Intro

On Nationalism

Surprise Still Pending

Speechism

Ethiopianism

Arif Wear

NYU Habeshas

Amadou's Reminiscing

Kimo's Korner

A Hazardous Peace Of Mind

Hi My name is...

Aman Mchugh

Poetry: Rahel Hailu

In your AREA

Photo of the Month

Artwork

Webpage

by Aman McHugh

I was born in Chicago but I lived in Wad Medani, Sudan from the ripe age of two months until I was almost three. My family then went back to Chicago for a couple of years after that, and when I was four, we moved to the tiny town of Durango, Colorado (population 13,000). My sister fana was born just before we moved to Colorado, and we stayed in Durango until 1989 when we went back to Sudan, this time Khartoum. I was in the fourth grade at that point. Unfortunately, I had forgotten all the Arabic I knew so I attended the American School. We were there for a year and went back to Durango until 1994 when we arrived in Addis. My sister and I went to Sandford for two years and I loved that place.

My dad was teaching at the University of Addis Ababa. That's why we were there. He's a history professor. By the way, he's american, and my mom is Eritrean. We were in addis for two years, then back to Durango, which was a disappointment. I missed graduating with the Sandford class of '97 by one year, and as a result, graduated from Durango High School in 1998.

As a member of the Baha'i Faith I felt that it was important to give at least a year of my life to do what we call a "year of service." For those who are not familiar with the Baha'i Faith, we Baha'is consider it the newest independent world religion. For many this is hard to grasp. Some are turned off from organized religions altogether while others are waiting for prophecies which they do not believe have been fulfilled. Baha'is, however, believe that prophecies from all the major faiths including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and others, have been fulfilled by the Bab and Baha'u'llah, the twin Manifestations of God who founded the Baha'i Faith. The Bab (translated from Arabic as "The Gate") and Baha'u'llah (translated as "The Glory of God") were not physical twins, but are refered to as the twin Manifestations or Messengers because they both lived in Iran in the 19th century. To make a long story short, we as Baha'is believe that there is one God who sends down Messengers at different times. In other words, we believe that the same God who sent Christ also sent Muhammad, Moses, the Buddha, Krishna, and others.

As for my "year of service". In short, it was incredible. After my senior year of high school, I decided that I was going to take a year off instead of going straight into a university. I was ready for a break and knew that doing a service to the Baha'i Faith would be the best way to spend it. Eventually I chose the island of Madagascar as the place I would go. My aunt and uncle lived there so I knew I would have a comfort zone in a new place. In what turned out to be eight months, I travelled to almost every region in Madagascar. It was a wonderful experience and I was welcomed by Baha'is everywhere I went. In fact, in most cases, the Baha'is in a given area had never seen me yet they treated me like family. I guess the best way to describe it is to say that it was like nothing I had ever experieced. Of course, all of you know that Ethiopians are them same.

Not only did I have a great experience with the people of Madagascar, but it is one of the most beautiful and diverse places on the planet. I saw everything from desert to tropical rainforest to amazing beaches. And if you're anything like me, you love the ocean. The wildlife in Madagascar is also amazing. ( No, I don't work for the Ministry of Tourism in Madagascar) Many of the species are endemic, including the famous lemurs, which are similar to monkeys. I would recommend a visit or stay in Madagascar to anyone. Once you pay the airfare, which is ridiculous, everything else is very inexpensive.

Before I end, I want to send a shout out to Phoebe (and Candace) and anyone else from Sandford who reads this. When's the reunion?

Aman Mahray McHugh is a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder.