Donald Trump’s shtick is: “America needs to be respected again because the rest of the world has lost respect for America.”

I don’t care much for The Donald.

But his shtick gnaws away at my mind as I think over the disgraceful “red carpet” treatment President Barack Obama received last month when he visited Ethiopia, the first ever for a sitting American President.

I know the whole red carpet drama is frivolity and vanity and not a big deal in the grand scheme of things; but to the extent that it represents a symbolic gesture of respect for a head of state and his/her nation, it is a big deal.

As I have said before, I am not much for pomp and circumstances and elaborate formal ceremonies. But I have been known to show up at my university’s commencement exercises clad in resplendent professorial regalia and occasionally carrying  the university mace as faculty marshal. Graduation ceremonies mean a lot to my students and their families.

I appreciate the symbolic significance of formal ceremonies; but they must be done with class and pizzazz.

I believe the “red carpet” treatment given to President Barack Obama in late July by Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) in Ethiopia  was a low down dirty shame and an insult to the office of the U.S. President and the people of the United States.

To the world, Barack Obama is the public face of the United States of America and the single most important representative of the people of the United States. As such, he deserves the highest respect during state visits.

The T-TPLF gave President Obama a red carpet treatment that was not even fit for Bozo the Clown!

It is totally mind-boggling why the T-TPLF dissed Obama.

Obama has been the T-TPLF’s  principal bankroller.

Obama doled out billions of dollars to the T-TPLF every year financing their corrupt and criminal enterprises.

Obama continues to turn a blind eye, deaf ears and muted lips the T-TPLF’s crimes against humanity.

Obama lied through his teeth to give credibility and legitimacy to the T-TPLF. Obama had the gall to say the 100 percent “election victory” claimed by the T-TPLF this past May is “democratic”. His National Security Adviser Susan Rice emphatically declared to the press that the “President believes it is absolutely 100 democratic.” Then Rice busted out laughing  uncontrollably!

What did Obama get in return for all the favors he has done to T-TPLF?  DISRESPECT!

What did America get in return? DISRESPECT!

High rollers in Las Vegas have received better red carpet treatment than President Obama in Addis Ababa.

The “red carpet treatment” means “something” as a symbolic gesture of respect. That is why important state visits and other official affairs are often opened in red carpet receptions and honor guard inspections. Glamorous celebrities the world over present themselves to their adoring public by sauntering on the red carpet.

The red carpet tradition goes back a long way, though much of its meaning is shrouded in the in the fog of history.

In Aeschylus’ play Agamemnon (458 BC),  Agamemnon is greeted by his spiteful and unfaithful wife Clytemnestra upon his homecoming from the Trojan War.

Clytemnestra, after delivering the guileful monologue of the forlorn wife before the elders of Argolis, directs her handmaidens to spread a red carpet between the chariot and the door for her husband as a gesture of her utmost respect.

But Agamemnon hesitates to walk on the crimson carpet knowing that such treatment was reserved only for the gods.

Our modern gods —  presidents, prime ministers, heads of state, celebrities of all types — have long made it a habit of walking on the red carpet just to remind us that they are gods and we are mere mortals; and that it is our duty to pay them homage, if not worship them outright.

I don’t’ know if the most powerful man on earth could be classified as a god, at least on the level of the mythological Greek gods, but I believe he is entitled to a real red carpet treatment.

I was so appalled by the T-TPLF red carpet spectacle that I thought for a moment the T-TPLF was having Obama do “Ring Around the Rosie”.

They made Obama walk the four squares of  tacked-on “runner rugs”, with an imitation Persian rug as the centerpiece, to inspect the honor guards.

Obama walked 8 steps to the left from where he was standing, then made a hard right and took another 12 steps, another hard right and 15 steps, another hard right 11 steps and another hard right 7 steps to his original standing position.

The whole red carpet honor guarad ceremony took 59 seconds! Watch video HERE.

The only thing missing was for the statuesque crowd to sing out loud: “Ring-a-ring-a-roses,/ A pocket full of posies;/Ashes! Ashes!/ We all fall down/.

(How true, they all fall down!)

I believe the T-TPLF  showed utter disrespect to President Obama and the tax payers of the United States of America by giving him a Mickey Mouse red carpet treatment on his state visit. He deserved better.

I don’t know why the T-TPLF gave President Obama a crappy 59-second red carpet reception on his state visit.

Could it be that there is no honor and respect among thugs, thieves and thankless beggars?

Could it be that Hailemariam and his T-TPLF  bosses are so clueless that they really believed their Mickey Mouse red carpet and honor guard ceremony is what the President of the United States deserved?

There is no doubt Hailemariam and his puppet masters have been given enough red carpet ceremonies over the years to know what a real red carpet treatment is like.

Is it possible that Hailemariam and his paymasters are such clod-hopping country bumpkins and yokels that they do not even learn from others by watching?

I don’t mean fancy learning. I mean simple learning as in “monkey see, monkey do”.

Isn’t there someone around  to teach them:

Listen up! This is what a red carpet looks like. Notice! it is red. It is not variegated. That means multicolored. Pay attention! A red carpet is not an imitation Made in China olefin Persian carpet.  Check this out!  This is how you roll out a fifty-yard red carpet. Look here! The lesson is almost over.  You do not patch or tack together 8-feet “runner rugs” [long strips of cheap Chinese olefin rugs] to receive the President of the United States. Pay attention!! You ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, do not buy a 99-cent welcome rug from the Dollar Store to receive the President of the United States!!!!!

For crying out loud, if these guys are so clueless rolling out a red carpet, how can they be expected to roll out an economic plan for 100 million people!?

Even worse, the way they overlapped the imitation Persian rug over the runner rugs was so dangerous that Obama could have tripped and fallen flat on his face. (Aren’t the Secret Service folks supposed to watch out for the President’s safety from falling on slipping and snagging carpets? Many lay people saw the danger.)

The only rational explanation is that the T-TPLF bosses wanted to dis Barack Obama. Straight up! I am convinced that they wanted to tell Barack Obama he aint _ _ _ _ !

That really pisses me off, even though I am no longer a cheerleader for Barack Obama and have lost respect for him for lying to protect the T-TPLF.

Despite my personal feelings, I still believe Obama deserved  the highest respect as the President of the United States of America on his state visit to Ethiopia.

All I can say is that you can take the thug out of the bush but you can’t take the bush out of the thug!

It is true, “Money can’t buy you class!”

Shame on the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean’s People’s Liberation Front for giving President Obama a Mickey Mouse reception on his state visit!

Roll out the red carpet for Hailemariam Deslaegn (Rwanda visit,  August 21, 2015)

Roll out the “runner rugs”, cheap imitation Chinese Persian rugs and welcome mat from Huangpu, China for Obama!

