(This is the first installment in a three-part series looking at the memoir written by the Ethiopian intellectual, freedom fighter and opposition politician, Andargachew Tsige.) Andargachew Tsigie and Meles Zenawi became friends- or more precisely, card-playing partners – one Christmas break…
Children of Hope, The Odyssey of the Oromo Slave from Ethiopia to South Africa (review) 2019 by Shama Books Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 334pp Price. 340 ETB In Children of Hope, Zimbabwean-born Sandra Rowoldt Shell traces the lives of sixty-four children,…
The story behind the vintage photo Recently at a photography studio in Haya Hulet area of Addis Ababa, my attention was captured by a faded black and white photograph that was lying on the counter, evidently to be retouched. In…
There’s been a lot of talk about harmful water hyacinth, locally called Emboch, that invaded most of the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes water and what it means for the surrounding populations that share the lake. One of the lakes infested…
The fate of the Ethiopian ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has been a subject of discussion. Established by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the late ’80s, the party, comprising of four ethnicity-based affiliates, has controlled…
One of the strengths of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the party that has held the rein of power in Ethiopia for the past twenty-seven years and a coalition of four ethnicity-based parties, is its culture of secrecy,…
Author: Yordanos Almaz Seifu Mengedegna (The Traveller) Addis Ababa Pages 359 price 100 birr The series of xenophobic attacks targeting Ethiopians and other African national immigrants in South Africa has been in the news recently. Incidents of shootings, vehicle torching,…
Author: Worku Gebeyehu Lakew Empire and Revolution in Ethiopia, a new perspective: 2018 Addis Ababa 344 pages, Price 142 Birr Forty-five years after its outbreak, the Ethiopian Revolution has continued to fascinate historians and writers to this day. A handful…
Already grappling with political instability, foreign exchange shortages, Ethiopia now has to worry about the rising price of food “Any sugar?” says the young woman, leaning into a shop in the town of Merawi, 34kms away from Bahir Dar. The…
A group of self-proclaimed “apostles,” and “prophets” are commanding some of the country’s largest spiritual audiences through pulpits and television cameras. They, among others, promise direct access to God through miracles and healing and give assurance of prosperity and abundance.…