Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Why the wait?
Last time someone told me one of elected officials from Ethiopia who represents the largest Ethiopian ethnic groups "The Amharas" was insulting and making fun of his own constituencies and that ugly comment was cough on tape and went to public via social media. In many counties, if an elected official making a joke on his own district, it will be a political suicide. But in Ethiopia the politicians were just watching when people are looking for an answer. Later he came back with one of the lamest excuse I ever heard in my life. He blamed the technology. He said the voice is his own but the sentences are not his own. Mean,s he is saying someone purposely edited, mastered and mixed his voice (rearranged) and created a new sentences and played it over the internet. Now he is making another mistake, now he is saying his own people as damp.
Come on, this is not how you run a country, this is not a kids game, You can foul may be few people who are illiterate and afraid of saying any thing but do not try to foul 20,000,000 people. That is really very sad the federal government is watching when people's dignity is just abused by elected officials. The person should come foreword and ask mercy and excuse from the victims. But fabricating so called nonsense reason will make things more complected and ugly.
I hope he will admit his dumb mistakes and ask mercy from the people, also his party should toss him out in the street. Take away his shoes and let him walk bare feet..
Come on, this is not how you run a country, this is not a kids game, You can foul may be few people who are illiterate and afraid of saying any thing but do not try to foul 20,000,000 people. That is really very sad the federal government is watching when people's dignity is just abused by elected officials. The person should come foreword and ask mercy and excuse from the victims. But fabricating so called nonsense reason will make things more complected and ugly.
I hope he will admit his dumb mistakes and ask mercy from the people, also his party should toss him out in the street. Take away his shoes and let him walk bare feet..
Ethiopia bans export of workers to Arab countries
Ethiopia bans export of workers to Arab countries
A crackdown on
illegal immigrants in Saudi Arabia in 2013 led to the death of at least
three Ethiopians and the deportation of over 150,000 Ethiopians. Many of
the workers have returned to Ethiopia with psychotic related issues
mainly because of the suffering they are subjected to and refusal by
Arab employers to pay them as promised.
The government of Ethiopia is blaming the employment agencies in the
country for engaging in illegal human trafficking of Ethiopian to Arab
countries. The agencies make the domestic workers sign contracts which
are not legally binding.
There are over 430 registered employment agencies in Ethiopia.
According to government analysis these agencies make illegal deals with
their counterparts in the Arab countries where they are paid a
commission of as much as 200 dollars per person once they deliver them.
This amount is then deducted from the salary of the Ethiopian domestic
workers without their consent.
After the recent massive deportation from Saudi Arabia, a special task
force has been constituted to push for an amendment of the labor law.
The new laws will ensure that employment agencies if necessary will only
export labor that has basic skills which can be proven by a certificate
from government vocational institutions. The laws will campaign for
better pay and working conditions in Arab states. In addition they will
also strive to create awareness that Arab countries are not the
destination for job seekers.
However, despite Ethiopia efforts, routes through Kenya, Mozambique,
Tanzania and South Africa remain porous for human trafficking of its
unskilled labor by brokers Ethiopia: Car Accident the number one Killer of our people
In Ethiopia you can drive a car if you are willing to kiss the death. Today I did not have any plan to blog any thing about car until I saw a car accident post on one of friend's post(Facebok Page) . It took my attention, first I thought it was a garbage disposal dumpster. It has some chairs and other stuffs but when I closely watch the pictures it was a faceless SELEM Bus. On the picture the face of the bus is gone, you see only the middle of the bus wide open only few chairs dangling around. Since there were only few pictures I followed the poster's page from Facebook and found more pictures. Wow! the caption was scary, the bus was full of Gonder University students going back from vacation(not sure). From the picture it seems the bus slammed face to face to another big truck , from the picture I can tell all the people (including the driver) could not survive because the truck cabin and the bus front (face) were almost merged. Yeap they became one. That is so scary and sad. According to the picture caption it happened in Selulta area few miles northern West of Addis Ababa.
My question is who do you blame? The car, the road, the driver, the passenger, the law, or who? From my opinion I blame three things, these are the driver, the law and the road.
1. The Law. One of the worse traffic law in Ethiopia is passing a car in a one lane road. Means if you have a car in front of you and the car is too slow you can pass the car by entering to the incoming traffic lane. That means if in case there is any incoming traffic you will slam in full speed to the incoming car. That is deadly because two deadly weapons collide in full speed the impact will be twice. Means catastrophic. Another branch for the law is the law enforcer or traffic. Unless the traffic police is not stopping driver and demanding money as ATM machine the law will be broken all the time. Having a strict regulation and avoiding bribe will reduce many accidents . Those drivers who are less competent, reckless and driving with alcohol should be banned.
2. The Driver. Ethiopian Drivers are the most dangerous drivers where they see driving fast and reckless is brave and skillful. Sometimes some drivers think they are in a Hollywood action movie. They underestimate people's life and forgetting the car they are driving is a killing machine . In my opinion the government should confiscate all diver licenses and re-issue a new one after they pass a tough driving test. Some people think it may kill the country's economy but it can be done step my step. Like drivers whose last names starts from A- B in certain month and so on. When the first batch is ready the next batch will continue, the trend will continue until every one is ready to drive safely.
3. The Road. The road is one of the contributing factor for accidents. It is narrow and can not accommodate more than one car in each way. Means fast drivers have two choices pass or follow the car in fornt of them. If they follow they will be late, if they want to pass they will take 50/50 chance. Means, in most cases they will be ok but one day they will end up exposing to worst bad dream in their life. So what will be a solution? At least two way lanes in each directions for certain traffic accident prune areas or designate pass and no pass areas may help . That means NO PASS in one lane road and OK PASS in two and more lane roads.
There several reasons and propositions to reduce traffic accidents in Ethiopia but it will be up to the citizens to seek safety. At the end of the day citizens are the one who will loose their lives
Real Traffic Accident on Feb 23 2014 nearby Selulta between sinotruck and selam bus.90% of the passengers were GONDER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS traveling for vacation their family. 3 persons were dead. Photo Credit Kidist Solomon
My question is who do you blame? The car, the road, the driver, the passenger, the law, or who? From my opinion I blame three things, these are the driver, the law and the road.
1. The Law. One of the worse traffic law in Ethiopia is passing a car in a one lane road. Means if you have a car in front of you and the car is too slow you can pass the car by entering to the incoming traffic lane. That means if in case there is any incoming traffic you will slam in full speed to the incoming car. That is deadly because two deadly weapons collide in full speed the impact will be twice. Means catastrophic. Another branch for the law is the law enforcer or traffic. Unless the traffic police is not stopping driver and demanding money as ATM machine the law will be broken all the time. Having a strict regulation and avoiding bribe will reduce many accidents . Those drivers who are less competent, reckless and driving with alcohol should be banned.
