Fortune's Fineline

Under the stewardship of Addisu Legesse, former deputy chief of the ruling party, the high priests of the Revolutionary Democrats had a congregation at the Civil Service College. Almost everyone in the bigwig club of the party, including the chiefs of the regional states, received sermons about a “democratic developmental state” for three months before it was concluded a few weeks ago, gossip revealed.

Gossip believes the scriptures read and studied during these long drawn-out sermons were authored by the chief priest himself. One such scripture deals with a subject the Revolutionary Democrats have been zealous about lately: Ethiopia’s renaissance and the manner in which they charted it out.

Signed in December 2010, the scripture titled, “Our Journey in the Renaissance and the External Factor” depicts an attractive illustration on its cover with a display of yellow rays spreading from the star emblem of the federal government spotted in East Africa, in all directions, around the world.

The substance of the scripture incorporated in 84 pages makes as big an impression as its cover illustration; at least in its first chapter. It deals with the changing reality in the global political and economic architecture from a unipolar world created under the custody of the United States (US) to a multipolar one with the rise of China and other countries such as Brazil and India. Its sees a changing world where the dominance of “neo-liberalism” since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was replaced by another where there is competition in the marketplace of ideologies.

Yet, the analysis is realistic in its worldview in so far as none of it is meant to imply the fall of the US. It recognises the military might of the richest economy in the world, although it still acknowledges that the rapid growth of the Chinese economy is to claim the position of the second largest in the world soon. Its realism appears to come from acknowledging the fact that the US has an economy three times larger than that of China’s four trillion dollars, while its GDP per capita will remain far higher than China’s even if the latter could possibly grow as high as it may wish to.

The beacon of hope and the land of the free are superior in its ability to innovate and embrace technology in its industries. It also has an economy based on knowledge. These are the facts the chief priest appears to be wise enough to accept, gossip saw. Ironically, the US may have the biggest economy in the world, but its government is struggling with massive budget and balance of trade deficits. It does not have the trillions of dollars in reserve China seem to have the luxury to spend.

The latter, with its desperation to sterilise its surplus reserves outside of its economy, was very happy to buy bonds issued by the US Treasury, giving a high dose of addictions to American consumers who were spoilt in spending borrowed money on SUVs and luxury boats.

Now that the Americans have had their “shock therapy,” China is in another cycle of desperation looking for economies to absorb its excess reserves through lending - and bear in mind, no grants, gossip observed. China is kind enough not to see the debt to export ratio that financial institutions in the neo-liberal world are interested in when advancing loans to countries. The Revolutionary Democrats are ready to get on board this borrowing spree, even though the interests China charges are double the amount international banks offer. If senior managers from the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) are on a visit to China since last week shopping for such loans, the ideological underpinnings preached to the high priests over the past three months justifies their time in the dragon state.

Should the chief priest be very keen on building a massive military industry complex under the umbrella of a metal engineering corporation, it is perhaps due to his convictions. He may have been convinced that in the Ethiopian reality, it is the arm of the state, added with the efficiency and discipline of the military, that a “democratic developmental state” could become reality. No one comes close to this corporation, headed by a high ranking military officer, in the procurement frenzy from China and elsewhere, claimed gossip. That is where money can be made these days, according to gossip.

Around 3million at risk of hunger in Ethiopia;Ferenjis ,The population of Ethiopia is 83million

Britain promises to feed 1.3 million starving Ethiopians for 3 months

The British coalition government promised on Sunday to feed 1.3 million Ethiopians for the next three months

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced the allocation of a $57 billion (GBP 38 billion) budget for Britain’s World Food Program to help the famine-hit African nation cope with its driest season.

The Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia is located, is going through a severe drought due to lack of rain. Mitchell said the British initiative seeks to prevent the environmental crisis from worsening into a catastrophe.

The drought is part of the global climate change, which has caused more extreme weather conditions across the globe, such as tornados, wildfires, deeper snowfalls and floods.

From late last year to early this year, Australia experienced its worst natural disaster in the form of unprecedented floods, while China suffered a drought and the U.S. was battered by 600 twisters in April.

To expedite the relief for Ethiopia, Britain asked the African country officials to provide up-to-date data on which regions are badly affected by the drought so relief agencies could place them on the priority list.

