Ethiopian Diaspora Civility Forum

It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of four prominent members of the Ethiopian Diaspora community this week. Each, in their own way, dedicated their life, knowledge, experience, and service to Ethiopia and to our community abroad. Losing four respected members of our community within such a short period is a painful reminder of how precious life is—and how important it is that we recognize and appreciate those who serve our people while they are still among us. We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, colleagues, and all those whose lives they touched. May their contributions and memories remain part of our collective history, and may their loved ones find strength and comfort during this difficult time. May their souls rest in eternal peace. ነፍሳቸውን በገነት ያኑር። With deepest sympathy Abiye Gebrehiwot

What our nation needs are intellectuals and inventions like you see in this video: ከአሜሪካ ፕሮፌሰርነት ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በመመለስ የሀገሩን ችግሮች ለመፍታት የሚሰሩ ድንቅ ኢትዮጵያ ፕሮፈሰር እና ድንቅ ፈጠራቸውን እናስተዋውቃለን። በቪዲዮው ውስጥ፦ ✅ ጭስ የማያመነጭና ማገዶ ወይም ከሰል የማይጠቀም ዘመናዊ ምድጃ ✅ በኢትዮጵያ የተሰሩ ችግር ፈቺ ቴክኖሎጂዎች ✅ የፋብሪካው ጉብኝት እና የምርት ሂደት ✅ ለህዝብ እና ለአገር የሚያበረክቱ ፈጠራዎች https://youtu.be/jB_Leb84bj4?is=7M90ZB838b2Qi3i4

Good morning All If some of you remember in the past, CEDA our old organizations, organized the 1st diaspora visit to the GERD a while back, and that legacy still continued as Ambassador Fitsum Arega shared in this Facebook post. Today, the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, organized a special visit to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for diaspora members who have participated in the National Dialogue Conference for the past 3 weeks, and supported the #GERD through fundraising, advocacy, and international awareness. For many, it was an exciting first visit to the GERD. During their visit, the diaspora members commended the leadership, commitment, and determination in overcoming the challenges, mobilizing resources, and completing and connecting the GERD to the national grid. The GERD was completed, inaugurated, and became operational last September. Today, approximately 50% of Ethiopia’s power generation comes from the GERD, and within just one year, thousands of villages have been connected to electricity, transforming lives and creating new opportunities for communities across the country. Through the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, 50 Ethiopian embassies, and diaspora communities, nearly USD 3.2 million was mobilized for the GERD through bonds and donations, along with USD 400,000 for the Ethiopian Community School project in Djibouti during the fiscal year ending in June. The spirit of solidarity continued during today’s visit. In just one day, participating diaspora members contributed more than ETB 1.7 million toward the construction of a school for the Ethiopian Community in Djibouti. This demonstrates that the Ethiopian diaspora’s contribution goes beyond financial support; it reflects solidarity, compassion, and a deep commitment to #Ethiopia and fellow #Ethiopians wherever they live. My sincere appreciation to our diaspora communities for your continued financial, professional, intellectual, and moral support to Ethiopia wherever you are, and for your unwavering support for the GERD over the years. I also thank የቱሪዝም ሚኒስቴር-ኢትዮጵያ Ministry of Tourism-Ethiopia for its partnership, and the ባህልና ስፖርት ሚኒስቴር-ኢትዮጵያ Ministry of Culture & Sport-Ethiopia, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Electric Power-የኢትዮጵያ ኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል, the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission/የኢትዮጵያ ሀገራዊ ምክክር ኮሚሽን, Ethiopian News Agency and CEDA for their valuable collaboration in making this visit possible. The GERD has shown us what Ethiopians can accomplish when we come together around a shared vision. Let us carry that same spirit of unity, and shared responsibility from building and defending the GERD into the National Dialogue and our broader efforts towards peace, reconciliation, and nation-building. What we achieved together through the GERD should inspire what we can achieve together for Ethiopia’s future!

