Why are cars so expensive in Ethiopia?

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Owning a car for many Ethiopians - even those with ready cash to spend in one of the world's fastest-growing economies - remains a pipe dream.

"I have been saving for nearly four years now, and I still can't afford to buy even the cheapest vehicle here," a frustrated Girma Desalegn tells me.
He has been shopping around for a whole week in capital, Addis Ababa, and has still not found an affordable car.
He is looking to buy a second-hand car imported from the Gulf states or Europe - but even they are prohibitively expensive because the government classifies cars as luxury goods.
This means even if a vehicle is second hand, it will be hit with import taxes of up to 200%.
"I have a budget of $15,000 (£12,300) and had expected that with that I could buy a decent family car.
"I don't want to buy the Toyota Vitz," he says pointing to a row of small hatchbacks that have now become popular on Ethiopian roads.
These cost about $16,000 in Ethiopia; in neighbouring Kenya the same car costs not more than $8,000.
It seems little wonder that Ethiopia has the world's lowest rate of car ownership, with only two cars per 1,000 inhabitants, according to a 2014 Deloitte report.

 

 Henok Demessew, who has been running a car import and sales business in the capital, blames taxation.
"If it was not for that, we would have been able to import better cars either from Europe or America. But in order to make any profits we have to sell cars at such high prices.
"On top of the cost of shipping the cars from say from Dubai via Djibouti, we have to deal with multiple taxes to the government, making this one of the toughest businesses to be in, even though it's seen as lucrative."

Tax breaks for local plants

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority says both commercial and private vehicles imported into the country can be subjected to five different types of taxes.
However, despite the heavy tax burden there is a rise in the numbers of car imports.
In 2016, government records show that 110,000 cars were imported to Ethiopia, an increase of more than 50% on the previous two years.

Addis Ababa Public Transport

Kasaye Ayele, a tariff officer at the customs authority, says there is some discretion.
"Vehicles that are imported to be used for public transport - we collect a much lower tax of 10% and not all five taxes are applied," he explains.
"But for private cars we check the engine capacity and if the capacity is big, we collect anything between 60% and 100% [of taxes due]."
Once all taxes are added to an imported car's price tag, it could cost nearly three times more than the retail price in its country of origin.
But Mr Kasaye defends the taxation policy, saying it was fair and staggered. He cites examples of discounts given for buying second-hand cars.
In a bid to encourage people to buy cheaper, locally made cars, the Ethiopian government has given incentives such as tax breaks to foreign car manufacturers to set up and assemble new vehicles in the country.
Currently Ethiopia produces 8,000 commercial and private vehicles for the local market a year - something the government admits is way below the country's potential.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has often pointed out plans for Ethiopia to become a leading manufacturer and exporter of locally made cars.
At least half a dozen car assembly plants, mostly Chinese, have been set up in Ethiopia.
One of them is Lifan Motors, which was set up nearly seven years ago. One of its cheapest saloon models costs about $20,000 new.
It has a plant on the outskirts of the Addis Ababa which assembles about 1,000 cars a year - way below its capacity.

An issue of trust

For the company's deputy manager, Ma Qun, this is down to a lack of confidence in the local market from consumers.
Those who can afford imported brands, will choose them over local cars - despite the high taxes charged on used cars, he says.
"We are not satisfied. Our factory's capacity is about 5,000 a year but we sell just 1,000 units.
"It's because the policy doesn't restrict second-hand cars. So there aren't really many incentives for us to compete.
"We are waiting to see if there will be a change in the policy."
For many Ethiopian car buyers it comes down to value for money.
"We often prefer imported cars because we believe they are much better than the Chinese assembled here," one prospective buyer said.
"On top of that, people don't trust cars assembled locally because what we import from China are not up to a standard quality."
Another pointed out concerns about spare parts for locally assembled cars.
"Those you usually find around here are not genuine. That is the major reason people prefer Japanese cars."
But the government is highly unlikely to change its luxury tax on foreign cars.
So for people like Mr Girma, who wants a big, reliable car for his family, it remains a Catch-22 situation and his search will continue.

