. Med., FACP, FACE

Dr Siraj is currently Professor and Chief of Division of Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Norfolk, VA. He is also David L. Bernd Distinguished Chair for Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research, Director of Strelitz Diabetes Center and Director of the EVMS-Sentara Cardiovascular Diabetes Center. Dr. Siraj started as a Faculty first at the Cleveland Clinic and later moved to Temple University in Philadelphia where for many years he carried various leadership roles including Director of Diabetes Program and Director of Endocrine Fellowship Program. Over the years, Dr. Siraj has been involved in Global Medicine activities and has been traveling to Ethiopia every year as a Visiting Professor, teaching residents, fellows and medical students as well as conducting collaborative clinical research projects. In collaboration with others, he was instrumental in successfully establishing the first Endocrine Fellowship training program in Ethiopia. In addition, Dr Siraj has served in various leadership roles at “People to People”, a US based NGO established by Ethiopian Physicians to support Ethiopian Healthcare and Medical Education. For his active role in Ethiopia, he received the prestigious Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health of an Underserved Population from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology in 2014.

Enawgaw Mehari, MD.

Dr. Enawgaw Mehari is a Senior Neurologist at Kings Daughter Medical Center in Kentucky and founder of People to People USA (P2P). He founded P2P at the end of his residency training and has since expanded the services of P2P, including opening the People’s Free Clinic in Morehead, KY, in 2005 for the working poor who have no health insurance.

Jignesh Shah, M.D

Dr. Jignesh Shah is a cardiologist with sub-specialty training in cardiac electrophysiology from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His interests include arrhythmia care, pacemaker implant and cardiac ablations. Dr. Shah is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and clinical cardiac electrophysiology. He is currently overseeing cardiology fellowship training in several medical schools in Ethiopia.

Melaku Demede M.D., MHSc, FACC, FSCAI

Mulugeta Gebregziabher, M.D

Dr. Mulugeta Gebregziabher is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Public Health Sciences at MUSC. His research expertise is in longitudinal data analysis, multiple outcomes research, and analysis of very large datasets from electronic medical records. He is secretary of ED-REAP (501(c3)) and has served as President of the Statistical Society of Ethiopians in North America and President of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Statistical Association.

Henock G. Zabher, M.D., MPH, FACC, FSCAI

Dr. Henock G. Zabher is an associate Professor of Medicine/ Interventional Cardiology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. He received his medical degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia. He subsequently obtained his Masters of Public health (MPH) from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC). He completed subspecialty training in Interventional Cardiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is the First Cardiologist to perform percutaneous coronary intervention in Mekelle hospital, Ethiopia and help to initiate a coronary intervention services in the hospital.

Kebede H. Begna, M.D., Msc.

Dr. Kebede H. Begna an assistant professor and consultant haematologist, practicing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He received his medical degree from Gondar University in Ethiopia. . He finished internal medicine residency at St. Vincent Medical College, an affiliate of New York Medical College, where he was the Chief Resident. He completed hematology and medical oncology fellowship and obtained Masters in clinical research at the University of Minnesota, and later joined the Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology in Rochester, Minnesota. He authored and co-authored many publications and book chapter. He currently serves on the board of Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.

Lekidelu Taddesse-Heath, MD

Dr. Taddesse-Heath is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Howard University Hospital and Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC. She has led medical student missions to Gondar University Hospital, Ethiopia since 2013.

Lydia Tesfa, PhD

Dr. Lydia Tesfa is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is the Assistant Operations Director of Flow Cytometry and actively engages in research, education and health care. Dr. Lydia is a Board member of People to People (P2P) and has volunteered her expertise in several projects in Ethiopia.

Meraf Wolle, M.D

Dr. Meraf A. Wolle is an assistant Professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. She specializes in corneal and external disease, including cataracts, corneal transplants, and refractive surgery. Dr. Wolle received her M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine and her M.P.H. degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Following an internship in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, she completed her residency in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute. Dr. Wolle completed a fellowship in Cornea and External Diseases at the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor prior to joining the Wilmer faculty.

Salahadin Abdi, M.D., PhD

Dr. Salahadin Abdi, is a tenured Professor of Anesthesiology/Pain Medicine and Chair of Department of Pain Medicine at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He completed medical school, his PhD in pharmacology/toxicology, and clinical residency in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at University of Münster Medical Center in Germany. After relocating to the United States, he then completed his residency training Anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. He is the author and/or co-author of more than 200 manuscripts and abstracts, book chapters and review articles. He is a reviewer for multiple journals. His primary research interests include stem cell and gene therapy for degenerative spine disease and chemotherapy induced painful peripheral neuropathy. His main clinical interest includes low back pain, complex regional pain syndrome, cancer pain, myofascial pain and whiplash injury.

Teferi Y. Mitiku, M.D., FACC

Dr. Mitiku earned his medical degree at UCLA, and he then completed his residency at Stanford University, followed by a fellowship in cardiovascular disease and electrophysiology at Yale New Haven Hospital. He has served as the Director of the Complex Ablation Program at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Currently he is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Director of Electrophysiology at University of California Irvine in Orange County, CA.

Tinsay A. Woreta, M.D., M.P.H

Yonas E. Geda, M.D.

Keith Martin, M.D

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If You Go:
P2P 10th annual Health Care and Medical Education conference
Saturday, October 20th, 2018
Residence Inn Arlington Pentagon City
550 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 2220
www.p2pbridge.org

Related:
Watch: 2015 People to People (P2P) Conference Award Ceremony

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Photos: Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week

Published by Tadias Magazine October 13th, 2018 in Featured. Closed

Sebeatu by designer Muse Legesse and Roots in Style by Tigist Seife. (courtesy of HAFW)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: October 13th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) – The 2018 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week took place in Ethiopia’s capital city last week. This year’s runway show, which was held on October 3rd at Millennium Hall, highlighted a diverse collection of local and international designers.

Below are photos courtesy of Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week:

Samra Leather by Samrawit Mersiehazen:

Ayni’s by Aynalem Ayele:

Roots in Style by Tigist Seife:

Precious design by Nasra Mustofa:

Meron Addis Ababa by Meron Seid:

Lali by Lemlem Haile Michael:

ZAAF by Abai Schulze:

Wuwi Couture by Egla Negusse:

Sebeatu by Muse Legesse:

Aleph Design by Meseret Teferra:

Yefikir by Fikerte Addis:

Tseday Design by Tseday Kebede:

Komtare by Dawit Ketema:

Kahindo (Democratic Republic of the Congo):

Basse (Senegal ):

ArtC (Morocco):

Alaoui M’hammdi Amina (Morocco):

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Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week 2018

Published by Tadias Magazine October 2nd, 2018 in Events and Featured. Closed

Photo from previous Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week. (courtesy of HAFW)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: October 2nd, 2018

New York (TADIAS) – This week in Addis Ababa the annual Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week is taking place at Millennium Hall. This year’s runway show, which will be held on October 3rd, features the collection of 15 Ethiopian designers as well as international guest presenters hailing from Morocco, DRC and Kenya.

“As in past events, HAFW will also be hosting key industry players including international and regional buyers and media. Vogue Italia / Talents will keep their dedication to scouting talents during the event,” organizers shared in a press release. “HAFW 2018 is happy to be continuing its platform as a source for supporting and encouraging the fashion, textile, and manufacturing industries in Africa as a key part of the sustainable development of the continent.”

In addition, HAFW announced that it is collaborating with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) to connect experts with five young fashion designers whose work will also be showcased on October 4th, 2018 at the Italian Embassy.

The participating Ethiopian designers include Abai Schulze (ZAAF), Aynalem Ayele (Ayni’s), Dawit Ketema (Komtare), Egla Negusse (Wuwi Couture), Fikerte Addis (Yefiki), Lemlem Haile Michael (Lali), Meseret Teferra (Aleph Design), Muse Legesse (Sebeatu), Nasra Mustofa (Precious design), Samrawit Mersiehazen (Samra Leather), Tigist Seife (Roots in Style), Tigist Shiferaw (TG’SH), Tseday Kebede (Tseday Design), Yordanos Aberra (Yordi Design), Mahlet Afework (MAFI), Meron Seid (Meron Addis Ababa), as well as emerging designers Hiwot Solomon (BELLAHIWOT), Fozia Endrias (Fozia Endrias Clothing & Accessories) and Kunjina Tesfaye (Kunjina).

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Related:
2017 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week in Pictures

Photos: Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week 2016
Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week 2015
In Pictures: Hub of Africa Fashion Week 2014

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Helen Show Hosts 2nd Empower the Community Event at DC Convention Center

Published by Tadias Magazine August 13th, 2018 in Events and Featured. Closed

Helen Mesfin of the Helen show on EBS TV. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

August 13th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — Among the headliners later this week at the 2nd Annual Empower the Community event in Washington D.C. are Alexander Assefa, a Democrat elected to the 42nd district of the Nevada State Assembly, and Nina Ashenafi Richardson, the first Ethiopian-American judge who was re-elected to the Leon County bench in Florida in 2014 after first being elected to the judgeship in 2008.

The program, which was launched last year by the producers of the Helen Show on EBS TV, brings together leaders from diverse professional backgrounds for a day-long session of information sharing and networking. According to organizers the 2018 guest speakers also include Lulit Ejigu, Executive Director in Risk Management at JP Morgan Chase; Dr. Yared Tekabe, Research Scientist at Columbia University; immigration attorneys Yemmi Getachew & Hellina Hailu as well as Almaz Negash, Founder & Executive Director of African Diaspora Network.

The family-friendly gathering combines the broadcast experience of the event’s founder Helen Mesfin, host of the Helen Show, with her professional work in the hospitality industry, and aims to create a space for community members to participate in panel discussions as well as provide resources and information for families. The event is scheduled to be held at the DC Convention Center on Saturday, August 18th.

Below is a summary of parts of the program on August 18th from 11am-8pm at the Washington Convention Center

The Power of Civic Engagement:
Amaha Kassa, Founder and Executive Director of African Communities Together
Semhar Araya, UNICEF USA’s Managing Director for Diaspora & Multicultural Partnership
Samuel Gebru, Director of Community Engagement and Partnership, Cambridge Community Center
Alexander Assefa, Democrat elected to the 42nd district of the Nevada State Assembly
Tebabu Assefa, Community Leader, Social Entrepreneur

Leadership Panel:
Dr. Senait Fisseha, MD,JD, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director of International Programs at the Susan T. Buffett Foundation
Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson , Elected Leon County Judge 2008 & 2014
Almaz Negash, Founder & Executive Director of African Diaspora Network

Science & Technology:
Mark Gelfand, Founder STEM Synergy, STEM-minded financial systems pioneer
Yared Tekabe, Ph.D, Research Scientist at Columbia University
Solomon Mulugeta Kassa, Producer & Host of TechTalk with Solomon television (EBS), Author & Consultant at Deloitte
Tsegaye Legesse, CPA, MBA, Accounting Manager at National Institute of Health, Chief Financial Officer of OnePupil, and Board Member at STEM Synergy

Young Trailblazers:
Nate Araya, Brand Strategist, Story Teller at All Creative Degital
Melat Bekele, Founder Habesha Networks
Sam Kebede, Actor
Helen Fetaw, Actively Engaged in community service related to health care
Selamawit Bekele, Co-Founder, Africa Leads

Business Leaders Panel: Getting To The Top: Strategies for breaking through the
Glass Ceiling with successful Ethiopian American and Eritrean American business
leaders.
Ethiopia Habtemariam, President of Motown Records, and President of Urban
Music/Co-Head of Creative at Universal Publishing Music Group
Michael Andeberhan, CFA, CAIA is Executive Director & Head of Investment
Consultant Coverage at MSCI in New York.
Lulit Ejigu, Executive Director in Risk Management at JP Morgan Chase
The Event will have the Following Pavilions

Health & Fitness Pavilion
Free Health Screenings provided by Kaiser Permanente, American Kindy Fund,
Med Star Silver Spring Smiles & Pearl Smiles Dental – BMI, Blood Pressure, Blood
Glucose, Dental Screening, Fitness Consultants, ZUMBA, Resources for Families
with Special Needs, Giveaways and much more
Our partner organizations and sponsors are Kaiser Permanente, American Kidney
Fund, Ethiopian American Nurses Association, Silver Spring Smiles & Pearl Smiles
as well as Ethiopian American doctors

Career Pavilion: Career Resources in the Community
Hear high energy career motivational speakers
Learn Career Advancement tips

Participate in Informational Interviews
Receive mini career coaching
Assess your career aptitudes
Partner Organizations: 21st Century Community, YEP – Your Ethiopian Professionals, Alexandria Workforce Development and MBC

Finance Pavilion will cover the following topics:
Raising Money Savvy Kids-Financial Responsibility
Creating Generational Wealth
Dealing with College Debt
Get Your Credit Right
Securing Your Families Financial Future
Home Buying 101
Partner Organization Primerica, CLRA group and Your DMV Team

Kids Corner
Reading Time/Games/Fun Exercises/ Art

Sessions 1
Immigration and Legal Issues with Attorney Yemmi Getachew & Hellina Hailu
Fear NOT, Know Your Rights as Immigrants 11:00 am

Surviving the Stop – How to Engage with Law Enforcement 1:00pm
Teaching Kids & Young Men What to Expect and Know

Session 2
Warrior Moms- Special Needs Parenting
Minding Your Family Relationship
Alzheimer and Dementia and Support for Caregivers

—
If You Go:
Saturday August 18, 2018
11am -7pm
Walter E Washington Convention Center
801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW
Washington DC 20001
www.empowercw.com

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Ethiopian Student in NYC Awarded Prestigious Gates-Cambridge Scholarship

Published by Tadias Magazine April 17th, 2018 in Featured and News. Closed

2018 Gates Cambridge Scholar Samuel Kebede. (Photo credit: Adam Sahilu)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

April 17th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — Samuel Kebede, a third year medical student in New York City has been awarded the highly regarded Gates-Cambridge Scholarship, which is the most prestigious scholarship program for international postgraduate students from the University of Cambridge.