ETHIOPIA DIASPORA IN D,C 🇺🇸  🇪🇹 1. መጀመሪያው መቼ ነበር የመጡት ? ኢትዮጵያውያን ወደ Washington D.C. አካባቢ መምጣት በተለይ በ1960ዎቹና 1970ዎቹ ጀመረ። በመጀመሪያ የመጡት ብዙዎቹ ተማሪዎች፣ ባለሙያዎችና ከመካከለኛ/ከፍተኛ የኢኮኖሚ ደረጃ የመጡ ሰዎች ነበሩ።  ከዚያ በኋላ የ1974 እ.ኢ.አ  አብዮት፣ የደርግ ዘመን፣ ጦርነትና የፖለቲካ ችግሮች ብዙ ኢትዮጵያውያንን ወደ አሜሪካ እንዲሰደዱ አደረገ። በD.C. የሚገኘው ዲያስፖራም በዚህ ወቅት በፍጥነት አደገ።  🏙️ 2. ለምን Washington D.C ብቻ ተሰባሰቡ .? አንዱ ትልቅ ምክንያት የኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ በWashington መኖሩ ነው። ኤምባሲው ከ1950ዎቹ ጀምሮ በWashington ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ተልዕኮ አለው።  ተማሪዎችና ዲፕሎማቶች መጡ፤ ከዚያ ዘመዶችና ጓደኞች አመጡ ፤ ከዚያም ንግዶች፣ ቤተክርስቲያኖች፣ ማህበራትና ምግብ ቤቶች ተከተሉ።   በቀላል አማርኛ “አንድ ሰው መጣ → ቤተሰቡን አመጣ  → ሌሎች ኢትዮጵያውያን መጡ → ማህበረሰብ ተፈጠረ” የሚል የስደት ሰንሰለት ተፈጠረ። 🍽️ 3. የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ ትልቅ ሚና አለው ይህ ታሪክ በምግብ ቤቶች ሳይጠቀስ አይታለፍም ። በ1978 በWashington D.C. 4840 Georgia Avenue አካባቢ  ላይ አንድ የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ ቤት ተከፈተ። የኢንጀራ ዋና ጥሬ ዕቃ የሆነው ጤፍ በዚያን ጊዜ ማግኘት አስቸጋሪ ስለነበር እንኳን በሌላ ዱቄት ለመተካት ሙከራ ይደረግ ነበር።  ከዚያ በኋላ injera, doro wat, kitfo, tibs, shiro ወዘተ የኢትዮጵያን ባህል ለአሜሪካውያንም ማስተዋወቅ ጀመሩ። ዛሬ Washington D.C. ከአፍሪካ ውጭ በኢትዮጵያ ምግብ ቤቶች በጣም የታወቀች ከተማ ሆናለች።  🏘️ 4. “Little Ethiopia🇪🇹 ” እንዴት ተፈጠረ? በተለይ Adams Morgan እና Shaw/9th Street corridor የኢትዮጵያውያን መሰባሰቢያ ሆኑ። ቤቶች፣ ምግብ ቤቶች፣ ሱቆችና የማህበረሰብ ተቋማት በብዛት ተፈጠሩ።  በኋላ የ“Little Ethiopia” ስም በWashington ውስጥ በጣም ታወቀ። በ2020 የD.C. Council ይህንን የኢትዮጵያ ባህላዊ ስም  በይፋ ለማክበር ውሳኔ አፀደቀ።  ⛪ 5. ቤተክርስቲያን — ማህበረሰቡን አንድ አድርጋለች የኢትዮጵያ ዲያስፖራ በምግብ ብቻ አልተገነባም። ቤተክርስቲያን ትልቅ ሚና ነበራት። ለምሳሌ DSK Mariam Church በWashington በ1987 ተመሠረተ። ዛሬ ከ1,500 በላይ የተመዘገቡ አባላት እንዳሉትና በሳምንት ከ4,000 በላይ ሰዎች እንደሚገኙ ቤተክርስቲያኑ ትናገራለች። ግዕዝ፣ አማርኛ ፣ ትግርኛ  እንግሊዝኛም በአገልግሎቱ ይጠቀማሉ።  ይህም በጣም ጠቃሚ ነው፤ ልጆች ከአሜሪካ ባህል ጋር እየኖሩ ሳሉ ቋንቋቸውን፣ ሃይማኖታቸውንና ባህላቸውን እንዳይረሱ ያግዛል። 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 6. ሁለተኛና ሶስተኛ ትውልድ ይህ ነው የD.C. ታሪክ በጣም የሚያስደንቀው። መጀመሪያ የመጡት ሰዎች “እኔ ኢትዮጵያ ነው የምመለሰው” ብለው ይኖሩ ነበር። ከዚያ ልጆቻቸው በአሜሪካ ተወለዱ። አሁን ግን እነዚያ ልጆች የኢትዮጵያን ባህል በአሜሪካ ውስጥ እያስቀጠሉ ነው። የD.C. የህዝብ ቤተመጽሐፍት በ2024 የጀመረው የ“Documenting the Ethiopian Communities of DC” ፕሮጀክት ከ1980ዎቹ ጀምሮ የነበሩ ፎቶዎችንና የማህበረሰቡን ታሪኮች እያሰባሰበ ነው። 💰 7. ከማህበረሰብ ወደ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ኃይል ኢትዮጵያውያን ምግብ ቤት ብቻ አልከፈቱም። የመኪና ንግድ የሪል እስቴት የጤና ሙያ የህግ ሙያ ቴክኖሎጂ ትምህርት የግል ንግድ ሚዲያ ምግብ ቤቶችና ሱቆች በሚል ብዙ መስኮች ገቡ። ስለዚህ  “That's not just a community. That's influence.” የሚለው አገላለጽ ትልቅ ትርጉም አለው። 🇪🇹🇺🇸 በአጭሩ Washington D.C. ላይ ያለው የኢትዮጵያውያን ታሪክ በአንድ ትውልድ የተፈጠረ አይደለም። 1960s–70s → ተማሪዎችና ባለሙያዎች ⬇️ 1974 በኋላ → ስደተኞችና አዲስ ስደተኞች ⬇️ 1970s–80s → ምግብ ቤቶች፣ ቤተክርስቲያናት፣ ማህበራት ⬇️ 1990s–2000s → ንግድና የሙያ ማህበረሰብ እድገት ⬇️ ዛሬ → ብዙ ትውልድ ያለው ትልቅ Ethiopian-American community በእውነትም Washington D.C. ለኢትዮጵያውያን “ሁለተኛ ቤት” ብቻ ሳይሆን የኢትዮጵያ ባህል ከአሜሪካ ጋር የተገናኘበት ትልቅ ማዕከል ሆኗል https://youtu.be/-yFByqaN9mE?si=k9-zJkr1hKLtsAwe