Somalia’s MPs elected a Somali-US national as president

Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed

Somalia’s MPs have elected a Somali-US national as the country’s new president in a vote held in an aircraft hangar, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
Ex-Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed beat President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a surprise result.
The vote was held at the heavily guarded airport complex in the capital, Mogadishu, as the rest of the country is too dangerous, the report said.
Traffic was banned and a no-fly zone imposed over the city to prevent attacks by militant Islamists.
Despite this, suspected militants fired mortar rounds close to the venue on Tuesday night, according to the BBC.

Ethiopia: Residents of Ambo, Sebata say tensions remain high after declaration of martial law

Tensions remain high as security forces continue with their intimidation following the state of emergency declared last october, according to residents of Ambo and Sebeta who spoke to Deutsche Welle (DW).
“Four months after declaring a state of emergency in a crackdown on protests, Ethiopia’s government claims the country has returned to normal. Critics says the emergency decree remains an instrument of repression,” the report by DW said.
One Ambo resident, who asked to remain anonymous as he took part in the protests, said that the state of emergency had “unsettled the public’s inner repose,” the report said.
“Repression was still in place despite the government “falsely” claiming that life was returning to normal,” the resident told DW.
“You cannot go out after curfew. You cannot stand anywhere with a few people. People are filled with fear. They fear the Command Post,” he said referring to   the government body charged with implementing the state of emergency.
A resident of the town of Sabata said arrests and repression under the state of emergency continue. “For example, there are youths who got arrested without a warrant and have been in prison for over three months on the charge that they have listened to music,” he told Deutsche Welle. “The state of emergency is being used by the state to take revenge against youth,” he said.
DW quoted Mulatu Gemechu, deputy chairperson of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), as saying “a de facto state of emergency had been in force in Oromia for some time, but by making it public the government had acquired a legal shield for further acts of repression.”
Gemechu said the number of arrests in the Oromo region is close to 70,000.
This coming April marks three years since protests broke out in Ethiopia. They were sparked by protests by students in Ambo town, some 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia: Private banks face crisis as non-citizens are forced to withdraw shares

Private banks in Ethiopia are in deep capital crises as Ethiopian born citizens of other countries withdraw their shares as per the directive by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) that prohibits non-citizens from holding shares in the banking industry.
The new directive instructs non-citizens, who hold shares in banks, to withdraw their money till the end of June forcing banks to scramble to find buyers of the abandoned shares.
Experts say the majority of shareholders of some of the banks are non-citizens of Ethiopian origin and the decision by NBE will empty their coffers.
Ethiopia’s law does not allow foreigners to invest in the banking sector but a directive in 2010 permitted non-citizens of Ethiopian origin to invest in the sector, contradicting the original law.
NBE requires banks to have a minimum capital of 91 million dollars while at the same time forcing the banks to return shares of non-citizens, sending them to disarray, according to experts who spoke to ESAT.
Sixteen of the eighteen banks in Ethiopia are private, with the government banks scoring a profit of over 90 million dollars while the private banks earned 287,000 dollars last year.

Mattis warns North Korea of 'overwhelming' response to nuclear use

Mr Mattis has been holding talks with his South Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo

The US Defence Secretary James Mattis has said any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an "effective and overwhelming" response.

Mr Mattis spoke in South Korea, where he had been reaffirming US support, before flying to Tokyo.
He also reconfirmed plans to deploy a US missile defence system in South Korea later this year.
North Korea's repeated missile and nuclear tests and aggressive statements continue to alarm and anger the region.
The US has a considerable military presence in South Korea and Japan, as part of a post-war defence deal. There are just under 28,500 US troops in the country, for which Seoul pays about $900m (£710m) annually.
President Donald Trump has previously said he wants both South Korea and Japan to pay more towards maintaining that presence. 

