Death on the Nile

As Ethiopia diverts the river to build a dam, we examine the impact on water supply for Egypt's growing population.

 he River Nile has been a source of life for millions over the centuries. Now Ethiopia is diverting water to build a giant dam, and those downstream who depend on the river, are left wondering when and whether this issue can be resolved peacefully.
The Nile is the longest river in Africa, flowing through 11 countries of the continent.
It has two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile is the source of almost 85 percent of the river's water. It begins in Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia and flows into Sudan where it meets the White Nile in Khartoum - they then flow to Egypt as the Nile River.

Whether we have a bigger population or not, it is ... our right to use our fair share in terms of using the Nile River. Bereket Simon, Ethiopian minister of information

Ethiopia, one of the countries through which the river flows, wants to divert parts of it to create a $4.7bn hydroelectric dam, the 11th biggest in the world. The dam is part of a $12bn programme called The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The investment which aims to boost power exports has sparked concerns in Egypt and Sudan. The two countries say that the construction of this dam violates a colonial era agreement from 1959, which gave them rights to almost 90 percent of the Nile's waters.
For hundreds of years, Ethiopian Kings have warned of their power to divert waters of the Nile but never made good on their threats.

የኃይሌ ጡረታ አለመውጣት ዛሬም ያነጋግራል

ስፖርት አድማስ

በ11ኛው የቡፓ ግሬት ማንችስተር የ10 ኪሎሜትር የጎዳና ላይ ሩጫ አትሌት ኃይሌ ገብረስላሴ በ40 ዓመቱ መሳተፉ መቼ ጡረታ ይወጣል የሚለውን አነጋጋሪ አጀንዳ ቀሰቀሰ፡፡ ዘንድሮ በተለይ በእግር ኳስ እነ ፖል ስኮልስ፤ ዴቪድ ቤካም እና ሌሎች ምርጥ እግር ኳስ ተጨዋቾች 40ኛ ዓመታቸውን ሳይደፍኑ ጫማቸውን ሲሰቀሉ ኃይሌ ግን ሩጫን ለማቆም ምንም ሃሳብ እንደሌለው እያረጋገጠ ነው፡፡ ከ2 ወራት በፊት ወደ ማንችስተር ተመልሼ መወዳደር የምችልበትን እድል ላመነታበት አልችልም በማለት በ10ኪሎሜትር የጎዳና ላይ ሩጫው ለመሳተፍ የወሰነው ኃይሌ በውድድሩ ለ6ኛ ጊዜ ለማሸነፍ እቅድ እንዳለው በማስታወቁም የውድድሩ አዘጋጆች ተሳትፎውን በጉጉት እንዲጠብቁት አድርጓቸዋል፡፡

የቡፓ ግሬት ማንችስተር የጎዳና ላይ ሩጫ እስከ 40ሺ ተሳታፊዎች እንደሚኖሩት ተጠብቋል፡፡ ኃይሌ 40ኛ ዓመት ልደቱን በማስመልከት መልካም ምኞታቸውን ለገለፁለት ሁሉ ባሰፈረው አጭር የቲውተር መልዕክት‹ ለእኔ የ40 ዓመት ልደቴ ቁጥር ነው። የ20 ዓመት ሰው መሆኔ ነው የሚሰማኝ› ብሎ ነበር፡፡ ሃይሌጋብር በሚል የሚሰራጨው የአትሌቱ የቲውተር ማስታወሻ እስከ 67ሺ ለአድናቂዎች ሲከታተሉት እሱም በዚህ ማህበራዊ ድረገፅ 223 አጫጭር ፅሁፎችን ማስተላለፉን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡ ኃይሌ ከሩጫ ስፖርት ጡረታ የሚወጣበትን ቀን ይፋ ባያደርግም በርካታ የስፖርቱ ኤክስፕርቶች እና ሙያዊ ትንተናዎች አሁን በደረሰበት እድሜ በማራቶን ለማሸነፍ እንደሚከብደው እየገለፁ ናቸው፡፡ ኃይሌ አምና በቶኪዮ ማራቶን ሲሳተፍ 4ኛ ደረጃ ይዞ የጨረሰው ርቀቱን በ2 ሰዓት ከ8 ደቂቃ ከ17 ሰኮንዶች በሆነ ጊዜ በመሸፈን ነበር።

አትሌት ኃይሌ 40 ዓመት ከሆነም በኋላ በማራቶን ውድድሮች ቢሳተፍ ርቀቱን ከ2 ሰዓት 06 ደቂቃ እስከ 2 ሰዓት 08 ደቂቃ የመግባት አቅም እንዳለው የሚመሰክሩ ቢኖሩም ይህን ሰዓት ለማስመዝገብ ወቅታዊ ብቃት እንደሌለው የገለፁም አሉ፡፡ ከ3 ዓመታት በፊት በኒውዮርክ ማራቶን ሲወዳደር በጉልበቱ ላይ ባጋጠመው ጉዳት አቋርጦ ከወጣ በኋላ ሩጫን በቃኝ ብሎ ተሰናብቶ የነበረወ አትሌት ኃይሌ በጥቂት ቀናት ጊዜ ውስጥ ይህን ውሳኔ በመቀየር ወደ ሩጫው እንደተመለሰ ይታወሳል፡፡ ከዚያን ጊዜ ወዲህ በተደጋጋሚ ኃይሌ መቼ ጡረታ ይወጣል የሚለው አጀንዳ ማነጋገሩን ቀጥሏል፡፡

‘ከሽፍታ’ የተሰረቀች ግጥም

ገና!

