Ethiopia Celebrates, Without Bob Geldof (Time)

But Geldof's absence is also about pride. The Irish singer raised $100 million through BandAid, a supergroup of British pop stars that set the mold for charity records to come, and Live Aid, which did the same for worldwide charity concerts. The money was to help alleviate the devastating Ethiopian famine of 1984-5, in which more than a million people are thought to have died. But Ethiopia, a nation of nearly 80 million people, now boasts consistent economic growth of 10%, and in that context the famine, and Geldof, are remembered with more than a tinge of humiliation. Two years ago, Geldof stirred the pot more when, in a television interview, he told Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to "grow up" and "behave" when Ethiopian police shot dead 36 dead opposition protesters...more