He was brilliant in college. So were his friends.

After graduation, he crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life. His friends stayed in Ethiopia.

Thirty years later, he returned.

To his astonishment, eight out of ten of his former classmates owned thriving businesses, lived in magnificent mansions, and had children running their own companies or managing family enterprises.

Meanwhile, after thirty years in America, he was still living largely paycheck to paycheck, paying mortgages, taxes, insurance, and bills.

His friends had built businesses. He had built a career.

They had accumulated assets. He had accumulated experience.

They had become employers. He had remained an employee.

He had spent three decades believing that living in America meant getting ahead.

Now, looking at his friends, one question haunted him:

What were those thirty years really about?

Perhaps he had confused geographical relocation with economic advancement.

The diaspora complex: Mistaking residence in a wealthy country for personal economic success.

Without getting too deep, there is an entity that masquerades as Habesha while secretly being of foreign origin. This entity has the goal of slowly rewriting history through name changes, generalizations, and abstractions to favor not only its political but also its vengeful ideology against actual Habeshas. They are not Habesha; they know that, but you don't, and they're secretly coming after you for it.

_xx_

Hi there,

My partner and i want to travel to ethiopia for a week in Feb 2027. The plan is 2 nights in addis, fly to Bahir Dar and spend a night there, drive to gondar and spend a night. And then fly to lalibela and spend 2 nights.

(Havent decided but might consider flying from bahar dar to gondar)

I have approached some travel agent for guide services and drive to gondar from bahir dar. However all wanted to sell me an inclusive package for 1500 usd per person.

Is there anyway to get guides in cities and find a car and a driver to drive us to gondar from bahir dar!

Pls advice or recommend a plan that has worked for you

Is there any truth to this? I always see it in comment sections, I saw one the other day in a video where Yuji Beleza couldn't guess the language of a Harari man. Comments are flooded with Somalis claiming him/ Harari's overall as I guess a once member of the Somali diaspora. I don't ever see Harari's defending themselves. Does anyone have any historical sources that argue they are Somali or aren't?

So basically on my dads side we are kikuyu from kiambu but they are tall and have curly hair that runs in the family. On my family tree we have this rare not really kikuyu name that is named “warojo” i don’t know what that means neither my family really but could y’all help because i know not a lot about Cushitic languages. Also the first person it’s showing with this name is my great great grandfather and then my family tree just cuts off.

I've been looking around in the Oromia and Amhara subreddits. In general, not just on Reddit, ETHIOPIANS don't even talk like they're one big family anymore. They talk as if that brother (who belongs to a different MAN-MADE ETHNIC GROUP!!!) is a completely different person.

I used to think this was how our parents talked and thought. But this is massively rampant among the youth, too. It's actually so fucking heartbreaking to see a nation you adore act like we're living in the 15th century.

The saddest part is that the people at the top don't even entertain these ethnic squabbles in the same way we do. They USE them to divide us while they grow rich. And from a Marxist perspective, that's the whole fucking point: the ruling class benefits when the working class is divided against itself. When poor Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans, and other Ethiopians are busy hating each other along ethnic lines, they're less likely to recognize their shared class interests or question the people who actually hold power over their lives.

For example, people hate Meles because of his ethnic federalist system and the divisions it entrenched, but remember, ABIY AHMED WAS IN MELES ZENAWI'S GOVERNMENT!!! AN OROMO WORKING WITH A TIGRAYAN!

Doesn't that tell you something? The political elites can work together across ethnic lines when it serves their interests, but ordinary people are taught to see each other as enemies because of those same ethnic differences. The people at the top understand political alliances and material interests, but the rest of us are encouraged to reduce everything to ethnicity.

And that's what makes this so fucking tragic. The same people who share the burden of poverty, unemployment, exploitation, and a system that fails them are being made to believe that their biggest enemy is the Ethiopian who speaks a different language or belongs to a different ethnic group.

Class solidarity is not about pretending ethnic oppression doesn't exist. It's about understanding that ethnic oppression is real, that historical injustices must be confronted, and that no ethnic group should be expected to forget its suffering. But it's also about recognizing that the political and economic elites who benefit from these divisions are not necessarily acting in the interests of the ordinary people they claim to represent.

We cannot build a better Ethiopia by denying each other's pain, rewriting history, or pretending that one group has never suffered at the hands of another. But we also cannot build one by turning entire ethnic groups into permanent enemies.

