Gigi,Ethiopia needs to hear from you!
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ALEMNEH WASSE NEWS – Gigi,Ethiopia needs to hear from you!
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ESAT Radio Sat 26 Sept 2015
ESAT Radio Sat 26 Sept 2015
The post ESAT Radio Sat 26 Sept 2015 appeared first on Satenaw-Latest Ethiopian News & Breaking News.
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Minnesota Meskel Celebration 2015
The post Minnesota Meskel Celebration 2015 appeared first on Satenaw-Latest Ethiopian News & Breaking News.
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Addis Ababa University to Introduce 8 new Post-graduate Programs
Addis Ababa University (AAU) announced that it has finalized preparations to enroll students in eight new post-graduate programs in the present academic year.
The university would enroll 4,585 students in all post-graduate programs, it was indicated.
AAU President Dr. Admasu Tsegaye told ENA that the new programs are introduced so as to speed up the development of the country.
The eight new fields of studies to be introduced are architecture, construction, urban development, business and economics, according to the president.
The university is also furnishing the programs with materials in order to consolidate the teaching and learning process, he noted.
The activities carried out include the provision of laboratory equipment and chemicals and reading spaces for students, it was indicated.
The university will continue expanding post-graduate programs to help the Second Growth and Transformation Plan become successful, the president pointed out.
Currently, there are 245 post-graduate programs, out of which 72 are PhD program, it was learned.
Some 16,000 students are attending regular, summer and evening classes at Addis Ababa University.
Source: Addis Ababa University (AAU)
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Ethiopians yearn for religious experience
BY MICHAEL SWAN, THE CATHOLIC REGISTER
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia is not like the rest of Africa. Just ask an Ethiopian.
Ethiopians cook the hottest food in Africa, endure the coldest rainy season, speak the most languages and brag they have no significant history of being anyone’s colony. The Italians moved in and called themselves colonial masters for six years, but most Ethiopians were barely aware of their presence in the late 1930s.
This was never a mission country. Christianity was introduced in the first century and its rulers declared the Ethiopian empire officially Christian early in the fourth century. The country is still almost two-thirds Christian.
Christians have lived side by side and at peace with Muslims since Mohammed and a few dozen of his followers fled persecution in Mecca and found refuge under the Christian emperor of the Kingdom of Aksum. Today Muslims are a third of the population and Harar is still one of the four pilgrimage cities of Islam.
Catholics are a tiny part of the mix — 0.8 per cent of the population, just over 800,000 people. Capuchin Franciscan Father Tilaye Alemeshet, rector of Addis Ababa’s Catholic seminary, is an expert in the Ethiopian Easternrite liturgy and is well aware of the huge numbers in the corresponding Orthodox Church — 40 million Orthodox Christians, 700,000 clergy in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. But numbers are not his measure of success.
“Our goal is not increasing our number or competing with other communities. We want to really serve any human person here. And we do it in different ways,” he said. “As long as we work for the Kingdom of God, our wish is that people will see our work and our service and give glory to God.”
As far as Tilaye can see, the great rush in recent years into Pentecostal and Evangelical churches has had little effect on the Catholic population. In just two generations the Protestants have grown from insignificance to 18.5 per cent of the population.
“I’m not sure that they really find a satisfying answer to their questions about the meaning of life. It has become a fashion. They enjoy it, but after a while they question whether they have found an answer,” he said. “Some of them turn back.”
The spiritual search among Ethiopians is much wider than the extraordinary numbers of ordinations, the crowds of sisters running schools, orphanages and parish programs, the crosses around every other neck and the students and office workers in Addis Ababa who stop and cross themselves when walking past a church. The growth in Protestant, revivalist churches promising more direct access to Jesus than the hierarchical Orthodox and Catholic Churches is part of the religious yearning of Ethiopians. The construction of new mosques in every corner of the country and the extraordinary popularity of Muslim preachers on radio and television also fits the pattern.
Among young Catholics the search for meaning and direction in unsettled times is on a more intimate scale. Young, urban, university-educated Catholics are finding community and spirituality in the Christian Life Community — a global lay movement for Ignatian spirituality.
The Christian Life Community is new to Ethiopia with an interesting Canadian connection.
“The person in the middle of this movement is Abba Groum, for sure,” said CLC Addis Ababa coordinator Gemechu Bekele Lemu.
“He is the one who introduced CLC to Ethiopia 12 years ago.”
Jesuit Father Groum Tesfaye studied theology in Canada in the 1970s — when the Christian Life Community was a growing new movement under the leadership of Canadian Jesuits, including Fr. John English. Groum returned from Canada to lead an incredibly varied and active life as the first Ethiopian-born Jesuit, including years spent as a university chaplain.
On campus, he nurtured a generation of young Ethiopian leaders with The Spiritual Exercises. As these students graduated they formed faith-sharing circles that meet regularly to discuss their prayer, their difficulties, their hope, their consolations and desolations.
Elsabeth Efrem shows me a picture of the group she is part of.
There are perhaps 30 young people in the photo gathered for a picnic.
Where in North America university is often the place where young people lose touch with the Church and come to doubt their faith, in Ethiopia university is where young Catholics deepen their faith.
“The way that some Catholics are raised is a bit formulaic,” said Elsabeth. “You need something to fill a gap. There isn’t really a movement that caters to people’s spirituality (in parish life). In a way, CLC fills that gap.”
And university is a natural place for that to happen.
“We’re very churchy to begin with. In your country, your experience is that if you go to university you are challenged and then the idea of spirituality and all that stuff comes under question more,” said Elsabeth. “Here, my experience working with university students is the opposite. I feel like we find ourselves more after joining campus (life). When you join the university you actually have more of a chance to learn more about the Church… You have more of a voice after 18, as opposed to being in a parish and under your parents, where you come to the church and that’s it. Our experience is different. It actually builds us.”
For young Ethiopians this experience of faith and learning has not happened at Catholic colleges or universities. The first Catholic university in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas, is just in the process of becoming established with a building under construction and a couple of college programs on offer in social work and medical laboratory technology.