“I am proud to be representing my country Ethiopia,” Samuel told Tadias. He is currently enrolled at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

According to Gates-Cambridge: “Funded through a $210 million donation by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, the largest ever single donation to a UK university, around 90 scholars are selected each year from a pool of the most academically outstanding applicants to the University. The Scholarship also places an emphasis on selecting those with a proven interest in improving the lives of others by helping address the numerous challenges we face locally, regionally and globally.”

Professor Stephen Toope, Chair of the Trustees of Gates Cambridge and Vice-Chancellor of the University, explained in a statement that: “The Gates Cambridge scholarships are a perfect fit with the mission of the University – to make a real and significant contribution to society. They attract some of the best students from all over the world and from the most diverse backgrounds, and sustain a global network of leaders who will integrate the university’s values into everything they do. The class of 2018, including bright scholars from 28 nationalities, is a perfect example of the commitment to excellence and to leadership in the service of society that Gates Cambridge scholars exemplify.”

In his biography posted on the Gates Cambridge website Samuel shared:

I am originally from Ethiopia but also grew up in Zimbabwe and the Congo. Through my experience living in these different settings, the role of diseases, health disparities and environment made a lasting impact. This realization influenced my decision to gain the knowledge and research skills to prevent and control public health challenges in Africa. I came to the U.S. in 10th grade attending Mercersburg Academy before completing my BA in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. As an undergraduate, I devoted much of my time to service in the Baltimore community and was involved in infectious disease projects in Ethiopia, Congo and Baltimore. As a current third-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, I’ve continued to learn more about HIV through a research project in Ethiopia. My time living in the U.S. also peaked my interest in preventable illnesses related to chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease). Delving deeper, I learned more about the growing burden of chronic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, especially as they relate to the double burden of infectious and chronic diseases on the continent. I hope to be part of efforts for continued policy, practice and research development related to chronic diseases in Africa as a public health physician. I will study the MPhil in Public Health at Cambridge and am excited to be part of the diverse and passionate Gates Cambridge community!”

Congratulations Samuel! We wish you all the best in your studies as a Gates-Cambridge scholar!
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Spotlight: Influential Women of the Diaspora: YEP Women’s Power Hour

Published by Tadias Magazine March 5th, 2018 in Featured. Closed

(Photos courtesy of YEP)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

March 5th, 2018

New York (TADIAS) — March is women’s history month in the United States and the Washington D.C.-based Ethiopian professional networking organization, YEP, is hosting an upcoming event titled “Women’s Power Hour” featuring influential women of the Diaspora.

“Women are the backbone of our families and communities, and this Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating them in all their glory,” YEP said announcing the event that will be held at Marriott Marquis on Thursday, March 22nd. “Hear from influential women of the Diaspora as they share their unique stories and experiences of navigating life as women of color in America.” YEP adds: “Successful and inspiring leaders in media, tech, health, and more will delve into their struggles and wins in both their personal and professional journeys.”

Panelists include Dr. Lekidelu Taddesse, Director of Hematology Lab and Surgical Pathology at Howard University; Helen Mesfin, Host of the Helen Show on EBS; Hawi Dibaba, Senior Developer at Booz Allen Hamilton; with film producer Mignotae Kebede as the panel moderator.

“Walk away with tips and insight on self-care, becoming your best professional self, and ways to foster sisterhood,” the announcement says. The evening will begin with a panel discussion and move into a structured networking power hour.”

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If You Go:
Event to be held at the following time, date, and location:
Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM (EDT)
Marriott Marquis
901 Massachusetts Ave NW
George Washington University Room
Washington, D.C. 20001
Click here to RSVP

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Ethiopia: Retracing Haile Selassie’s State Visit to Canada 50 Years Ago

Published by Tadias Magazine November 14th, 2017 in Featured. Closed

Haile Selassie during a state visit to Canada in 1967. This week his grandson, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, travels to Canada to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historical journey. (Photograph: Library and Archives Canada)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

November 14th, 2017

New York (TADIAS) — Fifty years ago this year before Haile Selassie departed from Palm Springs, California to begin a state visit to Canada — becoming the first foreign head of state to make the opening call in celebration of Canada’s 100th year anniversary — he spoke to a large crowd at UCLA in Los Angeles applauding the Golden State for its world class college & university programs. “The Emperor’s praise of the California system of higher education brought his audience of 4,000 to its feet for four standing ovations,” writes Professor Theodore Vestal of Oklahoma State University in his book The Lion of Judah in the New World, noting that UCLA conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree upon the Ethiopian leader. “UCLA was an appropriate place to honor Haile Selassie. Almost 1000 Peace Corps volunteers had trained there for service in Ethiopia and other countries, and its law school had a cooperative program with Haile Selassie I University. Haile Selassie presented the UCLA library with antique illuminated manuscripts written in Ge´ez on parchment.”

Following his UCLA tour Haile Selassie was off to Canada arriving in the country via Vancouver, British Columbia on April 26th, 1967. “Haile Selassie was the first of some 60 heads of state to visit Canada’s centennial celebration,” Vestal notes, with the trip including stops in Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal.

May 2, 1967: Haile Selassie was the first dignitary to have been welcomed at the 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal, Canada. (Photo: Library and Archives Canada)

The one-week trip, however, was not without controversy. The sixties were a time when turmoil was brewing back home and the media was beginning to ask uncomfortable questions regarding political developments in Ethiopia. Vestal adds that “en route to Ontario [the Emperor] issued an announcement that all questions to his press conference had to be in writing and submitted in advance,” which did not at all impress the local journalists documenting the activities surrounding the state visit.

“The edict apparently was made in response to what the emperor thought had been rude treatment on the west coast by Canadian reporters who peppered him with embarrassing questions about what was happening in Ethiopia,” Vestal observes. “His pronouncement was anathema to the proud Canadian press. At the same time 14 Ethiopian students were demonstrating in front of the Ethiopian mission to the UN in New York City protesting the treatment of fellow students at Haile Selassie I University. The protestors were carrying signs saying “Down with Haile Selassie and his Clique.”..this was the first time Americans saw Ethiopians demonstrating against HIM. Times were changing in Ethiopia.”

Nonetheless the official trip itself was very successful in terms of advancing relations between Ethiopia and Canada. “In Ottawa, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson greeted the emperor and accompanied him to a guard of honor ceremony at Canada’s 100th birthday flame in front of the gothic parliament building,” Vestal says. “Haile Selassie received assurances from Pearson that Ethiopia would receive more foreign aid from Canada. The emperor announced that he soon would appoint an Ethiopian ambassador to Canada. In Addis Ababa, there was already a Canadian ambassador at work.”

Haile Selassie concluded his trip to Canada in Quebec City following a brief meeting with Prime Minister Pearson and short speech hailing “cultural diversity as enriching nations.”

Fifty years later the emperor’s grandson, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, will make a private, commemorative visit to Canada this week with planned events in Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton. According to the announcement “the purpose of the visit to Canada, from November 15th-19th, 2017, apart from invited engagements, is to commemorate the half-centenary of the State Visit to Canada of Emperor Haile Selassie I, in 1967. The 2017 private visit is designed to enhance fundamental Ethiopian-Canadian relations.”

Sponsored by the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA) and the Zahedi Center the visit by Prince Ermias is being coordinated with the knowledge of the current government of Ethiopia, “but not at Government expense or in an official capacity,” the announcement states. “No official discussions will take place during the visit, nor will the visit touch on political issues relating to either country.”

Prince Ermias took similar trips to Australia earlier this year and Jamaica the previous year in honor of the 50th anniversary of Haile Selassie’s state visit to those countries as well.

In Ottawa Prince Ermias, who is 57 years old, will be recognized by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), which will induct him as an Honorary Fellow.

In addition organizers say the tour in Canada will include at least two events that are open to the public. On Saturday, November 18th at 1pm, Prince Ermias will give a presentation on youth violence and hope at All Nations Full Gospel Church and on Sunday, November 19th, along with wife Princess Saba Kebede, Prince Ermias will attend mass at Menbere Berhan Kidest Mariam (St. Mary) Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Toronto.

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Is Fashion Made in Africa Sustainable? Look at Liya’s Ethiopia Brand Lemlem
Published by Tadias Magazine February 24th, 2017 in Featured. Closed

Brands like Lemlem have proven that scaling in some corners of the continent is possible. But is it sustainable? (Photo: Lemlem)
Business of Fashion

Can You Build a Fashion Business With a Manufacturing Base in Africa?

NEW YORK, United States — Liya Kebede made her first Lemlem garment in 2007 as a way to give back to Ethiopia, where the successful model was born and raised; a crucial stop before starring in Tom Ford campaigns and walking Miuccia Prada’s runway. She found a group in Addis Ababa, her hometown and the sub-Saharan African country’s largest city, to produce garments handwoven in the traditional technique, with the gauzy white cotton she wore growing up but had since been replaced by more Western-style (and often second-hand Western) garments.

“When I created Lemlem it was about trying to create a solution to a problem,” Kebede says, smiling from behind her desk in a sunny office located in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighbourhood. “The market of the weaving had gone down a lot and there were all these artisans that were looking for jobs and not finding any. What can I do to help move the needle a little bit along?”

Kebede modernised the silhouettes and instructed the artisans to weave in stripes of fluo-coloured yarn, which soon became Lemlem’s signature. In that first year, she manufactured 200 units and secured three points of sale. Collaborations with the likes of J.Crew — including a successful kid’s line — followed.

In 2017, production will exceed 25,000 units, with 300 points of distribution across six continents. She now employs 250 weavers and craftspeople in Ethiopia, with salaries increasing five-fold in the past decade. In recent years, Kebede has expanded parts of her production to Kenya — where she produces trend-driven fashion items — and sources materials in Rwanda, Madagascar and Mali.

The success of the line has compelled Kebede to change her namesake non-profit to Lemlem Foundation, which has expanded its mission of promoting maternal health in Africa to supporting the economic empowerment of African women. (The for-profit business donates 5 percent of all of its direct sales and proceeds from one-off collaborations to the foundation.)

While Kebede declined to disclose annual revenue figures, her 2017 goal for Lemlem — other than to expand the label’s fashion offerings, with plans to host its first-ever live presentation during the Resort 2018 season this spring — is to raise capital in order to scale further. And she plans to do so in Africa, where she has managed to achieve success.

And yet — expansive production, especially at the higher end of the market — still seems extraordinarily difficult to accomplish on the continent — if not impossible — with commonly known challenges such as unstable infrastructure, the bog of bureaucracy and a lack of information on how exactly to do it.

Read more »

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Kenenisa Bekele Makes Triumphant Return to 2016 Berlin Marathon
Published by Tadias Magazine September 25th, 2016 in Sports. Closed

Kenenisa Bekele crosses the line to win the 2016 Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 25th, 2016. (Getty)
IAAF

BEKELE GETS BACK TO HIS BRILLIANT BEST AT BERLIN MARATHON

Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele emerged victorious in a battle for the ages with Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang during the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. His winning time of 2:03:03 was an Ethiopian record and the second fastest time in history on a record-eligible course.

Bekele took command of the race entering the final kilometre, surging away from former world record holder Kipsang to take his first victory in Berlin, smashing Haile Gebrselassie’s Ethiopian record of 2:03:59 in the process.

In mild, calm conditions in the German capital, the pace was blistering from the outset. A 5km split of 14:20 was the kind of tempo to take them across the finishing line close to the magical barrier of the sub-two-hour marathon. Unsuprisingly the pace slowed, but at halfway with the pacemakers having made an early exit several kilometres previously, the lead group of eight was timed at 61:11, which still put them inside the world record schedule of Dennis Kimetto, who had run 2:02:57 in Berlin in 2014…

The 5000m and 10,000m world record holder steadily reeled in his target over the kilometres that followed, clocking off consistent splits and running alongside Kipsang at the 40km mark before unleashing his decisive move. Bekele changed gears impressively with just over a kilometre to run, a move Kipsang simply couldn’t match.

With nothing but the clock left to race, the 34-year-old Ethiopian powered up the home straight in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate, but fell just short in his bid to break the world record of 2:02:57.

Wilson Kipsang and Kenenisa Bekele during the 2016 Berlin Marathon (www.photorun.net) Copyright

“I wanted to run my personal best here,” said Bekele. “The time was fantastic. I’m so happy to have broken the Ethiopian record of Haile Gebrselassie, but I’m a little disappointed as well, since I didn’t break the world record. But I hope I can come back here again and get a second chance. Towards the end of the race I had a few problems with my hamstrings but otherwise it was okay.”

