Community health care workers in Ethiopia. *Photo from Wikipedia
May 28 is Downfall of the Derg Day, a National Day of Ethiopia.
The Derg is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987. It took power following the ousting of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, followed by the Ethiopian Empire around 1137.
Ethiopia derived prestige with its uniquely successful military resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, becoming the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty. Subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopia’s flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations and the United Nations.
In 1974, at the end of Haile Selassie’s reign, power fell to a communist military dictatorship known as the Derg, backed by the Soviet Union, until it was defeated by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled since about the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ethiopia, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world, as well as the second-most populous nation on the African continent after Nigeria.
In commemoration of the day, we introduce you to Rose Ohashi, Ethiopian cooking instructor.
*Click the photo below and read her stories!
“There are about 100 ethnic groups in Ethiopia and each has their unique food culture.”
*Reference: Wikipedia
