Author Archive
28 Dec 2014
“We Shall Persevere, Ethiopia!”
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”, decreed Maya Angelou, the great African American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer. “I shall persevere!” wrote Eskinder Nega, the imprisoned and preeminent defender and hero of press freedom in Ethiopia, in a letter smuggled out of the infamous Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality,
21 Dec 2014
The Castro Brothers, the African Brothers and Brother Obama
Cuba finally coming in from the Cold (War)? “I am not a dictator, and I do not think I will become one. I will not maintain power with a machine gun,” said Fidel Castro in an interview in January 1959, shortly after he ousted President Fulgencio Batista. With that declaration, Castro established Cuba as the
15 Dec 2014
Saving the ICC from African Thugtators
International Criminal Court Prosecutor throws in the towel It is a dark and gloomy month on the “Dark Continent”! It is the worst of times in Africa when a man in the highest political office accused of egregious crimes against humanity waltzes out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) grinning like a Cheshire cat and
07 Dec 2014
Who Polices the Police in America?
Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis The tip of the iceberg: Not isolated cases On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43
03 Dec 2014
ኢትዮጵያ፡ እ.ኤ.አ ኖቬምብር 24/1974ን እናስታውስ (ፕሮፌሰር አለማየሁ ገብረማርያም)
ከፕሮፌሰር አለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም በነጻነት ለሀገሬ ባለፈው ሳምንት በዩናይትድ ስቴትስ አሜሪካ የሚኖሩ በርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን/ት ቤተሰቦች ከዘመዶቻቸው እና ከጓደኞቻቸው ጋር በመሆን በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ በመጥፎ ገጽታው ሲታወስ የሚኖረውን እ.ኤ.አ ኖቬምበር 14/1974 በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የተፈጸመውን የእልቂት ሰለባዎች ለማስታወስ በአንድ ላይ ተሰባስበው የጸሎት ስርዓት አድርገዋል፡፡ በዚያ የጥላቻ ዕለት የወታደራዊው አምባገነን ስብስብ ተራ ስብሰባ በማድረግ 60 ከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣኖችን፣ የመንግስት
30 Nov 2014
Ethiopia: Remember the 24th of November 1974
Last week, many Ethiopian families in the United States gathered in houses of worship with their relatives and friends to hold memorial services in remembrance of the victims of the massacre of the 24th of November 1974, a date that shall live in infamy in Ethiopian history. On that fateful day, a military junta gathered
24 Nov 2014
The de-Ethiopianization of Ethiopia
Author’s Note: For over four decades, the self-styled Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which clings to power by force in Ethiopia today, has been planning and waging a sustained and relentless political, social and cultural war to “de-Ethiopianize” Ethiopia. The TPLF’s de-Ethiopianization program and ideology are built around a set of specific strategies, policies, actions and practices
19 Nov 2014
ሀገሬ፣ ህዝቤ፣ ክብሬ…
እጅግ በጣም የተለዬ ችሎታ ያላት ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊት የኪነ ጥበብ ባለሙያ የሆነችው ሜሮን ጌትነት ባለፈው ሳምንት “ሀገሬ፣ ህዝቤ፣ ክብሬ” በሚል ርዕስ የተዘጋጀ ጠንካራ የሆነ የአማርኛ ግጥም በዩቱቢ ድረ ገጽ በመልቀቅ እንዲነበብ አድርጋለች፡፡ ሜሮንን ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ “ያየኋት” በዚህ አሁን በያዝነው ዓመት መስከረም ወር በአንዲት ኢትዮጵያዊት ልጃገረድ ላይ በተደረገው የጠለፋ ጋብቻ ወንጀል ላይ ተመስርቶ የተሰራውን ተውኔት (ፊልም) በማስታወቂያነት
17 Nov 2014
“Hagere, Hizbe, Kibre” (My Country, My People, My Honor)
The poet-artist with an “unconquerable soul”? Last week, Meron Getnet, the extraordinary young Ethiopian actress, put out on Youtube a powerful Amharic poem entitled, “Hagere, Hizbe, Kibre” (My Country, My People, My Honor). The last time I “saw” Meron was this past September in a video clip intended to be a promotional for the film DIFRET (COURAGE), a film
09 Nov 2014
Ethiopia 2014: I Always Remember in November and in…
Oh, Cruel November 2005! In 2005, Ethiopians faced unspeakable horrors. Following the parliamentary elections in May of that year, hundreds of Ethiopian citizens who protested the daylight theft of that election were massacred or seriously shot and wounded by police and security personnel under the exclusive command and control of the late regime leader Meles