Tell her to get a life.

I don't think wheather you are white or green matters to me, but it sour says a lot about u where Africa is at this time and moment.

you do go a little pink in the sun, so I guess the pig thing is fair.

Too late to rush to S.A.
How about posting the speech in the blog,if it's not too long?
But,to be honest,the thing that seduces me is the idea of the blogging conference.We should have thought about this before .Why don't we have our own here (Ethiopian version)and get some sponsers (Alamudin, of course would be in the first list, no offense intended) and we would 'conduct' a successful conference and get a front page coverage from the 'respected' national daily , the Ethiopian Herad.
So, bloggers,don't you think this is something to consider about in the new Ethiopian year?

Re: being "outed". you can only "out" someone who is hiding or pretending to be something you are not. So were you pretending to be something you were not? Were you hiding your true identity? One thing I have noticed is that the issue of ethnicity, race, colour is never significant when it comes to whiteness.

Whatever I am happy you are down there rather than an Ethiopian blogger or a DRC blogger, a Tanzanian, Ghanaian, Nigeria, Cameroonian, Moroccan and all the hundreds of other African bloggers. Why am I so happy because of the wonderful things you have done and continue to do for the African blogsophere.

As for the pig supposed to be bulldog, that has already been dealt with on my blog

Nice one Andrew!

I don't see the pig?

Histirionics aside Sokari is very right for people to call a conference "African" and have a minority of native Africans is just plain wrong!

"Rush over at 3.30pm on Friday to hear me tell all about photo-blogging."

If you have something to say please say it now, i beg you.

I don't know if your were told but many of the black africans were not really "personally" invited --- see someone knew we would not be able to afford the trip and did not want to embarrass us---how thoughtful.
We have no way to "rush over at 3.30pm ( we also don't know what 3:30pm SA time is in our villages, see we don't keep south african time)

Hm, I didn't get the idea that sokari was attacking either you or those black people who might want to attend this blogging convention--rather I got the feeling that she was challenging the idea that most of the bloggers attending this convention will be speaking as africans but will be white. and given the colonial history and current day conditions of africa, i see this as a very valid critique. Aren't all white get togethers that deal with "the african issue" sadly common in colonial legacies?
and blogging is already an elitest type of media genre (which even I, as a poor woc can freely admit), and then within that elitism, there is an underlying spectrum of racism across the board, not just within african blogging. How many white bloggers have written multiple posts lamenting "where are all the poc bloggers?" when a simple google search would lead them to thousands?
and what would be so wrong with expecting a blogging convention that is claiming to be representative of a colored/black continet to not only "include" black bloggers, but have black bloggers be leaders in organizing and creating the convention to begin with?

Oh dear. There's a lot of conflicting issues going on here. Your blog is a thoughtful and interesting aperture into what's happening in Ethiopia. I haven't read enough of your blog to work out exactly why you are there, but living in Ethiopia is I imagine a far braver/riskier thing to do than live in Nigeria, where I live. So your voice and perspective is significant.

That said, the now infamous blogging conference doesn't appear to be particularly representative of the continent. I wouldn't have been comfortable speaking, because I don't really see myself as an African blogger, even though I blog, in Africa. Grahamstown may not have been the ideal place. (I know, let's arrange another one in Lagos!)

I have on my blog been called colonialist, racist yadayada countless times and it is a bit irritating. However, I also accept that such emotive/psychic issues almost necessarily come up, given the history and my big mouth.

I don't want to seem like I'm giving you a lecture - my point is that sometimes being combative against representational issues will get no one anywhere quick.

The tone of the criticism of the conference is uncalled for and reflects the inferiority complex of non-Ethiopian Africans who have been ruled by European colonialists.

Andrew-we appreciate your AFRICAN blog and completely understand why you would be a speaker at an African conference.

You are WHITE?? I'm shocked! I always thought that you were Scottish, which would make you a bit red around the cheeks after a "wee drab in the morning". I've already addressed this controversey over at Sokari's blog.

I have mixed-blood myself, at least 3 different races, and I'm damned proud of it!

"... I haven't read enough of your blog to work out exactly why you are there, but living in Ethiopia is I imagine a far braver/riskier thing to do than live in Nigeria, where I live. So your voice and perspective is significant."

You must be kidding me! You mean Lagos is safer than Addis Abeba? I've read and compared some African cities crime. Lagos belongs to the top group of cities with high crime. Since Andrew hasn’t reacted on this issue I guess someone has to say something.

Andrew you don’t even want to defend your hosts for their hospitality.

Selam
Observer

"Photographic evidence of my whiteness has been posted." Which one are you? The large white bald guy in the middle or the blonde woman?!

And the fact that you're white is supposed to be news how, exactly? Sokari's a fireball, which has its good aspects, but in this case the phrase that comes to mind is indeed "get a life."