For many North Americans the CLC experience of sitting in a circle and talking about faith, prayer and movements of the heart sounds incredibly contrived, artificial or, if genuine, just plain frightening. But it connects with Ethiopians, said Elsabeth.
“We as a culture are very communal. When we come together it’s much more — we come together more often. Even in our neighbourhoods we come together,” she said. “To discern together comes almost naturally to us.”
The Christian Life Community in Ethiopia is not yet recognized by the global movement. The groups in Ethiopia struggle to put on programs, rent space for meetings, put together the application to become part of the global family. They look at the movement in neighbouring Kenya with its much larger Catholic community, and admire its boldness of CLC in Nairobi which has founded a remarkable school for children of Africa’s second largest slum.
Ethiopia is going through enormous social changes. Seventy per cent of the population is under 30. The economy is growing at an average rate of 10 per cent each year. What were once small towns are suddenly blossoming into cities as the traditionally rural population moves to cities looking for education and jobs. Nobody in Ethiopia’s government actually knows the population of Addis Ababa, but guesses run from six million to nine million.
New ways of life and the emerging generation are raising profound spiritual questions.
“Young people in Ethiopia, like CLC members, they want to experience this deep spiritual knowledge. There’s this deep spiritual experience they want to have,” said Gemechu. “They’re happy if they can know that the way they are following is the surest way for them.”
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church followers celebrate ‘Demera’ colorfully
Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Orthodox Church followers across the nation celebrated Demera, the tradition of burning bonfires on the eve of the anniversary of Meskel (Finding of the True Cross) yesterday colorfully.
The festival, in particular, was observed in Addis Ababa at Meskel Square in the presence of followers, clerics and tourists, including Patriarch of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, and Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Mathias I.
High level government officials, including President Mulatu Teshome, were also present at the celebration.
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Mathias I, on the occasion said Meskel is considered as a symbol of healing, love and friendship.
This year’s celebration is unique as it coincided with the Pope’s visit to Ethiopia and the inscription of Meskel on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity by UNESCO, he said.
The Pope’s visit will cement the religious and historical relations between the two countries, Abune Mathias I added.
The longstanding relation between the two countries is tied by Nile River, he said, adding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Ethiopia has been building will not cause any significant harm on the riparian countries. This was also confirmed by international experts, he noted.
Abune Mathias I also called on religious leaders to seek solutions for people suffering because of migration, crisis, war and conflict.
Pope Tawadros II on his part said the True Cross, which was a symbol of punishment in the ancient world, has now become a symbol of power, happiness and love after the sacrifice Jesus Christ had made on the cross to save the world.
The Pope, who underlined the importance of the festival in creating love and friendship among people, wished all followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church a happy Meskel.
Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church will strengthen its support to Ethiopia’s development activities, he said.
Mayor of Addis Ababa City, Diriba Kuma, on his part commended the contribution the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been making in main national issues besides to its religious service.
Religious institutions should teach their followers about development, respect and tolerance, he said.
He also called on all Ethiopians to maximize efforts to see a peaceful, developed and prosperous Ethiopia and a beautiful Addis Ababa.
Abune Mathias I, President Mulatu Teshome, and Diriba Kuma lit the Demera and the celebration ended.
UNESCO registered Meskel festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity two years ago.
Ethiopia has now 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Meskel celebration.
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Ethiopia’s Dibaba and Melese added to 2015 Chicago Marathon women’s race
This year’s Tokyo Marathon winner Berhane Dibaba has been added to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon women’s race on Sunday 11 October, the organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race announced on Monday (28).
The Ethiopian won in the Japanese capital in 2:23:15 and can boast of a best of 2:22:30 when she finished second in the 2014 Tokyo Marathon.
She will be the fifth fastest runner among the elite women in Chicago, although two of those who have gone quicker in their careers are veterans and US distance running greats Deena Kastor and Joan Samuelson.
Also added is Dibaba’s compatriot Yebrqual Melese, who has won both of her marathons so far this year, setting a personal best of 2:23:23 when winning in Houston in January and then finishing just 26 seconds shy of that time when she won in Prague in May.
Additions to the men’s field include the US runners Luke Puskedra, Brandon Mull, Mohammed Hrezi and Scott MacPherson.
Unfortunately, former Chicago and London marathon winner Tsegaye Kebede will no longer be participating in this year’s Chicago race due to an injury.
Source: IAAF.org
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Top 15 Health Benefits Of Basil
Basil is known as the king of herbs. This plant contains phytonutrients which provide many health benefits. The chemical compounds present in basil leaves and flowers have disease preventing properties. This herb has antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties which provide them medicinal value. It also contains many essential nutrients vitamins and minerals. To get health benefits it is used as raw or it is added to the recipes at the last moment. It can be used to flavor any veg. or non-veg. dishes.
Health Benefits Of Basil
1. Anti-Oxidant
Basil contains polyphenolic flavonoids such as vicenin and orientin. These compounds are found to have anti-oxidant protection against oxidation of lipid caused by radiation.
Benefits
• Eat fresh basil leaves regularly to get best anti- oxidant effect
• The anti-oxidant effect helps to prevent the bad effects of free radicals on health including preventing cancer.
2. Fever And Common Cold
Basil leaves are one of the best remedies for fever and common cold. Juice of basil leaves are effective in bringing down high temperature. You can reduce the risk of malaria and dengue fever by consuming the tender leaves of basil.
How To Use?
• Chew fresh basil leaves to get relief from cold and flu
• You can boil the leaves in water and consume the leaves as well as the water
• To reduce acute fever make a decoction of basil leaves along with powdered cardamom in one cup of water and consume it several times day.
3. Boosting Immune System
It has been proved that the chemical compounds found I n basil leaves is capable of boosting the production of antibodies by about 20 %. These antibodies help our body to fight against various infections.
