Friday, December 19, 2008

Jeff Buckley Hallelujah




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who'd OUT DREW YA
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The 2nd Annual Artist for Charity



The 2nd Annual Artist for Charity (AFC) Holiday Benefit event took place on Friday December 5, 2008.

The main organizer of the event, Abezash, mentioned, “the benefit raised over $10,000 dollars.” AFC cares for 16 children HIV positive children and orphans.

The event was sponsors by Blen GraFix, Custom Signs Today and Touchstone Gallery. Many volunteers also supported the event.

Musical performers were PS24 and the special guests were the legendary Maritu Legesse and Setegn Atenaw (the Ethiopian Jimmy Hendrix). Setegn created praising lyrics for Abezash on the spot, freestyle. The event was very successful and brought people together for a good cause. Everyone at the event made a pledged to support AFC even more for the next year 3rd AFC Holiday Benefit event.

Picture by Mike Endale



Monday, November 17, 2008




SALEM MEKURIA is Associate Professor of Art at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and an independent film producer, writer, director, originally from Ethiopia.

For a number of years, she worked with NOVA, Public Television's premier science documentary series, a production of WGBH-TV, and with numerous international film productions focusing on issues of African women and development.

Salem Mekuria is the recipient of numerous awards, production grants and fellowships. Her films have been broadcast internationally and have screened at venues all over the world.

Source: http://www.salemmekuria.com

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The heart asks pleasure first




The heart asks pleasure first,
And then, excuse from pain;
And then, those little anodynes
That deaden suffering,
And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.

* * *

If I Can Stop
IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.


* * *


Because I Could Not Stop for Death


Popular Poems of Emily Dickinson


Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible.
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant?

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant

Emily Dickinson

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---
Success in Cirrcuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---

Monday, November 10, 2008

Mama Africa

Thank you dear Miriam Makeba.

Your angelic and unforgettable voice transcended all kind of boundaries.

Grammy award-winning South African singer Miriam Makeba passed away. She was known around the world as "Mama Africa." She was 76.

Rest in peace.

Watch her performance with Paul Simon.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

From Slavery to Victory




By Tegist Dagnew & Bekalu Yegzaw

It was incredible to see Washington DC residents in collective happiness. The unplanned and peacful celebration on November 4th, 2005, started around 10:00pm lasted until 3:00pm, which was caused by Obama's victory.

After a long time of living in fear and insecurity, it seemed on November 4, 2008, African Americans, Whites, and Hispanics, Ethiopians, and people from all walks of life walked, talked, shouted in instant cheerfulness and sense of unity.

The last time that I observed such unity was in 9-11. Only on that day, like on November 4th, I observed perfect strangers embracing each other and comforting each other.

We hope this excitement lasts long and people do not wait for extreme happiness or sadness to comfort and support each other.

Picture: Selam Xavier celebrating the victory on 14 & U - source: washingtonpost.com

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The Road Not Taken


by Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

Picture Source: www.jamescoxgallery.com/

Monday, November 03, 2008

Haile Gerima's film "TeZa" wins yet another award!!!


Ethiopian film "Teza" scooped four main awards at Africa's Carthage Film Festival Saturday, including the coveted Golden Tanit for its "modesty and genius."

The film by Haile Gerima bagged the top prize on the last day of the festival in Tunisia, beating the Palestinian film "Leila's Birthday" and Tunisia's entry "Khamsa" to second and third place respectively.

"Teza" tells the story of an Ethiopian doctor at the height of the Cold War who comes back to his country from the West under the Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in the 1970s.

The film also picked up awards for best scenario, best music and best supporting actor.

Other festival winners included "Yellow House" by Algerian director Amor Hakkar, while the Tanit of Honour went to Burkina Faso actor Sotigui Kouyate.

However, controversy struck the 22nd festival when the Syrian government intervened to ban the entry of a short film, "Zabad", by director Reem Ali about two of the country's former political prisoners.

The Carthage Film Festival, which showcases Arab and African films, is held every two years in the Tunisian capital. Tanit is a Phoenician lunar goddess, worshipped as the patron goddess at Carthage.

Source: www.france24.com

Friday, October 03, 2008

Africom?

The Associated Press

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

DAKAR, Senegal: A new command takes over all U.S. military operations in Africa Wednesday, a program that many on the continent fear has a hidden agenda skewed by the war on terror and a self-interested scramble for resources.

Africom is also facing skeptical U.S. lawmakers who slashed its budget by a third last week and said the command's rollout over the last year had been "badly bungled."

Before Africom was created one year ago, American military programs on the continent had been divvied up among three other commands more concerned with NATO and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new command is inheriting responsibility for a Centcom-run base in Djibouti, where 1,800 troops are deployed to keep Horn of Africa terror networks in check. It also takes over European Command's Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative and dozens of other military and maritime training programs.

"Africans believe Africom is aimed at promoting America's interests, not Africa's," said Wafula Okumu, a Kenyan analyst at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies. Most Africans don't trust their own militaries, which in places like Congo have turned weapons on their own people.

"They don't trust Africom, either, because it's a military force," Okumu said. There is also "a suspicion America wants to use us, perhaps make us proxies" in the war on terror.

Africom's deputy for military operations, Vice Adm. Robert T. Moeller, said counterterrorism is a priority, but it is not the only one.

In an interview Tuesday, Moeller said the command was also concerned about pirates operating along African coasts, but said fighting that scourge would be "a challenge."

Some key areas of Africa — such as Somalia's pirated-infested coastline — will remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Central Command headed by General David Petraeus, Moeller said from Stuttgart, Germany.

International warships now patrol waters off the Somali coast and have created a special security corridor under a U.S.-led initiative, but attacks have not abated. In all, 62 ships have been attacked in the notorious African waters this year.