Mitchell also disclosed that aside from a pledge of feeding 1.3 million Ethiopians, Britain has another package of treatments for 329,000 malnourished children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers in Ethiopia.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90053292?Britain%20promises%20to%20feed%201.3%20million%20starving%20Ethiopians%20for%203%20months#ixzz1R9FCSUFG

Ethiopia's State TV reports the arrest of two Swedish Journalists

Johan Persson

Martin Schibbye

By Anko Zuta, Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

3-7-2011

The Ethiopian government owned Television Station, ETV reported on its Sunday (3-7-2011)Evening News that two journalists with a Swedish passport ''who attempted to sneak in to the volatile Somali(Ogaden) region of Ethiopia from Somalia with Ogaden National Liberation Forces (ONLF) '' have been injured and captured.

The Station reported that the journalists were arrested on July 1st, 2011 and still aren't freed.

It also reported that fifteen soldiers of the ONLF have been killed and while six soldiers were captured . Ogaden (Somali ) region of Ethiopia is one of the most unstable regions of Ethiopia . It has increasingly become a blackhole for journalists and aid agencies.

The Ethiopian government has been accused of causing state perpetrated genocide and drought in the region .

De Birhan has learnt that the two journalists now in custody of the Ethiopian regime are, Martin Schibdye and Johan Persson. Johan Persson was previously deported from Ethiopia for interviewing and visiting the government led atrocities in the region, the Regime claimed. Martin,30,a freelance journalist and Blogger, says about himself on his website ''After military service as pansarskytteplutonsbefäl at P10 in Strängnäs 00-01, I studied BA in political science and master's degree in economic history. Then I went in 2006 to Journalism education at JMK and since then has freelanced with emphasis on foreign coverage, mainly in South and Southeast Asia. Cooperates with freelance photographer Jonas Gratzer."

His blog (http://www.schibbye.blogspot.com/), has stories, photographs of his anecdotes and reports in South East Asian countries.Most of his reports focus on conflict, guerilla fighters and security.

While Johan Persson, who is a photojournalist , was nominated for the Swedish Red Cross Journalism Award 2011.

Guys! Do you know about the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church in the US?

By Anko Zuta, Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

3-7-2011

These people are NOT Rastafrains. They are NOT also Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. But they were/are mainly white Americans and Jamaicans.

Just found out about them today.The following info comes from a Wikipedia content about the Church.

The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church is a mansion of Rastafari movement which flourished in the 1970s in Jamaica and was incorporated in Florida in 1975. Members of movement say it is based on the teachings of Marcus Garvey and that they use cannabis as the Rastafari sacrament.

The group was accused, tried and convicted of smuggling massive amounts of potent cannabis from Jamaica to Miami in actions that kept the Jamaican economy afloat that decade. The Prime Minister at the time Edward Seaga, when he came to the U.S. said in an interview "It's just a little Sensimilla that it keep the country going right now". That was the Coptics. The Coptics published a free newspaper promoting Garveyism and the decriminalization of marijuana. They were also featured on a sensational episode of 60 Minutes on October 28, 1979. The group's leader was Thomas Reilly, also known as Brother Louv. In 1986 the organization participated in the Drug Enforcement Administration's hearings on cannabis rescheduling in the United States.

On August 8, 1994 Jim Tranmer, a former member of the group, wrote a letter to Carl E. Olsen while meditating on his 35-year prison sentence and his departure from the EZCC's "malicious hierarchy".

The EZCC is in no way associated with the Coptic Orthodox Church or the Coptic Catholic Church, both based in Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church also has an Ethiopian sister church which is also unrelated.The follwoing is the Church's web:

http://www.ethiopianzioncopticchurch.org/Default.aspx

In 1975, needing an “embassy” in the United States, the Church bought a mansion on Miami’s exclusive Star Island. Initially, the Church received recognition as a legitimate religious organization by the government. But as the media caught wind of the group and their rather unorthodox religious ceremonies, things started to change. Ultimately, a 1979 60 Minutes piece featuring footage of young children puffing large “spliffs” of marijuana caused public outrage and compelled the government to finally put an end to the Coptics . Soon after, many Church members were indicted and eventually convicted of smuggling large quantities of marijuana,Square Grouper reported.

