Monday, February 05, 2007

Globalbelai4U

I. OVERVIEW OF EXPERIENCE

1.1 Visionary leadership for win-win synergistic partnerships for success. Dr Habte-Jesus has a well developed and proven leadership skills built on strategic visioning, effective communication, efficient implementation strategies and strong team-building efforts to realize a win-win synergistic partnership for success.

1.2 Public Health & Strategic Management Consulting. Dr Habte-Jesus is a public health physician and Strategic Management Consultant with technical expertise in risky assessment, emergency planning, strategic management, with well developed experience in leadership development, multi-cultural empowerment, health and human services, business development, resource generation, health information systems, marketing.

1.3 Strategic Management Enterprises. He has extensive experience in Strategic Management Enterprises towards multicultural community empowerment, leadership of strategic management enterprises, business development, continuous quality improvement, public health, clinical medicine, epidemiology, health information systems. He has specialized expertise in risk assessment, business planning, budget forecasting, tracking and controlling costs, expertise in international health and global health and medicine with specialty in preventing, managing and controlling infectious diseases, research; program development, planning, implementation and evaluation.


1.4 Multicultural Community empowerment. He has well developed expertise in multicultural community empowerment in health and human services as well as the development and promotion of small businesses and non profit organizations that empower community leadership. He has competent written and spoken communication skills with extensive experience in results/performance oriented management, qualitative and quantitative research, business development/management, with excellent interpersonal and organizational skills supported with expertise in organizational leadership, clinical and epidemiological research, strategic marketing, fund raising, health promotion, teaching and multicultural multimedia hosting & comprehensive health promotion radio and television programming and broadcasting experience.

1.5 Practical leadership and training experience. He has proven track record of leadership supported by highly developed organizational and interpersonal skills and training expertise in the area of good governance, win-win synergistic partnerships, health and human services with policy and program development, epidemiology, evaluation and participatory strategic planning and management expertise in health, education, human resources, youth development, mental health, mental retardation, and tropical medicine and infectious diseases, home health hospice services as well as public health prevention services.

1.6 Excellent track record. He is visionary, highly driven, detail and results oriented, self-motivated, team player and highly inspired to solve problems in the short and long term. He believes in developing win-win synergistic partnership among multicultural communities via business enterprises. He has worked as executive officer, director and senior manager with several health and human service institutions in Africa, Asia, Europe and here in North America. His summary experience and additional areas of expertise include:
§ Visionary leadership and participatory management, empowering civil societies and multicultural communities.
§ Good governance and globalization and empowering civil societies.; resource development and management
§ Health Sector Reform and Research: Private, Public and HMO, Managed Care, home health and hospice care.
§ Strategic Planning, evaluation and sustainable development, policy development and evaluation, extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis, epidemiological research and publication, epidemiology, women’s health, youth development, pediatrics, mother and child health, public speaking, coaching and publications.
§ Global Health Promotion and prevention and management of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and Infectious Diseases Management & Control
§ Reproductive health, STI/HIV/PTSD and Child development, health, population and nutrition, prevention and early intervention programs, i.e. TB, Malaria, HIV/STD, etc.
§ Quality assurance, (CQI) evaluation and managing change, Good Practice and Policy and Procedures, Business Plans and Strategies
§ Managing Change, Behavioral research, multicultural holistic and integrated health enterprises
§ Behavioral Science, Mother and Child Health, mental health and mental retardation services, Regional Minority Health, HIV/AIDS Services
§ Managing a LifeStarts at community empowerment zones at East Capitol Center for Change


§ Grant Reviewer/Evaluator, Business plan, contract negotiation, strategic multimedia communication, teaching and multicultural community empowerment radio broadcasting, conference planning/chairing and dissemination of evidence based information.

§ 1.7Leadership Skills and expertise. His leadership skill is based on character, integrity, commitment, compassion and with win-win synergistic partnership and team building expertise. He has excellent interpersonal and communication skills with qualitative and quantitative research, health information systems, clinical evaluation, continuous quality improvement and quality assurance expertise, teaching, policy and business development, program management, marketing, strategic planning, visioning, and negotiation skills.
§ Multi-Media Computer/Internet Communications. Highly developed written and spoken communication skills with competency in Health Information Systems as well as Microsoft Office 2003, 2000, Power Point, Excel, Corel WordPerfect 9 Suite, Epi-Info, Mednotes, Medisoft, VisiTrack, HomeSolutions, CDC Wonder, SAS, SPSSX, Harvard Graphics, Multi-media Internet communication and contract development and negotiation skills.
§ Multi-Media Communications skills in vision, voice and data presentation using television, radio and print media: program development, marketing and production and broadcasting. He is fluent in English, Amharic, and Oromifa languages with working knowledge of French, Arabic, Hindi and Tigrinya.

II. EDUCATIONAL/RESEARCH AND ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

2.1 Academic Merit Scholarship: Master of Public Health. Master of Public health for medical doctors (1986); International Merit Scholarship with special commendation for research, University of Leeds, School of Public Health, United Kingdom, Great Britain. Concentration in epidemiology, health services research, management sciences population, and nutrition, mother and child health with a focus on international medicine and infectious diseases.

2.2 Academic Merit Scholarship: Medical Doctor. (1983) General medicine training with specialty in public health and child development and survival, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, South India, University of Madras.

§ 2.3 Awards: Distinction for Dissertation. “Evaluation of Mother and Child Health Services in Developing and Developed Countries with a Retrospective Infant and Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Studies.” September 1986.

§ 2.4 Academic Awards: The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award- for the Best Outgoing Student, May 1972

§ 2.5 Service Achievement Awards: Certificate of Distinguished Achievement, LifeStarts @ East Capitol Center for Change, Sep 2003.

§ 2.6 Service Achievement Awards: Bitwoded of the Imperial Solomonic Crown Without Borders, May 2000

§ 2.7 Ambassador for Peace, Universal Peace Federation, Seoul, South Korea, February 2006


III. MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION & TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Sample achievements over the last five years
1. Director of Continuous Quality Improvement and Strategic Business Development, Human Touch, Inc, 100 N Washington, St, Suite 410, Falls Church, Virginia, 22046; T: 703.531.05340, P: 703.531.0540

§ 1.1 Responsibilities. Lead the development and expansion of Home Health Care, Home Hospice and Wellness and Rehabilitation Center in the Metropolitan Washington DC area. Prepare the research material and develop
§ training and supervision of staff in establishing the centers. Provide leadership in Quality Assurance by developing qualitative and quantitative tools for measuring performance and results.

§ 1.2 Achievements. Developed a series of thriving Home Health Care agencies and prepared the necessary certification and accreditation documents with appropriate staff recruitment, training and performance management tools and quality assurance protocol. Re-organized and centralized the marketing, intake and billing process of the different organizations under one roof and developed strategies for expansion Organized Infection Control Policy and Procedure and trained skilled professionals on how to deal with infections such as MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) infections in the home care setting. Accessing health information systems such as Med soft, VisiTrack and Scan health soft wares for managing patient information.

2 Clinical Program Director, Carl Vogel Center, 1012, 14th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005; Ph: 202 638 0750 ext 18, Fax: 202 638.0749; E-mail: rogramdirector@carlvogelcenter.org

2.1. Responsibilities. Lead and manage a team of medical doctors, psychologist, mental health specialist, HIV Specialists, medical nutritional therapists, mental health specialists, case managers an marketing/outreach workers. Develop key result areas, set up primary medical HIV clinic, certificate of need, Medicaid/Medicare eligibility, Clinical policies and procedures, HIV work plan, Continuous Quality Improvement, Medical Record System (Med Soft and Mednotes), integrated and comprehensive system of care, clinical personnel issues, manage and chair weekly Clinical Management Team Meetings and Multi-Disciplinary Case Conferences, medical billing system and HIPPA compliance.

2.2. Achievement. Organized and set up a functioning HIV Primary Medial Care System with appropriate secondary and tertiary referral systems. Developed and submitted Certificate of Need for Primary Medical Care Developed a business proposal for HRSA Capacity Building Grant, developed organizational network for improved governance for board development, MIS and financial accounting system that synchronizes with clinical care protocol, medical records, billing and continuous quality improvement protocol for Primary HIV Care (Prevention, Early Intervention, Therapy and Rehabilitation, etc).

3. Director, Comprehensive Care II, Inc. October 2003+ @ 337 Delafield Place, NW, Washington, DC 20011, Voice: 202 291 2586; Fax: 202 291 3104; e-mail:
Globalbelai@yahoo.com
§ 3.1. Responsibilities. Direct a team of over 40 professionals including doctors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, case managers, and qualified mental health professionals, residential counselors to provide an individualized care plan that includes habilitation and behavior support plan (ISP, BSP) for over 30 consumers of wide range of age groups and behavioral challenges with a mix of disabilities from mild to profound residing in 6 homes in Washington DC.

§ 3.2. Accomplishments. Undertook a comprehensive needs assessment and SWOT analysis that looks at the strength, weakness, and opportunities and threats both at internal and external environments. Developed an extensive five years Human Care Agreement for Residential and Respite Services with appropriate budget and negotiated with the Government of the District of Columbia, DHS/Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Administration. Directed a team of professionals to ensure a highly organized services that allowed the re-certification of six group homes with appropriate compliment of health and human services for ICFMR facilities. Prepared regular monthly training with an up-to-date training manual to professionals on a holistic approach in improving the safety and well being of consumers with mental health and mental retardation challenges.

4 Director of Strategic Development & Quality Assurance -Human Touch, Inc. May 2002 4600 King Street, Suite 4R, Alexandria, VA, 22302, Voice: 703 379 2526; Fax: 703 379 5010.

4.1. Responsibilities. Responsible for strategic marketing, business development and organization of the marketing and business development of a health and human services agency providing home health care services to vulnerable communities who cannot access primary and secondary care services due to physical limitations. Initiated and developed free standing home health care, home hospice and wellness and rehabilitation outpatient centers in the Metropolitan Washington DC area.

4.2. Achievements. Undertook a comprehensive needs assessment and proposal development towards improving the internal and external market share of the agency towards establishing a strong presence in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC area. Developed successful proposals and presentations for a Certificate of Need Application for Home Health Care, Home Hospice Care and Capitol Wellness and Rehabilitation Centers in the Metropolitan Washington DC area. and made several contacts that yielded profitable contracts with health providers, insurance agencies such as Aetna, Care First, Blue Cross Blue Shield, MAMSI, Options, National Capital Health Care and other agencies.



IV. SAMPLE SELECTED BOOKS, ARTICLES, PUBLICATIONS,
AWARDS & PRESENTATIONS

1. Habte-Jesus, Belai et.al: Evaluation of Mother and Child Health Services in Developing and
Developed Countries- Evaluating the Global Burden of Childhood Morbidity and Mortality with Perinatal Mortality Studies on work done between 1977-1986, University of Leeds, United Kingdom, Great Britain., September 1986.

2. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et.al: North East Thames Regional Health Authority: Good Practice Policy
Guidelines for higher Specialties (Neurology and Neurosciences, Cardiology and Cardio-thoracic Services, East Nose and Throat, Ophthalmology, Oral and Dental Services, Renal Services, Accident and Emergency, Pediatrics and Genetic Services, etc. (Work done between 1988-1993). London, England, United Kingdom, Great Britain.

3. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et al, (Clapp & Mayne, inc) Interactive Communication Diary—A flexible
health information system to assist patient-provider communication with appropriate data sets for
institutional, patient – physician health information communication system. A Proposal for NIH
Funded Innovative Small Business Research Grant. June 1997.