This can’t be true!?

A polypropylene welcome door mat for the President of the United States?!?

(Thank goodness the President did not fall on his face tripped by the welcome mat overlaid on the rug. Of course, the rear tire of “The Beast” (presidential limo) pressed firmly on the edge of the “welcome mat” holding it in place so it does not slip when the President stepped on it. Did the Secret Service arrange that?!)

But it is TRUE!

The exact “charming welcome mat” is available for direct bulk order from Huangpu, China at this link:

http://www.customized-door-mats.com/sale-329177-red-blue-outside-entrance-polypropylene-door-mats-with-charming-welcome-printing.html

Donald Trump said, “America needs to be respected again because the rest of the world has lost respect for America.”

What would a “President” Donald Trump have done if he had visited Ethiopia and been given the Mickey Mouse red carpet treatment?

I doubt Trump would have taken such in-your-face disrespect without giving his hosts a piece of his mind.

I think he would have told the T-TPLF, with a slight variation, what he told China : “Listen you m—–f——, we’re going to tax you 25 percent!”.

“Listen you T-TPLF! We are going to cut your welfare aid check by 25 percent.”

Now, get a load of that to get R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Sea levels are rising faster than they did 50 years ago, and it’s only going to get worse

 ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sea levels worldwide rose an average of nearly 3 inches (8 cm) since 1992, the result of warming waters and melting ice, a panel of NASA scientists said on Wednesday.

In 2013, a United Nations panel predicted sea levels would rise from 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 meters) by the end of the century. The new research shows that sea level rise most likely will be at the high end of that range, said University of Colorado geophysicist Steve Nerem.

Sea levels are rising faster than they did 50 years ago and “it’s very likely to get worse in the future,” Nerem said.

The changes are not uniform. Some areas showed sea levels rising more than 9 inches (25 cm) and other regions, such as along the U.S. West Coast, actually falling, according to an analysis of 23 years of satellite data.

Scientists believe ocean currents and natural cycles are temporarily offsetting a sea level rise in the Pacific and the U.S. West Coast could see a significant hike in sea levels in the next 20 years.

“People need to understand that the planet is not only changing, it’s changed,” NASA scientist Tom Wagner told reporters on a conference call.

“If you’re going to put in major infrastructure like a water treatment plant or a power plant in a coastal zone … we have data you can now use to estimate what the impacts are going to be in the next 100 years,” Wagner said.

Low-lying regions, such as Florida, are especially vulnerable, added Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division.

”Even today, normal spring high tides cause street flooding in sections of Miami, something that didn’t happen regularly just a few decades ago,” Feilich said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS This Sept. 21, 2009 photo shows people on motorbikes wading through floodwaters caused by heavy rainfall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Sea levels rising because of global warming, along with increased storminess as the climate changes, will expose tens of millions of people in the world’s port cities to coastal flooding, says a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

More than 150 million people, mostly in Asia, live within 3 feet (1 meter) of the sea, he added.

The biggest uncertainty in forecasting sea level rise is determining how quickly the polar ice sheets will melt in response to warming temperatures.

“Significant changes are taking place today on ice sheets,” said Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California in Irvine. “It would take centuries to reverse the trend of ice retreat.”

Scientists said about one-third of the rise in sea levels is due to the expansion of warmer ocean water, one-third to ice loss from the polar ice sheets and the remaining third to melting mountain glaciers.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by David Adams and Cynthia Osterman)

Sudanese official calls for ending border disputes with Ethiopia

August 28, 2015 (GEDAREF) – The governor of Gedaref state, Merghani Salih, has called for redrawing borders between Sudan and Ethiopia in order to bring the long running dispute between the two nations to an end.

A road leading to Ethiopia-Sudan border (Photo Jamminglobal.com)

Farmers from two sides of the border used to dispute the ownership of land in the Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan’s eastern state of Gedaref.

The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders, and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local population. However, the Ethiopian opposition has used to accuse the ruling party of abandoning Ethiopian territory to Sudan.

In November 2014, Sudan’s president Omer al-Bashir and Ethiopia’s premier, Hailemariam Desalegn, instructed their foreign ministers to set a date for resuming borders demarcation after it had stopped following the death of Ethiopia’s former prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

Also, in December 2013 the Joint Sudanese- Ethiopian Higher Committee (JSEHC) announced that it reached an agreement to end disputes between farmers from two sides of the border over the ownership of agricultural land particularly in the Al-Fashaga.

Salih on Friday emphasized to a federal delegation from the societal and popular police currently visiting Gedaref the need to redraw the Sudanese-Ethiopian borders in order to end land disputes permanently.

He pointed to the importance of the joint military patrols to secure the borders between the two countries, praising the role of the societal and popular police in protecting the borders.

It should be mentioned that Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometers and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.

Sudan’s Gadarif and Blue Nile states border Ethiopia’s Amhara region. The borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908.

(ST)

Tens of thousands practice in secret as a result of centuries of persecution; now they are divided over going public

August 29, 2015 / Aljazeera

by Johnny Magdaleno

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Tedros, his wife, his 7-year-old daughter and his parents cannot stop the accusations of witchcraft. Despite holding reconciliatory meetings with community members in their village in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, their names and the names of other Jews continue to surface during Christian exorcism ceremonies.

A Jewish Ethiopian woman at the Beta Israel School in Addis Ababa in 2003. Natalie Behring-Chisholm / Getty Images

During these ceremonies, an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priest pours water over the huddled, naked bodies of those believed to be possessed by budas, or evil spirits. They turn maniacal and cry out the name of the buda they believe possesses them.

“They will shout, ‘I am Tedros! I saw this person walking, and I sucked their blood!’” he said. “‘Now I am in this person!’” Once a person is named as a buda and condemned, threats of violence from the Christian majority begin trickling in. Tedros and other Ethiopian Jews spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal.

Like many Jews in Ethiopia, Tedros spent most of his youth involved with causes he didn’t believe in. He joined the Orthodox Christian Church when he was 5 to deflect suspicions of his Jewishness. Now 57, he still publicly pretends to be a Christian.

As a young man, he was forced to enlist in Ethiopia’s army to defend the brutal Derg government in the 1980s. Led by Mengistu Hailemariam, the regime created an atmosphere of terror by executing students, teachers and political activists believed to support opposition parties and strewing their bodies in public areas. Instead of fighting, Tedros ran away to Kenya, where he remained for 15 years before returning to Ethiopia at the start of the millennium.

The Derg was replaced by the iron-fisted Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front in 1991, after years of fighting, and Ethiopia is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The national zeitgeist against Jews, however, has stayed much the same. Jews in North Wollo, the province where he and his family live, were persecuted when he left, he said, and they are still being persecuted there.

