Tadias Magazine
By Dagnachew Teklu

Published: Thursday, August 1, 2013

Washington D.C (TADIAS) – The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday that a Russian helicopter, under a UN mission operation, has crashed on the outskirts of Eastern Addis Ababa, resulting in several injuries including the two pilots and four passengers on board.

According to state media, the chopper crashed while preparing to fly to Juba, South Sudan, on a UN mission. No causality were reported.

“Two helicopters had taken off from Djibouti to Addis Ababa to refuel and undertake technical check ups for the United Nations’ mission in South Sudan,” the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority said. “One of the helicopters crashed today [Wednesday] at 4;20 PM in Chefe Dinsa area Eastern Shoa zone, Oromia State.”

News reports say the Ethiopian Air Force, based in Debre Zeit, was involved in the rescue efforts.

However, the citizenship of those on board has not been disclosed. The aviation authority said a special investigation committee has been established to launch an inquiry into the cause of the accident.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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Related:
UPDATE: All on Board Are Russian Citizens (TADIAS)
UN helicopter crashes near Ethiopia’s capital; injuries reported (AP)

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Grassroots DC

By Noelle Galos,

Washington, DC – On July 22, 2013 Mayor Vincent Gray, along with a handful of aides and scores of reporters, paid a visit to Petworth with the intention of cracking down on synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia being sold at small businesses in the neighborhood. “That’s illegal, man. Can’t do that. That’s drug paraphernalia,” warned the Mayor. This isn’t the first time that Mayor Gray has posed as a law enforcement official in order to bust local shops, in his effort with the group Advocates for Drug-free Youth.

The visit took an unexpected turn, however, when Gray encountered an Ethiopian clerk who had trouble understanding English. “You don’t understand? How do you sell anything if you don’t understand? If somebody asks you for something, do you know what they’re asking you for?” Mayor Gray chided. At one point, visibly frustrated by the language barrier, the Mayor told the clerk “I don’t even, I really don’t know how you are working here if you can’t communicate with the people who come in here.” Despite criticism from NBC4 reporter Mark Segrave, the Mayor denied that his remarks could be considered insensitive and said that the language barrier was “irrelevant.”

Read more at Grassrootsdc.org

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Related:
D.C. Mayor Finds Language Barrier in Drug Paraphernalia Search (NBC Washington)

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BBC Sports

There was redemption of sorts for Ethiopia’s Minyahil Teshome Beyene as his spot kick sealed Ethiopia’s place at the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals in South Africa.

They are joined at the finals of the tournament for the locally-based players by Uganda and Nigeria, who qualified despite a 2-0 loss in Ivory Coast.

Beyene was the man at the centre of the mistake that saw Ethiopia lose three vital 2014 World Cup qualifying points but was the hero as Ethiopia beat Rwanda on penalties on Saturday.

Rwanda won the second leg of the qualifier in Kigali 1-0 to make it 1-1 on aggregate.

Ethiopia’s goalkeeper Sisay Bancha saved a post-match spot kick before Beyene stepped up and sent his team to next year’s finals in South Africa.

Beyene played in the Walya Antelope’s 2-1 win over Botswana in a World Cup qualifier on 8 June when he should have been suspended, having picked up two yellow cards in previous qualifiers.

Fifa overturned the win for Ethiopia and handed Botswana a 3-0 victory instead.

Read more at BBC News.

Photos: The Walyas in Pictures

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KOMO News

By Elisa Jaffe

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Prosecutors on Friday painted an ugly picture of two Sedro-Woolley parents, saying they turned their home into a torture chamber that caused the death of their adopted daughter.

Opening statements in the homicide-by-abuse trial of Hana Williams began Friday at the Skagit County Courthouse in Mount Vernon.

Prosecutors say everything was fine when Hana was first adopted, but they claim as time went on she received more beatings and less food.

Less than three years after arriving in Sedro-Woolley from Ethiopia, Hana was dead. Her adoptive parents, Carri and Larry Williams, were charged with abusing the teen to death.

From left, Larry Williams and Carri Williams. (KOMO News)

“She found her dream come true when she found adoptive parents and came to America,” said Cassie Trueblood, the attorney for Carri and Larry Williams.

But prosecutors paint a different picture, saying the girl suffered horrendous abuse in the guise of discipline. They told jurors that Hana wasn’t punished, but tortured.

Jurors heard how Hana was forced to sleep in the barn or was locked in a shower room or closets.