ከእናቴ ሆድ ሳለሁ፤
ጠላት ሲዝትብኝ ሰምቻለሁ።
በዳዴ ዘመኔም፣
በ“ወፌ ቆመችም!”፤
አውዴ ክፉ ነበር ለወሬ አይመችም።
እንደ ሚዳቋ ነፍስ እንደ ነብር ጥፍር፤
ስጋትም−ጭካኔም − ነበር የዕውቀቴ ስር።

“ተጨቆነኩ!”
“ተበደልኩ!”
“ተረገጥኩ!”
“ተገፋሁ!”
“ተቀማሁ!”።
”መሬቱ ጠላቴ፤
ሰማዩ ብሶቴ።
ተስፋ−ትዝታዬን ሊያጠፋ ለቃቅሞ፤
ባፈሙዝ ያየኛል ገዳይ ደጄ ቆሞ።” ወዘተ....

በእነዚህ ‘ምግቦች’ አድጎ ሰውነቴ፤
እኮ እንደምን አይሆን ‘ጥርጣሬ’ ሀብቴ?
መገርሰስ፣መደምሰስ፣ማሳደድ − ውበቴ?

ስለዚህ አይድነቅህ!
ቀርበህ ወደድከኝም፣ርቀህ ጠላኸኝም፤
ገድዬህ ካላለፍኩ የኖርኩ አይመስለኝም።

 በረከት በላይነህ

 

Egypt reacts to Ethiopia dam announcement

 Luiz Sanchez

Ethiopia’s sudden announcement on Tuesday that it would begin diverting the Blue Nile ahead of the planned construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam has drawn reaction from several figures in Egypt, most notably Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and members of the Shura Council. Sudan’s Minister of Water Resources and Electricity, Osama Abdullah Mohamed Hassan, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a one-day visit to discuss the repercussions of Ethiopia’s announcement, state-owned news agency MENA reported.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Water Resources and irrigation on Wednesday, the Sudanese minister met with his Egyptian counterpart, Minister Mohamed Bahaa Al-Din, although no details of the meeting were revealed at time of writing.
The Prime Minister held a meeting with the Council of Ministers on Wednesday to review the recent developments. According to the state-run news agency Ahram, the council stressed it was still waiting for an evaluation of the tripartite commission’s report on the effects of the dam, adding that although construction is starting it does not necessarily indicate Egypt has approved of the project.
The Council of Ministers said it does support the establishment of development projects in any Nile Basin countries, as long as they do not affect Egypt and Sudan’s share of the water.
The council also stressed it has contingency plans for any outcome regarding the Ethiopian project, based on the trilateral commission’s report.

Ethiopia diverts flow of Blue Nile

Egypt and Sudan express concern over multi-billion dollar dam on Nile which violates colonial-era agreement.     Ethiopia has started to divert the flow of the Blue Nile river to construct a giant dam to meet its energy needs, according to state media, amid concerns from other Nile-dependent countries downstream. Demeky Mekonin, the Ethiopian prime minister, said on Tuesday that diverting the flow at the site of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam would provide hydroelectricity not only for Ethiopia but also for neighbouring countries, reported the state-owned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency. Egypt and Sudan have objected to the construction, saying it violates a colonial-era agreement which gives Egypt nearly 70 percent of Nile River waters. Ethiopia, however, says the dam will not affect Egypt and that the 1959 agreement ignores the needs of five upriver countries. "This project is said to cost between $5-6bn and is expected to produce 6000 megawatts to power not only Ethiopia but also export electric power to a selection of East African countries," said Al Jazeera's Azad Essa, reporting from Addis Ababa. He added that the hydroelectric project, considered the biggest on the continent, is expected to be fully funded by the Ethiopian government and not foreign donors who refuse to enter into a dispute with Egypt. No alternative sources Egypt says its population of 90 million is among the largest in Africa and that unlike other Nile Basin countries, it does not have readily available alternative water sources. Egypt's presidency said on Tuesday that it was awaiting a report by the Tripartite Nile Basin Committee, comprised of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, to determine its next steps. President Mohammed Morsi's spokesman said the move will not have a negative impact on the amount of Nile water reaching Egypt. "The main issue and the essence of the matter is the impact of the dam itself and not of this step of diverting the course of water," Mohamed Edrees, the Egyptian ambassador to Ethiopia, told Al Jazeera. He said that the diversion is a step in the construction of the dam, and will not affect either Egypt or Sudan in the amount of water because of an alternative by-pass route. Some 84 percent of the water from the world's longest river originates in Ethiopia. The Blue Nile is one of two major tributaries of the river. The White Nile, flowing through Sudan, is the other. http://www.aljazeera.com