Moeller said "a secure and stable Africa is very, very much in U.S strategic interests."

It's clear why: West Africa's Gulf of Guinea already supplies more crude oil to the U.S. than the Persian Gulf. And failed states such as Somalia have become havens for radical, al-Qaida-linked militants who bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Commanders say Africom will bring a focused approach to the continent, which had never been a priority before. But even some U.S. lawmakers have doubts.

Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass, who chairs the House national security and foreign affairs subcommittee, told The Associated Press the new command's rollout had been "badly bungled," its mission not made clear enough to African leaders.

Resistance to Africom among African governments has been so strong that commanders abandoned initial ambitions to install a headquarters on the continent. It is based in Stuttgart instead, with about two dozen Africom liaison officers posted at embassies.

Some African suspicions are rooted in the past.

Washington's Cold War legacy of supporting brutal dictators, coupled with Africa's tragic colonial history, has spawned a distrust of foreigners. And many believe it's no coincidence Africom was born as emerging powerhouses like China and India embark on a new scramble for the continent's increasingly valuable resources.

Over the past year, Africom officials have crisscrossed the continent, fending off waves of suspicion and reiterating they have no plans to build new military bases outside Djibouti.

Moeller said the confusion surrounding Africom was "unfortunate" but the command's mandate has not changed.

"Our primary responsibility ... is working with our African partners to help them build their security capacity" — mainly by training armies and peacekeepers.

From the beginning, Africom was cast as a different kind of command, one that would focus American military might not on fighting wars, but on preventing them through "soft power."

As part of the new approach, a civilian deputy equal to Moeller was appointed to coordinate humanitarian operations with other U.S. agencies. Africom's "interagency" makeup was trumpeted as a better way to meet the continent's development needs.

But only 13 of the 1,300 staff positions allotted so far are non-Defense Department jobs, a ratio Congress says is "not optimal for meeting U.S. long-term goals."

Tierney, who wants to see more interagency representation, said "the Africom model and approach to date ... have serious flaws."

Over the weekend, Congress slashed Africom's 2009 budget by a third to $225 million. It also ordered Defense Secretary Robert Gates to report back by April 1 on how the command can be improved.

Erin Weir of Refugees International says Africom is part of a growing trend toward "militarization" of American foreign policy, driven more by the war on terror than by development needs.

Over the last decade, the Washington-based group says the percentage of Pentagon-controlled development assistance abroad skyrocketed from 3 percent to 22 percent, while USAID's share dropped from 65 to 40 percent.

"Africom has become a lightening rod for a bigger concern, which is that U.S. foreign policy is being dictated almost entirely by the Department of Defense," Weir said.

Africom officials say such worries are unfounded. The organization says it aims to support, not shape U.S. policy. And of the $9 billion America spends annually in sub-Saharan Africa, the Pentagon's share is just 3 percent.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Good Investment?

$125m boost for African Mining SME sector from new ‘Pan-African’ fund

The largest ever fund to target Africa’s under-served sub $1m SME sector has reached the $125m milestone.

Promoted by South-African based company GroFin, in partnership with Shell Foundation, the “GroFin Africa Fund” has raised $125m which aims to unlock the potential of Africa’s small and medium-sized enterprises. These firms often struggle to grow because of a lack of access to capital and business development assistance, and as a result, Africa misses out on a significant engine of economic growth.
This fund adds to $100m already raised for this sector through the joint efforts of GroFin - a specialist business developer and financier - and the Shell Foundation, bringing the total committed capital level to $225m.

GroFin, co-established by the Shell Foundation in 2004, already provides risk capital funding and vital business skills assistance to entrepreneurs across seven African countries. During this time it has initially supported over 1,000 enterprises with business assistance and financed more than 100 of these, resulting in the creation and maintenance of over 2,500 jobs and the improved livelihoods of over 17,000 people.

The GroFin Africa Fund is attempting to plug the so-called ‘missing middle’ – the gap that exists between micro-finance, which tends to cater for informal entrepreneurs needing less than $50,000, and commercial banks and private equity, who prefer to finance larger companies which require over $1 million.

The international development sector has long sought to find financially viable ways to support this missing middle – known increasingly as the ‘Growth Finance’ sector – so that entrepreneurs can grow their businesses and create sustainable employment. All GroFin-backed entrepreneurs receive extensive support building their businesses – as well as risk capital.

Chris West, Deputy Director of the Shell Foundation, commented: “SMEs are a key driver of economic growth in the developed world, but the sector has long been neglected in Africa by risk-averse banks. Currently, a whole raft of African entrepreneurs are missing out on investment and business advice which means that the continent is being denied a potential engine of economic growth and job creation.

“With exceptional growth over the last five years, GroFin demonstrates the massive potential of Growth Finance as a new asset class. The new fund will help in excess of 400 budding entrepreneurs to create thousands of sustainable new jobs that will help lift people out of poverty.

Having firmly established GroFin as a pioneer, and demonstrated the viability of the Growth Finance sector, the greatest challenge now is to develop and professionalise this asset class. Within the next decade, we want to see Growth Finance become a multi-billion dollar industry.”

Jurie Willemse, Chief Executive of GroFin, said: “Africa will only be transformed through bottom-up enterprise which delivers economic independence. This new capital commitment is a strong endorsement of our performance to date and it will enable us to support many new businesses which will help to create wealth and jobs across a number of different countries.”