“Five-foot tall Hana living in the closet up to 23 hours at a time, that’s not discipline,” said prosecutor Rosemary Kaholokula.

Defense attorney’s claimed Carri punished Hana and her adoptive brother, Emanuel, for stealing junk food and blamed the timeout locations on a big family.

“Because the boys used one room and the girls used another, she couldn’t send a child to their room,” Trueblood said.

Hana and Emanuel were reportedly isolated from the family’s seven biological children during timeouts. Prosecutors say they were also excluded from Christmas festivities and forced to eat outside.

Carri Williams sobbed openly in court on Friday as lawyers described the day Hana was found dead in the family’s muddy back yard. The girl died of hypothermia, but she also suffered from malnutrition.

Defense attorneys told jurors they weren’t in court to determine if Hana’s adoptive mom was mother of the year, but to determine if she caused Hana’s death.

Read more at KOMO News.

Video Trial begins for couple accused of starving adopted daughter

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Related:
In Williams Trial, Expert Testifies Hana and Her Brother Were ‘Tortured’ (Video)
Williams Trial Update: Hana’s Adoptive Brother Has PTSD Because of Abuse
Vigil Remembers Adopted Girl Who Died in the Rain, Cold (KOMO News)

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Reuters

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia expects to join the World Trade Organization in 2015 without heeding to demands that it liberalizes its state-run banking and telecoms sectors, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Horn of Africa nation applied to join the body in 2003, but its hopes for membership had hinged on Addis Ababa opening those areas to international competition.

U.S. officials have publicly asked the country to liberalize both sectors, but Ethiopia says they are “sensitive areas” whose liberalization may harm national interests.

Its chances, however, were given a lifeline last year when the WTO lowered the bar for the world’s least developed countries to join the global trading club by agreeing new membership standards.

The new rules allow members to open fewer sectors, liberalize fewer types of transactions, and only open up their markets as their economies develop.

“Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2015,” a Foreign Ministry statement said, quoting Lesanework Zerfu, head of the Trade Ministry’s multilateral trade relations department.

Read more at Reuters.
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Related:
Ethiopia’s sesame seed trade with China – a partnership of equals? (The Guardian)

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BBC News

Ethiopian athletics star Haile Gebrselassie says he is entering politics with the aim of winning a parliamentary seat in the 2015 election.

The 40-year-old’s announcement follows long-standing rumours that his athletics career is drawing to a close.

Mr Haile, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, is regarded as a national icon by most Ethiopians.

He has not said under which party’s banner he will contest the election.

Ethiopia’s parliament is dominated by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). It has only one opposition MP.

‘Help my country’

“A lot of messages in the news about me going into politics,” Mr Haile said on Twitter.

“Yes, I want to be in the parliament in 2015 to help my country to move forward.”

Mr Haile is a four-time world 10,000m champion and won gold at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.

Read more at BBC News.
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Related:
The Difference Between Haile and Liberia’s George Weah (The Africa Report)
Haile Gebrselassie May Run for President (AP)

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VOA News

South African President Jacob Zuma has canceled a scheduled trip to Mozambique, as former president Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition in a Pretoria hospital.

The anti-apartheid icon has been hospitalized for nearly three weeks for a recurring lung infection.

Cape Town Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Tuesday offered a prayer that Mr. Mandela, the nation’s first black president, be granted a “peaceful, perfect end.”

Mr. Mandela’s relatives are gathered at his home in Qunu, in Eastern Cape province. South African media reports say his children called the meeting to discuss important family matters.

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to be in South Africa Friday as part of his week-long visit to the continent. He will visit Robben Island, where Mr. Mandela was imprisoned for almost 20 years.

The White House says President Obama considers Mr. Mandela as one of his heroes.
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Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

Video: Nelson Mandela’s Health Downgraded to Critical Condition (ABC News)

Photos: Nelson Mandela in “Critical” Condition in South African Hospital (VOA News)

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Related:
Nelson Mandela critically ill in hospital (BBC News)
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BBC News

Ethiopia progressed to the African play-offs after knocking 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa out of the race to Brazil with a 2-1 win in Addis Ababa.

The come-from-behind victory means the Ethiopians cannot be caught in Group A, with one round of matches still left.

South Africa started perfectly when Bernard Parker scored after 33 minutes.

But Getaneh Kebede levelled just nine minutes before Parker scored a spectacular own goal after 70 minutes to hand Ethiopia victory.