አባይ ተፈጥሯዊ አቅጣጫውን ቀየረ

አዲስ አበባ ፣ ግንቦት 20 ፣ 2005 (ኤፍ. ቢ .ሲ) ለታላቁ  የኢትዮጵያ  ህዳሴ ግድብ  ግንባታ  አመቺነት  የአባይ  ወንዝን ተፈጥሯዊ  አቅጣጫ  የማስቀየር  ስራ ሲከናወን  ቆይቷል ።
ይህ  ስራ  ተጠናቆ ዛሬ ወንዙ  በይፋ ተፈጥሯዊ አቅጣጫውን ቀይሯል ።
የወንዙን  ተፈጥሯዊ አቅጣጫ  የማስቀየሩን  ተግባር ይፋ ለማድረግ  በተዘጋጀ ስነ ሰርዓት ላይም የተገኙት የኢፌዴሪ ምክትል ጠቅላይ  ሚኒስትርና  የትምህርት ሚኒስትር አቶ ደመቀ  መኮንን  እለቱ አባይን  በፈለግንበት መስመር የምናስኬድበት ቀን  ብለዋል ።
“ስር በሰደደ ድህነታችን ምክንያት በፈለግነው ሳይሆን እሱ ባሰኘው መንገድ ሲፈስ ቆይቷል” ያሉት አቶ ደመቀ ፥  “አሁን አባይን በመዳፋችን ውስጥ እንዲገባ  አድርገናል” ነው ያሉት  ።
አባይ እጣ  ፈንታው በእጃችን እንዲሆንና  በታሪካችን ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ እኛ  በመራንበት እንዲጓዝ ማድረጋችን የኢትዮጵያንና  የአፍሪካን ህዳሴ የሚያመላክት መሆኑንም  ተናግረዋል ።
እንደ አቶ ደመቀ ንግግር እለቱም  ከግንቦት 20 ጋር  መገናኘቱም  ልዩ  ትርጉም ያለው ይሆናል ።
በዚህ  ታሪካዊ እለት  ከአገሪቱ ማህፀን ፈልቆ ኢትዮጵያን የበይ ተመልካች ያደረገው አባይ በኢትዮጵያ  መዳፍ ላይ መውደቁ  እለቱን የድርብርብ ታሪክ ባለቤት ያደርገዋልም ነው ያሉት ።
ምክትል  ጠቅላይ  ሚኒስትሩ እንዳሉት ፥ የዚህ  ታላቅ  ፕሮጀክት ጠንሳሽ አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ የተሰዉለት ዓላማ  የጠራ መሆኑንና  የመላውን ህዝብ ድጋፍ ማግኘቱንም ያረጋገጠም ሆኗል ።
አገራዊው ደስታ ሙሉ የሚሆነው  ግድቡ ስራ ሲጀመር በመሆኑም  ህዝቡ ድጋፉን እንዲቀጥል ጠይቀዋል ።
በግድቡ  ግንባታ  ሂደት  አራት አበይት  ክንውኖች አሉ ያሉት የኢፌዴሪ የውሃና  ኤኔርጂ ሚኒስትር አቶ ዓለማየሁ የተገኑ ደግሞ ፥  ዛሬም በይፋ የተከናወነው  የወንዙን ተፈጥሯዊ አቅጣጫ  የማስቀየር ስራ  አንዱ ነው ብለዋል ።
የወንዙ ተፈጥሯዊ አቅጣጫ  መቀየር የአይችሉም አመለካከትን  በከፍተኛ  ደረጃ የሚያከስምና  ኢትዮጵያ ወንዙን ማልማት እንደምትችል የሚያሳይም ነው።
አቅጣጫውን ማስቀየር ለምን አስፈለገ ?
ወንዙ  የሚገኘው ግድቡ በሚገነባው  መሃል ላይ ሲሆን ፥  ወንዙ እየፈሰሰ  ግድቡን መገንባት የማይቻል በመሆኑ ነው  ተፈጥሯዊ  አቅጣጫውን ማስቀየር ያስፈለገው ።
አቅጣጫ  የማስቀየሩ ስራ በግንብታው  ሂደት  አስቸጋሪ ስራ መሆኑን  የሚናገሩት  የኢትዮጵያ  ኤሌክትሪክ ሀይል  ኮርፖሬሽን ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ አቶ ምህረት  ደበበ  ፥ ስራውም  እጅግ  ከፍተኛ ጥረት  ውጤት መሆኑን  አመልክተዋል ።
የግድቡ ፕሮጀክት ዋና ስራ  አስኪያጅ  ኢንጂነር ስመኘው በቀለ በበኩላቸው ፥ የወንዙን  አቅጣጫ  የማስቀየሩ  ስራ ከተያዘለት ጊዜ በሁለት ሳምንት  ቀደም ብሎ መጠናቀቁን  በመጠቆም ይህ ስራዎች ከተያዘላቸው  ጊዜ  ቀደም ብለው  በፍጥነት  እየተከናወኑ መሆናቸውን እንደሚያሳይ ነው  ያመለከቱት ።
በአሁኑ  ወቅትም የታላቁ  የኢትዮጵያ  ህዳሴ  ግድብ ግንባታ 21 በመቶ መጠናቀቁ  ተመልክቷል ።
 www.fanabc.com

ያልተንበረከኩ መንፈሶች

ቢኒያም ውብሸት

ከልጅነት እስከ እርጅና  ህይወት ትግል ነው፡፡ መማር ትግል ነው፤ ከሚወዱትን ሰው ጋር በፍቅር አብሮመቀጠል ትግል ነው፤ ከቤተሰብ ጋር ተግባብቶ መኖር ትግል ነው፤ ስራ ተቀጥሮ መኖር ትግል ነው ፤ ማንነትን ፈልጎ ማግኘት ትግልነው፤የህይወት ግብን ማሳካት ትግል ነው፤ ….. ትግል ያልሆነ የህይወት ክፍል አለ ማለት አይቻልም፡፡
እነዚህ ህይወት ለሁሉምሰው ያስቀመጠቻችው የቤት ስራዎች ናቸው፡፡ እዚህ ላይ አካል ጉዳተኝነት ሲጨመር ፈተናው ከበድ ይላል፡፡
ስለ አካልጉዳተኝነትእና ህይወት ፕሮግራም ከመስራቴ በፊት የ15 ደቂቃ ሙከራ አድርጌ ነበር፡፡ አይኔን በጨርቅ በመሸፈን ከዚህ በፊት በቀላሉ እሰራቸውየነበሩ ነገሮችን ልስራ በማለት መተጣጠብ፤ ልብስ መቀየር የመሳሰሉትን ነበር ለመስራት የሞከርኩት፡፡
እጅግ በጣም ከባድ ነገርሆኖ ነው ያገኘሁት፡፡ ሽንት ቤት ለመሄድ ከበር ጋር ተጋጭቻለሁ፡፡ የጥርስ ሳሙና ለማግኘት መደርደሪያ ላይ የነበሩ የሎሽን እቃዎች፤የጥርስ ብሩሾች፤ ተዘርግፈው የተወሰኑ ብልቃጦችን ሰብሬያለሁ፡፡ በመዳሰስልብስ ለመቀየር ፈልጌ የትኛው ልብስ እንደሆነ ለማወቅ በጣምአስቸጋሪ ሆኖብኛል፡፡
የምራመደው በፍርሃትነበር እቤቴ እንዲህ የፈራሁ ውጪስ ብወጣስ …. አካል ጉዳተኛ ብሆን እውነት ሰርቼ እኖራለሁ ያሰኛል ክብደቱ፡፡ በተለይ እንደኛበየቀኑ ጉድጓድ በየቦታው በሚቆፈርበት፤ አሽከርካሪ እንደፈለገ በሚከንፍበት፤ ሰው እየሮጠ በሚገፋህ አገር አይነስውር ሆኖ መግባትመውጣት ልዩ ጥንካሬ የሚጠይቅ ስራ ነው፡፡