South Korean and US forces regularly train together in the country

Mr Mattis used his visit to reassure South Korea that the Trump administration "remains steadfast" in its "iron-clad" defence commitments to the region, said the Pentagon.
Speaking after talks at the defence ministry with his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo, Mr Mattis told reporters that "any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons would be met with a response that would be effective and overwhelming".
North Korea conducted its fifth test of a nuclear device last year, and claims it is capable of carrying out a nuclear attack on the US, though experts are still unconvinced its technology has progressed that far.
It has also said in recent weeks that it has a new intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching the US mainland, which it is prepared to test launch at any time. 

Mr Mattis's assertion that an attack by North Korea would get massive retaliation will hardly be a revelation to Kim Jong-un, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul.
The bigger question is whether to talk to the North Korean leader to try to persuade him to abandon or limit the size of his nuclear arsenal, our correspondent adds. On that, the Trump administration has so far been silent.

Chinese fears

Under the Obama administration, the US and South Korea agreed to deploy a US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system in South Korea.
Its supporters say it is aimed solely at defending from North Korean threats. But China and Russia have complained it is provocative.
Beijing says it goes "far beyond the defence needs of the Korean peninsula". It believes the system's radar would allow the US to spy on its military. 

It is also unpopular with some South Koreans, who fear missile bases could become targets and endanger people who live nearby.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Mattis sought to reassure China, saying there was "no other nation that needs to be concerned about THAAD other than North Korea".
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday that Beijing remained firmly opposed to the deployment of the missile system.
After his meetings in Seoul Mr Mattis flew to Japan, where there are a further 50,000 US soldiers plus their dependents and support staff in Japan. The US paid about $5.5bn for its Japanese bases in 2016, with Japan paying a further $4bn.

A U.S. Court of Appeals hears arguments in a case against wiretapping of an American by the Ethiopian regime

A DC Circuit Court for the U.S. Court of Appeals today heard arguments on a wiretapping case brought against the Ethiopian regime by an Ethiopian American in Maryland.
Few years ago, the Ethiopian regime had infected the computer of Mr. Kidane with secret spyware, wiretapping his private Skype calls, and monitoring his entire family’s every use of the computer for a period of months.
With the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Citizen Lab, Mr. Kidane found that the Ethiopian regime used a notorious surveillance malware known as FinSpy, illegally wiretapped and invaded the privacy of Mr. Kidane, a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, according to a statement by EFF.
The malware took over Mr. Kidane’s computer and secretly sent copies of his activities, including Skype calls, web searches and indications of websites visited and other activity, to the Ethiopian spy agency.
Mr. Kidane, is a pseudonym that he preferred to use for his privacy and that of his family. Mr. Kidane, a critic of a tyrannical regime back in his home country, brought suit against the regime in 2014, but the federal court held that no foreign government could be held accountable for wiretapping an American citizen in his own home, so Kidane appealed to the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
According to Nate Cardozo, Staff Attorney for the EFF, who followed the court hearing, the lawyer representing the Ethiopian government argued that foreign governments are “free to commit illegal acts in the U.S. so long as they do them by remote control.”
“The Ethiopian government argued today that if they had sent a mail bomb to Mr. Kidane from Ethiopia, that would have been perfectly legal. They argued that if Mr. Kidane had a self driving car and they hacked into it and made it drive off the bridge, that would have been perfectly legal,” Cardozo said.
Cardozo thinks the argument by the lawyer representing the Ethiopian regime is “absurd.”
Richard Martinez, representing Mr. Kidane argued on the other hand that “remote control doesn’t matter.” According to Cardozo, Martinez argued today at the Court of Appeals that “the Ethiopian government acted in the U.S. using software instead of using a human being and that distinction has no relevance in the law.”
Lawyers representing Mr. Kidane also invoke the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 21, 1976, that provides the exclusive basis and means to bring a lawsuit against a foreign sovereign in the United States.
The United States Department of State and rights groups have been documenting mounting evidences that the Ethiopian regime use electronic surveillance against opponents and critical media both at home and abroad. The Ethiopian Satellite Radio and Television has been one of its targets.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals could take anywhere from one month to six months, it was learnt.

