“I was embarrassed that you drove a taxicab. But not anymore.” (ማዳመጥ ወይም መታየት ያለበት ታሪክ）

Mohammad Ashraf Faridi and Muhammad Faridi

 

Mohammad Ashraf Faridi immigrated from Pakistan to the United States in the 1980s. He settled in New York City, and his family joined him almost a decade later. By then, Mohammad was earning a living driving a cab.
At StoryCorps, his oldest son, Muhammad, talked about growing up as the son of a taxi driver.

Top photo: Mohammad Ashraf Faridi with his son, Muhammad Faridi, at their StoryCorps interview in New York City.
Bottom photo: A young Muhammad Faridi (right) with his sister and little brother while still in Pakistan. Courtesy of the Faridi family.

 

Muhammad Faridi (MF) & Mohammad Ashraf Faridi (MAF)
Muhammad Faridi (MF): You used to go to work and then come back home around 2am. So in the morning you used to send me to go clean your car. I would vacuum, take out the mats, smack them against the pole to get the dust out. And then I was maybe 14, 15, and I was doing that and a kid from the neighborhood just began making fun of me. ’Hey! Cab boy! Taxi boy!’ That’s one of those experiences that made me embarrassed.
Mohammad Ashraf Faridi (MAF): At that time my financial position was no good. 
MF: After your 18th birthday you can get your taxi license. 
MAF: So you said, ’I want to help you.’
MF: We drove together for a couple of days.
MAF: Right.
MF: You showed me the streets, bridges, everything. And I started college, and went to law school, and I was still working part-time, driving. And then I began working for a federal district court judge. The judge at that time was in his late 80s. So I used to help him carry his briefcase down. And one day, the judge called for a car service, and you came to pick him up.
MAF: Yeah.
MF: I put the briefcase in the car. We waved at each other. And you drove the judge home. The next day the judge and me, we were having lunch. I said, ’The driver who picked you up yesterday was my father.’ The judge was very upset at me that I didn’t introduce him to you. I, at that point, never really liked talking about my family. We don’t come from Park Avenue and I was embarrassed that you drove a taxicab. But not anymore. As I grew older, I’m proud. You know, I think you’ve done a great job.
MAF: The bottom line is this: I got everything in my life — my friends, my family. I am happy.
MF: And in my life if I can emulate that by a fraction I would think that I’ve lived a good life.

This African Airline (Ethiopian Airlines) Wants to Be the New Emirates (WJ)

This African Airline Wants to Be the New Emirates

Aided by China, Ethiopian Airlines is growing by leaps and bounds, challenging the regional dominance of foreign carriers and now expanding into the U.S.

By

Alexandra Wexler

Updated March 9, 2018 8:53 a.m. ET

7 COMMENTS

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia—A new global air hub is developing in an unlikely place: this highland capital in East Africa.
Over the past decade, state-owned Ethiopian Airlines has become Africa’s largest carrier and bought stakes in continental rivals. Its passenger count, which has quadrupled over that time, is expected to surpass 10 million by the end of 2018. The airline also has built one of the world’s youngest fleets, including dozens of Airbus SE and Boeing Co. planes.
For the first time, an African airline is challenging European and Middle Eastern airlines’ commercial dominance of the continent’s skies. And now Ethiopian Airlines is pushing into North America, adding a fifth destination—Chicago—this year.

Ethiopia is one of just seven African countries cleared for direct flights to the U.S.—a connection that harks back to the Ethiopian carrier’s founding in 1945 as a joint venture with the now-defunct Trans World Airlines.
“Ethiopia is becoming a critical hub for intercontinental traffic for people traveling from the U.S.,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a visit to the country on Thursday. “I think this is going to promote a great deal of interest in Africa and in Ethiopia.”
“We need to educate the American public,” Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines’ chief executive, said in an interview. The airline this year launched its first digital marketing strategy, targeting potential fliers via Facebook , Google, Twitter and travel websites like Expedia .
Mairéad O’Grady, a 30-year-old educator from Washington, D.C., who flew on Ethiopian recently to Uganda, is one of the new converts. “It was a combination of the cost and the flight time; it seemed like the best of both options,” she said.
This year, Ethiopian will unveil two testaments to its ambition: a $363 million overhaul of its shabby and overcrowded terminal at Bole International Airport that will more than double annual passenger capacity to 22 million—roughly matching Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport’s annual traffic—and a $65 million airport hotel. Meantime, inside a nearby $100 million aviation academy, recruits practice evacuations in a purpose-built swimming pool, while executives plot the company’s expansion.
“Even though [Ethiopian] is 100% state-owned, it’s run like a business: The board runs it as if it’s British Airways or United Airlines,” said Zemedeneh Negatu, chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund LLC, a U.S.-based investment firm that consults on aviation. “Many other African airlines are run like the personal fiefdom of the government of the time.”