Quotes from the 1963 Emperor Haile Selassie's Speech

   

“The commentators of 1963 speak, in discussing Africa, of the Monrovia States, the Brazzaville Group, the Casablanca Powers, of these and many more. Let us put an end to these terms. What we require is a single African Organization through which Africa's single voice may be heard, within which Africa's problems may be studied and resolved. We need an organization which will facilitate acceptable solutions to disputes among Africans and promote the study and adoption of measures for common defence and programmes for co-operation in the economic and social fields. Let us, at this Conference, create a single institution to which we will all belong, based on principles to which we all subscribe, confident that in its councils our voices will carry their proper weight, secure in the knowledge that the decisions there will be dictated by Africans and only by Africans and that they will take full account of all vital African consideration.”
“But while we agree that the ultimate destiny of this continent lies in political union, we must at the same time recognise that the obstacles to be overcome in its achievement are at once numerous and formidable. Africa's people did not emerge into liberty under uniform conditions. Africans maintain different political systems; our economies are diverse; our social orders are rooted in differing cultures and traditions. Further no clear consensus exists on the "how" and the "what" of this union. Is it to be, in form, federal, con-federal or unitary? Is the sovereignty of individual states to be reduced, and if so, by how much, and in what areas? On these and other questions there is no agreement, and if we wait for agreed answers [for] generations hence, matters will be little advanced, while the debate still rages… When a solid foundation is laid, if the mason is able and his materials good, a strong house can be built.”
Emperor Haile Selassie, 1963
http://www.nesglobal.org/

Emperor Haile Selassie I & Bob Marley - War

 

Bogaletch Gebre wins an international prize

Ethiopian activist Bogaletch Gebre wins an international prize for her campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM).
The Belgium-based King Baudouin Foundation awarded Ms Gebre the 450,000 euros ($580,000; £385,000) prize for her "innovative" campaign to eradicate FGM.
Ms Gebre was awarded the King Baudouin Prize in Belgium for confronting "culturally entrenched taboo subjects", the selection committee said.

She helped reduce cases of FGM from 100% of newborn girls to less than 3% in parts of Ethiopia, it said.

The African Union (AU): Build Statute of His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie Center Front of AU Building

 

Petition by   Nebyat Aklilu

Philadelphia,

His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie was the visionary leader and main architect in establishing the African Union (formerly known as Organization of African Unity) in Addis Ababa on May 25, 1963. Despite playing an instrumental role in supporting liberation movements in Africa that led to the development of free and independent African nation states, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie has not received due credit and recognition for His Majesty's unparalleled dedication, commitment and contributions to African independence and unity, and for His Majesty's key role in establishing the AU/OAU.
http://www.change.org

Ethiopian family members in Texas graduated with six degrees in one week

በቴክሳስ ግዛት ኢትዮጲያውያኑ ቤተሠብ በአንድ ሣምንት ውስጥ ስድስት ዲግሪያቸውን አግኝተዋል
ሶስቱ የአንድዋ ልጃቸው ነው፡፡ ያኮራል

Magnifecent Painting

Tesafye Negusse Born in Wonji ( City near Addis) in 1974, Tesfaye grew attending his elementary and higher education as an ordinary kid. But his talent to art was starting to reflect on the sketches he used to do back then. After graduating from high school in 1991, Tesfaye decided to move to Addis Ababa to join art school. In 1995 he joined Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and got his diploma in 1998. Employed for Bole Printing Enterprise from 1998 till 2004 he gained vast amount of experience. He currently lives in Atlanta, GA, working on his Paintings.

http://hanatzebgallery.com/artists.html 

አዲስ ገፅ: ያገር ልጅ

አዲስ ገፅ: ያገር ልጅ: ያገር ልጅ የተጻፈው በሪቻርድ ራይት ነው፡፡  ሣህለ ሥላሴ ብርሃን ማሪያም ተርጉመውታል የታተመው በ 1995 ዓ.ም ነው…ርዕሱ ይማርክገኛል  …ቅርበት አለው ….ጥሪም ይመስላል መጽሃፍ አዙዋሪ ላይ አየሁትና ዋጋውን ብጠይ...

ያገር ልጅ

  በሰለሞን ዮሀንስ

ያገር ልጅ የተጻፈው በሪቻርድ ራይት ነው፡፡

 ሣህለ ሥላሴ ብርሃን ማሪያም ተርጉመውታል
የታተመው በ 1995 ዓ.ም ነው…ርዕሱ ይማርክገኛል  …ቅርበት አለው ….ጥሪም ይመስላል


መጽሃፍ አዙዋሪ ላይ አየሁትና ዋጋውን ብጠይቀው  80 ብር አለኝ …የጀርባው ዋጋ 18፡70 ይላል
አሁን ኮ ገበያ ላይ የለም …ውሰደው …. በጣም ዐሪፍ መጽሃፍ ነው እያለ  …አንዴ ለቀቀብኝ …
አይ እለፈኝ አልኩትና…ተለያየን….ካንድ ወር በኋላ ይመስለኛል አራት ኪሎ አካባቢ በተዘጋጀ የመጽሃፍ ዐውደ ርዕይ
ይህንኑ ያገር ልጅን በ 20 ብር አፈስኩት፡፡