The following video report by CBS in 1979 tells it all. Enjoy watching it, in the future I will study the group more and give an analytical assessment.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Another one for the lovely

By Anko Zuta , Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

3-7-2011

This is for you...you know who you are in a warm... ****h Sunday ...

Advertorial :Save Ethiopian Refugees International (SERI)

As many of you are aware there are several hundred Ethiopian refugees
in Libya and thousands in Yemen who are caught in the cross fire due to
the on-going fighting. These Ethiopians are dying and sufferings beyond
imagination due to neglect by Humanitarian Organizations operating in
the area. They are not receiving same protection and resettlement
assistance because not enough voices are highlighting their dire
situation. Many are denied refugee status and trying dangerous
alternatives to get out of harm’s way. There are many women and
children among these Ethiopian brothers and sisters of us. They are not
asking for much, just a few minutes of your time to write a letter, make a
phone call, or email any official or organization you think could help.
Please do your part to help them. Write to your elected officials to bring
their plights to their attention. You can use the sample letter below to
modify it as you see fit and send by mail, fax or email. If each and every
one of us does this we may be able to save the lives of these remaining
fellow Ethiopians.

You can also sign the online the petition drive to add your voice to the
campaign to save these refugees.

Click here to sign the petition

LEWEGEN DERASHU WEGEN NEW!

Contact US for more information


========================Sample Letter==========================
To: (Name of official)
(Office Name)
(Office Address)
(Telephone Number if known)
(Fax number if known)
Dear (Title Name),
I am writing to you to express our great concerns about Ethiopian
refugees who are presently facing difficulties to escape the growing
crisis in Libya and Yemen due to lack of support from humanitarian
organizations.
As we speak, due to the insufficient support from the UNHCR and other
Humanitarian organization on the ground, hundreds of Ethiopians who
flee Ethiopia due to political persecution are taking desperate and
dangerous attempts to escape the growing violence in Libya and Yemen.
This is causing lose of many lives. For example, in one recent incidence
about 70 Ethiopians who were left in a locked container for days due to
the disagreement with smugglers / human traffickers were found all dead.
In another occasion about 80 Ethiopians were left in small boat that
drifted on the Mediterranean ocean for days and only 9 of them made it
back to Libya. The remaining 69 perished from hunger and exhaustion.
These and many other incidences could have been prevented if the
UNHCR and the other Humanitarian institutions in Libya and Yemen had
provided significant and appropriate support to the refugees to resettle
them to a safe third country.
I urge you to call local UNHCR representatives and humanitarian
organization to immediately help the neglected Ethiopian refugees in
Libya and Yemen and expedite their settlement to the third country.
Sincerely,
(Name)
(Address)
(Contact phone number)
(Contact email address)

Avril Lavigne

By Anko Zuta, Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

1-7-2011

Eskinder Video/DSTV Bet (Mini Cinema), Doro Manekiya , Addis Abeba,Ethiopia.

That was the place that me and my friend used to go to watch MTV Live and Channel O Music Channel. We were the plain folks then. Every new song- we know-we sing--we rap--. Felt so coooooool.

We paid one Ethiopian Birr for one movie and around 45 minutes of live music from both channels.Most came for the movie but we for the live music.

And one day this beautiful girl came on the channel , Avril Lavigne (complicated),2002. None of us knew her but Eskinder(Somalew) sung along. All of us went hmmmm.... Then we researched her...and we sang along too.

And no singing here alone ...complicated... at least for now it is consoling me ...

Cover of Avril Lavigne

Former Tele CEO lands at a Pvt. Company;Mobile Money in Ethiopia?

Amare Amsalu

By Anko Zuta, Blogger of De Birhan Blogspot

1-7-2011

Amare Amsalu, the last Ethiopian to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned telecom provider Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC), who resigned in September 2010 has found a new job as a Director at an Irish owned private company, M-BIRR.

Previously, he had held many other positions over the last 16 years in ETC including Fixed Line General Manager, North-Western Region Manager and Southern Region Deputy Manager. Amare who holds, an MBA from the Open University Business School will work as the Director of the M-BIRR under James Noctor, the CEO and Thierry Artaud – COO and GM of Ethiopian Operation.

