Marcus Samuelsson, pictured outside his Red Rooster Harlem, will travel across the United States from DC to the Bay Area in California to spotlight the cuisine in local immigrant communities. (Photo: by Matt Dutile) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Updated: December 1st, 2017 New York (TADIAS) — Next year Marcus Samuelsson is set to Host a New PBS show, tentatively titled No Passport Required that highlights food, art and culture from the vibrant Ethiopian restaurant scene in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area to Little Kabul in Fremont, California and the Vietnamese shrimpers in Louisiana. “ No Passport Required will celebrate America’s diverse cultural mosaic as Samuelsson travels to under-explored parts of American cities to showcase the people, places and culinary flavors of immigrant communities,” PBS announced, noting that the series begins production this year and will premiere in 2018. The press release adds: “Chef Samuelsson — co-owner of New York’s critically acclaimed Red Rooster Harlem — embodies America’s extraordinarily rich cultural diversity. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, and a proud resident of Harlem, he’s inspired by this global background to infuse his culinary experiences with diverse elements of music, history, culture, and the arts.
Trumped the world with 51 gold medals while six countries won their first ever Olympic medals (BBC News, 2008; Wasiak, 2008). Rationale and Preparation. Beijing won its bid to host the 2008 Olympics against Toronto in July 2001 (Longman 2001). The 1993 narrow loss to Sydney by 2 votes in an attempt to host the 2000. After the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the national team was resurrected. Lithuania won bronze medals in the first three Olympics to include NBA players – 1992, 1996, and 2000 - in addition to finishing fourth in 2004 and 2008, and in eighth place at the London 2012 Olympics. The Lithuanian team won.
Today, he is a celebrated award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, philanthropist and food activist. Samuelsson’s accolades include earning five James Beard Awards, being named the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times, and having the honor of cooking for the Obama administration’s first state dinner. He is an ambassador for UNICEF, co-founder of the Harlem EatUp! Festival, and the co-chair of the board of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).” “Chasing flavors has been my lifelong passion,” shared Samuelsson. “To now be able to bring viewers on that journey with me to these amazing communities in cities across the U.S. Is truly a dream come true.
We get to go deep into the markets, pull up to the roadside stands, and be welcomed into homes — all the places where people share and celebrate food together.” — Related: Join the conversation on and. Photo from the 2017 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week. (courtesy of HAFW) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff October 20th, 2017 New York (TADIAS) – The 2017 Hub of Africa Addis Fashion Week recently wrapped up in Ethiopia’s capital displaying an eclectic collection of styles from twenty one designers representing seven African countries and models from five nations. The featured designers included: Mafi (Ethiopia), Yordi (Ethiopia), Adama Paris (Senegal), Anayngo Mpinga (Kenya), Samra Luxury Leather Collection (Ethiopia), Ejig Tibeb (Ethiopia), Ratatouille (Ethiopia/Brazil), Russell Solomon (Nigeria), House of Eden (Ethiopia/USA), Ye’Fiker (Ethiopia), Ayni’s Design (Ethiopia), Mantsho (South Africa), Lali (Ethiopia), Mustafa Hassannil (Tanzania), Zaaf (Ethiopia), Arnold Murithi (Kenya), Tg’sh (Ethiopia), Fetel Design (Ethiopia), Yohannes Sisters Couture (Ethiopia).
The two-day runway show was held on Friday, October 6th and Saturday 7th, 2017. Below are photos from the 2017 Hub of Africa Fashion Week: — Related: Join the conversation on and.
Ethiopian designer Manale Dagnew's new collection of accessories are produced with motifs and colors from Ethiopia's North and South and raises funds for Girls' Education. Tsedey Aragie interviewing filmmaker Indrias G.
(Tadias) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff September 15th, 2017 New York (TADIAS) — Last month we the D.C. Premiere of Breathe in the Roots, a new film by Director and Producer Indrias G. Kassaye that features a young Brooklyn-based African American teacher’s journey of discovery to Ethiopia. Producer Wondwossen Dikran on the set of the new comedy special, SNAP!, from All Def Digital and Dormtainment currently showing on the online film platform YouTube Red. (Courtesy photo) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff July 17th, 2017 New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopian-American filmmaker Wondwossen Dikran is the producer of SNAP!, a new comedy special released last week by Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital (ADD) and Dormtainment. The latter is one of the first sketch comedy groups to launch their video content on YouTube.