የደራሲው መግቢያው እንዲህ ይላል …
.“ የሪቻርድ ራይት Native Son ወይም ያገር ልጅ ለመዝናናት ታስቦ የሚነበብ መጽሃፍ አይደለም አንባቢው ይህን  ሀቅ
በቅድሚያ ቢያውቀው እወዳለሁ…. ” ሲሉ ያስጠነቅቁና ወረድ ብለው ደግሞ
“ሃይል አለው…ማግኔት ወይም የመሬት ሥበት የመሰለ ሃይል ፡፡ በአጉል ልማድ ልማድ የማምን ሰው ብሆን ኖር ድርሰቱ
ምትሃተዊ ነው ደራሲውም ምትሃተኛ ነው ባልኩ ነበር….ነገር ግን በዚህ አይነት ልማዳዊ ዕሳቤ አላምንም ” ይሉናል


የመጽኀፍ ጀርባ ላይ የሚጻፉ አስተያየቶች  ስንቴ ሸውደወናል….
አንዳች  ሃይል ያለው….ከትክክለኛ የህይወት ምንጭ የተቀዳ….. አንዴ ከገለጡት የማይከድኑት……..በዙ ብዙ….
ተብሎላቸው …ለብስጭት የዳረጉን መጻህፍትን     እናንተው ቁጠሯቸው…


…ለአዳዲስ ጸሀፍትም ሆነ አስተያየት ለመጻፍ ለሚጋበዙ ሓሲያን  ደራሲያን እና ዝነኛ ሰዎች ጥሩ መልዕክት የያዘ ይመስላል 
የአንጋፋው ደራና ተርጉዋሚ ሣህለ ስላሴ ብርሃነ ማሪያም አስተያየት……
አናውራበት….

President Obama talking about Ethiopian student Betsegaw Tadele valedictorian for Morehouse College Class of 2013

The star Betsegaw Tadele from Ethiopia , graduated with GPA 3.99, at Morehouse College on Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. On this special day, President Obama made a funny speech about Betsegaw Tadele. Watch the . Also, listen to Betsegaw’s commencement speech www.ethiopianopinion.com

ከጐዳና ተዳዳሪነት ወደ ጐዳና መጽሐፍ ነጋዴነት

Written by  ብርሃኑ ሰሙ 

ወጣት ድንቁ ግርማ በጐዳና የመፃሕፍት ንግድ ሥራ ላይ

በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ የመጀመሪያውን የመፃሕፍት መሸጫ መደብር በመክፈት የሄዶን ዜግነት የነበራቸው ሚስተር ዴቪድ ቀዳሚ ሲሆኑ፤ መፃሕፍት አዙሮ በመሸጥ ደግሞ ተስፋ ገብረሥላሴ መሆናቸውን “ዘመን ተሻጋሪ ባለውለታ” የተባለው መጽሐፍ ይጠቁማል። ከአንድ ክፍለ ዘመን በላይ ባስቆጠረው የመፃሕፍት ዝግጅት፣ ህትመትና ስርጭት ዙሪያ ካሉ ያሉ ችግሮች ዛሬም ድረስ አልተፈቱም፡፡  የሚገኘው ወጣት ድንቁ ግርማ የሚደርስበት እንግልት ለዚህ ምሳሌ ሆኖ ሊቀርብ ይችላል። የአምስት ዓመታት የመጽሐፍ ንግድ ሥራ ሂደቱና የሕይወት ውጣ ውረዱን አውግቶኛል፡፡

የእግር ጉዳትህ የተፈጥሮ ነው?

አይደለም፡፡ ጤናማ ሆኜ ነው የተወለድኩት። ወላጆቼ እንደነገሩኝ ከሆነ የ3 ዓመት ልጅ እያለሁ ወድቄ፤ በወቅቱ ወደ ሐኪም ቤት ስላልተወሰድኩ ለእግር ጉዳተኛነት ተዳረግሁ፡፡ 

 ትውልድህና ዕድገትህ የት ነው? 

በ1980 ዓ.ም በሱሉልታ መንደር ነው የተወለድኩት፡፡ ሦስት እህትና ሁለት ወንድሞች አሉኝ፡፡ እኔ የመጀመሪያ ልጅ ነኝ፡፡ በሱሉልታ ብዙ አልቆየሁም፡፡ ደብረብርሃን (ደነባ) ሄጄ ከዘመድ ጋር ስድስት ዓመታት ኖሬያለሁ፡፡ ከዚያ ጠፍቼ በመምጣት በአዲስ አበባ በጐዳና ተዳዳሪነት ሁለት ዓመታት ያህል ቆይቻለሁ፡፡ 

 ከጐዳና ተዳዳሪነት መውጣት እንዴት ቻልክ?

 መርካቶ ሃብተጊዮርጊስ ድልድይ አካባቢ ነበር የማድረው፡፡ አድራሻው እንቁላል ፋብሪካ አካባቢ የሆነ “ሲዳርታ” የሚባል የበጐ አድራጐት ድርጅት ከጐዳና አንስቶ ወደ ማዕከሉ አስገባን፡፡

ከትምህርት ጋር ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የተገናኘሁት እዚያ ነው፡፡ በማዕከሉ አራት ዓመት ስቆይ ደብል እየመታሁ 6ኛ ክፍል ደርሻለሁ፡፡ ሰርከስ ሊያሰለጥኑን ሞክረዋል፡፡ የእንጨትና የብረታ ብረት ሥራም አስተምረውናል። ከዚያ በኋላ ራሳችሁን ቻሉ ተብለን ተሰናበትን፡፡