4. Habte-Jesus, Belai: Presenter at the National Council for International Health 24th Annual
Conference: The impact of HIV on future work force- Building Strategic Alliances, Washington,
DC. July 1997.

5. Habte-Jesus, Belai: Presenter “Education for Empowerment in the 21st Century Development” at
African Institute for Education and Development Inc, July 1996

6. Habte-Jesus, Belai: Letter of Advocacy to Bill Clinton, President of the United States regarding US
Africa Policy: Re: Pre-empting the Impending Rwanda Genocide: July 1997.

7. Habte-Jesus, Belai: Protocols for Evaluating HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs in Washington DC May 1996.

8. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et.al. Initiating Roll Back Malaria, Lessons learned from USAID Malaria
Prevention and Control Program, Academy for Educational Development and USAID, Africa Bureau, March 1997.

9. Habte-Jesus, Belai: Innovative Community AIDS Education for African American Men and
Women with a focus on the special needs of women, July 1997.

10. Habte-Jesus, Belai et. al: Health Needs Assessment of African-Born Residents in the
Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area, ECDC, August 1999.

11. Habte-Jesus, et. al: Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children, A collaboration Program of the
DC Linkage and Tracking System, Office of Maternal and Child Health Systems Development
Initiative and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Accessing a “Primary Health Care Home
through Case Management, May 1994.

12. Habte-Jesus, et. al: Parenting Education as a foundation for prevention and early intervention
of future PVO Child Survival Program, December 1996.

13. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et. al. Cradle to Grave Health Care Reform n the USA: An idea whose time
has come. The White House Health Care Reform Task Force, April 1993

14. Habte-Jesus, Belai. A holistic approach in improving the safety and well being of consumers
with mental health and mental retardation challenges, September 2004

15. Habte-Jesus, et. al. Capacity Building Initiative for HIV Primary Care Services with a focus on
Infrastructure development via improved Governance, MIS/Financial System and
Continuous Quality Improvement System, April 2005.

16. Habte-Jesus, Belai, “Empowering civil societies series” - Shifting Paradigm of Global Good
Governance, the changing role of stakeholders and advocates, Diaspora Dialogue IV, George
Washington University Law School, May 2005- Chaired the conference as well as prepared key note
address.

17. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et. al; Organizing Global Partnership for Peace, Democracy and Prosperity
by Empowering Civil Societies Across the Globe to combat poverty and global terrorism.. July 2005

18. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et. al. Multicultural community empowerment via Multi-Media Broadcast
Network. Weekly Empowerment Radio Broadcasts; on 1390 AM: Immune wise living series
addressing cradle to grave optimal health issues from spiritual, emotional, psychological and
physical health perspective, Began in 1996 and ongoing. Host of “Voice of the Patriots”, focusing
on the synergy of Education, Ecology and Economy for win-win cross cultural partnerships-
Millennial Renaissance Network of Hager-Fikir Multi-Cultural Communications, Inc.

19. Habte-Jesus, Belai, Institutional Challenges of Good Governance, Globalization and
Millennium Development Goals in 21st Century Transitional Economies, the experience of the
Horn and Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Beyond the Current Crisis Symposium at Washington Times Building,
Wednesday, 14 December 2005: 15:00-18:00 Hrs organized by Voice of the Patriots, Voice of Reason,
United Press International, Ambassadors for Peace Program& World Media Association.

20. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et. Al; Unique lessons in developing modern primary care centers in the
Metropolitan Washington, DC area. January 2000.

21. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et, al,. Lessons from establishing modern home health services and
accreditation with Joint Commission on Health Organizations. September 2004

22. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et, The experience of developing modern home hospice services in the
Metropolitan Washington DC area. March 2005

23. Habte-Jesus, Belai, et.al., The unique experience of developing a modern primary health care
center and outpatient rehabilitation facility in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area. December
2006


V. KEY SAMPLE POSITIONS HELD OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS

1. Director- Strategic Business Development & Continuous Quality Improvement- Human Touch 2005+
2. Director -Community of Hope Health Services & Community Medical Care Health Services- 2000+
3. Director of Community Health Center- Non Profit Clinic Consortium, www.npcclinics.org,
4. Director of Health Services @ Ethiopian Community Development Council 1999 - 2000
5. Consultant trainer at Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area 1998 - 1999
6. Consultant USAID-Africa Bureau and Academy for Educational Development, 1997 - 1998
7. Senior Public Health Advisor, Clap & Mayne, Inc. 1997 - 1998
8. Executive Director of Professional Network Group, 1511 K Street, NW, Suite 949; 1995 - 1997
9. Consultant with Basics Partnership for Child Survival Health Inc. 1996 - 1997
10. Administrator of Family and Maternal Enhancement of Koba Associates, Inc 1994 - 1995
11. Assistant Director, At-risk Children (0-8) -DC Commission of Public Health 1993 - 1994
12. Lecturer -Master of Public Health Program, George Washington University Hospital, DC 1993 - 1995
13. CEO, Global Research and Development Enterprises, Washington, DC 1993+
14. Manager, Health Services Development, NE Thames Regional Health Authority, UK 1989 -1993
15. Lecturer & Public health manager, St. Mary’s Hospital, SW Thames Regional Health Authority 1988/89
16. Coordinator, Kent Council on Addiction, South East Thames Regional Health Authority, 1987/88
17. Senior Fellow and Residence at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent, England 1986/87
18. Research Fellow at Master of Public Health Program, University of Leeds, UK. 1985 -1986
19. Senior Resident at St Joseph Hospital New Delhi and Christian Medical College, Vellore. 1984 -1985
20. Medical Education and Residency Program, Christian Medical College, Vellore. 1977 -19 84
21. Premedical education and national development campaign, Haile Sellassie University. 1973 - 1977

VI. SELECTED AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS

1. Best outgoing student at Bedenno Elementary School (First in each class in each grade (1-8) 1964 - 72
2. Haile Sellassie I Gold Medal for Distinction in Ethiopian School Leaving Certificates- 1972
3. The Bausch & Lomb Science Award for the Best Outgoing Student of Class of 72
(First in each class in each Semester for grades 9-12.) 1972
4. Merit Scholarship to undertake Pre-Medical Studies at Haile Sellassie I University- 1973-1976
5. Merit Scholarship to study medicine by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations- 1976-1985
6. Merit Scholarship- Advanced Degree of Public Health for Medical Doctors, University of Leeds 1986
7. Fellow of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 1986
8. Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, London, England. 1986
9. Highest Commendations for MPH thesis: Evaluating Global Mother and Child Health Services, 1986
10. Grand Cross of St Mary of Zion Order- Imperial Order of Solomonic Crown without Borders, 2001
11. Grand Cross Lion of Judah Order. Imperial Order of Solomonic Crown Without Border s, 2000+
12. Grand cross of the Imperial Order of Menelik, Order of Solomonic Crown Without Borders 2000+
13. Chancellor of Imperial Solomonic Enterprises& Bitwoded of the Imperial Solomonic Crown Without Borders 2000+
14. Board Member, Immigration and Refugee Services of America, Mental Health Initiatives 1999
15. Board Member, DC Care Consortium of Providers serving HIV/AIDS populations, 2000+
16. Board Member, Community Medical Care- Non Profit Clinic, DC 2000
17. Advisory Board Member, Ethiopian American Constituency Foundation 2005
18. Ambassador for Peace, Universal Peace Federation, Oct 2005 2005
19. Host of “Voice of the Patriots” A Global Multicultural Broadcasting Corporation 2005
20. Founder and CEO of Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc 1983

4 comments:

  1. Dear Solomon and AryaAmsalu and friends;

    I am not a language scholar but remember my language as transposed to me before the early 1970.

    As you can observe, the Amharic language during the Communist days and now in the Revolution or Developmental State time has expanded rapidly. There fore we can learn from each other's perspective and understanding.

    The root word: Negus, Nigist, Negest, Negestat, Mengist, Mengistat, Menagesha, etc

    Negus is noun (sim) and refers to the male king while Nigist tot he female queen.
    Negest and Negestat is the singular and plural for kingdom
    Mengist is governance or administration or even a state and Mengistat is the plural form.
    Menagesha is the place where the Kings and Kingdoms reside


    I am sorry, Professor Mesfin has got it wrong if he thinks there were no emperors in Ethiopia.

    You just cannot deny the truth. Emperor Haile Selassie -the Agust Emperor as we call him, declared himself Emperor and had a constitution and kingdom to show for it.

    Yes, there were kings of each reagion, though after the war, they became administrators or Governors and ministers in addition to their traditional king titles.

    Neguse Negest is the nearest to an Emperor. Now, the European version is slightly different. Queen of Victoria is Queen of England but Emperess of India. This is also to acknowledge that India at the time had kings, prince and princesses. That is a special arrangement.

    To be true, the word Emperor and King or King of Kings have been used alternatively to mean the same, although the Emperor has more authority and covers different kingdoms.

    The real question is should Ethiopia revert back to Neguse Negestat or go in a limb to a Developmental state without kings and kingdoms?

    I am afraid, this is more real than just the mere words. Should we explore to honor our heritage or just copy any thing and everything the world bank or the KGB and chinese publish.

    What about our own individual creativity and heritage is the real question. I trust Solomon, you can entertain this in the same light. How are these words applicable to our lives today is my question.

    Please visit www.SolomonicCrown.org to see our heritage and the continuity of kingdoms for so long. Should we be the generation that abandons this rich heritage?

    With respect and seeking to learn from yuor perspective.

    Keakbrot gar

    Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH
    Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc & Partners for Peace and Prosperity!

    ArayaAmsalu@aol.com wrote:
    selam Solomon,

    I do not have the reference books at hand, and I will respond with references later. For now I would like to point Geez like many old languages (I think this includes Arabic, Latin etc)has more than one plural form.Thus if I remember correctly, both negest and negestat are plural forms of negus.

    Can you please provide the reference to Prof Mesfin's comment about the Emperor translation?
    The traditional Ethiopian title NeguseNegest is indicative of the existence of many kings who are vassals of the king of kings. Atse Yohannes had negus Minilik of Shewa, negus Teklehaymanot of Gojjam. Atse Minilik had Negus Teklehaymanot of Gojjam, Negus Woldegiorgis of Keffa.


    Thanks
    -----Original Message-----
    From: solomondejene@yahoo.com
    To: addis-ababa-university-alumni-association@yahoogroups.com
    Sent: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 9:05 AM
    Subject: [Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association] Negest vs. negestat ?


    Dear all,
    While inquiring some Ethiopian terms, I am confronted, in my view, with a misreading of the Ge'ez word negest as negestat. Prior the 1974 revolution, Ethiopia was considered as an empire which as the title of the Negusse Negest was/is translated as Emperor. Mesfin Wolde-Mariam contested this in one of his books that the title could not correspond to Ethiopian Negusse negestat as empire implies an authority over a number of states like the former British empire. In any case, that is another issue. My point here is the plural form of Negus is negestat and the title of the emperor in Amharic/Ge'ez is negusse negest and not negusse negestat. But it is translated as king of kings or emperor. But negest in my view is nothing other than kingdom. So, the translation of Negusse negest should be king of the/a kingdom. And the book of 'Kibre Negest' is also mostly translated as 'The Glory of kings'. I think this should also be translated as 'The Glory of the Kingdom'.
    I hope our Ge'ez experts in this forum will help me verify this. I am using my common sense to come up with this idea as my Ge'ez knowledge does not exceed from repeating the Holy Mass.
    Selam lekulkimu

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Solomon and AryaAmsalu and friends;

    I am not a language scholar but remember my language as transposed to me before the early 1970.