Wondwossen was as director of the independent film Journey to Lasta released in 2004. Speaking about his new venture, Wondwossen tell Tadias: “The Co-founder of Dormtainment, Amanuel Richards, is my first cousin and this brought back a lot of the JTL crew. Russell Simmons and All Def Digital are the Executive Producers.” SNAP! Is directed by Olumide Odebunmi, Wondwossen’s business & creative partner. According to Dormtainment, the short comedy SNAP! Is “about the hottest Atlanta Snap Rap Group of 2006 aka Stacks-4-Daze.
Now the band members are all broke working dead-end-jobs in LA, but when they accidentally go viral on Worldstar they get a second chance at fame. Can they bring the stacks back?” Describing his cousin Amanuel of Dormtainment Wondwossen shares, “He is much younger than I am, and I have been kind of encouraging him to come out to this side of the coast.” Amanuel — who was born in the U.S. To parents hailing from Ethiopia and the Virgin Islands — is also the co-director and lead actor in SNAP!
“Once Amanuel came to LA several years ago Dormtainment began to get a lot of buzz. They had a show on Comedy Central, and they were doing a lot of work for LOL network,” says Wondwossen. “So when the opportunity came and they were approached by the multi-channel network, All Def Digital, they asked me to develop and produce this half hour pilot.” All Def’s Chief Executive, Sanjay Sharma,: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Dormtainment, one of our earliest partners on the YouTube platform, to produce this unique, hilarious special. They have such a loyal fanbase, and their ability to create highly engaging short form content, long form premium content, and even sell-out, live stage experiences is truly special. We are excited to get this project out for our fans and theirs, and for the broader world to see, as we continue to expand and work with some of the brightest up-and-coming talent in the industry.” Wondwossen Dikran and Olumide Odebunmi working on set of ‘SNAP!’ (Courtesy photo) For Wondwossen the main focus has been developing and producing content for the digital space. “We have found opportunity because the business is shifting from traditional models to various digital platforms,” he says. “We’ve been working with several agencies in developing talent for feature films, music videos, as well as high-end commercials and other branded content.” In order to become a regular series the success of this pilot “basically depends on how much people respond to it based on the numbers and algorithms”, Wondwossen explains.
“We encourage people to watch the pilot and give us your feedback, a like, a review, or whatever you think about it.” He added: “We would love as much eyeball as we can get.” — (if you don’t have an account you can sign up for their 3-month free trial) Join the conversation on and. Directed by Jessica Beshir the film 'Hairat' documents one man's nightly ritual in Harar.
(Courtesy photo) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Published: April 1st, 2017 New York (TADIAS) — In her short film Hairat, Jessica Beshir goes back to Ethiopia to the city of her childhood “to tell the story of one man’s extraordinary ritual that unfolds nightly in the outskirts of the walled city of Harar.” Hairat, which was screened at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival this past January, will make its NYC premiere at the Lincoln Center as part of this year’s New York African Film Festival in May. The film was also shown this month at the Dallas International film Festival in Texas and the Rincon International film Festival in Puerto Rico. Hairat will premiere at the upcoming Arizona International Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival in Cannes, France later this month. “An Imam in Harar spoke to me about the meaning of Hairat at length, but in short it means, ‘You are where you need to be,’” Jessica says. In addition to Hairat Jessica also has two additional short films, Heroin and He Who Dances on Wood, premiering at various festivals across the U.S.
