A Moral Obligation

In the late 1970s Asfaha Hadera, from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, found himself walking to Sudan to escape the oppressive Marxist regime of Emperor Mengistu. In eastern Sudan, Asfaha found a refugee camp of Ethiopians who were also seeking asylum. Immediately he engaged in organizing the refugee community – transporting water, setting-up make-shift schools, [...]

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Extaordinary Rain and Mitigating Risks

November 11, 2008 was the third straight day of sunshine in Addis Ababa. Generally, that is not outstanding news for this time of year. Most years, the rainy season passes with the Meskel holiday – an Orthodox celebration of the finding of the true cross of Jesus Christ – in mid-September.  Unfortunately, that has not [...]

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Obama Victory – Reaction from Addis Ababa

The 44th president of the United States is Barack Obama – and he has a lot of promises to live up to. At least, that’s the take here in Addis. While Ethiopia’s neighbors to the south are justifiably celebrating, cajoling and basking in the sweet victory of an American president with a Kenyan father, the [...]

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The Generosity of the Ethiopian People

Getting around Addis can be quite a hassle. Public transportation is provided by hundreds of ‘mini-buses’ that are actually secondhand Toyota vans from Europe. While it’s cheap, it’s certainly not the most efficient method. All summer I’ve been scheming and brainstorming different methods of transportation. Unfortunately, the tax on cars is something like 240%, meaning [...]

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