Sunday, March 30, 2014

Family in Ethiopia is still unaware of Ethiopian domestic worker who died in Bahrain in January

Just another day with this tragic news which has become almost not uncommon for many Ethiopian girls and women whose lives cut short while searching for better life in the oil rich Arab countries. Sadly but truly, the exodus of these desperate women to their death trap is not to stop in the near future, as life is getting tougher and unbearable by day in their home country where the few TPLF cadres and their loyalist getting richer while millions of Ethiopians are struggling to meet the ends. This young Ethiopian woman most probably forced to end her life due to unimaginable physical, psychological, emotional and other pressures which millions of migrant workers have to go through by  their middle-eastern employers on daily basis. We have said millions times Rest in Peace to victims of to such cases in the past; but have we thought what impact this cliche term has done anything to change the way our sisters and mothers are being treated at home and abroad? NOTHING, I would say.      
Aiqa Haider of The Gulf Daily News reported that relatives of Ethiopian domestic worker who committed suicide in a government shelter more than two months ago are still unaware of her death, according to community leaders.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

BREAKING NEWS: Semayawi Party Chairman Barred from Boarding Flight to the US.

Semayawi party chairman barred from boarding flight(9:05 PM EST) Update: Semayawi Party Chaiman, Eng Yilkal Getnet was barred from boarding his flight to the United States on Friday, March 21, 2014 at Addis Ababa airport. He was scheduled to fly to the US to attend a fellowship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative of the United States State Department. Eng. Yilkal was told to see a TPLF supervisor by airport crew right before boarding time where he was told he would not be flying. His luggage was unloaded from the plane and he stayed at the airport for more than 3 hours thereafter questioned by TPLF agents. He has returned back to his home after 2:00am local time Saturday.
Semayawi Party

Source: ECADF

Saraa Zewedi Yilma criss-crossed half the world & Paid $15,000 to Reach USA

Saraa Zewedi Yilma is seeking asylum from Ethiopia. Her journey to the U.S. border cost $15,000.American based NPR's ( National Public Radio) producers met and talked with Saraa Zewedi Yilma, an Ethiopian pregnant woman, who is staying La Posada Providencia shelter which helps newly arrived refugees by crossing USA-American border. Saraa told the producers her arduous journeny from Ethiopia to Sudan to Brazil, then through Venezuela, Colombia and beyond. She said she fled Ethiopia due to political reasons and her husband who came along with her is now at the US detention center. Saraa's younger sister lost her life in capsized boat off West Africa, which is one of the sad realities for many refugees including Ethiopians. Here is what Steve Inskeep wrote about the challenges and hardships of immigrants from other countries to make their dreams come true.  

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

To My Son- By Eskinder Nega

I was awed once again by the modest, humble and thought provoking letter of Eskinder Nega, an award winning Ethiopian journalists who has been separated from his wife and son and being incarcerated at the notorious Kality prison for doing the job he loves most. What is even more surprising about Eskinder's letter is that his endurance and composure to write such master piece from the worst unlikely places in the world where chaos, trauma, demeaning and degrading treatment of the inmates are a norm. Here is what he penned in his own word. 
A Hero in Son's Eye   
The mistakes of my life. Ah! I could go on and on and on about them. (Warning, I am aiming for your sympathy.) There are the missed opportunities. (God is generous, I squandered them all, literally.) There are the wrong choices (Hey there is at least the adrenaline rush that comes with every wrong move.) There is the conceited self-absorption (Obviously more and more as I rush through middle age.) There is the lack of direction (Bitter to admit, but true.) There is the incapacitating self-doubt. (Question: are you teary-eyed or disgusted?)
But here is what my strategy is not:

Monday, March 10, 2014

ለአምስተኛ ጊዜ ሐረር ውስጥ በተቃጠለው የገበያ ማዕከል ምክንያት በተነሳ ተቃውሞ ሶስት ሰዎች በጥይት ቆሰሉ


ከአደጋው በኋላ ህዝብና ፖሊስ መጋጨታቸውን በግርግሩም ሶስት ሰዎች በጥይት መቁሰላቸውን የአዲስ አበባው የዶይቼ ቨሌ ወኪል ዮሐንስ ገብረ እግዚአብሔር ዘግቧል ።
በሐረር ከተማ በአንድ ስራውን ባልጀመረ የገበያ ማዕከል በደረሰው የእሳት አደጋ በንብረት ላይ ከፍተኛ ጉዳት ደርሷል ። ከአደጋው በኋላ ህዝብና ፖሊስ የተጋጩት የገበያ ማዕከሉን የእሳት አደጋ መከላከያ ለማዳን ምንም ጥረት ባለማድረጉ እና ማዕከሉ ስራ ባልጀመረበት ሁኔታ ለአምስተኛ ጊዜ እንዲቃጠል መደረጉን በመቃወም ቅሬታቸውን ለማሰማት በመውጣታቸው እንደሆነ ንብረታቸው የወደመባቸው የሃረር ከተማ ነዋሪዎች ለዮሐንስ ገብረ እግዚአብሔር በምሬት ገልጸዋል። ዮሐንስ በስልክ ያነጋገራቸው የከተማይቱ ነዋሪዎች እንዳሉት ትናንት ምሽት በደረሰው በዚሁ የእሳት አደጋ የገበያ ማዕከሉ ሙሉ በሙሉ ወድሟል ። እሳቱን ለማጥፋት የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎችም ሆነ የእሳት አደጋ ሠራተኞች ያደረጉት ጥረት አልተሳካም ። 
ዮሐንስ የላከውን የድምጽ ዘገባ ለማዳመጥ እዚህ ጋር ይጫኑ
ምንጭ ዶይቼ ቨሌ  

Teenage Ethiopian Boy Sentenced to 14 years with Bogus 'Homosexual Act's' Charge

Damage Control For Minister Zenebu or what?
 
It seems like TPLF led government and its 'judiciary' in Ethiopia are in a mood to make damage control following the scandal surrounding Minister Zenebu Tadesse's  protesting tweet against Uganda's Anti-Gay bill on her 'hacked twitter account'. The timing and the prey/scapegoat can't go wrong; even if the prosecutor couldn't bring any eye witness account and circumstantial evidence other than just the victim's psychiatric examination, the judge opted to sentence the alleged rapist to such a harsh punishment in which he is going to spend more than a decade of his adolescent life in prison. 

No Evidence but Guilty, TPLF Style 
The 17-year-old teenager, was charged for allegedly engaging in homosexual acts with his nephew and was sentenced to 14 years of jail on March 4th, 2014. 
The defendant argued denying the charges and brought four witnesses to testify on his behalf. One of the witnesses was the father of the victim. He insisted that his brother

Scores of Ethiopians and Somalis fleeing poverty and unrest at home drown off Yemen

 
At least 42 African migrants have drowned after their boat overturned off Yemen's southern coast, the defence ministry has said.
The boat smuggling dozens of migrants overturned off the coast of Beer Ali, in the southern Shabwah province, late on Sunday the ministry said in a brief statement on its news website 26sep.net.
A Yemeni naval patrol in the Arabian Sea saved at least 30 others who were taken to a refugee camp in the town of Mayfaa, it said.
A security official confirmed the incident to the AFP news agency but no more details were immediately available.
African migrants, especially Ethiopians and Somalis fleeing poverty and unrest at home, generally slip into southern Yemen by boat before heading north towards the Saudi frontier.
About 84,000 people from Horn of Africa countries flooded into Yemen in 2012, hoping to find jobs in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.


Ethiopian Helper Beaten to Death & Dumped like a Trash in the Emirates Desert

A couple have been arrested on suspicion of murdering their domestic helper and throwing her body in the desert.
Col Rashid Mohammed Bourshid, the head of Abu Dhabi Police CID, said the body of a woman was found in Ajban wrapped in cloth and with burnt fingers.
Investigations revealed that the victim was an Ethiopian housemaid, who was staying illegally in the country, and the main suspect was an Arab, M A, who worked for a contracting company and who was arrested hours after the body was found, Col Bourshid said.
He said that the suspect initially denied being involved in her death but confessed after evidence allegedly showed that his wife, R Y, had murdered the Ethiopian after a dispute at the family house in Khalifa City.
The suspect admitted that his wife battered the victim with a thick baton on several parts of her body until she died. He then stripped the body and poured a corrosive substance over it in an attempt to make the body unidentifiable. He wrapped it in a piece of cloth, put it inside a bag and carried it to his car and the couple abandoned the body in the desert.
Col Bourshid said the wife was arrested at a hotel and admitted her role in the crime. After their arrest, one of the couple’s children, 2, was sent to the community support center while the other, 8 months, stayed with the mother in jail.
Source : TheNational

