Above:Images from the most popular stories of 2010 posted
on Tadias.com b/n January 1, 2010 and December 15, 2010.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Some of the top stories featured on Tadias.com this year include, among others, the tragic crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, a violent arrest inside an Ethiopian church in Texas (caught on tape), the appointment of Captain Amsale Gualu as the first female captain at Ethiopian Airlines, as well as our exclusive interviews with rising music star Meklit Hadero, international model Maya Gate Haile and Ethiopian legend Teshome Mitiku.
The stories are displayed in the order in which they were ranked by Google Analytics. We have included links to each article as well as videos when available.
Here’s a look at the 10 most-read stories of the year.
1. Names of Passengers Aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 Above: Ethiopian women mourn the death of a relative killed aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, which crashed into the Mediterranean sea minutes after taking off from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport in the early hours of Monday, January 25, 2010. The 90 passengers and crew that perished hail from nine countries: Ethiopia, Lebanon, Britain, Canada, Russia, France, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. (Photo: Getty Images).
2. Tadias TV Interview with Meklit Hadero Above: We caught up with rising music star Meklit Hadero during her summer concert at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on June 1st. The Manhattan appearance was a homecoming of sorts for Hadero, who spent part of her childhood in Brooklyn. She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science before settling in San Francisco where she launched her music career in 2004. Her debut album, On A Day Like This, has garnered national attention with repeated highlights on NPR. Reviewers have compared her sound to that of Music legends Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell. Watch the video below.
3. Exclusive Interview With Model Maya Haile Above: Earlier this year we also highlighted international model Maya Gate Haile. The Ethiopian-born model grew up in Holland before relocating to New York where her fashion modeling career has flourished. She is represented by the world’s top modeling agencies including IMG, Elite and Ford. Maya also works closely with UNICEF’s New Generation program. Her husband, Chef Entrepreneur and Author Marcus Samuelsson, introduced her to UNICEF and currently serves as Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Here is Tigist Selam’s conversation with Model Maya Haile at home in Harlem.
4. Violent Arrest Inside Ethiopian Church Caught on Tape Above: The incident happened at the Dallas Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Garland, Texas, on Sunday, May 2nd when a female congregate, Yeshi Zerihun, interrupted morning announcements to ask questions about church business, including about the presence of the unusually large number of police officers outside the church that day. She was told her questions were out of order, but other worshipers began shouting for answers. An amateur video shows the cops entering the church following a man in a suit and hysteria breaking out. Watch here the local news report.
5. Ethiopia Election Marred by Charges of Voter Intimidation Above: Ethiopia's 2010 national election was marred by charges of fraud and voter Intimidation. The country's two largest opposition parties were crushed in parliamentary elections held on May 23, 2010. The nation's 31.9 million registered voters went to the polls to select 547 members of parliament and representatives to regional councils. The results showed the ruling party sweeping 99 percent of announced seats. Opposition leaders contested the results through the court system which they eventually lost. The election process was roundly criticized by international observers. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi dismissed outside criticism as foreign interference – violating the sovereignty of Ethiopia. (Photo credit: AP)
6. Ethiopian Airlines Appoints First Female Captain Above: She may not be the first Ethiopian woman pilot, but Captain Amsale Gualu Endegnanew (right) is just as pioneering. She is the first female to become captain in the history of Ethiopian Airlines. “Captain Amsale proudly took off her first flight from the left hand seat of the flight deck of a Q-400 aircraft from Addis Ababa to Gondar then to Axum and finally returned back to Addis Ababa after a total of 3.6 flight hours,” the airline said following her historic flight on October 14, 2010. We don't have a video of Captain Amsale, but take a look below for a tour inside Ethiopian Airlines' latest Boeing jet. (Photo: Ethiopian Airlines via Nazret.com.)
7. Ethiopian Community Mourns 5 Dead in Seattle Fire Above: Nisreen Shamam (left), Yaseen Shamam (C) and Joseph Gebregiorgis (R). They were among those killed in an apartment fire in Seattle on Saturday, June 12, 2010. Thousands attended a public memorial service held on Saturday, June 19 at Seattle Center’s KeyArena. The service included an emotional visual tribute: One by one, the lives lost were celebrated on screen, a series of snapshots taken in happier times. The boy who dreamed of playing point guard for the Boston Celtics. The siblings who adored their older brother. The girl who liked to jump rope. And the young woman who could win any argument she set her mind to. Killed in the swift-moving fire at Helen Gebregiorgis’ apartment were three of her children — Joseph Gebregiorgis, 13, Nisreen Shamam, 6, and Yaseen Shamam, 5; her sister, Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, 22; and a niece, 7-year-old Nyella Smith, daughter of a third sister, Yordanos Gebregiorgis. (Seattle Times)
8. Simon Bahta Arrested in New York City Above: New York City police arrested Simon Bahta Asfeha, the man wanted for the Virginia killings of his girlfriend – 27-year old Seble Tessema – and their 3-year-old daughter. Investigators in Alexandria had initially thought that Asfeha “may have sought refuge in the large Washington, D.C., area Ethiopian community or in a homeless shelter, ” according to America’s Most Wanted TV show. But he apparently had run away to New York City, where a witness alerted authorities on his location. He was captured without incident on Thursday, April 29 2010 in a coordinated effort between NYPD, the U.S. marshals, and Alexandria police. Watch below local media report of the crime.