Read more »

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Related:
Ethiopia’s Bekele nears record as he wins Berlin marathon (AFP)
Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede the Berlin Marathon Queen Once Again

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Ethiopia: Feyisa Lilesa Responds to HD ‘I Was Not Coerced’
Published by Tadias Magazine September 24th, 2016 in Podcast. Closed

Olympian Feyisa Lilesa says Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn's claims he was coerced into protest are "false and insulting." Feyisa said: "Unlike the PM, I make my own decisions and speak for myself.” (FP Mag)
Foreign Policy Magazine

NEW YORK — Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told Foreign Policy on Tuesday that when Olympic marathoner Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms in an “X” at the Summer Games in Rio, he wasn’t protesting mistreatment of Ethiopia’s Oromo population at the hands of government forces, but had instead been coerced into the protest by an armed secessionist group.

But in an email to Foreign Policy on Friday, Feyisa called Hailemariam’s claims “baseless, completely false, and insulting.” He totally dismissed the idea that any outsiders — including naturalized American citizens loyal to the anti-government Oromo Liberation Front — convinced him to protest as he crossed the finish line in second place.

“OLF did not tell me to speak out or be a voice for my people,” Feyisa wrote. “My conscience made me do that. I spoke out because I wanted to expose the gross violation of human rights in Ethiopia.”

Feyisa went on to say that his friend, Kebede Feyisa, “was shot and burned to death along with other prisoners in the Qilinto prison” in central Ethiopia this month. According to him, that friend was arrested during a peaceful protest and later killed by security forces. It’s stories like his, Feyisa said, that inspired him to protest his government and then flee to the United States under the pretext that he would potentially risk his life by returning home.

Hailemariam told FP on Tuesday that he does not blame Feyisa for the protest because he strongly believes it was “orchestrated by someone else from outside,” and pointed multiple times to the OLF and its sympathizers in the United States. He said that Feyisa will be safe and greeted like a hero if he chooses to return home.

But Toleeraa Adabaa, a spokesman for the OLF based in Eritrea, told FP in an email that Hailemariam lied about the secessionist group’s involvement in Feyisa’s protest because he preferred “to point his finger to OLF rather than solving the problems which are causes for the protest all over Ethiopia.”

And Feyisa said in his email that it was “the Oromo people and friends of the Oromo, not the OLF, who facilitated my trip to the United States.”

“Hailemariam’s government has jailed and killed far too many people under the pretext of supporting the OLF,” he said.

“I was not surprised by his comments because individuals who are always controlled by others tend to assume everyone is that way as well,” he said. “Unlike the prime minister, I make my own decisions and speak for myself.”

Read the full artcile at Foreign Policy Magazine »
—
Related:
Here is Why White House Must Continue to Speak Out on Ethiopia Crisis
U.S. Congressman Chris Smith Calls Out Ethiopia Rights Abuses
Olympic Hero Feyisa Lilesa Calls on US to Push for Human Rights in Ethiopia
Joint letter to UN Human Rights Council on Ethiopia
US Ambassador to UN on ‘Excessive Use of Force’ Against Ethiopia Protesters

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Fendika to Launch 2016 U.S. Tour in Brooklyn Hosted by Bunna Cafe
Published by Tadias Magazine August 22nd, 2016 in Events and Featured. Closed

The Fendika band will launch its 2016 U.S. tour in Brooklyn on September 3rd, 2016. (Courtesy image)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Wednesday, August 24th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — At NYC’s Bunna Cafe in Brooklyn everything is eshi, so join them as they welcome Ethiopia’s internationally renowned traditional dance group, Fendika, all the way from Addis Ababa for a live show at LightSpace Studios on September 3rd.

The Fendika group is best known for keeping alive Ethiopia’s ancient Azmari tradition of “musical storytelling that uses improvisation, dance, humor to create a one-of-a-kind collective experience,” Bunna Cafe announced. “Nobody does it better than Fendika.”

Fendika takes its name from its band leader Melaku Belay’s “famous decades-old club in Addis Ababa — a club that has kept its grasp on the traditional art and dance style, in the face of Addis’ own version of gentrification, and a changing, modernizing look and feel in Fendika’s neighborhood.”

Melaku Belay, leader of the Fendika traditional dance group. (Courtesy photo)

(Photo credit: Asmelash Tesfay)

Fendika’s Brooklyn show will open with a performance by diaspora Ethio-Jazz Band Arki Sound led by Samson Kebede.

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If You Go:
FENDIKA returns to NYC
Presented By: Bunna Cafe
Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 9:00 PM
LightSpace Studios
1115 Flushing Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Door: $20
Click here for more info and to buy tickets

Related:
Mulatu Astatke to Perform at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

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All Eyes on Brazil as 2016 Olympics Starts
Published by Tadias Magazine August 6th, 2016 in Featured and Sports. Closed

Photo: Genzebe Dibaba is a member of Ethiopia's women's track and field team at the 2016 Rio Olympics . (IAAF.org)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, August 6th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — From now until August 21st all eyes are focused on Brazil as the 2016 Olympic Games officially got underway there on Friday evening with a colorful ceremony broadcasted around the world from the seaside city of Rio De Janeiro.

According to the International Olympic Committee at least 206 countries are represented by more than 11,000 athletes at the 2016 Rio Games this summer, which is being held in South America for the first time.

“In total, there will be 306 events over the course of 19 days between the opening and closing ceremonies,” highlights The Root, while naming a member of Ethiopia’s team, Genzebe Dibaba — the current world record holder in both the indoor and outdoor 1500 meters race — among 40 black athletes worldwide to watch for at the 2016 competition.

“The number of black athletes from around the globe in the Summer Olympics always dwarfs the number in the Winter Olympics (something about cold weather, snow and ice?), and this year is no exception. When national anthems are played and the winners step onto the medal stand, here are some folks you might see.”

Photo: Genzebe Dibaba in 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. (Wikimedia)

Genzebe, who additionally holds the world indoor record in the 3000 meters category will “narrow her focus and compete over 1500m, the event at which she holds the world record at 3:50.07,” IAAF reported last month. IAAF added that her elder sister Tirunesh Dibaba — three-time Olympic gold medalist and the reigning Olympic 10,000m champion — is also “slated to compete solely over that distance in Rio, though she is also listed as a reserve for the 5,000m.” Genzebe’s family members who are also Olympians include her silver medalist sister Ejegayehu Dibaba, as well as her cousin Derartu Tulu who was the first female Ethiopian gold medalist.

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Related:
Rio Throws A Party For The World, Kicking Off The 2016 Olympics (NPR)
40 Black Athletes to Watch at the Rio Olympics (The Root)
Ethiopia Announces Team for Rio 2016

ETHIOPIAN TEAM FOR RIO (INCLUDING RESERVES)
MEN
800m: Mohammed Aman
5000m: Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel, Hagos Gebrhiwet, (Abadi Hadis)
10,000m: Yigrem Demelash, Abadi Hadis, Tamirat Tola, (Ibrahim Jeilan)
Marathon: Tesfaye Abera, Lemi Berhanu, Feyisa Lelisa, (Lelisa Desisa)
3000m steeplechase: Hailemariyam Amare, Chala Beyo, Tafese Seboka, (Birhan Getahun)

WOMEN
800m: Habitam Alemu, Tigist Assefa, Gudaf Tsegay
1500m: Genzebe Dibaba, Besu Sado, Dawit Seyaum, (Gudaf Tsegay)
5000m: Almaz Ayana, Senbere Teferi, Ababel Yeshaneh, (Tirunesh Dibaba)
10,000m: Almaz Ayana, Gelete Burka, Tirunesh Dibaba, (Netsanet Gudeta)
Marathon: Mare Dibaba, Tirfi Tsegaye, Tigist Tufa, (Aberu Kebede)
3000m steeplechase: Sofia Assefa, Hiwot Ayalew, Etenesh Diro, (Weynshet Ansa)
20km race walk: Yehualeye Beletew, Askale Tiksa

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Ethiopia Announces Team for Rio 2016
Published by Tadias Magazine July 16th, 2016 in Sports. Closed

Almaz Ayana who is the second fastest woman in 5000 metres, second only to Tirunesh Dibaba - who holds the world record in 5000m - is a leading member of the Ethiopian team for 2016 Olympic Games. (Getty)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, July 16th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopia’s long-distance team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which is set to kick-off in Brazil next month, includes 24-year-old Almaz Ayana who is aiming to score a double victory in the 5000m and 10000m following in the footsteps of Tirunesh Dibaba’s historic win in both fields at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

“Ayana tops the world lists at both distances this year, having run 14:12.59 for 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome and 30:07.00 for 10,000m in Hengelo last month,” according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

“Reigning Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba is slated to compete solely over that distance in Rio, though is also listed as a reserve for the 5,000m,” IAAF reports. “The 30-year-old will be seeking her fourth Olympic gold medal in Rio, though has competed sparingly so far this year. In her only outing over 5000m, Dibaba clocked 14:41.73 at a small meeting in Kortrijk, Belgium last weekend, and in her sole 10,000m race she finished third in the Ethiopian trial race in Hengelo in 30:28.53.”

IAAF adds: “Genzebe Dibaba will narrow her focus and compete over 1500m, the event at which she holds the world record at 3:50.07. The reigning world champion clocked 3:59.83 in her sole outing at that distance in Barcelona last weekend. Dejen Gebremeskel, the silver medallist over 5000m at the London 2012 Olympic Games, will bid to go one better over the same distance in Rio and will be joined by Muktar Edris and Hagos Gebrhiwet. Another looking to go one better in Rio will be Sofia Assefa, the 3000m steeplechase silver medallist at the 2012 Games, though the 28-year-old has a best of just 9:18.16 this year. Former world champion Mohammed Aman is the sole Ethiopian entrant in the men’s 800m and will be looking to win his first Olympic medal, having finished sixth in the 800m final four years ago.”

Read more at IAAF.org »

ETHIOPIAN TEAM FOR RIO (INCLUDING RESERVES)
MEN
800m: Mohammed Aman
5000m: Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel, Hagos Gebrhiwet, (Abadi Hadis)
10,000m: Yigrem Demelash, Abadi Hadis, Tamirat Tola, (Ibrahim Jeilan)
Marathon: Tesfaye Abera, Lemi Berhanu, Feyisa Lelisa, (Lelisa Desisa)
3000m steeplechase: Hailemariyam Amare, Chala Beyo, Tafese Seboka, (Birhan Getahun)

WOMEN
800m: Habitam Alemu, Tigist Assefa, Gudaf Tsegay
1500m: Genzebe Dibaba, Besu Sado, Dawit Seyaum, (Gudaf Tsegay)
5000m: Almaz Ayana, Senbere Teferi, Ababel Yeshaneh, (Tirunesh Dibaba)
10,000m: Almaz Ayana, Gelete Burka, Tirunesh Dibaba, (Netsanet Gudeta)
Marathon: Mare Dibaba, Tirfi Tsegaye, Tigist Tufa, (Aberu Kebede)
3000m steeplechase: Sofia Assefa, Hiwot Ayalew, Etenesh Diro, (Weynshet Ansa)
20km race walk: Yehualeye Beletew, Askale Tiksa

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Related:
Ethiopia: Kenenisa Bekele Among Greatest Olympic Athletes of all Time (TADIAS)
Rio 2016 Olympic Games Athletics Statistics Handbook (IAAF)

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Meet the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows from Ethiopia
Published by Tadias Magazine June 21st, 2016 in Featured and Profiles. Closed

Some of the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows from Ethiopia. (Courtesy: Mandela Washington Fellowship)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Tuesday, June 21st, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — This year’s class of Mandela Washington Fellows from Ethiopia includes a diverse group of 50 young professionals between the ages of 25 and 35 hailing from various regions of Ethiopia. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, filmmakers, human rights activists (including Zone9 blogger Zelalem Kibret), social workers, Ethiopian sign language & deaf culture experts, non-profit directors, public health employees, entrepreneurs, engineers, software developers, and human resource managers are among some of the sectors represented by the new Fellows.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (YALI), which is conducted annually as a merit-based open competition by U.S. Embassies across the African continent, was launched by President Obama in 2014. “Each Mandela Washington Fellow takes part in a six-week academic and leadership Institute at a U.S. university or college in one of three tracks: Business and Entrepreneurship, Civic Leadership, or Public Management,” states the announcement from YALI. “The Fellows, who are between the ages of 25 and 35, have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities, and countries. Fifty percent of Fellows were women; and for 76 percent of Fellows, it was their first experience spending substantial time in the United States.”

In addition, Fellows will receive the opportunity to meet and interact with President Obama as well as other U.S. leaders during a town hall session. Furthermore, the announcement notes that “100 selected Fellows will remain in the United States to participate in a six-week professional development experience with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies, and governmental agencies that relate to their professional interests and goals.”

Below are the names and biographies of the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows from Ethiopia.

Aklile Solomon Abate

Aklile Solomon Abate has been working as a women’s rights activist for more than five years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Law from Addis Ababa University. Aklile is a co-founder of a youth-led initiative called The Yellow Movement AAU, which works on women’s rights advocacy and empowerment. She is responsible for managing campaigns, coordinating events, handling partnerships, and raising awareness about gender-based violence. Aklile also volunteers at a public elementary school by tutoring young children and creates awareness on gender inequality in her community. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Aklile plans on continuing her work on women’s rights by focusing on young children in order to reshape the future generation.

