 Themes for Upcoming Seleda Issues The HIV/AIDS Issue : December 2001 The Communication Issue : January 2002 The Depression & Ecstasy Issue: March 2002 The MrT'na MraCH Issue : April 2002 The Triumph & Despair Issue : May 2002 The HIV/AIDS Issue : December 2001 This is a serious issue. So serious that we at Seleda are willing to bet our last healthy cell that all of you know someone personally, or know of someone in the Ethiopian community who is suffering or has suffered fatally from this dreaded plague of the 21st century. A young cousin who died suddenly from "samba." An uncle who died from "b'rd." A relative who had disappeared for no apparent reason and turns up dead with suspect explanations given by the immediate family. HIV/AIDS has become the silent, faceless, graceless killer amongst us whom no one wants to talk about. This is your opportunity to put your fears, your thoughts, your experiences, your prejudice and your knowledge out there for our community to manbeb and meGenzeb. Perhaps it is time we as a community stopped ignoring our common killer and shunning its victims. December is AIDS Awareness month, so we thought we could take this opportunity to learn about "the dreaded disease" with you, to mourn its victims together, and to begin to fight our common enemy with you. Put pen to paper and share, not just about your personal loss, but whatever useful thing you may learned from it, what you would like to share with your community. If you are in the medical profession and you have unique knowledge about the many ways HIV/AIDS has affected us, we hope that you will take the time to share your knowledge with us. Deadline for articles is November 15, 2001. It's never too soon to start nor
to submit. Ay-hey-hey… wedEt wedEt. Long after we've been pegged "undersexed, desperate dorks" by those who, well, aren't, ineho proof that we might really, really …ere le werE'm ayamech. OK… so, this is the Sex Issue. Ah…the "S" word, feared and adored in Ethiopian society…that confounding mixture of promiscuity and piety all wrapped in one neat dr'b neTela teeming with tension and confusion. We're blasé about CHn gereds but, ho-ho-ho, let an adult woman wear a strapless dress, and it's all "waiter, I will have an extra large kenfer memTeT with my outrage". Conversely, are we Diasporic Ethiopians over sexualized? Is there something to be said for ET inhibitions? In layman's terms, at what point do issues of sex, fidelity, freedom, love, passion, lust, secrets and fantasies… megenaNet? Is our sense of piousness six feet or six inches deep? Are we capable of deep, hard thoughts about the myth and reality of sex in our society? Where is our emotional bed at? Do we have the tolerance to openly talk about sex, or are we going to just medabess the issue and not thrust to the core of the matter? Are we able to come, collectively, to an agreement, or are we doomed to always mafen our screams of ecstasy or frustration? What was the orgy-nal sin? Kama Sutra? You wish-imma! UUUUUuhhhhhh? Listen, we just ask the questions, aiight! Because we are proof positive that some reproductive organs should NOT reproduce, we look towards you, oh sage SELEDAwiyan, to help us address some of these issues. Enlighten us. High time for some frank, fr'T-rT , healthy discussion. Speaking of high…we're done here. Articles are due on or before January 15 The Depression & Ecstasy Issue: March 2002 To dig or not to dig? To poke, to puncture, perchance to bleed? MoyalEs can be painful, no? Yes they can. The distress of walking on a damaged heel because that miserable little wretch decided to dig itself into your body. Imagine that! YOUR body, damn it! And there it is, lodged comfortably in your heel, the pride and soul of your flawless walk and prance. There it is, grinning ad infinitum, while you huff and puff in an effort to dare the needle. That bastard! Your heel will never be the same again. Never! Imagine the expenses for psychiatric care to nurse your severely damaged self-esteem … all on account of that miniscule wretch. Yet abatu, ya agdim-adeg! Is the perfect heel too much to ask for? Imagine the joy, the sheer bliss of waking up and looking at a flawless, smooth heel, sans intruder infestation. It would even make the most menial, tedious jobs seem like heaven. In all seriousness, March is our "Depression and Ecstasy" issue. The hours spent fiddling and toying with sanity while itching from depression bites … momentous outbursts of ecstatic celebration that would put to shame the CHiffera and dinfata of a igir-aTabi who got promoted to Tegur-astekakai … folks, here's your chance to tell us your stories. Come hither and vent; our support group welcomes thee. So … all megl-yeQuaTeru terekezoch due on the 15th of February? 17th, if u have pedicured feet.
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