The Ethiopian Prince and the English Savage

Prince Alamayu Tewodros

            By: John Medland –

  For me, one of the most haunting of all the images captured by Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron is of an Ethiopian prince and his captor.
The picture illustrates the paradoxes of Britain’s 19th century imperial adventure.
By 1900, the British Empire controlled a quarter of the planet. Although ultimately enforced by the death-rattle of the Gatling machine gun, this imperial edifice was justified by what the French called ‘the civilising mission’.
Julia Margaret Cameron herself was a product of the empire. She was born in Calcutta in 1815, when it was ruled by the East India Company and she died on her family estates in Sri Lanka in 1879.
These pictures were taken at her studio at Dimbola in Freshwater Bay, where she lived from 1860 to 1875.
In her room, she captured a series of Victorian celebrities for posterity by photography when it was still a difficult technical process.
Tristram Speedy, the man in the pictures, was also born in India — in the army barracks at Meerut in 1836. He was an imperial adventurer, who served on the Indian North-West Frontier and in New Zealand.
While hunting in the Horn of Africa, he was employed by King Tewdros II of Ethiopia to train troops in the modern style and learned Amharic. Later, he served as a consul in nearby Masala on the Red Sea coast.
Prince Alamayu was born in 1861 to rule the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, then known as the Abyssinian Empire.
His father was King Tewdros and his mother, Queen Woyzaro Terunesh.
Their dynasty was the House of Soloman. Their ancient mountain kingdom had been a lone African Christian civilisation since the third century when Britain was a distant colony of Rome.
By the mid-19th century, most of Africa formed part of Britain’s ‘informal empire’ of trade and diplomatic relations. King Tewdros was no fan of the Europeans. However, he felt the problem he faced from Egyptian expansion was not being recognised.

7 Ethiopian Women to Watch

This is a guest blog by Elias Wondimu

Ethiopia has a rich tradition of independent, intelligent women. From the Queen of Sheba to wedding gown designer Amsale Aberra, these women have helped shaped the cultural and historical trajectory of Ethiopia and beyond. The seven women on this list are members of an extraordinary generation of diasporan Ethiopians who are flourishing throughout the world, in large part thanks to the sacrifices and dedication of their parents. Many of them left Ethiopia during the political upheaval of the mid 1970′s. They have since found their places on North American soil, even while remaining connected to their Ethiopian roots.
All seven women, and many of their equally successful peers, can be found in Tsehai Publishers’ new book, “Flowers of Today, Seeds of Tomorrow.” A complete project description and book preview is at: http://kck.st/RK9aNc
 

Sossina

1. Sossina M. Haile. A graduate of MIT, Dr. Haile spends her days teaching and researching at CalTech, where she is Professor of Materials Science and of Chemical Engineering. She received attention, both from the scientific community and from media sources such as Newsweek, in 2007 after she discovered a way to create a new type of solid-acid fuel cell. Dr. Haile’s focus on creating new solar-derived forms of fuel stems from her philosophical approach to science: “As you add to the body of knowledge, what can you do with it that is truly useful and exciting, that can actually change people’s lives?”

Mimi

2. Mimi Alemayehou. In 2010, US president Barack Obama appointed Mimi Alemayehou Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Before that, Mimi was the first African-born person to ever serve as US Executive Director for the African Development Bank. Mimi put herself through college working 40 hours per week as a hotel clerk and diligently pursuing opportunities such as US Senate internships. Her career in politics stems directly from personal experience: “For Ethiopians of my generation who lived through the early years when there was so much political turmoil . . . it seemed like politics controlled our destiny so much,” she explains.

Fanna

3. Fanna Haile Selassie. Fanna Haile Selassie is a broadcast journalist for ABC-affiliated WSIL-TV, a station serving southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. The daughter of Ethiopian immigrants who came to the United States to attend university and were unable to return due to the Red Terror, Fanna began her journalism career in college. She rose quickly through the ranks of local television stations in Minnesota before landing regional work. She focuses on political stories and hosts a short weekly segment on political issues. “I actually find new role models almost on a weekly basis in my career. I have told many stories about strong women breaking barriers,” she says of her work.

Weyni

4. Weyni Mengesha. An award-winning theater director and dramaturge, Weyni founded both the Sound the Horn Leadership Program and the annual Selam Youth Festival in order to bring together artists of Canadian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean origin. She also co-directs The A.M.Y Project, an annual theater training program for young women. Weyni rose to prominence in the theater world when she directed Trey Anthony’s Da Kink in My Hair, which ran at the Toronto Fringe Festival and Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theater, Canada’s most prestigious venue. Among her numerous other credits, she directed Hosanna at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2011. Weyni’s productions continue to earn her accolades and awards from theater critics in Toronto and beyond.

Meklit

5. Meklit Hadero. Singer and songwriter Meklit Hadero combines jazz, soul, hip-hop, art rock, and folk traditions of America and East Africa to create her own unique sound. Her 2010 Album, “On A Day Like This,” attracted attention from music lovers and NPR, PBS, and National Geographic. She studied political science at Yale, and served as an artist in residence at New York University, the DeYoung Museum, and the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. Meklit is the founder of Arba Minch Collective, a group of diasporan artists who perform in Ethiopia in collaboration with local artists. Meklit became a TED Global Fellow in 2009 and a TED Senior Fellow in 2012.

Mehret

6. Mehret Mandefro. Dr. Mandefro earned her M.D. at Harvard Medical School, where she began studying HIV and AIDS, not just on a medical level, but also in social and psychological terms, examining how the disease affects communities and individuals. Her work in communities led Mehret to co-found Truth Aids, an organization that uses ethnographic research to produce multimedia content to spur social change. Through documentaries and narrative films, Mehret explores the issues she examines in research and field work. A former White House Fellow, she continues to serve as an advisor for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mehret is an instructor at George Washington University’s School of Public Health.