Gebeyehu Begashaw

Gebeyehu Begashaw has been working as a lecturer at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, for seven years. His work focuses on teaching graduate and undergraduate students, conducting research projects, and rendering community services. He also currently serves as research officer at the College of Social Sciences, where he oversees research projects undertaken by the faculty and students. His research interests center on different public health issues such as mental health, maternal health, health economics, and health systems. He advocates protecting the human rights of the mentally ill, which includes the right to appropriate mental health care, and the right to education and employment. Gebeyehu has a master’s degree in Social Psychology from Addis Ababa University and in Organizational Behavior from Paris V Descartes University. After the Fellowship, Gebeyehu plans to continue his work in the public health arena with a focus on improving the mental health care system through evidence-based decisions.

Molalign Belay

Molalign Belay has approximately eight years of experience working for an academic institution in Ethiopia. Born and raised in a rural village of Ethiopia, he used to be engaged in farming activities and local tour guiding. Currently, Molalign is a lecturer of Sociology. As director of the Alumni Relation and Partnership Office of University of Gondar, he initiates communications and strategic team work, organizes events and alumni workshops, seeks opportunities and networks for alumni/students, and undertakes alumni and employers surveys, to name a few. Molalign has an MA in Sociology (Health and Well-being) from Addis Ababa University. He works for local organizations as a volunteer trainer, project designer and trustee. He is a Rotarian, an educator and a social analyst on the local FM radio program. Upon the completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Molalign plans to create a scholars community through establishing community-based youth centers to engage and empower students.

Alemseged Woretaw

Alemseged Woretaw has almost 12 years experience as an educator in the health professions, contributing greatly towards a competent health workforce development. Currently, he is a technical advisor for the National Board of Examinations at the Ministry of Health. He also works closely with universities to improve student assessment and learning by synchronizing licensure exam preparation with faculty development efforts. Alemseged is a medical doctor with a master’s degree in Medical Biochemistry, and is passionate about educating and training future health professionals. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Alemseged plans to continue his work with the exam board, impacting the teaching-learning process, especially student assessment. He will also help to fill the gap in academic leadership skills in medical schools, and plans to design high-impact academic leadership training, promoting mentorship and partnership among academic leaders.

Girum Assefa Akriso

Girum Assefa Akriso realized very early that he wanted to become a storyteller. Everyday life dragged him far from his boyhood dream, and he pursued studies in computer and information systems to earn his BSc. Having found himself drifting from his life’s purpose, three years ago he decided that enough was enough! Enena Bete, a film written by Girum was produced and then selected as the opening film in the 9th Ethiopian International film Festival. Girum regrouped, starting Rusty Town Films with three talented young men, and started writing serial radio dramas on migration, stag plays on religion and culture, and several documentaries on community services. They also work on commercials and music videos. Girum’s skill set is best described as a mixture of creativity, storytelling, education, consulting, and entrepreneurship.

Abraham Mekonnen Alemu

Abraham Mekonnen Alemu has over six years experience in human capital management in different sectors. Currently, Abraham is a human resources manager responsible for HR activities and operations such as planning, acquisition, talent development, performance management, and staff compensation. In doing so, he ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of the HR and organizational systems. He also volunteers in his local community’s fundraising activities to build school facilities, and teaches management at different colleges. Abraham holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with distinction, and an International Management award with distinction from The Institute of Leadership and Management, London. He is currently doing a master’s program in Human Resources and Organizational Development. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Abraham plans to continue creating job opportunities for the youth, people with disabilities, and women by filling the gap between industry needs and university curricula.

Tigist Getachew

Tigist Getachew has seven years experience in business strategy and related fields. In parallel with the UN job where she worked for four years, she also provided pro bono services to several local startups on financing, strategic planning, and business plans, while also managing the first fast-moving consumer goods industry analysis for Ethiopia for Euromonitor International. In 2013 she returned full time to the business world to co-found and lead East Africa Gate (EAGate), a boutique foreign investment and business advisory firm. She also works in youth entrepreneurship by mentoring Ethiopian entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to life. She is also a mentor for Ethiopian applicants to the African Entrepreneurship Award – an initiative powered by BMCE Bank of Africa. Tigist holds a BA in Economics from the University of Toulouse, France, and a Master’s in International Management from IAE Toulouse, Graduate School of Management with business strategy as her major.

Zemdena Abebe

A pan-Africanist, Zemdena Abebe is a visionary Political Science and International Relations graduate, activist, and budding writer engaged in women rights in particular and social justice in general. Zemdena volunteers for the African Union at the Academy of African Languages, Mali, as a marketing and research assistant. She consulted for UNICEF Ethiopia for six years in their ‘Speak Africa’ initiative (youth advocacy), as well as in environmental education, hygiene, and sanitation. She chaired the Addis Ababa Girls’ Forum, which facilitates discussion on issues regarding girls’ vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and lays the foundation for legislative intervention against sexual abuse. Zemdena was President of Addis Ababa Students’ Union, and was among 22 young African women writers selected for ’Writing for Social Change’, organized by AWDF and FEMRITE, Uganda. After completing the Fellowship, she will continue writing about social justice and aims to influence society’s behavior towards women by using multimedia platforms and research.

Addis Abera

Addis Abera has a decade-long experience in different public enterprises operating in areas of agro-industry, maritime and logistics services, commodity exchanges, and agricultural transformation. Addis’ professional experiences and skills primarily include market research, product development, strategic planning, and project management. Currently, he is a project officer of the Rural Financial Services Program at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), which focuses on the strategic issues of strengthening rural financial institutions and ensuring liquidity in the rural sector. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Addis will return to the ATA and be part of the national endeavors of agricultural transformation in his country, Ethiopia. Addis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Haramaya University.

Kalkidan Ayele

Kalkidan Ayele has over three years experience in disabled and deaf women’s empowerment and HIV/AIDS prevention. Currently, Kalkidan is a manager for the Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf where she focuses on promoting sign language and advocates for a better life for the deaf in Ethiopia. She manages different projects and monitors the overall work of the association. Kalkidan holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from Addis Ababa University, where she focuses on gender and disability issues and their impact on the employment opportunities of deaf women and youth. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Kalkidan plans to continue her work with the association by focusing on the challenges of the deaf in Ethiopian society. She aims to find solutions through different projects, advocacy works and networking with similar organizations for the better life of the deaf in Ethiopia.

Zelalem Kibret

Zelalem Kibret has over six years of experience in various legal and communal affairs. Currently, Zelalem is trying to build his own virtual law office to help the poor. Moreover, Zelalem is an activist and a blogger who regularly campaigns and writes on the issues of constitutionalism and good governance. He volunteers on the university teaching Law and organizing debates, and has established a dialogue platform. Zelalem holds a master’s degree in Public International Law from Addis Ababa University, with a focus on individual responsibility in International Law. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Zelalem plans to establish a nationwide legal office in Ethiopia that helps peoples who can’t afford to pay for legal services.

Tinbit Daniel

Tinbit Daniel is a law graduate, dedicated to contributing to the improvement of the lives of children, especially young girls. She is now the Girls Empowerment programs director, leading a new innovative project to launch the new African animation series called Tibeb Girls. This series is intended to change the way girls are seen by society and by themselves. Tinbit is also wrapping up another project on the education of girls. She is challenging herself with the hope to work on much more progressive programs on the upliftment of females. She received the Youth Champion award by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Public Health Institute. She was selected as one of 18 youth champions. This award recognized Tinbit for being a leader and doing innovative and excellent work on the empowerment of girls, such as education and sexual and reproductive health rights.

Abrhame Butta

Abrhame Butta has more than nine years of experience working in academics and entrepreneurship. He focuses on agripreneurship, rural innovation, and smallholder livelihoods. Currently, Abrhame owns and manages his own company, Green Agro Mechanization, which offers services including mechanization, crop chemical and pesticide supplies, a farm credit service, and financial-literacy training. It aims to provide a one-stop farming solution and introduce a farm credit service in which poor farmers pay 40% in cash, with 60% paid without interest after the harvest. Abrhame received an MBA from Addis Ababa University and engaged in various consultancy, community, and entrepreneurship programs. Upon his return from the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he will expand on the farm service center project, with a focus on harmonizing all company services and reaching out to more young and women smallholders.

Linda Lapiso

Linda Lapiso is an electrical engineer and construction consultant with over eight years of work experience in the sector. Currently, Linda is a freelance consultant, who specializes in designing electrical building services for residential, commercial, and industrial developments. She also volunteers in community-development programs and speaks against the sidelining of women in society. Linda has received her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Addis Ababa University Institute of Technology. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she hopes to implement lessons learned from the program in her day-to-day consulting services and share newly acquired business skill in order to explore opportunities and inspire growth in her community.

Mehret Amsalu

Mehret Amsalu has over five years experience leading multiple maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) projects. Currently, Mehret is a PhD candidate in Public Health and Water at Addis Ababa University, where she is researching feasible solutions to water, sanitation and hygiene-related public health challenges among Ethiopian mothers and children. Mehret collaborates with international volunteers to end preventable maternal and child death in Ethiopia. She is focused on initiating, designing and implementing cost-effective MNCH units in her role as a project manager for Voluntary-Service-Overseas. She is also a volunteer mentor in a girls’ public school. Mehret holds a master’s degree in Public Health from University of Gondar, where she focused on public health challenges and their impact on development. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Mehret plans to continue her work in public health with an emphasis on access to quality health services for pregnant women, mothers, and children.

Enque Deresse Endeshaw

Enque Deresse Endeshaw has worked as medical doctor for over five years in different capacities, mostly in mental health. Enque did her specialization in psychiatry at Addis Ababa University. Currently, she is working at Lebeza Psychiatry Consultation PLC, where her main focus will be organizing training and treatment for Ethiopian migrant workers living in the Middle East and refugees. Enque has worked as the clinical head at a substance rehabilitation center, which was the first of its kind in Ethiopia. In her tenure as a clinical head, she trained and supervised other staff members. She was involved in the management aspect of the center, in addition to carrying out clinical work. So as to give back to society, she was involved in an outreach program that provided free mental health care to patients. Enque plans to apply and share the experiences she has acquired with both governmental and non-governmental institutions.

Lulayn Awgichew

Lulayn Awgichew is an entrepreneur who co-founded an agribusiness company. She is a deputy general manager of Bislet Agritech PLC, where she carries out the duties of setting strategies, marketing, and the management of company activities. She built on her extensive experience in development work to become an entrepreneur. Currently, she volunteers for several nonprofit organizations to support women and children and help them have better lives. She has vast experience in and passion for advocacy and child protection. Upon returning from the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Lulayn plans to continue her work to achieve her company goal of making food affordable to everyone in Ethiopia.

Minase Tamrat

Minase Tamrat has over 12 years of experience in software development, technologies, finance and sustainable development. Currently Minase is a general manager of a software development firm which he founded, where he also works as a systems architect and project manager. He has two startups underway which focus on an open financial framework and on integrated sustainable agriculture. Minase is a computer science graduate from HiLCoE School of Computer Science and Technologies. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Minase plans to continue to create a seamless, transparent, integrated and stakeholder-inclusive financial system framework for his country, Ethiopia.

Fanaye Feleke

Fanaye Feleke has 10 years of experience in law and development with a focus on gender. Currently, Fanaye is partnerships manager for Girl Effect Ethiopia, which works to positively reframe the image of Ethiopian girls. She focuses on identifying, initiating, building, and managing partnerships. She is also a partner in Setaweet, a feminist establishment which aims to bring about a positive change in the social positioning of women. Setaweet activism takes the form of public forums, women-only study groups, media engagement, and ‘Arif Wond’, an exciting program working with men to challenge patriarchy. Setaweet also delivers high-quality, tailor-made training and research. Fanaye holds a master’s degree in Law in Development from the University of Warwick, where she focused on gender and development. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Fanaye intends to focus full time on her Setaweet work in feminist activism.

Mekbib Ayalew

Mekbib Ayalew is a social work and development-management professional. He has worked for the past three years in various NGOs, focused particularly on human subject protection and social development. Currently, he is working in the Africa Union Commission as a culture officer focused on assisting and managing the Campaign for African Cultural Renaissance and promoting the spirit of pan-Africanism and shared values on the continent. He also volunteers at the Addis Ababa Correctional and Rehabilitation Center of Juvenile Offenders (Remand Home), where he is responsible for coordinating social reintegration and rehabilitation for juvenile delinquents. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Mekbib plans to engage in increasing youth involvement in the promotion and protection of African world heritage, both nationally and within the African Union system.

Fregenet Zekiewos Gichamo

Fregenet Zekiewos Gichamo has over two years experience in a government university working mainly as a dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. As such, he is the chief executive officer directing and coordinating activities of the department and other units of the faculty. In addition, Fregenet works on youth development in her community by organizing a program called ‘Generation Empowerment Program’. She is also a volunteer in blood-donation campaigns in her local community and schools. Fregenet is a medical doctor working as a general practitioner in a hospital. She wants to study obstetrics and gynecology in order to strength her contribution against the harmful traditional practice of female genital mutilation. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Fregenet plans to continue her work on faculty development and against traditional harmful practices.