    As you can observe, the Amharic language during the Communist days and now in the Revolution or Developmental State time has expanded rapidly. There fore we can learn from each other's perspective and understanding.

    The root word: Negus, Nigist, Negest, Negestat, Mengist, Mengistat, Menagesha, etc

    Negus is noun (sim) and refers to the male king while Nigist tot he female queen.
    Negest and Negestat is the singular and plural for kingdom
    Mengist is governance or administration or even a state and Mengistat is the plural form.
    Menagesha is the place where the Kings and Kingdoms reside


    I am sorry, Professor Mesfin has got it wrong if he thinks there were no emperors in Ethiopia. You just cannot deny the truth. Emperor Haile Selassie -the Agust Emperor as we call him, declared himself Emperor and had a constitution and kingdom to show for it. Yes, there were kings of each reagion, though after the war, they became administrators or Governors and ministers in addition to their traditional king titles.

    Neguse Negest is the nearest to an Emperor. Now, the European version is slightly different. Queen of Victoria is Queen of England but Emperess of India. This is also to acknowledge that India at the time had kings, prince and princesses. That is a special arrangement.

    To be true, the word Emperor and King or King of Kings have been used alternatively to mean the same, although the Emperor has more authority and covers different kingdoms.

    The real question is should Ethiopia revert back to Neguse Negestat or go in a limb to a Developmental state without kings and kingdoms?

    I am afraid, this is more real than just the mere words. Should we explore to honor our heritage or just copy any thing and everything the world bank or the KGB and chinese publish.

    What about our own individual creativity and heritage is the real question. I trust Solomon, you can entertain this in the same light. How are these words applicable to our lives today is my question.

    Please visit www.SolomonicCrown.org to see our heritage and the continuity of kingdoms for so long. Should we be the generation that abandons this rich heritage?

    With respect and seeking to learn from yuor perspective.

    Keakbrot gar

    Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH
    Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc & Partners for Peace and Prosperity!

    ArayaAmsalu@aol.com wrote:
    selam Solomon,

    I do not have the reference books at hand, and I will respond with references later. For now I would like to point Geez like many old languages (I think this includes Arabic, Latin etc)has more than one plural form.Thus if I remember correctly, both negest and negestat are plural forms of negus.

    Can you please provide the reference to Prof Mesfin's comment about the Emperor translation?
    The traditional Ethiopian title NeguseNegest is indicative of the existence of many kings who are vassals of the king of kings. Atse Yohannes had negus Minilik of Shewa, negus Teklehaymanot of Gojjam. Atse Minilik had Negus Teklehaymanot of Gojjam, Negus Woldegiorgis of Keffa.


    Thanks
    -----Original Message-----
    From: solomondejene@yahoo.com
    To: addis-ababa-university-alumni-association@yahoogroups.com
    Sent: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 9:05 AM
    Subject: [Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association] Negest vs. negestat ?


    Dear all,
    While inquiring some Ethiopian terms, I am confronted, in my view, with a misreading of the Ge'ez word negest as negestat. Prior the 1974 revolution, Ethiopia was considered as an empire which as the title of the Negusse Negest was/is translated as Emperor. Mesfin Wolde-Mariam contested this in one of his books that the title could not correspond to Ethiopian Negusse negestat as empire implies an authority over a number of states like the former British empire. In any case, that is another issue. My point here is the plural form of Negus is negestat and the title of the emperor in Amharic/Ge'ez is negusse negest and not negusse negestat. But it is translated as king of kings or emperor. But negest in my view is nothing other than kingdom. So, the translation of Negusse negest should be king of the/a kingdom. And the book of 'Kibre Negest' is also mostly translated as 'The Glory of kings'. I think this should also be translated as 'The Glory of the Kingdom'.
    I hope our Ge'ez experts in this forum will help me verify this. I am using my common sense to come up with this idea as my Ge'ez knowledge does not exceed from repeating the Holy Mass.
    Selam lekulkimu

    __,_._,___

    ReplyDelete
  3. Salaam Dr Belai,

    I don’t have a problem with the publication of “challenge, combat,
    democracia”, in fact for your information our visionary and far sighted
    leaders of today’s Ethiopia and who are regarded as stars of our continent
    are directly or indirectly products of those publications.

    My concern and perhaps my disappointment was/is with those leaders who used
    that bright and intelligent generation for their own selfish agenda and for
    the interest of external forces who have seen Ethiopia as enemy.

    My concern and disappointment was/is the way they systematically deceived
    and enabled the whole generation to be slaughtered by multiple forces
    hostile to peace, prosperity, development, security and unity in Ethiopia.

    As you said, at a later stage the student movement and the publications were
    being manipulated and indirectly and subtly run by foreign forces who at the
    same time were helping Shabia to grow for their own interest. In other
    words, the student movement and the publications began to serve Shabia by
    being and acting ambassadors to our future archenemy Shabia.

    The Ethiopian student movement for sure with out a doubt had served an
    ambassador to the Eritrean movement and in particular to Shabia and a bases
    to recruit fighters, ideologists and theoreticians and diplomats for the ill
    spirited Shabia.

    Yes, one of the biggest crimes committed by those criminal leaders was the
    call of “education after victory”. I was one of the victims of the
    generation who honestly and sincerely believed in the call and left my
    studies at Paris VIII University (Vincent QUINT) and left Paris to live with
    the leaders in Rome and Amsterdam and after the party was declared in August
    1975 to be sent somewhere else to do nothing but to be idle and
    unproductive.

    However, I do not regret and I do not feel guilty for I truly
    believed their call as honest, sincere, timing and just at that time. I
    ignored my scholarship and abandoned the golden opportunity I received
    through reputable international organizations.

    20 years after I left my University studies and scholarship in Paris, I was enrolled once again as a
    University student (MA program) in New Zealand and later PhD in Australia
    but unfortunately in both NZ and Australia as part time student, studying
    part-time and working part-time (working day time for the Universities in NZ
    and Australia and working in the evening and night for another institution –
    Ormond college) since I was not fortunate to get scholarship or any other
    support.

    But I managed it.

    Regards,
    Ayalew



    From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus
    Reply-To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com
    To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com (EthioForum Mailing List)
    Subject: EthioForum: The Millennium and the history of sane Diaspora and
    the Challenge, Combat and Democracia Fiasco
    Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:06:03 -0800 (PST)

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    As we contemplate to face the Millennium face on, it is good to learn the
    history of the Diaspora and how the black sheep movement took over saner
    plans into a Shabia Network of Terrorists with publications like
    ..."challenge, combat, democracia etc..” instead of the literacy campaign
    which would have made Ethiopia today the center of "win-win enterprises".

    Please read the biography of His Excellency Prime Minister Aklilu
    >Habte-wold

    Selaam Dr Belai,

    I don’t have a problem with the publication of “challenge, combat,
    democracia”, in fact for your information our visionary and far sighted
    leaders of today’s Ethiopia and who are regarded as stars of our continent
    are directly or indirectly products of those publications.

    My concern and perhaps my disappointment was/is with those leaders who used
    that bright and intelligent generation for their own selfish agenda and for
    the interest of external forces who have seen Ethiopia as enemy.

    My concern and disappointment was/is the way they systematically deceived
    and enabled the whole generation to be slaughtered by multiple forces
    hostile to peace, prosperity, development, security and unity in Ethiopia.

    As you said, at a later stage the student movement and the publications were
    being manipulated and indirectly and subtly run by foreign forces who at the
    same time were helping Shabia to grow for their own interest.

    In other words, the student movement and the publications began to serve Shabia by
    being and acting ambassadors to our future archenemy Shabia.

    The Ethiopian student movement for sure with out a doubt had served an
    ambassador to the Eritrean movement and in particular to Shabia and a bases
    to recruit fighters, ideologists and theoreticians and diplomats for the ill
    spirited Shabia.

    Yes, one of the biggest crimes committed by those criminal leaders was the
    call of “education after victory”.

    I was one of the victims of the generation who honestly and sincerely believed in the call and left my
    studies at Paris VIII University (Vincent QUINT) and left Paris to live with
    the leaders in Rome and Amsterdam and after the party was declared in August
    1975 to be sent somewhere else to do nothing but to be idle and
    unproductive.

    However, I do not regret and I do not feel guilty for I truly
    believed their call as honest, sincere, timing and just at that time.

    I ignored my scholarship and abandoned the golden opportunity I received
    through reputable international organizations.

    20 years after I left my University studies and scholarship in Paris, I was enrolled once again as a
    University student (MA program) in New Zealand and later PhD in Australia
    but unfortunately in both NZ and Australia as part time student, studying
    part-time and working part-time (working day time for the Universities in NZ
    and Australia and working in the evening and night for another institution –
    Ormond college) since I was not fortunate to get scholarship or any other
    support.

    But I managed it.

    Regards,
    Ayalew



    From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus

    Reply-To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com

    To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com (EthioForum Mailing List)

    Subject: EthioForum:
    The Millennium and the history of sane Diaspora and
    the Challenge, Combat and Democracia Faisco



    Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:06:03 -0800 (PST)

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    As we contemplate to face the Millennium face on, it is good to learn the
    history of the Diaspora; and how the black sheep movement took over saner
    plans into a Shabia Network of Terrorists with publications like
    ..."challenge, combat, democracia.. etc, ” instead of the literacy campaign
    which would have made Ethiopia today the center of "win-win enterprises".

    Please read the biography of His Excellency Prime Minister Aklilu
    Habte-wold and see the comparison of Ethiopian students then and now. The
    book to look at is "Andenet" an Amharic book circulating in Diaspora shops
    in North America.

    I am amazed how Shabia took over the sane student movement and converted
    it into a series of youth mutilating "Revolution and Struggle" that
    continues to consume the delinquent youths of the 60s even today.

    Professor Isaac’s testimony should be read side by side with that of
    Prime Minister Aklilu Habte to show that education continues to be the
    center of our much needed enterprise. When I read the left over of the
    1960 fools demanding our youth should stop education, I am reminded of the
    foolishness of "Struggle before education".. by the previous delinquent
    youths who returned from America and Europe and sacrificed the who and
    who’s of our great patriots and then the future youths by their misguided
    truancy.

    Now, when I read of Ethiopian Review (read as Terror Review), I am left
    how many more delinquents are left to fool themselves to their graves.

    Please read Professor Isaac to understand the genesis of this great
    foolishness.

    with regards

    Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH
    Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc.

    The Ethiopian Herald Interviews Professor Ephraim Isaac on the U.S.
    Ethiopian Diaspora
    Ethiopian News Agency(ENA)


    Waking up the sleeping giant in the New millennium
    Ethiopian scholar, Professor Ephraim Isaac, is known too well that
    he hardly needs any introduction. Just to say a few words about him,
    Professor Ephraim is a founder and the first professor of Afro- American
    studies at Harvard University when the Department was created in 1969.

    He is author of numerous scholarly works about the Late Second Temple
    period and classical Jewish and Ethiopian religious literature. This writer
    caught up with Prof. Ephraim during his recent brief stay in Ethiopia and
    had a talk with him about the Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States .
    Excerpts:

    Question: You have lived more than forty years in the United States and it
    s believed that you have a deep knowledge about the Ethiopian Diaspora
    there.

    Answer. I myself came to the United States in September 1956 . At that
    time, there were about two hundred Ethiopians. They actually did not come
    as part of a Diaspora. They all came as students.

    Most of us had scholarships from the Ethiopian government or from
    independent foundations and organizations. In other words, what I am trying
    to say is, of the some 200 Ethiopians who were in the United States,
    practically everybody was there on a scholarship to study in the
    University.

