“Little Oromia” celebrates all week long in Minneapolis

By Michele St. Martin, TC Daily Planet

July 03, 2013

Photo courtesy of Opride.com

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  Photo courtesy of OPride.com.

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Every year on the Fourth of July, Minneapolis’ Riverside Park turns into party central for the Twin Cities Oromo community. They’ve gathered there for about 18 years, said Hassen Hussein, executive director of the Oromo Community of Minnesota. The St. Paul-based nonprofit provides social services to ease the transition of Oromo refugees from the Horn of Africa, and also works to educate the Twin Cities about the Oromo culture.

Because you can’t reserve space at Riverside Park, Hussein and a group of volunteers start setting up tents, grills, and sports equipment at 4 a.m. The party goes on till 10 p.m. “How many people come depends on the weather,” said Hussein. He estimates that there are more than 30,000 Oromo in the Twin Cities, which some say makes it the largest Oromo population outside of Africa, earning the nickname “Little Oromia.” According to Hussein, sometimes nearly 5,000 people show up for the Fourth of July event.

“There are women in hijabs and women in shorts,” said Hussein. “We celebrate our differences.” Hussein said that many families have come from refugee camps and the yearly celebration of freedom is particularly meaningful to them. “It’s a hybrid celebration,” he said. Along with traditional food, “We grill American food – hamburgers, hot dogs. We have adapted.”

This year the picnic will occur near the end of a week-long celebration that kicked off on June 29 with the Oromo Youth Summit, an annual event that brings together Oromo youth from around the world, and ends on July 6 with two concerts and a closing ceremony. In between there are concerts, the Miss Oromo beauty pageant, and perhaps the biggest draw: the week-long soccer tournament held on the fields of Washburn High School. Sixteen teams will compete, including the defending champion, Oromia 11 Stars, a Twin Cities team. (For a schedule of the week’s events, go to gadaa.com)

“This is the largest gathering of Oromo outside of Africa,” said Mohammed Ademo, a former Twin Cities resident who is co-founder of OPride.com. “It’s not political. We share food, laugh, talk about back home. The kids run around and have fun in an open park. Adults run into friends they haven’t seen for years.”

The soccer tournament may be the biggest draw, but Hussein and Ademo agree that one of the concerts may be the most unforgettable of the week’s events. Dr. Ali Birra, the “Michael Jackson of Oromo music,” is celebrating 50 years of performing with a concert at the Ramada Plaza on July 4 at 8:00. Dr. Birra is expected to retire from performing soon, and so the concert is especially meaningful.

c 2013, Michele St. Martin

Fourth of July 2013

July 2013 Egyptian protests

On 30 June 2013, on the first anniversary of the election of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, millions of protesters across Egypt demanded the immediate resignation of the president due to political, economic and social issues that escalated in his term. [1][2][3] In Cairo, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square and outside the presidential palace, while other demonstrations were held in the cities of Alexandria, Port Said and Suez.[4] The demonstrations, which had been largely peaceful, turned violent when five anti-Morsi protesters were killed in separate clashes and shootings.[4] At the same time, supporters of Morsi staged a rally in Nasr City, a district of Cairo.[4]
On the morning of 1 July, anti-Morsi protesters ransacked the national headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo. Protesters threw objects at windows and looted the building, making off with office equipment and documents. The health ministry confirmed the deaths of eight people who had been killed in clashes around the headquarters in Mokattam.[5]July13 Egyptian protests

On 1 July, the Egyptian Armed Forces issued a 48-hour ultimatum which gave the country’s political parties until 3 July to meet the demands of the Egyptian people. The Egyptian military also threatened to intervene if the dispute is not resolved by then.^[8] Four Ministers also resigned on the same day, including tourism minister Hisham Zazou, communication and IT minister Atef Helmi, state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs Hatem Bagato and state minister for environmental affairs Khaled Abdel Aal,^[9] leaving the government with members of the Muslim Brotherhood only.

On 2 July Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr resigned as well marking the 5th minister to resign from the government in support of the protests.^[10]The presidency rejected the Egyptian Army’s 48 hour ultimatum vowing that the president is sticking with his own plans for national reconciliation to resolve the political crisis. ^[11] Incidentally the Egyptian court of cassation ordered the reinstatement of former general prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud who was replaced with Talaat Abdallah following the constitutional declaration on November 22, 2012.^[12] The Presidency spokesman and the spokesman for the cabinet resigned as well.^[13]

June 30, 2013 RAB Interview with Abbaa Caalaa Lataa