Foreword
Meskel is an illustration of the history, culture and traditions an ancient Empire that lived through the dynasties of the Queen of Sheba, Tewodros, Menelik and Haile Selassie. Ethiopia is one of the most ancient countries on earth, where the Arc of the Covenant is believed to be kept and where "Lucy" at the fossils of human ancestors dating back 4.4 million year were found.
In the 1950s and '60s the Fanouris Book store served as a library for those who could not afford to buy books and a meeting place for intellectuals and the younger generation who, for the first time, discovered the joys of periodicals such as Time Newsweek, L'Express, Paris Match and Le Monde. It was a time when you could pick what you wanted and pay later; a time when one's word was sufficient.
Meskel is the true and poignant story of the Fanouris family who survived the suffering and humiliation of an artificial Marxist-Leninist regime in Ethiopia when the country was totally destroyed by the incredibly brutal and bloody military regime of the tyrant, Mengistu Hailemariam. Armed withgoodwill and determination- and protected by Saint Gabriel of Kulubi-they were forced to flee their homeland and build a new life in Kenya, awaiting their return to the promised land In recalling the tragedy of the Fanouris family, Lukas and Mellina record an authentic testimony of their times, some-thing which most exiled Ethiopian intellectuals failed to do.
fekrou Kidane
Coordinator International Olympic Committee Lausanne, Switzerland |