M-BIRR Limited is an Irish company founded in Dublin in 2009. The M-BIRR Ethiopian subsidiary (M-BIRR ICT Services PLC) was set up in Addis Ababa the following year after extensive market research in Ethiopia, according to the Company's Website.M-BIRR is focused exclusively on the Ethiopian market for the delivery of mobile money services.

M-BIRR customers include:

• Dedebit Credit and Savings Institution S.C. (DECSI)
• Amhara Credit and Savings Institution S.C. (ACSI)
• Oromia Credit and Savings S.C. (OCSSCO)
• Addis Credit and Savings Institution S.C. (ADCSI)
• Omo Microfinance S.C. (OMO)

It is worth reading this article written in relation to Microfinaces in Ethiopia to have a balanced view :
http://debrebirhan.blogspot.com/2011/03/poor-helpers-or-poor-killers.html

Fight poverty with wealth creation, not charity-John Kufuor

Image via Wikipedia

According to Kufuor,former Ghana President, encouraging the private sector has been key to fighting poverty in Ghana. "We fight povertywith wealth creation, otherwise it's charity, and that's not what we came into government for," he said.

List of Kenyan MPs who are refusing to pay taxes

mzalendo.com , a Kenyan Parliamentary watchdog site , has put up this list. Similar watchdoggery activities should be started in Ethiopia.

We have put together a list capturing the names of MPs who are refusing to pay taxes and where possible their public statements, this is for posterity reasons…since we know how kigeugeu our politicians can be.

Source :http://www.mzalendo.com/2011/06/28/list-of-kenyan-mps-who-are-refusing-to-pay-taxes/

Upcoming Article

Upcoming Article

By Anko Zuta, Blogger of this Blog,De Birhan - ''A tabular comparative analysis of Meles Zenawi and Paul Kagame ''

Tebekun Be kerb ken....

Profile: Sir David Frost

Who is Sir David Frost ?

The 70-year-old is a broadcasting phenomenon - the son of a Methodist minister who became a household name on both sides of the Atlantic, a multi-millionaire and a friend of the great and the good.

After studying at Cambridge University, he came to television in the early 1960s, presenting the mould-breaking BBC satirical show That Was the Week That Was.

With his mocking delivery and use of headline language, he became a national figure and before long he found fame in the US, commuting regularly across the Atlantic.

His catchphrase, "hello, good evening and welcome", was to become much-mimicked.

Trial by TV

Sir David mixed pure entertainment - with shows like The Frost Report, which brought together Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett - with serious political interviews with the likes of US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

In 1969, he also introduced the much-criticised trial by television, notably of Emil Savundra - head of a cut-price car insurance company which swindled thousands of motorists.

The presenter was visibly angry at Savundra's evasions.

Sir David was played by Michael Sheen, right, in Frost/Nixon

In 1977, he used the format to take US President Richard Nixon to task over the Watergate political scandal.

In the interviews, watched by 45 million people, Nixon ultimately admitted his part in the scandal which led to his resignation two years earlier.

The story of their verbal battle was brought to a new generation with the 2008 release of Frost/Nixon - a film based on those interviews, starring Michael Sheen as the British contender and an Oscar-nominated Frank Langella as the disgraced politician.

David Parradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, though the family later moved to Suffolk.

After a grammar school education, he went to Cambridge, where he was editor of student publication Granta and active in the Footlights theatre company.

He presented three programmes on ITV before That Was the Week that Was.

Ali interview

The list of Sir David's television programmes is a long one - The Frost Programme, Frost on Friday, A Degree of Frost, Not So Much A Programme, More a Way of Life to name but a few.

There was also the Frost Over series. Frost Over England in 1967 won an award at Montreux. Others were about America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

That Was The Week That Was began in 1962

The Frost Programme was the first current affairs programme to use a participating audience.

A variety of interview-based programmes followed. Recorded primarily in the UK and America, they were broadcast all over the world.

Interviewees from the world of showbiz included The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward.

Prince Charles was interviewed on the eve of his investiture as Prince of Wales.

Muhammad Ali was interviewed in New York and later in Zaire.

Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Heenan came into his studio and US political activist Abbie Hoffman and his Youth International party, aka the "Yippies", took over during a live show.

Sir David was a joint founder of London Weekend Television and one of the famous five presenters-cum-shareholders behind breakfast television station TV-am, which launched in 1983.

His Frost on Sunday programme began on the station in 1984, running until 1992.