https://youtu.be/EyWYeemtApw?si=lGOgqNAquzW0Ejsg

የባህር ዳር ቆይታ

I sincerely encourage—perhaps even beg—my fellow Ethiopians to watch the remarkable film The Best of Enemies. Based on a true story, this movie teaches powerful lessons about a deeply divided society, the courage it takes to engage in honest dialogue, and how even the most bitter enemies can discover common ground. The ending is both unexpected and inspiring, reminding us that reconciliation is possible when people are willing to listen to one another. America's journey toward equality was long, painful, and filled with tremendous sacrifice. While racism has not completely disappeared, generations of courageous people fought to expand freedom, justice, and equal opportunity. Today, the United States continues striving to uphold the ideals that people should be judged not by their race, religion, national origin, or the color of their skin, but by their shared humanity. As I watched this film, I could not help but reflect on Ethiopia. Although our history and challenges are different, we too are seeking a path toward reconciliation and lasting peace. The ongoing Ethiopian National Dialogue presents a historic opportunity to choose understanding over hatred, unity over division, and hope over despair. My prayer is that all participants in the dialogue will place Ethiopia above all other interests and help lay the foundation for a just, peaceful, and prosperous future for our beloved motherland. May God bless Ethiopia with lasting peace, reconciliation, and progress. Abiye Gebrehiwot https://youtu.be/ceE_r-W-9hI?is=_g1WX_e-bCIAu3sL