Benefits
• Consuming basil leaves helps to prevent infections and to improve the immune system
• Consuming fresh leaves is better than consuming it in dried form to boost the immune system. You can just chew some leaves of basil every day to purify the blood and to fight infections.
4. Cough
This herb is an important constituent of cough syrups and expectorants. The various compounds present in basil mobilize the mucous. It is an effective treatment for curing bronchitis and asthma.
How To Use?
• Boil a cup of water with 8-10 basil leaves and five cloves for about 10 minutes. Allow this to cool and consume it to get relief from cough.
• For sore throat due to cough, gargle using the water in which basil leaves are boiled.
5. Anti-Inflammatory
Basil contains essential oils like eugenol, citral, linalool, terpineol etc. These essential oils help in reducing the inflammations.
How To Use?
• You can boil 10-20 basil leaves in water and consume it to reduce inflammations in the body
• You can also apply a paste of basil leaves with lemon juice on the inflamed area to reduce infections.
• This is highly effective for reducing the rashes and inflammations caused by eczema.
6. Lung And Oral Cavity Cancers
Basil leaves are good source of vitamin A. Vitamin A helps to maintain the mucus membranes and skin in proper health. It has been found that vitamin-A help the body to prevent lung and oral cavity cancer.
Benefits
• This herb is easy to consume in fresh or dried form and it will provide 24% of the daily intake for women and 19% for men.
• Since they prevent the formation of free radicals in the body they are effective in preventing cancer.
7. Oral Health Enhancement
Basil helps to maintain oral health. Various periodontal diseases can be prevented by the regular use of basil. It can fight off pyorrhea and bad breath.
How To Use?
• Dry the basil leaves in the sun for two to three days. Make a powder from them and use it to brush the teeth regularly.
• Massaging the gums with this powder will help to get rid of bad breath.
8. Improves Eyesight
The vitamin A present in basil leaves is essential for proper eye sight. Lower level of vitamin a in the body can cause night blindness. You can also prevent sore eyes with basil
How To Use?
• You can consume the basil leaves to prevent night blindness
• Put two drops of basil juice daily into the affected eye to clear sore eyes.
9. Stress Reduction
Basil leaves has anti -stress properties and helps in providing stress reduction. According to expert’s opinion, consuming basil daily reduces the stress disorders.
How To Use?
• Chew 10 to 12 basil leaves twice a day to keep away stress
• You can put 8-10 leaves in two tablespoon of water and keep it over night. You can consume these along with water next day morning to bust stress.
10. Acne Prevention
This herb is effective in preventing the acne outbreaks and also helps to heal acne lesions. The leaves have anti-bacterial property which helps to fight the bacteria that causes the infection. Basil is also effective in treating other skin problems like ring worm, psoriasis and insect bites.
How To Use?
• Apply basil juice to the acne affected areas to destroy the bacteria causing clogged pores.
• Make a paste of basil leaves and turmeric and apply it on acne affected areas
• Mix the juice of basil and honey and apply it on the skin affected by acne.
11. Kidney Stone Elimination
Basil improves the overall functioning of the kidneys. The chemicals in the juice of basil leaves will help in the breaking down the kidney stones and eliminate them through urinary tract.
How To Use?
• Consume five to six basil leaves along with half cup water on an empty stomach
• Mix fresh basil juice with equal amount of honey and drink the mix every day for a few months to eliminate kidney stones
12. Stomach Problems
Basil is an excellent cure for stomach problems. It helps in the proper functioning of the digestive system. Basil juice is highly effective in treating the stomach aches and cramps. You can get instant relief from stomach pain by consuming the juice of basil. Consuming basil is very effective in treating problems like indigestion, constipation, acidity and piles.
How To Use?
• For stomach ache mix one teaspoon of basil juice with one teaspoon of ginger juice.
• You can drink basil tea to cure constipation indigestion etc.
13. Cures Skin Problems
Basil leaves have anti bacterial and anti septic properties and hence is used for treating skin problems. It is used for the treatment of leucoderma by naturopaths. Most of the skin diseases can be cured using the basil juice. It is very effective in treating ring worm infections and other fungal infections of the skin. It is also effective in treating insect bites.
How To Use?
• Consume one teaspoon of basil leaf extract twice daily to cure skin infections and to treat insect bites.
• You can also apply the fresh juice of basil directly on the skin affected by infections or insect bite.
14. Relieves Headache
Basil helps the muscles in the body to relax and hence it is a good medicine for treating head ache. Tension and tight muscles are the main cause of head ache. The basil soothes the muscles and relaxes them providing relief from headache.
How To Use?
• Make a paste of basil leaves with sandal wood and water and put on the fore head. This will provide a cooling and soothing effect and relieves the tension of the muscles.
• You can drink basil tea twice a day to get relief from head ache
• If you have mild head ache chewing some basil leaves or massaging the head with basil oil will be effective.
15. Respiratory Disorders
Basil is one of the best cures for various disorders of the respiratory system. It reduces the inflammation of the respiratory tract and makes breathing smooth. It can fight the various infections of the system. This is an effective remedy for asthma, influenza, bronchitis etc.
How To Use?
• Make a decoction of basil leaves and mix it with honey and juice of ginger and consume it twice a day.
• If you are suffering from influenza or common cold, make a decoction of basil leaves with cloves and common salt and consume it to get instant relief. Boil 15-20 leaves in one glass of water and reduce it to half a glass to make the decoction.
Apart from these health benefits, basil leaves also help in treating various children’s ailments like cold, cough fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Basil also helps in lowering the cholesterol level and hence is very useful for people with heart disorder. If you are suffering from any of the health problems or you have multiple health problems, you can try using basil leaves for treating it. It is natural, safe effective and easily available. The medicinal value of this herb is very high and there are no side effects for the use of basil for treating various health problems. So what are you looking for? Make basil a part of your daily life and get benefited.