A number of different organisations have contributed to increase GroFin’s total assets under management from $100m to $225m:
• International Finance Corporation: $30m
• CDC UK Development: $30m
• FMO: $20m
• African Development Bank: $20m
• Shell Foundation: $15m
• GroFin: $10m

The fund is still open for investment and expects to reach $150m shortly.
- END -
For more information, case studies or to arrange an interview with Chris West or Jurie Willemse, please contact James Terry on 0207 400 4480 / 07941 829 582.
Notes to Editor

About the SME sector

In OECD countries, SMEs and microenterprises account for over 95% of firms, 60-70% of employment, 55% of GDP and they generate the lion’s share of new jobs1. In developing countries, SMEs represent over 90% of all firms and

Standard Chartered estimate that in African countries they generate between 32-60% of GDP, with an average of 39%2. The World Bank estimates SMEs represent more than half of all GDP and account for nearly two-thirds of employment3. Yet in all of Africa and South Asia, less than $1 billion in actively managed investment funds specifically target the SME sector4.

The second largest provider of capital to the African SME sector manages $65mill. Most other organisations – around 20 providers - operating in the Growth Finance asset class have around $5mill under management each.


1 World Business Council for Sustainable Development: ‘Promoting small and medium enterprises for sustainable development’ (July 2007)
http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/Hg1G0KSeDlHEjrCI9M1L/PromotingSMEs_latest.pdf
2 Standard Chartered SME business statistics
3 The Brookings Institute, Policy Brief 159, “Beyond Microfinance: Getting capital to SMEs to fuel faster development,” Mar 2007, http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2007/03development_de_ferranti.aspx
4 International Finance Corporation, 2007. List of SME funds

Source: http://www.shellfoundation.org/admin/upload_img/images/06%2010%2009%2008%20GroFin%20announcement%20FINAL.pdf

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Teza



Ethiopian film explores nation's recent violent past

Tue 2 Sep 2008
Mike Collett-White

VENICE (Reuters) - A powerful new film chronicles the life of an Ethiopian intellectual who flees his country during the Marxist "red terror" in the 1980s, only to be viciously attacked in Germany by racist youths.

Anberber, the central character, returns to his homeland longing for peace, but life with his mother in a small village is disrupted by armed factions dragging boys away to fight and by prying locals wary of a man they consider to be an outsider.

"Teza", by Ethiopian director Haile Gerima, is one of 21 movies in competition at the Venice film festival, and warm applause after a press screening suggested it would be a contender for prizes at the closing ceremony on Saturday.

The story jumps between multiple timelines, but in each Anberber struggles to fit in, be it in his native Ethiopia or in exile in Germany.

Gerima said "Teza" reflected his own experiences, and was based on a recurring dream.
"The dream is basically about intellectual displacement," he told reporters in Venice on Tuesday.

"When I translated my dream it was about being displaced, unable to live up to your peasant life, your peasant family and at the same time reconcile (that) with your modern world."

Anberber seeks refuge in memories of his happy childhood, something U.S.-based Gerima said he also did whenever he returned to Ethiopia which he described as "a nightmare for me."

"Like Anberber in the film I like to drown (in) the past."
"I go to Ethiopia and I dream my past but the present is so powerful it continues to hijack my sentimental journey to my childhood. I think it's the idea that you want your childhood world to come back, I think that is universal."

"In Africa the luxury to remember memory is hijacked by daily violence, either silent violence or obvious violence."

DEATH AND DANGER

Some of the most striking scenes are set in the 1980s, with Ethiopia in the grip of purges, show trials, executions and mob lynchings under the leadership of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who seized power in 1974 after Emperor Haile Selassie's overthrow.

Giant portraits of Marx, Engels and Lenin form the backdrop to the violence and fear, and Anberber's revolutionary fervour quickly turns to disillusionment as he realises what the regime means for himself and his country.

Actor Abeye Tedla, who plays Anberber's best friend and fellow idealist, recalled some of the horrors of that time which he lived through as a child.

"I've seen a few bodies when I was going to school and coming back. It wasn't uncommon."

"As you were walking by there would be a guard standing there so nobody removes the body. And if you look too closely ... the person would say 'Do you know this person?' And I mean literally you could get shot if the person suspected you."

He praised Gerima for what he said was a balanced portrayal of those times in Ethiopia.

"It (the story) just looks at what happens when people stop thinking constructively and start thinking destructively."

Source: http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL234537.html

Monday, August 18, 2008

Amharic School in the United States



Meron Dagnew is our current day young hero. She is the director of Meqdela NYC, which is an educational organization. Meqdela NYC provides Amharic and Ethiopian culture, history, folklore, music, and dance lessons for young students in New York City.

According to the organization’s web site, www.meqdela.org, “Meqdela NYC is an Ethiopian school that teaches children about different aspects of Ethiopian culture in a fun, informative, interactive and supportive manner.” Additionally, the web site states, enrolling students in this very special school, provides young adults the “opportunity to become immersed in many aspects of Ethiopian life without leaving the United States.”

Meron is originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She attended The City College of New York and several others while serving under the US AIR FORCE. She holds a degree in Religion and African Studies.

Meron has worked many years teaching children. She is heavily involved in the New York Ethiopian community and travels frequently to Ethiopia.

Meqdela NYC provides children (4-10 years old) the opportunity to learn about their culture through an Amharic language emersion program of history, folklore, music, dance, vocabulary building, reading and writing.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Team Ethiopia Beijing 2008 Schedule

By Hewot Teruneh



It's on! Get out your pom poms and start cheering! :o)

The Ethiopian Olympic Committee announced its strong squad of 36 athletes for Beijing 2008, which is due to begin on Friday. You can find out the list of athletes below and the schedule for Team Ethiopia. All times are local time in Beijing which is 12 hours ahead of EDT. For instance 8 AM in College Park, Maryland is 8 PM in Beijing. Click here for the official schedule from Beijing 2008 Olympics official website.