2. The Driver. Ethiopian Drivers are the most dangerous drivers where they see driving fast and reckless is brave and skillful. Sometimes some drivers think they are in a Hollywood action movie. They underestimate people's life and forgetting the car they are driving is a killing machine . In my opinion the government should confiscate all diver licenses and re-issue a new one after they pass a tough driving test. Some people think it may kill the country's economy but it can be done step my step. Like drivers whose last names starts from A- B in certain month and so on. When the first batch is ready the next batch will continue, the trend will continue until every one is ready to drive safely.
3. The Road. The road is one of the contributing factor for accidents. It is narrow and can not accommodate more than one car in each way. Means fast drivers have two choices pass or follow the car in fornt of them. If they follow they will be late, if they want to pass they will take 50/50 chance. Means, in most cases they will be ok but one day they will end up exposing to worst bad dream in their life. So what will be a solution? At least two way lanes in each directions for certain traffic accident prune areas or designate pass and no pass areas may help . That means NO PASS in one lane road and OK PASS in two and more lane roads.
There several reasons and propositions to reduce traffic accidents in Ethiopia but it will be up to the citizens to seek safety. At the end of the day citizens are the one who will loose their lives
Real Traffic Accident on Feb 23 2014 nearby Selulta between sinotruck and selam bus.90% of the passengers were GONDER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS traveling for vacation their family. 3 persons were dead. Photo Credit Kidist Solomon
Holy water washes away sins at Ethiopia's Timket festival
Every week, Inside Africa takes its viewers on a journey across Africa, exploring the true diversity and depth of different cultures, countries and regions. Follow host Errol Barnett on Twitter andFacebook.
Gondar, Ethiopia (CNN) -- France has Lourdes, India has the Ganges. Ethiopia, meanwhile, has Gondar.
Situated about 450 miles north of Addis Ababa, encapsulated by hills and tall trees, and dotted with 17th-century relics from the city's glory days (when it was the country's capital), Gondar today can seem somewhat remote. During the religious festival of "Timket," however, the city is inundated with pilgrims who come to re-enact the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, and take a dip in the holy waters at the historical Fasilides Bath.
Nearly two thirds of Ethiopia's 94 million population is Christian, and the majority of those belong to the Orthodox church. For them, Timket -- celebrating the Epiphany -- is among the most important occasions of the year. It's is a two-day affair that begins with a procession of "tabots," holy replicas of the Ark of the Covenant -- the sacred chests described in the Book of Exodus as carrying the stone tablets on which the 10 Commandments were written.Gondar, Ethiopia (CNN) -- France has Lourdes, India has the Ganges. Ethiopia, meanwhile, has Gondar.
Situated about 450 miles north of Addis Ababa, encapsulated by hills and tall trees, and dotted with 17th-century relics from the city's glory days (when it was the country's capital), Gondar today can seem somewhat remote. During the religious festival of "Timket," however, the city is inundated with pilgrims who come to re-enact the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, and take a dip in the holy waters at the historical Fasilides Bath.
The tabots are wrapped in cloth and placed on the heads of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priests, who parade the streets en route to the bath. The priests, clad in ceremonial robes, are escorted by drums and by the clapping and singing of worshipers, who hold an overnight vigil until dawn.
There are services the following morning which culminate in the priests blessing the waters of the historic bath, while onlookers crowd every nook surrounding the bath -- some getting a pristine view from nearby trees.
When the priests are done, the mood turns jubilant, and the spectators rush to jump into the pool.
The water is now sacred, and the sick shall be cured
Ezra Adis, head priest
"The water is blessed in the name of the Holy Trinity ... in the name of God. The water is now sacred, and the sick shall be cured," explains Ezra Adis, the head priest at the local Medhanelem Church.
"That is why the young people who jump in first get excited; it is a spiritual love," he adds.
Read this: Ethiopia's churches "built by angels"
The plunge is so swift that some participants get battered in the process -- though most are unperturbed by a few scratches.
Awaiting daybreak during Timket Holy water wash away sins
"I jumped from high above," boasts one man who dived into the waters from one of the nearby trees.
"I was apprehensive," he adds. "The branches could give way and you could fall on the rock edge of the pool, and there was a possibility I could have lost my life, but at this moment, I am doing what I feel good about, and that possibility of death doesn't scare me."
The Timket festival dates back to the 16th century, but it was marked only in churches until the baptismal ceremonies were introduced, explains Bantalem Tadesse Tedla, a historian at the University of Gondar.
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"In Gondar, the first is implemented, because of the existence of this very important building," he adds, referring to the stone bath -- a UNESCO world heritage site built in 1632 for King Fasil (Fasiledes).
As the afternoon winds down, people begin to leave the pool and head back to the streets, but the festivities aren't quite over. Each tabot is now paraded back to its respective church with crowds of onlookers eager to get one last look at them.
Back at the churches, it's a different, quieter scene. Congregants fill the church grounds to listen in on a final service, and after a closing prayer it's time to send the tabot back inside the church to its resting place.
The locals will eventually return to their homes for a special feast, but in the meantime, the celebrations on the streets of Gondar continue -- a chance for orthodox Christians to celebrate and come together for one of the most sacred and festive days of the year.
A group of Ethiopian Comedians are ready to Entertainer San Diego
- A group of Ethiopian Comedians are ready to Entertainer San Diego
Samsung announces Galaxy S5 with fingerprint scanner, coming in April
By Salvador Rodriguez
February 24, 2014, 12:01 p.m.
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| Samsung Galaxy S5 |
Unlike in previous years, when Samsung announced new Galaxy S models with larger and larger screens, this year the South Korean tech giant focused its presentation on a handful of key features.
Samsung said the Galaxy S5 will include a fingerprint scanner that can be used to unlock the phone and make mobile payments. If this sounds familiar, that's because Apple introduced a similar feature with the iPhone 5s when that device was announced last September.
PHOTOS: Five ways the Samsung Gear 2 is better than its predecessor
The South Korean tech also said it has improved the camera on its flagship device by giving the gadget a 16-megapixel camera. Samsung claims the Galaxy S5 posses the fastest autofocus of any smartphone camera, taking just 0.3 seconds to center in on users' targets.
The Galaxy S5, which features a 5.1-inch HD screen, also comes with a longer-lasting battery. Samsung said users can get up to 21 hours of talk time from one charge. Users can also enable an "Ultra Power Saving Mode" that shuts down unnecessary features and turns the display into black and white, extending the device's battery life.
The new Galaxy flagship smartphone also comes with more fitness tracking features than previous Samsung devices, the company said. Among these is a built-in heart rate monitor.