የአገር ድንበር ጠባቂው መቶ አለቃ በቤት ድንበር ግጭት ምክንያት የሦስት ልጆች ወላጆችን በጥይት አጠፋ

በወሰን ግጭት ምክንያት የሦስት ሕፃናት ወላጆች በጥይት ተደብድበው ሞቱ

-ተጠርጣሪው ገዳይ በቁጥጥር ሥር ውሏል
በንፋስ ስልክ ላፍቶ ክፍለ ከተማ በተለምዶ አቦ ማዞሪያ ተብሎ በሚጠራው አካባቢ ከሦስት ዓመታት በፊት በተነሳ የመኖሪያ አዋሳኝ ድንበር ክርክር ምክንያት የሦስት ሕፃናት እናትና አባት፣ የመከላከያ ሠራዊት አባል ነበር በተባለ ተጠርጣሪ  የካቲት 24 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ከቀትር በኋላ በጥይት ተደብድበው ተገደሉ፡፡
የከባድ ተሽከርካሪ ሾፌር መሆናቸው የተገለጸው አቶ ዳንኤል ነጋሽና የቤት እመቤት ናቸው የተባሉት ወ/ሮ ምስለ ማሞ የመቶ እልቅና ማዕረግ በነበረውና እስከ 1999 ዓ.ም. ድረስ የመከላከያ ሠራዊት አባል እንደነበረ በተገለጸው ግለሰብ በጥይት ተደብድበው ሊገደሉ የቻሉት፣ በግልና በቀበሌ ይዞታነት ለሁለት በተከፈለ ከመኖሪያ ግቢ ጋር በተያያዘ ተፈጥሮ በከረመ የወሰን ውዝግብ ምክንያት መሆኑን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡
ተጠርጣሪ ገዳይ ከሟቾች አጥር ጋር የተያያዘ የቀበሌ ቤት ተከራይቶ ሲኖር፣ መውጫና መግቢያው በሟቾች ግቢ ውስጥ እንዲሆን ለክፍለ ከተማው ወረዳ ሦስት በማመልከቱ ይፈቀድለታል፡፡
የወረዳውን ውሳኔ የተቃወሙት ባለይዞታዎች (ሟቾች) ድርጊቱ አግባብ አለመሆኑን በመግለጽ፣ ጉዳዩን ወደ ፍርድ ቤት በመውሰድ ተጠርጣሪውንና ወረዳውን ይከሳሉ፡፡ የክስ ሒደቱ ላለፉት በርካታ ወራት የተጓተተ ቢሆንም፣

Monday, March 3, 2014

Pro Government Youth Group Eyes Homophobic Rally in the Ethiopian Capital

Let The Hate Begins!

Chairman of the youth forum, Hailemichael Bizuayehu told The Reporter (one of the few government affiliated 'private' media outlets in Ethiopia) that the anti-Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) demonstrations are being organized in collaboration with a religious association known as Weyneye Abune Teklehaimanot Spiritual Association
Hailemichael, disclosed his partners in hate such as the Addis Ababa City Culture and Tourism Bureau, Addis Ababa Labor and Social Affairs Bureau, Women, Youth and Children Affairs Bureau and the Addis Ababa Police Commission. The forum, which boasts to have over 55 thousand members in Addis Ababa, is expecting over 200 thousands people to be on its hate bandwagon and protest against LGBT rights. The chairman denied the planned demonstration has no relation to the recent incident involving Minister Zenebu Tadesse's controversial Twitter message against Uganda's anti-LGBT bill.

የህውሃት ተከታዮች የጥላቻ ዘመቻ በቅርቡ በአዲስ አበባ ለማድረግ ጥያቄ አቀረቡ

ከ55 ሺሕ በላይ አባላት አሉኝ የሚለው የአዲስ አበባ አስተዳደር ወጣቶች ፎረም፣ ሁለት መቶ ሺሕ ሰዎች ተሳታፊ የሚሆኑበት ፀረ ተመሳሳይ ጾታ ተጓዳኞች ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ በመጋቢት ወር 2006 ዓ.ም. በአዲስ አበባ ለማካሄድ ጥያቄ አቀረበ፡፡
ከቀናት በፊት ለአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር ደብዳቤ ማስገባቱን፣ የፎረሙ ወጣት ተኮር ዘርፍ ሰብሳቢ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ብዙአየሁ በሳምንት ሁለት ጊዜ ለሚታተመው የመንግስት  ደጋፊ እንደሆነ ለሚታማው የሪፖርተር ገልጿል፡፡ 
ፎረሙ ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ብቻም ሳይሆን የሃይማኖት ተቋማትን ጨምሮ የተለያዩ ተቋማት ተወካዮች የሚገኙበትና ብዙዎች የሚካፈሉበት የውይይት መድረክ ለማድረግ ማቀዱም ተገልጿል፡፡ ፎረሙ የፀረ ግብረ ሰዶማዊነት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ለማድረግ ለከተማ አስተዳደሩ ጥያቄ ያቀረበው፣ ከዚህ ቀደም በኢትዮጵያ የግብረ ሰዶማውያንን ሕይወት የሚያሳይ ዘጋቢ ፊልም ካሳተመው ወይንዬ አቡነ ተክለ ሃይማኖት ከሚሰኝ መንፈሳዊ ማኅበር ጋር በመተግበር እንደሆነ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ተናግሯል፡፡
ሙሉ ዝርዝሩን ለማንበብ