    By the mid 1950s, there was no real organization of Ethiopians in the
    United States. So, in 1959, three years after I went to the United States
    , a group of us Ethiopians, living in Minnesota got together and we talked
    about forming a union of Ethiopians in America. And a few friends of mine
    and I were able to collect addresses of some 150 people and sent letters
    out. Almost everybody responded positively.

    Then we set a date to meet in Chicago , Illinois in December, 1959. And
    about 50 per cent of Ethiopians in America at that time showed up at the
    meeting. That meeting, we agreed to form an organization and named it
    Ethiopian Students Association in North America (ESANA).

    I was one of the active people. So, they insisted I become President. I
    remember the Reverend Ezra became the secretary. They appointed about five
    or six people to form an executive committee to organize Ethiopians to get
    together.
    After we formed an organization, we agreed to create a constitution,
    worked on the constitution, and agreed to meet in the summer of 1960 at
    Howard University which as you know is a black university in Washington
    D.C. And, we also decided to have at that time a cultural exhibit. I myself
    met with the then Ethiopian Ambassador to the USA , Ato Birhanu Dinke. He
    encouraged us too. He was very much interested in Ethiopian culture.

    e were able to collect Ethiopian handiwork, clothes, netelas and Ethiopian
    gadgets. Howard University gave us a room in which to put up an exhibit.
    More than a hundred Ethiopians which was almost like fifty per cent of
    those who lived there showed up at that meeting. It was a wonderful
    gathering.

    Q. What was the objective of the organization, ESANA?

    A. The purpose of the organization was primarily to give Ethiopians a
    chance to have a social contact with each other, to promote Ethiopian
    culture in America , and to make Ethiopia known, to make whatever
    contribution we could make through our education activities.

    We were of one spirit. It was a strong, united, Ethiopian Youth group.
    At that time, there wasn’t such a thing such as Amhara, Tigrai, Oromo or
    Eritrea . In fact, I remember some of the people, who came to this meeting,
    ike Amanuel Amde Michael, who was originally from Eritrea . we didn’t look
    at each other as Amharas. Oromos, Tigres but as Ethiopia
    We also instituted a publication of a magazine. And we called it the
    Ethiopian Students Association in North America Journal. The first issue of
    the magazine came out in the 60s.

    . Did you personally contribute any article to the Journal?

    A. I wrote an article about the history of the Ethiopian church. Later I
    wrote an article about Ethiopian literature. Our focus was cultural,
    nothing political. We talked about the economic potentials of Ethiopia .
    Most of our articles dealt with history, culture, religion, traditions of
    >Ethiopia .
    >
    Q. Would you comment on some of ESANA’s achievements’?

    A. The first meeting of ESANA was in December 1958. The second meeting was
    in the summer of 1959. And, at that meeting, I was appointed President of
    the association for the second time. That year, we organized again the
    varieties of Ethiopian cultural activities.

    These were really the roots of cultural activities in America. Because
    nobody has done that before. We also organized symposia on Ethiopian
    culture during that year. Of course we were trying to establish a union of
    thiopians, raise membership fee, collect more addresses of Ethiopians. The
    Ethiopian Embassy also helped us find the names of some of the students who
    came through government scholarship.

    Really became a very strong organization. I am very happy to say that the
    people on my committee were all very committed. We continued to solicit
    articles about Ethiopian culture and publish them.

    In the summer of 1960, I decided to return to Ethiopia for a year, before I
    went to Harvard, to teach music because I had studied music. In fact it was
    during that year, that I translated the Handel’s Messiah into Amharic. It
    was performed two years ago here.

    The year I came back to Ethiopia, Mulugeta Wodajo the brother of the late
    Kifle Wodajo, became the President of ESANA. When I came back in the summer
    f 1961, I went to Harvard Divinity School . And, at the meeting we had in
    Washington , people insisted that I became president again. So, I was
    president of ESANA three times.

    hen I was in Ethiopia in 1960-1961, I met a group of Ethiopian leaders and
    talked about formulating a literacy campaign called the National Literary
    Campaign of Ethiopia.

    And, so, after my last year as president, I felt that the student
    organization was mostly talking, talking and still talking. And I am always
    a person who believes that doing is more important. In fact, I got up and I
    said, “I don’t believe in the verb to be.

    I believe in the verb to do.” And many Ethiopians remember that. So, I
    >said, what I like to do is to create a committee to support a national
    literacy campaign organization and that we wanted to formulate a committee
    for Ethiopian Literacy Campaign. This was in the ‘60s. And so, other people
    were assigned to be members of the executive committee of the Ethiopian
    Student Associations in North America . Then I became chairman of the
    Committee for Ethiopian Literacy.

    We were the first Ethiopians, even African group to get a tax exemption
    status to raise fund in America. And I am very proud of that. Today there
    are hundreds of indigenous African groups that have tax exempt
    organizations. Even dozens of Ethiopian groups have dozens of tax exempt
    organizations. But at that time, in the early ‘60s, we were the first
    African group.

    Q. What about the fund raising?

    A. We started fund raising for the literacy campaign. Now, as that fund
    raising campaign became a very strong organization whereby Ethiopians were
    united all over the United States- California, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
    , Upstate New York, Washington D.C, Minneapolis were organizing fund-
    raising dinners.

    By the way, at that time, there were not Ethiopian restaurants either. So,
    we had to do the cooking ourselves. We had to prepare the food ourselves.
    We usually use a university room, a dining room, or a university hall,
    whereby again we will have an evening of Ethiopian dinner and, invite
    people with Ethiopian show, dance, music.

    Q. Did you make it?

    . Oh yes, we did. We were very successful. And I invited a few well known
    American leaders like Senator Jarvez, Edward Dermis to become members of
    our board. While we were moving in this positive direction energetically,
    some of my successors wanted to make the organization a political
    organization.

    So, around 1961, the student movement moved away from our original
    bjective of social, educational and cultural focus of Ethiopian unity in
    America into a political activism. Hagos Gebre Iyesus was appointed
    president. And I remember Melese Ayalew, Abraham Abebe, Hagos and
    Wondwossen Haile were members of the executive committee. And they changed
    the name of our journal from Ethiopian students Association in North
    America to Challenge.
    >I was always interested in the verb to do running the literacy campaign
    organization. In the summer 1964, there was a meeting which I myself had to
    organize at Harvard University. And we were meeting in a place called
    Philips Brooks House.

    Once a student union was realized, we managed to raise a lot of money.
    Some of it was already being sent to Ethiopia. The new leadership of the
    union wanted to have 25 per cent of the money to run the journal Challenge
    and the union. And I had difficulty with that for two reasons.

    One, as an exempt organization, it is not legal for the organization to
    engage in any political activity. Secondly, raising money in the name of
    the Ethiopian people to educate them and to use some of that money for our
    work, was I thought, morally unacceptable to me.

    When some of the student leaders demanded that we give them 25 per cent of
    he money we raised, I got up at the meeting and I said, “Look! According
    >to US tax exemption law, this is illegal. And according to God’s law it is
    immoral to save money in the name of poor people, to educate them and to
    use it here in America .

    So as a founder of the Ethiopian Students association in America ,
    however, I believe strongly that this organization should not die. Part of
    the problem was that people were not paying membership fee. So it needed
    money. This summer I worked in a private library, made 400 dollars. I would
    give a quarter of that money to you.” I continued “You give ten dollars
    each”. Everybody was stunned”. People started to give money. And they
    raised enough money. Nobody asked me to raise money out of the literacy
    campaign and give it to the student union.

    I am answering your question by saying, as a member of that organization,
    as its founder, I did not want that organization to go into demise.
    However, I always felt that a student organization needs to be supported by
    membership fees and by sacrifices that you make and not by taking money
    away from charitable organizations. So, I am very happy to say that nobody
    said anything about that.

    Until 1969 when I graduated from Harvard, I had then concluded my service
    as member of the committee for Ethiopian literacy. However, since I was
    already appointed Executive Director of the Literacy Campaign here in
    Ethiopia , even if I lived in America , I continued with the literacy
    campaign of course.

    Q. How about your activities related to culture?

    A. In 1968, one of my own major activities was to have a large American
    Ethiopian cultural show. I went to the Prudential which is one of the
    biggest insurance companies in America. At that time, American
    >organizations were waking up to the importance of black cultures, black
    people everywhere looking for things to do. Before that, it should have
    been difficult for me even to meet with any official at the Prudential.
    But, we were lucky that, at that particular time, Americans opened their
    ears.
    >
    So I made an appointment with the senior Vice President of Prudential to
    convince them to give us their trade show floor, which is a huge floor, to
    >have a one-week Ethiopian show. And I went to the then Mayor of Boston and
    asked him through friends who were working there at that time to declare
    Ethiopian Cultural Week. The Mayor of Boston Declared Ethiopian Cultural
    Week, in summer of 1968. So we had from Ethiopia a whole list of Mesob,
    Netela, Barnetta. And the then Ministry of Education collaborated with us.

    People from Ethiopia donated varieties of Ethiopian craftworks such as
    whisks. And for a whole week we had a full floor of Prudential Centre
    having Ethiopian cultural show. We raised a large amount of money for the
    literacy campaign from the cultural show. Thank God.


    This time, the student movement was becoming more and more political,
    there was something of a fracture even among Ethiopians. I was becoming
    personally very sad that the union itself was becoming a ground of
    political disputes. Whereas, when we started, we were one spirit, one
    family, one goal, one future, one objective, and I say it was the highlight
    of my life.

    During the time when I was President of the Ethiopian Student Association
    ESANA), we were strong, united.

    So at this time, when we had this exhibit, however, everybody came together
    really. The then Ethiopian government, of course appreciated what we were
    doing. President of Prudential, and other officials came to the show. It
    was one of the first ever African activities in that town.

    In 1969 when I finished, I became the first Professor of African American
    Studies at Harvard. By that time, I was becoming very sadden. More and more
    Ethiopians were coming to America. And I remember, even in Boston alone,
    there were more than six or seven hundred Ethiopians.

    Q. Why did they go there?

    A. I think many of them were coming as students. In fact, even I myself, at
    that time, sponsored about 8 students in one case. In those days, I always
    wanted education to expand as much as I loved Ethiopia. I sponsored some
    50 other people by getting them scholarships or by appealing to colleges to
    give them scholarships.

    So, Ethiopians began, to come to America at this time as some of the first
    exiles I think, if I am not mistaken, in the late 1960s. This, I think, was
    because political problems were beginning to develop at home. But still, a
    majority of them were students in colleges.

    Then by the early 70s, I think more and more people were coming. But
    actually a large number of Ethiopians began to come in the ‘70s especially
    after the Derg revolution.

    Today perhaps, there are probably more than a quarter of a million
    Ethiopians in America. In Washington alone, people tell me there are
    100,000 Ethiopians. I don’t think the figure is that high? The largest
    number of Ethiopians is in Washington D.C, in Boston, in Los Angeles .

    Q. What was the fate of your organization, ESANA?

    A. In the late ‘70s, they also changed the name of the organization ESANA
    (Ethiopian Students Association in North America ) to ESUNA (Ethiopian
    Students Union in North America ). And then ESUNA started breaking up into
    Eritrean student movement, UPESUNA and a few other organizations. But
    eventually, after the rise of the Derg, many of the leaders came here,
    sorry to say, some of them also died here. Of course, I was never involved
    in the politics. I was always involved in the literary campaign, education.
    The first organization fizzled out five years ago; a group of Ethiopians
    have reformed in to new organizations.

