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SELEDA
SALUTES
A Celebration of Ethiopian
Achievements
On
Art… "Debre Hayq Ethiopian Gallery"
We at SELEDA have made it a very ye-adebabay misTir that we
will not rule out employing underhanded and dastardly tactics to lure the
designer of this exquisite page to our iqif. Many a times,
when the pressure of life burdens out qossasa shoulders, we
have retreated to Debre Hayq to get salvation and rejuvenation.
Not only is Debre Hayq by far the best designed web page our beady, blood
shot SELEDA eyes have ever seen, but it is also the most interesting content
provider this side of 100 Easy Recipes dot com. Written in both Amharic and
English text, the page provides exhaustive information not only on Ethiopian
art and artists, but it also meticulously chronicles the evolvement of art
in Ethiopian society, 1887 to the present.
An extensive and well-organized biography of Ethiopian artists allows us
to be privy to the people behind the art we've admired. An invaluable "Articles"
section delves more into particular works of art including Aleka Gebre Selassie
Adil's painting "Mother Ethiopia". Also featured are in-depth profiles
of prominent artists such as Mulugeta Tafesse and Kenfe Michael Bethe Selassie.
Debre Hayq is an elixir to missing home and country. Though a series of mesmeric
art galleries of well known and obscure artists, it takes us back to Ethiopia,
and plops us right in the middle of a field of memories and nostalgia, so
delicately yet so potently. Debre Hayq almost makes missing home bearable.
http://www.the3rdman.com/ethiopianart/contents.html
On
Language… "AddisPro"
Now that you've come full circle and have downloaded Ethiopic fonts to write
your fiqregna sweetly versed Amharic letters, how about taking
it one step further and emailing your syrupy love murmurs in Ethiopic? From
the people who brought you AddisWord, comes AddisPro, an Amharic email program
designed to work on any operating system. The relative user friendliness
of it astounded even the most techno-phobe SELEDAite amongst us. Open, write,
click, send… AddisPro is as revolutionary as it is ingenious.
$99.00 http://www.ethiolist.com/
On
Cyberspace… "ethioGuide"
There is a new player in the Ethiopian
cyber-adebabay/portal scene… a sleek, polished, lucid
player. ethioGuide is a one-stop Ethiopian information powerhouse. If it
mentions Ethiopia, it's linked to ethioGuide. It is updated frequently from
stories and articles compiled from wire services, the Internet, various
magazines, radio and television, and newspapers.
The page is easy to navigate, and the ethioGuide forum is where Ethiopians
gather to exchange ideas and thoughts on various topics such as why the SELEDA
people are so erratic-like. ethioGuide could well take the cyber Ethiopian
village to the next level, and with the addition of original content, it
could very well pick up where the rest have stopped.
http://www.ethioguide.com
On
Products… "Ethiopia Today"
Yes, there are a million Ethiopian cyber information stalls and suk
bederetays. But we have been in love with this one ever since we
stumbled on it quite by accident, and suffice it to say we have not been
the same since. Ethiopia Today is… is… interminably, unapologetically
cool! The best thing about it is its Arada Posta Bet, where Ethio-centric
e-cards include titles such as, "Ye-hiywote Abeba" and
"Sira Beztobign New". (SELEDA would like to petition for titles
geared more to the circles we frequent: "Ante/Anchi Balegay!", "Endesu
Maletay Alneberem", and a colorful "Bicha koi!". It
is a wonderful idea, tapping into more than the traditional Ethiopian Holiday
greeting card market.
Ethiopia Today has also one of the coolest chat pages, at least stylistically.
We at SELEDA would never think about hiding under a nic and unleashing literary
guerrilla warfare on unsuspecting souls. Nonetheless, this is the new place
for sage Ethiopian chat.
http://www.ethiopiatoday.com/
On Giving
Back… "PAHA-Ethiopia"
It is about the people (mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends,
relatives...each one with a story) who are infected, and who continue to
be without a voice.
It is about the orphans whose numbers keep mounting. It is about the teenagers
who are at tremendous risk of being infected and who find themselves suddenly
as heads of households.
It is about stretching to the limit and in some cases the disintegration
of some of the social institutions and fabrics in Ethiopia such as
the edirs who have gone bankrupt after burying so many of their members.
It is about the exposure of our hidden sexual culture and its manifestations,
and coming-face-to-face with our cultural piety.
It is about the threat to Ethiopia's present and future in all spheres. With
life expectancy heading towards 37 in 2010, we are on the verge of a social,
spiritual and moral crisis.
Mostly, it is about us, the more fortunate. Some have said that our response
to this epidemic will say a lot about what we, as a society, are all about.
Join the discussion.
Partners Against HIV/AIDS (PAHA)-Ethiopia. http://paha.listbot.com/
On Film…… "Adwa: An African Victory"
At the turn of the 19th century, our foreparents dealt a stunning blow to Italian colonizers at the historic battle of
Adwa. Most of us grew up listening to stories about our grandparents who perished in that war.
Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima , whose body of work includes the groundbreaking Sankofa and the powerful
"Imperfect Journey", takes on the august task of telling the world about Adwa. "Adwa: An African Victory"
premiered to rave reviews at the Venice International Film Festival, and is headed to a grand US premiere in
November in Washington DC.
With Hollywood's proclivity to either overly and unnecessarily exotisize African history to fit mainstream
sensibilities (note the nymphomaniac wench Cleopatra ended up being on the CBS mini series last season), or
to wholly ignore the subject matter, it is indeed a delight to have an Ethiopian tell our story. It is up to us in the
Diaspora to support our filmmakers and artists, who chronicle our past for future generations.
SELEDA deeply salutes "Adwa: An African Victory".
U.S. Benefit Premiere:
November 20, 1999 6:30 p.m.
Lincoln Theater, 1215 U Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
Co-Chairs of the Honorary Host Committee: Danny Glover, Ambassador Andrew Young, Mrs. Alison Brisco,
former wife of the late Congressman Mickey Leland.
Tickets available through Ticket Master, 202-432-SEAT, all Ticket
Master outlets, The Lincoln Theater (not phone sales) and Sankofa Video and Books, 202-234-4755
Patron** - $100, Supporter** - $50, General - $25
**Patron and Supporter Tickets include reception prior to film and special listing in souvenir Program Book.
For more information contact Blene Aklilu Betemariam at betemarb@dyncorp.com
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