US Opinion and Commentary

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From Rio to America, I Will Keep Fighting Ethiopia’s Oppression

Posted September 13th, 2016 at 10:59 am (UTC-4)
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On Aug. 21, when I reached the finish line of the men’s marathon at the Olympics in Rio, I crossed my fists above my head. This is sign of peaceful protest used by my people…I know if I go back to Ethiopia I will be killed, arrested…or never allowed to leave the country again.

Africa’s Hottest Frozen Border Boils Over

Posted June 21st, 2016 at 10:18 am (UTC-4)
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Neither of these Horn of Africa countries has an impressive human rights record, so members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporas…initially speculated that the regimes had fabricated a clash in order to distract from a flurry of embarrassing reports published recently by the U.N. and the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Will Obama’s Africa Tour Dispel Disengagement Narrative?

Posted July 27th, 2015 at 3:33 pm (UTC-4)
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The conventional wisdom on President Barack Obama’s engagement with Africa is largely critical – his predecessor did so much more. Africans love Obama nonetheless, observers say. This trip includes some firsts: Obama will be the first sitting American president to address the African Union in Ethiopia, where he has already boldly called for political freedoms. And in Kenya, his father’s homeland, he spoke frankly about gay rights and corruption.

Obama’s Trip to Africa Changes a Narrative

Posted July 23rd, 2015 at 9:14 pm (UTC-4)
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The highlight of Obama’s trip to Africa will be a summit on how to support entrepreneurs. US support for start-up businesses reflects a different approach to lifting the continent.

Obama Travels to Africa with Mixed Ratings

Posted July 23rd, 2015 at 12:58 pm (UTC-4)
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The president’s first trip to Africa in 2009 was a single stop in Ghana. It left some African’s asking if they were being abandoned by Obama, whose father’s birthplace is in Kenya. This visit, his third, begins in Kenya and continues in Ethiopia, the headquarters of the African Union. Despite “Obama-mania,” some are dismayed the president will be meeting with two of Africa most controversial – and divisive – leaders.

Is Genocide Inevitable?

Posted June 15th, 2015 at 11:26 am (UTC-4)
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Mass violence in countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Mali, Chad and Uganda, let alone genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Sudan, continue to influence sub-Saharan Africa’s image.