    Q. How do you call it?

    A. It is called ESUI (Ethiopian Students Union International). And, as a
    matter of fact about five years ago they invited me as their keynote
    speaker of the formation of their organization at their first major meeting
    in South Carolina. I was very impressed. There were five hundred
    Ethiopians who attended that meeting most of them were from America. And a
    few also came from Europe. This organization is now growing and I keep in
    touch with them.

    Q. What is the purpose of this relatively new organization?

    A. This organization is going back through our original objective of
    promoting Ethiopian Union. A lot of them are committed to the issue of
    HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. A large number of them are committed to promoting
    computer literary in Ethiopia .

    I have joined up with them because I know that their objectives are
    cultural, educational. And I am very pleased that, about 30 of them, who
    are leaders of this movement had a leadership retreat, learning about what
    is leadership. And Haile Gerima and

    I were two people they invited to come and talk about leadership. I
    spent Sunday with them. It is very impressive that their objectives are
    “the verb to do” like mine. Their objectives are scientific, educational,
    cultural and public health. And it is very promising when I see this new
    group of Ethiopian youth. I see a great future for my country.

    Ethiopians are really very gifted people. In the United States, for
    example, they may start as taxi drivers, hotel workers. But eventually,
    they work themselves out. And today, in America, there are a large number
    of Ethiopia ’s who are very successful in business, in software ( Silicon
    Valley ). I understand that there are at least 30,000 Ethiopian just in
    that valley alone.

    I know Ethiopians who are professors, doctors, lawyers, Ethiopians who are
    extremely successful in their respecting fields. It is very encouraging to
    see that Ethiopians who do not get involved or waste much of their energy
    in political bickering really do succeed.

    Somebody quoted the black American comedian Bill Cosby as saying that
    “look at Ethiopians and see how successful they are.” You find Ethiopians
    in banks, universities, and you find them in the American Congress. Unlike
    me, many of them have become American Ethiopians. But many of them have
    strong attachment with Ethiopia.

    Q. Any other Ethiopian organization in America engaged in constructive
    work?

    A. There is an organization in America called Ethiopian Sports Federation.
    This organization comes into existence several years age. The late Dr.
    Akalu Wolde Michael started this football group. And now every year, a
    large number of Ethiopians get together. Actually I went there, to Los
    Angeles to help promote the Ethiopian Millennium idea. This summer, I was
    in Los Angeles . There were may be more than 25,000 Ethiopians in the
    stadium.

    I must say that this is a good medium for Ethiopians to meet. I think there
    are people who come from Ethiopia too with their business. People who have
    jewelry and clothing stores set up all kinds of booths. It is a very
    impressive set up.

    A year ago, in Atlanta , my good friend Athlete Haile Gebre Selassie was
    their chief guest of honour. The Sport Federation in America organizes such
    programmes every year.

    Q. What do you have to say about Ethio- American relations?

    A. Ethiopian- American relations is about a hundred years old. I recommend
    to you two books to read. One is a book entitled “Signs of Sheba” by
    William Scott. Another book is by Joseph Harris.

    He was chairman of History at Howard. He wrote a book entitled African-
    Americans and the Italo- Ethiopian War. If you read those two books, they
    give you introductions about the early relations between Ethiopia and
    America. And a couple of years ago was the hundredth anniversary of the
    diplomatic contact. When I look upon it, I kind of laugh because I have
    lived nearly 50 percent of that time in America .

    And I still remember with nostalgia, the good old days of my youth when I
    played a little humble role to form the Ethiopian Students Union. Of
    course, my own objective was cultural, educational, and social, creating
    solidarity among Ethiopian to work together, promoting our culture.

    After I became involved in studying Ancient Ethiopian traditional culture,
    I just felt the whole world needs to know that this (Ethiopia) is a country
    with fascinating traditions, rich culture, very important manuscripts that
    can be written or copied for hundreds of years; a country with many ancient
    monuments, rock hewn churches and so on.

    I am not only to popularize this and to make the world know but that
    this popularization would bring money to our country, that there would be
    more investment in Ethiopia in the area of construction, establishment of
    schools, hospitals, the establishment of educational, cultural
    institutions.

    So, our purpose was not simply show for the sake of show. When we worked
    for the literacy campaign we became very concerned about illiteracy in our
    country. We felt our brothers and sisters also need to get some education.

    We were getting the best in the world. But why not our brothers and
    sisters get the best education? At that time in many of my lectures, I
    always talked about poverty, disease, illiteracy. And we felt the only way
    to do that was by strengthening our solidarity, by working together.

    Q. Did you witness such solidarity among the Ethiopian Diaspora solidarity
    which you aspired for at the outset?

    A. At the beginning we had one hundred per cent solidarity. Then from the
    years 1965-75, politics became so hot. We started splitting into different
    movements. However, since the late 1980’s I think people began to realize
    that our country has lost a great deal because of the Derg revolution.

    And they started coming together. At least, if they did not come
    together, there was an attempt to come together. However, we have not yet
    fully succeeded to come together. I am an optimist, though. We will. There
    are two groups in the Ethiopian Diaspora. The well established Ethiopians,
    (the older Ethiopians) are still fighting with each other, on political
    grounds. There are unfortunate conflicts between and among them.

    The second group (the youth) even the chairpersons of these groups are
    coming together. They are, Our early Ethiopian students association coming
    further, and building a solidarity.

    They are moving away from political bickering. Contributions They are
    learning more about our culture, making contribution to Ethiopia. That is
    the spirit of the youth. Therefore, I am very optimistic. Even among the
    old people, among many of my friends, there are many who are definitely
    committed more to make positive contributions to Ethiopia.

    Q. How about the involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in Ethiopian
    development ventures?

    A. I was in Gondar, several weeks ago where I gave a lecture in Gondar
    University to 850 Ethiopian students on religious tolerance. But what
    amazes me is, as we were, coming into Gondar , there is an area which is
    called “ Little Ethiopia”.

    In Los Angeles there is a place called “Little Ethiopia”. So , what
    amazed me is that our friend who took us to Gondar from the American
    Embassy said, “This area is called Little America ”. And there are many
    buildings along the road and he said it is called Little America because
    these buildings were put up by Ethiopians who live in America .

    I have met many Ethiopians in Addis Ababa from Boston, Washington and
    other places who are back here building houses ever and even small hotels,
    starting universities and colleges. I think Ethiopians in the Diaspora are
    making major contributions to their country. But we need to build more
    solidarity in America which is in the making in a positive way.

    Q. What is the significance of the forthcoming Ethiopian Millennium which
    you mentioned early on?

    A. The importance is one opportunity in a 1000 years. We are going to start
    the Ethiopian year 2000.

    All peoples throughout the world, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Chinese are
    concerned specially about the Millennium Development Goals. (MDGs) and we
    want also our (Ethiopian) Millennium to become Hiddasse Ethiopia
    (Renaissance of Ethiopia)

    And I am very pleased to tell you that, a large number of black Americans
    are becoming interested in the Ethiopian Millennium. In as much as they
    always search for some black cultural importance, they have now joined us.
    They have even called this Ethiopian Millennium, African Millennium. There
    is now a group of African American ministers every month to organize a
    large number of people to come to Ethiopia for the occasion.

    This Ethiopian Millennium has many purposes in terms of wakening up the
    African American community. I suggested that our government should
    encourage Ghana , Nigeria , Kenya to call this the Ethiopian year.

    Q. Do you think the upcoming Ethiopia Millennium will have any positive
    impact as such?

    A. Number one, for us, let it be the Hiddasse, the wakening up. For others,
    it can bring a large amount of money to this country. Unfortunately, we do
    not have enough hotels. A large number of black Americans want to come
    here. The more people come here, the more income we get in the form of
    tourism. And from tourism might follow, people coming here who might invest
    in Ethiopia . It can have a tremendous economic impact.

    Q. You have, for the past four decade or so, occasionally a shuttling
    between Ethiopia and America . You are, unlike many others, an Ethiopian
    citizen. You have been expressing your concern for the well being of
    Ethiopia . So, what do you wish for your country?

    A. In my lecture, I always say “Ethiopia is a sleeping giant!” This is a
    country, that, not only, could be economically successful, feed its people,
    cloth its people, shelter the people. It is a country that can even become
    a source of economic help to others elsewhere. So, my great wish is “ May
    God to bless Ethiopia and help the people wake up, we have a certain amount
    of energy.

    We should not waste that on inter-ethnic, inter-religious quibbling, but
    use it to come together and respect each other. I said Ethiopia is a
    sleeping giant because it has tremendous agricultural potentials,
    especially. We have mineral potential’s too. Oil is very important because
    people need it to feed their car. But human beings don’t eat oil.

    They eat food. So, we can produce and sell fruits and feed all Europe in
    the wintertime. European cars need oil. But European people need food. So,
    we can become the breadbasket.

    Egypt becomes wealthy from historical, archaeological sites, tourism, Kenya
    is very rich from animal, nature tourism. We have both. We have historical
    sites. We have flora and fauna. We would be Egypt and Kenya put together.
    So my hope for Ethiopia is to become a very prosperous land where its
    people live in peace together.

    Let me also add one foot note here. One of the resources of Ethiopia is
    actually its people. When I say its people, I am not talking about those of
    us who have been spoilt. We who are educated abroad are spoiled.

    We have our heads above. But ordinary Ethiopian people are very humble.
    They respect each other. They listen to each other. Their ears are bigger
    than their mouths. Those of us who studied, abroad, our mouths are bigger
    than our ears. The Ethiopian people are very patient, very polite, very
    respectful and these are important human characteristics. And, therefore if
    we can combine, these human qualities with technological development,
    learning the best from the West, retaining the best from our culture, then
    we can become a very important nation.

    We already are the capital of Africa. But that is not enough. But we
    have to become what the African people want. They want Ethiopia to become a
    symbol of black strength and freedom. Black Americans wish like that too.

    My great wish for Ethiopia is great prosperity, a great life for our
    people, respectful co-existence and leadership in showing other Africans
    and even the rest of the world that we can become an example.

    Last month, I was here and I gave a talk to group of judges. I said “in our
    history, there were no really established prisons. When the Millennium
    comes, let us go back to our old traditions, and let’s make all the prisons
    museums, turn them into libraries, turn them into schools and then try to
    live in peace and show other people in the world that human beings can live
    together respecting each other, supporting each other and having a joyous,
    happy life. So, let this Millennium be a happy Millennium, Hiddase ze
    Ethiopia , Ethiopian Renaissance.

    by
    Melese Telahoun

    The Ethiopian Herald, December 03, 2006



    Belai FM Habte-Jesus wrote:

    Dear Ayalew:

    In case you did not get this one, I wanted to ensure you got
    communication that has mention of your name to be fair to you.

    Not that the communication was important, but to let you know

    with regards

    Dr B

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    It is getting very interesting that the loony communists, now prophets
    and new Synodos authors are getting desperate!

    Their idiotic pie in the sky evaporated with the Soviet Union collapsed
    and money and propaganda dried up! Now they got a new Synodos and this
    fool has been fabricating so many jokes I cannot start to appreciate how
    thing are getting bad!

    Now the loony and bankrupt communists are converting into loony
    priests, prophets appointing all their cadres as episcoposats and this one
    is the most stupid of them all and wants to terrorize us with his idiocy!

    Stern warning for what? From whom and to whom? He is the clever one
    and we are the fools!, my foot! You see some of my earlier DSM$ Diagnostic
    Tools for Psychotics still applies. Please google it in Web MD and you
    will see the picture drawn by this guy fits exactly the Diagnosis.