Team Ethiopia Beijing 2008 Olympics Schedule
Date Time Event
Friday,August 15 19:10-19:35 Men's 1500m Round 1
20:25-21:10 Women's 3000m Steeplechase Round 1
22:45-23:20 Women's 10000m Final
Saturday, August 16 09:20-10:00 Men's 3000m Steeplechase Round 1
Sunday, August 17 07:30-11:20 Women's Marathon Final
21:30-21:46 Women's 3000m Steeplechase Final
21:55-22:15 Men's 1500m Semifinals
22:45-23:20 Men's 10000m Final
Monday, August 18 21:10-21:25 Men's 3000m Steeplechase Final
Tuesday, August 19 10:00-10:30 Women's 1500m Round 1
19:35-20:41 Women's 5000m Round 1
22:50-23:00 Men's 1500m Final
Wednesday, August 20 20:15-21:15 Men's 5000m Round 1
Thursday, August 21 19:00-19:20 Women's 1500m Semifinals
Friday, August 22 20:40-21:02 Women's 5000m Final
Saturday, August 23 &nbs p; 19:50-20:02 Women's 1500m Final
20:10-20:30 Men's 5000m Final
Sunday, August 24 07:30-10:40 Men's Marathon Final
Ethiopia announces squad of 36 for Beijing 2008
A ddis Ababa, Ethiopia- The Ethiopian Olympic Committee (EOC) announced its strong squad of 36 athletes for the Olympics Games in Beijing, China
Bekele and Dibaba to double
The pick of the announcements is the selection of Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba to both the 5000m and 10000m squads. After weeks of speculation, distance running star Haile Gebrselassie's place in the 10,000m has now been confirmed, while Gete Wami and Berhane Adere, veterans of previous Ethiopian Olympic teams, make a historic return after missing the 2004 edition.
A star-studded squad is hopeful of matching or surpassing the country's best medal tally in the Olympic Games - eight medals (4 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze) - set in Sydney 2000. Long Distance Men

More from IAAF
Ethiopia's squad for Beijing 2008
MEN
1500m: Derese Mekonnen, Mulugeta Wondimu, Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Demma Daba
3000m Steeplechase: Nahom Mesfin, Roba Gari, Yacob Jarso
5000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele, Abraham Cherkos, Ali Abdosh
10,000m: Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine, Haile Gebrselassie, Ibrahim Jeylan
Marathon: Tsegaye Kebede, Deriba Mergia, Gudisa Shentema, Gashaw Melese
WOMEN
1500m: Gelete Burka, Meskerem Assefa
3000m Steeplechase: Zemzem Ahmed, Mekdes Bekele, Sofia Assefa
5000m: Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar, Meselech Melkamu, Belaynesh Fekadu
10,000m: Mestawet Tufa, Tirunesh Dibaba, Ejegayehou Dibaba, Wude Ayalew
Marathon: Gete Wami, Berhane Adere, Bezunesh Bekele, Dire Tune

Friday, July 04, 2008

Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher


> Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher is an African Environmentalist and our hero.

Dr. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher won the Right Livelihood Award in 2000 "for his exemplary work to safeguard biodiversity and the traditional rights of farmers and communities to their genetic resources."

Tewolde Berhan graduated in 1963 from Addis Ababa University and received his doctorate from the University of Wales in 1969. He returned to Addis Ababa University where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Science (1974-78). Other activities include keeper of the National Herbarium (1978-83), the President of University of Asmara (1983-91) and Director of the Ethiopian Conservation Strategy Secretariat (1991-94).

Since then he has been General Manager of the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia, which is effectively that country's Ministry of the Environment.

In the 1990s, he was a leading advocate for the progressive stand to stop the patenting of living material in favor of community rights at many international biodiversity forums held by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In 2006, Tewolde Berhan was also one of the winners of the United Nations top environmental prize, Champions of the Earth.

Source: Heroes from the Better world

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Gabriel Teodros


Gabriel Teodros is the everyday journeyman with more stories to tell than most people twice his age. Having seen both city and countryside through the eyes of a struggling artist and immigrant child, Teodros spins observations and wordplay into internationalism on wax. Linking first and third world people's struggles, he is sincere when he says "we in this together son, your beef is mine."

From ciphers at Westlake to spending months in Vancouver and Brooklyn, Gabriel's story is one of trial, tribulation and a search for redemption. The contrast of his onstage ferocity with his offstage humility reveals a multifaceted spirit who understands that the political is personal. Whether addressing political repression and resistance in East Africa or reflecting on the effects of patriarchy in his relationships, Teodros captures each moment soulfully with his unmistakably (north)west coast delivery.

Teodros has left a mark in the underground NW hiphop scene as one half of the duo Abyssinian Creole (with emcee Khingz & DJ WD4D), and since the late 90's has been seen rocking microphones from classrooms to theatres, clubs, stadiums, protests, prisons to street corners alongside the likes of Zap Mama, Fishbone, KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Digable Planets, Souls Of Mischief, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Ozomatli, The Coup, GZA/Genius, Aceyalone and Bahamadia to name a few. Even before dropping his upcoming solo masterpiece, Lovework, in early 2007 on MassLine, Teodros has already got love from a community who eagerly anticipate his next story to tell.

Since the release of Lovework, Gabriel Teodros reached the very top of the CMJ Hip Hop Charts, released two new music videos, was featured on NPR and in URB Magazine's "Next 100", and has been recieving rave reviews everywhere from Rolling Stone to Okayplayer.com Gabriel has also been staying busy on tour in support of the Lovework album, working with youth in South Seattle, teaching classes & doing whatever he can to help other artists get their voices heard while recording the future classics right out of his home.

