J.Crew Catalog’s April 2009 issue features Ethiopian supermodel {www:Liya Kebede}. The catalog has arrived in many of its stores this week.
Liya earlier this month took Paris Fashion Week by storm — and landed opening Balenciaga spot — and now she’s owning in another area. She’s becoming the first model to be the exclusive face of a J.Crew catalog, and the retailer is picking up pieces from her handmade children’s clothing line, Lemlem, to sell in stores and online as part of their children’s Crewcuts line starting in April.
When J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and team met supermodel, mother of two, and International Goodwill Ambassador Liya Kebede, a relationship was born. Lyons approached Kebede to appear in the April catalog, but both quickly realized their relationship needn’t end there. The product of their partnership? Not only will Kebede be the first model to be the exclusive face of a J.Crew catalog, but J.Crew’s Crewcuts line will pick up pieces from the model’s handmade children’s clothing line, Lemlem. Lemlem (the name means “to bloom”) was launched by Kebede in 2007, with all of the pieces made by hand from natural cotton in her native Ethiopia. The line will be available at Crewcuts store locations and at jcrew.com beginning in April. – Fashion Week Daily
There is a saying in our country. የፈሩት ይደርሳል፤ የጠሉት ይወርሳል (Yeferut yedersal Ye telut yeworsal.) It means what scares you most will happen and the one you despise will inherit your wealth. So it is with our country. We never thought any one could top the Derg in brutality. The TPLF proved us wrong. We did not anticipate the little rag tag militia is capable of assuming power. We were blindsided by Herman Cohen and Mengistu. Enough about yesterday, this article is about today.
“ As a result, coffee export are significantly lower this year,” he said. “The government may be forced to take over stocks held in private warehouses and provide it to the market.” The ‘he’ is the Prime Minster and his audience is his voiceless and tooth less gang called the Parliament. Believe me he is not talking about the coffee drinking public in Ethiopia. That is not his concern. When he says ‘provide it to the market’ he is talking about selling it for Dollars, Euros or Yen.
It is like father like son situation. His mentor Mengistu, in the name of socialism confiscated all personal property. Meles enshrined it his constitution. His recent statement regarding confiscation is a reflection of his mind set that was established over thirty years ago. He is still fixated with the concept that the government knows better. He refuses to grow up and change. Stalinism and Enver Hoxha are his heroes and guiding lights.
This single statement is a mirror reflecting the logic and mentality of the minority based government. It is not a through analysis to find the root cause of the problem and come up with a lasting solution. It is typical TPLF knee jerk reaction. Always a stopgap solution for single use to be discarded until the next crisis that is always around the corner.
Let us really look into this solution threatened by the fearless leader. So his logic goes the country needs foreign currency. The government credit rating is less than junk bond, thus no one will lend us money. But we need the foreign currency to buy food, oil and pay off the interest on existing loans. Is it time to look into the polices that got us into this predicament? Well that will be too rational and smart way of looking at situations. Why revise a failed policy that is causing undue hardship when you can pull another infantile idea from your hat.
Unfortunately the first urge of the TPLF regime is to resort to illegal means. When in doubt use force and coercion, that is Woyane’s motto. But you might ask does he have the constitutional power to do that? Even if he can force the rubberstamp Parliament to pass such law, can’t the courts stop such flagrant violation of the rights of the coffee merchants? Yes he can. The parliament and the courts are nothing but a façade.
It is a highly confusing situation. The claim is Ethiopia’s economy is based on the capitalist free enterprise model. Well sort of. There is this little issue of all land belonging to the government that sort of distorts the capitalist model. Well, if you ask there is also this little item of the government owning the telecommunication industry, Internet, television, radio transmission and electricity production. What is left for the citizen you might ask? Right now most are relegated to running hotels, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and tearooms.
The question that comes to mind is can a hybrid capitalist system confiscate the property of its citizens? May be revolutionary democracy allows that. Let us look at this coffee situation closely. Let us say Ato Meles manages to ‘convince’ his Parliament to give him the authority, how does he go about doing it? Does he buy the coffee from the merchants or do they lose ownership without pay. Since the merchants paid for the coffee and are waiting for favorable time to sell it for a profit how does the government arrive at a price? If the coffee is bought with bank loans, do the merchants still owe the bank after the confiscation?
Actually we have the answers from previous encounters with Woyane’s policies. Do you remember the 2005 election? Woyane lost. What did they do? They confiscated all the ballot boxes except in Addis. Do you remember the money changing business? Woyane needed cash. They confiscated all the foreign currency in sight. They claimed growing flowers is the future. When the market dried up what did they do? They threatened the growers that leased the land that it will be resold to the next bidder. When they were cornered by the Diaspora Ethiopians, and International organizations regarding the illegal imprisonment of Kinijit leaders, journalists and civic leaders they concocted some deal using less than honorable individuals and caved in. But that was temporary, now they have Judge Bertukan in prison. Woyane confiscates property and people.
