Ethiopian Esky, as she is known, has been in Bahrain more than 20 years and, in that time, the mother of two has worked successfully in several commercial fields, but the arts and community service are her true passions.
She has long been involved with the Migrant Workers Protection Society both as a board member and hands-on volunteer. She says: “The society helps people from many countries but I work most closely with my own countrymen and women, particularly domestic workers; I can understand and relate to the situations they find themselves in and I do my best to help.”
She is also a member of the NGO (non-governmental organisation) Mary Joy, in Ethiopia, which sponsors children, elders and other disadvantaged groups through integrated development programmes. “The founder, Sister Zebider, is one of my heroes,” says Esky. “The project focuses on Ethiopian-to-Ethiopian help rather than waiting for aid, which I think is really important.”
Tying into this, she recently produced her first film, Tikur Engeda, which deals with the sometimes difficult issue of adoption and what might go wrong when an adopted child seeks out their birth parents. But, she explains: “This was my first film as producer and I also acted in it, but I had already written my own film and became involved with this production as a way of learning about the market.
“My second film, which begins shooting in March, hopefully between Bahrain and Ethiopia, is the film I always wanted to make. It talks about the concept of migration – how it starts with your own country; people think it’s about a geographical place but it’s a lot more. I talk about love, domestic workers, family, trying to show what’s happening and how things can change – and it’s important to note it will include Bahraini actors.”
Her interest in the welfare of her fellow Ethiopians brought her to the attention of the diplomatic community and it was suggested that she should take up the role of honorary consul representing her country in the Kingdom.
She says: “It took quite a long time for me to be officially recognised and I was told by the ministry that I am the first female honorary consul, which is quite an honour.
“Once people heard about my appointment, lots of them asked me what an honorary consul actually does. The answer, if you look online, is that you serve your country and your people — for free. I’ve been doing that half my life anyway, so it’s nice for that to be recognised.”
In this role her arts background is also important since one of her aims is to promote Ethiopian culture on the island. She says: “The honorary consul’s role is to bring our two countries together both in culture and business.
“I hope to organise an Ethiopian Week, bringing business people to Bahrain from Ethiopia and I’m also talking to the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce looking at ways to promote Ethiopian products in addition to coffee, flowers, livestock and seeds.
“I also want to promote Ethiopia as a country; now that we have a direct flight with Ethiopian Airlines I would love to see more Bahrainis visiting for tourism – it’s only a three-and-a-half-hour flight, so it would be perfect for a weekend visit.”
Esky was instrumental in bringing Dr Tedros Adhanom on an official visit to Bahrain as he sought support for his appointment as director-general of the World Health Organisation.