In Heroin, which make its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 20th & 21st, Jessica grapples with the question of free will as she “explores the creative process, inspiration and alternative reality of an artist.” The short film He Who Dances on Wood highlights tap dancer Fred Nelson. BRIC TV describes it as “one man’s search for joy.culminated in a constant experience of rhythm in the world around him. Something so simple, yet beautiful, found its way into Fred’s life in the form of dancing on an old piece of wood.” He Who Dances on Wood will make its NY premiere at BAM’s New Voices in Black Cinema series on April 30th, and its international premiere at the 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto taking place in early May. Watch: ‘He Who Dances on Woods’ — A short film by Jessica Beshir trailer from on. — Related: Join the conversation on and. Poet Lemn Sissay at Ginny’s in New York at a Tadias Salon Series event on August 9th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Published: Monday, December 26th, 2016 New York (TADIAS) — This has been a very productive and busy year for us beginning with the launch of Tadias Salon Series in Spring 2016 featuring the followed by a sold-out.
In Fall 2016 celebrating the release of his latest publication entitled The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem. Jamstix Serial Killer. In addition we were honored to attend as well as being conference held at the But, as always, the most exciting part of our job was covering some of the biggest Ethiopian Diaspora arts and culture stories including the recent historic appearance of legendary singer and classical pianist and composer Furthermore, was held on September 9th, 2016, which was presented in collaboration with the World Music Institute. Below are a few images of the top arts and culture stories of 2016 curated from the Tadias instagram Page: (Photo by Kidane Mariam/Tadias Magazine) Mahmoud Ahmed performed live at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Sunday, October 23rd, 2016, becoming the first major artist from Ethiopia to give a solo concert at the world-famous venue.
The 75-year-old Ethiopian cultural icon, who is one of Ethiopia’s most eminent musicians, played at Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage and brought the audience to its feet for several songs. (Photo: Instyle.co.uk) 34-year-old Ethiopian-born actress Ruth Negga has become the talk of Hollywood and Oscar mentions following her highly acclaimed performance in the new civil rights movie Loving, which depicts the 1967 historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage in a case called “Loving v. Virginia.” Ruth who was born in Addis Ababa grew-up in Limerick, Ireland and has resided in London for the past ten years.
Asked by The Hollywood Reporter on how she became an actress, Negga replied: “You know when you’re a kid and you get to pick a movie every Friday? I watched everything.
There’s no particular genre that was appealing. I just loved the idea that you could dress up and play.” This month Vogue magazine declared “the Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga has become a star for our time.” (Photo by Girma Berta) Photographer Girma Berta, an instagrammer and artist from Ethiopia, was the winner of the 2016 Getty Images Instagram Grant.
“Berta uses his iPhone to photograph vibrant, gritty street life in Addis Ababa, crossing street photography with fine art by isolating his subjects against backdrops of rich color,” Getty Images said. The grant is for videographers and visual artists who feature local stories and document “underrepresented communities around the world.” (Photo: last.fm, museumhack.com) Mulatu Astatke returned to New York City for a live show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 9th, 2016. The concert, which was part of the MetLiveArts program, was presented in collaboration with the World Music Institute.
“Known as the father of Ethio-jazz, composer and multi-instrumentalist (vibraphone, piano, keyboard, organs, and percussion) Mulatu Astatke leaped to international fame in the ’70s and ’80s with his unique mix of Western traditional Ethiopian music and admirers like Duke Ellington and John Coltrane,” stated the announcement from The Met. “Known for his fearless experimentation, his music begins and ends with improvisation.” Photos by Anastasia Kirtiklis for Tadias Thank you again to everyone who joined us on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 for a sold out Tadias Salon Series show at as Lemn Sissay shared his incredible life journey & poems from his new book Gold From the Stone, and Grammy-nominated Ethiopian American singer and songwriter Wayna () gave a soul-shaking music performance, along with DJ Mengie. Special thanks to and Ethiopia Alfred as well as our sponsors for making it happen. Ethiopian Pianist and Composer Girma Yifrashewa at Ginny’s Supper Club in New York on Sunday, November 27th, 2016. (Photo: Tadias) This year the Thanksgiving weekend program at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem, New York featured a special Ethiopia-inspired dinner menu prepared by Chef Marcus Samuelsson followed by a live performance by classical Ethiopian pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa. Girma’s amazing concert on Sunday, November 27th, 2016 included his original compositions that evoke “Ethiopian melody making,” as he told the audience, “decorated” with sounds of the classical music tradition in combination with Ambassel, Bati, Anchihoye and Tizita based on Ethiopian music’s unique tone scale system. (Photo: Owners of Azla Vegan Nesanet Teshager Abegaze and her mother Azla Mekonen at Coachella Festival in Los Angeles, California) Los Angeles, California, which is home to the only official Little-Ethiopia neighborhood in America, is also headquarters for, a family-owned Ethiopian restaurant — located near the University of Southern California (USC) — that we in an interview with owner Nesanet Teshager Abegaze as it first opened.