Sir David married his wife, Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, in 1983

In 1993, he began presenting Breakfast with Frost on the BBC - his first regular weekly show for the corporation since That Was The Week That Was.

His new show - also on a Sunday morning - ran for 500 editions, ending in May 2005.

Since 2006, Sir David has presented weekly current affairs programme Frost All Over The World on the Al Jazeera English Channel.

Recent interviewees have included Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former US Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Sir David has written a number of books, produced eight films and has received many major TV awards, in the UK and internationally.

In the early 1980s, he was briefly married to Peter Sellers' widow, Lynne Frederick. In 1983, he married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, a daughter of the Duke of Norfolk.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4588233.stm

Ethiopian law used to suppress dissent

Ethiopian authorities have held a newspaper columnist incommunicado for at least eight days under what appears to be Ethiopia's anti-terrorist law, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International. Reeyot Alemu, a regular contributor to the independent weekly "Feteh", was arrested on 21 June. She is the second reporter to be picked up and held without charge in less than a week.

Authorities have not disclosed the reason for Alemu's arrest, but a local lawyer (who requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals) told CPJ that she was transferred into preventive detention for 28 days - the minimum period for preventive detention under Ethiopia's 2009 anti-terrorism law.

Local journalists said they believe Alemu's arrest could be related to her columns critical of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Her 17 June column in "Feteh" criticised the EPRDF's public fundraising methods for the Abay Dam project, and made parallels between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, says CPJ.

Another journalist, Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the weekly "Awramba Times", has been held since 19 June, also at the federal investigation centre at Maekelawi Prison in Addis Ababa, says CPJ.

The sweeping anti-terrorism law criminalises any reporting authorities deem to "encourage" or "provide moral support" to groups and causes the government labels as "terrorists". When it was enacted in 2009, IFEX members expressed concern that it would become a potent tool for suppressing political opposition and legitimate criticism of government policy.

According to CPJ, the law makes it difficult for Ethiopian reporters to cover the activities of Ethiopia's opposition figures and rebels without risking prosecution and a 20-year prison sentence - even though Ethiopia receives praise and assistance for participating in U.S. counterterrorism measures in neighbouring Somalia.

"The irony is, the government may pride itself on its efforts to fight terrorist groups, but we [reporters] will think twice before writing about it," said a local journalist who also requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals.

Recently, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the capital, Addis Ababa, EPRDF-ruled Parliament formally designated five groups as terrorist entities: al-Qaeda, the hard-line Somali Islamist militant al-Shabaab, the Ethiopian separatists groups Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), as well as Ginbot 7, a banned political party started by U.S.-based opposition leader Berhanu Nega.

WiPC suggests that Taye's arrest may be linked to his perceived sympathy for Ginbot 7. "Awramba Times" provides in-depth political coverage.

Human Rights Watch reports that just this March, more than 100 ethnic Oromo Ethiopians were accused of belonging to the OLF and detained without charge after mass arrests. Reports of the arrests broadcast on Voice of America's Amharic service were jammed by the government, further raising concerns that the roundups are politically motivated.

In a related issue, the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA) has uncovered evidence that China has been providing technology, training and technical assistance to the Ethiopian authorities to enable them to jam the signals of dozens of broadcasters, including Voice of America.
According to CPJ, the Ethiopian government has long targeted international media for providing coverage of the terrorist groups. In 2009, the Ethiopian government went as far as accusing the Kenya-based broadcaster Nation Television (NTV) of giving a platform to terrorist groups in the Horn of Africa for airing a report on the OLF. In 2008, authorities accused Al Jazeera of "direct and indirect assistance to terrorist organisations" after it aired an exclusive report on the ONLF. In 2007, three "New York Times" journalists were detained for five days for reporting on the ONLF.
Enacted in July 2009, the anti-terrorism law contains an overly broad definition of acts of terrorism that could be used to suppress non-violent peaceful protests, and greatly expands police powers of search, seizure and arrest. The law also carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison, and provides for holding "terrorist suspects" for up to four months without charge.

