From: Adiam Tekeste (adiamtekeste@gmail.com)
Date: Wed May 13 2009 - 16:34:06 EDT
This week has been an exciting one for the city of Dallas, with every
weekend full of events due to the African Unity Festival and special
guests H.E. Ghirmai Ghebremariam, Ambassador of Eritrea in the US and First
Secretary Mr. Berhane Solomon visiting from DC, the Eritreans of Dallas have
had a extraordinary week.
The first event that was hosted by DFW International Community
Alliance* *partnered
by the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development for the African Unity
Festival was a Business Roundtable. The meeting hosted all the ambassadors
and dignitaries and was organized to introduce opportunities for
collaborative projects between local businessmen, African governments, and
entrepreneurs.
The following day was the Taste of Africa hosted at the African
American Museum. There was a wonderful turnout with sixteen countries being
represented. It was beautiful to see everyone wearing traditional clothes
from their homeland and the mixture of cultures, languages, and music was
harmonious. Many Eritreans attended in support of our outstanding student
and business leadership nominees, Raphael Yohannes a junior in high school
and Misgina Woldi and Michael Bahta from Dallul Restaurant, who also catered
the evening along with other African restaurants from Dallas. There were a
few surprises throughout the night, first one being the children of the
Eritrean community starting the evening by singing the American and Eritrean
National Anthem and handing flowers to each of the ambassadors present. Over
the course of the evening speakers expressed their enthusiasm with the
success of this year's African Unity Festival and their hopes to expand it
to more countries in Africa. The keynote speaker also pleasantly surprised
all the Eritreans present when the Dallas Eritrean community was given an
Award of Excellence. The award was presented to the community* *for their
unity, participation, positive spirit, solidarity with other Africans, and
extraordinary community programs that include a school, a radio station, a
TV program, a children's choir, a dance group, and much more. The award
reflected the strength of the Dallas Eritrean community and the progress
they have achieved over the years. Overall, the evening was a success and
enjoyable for everyone.
On Sunday, Dallas hosted a public seminar for all Eritreans, with both H.E.
Ghirmai Ghebremariam, Ambassador of Eritrea and First Secretary Berhane
Solomon. Many people were in attendance and as always with Eritreans, there
was a positive energy in the room. The Ambassador gave a thorough
presentation on the development in Eritrea, which included images of the
infrastructure being built that is dramatically improving conditions back
home. The people got a chance to ask questions regarding Eritrea's current
affairs and left the meeting feeling enlightened and confident of Eritrea's
strength. Georgio Tekleab stated that he was extremely pleased with the
seminar and hopes all those who attended felt the same way. "It was a very
learning experience and overall a success for Eritreans in Dallas."
*YPFDJ- Dallas and other youth plan to have their very own seminar with both
the Ambassador and First Secretary this Thursday evening. *
Click here to view pictures from this week's
events<http://www.slide.com/r/VyPEIghn5T9hHjYZcsbuuuWr37xynHQy?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original>
***UPCOMING EVENTS in DALLAS***
THIS SATURDAY MAY 16th, the community is hosting a meeting to discuss the
plans for the Eritrean Civic Center. The meeting will be held at the
Saturday School Church at 1pm!
Later that day (May 16th), there will be an 18th Independence Day Picnic at
Flagpole Hill (off NW Hwy & Buckner). Please bring all your children and
friends of Eritrea to join us in celebrating the 18th anniversary of
Eritrea!
And last but not least, who can forget the annual Independence Day Guayla
that will be held next Saturday, May 23rd...with talented singer Dashim and
Wedi Embaye from DC and Mehari on the keyboard! Make sure you save the date
and arrive on time because the kids of the Eritrean community have an
exciting performance lined up for everyone!
In the history of Eritrea's
struggle for Independence, it is apparent that some people fought hard to
keep us from gaining our freedom. Regardless of their efforts, Eritrea is
still standing, self-reliant and strong. The secret to our happiness is our
18 years of freedom; the secret to our freedom is our courage. Join the
Eritrean youth of Dallas as they take you back over 40 years ago...on a
journey into the struggle for Independence. In an attempt to depict the
emotions felt during that time and to reignite the passion and love every
Eritrean has for their country through music and drama all performed by the
Eritrean children of Dallas.
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