From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Jun 18 2010 - 08:31:04 EDT
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012146414_ethiopian18m.html
Originally published June 17, 2010 at 8:44 PM | Page modified June 17, 2010
at 8:46 PM
Community unites in grief over 5 lives lost in Seattle fire
Members of the area's East African community have been gathering this week
to pay their respects to the Ethiopian victims of Saturday's fatal fire in
Fremont.
By Marc Ramirez
Seattle Times staff reporter
>From all over Seattle they've come, bound by an unfathomable tragedy that
has shaken them to their roots.
Members of the area's East African community streamed through Seattle's
Yesler Community Center this week to grieve alongside the family of the
woman and four children who perished in Saturday's apartment fire in
Fremont.
While those killed in the blaze were members of the city's Ethiopian
community, the mourners — representing a variety of homelands, regional
cultures and beliefs — have been nonetheless united in grief.
"In a situation like this, everybody comes through, regardless of what tribe
or religions," said real-estate agent Ezra Teshome, one of Seattle's first
Ethiopian immigrants.
"Everyone comes to pay their respects in any way they can and is giving what
little money they have ... . Everyone is deeply hurt."
A public memorial is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Seattle Center's KeyArena.
Those expected to speak include Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and a
representative from the Church Council of Greater Seattle.
Last weekend's fast-moving fire, blamed on a foam mattress placed too close
to a light bulb, claimed five lives in the apartment where Helen
Gebregiorgis and her sister Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis were chaperoning a
Friday-night sleepover.
Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis perished in the blaze along with three of Helen
Gebregiorgis' children — Joseph Gebregiorgis, 13; Yaseen Shamam, 5; and
Nisreen Shamam, 6; as well as 7-year-old Nyella Smith, daughter of a third
sister, Yordanos Gebregiorgis.
In the past days, tearful supporters have passed through the community
center, many of the women wearing the traditional netella, a light shawl of
white cotton worn at spiritual events.
As people ushered out trays of freshly made bread and sweetened tea from the
center's busy kitchen, mourners reflected before photos of the victims
placed on a folding table covered in flowers, cards and flickering candles.
Handwritten signs read, "We love you, Joseph" and "Joey, we will never
forget you," nods to the popular Whitman Middle School student.
Said Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, Somali director of Seattle's Afrique Service
Center: "Everybody is saying to themselves, what if that had been my child?"
Sisters Helen and Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis came to the U.S. as refugees in
1989 along with their Orthodox Christian parents, their other sister and a
brother. They settled in Seattle a year later, joining a growing number of
local Ethiopians who, like them, had fled a nation torn by internal
conflict, famine and war with neighboring Eritrea throughout the 1980s and
1990s.
Ethiopians comprise the majority of East African immigrants and refugees in
the Puget Sound region, a fast-growing population that community leaders
estimate at between 30,000 and 40,000. Settled mostly in the Central Area,
Northgate, West Seattle and Rainier Valley, most Ethiopians are Orthodox
Christian, while others are Muslim or Pentecostal Christian.
Daniel Gebregiorgis said his sister Helen has been an anchor among their
large circle of family and friends, the one known for hosting birthday
parties, holiday gatherings or NBA-playoff watches highlighted by her
signature tibsi, an Ethiopian stew.
"Helen has always been the go-to girl, if you will," Daniel said. "...
That's whose house we normally congregate at."
The name Helen is so popular among Ethiopians, he said, that when most talk
about a Helen, they normally include the last name.
"But with Helen, it's just Helen," Daniel said. "Everyone knows who Helen
is."
Their parents were originally from the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray.
Here in Seattle, the Tigray Community Association, at 19th and Yesler in the
Central Area, has about 250 registered members whose dues help fund, in
part, community advocacy, youth employment programs and networking events.
The money also helps pay for community expenses such as weddings and
funerals. But no one could have foreseen such a tragedy, said community
leader Maikele Mengesha: "We weren't ready for five bodies at the same
time."
Locally, Ethiopians gather at churches or at centers such as the Ethiopian
Community Mutual Association, but the constant stream of support at the
Yesler Community Center indicated the weekend's tragedy had touched far
beyond those sites.
"The community is in shock," said Eritrean native Michael Neguse, who came
to Seattle in 1984. "They've never seen a tragedy of this magnitude here."
*Marc Ramirez: 206-464-8102 or mramirez@seattletimes.com*
*********
**Memorial service today at KeyArena*
*A memorial service* for the woman and four children who perished in
Saturday's fire is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Seattle Center's
KeyArena. The service is open to the public. Attendees are advised to arrive
an hour early to get a seat.
*How you can help:* A bank account has been set up to help the families at
the Bank of America. Donations may be made to the Seattle Children's Fire
Fund.
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