Jews have a quiet but central presence in Ethiopia’s history. Their origins are disputed, but it is believed they arrived less than 3,000 years ago, around the time King Menelik I, the son of the queen of Sheba and King Solomon, traveled from Israel to the Horn of Africa.

In Ethiopia, particularly in poorer rural areas outside the capital, Addis Ababa, their marginalization is a product of widespread belief that they are agents of evil. Common superstitions are that Jews shoot fire from their eyes, use Christian corpses to make their pottery and turn into hyenas at night.

Al Jazeera spoke to more than a dozen Jewish Ethiopians, researchers and historians who described these lingering beliefs as well as occasional violence in the Amhara and Tigray regions where they have been historically concentrated.

Some said incidents of houses razed with Jewish families still inside them and revenge killings when a death in the community is blamed on Jewish “sorcery” occurred as recently as May. A representative at the Ministry of Justice said it has not received complaints of discrimination or violence from the Jewish community, and the allegations could not be independently verified.

Still, many said the last decade has seen increasing religious tolerance in Ethiopia, particularly in the minor gains in government recognition of a mostly underground Jewish sect that calls itself the Beta Avraham.

Beta Avraham

In the neighborhood of Kechene in northern Addis Ababa, a group of young, college-educated Ethiopians sat on cowhide benches in the corner of one of the city’s two licensed synagogues, established in 2011. As the sun set, neighbors filed in to ready for Shabbat. About 30 people packed the humble room.

They were engineers, aid workers, biology teachers and jewelry shop owners. The youngest were fresh from class at Addis Ababa University, notebooks in hand, and as one of them swiped back and forth on his smartphone, app icons glided across a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Like Tedros, they are members of the Beta Avraham, a sect of Jews that split from the Beta Israel Jewish majority sometime in the 18th or 19th century through feigned conversions to Christianity.

Historically this sect wore wooden crosses in public and attended church with their neighbors, but behind closed doors they donned kippahs and swore on the Torah. In hiding their religion, they avoided the violence that plagued their ancestors and have been able to take advantage of opportunities previously closed to them because of the stigmas attached to their faith.

“It was clearly an economic breakaway from the Beta Israel,” said Dr. Lucy Steinitz, an American aid worker who spent three years visiting the synagogue. “They were practicing Christianity on the outside but retained some Jewish customs behind closed doors or inside caves. Over the years, that dissipated, and [customs have] been really difficult to maintain, especially in a relatively low-literate society.”

Daniel, the leader in this community, is one of a new generation of Beta Avraham who wants to reverse that norm. He is leading, for the first time in their history, a push for his people to step out into the public and embrace their Jewish heritage.

Patrick Baz / AFP / Getty Images

With that, he believes, will come greater economic mobility and new tiers of recognition by the Ethiopian government. Then, he said, the community aims to relocate to Israel and join the more than 125,000 Ethiopian Jews already spread throughout the country. Some 20,000 of them were evacuated from the Horn of Africa in two massive airlift operations by Israel Defense Forces in 1984 and 1991 as part of aliyah, the Israeli-sanctioned return of members of the Jewish diaspora to Jerusalem.

In May 2015 they found themselves in the international spotlight when hundreds of Israel’s Ethiopian Jews took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest years of systemic racism by the government. During the 1990s Ethiopian women alleged that Israeli authorities pressured them to take long-term birth control shots before and after their arrival in Israel, and the Israeli national blood bank has long denied Ethiopian-Israeli blood donations in an alleged attempt to curtail the spread of HIV. More than 40 percent of Ethiopian-Israelis conscripted for the Israel Defense Forces end up in military prison at some point during their service.

This year’s outcry was sparked by a video that went viral in April of two white Israeli police officers beating an Ethiopian Israel Defense Force soldier. Protests boiled up again in June when Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein dropped an investigation into whether the two officers should be fired.

Daniel and his cohort aim to help prepare the current generation by educating them about the developed world before they consider aliyah. “When we look at the [Ethiopians] in Israel, we see they have had a lot of challenges,” said Daniel. “They were illiterate [when they arrived]. They never had enough knowledge. How could they have prepared for things like technology? They did not even know how to use toilets.”

But many Beta Avraham aren’t supportive of Daniel’s mission. He receives threatening letters from communities secretly practicing in the north. There are 14 synagogues hidden in caves and forests in Ethiopia, he said. Each is led by a community leader who holds sway over the politics and beliefs of the congregation.

Ilia Yefimovich / Getty Images

There are estimated to be tens of thousands of Beta Avraham in Ethiopia who still practice in secret, many of whom have a starkly different experience from Daniel’s. In Addis Ababa, where new generations of educated youths are less likely to hold prejudices, the threat against Jews is significantly lower.

“The others do not know of the [changing] times,” Daniel said. “In the last 10 years, the government has changed.”

“People are very afraid that even though there is constitutional freedom of religion, it’s not going to last for very long,” said Steinitz. “There’s huge religious tension.”

But Abayneh Tadesse, a senior researcher at Ethiopia’s National Museum of History, said persecution is more about the jobs associated with Jews in Ethiopia. “Overall, it is more about their economy and less about their religion,” he said. “Society has a long history of connecting them with hell because they use fire to make their pottery and tools.”

Jews enjoyed political respite in the 19th century because of these skills. King Menelik II moved thousands of Ethiopian Jews from his home region in North Shewa to help build Addis Ababa in the late 1800s. He admired their expertise in weaving, pottery and blacksmithing. These Jews settled in the Kechene neighborhood.

Kechene’s Beta Avraham are responsible for producing some of the most iconic items of Ethiopian culture sold around Addis Ababa. With their mostly middle class social and technical jobs, the Beta Avraham have benefited Ethiopia for decades, despite being relegated to the margins as ostensible crucifiers and sorcerers.

“As a Zionist, you should struggle,” Solomon said, his hands cupped around a glass of tea. At a cafe near his house, the room was bustling with men and women wearing wooden crosses around their necks. But he is at ease. “Wherever I go, I am in God’s country.”

AFP

Mare Dibaba has become the first Ethiopian woman to win the marathon at the world athletics championships in Beijing. Three Ethiopian and three Kenyan athletes finished in the top ten.

Ethiopian runners Daniel Aschenik and Shewarge Amare won the 33rd edition of the Mexico City International Marathon which brought together more than 30,000 competitors on Sunday.

Daniel ran 42 kilometers 195 meters (26.22 miles) in two hours, 19 minutes and 23 seconds, claiming Ethiopia’s first win in the race after 25 years when countryman Tesfaye Taffa won in 1989.

