stories

sitting at the café today. sipping our machiattos and chailattes after
a breakfast of fool and hummus with the tasty flat breads. ahmed
starts in with the stories. it is obvious from meeting "momma" (his
mother, a Yemeni wombyn with amazing roots) that she is something
special. I am truly in awe of her. she was a princess by all
standards. lived like one. even rode horses and played with selassie
I's children. her grandfather (ahmed's great grandfather) also yemini,
a brilliant and accomplished merchant/business man, was responsible
for getting selassie I out of the country when the Italian invasions
started during WWII. he dressed the emperor like an Arab and got him
safely out of Ethiopia. how would history be different if great
grandfather had not intervened? because of his grandfather's known and
accepted strength, honor and accomplishments, he is known throughout
the country by all. momma told her children stories of grandfather.
when people physically carry goods on their backs here, they chant
ahmed's great grandfathers name- over and over and over again. they
feel it gives them strength to get through the burden. When Ahmed and
Fati (his fiyah burn sistah and dear friend of mine) were much younger
and still going to school here, they were sitting, waiting for the car
to arrive for them one day after school. a man walked by carrying a
load on his back and he was chanting great grandfather's name. fati
and ahmed NEVER disbelieved the strength of their grandfathers life or
legacy after that. as a result of all of great grandfather's hard work
and accomplishments, the family has worked hard and tried to uphold
the family name. they have done well in business endeavors.
prior to communism and the Italian invasion, the family was extremely
prosperous. there was ample land and wealth. communism took all that.
the current government promised to return all property and resources
back to their original owners. momma went to the government everyday
for four years, fighting for her family's rights. but all
farida/momma's family has seen as a result is the building that great
grandfather built- where the café resides currently. (the travel
agency TTI is next door.) they lost everything to the government. but
they have gained a lot. and the family is very tight. I will hold off
on discussing the government here further. things are tight and the
man is watching….
uncle rashad is brilliant and kind. uncle muhamad: a huge heart. uncle
nabil: kind face and earnest eyes. their sister: farida/momma, a
legacy in her own right. she was the first wombyn in addis to
accomplish several large tasks. (one of them was tai kwon do.) her
mother was equally fascinating. she was a known and loved mother
teresa of Ethiopia. she opened and ran a huge orphanage here in addis.
hundreds of children were housed and fed during her lifetime as a
result. ahmed still has people stop him on the street in
acknowledgement and thanks. one of the children that grandmother took
care of closely was hana. when grandmother passed, momma took hana as
her own. when she relocated to Denver, hana came. she is ahmed and
fati's older sister now. I am now eager to meet poppa (ahmed's father)
at some point. the small man who never sleeps, who loves his
vegetables and olive oil, who is stern and immense in character. his
large Royal Courier billboards are common site in addis. the man is in
exile and currently resides in dubai.
the stories like these keep unraveling. they are something of amazement to me.
there is much more, but for now, we'll leave it there……..