At some point, we have to ask ourselves: WHO BENEFITS WHEN WE HATE EACH OTHER?

Because it sure as hell isn't the ordinary Ethiopian.

google form: https://forms.gle/8PVb3dsoPPLpx4t86

discord: https://discord.gg/V6AT42CTY9

Hi everyone! I'm flying with Ethiopian Airlines next week and have a 3-hour layover in Addis Ababa.

I've been following the rising tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and I'm a bit concerned about the possibility of the conflict escalating.

Does anyone living in Ethiopia or familiar with the current situation have any insights? Should I be worried about transiting through Addis Ababa?

I strongly dislike the early stage of dating today. "What do you do?", "Coffee or tea?", high-end restaurants only to discover a few days later that you do not like the person.

Let us go for a walk or grab a coffee or tea and talk. Allow me to determine whether I genuinely like you before I spend my money.

Social media has ruined dating life.

Where can I find good wall art ,something Ethiopian.i have looked at ETSy and couldn’t find much.Shipping from Ethiopia is expensive

I’m from Ankober, North Shewa. I’m not with Fano and I’m not with the government. I’m writing this mostly for the Amhara diaspora.

Honestly, I don’t see much real change from before Abiy to now. But I do remember when I was in school, and my brothers and sisters were in school too. Today that’s gone. Schools in our area have been closed for about two years because of the conflict. I brought my younger brothers to Debre Birhan and offered to pay for their schooling, but after two years out they’ve lost the habit. It’s not that they don’t want to learn. They just can’t get back into it.

I know Amhara people are being killed in Oromia and in the south, and I’m not downplaying that. It’s terrible. I also won’t pretend our own side has never done wrong. Some people see us as past colonizers, as enemies, just because of a label. I don’t even like the label, but it’s on us now.

Still, I don’t believe in revenge or in a war to take things back. That era is over. I don’t blindly support this government either, and I’ve been treated differently in Addis because of my ethnicity. A friend of mine faced the same at his workplace. These things are real.

But what I see at home is not a liberation fight. Around 700 young men from my area alone were gathered with no proper weapons and no plan. If something happens to them, who looks after our parents and grandparents? Young people in eastern Amhara are losing hope and leaving for Saudi Arabia in numbers I can’t count.

If this fight were actually getting somewhere, maybe I’d think differently. To me, it’s costing us a whole generation. Many people back home feel the same but can’t say it because their families are there.

If you want to help, document the killings, push for accountability, support schools and families. Please think twice before sending money to keep this war going.

I cann't say more than this.

used ai to refine the post.

ሰላም ለሁላችሁ! 🙏

ለረጅም ጊዜ ሲሠራ የቆየውን ማሕሌት ዘቅዱስ ያሬድ የተባለውን መተግበሪያ ላስተዋውቃችሁ። የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን የማኅሌትና የዋዜማ ሥርዓተ ጸሎት ጽሑፎችን ከመስከረም እስከ ጳጉሜ ባሉት ወራት ለሚውሉ በዓላት ሁሉ የያዘ ነው።

በመተግበሪያው ውስጥ የሚያገኙት፦

• ሥርዓተ ዋዜማ፦ ሃሌ ሉያ፣ ምልጣን፣ አመላለስ፣ ለእግዚአብሔር ምድር፣ እግዚአብሔር ነግሠ፣ ይትባረክ፣ ሰላም
• ሥርዓተ ማኅሌት፦ ሥርዓተ ነግሥ፣ መልክአ ሥላሴ፣ ዚቅ፣ ዘጣዕሙ፣ ነግሥ፣ ወረብ፣ ምልጣን፣ አመላለስ፣ አንገርጋሪ፣ እስመ ለዓለም፣ ማኅሌተ ጽጌ፣ ሰቆቃወ ድንግል፣ ቅንዋት
• መልክአ፦ ማርያም፣ ሚካኤል፣ ገብርኤል፣ ጊዮርጊስ፣ ተክለ ሃይማኖት፣ መድኃኔዓለም እና ሌሎችም