Coach Sewnet Bishaw has been the mastermind behind Ethiopia’s success and the team are now a two-legged tie away from qualifying for the World Cup for the first time.

Read more at BBC News.
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Super Sport

08 June 2013

Ethiopia remained top with 11 points after goals by Getaneh Kedebe and Salahdin Ahmed edged out the home side.

Ethiopia came into the game knowing that a win would highly increase their chances of qualifying for the Fifa World Cup as they lead their pool on eight points – five ahead of second placed South Africa.

It was never going to be an easy test overcoming a strong Botswana squad Stanley Tshosane put out on home soil, despite having only won one of their last six matches.

As the game progressed neither team was able to produce any goals by the conclusion of the first half hour.

But three minutes later the deadlock breaking goal did arrive when Getaneh Kedebe put Ethiopia in front as the Zebras struggled to get the best out of their wingers Phenyo Mongala and Joel Mogorosi.

A second was handed to the away side on the stroke of halftime, when Salahdin Ahmed had no trouble in converting his effort to make it 2-0.

Read more at Super Sport.
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Related:
Ethiopia continue resurgence with World Cup win (Reuters)
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BBC News

22 May 2013

Ms Gebre was awarded the King Baudouin Prize in Belgium for confronting “culturally entrenched taboo subjects”, the selection committee said.

She helped reduce cases of FGM from 100% of newborn girls to less than 3% in parts of Ethiopia, it said. FGM is practised mainly in communities in Africa and the Middle East. Also known as female circumcision, it is seen as a traditional rite of passage and is used culturally to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable. It typically involves removing the clitoris, and can lead to bleeding, infections and childbirth problems.

Ms Bogaletch told BBC Focus on Africa that her message to community elders who promoted FGM was: “Daddy, you lived your time. This is our period, our children’s period. We don’t want to kill our children. I hope you are wise enough to accept that.”

The Belgium-based King Baudouin Foundation awarded Ms Gebre the 450,000 euros ($580,000; £385,000) prize for her “innovative” campaign to eradicate FGM.

The Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma (KMG) group, which she founded, focused on arranging “community conversations” in areas of Ethiopia where illiteracy levels were high and FGM “endemic”, the Foundation said in a statement.

Read more at BBC.
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Profile: Dr. Bogaletch Gebre — Fulbright Scholar & Community Activist Uplifting Women (Tadias)

Dr. Bogaletch Gebre (From Tadias Magazine Print Issue 2003)

Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn

The following profile of Dr. Bogaletch Gebre was first published in the August/September 2003 print issue of Tadias Magazine.

Los Angeles (TADIAS) — “What is good for women is good for the community,” Dr. Bogaletch Gebre declares as she promotes her non-profit organization, KMG (The Kembatti Mentti Gezzima ‚ Tope). Literally translated it means “Women of Kembatta pooling their efforts to work together.” Located on a lush 7.4 acre land donated by the township of Durame in southern Ethiopia, close to where she grew up as a child, the Kembatta women’s self-help center stands complete with an Administrative Center, Cafeteria, Skills Training Center, Women’s Dialogue House, Library Resource Center, Heritage Center, and a Round House. Her dream realized, Dr. Bogaletch Gebre could now focus on hot issues affecting women’s health, livelihood, education and environment. “What I discovered in our work,” she says, “is not changing the whole society at once, but to change one person at a time. And it works.” This oasis is a far cry from the township she knew as a girl in the village of Zato.

Daughter of a farmer, Bogaletch was taught how to read and write by a relative; she would study by the campfire at night after completing her daily house chores and responsibilities. In a village where the education of girls was rarely encouraged, Bogaletch’s father was reluctant to allow his daughter to continue with her primary school education. Occasionally, she was given permission and she would willingly make the six-mile run to and from school. “I would never dream of complaining,” she says, “I felt fortunate; one of the chosen few.” “Demands at home kept me away from school for weeks, sometimes months,” she continues, “but still I skipped grades, completing four levels in three years.” She became the first girl in her village to be educated beyond the fourth grade. By the time she was nine she was reading and translating court documents for her father, a task he had previously paid others to do for him. She helped people in her community write their court applications free of charge. “As a sign of respect in Kambatta tradition, a father is called after his first-born son, and a mother after her first-born daughter,” she explains, “Imagine his surprise when my fatherís peers started calling him ëFather of Bogaletch.”