In the woman’s category, Shewarge Amare won for a third time after her victories in 2014 and 2012. This year she registered a time of two hours, 41 minutes and ten seconds.

Daniel and his countryman Debebe Tolosa, who came in second place with a time of two hours, 19 minutes and 48 seconds, made up part of the group that quickly became the leaders.

The men were accompanied by Kenyans Elisha Korir Hhumo, who finished in third place with a time of two hours, 20 minutes and 23 seconds, and also Juliius Kipyego, Rodgers Ondato Gesabwa, Hillary Kimaiyo and Peter Lemayian Nkaya, among others.

In the woman’s race, Shewaye led the group and alternated the position with fellow Ethiopian Misker Mekonnen Demissie, who in the end came in second place with a time of two hours, 41 minutes and 15 seconds while Abrah Serkalen, another Ethiopian athlete, was third with a time of two hours, 42 minutes and 51 seconds.

The fastest Mexican in Sunday’s race was Tomas Luna. He put up a good fight against the Africans for over 30 kilometers (18 miles) but in the end he was unable to keep up with the pace and lagged behind.

The winners went away with 28,000 U.S. dollars each. This figure could have been doubled if the winners had broken the record of two hours and 12 minutes.

The route began at the Benito Juarez Hemicycle in Mexico Ciy’s central area with an “impressive human river” which flooded the Alameda area (the central park)

The 33rd edition of the marathon was a “party” for the competitors and spectators who were located near to the musical groups in the Olympic Stadium. Among the musical entertainment was the military band from the Jose Maria Morelos School Center, mariachis and Vazquez Sounds.

Source: Xinhua

CAROLINE KALOMBE, Lusaka
POLICE in Serenje have intercepted a truck carrying 100 prohibited immigrants of Ethiopian origin, who were hidden behind bags of dry lake sardines locally known as kapenta.
The truck, which was seized at Kanona police check point on Great North Road in Central Province, was, from Nakonde to an unknown destination within Zambia.
Police suspect the Ethiopians entered the country through Nakonde border and were assisted by Zambians who were paid to commit the illegality.
“I can confirm that we intercepted a truck carrying 100 prohibited immigrants from Ethiopia. The prohibited immigrants have been screened for Ebola, and the Immigration Department, who are working with us, have continued to screen them for other issues,” Central Province commissioner of police Lombe Kamukoshi said.
Ms Kamukoshi said in an interview yesterday that three Zambians, who allegedly aided the movement of the prohibited immigrants, have been arrested.
She said the containerised truck was intercepted after a tip-off from the public and that the 100 people aged between 10 and 50 were found in the truck’s container. Most of them are juveniles.
Ms Kamukoshi said the three Zambians have been identified as Richard Mwanza, 26, driver of the truck, Michael Malasha, 37, co- driver, and Mwenya Mutale, 23, a lorry-mate, all from Tinde Township in Nakonde district.
She said the Ethiopians are detained at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe.
Police and the Immigration Department are yet to establish the intended final destination of the truck.

Source- www.daily-mail.co.zm

Ethiopia has been in darkness. We had light before most but that is history. We can recite our ancient history; write beautiful poetry extolling our virtues and fill a library with our traditional lore unfortunately it is not something we can take to the bank. It is not all lost. Ethiopia and her wellness has been woven into our soul. Thus today where ever we go we survive and thrive. Don’t take the fact you walk with your head high for granted my friend, that pride in you is cultivated and nurtured.

The Ottoman Turks, the Egyptians, the British, the French, the Italians have all tried to force their ways on us. It just did not work. Outsiders have learnt their lesson and have stopped trying force to make us serve their interest. It is the homegrown variety that has become a challenge.  It could be a (seyawkush yinkush ሲያውቁሽ ይንቁሽ) situation where naturally one disarms in the presence of family and friends. Sooner or later one member goes rogue. It never fails. Throughout our history we have encountered such situations where kings, warlords or madmen have fought for power and glory. TPLF is our child gone rogue.

TPLF is the worst internal enemy faced by our county. There isn’t any aspect of our culture and history they have not tried to contaminate with negativity and hate. For over thirty years they have systematically worked on destroying the unity and strength that has taken hundreds of years to build. It is due to the solid foundation that our dear country has been built on that they are unable to even cause a little crack let alone a fissure. We are grateful to all those that sacrificed and painstakingly built this formidable home we call Ethiopia.

The current struggle being waged by TPLF on one side and Democratic forces on the other is about the kind of Ethiopia we want to build on the foundations already laid by our ancestors. Instead of building on that and adding value we have been busy subtracting, dividing and undermining our precious asset.

On this side we have the current Ethiopian government led by Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) that has been in power for the last twenty two years uninterrupted. The TPLF Party with its clueless and unwritten guiding dogma it calls ‘Revolutionary Democracy is based on the following principles:

• The Ethiopian people are not ready for Democracy.
• The vanguard TPLF will oversee the development of Democracy.

Despite what the regime and its international supporters claim this arrangement has not worked well for the average Ethiopian. There is no need to try to convince an Ethiopian how bad the Tigrai People’s party has been to our country. All one has to do is look around one’s own family and ask ‘how are you doing?’ If you do not know of a family member in distress you my friend is an exceptional Ethiopian. We all salute you but that unfortunately is not the norm.

That is why there are many that have decided to sacrifice life and family and stood against the tyranny of the Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front. We Ethiopians are such a lucky people to have been able to produce such dynamic and selfless leaders that would rather suffer than accept injustice.

Kinijit is the grandfather of all independent movements in Woyane era politics. Kinijit beyond a shadow of doubt showed how hollow and wild Woyane’s are. Before Kinijit we used to view Woyane as being benign with no harmful effect. Thanks to Kinijit Woyane was forced to show what a malignant tumor it is.

Ever since then many have tried to work within the system Woyane created. We are finding out even that is not possible. The brave leaders and members of Semayawi Party are a living testimonial that conversation with Woyane is not possible.

That in a nutshell is Ethiopian history the last twenty two years. We produce selfless individuals that have entered the fray knowing full well what savage Woyanes are capable of. Common sense shows that carrot (staying quiet) alone has not worked in Ethiopia. A stick is an absolute requirement to balance the equation. Do you follow me? After twenty three years of abuse we Ethiopians should be the last to be bewildered by this situation.

Patriotic Ginbot7 is our stick. There have been others, what makes this one any different is a good question. That is the reason I raised our recent history earlier. Woyane has held five or more election the last twenty two years, which one is memorable? May 2005 is when we divorced Woyane. The 2005 was led by Kinijit with Berhanu Nega as a central figure. Dr. Berhanu and friends whipped Woyane. Dr. Berhanu is the first popularly elected leader to a high office in our entire history. His election to be Lord Mayor of Addis Abeba was a landslide. The people of Addis Abeba loved him. No need to say more.

