1. Early life

2. Career

3. Humanitarian Efforts

4. Civil Rights

5. Pan-Africanism

6. Diplomacy

7. Politics

8. References

First Black Actress to appear on Dallas CBS Show

Yeharerwerk Gashaw, የሐረርወርቅ (የኢትዮጵያወርቅ) ጋሻው።,(Born September 15th, 1958), is a politician, Pan-africanist, social activist, Ethiopian POWs and refugees advocate, and sociologist who founded Ethiopian Women for Peace and Democracy Political Organization in 1986 which became the Ethiopian National Government In Exile which has been legally registered in the U.S. in 2009 and recognized internationally^[1].

Early life

Born on September 15, 1958 in Harer, Military Hospital, Ethiopia and raised at the King Menelik II's Palace Compound temporary Military camp in Addis Ababa, Yeharerwerk was the eldest of her 2 siblings, Ephraim Mamo and Haimanot Bekele. At the age of 8 and a half Yeharerwerk lost her mother. Six months after her mother's death her father Gashew Habtegebriel, who was at the time serving as an officer in the Ethiopian military was killed. She was then moved into her aunt's house for a year until she ran away due to her aunt's abusive tendencies. Yeharerwerk then moved from home to home living with her parent's relatives until she could find a stable footing. Her early life was very difficult which endowed her with maturity and independence at a young age. With the help of family she was given the opportunity to go to Paris, France in 1975 to pursue her education.^[2]

Career

After winning Miss Black Europe on French television in 1977 Yeharerwerk pursued her modeling career, becoming the first international Ethiopian model. As the first International Ethiopian model, actress^[3], and politician she appeared on international media outlets including CBS^[4][5], ABC,^{[6] [7]}, VOA-TV^[8][9], Ethiopian^[10] , Nigerian ^[11] and Congolese National TV ^[12].

In the 1980s, due to most western media's portrayal of Ethiopia as a starving nation many Ethiopians were ashamed of their heritage.Yeharerwerk used her celebrity status as a voice of Ethiopia to educate the World that Ethiopians shouldn't be defined by starvation, but by Heroism. Her appearance on European, American, and other national media motivated Ethiopians to hold their head up and create a positive image of Ethiopia.

Humanitarian Efforts

Yeharerwerk has been an Ethiopian Refugees rights advocate since she was 18 years old. She started humanitarian advocacy with Ethiopian refugees in Paris, France while also helping Ethiopian refugees battling deportation back to Ethiopia which at the time was a socialist government. Since then she has continued efforts to help Ethiopian refugees and Africans across the world for 35 years.^[13][14][15]

In 1999, Yeharerwerk traveled to Eritrea and advocated for the freedom of Ethiopian Prisoners of War. After meeting with the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, in Asmara and shining light on the situation, restrictions on the Red Cross aiding the prisoners made by the Eritrean government were revoked.^[16] Due to her efforts, some of the POWs were released in 2000 and the rest in the years to come. ^[17][18]

In 2003, Yeharerwerk advocated for the freedom of the Ethiopian slaves mistaken as domestic workers in the Middle East. The situation was brought to her attention by Ethiopian humanitarian Frdu Aweke (Liseyas Sanchase). About 30 thousand Ethiopian people were kept as slaves under the name of domestic workers and robbed of their passports by their employers. She brought this to the attention of leaders across the world including Ethiopia and many other African countries that they were being kept against their will after applying for jobs as contractor employees in the Middle East. By using her good name and celebrity status Yeharerwerk was able to gain the UN's help to free the African slaves including Ethiopian mothers and men. In order to free the Ethiopian slaves she organized an international effort, with the help of contacts in the U.S., Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, to investigate and expose what happened to these people. ^[19]

In 2004 she helped former Ethiopian Navy members, civilians, and their families who had suffered for 14 years in Yemen to resettle in the US with the help of President George W. Bush.^[20]

Civil Rights

Yeharerwerk worked with Carl Muhammad on the Dallas, TX chapter's organization of the Million Man March as community outreach chair person. The event took place in Washington D.C. on October 16, 1995.

In 2010 she was one of the main organizers in the Poor People's March in Dallas, TX.

Pan-Africanism

Yeharerwerk became a Pan-Africanist activist at the age of 12 in Addis Ababa in support of freedom in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Mozambique.^[21] In 1990 she was selected to welcome Nelson Mandela by Marshall Mobutu Sese Seko at Goma Airport.^[22] While in Goma, she was appointed as Mandela's assistant. She traveled with Mandela for some time assisting him with translations and organizing his visits within African countries as a Pan-Africanist activist.^[23]

Yeharerwerk was the official guest of Zaire, now DR Congo, where she introduced her peace and reconciliation proposal to Marshall Mobutu Sese Seko in order for him and the rebel leaders Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Étienne Tshisekedi, and the rest of the oppositional leaders like Gerard Kamanda wa Kamanda to come together. In 1995 she also presented the same proposal to Mandela so he could mediate between Mobutu, Étienne Tshisekedi, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila.^[24] Her campaign while in Zaire was covered by Zaire media where she was named Person of The Week for her efforts to bring peace upon both groups as Pan-Africanists for Zaire unity. ^[25]

Diplomacy

In 1990, Yeharerwerk traveled from Dallas, TX to Ethiopia and met with Ethiopia's president Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam to introduce a peace and reconciliation program with the rebel and separatist TPLF and EPLF, and to renew diplomacy with the U.S. government by honoring the late congressman Mickey Leland's humanitarian and diplomatic work on the first anniversary of his death. She also organized an international day of prayer in memory of the late congressman Mickey Leland and the 15 other ethiopian and Americans that died with him while on their way to West Ethiopia to visit 40,000 Sudanese refugees and 17,000 Sudanese children.^[26] The prayer service brought U.S. representatives out to honor Leland in the name of diplomacy and humanitarianism which marked the first time the U.S. and Ethiopian government had come together since each nation withdrew their ambassadors due to rumors of conspiracy.^[27] Yeharerwerk then went on to found Mickey Leland's Orphaned Children Home and Mickey Leland St in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. In 1991 After the separatist rebels leader Meles Zenawi took power he demolished Mickey Leland's Orphaned Children Home due to its symbolism as a bridge to the U.S. and Ethiopia's relationship.

Politics

In 1986 Yeharerwerk Gashaw founded the Ethiopian Women for Peace and Democracy Political Organization in 1986, which later became the Ethiopian National Government In Exile, making her the first woman in the history of Ethiopia to form a political party.^[29][30]

In 1992 Yeharerwerk "declared her decision to run for president of Ethiopia in order to save and protect the unity of Ethiopia, from separatists rebel groups."^[29]

References

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• List of cities and towns in Jamaica
• List of cities and towns in KwaZulu-Natal
• List of cities and towns in Latvia
• List of cities and towns in Lebanon
• List of cities and towns in Limpopo
• List of cities and towns in Moldova
• List of cities and towns in Montana
• List of cities and towns in Mpumalanga
• List of cities and towns in Namibia
• List of cities and towns in Papua New Guinea
• List of cities and towns in Paraguay
• List of cities and towns in Poland
• List of cities and towns in Quebec
• List of cities and towns in Romania
• List of cities and towns in Russia
• List of cities and towns in Saint Kitts and Nevis
• List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
• List of cities and towns in Slovakia