Samsung also said the Galaxy S5 is equipped with IP67 dust and water resistance, making the device more durable than its predecessor. Samsung warned users from swimming with the Galaxy S5, but the company said that users don't have to worry if the device gets wet.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will go on sale in the U.S. in April along with the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches and the Gear Fit, a fitness tracking device that Samsung also announced on Monday. Samsung did not say how much the Galaxy S5 will cost.
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-samsung-galaxy-s5-us-release-april-20140224,0,4026068.story#ixzz2uLbdXWXT
ET-702 co-pilot has a family of geniuses
The world has very little knowledge about the Ethiopian Flight ET-702 pilot. But after listening the interview with his mother it is hard to pass by without posting this blog. Now a days every body knows how hard is raising kids. Most parents are struggling to raise few kids mostly 1-3 kids and doing their best to give the bright future for their kids. In most cases to raise a kid/s all parents are working full time, means most kids are forced to raise almost with out the presence of their parents in day time.
But the family of ET-702 co-pliot is exceptional and has a dozen of geniuses. He has total of 11 siblings means 12 total kids including him. Yes it is not unusual to have a large family in Africa but what makes his family very exceptional is all of them are alive and successful, in short they have very high IQ. From 12 kids 11 of them are engineers and doctors. What makes this story so unique is the mother does not have any education and the father has only 8th grade of education.
This is unthinkable and very hard to imagine even in the developed western world where resources and opportunities are available. We think the world has a lot to learn from this family. We know it is unfortunate the Ethiopian ET-702 co-pilot did what he did, but his family is one of few exceptional not only in Ethiopia but around the world.
His parents are a role model for all parents in the world. They are best example for parenting, God fearing, celibacy, commitment and sacrifices. The parents are natural born smarts who use their life time experience to build a family who are successful and productive part of the society.
We salute the mother and father of flight ET-702 co pilot Ato Abera Tegegen and Mrs. Yezbakem Zeyum .
But the family of ET-702 co-pliot is exceptional and has a dozen of geniuses. He has total of 11 siblings means 12 total kids including him. Yes it is not unusual to have a large family in Africa but what makes his family very exceptional is all of them are alive and successful, in short they have very high IQ. From 12 kids 11 of them are engineers and doctors. What makes this story so unique is the mother does not have any education and the father has only 8th grade of education.
This is unthinkable and very hard to imagine even in the developed western world where resources and opportunities are available. We think the world has a lot to learn from this family. We know it is unfortunate the Ethiopian ET-702 co-pilot did what he did, but his family is one of few exceptional not only in Ethiopia but around the world.
His parents are a role model for all parents in the world. They are best example for parenting, God fearing, celibacy, commitment and sacrifices. The parents are natural born smarts who use their life time experience to build a family who are successful and productive part of the society.
We salute the mother and father of flight ET-702 co pilot Ato Abera Tegegen and Mrs. Yezbakem Zeyum .
Ethiopia: Interview with the brother of co-pilot hijacker
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| Endalamaw Abera (MD), the oldest brother of Hailemedhin: |
The Reporter: When did you last see Haillemedhin?
Dr. Endalamaw: I saw him at my uncle’s, Emiru Seyoum, funeral on January 4. He passed away that day. We actually went together. I came from Sudan, Khartoum
There has been speculation about his death, and it has been said that it was directly related to the hijacking?
He died of a cardiac condition. He was being treated at the Addis Cardiac Hospital. The incident happened while he was in a taxi. His house is located around Bole in the apartments behind Heber Restaurant. On that day he walked to Dembel area and took a taxi after that.
Around Gibi Gabriel church he passed away while he was in a taxi. All the passengers were taken to be investigated by the police. Looking at his body there was no strangling or that type of symptom, and there was no detection or physical sign that it was a homicide. So we actually signed and took his body. Now after the hijacking rumors have been going on in the town that his death was a mystery. They say it was unrevealed and some try to make it a conspiracy theory out of it. We believe it was a natural death. He suffered from high blood pressure and also had cardiac problems.
Was he close to Hailemedhin? Some put it as a cause and effect relationship, was he affected that much?
That is the part we do not like. Were they very close? Yes, they were. Without the presence of our parents he was the acting parent. He gave us advice in anything. If we trace our achievements academically he is greatly involved in them. Even when I introduced him to people I did not say he was my uncle, I said he was my brother, and the same also went for him. He was my mother’s brother, and what many people do not know is that he grew up in our house. My parents raised him. My father wanted him to have a better education so he came to Delgi port; which takes five hours by boat from Tana. Our life was around Tana. We are 11 children; six women, five male. Seven of us were born in Delgi, and the others in Bahirdar. Hailemedhin is the ninth child and was born on July 31, 1983. With one exception we all attended high school, Bahirdar Tana hayik highschool. We had good grades. He finished high school at 17. He had good friends and a normal life.
There are two medical doctors in our family (Endalamawu and Medhanit), two computer engineers (Tewoldemedhin and Birhanemedhin), an air craft maintenance engineer (Teklemedhin), an economy and nursing graduate (Menberemedhin), a physics PhD student (Newayemedhin), a computer science graduate (Hiwot) and the last one, Tnsae, dropped out from the literature department. Getting to the main point, we are deeply saddened and affected by it, but drawing conclusions of cause and effect is wrong.
What kind of child was Hailemedhin growing up? Was he close to you?
We were not that close. When he was born I was a second year medical student in Gondar. We actually became close when I came to Addis Ababa where he was an architecture student; 13 years ago. We reconnected and became close then. Hailemedhin also said that. But he was very close with his two sisters, Hiwot and Tnsae. As a child he was very active, very intelligent. I remember him as a child only four years old, his hair was shaved and we were teasing him, and he said, ‘In that case soldiers are fools’. His social life was OK but he was a bit shy, feeling uncomfortable at large gatherings. He was very generous, very caring and sometimes he did more than his capacity. Especially when it came to money, he helped people out.
When he quit architecture and joined piloting, how did you take his decision? Did you support it?
When he was in grade 11 I asked him what he wanted to be, and he did not even hesitate, he answered by saying pilot. I thought it was not that serious. He joined architecture school and on his graduating year he was 25. There was a piloting exam, he took it and passed. He said he was going to quit and take piloting training. He was only left with one semester and I asked him why was he not going to finish it. Apparently he said there is an age limitation to take training, and you cannot qualify if you are over 25. He said if I finish I will be over 25, which means I cannot enroll in to the training. So we were OK with it.
Did he talk about his job environment? Were there any hostilities in his work place?
I don’t clearly know. For the past six years I have been in Khartoum. After he started his job at Ethiopian Airlines I was on and off. I come here every three months, that’s when we meet. His younger sisters might know.
How did you and the rest of the family hear about the hijacking?
Last week, on Sunday, it was the death commemoration of our uncle, Emiru Seyoum P.h.D. We went to Sahgura; his and also my mother’s birth place. After the ceremony on Monday all the relatives started our journey to Bahirdar. We stopped with tire problems and heard the news on Radio Fana that a plane had been hijacked. Someone called my cousin, Alemu, and told him it was the co-pilot. After a while we heard the news.