    Should we be sympathetic to him and pray but he does not believe, it is
    all our illusion according to him to pray and even try to solve problems!

    This one is pathetic and schizophrenic and may have even lost his
    marble. After declaring the new school of prophecy and making so many
    foolish pronouncements, all his dreams and so called moronic pronouncements
    that Ethiopia will be no more went down the drain.

    In front of our eyes, our Patriotic Heroes have returned home after
    dealing a blow to his junky philosophy. Now after calling our Patriotic
    Friend Ayalew Mergiaw all sorts of degrading names to his dismay Ayalew
    did not return evil with evil but showed him his character and his
    foolishness and now he wants to warn us about his loony stupidity.

    Commander Saifu, bless his soul, with dignity and scholarly evidence
    tried to share with him his lunacy! He did not get it. The secret is
    leave faith to the individual. When we have so many burning blood and
    flesh issue with poverty, good governance and out right terror in our
    community why attack our faith that has lasted us so long and that
    continues to be the only security to our people.

    I do not get it how one gets so cruel and stupid at the same time!

    Now we have a terrorist warning again! Let us give it orange color if
    he likes it, for what? Some one has to tell this fool, go back to your
    communist days and declare hell on your cyber earth as usual.

    What a shame? These educated savants will never learn. They are just
    parrots and regurgitate what ever they read. Remember the Illuminati
    Fiasco?

    Let us illuminate on this moronic prophet that his goon days are over!
    Friends, this guy is openly asking for help! Can some one help him,
    please!




    Ayalew Mergia/Mergiyaw wrote:
    Selaam Ato Tadesse,

    Greetings to you and your team!

    I am not getting emails regularly since the last four weeks or so. For long
    time now I get here and there email such as from my confused brothers
    Nebiyu, Wondimu and Tollosa. I only see others when some one reply or
    Tolossa
    reply.

    Is there a problem with your server. Hope you will fix and enable me to get
    as before.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Salaam Dr Belai,

    I don’t have a problem with the publication of “challenge, combat,
    democracia”, in fact for your information our visionary and far sighted
    leaders of today’s Ethiopia and who are regarded as stars of our continent
    are directly or indirectly products of those publications.

    My concern and perhaps my disappointment was/is with those leaders who used
    that bright and intelligent generation for their own selfish agenda and for
    the interest of external forces who have seen Ethiopia as enemy.

    My concern and disappointment was/is the way they systematically deceived
    and enabled the whole generation to be slaughtered by multiple forces
    hostile to peace, prosperity, development, security and unity in Ethiopia.

    As you said, at a later stage the student movement and the publications were
    being manipulated and indirectly and subtly run by foreign forces who at the
    same time were helping Shabia to grow for their own interest. In other
    words, the student movement and the publications began to serve Shabia by
    being and acting ambassadors to our future archenemy Shabia.

    The Ethiopian student movement for sure with out a doubt had served an
    ambassador to the Eritrean movement and in particular to Shabia and a bases
    to recruit fighters, ideologists and theoreticians and diplomats for the ill
    spirited Shabia.

    Yes, one of the biggest crimes committed by those criminal leaders was the
    call of “education after victory”. I was one of the victims of the
    generation who honestly and sincerely believed in the call and left my
    studies at Paris VIII University (Vincent QUINT) and left Paris to live with
    the leaders in Rome and Amsterdam and after the party was declared in August
    1975 to be sent somewhere else to do nothing but to be idle and
    unproductive.

    However, I do not regret and I do not feel guilty for I truly
    believed their call as honest, sincere, timing and just at that time. I
    ignored my scholarship and abandoned the golden opportunity I received
    through reputable international organizations.

    20 years after I left my University studies and scholarship in Paris, I was enrolled once again as a
    University student (MA program) in New Zealand and later PhD in Australia
    but unfortunately in both NZ and Australia as part time student, studying
    part-time and working part-time (working day time for the Universities in NZ
    and Australia and working in the evening and night for another institution –
    Ormond college) since I was not fortunate to get scholarship or any other
    support.

    But I managed it.

    Regards,
    Ayalew



    From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus
    Reply-To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com
    To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com (EthioForum Mailing List)
    Subject: EthioForum: The Millennium and the history of sane Diaspora and
    the Challenge, Combat and Democracia Fiasco
    Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:06:03 -0800 (PST)

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    As we contemplate to face the Millennium face on, it is good to learn the
    history of the Diaspora and how the black sheep movement took over saner
    plans into a Shabia Network of Terrorists with publications like
    ..."challenge, combat, democracia etc..” instead of the literacy campaign
    which would have made Ethiopia today the center of "win-win enterprises".

    Please read the biography of His Excellency Prime Minister Aklilu
    >Habte-wold

    Selaam Dr Belai,

    I don’t have a problem with the publication of “challenge, combat,
    democracia”, in fact for your information our visionary and far sighted
    leaders of today’s Ethiopia and who are regarded as stars of our continent
    are directly or indirectly products of those publications.

    My concern and perhaps my disappointment was/is with those leaders who used
    that bright and intelligent generation for their own selfish agenda and for
    the interest of external forces who have seen Ethiopia as enemy.

    My concern and disappointment was/is the way they systematically deceived
    and enabled the whole generation to be slaughtered by multiple forces
    hostile to peace, prosperity, development, security and unity in Ethiopia.

    As you said, at a later stage the student movement and the publications were
    being manipulated and indirectly and subtly run by foreign forces who at the
    same time were helping Shabia to grow for their own interest.

    In other words, the student movement and the publications began to serve Shabia by
    being and acting ambassadors to our future archenemy Shabia.

    The Ethiopian student movement for sure with out a doubt had served an
    ambassador to the Eritrean movement and in particular to Shabia and a bases
    to recruit fighters, ideologists and theoreticians and diplomats for the ill
    spirited Shabia.

    Yes, one of the biggest crimes committed by those criminal leaders was the
    call of “education after victory”.

    I was one of the victims of the generation who honestly and sincerely believed in the call and left my
    studies at Paris VIII University (Vincent QUINT) and left Paris to live with
    the leaders in Rome and Amsterdam and after the party was declared in August
    1975 to be sent somewhere else to do nothing but to be idle and
    unproductive.

    However, I do not regret and I do not feel guilty for I truly
    believed their call as honest, sincere, timing and just at that time.

    I ignored my scholarship and abandoned the golden opportunity I received
    through reputable international organizations.

    20 years after I left my University studies and scholarship in Paris, I was enrolled once again as a
    University student (MA program) in New Zealand and later PhD in Australia
    but unfortunately in both NZ and Australia as part time student, studying
    part-time and working part-time (working day time for the Universities in NZ
    and Australia and working in the evening and night for another institution –
    Ormond college) since I was not fortunate to get scholarship or any other
    support.

    But I managed it.

    Regards,
    Ayalew



    From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus

    Reply-To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com

    To: EthioForum@Ethiolist.com (EthioForum Mailing List)

    Subject: EthioForum:
    The Millennium and the history of sane Diaspora and
    the Challenge, Combat and Democracia Faisco



    Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:06:03 -0800 (PST)

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    As we contemplate to face the Millennium face on, it is good to learn the
    history of the Diaspora; and how the black sheep movement took over saner
    plans into a Shabia Network of Terrorists with publications like
    ..."challenge, combat, democracia.. etc, ” instead of the literacy campaign
    which would have made Ethiopia today the center of "win-win enterprises".

    Please read the biography of His Excellency Prime Minister Aklilu
    Habte-wold and see the comparison of Ethiopian students then and now. The
    book to look at is "Andenet" an Amharic book circulating in Diaspora shops
    in North America.

    I am amazed how Shabia took over the sane student movement and converted
    it into a series of youth mutilating "Revolution and Struggle" that
    continues to consume the delinquent youths of the 60s even today.

    Professor Isaac’s testimony should be read side by side with that of
    Prime Minister Aklilu Habte to show that education continues to be the
    center of our much needed enterprise. When I read the left over of the
    1960 fools demanding our youth should stop education, I am reminded of the
    foolishness of "Struggle before education".. by the previous delinquent
    youths who returned from America and Europe and sacrificed the who and
    who’s of our great patriots and then the future youths by their misguided
    truancy.

    Now, when I read of Ethiopian Review (read as Terror Review), I am left
    how many more delinquents are left to fool themselves to their graves.

    Please read Professor Isaac to understand the genesis of this great
    foolishness.

    with regards

    Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH
    Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc.

    The Ethiopian Herald Interviews Professor Ephraim Isaac on the U.S.
    Ethiopian Diaspora
    Ethiopian News Agency(ENA)


    Waking up the sleeping giant in the New millennium
    Ethiopian scholar, Professor Ephraim Isaac, is known too well that
    he hardly needs any introduction. Just to say a few words about him,
    Professor Ephraim is a founder and the first professor of Afro- American
    studies at Harvard University when the Department was created in 1969.

    He is author of numerous scholarly works about the Late Second Temple
    period and classical Jewish and Ethiopian religious literature. This writer
    caught up with Prof. Ephraim during his recent brief stay in Ethiopia and
    had a talk with him about the Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States .
    Excerpts:

    Question: You have lived more than forty years in the United States and it
    s believed that you have a deep knowledge about the Ethiopian Diaspora
    there.

    Answer. I myself came to the United States in September 1956 . At that
    time, there were about two hundred Ethiopians. They actually did not come
    as part of a Diaspora. They all came as students.

    Most of us had scholarships from the Ethiopian government or from
    independent foundations and organizations. In other words, what I am trying
    to say is, of the some 200 Ethiopians who were in the United States,
    practically everybody was there on a scholarship to study in the
    University.

    By the mid 1950s, there was no real organization of Ethiopians in the
    United States. So, in 1959, three years after I went to the United States
    , a group of us Ethiopians, living in Minnesota got together and we talked
    about forming a union of Ethiopians in America. And a few friends of mine
    and I were able to collect addresses of some 150 people and sent letters
    out. Almost everybody responded positively.

    Then we set a date to meet in Chicago , Illinois in December, 1959. And
    about 50 per cent of Ethiopians in America at that time showed up at the
    meeting. That meeting, we agreed to form an organization and named it
    Ethiopian Students Association in North America (ESANA).

    I was one of the active people. So, they insisted I become President. I
    remember the Reverend Ezra became the secretary. They appointed about five
    or six people to form an executive committee to organize Ethiopians to get
    together.
    After we formed an organization, we agreed to create a constitution,
    worked on the constitution, and agreed to meet in the summer of 1960 at
    Howard University which as you know is a black university in Washington
    D.C. And, we also decided to have at that time a cultural exhibit. I myself
    met with the then Ethiopian Ambassador to the USA , Ato Birhanu Dinke. He
    encouraged us too. He was very much interested in Ethiopian culture.

    e were able to collect Ethiopian handiwork, clothes, netelas and Ethiopian
    gadgets. Howard University gave us a room in which to put up an exhibit.
    More than a hundred Ethiopians which was almost like fifty per cent of
    those who lived there showed up at that meeting. It was a wonderful
    gathering.

    Q. What was the objective of the organization, ESANA?

    A. The purpose of the organization was primarily to give Ethiopians a
    chance to have a social contact with each other, to promote Ethiopian
    culture in America , and to make Ethiopia known, to make whatever
    contribution we could make through our education activities.