Ethiopian military officer in Somalia accused of selling arms, massive corruption

Haile Gebru

An investigative report by a Somali website accused a high ranking  Ethiopian officer in Somalia of arm sales to rival factions and collecting bribes from Somali politicians who want come to power.
Waagacusub media described Haile Gebre as “the most corrupt military officer” who became extremely wealthy from huge sums of money that he is getting from opportunistic Somali politicians who want to buy the sympathy of Addis Ababa.

Waagacusub media quote one of officer Gabre’s juniors, who remained anonymous for fear of reprisal as saying that “Gebre was corrupted by Somali politicians and he in turn corrupted Ethiopian senior officials so they would condone his wrongdoing.”
“There was several vehicles that were taken from Somali individuals by intimidation or corruption which were later donated by Gebre to most senior military officials and their family members,” the report alleges.
The report further said Gebre had a business interest in the United Arab Emirates in which he is represented by one of his cousins. It said Gebre’s business would give a better exchange rate of foreign currency to Ethiopians who want to import goods to landlocked Ethiopia.
“Recently large construction equipment owned by Gabre were sent to Ethiopia on duty free from Dubai through port of Djibouti,” the report quoted an Ethiopian businessman based in Djibouti as saying.
“All the materials belonged to Gebre but his name can’t be seen on the manifest,” the source told  Waagacusub.
The report further alleges Gebre, also called General Gebre by the Somalis, gets most of the corruption money from Somali politicians who want to use his country’s support in order to come to power. He also gets money from the funds donated by the West to the regional East African body known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD.
The investigative report quoted a famous Mogadishu saying “if you want the power in Somalia first corrupt Gebre and enjoy military and political backing of Ethiopia.”
Ethiopian regime troops in Somalia and their commanders have been accused of corruption and loss of civilian lives since they set their boots on Somali soil in 2006.
The Ethiopian government announced the withdrawal of its troops from several key posts in Somalia due to what it said was lack of financial support from the West, but a considerable number troops are still present operating within and outside the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM.

Trump cabinet: Democrats boycott health and treasury picks

Democrats say they want more information on Tom Price and Stephen Mnuchin 

 

 

Democrats on the US Senate Finance Committee are boycotting votes for two of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees, forcing a postponement.

They said they wanted more information about the financial activities of health nominee Tom Price and treasury pick Stephen Mnuchin.
Other Trump choices face votes, among them Jeff Sessions as attorney general.
On Monday the acting attorney general was sacked for questioning the legality of Mr Trump's immigration directive.
It imposes a temporary travel ban on seven mainly-Muslim countries.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had been appointed by President Barack Obama.

• Who is US attorney general pick Sessions?
• Tech firms back legal fight on travel ban

Finance Committee Democrats told reporters outside the hearing that they were seeking more information about Tom Price's trading in health company stock.
The Georgia Congressman has been nominated for the post of health and human services secretary in the new administration.
The senators said they were also concerned by reports of financier Stephen Mnuchin's behaviour involving foreclosures at his former bank OneWest.
But Senator Orrin Hatch, the Republican committee chair, described the Democrats' behaviour as "posturing and acting like idiots", AP reported.

Democrats get tough, by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News

Democrats explained to the press why they were boycotting the Finance Committee votes

 

The unexpected walkout by Democrats during scheduled votes to advance two of Donald Trump's more controversial cabinet nominees may be the first shots that lead to total partisan warfare on Capitol Hill.
Democratic senators had been subjected to growing criticism from the grass-roots Left for being too accommodating to Mr Trump and his nominees. On Sunday, for instance, more than 200 protesters descended on Senator Diane Feinstein's California house after she voted to confirm four earlier administration nominees.
Now, it seems, Democrats could be heeding the anger of their base and taking a more combative posture toward Republicans in general and Mr Trump in particular. These politicians likely saw Acting Attorney General Sally Yates become a liberal hero for defying the president on Monday night and are recognising that their party's anger is a force that could propel their careers or tear them apart.
This does not bode well for Mr Trump's Supreme Court nominee, who will be announced on Tuesday night. While Senate Democrats have had to rely on byzantine parliamentary manoeuvres to delay Mr Trump's cabinet picks, they have a powerful weapon - the filibuster - at their disposal to indefinitely block the president's high court selection.