Source : http://www.ifex.org/ethiopia/2011/06/29/anti_terrorism_law/

Thousands of Ethiopians, foreigners find healing in Addis Abeba

Priest/Exorcist Girma Wondimu

Thousands of Ethiopians and some foreigners head to two Churches in Addis Abeba looking for religious healings from an Orthodox Priest/Exorcist Girma Wondimu. On Saturday and Sunday to St. Stephen Church, Meskel Square and on Tuesday and Wednesday to St. Michael Church, in Merkato, Addis Abeba. Thousands of Ethiopians and foreigners have given testimonies of healing and many have been open-mouthed by the miracles they have witnessed. Almost all types of ailments are healed through ‘Faith Healing’. This is one of the talking points in the religiously strong Addis Abeba today. The Priest regularly gives religious teachings and healing through baptismal and exorcism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian ways. I have had the opportunity to speak to him.

The excerpt follows,

Tell me about yourself please?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: I was born in 1951 (Ethiopian Calendar) in Bale, Ethiopia. In 1962(Eth.Calander) , I was ordained a deacon by Abune Mekarios at the St. Michael Church, in Bale Goba . I served as a deacon for 15 years in different parishes in Bale, Ethiopia. Then I completed preaching and prayer courses. Recently I was given additional trainings on prayers by religious fathers. They strengthened me. By taking the Holy Eucharist (Communion) often, I also got the spiritual gift from God that enables me identify the spirit. When teaching the Gospel to the people attending worship, I was then able to identify where the spirits were amongst worshipers. When you take the Holy Communion, you see what Jesus Christ had seen. You do what Jesus Christ did. Because He said in the Gospel of John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” In this world where betrayal is much, God is out of the philosophy; to quieten the material world’s wealth and wisdom, and reveal the secret; he showed/gave me the opportunity through His gift. So now I can say I have a Doctorate Degree of 35 years of investigation and research on spirits. And in all those years, I had served in Bale Goba, Zeway, Butajira (many Pentecostals and Muslims have been converted to Christianity),Meki,Jima,Teppi,Yirga Cheffe, Sidamo, Harar, Somali region, Neeus Tabia Ketema, Sudan, I have been in Addis Abeba for the past good years and will soon be heading to Wello, Haik, and others.

What did it include, prayers only or did it include healing and other services as I watched in the series of the Video CDs of the Faith Healings you have released?

Priest/Exorcist Girma : What you saw in the Video CDs is just a tip of it. Through my Service, all kinds of healing, safety and deliverance works are done. I spent all the 35 years in this Service. Out of the 35 years, I spent nine of them exiled in Sudan.

Do you have a family?

Priest/Exorcist Girma : I am married and have three children. I live with my family now.

Doing these time and space taking Faith Healing Services and being over crowded with such a large mass, Won’t this affect your private and family life?

Priest/Exorcist Girma : My private life is only for prayer. The rest would all be fulfilled by the Will of God. After my Faith Healing programs, I spend my time in prayers and taking the Holy Communion frequently, because the way to defend devil is when you have Lord inside you, so it is by taking the Holy Communion that the devil is won and you get strengthened. Because He said “I am the bread of life.’’

Can you list me the total number of healings and their types?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: They are so many . Because it is quite expensive to have the blank CDs we use for recording the films on, we only do recordings sometimes and only few of the miracles selected. Hundreds of people are healed every day. For instance in Somali region, Ethiopia, we used to heal a bunch of 20 to 40 people at a time. So it is difficult to put it in figures but you can say around a million. You can say almost half of the 80 million of our population has been affected by demons. You can say after the revolution (1974), Habessha has become devil.

There were many types of cures ;some whose tongues was inside their necks were healed , crippled, disabled, deaf and some who were in coma were also healed, scientists were also cured, infertile gave birth , Pentecostal spirits were also healed . Many Europeans and Americans have been healed here too. Some of them are in high positions in their own countries. Their demons are easy to exorcise because it is not worshiped unlike ours.

I know that most priests in the old days used to have the gift of Faith Healing. Especially those that were before the coming of modern schooling were able to heal. Then, those who have abused their religious education for their own and devil’s benefits have popped up, who are wrongly named, Debteras (evil doers).