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ESAT Radio Mon 28 Sep 2015
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Ethiopian runners begin new lives after fleeing to the United States
Rick Maese for the Washington Post
Tuesday 29 September 2015 05.59 EDT
Genet Lire locked herself in a bathroom stall at Dulles International Airport and hid. The clock was ticking. If she was found, she would have to get on the plane and return home. She feared she would be locked up again, probably beaten, and her family terrorised. The time passed slowly: five minutes, 10, 15, 20. Feet tapped on the tile floor. Doors opened and closed. Every noise and shuffle made Lire’s chest tighten.
This was supposed to be a quick layover. Lire was a 17-year-old sprinter from Ethiopia, in the US to compete in the 2014 International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon. But she had no intention of reaching the starting line. She and her team-mates flew in from Addis Ababa. They rushed to their gate, watched their bags board the big jet, and that’s when Lire saw her chance, slipping away to the bathroom as the flight began to board.
She didn’t know it at the time, but not far from Dulles, in and around the Washington area, there was an entire community of Ethiopian runners in similar situations. They were beaten and persecuted back home, almost all for political reasons. They feared for their lives and sought asylum in the US, most putting their promising running careers on hold for the chance at stable and safe lives. About three dozen Ethiopian runners have congregated in the Washington area, many in just the past three years, and 12 agreed to share their stories.
Some requested their full names not be used, fearful their families in Ethiopia would face retribution. The details vary, but some threads are consistent: they all had been imprisoned but never charged; most used visas they’d received through their track careers to flee; they were all beaten; and many have struggled to acclimatise to a new life, far from family and lacking the time and resources to continue running competitively. “They get here and are physically and emotionally traumatised,” said Kate Sugarman, a doctor who has treated many. “Some can’t even run because of injuries they suffered during beatings. I think they’ve lost their confidence and arrive here without a lot of hope.” The runners have varying skill levels, but most are long-distance specialists, having competed in marathons from New York to China. They’ve won big races in Europe and North America and claimed titles across Africa. One man in his mid-20s once completed a marathon in two hours and eight minutes. Only two American-born distance runners have ever run faster.
I told them I don’t support any other government. I just wanted to live by myself
Ethiopian runner in Washington
Lire was a rising star ; a promising sprinter in a nation of distance runners. Less than a month earlier, she had won the national title in the 400 metres, setting an Ethiopian record, and was now to compete in the US. A strong showing at the World Junior Championships last July would’ve been an important step to representing Ethiopia in the 2016 Olympics.
Instead she sat in the Dulles bathroom, half-scared she would be spotted and half-scared she wouldn’t. All she had were the clothes on her back and a red Adidas backpack. Inside were photos of her family, friends and the life she was escaping. Lire felt she had no choice. She had spent several weeks discussing the trip to America with her family, and they all urged her to flee at the first opportunity.
After 30 minutes, Lire cautiously opened the bathroom door. The plane was gone, with her team-mates and coaches. She looked around and approached a man with a friendly face. In her native Amharic, she said, “Please help me.”In Addis Ababa, Haile Mengasha refused to join the ruling political coalition – the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – and said he was detained for a week in 2012. His interrogators repeatedly struck him in the head and held a flame to his feet. It took many years to raise enough money, but he finally was able to fly to the United States for a half-marathon with no intentions of returning home. The 25-year-old now works in a Washington liquor store and runs when his aching back allows. Mengasha said many days are “dark” and his future uncertain, but that it beats the alternative.
“I’d rather commit suicide in America than return to Ethiopia,” he said.
Others share similar stories. Authorities accused them of spreading propaganda or conspiring against the EPRDF. Most of the runners now living in Washington say they were never politically active back in Ethiopia. They simply refused to join the EPRDF. In some cases, their biggest offense was having relatives who refused to join.
“I told them I don’t support any other government. I just wanted to live by myself,” said one runner who was imprisoned for a week in 2010. “I didn’t have any politics.”
Once detained, most were beaten for days on end. For Tesfaye Dube, it was 10.
“They were coming every single day, beating me, saying, ‘We know what you are doing. You are sabotaging, you’re helping the opposition parties. You have to stop doing that or we’ll kill you,’” Dube recalled.
For Taddase Hailu, it was seven.
“In the morning, they’d come to take me to a dark place to beat me,” he said. “I’m never sure I’d live the next day.”
EB stretches after training Facebook Twitter Pinterest
EB stretches after a training run. After leaving Ethiopia, EB heard reports from back home that authorities were looking for him. He feared his family would face retribution if he revealed his name. Photograph: Toni L Sandys/Washington Post
Hailu suffered a stab wound in his lower back, was beaten with a baton and kicked with heavy boots. Worst of all, they targeted his back and Achilles’, which two years later still prevents him from running at peak form.
“They told me, ‘If you can’t run, you’ll never go anywhere,’ “ he said.
Most detainments lasted only a few days or weeks. There were never criminal charges, no due process, attorneys or visitors. Often families were unaware their loved ones had even been imprisoned at all.
Many of the Ethiopian runners belong to the Oromo ethnic group, which accounts for more than one-third of the country’s population, according to the most recent census, making it by far the most populous ethnic group. “Oromo is no good to them,” explained one runner, who was detained three times but never faced charges.
Oromos hold few positions of power in Ethiopia, and the EPRDF has governed the nation for more than two decades. In May, Ethiopia held its most recent national election, and the EPRDF and its allies swept every one of the 547 parliamentary seats.
“Most of the stories you hear now out of Ethiopia are about this sort of economic growth and development happening,” said Felix Horne, a researcher with the Human Rights Watch, the international watchdog and advocacy group. “But there are real stories about people who aren’t part of that success, who question the government and suffer pain and torture because of it.” Lire left the airport with a sympathetic man, who happened to be from Botswana, and began trying to navigate her new life. She was quickly connected with fellow Ethiopians, nonprofit organisations and a church that offered help. Washington was nothing like her home, a rural farming community outside the southern Ethiopian town of Hosaena where her father grew rice and beans. He was part of an opposition party called the Southern Ethiopia Peoples’ Democratic Coalition, and faced persecution for years.
