141079902

abesha.com

Abesha.com is an online magazine that celebrates the creative works of Eritreans and Ethiopians all over the world. Whether in our respective countries, or abroad in the Diaspora, our goal is to help the salient (and perhaps quirky) elements of our diverse cultures find a comfortable home on the web. Abesha.com publishes a colorful array of interviews, reviews, feature articles and essays to highlight the rainbow of contemporary contributions to music, film, theatre, art, dance and literature. Through this, we hope our readers experience Abesha.com as a platform to explore the differences and commonalities between the two countries, while simultaneously bridging the gap that exists between 2nd generation Diaspora, adoptees and their parents, and others.

Our world is teeming with the brilliant works of artists from a wide range of backgrounds. This diversity reflects the varied paths people from our region have taken, coupled with humanity’s need to express our thoughts, dreams and passions. Gathering and recording these works of art, through personal submissions or solicitations, creates a conduit that passes critical information from one generation to the next. Abesha.com believes this information sharing is a powerful tool that empowers youth and exposes them to exciting leaders, artists, and thinkers, while also inspiring a generation of writers to catalogue and analyze the world.

Due to the Diaspora’s far-flung locations, Abesha.com features a wide range of international perspectives, while also welcoming those contributors who may not be Eritrean or Ethiopian in origin, but have relevant perspectives to share. In this way, we hope our website promotes a healthy medium of exchange for members of the global community, while helping negotiate the various ways our worlds collide to influence and learn from each other. We’d like to spark discussions and debates and hope to provide a safe space for healthy dialogue and learning.

We selected the name Abesha.com due to our desire to select a neutral and commonly shared term of reference for both Ethiopians and Eritreans. However, since the site’s inception, we’ve learned many in Ethiopia do not associate with the term h/abesha, as it excludes groups such as Oromo’s, Somali’s, and the many Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. We have also learned a number of Eritreans do not refer to themselves as “habesha”, such as Rashaidas, Kunamas and others. Perhaps, the biggest lesson we have acquired is that the term “h/abesha” is a complex phrase that has specific social, geographical and sometimes political connotations and we will reserve it as a name that is quite vulnerable to constant modifications. Consequently, our view of this label is as one that gravitates us towards a deeper understanding of the complex fabrics that make a nation and with such gravitation comes many lessons. And with such lessons comes a clearer understanding of ourselves and those around us.

While we sincerely apologize for our ignorance in misperceiving “h/abesha” as a holistically applicable identity to both Eritreans and Ethiopians, we believe that it has and continues to achieve the essence and spirit we originally intended the word to embody. And the credit for the survival of such essence largely goes to you, our readers, for seeing past our ignorance and understanding our goals.

*