Yitemgeta Fantu Golla

Yitemgeta Fantu Golla has over four years experience in the energy sector, mostly in project design and management. Having graduated with his master’s degree in Energy Engineering from the Engineering School in France, he has been exposed to the production, optimal distribution and rational use of conventional and renewable energy in buildings, civil engineering, transportation, manufacturing, and the transformation industries. With his specialization in electrical energy, he is knowledgeable in the monitoring and control of electrical energy, as well as the design of projects that include generation, distribution, and renewable energy. In his most recent roles, he has obtained the title of procurement head and energy adviser at Herfazy Consult. He also leads the design and development of innovative acoustic panels and local solar food dryers. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Yitemgeta plans to strengthen his involvement in the energy sector in Ethiopia and East Africa.

Rigbe Hagos

Rigbe Hagos has over five years experience working on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. She has worked as a volunteer legal-aid counselor for women seeking free legal aid services. Rigbe is currently involved in her own private practice carrying out social consultancy for vulnerable groups. She focuses on awareness raising and disability mainstreaming training, counseling on self-esteem development, technical assistance on accessibility, and mainstreaming disability, and conducts research on related issues. She also works as a manager for a private limited company. Furthermore, Rigbe serves a board member and volunteer for the Association for Women with Disabilities Living with HIV, and takes part in other community-service projects. Rigbe holds a master’s degree in Social Work and an LLB. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she plans to continue her work towards promoting the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Bethlehem Haileselassie

Bethlehem Haileselassie has four years experience coordinating a street-child rehabilitation project in her home city, Addis Ababa. Currently, she works as a freelance writer but she also volunteers in two organizations that work on child care and education. In addition, she is in the process of establishing a social enterprise that produces leather handicrafts to create jobs for impoverished single mothers. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Bethlehem plans to launch the social enterprise and establish its social wing, which will initially comprise a community day care and after-school program for children of the single mothers who are trained and hired by the business. Eventually, the project will reach out to other children in the community who live in difficult circumstances.

Masresha Hirabo

Masresha has over six years experience in software development, especially in the area of machine learning. Currently, she works as a deputy general manager for eNet ICT Solutions, a software company that she co-founded. As deputy general manager, her responsibilities include administering the everyday operations of the organization, preparing schedules, and providing both managerial and technical support to all projects. In addition, she oversees the progress of projects and coordinates with managers, clients, and supervisors to evaluate approvals. She also works as a part-time research programmer, where she is responsible for the research and development of advanced systems. Masresha holds an MSc in Computer Science from University of Kerala, India, where she focused on Machine Learning and Image Processing. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Masresha plans to lead and expand the company to work on the development of more advanced systems that can solve daily problems.

Maryamawit Kassa

Maryamawit Kassa has four years of experience in various fields especially law, human rights, leadership, and peacebuilding. Currently, Maryamawit works with the Institute for Peace and Security Studies in relation to preparation for the 5th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa. Maryamawit works at the Center for African Leadership Studies, as a part-time research coordinator focusing on legal research and organizational assessment for leadership training. She also did volunteer work with the African Union Youth Volunteer Program and is now a member of Global Shapers, Addis Ababa hub, where she dedicates her spare time to shaping and effecting change in the community. Maryamawit holds a master’s degree in Peace and Security Studies from Addis Ababa University, which focused on African solutions for African problems. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Maryamawit plans to focus on homegrown leadership as a means for conflict prevention.

Muluken Nega

Muluken Nega is the founder and managing partner of Zana Landscape Design and Contractor PLC. Before starting Zana he worked with local and international businesses in the area of market research, business management, and entrepreneurship. This helped him develop the entrepreneurial and leadership skills necessary to start Zana. In addition to that, he has been taking online landscaping classes since 2009 from experts on landscape design, landscape planning, and planting. More than eight years of work with nonprofits that focus on youth development in Ethiopia has given him the awareness and passion to work in youth empowerment, mentoring, and social entrepreneurship. He volunteers in his community street-boys’ programs, and leads an informal network that inspires ideas, facilitates conversation, and stimulates positive action for changemakers in the community. Upon completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Muluken wants to focus on growing Zana into a leading landscape and social business in Ethiopia and Africa.

Selam Kebede

Selam Kebede graduated from Aalto University, Finland, with a master’s degree in Communications Ecosystem. Originally from Ethiopia, she also holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. During her college days, she was actively involved in organizing events related to startups, technology, and entrepreneurship, including the Slush event. She passionately believes in the potential of technology to change lives in emerging countries. She loves the ‘Africa-rising’ narrative and holds a black belt in World Taekwondo from Kukkiwon. She is currently working as a senior associate for Africa at Seedstars, and has traveled to more than 20 countries finding the best tech-based startups and bringing them to the world stage. When she isn’t working, she spends her time researching Ethiopian history and contemplating quantum physics.

Admasu Lokaley

Admasu Lokaley is a young peace practitioner who has worked for over eight years in the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Admasu currently works as field facilitator for CEWARN/IGAD, with a work station in Nyangatom district. His work focuses on collecting and discussing information regarding the outburst and elevation of violent conflict among pastoralists. By analyzing and processing the gathered data, he comes up with alternative routes of local response. Admasu is the co-founder of a community-based organization called Atowoykisi-Ekisil Pastoralists’ Development Association (AEPDA), where he served as program coordinator and executive director. Admasu earned his MA in Peace and Security Studies from Addis Ababa University of Ethiopia, where he focused on the complex inter-ethnic interactions along a disputed piece of land called the Ilemi Triangle. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Admasu is inspired to continue his work on peacebuilding and advocacy for pastoralists’ rights to land.

Mesay Barekew

Mesay Barekew has been a lecturer at Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) for the last 10 years and teaches business management courses. He is a founding member of ASTU’s entrepreneurship development center. Mesay has been involved in volunteering activities in his local community where he helps children in need to get access to education and required materials. Mesay holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Addis Ababa University, focusing on business development strategies. After completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Mesay plans to continue with his business development activities. He will work on establishing an incubation center for business startups in ASTU. He also plans to establish his own primary school with a special focus on creativity, science, and math. At his school, he intends to support children in need through a fee waiver and, depending on their situation, monthly subsistence allowances to support their living expenses.

Amanuel Lomencho

Amanuel Lomencho has over four years experience in community development and medical education apart from his work as a physician. He is the founder and general manager of Emerald Medical, a firm engaged in medical education, public education and promoting healthy and environmentally friendly cities through bike diplomacy. He volunteers in Educate Underprivileged Students of Ethiopia, a non-profit organization supporting education for Ethiopian students. Amanuel holds a doctorate degree in Medicine from University of Gondar. Following the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he plans to continue his work in promoting healthy and eco-friendly cities, linking cities with a shared culture of biking, upgrading the quality of medical education through software based medical education, and serving as a bridge between Ethiopian medical schools and their counterparts overseas.

Mizan Welderufael

Mizan Welderufael has over eight years of experience in the electrical power sector. She currently serves as automated meter-reading lead at the Ethiopian Electric Utility, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program management office, where she manages the installation of automated energy meters on the outgoing feeders of substations. Prior to her ERP office, she worked in the Energy Management department as energy portfolio and logistics manager. She also worked for about four years as a system operation engineer at the National Load Dispatch Center of Ethiopia. Mizan received her degree in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa University, and is currently doing the thesis for her post-grad in Electrical Power Engineering. Upon completion of the Washington Fellowship, she plans to open her own business that fills the gaps related to power quality and reliability, energy efficiency, energy audit, and micro-grids that can improve access to electricity in Ethiopia.

Anteneh Asefa

Anteneh Asefa has more than nine years experience in the field of public health. Anteneh was a fellow of the Maternal Health Young Champion fellowship of the Maternal Health Task Force at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he mainly focused on promoting respectful childbirth services in Ethiopia. Anteneh has also been part of the Emerging Voices for Global Health Fellowship, in addition to being featured in New Voices in Global Health during the World Health Summit, 2013. Anteneh is currently an assistant professor at Hawassa University, Ethiopia, where he provides academic service, research, and technical support to various organisations. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he strongly aspires to be one among the committed young leaders who will be shaping the future of African health systems by responding to the health needs of communities, especially women’s and children’s health.

Milha Desta Mohammed

Milha Desta Mohammed was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has worked in the development policy field for over eight years, particularly in the climate change, water security, and agriculture sectors. She has worked at local level with nonprofit organizations and at regional level in intergovernmental organizations, namely the African Union Commission and the United Nations. Milha graduated from Addis Ababa University with a bachelor’s degree in Earth Sciences, and from the University of East Anglia with a master’s degree in Climate Change and International Development, focusing on water security. She currently serves as chair of the board for a youth environmental rehabilitation organization, where she promotes sustainable transportation and river rehabilitation. Upon her return from the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she will continue to advocate for a greener urban environment by promoting cycling in the city and river rehabilitation through sustainable waste management.

Rania Ibrahim

Rania Ibrahim, the service development director for Telemed Medical Services, is responsible for planning, supervising, organizing, and managing product development activities. At Telemed, a startup company that aims to increase access to health care for Ethiopians, she honed her skills of forging creative working partnerships with different organizations and individuals. She was a co-developer of the first TB/HIV patient-tracking system that helps patients adhere to their medication, and she is also the strategic and networking advisor for St Paul’s Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in the country. Rania also volunteers with Berhan Yehun, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve living conditions for impoverished children. As a Mandela Washington Fellow, she intends to further develop her skills in business development, aiming to expand access to medical technology and to learn ways to fully develop different possibilities of public-private partnerships to improve the health care system in her country.

Nurhassen Mensur Mudesir

Nurhassen Mensur Mudesir has over seven years experience in business development and community organizing. He is an electrical engineer by training, an entrepreneur and business development professional by practice. Nurhassen is a founding member and managing partner of the first online payment platform company in Ethiopia: www.yenepay.com. He coaches and consults startup and ongoing businesses under the Entrepreneurship Development Center, Ethiopia. He is a certified project management professional and business development adviser as well as a certified trainer and technical adviser for businesses and community organizations. Nurhassen provides professional and life skills training to business professionals and business owners. As a volunteer, he is passionately engaged in the designing and implementation of development programs that empower women and youth. Upon his return, he wishes to establish renowned international business leadership training, and a consultancy center and a venture capital firm that will enhance entrepreneurship and innovative leadership across multiple sectors.

Selamawit Wondimu

Selamawit Wondimu has over six years of experience in urban planning. Currently, Selamawit is a senior analyst at the Ethiopian Industrial Park Development Corporation, which is driving the country’s large-scale industrialization initiative. She works closely on a daily basis with her counterparts on the development of guidelines and standards for industrial-park developments, supporting capacity building, and supporting the operations of the parks. She owns and runs a maker space in Addis, where she provides cutting and engraving services for young entrepreneurs and makers. Selamawit holds a Master of Science degree in Human Settlements from the University of Leuven, Belgium, where she focused on spatial planning and networked governance and how it can enhance coordination in regional and urban development in Ethiopia. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Selamawit plans to continue to expand her business while supporting the country’s industrialization and studying its impact on Ethiopian cities.

Loza Ruga

A graduate of Haramaya University College of Law, Loza Ruga has proven herself to be a person gifted with passion and multiple talents. In her early career, she has had an outstanding record of engagement in various sectors, including advocating for women’s empowerment, and volunteering in organizations working for the well-being of disadvantaged and disabled communities in sub-Saharan Africa. She was part of a team at African Union Headquarters that conducted extensive research on accessibility assessment for the inclusion of people with disabilities. Currently, Loza is launching the Ethiopian Association of Girls Guides and Girls Scouts, the first of its kind in Ethiopia. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she plans to establish an inclusive community-based platform aimed at enabling and capacitating vulnerable segments in Addis Ababa and then in the whole of East Africa.

Liyuwork A Shiferaw

Liyuwork A Shiferaw has over seven years of work experience. Currently, she is the director of the Maritime Administration Directorate, where she oversees the registration of ships and seafarers; the training, assessment, and certification of seafarers; the follow-up of inland water transportation; and the implementation of international maritime conventions at the Ethiopian Maritime Authority. She also headed the Policy and Legal Department, where she participated in the preparation of national policy, strategy, and legislation. Liyuwork received an LLM degree in International Maritime Law from IMLI, Malta, and an LLB degree from Addis Ababa University. Upon completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she plans to continue empowering women in the maritime sector and using best practices to strengthen the maritime sector in Ethiopia.

Alem Gebru

Alem Gebru has over eight years of experience in diverse fields within the community-development sector, specifically on changing attitudes on disability issues. At present, Alem is an executive director in Women with Disabilities for Change, where she focuses on capacity building and creating awareness about women and children with disabilities in the community. She also volunteers in similar organizations by offering life-skills training and empowering women with disabilities. Alem holds a master’s degree in Special Needs Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Addis Ababa, where she focused on disability inequality and gender disparity within the education sector and their impact on development in Ethiopia. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Alem plans to carry on her work in disability equality with a focus on encouraging the rights of and equal opportunities for the disabled.