The formation of Ginbot7 Movement for Unity and Democracy was the result of lessons learnt from the 2005 attempt to seize power through peaceful and legal means. By all scale of measurement G7 has exceeded all expectations. It has shown what it means to be an organization focused on one thing and one thing alone. To leave no stone unturned to find a way to grow Freedom and Democracy in Ethiopia.

To this end the last five years the Organization has painstakingly built the network necessary to do the work. What is there not to admire more than the fact despite the mighty power of a Nation State’s attempt to kill, undermine, destroy, wreck from inside, jail exile so many times in the name of fighting terrorism but to protect single ethnic rule, G7 has managed to blossom to an organization that in the eyes of many Ethiopians managed to bring that old feeling of pride that has quietly been sitting inside all of us. Elel Belu!

How do you fight one of your own has been our dilemma. Believe me if Woyane was an outsider no matter what; we all would fight back and there would not be discussion like what we are having now. Unfortunately it is not so. At the moment Patriotic G7 is in the forefront of the struggle to get rid of this disease that is infecting our homeland.

It is said ‘leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality’ that is what we have in Dr. Berhanu Nega. In every turn of our movement he has been there crafting winning strategy to get us closer to our goal of building a better Ethiopia where her children invest time and energy in making it a place we are proud to call home. His simple manners, generous smile and focus His style has been pay any price, walk the extra mile so we Ethiopians can drink from the fountain of freedom.

The TPLF regime has done all it could to discourage our leader. A mere mortal would have thrown his hands in the air and walked away. Dr. Berhanu stayed the course and showed little Woyane there are some Ethiopians that are determined and resolute. Such character is not a trait Woyane understands.

In Arbegnoch G7 we Ethiopians at last have achieved a winning formula to bring national salvation to our homeland. In Berhanu Nega and his team we have found leaders with a record and a winning formula. Kinijit paved the way and Arbegnoch G7 is poised to finish the job. We say it with confidence because the experience the last ten years have shown us that an organization built on democratic principles, staffed by able leaders and carrying the torch of freedom and equality cannot fail. Especially when the enemy is a group led by gangsters and shameless characters that have not achieved much in life using legal and transparent means it does not need much for the house of cards they built to come crashing down.

All patriotic Ethiopians are fighters in this war of salvation. The question we should ask ourselves is what can I contribute to hasten the day of freedom. Today this joke of I am not into politics, I am neutral has no place. It is like standing back and watching while your house is on fire. Ethiopia is burning and her children are dying in droves. This is not the time to be a spectator or a shameless supporter of the ethnic regime. It is past time for verbal condenations. We have done that, we have been there.

The current activity to support and celebrate our Freedom fighters is a breath of fresh air. It is nice to stand up rather than always be a victim. We used to cry for Ethiopia. Today we cry for Woyane that is already feeling the wrath of the people. All over the world Ethiopians are giving what they could without being compelled. Five dollars or a thousand, five minutes or a lifetime, whatever is offered, it is sure to bring satisfaction to the heart, pride to the family and debt paid top our mother. Here in Oakland, California we are preparing to give the mother of all fundraising events since Kinijit. The enthusiasm of the members, the reception of our people and the smile painted on our face is an indication the sun is shining on our motherland. Find out where Arbegnoch G7 activity is held in a location near you and be part of this tsunami of support for our liberators. Tell everybody that the Sun is shining brighter than ever over Ethiopia.

Haakon Gaarder_Larsen, General Manager of Hilton Addis Abeba

Police had arrested the General Manager of Addis Abeba Hilton Hotel earlier today, following a business dispute with a private firm, Entoto Travel. Mr. Haakon Gaarder-Larsen, a Norwegian national, had been having lunch in the hotel when a plain clothe and uniformed officers produced a court warrant.

In a developing story, Fortune just learnt that Mr. Haakon Gaarder-Larsen, the General Manager of ADDIS ABEBA Hilton has been released late afternoon today, after briefly being detained at Kirkos District police station.

Source – Addis Fortune

(Survival International) — The U.K. government tried to suppress evidence of gross human rights abuses in Ethiopia to appease the government there, a new investigation by Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights, has revealed.

The key aid donors to Ethiopia, including the U.K.’s DFID, USAID and the European Union, sent two missions to the Lower Omo Valley in the south of the country in August 2014, to investigate whether tribes there were being forced off their land to make way for commercial plantations.

The U.K. authorities refused to release the missions’ reports under the Freedom of Information Act, saying their disclosure would significantly prejudice international relations. But Survival then appealed to the European Commission, which has released them.

The reports reveal:

– That the Ethiopian government has not obtained the consent of tribes of the Lower Omo to their resettlement;

– It has pressured and threatened them into leaving their lands – in some cases in fear for their lives;

– One tribal group told the donors, “before you come back next year, the government will come to kill and finish us”;

– That land grabs associated with large scale plantations deny the tribes access to ancestral grazing and farming lands on which they depend for survival, and to the river banks they need for cultivation;

– On the conditions in one resettlement site the report states, “Their situation during our visit was deplorable; the absence of sanitation means the villagers are suffering from diseases such as bloody diarrhoea, malaria and unspecified headaches … Despite the dire circumstances in [name redacted], residents say the Government does not allow this impoverished and vulnerable group to move
out”;

– Donor guidelines designed to ensure that resettlement complies with international law have been routinely ignored.

Survival International has been urging the international donors to freeze further aid to the Lower Omo Valley until the human rights abuses are stopped, but virtually no action has been taken. The U.K.’s 2014-15 aid budget to Ethiopia exceeds £360 million.

Survival’s Africa campaigner Elizabeth Hunter said today, “It took DFID almost two years to investigate allegations of serious human rights violations in the Lower Omo. The reports it desperately tried to prevent the British public from reading show just how far it will go to cover up gross human rights abuses carried out by a regime which receives hundreds of millions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money. While entire tribes are subjected to violence, the destruction of their homes and livelihoods, and the theft of their land on a staggering scale, the UK government turns a blind eye in the name of political and economic expediency.”

Background:

Around 200,000 tribal people live in the Lower Omo. Many have suffered from brutal repression, forced relocation, and prejudice from a government that views them as “backward” and in need of “modernization.” One expert has warned that the loss of their land and resources will lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe,” and one of the mission reports warns that the influx of more than 500,000 workers into the area is “likely to significantly increase the risk of conflict.”

