Based on the title, I know what you are thinking. Here he goes again on his “soap box” talking about Ethiopians who sip buna right? Well today, I am going to throw you a curve ball. In this article, I will do no such thing; I write today not out of frustration, I write today out of a place of hope.

So now you are asking yourself, “OK, so what’s up with the title of the article”. Well I speak of Buna today because I have done my fair share of criticizing some in our community of being “buna sippers”. And this statement has been taken out of context and perceived by some as defaming people who enjoy a cup of buna. So first and foremost, let me admit, I am…

Every once in a while, I come across a submission that raises the bumps on my arms as my mind wraps around the message of its writer. A young Ethiopian writer who grew up in the United States or Canada like I did. A writer whose calling is so loud it screams from the words on my screen, illuminated from behind by the bright, eternal white that seems to stretch into the computer and into another parallel universe; one where we never left home and we learned to cook doro wut and drive a stick shift at a young age. What gave this person the courage to follow their fingers on a keyboard instead of the warnings of a community who believes success is measured by the number of letters that come after your name, M.d, PhD, M.Ed.

For those who do not know, my sister and I are publishing a book together about

Life has a propensity to mold and transform us. There are more things which change in our lives than constants. Facebook has recently evolved into a new behemoth to me. I admit, its sudden take-over of this globe gives me great apprehension. It’s potentially an unchecked baby monster… like a gremlin before it touches water at midnight, or eats a cupcake in a full moon, or whatever it was they had to do to change into those relentless little devils. I will not delineate the mundane details of the possibilities I conjure up in my head… but just picture- hideous uniforms, bad ID pictures tattooed on foreheads and tomato wars on leap years… I know. Terrifying.

Perhaps I am externalizing an…

Ethiopia is one of the most stunning places on earth. Our motto is “13 Months of Sunshine” because of its wonderful, sunny climate–even during the couple of months during the rainy season. Travelers marvel at the incredible greenery, majestic mountains, and—most of all—Ethiopia’s beautiful people. Ethiopia’s existence dates back almost 3,000 years. Here, in fact, is where the legendary skeleton of Lucy was discovered. She is evidence of one of the earliest traces of our hominid ancestors—she is slightly older than 3.2 million years old.

However, more than anything else, the beauty of Ethiopia is…

Want to hear a joke? An Ethiopian couple drive by a car that is in the ditch, and the husband says to the wife, honey, call 911! At which point, she says *mts* Thus the joke, what is the Ethiopian 911? *mts* Make that sound effect and you will hear what I am talking about. At this point, you either laughed, or you got upset, either way, this little joke evoked an emotion in you. Why? Is it because it is true, because our concept of helping someone in need is to in fact say *mts*? They say behind every joke…

One of the exciting things to look forward to when entering a new culture is acquainting oneself with a whole set of new holidays. Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine’s day, and April Fools. I remember learning how to celebrate these events and taking a few years to ‘get it right’.

A close friend of mine who was born in Eritrea, lived in Kenya and then migrated to the U.S. told me about his first Halloween in the States. He did not believe his friends when they told him that everyone would dress-up as someone else and ask the neighbors for candy. First, if neighbors were actually willing to oblige to give the naughty kids anything where he came from, it would have been…

Ethiopian-Americans for Change is in the planning stages of putting together a Free Clinic in Alexandria , Virginia. Health care was one of the major concerns cited by those in our community; this is our effort to act according to your needs and to listen to your voice. Moreover, we also believe passionately that having an affordable health care is a right that should be enjoyed not only by the well to do, but by those who work day in and day out to keep up with their bills and yet cannot afford to purchase health care.

However, this program will not be possible if…

by Teddy Fikre

Thursday , November 16, 2009

Stop!

Before you go on reading this, please take a moment to Google “Ethiopian Child” and then click on the “Images” tab.

I will give you one minute….

This is the image of Ethiopian children. This is the image of Ethiopians to the world. A deprived and desolate country, a country without hope, a country without

Wednesday 25, 2009

by Sehin Belew

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I thought I would discuss a relevant topic and give you practical tips on how to avoid holiday weight gain. This past Saturday night, I happened to be at Stanford’s Big Game where they played Cal. Stanford’s new and beautiful stadium seats 55,000 people and it seemed like there was not an empty seat in site. Hundreds and hundreds of people have come a couple of days prior to the game to tailgate outside the stadium and have family picnics.

When I was walking around, I couldn’t help but …

Tuesday 24, 2009

by Liya Endale

I left Ethiopia at the tender age of one. Since then I’ve lived in The Netherlands and various cities in the U.S. For the longest time, I wanted to find ‘my people’. We lived in places like College Station, Texas and Bogart, Georgia. Needless to say, my family always comprised the Ethiopian population. In my mind, I always imagined a blithe reunion with sappy orchestra music playing in the background, running into the arms of a faceless countryman/countrywoman who represented home….