medemer: be added to one another

August 5, 2018 2:12 PM

“This country has beautiful highways, it has beautiful malls. All of you with the means have cars. Lights don’t go out. Phones don’t cut out. Water doesn’t get shut off,” he said of the United States. “So why is it that via Viber, via Facebook, via YouTube, you all spend every night in Ethiopia?” Hannah Giorgios writes about how the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora are responding to Ethiopia's new prime minister.

Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders have formally restored relations between the two countries, ending 20 years of enmity and prompting phone calls across the border by people getting back in touch with friends and family. The Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, and the Eritrean president, Isaias Afwerki, also signed agreements to open embassies, restore flight services and for Ethiopia to use port facilities in Eritrea. The signing took place in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, before Abiy flew back to Ethiopia.

posted by ChuraChura (7 comments total)

A favourite wouldn't be enough, so thank you for this post. It is very necessary and likewise appreciated.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 3:12 PM on August 5, 2018 [3 favorites]

I would have completely missed this news if you hadn't posted, ChuraChura. The number of comments don't reflect the importance of the (good) news.
posted by ferdydurke at 7:46 PM on August 5, 2018 [4 favorites]

This was really fascinating, and it's exciting to hear! Thanks for posting!
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:20 PM on August 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

These are very hopeful developments.
posted by Harald74 at 11:11 PM on August 5, 2018

I spent a very brief trip in Addis Ababa last week and it was so striking to me that everyone I talked to - including people who weren't even comfortable around each other, owing to various differences between them - nearly universally, folks seemed so happy and excited about Ahmed. Even though this is the real world and I know nothing is perfect, there is something so needed and admirable in making real progress and finding reasons for optimism right now. I hope that those of us who are elsewhere can learn from their example.
posted by mosst at 7:40 AM on August 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

Oh, wow, this really is incredible news. I hope this is the start of better things for both countries.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:46 AM on August 6, 2018

Giorgos' articles are great, especially for the fantastic use of links to fill in depth - I followed some and found this other piece of hers, One Of The World's Best Long Distance Runners Is Now Running For His Life, which is about much more than Feyisa, and then looked up Feyisa today, still in the US (now joined by his wife and kids). I followed another one to this blog post about being habesha, and read some of the other entries on the (sadly defunct) blog which led to this new-to-me news site - both the blog and Pambazuka rewarded some browsing.

Thanks for the post!
posted by the agents of KAOS at 11:46 PM on August 6, 2018 [2 favorites]