This year, Azla Vegan was featured on the Food Network‘s television episode of “Cosmopolitan Comfort: Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.” (Photo: Jomo Design Furniture, Actuel Urban Living) Ethiopia-inspired furniture by U.S.-based Jomo Tariku, Founder of and Hamere Demissie of was featured at the 2016 international Dubai Design Week festival in October. Jomo and Hamere’s works were selected as submissions from design weeks around the world including, highlighting “the modern-inspired minimalist spirit of traditional Ethiopian design made locally by skilled artisans.” Hamere Demissie’s Actuel Urban Living previewed “a collection of furniture, rugs and textiles with a refined organic feel, while Jomo Design Furniture will display a contemporary take on traditional African chairs crafted in hardwoods, inspired by African hand carvings, baskets and traditional woven textiles,” according to the media release from Dubai Design Week. Ethiopian American journalist Bofta Yimam was promoted as Weekend Morning Anchor at Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Television in 2016. Congratulations to Bofta Yimam who was promoted to Weekend Morning Anchor at Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Television (WTAE) this year. Bofta received three Emmy nominations and won the Regional Emmy Award (Nashville/Mid-South Chapter) for excellence in the ‘Continuing Coverage’ category in 2013. “There are so many avenues of journalism that you have to put yourself out there, and have a kind of go-for-it type of mentality,” Bofta shared in a past interview with Tadias.
“You gotta get the skill sets and be willing to hit the ground running.” (Image courtesy of Awen Films) The new documentary film If Only I Were That Warrior — which chronicles the reactions of the international Ethiopian and Italian community regarding the recent building of a memorial for the Fascist General, Rodolfo Graziani (“The Butcher of Ethiopia”) in his hometown of Affile, Italy — has finally been released on DVD and is also now available for streaming online. (Teddy Yo 2016 new music video ‘Alegntaye’ produced by Africology) NYC-based music & entertainment company Africology this year released their first music video production entitled “Alegntaye” featuring popular Ethiopian hip-hop artist Teddy Yo and Joe Lox. Julie Mehretu. (Photo by Joseph Maida) Renowned Ethiopian American artist Julie Mehretu returned to Ethiopia this Summer for her inaugural show at The Modern Art Museum Gebre Kristos Desta Center in Addis Ababa. The exhibition entitled Julie Mehretu: The Addis Show — which was jointly presented by the Gebre Kristos Desta Center and the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa — was opened on July 8, 2016 and remained on display through August 6, 2016. ‘The Red Rooster Cookbook’ (2016) by Marcus Samuelsson pays homage to modern Harlem.
(Photo: Book cover) “When chef Marcus Samuelsson opened Red Rooster on Harlem’s Lenox Avenue, he envisioned so much more than just a restaurant. He wanted to create a gathering place at the heart of his adopted neighborhood, where both the uptown and downtown sets could see and be seen, mingle and meet – and so he did, in a big way. Ever since the 1930s, Harlem has been a magnet for more than a million African Americans, a melting pot for Spanish, African, and Caribbean immigrants, and a mecca for artists. Named after a historic neighborhood speakeasy, the modern Rooster reflects all of that, from the local art showcased on its walls, to the live music blaring from its performance spaces, to the cross-cultural food on its patrons’ plates and the evocative cocktails in their hands.” Antu Yacob.
(Courtesy photo) What does it mean to be Ethiopian American? The answer depends on who you ask, but for Playwright Antu Yacob — whose parents immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia when she was barely five years old — the identity is not as clear-cut. In the Gray is the title of Antu’s latest one-person show, which explored precisely this question when it was staged in New York City as part of the Women in Theatre Festival by Project Y Theatre in Manhattan this past summer. “In the Gray” features Antu playing several engaging characters including herself, her 8-year-old son, as well as her muslim and Oromo activist mother who lives in Minnesota. “I knew that I wanted to write about my experience not only as an actor, but also as an Ethio-American professional in the entertainment industry,” Antu told Tadias in an interview following her show.
