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[jqdial code=”dial5979b17ddc”] [/jqdial] In the spirit of Forto, an assertive group of Eritrean youth remembering Wedi Ali and his colleagues and their brave action of 21st January 2013 to rid Eritrea of dictatorship and awaken the spirit of resistance. These youth are declaring loud and clear that, they will KEEP HOPE ALIVE.

[jqdial code=”dial416a5c3d4a”] [/jqdial]  Despite many years of civil war following the army coup and a harsh Marxist regime, Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, is one of the most pleasant cities in Africa.

Given its altitude, 2,350 meters, its bracing climate all year round, its population, about three and a half million which is just about right, Addis Ababa is certainly worth a visit being close to the Arabian peninsula and is fairly cheap to spend a holiday in. I know people who go there more than once every two or three years. I liked it since my first visit to interview the old emperor Haile Sellassie who was later arrested and left to die in prison although he was a fairly moderate ruler, helped found the Union of Africa and was instrumental in building its headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Only the coup and the brutality of the regime that followed it under the extreme communist label prevented its tourism from flowering and turning it into a full-fledged year round resort. Its long civil war with its erstwhile occupied territory of Eritrea cost it dearly in men and resources as it dragged on for decades following the Italian withdrawal from its colony by the Red Sea. Ethiopia adhered to it and refused to decolonize it as it needed the Red Sea ports of Assab and Mussawa.

Eventually Eritrea which had been an Italian colony since before the World War II was liberated by the emperor with massive British military aid which invaded it and handed it over to the emperor. But the Eritreans did not reconcile to that and continued to fight for independence until the eighties.
Addis had to accept the harsh realities on the ground and turned to nearby Djibouti, a French colony now independent, whose port was nearby and based on the Red Sea which is crucial for the Ethiopian economy.
Addis Ababa is an Amharic name which is linguistically akin to Arabic. Ababa is Amharic meaning flower. It was invaded by the Italians in 1936 from their bases in Eritrea which they had seized during the European scramble for Africa whose history is still being unraveled, uncovering horrendous brutalities and exploitation specially in the Belgian colonies of Congo as Belgian books are gradually revealing. One of the most suitable hotels for families was Ganet, not far from the city center as it consisted of rooms and flats plus its own restaurant, children’s games, swimming pools and an easy access to some of the main roads and taxis. At that time the city was peaceful and safe to visit and stay in, that is before the ouster of the emperor. So we could travel by taxi far into the countryside, like Sogaree, a beautiful resort popular with families as it offered everything they wanted. At night, there were plenty of options for entertainment and the five star hotels like the Sheraton and Radisson lead the pack of several first class accommodations.
Of course these qualities could not hide the many slums that stood behind the main roads because the city had hundreds of thousands of woefully poor people.
The Italians spent only five years in Addis but were quite determined to build it and succeeded in developing much of it, specially the roads in the city and the highways as if to make them ready for any invasion or native uprising under the Haile Sellassi, who was gathering foreign support to regain his land and he did eventually defeat them with British aid.
I often wondered how the Italians were able to develop so much of Addis and other cities within five years but they did apparently because they had not expected to leave so soon or to fight the British for the country shortly after capturing it.

By: Arab News

[jqdial code=”dial3cb7820f34″] [/jqdial] Hundreds of African women and children marched across the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Wednesday to demonstrate outside the offices of the United Nations and the embassy of the United States.

It was the latest in an unprecedented wave of protests by African asylum seekers, who fear the Israeli government is trying to force them out of the country.

Since a new law came into force last month, the asylum seekers – most of whom are from Sudan and Eritrea – say the authorities have been instructing many of them to leave the cities and towns where they have been living and report to a detention centre in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

Read More from BBC

[jqdial code=”dial1d2f050b52″] [/jqdial]Eden Hazard, the only Belgian nominated for the Golden Ball, got eight points behind his name. Besides Marc Wilmots and Vincent Kompany of City also gave Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon captain and teammate of Hazard Chelsea), Haile Goitom (leader of Eritrea) and Kwon Oh Son (coach of Brunei) Hazard a point. Polish coach NawaÅ‚ka Hazard put in second place, accounting for three points.

Wilmots gave further five points to Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) and three on Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund). Kompany put Ribéry (Bayern) and a teammate Yaya Toure in two.

On January 21st, 2013 history was made in Eritrea. Colonel Sied Ali Hjay–Wed Ali paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave all Eritreans a renewed hope in the promise of change and a lesson in bravery. On this historic anniversary we, the residents of the Santa Clara community, are hosting a fundraising event to benefit the family of Jigna Siwue Col. Sied Ali Hjay (Wed Ali).

[jqdial code=”dial353f1bd3c2″] [/jqdial]

Date: Sunday, January 19th, 2014

Time: 6 pm

Place: Saagi Saba

Address: 1932 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose, CA

All proceeds will go directly to his family. Please come out and show your support!

For more info please call:  Kemal 408-806-4890 or Biemnet 408-807-9157