Her father now won over by her diligence and perseverance Bogaletch was allowed to attend the one and only women’s boarding school in Addis Ababa on a government scholarship. She then went on to attend Hebrew University in Jerusalem on a full scholarship. Saving her stipend money with great effort she demonstrated her appreciation to her father by building him a new house with a corrugated tin roof ‚ the only one of its kind in Zato. “People came from miles to see what a woman could do. Now I wanted to do more,” she confessed. Once people in her village saw what women could achieve with education they were willing to let their daughters become educated too and a ripple-effect ensued.

Bogaletch continued her education securing a Fulbright scholarship to the University of Massachusetts and later completing a PhD program in Epidemiology at UCLA. Returning to Ethiopia after 13 years she realized the disparities in education opportunities in her hometown and began to conceive of a way to give back to her community. In 1997 she established KMG and ran five marathon races in Los Angeles, California to raise the funds necessary to build the center. The slogan on her t-shirt summed up her conviction: “If my people can walk for miles barefoot, hungry, and sick, I can run 26 miles to help them.”

Ensuring that Ethiopian girls and women have the same opportunities for education as she did has been Dr. Gebre’s foremost desire. Since its inception, KMG has to date trained 120 women as community-based reproductive health educators and an additional 500 peer-group educators from 52 schools. The center has organized annual anti-AIDS rallies and sensitization workshops for over 6,000 local participants and provided paralegal civic education training for women’s groups, police, teachers, government officials and community elders.

After receiving funding from more than twenty-four international donors including OXFAM, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the European Commission, KMG established the first public library in the region. A ‘Dialogue House’ was designed for women to gather together to openly discuss their ideas and concerns. Efforts to relieve women from walking many miles in search of water were also made as KMG created women’s work cooperatives and constructed reservoirs for potable water. Legal clinics have been set up to teach women their legal rights to health and education.

KMG has primarily tackled the issue of female genital excision (FGE) and educates women to refuse to undergo this dangerous and harmful tradition. The approach of including elders and local leaders in the re-education process has been successful, and slowly attitudes and social behaviors are changing with emphasis on protection of women’s health and reproductive rights. In January 2003, a young couple in Bogaletchís hometown made international headlines as BBC carried their inspiring wedding ceremony. The bride wore a placard reading “I am so happy to be an uncircumcised woman.” The groom’s placard read: “Iím extremely glad to be marrying an uncircumcised girl.” In a society where 85% of the population is estimated to undergo FGE it is indeed brave to stand up against such a practice, and it is becoming increasingly more important to do so as the HIV/AIDS infection rate of young girls aged 15-19 is now seven times that of boys the same age. Traditional practices such as FGE and abductions leading to rape have left many girls and women prone to this deadly epidemic.

Additional future KMG projects include strengthening women’s leadership and decision-making capacity in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, establishment of a mother child health center, creation of a voluntary counseling and testing center, and developing a business center for women to gain skills training for more income-generation. Dr. Gebre’s emphasis on giving back to her community is noteworthy. “It is roughly 7,000 miles from Los Angeles to Ethiopia, but the distance is compressed by a growing awareness that we are all one on this small, blue planet,” she states. Living up to her name, which means “she who is like a flash of light”, Bogaletch is providing a light for other concerned citizens to follow. “Poor women don’t like breaks,” she reminds us, “they like opportunities. Once you give them that they run with it. They asked us for a library, water, bridge, school, women’s center, and women’s health clinic. When we provide that, they create their own solutions.” Awe-inspiring, talented, and dedicated, Dr. Bogaletch Gebre is transforming society and telling each of us “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
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To learn more about KMG and Dr. Bogaletch Gebre you may visit her website at www.kmg-ethiopia.org.

Related:
Bogaletch Gebre: Talking Female Circumcision Out of Existence (NYT)
Ethiopian Activist Recognized for Fight Against Female Genital Mutilation (VOA)
New Book Highlights Stories of 70 Accomplished Ethiopian Women
Le Figaro Names Three Ethiopians to ‘Africa’s 15 Most Powerful Women’ List
For Ethiopian Women, Construction Jobs Offer A Better Life (NPR)

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Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) – Cuso International, a Canada-based development organization that is one of North America’s largest non-profit groups promoting long-term development through volunteers, is seeking skilled Diaspora professionals to place in Ethiopia. Cuso announced that it will be hosting an information session at its Washington, D.C. office on Thursday, May 9th.