As a playwright Antu says she tries “to experiment with social and political activism in an entertaining way” noting that “America is made up of so many different cultures, and there is room to honor that diversity without sacrificing the beauty of who we are as a people. As Ethiopian Americans we make up a part of the larger American experience.” The film ‘Hairat,” which documents one man’s nightly ritual near Ethiopia’s historic city of Harar, is directed by Jessica Beshir. (Courtesy photo) Last but not least, a big thumbs-up to Director Jessica Beshir whose documentary short film Hairat from Ethiopia was selected this year to be featured at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. “This is a visual and lyrical exploration of the nightly ritual between a man in Eastern Ethiopia and his feral companions,” the Sundance Institute wrote describing Hairat in a press release. In the film Director Jessica Beshir, who was born in Mexico City and raised in Ethiopia, “returns to the city of her childhood to tell the story of one man’s extraordinary ritual that unfolds nightly in the outskirts of the walled city of Harar.” Jessica’s short film is one of 68 works from around the world that will be screened at Sundance from January 19th through 29th, 2017. — Related: Join the conversation on and. Marcus Samuelsson at a book signing event at SEI restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Hosted by Tadias Magazine on Wednesday, October 26th, 2016. (Photo by Matt Andrea) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Published: Friday, October 28th, 2016 New York (TADIAS) — As part of the Tadias Salon Series Tadias Magazine hosted Marcus Samuelsson at in DC on Wednesday, October 26th for a book signing and afterparty celebrating the release of his latest publication entitled The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem. Below are photos from the event: “When chef Marcus Samuelsson opened Red Rooster on Harlem’s Lenox Avenue, he envisioned so much more than just a restaurant. He wanted to create a gathering place at the heart of his adopted neighborhood, where both the uptown and downtown sets could see and be seen, mingle and meet – and so he did, in a big way. Ever since the 1930s, Harlem has been a magnet for more than a million African Americans, a melting pot for Spanish, African, and Caribbean immigrants, and a mecca for artists. Named after a historic neighborhood speakeasy, the modern Rooster reflects all of that, from the local art showcased on its walls, to the live music blaring from its performance spaces, to the cross-cultural food on its patrons’ plates and the evocative cocktails in their hands.
THE RED ROOSTER COOKBOOK is as lush and layered as its inheritance. Traditions converge in these pages, with dishes like Brown Butter Biscuits, Chicken and Waffles, Jerk Bacon and Baked Beans, Latino Pork and Plantains, Chinese Steamed Bass and Fiery Noodles, Ethiopian Spice-Crusted Lamb, and Rum Cake. Lyrical essays and intimate interviews – including a foreword by New Yorker critic Hilton Als and conversations with unsung neighborhood heroes – convey the flavor of the place. Stunning archival and contemporary photos document Harlem’s past, present, and future.” — Related: Join the conversation on and. Ethiopian Hip hop musician Teddy Yo.
(Courtesy photo) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Published: Thursday, October 27th, 2016 New York (TADIAS) – NYC-based music & entertainment company Africology recently released their first music video production entitled “Alegntaye” featuring popular Ethiopian hip-hop artist Teddy Yo and Joe Lox. This year Africology artists have also been nominated in four categories at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Nigeria. Voting for the nominees closes at the end of this month. Africology’s nominations for 2016 AFRIMA include: 1.
Best African Group / Duo or Band – Jano Band – “Darigne” Link to share to public – 2. Best African Group / Duo or Band [Rock} – Jano Band – “Darigne” Link to share to public – 3. Most Promising Artist – Anteneh Minalu – “Wayo” Link to share to public – 4. BEST AFRICAN ARTISTE /GROUP / DUO / BAND (in African Reggae, Ragga, Dancehall) – Anteneh Minalu – “Wayo” Link to share to public – — Join the conversation on and. Lunch break during the Diasporas in Development conference at the Newseum in D.C. On Wednesday, October 12th, 2016.