Source: http://www.myspace.com/gabrielteodros

Monday, June 30, 2008

ESFNA

The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission will host the Ethiopian Sports Federation festival in the District June 29th through July 7th at RFK Stadium. 
 
"We are very proud to help bring the first Ethiopian soccer tournament and festival to RFK Stadium," said Erik A. Moses, DC Sports and Entertainment Commission chief executive officer. 

"The Sports and Entertainment Commission and the District are very excited to host the thousands of revelers converging on the city for this unique and important sporting and cultural experience."
 
For more than two decades, the Ethiopian Sport Federation of North America (ESFNA) has been promoting amateur soccer and cultural events within the Ethiopian community across North America.

The Federation strives to provide positive role models for the youth and promote goodwill between the Ethiopian communities in the United States and those around the world.  For more information about schedule of events and ticket information, visit http://www.washdcsports.com/

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Queen of Sheba (Saba)


Queen of Sheba's Palace Discovered in Ethiopia, University Says

By Catherine Hickley

May 8 (Bloomberg) -- A team of archaeologists from the University of Hamburg said they discovered the Queen of Sheba's palace and an altar that may have once held the Ark of the Covenant in Axum, Ethiopia.

A Christian king built a new palace over the 10th-century B.C. structure, which probably didn't survive for very long, the university said in a statement. The altar, oriented toward the star Sirius, has two columns and may have been where the Ark of the Covenant, the holiest treasure of early Judaism, was kept until the first temple was built in Axum, the researchers said.

``The special significance of this altar must have been handed down over centuries,'' the statement said. ``This is shown by the many sacrifices found around this spot.''

The Ark of the Covenant, featured in the Indiana Jones movie ``Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' was kept in Jerusalem for centuries, according to the Old Testament. After Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians in the 6th century B.C., the ark's fate isn't documented in the Bible and it entered the realm of legend.

Ethiopian Christians contend that the ark left Jerusalem much earlier -- during the realm of Solomon -- and was brought to Ethiopia, where it has long been enshrined in a church and is now accessible only to its guardian, a monk. This theory was explored by the British author Graham Hancock in ``The Sign and the Seal.''

Fate of the Ark

The Hamburg team led by Helmut Ziegert has for nine years been investigating the origins of the Ethiopian state and the Ethiopian orthodox church. The central purpose of the field trip was to find out how Judaism arrived in Ethiopia in the 10th century B.C., and to seek clues to the present location of the Ark of the Covenant, the university said.

The palace built over the Queen of Sheba's home was also aligned with the star Sirius, the statement said. The researchers conjecture that the second palace was built by Menelik, who, legend has it, was the son of Sheba and King Solomon.

The results of the Hamburg field trip suggest that together with Judaism and the Ark of the Covenant, a cult worshipping Sirius came to Ethiopia and practiced its religion until about 600 A.D., the university said.

According to the Old Testament, God ordered Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant, a box made of acacia wood and plated with gold. It is believed to have contained the tablets listing the Ten Commandments.


Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/
Picture: http://www.specialtyinterests.net/queen_sheba_solomon.JPG

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Empress Zewditu


Empress Zewditu was the daughter of Emperor Menelik II and Woizero Abechi. Her mother passed away while Zewditu was still a very young child, so Zewditu was raised by her father and step-mother, Queen Taitu Bitul.

Zewditu had very good relations with her step-mother. Zewditu had earned a reputation of kindness. Zewditu treated everyone with the same sweet friendliness.

In 1900, at the suggestion of her step-mother, Zewditu married Ras Gugsa Welle, son of Ras Welle Bitul and nephew of Queen Taitu. Ras Welle was ruler of Simien and Yejju and younger brother of Queen Taitu. This marriage bound the princess even more closely to her stepmother, and the marriage proved to be a happy union.

Source: http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown/Zewditu.html

Friday, May 23, 2008

Mrs. Shirikiana




"The co-producer of the highly acclaimed film Sankofa, Mrs. Shirikiana Aina has been dedicated to independent cinema for over fifteen years. She received a Masters Degree in African Film Studies from UCLA in 1982, and a B.A. in Film in 1980 from Howard University. After starting a family she returned to her alma mater to teach scriptwriting.

Aina is one of the founders of Positive Productions, Inc., a non-profit film company for independent filmmakers of color, and Mypheduh Films, Inc., a distribution company for African and African American films.

Aina also worked as a cinematographer on independent documentaries such as: Politics of African Cinema, On Becoming A Woman and Lois Mailu Jones: 50 Years of Painting. Her film directorial credits include, Brick by Brick, a documentary on urban displacement. Her latest work, Through The Door of No Return, is a documentary feature on the involvement of African Americans in Ghana from the time of Kwama Nkrumah to the present. independent films, by, for, and about people of African descent.

Filmography:
Through The Door of No Return (16mm/Docu./Color/1997)
Sankofa (35mm/Color/125 min./NR/1993)
*Brick by Brick (16mm/Color/Documentary/30 min./1982)

Lecture Topics:
Scriptwriting; Film Production; Directing; Distribution"

Source: www.blackfilmmakers.net

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Maritu Legesse



Coming soon to Selam Africa: Interview with the legendary singer, Maritu (the honey) Legesse.

Maritu used to sing inside King Haile Selase’s palace. She comes from Wolo, the birth place for most of Ethiopia’s musical notes.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Haile Gerima




Professor Haile Gerima just completed his tenth move, Teza

“The movie is produced as an ancient riddle,” Professor Gerima explained. Professor Haile extracted the name of the movie also from an ancient African riddle: “Seehade Agegnehuwat - Semeles AtaHuwat,” which means I found it when I was leaving - I lost it when I was returning.” The movie is a truly touching story told in artistically powerful way.