“We are currently implementing a project called Diaspora for Development (DfD); which is a livelihoods-development initiative co-sponsored by USAID and Accenture,” said Kayla Sainato, Program Support Officer at Friends of Cuso International in DC. “Under this project we are looking to place up to 12 Ethiopian diaspora professionals based in the U.S. in a variety of capacity-building roles in Ethiopia for 3 months.”

According the organization the goal of the project is to help equip beneficiaries in Ethiopia with skills that will enhance their access to employment and other opportunities. “We are looking for professionals with skills in enterprise development, small business management, microfinance, youth and women’s economic empowerment, market development etc., to lead these volunteer placements,” Sainato said.

In order to recruit volunteers, Friends of Cuso International will be hosting an Information Session in their Washington, DC office on Thursday, May 9th.
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If You Go:
When: Thursday, May 9th 2013 at 7pm
Where: 1101, 15th Street NW 3rd Floor,
Washington D.C
To Register, call 202-833-1169
More info at www.cusointernational.org
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by Associated Press

Mar 27th 2013 | Associated Press

BAHIR DAR, Ethiopia — Ailing ruling party veteran officials in Ethiopia are leaving their posts to a group of younger leaders in the East African nation which enjoys close ties with Washington but is increasingly looking to China as a model.

Newcomers dominated the ruling party’s election of the powerful 36-member executive and 180-member central committees. The election comes at the end of a four-day congress of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, held at a regional town Bahir Dar.

But the leadership change doesn’t necessarily mean more political space for the country’s heavily prosecuted opposition which has only a single member in the 547 parliament seats.

Read more at The Washington Post.

Oprah.com

Transforming a Community, One Fair-Trade Shoe at a Time

When Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu sat down to make her first pair of shoes, in 2004, the Ethiopian native knew she wanted to update traditional tire-sole sandals. What she didn’t know, really, was how to make shoes. “It’s one thing to have an idea,” says Alemu, the cofounder of SoleRebels. “It’s quite another to implement it.” Clumsily built and uncomfortable to wear, that first pair weighed nearly five pounds. “They looked more like mini beds than shoes!”

Happily for the thousands of people who shop for SoleRebels shoes online and in markets and boutiques across Asia, Europe, and Africa, Alemu’s designs have since become sleek and stylish, from rubber-soled sandals to understated flats to plush daytime slippers called TooToos.

Read more at Oprah.com.
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Related:
SoleRebels Opens Second Taiwan Store (TADIAS)
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Forbes Magazine

By David Hochman

The road to the Mursi heartland is long and best tackled one obstacle at a time. Just to call it a road is a stretch, really. Steve Turner, our guide from Kenya-based Origins Safaris, estimates it has been five or six years since the last vehicle drove this way. Far beyond any game preserve or luxury camp comforts, we are on our way to visit the “vanishing” tribes of Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley, one of Africa’s–and the world’s–last great undiscovered places.

The itinerary evolves as we go along. Our tag-team pair of Land Cruisers galumphs down the scrubby track at a hiker’s pace, and every hundred yards or so the vehicles stop short, the doors swing open, and out come the drivers and guides to stare blankly at whatever gully, tree or torrent is blocking our way. It’s hot–84 degrees and rising at 10 a.m.–and the tsetse flies are on to us.

Click here to read more and view photos at Forbes.com.
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By James Montague, CNN

(CNN) — Life had not quite worked out the way Fuad Ibrahim had planned.

A few years ago the whole world was laid out at the 21-year-old American striker’s feet. Ibee, as he is known by his coaches and teammates, was considered one of the most naturally talented players ever to emerge in U.S. soccer.

He was quickly brought into the national team set up, playing in every game at the Under-17 World Cup finals. At the age of 16 he was the second youngest player ever to be drafted into the MLS. Perhaps prophetically, the youngest was Freddy Adu, a name that has become a euphemism for talent unfulfilled.

And then out of the blue an email arrived from the country of his birth — Ethiopia.

“It said that Ethiopia would like to invite me to play for the national team,” Ibee told CNN, speaking from his hotel room in the capital Addis Ababa.

Read more at CNN.