(Photo: Tadias) Tadias Magazine By Tadias Staff Published: Thursday, October 13th, 2016 New York (TADIAS) — Tadias Magazine was one of the featured presenters at the 2016 conference held at the in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, October 12th. The program, which was organized by U.S. State Department, George Washington University, the International Organization for Migration and hosted by USAID, highlighted “practitioners with unique approaches to international development who shared their stories and Diaspora experiences in short, dynamic presentations.” According to the Diaspora Global Innovation Exchange the numbers of people living outside their country of origin today has almost tripled worldwide — from 76 million to 232 million over the past four and half decades. The Tadias presentation focused on three areas of our work. As a new media organization Tadias seeks to amplify voices from the Ethiopian American and Diaspora community by featuring successful individuals and role models for current and future generations. Tadias is also a platform used to encourage wider civic participation and engagement, whether it’s connecting together local and national groups working on getting out the vote for national elections or sharing highlights of community-based organizations and non-profits.
Last but not least, Tadias aims to build networks with other communities in America and Diaspora to address similar issues we may face as a community and collaborate together to create greater awareness of social issues. The event’s opening keynote was delivered by Kingsley Aikins, CEO and Founder of Diaspora Matters, a Dublin-based consultancy company that advises countries, cities, regions, companies, and organizations on how to develop strategies to connect with their Diasporas. Other topics covered included “case studies in successful business building; Diaspora engagement for economic and commercial impact as well as information on how to partner with Diasporas in the Washington, D.C. Tadias Magazine presentation poster at the Diasporas in Development conference held at Newseum in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, October 12th, 2016. Here is a video that was part of our presentation that included clips of interviews with Ethiopian American national newsmakers as well as the Tadias Magazine roundtable discussion at National Press Club spotlighting issues related to Ethiopian migrants workers.
— Join the conversation on and. Syoum Gebregziabher, pictured above at his home office in Harlem, New York, is a former Mayor of Gonder and the author of the book 'The Symphony of My Life.'
(Courtesy photo) Tadias Magazine By Bethelhem T. Negash Published: Thursday, May 26th, 2016 New York (TADIAS) — Early in the morning, as the city stirs and the hum of cars and trucks grows more persistent, Dr. Syoum Gebregziabher, 85, makes his slow and careful descent from his bedroom to the ground floor of his brownstone house in Harlem. He grabs the keys from the kitchen counter and heads out to move his car from where it has been parked for the night. He adjusts his reading glasses before he starts the engines, and begins the monotonous task of moving his car to the center of the road until the city sweepers clean the street.
He looks at himself in the rearview mirror, and the man who once was the Mayor of Ethiopia’s historic city of Gonder stares back. The Mayor of Gonder didn’t have to bother with parking or driving. “It is like a jump from the position of a king to that of a pauper,” Dr. An awkward smile plays at the corners of his mouth. He pauses, then continues, “People ask me why I called my book The Symphony of My Life. Well, it is to reflect on the ups and downs and the highest and lowest points of my life,” he says as he makes a motion of rising and falling with his hands.
Gonder has been called the ‘Camelot of Africa’ for it had served as the capital for the Ethiopian Empire during the reign of Emperor Fasilidas in the 17th century and the Begemder Province up until Emperor Tewodros II, who then moved the imperial capital to Magdala at his inauguration in 1855. Gonder holds the remains of several royal castles and enclosures that provide the city with a distinctive atmosphere. During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie Gonder was a semi-autonomous province, like Asmara and Addis Ababa, run under the municipality administration of mayors. However, the mayor of Gonder fell under the state’s Ministry of Interior and had to answer to the head office. It was during a lunch break in 1972 that Dr. Syoum — who was then head of the Department of Public Administration and Associate Professor at the University College of Addis Ababa — heard an announcement of new government appointees by the Emperor.
His name was on the list following the statement “Lord Mayor of Gonder.” He was dumbfounded. “I bolted out from Campo Asmara and went to the university to find out if indeed it was me,” he recalled. Syoum has bittersweet memories of his years in power. In his book he recounts seeing his assignment as a challenge rather than a promotion. It is customary in Ethiopia to celebrate promotions, especially those to governmental offices and state postings. “The Emperor’s appointment was thought to improve the appointee’s destiny – a touch from the divine,” he recalls. Syoum felt differently.