Alfa

7. Alfa Demmellash. Alfa Demmellash is the founder of Rising Tide Capital, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping entrepreneurs find their footing. Based in Jersey City, New Jersey, the organization offers courses in starting and running a small business, and helps participants in the program secure funding for their business ventures. Demellash was inspired to help entrepreneurs by her mother, who attempted to obtain small business loans when Alfa was an adolescent, but gave up after becoming frustrated with the endless red tape and bureaucratic complexity of the process. For her efforts with Rising Tide, Demmellash was selected for CNN’s “Hero” series and received recognition from President Obama.
 http://www.msafropolitan.com

Ethiopian New Music

Ethiopia Detains Top Taxmen

Melaku Fenta and Gebrewahid Woldegiorgis

The Federal Anti-Corruption Commission (FACC), in coordination with the national security agency, has arrested 16 people, including top government officials on allegations of corruption.
Melaku Fenta, director of the Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority (ERCA), who has retained his position since 2008 at the inception of ERCA is the most prominent name on the list. Gebrewahid Woldegiorgis, deputy director of ERCA is the second name listed by the state media.
The names of the other 14 detainees have not been released.
http://addisfortune.net/breaking-news/top-ethiopian-govt-officials-detaines/

ዳንኪራ.... Dan-Kira

 The word means Dan-Kira dancing rhythmically by hitting the ground with your feet’’ in Ethiopia founded by Mr Daniel Dulla and Mr Daougi Teddy in 2007 as international entertainment company.  Dan-Kira award winner on 2011 BEFFTA Awards (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) best dance act categories.
   Dan-Kira entertainment providing the highest quality of east African traditional performance, set up east African live music and theatre event in UK and all over the world and also giving a short course for the people who is interested learning east African dance. Our classes suitable for all age categories that stretches an east African people to give a confidence in deliberately uniqueness on professionally, incorporate an east African people who native and live in UK.
 Our folk dance is one of the symbols of unique culture in the world. Dan-kira entertainment features perform all east African dance styles of showbiz performing at various social gatherings anywhere in the world. We make available more than twenty-five different tribes of dances and beat by changing amazing traditional colourful and well-designed outfit.
   The style of our dance most of them traditional but we manage to make them appropriate for different audience that makes us Dan-Kira more gracefully as a traditional performer highly professionally.
 Our shoulder, chest, body pumping and neck dances that make us unique, as we get feedback from many of previous performances as well as BBC radio WOMAD festival 2010.
 http://www.reverbnation.com/dankiraentertainmenteastafricandancegroup

ደበበ ሰይፉ

ይድረሥ ለሰራዊት ፍቅሬ (ግራ የሆነውን ግራና ቀኝ በተመለከተ)

አገኘሁ አሰግድ

በመጀመሪያ፤ ይህ ፅሁፍ ቀድሞ የተዘጋጀ የነበረው፣ለአዲሰ አድማሰ ጋዜጣ ነበር፡፡ሳይወጣ በመቆየቱ ወደዚህ አምተነዋል፡፡እናም ወደኋላ መለስ ብላችሁ አንብቡልኝ፡፡ እሱ በማያይበት መፃፌ ብቻ ሀሜት እንዳይመስልብኝ ሰጋሁ፡፡ ቢሆንም ጀመርን……
.
.
ሰላም ላንተ ይሁን ሠራዊት ፍቅሬ! እንደምን አለህ! የሕይወት ‹‹ግራ እና ቀኝ እንዴት ይዞሃል?? ይህችን ፅሁፍ (ደብዳቤ) የምጽፍልህ ‹‹ርዕዩት›› በተባለው የሬድዮ ፕሮግራም ላይ እንግዳ ሆነህ በቀረብክ ጊዜ ‹‹ታነባለህ ወይ›› ተብለህ ለቀረበልህ ጥያቄ ‹ግዴታ ሆኖብህ› እንደምታነብ ስትገልጽ በመስማቴ መልዕክቴ ባክኖ አይቀርም በሚል የፀና እምነት ነው፡፡ ታዲያ ስታነባት ግልጽ የሆነችና በቅን ልቦና የተፃፈች መሆኗን ተገንዘብልኝ፡፡

የፅሁፌም ሙሉ ትኩረት ፣ ግራ እና ቀኝ የተሰኘው ፕሮግራምህ ነው፡፡ በየሳምንቱ በፕሮግራሙ ላይ የሚስተናገዱ ‹‹ሃሳብ አልባ›› ርዕሰ ጉዳዮች ናቸው ሃሳብ እንድሰነዝር ያስገደደኝ፡፡ እንደውም እንደውም ሳስበው እስካሁን ድረስ ርዕሱ እንጂ ፕሮግራም አልጀመራችሁም ባይ ነኝ ፣ ርዕሱ እየመራችሁ እንጂ ፕሮግራሙን እየመራችሁ አይደለም፡፡ እስካሁን በተላለፉት ፕሮግራሞቻችሁ ያየሁትም ‹‹ግራ እና ቀኝ›› ሊቀመጡ የማይችሉ ሃሳቦችን ጭምር በግብታዊነት እያነሳችሁ አቆማችኋቸው እንጂ ፣ እንኳን በአንድ ትልቅ የአገሪቱ ሚዲያ ቀርቶ ለእርስ በእርስ የወዳጅ ጨዋታ እንኳ የሚበቁ አይደሉም፡፡……. ሠራዊት ፣ የፕሮግራሙ ታላቁ ችግር ምን መሰለህ …. ያገኛችሁትን ማምጣታችሁ ፣ ያመጣችሁትን መወርወራችሁ፡፡ ይህንን የምለው ከምንም ተነስቼ አይደለም ፣ ከራስህ አባባል ተነስቼ ነው፡፡ በሊያ መጽሄት ቅፅ2 ቁጥር 17 የታህሳስ እትም ላይ በሰጠኸው ቃለ ምልልስ አንድ ቦታ እንዲህ አልክ ፤ ‹‹…. ሃሳብህ ምንም ይሁን ምን ወርውረው››…አየህ ሠራዊት ‹‹ምንም ይሁን ምን›› እያላችሁ የምትወረውሩዋቸው ፣ ምንም ያልሆኑ ርዕሶች ናቸው የፕሮግራሙ ስብራቶች፡፡