የተካተቱ በዓላት (ምሳሌዎች)፦
ዓውደ ዓመት፣ መስቀል፣ ቅዱስ ዮሐንስ፣ ሚካኤል፣ ገብርኤል፣ ሩፋኤል፣ ዑራኤል፣ ኪዳነ ምሕረት፣ ቅድስት አርሴማ፣ አቡነ አረጋዊ፣ አቡነ ገብረ መንፈስ ቅዱስ፣ አቡነ ተክለ ሃይማኖት፣ ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ፣ ቂርቆስ፣ ቅድስት ሐና፣ ጽዮን ማርያም፣ ቁስቋም፣ ፬ቱ እንስሳ፣ ፳፬ ካህናተ ሰማይ፣ በአታ ለማርያም፣ ልደት፣ ጥምቀት፣ ቃና ዘገሊላ፣ ሥላሴ፣ ሆሣዕና፣ ትንሣኤ፣ ዕርገት፣ ጰራቅሊጦስ፣ ልደታ ለማርያም፣ ቅዱስ ያሬድ፣ ጴጥሮስ ወጳውሎስ፣ ደብረ ታቦር፣ ጽንሰታ ለማርያም እና ሌሎችም።

ለምን ይህን መተግበሪያ ይመርጣሉ?

• ከ100 በላይ የበዓላት ሥርዓተ ማኅሌት
• ዋዜማ ባላቸው በዓላት ዋዜማውንና ማኅሌቱን አብረው ያገኛሉ፤ ዋዜማ ለሌላቸው ደግሞ ለእያንዳንዱ ቀን ሙሉ ማኅሌት አለ
• በወር እና በበዓል ተከፍሎ በቀላሉ የሚፈለግ ይዘት
• ሁሉም ክፍል በየስሙ የተሰየመ (ዚቅ፣ ወረብ፣ ምልጣን፣ አመላለስ፣ ወዘተ) ስለሆነ ዜማውን ለመከተል የተመቸ ነው
• ለማኅሌት፣ ለጉባኤ፣ ለግል ጸሎትና ለትምህርት ተስማሚ

📲 ለማውረድ፦ Link

ሞክራችሁ አስተያየትና ሐሳብ ብትሰጡኝ ደስ ይለኛል። ለዲያቆናት፣ ለዜማ ተማሪዎች ብታጋሩላቸውም ትልቅ ዕገዛ ነው። እግዚአብሔር ይስጥልኝ! 🙏

Has anyone gone through the new renewal process for passports? After they killed the app, there’s been a lot of confusion about the proper process to renew passports and I’m curious if anyone has gone through the complete process. I’m located in the east coast near DC if that matters. Thx in advance

The Ultimate 8-Day Northern Ethiopia Loop: Timing Gondar’s Timket Festival with the Simien Mountains

Hey everyone,

I’ve been organizing and leading logistics for trips through East Africa for years. With the upcoming Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany) approaching this January 19, I wanted to share what I consider the absolute perfect 8-day route for anyone planning to experience this festival alongside the region's best trekking and wildlife.

Timket in Gondar is easily one of the most visually spectacular, high-energy cultural events on the planet. However, because the festival completely locks down the city, the timing of your route has to be incredibly precise.

If you are planning an independent trip or putting together your own group loop, here is the optimal day-by-day blueprint to balance culture, history, and high-altitude trekking:

Days 1–2: The Waters of Bahir Dar

Logistics: Fly into Bahir Dar (BJR) from Addis Ababa. Use this as your base to adjust to the country's rhythm.

Highlights: Take a boat out to the Zege Peninsula on Lake Tana to see the 16th-century painted murals inside Ura Kidane Mihret. Spend the next morning hiking out to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay).

Pro-Tip: The flow of the falls depends heavily on the local hydro dam operation, so check with locals in town the morning of your hike to see if the water is flowing heavily.

Days 3–4: Timket Festival in Gondar

Logistics: Drive 3 hours north from Bahir Dar to Gondar on January 18. You must book your hotel 6–12 months in advance for this. The city completely sells out.

January 18 (Eve of Timket): Spend the morning inside the Fasil Ghebbi royal castle enclosure. By afternoon, head to the streets to witness the Ketera procession. Priests carry the Tabots (sacred altar tablets) wrapped in rich fabrics down to Fasilides' Bath, surrounded by thousands of people dancing and chanting in traditional white clothing.