He saw it as “a leash” to keep him in check, but there was nothing Dr. Syoum could do to change the decree. He could neither challenge nor refuse the position. The Ethiopian constitution stated, “The personality of the Emperor is sacred and inviolable.” “There were moments when I saw it as a form of banishment. A misplacement,” he says while sipping hot tea one recent afternoon.
“But the name was attractive: The Lord Mayor of Gonder.” At the same time, in his memoir Syoum talks about his accomplishments and success as a mayor with great gusto. He writes, “I had skillfully and patiently, with calculated political risk, survived the intricacies of the centralized and absolute control of His Majesty’s government and succeeded to be popularly the accepted mayor who was able to show results in two turbulent years of Ethiopia.” Dr. Syoum remembers what the Emperor told him upon his appointment as Mayor of Gonder: “When you know them, you will like them.” Syoum did come to like the city, the province and the people. He tried to recall the gifts he received from the people of Gonder during the farewell party they arranged in his honor. “The Gonder people, either they like you or they don’t. I was chosen.” His face brightens up with a smile, “They liked me.” Dr. Syoum Gebregziabher.
(Courtesy photo) Growing up as the eldest son out of ten children from his father’s side and also the eldest out of the seven from his mother’s side, Syoum had the responsibility of being a good model to his extended family and relatives. This burden of duty incumbent upon the eldest son is reflected throughout his book. He describes how the role made him too wise and calculating for his age. His father had always preached the importance of school in one’s life. Determined to make his eldest son a success, he sent him to the United States to study. Syoum recalls that upon returning to Eritrea, where his father was then living, he discovered that his father had published his picture in Eritrea’s Italian language newspaper.
The caption read: Rientro di UN altro Laureato, or The return of the UN graduate. As a child, Syoum didn’t get to spend the time he would have wished with his mother, father and siblings. After his father and mother were divorced, when he was just a few years old, he was sent from Dessie to Addis Ababa to live with a bachelor uncle who had studied in France and was working in the capital at a time when it was rapidly being modernized.
His father thought that being surrounded by educated people would help and influence his eldest son. Syoum recalls himself becoming “a five-year-old boy with European dress and habits; I had become a misfit.” “The European clothes I had brought from Addis and continued to wear alienated me from other children and caused problems.
Children my age ridiculed me incessantly as a ferengi –[white person in the local saying]. I insisted on wearing regular Ethiopian clothes so as I could fit in, but my father was proud of my unique European dress and ignored my request.” In his book, Dr. Syoum talks about how he he had confronted his mother, as an adult, because she had refused to rescue him by buying him traditional Ethiopian attire, which he had privately asked her for. “Her reluctance devastated me,” Syoum shared. “Later in life I reminded her that this was a crucial demand she should not have ignored.” His mother’s distance shaped and scarred him. “He always commends me for my role in my daughter’s life.
He tells me he wishes he had a mother like me and this really encourages me,” Says Linda Haile speaking about Dr. Linda is his daughter-in-law who is married to his dentist son, Dr. Yohannes Syoum.
“I love the way he treats his wife. I think this all has to do with the fact that he grew up without a mother.” Dr. Syoum’s colleague and longtime friend, Dr. Yemane Demissie, adds that Dr. Syoum’s symphonic life is a result of belonging to an era in which seismic technological, social, cultural and political transformations were taking place. “Whether navigating Italian Occupied Ethiopia as a child in the 1930s, the segregated American South in the 1940s and 1950s as a young man, the highly politicized world of labor unions and universities of imperial Ethiopia as an adult, or the violent partition of Ethiopia and Eritrea as a mature individual, he adapts with much agility and wisdom,” Demissie says. His father’s continuous support and his own tenacity and perseverance drove Syoum to pursue education at home and abroad.
There were times when he considered becoming a priest to take advantage of further schooling, for the Italian regime rule didn’t allow locals to acquire schooling more than the fifth grade unless they were in the process of becoming a priest in Catholic church schools. When Haile Selassie came to power and opportunities widened, Syoum continued his secondary school studies. With the help of Dr.