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A battle is also raging in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where a vote is expected on Mr Sessions.
An early Trump backer, Senator Sessions has faced racism allegations which overshadowed his confirmation hearings.
Committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley began Tuesday's meeting by saying that neither Mr Sessions nor any of his current staff, "had a role in formulating or drafting the executive orders" - including the controversial travel ban. 

Mr Sessions faced two days of intense grilling during his confirmation hearings

Several Democratic Senators have spoken in the committee meeting to say that they intend to vote against the 69-year-old Alabama senator.
Sen Diane Feinstein criticised his role in Mr Trump's election campaign and his closeness to the new president during it.
"It is very difficult to reconcile for me the independence and objectivity necessary for the position of attorney general with the partisanship this nominee has demonstrated," she said.
If Mr Sessions' nomination is approved by the judiciary committee, the full Senate - where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority - is expected to vote on it by the end of the week.

The Alabama senator faced two days of tough questioning during his confirmation hearings this month.
One of the most conservative members of the Senate, Mr Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 after the judiciary committee heard testimony about his remarks on race.

Also on Tuesday:

• Mr Trump's choice to fill the long-vacant seat on the Supreme Court is due to be announced
• The Senate Energy Committee approves Ryan Zinke to head the Interior Department and Rick Perry to head the Energy Department
• The Education Committee approves Betsy DeVos as education secretary
• The full Senate will vote on whether to confirm Elaine Chao as transportation secretary

The attorney general is America's top prosecutor, leads the justice department and acts as the main adviser to the president on legal issues.
She was sacked by President Trump, who accused her of "betraying" the justice department and being "weak on borders".

• Thousands join anti-Trump protests
• Diplomats' dissent falls on deaf ears

She had said in a letter that she was "not convinced" that the president's order on immigration was lawful.
Mr Trump replaced her with Dana Boente, a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The immigration order, signed by the president on Friday, temporarily banned nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US. It sparked protests in the US and abroad.
The White House has consistently defended Mr Trump's executive order despite the controversy, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying diplomats should "get with the programme".

Ethiopian Poet, Playwright Lemn Sissay in Rief

Artist Lemn Sissay

 "Everyday, I try to think of an original way to describe the world..."

Lemn Sissay is an Ethiopian desent brought up by white parents in the North West of England. He is the author of the poetry collections: Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist (1988), Rebel Without Applause (1992); Morning Breaks in the Elevator (1999), The Emperor's Watchmaker (2000), Listener (2008), and his new work Gold from the Stone (2016). He also authored a number of plays both published and streamed on BBC Radio.

I had a brief discussion with Lemn Sissay, as he showed up in Addis for a fleeting Christmas vacation. Here is the glimpse of our discussion.

Lemn's inspiration to write comes from his unique vision

"I think everybody has a unique perspective of life, so what inspires me to write is that sense of unique vision that all people have. We all have a pecuilar vision. We all see things in a way our own experiences lead us to. I am no greater person than the person who is giving out towels in a hotel. She has a unique perspective on the world and so do I."

Themes find him more than he chooses themes

"I write all kinds of things. Themeswise, I write everything from the search for my family, to the battle of Adwa, to racism in England. Every morning I wake up and write a morning tweet. The scent for that is nature, spirit and the world that I am in at the moment. Everyday, I try to think of an original way to describe the world and that has never been done before. People follow my tweets all over the world. So in general, I write about Racism in England, the search for my family since it has been a big thing in my life. I write about anything that comes to my mind. I think themes find me."