ያልተጠናው የኢትዮጵያውያን ፍልስፍና

ፍቃዱ ቀነኒሳ (በአዳማ ዩኒቨርስቲ የፍልስፍና መምህር)

ሀገራችን ኢትዮጵያ ገና ያልተጠኑ የበርካታ ጥንታዊ ሥነጽሁፎች ባለቤት ናት፤ ማጥናት አቅቶን ሌሎች አጥንተው የቅጂ መብቱን ከመውሰዳቸውና የታሪክ ክፍትት ተፈጥሮ በመጪው ትውልድ ተወቃሾች ከመሆናችን በፊት የዘርፉ ምሁራን ጥናትና ምርምር በማካሄድ፣ ዩኒቨርስቲዎች ጉዳዩን የምርምር አቅጣጫቸው ውስጥ በማስገባት፣ ዜጎችም ጥንታዊ የጽሁፍ ሃብታችንን አስፈላጊነት ተገንዝበን ከዘራፊዎች በመጠበቅ ሃላፊነታችንን ልንወጣ ይገባል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ ዘመናትን ያስቆጠሩ ሥነቃላዊና የጽሁፍ ፍልስፍናዎች ባለቤት ናት፡፡ ከአስራ ሰባተኛው መቶ ክፍለ ዘመን በፊት ከሌሎች የአፍሪካ ሀገሮች በተለየ መልኩ በርከት ያሉ የፍልስፍና ስራዎችን በመስራት በቀዳሚነት የምትጠቀሰው ኢትዮጵያ፤ በጥንታዊው የግእዝ ቋንቋ ከተጻፉት የፍልስፍና ስራዎቿ መካከል ከፊሎቹን በትውልድ ካናዳዊ፣ በምርጫ ደግሞ ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆነው ፕሮፌሰር ክላውድ ሰምነር ወደ እንግሊዝኛ ቋንቋ በመተርጎም፣ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ እንዲታወቁ ሲያደርግ፤ ሌሎች በርካታ በግዕዝና በአረብኛ ቋንቋዎች የተጻፉ የጽሁፍ ስራዎች በጥንታዊ ቤተእምነቶችና ቤተመዛግብት ውስጥ ተቀምጠው ክላውድ ሰምነርን የመሰሉ ፈላስፎችንና የጥንታዊ ጽሁፎች ተመራማሪዎችን (philologists) እይታ በመጠባበቅ ላይ ይገኛሉ፡፡

‹‹ያምራል ብለው ከተናገሩት…››ከኑሮ እና ፖለቲካ /ቁጥር - 2 የተወሰደ/ በኃይሉ ገ/እግዚአብሔር

ሰውየው አርቲስት ነው፡፡ ወዳጄ እንዳጫወተኝ፡፡ ማታ ማታ ሰክሮ ወደ ቤቱ ይገባል አሉ፡፡ ትህትና ይዞን ‹‹ማታ›› እንበልለት እንጂ እርሱስ የሚገባው ለጠዋት በቀረበ ሰዓት ነው አሉ፡፡ ይህ አርቲስት እቤቱ እንደገባ የመጀመሪያው ተግባሩ ልጆቹን መቁጠር ነው፡፡

አሳዛኙ ነገር ልጆቹ ለመቆጠር ብለው ከሚያምር እንቅልፍ ላይ ሁሌ እንዲነሱ መገደዳቸው ነው፡፡ ሲዘገንን! ለመሆኑ ልጆቹ ስንት ናቸው? አራት፡፡ ‹‹አንድ፣ ሁለት፣ ሦስት፣… ቆይ ! ቆይ ! ቆይ ! ተሳሳትኩ እንዴ ! እናንተ ሁላችሁም ቀጥ ብላችሁ ቁሙ፤ አንድ፣ ሁለት፣ እ… አንተ ትንሹ ና ከፊት ሁን፤ አዎ ! አንድ፣ ሁለት፣ ሦ.. አይ! አይ! ከሴት መጀመር አለበት፤ ነይ አንቺ ከፊት፤ አንድ፣ ሁለት፣ ሦስት..›› እያለ ሲቆጥር ይነጋል አሉ ሌሊቱ፡፡ /የዚህ ሰውዬ ቤተሰብ አባል ከመሆን ያዳነን እግዚሃር ምስጋና ይግባው አቦ !/

‹‹ሚስቴን እወዳታለሁ፤ ባለቤቴን እወደዋለሁ፤ በፍቅር የማምን ሰው ነኝ፤ ባለቤቴ ሕይወቴ፤ ሚስቴ ማለት እናቴ፤ ፍቅር ሰጥቶ ፍቅር የሚቀበል ጓደኛ አለኝ፡፡ ልጆቼ፣ ጌጦቼ…›› ዓይነት የታዋቂ ሰዎችን ዲስኩር በመጽሔትና በጋዜጣ ማንበብ፤ እንዲሁም በቴሌቪዥን እና በሬዲዮ ማየት እና ማድመጥ የለመድነው ጉዳይ ነው፡፡

እንደ አብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ አባት ሁሉ፣ ‹‹ሚስቱ ማለት አገልጋዩ፣ እጮኛው ማለት የስጋ ፈቃድን ከማሟያ ውጪ ትርጉም የሌላት፣ ልጆቹ ማለት በሞቅታ ከደካከመ በኋላ ማታ መጥቶ ኮርኩሞ የሚያስተኛቸው ሊሆኑ ይችላሉ፡፡ ነገር ግን ገመና ነውና በሚዲያው በኩል ወደ አደባባይ ሲወጣ የቅድስናን ካባ ለራሱና ለጎጆው ያለከልካይ ይሸልማል፡፡ /‹‹ለምን ይዋሻል?›› አለ ኮሜዲያን ተስፋዬ ካሣ!/