How did you feel about the situation?
We did not know what to feel. We could not suspect that he would do something like this, it was shocking. There was nothing that could make us speculate as to why he did it. For a couple of hours we could not talk. We sat down solemnly. We did not know how to react. So everyone started speculating. We agreed that it was probably a temporary conflict with the pilot. So we thought it was a reaction of the moment. After that we could not control the rumors. The sources are not known, some of it was fabricated. It also created a problem in our family’s communication. We started interrogating each other. Our condition is still not good. We are not in peace. What I think is that we have to hear directly from him. We also heard that the Swiss government is going to give him a lawyer. So if it is true we want to hear from the lawyer. He still has not communicated with us. Many tried to link the hijacking to a political agenda and this should stop. It is creating a serious problem for our family. It is not only worrying us but also messing up our relationships as a family. We are pleading with people to stop the speculation.
Part of the speculation came out from a statement by your sister, Tnsae. She wrote on Facebook describing his mental status. How do you regard this speculation? How did she come to this conclusion? Did he see a psychiatrist?
She wrote it without consulting us. After she wrote it we started to look back and it was all true. He was suspicious of his environment. He felt that people were following him. He also tried to capture the people who followed him using different technology. He was close to Tnsae and Hiwot, and they live close by. They meet every day. What she said was true but it does not mean it is cause and effect. People should not conclude it. It is like trying to relate the incident with our uncle’s death. In medicine and law there is a concept of aggravating factor. These reasons might be aggravating reasons. But a psychiatric has to say that. It is not me, a journalist, or someone else who can speculate and decide. They are out of their professional boundaries. It is not good for everyone, for the family, for the police and also for his case.
What about if there were people who were following him?
It is very difficult to know. If you take our social life we might create enemies because of a conflict of interest. This might create tension. But on the other hand, in medical terms, people following is a common denominator. Sometimes it is not even people, they become abstract institutions. There are people who say the CIA, FBI, or an unknown power follows me. If we take it on this instance, I don’t think there was anyone following him.
Was he politically involved?
As far as my knowledge is concerned he was not a member of any political party. When we discuss issues he is actually a supporter of the existing government in this country. I don’t know if there are special cases that happened in the past couple of weeks. I don’t think there is or will be something new. I can’t talk about it. Talking about office politics, I don’t know is the answer. He did not tell me if he was discriminated in the office. I also did not hear from any members of the family.
Had he been to see a psychiatrist?
The last people who saw him were Hiwot and Medhanit. I think they advised him to go talk to a specialist.
Was he acting different recently? Any new behavior?
This is the last picture, taken at our uncle’s funeral (in this picture Hailemedhin is laughing, holding his phone). I don’t think he was depressed. He does not drink that much. It is only occasionally that he drinks. In my opinion he did not show any signs of depression or something new.
One of your sisters, Menberemedhin, also posted on Twitter, saying that he did not want to live outside of his country, and he even advised her to return. Is this ironic as he is now asking for asylum? How do you reconcile the two?
He does not want to live outside of his country. He actually bought a new car worth four hundred thousand birr three months ago. He paid half of the down payment. He did not take any of his stuff. He took only a small travelling bag; he did not even take his laptop. There are many reasons that show he was not prepared to leave. Why would a person buy a car if he was preparing to ask for asylum? Why would he waste his money? He could have taken it with him.
Does he have a girlfriend?
He did not introduce me to anyone. I assume so. I read he has been seeing someone who owns an internet café. If that is true it is good.
His life is being greatly scrutinized. How do you feel about that?
It is not only his life. It is also the family’s life which is under scrutiny. Unnecessary details and also fictitious writings are there. There are rumors such as my father was a money lender. This is all false information, and we will get back to that once the dust settles. I don’t know how it is even related. This is not only factual error but also defamation. It is not even connected. They said he has a grievance because he was not promoted, but why did they not research? Some groups are using it for political purposes. To do that they are exaggerating our lives, how we are from rich family. Our achievements are exaggerated.
What are the possible scenarios that await him? What should be done?
The Swiss officials should give priority to his health and we hope that they would do that. After his health the law has its own way of dealing with things. Until then people should stop speculating and drawing conclusions. People only see 11 of us, but our cousins are more than 700 from my father’s side. My grandfather’s descendants reach to the fifth generation. We have a reunion every five years, and also from my mother’s side there are 200 of them. Our relatives are dispersed all over the world. They are all affected by this. The media also should respect our family’s privacy. I wish him good things. We should not see him as a criminal. Let’s first see him as someone who needs help. I hope good things will come of it.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Ethiopian Physicians Around The Globe Are Merging Their Efforts To Establish A Center Of Excellence Hospital In Ethiopia
PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2014
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. ("EADG") and Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc. ("GEME") have agreed to merge their efforts to pursue their common goal to build and establish a center of excellence hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under one entity: EADG. Collectively, both organizations have over 250 physicians members of Ethiopian origin and this exciting development will likely result in other members of the Ethiopian physician community to join, bringing the total number of physicians of the combined organization to reach and, perhaps, exceed 300 physicians.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140224/MN69629)
By uniting their intellectual and membership resources, the identical mission of EADG and GEME to establish a center of excellence hospital will be strengthened and enhanced, which in turn will have a tremendous impact in the lives of the people of Ethiopia. To enable marshaling all resources, the Ethiopian government through its various Ministries and agencies (e.g., Health, Foreign Affairs, etc.), various US agencies who have been briefed about this project, and people and firms in the business community throughout the world have supported and encouraged both organizations to combine their efforts under one entity to establish a world class hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
EADG and GEME look forward to continuing to recruit and encourage physicians to join this historic project to lift the healthcare of Ethiopians and people in the region by improving the quality of health services through excellent quality clinical care, high standard medical education and relevant research.
ABOUT EADG AND GEME
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. is a US-based corporation with offices in Washington DC and North Carolina. EADG has physician members covering 31 different specialties and subspecialties from all over the world, including 28 States in the USA, Ethiopia, Canada, the Caribbean, England, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Qatar, Scotland, Sudan, and Sweden, and US Virgin Island.
Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc. is a healthcare management company organized to build a state of the art, center of excellence hospital in Ethiopia founded by a coalition of a global network of multi-specialty Ethiopian Diaspora physicians who practice in the US, Canada, Europe, Ethiopia and other African nations.
Press Contacts:
Tesfaye Fanta, MD, President
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
Melaku Demede, MD, President
Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc.