ለምን የሳንድያጎ የኢትዮጵያ ኮሙኒቲ አባል አልሆኑም？ Survey and Suggestion Box

ይህ  ፎርም  የእርስዎን  ማንነት ሳያውቅ  ያለወትን አስተያየት ለማወቅ እና  ለወደፊቱ  ጠንካራ  የሆነ   ኮሙኒቲ ለመገንባት ለሚደረገው  ጥረት አጋዥ  የሆናል በማለት በግላችን  የምናደርገው  የአስተያየት መስጫ ጥናት  ነው：：
እባክዎ  እርስዎ  በፈለጉት  መንገድ  ነጻ  ሆነው አስተያየት ይስጡ :: የእርስዎ  አስተያየት በጣም  አስፈላጊና ጠቃሚ  ነው። 

Ethiopia: If you misspell your business sign you may be fined

If you misspell your business sign you may be fined . According one news source any  governmental, public  or  private entity will be fined if any of their signs contain any misspelled Afan Ormo words. This comes after the local government starts enforcing its new rule in various signs across the city by simply putting a red hug  X  on signs and banners even hotel and restaurant menus who they think hold a misspelled or grammatically incorrect sentences. According to the Amharic news any future offenses (misspellings)   will be seen  as a violation  of city's code and business and governmental or public offices will be forced to pay hefty fines.

This could be the 1st in its kind to fine someone or business for misspelling a word or writing grammatically incorrect sentence. Some thinks the government is going to far to relinquish citizen's basic right such as freedom of speech  and other granted rights by the Ethiopian constitution. So far we have not heard how the Federal government is reacting this new local rules  

Guess what the Movie "The Black Panther" is not based on a mythical or fictional land, but it is based on Ethiopia.

Guess what the Movie "The Black Panther" is not based on a mythical or fictional land,  but  it is based on Ethiopia.

After hearing, watching and reading about The Black Panther 's reaction from people yesterday I decided to go to the movie theater to watch it,unfortunately the 7:00PM show was sold out and they told me I had to return to the 9:15 PM show. Since I did not have that time to stay till 9PM and I decided to watch it  for some other day and left . Then,  I returned to my office and soon I got a news feed from BBC about The Black Panther , the news was a video clip from BBC Africa an  interview given by one of the cast  member Lupita Nyong'o about the movie's premiere in South Africa .

During the interview Lupita said The Black Panther is based on a "fictional" African country which is  never been colonized and has been independent  and she said her character NAKIA   is a warrior  and queen who is defending her land from invaders.

Daaa! That country  is Ethiopia and her character is an Ethiopian Queen, who is  the greatest queen of the world called   MAKIDA or  aka QUEEN OF SHEBA or some call it SHIBA.  Also I was watching in the internet some pictures from The Black Panther how the costume is influenced by African culture and some of the narratives are  African real lives. 


So the movie  "The Black Panther" is not based on a fictional or mythical land but  it is based on real country and real people.

የውክልና ማስረጃን ኢትዮጵያዊ ውስጥ እንዲሰራ የማድረጉ ሂደት አሰራር ለውጥ ተደጓል

U.S. Embassy Statement on the Ethiopian Government’s Declared State of Emergency

We strongly disagree with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency that includes restrictions on fundamental rights such as assembly and expression.

We recognize and share concerns expressed by the government about incidents of violence and loss of life, but firmly believe that the answer is greater freedom, not less.
The challenges facing Ethiopia, whether to democratic reform, economic growth, or lasting stability, are best addressed through inclusive discourse and political processes, rather than through the imposition of restrictions.
The declaration of a state of emergency undermines recent positive steps toward creating a more inclusive political space, including the release of thousands of prisoners. Restrictions on the ability of the Ethiopian people to express themselves peacefully sends a message that they are not being heard.
We strongly urge the government to rethink this approach and identify other means to protect lives and property while preserving, and indeed expanding, the space for meaningful dialogue and political participation that can pave the way to a lasting democracy.

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SOURCE