Asmeret Tesfahunegn

Asmeret is an experienced computer programmer, and a pragmatic and visionary entrepreneur with passion for problem solving and technology revolution in Africa and beyond. Self-disciplined and passionate about what she does, she is a talented, ambitious, and self-motivated web and mobile developer with a strong technical background. Asmeret graduated from USIU – Africa with a CGPA 4.0 in Information Systems and Technology. Having been involved in a couple of ventures, she has hands-on experience in business and product development in a typical startup business environment with extensive sales and marketing experience. Currently, Asmeret is the co-founder of IntellSync Ltd. In the company she is instrumental in the development and implementation of numerous IT projects, innovation, and strategic partnership management. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Asmeret plans to continue her work in IT to bring about sustainable, innovative, value- and technology-driven economic growth in Africa.

Dina B Tsehay

Dina B Tsehay is a Sociology graduate from the University of Mumbai, and has over four years’ experience in various fields of community development. Dina currently works as a project officer at a local NGO called MLWDA, where she primarily focuses on designing economic empowerment projects for marginalized women. Dina has also done various volunteer work in fighting against leprosy, child abuse, and violence against women in India, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Dina plans to continue her work in women’s economic empowerment and create a network for women to participate in cross-border business trade in the East African region.

Wachemo Akiber Chufo

Wachemo Akiber Chufo has over nine years of experience in different positions in Arba Minch University, Ethiopia. Currently, he teaches various courses in the field of Environmental Engineering and advises undergraduate and postgraduate students at Arba Minch University, Ethiopia. Akiber Chufo holds PhD degree in Environmental Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China. His research areas are production and optimization of renewable energy from biomass wastes and development of solid-waste management methods. Additionally, he works in mitigation of climate change in the community using locally available resources. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Akiber Chufo plans to develop green energy-generation strategies for the community from locally available biomass wastes.

Kibrom Aregawi

Kibrom Aregawi is an assistant professor with over 10 years experience in teaching, research, and consultancy services in the Department of Management at Mekelle University, Ethiopia. Currently, he is the coordinator of the Center for Entrepreneurship Development. He is tasked with promoting an entrepreneurial culture and climate in the university community and beyond by organizing entrepreneurship training and providing support services. Kibrom volunteers in training, mentoring, and extending business-development support services to small and medium enterprise operators and students. Kibrom has also assumed various university leadership positions, including coordinator of the management program and head of quality assurance of the College of Business and Economics. Kibrom holds an MBA and an MPP from Mekelle University, and KDIS, South Korea, respectively. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Kibrom plans to continue and scale up efforts to expand community outreach in ways that will impact the lives of millions in the region.

Seifu Yilma

Seifu Yilma is Ethiopian and communicates in Ethiopian sign language. At the age of six he became deaf due to meningitis. He attended regular hearing schools and finished his master’s degree in Special Needs Education. He did his Bachelor of Arts in Ethiopian Sign Language and Deaf Culture. He has been serving in several public service activities voluntarily, that benefits the deaf communities in Ethiopia. Seifu served as chairman of the Deaf Association at the Addis Ababa branch of the Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf. He’s also been serving as a board member for the Federation of National Association of Persons with Disabilities. In these commitments, he effectively discharges his responsibilities on advocating the rights of deaf people in getting decent employment, education and social welfare. He was also chairman of a committee at the Addis Ababa University representing deaf students. He is currently a guidance counselor.

Tirsit Retta

Tirsit Retta has over 10 years of experience in leadership and public mobilization in the community, and academia and charity organizations. She engages herself in humanitarian services through the Red Cross, Family Guidance Association and Missionaries of Charity to deliver medical services and health education to the poor and destitute. In academia she plans, organizes, directs, and monitors medical professionals who deliver health services to the public. Her unwavering interest in research led her to initiate the largest epidemiological study in Ethiopia, which examines 500,000 patient records to determine skin disease trajectories. Tirsit earned her medical doctorate degree from Jimma University and her postgraduate specialty certificate from Addis Ababa University. Her plan after attending the Mandela Washington Fellowship is to establish an evidence synthesis center in Ethiopia to produce high-quality research, and then inspire women and physicians in the areas of science, environment, and education.

Yilkal Yilkal-Wudneh

Yilkal has over three years of experience in various community service activities. Currently, Yilkal is an active participant in Debre Berhan University’s free legal aid center, which advocates cases for vulnerable sections of the society. Yilkal is also manager of the Northern Shoa Zone Blind Teachers’ and Students’ Professional Development and Cooperation Association. In these roles he follows up the legal aspects of its activities and designs and implements its various projects. Yilkal also volunteers in his association and trains blind members of the association on how to use computers with a screen reader program called Jaws. Yilkal has got his LLM from the Ethiopian Civil Service University. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Yilkal plans to continue his work in ensuring the right of access to information for the blind and to advocate for vulnerable sections of the society.

Amel Yimer

Amel is an executive radio producer for a popular and reputable radio station – 702, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Amel has worked in the field of family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/Aids on behalf of key players such as Pathfinder International and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. With over 10 years of experience in public heath communication and training, design, and facilitation, she now uses her media skills to produce a breakfast show that emphasizes the importance of positive leadership, accountability and dialogue about national affairs. Although a sociologist and filmmaker by trade, Amel, enjoys transcending the boundaries of traditional media to create new means of communication that can reach those in need of inspiration, empowerment and most importantly, a platform.

Tawetu Abreha

Tawetu Abreha has over five years of experience in various fields in the educational sector. She has been assistant professor at Mekelle University, system division officer at Meles Aerospace Science and Engineering Dynamics, and gender office head focusing on gender mainstreaming at the Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Mekelle (EiT-M). Currently, Tawetu is head of the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering at EiT-M, where she is responsible for the overall management of the school, including teaching and learning activities, research and community service, and local and international collaborations. She also volunteers in the Tigray Science and Technology Agency to coordinate the Girl’s Camp program. Tawetu holds a master’s degree in Communication Engineering from Addis Ababa University. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Tawetu plans to continue her work as a school head with a focus on school-to-industry and international university linkages, and girl’s empowerment.

Mahlet Tesfaye

Mahlet Tesfaye has over four years of public management experience in higher academic institutions and diplomacy. Her major areas of interest include gender issues and education policy reform advocacy, where she focuses on designing, implementing and researching on learning schemes. Mahlet worked as an educator and researcher signifying the importance of formal and informal education. She also volunteered in a book and database project that documents stories of hundreds of accomplished Ethiopian women, and served as a motivational speaker on different platforms focusing on education and youth. Mahlet currently works in the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She received her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Addis Ababa University. Upon return, she aspires to work on education diplomacy, education advocacy and the global initiative on education. Her long-term career plan includes working on influential research that could become recommendations to effectively address the challenges in the Ethiopian education system.

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Related:
Meet the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellows from Ethiopia
Meet the 2014 Mandela Washington Fellows From Ethiopia

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Interview With Prince Ermias S. Selassie
Published by Tadias Magazine May 5th, 2016 in Featured and Interviews. Closed

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie at a press conference at Manly Airport in Jamaica during the 50th anniversary celebration of Emperor Haile Selassie's historic visit to the country, April 21st, 2016. (Photo: Mel Tewahade)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Thursday, May 5th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) -- Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie, recently made a successful and highly publicized trip to Jamaica, along with his wife Saba Kebede, where he led an Ethiopian delegation from the U.S. to participate in the 50th anniversary of his grandfather's historic visit to the Caribbean nation in 1966. Five decades later, the nine-day commemorative visit by Prince Ermias (from April 21-30, 2016) included a meeting with newly elected Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Michael Holness; a lecture at the University of the West Indies (UWI); a motorcade stop at Heroes Park, Mico College, JC, UTech; and a speech on education at Kingston's Haile Selassie High School that was established by his grandfather during his landmark visit there as a gift to the people of Jamaica.

In an interview with Tadias Magazine this week Prince Ermias described his visit to Haile Selassie High School as "the highlight of my trip" and personally moving. "It was emotional and overwhelming to visit the school that was donated by my grandfather," Prince Ermias told Tadias. "The school has been in existence since the late sixties," he said. "Many have graduated and many have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, government leaders, pastors. Some have migrated abroad and are serving their adopted home well." Ermias added: "My grandfather believed in education. Education enlightens and enriches one’s life and for society there is no better security than to educate its citizens."

Regarding his meeting with Jamaica's head of state, Prince Ermias said: "The newly elected Prime Minster of Jamaica the Honorable Andrew Holness is going to be a great leader for Jamaica. I was happy to congratulate him on his win." Prince Ermias emphasized that their discussion primarily focused on education and the youth. "We all have great concern for our children," he said. "We talked about the opportunities and challenges of our friends in Ras Tefferian community." In addition, Prince Ermias said, "The subject of Jamaican teachers for Ethiopian schools was briefly discussed, I am grateful to the Prime Minister for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet local leaders, my delegation and myself."

In addition to his meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness Prince Ermias said he also had an opportunity to meet with the country's opposition party leaders and was given the key to the city of Kingston by Mayor Dr. Angela Brown Burke of the People's National Party. Moreover, Prince Ermias also visited the Ethiopian consulate among other stops. "I am happy to report that we also visited the Governor General Residence," he said. "The visit to all the Ras Tefferian events was exceptional. Ras Tefferians have stood through thick and thin with our family. I am grateful for the warm reception we received in Montego Bay from the residents of that city."

Prince Ermias, who is also the grandson of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gebre-Igziabiher -- the heir to the former Welega kingdom of Leqa Naqamte, which today is part of Ethiopia's Oromia region -- was barely a teenager when he managed to escape to England after his famous grandfather was deposed from power by a communist junta of junior military officers in the early 1970's. He was just six-years-old when Emperor Haile Selassie made his historic visit to Jamaica 50-years-ago, but Ermias has been on a mission to preserve his family's contribution to the history of modern Ethiopia and beyond. Late last year he mounted a successful legal battle in Geneva, Switzerland against the international auction powerhouse Christie’s demanding that the institution halt its planned sale of Haile Selassie’s personal wristwatch. Lawyers representing the family convincingly argued in a Swiss court that the rare gold-timepiece was likely a stolen property from Ethiopia that belonged in a museum.

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, pictured at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, Jamaica on April 21st, 2016, pursued his academic studies in Ethiopia, Great Britain, and the United States, receiving his undergraduate degree in social studies with a concentration in economics from the University of California, in Santa Barbara (UCSB). He also attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from 1983 to 1985. Prince Ermias speaks Amharic, English and German fluently. (Photo by Mel Tewahade)

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie (Right of center) meetings with Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica (left of center) on Friday, April 22nd, 2016 in Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo by Mel Tewahade)

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie (Right) and his wife Saba Kebede with Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica (center) on Friday, April 22nd, 2016 in Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

In addition, Prince Ermias shared that another memorable moment was the time spent with students at Jamaica College. "Jamaica College is one of the finest boys school in Jamaica that have produced the likes of former Prime Minster Bruce Golding and Dr. Michael Bennett," Ermias pointed out. "My grandfather visited the school on April 21, 1966 on Thursday. I am pleased to report that was able to replicate the event 50 years later. Jamaica College reminded me of my own school [in England] Haileybury College in Hertfordshire. Outstanding curriculum, detail for personal attention, great teachers, center for discipline and self-control, honor and the desire to serve country."

"The floral tribute at the shrine of Jamaican hero Marcus Garvey was reflective of my own identity," Prince Ermias told Tadias. "The visit to Mico University and the Museum in this school was excellent."

Some of our readers had noticed that when Prince Ermias had arrived in Jamaica on April 21st he was wearing a purple tie. Was it in remembrance of Prince, the iconic American musician and artist who had passed away the same day? "It was a coincidence," Prince Ermias clarified. "As you know Prince was pronounced dead at 11 am Central time. We also landed in Jamaica at 11 am. Jamaica is also on Central time. All of this was a coincidence" he said. However, "listening to Prince's music in the 1980s was comforting to me," he added. "As you know the Ethiopian people and our family were being persecuted by the brutal communists during those dark days. Prince's style of mixing funk, dance and rock music was unique, grand and comforting. Rest in Peace, Prince Rogers Nelson."

Regarding his trip to Jamaica Prince Ermias continued: "The visit to the beautiful island was a magical moment for Saba and me." He added: "The entire program was flawless. It is difficult to say what the best moment was. But if I have to identify one, my favorite will be, that no one got hurt during our visit. There is always a chance that something could have gone wrong with our motorcade; while operated by the finest Jamaica Police force the logistics of accommodating such a large crowd could have been problematic. I am grateful for the hard work our Ras Tefferians invested to make the visit a success." Certainly, the warm reception given to Prince Ermias at Norman Manley airport and the subsequent press conference was unprecedented for an Ethiopian delegation since Emperor Haile Selassie himself arrived in the country on April 21, 1966 for a three-day State visit, which the Jamaica Observer notes "remains, arguably, the most momentous of its kind in Jamaica."

"I want to thank the people and government of Jamaica for a successful trip to the Island," Prince Ermias said.

