A Rare Moment

In the middle is Tekeda Alemu (PhD), a committed technocrat who recently retired after serving the foreign office during the successive regimes; to the left is Fesseha Desta (Col.), a founding member of the Dergue; Hassan Moalin from the ONLF; and, Abebe Teklehaimanot (Maj. Gen.), a.k.a Jabie, former TPLF fighter. To the far left is Hallelujah Lulie, an acting director of the Institute for Strategic Affairs, the organizer of the seminar.


A Rare Moment

A rare and one of a kind moment took place at the Sheraton Addis, where individuals with diverse and contested backgrounds gathered today, November 28, 2019. They claimed the front row at a seminar organized to revisit the legacy of Walelegn Mekonnen, one of the student movement leaders who authored a political essay that arguably defined the course of history in Ethiopia whereby Emperor Hailesellasie was deposed. His grandson, Be'edemariam Mekonnen (Prince) was seated between Lencho Letta, the founder of the OLF, and Gebru Tarekegn, a professor emeritus and former activist of the underground movement, the EPRP. In the middle is Tekeda Alemu (PhD), a committed technocrat who recently retired after serving the foreign office during the successive regimes; to the left is Fesseha Desta (Col.), a founding member of the Dergue; Hassan Moalin from the ONLF; and, Abebe Teklehaimanot (Maj. Gen.), aka Jabie, a former TPLF fighter. To the far left is Hallelujah Lulie, an acting director of the Institute for Strategic Affairs, the organizer of the seminar.


In-Picture

DIMMING FLASHBACKS

A retired red BMW and a well-worn sofa still in use sit side-by-side around CMC. Relics of past journeys, their faded forms rich with memories, now they sit as outdoor junk. Addis Abeba generates approximately 750,000tns of municipal solid waste annually with an average per capita household waste of 0.45kg a day. Most of it is dumped in landfills, although illegal open dumping and burning remain widespread practices. Landfills and neighborhoods are increasingly burdened by plastic waste and used...


In-Picture

BACK TO THE FUTURE

A man walks his donkeys around Abrehot Library, Arat Kilo, Addis Abeba's newly upgraded neighbourhood, where sleek asphalt and modern architecture meet the timeless pace of animal transport. With nearly 10 million donkeys, Ethiopia ranks number one in the world for its donkey population, a testament to their enduring role in the nation's economy. Modern corridor developments in Addis Abeba, intended for swift motorized transportation, stand in stark contrast to the continued reliance on donkeys...


In-Picture

FLAT LINES

A man is pouring water on the evenly queued Jerry cans, in the streets of Adey Abeba, around Saris. The city's 5.2 million residents require a staggering 1.3 million cubic meters of water daily. However, supplies stand at around 800,000 cubic meters. This has young men race door-to-door, selling jerry cans for around  40 Br.  While this fills immediate needs, it's just a quick fix to the city's deeper water crisis. Recent road development has resulted in water supply interruptions due to pipel...