Teza is mainly produced by Negod Gwad² Production and is distributed by Mypheduh³ Films, Inc. Professor Haile Gerima has produced many more powerful movies: some of them include:

Hour Glass in 1972,
Child of Resistance in 1972,
Mirt Sost Shi Amit (also known as Harvest: 3,000 Years) in 1975,
Wilmington 10 -- U.S.A. 10,000 in 1979,
Bush Mama in 1975,
Ashes and Embers in 1982,
After Winter: Sterling Brown in 1985,
Sankofa, in 1993 and
Adwa in in 1999.

The award winning movie producer, Haile Gerima, was born in Gondar, Ethiopia, on March 4th, 1946. He is the first and the best Ethiopian filmmaker. Professor Gerima’s father was a very successful warrior and Play writer and producer. Professor Haile came to the United States in 1968 and studied film production. At UCLA, he was an important member of the Los Angeles School of Black Film Makers.

He has been a professor of film at Howard University, since 1975. Professor Haile Gerima is married to an African American movie producer, Professor Shirikiana Aina Girima. They have five kids.

Professor Haile Gerima is a hardworking pan-African philosopher, activist, and movie producers. His cinematography is powerfully memorable.

Just as his personality, his works are very generous and truthful. All of Haile movies are well researched and well produced. His productions are historical and satisfying for the mind and soul.

Professor Haile has thought many people from the Washington, D.C. area as well as around the world. He gives lectures that help many film makers, actors/actresses, and musicians. Professor Gerima has received many awards and honors for his dedication to the truthful and zestful depiction of life.

His students attest to his positive influence in their work and life. For example, Nato, Haile’s student from Kenya said “Professor Haile thought me to tell my own history, which led me to a successful and fulfilling path.”

Professor Gerima and his wife own a movie and book store as well as a movie studio called Sankofa, which is a place where many conscious people come together. Sankofa carries books and videos by and for African descendents, which are products that can not be found elsewhere easily.

The place is located at:

2714 Georgia Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
PH: 202-234-4755
1-800-524-3895

http://sankofastore.com/catalog/homepage.php


Be on the look out for Teza at a theater near you.
________________
¹ The word Teza means - dew.
² The word Negod Gwad means - thunder.
³ The world Mypheduh is a Geez word, which means - archive.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Wayna




Wayna extends an invitation to the CD release party for her new album Higher Ground, THIS SATURDAY APRIL 5th 10pm at Zanzibar on the Waterfront.

The first single from the project is #3 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop singles chart and #12 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles, one slot below Janet Jackson's, Feedback.

You can listen to the song, along with 5 new tunes from the album on my myspace

www.myspace.com/waynamusic and/or facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wayna/9669528980

Please support and spread the word where you can!

CD Release for HIGHER GROUND
Saturday April 5th at Zanzibar on the Waterfront
700 Water St SW, Washington, DC 20024
10:00pm

www.wayna.net
www.myspace.com/waynamusic

Monday, March 24, 2008

Setegn Atenaw




The legendary musician and Masinko player, Setegn Atenaw, performing at the Takoma Park Community center. Masinko is an Ethiopian string instrument. (Photo: Naomi Brookner)

By Mike Meno, The Gazette

The aromas of incense and freshly ground coffee filled the Takoma Park Community Center on Saturday, March 15th 2008. Takoma held the city’s first art exhibit to exclusively showcase local Ethiopian artists.

The exhibit, which will be on display throughout March, features the photography and paintings of four professionals, all originally from Ethiopia, as well as about a dozen Ethiopian students from Piney Branch Elementary School.

On the opening day, artist Matewos Legesse came dressed in a traditional white shirt, pants and shoes that he said would be worn to formal events in Ethiopia. Legesse contributed several paintings to the exhibit, many depicting women and apples painted in vivid colors.

‘‘The colors of Africa are so bright, very colorful,” said artist Debebe Tesfaye, whose paintings of Ethiopian market scenes also featured vibrant colors, which he said is a reflection of the dress and culture of the east African nation.

Photographer Andarge Asfaw, who came to the United States in 1972 and lives and works in Silver Spring, said he has traveled to five continents, but nothing compares to being able to capture images of his homeland.

Asfaw’s photos at the exhibit were from a trip back to Ethiopia he took in the 1990s and illustrated scenes that included wheat fields, mountains, churches and marketplaces.

One of Asfaw’s photographs showed an Ethiopian market built around a large tree with far-reaching branches — an image he says is very rare in Ethiopia these days. He said he is trying to use art as a way to alleviate the problem of deforestation, and profits from his recent book will go toward the county-based nonprofit group Trees for the Future.

Tebabu Assefa, a member of the Takoma Park Community Action Group, which co-sponsored the event, said he wanted to give the public a chance to see Ethiopian culture, but also allow local Ethiopians to embrace their own traditions.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Nefes Yemar*



By Solomon Teklai

In the past three weeks three Ethiopians who lived here in the United State have committed suicide. Among those three individuals, one worked with us in organizing the New York Abay Sport team during the late 80’s and early 90’s.

He was a father and a highly dedicated community activist. The second individual was also a father and a devoted Orthodox Christian. He attended and volunteered in churches and in many Gondar development programs. I do not have detail information about the third Ethiopian but I was told he lived in Maryland. I am sure he was a beloved son of someone and with rich personal history.

Mariam mentoring and tutoring program conducts its sessions every Saturday afternoon from 2:00-6:00pm at the Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The program is designed to tutor and mentor Ethiopian students in the DC metropolitan area. In the past six years, we have seen people of all ages come to this church seeking help to fight their mental afflictions.

We saw some crying, others praying for hours. Some of them come to our tutoring sessions and sit there with no word coming out of their mouth. Few others try to talk about something that has nothing to do with the tutoring in session but it is about the touching and sad story of their life.