Lire remembers one of the first times authorities came for her father. She was eight years old, and the family was fleeing their home on foot. She sprinted, trying to keep up with her father, and remembers a sudden burst of pain. A spear barely missed her father but struck Lire in the right arm, where a decade later she still bears a scar the size of a tennis ball. She tumbled and became entangled in barbed wire, the spikes tearing into her scalp. Her father was carrying her three-month-old brother when he tripped and fell. The baby was crushed and died. Lire’s father was taken into custody. He was released after a week but detained many more times in the ensuing years.
EB stretches after a training run. After leaving Ethiopia, EB heard reports from back home that authorities were looking for him. He feared his family would face retribution if he revealed his name. Photograph: Toni L Sandys/Washington Post
That was about the time Lire started running. Always barefoot, she sprinted everywhere: to school, for chores, around the fields. She won early races wearing flat shoes and a dress and began catching the eyes of local running clubs. Her running career began garnering attention, and last June, despite being younger than others in the starting blocks, she set a national record, running the 400 metres in 51.44sec. Her track career was taking off just as she was approaching voting age in Ethiopia. Because she would turn 18 before the national election, she’d been feeling pressure for several months to join the EPRDF. Just like her father, she refused. “The party is not for the people,” she said.
She and her family decided that she’d flee at the first opportunity. She won $250 in prize money last May competing at the African Youth Games in Botswana, and spent half of it on a camera, intent on capturing every facet of her life. “My history,” she calls it. She didn’t have much time. Last June, just two weeks before the World Junior Championships in Oregon, she was detained. She recalls a small room, packed with too many people to count – too crowded for everyone to lie down at the same time. Even as plainclothes security officers made threats about her running career, she knew she was given preferential treatment because of her potential. She was allowed to train in the mornings but was locked up each night, never certain what the next day held, when she’d see her family again or whether she’d be allowed to compete. Lire made no promises and refused to pledge loyalty. After 10 days, she was released. Three days later, she said goodbye to her family, stuffed her photo album in the red backpack and boarded the flight.
If I stay there, maybe I don’t live much longer
EB, Ethiopian runner in Washington
For those making such a perilous journey, the transition is never easy. Arriving in the US might mitigate some fears, but many other issues quickly surface: a complicated legal system, housing, employment, separation from loved ones. It’s no wonder some runners say they dream of being back home. “My heart is still always with my family,” said Hussen Betusa, 37, who left his wife in Ethiopia after authorities detained him for 15 days in 2012. “I’d love to go back, but I cannot. They’d kill me.”
The transplanted Ethiopian runners abscond to the US for safety more than opportunity. When they arrive, many struggle to assimilate, often navigating a legal maze to seek asylum as they desperately search for day-to-day normalcy.
EB is one of several runners who is fearful that his family will face retribution if he reveals his full name. The 35-year-old was an accomplished runner who raced in the US, Europe, and all over Africa. In 2013, EB had just finished a training run in Addis Ababa when he was stopped and beaten on the street. He went to a police station to file a complaint and that’s when he was arrested. He was detained for 10 days of “hitting, slapping, yelling”. “The memories – it’s still happening in my mind,” he said. EB was released and felt he had no choice: He had to leave Addis Ababa as quickly as possible. “If I stay there, maybe I don’t live much longer,” he said.
So he moved to the US in the summer of 2013 and slowly started adjusting to his new life. He even entered – and won – an East Coast marathon later that year.
But EB felt like he was living in two places: his body in Washington, his heart and mind some 11,500km away. He received reports from back home that authorities were looking for him and were regularly harassing his family. They’d visit his younger sister at school, asking, Where is your brother? Are you talking to him? What is he doing?
In early 2014, he learned his younger sister had taken her own life, and he blamed the political tormenters for her death. He also blamed himself. “If I was just man enough to face that,” he said, “my sister would still be alive. It was because of me being here.” He stopped running. He stopped doing much of anything. EB felt hopeless and spent his days contemplating taking his own life.
EB met with psychologist Sheetal Patel, who specialises in working with torture survivors. He was barely a shadow then. Patel saw a man who wasn’t living and a runner who wasn’t running. “There were just so many barriers,” Patel said. “He’d said he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t run. He could barely breathe.”
While the trauma is very real and still very present, Patel said some of EB’s wounds were somatic – his quiet voice became almost muted, the words unable to pass through his throat. Slowly, Patel and the physician Sugarman worked with him, encouraging him to talk, to open up, to lace up his running shoes. Sugarman invited him in January to join her running group for a five-kilometer fun run. And then he did 10k, followed by a half-marathon.
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Genet Lire trains in Washington. Photograph: Toni L Sandys/Washington Post
It’s a slow, difficult process, EB said. He learned long ago something every good marathon runner must accept: there are points along the course where the pain seems unbearable, where every step feels like it’s surely the last. A marathon is about surviving, enduring agony and somehow finding the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
“Even if there’s pain, you learn to keep going,” EB said.
Saying goodbye to family is perhaps the toughest part for the Ethiopians runners. Many were married back home, some had children. One runner, a 31-year-old marathoner, for example, left behind a wife and 16-month-old son.
“I get here, and everything is different. It’s not like what I wished in my mind,” he said. “I thought it’d change my life. It’s not happening. The opportunity is not like that.”
The distance from his family resulted in depression. He struggled finding work and steady housing. Like many of the runners, he found some assistance from a nonprofit called Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC), which provides transitional housing, legal assistance, health services, counseling and job placement. The organization serves over 300 survivors annually, about 80 percent of whom are Ethiopian.
“Some people are literally coming to us straight from the shelter or from the street,” said Gizachew Emiru, TASSC’s executive director. “When they come, most of them come with just the clothes they’re wearing. So when they get here, they’re desperate for everything.”
Even after filing for asylum, a person must wait 150 days before applying for employment in the United States. That amounts to five months of scrounging for food, shelter and under-the-table work. The 31-year-old runner, who had competed in Poland, Germany, Austria and Greece, arrived here in 2010 and cleaned houses and worked in hotels.