None of the above polices worked. They all backfired. Success is not measured in terms of longevity of the regime rather in terms of the quality of life of the people. The TPLF regime is obviously in power, but at what cost? The economy is deteriorating and the discontent is ascending. Sooner or later no mater what it will reach a critical point. It looks like they can see it coming but are unable and unwilling to change their behavior. It happened to Mengistu too. Ceausescu of Romania was blinded until he was silenced with a two feet rope. Just look at Bashir acting like a cornered rat. So you don’t think it could not happen to you? That is what Charles Taylor said!
Cutting of hands does not work. Confiscating people’s property and assets is not a good idea. There are no instances of this kind of illegal act working anywhere. What works is devising a policy with everyone’s participation and goodwill. What works is consultation and an open debate to arrive at a lasting and fair solution. What works is using democratic means to empower the citizen and making them partners in formulating policies.
J.Crew Catalog’s April 2009 issue features Ethiopian supermodel {www:Liya Kebede}. The catalog has arrived in many of its stores this week.
Liya earlier this month took Paris Fashion Week by storm — and landed opening Balenciaga spot — and now she’s owning in another area. She’s becoming the first model to be the exclusive face of a J.Crew catalog, and the retailer is picking up pieces from her handmade children’s clothing line, Lemlem, to sell in stores and online as part of their children’s Crewcuts line starting in April.
When J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and team met supermodel, mother of two, and International Goodwill Ambassador Liya Kebede, a relationship was born. Lyons approached Kebede to appear in the April catalog, but both quickly realized their relationship needn’t end there. The product of their partnership? Not only will Kebede be the first model to be the exclusive face of a J.Crew catalog, but J.Crew’s Crewcuts line will pick up pieces from the model’s handmade children’s clothing line, Lemlem. Lemlem (the name means “to bloom”) was launched by Kebede in 2007, with all of the pieces made by hand from natural cotton in her native Ethiopia. The line will be available at Crewcuts store locations and at jcrew.com beginning in April. – Fashion Week Daily
At the half-marathon in The Hague on Saturday morning, all eyes were on an Ethiopian businessman, a one-man model of African economic development. Our entrepreneur, whose flourishing enterprise includes banking, car dealerships and real estate, is not lost in the crowd of amateur runners. He is right up front with the stars. His name is Haile Gebreselassie, and he is the greatest long-distance runner of all time.
This is not hyperbole; it’s a mere statement of fact. Consider Haile’s awesome collection of 26 world records garnered in an exceptionally long career — 17 years and still running for the man who’s a month shy of his 36th birthday. He is the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours and four minutes (record 2:3’59”). He has won two Olympic gold medals, multiple indoor and outdoor victories (in the 1,500-, 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter races) and countless other titles and honors.
That would be enough fame and fortune to satisfy most men. But Haile, who earns more in appearance fees, prize bonuses and sponsorship than any other long distance runner, also has the golden touch in business.
So why did this athlete also become a businessman? “When I traveled here and there for races,” he told me, “I discovered the beauty and comfort of developed countries, and I asked myself, ‘Why can’t we do that in Ethiopia?'”
Born in a dirt-poor village near Asela, 110 miles south of Addis Abeba, Haile led a typical rural African life of drudgery and dim prospects. Like so many children then and even today, he ran back and forth to school — 10 kilometers each way. But Haile also ran for pleasure, and his feet carried him from the thankless condition of his birth to a charmed life in a palatial home on the hill. Once his sports career gave him financial independence, he looked beyond just running. Motivated by national pride and a strong desire to help others escape from the hardships he knew as a boy, Haile gradually shaped his vision of modernization. One of his business goals was to provide employment and career opportunities for his countrymen.
“I started out in real estate, after the [1996] Atlanta Olympics. Of course I made mistakes at first,” he laughs. “It took about three or four years before I got the hang of things. But I used the same approach as for running: You have to have a sense of timing, strategy, an overall vision and determination.” With “more than 50% of help” from his wife, Alem, and a conscientious hands-on approach, Haile learned fast. “I discovered I have a flair for this. I build in an area that looks ’empty’ and it turns into a dynamic neighborhood.”
Haile constructed three upscale, 10-story office buildings in Addis, the first modern cinema in Ethiopia, and hotels and supermarkets in his hometown of Asela. He is currently building a resort hotel on Lake Assawa in the coffee-growing region where, incidentally, Starbucks buys its coffee beans. Haile is a member of the board of the Lion Security Bank, and recently became the exclusive importer of Hyundai vehicles. This year, for the first time, Haile hired a manager to help him and his wife run their Haile-Alem International Trading Company, which now employs 500 people. “Of course it helps to be a star, I wouldn’t deny that,” he says. “But you know, especially in Africa, a lot of people try to get close to you, pushing crazy schemes, they can rip you off. I try to keep a level head. I make all the big decisions myself.”
Haile created the biggest road race in Africa, the Great Ethiopian Run, and his philanthropic activities would fill another whole chapter. He has built elementary schools and cooperates with Unicef and Unesco in campaigns against AIDS, domestic violence, illiteracy and whatever else ails his country.