To those of my fellows in my generation who believe in rationality and logic such cures and miracles are unacceptable, some would even laugh when told about the miracles. What is your message for these people?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: These people are of four types: those that have totally denied God and are possessed by demon, second are relatives of the devil (witches, shamans, evil eyes and son ), third those affected by the spirit of philosophy (these is the modern Satan, say as in the case of Marxist and similar laws), fourth are those who succeed the place of devil by having a behaviour of discriminating, hate, and love of riches . The last or the fifth group are Christians. The four believe in materials. They believe in philosophies and when they see miracles they happen to be scared or at other times continue with their denials.

Such services of “Faith Healing’’ in our Church are increasing. I have seen many cases in Addis Abeba in places like Piassa, Ferensayee and so on. Some were proved wrong. How do you see that?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: Gifts of God's generosity are different. As long as one can heal, opposes the devil, and the rules and regulations of the Church are respected, I wouldn’t have anything against it. I believe the gift is only from God.

Did you have bad experiences?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: I was labelled by some laity as a non Christian and was even unable to find a place to sleep for some time. Some had also said that I don’t eat food at all. When I said that my time to break my fast has reached, an elderly lady whose children have been healed once said to me “do you also eat?” I also heard that some people accused me of being a magician, using a Sudanese witchcraft. Those who have been doing this were the types of people I sectioned into four above . One of the saddening things is that priests that knew me very well also failed to testify about me due to jealousy and bad intentions. Some with a rank of Pope, whom I had known in person, had also sent out a rumour, stating that I had a Sudanese witchcraft to do all these healings and this, had stereotyped many worshipers. This shows that the spirits of jealousy and badness that were in there during Genesis had not yet left the Church. There were also intimidations, breaking of my water pipe, protests and so on. But this is all improving now. Worshipers have known the truth now.

They say treasury gifts can spoil …do u take gifts?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: For all these services, nobody pays. It is all free. And there is no precondition to be healed all human beings of all religions, race or identity are allowed to come for healing. They get all the services for free.

So how do you live? Any source of income?

Priest/Exorcist Girma: From the sale of the Video CDs. The CDs show some of the live recorded miraculous ‘Faith Healing’ programs and preaching.

Do you have message for Ethiopians? We Ethiopians are suffering and agonized both in Ethiopia or while in exile. Our problems seem to be endless. Though we were one of the grandest, now we are the helpless.

Priest/Exorcist Girma : Very good. We are in this alarming image for one thing because our ‘Ethiopianess’ has gone out of us. Secondly, our religious direction has been contaminated by the communist thinking. Thirdly, a cursing spirit has entered us and our leaders have built the generation repeating the ‘Destroy it!’’ slogan.There was this culture that promoted the destruction of our past history, the Church, the monuments, and the heroes who protected the country. I am not a politician but I think a child that grew up with those slogans of ‘destroy it’ couldn’t be able to have love for the Country and values and respect for a religion. So we are harvesting a generation that grew up with the ‘destroy it’ slogan/word. That is why whatever we work and our fruits are destroyed, we are exiled and there is destruction there too, here we are and it is destroyed too, it is all destruction. Why? Because what we sow was curse, so we reap curse too. Ethical morality has been broken by Marxist thinking too. Sixty thousand Ethiopians in the times of the Revolution were always marching on Sundays saying “destroy it”, they used to eat meat on Wednesday and Friday that was a time where there was extreme exaltation and indulgence .When their slogan was made a reality by God, it is destruction again. The other thing is that , “going 40 years forward and 40 years backward’’ has become one of the natures of the Ethiopian history.

What is the solution?

Priest/Exorcist Girma : We have to return backward meaning to prayers, ethical education, the religious martyrdom of our fathers, firmness in belief, ceasing lying, and fearing God. Ethiopians have to begin a life of sainthood/sanctification. Sanctified people won’t starve, go to war, migrate, because God is the worrier under the protection of Angeles, they will be victorious. We aren’t sanctified. So all of us have to be blessed. If all are blessed, they will always win.

People of the world had attempted to change the world with materials but material is only reducing human beings. We see the technologies, satellites, internet, and mobiles advancing…although it is good and useful; it is also passing its limit. Leaders have been very wrong. Politicians have extremely lost their direction. So unless we return to the One who shows us directions, we will be in complete darkness. If we return to God, what we Ethiopians have is enough to the world. We are not either with the West or with ourselves; we have become losers.

In short, I would like to say to Ethiopians from the youth to elders to stop being lured with little things for the sake of filling their belly and be firm on their faith.

Source : http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-627906