His asylum was eventually granted, he was permitted to work legally and after three years apart, his family was allowed to join him in the United States. He’s now a line cook at a Marriott hotel and runs nearly six miles to and from his job each day. That 16-month-old baby is now 5 years old and last month attended his first day of kindergarten.
Genet Lire trains in Washington. Photograph: Toni L Sandys/Washington Post
Runners granted asylum must wait five years before they can apply for US citizenship, a lifetime for an elite athlete
One recent morning, Lire, EB and several other Ethiopian runners gathered in north-west Washington for a short training session. The Black Lion Athletics Club meets several times a week. Founded by Alan Parra, an immigration lawyer who has represented several of the runners, it operates on a shoestring budget and has become a refuge and meeting place for many Ethiopians.
Their coach stood inside the track with a stopwatch and after just a couple of laps, most of the seasoned runners broke into a sweat. As the others slowed, EB kept moving around the track, his gait smooth, graceful and long. He seemed to be smiling, too, looking every bit like a man who could run forever.
He still speaks just a half-notch above a whisper and is still worried about the harassment his family faces back home. But he’s running again and even has plans to compete in a marathon next spring, which would be his first in more than two years.
“Now I am doing OK,” he said.
Her hair tied in a ponytail, Lire was bent at the waist with hands on her knees as she looked down on her shadow and caught her breath. The sweat made the scar on her arm glisten under the sun. She is now 18 and still adjusting to her new life. Those early days were difficult. Lire bounced among Ethiopian families and even spent a couple of nights sleeping outdoors. She recently had to leave a room she was renting because she couldn’t afford the $400 monthly fee. She’s now temporarily living with Parra, who’s handling her case, sleeping on a pullout sofa in his one-bedroom apartment.
She filed for asylum six months ago and is waiting for a response. The process can take months, sometimes more than a year. Since 2010, the US has granted asylum status to at least 8,500 immigrants each year, according to the US Department of Justice. An average of 388 asylum cases were granted from Ethiopia each year, second only to China.
Lire is slowly piecing together her new life. She’s much younger than many of the other relocated torture survivors, so she has few friends here. She misses her family and tears up flipping through her photo album, her “history”. Lire is learning English by watching online videos and listening to Christian radio. Back in Ethiopia, she’d finished the equivalent of the US 10th grade, and Parra is trying to place her in school. He hopes she might soon be able to run track in college, and beyond that, who knows? “My goal is Olympics,” she said. Many of the Ethiopian runners have a similar dream – if not Lire’s talent and potential – but no country to represent.
The IAAF requires athletes to be citizens of a country to represent it in competition. If the athlete changes citizenship, there’s typically a one-year waiting period. The runners who’ve been granted asylum fall into a grey area and must wait five years before they can apply for US citizenship, a lifetime for an elite athlete.
For now, Lire continues training, her immediate and long-term future equally uncertain. She said she’s both grateful and sad to be in the US. She tries to chat on the telephone with her family once every couple of weeks but doesn’t know when – or if – she’ll see them again. For now, Lire figures, the best she can do is honour their wishes and keep running as fast as she can.
This article appeared in Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from the Washington Post
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The EU is ready to sanction against four associates of Burundi president Pierre Nkurunziza
After he won a disputed third term, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
AFP
The sources told AFP that the European Union had agreed in principle to hit the four with travel bans and asset freezes, with a formal decision due Thursday.
Nkurunziza himself was not being targeted however “because Europe wants to give dialogue a chance with him,” one of the sources told AFP.
Nkurunziza won a controversial third five-year term in July in polls boycotted by the opposition as unconstitutional for breaking a two-term limit.
His re-election sparked an attempted coup by rebel generals and months of civil unrest in the small, impoverished central African country.
Brussels warned at the time it would review cooperation with Burundi, including crucial trade and development links.
It also warned that sanctions could follow against those found responsible for “acts of violence and repression.”
A 1993-2006 civil war claimed at least 300,000 lives in Burundi.
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Egypt- Pope Tawadros, Al-Sisi take measures to consolidate ties with Ethiopia
MENAFN – Daily News Egypt
(MENAFN – Daily News Egypt) The Head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church, Pope Tawadros II, met with Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister and Egypt’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Sunday as part of his five-day visit to Ethiopia.
In the first visit of its kind, which the Coptic Church referred to as “historic”, the Pope participated in the celebrations of a Christian festival, state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Pope Tawadros II met with Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia Abu Bakr Hefny, and discussed the historical relations between the two states and their respective churches. The Pope also met with Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Patriarch Abune Mathias I was also in attendance, in addition to Hefny and the Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt, Mahmoud Dreir.
As part of his visit to the country, Pope Tawadros visited the Sebeta Getesemani Nunnery, and is expected to visit many of the most important cathedrals and monasteries in Ethiopia, including the Holy Trinity. He is also scheduled to take part in the inauguration of the Coptic Canadian Hospital.
During the celebrations, Pope Tawadros expressed his admiration of the festivities, adding that communication and cooperation between the region’s countries should be encouraged, as well as any “developmental projects” initiated by those countries.
When asked about the Coptic Orthodox Church’s role regarding Egypt’s water security, the Pope stressed that his visit aims to consolidate ties between both churches. He emphasised that his visit is unrelated to ongoing discussions regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
In an interview with Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram, the Pope further stressed that no particular assignments were allocated by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to the delegation ahead of the visit.
Prior to his Ethiopian visit, Pope Tawadros visited Denmark and Sweden before returning to Cairo on Tuesday, a few days before the current visit. The Pope is also expected to visit the US in mid-October.
Patriarch Mathias I visited Egypt earlier this year, where he was received in St Mark’s Cathedral in Abbaseya. The visit witnessed discussions on the GERD, with the Patriarch stating that Egypt should be “at ease with the development of its brothers”.
Meanwhile, Al-Sisi held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the third day of his visit to the US.
