Essence of DOPE
Posts tagged Ethiopians
A Separate but Equal School For Ethiopians?
Aug 31st
Petah Tikvah city hall won’t let Ethiopian kids transfer out of elementary school.
By Or Kashti. Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 Dozens of parents of Ethiopian origin have been blocked by the Petah Tikva municipality from moving their children from the majority-Ethiopian religious Ner Etzion elementary school to other schools in the city. school – Nir Keidar – August 31 2010
Students at the Ner Etzion religious school in Petah Tikva on Sunday. Photo by: Nir Keidar
Most of the requests were based on the parents’ desire not to have their children studying in a school whose student population was nearly exclusively Ethiopian. The municipality, backed by the Education Ministry, rejected most of the requests, saying that it could not force the other religious schools, private and public, to accept a large group of Ethiopian students.
“The arrangement with the schools is based on the assumption that each religious school takes only a small group of Ethiopian students. Taking several dozen such children is out of the question,” a source with close knowledge of the Petah Tikva education system told Haaretz.
Of the 290 students expected to attend Ner Etzion this year, only one, first-grader Ran Keinan, is not of Ethiopian origin. The process by More >
The Futility of Ethnic Exceptionalism
Aug 5th
Why then do we constantly go out of our way to elevate our egos at the expense of another group?
by Teddy Fikre. Posted: Thursday, August 5, 2010
As an Ethiopian, and a person of the African Diaspora in general, it saddens me to see my people–our people–keep routing for our individual differences instead of coming together for our collective enrichment. I don’t know about you, but hollering about my culture, trying to earn distinction as a child of a Gondere and a Menze, or bragging about being Ethiopian has not earned me one break in life. I work like everyone else to make it, if I missed a secret club that offers benefits of being of a “special” ethnicity or culture, please someone let me know. Assuming that there is no such club, why then do we constantly go out of our way to elevate our egos at the expense of another group?
While the unfortunate many are living in an impoverished state in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, etc., the blessed minority of us–whether in the United States or elsewhere–obsess about our ethnic individualism instead of coming together to revive our respective countries. We have been blessed with the gifts of intellect and More >
Young Diplomats of the Future
Jul 30th
Through the rigors and fun associated with our camp, we strive to teach these young men and women to be a diplomat of and for our community.
by Helina Shimeles. Posted: Friday, July 30, 2010
For the fourth consecutive year, Young Diplomats will be hosting it’s Summer Leadership Camp. This year, 70 young outstanding young individuals will be attending the 5 day, 4 night adventure at Lake St. George Conservation Centre thanks to the generous support of the Toronto Fresh Air Fund and Outward Bound Canada. The theme for this year’s camp is “Choices.” Our camp curriculum includes both Young Dips led programming as well as programming led by the wonderful Toronto Regional Authority outdoor educational staff at Lake St. George.
Guest facilitators will be working with youth to explore topics under the umbrella theme of Choices including: healthy relationships, mentorship, family, and ‘getting unstuck’. The outdoor curriculum will encompass traditional camp activities including: wilderness survival, canoeing, campfires, predator-prey, and mini Olympics.
This year’s camp was organized by Young Diplomats’ summer camp planning team, a volunteer committee that is in charge of the logistical and creative direction of camp each year. A special recognition also goes out to Aden Abebe, Eden Zeweldi, Daniel Balay, More >
Do I Deserve Affirmative Action
Jul 26th
Is Affirmative Action to broadly implemented at the cost of those who suffered at the hands of the original sin of America?
by Teddy Fikre. Posted: Monday, July 26, 2010
This past week, Senator Jim Webb penned a very provocative article in which he questioned the wisdom of Affirmative Action in the 21st century. While my overall reaction was that of disappointment that my Senator would think that Affirmative Action tilts the field against white people as opposed to leveling the playing field, I was also prodded to think about some of his other points. The thing that struck out the most is his belief that Affirmative Action has evolved from a program designated for African-Americans to encompass all minorities including immigrant who never suffered the legacy of slavery and oppression. In certain cases like awarding of government contracts, white women benefit from Affirmative Action more than African American men do.
As an Ethiopian who immigrated to the United States at the age of seven, I find myself conflicted as to who should and should not benefit from Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action was instituted during the high of the Civil Rights Era to compensate minorities who were systematically repressed from reaching the American More >
A letter to all United: Ethiopians & Eritreans group members
Jul 25th
There isn’t going to be 100% agreement on everything that goes on in this page, but we can be more effective in our dialogue if we TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT.
by Finot Fesseha. Posted: Sunday, July 24, 2010
I have been reading some of the comments made our group page. I have seen an EXPONENTIAL growth in the number of people joining and in the number of people participating and I am very happy to see so many people practicing initiative by asking questions, answering questions, and responding to the other group members. Although we are making progress in many areas, there are some people in this group who have joined knowing full and well that they already had one opinion and that they didn’t want to LEARN, or LISTEN and those close-minded and immature people are hindering the progress of our group. In life, if you want to succeed you have to be able to work with people, make concessions, and treat others with respect. What Does Respect Mean to You?
Even though the word respect is a noun, I view it as a verb. I feel like you can show respect and you can be respectful. Kindness even when it’s not deserved. More >
Our Success: from Surviving to Sustaining
Jun 28th
Our collective success will not occur overnight, progress is an incremental process where successive generations improve upon the work that came before them.
by Teddy Fikre. Posted: Monday, June 28, 2010
During the Ethiopian-American Youth Initiative yesterday, I saw something which gave me hope that we are heading in the right direction as a community. I saw a lot of young Ethiopian men and women, who came together to make a change as they best could. This happened over a three day conference, where there were plenty of distractions that could have kept these young men and women away. This was the weekend of the Caribbean festival, world cup pandemonium with Ghanaian Black Stars taking on the United States, and of course the allure of that the DC nightlife provides. Instead, these young men and women came out to meet other young men and women just like them—young Ethiopians who want to make a difference.
The one thing that I learned above all this weekend was the virtue of patience. In my enthusiasm to see the realization of the potential that exists within our community to deliver a profound change with the Ethiopian community in the United States and back home in Ethiopia, More >
Are We Ferenji?
Jun 22nd
From the start of humanity we have carved our presence into earth, history, and now wind- that untouchable manifestation of our presence which knows no limits.
by Liya Endale. Posted: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I must have been 21 when I first sensed the peculiarity of the context in which we normally find the word ‘ferenj’. Growing-up in the States, I heard this term used when talking about the strange encounters associated with adapting to a new environment. Due to the redundant insistence of its use, I grew to accept its oxymoronic connotation; the same way we do not question jumbocivil war, and bad luck. We re-apply a meaning to these words which have nothing to do with their literal translation. You know what I’m talking about. “Ye ferenj tata aytawekim”, “ye ferenj libs, migib, segur ina qwanqwa”. shrimp,
We’ve heard it all. Am I right? Next thing you know, you live in New York, Atlanta, DC or LA and turn to your homie to tell him about “the new ferenj dude who moved into the neighborhood”. Beyond its hilarity, I’ve always pondered whether any of us are cognizant of our reference to Americans as foreigners and, by default, reference to ourselves as natives… in America. More >