    We were of one spirit. It was a strong, united, Ethiopian Youth group.
    At that time, there wasn’t such a thing such as Amhara, Tigrai, Oromo or
    Eritrea . In fact, I remember some of the people, who came to this meeting,
    ike Amanuel Amde Michael, who was originally from Eritrea . we didn’t look
    at each other as Amharas. Oromos, Tigres but as Ethiopia
    We also instituted a publication of a magazine. And we called it the
    Ethiopian Students Association in North America Journal. The first issue of
    the magazine came out in the 60s.

    . Did you personally contribute any article to the Journal?

    A. I wrote an article about the history of the Ethiopian church. Later I
    wrote an article about Ethiopian literature. Our focus was cultural,
    nothing political. We talked about the economic potentials of Ethiopia .
    Most of our articles dealt with history, culture, religion, traditions of
    >Ethiopia .
    >
    Q. Would you comment on some of ESANA’s achievements’?

    A. The first meeting of ESANA was in December 1958. The second meeting was
    in the summer of 1959. And, at that meeting, I was appointed President of
    the association for the second time. That year, we organized again the
    varieties of Ethiopian cultural activities.

    These were really the roots of cultural activities in America. Because
    nobody has done that before. We also organized symposia on Ethiopian
    culture during that year. Of course we were trying to establish a union of
    thiopians, raise membership fee, collect more addresses of Ethiopians. The
    Ethiopian Embassy also helped us find the names of some of the students who
    came through government scholarship.

    Really became a very strong organization. I am very happy to say that the
    people on my committee were all very committed. We continued to solicit
    articles about Ethiopian culture and publish them.

    In the summer of 1960, I decided to return to Ethiopia for a year, before I
    went to Harvard, to teach music because I had studied music. In fact it was
    during that year, that I translated the Handel’s Messiah into Amharic. It
    was performed two years ago here.

    The year I came back to Ethiopia, Mulugeta Wodajo the brother of the late
    Kifle Wodajo, became the President of ESANA. When I came back in the summer
    f 1961, I went to Harvard Divinity School . And, at the meeting we had in
    Washington , people insisted that I became president again. So, I was
    president of ESANA three times.

    hen I was in Ethiopia in 1960-1961, I met a group of Ethiopian leaders and
    talked about formulating a literacy campaign called the National Literary
    Campaign of Ethiopia.

    And, so, after my last year as president, I felt that the student
    organization was mostly talking, talking and still talking. And I am always
    a person who believes that doing is more important. In fact, I got up and I
    said, “I don’t believe in the verb to be.

    I believe in the verb to do.” And many Ethiopians remember that. So, I
    >said, what I like to do is to create a committee to support a national
    literacy campaign organization and that we wanted to formulate a committee
    for Ethiopian Literacy Campaign. This was in the ‘60s. And so, other people
    were assigned to be members of the executive committee of the Ethiopian
    Student Associations in North America . Then I became chairman of the
    Committee for Ethiopian Literacy.

    We were the first Ethiopians, even African group to get a tax exemption
    status to raise fund in America. And I am very proud of that. Today there
    are hundreds of indigenous African groups that have tax exempt
    organizations. Even dozens of Ethiopian groups have dozens of tax exempt
    organizations. But at that time, in the early ‘60s, we were the first
    African group.

    Q. What about the fund raising?

    A. We started fund raising for the literacy campaign. Now, as that fund
    raising campaign became a very strong organization whereby Ethiopians were
    united all over the United States- California, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
    , Upstate New York, Washington D.C, Minneapolis were organizing fund-
    raising dinners.

    By the way, at that time, there were not Ethiopian restaurants either. So,
    we had to do the cooking ourselves. We had to prepare the food ourselves.
    We usually use a university room, a dining room, or a university hall,
    whereby again we will have an evening of Ethiopian dinner and, invite
    people with Ethiopian show, dance, music.

    Q. Did you make it?

    . Oh yes, we did. We were very successful. And I invited a few well known
    American leaders like Senator Jarvez, Edward Dermis to become members of
    our board. While we were moving in this positive direction energetically,
    some of my successors wanted to make the organization a political
    organization.

    So, around 1961, the student movement moved away from our original
    bjective of social, educational and cultural focus of Ethiopian unity in
    America into a political activism. Hagos Gebre Iyesus was appointed
    president. And I remember Melese Ayalew, Abraham Abebe, Hagos and
    Wondwossen Haile were members of the executive committee. And they changed
    the name of our journal from Ethiopian students Association in North
    America to Challenge.
    >I was always interested in the verb to do running the literacy campaign
    organization. In the summer 1964, there was a meeting which I myself had to
    organize at Harvard University. And we were meeting in a place called
    Philips Brooks House.

    Once a student union was realized, we managed to raise a lot of money.
    Some of it was already being sent to Ethiopia. The new leadership of the
    union wanted to have 25 per cent of the money to run the journal Challenge
    and the union. And I had difficulty with that for two reasons.

    One, as an exempt organization, it is not legal for the organization to
    engage in any political activity. Secondly, raising money in the name of
    the Ethiopian people to educate them and to use some of that money for our
    work, was I thought, morally unacceptable to me.

    When some of the student leaders demanded that we give them 25 per cent of
    he money we raised, I got up at the meeting and I said, “Look! According
    >to US tax exemption law, this is illegal. And according to God’s law it is
    immoral to save money in the name of poor people, to educate them and to
    use it here in America .

    So as a founder of the Ethiopian Students association in America ,
    however, I believe strongly that this organization should not die. Part of
    the problem was that people were not paying membership fee. So it needed
    money. This summer I worked in a private library, made 400 dollars. I would
    give a quarter of that money to you.” I continued “You give ten dollars
    each”. Everybody was stunned”. People started to give money. And they
    raised enough money. Nobody asked me to raise money out of the literacy
    campaign and give it to the student union.

    I am answering your question by saying, as a member of that organization,
    as its founder, I did not want that organization to go into demise.
    However, I always felt that a student organization needs to be supported by
    membership fees and by sacrifices that you make and not by taking money
    away from charitable organizations. So, I am very happy to say that nobody
    said anything about that.

    Until 1969 when I graduated from Harvard, I had then concluded my service
    as member of the committee for Ethiopian literacy. However, since I was
    already appointed Executive Director of the Literacy Campaign here in
    Ethiopia , even if I lived in America , I continued with the literacy
    campaign of course.

    Q. How about your activities related to culture?

    A. In 1968, one of my own major activities was to have a large American
    Ethiopian cultural show. I went to the Prudential which is one of the
    biggest insurance companies in America. At that time, American
    >organizations were waking up to the importance of black cultures, black
    people everywhere looking for things to do. Before that, it should have
    been difficult for me even to meet with any official at the Prudential.
    But, we were lucky that, at that particular time, Americans opened their
    ears.
    >
    So I made an appointment with the senior Vice President of Prudential to
    convince them to give us their trade show floor, which is a huge floor, to
    >have a one-week Ethiopian show. And I went to the then Mayor of Boston and
    asked him through friends who were working there at that time to declare
    Ethiopian Cultural Week. The Mayor of Boston Declared Ethiopian Cultural
    Week, in summer of 1968. So we had from Ethiopia a whole list of Mesob,
    Netela, Barnetta. And the then Ministry of Education collaborated with us.

    People from Ethiopia donated varieties of Ethiopian craftworks such as
    whisks. And for a whole week we had a full floor of Prudential Centre
    having Ethiopian cultural show. We raised a large amount of money for the
    literacy campaign from the cultural show. Thank God.


    This time, the student movement was becoming more and more political,
    there was something of a fracture even among Ethiopians. I was becoming
    personally very sad that the union itself was becoming a ground of
    political disputes. Whereas, when we started, we were one spirit, one
    family, one goal, one future, one objective, and I say it was the highlight
    of my life.

    During the time when I was President of the Ethiopian Student Association
    ESANA), we were strong, united.

    So at this time, when we had this exhibit, however, everybody came together
    really. The then Ethiopian government, of course appreciated what we were
    doing. President of Prudential, and other officials came to the show. It
    was one of the first ever African activities in that town.

    In 1969 when I finished, I became the first Professor of African American
    Studies at Harvard. By that time, I was becoming very sadden. More and more
    Ethiopians were coming to America. And I remember, even in Boston alone,
    there were more than six or seven hundred Ethiopians.

    Q. Why did they go there?

    A. I think many of them were coming as students. In fact, even I myself, at
    that time, sponsored about 8 students in one case. In those days, I always
    wanted education to expand as much as I loved Ethiopia. I sponsored some
    50 other people by getting them scholarships or by appealing to colleges to
    give them scholarships.

    So, Ethiopians began, to come to America at this time as some of the first
    exiles I think, if I am not mistaken, in the late 1960s. This, I think, was
    because political problems were beginning to develop at home. But still, a
    majority of them were students in colleges.

    Then by the early 70s, I think more and more people were coming. But
    actually a large number of Ethiopians began to come in the ‘70s especially
    after the Derg revolution.

    Today perhaps, there are probably more than a quarter of a million
    Ethiopians in America. In Washington alone, people tell me there are
    100,000 Ethiopians. I don’t think the figure is that high? The largest
    number of Ethiopians is in Washington D.C, in Boston, in Los Angeles .

    Q. What was the fate of your organization, ESANA?

    A. In the late ‘70s, they also changed the name of the organization ESANA
    (Ethiopian Students Association in North America ) to ESUNA (Ethiopian
    Students Union in North America ). And then ESUNA started breaking up into
    Eritrean student movement, UPESUNA and a few other organizations. But
    eventually, after the rise of the Derg, many of the leaders came here,
    sorry to say, some of them also died here. Of course, I was never involved
    in the politics. I was always involved in the literary campaign, education.
    The first organization fizzled out five years ago; a group of Ethiopians
    have reformed in to new organizations.

    Q. How do you call it?

    A. It is called ESUI (Ethiopian Students Union International). And, as a
    matter of fact about five years ago they invited me as their keynote
    speaker of the formation of their organization at their first major meeting
    in South Carolina. I was very impressed. There were five hundred
    Ethiopians who attended that meeting most of them were from America. And a
    few also came from Europe. This organization is now growing and I keep in
    touch with them.

    Q. What is the purpose of this relatively new organization?

    A. This organization is going back through our original objective of
    promoting Ethiopian Union. A lot of them are committed to the issue of
    HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. A large number of them are committed to promoting
    computer literary in Ethiopia .

    I have joined up with them because I know that their objectives are
    cultural, educational. And I am very pleased that, about 30 of them, who
    are leaders of this movement had a leadership retreat, learning about what
    is leadership. And Haile Gerima and

    I were two people they invited to come and talk about leadership. I
    spent Sunday with them. It is very impressive that their objectives are
    “the verb to do” like mine. Their objectives are scientific, educational,
    cultural and public health. And it is very promising when I see this new
    group of Ethiopian youth. I see a great future for my country.

    Ethiopians are really very gifted people. In the United States, for
    example, they may start as taxi drivers, hotel workers. But eventually,
    they work themselves out. And today, in America, there are a large number
    of Ethiopia ’s who are very successful in business, in software ( Silicon
    Valley ). I understand that there are at least 30,000 Ethiopian just in
    that valley alone.

    I know Ethiopians who are professors, doctors, lawyers, Ethiopians who are
    extremely successful in their respecting fields. It is very encouraging to
    see that Ethiopians who do not get involved or waste much of their energy
    in political bickering really do succeed.

    Somebody quoted the black American comedian Bill Cosby as saying that
    “look at Ethiopians and see how successful they are.” You find Ethiopians
    in banks, universities, and you find them in the American Congress. Unlike
    me, many of them have become American Ethiopians. But many of them have
    strong attachment with Ethiopia.