He took one step at a time to face challenges and stand on the world stage

"I take one step at a time. My journey has been about single steps not great leaps. That's the only way that I can live my life. So I don't think about my achievements, I just take it one day at a time. I don't know how better to explain it. If you do good, good comes to you. I try to do the right thing. I try to do what I do as good as I can, and I could not have imagined my life would have been this way but I didn't plan it. I did what I believe was right. I found my family, I wrote poetry. I just cut my own half one step at a time.

Following the truth has shaped his life

"The idea that I follow my truth, follow what I believe to be true is the one thing that has seen me through the darkness and difficult times. I know that I have to follow a particular path, one step at a time, when nobody was with me saying 'this is the right way to go'. In fact everybody was saying this is the wrong way to go. I didn't know any Ethiopian or where I was from.

In fact when I found out I was Ethiopian, I say I have to go in this direction. Nobody heard me but I have to just keep going because I knew and I still know I was going in the right direction. And I was following the truth. When there was nobody there, I had to close my eyes and keep going. We all have been through that kind of experience, in so many different ways. The decisions we make are the key points in our life. They shape us. When I was in a small town as a teenager, and I left the children's home and I had nobody, I know I have to go to the city on my own, with no family to look back on or to go to. I came to the city and it was full of Caribbean people. They talk of Ethiopia. I saw that they like Ethiopians and I have to search my family.

When I left the children's home, I know I am from Ethiopia, because they gave me my birth certificate. Then I found my family. I am a singular artist within my family and that's who I am."

Lemn knows plenty of Ethiopian Literature

"I have read Bewketu Seyoum and some English translations of Ephrem Seyoum. I have read Tsegaye Gebremedhin's English poems. I know that I have a lot to learn. There is a contemporary literature and there is also a deep history of literature in Ethiopia even further than Shakespeare. There is rhyming in the Ethiopian literature and that's what I also do in my poems. Therefore I have a lot to learn from Ethiopian literature and English literature as well. The more you know the more you want to know. I want to learn Amharic to be able to speak, write and read."

Adoption was unfortunate for him

"I was stolen from my mother so I wasn't adopted. It was not a legal adoption in my case and it was not good for me. That was rather fundamentally unfortunate considering the fact that my brothers and sisters went to international schools in Paris and Belgium. They were very well educated. My mother works at the UN. It was bad because I was stolen from her. I had my name changed. Now, I have received my files because they keep files in England and the files show what they did. So for me people look at me and say he has done well. But I have no family. You know what that's like. You know how crazy that is like no mother, father, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins, grandparents."

Poetry is like Sanctuary to Lemn

"When I write, it's like home. My poems have been with me longer than my family and my poems help me click with myself which means I have memory of me and my poems than I do with any family member. Family is just a collection of memories between a group of people disputed over a life time. And poems are like memory of me in the past and present."

Public art: It's been 20 years since Lemn's poems started appearing on city's streets

"There are poems of me installed as public art in England and in Addis Ababa as well. I got a webpage about those public arts on lemnsissaylandmarks.com and these are the only places I want them to be anyway. It just came out of the blue. In the early 1990s a poem appears on a side of a building in Manchester. Now my poems are everywhere and I am proud of that."

Explaining what he meant in his poems

'Before We Get Into This':

'Before we get to know each other

And sing for tomorrow

And unearth yesterday

So that we can prepare our joint grave

You should know that I have no family,

Neither disowned nor distanced - none.

No birthdays nor Christmas,

No telephone calls. It's been that way

Since birth for what it's worth

No next of skin.

I am the guilty secret of an innocent woman

And a dead man - tell your parents, they'll want to know.'

"For my mom, I am her first experience and that's what it means by an innocent woman, my father died on the Ethiopian New Year day, September 11th. As soon as something is hidden there must be some guilt in that."