From Gobena Merga Facebook Post CNN is beginning to show another Ethiopia—the Ethiopia that has always existed beneath the negative narrative: resilient, hardworking, proud, innovative, and increasingly committed to self-reliance. For many Ethiopians, this is more than just another news report. It represents a noticeable shift from years of coverage that, in our view, often focused on crisis, conflict, and division while overlooking the resilience, achievements, and aspirations of the Ethiopian people. This is not simply a matter of differing perspectives or interpretation. Africa's modern history is marked by colonial exploitation, externally influenced conflicts, Cold War proxy wars, arms transfers, economic pressure, resource extraction, and the repeated backing of corrupt or compliant leaders when it served external strategic interests. These historical realities have shaped not only political and economic outcomes but also how Africa has often been portrayed to the rest of the world. Who drew borders that divided communities and contributed to long-term instability? Who supplied arms to opposing sides in African conflicts? Who armed Ethiopia and Somalia while ordinary citizens bore the consequences? Who supported authoritarian regimes when it was strategically convenient, only to later champion democratic values when political priorities shifted? Even international aid, while often lifesaving and genuinely humanitarian in many cases, has at times also been used as a tool of influence—shaping policy choices, advancing external agendas, protecting strategic interests, and reinforcing dependency. Too often, Africa has been treated not as an equal partner, but as a continent to be managed, divided, and exploited for external benefit. This is why many Africans view media narratives with skepticism. During the Tigray war, many Ethiopians believed that CNN and several other major Western media outlets presented a selective picture of events that did not fully reflect the complexity of the conflict or the realities on the ground. Whether one agrees with every criticism or not, those experiences have left a lasting impact on how many Ethiopians view international media. Today, Ethiopia is increasingly telling its own story—not through slogans or public relations campaigns, but through resilience, infrastructure, innovation, economic development, and a growing confidence that African challenges deserve African solutions. The Ethiopia the world is beginning to see today is not a new Ethiopia. It is the Ethiopia that has always existed beneath the headlines. This is only the beginning. #Ethiopia #africa #panafricanism https://youtu.be/9Hw8tMvZchU?is=lS6Div5AZIHKt11M

In memory of the martyrdom of Abune Petros, Bishop of Wollo, who was gunned down 90 years ago on this day by fascist troops In 1936. Abune Petros was born in Fitche, in Selale district of northern Shewa into a peasant family. As a monk he used his baptismal name and was known as Abba Haile Mariam. His life devoted to his faith resulted in him being among the first four native born Ethiopians to be appointed Bishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and was consecrated by Coptic Patriarch Pope Yohannes XIX in Alexandria in 1928. (previously only Egyptian Copts had served as Bishops in Ethiopia)z. He was made Bishop of Wollo and Eastern Ethiopia with the name Abune Petros. When the Fascist Italian forces occupied Ethiopia in 1936, Abune Petros and Abune Mikael of Illubabur and Southern Ethiopia refused to submit to the Fascist regime. Abune Petros preached to the people to resist the invader and joined the forces organizing in Shewa under Dejazmatch Wondwossen, Dejazmatch Abera and Dejazmatch Asfaw Wossen Kassa (the sons of Leul Ras Kassa), Ras Abebe and the aged Dejazmatch Balcha to try and dislodge the Fascists from Addis Ababa. The attempt failed and the Bishop was captured and imprisoned. The Italians failed spectacularly at convincing him to submit to them. They sent the Coptic Archbishop Abune Kerrilos with the Bishop of Gojjam Abune Abraham to plead with him to simply swear allegiance to King Victor Emanuelle III of Italy as Emperor of Ethiopia, and fealty to the Italian flag so that he could continue to serve his flock. Abune Petros replied that he recognized no earthly King other than Haile Selassie I, and no flag other than Ethiopia’s, and refused them. So on July 29, 1936, the Italians brought Abune Petros out into the public arena of the Arada market and put him in front of a firing squad. Given a chance to utter some final words, Abune Petros pronounced an anathema (ግዝት) against not just the people of Ethiopia, but the very earth of the country if they ever submitted to the rule of the invader. He was shot on the spot, and after the liberation, Emperor Haile Selassie raised this monument to honor his martyrdom on behalf of the country. Much later the Orthodox Church named him a martyr Saint. Abune Petros remains a powerful symbol of fearless faith, absolute loyalty, and patriotic Ethiopianism, especially in these troubled times. May he serve as an example to us all, and may he intercede for the nation he died for before the throne of the Almighty. ✍🏿Solomon Kibriye