Mel Negussie, Esq., COO & General Counsel
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
mnegussie@ethioamericandoctors.com
(202) 775-0457
Media Contact: Mel Negussie, Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc., 2027750457, mnegussie@ethioamericandoctors.com
News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com
SOURCE Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1754200#ixzz2uJYLC74q
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2014
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. ("EADG") and Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc. ("GEME") have agreed to merge their efforts to pursue their common goal to build and establish a center of excellence hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under one entity: EADG. Collectively, both organizations have over 250 physicians members of Ethiopian origin and this exciting development will likely result in other members of the Ethiopian physician community to join, bringing the total number of physicians of the combined organization to reach and, perhaps, exceed 300 physicians.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140224/MN69629)
By uniting their intellectual and membership resources, the identical mission of EADG and GEME to establish a center of excellence hospital will be strengthened and enhanced, which in turn will have a tremendous impact in the lives of the people of Ethiopia. To enable marshaling all resources, the Ethiopian government through its various Ministries and agencies (e.g., Health, Foreign Affairs, etc.), various US agencies who have been briefed about this project, and people and firms in the business community throughout the world have supported and encouraged both organizations to combine their efforts under one entity to establish a world class hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
EADG and GEME look forward to continuing to recruit and encourage physicians to join this historic project to lift the healthcare of Ethiopians and people in the region by improving the quality of health services through excellent quality clinical care, high standard medical education and relevant research.
ABOUT EADG AND GEME
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. is a US-based corporation with offices in Washington DC and North Carolina. EADG has physician members covering 31 different specialties and subspecialties from all over the world, including 28 States in the USA, Ethiopia, Canada, the Caribbean, England, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Qatar, Scotland, Sudan, and Sweden, and US Virgin Island.
Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc. is a healthcare management company organized to build a state of the art, center of excellence hospital in Ethiopia founded by a coalition of a global network of multi-specialty Ethiopian Diaspora physicians who practice in the US, Canada, Europe, Ethiopia and other African nations.
Press Contacts:
Tesfaye Fanta, MD, President
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
Melaku Demede, MD, President
Global Ethiopian Medical Enterprise, Inc.
Mel Negussie, Esq., COO & General Counsel
Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
mnegussie@ethioamericandoctors.com
(202) 775-0457
Media Contact: Mel Negussie, Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc., 2027750457, mnegussie@ethioamericandoctors.com
News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com
SOURCE Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1754200#ixzz2uJYLC74q
Born in Ethiopia, new flood forecaster brings North American, European experience
Manitoba has a new flood forecaster.
Fisaha Unduche, introduced today, now leads a 12-person team going into a possible -- although it’s too early to predict how severe, if at all -- spring flood.
Unduche, 38, replaces Phillip Mutulu.
Unduche, born and raised in southern Ethiopia, was the best of seven final candidates for the province’s top flood fighter job. Four, including Unduche, were internal candidates.
The province says Unduche has 15 years experience in hydrological and flood issues in North America and Europe. For the past five years he has worked as the senior water control systems planning engineer for the province. Prior to joining the Manitoba government, he worked as a water resources engineer at AECOM, an international engineering services company.
He received his master of civil engineering at the International Hydraulic Engineering Institute in the Netherlands and undertook further post-graduate work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He also has a PhD in water resource engineering from the University of Manitoba and has worked in various organizations as a water resources engineer and water resources professor dealing with various flood-forecasting and flood-management issues.
Unduche’s first spring flood outlook will be released later this week.
He has lived in Manitoba since 2004. He is married and has two young children.
He told reporters that he decided to come to Manitoba to further his study of water by essentially Googling places that flooded a lot and universities that specialized in flood forecasting.
"When I was in Africa I Googled, 'What is the best place for water and flood fighting' and Manitoba is one of the best places," he said. "That’s how I came to Manitoba."
Unduche was a student of U of M Professor Jay Doering.
Fisaha Unduche, introduced today, now leads a 12-person team going into a possible -- although it’s too early to predict how severe, if at all -- spring flood.
Unduche, 38, replaces Phillip Mutulu.
Unduche, born and raised in southern Ethiopia, was the best of seven final candidates for the province’s top flood fighter job. Four, including Unduche, were internal candidates.
The province says Unduche has 15 years experience in hydrological and flood issues in North America and Europe. For the past five years he has worked as the senior water control systems planning engineer for the province. Prior to joining the Manitoba government, he worked as a water resources engineer at AECOM, an international engineering services company.
He received his master of civil engineering at the International Hydraulic Engineering Institute in the Netherlands and undertook further post-graduate work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
He also has a PhD in water resource engineering from the University of Manitoba and has worked in various organizations as a water resources engineer and water resources professor dealing with various flood-forecasting and flood-management issues.
Unduche’s first spring flood outlook will be released later this week.
He has lived in Manitoba since 2004. He is married and has two young children.
He told reporters that he decided to come to Manitoba to further his study of water by essentially Googling places that flooded a lot and universities that specialized in flood forecasting.
"When I was in Africa I Googled, 'What is the best place for water and flood fighting' and Manitoba is one of the best places," he said. "That’s how I came to Manitoba."
Unduche was a student of U of M Professor Jay Doering.
Ethiopia Hopes to become a Chinese textile hub
The Ethiopian Textile
Industry Development Institute (ETIDI) says the call by Ethiopian
President Mulatu Teshome in January for Chinese clothing and textile
companies to invest in his country is grounded in good sense.
"Ethiopia offers cheap labour, free rent, cheap electricity, duty-free import of machinery and goods, favourable rules and regulations, cheap air freight, quality and Ethiopian cotton, " Bantihun Gessesse, institute spokesperson told just-style.
And his optimism is backed by Sun Guoqiang, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Ethiopia, who told just-style: "China is looking to strengthen bilateral relations this year with Ethiopia's textile sector as it has identified many opportunities and because China is looking for alternatives in Africa."
Teshome highlights that China needs to keep its production costs down for its textile industry to be globally competitive.
He also adds that Ethiopia is ready to take on a portion of the 80m manufacturing jobs that China is expected to shed over the next few years due to rising labour costs.
Ethiopia's clothing and textile sector is undergoing rapid expansion fuelled by foreign investment.
And while there are as yet no serious Chinese investors in Ethiopia's textile industry, Chinese shoe manufacturer Huajian has relocated production facilities to Ethiopia to escape rising costs at home.
"Ethiopia offers cheap labour, free rent, cheap electricity, duty-free import of machinery and goods, favourable rules and regulations, cheap air freight, quality and Ethiopian cotton, " Bantihun Gessesse, institute spokesperson told just-style.
And his optimism is backed by Sun Guoqiang, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Ethiopia, who told just-style: "China is looking to strengthen bilateral relations this year with Ethiopia's textile sector as it has identified many opportunities and because China is looking for alternatives in Africa."
Teshome highlights that China needs to keep its production costs down for its textile industry to be globally competitive.