Al-Sisi stressed the need to speed up the implementation of the “technical procedures” agreed upon in the Declaration of Principles on the GERD signed by Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in March.
Desalegn confirmed his government’s commitment to the agreement’s implementation, adding that the issue will top the new government’s agenda, which is planned to begin operation on 4 October.
Egypt’s former minister of irrigation, Mohamed Nasr, said that “there are no updates” on the developments in the recent GERD negotiations.
Based on a Sunday presidential spokesperson’s statement, a meeting between the irrigation ministers will be arranged for early October, to discuss future plans and their implementation.
“We have come to the conclusion that the technical route is the only route possible to take in this issue,” said Nasr. “In a sense, this is a return to previous policies.”
During their meeting, Desalegn stated that the GERD’s main target is to fight poverty and realise development and prosperity. He pointed out that the dam will be a “symbol of cooperation” between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Tripartite negotiations, which began earlier this year, aim to reach the governing principles of cooperation and to safeguard the interests of the three states.
The dam, which Ethiopia is currently constructing along the Nile, has been a point of contention between Egypt and Ethiopia, with the former fearing that it will affect its share of Nile water.
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ESAT Radio Tue 29 September, 2015
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Kiir and Machar Must Make Peace – UN
South Sudan’s president and a rebel leader accused each other on Tuesday of violating a ceasefire brokered to end a 21-month conflict in the world’s newest state as United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon appealed to them “not to betray and disappoint us.”
Ban told President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar that now was the time to correct their “grave mistakes.”
A political dispute between the pair spiraled into a war that has killed thousands and forced two million people to flee.
“We are all here to help you, I hope you will not betray and disappoint us,” Ban told a meeting on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in support of a peace deal signed last month.
Kiir has been president since independence from Sudan in 2011, and Machar was his deputy until he was dismissed in 2013.
The conflict reopened ethnic fault lines that pitted Kiir’s Dinka against Machar’s ethnic Nuer forces.
Nearly 13,000 UN peacekeepers are still sheltering more than 200,000 people at camps throughout South Sudan.
“I am determined to stop this senseless war,” Kiir told the meeting via video conference from South Sudan.
“Unfortunately, while we are busy implementing the agreement, the armed opposition continues to violate the permanent ceasefire.”
“When I decided to join the liberation struggle three decades ago I did not expect to liberate my people in order to take them back to war amongst themselves,” he said.
Machar, who attended Ban’s meeting in person, said he agreed with Kiir that the ceasefire was not holding.
He said there were serious challenges to implementing the agreement signed last month, under mounting pressure from neighboring countries and threats of sanctions from Western powers and the United Nations.
“The strange thing is we are attacked, we are blamed (for violating the ceasefire),” Machar said, adding in reference to Kiir: “He hit us, than he ran to complain.”
The United Nations has accused both sides of crimes against civilians.
In June, the world body accused South Sudanese troops and allies of sexually abusing women and girls and reportedly burning some of them alive in their homes.
The United States and other Western donors have accused Kiir and Machar of squandering goodwill after South Sudan’s independence and hindering development in an oil-producing nation with almost no tarmac roads and heavily reliant on aid.
Source: Reuters
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University of Michigan Surgeons Lead First-Ever Kidney Transplants in Ethiopia
By Jeremy Allen
It took more than two years for a group of University of Michigan surgeons to establish a transplant center in Ethiopia, and their work culminated in a historic event last week.
U-M transplant surgeon Jeffrey Punch lead his team to the successful completion of three kidney transplants from living donors between Sept. 22 and 24. The Michigan team performed the surgeries with assistance from four Ethiopian fellowship surgeons at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“We’ve been working for more than two years to establish the kidney transplants program in Ethiopia, and the team is so proud to be a part of this historic milestone for the country,” Punch, a professor of surgery at the U-M Medical School, said in a news release.
“The real winners are the patients with kidney disease who up until now have had no treatment option other than very expensive dialysis that some just can’t afford.”
The collaboration between U-M and St. Paul’s started through the initiative of Dr. Senait Fisseha, an adjunct professor in U-M Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Fisseha was born in Ethiopia and first took Punch to Ethiopia to support the surgery residency training program. She also introduced Punch to the Minister of Health of Ethiopia who asked the two U-M doctors to help Ethiopia start a kidney transplant program.
The Transplant Center facility at St. Paul’s is “an enviable a model for how to deliver transplant care,” Punch said, and it includes dedicated donor and recipient operating rooms that are adjacent to each other to facilitate transfer of the donor kidney.
University of Michigan surgeons lead a team of doctors in performing the first successful kidney transplants in Ethiopia. (Courtesy of U-M)
“Everyone here is ecstatic. The feeling reminds me of when I was a medical student and watched U-M’s doctors do the first liver transplant at U-M in 1985,” he said.
“The surgeons and internists in Ethiopia are first rate, and St. Paul’s management is going about everything in the right way, upgrading anesthesia, laboratory, pathology, nursing, pharmacy and radiology services to make sure patients do well in the long run.”
Jeremy Allen is the higher education reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow him ontwitter at @JeremyAllenA2. Contact him at 810-247-4625 or jallen42@mlive.com.
Source – MLive.com »
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Why a Government of Ethiopia in Exile is Necessary? A Special Press Conference Briefings
Why a Government of Ethiopia in Exile is Necessary? A Special Press Conference Briefings
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Video: The main agenda is deconstructing the fabric of a nation; wipe out Amhara and the church – Moresh Wogene
Ethiopia: The main agenda is deconstructing the fabric of a nation; wipe out Amhara and the church – Moresh Wogene
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How Ethiopia has cracked down on people smugglers
Metema, in Ethiopia’s north-west, was once a people smuggler’s paradise.
It was from here that Haimanot, aged just 16, gathered all her belongings, borrowed 3,000 Ethiopian birr ($140; £95) and crossed the border into Sudan in search of a better life.
She travelled at first on foot under cover of darkness and with the help of an Ethiopian smuggler, who had promised to take her first to Sudan’s capital Khartoum, then on to Libya.