The central findings of the donor missions were covered up in a letter to the Ethiopian government, published in February 2015. The letter sanitised the reports’ conclusions to the extent that the Ethiopian press was able to claim that the donor missions had “found no evidence of people being forced to move for either resettlement for agricultural development projects in the areas they visited,” and that it “found none of the problems claimed by Survival International or Human Rights Watch and others …”

In March 2015, Survival received disturbing reports that many of the small Kwegu tribe are starving as a result of the destruction of their forest and the death of their river following the construction of the Gibe III dam and associated irrigation schemes.

Source: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10894

Through the Ethiopia Speed School initiative, over 45,000 mothers across the country are keeping their kids in school, saving money and starting businesses.

***

Huffington Post

Despite a vast history–it’s home to the world’s oldest human remains, it’s Africa’s oldest independent country and it’s even the birthplace of coffee–Ethiopia is most often portrayed through the prism of its struggle. It’s a struggle so often caricatured in the media as lacking and needing, and so often represented by figures of pity such as Starvin’ Marvin, that it can be difficult to see the country beyond the images and stories that have been embedded through repetition into our consciousness.

That is, until something like Ethiopia Speed School comes along.

Starting in September 2011, the Ethiopia Speed School Initiative, supported primarily by over $5.2 million from the Legatum Foundation, was a strategic response to two dire systemic statistics: a 2010 UNESCO report (pdf here) indicating that Ethiopia was one of ten countries in the world with over 10 million illiterate adults (there were 27 million total), and 2011 World Bank data showing that the country had an estimated 3 million out-of-school children of primary school age. Through an intensive 10-month curriculum, the initiative catches out-of-school children back up to their grade-level and then provides a variety of resources to make the transition back into government school as seamless as possible and, ultimately, permanent.

A scientific evaluation by the University of Sussex found that 95% of Speed School graduates in these first three years successfully transferred to the local primary school upon graduating from Speed School. However, educational success post-transition is fraught with uncertainty. The average class size at government schools is over 70, which leads kids to feel like numbers, teachers to feel overwhelmed and even the physical institution itself to break down (crumbling architecture as well as broken and unsanitary toilets are major problems). Those same researchers at the University of Sussex found that teacher absenteeism is a major problem in government primary schools.

Still, the success of this initiative cannot be denied. This program, by granting thousands of the country’s most at-risk children a second chance, has essentially built a bridge over an impassable moat.

However, with the 2007-2010 West Africa Speed School Initiative as model, Legatum and program manager Geneva Global realized an important component was missing: it wasn’t adequately empowering mothers. To address this they enrolled the mothers of Speed School students into self-help savings groups (SHSGs). This component taught the mothers how to save and generate funds to support their child’s continued education, and is now a much-needed complement to the Speed School.

“Empowering even one mother, making her feel the potential of the positive difference she’s capable of making, creates a ripple effect that spreads throughout the entire community,” says Abebaw Abetei, Geneva Global’s Speed School program assistant.

“I’ve watched mothers who once felt helpless go on to start businesses and I’ve watched mothers who never had an education go on to become education activists in their village.”

The addition and eventual implementation of the self-help savings groups served as the stone splashing into the pond. So began the ripple effect. In the first year 2,289 mothers participated in the SHSG. By the end of 2013 there were 12,378 and by the end of 2014 there were 31,065.

Rallying around the central idea that they want their children to succeed in school–and that their own empowerment helps to make this happen–the mothers meet each week to learn about everything from financial literacy and English-language skills to malaria prevention and how to create sustainable, scalable business models. In the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia, for example, mothers involved in the SHSG improved their monthly savings from $0.15 to $0.50–a significant amount especially when considering Ethiopia’s average per capita income is $1,200.

Then there are the stories like that of Alemash Gebresilassie, a mother here in Tigray. Her son, Haftu Kidanu, is enrolled in the Speed School program, and since enrolling in SHSG she’s been able to save $1.50 each month. Alemash has since created her own trading business and has a dream of becoming, “a successful business woman and a good advocate of children’s education in my village.”

And there are countless stories about the potential fate of particular girls had it not been for an opportunity to attend the Speed School–an early marriage, a life of child labor and/or the potential of being trafficked for sex to Addis Merkato, the open-air market in Addis Ababa referred to as the “largest collection of brothels in Africa” in the U.S. Department of State’s 2014 Trafficking-in-Persons report.

During my first day visiting a Speed School site here in the Samre District of Tigray, a mother said to me:

“I feared education because I didn’t have one and didn’t see the benefits of what it would do for my children. I’ve taught my children how to work the land and now they are teaching me how to read. I hope we continue exchanging our knowledge for the rest of our lives. There is no age limit on learning.”

May the wisdom of her words be carried by the wind to every part of this beautiful country, may they help to create the new prism through which her country will be portrayed.

Part of this story was first covered in the Stanford Social Innovation Review

Helena Smith

Athens

Wednesday 2 Sep. 2015

The full horror of the human tragedy unfolding on the shores of Europe was brought home on Wednesday as images of the lifeless body of a young boy – one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos – encapsulated the extraordinary risks refugees are taking to reach the west.The picture, taken on Wednesday morning, depicted the dark-haired toddler, wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts, washed up on a beach, lying face down in the surf not far from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum.A second image portrays a grim-faced policeman carrying the tiny body away. Within hours it had gone viral becoming the top trending picture on Twitter under the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore).Turkish media identified the boy as three-year-old Aylan Kurdi and reported that his five-year-old brother had also met a similar death. Both had reportedly hailed from the northern Syrian town of Kobani, the site of fierce fighting between Islamic state insurgents and Kurdish forces earlier this year.

Justin Forsyth, CEO of Save the Children, said: “This tragic image of a little boy who’s lost his life fleeing Syria is shocking and is a reminder of the dangers children and families are taking in search of a better life. This child’s plight should concentrate minds and force the EU to come together and agree to a plan to tackle the refugee crisis.”

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Greek authorities, coping with what has become the biggest migration crisis in living memory, said the boy was among a group of refugees escaping Islamic State in Syria.

Turkish officials, corroborating the reports, said 12 people died after two boats carrying a total of 23 people, capsized after setting off separately from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum peninsula. Among the dead were five children and a woman. Seven others were rescued and two reached the shore in lifejackets but hopes were fading of saving the two people still missing.

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The casualties were among thousands of people, mostly Syrians, fleeing war and the brutal occupation by Islamic fundamentalists in their homeland.Kos, facing Turkey’s Aegean coast, has become a magnet for people determined to reach Europe. An estimated 2,500 refugees, also believed to be from Syria, landed on Lesbos on Wednesday in what local officials described as more than 60 dinghies and other “unseaworthy” vessels.Some 15,000 refugees are in Lesbos awaiting passage by cruise ship to Athens’ port of Piraeus before continuing their journey northwards to Macedonia and up through Serbia to Hungary and Germany.“The situation on the islands is dramatic in terms of the sheer numbers flowing in, lack of shelter and ever worsening hygiene conditions,” Ketty Kehayioy, the UNHCR’s spokeswoman in Athens told the Guardian. “The absence of staff to conduct registrations is creating enormous bottlenecks on Lesvos and Kos which is further exacerbating substandard conditions, conditions themselves worsened by very limited facilities.”