“Foreign aid can be helpful, of course,” he says. “But it’s no good if we get used to looking for handouts. I could give some coins to every poor person who crosses my path, but that’s not the way to do it. I want to give people jobs, teach them how to work.”
Dire poverty still exists and political freedom remains fragile is non-existent in Ethiopia.
I checked in with Haile the other day, just before he left for The Hague. Financial news from Europe, the U.S. and Asia is glum. How’s business? “Great!” No problems? “No problems. The cars are selling. The hotel construction is on schedule. Things are bad over there? Why don’t you come to Ethiopia?”
That’s the enthusiasm of a man who, at an age when most runners retire from international competition, strives to break another world record in The Hague and go on to run the full marathon at the Berlin World Championship in August and — why not? — the London Olympics in 2012. He is not jealous of the impressive pack of young Ethiopian runners coming up behind and sometimes passing ahead of him. In fact he is instrumental in creating opportunities for them as they often turn to him for business advice.
Haile Gebreselassie knows that his four children, raised in a palatial home, will not be driven to the heights as he was, by hardship. But he also knows that most young people are crushed by the burdens that made him a world-class athlete and successful businessman. He keeps his eye on the goal. And when he makes his victory run, with the Ethiopian flag draped around his shoulders, he remembers that first contact with the glittering world of modernity.
Laguna Beach resident Marla Hodes, founder and co-executive director of the Ethiopian Family Fund, will be traveling to Ethiopia with her husband Dan and their three children – Dean, age 11, and Matt and Carly, age 10 – in April on a humanitarian and cultural mission that involves raising funds for a school and a theatre immersion program.
The Laguna Beach resident Marla Hodes sang the American alphabet song with orphans at the Alem School in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, during her most recent visit in October, 2008.
Inspired by her brother-in-law, Dr. Rick Hodes, who has spent over 20 years helping children in Ethiopia, Hodes and her friend Melanie Robbins established the Ethiopian Family Fund in 2006. Known for his work helping children with spinal irregularities caused by untreated scoliosis and spinal tuberculosis, the doctor is the star of a documentary, “Making the Crooked Straight.”
The goal of Hodes’ April trip is to raise $10,000 to help complete a high school for the children of the Ethiopian village of Wondo Genet, whose school goes through eighth grade.
The state has promised to provide teachers if the community improves and furnishes an existing building.
Support for EFF is also coming from the Mudd Butts theatre group in Telluride, Colo., where the Hodes have a second residence.
Mudd Butts is conducting a theatre immersion program in Wondo Genet, and Dean Hodes will participate in the program while the rest of his family helps with theater production.
Mudd Butts students will live, practice and perform alongside the Ethiopian students, culminating in a bilingual theatre performance
“When kids help others, wonderful things happen,” Hodes said.
To learn more about EFF and/or to make a taxdeductible donation, visit www. ethiopianfamilyfund.org.
The town of Wardheer was burned down by Meles Zenawi’s troops. In this satellite image of the town of Wardheer, Ethiopia, from Dec. 30, 2007, yellow dots indicate structures that were burned down or destroyed. Source: AAAS
OGADEN, ETHIOPIA – An Ogaden Online News reporter stationed in Doolo province has confirmed that the head of the {www:Woyanne} militia stationed in Wardheer was killed in the battle of Afyaraado. Afyaraado is about six kilometers from Wardheer. The dead Woyanne militia head was a man named Colonel Manos (Sp?). Also killed in the same battle was the head of the conscripted Somali militias nicknamed ‘Wadna Qabad.’
In related news, a local militia numbering 430 under the command of Woyanne officers left the town of Dhanaan and redeployed in Godey. Eyewitnesses indicated that the reason for the redeployment was due to fear by the Woyanne regime that this militia was either going to be overrun by the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA), or that many were preparing to desert.
Reports reaching the Ogaden Online News indicate that ONLA commandos have successfully penetrated a major militia garrison that bordered the Jees Guuleed homes in the city of Dhagax Buur. A fierce firefight ensued and lasted a couple of hours. It was reported that the ONLA commandos confused the Woyane militias by attacking them from four different directions from within the garrison.
This has caused the Woyane militia members to fire indiscriminately in all directions. All ONLA commandos left the garrison unharmed. The fighting left about 25 Woyanne militia members dead.
Due to the increasing success of the ONLA, it is reported that both the so-called head of the local administration and that of the ‘security affairs’ were both summoned to go to Wardheer. Wardheer is the city that came under the most intense ONLA attacks. It is also the city that is most feared to fall for the ONLA at any moment.
J.Crew Catalog’s April 2009 issue features Ethiopian supermodel {www:Liya Kebede}. The catalog has arrived in many of its stores this week.
This is not hyperbole; it’s a mere statement of fact. Consider Haile’s awesome collection of 26 world records garnered in an exceptionally long career — 17 years and still running for the man who’s a month shy of his 36th birthday. He is the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours and four minutes (record 2:3’59”). He has won two Olympic gold medals, multiple indoor and outdoor victories (in the 1,500-, 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter races) and countless other titles and honors.