His Advice for Young Writers: Follow your passion

"Follow your passion and write about whatever you are passionate about. Weather it is the imagination or science fiction, follow that passion in your writing. You can be a lawyer and a writer; you can be a teacher and a writer. There are a lot of journalists, politicians, chemists, doctors who are also poets and novelists. And Read as well... Read ... Read... Read...Read... Read.

With this internet world, it's quite easy to put your stuff online but that's very tricky. Sometimes your work needs to grow before you expose it to the readers. It is nice to let it grow before letting people read it but at the same time don't hold on to it so much so that no body ever sees it. Your work needs to breathe but it also needs to be incubated.

They are like opposite, incubate them and let them breathe, then bring them back to incubate them. Though most importantly follow your passion. Be inspired, don't be cynical, and be emotional.

Lemn chooses to be addressed as poet

People address him as a standup comedian, musician, playwright and mostly poet. However Lemn said, "When I am with my poems I am with my friends. So I chose to be addressed as a poet. I am a poet, poets must cross between boundaries."

He's impressed by Ethiopia

"I have been to Shashamane, Simien Mountains but I need to go to Hawassa, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar and do a residency somewhere to write about the place. There is something happening around the world with Ethiopian writers right now. There's Dinaw Mengistu and Meaza Mengiste, they are publishing poetry books now. The generation that left the country in the 1970s are doing great, like the Nigerian writers in the 1960s."

What we can expect from him next

Lemn Sissay is working on his Autobiography to be written and published in 2017. The book will be a collection of his life stories. "I love the way books are sold in the streets of Addis Ababa." Said Lemn and told me that he's speaking to Book World to see through ways to bring the paperbacks of his works so that readers in Ethiopia could be able to have his books.

I asked Lemn about his private life. He told me that He was in a relationship with a beautiful writer from Eritrea brought up in England but separated two years ago. Then he said: Now I am wondering like, What the Hell?

One of the largest collections of Ethiopian religious texts is now in DC

An Ethiopian scroll in the Gerald and Barbara Weiner collection at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

With a recent gift of more than 600 handmade leather manuscripts, the Catholic University of America is now home to one of the most important collections of Ethiopian religious manuscripts in the United States.

The collection includes Christian, Islamic, and “magic” texts. It is the largest collection of Ethiopian Islamic manuscripts outside of Ethiopia.

Dr. Aaron M. Butts, a Professor of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literature at Catholic University, said in a statement that the manuscript collection “provides unparalleled primary sources for the study of Eastern Christianity” and reaffirms the school’s standing as one of the leading places to study Near Eastern Christian language, literature, and history. 

The manuscripts are handmade of goat, sheep, or calf hides, and most of them date to the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.

In total, the collection includes 125 Christian manuscripts, such as psalters, liturgical books, and hagiographies. Within the 215 Islamic manuscripts of the collection are Qurans and commentaries on the Quran.

The collection also contains more than 350 so-called “magic” scrolls – Christian prayer talismans. Each talisman, Butts told CNA, is handwritten by a “debtera” – a lay person or cleric in the Ethiopian Church, and contains the name of the person for whom it is written.

The scrolls are worn around the neck, and are created to help the wearer with a certain kind of ailment, such as headaches. Many of these talismans are dedicated to women’s ailments – such as childbirth or painful menstruation – and Butts said it is clear that some of these “magic” scrolls have been passed down through the generations from mother to daughter.

Butts also noted that at various times in Ethiopian history, use of these prayers has been discouraged within the Ethiopian Church. Because of this status, as well as the domestic, personal nature of their use, he continued, not much research has been done on these devotional tools. 

Many of the manuscripts in the collection, including the “magic” scrolls, contain intricate illuminations and other decorations on the scrolls.

According to Butts, the collection’s age is fairly typical for Ethiopian manuscripts. He explained that while many Western and Middle Eastern manuscripts can date back centuries and even more than a millennium, Ethiopian scripts tend to be much more recent, in part because Ethiopians still use the manuscripts in daily life for prayer and reading, and also because the alternating rainy and dry climate destroys the hides.