9. The Nun Pianist: Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru Above: Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru after performing for the first time in 35 years in Washington, D.C. on July 12, 2008 (File photo by Makeda Amha). The 85-year-old classical pianist and composer, whose music has been popularized in recent years by the Ethiopiques CD series, is attracting younger audiences. “Every time I have put this on at least three new conversions occur, where the listeners go on to permanently install this woman’s music on their stereo,” Meara O’Reilly notes in a recent highlight on Boing Boing. “My neighbor even stalked me once just so she could listen to it more, until I just gave her my extra copy.” Listen to the music here.
10. Exclusive Interview With Ethiopian Legend Teshome Mitiku Above: Teshome Mitiku (second from right) has not returned to Ethiopia since his abrupt departure in 1970. In a recent exclusive interview with Tadias Magazine, the legendary artist who made a historic appearance accompanying the Either/Orchestra at the prestigious Chicago Jazz Festival in September, talked about his extensive music career, his memories of Ethiopia and his famous daughter, the Swedish pop star Emilia. Teshome burst into Ethiopia’s music scene during a period in the 1960′s known as the “Golden Era.” He was the leader of Soul Ekos Band, the first independent musical ensemble to be recorded in the country. The group is credited for popularizing Amharic classics such as Gara Sir New Betesh, Yezemed Yebada, Mot Adeladlogn and Hasabe – all of which were written by the artist. Prior to settling in the United States in the early 1990′s, Teshome spent over 20 years in Sweden, where he continued to hone his music skills, earn a graduate degree in Sociology, and witness his daughter grow up to become a Swedish ballad and pop music singer. We spoke with Teshome Mitiku over coffee on U street in Washington, D.C. The following sound features one of the artist's favorite songs, Gara Sir New Betesh.
Swedish pop singer Emilia (Teshome Mitiku’s daughter)
New York (Tadias) – She may not be the first Ethiopian woman pilot, but Captain Amsale Gualu Endegnanew is just as pioneering. She is the first female to become captain in the history of Ethiopian Airlines.
According to the company, the pilot was at controls of a next generation Bombardier airplane for her historic flight, which she performed over domestic routes on October 14, 2010. “Captain Amsale proudly took off her first flight from the left hand seat of the flight deck of a Q-400 aircraft from Addis Ababa to Gondar then to Axum and finally returned back to Addis Ababa after a total of 3.6 flight hours,” the airline announced in a press release.
“Captain Amsale joined Ethiopian Airlines Pilot Training School on July 10, 2000 and started her career as first officer on November 26, 2002. Since then, she has trained and worked on Fokker-50, 757 and 767 aircraft as first officer. Captain Amsale has been able to complete successfully all the necessary training requirements and passed through rigorous checks to gain her four stripes. She has a total of 4475 flight hours under her belt when she becomes the commander-in-chief of her flight.”
In a brief statement following her groundbreaking flight, Captain Amsale said this moment has been a long time coming. “It is a great privilege to become the first female captain of the national carrier,” she said. “I have been trained and passed through various ladders at Ethiopian Airlines.”
“The company has been very supportive of my efforts to realize my vision of becoming a captain,” she added.
Congratulating her on the occasion, Weyzero Elizabeth Getachew, a Senior Vice President for Human Resource Management and the highest ranking female executive in the airline said, “Captain Amsale’s success is a great achievement on her part and it is also an achievement for the airline. It is my hope that other females will be inspired by her success and Ethiopian will see more female candidates in the near future.” The country’s flag-career currently has four female pilots working as first officers.
Who is Ethiopia’s first female pilot?
Some say Weyzero Asegedech Asefa, who became a pilot post World War II, is the first Ethiopian female pilot. While others argue that Weyzero Mulumebet Emeru, whose flight training was interrupted when the Italians envaded Ethiopia in 1936, holds the title of first Ethiopian female pilot.
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More photos courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines via Nazret.com