Unfortunately, we are mostly engaged in tutoring and do not have the means to be of assistance to those who come there seeking help.

Yes, it is a huge challenge as the Ethiopian population in the area grows in the absence of social programs to help people in such circumstances. Is there anything that we can do as individuals to reach the soul of those people during their time of mental suffering?

Nefes Yemar* is an Amharic equivalent to “God bless the soul.”

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Resource for Africa?

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On February 25, 2008, President George W. Bush that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) would support five new private equity investment funds, with a combined target capitalization of $875 million, designed to invest in a variety of sectors vital to Africa’s economic development, including health care, housing, telecommunications and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The new commitments represent the largest single-day announcement in the history of the agency’s investment funds program.

“Last year, we launched the Africa Financial Sector Initiative. As part of this effort, OPIC mobilized $750 million in investment capital for African businesses,” President Bush said in a speech on the eve of his February 15-21 trip to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. “Today, I'm announcing that OPIC will support five new investment funds that will mobilize an additional $875 million, for a total of more than $1.6 billion in new capital.”

“The new era is rooted in a powerful truth: Africa's most valuable resource is not its oil, it's not its diamonds, it is the talent and creativity of its people. So we are partnering with African leaders to empower their people to lift up their nations and write a new chapter in their history…The best way to generate economic growth in Africa is to expand trade and investment,” President Bush said.

OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. said, “Establishment of these five new investment funds represents additional, tangible support for Africa, but with a dynamic focus on the social aspects of economic development and job creation on the continent.”

“These funds will encourage the growth of sectors critical to Africa’s ongoing development, such as housing and telecommunications, as well as other developmental sectors, including health care and small businesses. Their overall impact will be to broaden African capital markets and provide critical investment for social development, a model that can be replicated in other geographic areas.”
OPIC’s Board of Directors approved financing to support the funds at its January 31 meeting. More information about OPIC’s Africa-related investment funds can be found http://www.opic.gov/investment/participating/africa/index.asp

Three of the new OPIC-supported funds will help to bring new levels of efficiency and productivity to sectors critical to the continent’s continued economic growth: health care, housing development and telecommunications. The two other funds will support the growth of Africa’s debt capital markets and its SME sector.

Source: www.opic.gov

Ethiopians and African Americas

Source: HilltopOnline, Howard University, Washington
NATALIE CONE, 2/26/08

On Monday night, a bus full of New York Abyssinian Baptist Church members drove to Washington, D.C. to join the Ethiopian community to honor the church and its pastor, the Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III. The event, which was hosted at the Ethiopian embassy, was also intended to celebrate Black History Month and to strengthen the historical and spiritual connections between the Ethiopian and African-American communities.

"During slavery, African Americans always looked at Ethiopia as a place that represented freedom, black culture, history and religion," said Princeton University professor Ephraim Isaac, who spoke at the event. "It inspired the fight against discrimination and religion. When slaves were told they were inferior, they were animals or subhuman, they would think of Ethiopia." Isaacs, who is also the founder of the African-American studies department at Harvard, quoted Langston Hughes' poem, "The Call of Ethiopia." The poem addressed the freedom of not only Ethiopia, but also the entire African continent. Sociology professor Alem Habtu of CUNY Queens College described how, as an international student from Ethiopia, he learned from African Americans during the civil rights movement. Habtu, along with some peers, took over the Ethiopian embassy in protest of issues concerning their country after hearing Stokely Carmichael and members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) speak.

The guests included members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the ambassador of Ethiopia, Samuel Assefa. Robert Wallace, CEO of Birthgroup Technologies, said he plans to build orphanages for children whose parents died of AIDS/HIV. Gary Flowers, executive director and CEO of the Black Leadership Forum, addressed the need to get back to the root of black culture. "I am, because we are; and because we are, I am," Flowers said. "There is no individual advancement without group advancement."

The Embassy said the program is the first of many that will recognize the connection between the two cultures. The evening ended with the honoring of Butts, as he was presented with a piece of artwork by a famous Ethiopian painter. His long-term goal is to use the church's developmental corporation to build housing and educational facilities in Ethiopia. "We can not be chauvinistic about our connection to Ethiopia and cannot deny what needs to happen," said Butts.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Ethiopia's DNA

DNA studies trace migration from Ethiopia
Research dates origins up to 100,000 years
Los Angeles Times

Scrutinizing the DNA of 938 people from 51 distinct populations around the world, geneticists have created a detailed map of how humans spread from their home base in sub-Saharan Africa to populate the farthest reaches of the globe over the last 100,000 years.

The pattern of genetic mutations, to be published Friday in the journal Science, offers striking evidence that an ancient band of explorers left what is now Ethiopia and -- along with their descendants -- went on to colonize North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, southern and central Asia, Australia and its surrounding islands, the Americas and East Asia. A second analysis based on some of the same DNA samples corroborated the results. Those findings, published Thursday in the journal Nature, demonstrated that the greater the geographic distance between a population and its African ancestors, the more changes had accumulated in its genes.

The story of human migration revealed by DNA "compliments what's known through history, linguistics or anthropology," said Jun Li, the University of Michigan human geneticist who led the Science study.

Both research groups relied on DNA from blood samples collected by anthropologists around the world as part of the Human Genome Diversity Project, a controversial effort from the mid-1990s to gather genetic specimens from thousands of populations, including many indigenous tribes.

Previous studies have relied on data from the International HapMap Consortium, which cataloged DNA from 269 people of Nigerian, Japanese, Chinese and European descent.

"Instead of saying a particular person's genome is from Africa, this kind of data allows us to say which part of Africa they were from," said Andrew Singleton, chief of the molecular genetics section at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md., and senior author of the Nature report. The studies were funded by the NIH, the National Science Foundation and private foundations.