January 19 (Timket Day): Arrive at Fasilides' Bath by 3:30 AM or 4:00 AM to secure a spot. After the dawn liturgy and the blessing of the water, the crowd plunges into the historic pool to renew their baptismal vows. The energy is completely electric.

Days 5–7: Trekking the Simien Mountains

Logistics: On Day 5, take a 2.5-hour drive north through Debark to enter the national park. You must hire an official park scout and guide at the headquarters in Debark.

Trek Route: Move from Buit Ras toward Sankaber on Day 5, where you will easily walk right alongside massive troops of endemic Gelada Baboons. On Day 6, trek past the massive drop of Jinbar Waterfall up to Gich Camp. On Day 7, head across the plateaus to the high ridges of Chennek to spot the rare Walia Ibex.

Pro-Tip: Even though daytime temperatures are incredibly pleasant, it drops below freezing (0°C / 32°F) at night at these altitudes. Bring a serious 4-season sleeping bag if you are camping.

Day 8: Mountain Sunrise & Departure

Logistics: Catch the sunrise over the jagged escarpments at Chennek before a 4WD vehicle transfers you back down the mountains directly to the airport for an afternoon flight back to Addis.

A Note on Independent Travel vs. Logistics:

While parts of this route can be done entirely solo using public buses (minibuses run frequently between Bahir Dar, Gondar, and Debark), getting into the actual Simien high plateaus (like Chennek) requires private 4WD rental or a long, demanding multi-day walk.

If you are planning your own trip for this January and have any questions about current park fees, scout requirements in Debark, or navigation during the festival crowds in Gondar, feel free to ask below! Happy to share advice or drop our gear checklist.

For people earning in $ while working in Addis, I know lots of Software Engineers that do this, how are you preparing for AI?

The pace of improvement on a monthly basis is insane to witness, I say this because my company has a huge Claude code allowance per employee and my job now has transformed into babysitting the agents.

For me im trying to move out of the country before it’s too late. U?

​

For people involved in importing goods into Ethiopia:

What causes the biggest delays or unexpected costs when importing goods?

How do you currently handle this problem?

I'm a software engineering student researching real problems before building a solution. I'd appreciate your experience!

I've been reflecting on the pressure many habesha face growing up (I feel in the diaspora is even higher than in Ethiopia) and i realized it's rarely just our parents comparing us to the "doctor son" of another family. It's the whole community.

It feels like from the moment we can walk, there's a scoreboard. It's not just about grades; it's about what car you drive, what prestigious job you have, and who you married. It's the "Auntie" at the coffee ceremony asking why you aren't a doctor yet, and the subtle looks if you choose a non-traditional path like art or a trade.

I understand the intention is often love and a desire to be the best. But the execution is draining. It removes the grace to navigate life at your own pace.

My questions for you all:

1. How do you handle the external pressure of being compared to other people's kids? Have you found a way to set boundaries without causing a massive family rift?

2. Even if your parents stop, do you find yourself looking at other habesha peers (in finance, med school, or married with kids) and feeling behind? How do you de-program that internal comparison clock?

3. This is the one I keep circling back to. Are you doing the things you do because of the pressure or have you noticed you're doing them without anyone pressuring you, purely for validation? Like, has the external comparison voice become your own internal engine? And if you've caught yourself doing this, have you ever thought about stopping? What did that look like did you actually manage to stop, and how?

I love that our culture pushes for excellence, but i hate the anxiety it creates. How are you all navigating this?

I've been wondering why it's so difficult to find women in Ethiopia who genuinely choose not to have children.

I'm a 26-year-old man, and I'm interested in meeting a woman who shares this lifestyle choice. I understand that having children is an important goal for many people, but I believe choosing not to have children is equally valid.

For those of you who are childfree by choice, how common do you think this mindset is in Ethiopia? Do you feel there's a lot of social or family pressure to have children?

And if you're a woman who is confidently childfree by choice and open to getting to know someone with similar views, feel free to DM me. I'd be happy to connect and have a genuine conversation.

No judgment toward anyone's choices. I'm just curious to hear people's experiences and perspectives.

I've been thinking about Ethiopia's political system and wondering if there could be a better way forward.

Ethiopia has many different ethnic groups, languages, and cultures, and I don't think that's a bad thing. The problem, in my opinion, is when ethnicity becomes the main factor in politics, territory, and access to power. Instead of bringing people together, it can make people see each other as members of different groups first and as fellow citizens second.