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Related:
In Pictures: 50th Anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie's Historic Visit to Jamaica (TADIAS)

Haile Selassie’s visit was a momentous occasion (Jamaica Observer)
Under Pressure from Family Christie’s Skips Auction of Haile Selassie’s Watch
New Book on Triumph & Tragedy of Ethiopia’s Last Emperor Haile Selassie (TADIAS)

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In Pictures: 50th Anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie’s Historic Visit to Jamaica
Published by Tadias Magazine April 22nd, 2016 in Featured. Closed

Emperor Haile Selassie's grandson, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, arrives in Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday, April 21st, 2016 for 50th anniversary of Haile Selassie's historic visit to the country. (Photo: Mel Tewahade)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Updated: Monday, April 25th, 2016

New York (TADIAS) — This past weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie’s historic visit to Jamaica in 1966. According to the Jamaica Observer, “Haile Selassie arrived in Kingston on April 21, 1966 for a three-day State visit. It remains, arguably, the most momentous of its kind in Jamaica.”

Commemorative events and activities that took place in the island nation included an essay competition about Haile Selassie’s landmark visit to the Caribbean, a photographic exhibition, and a special service at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston on Sunday, April 24th.

In addition, an Ethiopian delegation from the U.S. led by the Emperor’s grandson, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, arrived in Kingston on Thursday, April 21st to take part in the festivities. The official schedule for Prince Ermias, shared with Tadias Magazine, included a motorcade from Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) to University of the West Indies (UWI) and a stop at Heroes Park, Mico College, JC, and UTech. Prince Ermias also delivered a speech on education Friday at a high school in the Jamaican capital named for his grandfather as well as an evening lecture at UWI Mona Campus.

Below are a few photos from the celebrations in Jamaica:

At 50th anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie’s historic visit to Jamaica. (Photo by Mel Tewahade)

Ermias Sahle Selassie, Emperor Haile Selassie’s grandson, with his wife Saba Kebede, at the 50th anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie’s historic visit to Jamaica, Thursday, April 21st, 2016. (Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

(Photo by Mel Tewahade)

The Jamaica Observer adds: “Selassie’s visit to Jamaica was the second stop in a four-country Caribbean trip that also included stops in Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and Barbados. During his stay he met acting Prime Minister Sir Donald Sangster and Prime Minister Sir Alexander Bustamante, was awarded an honorary degree from the University of the West Indies (UWI), and addressed Parliament. He also visited Payne Lands in Kingston and made stops in rural areas like Magotty, St Elizabeth and Montego Bay, St James.”

Additional celebrations are planned in Trinidad and Tobago.

Below is a video of Haile Selassie’s visit to Jamaica on April 21, 1966:

Video: Emperor haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica part 1

Video: Emperor haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica part 2

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Related:
Interview With Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie (TADIAS)
Haile Selassie’s visit was a momentous occasion (Jamaica Observer)
Under Pressure from Family Christie’s Skips Auction of Haile Selassie’s Watch
New Book on Triumph & Tragedy of Ethiopia’s Last Emperor Haile Selassie (TADIAS)

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Dibaba & Melese Make Chicago Marathon
Published by Tadias Magazine September 29th, 2015 in Sports. Closed

Berhane Dibaba and Yebrqual Melese of Ethiopia. (Photo: International Association of Athletics Federations)
IAAF

Ethiopia’s Berhane Dibaba and Yebrqual Melese added to Chicago Marathon

This year’s Tokyo Marathon winner Berhane Dibaba has been added to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon women’s race on Sunday 11 October, the organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race announced on Monday (28).

The Ethiopian won in the Japanese capital in 2:23:15 and can boast of a best of 2:22:30 when she finished second in the 2014 Tokyo Marathon.

She will be the fifth fastest runner among the elite women in Chicago, although two of those who have gone quicker in their careers are veterans and US distance running greats Deena Kastor and Joan Samuelson.

Also added is Dibaba’s compatriot Yebrqual Melese, who has won both of her marathons so far this year, setting a personal best of 2:23:23 when winning in Houston in January and then finishing just 26 seconds shy of that time when she won in Prague in May.

Additions to the men’s field include the US runners Luke Puskedra, Brandon Mull, Mohammed Hrezi and Scott MacPherson.

Unfortunately, former Chicago and London marathon winner Tsegaye Kebede will no longer be participating in this year’s Chicago race due to an injury.

Read more at IAAF.org »

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Watch: Yared Zeleke’s Drama ‘Lamb’
Published by Tadias Magazine May 21st, 2015 in Featured. Closed

(Screenshot from Yared Zeleke’s new film “Lamb.”)
Indiewire

By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act

Making its World Premiere at the ongoing 2015 Cannes Film Festival is Yared Zeleke’s coming-of-age drama, “Lamb,” which marks the very first time in Cannes Film Festival history that an Ethiopian film has screened as an “Official Selection.” The country doesn’t have as rich a cinema history as one might immediately assume, with really 3 key filmmakers dominating the landscape – Haile Gerima likely being the most internationally-known, as well as Yemane Demissie and Teshome Kebede Theodros, all combining for about 10 feature films made between the mid-1970s through just before the turn of the century.

Although, as covered on this blog in recent years, there continue to be young up-and-coming Ethiopian filmmakers, embracing the opportunities to create that come courtesy of the democratization of the production process, provided by evolving technologies – Yidnekachew Shumete (“Nishan”) and Zeresenay Mehari (“Difret”) are just 2 of the most recent, whose films have traveled, and that we continue to follow. And then there are co-productions like “Crumbs,” the Spanish-Ethiopian post-apocalyptic feature film that will be making ts North American premiere at the LAFF in June. There is also “Beti and Amare,” the part sci-fi/fantasy, and part historical romantic drama set in World War 2-torn Ethiopia, directed by German filmmaker Andy Siege, which continues to tour the international film festival circuit.

And there are several others…

Yared Zeleke and his 2015 Cannes selection, “Lamb,” can now be added to that growing list.

The film hails from Slum Kid Films, an Ethiopia-based film production company co-founded by Ama Ampadu, which aims to discover and nurture emerging talent in Ethiopia, as well as to support the development of Ethiopian filmmaking.

“Lamb” tells the tale of nine-year-old Ephraim and his constant companion, a sheep named Chuni. Ephraim’s affection for Chuni deepen after he loses his mother to famine. Consequently, his beloved father sends him and Chuni far away from their drought-stricken homeland, to live with distant relatives in a greener part of the country. Ephraim soon becomes a homesick outcast who is always getting into trouble. When his uncle orders him to slaughter Chuni for the upcoming holiday feast, Ephraim devises a devious scheme to save the sheep and return to his father’s home.

Read more and watch video at Indiewire.com »

Below are still pictures from the movie:

—
Related:
Lamb: Yared Zeleke’s Film at Cannes 2015 (TADIAS)
Cannes 2015: the complete festival line-up (The Telegraph)
Home work: Filmmaker Yared Zeleke’s Origin Stories (Manhattan Digest)

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Noh Balcha in Africa Digital Art Challenge
Published by Tadias Magazine April 10th, 2015 in Featured. Closed

Noh Balcha. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine

By Mahlet Kebede

Published: Friday, April 10th, 2015

College Park, Maryland (TADIAS) — Ethiopian architect Noh Balcha is only a few more Facebook Likes away from winning the next African Digital Challenge organized by the non-profit African Innovation Foundation.

Up for grab is a prize of an invitation to the prestigious Africa (#IPA2015) conference in Morocco next month. Many responded to the challenge to “showcase the innovation ecosystem” around them via photography, graphic design and visual productions.

Among the finalists is the 30-year-old from Ethiopia. Noh’s submission is a digital art, which he describes as a reflection “into the future and seeing a very different Africa where we have taken care of all the difficulties.” He adds: “We have faced the past and have finally started thinking of other goals to pursue for the first time in our history.”

Other participants include Catherine Mirembe and Allan Musije from a design firm in Uganda; Fatoumata Tioye, a 22 year old photographer and artist from Mali; Mariona Lloreta, a 29 year old Egyptian visual artist and filmmaker based between the USA and Nigeria; Mbuotidem Johnson, a 31 year old Nigerian film director and animator; Ismael Mohamadou Djida, a 30 year old Cameroonian artist; and Ntombi Kunye, a 35 year old textile designer and artist from Zimbabwe.

Organizers say the top two winners, who manage to receive the most likes on the prize’s Facebook page, will also have their video image shown at the gala venue in Morocco, as well as the chance to continue working with AIF on the Foundation’s creative material.

This would allow the winners to “gain recognition via our IPA brand, increased opportunities to attract investments, media and social media coverage and attention, and the chance to positively transform the African innovation landscape,” AIF says.

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About the Author:
Mahlet Kebede is a 2nd year student at the University of Maryland.

To support Noh Balcha – please visit https://m.facebook.com/AfricanInnovationFoundation

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Ethiopian Duo Endeshaw Negesse & Berhane Dibaba Win 2015 Tokyo Marathon
Published by Tadias Magazine February 23rd, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

Endeshaw Negesse and Birhane Dibaba won the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015. (IAAF)
IAAF

Ethiopian runners Endeshaw Negesse and Berhane Dibaba took the honours at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, winning in 2:06:00 and 2:23:15 respectively on Sunday (22).

It was the first time that runners from the same nation had won both the men’s and women’s titles in the nine year history of the event.

Negesse broke away from Kenya’s defending champion Dickson Chumba just before 40km to become only the second Ethiopian man, after Hailu Mekonnen in 2011, to win Japan’s most prestigious road race.

It was third fastest time in Tokyo Marathon, but just fell short of the twin goals of beating the Japanese all-comers best of 2:05:18, which belongs to Tsegaye Kebede from the 2009 Fukuoka Marathon and who was also in this year’s Tokyo race, and the course record of 2:05:42, which was set by Chumba in 2014.

“It was a good race, although the condition was little bit tough because it was rainy and cold (with temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius),” reflected Negesse.

“The pacing was little slow. If it had been faster, then I could have run faster,” he added. “I knew that the field is formidable when I saw the start list. However, I did not dwell on it. I have done good training including good speed work. So I knew I could win the race.”

Read more at iaaf.org »
—
Related:
Genzebe Dibaba Sets World Record in Indoor 5000-Meters in Stockholm

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From Ethiopia to Israel to Harlem: Q&A with Beejhy Barhany, Owner of Tsion Cafe
Published by Tadias Magazine January 21st, 2015 in Featured and Profiles. Closed

Beejhy Barhany. (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Hasabie Kidanu

Published: Wednesday, January 21st, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TADIAS: How did you decide on this particular location?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AFCON 2015: Algeria 3 – 1 Ethiopia
Published by Tadias Magazine November 15th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

Ethiopia's Getaneh Kabede missed the game against Algeria on Saturday because of suspension. (Photograph: Reuters)
Super Sport

Algeria made it five wins from five in their 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with their 3-1 victory over Ethiopia at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida on Saturday evening.

Goals from Sofiane Feghouli, Riyad Mahrez and Yacine Brahimi moved Algeria up to 15 points, the only team to have won all their games thus far.

Algeria head coach Christian Gourcuff made two changes to the side that beat Malawi last time out, with Med Lamine Zemmamouche and Saphir Taider replacing Rais M’Bolhi and Nabil Bentaleb respectively, while Bidvest Wits and Ethiopia striker Getaneh Kebede missed the game through suspension.

The hosts put Ethiopia under immense pressure in the opening 10 minutes of the encounter, with Rafik Halliche notably heading just wide.

It was Ethiopia, though, who opened the scoring completely against the run of play in the 22nd minute through Omod Okwory, who picked up the ball near the halfway line before bursting forward and hitting a right-footed effort past the Algerian glove-man.

Ethiopia continued to live dangerously, but Algeria’s finishing also left a lot to be desired in what was in all a frustrating opening half-an-hour for the hosts.

Read more »

—
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2015 Africa Cup of Nations: Ethiopia Yet to Get Off the Mark
Published by Tadias Magazine September 15th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

So far the Ethiopian national team has lost the first two qualifying games against Algeria and Malawi for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which will be held in Morocco early next year. (Getty Images)
BBC Sport

Nations Cup 2015 – Group B

Top ranked African nation Algeria left it late to beat visitors Mali 1-0.

The Eagles played the last 22 minutes with 10 men after Mahamadou Ndiaye was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

With just nine minutes left to play, a free-kick from Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez found Carl Medjani whose header earned his side all three points.

Atusaye Nayondo scored twice to help Malawi to a 3-2 home win against Ethiopia.

Nyondo struck the first goal of the game on 18 minutes but Malawi were pegged back by an equaliser from Getaneh Kebede.

However, a second-half effort from Frank Banda restored the hosts’ lead and Nyondo’s second goal rendered meaningless a stoppage strike from the visitors’ Yussuf Saleh.

Malawi Football Association president Walter Nyamilandu wrote on his Twitter page: “Three vital points in the bag. A deserved victory that keeps our dreams alive though earned the hard way.”

Algeria move to the top of the pool with a maximum six points while Mali and Malawi are on three and Ethiopia yet to get off the mark.

Read more at BBC News »

—
Related:
Malawi knock Ethiopia further back

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Uneven Coverage of Suppressed Ethiopian Journalists
Published by Tadias Magazine August 28th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

Serkalem Fasil accepts the 2012 PEN American's "Freedom to Write Award" for her husband Eskinder Nega, imprisoned Ethiopian writer, in New York, May 1, 2012. (AP Photo)
VOA News

By Marthe van der Wolf

August 28, 2014

ADDIS ABABA— This month, Ethiopian officials shut down five magazines — the latest in a series of shutdowns — but the move got little attention from outside the country. The East African country is well known for suppressing the media, but some cases seem to get celebrity status while others are ignored.