“I was not in school and I could not find a job here in Ethiopia, so I decided to make the journey to Europe to try and make something out of myself,” she tells me.
But she never made it out of Sudan.
“It was the scariest period of my entire life”
After running out of money in Khartoum she did odd jobs for a year, trying to raise enough money to pay another group of smugglers to take her northwards.
Things went from bad to worse and she was arrested by Sudanese police and spent weeks in prison.
“It was the scariest period of my entire life. I was arrested by police and they fired shots at me when I tried to escape.
“I was then arrested and beaten up by some 15 police officers,” she says, three months after returning home.
Migrant magnet
Haimanot’s story is not unique in Metema, where nearly everyone we spoke to knew of friends, relatives or neighbours who had crossed the border in the hope of a better life in Europe.
Many Eritreans – one of the largest groups of migrants reaching Europe – would also pass through the town.
Now as Europe grapples with an influx of migrants, Ethiopia’s government has intensified a crackdown on the smugglers it blames for luring thousands abroad.
“This was and is still a big problem in Metema,” says the town’s mayor, Teshome Agmas.
“Smugglers are luring the young and old and then dumping them in the deserts or even killing them if they can’t afford the money required to complete the journey.
“We had to do something and that is why we joined the government crackdown.”
The government says it has arrested more than 200 smugglers operating along its 700km (435-mile) border with Sudan this year and has begun a massive awareness programme to inform the public about the dangers of making such perilous journeys.
It was spurred into action after 30 Ethiopian Christian migrants were killed in Libya by Islamic State militants in April.
Ethiopians were shocked by the killings after the Libyan branch of IS released videos of the men being beheaded and another group being shot.
More than 100 traffickers have been arrested in Metema, which also attracts migrants from neighbouring South Sudan and Somalia.
At one point more than 250 people were crossing the border into Sudan through Metema each day.
But after the police intensified patrols, smugglers were forced to seek alternative routes into Sudan, through heavily forested and mountainous areas.
“We are telling the smugglers that we are coming for them if they do not stop,” the mayor said.
Death penalty proposal
The Ethiopian government has also proposed harsher punishments for people smugglers.
The office for the International Organization for Migration in Metema has been closed up because there are so few migrants passing through the town now
The justice ministry has presented parliament with a bill that could see convicted smugglers facing the death penalty.
It has also embarked on a massive awareness campaign to dissuade the young people from making that perilous journey across the deserts and the Mediterranean.
The government has already banned Ethiopians from going to Middle East to work as domestic workers in 2013 because of the abuse some have suffered there.
Officials believe it is having an impact on some.
Alemtsehay Gebreselassie, 26:
“I watched videos that show the dangers of illegal migration. I don’t want to make such an attempt. I am much happier here despite life being tough”
Twenty-six-year-old Alemtsehay Gebreselassie, who runs a cafe in a village next to Metema, said that after listening to some of the warnings, she decided to stay put.
“I watched videos and TV programmes that show the dangers of illegal migration – and the house maids splashed with boiling water and thrown out from buildings [in the Middle East],” she said.
“I don’t want to make such an attempt. I am much happier here despite life being tough.”
But many Ethiopians are still living in extreme poverty in towns like Metema, and some I spoke to – who did not want to be named because of the crackdown – are still prepared to risk everything for a better life elsewhere.
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Seyoum Tesfaye’s brace lifts Ethiopia Walia Ibex past Botswana Zebra’s
Ethiopia Walia Ibex produced a virtuoso performance away from home to beat hosts Botswana Zebras 2-3 in an entertaining International friendly played on Wednesday evening at the National Stadium in Gaborone.
The match had been organized as part of Botswana’s Independence celebrations which was curtained raised by the high profile game.
A Seyoum Tesfaye brace lifted Walia Ibex to a deserved win as Dawit Fekadu scored the third to bury any hopes that Botswana had despite Botswana’s speedy striker Joel Mogorosi scoring a brace and missed a penalty in the game that was described by Ethiopia Walia Ibex coach Yohannes Sahle as a great practice match.
“I want to thank my players for showing purpose and commitment in the game getting the vital win that will help boast the morale as we face off with Sao Tome next week in our World Cup qualifiers.Botswana were a very good side and they played well but we were more superior”Sahle told soka25east.com
His counterpart Botswana coach Butler was furious but diplomatic at the same time “We conceded horrible goals,but atleast we gave new players a chance to show us what they can offer. This is not a CAF game. Its a friendly, good for development. When you dont play with your first team keeper, things happen,” said PJ Butler after the game.
Source: soka25east.com
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Ethiopia food crisis worsens
ADDIS ABABA – The number of hungry Ethiopians needing food aid has risen sharply due to poor rains and the El Niño weather phenomenon with around 7.5 million people now in need, aid officials said Friday.
That number has nearly doubled since August, when the United Nations said 4.5 million were in need — with the UN now warning that without action some “15 million people will require food assistance” next year, more than inside war-torn Syria.
“Without a robust response supported by the international community, there is a high probability of a significant food insecurity and nutrition disaster,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in a report.
The UN children’s agency, Unicef, warns over 300,000 children are severely malnourished. (The report below contains an earlier estimate.)
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which makes detailed technical assessments of hunger, predicted a harvest “well below average” in its latest report.
“Unusual livestock deaths continue to be reported,” FEWS NET said. “With smaller herds, few sellable livestock, and almost no income other than charcoal and firewood sales, households are unable to afford adequate quantities of food.”
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, borders the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia, where some 855,000 people face need “life-saving assistance”, according to the UN, warning that 2.3 million more people there are “highly vulnerable”.
El Niño comes with a warming in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, and can cause unusually heavy rains in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere.
Hardest-hit areas are Ethiopia’s eastern Afar and southern Somali regions, while water supplies are also unusually low in central and eastern Oromo region.
Food insecurity is a sensitive issue in Ethiopia, hit by famine in 1984-85 after extreme drought.
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