Meskerem Balkew joined the journalism profession 12 years ago. Currently, she is a society page editor with the Ethiopian Herald – the country's first and largest English daily and a reporter for SuomiAfrica.org. Her interests include gender, women, and children issues. She is also board vice chairperson of the Ethiopian Media Women Association which consist of 350 female journalists.
Despite strong economic strides over the last decade, Ethiopia continues to experience a migration exodus. While it is not uncommon to find Africans in bizarre and risky situation as they seek better opportunities abroad, those fleeing harsh conditions tend to come from countries with well documented human right abuses or dangerous conflict zones. Although Ethiopia has had it shares of bad press for its friction with the media amongst other allegations, it does not explain why so many Ethiopians take extraordinary means to migrate aboard.