He also adds that Ethiopia is ready to take on a portion of the 80m manufacturing jobs that China is expected to shed over the next few years due to rising labour costs.
Ethiopia's clothing and textile sector is undergoing rapid expansion fuelled by foreign investment.
And while there are as yet no serious Chinese investors in Ethiopia's textile industry, Chinese shoe manufacturer Huajian has relocated production facilities to Ethiopia to escape rising costs at home.
Now it's Ethiopia spying on Americans' computer
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Maryland resident who claims the government of his native Ethiopia spied on him with an electronic program that was created – and is sold to governments – for the purpose of observing the life people have on their computers – unnoticed.
Amid all the reports of spying on Americans by the U.S. government, through the National Security Agency, FBI and others, the complaint filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of a man identified only by the pseudonym of Mr. Kidane takes allegations to a whole new level.
The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington alleges the Ethiopian government infected his computer so that it could wiretap his private Skype calls and monitor his family’s every use of the computer for months on end.
“We have clear evidence of a foreign government secretly infiltrating an American’s computer in America, listening to his calls, and obtaining access to a wide swath of his private life,” said EFF Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo.
“The current Ethiopian government has a well-documented history of human rights violations against anyone it sees as political opponents. Here, it wiretapped a United States citizen on United States soil in an apparent attempt to obtain information about members of the Ethiopian diaspora who have been critical of their former government. U.S. laws protect Americans from this type of unauthorized electronic spying, regardless of who is responsible.”
The EFF said a forensic examination of the computer revealed the spyware, which is made and sold to governments by the Gamma Group of Companies, was installed when Kidane opened a Microsoft Word document.
There was an attachment with a program called FinSpy, and that program over months recorded his activities on the computer. It was discovered because the spyware left traces of the files it copied and surreptitiously sent to a secret control server located in Ethiopia and controlled by that government, the claim alleges.
“The problem of governments violating the privacy of their political opponents through digital surveillance is not isolated – it’s already big and growing bigger,” Cindy Cohn, the EFF legal director, said. “Yet despite the international intrigue and genuine danger involved in his lawsuit, at bottom it’s a straightforward case. An American citizen was wiretapped at his home in Maryland, and he’s asking for his day in court under longstanding American laws.”
Officials with the EFF said the attack apparently is part of a systematic program by the Ethiopian government to spy on perceived political opponents in the Ethiopian diaspora around the world.
They said human rights agencies and news outlets elsewhere have made related claims.
And they said Ethiopia is not alone. They said CitizenLab, a team of University of Toronto researchers, has discovered evidence that governments around the world are using FinSpy and other technologies to spy on human rights and democracy advocates.
EFF reports, “Essentially, the malware took over our client’s computer and secretly sent copies of his activities, including Skype calls, web searches and indications of websites visited [and] other activity, to the Ethiopian government.”
“This case is important because it demonstrates that state-sponsored malware infections and can indeed are occurring in the U.S. against U.S. citizens. It seeks to demonstrate that warrantless wiretapping is illegal and can be the basis of a lawsuit in the United States, regardless of who engages in it,” EFF said.
The complaint explains FinSpy can record Internet telephone calls, text messages, and file transfers transmitted through Skype, record every keystroke on the computer, and take a picture of the contents displayed on a computer’s screen. It can even covertly record audio from a computer’s microphone even when no Skype calls are taking place.
The complaint said the Internet Protocol to which the spyware sent data was inside Ethiopia, and was under control of the state-owned Ethio Telecom communications company.
An interview with Ethiopian Airlines ET-702 co-Pilot Mother
An interview with Ethiopian Airlines ET-702 Pilot Mother
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Ethiopia The Promised Land!
The Promised Land
Drive 155 miles south from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, and you’ll find yourself in a little patch of Jamaica, where dreadlocked Rasta settlers, many born in the Caribbean, have now made their home. Welcome to the community of Shashemane—Ethiopia’s version of “Amish country.”
From left, Ras Hailu Tefari and musician Sydney Salmon. Tefari is from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and runs the “the world’s only banana-leaf art gallery” in Shashemane.
YYou do not have to look far in Africa to see the influence of reggae music. Once I met a Tuareg tribesman in the Sahara Desert who proudly played me a Bob Marley ringtone on his cell phone. Reggae music swept ’round the world in the 1970s, then receded a bit in most places. It still lives large in Africa. There is great reverence for the Jamaican classics, but there are also many lively local scenes. Reggae is music for the dispossessed, and Africa itself plays a leading role in reggae’s narrative. In reggae mythology, Africa is the Promised Land, the destined homeland where the African diaspora will someday be repatriated. Africa—and Ethiopia in particular—is the “Land of Zion” sung about in so many reggae songs.
Reggae has its own code and language, infused largely with the ideology of the Rastafarians—followers of a spiritual system that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica. A big influence on the Rastafarians was Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader in the 1920s who led a Back to Africa movement among descendants of slaves throughout the Americas. Rastafarians regard Garvey as a prophet who predicted that one day a black man would be crowned king in Africa and would bring deliverance to dark-skinned people everywhere.
“Follow, follow, follow, follow Marcus Garvey’s footsteps,” sang reggae singer Burning Spear. And where exactly was Garvey going? “We’re leaving Babylon, we’re going to our father’s land,” Bob Marley told us in “Exodus.” Not Babylon, Long Island, mind you, but the metaphorical one where, as Marley sang, “the system is the vampire”—the wicked place that embodies all of what’s wrong with Western culture. Babylon, as Steel Pulse said, “makes the rules . . . where my people suffer.”
When Haile Selassie I was declared emperor of Ethiopia, in 1930, the followers of Garvey believed Garvey’s prophecy had been fulfilled. They declared His Imperial Majesty to be the Messiah, or “Jah.” Selassie’s pre-coronation name, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was adopted to name their movement.
Last November, I had some business in Ethiopia, but I went a couple of days early. We know much about the influence of Ethiopia on the Rastafarians. I was curious to see the impact of the Rastafarian movement on Ethiopia. Rastafarians encourage their followers to pick up and head to Ethiopia, to repatriate. Underneath reggae’s cool backbeat rhythms are endless messages to get thee back to Zion. Billions of dollars worth of that message have been repeated over and over, all around the planet, for the past 40 years. With more than a million Rastafarians in the world now, shouldn’t Ethiopia be teeming with Rastas?
Well, “teeming” isn’t quite the word, but there is a thriving community. In 1948, Haile Selassie made a substantial land grant to accommodate, for free, any Caribbean of African descent who wanted to “come home.” A wave of Rastafarian settlers in the late 60s made that community come alive. The land grant was in a village called Shashemane, deep in the beautiful Rift Valley, a six-hour drive south from Addis Ababa, the capital. I got a car and headed down.
