Last week, I wrote about the inclination by a large swath of our community to be suspicious of anyone that comes around advocating an imitative or pushing an effort. I guess you can say that this is part II of that story; this is an example of words that are used to label people that seek to make a difference.

There is no word that comes to mind that exemplifies the suspicion that some Ethiopians have towards other Ethiopians. This word is “Leba”. By definition, leba means a thief, someone who steals money from a business or a people. In our community, this word has taken on a special meaning of its own. In our community, anyone that is perceived to be taking advantage of an organization or a cause is labeled a leba.

The key word is perceived. The mere perception of someone doing something wrong is enough to get someone labeled a leba. Is there proof? Not needed. Is there reasonable cause? Not needed. Have you seen this person stealing? Not needed. In our community, one is…

Certain words have historically derogatory meanings. However, different cultures have re-invented these words which once degraded their people into words which represent them positively and the strength which carried them through a historically repressive time. Gay people can call each other queer, black people call each other N-bombs, and some of us East Africans call each other Abesha.

When I was on my journey to find “my self”, there was a time when I didn’t know many Ethiopians. I tried hard to identify with the Black American culture and even thought I got away with it until I was hanging out with some of my local Black friends…

United Apart: Ethiopians and Eritreans is setting out to raise a scholarship fund. The goal is to raise $10,000 for a the scholarship fund, 50% of the scholarship fund with go to an Eritrean youth and 50% of the funds will go to an Ethiopian youth. Ideally, we want to give 10 separate scholarship grants in the amount of $1,000 per student–5 Ethiopian highs school seniors who are on their way to college and 5 Eritrean high school seniors who are on their way to college.
Once we meet a threshold of $1,000, an email will be sent out to both communities asking students or their parents to submit a scholarship grant request. The application will be intensive and require documentation to prove that the student has been…

I want to take a moment to thank my father and my mother, and really all mothers and fathers, for sacrificing so much to help us—the Ethiopian-American generation—attain a dream and to make something of our lives. It can seem at times that being a parent is a thankless job; you work so hard and put up with so much from us as we are growing up that we sometimes forget to say THANK YOU.

So I want to thank my parents for giving up a life of comfort in Ethiopia and coming to a new life in America. Thank you to my father for working three and four jobs at a time, working at a parking lot, driving a cab, working at 7-11, working at the post office and many more jobs, all to put ..

I will admit, I am by no means an expert on the Ethiopian community. In fact, having been away from Ethiopia for over 27 years and growing up in Woodbridge Virginia in a time where there was only two other Ethiopians we knew that lived there, you can say that I have a lot to learn about our community. So take these words not as an authoritative statement but an observation I have made over the past two years as I have endeavored to narrow the chasm between me and my fellow Ethiopians.

If there is one phenomenon I have observed more than any other in these two years in my role of a community organizer is that of a natural tendency of many in our community to be suspicious. It doesn’t matter if a person is advancing a non-profit organization, a business, or a political message, the first inclination of most is to be suspicious of that man or woman. I have my theories for this occurrence ranging from a trauma that has yet to subside of the Derg to people who have come and gone in the…

Memo: Ethiopians and Eritreans in the DC Metro Area

Date: Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Event: A Mass Gathering

Purpose: To Show Our Numbers

All Ethiopians who live in the DC Metro area. This is an experiment in a random convergence of Ethiopians and Eritreans to show visually how big our presence is in the DC Metro area specifically, and the United States generally.

This requires each person that accepts this invite to become a stake holder and reach out to your network of friends, family, associates to and tell them to meet on the Washington Mall on Saturday, May 1st starting at 12:00 PM.

There will be no music, there will be no…click to read whole story…

Dialogue: Cooperation between Ethiopians and Eritreans
Date: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Time: 8:30 PM EST

We will sponsor a dialogue between the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora this evening at 8:30 PM. The dialogue will feature young Ethiopian and Eritrean men and women as they discuss ways to overcome the chasms of the past and work together towards a collective success for their respective countries. Anyone can join the conference call by dialing at the number below:
Conference Bridge Info
Number: 218-936-7979
Pass code: 699381#

Click for additional details…

An iron sits on a century old base made of old metal in front of our fire place like an ornament. But this is no regular iron. The handle, still containing bits of the orange paint which must have been brilliant so many years ago, is made of wood with indentions carved for your fingers to rest comfortably as you press your weight into the cotton dress riddled with creases and fold-marks. The shell of the object is rusted on the sides, but the bottom is as sleek, cool and silver as the hood of an unpainted bobsled. The hull, an empty compartment, can be reached by sliding aside a latch, opening the entire top half of the compartment. This is where my grandmother would place the hot coals to heat up the iron as she pressed the clothes of…

I have been a part of many initiatives in my life, I have marched for freedom and democracy when I was a teenager, I have tried my best to organize Ethiopians for the 2008 elections, I have boycotted Starbucks because of unfair practices in Ethiopia. Out of all those things, there is one thing that stands out more than most, and that is being a part of a fan page called “United Apart: Ethiopians and Eritreans”.

I can state a thousand reasons why this is so, but let me share with you the main reason. I can do so with one word, that word is DIALOGUE. The United Apart facebook group has—in one short month—has garnered over 1,000 Ethiopians and Eritreans. The dialogue that is taking place in this fan page is truly profound. The fan page is not a …

Last year, we literally made history. The Inaugural Ethiopian-American Appreciation Day was an amazing day by any measurement. In two short months, we were able to put together an event that featured the following accomplishments:

* A free concert featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, Wayna, Yehune, Tsegaye Selassie, Zakki, Munit Mesfin, DJ Mamush, Richmond Punch and much more
* Got a proclamation released by the DC City Council officially recognizing 09.25.09 as Ethiopian-American Appreciation Day
* Mayor Fenty released a letter thanking