The manuscripts will be stored at CUA’s Institute of Christian Oriental Research (ICOR), a research auxiliary of the Semitics department. The donation expands the already-impressive collection of more than 50,000 books and journals as well as antiquities, photographs, and archival materials documenting early Christianity in the Middle East ICOR houses.

The new collection, valued at more than $1 million,  was donated to Catholic University by Chicago collectors Gerald and Barbara Weiner. Butts told CUA that the couple wanted the Ethiopian people to use the scrolls for prayer, along with making the manuscripts available for study by students and researchers.

The Washington, D.C. area is home to one of the largest Ethiopian populations outside of Ethiopia, and there are several Ethiopian Orthodox and Ethiopian Catholic churches, along with cultural centers, in the area. CUA officials are currently working with the community to coordinate the scrolls’ use.

PM Desalegn threatens Merara Gudina with "Justice"

Ethiopia said Monday it will not release a leading opposition figure detained under the country's state of emergency after meeting with European lawmakers in Belgium.

Birhanu Nega, Merara Gudina and Feyisa Lilesa before the European Parliament

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told reporters that Merara Gudina of the Oromo Federalist Congress party instead will face justice.

"Individuals in the European Parliament who are harboring anti-peace elements cannot save those who trespass the law of the country," the prime minister said.

Merara is one of 22,000 people the prime minister said were detained under the state of emergency declared in October after widespread, sometimes deadly anti-government protests. The government has said several thousand have since been released.

Merara was arrested immediately after he returned from Belgium, where he met with the lawmakers about the state of emergency. He was accused of meeting with members of an armed Ethiopian opposition group in Brussels, an act banned under the emergency law.

Photos posted on social media show him sitting next to Birhanu Nega, leader of the armed opposition group called Ginbot 7 that mainly operates from Eritrea, and Feyisa Lilesa, the Ethiopian marathon runner who crossed his wrists in a sign of protest while crossing the finish line at the Rio Olympic Games.

The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia said the state of emergency's wide-ranging restrictions have severely affected freedoms of expression and assembly. "Tens of thousands of individuals have been arrested arbitrarily" and dissent and independent reporting have been quashed, it said.

The state of emergency is set to end in May. The prime minister did not indicate it would be extended, but he told reporters that "as far as the date of lifting the state of emergency is concerned, it should be seen in the perspective that we have to consolidate the gains that we have made so far."

Gena celebrated in Ethiopia

Gena celebrations

Ethiopian Christians on Saturday celebrated Christmas in a festive and joyous atmosphere.

Burgeoning star-rated hotels and malls that dotted the main streets of the capital city, Addis Ababa displayed colorful Christmas trees and lights.

On the eve, an overnight mass was held at churches. All Christian denominations in Ethiopia -- Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Seventh-Day Adventist -- celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 although elsewhere only Orthodox Christians mark Christmas on this day as opposed to the widely recognized Dec. 25. 

"Different Christmas days only means during the first century where communications were backward, people thought Christ was born at the time the news was heralded to them," Deacon Abayneh, a lecturer at the Theology College in Addis Ababa told Anadolu Agency. 

"Obviously, the first people to witness the birth of Christ were those in Jerusalem and its environs," he said.

In his Christmas benediction, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Abune Mathias emphasized the need to foster peace.

“Every good thing pivots around peace and we should uphold that idea in our hearts in everything we do," the patriarch said. 

"We ought to extend a hand of generosity and show compassion to one another."

On Christmas, Ethiopians traditionally bake whole grain breads, make a traditional honey wine called "tej" and prepare largely meat-based dishes. Raw meat (beef or goat meat) is a unique festival treat.

Ethiopia has Africa’s largest Christian community. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians constitute more than 40 percent of the 100 million population.

Ethiopia embraced Christianity during the first century at the time of the Axumite King of Izana, who is among the last of the long list of kings that ruled over Ethiopia’s ancient civilization that is known to have its realm of influence on far wider areas than present day borders, according to historical documents