Ethiopia these days is very much a country on the move. Once synonymous with famine (think Live Aid), it now has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. People in the capital told me that the Rasta settlement in Shashemane was today a bit of a tourist attraction for middle-class Ethiopians. Ethiopia has been through a lot of changes in the last 40 years. Haile Selassie and the monarchy were overthrown in a violent communist coup in 1974. That new regime, called the Derg, fell to rebels, in 1991, and then a new federal republic was declared in 1994. Anything connected to Selassie fell out of favor, and Shashemane endured some tough decades. Much of the land grant was reclaimed. Still, hardcore settlers hung on, and although the number of new arrivals diminished, immigration continued. I wondered if this Jamaican outpost had now become some sort of dreadlocked attraction for day-tripping sightseers—the African equivalent of Amish country.
The road south out of Addis was initially rough and congested with belching Chinese dump trucks, but it soon opened up to a clear new highway. Traffic thinned to mostly just donkey carts, the occasional cattle herd, and the constant stream of pedestrians you see on African roads. It was a stunning drive and got better as we went along. The sky was clear blue, expansive, and dotted with striking cumulus-cloud formations. We drove on past beautiful lakes. The scenery got progressively more verdant, almost tropical. A few miles outside of Shashemane, I saw a sign with Bob Marley’s image and the red, yellow, and green Rasta colors.
Shashemane’s main drag is a major highway lined on both sides with rickety wooden stalls selling Rasta gear and drinks. Scooter taxis, with dreadlocked drivers, were parked at all angles. There is a small museum, signs for lodges and juice restaurants, and various temples for worship. A few aggressive hawkers aside, it seemed to be a friendly and happy place. People smiled, warmly greeting “brothers and sisters” with back-and-forth salutations in the unmistakable Jamaican patois. There were no throngs of Rastas or tourists, though. The vibe was very quiet, very small town. The real action seemed to be on the many dirt lanes that run off into the jungle.
I had arranged to meet some of the community’s “elders” and also with a reggae musician, Sydney Salmon. “Like the fish,” he says,” but they call me Solomon here.” Born in Jamaica, he migrated to New York, studied music, played with many notable reggae artists, including Beres Hammond, became a Rasta, and then, in 2000, released a single, “Shashemane on My Mind.” It must indeed have been on his mind, because he soon packed up and moved here, marrying an Ethiopian woman, and forming the Imperial Majestic Band. He has become a bit of a star in Ethiopia. Thirteen years on, “a newcomer,” he does not see himself going back.
I met one of the Shashemane’s latter-day pioneers, Maurice Lee, in a local juice bar. (Rastas to not drink alcohol, and, for the most part, are also vegetarian.) Lee is a burly 62-year-old man with gray dreads tucked under a knit Rasta cap. He had arrived from Jamaica, in 1976, with a “brother.” Many of the original settlers had left by then, and building out the community was difficult. But he said that these had been “the best 37 years” of his life. To survive as a Rasta in Shashemane, one must live with great ingenuity. Ras Hailu Tefari, a gentle, handsome 60-something Rasta from St. Vincent, runs the Banana Art Gallery. It is surrounded by a lush tropical garden, and sells remarkable pieces made by gluing together banana leaves of different colors—“the world’s only banana-leaf art gallery,” according to Tefari. Alex and Sandrine, a Rasta couple, new arrivals via Paris and Martinique, opened the Zion Train Lodge with 16 colorful bamboo huts for the growing tourist trade. Its brochure invites you to “return to the source, and come and share the positive vibration.” Alex, a kindly man with a perfectly dreadlocked beard, pointed out a blissful lineup of Japanese Rasta guests sitting silently on the lobby porch. Shashemane, he said, had become an iconic place of “pilgrimage” and curiosity for Rastas everywhere, but admitted that most of his customers are Ethiopians.
It was evident that the Exodus, the “movement of Jah people,” as Bob Marley put it, never really came to pass in Zion, despite all that singing and proselytizing. Best estimates put the Rasta settler population in the 400 to 700 range, down from a peak of more than 1,000 before 1974, and there are few new arrivals. Reasons for this run the gamut, from the fear that “lions are eating people there” to cost, but the main problem is the Ethiopian government. No “repatriates” have ever been granted citizenship or even an identity card. You can sense a feeling among the settlers that they did not get the welcome home they thought they deserved. They came, however, to create a perfect spiritual community, not to fit into Ethiopian society. Therein lies the rub. They have never really assimilated, and have a complex relationship with the “outside,” made more complex by religious and language differences. In that regard, the Amish parallel holds up.
For all the difficulties, though, the Rastas who came and stayed seem happy with their choice. They have built a very tight-knit, peaceful, and spiritual community, albeit with a few rough touts trying to peddle ganja. Their land is rich, they live in natural beauty, and the people look healthy and satisfied. They have a school and even a Web site (shashamane.org). As for ganja, that Rastafarian staple, although it is illegal in Ethiopia, it seems to be quietly tolerated in Shashemane. One Rasta told me, “It’s a holy sacrament. We use ganja instead of wine, but we are not arrogant about it and do not want to provoke the system.”
For all the drum-beating and religious and musical encouragement—for all the exhortations about Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie—the Back to Africa movement never really happened. If they are going anywhere, most descendants of African slaves are not “going home.” Even Bob Marley, the most famous Rastafarian of all, did not do it, though he visited Shashemane in 1978. (His wife, Rita, wanted to transfer his body to Ethiopia, his fatherland, but his grave remains in Jamaica.) More than a million people have emigrated to the United States from the Caribbean, in contrast to the few thousand that ever made it to Ethiopia. But the settlers of Shashemane seem to have few regrets. Desmond Martin, an old-timer Rastafarian who came in 1975 from Kingston, told me, “I escaped from Babylon. It was difficult, but I’m never going back.”
Reggae has its own code and language, infused largely with the ideology of the Rastafarians—followers of a spiritual system that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica. A big influence on the Rastafarians was Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader in the 1920s who led a Back to Africa movement among descendants of slaves throughout the Americas. Rastafarians regard Garvey as a prophet who predicted that one day a black man would be crowned king in Africa and would bring deliverance to dark-skinned people everywhere.
“Follow, follow, follow, follow Marcus Garvey’s footsteps,” sang reggae singer Burning Spear. And where exactly was Garvey going? “We’re leaving Babylon, we’re going to our father’s land,” Bob Marley told us in “Exodus.” Not Babylon, Long Island, mind you, but the metaphorical one where, as Marley sang, “the system is the vampire”—the wicked place that embodies all of what’s wrong with Western culture. Babylon, as Steel Pulse said, “makes the rules . . . where my people suffer.”
When Haile Selassie I was declared emperor of Ethiopia, in 1930, the followers of Garvey believed Garvey’s prophecy had been fulfilled. They declared His Imperial Majesty to be the Messiah, or “Jah.” Selassie’s pre-coronation name, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was adopted to name their movement.