In both studies, the researchers analyzed more than a half-million single-letter changes among the approximately 3 billion As, Cs, Ts and Gs that make up the human genome. Those changes -- called "single nucleotide polymorphisms," or SNPs -- begin as random mutations and accumulate over time as they are passed from one generation to the next.

Each time a small group left its home territory to found a new population, the migration ultimately led to a unique pattern of SNPs. Comparing those patterns, the researchers were able to show that humans spread around the globe through a series of migrations that originated from a single location near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

....

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Holly Bass: Poetic Dancer


Holly Bass will perform as Josephine Baker in Washington DC where she lives and works.

She is a graceful dancer and spoken word artist. She is known as a writer-performer.

Holly is energetic and poetic artist. This young diva has dedication, vision, and originality to recreate the Harlem Renaissance sentiment in her performances.

Holly is also very active in her community. She often volunteers her time and talents. She has a very generous personally which makes her performances genuine and joyful.

We wish Holly to continue shining: especially, on her current performance on February 23, 2008 at 2142 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington, DC 2008.

Additionally, Wes Felton will perform as Langston Hughes; Jade Foster as Zora Neale Hurston; Ne'a Posey as Billie Holiday; Dr. William E. Smith as Duke Ellington and introducing Dorothy Tene Redmond as Harlem Socialite "Mamie Mason."

Picture source: http://www.myspace.com/hollybassforever

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Behailu Zerihun: Explorer

Behailu Zerihun traveled all over Africa on a journey to explore kinship. Enjoy Behailu’s pictures thought the mother land.

Behailu has been volunteering at the Marima Tutoring and Mentoring Program (MTMP) in Washington DC for several years.

Mariam Tutoring and Mentoring Program (MTMP) was founded in 2002 to operate and develop educational and recreational programs for elementary and high school students. The program has near a 100 percent high school graduation and collage bound rate. The program originally started as an outreach program of the Debre Selam Kidest Mariam tutoring entity. The program has helped over 260 students improve their academic future while encouraging a sense of service toward others.

MTMP meets every Saturday throughout the school year to offer elementary and high school students to help in Math, Physics, English, Chemistry, Amharic as well as mentoring them to build their confidence and community involvements. MTMP also have a confidence building programs such as public speaking and writing exercises.
MTMP also organizes filed trips, which are entertaining and educational for MTMP students, to parks, universities, planetariums and to museums.








selamawit nega

Selamawit Nega is a talented vocalist. She lives in Washington DC. She is currently working on her latest and much anticipated CD. Here is Selamawit Nega's latest music video about the Ethiopian millennium. On this single CD release, she says let it be peace, unity and love. This is one of the best millennium songs. Be on the look out for her latest CD and CD release parties near you. Enjoy Music arrangement and keyboard by Daneal WoldGebreal. Lead guitar by Peter Charley. Bass guitar Fasel Woheb. Lyrics by Selmawit Nega and Selamawit Legesse. Melody by Selamawit Nega.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

"The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears"



By Elsa Gebeyehu

Dinaw Mengestu is the author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, a Los Angeles Times bestseller and Seattle Reads pick of 2008, as well as the forthcoming novel How To Read the Air. He was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1978. In 1980, he immigrated to the United States with his mother and sister, joining his father, who had fled Ethiopia during the Red Terror.

He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Columbia University’s MFA program in fiction and the recipient of a 2006 fellowship in fiction from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a 5 Under 35 Award from the National Book Foundation in 2007. He has written for Rolling Stone and Harper's, among other publications. He lives in New York City.

Photo: Jen Snow

Monday, January 21, 2008

Sossina Haile: Scientist and Environmentalist







Scientist Sossina used her knowledge to create energy at lower cost to human and earth. She created the world's first solid-acid fuel cell, which is a clean technology that converts chemical energy to electricity for powering cars, buses and power plants.

The fuel cell that scientist Sossina made emits only pure water. What makes scientist Sossina’s discovery extra special is that her fuel cell makes it possible to produce energy at comparatively low temperatures.

Scientist Sossina is a mother of two. She studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

According to Newsweek, Scientist Sossina says "there's nothing better than being able to combine an intellectually exciting topic with the knowledge that will be beneficial. To me, that's just glory."

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Selamawit Nega: Powerful Musician




By Dr. Tedla W. Giorgis

Selamawit Nega, SelamKen, is a young renowned Ethiopian musician who has performed around the world. With fifteen years of experience in musical composition and performance, she is very much sought after by the Ethiopian communities and organizers of World music festivals.

In addition to her acclaimed performances across the Ethiopian communities both in the US and Europe, Selamawit has performed at places like the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the World Music Institute of Washington, D.C., Dance Africa in Chicago, Dance Africa in New York, the World Music Institute of New York, Harvard University and Tufts University.

Selamawit is versatile performer and musical repertoire includes selections from the various parts of Ethiopia, including Amarigna, Guragigna, Ormigna, Tigrigna, and Welaytagna. She has also performing across the US, Europe and in Africa. Selamawit and her band are currently residing in Washington, D.C.

If there is one Olympics event that made Ethiopia famous it is the marathon. Selamawit has made a great contribution toward making the victorious Ethiopian marathon runners well known through out the world by composing and dedicating her album title “Mefeter Andenew.” Her CD and cassette was enthusiastically received both by critiques and members of the Ethiopian community.

****
Be on the look out for Selamawit’s latest and much anticipated CD. It should be released in early 2008. Her latest CD encompasses her powerful and majestic voice with variety of music from all round the world.


To contact Selamawit Nega call (202) 549-7818.
http://www.myspace.com/selamawitnega