Local NGO’s and volunteers, working around-the-clock to support insufficient state services now stretched to breaking point, described the situation as “utterly overwhelming.”

Wednesday’s dead were part of a grim toll of some 2,500 people who have died this summer attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Athens’ caretaker government, in power until elections are held on 20 September, announced emergency measures to facilitate the flow after meeting in urgent session under the prime minister,Vassiliki Thanou.

The migration minister, Yiannis Mouzalas, said the measures would aim to improve conditions both for refugees and residents on islands such as Kos and Lesbos.

Conditions on islands have become increasingly chaotic with local officials voicing fears over the outbreak of disease amid rising levels of squalor.

“The problem is very big,” said Mouzalas, a doctor who is also a member of the Doctors of the World aid organisation. “If the European Union doesn’t intervene quickly to absorb the populations … if the issue isn’t internationalised on a UN level, every so often we will be discussing how to avoid the crisis,” he told reporters, insisting that the thousands risking their lives to flee conflict were refugees. “There is no migration issue, remove that – it is a refugee issue,” he said.

The UNHCR calculates that some 205,000 Europe-bound refugees have enteredGreece, mostly via its outlying Aegean isles, this year alone. The vast majority (69%) are Syrians, Afghans (18 %), Iraqis and Somalis fleeing conflict in their countries.

In Hungary’s capital, meanwhile, where the authorities reversed their position and moved to stop migrants travelling to Germany and other western EU ­countries, hundreds continued to protest at Keleti ­station. Tensions rose throughout the day as the number of mainly young men swelled to over 2,000.

With police blocking their path into Budapest’s main international train station, the crowds chanted, “No police! No police!” and “Germany! Germany!”

Passions also flared on Hungary’s border with Serbia as rightwing nationalist protesters marched to the location where migrants use a train track to walk into the country. Police formed protective circles around frightened migrants as the demonstrators screamed abuse at them.

“We have to reinstate law and order at the borders of the European Union, including the border with Serbia,” Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said. “Without re-establishing law and order, it will be impossible to handle the influx of migrants.”

He said Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, would take a “clear and obvious message” to a meeting in Brussels on Thursday with EU chiefs about the migration crisis.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drowned-syrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees

You do not have to hide dark spots on your face with heavy makeup or subject your delicate skin to harsh chemical peels or laser treatments to remove annoying marks. Whether they are age-related “liver spots” or stubborn acne and insect bite scars, there are natural ways that are effective options for removing most dark spots from your face.

Brown spots generally appear on exposed skin areas like the face, back, neck, chest, shoulders and hands. Some of the main causes of brown spots are sun exposure, aging, and genetics. Factors like stress, pregnancy, vitamin deficiencies, and weak liver functioning may also contribute to this problem.

Age spots, sun spots, acne spots, spots from chicken pox, whatever the cause, no one wants to have spots littered all over their skin. Fortunately, there are also many ways to get rid of them once and for all, and the best part is that you can do it naturally and from the comfort of your own home.

Lemons

Lemon juice and its natural acidity have long been used as an organic bleaching agent to lighten dark spots. All you have to do is squeeze the juice out of one lemon, dip a cotton ball in the juice and apply it directly to your dark spots twice a day. Just be sure you use fresh lemon juice and not the kind you buy in a bottle from the grocery store, unless you buy organic.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera has healing properties and aids skin regeneration. So, it is excellent for getting rid of brown spots, especially when caused by sun exposure.

• Gently rub fresh aloe vera gel on the spots. Leave it on for about 30 minutes before washing the area with cold water. Repeat twice daily and within a month you should notice improvement.
• If fresh aloe vera gel is not available, you can opt for aloe vera juice that you can readily buy from the market.

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is an anti-aging agent and an antiseptic that can helps reduce hyperpigmentation and get rid of brown spots. You can make homemade pack with two tablespoons of sandalwood powder, two teaspoons of rose water, and one teaspoon each of glycerin and lemon juice. Apply this pack on the spots and allow it to dry naturally. Use cold water to wash it off. Repeat a few times a week until your brown spots disappear.

Another option is to add one tablespoon of orange juice, one teaspoon of lemon juice and the contents of two vitamin E capsules to two tablespoons of sandalwood powder. Mix it well and then apply it on the face. Leave it on for about half an hour before washing it off. Do this a few times a week until you see improvement.

Also, massage the affected area with a few drops of sandalwood oil mixed in one tablespoon of olive oil or almond oil, daily before going to bed and leave it on overnight.

Horseradish

If you find lemon juice just isn’t cutting it, try switching it up and testing out a combination ofhorseradish mixed with apple cider vinegar and pure raw honey.

Squeezing some lemon juice onto a cotton ball and use it as you would any toner, by swiping it all over your face. After that, spot treat any hyperpigmented areas with your horseradish mixture and allow it to soak in for around 20 minutes. Then just simply wash your face and apply SPF if you plan on going outside, as these ingredients can make your skin sensitive to UV rays.

Onion

While it may sound like a smelly solution, red onion is actually rich in acidic properties and can help fade dark spots almost effortlessly. Just cut up a red onion and juice it, or blend it if you don’t have a juicer. Once you have your red onion juice ready to go, grab a Q-tip, dip it in your juice and apply it directly to each spot or area you wish to lighten. Allow it to remain on your skin for 10-15 minutes before rinsing off with warm water. No matter which method you choose, if you commit to staying dedicated and consistent in your application, you should start to notice your dark spots fading.

The Horn Times opinion box 05 Sept 2015

(By Getahune Bekele-South Africa)

“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of the day.” -TJ

Behold, he is daring, he is a rebel and the fearsome black lion is roaring.

“Endyaw zerafewa endeyaw zerafewa,

   Ye Gondern meret ye humeran meda,

   Tedanegbet enji mech dagnebet bada.

   Wede temari bet temeleshi kine,

  Wendoch kewalubet ewelalhu ene.”

Millions of his fans often say Shambel Belayneh is the undisputed successor to the late legendary entertainer Assefa Abate of “Yematibela Wef” fame. But some go a bit further and compared this larger- than- life character to US patriotic songs and country music icon Lee Greenwood, the man who sang the timeless and the most recognizable  “God bless the USA”.

Back home in Ethiopia where his songs are totally banned, even the most unpatriotic snobs will agree that Shambel Belayneh’s latest patriotic hit titled “BEKA” with its lively melody and widespread appeal, is as rabble rousing as the 1865 hit “Marching through Georgia” by Henry Clay work.

Rebel artist Shambel Belayneh is no Demimondaine. Patriotism is his peculiarity. His natural milieu is that of patriotic artists. As we Ethiopians begin to see a whiff of freedom in the air, only Shamble’s miscellaneous hits are going to unshackle the minds of millions of undemonstrative citizens and propel them towards freedom, liberty and fraternity.

This courageous crowed puller and Masinko genius, Shambel Belayneh, always gets enthusiastic support from his passionate fans hungry for mesmerising and delightful folk music feast. Homesick Ethiopian exiles and refugees, who complain of weariness from labour, love the manner in which he renders his music to them, with great majesty and amazing fluency. Cheering them up by the soothing dreamlike sweet melody.

As the godfather of traditional patriotic songs of Ethiopia, Shambel’s ambient music is easy to connect with. It has the power to uplift the soul, awakening in us the spirit of compassion and love, independence, rebellion and even anger. It also vanishes our blues or conjures up memories of our great past in anti-colonial struggle. Shambel’s song awakens the hero in us to surmount all obstacles and Marches us off to war. – To a just war of liberation.

One die-hard fan who danced to “Tekebresh Yenorshew” hit later described the experience by stating “the brooding melancholy that had settled over my mind was charmed away by the power of Shambel Belayneh’s Masinko and when my adrenaline peaked, my torment was lifted after which i saw my beloved Ethiopia in flesh.”

Selam Haile, 29, an Ethiopian student in Pretoria-South Africa, calls Shambel Belayneh a singing Nightingale who pours out a thrilling melody that leaves a lasting joy in the heart.

Although some “Azmaries” inadvertently get the credit, Shambel Belayneh is the only patriotic singer who never tried to wheedle Ethiopians in to accepting brutal repression and slavery in the past 24 years.

A born revolutionary and selfless patriot, Shambel is not a tiresome pedagogue, singing about yester year Ethiopia and yester year greats only. He fearlessly magnifies our current magnificent sons and daughters, immortalises those who watered the trees of freedom with their precious blood.

We all know that music powerfully touches our lives.  It moves, enchants energizes and heals us. But it can also jar and twist us, filling the heart and the mind with gloomy thoughts, distracting us and saturating our thinking with undesirable propaganda. I remember how a certain singer we Ethiopians have unutterable love for, recently gave us an immoral song called “Gomen Betena”. The unforgettable trash was a direct call on ordinary Ethiopians to just eat cabbage in peace rather than fight the ruling elite to get some nutritious luxuries. As cadre singer, the man was clearly trying to press upon our consciousness that the regime currently ruling Ethiopia is undefeatable. He further advocated through his song that we should not rebel against the system but settle into depressed complacency.

In the past 24 years, we have seen a plethora of Ethiopian artists, who wholeheartedly fought tyranny through their music giving up and surrendering to the rulers. They flew home after striking dodgy deals with feared TPLF agents. However, shortly after landing in Addis, they were deplorably used as well- oiled ethnocentric propaganda machinery which guerrilla- markets hatred and ethnic disharmony in the Ethiopian society. –A deserved job for being led by their avarice and betraying their principles.

No wonder some so-called “traitor-artists” incurred the wrath of this sunshine patriot Shambel Belayneh. During his recent fundraising concert in the US, Shambel mocked and belittled singer-turned cadre, Solomon Tekalign, calling him the dog of TPLF shadow propaganda minister Bereket Simeon; – “ Solomon Tekalign ye Bereket wusha.”

As much as he is meek, convivial or as those close to him say, an Angel with temperance and humility virtues, no one stands before Shambel Belayneh when he is pissed off. Once this writer was at the receiving end of his red-hot rage for not delivering the Masinko to his hotel room on time. The next day he accepted my sincere apology with mischievous smile but kept drivelling on about it for hours. “Respect the folk music magnate and he will respect you back” am told by his producer, Daniel.

Nonetheless, given how he has been treated by the Diaspora for the past two decades, the hardship he had to endure in the name of Ethiopiawenet, at times struggling to keep the wolf from the door, the man who seems betrothed to his beloved Ethiopia for eternity, doesn’t rage at the injustice of life in exile. Even when i pressed him to say more, he was outwardly calm and betrayed no sign of discomposure; an unparalleled hero in almost every aspect with unmatched resilience and courage.

When below-average, mammon worshiping singers got their reward for praising tyranny and ethnic apartheid, Shambel Belayneh, the rock, refused to sell his soul and chose to suffer for the sake of Ethiopia. He rejected the millions dangled before him to join the club of immoral millionaires with the contempt it deserved.

Hence life in the US hasn’t been rags to riches for Shambel Belayneh as in the writings of novelist Horatio Alger Jr. Instead, it was a transition from relative obscurity to an instant fame as symbol of resistance, with his star shining hundred times brighter than any other artist of our time.

We Ethiopians fondly remember how Shambel Belayneh burst onto the scene several moons ago, straight from the mountain- top Eden of northern highlands. Who will forget how his folk music masterpiece titled “ye Zenaye” came cascading down like the mighty waters of Geon from the majestic mountains of Abyssinia. In that memorable song of two melodies of one tapestry, the young shepherd likened a certain drop-dead gorgeous girl (probably his boyhood sweetheart) to the sweet-smelling tropical plant called Demakese, a natural remedy for cold and frostbite.

“Ende Demakese medhanit neberch”…was a jewel among Shambel’s other lilting and rhythmic songs that would never fade away from our memory. What a blessing was that he picked Masinko rather than the flute, normally associated with the romantic names of Abyssinian shepherds.

However, currently, Ethiopians are imploring him for more patriotic songs as the struggle for freedom moves to another level.

“Tekebresh yenorshew babatochachin dem,

Enat Ethiopia yedefereh yewdem.”-

is on everyone’s lips from New York and Johannesburg all the way to the Eritrean desert, our new home. We have got our war and the freedom train is in motion. We are heading north to join PG-7 and our commander-in-chief, his Excellency Prof Berhanu Nega, whom we affectionately call the “desert fox”.

We salute you Shambel Belayneh and kings to you. We shall never forget you and the battle cry is reverberating……

“Ere fano fano, ere fano fano,

 Fano des yelegnal sitatek maleda,

Yemiabela meslo yemeshegn engida.

Ende kola wef-ende grissa….

Yarefew libe degmo tenessa.

Ke guawedenoghu mata yeteleye

Ende atbya kokeb sinega taye

Ere fano fano…ere fano fano.”

infohorntimes@gmail.com