Twelve Ethiopian journalists and publishers left the country in August after the magazines they worked for were forced by the government to shut down. International media gave little attention to the self-chosen exile of these media practitioners.

In contrast, the cases of Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu and more recently the Zone9 bloggers have been covered by outlets such as al-Jazeera and the BBC, as well as VOA.

Tom Rhodes of the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, says it can be partly explained why some cases get more attention.

“In the case of the Zone9 bloggers and Eskinder, they were quite well known in the diaspora, the Ethiopian diaspora, and had a lot of international contacts and backers. While other cases unfortunately are not so well known. I think of Solomon Kebede for example who is still waiting for trial,” he said.

Forty-one human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and CPJ released a joint statement calling for the release of the Zone9 bloggers and journalists, who are charged with terrorism.

Amaha Mekonnen, lawyer for the Zone9 bloggers and journalists, said there was a small chance the international attention would have an impact.

“As we have the experience, there may be a chance to settle the matter out of court, in which case, this information, all deliberations and analysis the case of this bloggers and journalist may be used to speed up and finally get a successful results,” said Mekonnen.

Both Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemu have been detained under Ethiopia’s controversial Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. Human rights group said the 2009 law was overly vague and allowed authorities to arrest anyone who criticized or opposed the government.

Eskinder won the 2012 PEN American’s Freedom to Write Award while serving an 18-year prison sentence and Reeyot won the UNESCO World Press Freedom Award in 2013 while serving an ongoing five-year prison term.

Reeyot is not allowed to see anyone else besides her parents, for 20 minutes a day.

Her father Alemu Gobebo said the attention was good for the morale of his imprisoned daughter:

“The international media is also encouraging the family of Reeyot, and Reeyot herself. The international media coverage disclosing her strength on freedom of speech or freedom of press, and by that way she was awarded, I think, international prizes. In that case we are very delighted,” he said.

There was always a worry when giving exposure to a case, said Rhodes of CPJ. But he also believed that it was crucial to inform people about what was going on.

“I think it both has a positive and a negative affect,” he said. “Positive in the sense that we let the international community know what’s going on and we’re letting the Ethiopian press know what’s going on. But it’s also negative in the sense that some authorities simply do not like criticism whether its local or international. And may react badly to it.”

Ethiopia ranks 143 out of 180 countries on the most recent World Press Freedom index. A 2014 Human Rights Watch report says Ethiopia is one of the three top countries in the world in terms of the number of exiled journalists.

The trial of the Zone 9 bloggers and journalists will resume October 15.
—
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UPDATE: All Four Ethiopian Athletes Planned to Seek Asylum, Police Report Says
Published by Tadias Magazine August 17th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

(Photo: Clockwise from top left: The four athletes are Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, 17; Meaza Kebede, 18; Zeyituna Mohammed, 18. Dureti Edao, 18; (Oregon Live)
The Register-Guard

By Josephine Woolington

AUG. 17, 2014

One of four Ethiopian athletes who went missing after an international track meet last month in Eugene told a University of Oregon police officer that all the athletes plan to seek asylum in the United States, according to a newly released UO police report.

Amanuel Abebe, 17, told the officer that he and the three other athletes — Dureti Edao, Meaza Kebede, Zeyituna Mohammed, all 18 — planned to start the asylum application process at a U.S. immigration service office in Portland on July 28, three days after the runners were reported missing, according to the police report, which was supplemental to the main police report. It was released to The Register-Guard on Friday after University of Oregon police reviewed the information.

When the UO officer told Amanuel that their case was getting lots of media coverage, the runner said that the athletes would go to the immigration office first thing the next morning. However, when the police officer checked in with several federal agencies on July 28 to see if the athletes had inquired about the asylum process, none said they did.

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Citizen and Immigrations Services said the agency does not release the names of individuals applying for any immigration services, including asylum, due to federal privacy law.

The four athletes went missing after last month’s World Junior Championships at Hayward Field — the first time the meet was held in the United States. All four athletes were found safe with acquaintances in Beaverton and Washington.

Read More »
—
Related:
Police Confirm Athletes Defected
Two of the Runners Signed Contracts With Nike and Adidas Hours Before Disappearing
Last of Four Missing Ethiopian Athletes Found Safe in Washington State
Four Ethiopian athletes missing from World Junior championships (Oregon Daily Emerald)
Ethiopians Sweep Gold-Silver in 5000m World Junior Championships in Oregon (IAAF)

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UPDATE: Last of Four Missing Ethiopian Athletes Found Safe in Washington State
Published by Tadias Magazine July 31st, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

From left to right: Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, 17, Dureti Edao, 18, Meaza Kebede, 18, Zeyituna Mohammed, 18. All four were located safe days after being reported missing. (Oregon Daily Emerald)
Oregon Daily Emerald

By Victor Flores

Zeyituna Mohammed, the last of four Ethiopian track and field athletes reported missing from the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene this past weekend, was found safe in Federal Way, Washington by Federal Way Police Tuesday night, according to University of Oregon Police Department spokesman Kelly McIver.

Federal Way Police located Muhammed, 18, at an acquaintance’s residence. UOPD received information from someone in Federal Way that Mohammed was there and asked Federal Way Police to do a welfare check.

Two Ethiopian track and field coaches reported late Friday evening that Muhammed and three of her fellow Ethiopian athletes had not checked into their rooms in a UO residence hall. Muhammed’s teammates – Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, 17, Dureti Edao, 18, and Meaza Kebede, 18 — were found safe in Beaverton, Oregon by police Monday afternoon.

The missing persons case is now closed, and the UOPD and UO will no longer be involved with these athletes’ situation.

“Law enforcement’s only interest was in confirming the safety of the individuals reported missing,” McIver wrote in a press release.

Some have speculated that the four athletes sought asylum in the United States, but that has not been confirmed. Ethiopians were the third largest group of people to receive asylum in the U.S. in 2012, behind China and Egypt.

Read more at Oregon Daily Emeralds »
—
Related:
Four Ethiopian athletes missing from World Junior championships (Oregon Daily Emerald)
Ethiopians Sweep Gold-Silver in 5000m World Junior Championships in Oregon (IAAF)

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Missing Ethiopian Runners in Oregon
Published by Tadias Magazine July 30th, 2014 in Featured. Closed

One athlete, Zeyituna Mohammed, is still missing. (Photo: Clockwise from top left: The four athletes are: Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, 17; Meaza Kebede, 18; Zeyituna Mohammed, 18. Dureti Edao, 18; (Oregon Live)
UPDATE: Last of Four Missing Ethiopian Athletes Found Safe in Washington State

Oregon Live

By Ian K. Kullgren

University of Oregon police are still searching for Zeyituna Mohammad, one of the Ethiopian runners who vanished from the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene this past weekend.

Mohammad, an 18-year-old who competed in the Women’s 800-meter run, was one of four athletes from the Ethiopian team who disappeared Saturday. Police found the other three — Amanuel Abebe Atibeha, a 17-year-old boy, and Dureti Edao and Meaza Kebede, two 18-year-old women — staying with an acquaintance in Beaverton on Monday. Mohammed was still missing as of Tuesday morning.

Although University of Oregon police believe she is safe, they would not confirm whether Mohammed or the other three athletes are seeking asylum in the U.S.

“We aren’t and won’t be making inquiries with them about their plans, where they’ve been, or anything not related to simply confirming that they are safe, and not missing,” Kelly McIver, a department spokesman, wrote in an email Tuesday.

Read more at the Oregon Live»
—
Related:
Four Ethiopian athletes missing from World Junior championships (Oregon Daily Emerald)
Ethiopians Sweep Gold-Silver in 5000m World Junior Championships in Oregon (IAAF)

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Ethiopian Pianist Girma Yifrashewa at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club
Published by Tadias Magazine June 28th, 2014 in Art and Featured. Closed

Pianist and Composer Girma Yifrashewa (Courtesy photo)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Saturday, June 28th, 2014

Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) — Ethiopian pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa will celebrate the release of his new solo piano album, Love and Peace, with a live performance on July 30th at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Girma’s latest album was recorded last year in Brooklyn, New York. Released by the Unseen Worlds record label, the CD features Girma’s arrangement of The Shepherd with the Flute — a short reflective and romantic piece originally composed by the late Professor Ashenafi Kebede — as well as his own compositions based on traditional Ethiopian melodies, such as Ambassel, Chewata, Sememen, and his favorite Elilta.

Following his debut New York appearance at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on June 8th, 2013, The New York Times described Girma as offering “a rare and fascinating example of aesthetic adaptation and convergence.”

“Born 1967 in Addis Ababa, Girma Yifrashewa combines the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with the grandeur of virtuoso piano technique into an effortlessly enjoyable mixture,” the press release states. “Trained in Bulgarian conservatory, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and the Hochschule fur Music Und Theater in Leipzig as a highly accomplished performer of classical repertoire, Yifrashewa has chosen to remain in Ethiopia, helping to forge a classical tradition for his country. Currently Yifrashewa works to promote Ethiopian and Classical Music by touring throughout Africa and Europe.”

—
If You Go:
Girma Yifrashewa in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club
July 30, 2014
7:30PM / $15
7719 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
Tickets at: www.instantseats.com
www.bethesdabluesjazz.com

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Ethiopia May Postpone Joining WTO in 2015
Published by Tadias Magazine May 28th, 2014 in Podcast. Closed

A general view of the Friendship City Center shopping mall in Addis Ababa, May 26, 2014. (Reuters/VOA)
Reuters via VOA News

May 28, 2014

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia may delay plans to join the World Trade Organization in 2015 if the country is required to liberalize its tightly regulated telecoms and banking industries sooner than it would like, the trade minister said.

Kebede Chane told lawmakers late on Tuesday that member countries had raised dozens of questions with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government, focusing on the time frame for opening up the service sector to international competition.

Ethiopia’s fast-growing market of 90 million people has lured foreign investors from Sweden, China and Turkey to its manufacturing sector. But laws deny outside firms access to areas viewed domestically as cash-cows or politically sensitive.

Washington, which wants Ethiopia to allow more competition, said it was committed to renewing its African Growth and Opportunities Act with Addis Ababa, an accord that gives Ethiopia-made textiles preferential access to U.S. markets.

“A lot of issues are being raised regarding the service sector,” Kebede said in parliament, referring to the telecoms, banking and power industries. “We are being asked to clarify our timetable for privatizing these sectors.”

State-interventionist policies

Addis Ababa, with its strong state-interventionist policies, has one of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing economies and its fifth biggest.

But it has spurned the liberalizing approach of other African markets to shield its infant private sector from foreign competition and to keep profits at home.

Reuters revealed this week that Ethiopia – once run by communists – was pushing the door ajar to outside investors by offering management of government-owned enterprises while leaving the state in full control.

U.S. retail giant Walmart’s unit Massmart told Reuters Ethiopia offered a “compelling growth opportunity.”

“(Washington)is interested in ways to update the legislation to encourage diversification within Africa’s economies, which will better support the continent’s growth, development and competitiveness,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said in a statement after visiting Ethiopia.

Other big brands are prising open the door in areas opened up by the government. Drinks giant Diageo DGE.L bought a brewery and fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz makes garments in Ethiopia. Trade officials said last year that Unilever and Nestle were both sniffing around.

However, Ethiopia has held onto control of its telecoms monopoly and kept foreigners out of retail and banking.

US deal

A U.S. management consultancy firm this week announced its deal to run Ethiopia’s just-launched state-owned cash-and-carry chain, the first such retail concession.

Kebede said Addis Ababa was under pressure to deepen reform to liberalize its service industries before the conclusion of its current five-year economic plan ending in 2015.

“We need to give serious thought to this issue,” Kebede said. “Right now, our economy is small and still needs to develop a lot.”

The minister cited Asian powerhouse China, which he said took 50 years to accept membership into the global trading club.

New WTO rules adopted in 2012 lowered the bar for joining for the world’s least developed countries. They allow members to open fewer sectors, liberalize fewer types of transactions, and only open up their markets as their economies develop.

“We are now looking into which laws are compatible with WTO’s regulations and which are not. We are taking one step at a time. As a result, membership might not be completed (in 2015),” Kebede said.
—
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London Marathon Preview: Ethiopia, Kenya Battle for Supremacy
Published by Tadias Magazine April 7th, 2014 in Events. Closed

Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia was the winner of the men's London Marathon title last year. (Getty Images)
The Sports Network

April 7, 2014

Philadelphia, PA – Defending champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and world record holder Wilson Kipsang of Kenya headline the elite men’s division field at the London Marathon on April 13.

Kebede won the race in 2010, posting an impressive time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 4 seconds, more that 29 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya. Since 2004, Kebede is the sole non-Kenyan to win the race.

Last year’s race will be best remembered by many of the runners wearing black ribbons to honor the bombing victims of the Boston Marathon, held one week earlier. A moment of silence was held before the start of the race, and security was extremely tight for the spectators and the 36,000 runners.

Making his marathon debut will be Mo Farah of Great Britain. He won the gold medal in the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2012 London Olympics.

Read more at SportsNetwork.com.
—
Related:
Kenenisa Bekele Smashes Paris Marathon Record (AP)

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