(Addis Ababa- The Daily Monitor)— Baalu Girma Foundation has been founded by the daughter of the prominent author and journalist Baalu Girma twenty five years after he went missing during the Dergue Marxist regime.
According to Meskerem Bealu Girma, the Foundation will be based in Michigan in the US and would strive to empower creative writers and journalists underrepresented in East Africa.
She said the foundation-a non-profit organisation established to promote learning- intends to achieve its mission through long-term and short-term projects, workshops, and talent-based academic awards.
"It was 25 years ago today that the famous Ethiopian writer and journalist, Baalu Girma, was abducted by the military junta (Dergue) in Ethiopia. He hasn't been heard from since, but his legacy continues," Meskerem said in remarks about her slain father.
Bealu is widely known in Ethiopia for his brave and skillful criticism of prominent members of Ethiopia's former government in a famous book known as Oromai.
The book which was circulated underground after the socialist government put a ban on it, skillfully details the widespread corruption among top-government officials and Generals of the Army.
"Throughout his life, Baalu was a true pioneer in the field; he had a lifelong passion for journalism and writing. But, his fascinating personal life and his selfless contributions to Ethiopian journalism and literature deserve to be published on their own," the newly-formed foundation's official website-www.baalugirmafoundation.org.-wrote.
