My account
ianet Bastyan
With love to Ethiopia
Introduction
This page is for praise for our blog and book. All constructive feedback is golden. When contacting us informally, readers usually gave us their names. We kept them anonymous to protect them.
1. Ethiopia Blog
Comments
“We Ethiopians really thank you for everything you do. Your information and news are trustworthy.” __Anon 2021
“Thank you so much Mr. Mesfin and Ianet for your good works for our country. Your blogs are really wonderful and very informative. Your profile is real awesome! How lucky am I to get in touch with a superhuman like you, and Ianet. Thanks for sharing the world your breathtaking history.”__Anon 2021
“Thank you for the wonderful knowledge you are sharing. Keep well and God bless.”__Anon 2021
2. Lucy’s People by Mesfin Tadesse, 2nd edition 2021
Lucy’s People skilfully documents an intimate perspective on an ethically complex time and place.
Book Review
“Humming with heartfelt energy, Mesfin Tadesse’s memoirs span a transformative and troubled era. Bright and charismatic, Mesfin cuts his teeth under the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I. In horror, he watches the communist Derg coup of 1974, and, alongside his compatriots, struggles to endure the ensuing atrocities. As a headstrong young man, Mesfin must not merely survive, but must do so without compromising his convictions, or his love of Ethiopia.
“Engaging to the last, Lucy’s People runs the gamut of human emotion. It strikes the tone of an affectionate elegy, such that it feels, at one moment, warmly descriptive, and at yet another, quietly indignant. In this manner, it weaves between the personal and the political: a feat widely accomplished with playful, acerbic wit. Readers can expect an appetising dose of flavourful detail, but without fear of excessive nostalgia or sentimentality. The storytelling remains consistently inventive, and rewards with gripping vignettes starring spirited personalities. These memoirs thereby tell the story of many – a story of resilient compassion and defiant pride. The result is compelling; Lucy’s People skilfully documents an intimate perspective on an ethically complex time and place. This review was based on a complimentary pre-release copy of ISBN 978-0-6488287-2-3.”___Ben Claessens
Ben is a PhD Philosophy candidate.
“This is rich material with great promise.” __blueink
3. Lucy’s People by Mesfin Tadesse, 1st edition 2020
It is genuine and tells the truth fearlessly.
Justice Magazine
Text Messages
“Dear sister Jani, I read your book Lucy’s People. I handed it over to my elderly father. He might not read another story like that unless you write another book.”__Anon 2020
“The best telling of a true story. We are completely challenged by your book. That is why we are jumping straight to another topic from outside your book. Sorry to do that, but we need to tell you this because it is urgent. Today, Ethiopia has developed effective medicine that cures infection and illness from the coronavirus. As you know, the world is close to having half a million people dead from COVID-19. Still, powerful individuals, leaders and nations are against the disbursement of effective medicine already developed in Ethiopia. Ethiopia made the medicine much earlier on, near the start of the fight against coronavirus. However, Ethiopia is up against the World Health Organization, and rich and powerful countries. Even when their own people are dying from coronavirus, they don’t care that it is still unavailable around the world. Above all, the rich countries don’t want this medicine to be available throughout the rest of Africa. They especially do not want it found in Ethiopia. Injustice continues against Ethiopia and Africa. Thank you to Ianet and Mesfin.”__Anon 2020
“Your book is real. The photos are real. The history in it injects the brain. When I finished reading it, I felt that I was a full human being. When I was on the last page, I felt angry because only one page was left in my hand. Thank you. The world deserves it.”__Anon 2020
News Media
Address to the Nation
“Read Lucy’s People. It will change you.”__Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in an Amharic national radio address, 2020. This followed the Senie 21 (June 29) riots. It was the year before he went rogue.
Book Review
“In 13 years, I have not read an Ethiopian book like this one. It is genuine and tells the truth fearlessly. Amazingly, this story has come to us from Australia. Because of this, they have a refreshing perspective on the treatment of Ethiopia by outsiders. Wake up world. Read this book.”__”Around the World.” Review of Lucy’s People: An Ethiopian Memoir, by Mesfin Tadesse & ianet Bastyan. Justice Magazine, May 1-2, 2020. Translated by Mesfin Tadesse.
Phone Conversation
“When I was photocopying Lucy’s People the machine ran out of ink and I missed the last 3 lines of Chapter 12 [sob].”__Anon 2020
Featured image photo: Pelicans over Lake Tana, Ethiopia © Mesfin Tadesse 2020
© J.R Bastyan and M Tadesse 2022–23. ABN 16583696260 Wilson, Western Australia. No unauthorised copying permitted. Contact us first: Email: info@ianetbastyan.com | Tel: +61478 960 407. Excerpts and links may be used, with credit to J.R Bastyan and M Tadesse https://ianetbastyan.com