Last November, I had some business in Ethiopia, but I went a couple of days early. We know much about the influence of Ethiopia on the Rastafarians. I was curious to see the impact of the Rastafarian movement on Ethiopia. Rastafarians encourage their followers to pick up and head to Ethiopia, to repatriate. Underneath reggae’s cool backbeat rhythms are endless messages to get thee back to Zion. Billions of dollars worth of that message have been repeated over and over, all around the planet, for the past 40 years. With more than a million Rastafarians in the world now, shouldn’t Ethiopia be teeming with Rastas?
Well, “teeming” isn’t quite the word, but there is a thriving community. In 1948, Haile Selassie made a substantial land grant to accommodate, for free, any Caribbean of African descent who wanted to “come home.” A wave of Rastafarian settlers in the late 60s made that community come alive. The land grant was in a village called Shashemane, deep in the beautiful Rift Valley, a six-hour drive south from Addis Ababa, the capital. I got a car and headed down.
Ethiopia these days is very much a country on the move. Once synonymous with famine (think Live Aid), it now has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. People in the capital told me that the Rasta settlement in Shashemane was today a bit of a tourist attraction for middle-class Ethiopians. Ethiopia has been through a lot of changes in the last 40 years. Haile Selassie and the monarchy were overthrown in a violent communist coup in 1974. That new regime, called the Derg, fell to rebels, in 1991, and then a new federal republic was declared in 1994. Anything connected to Selassie fell out of favor, and Shashemane endured some tough decades. Much of the land grant was reclaimed. Still, hardcore settlers hung on, and although the number of new arrivals diminished, immigration continued. I wondered if this Jamaican outpost had now become some sort of dreadlocked attraction for day-tripping sightseers—the African equivalent of Amish country.
The road south out of Addis was initially rough and congested with belching Chinese dump trucks, but it soon opened up to a clear new highway. Traffic thinned to mostly just donkey carts, the occasional cattle herd, and the constant stream of pedestrians you see on African roads. It was a stunning drive and got better as we went along. The sky was clear blue, expansive, and dotted with striking cumulus-cloud formations. We drove on past beautiful lakes. The scenery got progressively more verdant, almost tropical. A few miles outside of Shashemane, I saw a sign with Bob Marley’s image and the red, yellow, and green Rasta colors.
Shashemane’s main drag is a major highway lined on both sides with rickety wooden stalls selling Rasta gear and drinks. Scooter taxis, with dreadlocked drivers, were parked at all angles. There is a small museum, signs for lodges and juice restaurants, and various temples for worship. A few aggressive hawkers aside, it seemed to be a friendly and happy place. People smiled, warmly greeting “brothers and sisters” with back-and-forth salutations in the unmistakable Jamaican patois. There were no throngs of Rastas or tourists, though. The vibe was very quiet, very small town. The real action seemed to be on the many dirt lanes that run off into the jungle.
I had arranged to meet some of the community’s “elders” and also with a reggae musician, Sydney Salmon. “Like the fish,” he says,” but they call me Solomon here.” Born in Jamaica, he migrated to New York, studied music, played with many notable reggae artists, including Beres Hammond, became a Rasta, and then, in 2000, released a single, “Shashemane on My Mind.” It must indeed have been on his mind, because he soon packed up and moved here, marrying an Ethiopian woman, and forming the Imperial Majestic Band. He has become a bit of a star in Ethiopia. Thirteen years on, “a newcomer,” he does not see himself going back.
I met one of the Shashemane’s latter-day pioneers, Maurice Lee, in a local juice bar. (Rastas to not drink alcohol, and, for the most part, are also vegetarian.) Lee is a burly 62-year-old man with gray dreads tucked under a knit Rasta cap. He had arrived from Jamaica, in 1976, with a “brother.” Many of the original settlers had left by then, and building out the community was difficult. But he said that these had been “the best 37 years” of his life. To survive as a Rasta in Shashemane, one must live with great ingenuity. Ras Hailu Tefari, a gentle, handsome 60-something Rasta from St. Vincent, runs the Banana Art Gallery. It is surrounded by a lush tropical garden, and sells remarkable pieces made by gluing together banana leaves of different colors—“the world’s only banana-leaf art gallery,” according to Tefari. Alex and Sandrine, a Rasta couple, new arrivals via Paris and Martinique, opened the Zion Train Lodge with 16 colorful bamboo huts for the growing tourist trade. Its brochure invites you to “return to the source, and come and share the positive vibration.” Alex, a kindly man with a perfectly dreadlocked beard, pointed out a blissful lineup of Japanese Rasta guests sitting silently on the lobby porch. Shashemane, he said, had become an iconic place of “pilgrimage” and curiosity for Rastas everywhere, but admitted that most of his customers are Ethiopians.
It was evident that the Exodus, the “movement of Jah people,” as Bob Marley put it, never really came to pass in Zion, despite all that singing and proselytizing. Best estimates put the Rasta settler population in the 400 to 700 range, down from a peak of more than 1,000 before 1974, and there are few new arrivals. Reasons for this run the gamut, from the fear that “lions are eating people there” to cost, but the main problem is the Ethiopian government. No “repatriates” have ever been granted citizenship or even an identity card. You can sense a feeling among the settlers that they did not get the welcome home they thought they deserved. They came, however, to create a perfect spiritual community, not to fit into Ethiopian society. Therein lies the rub. They have never really assimilated, and have a complex relationship with the “outside,” made more complex by religious and language differences. In that regard, the Amish parallel holds up.
For all the difficulties, though, the Rastas who came and stayed seem happy with their choice. They have built a very tight-knit, peaceful, and spiritual community, albeit with a few rough touts trying to peddle ganja. Their land is rich, they live in natural beauty, and the people look healthy and satisfied. They have a school and even a Web site (shashamane.org). As for ganja, that Rastafarian staple, although it is illegal in Ethiopia, it seems to be quietly tolerated in Shashemane. One Rasta told me, “It’s a holy sacrament. We use ganja instead of wine, but we are not arrogant about it and do not want to provoke the system.”
For all the drum-beating and religious and musical encouragement—for all the exhortations about Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie—the Back to Africa movement never really happened. If they are going anywhere, most descendants of African slaves are not “going home.” Even Bob Marley, the most famous Rastafarian of all, did not do it, though he visited Shashemane in 1978. (His wife, Rita, wanted to transfer his body to Ethiopia, his fatherland, but his grave remains in Jamaica.) More than a million people have emigrated to the United States from the Caribbean, in contrast to the few thousand that ever made it to Ethiopia. But the settlers of Shashemane seem to have few regrets. Desmond Martin, an old-timer Rastafarian who came in 1975 from Kingston, told me, “I escaped from Babylon. It was difficult, but I’m never going back.”
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