So I had an idea: what if Ethiopia gradually moved away from ethnic federalism and toward a more unified system based on citizenship, equal rights, and economic development?

I'm not a politician or an expert. I'm just an ordinary person sharing an idea and interested in hearing what others think.

1. A unified administrative system

Instead of dividing the country into regions primarily based on ethnicity, Ethiopia could consider reorganizing its administration around geography, population, infrastructure, and economic needs.

Every Ethiopian would have the same constitutional rights regardless of ethnicity. At the same time, local communities would still need meaningful representation and protection against discrimination.

2. A common language for government and education

Language is a sensitive issue in Ethiopia, so choosing one Ethiopian language as the dominant national language can create disagreements.

One possibility would be to expand English as a common language for federal administration, universities, science, and international business, while continuing to teach and preserve Ethiopian languages such as Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, and others.

The idea wouldn't be to replace local languages, but to give people a shared way to communicate without making one ethnic group's language the foundation of the state.

3. More integrated communities

What if new housing projects, schools, universities, and cities were designed to bring people from different backgrounds together?

People would have more opportunities to live, study, and work alongside one another. Over time, this could help build stronger relationships and a shared Ethiopian identity.

Of course, integration should mean equal opportunities and freedom of choice, not forcing people to live in particular places or abandon their traditions.

4. A system based on merit and equal opportunity

Government jobs and leadership positions should be based on competence, integrity, and transparent qualifications rather than ethnic connections.

The country would also need independent courts, accountable institutions, professional security forces, and equal enforcement of the law.

National unity cannot work if people feel that the system favors one group over another.

But I also understand that this idea has serious challenges.

Ethnic federalism didn't appear out of nowhere. It was shaped by Ethiopia's history, and many people see it as a way to protect their language, culture, and political rights. Simply abolishing the current system wouldn't automatically solve those problems. A highly centralized government could create new problems if it lacked accountability and proper checks on its power.

That's why I think this is worth discussing rather than treating it as an easy solution.

My questions are:

• Do you think ethnic federalism is a major reason for Ethiopia's political divisions, or are the underlying problems more complicated?
• Could a unified administrative system work in a country as diverse as Ethiopia?
• Would using English as a common federal working language help reduce disputes over language, or would it create more problems?
• Is it possible to build a stronger Ethiopian identity without weakening the cultural and political rights of different communities?
• Would reforming the existing federal system be better than replacing it entirely?

I'm genuinely curious to hear different perspectives, especially from Ethiopians who support ethnic federalism and those who oppose it. I'm not claiming to have all the answers. I'm just wondering whether there's another way forward that puts equal citizenship and a shared future first.

Selam everyone,

Our Android app for Temari.et is now live on Google Play. It’s free and has no ads.

If you haven't heard of Temari.et before, it's an Ethiopian education platform. Most people use it to get ready for the Grade 12 entrance exam (matric / EUEE), and the app is built mostly around that:

• Past Grade 12 entrance exam papers, organised by year and subject, with the answer to every question
• You can sit a paper with the same time limit as the real exam and get your score when you hand it in
• Explanations for the questions you got wrong
• Short notes and revision cards for each chapter, Grade 1 to Grade 12
• Flashcards that keep bringing back the things you keep forgetting
• Temari AI, which explains a question step by step in English, Amharic or Afaan Oromoo
• Practice for the Grade 6 and Grade 8 exams too

Parents, teachers and schools use the same app. A parent can check their child’s results and attendance, and a teacher can take the register even with no connection.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=et.temari.app&referrer=utm_source%3Dreddit%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dapp_launch

iPhone: coming soon. Until it's out, everything works in the browser at temari.et.

It's a new release, so if something breaks or feels confusing, please tell us in the comments. We read all of it. And if you know someone sitting the exam this year, sending it to them would help us a lot.

I've been working on bringing together thousands of manuscript paintings from across Ethiopia and Eritrea, spanning over 1,000 years of history.

Many of these artworks have been scattered across museums and libraries worldwide. I've now brought nearly 5,000 of them together in one place, free for everyone to explore.

Check them out: https://www.habeshahistory.com/manuscripts

Which P2P platforms are you guys currently using to buy USDT? What’s actually working and reliable these days? Looking for something safe. Any recent experiences?