Watch: Africa gears up for football feast

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Related:
Africa Cup of Nations 2013: Ethiopia Inspired by Their Past (BBC)
Bonuses Promised to Ethiopian Players (BBC)
In Pictures: Countdown to Africa Cup 2013 (TADIAS)
Coach Says Ethiopia Ready Despite Second-guessing (TADIAS)

In Pictures: Photographs of the Walya Antelopes – Ethiopia’s National Soccer Team

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The New York Times

By CHRISTOPHER DREW

Until smoldering batteries forced safety regulators to ground Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jets last week, the aircraft manufacturer was flying high, with soaring profits and a recently regained No. 1 ranking in jet deliveries over Airbus.

But the grounding, prompted by a battery fire on one jet and the emergency landing of another, has knocked Boeing off stride. Now, investors as well as government officials are paying close attention to see how big the issue becomes for the company, which is one of the nation’s biggest exporters.

Read more at NYT.

Boeing 787 Crisis Widens, as Global Regulators Ground Dreamliner (VOA News)

ANA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane after it made an emergency landing at Takamatsu airport, western Japan, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP)

January 17th, 2013

Aviation authorities around the world are grounding the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jet following a safety warning issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Airlines in Chile, India and Europe are the latest to stop flying the jet, which already has been grounded in the U.S. and Japan. As of early Thursday, 39 of the 50 Dreamliners in operation around the world had been suspended.

The FAA, which sets the standard for global aviation regulators, on Wednesday warned that the next generation plane should not fly until the risk of battery fires is addressed.

The move came one day after one of the twin-engine, wide-bodied planes was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan when a cockpit warning indicated a battery malfunction and passengers smelled something burning.

Japan’s two biggest airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, grounded all their Dreamliners – 24 aircraft – after the incident. The crisis over the trouble-plagued plane widened following the FAA warning.

Late Wednesday, Chile’s LAN announced it would ground its three 787s, while India’s aviation agency ordered Air India to do the same with its fleet of six Dreamliners. The European Aviation Safety Agency also said it would follow the U.S. grounding order.

Even before Wednesday’s developments, recent problems with the 787 had prompted U.S. regulators to launch a safety review of the aircraft. A battery problem was believed to be the cause of a small fire that broke out aboard an empty 787 as it was being serviced on the ground in Boston. Other incidents have involved leaking fuel, a cracked windshield and brake problems.

Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said in a statement late Wednesday that the U.S.-based company stands behind the plane’s “overall integrity,” and “deeply regrets” the impact the situation is having on passengers.

The company’s stock price fell 2 percent in trading after U.S. markets formally closed Wednesday.

Boeing has sold or has commitments to build more than 800 of the planes for airlines around the world. Boeing says the 787’s revolutionary design will save air carriers money by using less fuel.
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Related:
Ethiopian Airlines Grounds 787 Dreamliner (TADIAS)
US Orders All Boeing 787s Grounded (VOA)
All Boeing 787 Dreamliner Jets in Japan Grounded (LA Times)
In Pictures: Ethiopian Airlines’ First Dreamliner Jet Touch Down in D.C. (TADIAS)
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Tadias Magazine
Art Talk

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – An upcoming movie called Migrations by author and filmmaker Nelson George is one of ten films nominated by Tribeca Film Institute’s Heineken Affinity Award, a new platform for celebrating and creating awareness and dialogue around the work of emerging and established African American filmmakers.

Migrations is an adventure thriller featuring an international ring of art thieves led by an Ethiopian-German woman named Helen (played by Tigist Selam), whose objective is to recover ancient African artifacts from European galleries and collectors.

Tigist Selam heads a varied cast of actors that includes Saul Williams, Chyna Layne, Chris Rock, Osas Ighodaro, Roger Guenvuer Smith, Samson Styles, Rachel Nicks, Carl Hancock Rux, Tilly Scott Pederson and Melvin Van Peebles.

According to the the film’s synopsis, “Helen is in Berlin, raising cash for a new deal and picking up a valuable stolen Ethiopian medallion, when a co-worker is arrested in Belgium and she is told to shut down operations. This incites a mad dash that takes us to Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and, finally, to Ethiopia as Helen is chased by Interpol. Helen knows where the last two medallions are located and that info puts her life in danger.”

The independent film was shot by Nelson George in several locations in the U.S., Europe and Africa using a Canon 60D camera in a documentary style and was self-financed.

All of the Affinity winners will receive an initial grant, but according to the Tribeca Film Institute, public vote will determine the selection of one of the filmmakers for an additional $20,000 cash award, as well as year-round project support and professional development from the institute.

The award will be announced during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

Click here to vote.
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Watch: Migrations (post-production, 2013)

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