    Q. Any other Ethiopian organization in America engaged in constructive
    work?

    A. There is an organization in America called Ethiopian Sports Federation.
    This organization comes into existence several years age. The late Dr.
    Akalu Wolde Michael started this football group. And now every year, a
    large number of Ethiopians get together. Actually I went there, to Los
    Angeles to help promote the Ethiopian Millennium idea. This summer, I was
    in Los Angeles . There were may be more than 25,000 Ethiopians in the
    stadium.

    I must say that this is a good medium for Ethiopians to meet. I think there
    are people who come from Ethiopia too with their business. People who have
    jewelry and clothing stores set up all kinds of booths. It is a very
    impressive set up.

    A year ago, in Atlanta , my good friend Athlete Haile Gebre Selassie was
    their chief guest of honour. The Sport Federation in America organizes such
    programmes every year.

    Q. What do you have to say about Ethio- American relations?

    A. Ethiopian- American relations is about a hundred years old. I recommend
    to you two books to read. One is a book entitled “Signs of Sheba” by
    William Scott. Another book is by Joseph Harris.

    He was chairman of History at Howard. He wrote a book entitled African-
    Americans and the Italo- Ethiopian War. If you read those two books, they
    give you introductions about the early relations between Ethiopia and
    America. And a couple of years ago was the hundredth anniversary of the
    diplomatic contact. When I look upon it, I kind of laugh because I have
    lived nearly 50 percent of that time in America .

    And I still remember with nostalgia, the good old days of my youth when I
    played a little humble role to form the Ethiopian Students Union. Of
    course, my own objective was cultural, educational, and social, creating
    solidarity among Ethiopian to work together, promoting our culture.

    After I became involved in studying Ancient Ethiopian traditional culture,
    I just felt the whole world needs to know that this (Ethiopia) is a country
    with fascinating traditions, rich culture, very important manuscripts that
    can be written or copied for hundreds of years; a country with many ancient
    monuments, rock hewn churches and so on.

    I am not only to popularize this and to make the world know but that
    this popularization would bring money to our country, that there would be
    more investment in Ethiopia in the area of construction, establishment of
    schools, hospitals, the establishment of educational, cultural
    institutions.

    So, our purpose was not simply show for the sake of show. When we worked
    for the literacy campaign we became very concerned about illiteracy in our
    country. We felt our brothers and sisters also need to get some education.

    We were getting the best in the world. But why not our brothers and
    sisters get the best education? At that time in many of my lectures, I
    always talked about poverty, disease, illiteracy. And we felt the only way
    to do that was by strengthening our solidarity, by working together.

    Q. Did you witness such solidarity among the Ethiopian Diaspora solidarity
    which you aspired for at the outset?

    A. At the beginning we had one hundred per cent solidarity. Then from the
    years 1965-75, politics became so hot. We started splitting into different
    movements. However, since the late 1980’s I think people began to realize
    that our country has lost a great deal because of the Derg revolution.

    And they started coming together. At least, if they did not come
    together, there was an attempt to come together. However, we have not yet
    fully succeeded to come together. I am an optimist, though. We will. There
    are two groups in the Ethiopian Diaspora. The well established Ethiopians,
    (the older Ethiopians) are still fighting with each other, on political
    grounds. There are unfortunate conflicts between and among them.

    The second group (the youth) even the chairpersons of these groups are
    coming together. They are, Our early Ethiopian students association coming
    further, and building a solidarity.

    They are moving away from political bickering. Contributions They are
    learning more about our culture, making contribution to Ethiopia. That is
    the spirit of the youth. Therefore, I am very optimistic. Even among the
    old people, among many of my friends, there are many who are definitely
    committed more to make positive contributions to Ethiopia.

    Q. How about the involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in Ethiopian
    development ventures?

    A. I was in Gondar, several weeks ago where I gave a lecture in Gondar
    University to 850 Ethiopian students on religious tolerance. But what
    amazes me is, as we were, coming into Gondar , there is an area which is
    called “ Little Ethiopia”.

    In Los Angeles there is a place called “Little Ethiopia”. So , what
    amazed me is that our friend who took us to Gondar from the American
    Embassy said, “This area is called Little America ”. And there are many
    buildings along the road and he said it is called Little America because
    these buildings were put up by Ethiopians who live in America .

    I have met many Ethiopians in Addis Ababa from Boston, Washington and
    other places who are back here building houses ever and even small hotels,
    starting universities and colleges. I think Ethiopians in the Diaspora are
    making major contributions to their country. But we need to build more
    solidarity in America which is in the making in a positive way.

    Q. What is the significance of the forthcoming Ethiopian Millennium which
    you mentioned early on?

    A. The importance is one opportunity in a 1000 years. We are going to start
    the Ethiopian year 2000.

    All peoples throughout the world, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Chinese are
    concerned specially about the Millennium Development Goals. (MDGs) and we
    want also our (Ethiopian) Millennium to become Hiddasse Ethiopia
    (Renaissance of Ethiopia)

    And I am very pleased to tell you that, a large number of black Americans
    are becoming interested in the Ethiopian Millennium. In as much as they
    always search for some black cultural importance, they have now joined us.
    They have even called this Ethiopian Millennium, African Millennium. There
    is now a group of African American ministers every month to organize a
    large number of people to come to Ethiopia for the occasion.

    This Ethiopian Millennium has many purposes in terms of wakening up the
    African American community. I suggested that our government should
    encourage Ghana , Nigeria , Kenya to call this the Ethiopian year.

    Q. Do you think the upcoming Ethiopia Millennium will have any positive
    impact as such?

    A. Number one, for us, let it be the Hiddasse, the wakening up. For others,
    it can bring a large amount of money to this country. Unfortunately, we do
    not have enough hotels. A large number of black Americans want to come
    here. The more people come here, the more income we get in the form of
    tourism. And from tourism might follow, people coming here who might invest
    in Ethiopia . It can have a tremendous economic impact.

    Q. You have, for the past four decade or so, occasionally a shuttling
    between Ethiopia and America . You are, unlike many others, an Ethiopian
    citizen. You have been expressing your concern for the well being of
    Ethiopia . So, what do you wish for your country?

    A. In my lecture, I always say “Ethiopia is a sleeping giant!” This is a
    country, that, not only, could be economically successful, feed its people,
    cloth its people, shelter the people. It is a country that can even become
    a source of economic help to others elsewhere. So, my great wish is “ May
    God to bless Ethiopia and help the people wake up, we have a certain amount
    of energy.

    We should not waste that on inter-ethnic, inter-religious quibbling, but
    use it to come together and respect each other. I said Ethiopia is a
    sleeping giant because it has tremendous agricultural potentials,
    especially. We have mineral potential’s too. Oil is very important because
    people need it to feed their car. But human beings don’t eat oil.

    They eat food. So, we can produce and sell fruits and feed all Europe in
    the wintertime. European cars need oil. But European people need food. So,
    we can become the breadbasket.

    Egypt becomes wealthy from historical, archaeological sites, tourism, Kenya
    is very rich from animal, nature tourism. We have both. We have historical
    sites. We have flora and fauna. We would be Egypt and Kenya put together.
    So my hope for Ethiopia is to become a very prosperous land where its
    people live in peace together.

    Let me also add one foot note here. One of the resources of Ethiopia is
    actually its people. When I say its people, I am not talking about those of
    us who have been spoilt. We who are educated abroad are spoiled.

    We have our heads above. But ordinary Ethiopian people are very humble.
    They respect each other. They listen to each other. Their ears are bigger
    than their mouths. Those of us who studied, abroad, our mouths are bigger
    than our ears. The Ethiopian people are very patient, very polite, very
    respectful and these are important human characteristics. And, therefore if
    we can combine, these human qualities with technological development,
    learning the best from the West, retaining the best from our culture, then
    we can become a very important nation.

    We already are the capital of Africa. But that is not enough. But we
    have to become what the African people want. They want Ethiopia to become a
    symbol of black strength and freedom. Black Americans wish like that too.

    My great wish for Ethiopia is great prosperity, a great life for our
    people, respectful co-existence and leadership in showing other Africans
    and even the rest of the world that we can become an example.

    Last month, I was here and I gave a talk to group of judges. I said “in our
    history, there were no really established prisons. When the Millennium
    comes, let us go back to our old traditions, and let’s make all the prisons
    museums, turn them into libraries, turn them into schools and then try to
    live in peace and show other people in the world that human beings can live
    together respecting each other, supporting each other and having a joyous,
    happy life. So, let this Millennium be a happy Millennium, Hiddase ze
    Ethiopia , Ethiopian Renaissance.

    by
    Melese Telahoun

    The Ethiopian Herald, December 03, 2006



    Belai FM Habte-Jesus wrote:

    Dear Ayalew:

    In case you did not get this one, I wanted to ensure you got
    communication that has mention of your name to be fair to you.

    Not that the communication was important, but to let you know

    with regards

    Dr B

    Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia:

    It is getting very interesting that the loony communists, now prophets
    and new Synodos authors are getting desperate!

    Their idiotic pie in the sky evaporated with the Soviet Union collapsed
    and money and propaganda dried up! Now they got a new Synodos and this
    fool has been fabricating so many jokes I cannot start to appreciate how
    thing are getting bad!

    Now the loony and bankrupt communists are converting into loony
    priests, prophets appointing all their cadres as episcoposats and this one
    is the most stupid of them all and wants to terrorize us with his idiocy!

    Stern warning for what? From whom and to whom? He is the clever one
    and we are the fools!, my foot! You see some of my earlier DSM$ Diagnostic
    Tools for Psychotics still applies. Please google it in Web MD and you
    will see the picture drawn by this guy fits exactly the Diagnosis.

    Should we be sympathetic to him and pray but he does not believe, it is
    all our illusion according to him to pray and even try to solve problems!

    This one is pathetic and schizophrenic and may have even lost his
    marble. After declaring the new school of prophecy and making so many
    foolish pronouncements, all his dreams and so called moronic pronouncements
    that Ethiopia will be no more went down the drain.

    In front of our eyes, our Patriotic Heroes have returned home after
    dealing a blow to his junky philosophy. Now after calling our Patriotic
    Friend Ayalew Mergiaw all sorts of degrading names to his dismay Ayalew
    did not return evil with evil but showed him his character and his
    foolishness and now he wants to warn us about his loony stupidity.

    Commander Saifu, bless his soul, with dignity and scholarly evidence
    tried to share with him his lunacy! He did not get it. The secret is
    leave faith to the individual. When we have so many burning blood and
    flesh issue with poverty, good governance and out right terror in our
    community why attack our faith that has lasted us so long and that
    continues to be the only security to our people.

    I do not get it how one gets so cruel and stupid at the same time!

    Now we have a terrorist warning again! Let us give it orange color if
    he likes it, for what? Some one has to tell this fool, go back to your
    communist days and declare hell on your cyber earth as usual.

    What a shame? These educated savants will never learn. They are just
    parrots and regurgitate what ever they read. Remember the Illuminati
    Fiasco?

    Let us illuminate on this moronic prophet that his goon days are over!
    Friends, this guy is openly asking for help! Can some one help him,
    please!




    Ayalew Mergia/Mergiyaw wrote:
    Selaam Ato Tadesse,

    Greetings to you and your team!

    I am not getting emails regularly since the last four weeks or so. For long
    time now I get here and there email such as from my confused brothers
    Nebiyu, Wondimu and Tollosa. I only see others when some one reply or
    Tolossa
    reply.

    Is there a problem with your server. Hope you will fix and enable me to get
    as before.

    ReplyDelete