Talbot, Chief Editor and Journalist for the Ethiopian Herald, he won a scholarship to college in the United States and graduated from Monmouth College with a degree in History, and later pursued additional graduate studies at other universities. At the time, however, George Washington University had rejected his application as Blacks were not allowed to enroll. Syoum shared that the refusal for enrollment taught him a lesson about how to frame other application letters and forms. He now wrote, he recalls, “I am a black, Ethiopian boy from Africa, and I intend to practice law in my own country. Can you give me this opportunity?” Several universities accepted him. He chose the University of Michigan. There Syoum met his American future wife Juanita B.
Green, a postgraduate in Middle Eastern Studies. She was 20 years old, open-minded and confident. Syoum “was impressed with her candor, sincerity and simplicity” and writes “We seemed to have a mutual attraction, both physical and mental. I fell for her.” Juanita remained in his mind as he made his way to Ethiopia after graduation and started working in Addis. All the other girls he dated at home couldn’t displace her in his heart. “I kept idealizing Juanita and continued writing frequently.” At last she agreed to marry him. They were betrothed in a simple ceremony in 1953 and honeymooned in Cairo.
While Mayor Syoum was battling inspectors and dealing with the municipality of Gonder, a movement was underway to dethrone the Emperor and abolish the feudal system. The Derg regime ousted Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The new regime executed, imprisoned and tortured opponents without a trial or a hearing. In his book, Syoum writes that he was oblivious of the true nature of the revolution and the Derg regime.
He was by now an organization and management consultant for the Ministry of Public Works. He worked with his team to abolish urban landlordism and feudalism by setting up a local self-governance system. He met and talked with Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, the chairman of the Derge regime. “I witnessed a revolution eating its own revolutionaries, as the saying goes,” he says years later.
The revolution in Ethiopia was spinning out of control and anyone who could evade the situation did so. Syoum describes the days of terror in his memoir. “Ethiopia nationalized banks, insurance companies and key industrial facilities owned by local and foreign private capital, restricting their sphere of activities in trade and industry by establishing state control over them.” Syoum began seeking positions abroad. His goal was clear: as long as a new country would accept him and his family, he would work at any level of the economy. “It was an unsavory position and yet a realistic one.” With the help of a friend working at the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) Syoum managed to get an exist visa from the immigration authorities in Ethiopia and headed to Lusaka, Zambia. From there he made his way to New York to start his life afresh. It was November of 1978 and Christmas was around the corner when Syoum boarded the plane with a heavy heart.
He was almost 60-years-old, a husband and a father of four. He recalls putting his hands in his pocket to make sure that the $200 dollars he bought from the black market were still there, his entire income and property folded in two currency notes. Gone were his four townhouses that were nationalized. The lands he had acquired over the years no longer were his. Download Captain Tsubasa J Full Episode Sub Indo.
The small country house in Nazreth that he and Juanita had sweated to build with the help of her parents was also in doubt. The flight from Lusaka to New York was long and it gave him plenty of time to contemplate the symphony of his life. “Nobody wants to help you when you are at your lowest,” he recalls.
With a gesture of his hands he tries to emphasis the meaning of his saying, “Nobody.” He found himself jobless, homeless and depending on his in-laws to sustain his wife and his four children. “It was a hard time; being a refugee and unemployed in the United States was the lowest point of my life.” He nods his head back and forth as he said this wistfully. “I remember receiving a hundred dollar bill from a friend of mine, he gave me the money and told me to buy gifts for my family since it was the Christmas season.” He blinks his eyes for a second and pauses to collect his thoughts. “But life has been kind to me and to my family,” he continues, recovering.
He stretched his hands to show his accomplishments and his children’s by indicating the display of the family photos and awards all around him. He may have to park his own car, but his family has survived and prospered. It was an unexpected struggle, but he has been the model eldest son his father wanted. — You can learn more about Dr. Syoum Gebregziabher’s book ‘Symphony of My Life’.
About the Author: Bethelhem T. Negash, who graduated this year from Columbia University School of Journalism, is a writer based in New York City. Join the conversation on and.