By Richard Mennear | Hartlepool Mail
THREE Ethiopian exchange visitors who had been staying in Hartlepool have vanished during a trip to the Houses of Parliament.
The three men were among a group of nine visitors who were staying with families in the town as part of a three-month visit to the UK.
They went to the capital to visit the corridors of power in a tour which Hartlepool MP Iain Wright was asked to help arrange.
But at the end of the day’s tour, the men failed to meet up with the rest of the group and organisers Global Xchange were forced to contact the police to report them missing.
Police and Home Office chiefs are now investigating their disappearance.
Organizers say their main concern is for the safety of the men, who have been named as Zerihun Weldeyohans, 24, Habtamu Debela, 27, and 21-year-old Muluneh Tilahun Abera.
It was at around 6pm when they separated from the rest of the group to buy telephone calling cards.
Programme supervisor Georgina Richards reported the men missing to the Metropolitan Police at 10pm when they failed to show up at their London hotel, where they were due to stay overnight before returning to Hartlepool.
Concerns grew further when the trio didn’t turn up for the 11am journey to Hartlepool the following day.
All three men have valid visas which do not run out until September 9.
Their families in Ethiopia have been informed.
The Global Xchange programme involves 18 volunteers, nine from the UK and nine from Ethiopia, living in Hartlepool while working for community organisations.
Zerihun is based at Cafe 177 and Headline Futures, Habtamu at the West View Project, while Muluneh has been working at Hartlepool United’s study support centre.
A statement released by the organisers said: “The British Council and VSO can confirm that three Ethiopian participants in the current Ethiopia Hartlepool Global Xchange have been reported missing.
“All three are male and aged between 21 and 24. The group had been on a trip to London to visit the Houses of Parliament. After the visit some of the group were socialising at the South Bank Centre but the three young men went their separate ways to purchase some telephone calling cards.
“They later failed to arrive at the homes where they were due to stay on the evening of Wednesday, July 15. They did not meet their colleagues for their return journey to Hartlepool.
“The young men have not made any contact with British Council, VSO or their project supervisors in Hartlepool and the primary concern is for their safety as they were on their first visit to London.
“The police have been informed and are treating this as a missing persons case. The police have undertaken standard inquiries to establish the location and safety of the young men.
“The programme is due to run until August 31, and the young people had not indicated that they intended to resign from the group. All three are in possession of valid visas and return flights.”
Mr Wright, who didn’t meet up with the group due to parliamentary business, said: “The purpose of the visit was to show visitors to this country the Houses of Parliament.
“It was organised by Global Xchange, and I hope that the three missing people are found as quickly as possible.”
A spokesman for the Home Office said they would only become involved if those involved stayed in the country longer than their visa allowed.
11 thoughts on “3 Ethiopian visitors disappeared in U.K.”
To Zerihun Weldeyohans, Habtamu Debela, and Muluneh Tilahun Abera:
Welcome to the free world. Keep your head down for few days, get some honest Ethiopians or Eritreans for advice on asylum. If things get a bit hard, contact the Ethiopian community in London, if it gets harder, contact the Eritrean Embassy in London for advice.
I wish all the best in your new life. Isn’t it great to be free from the Woyannee-Tigrain monsters in Addis?
Yours,
Massawa Qey bahr
Welcome to freedom. Everyone who gets a chance wants to get away from TPLF, this news is no exception to this truism.
Dear newcomers, welcome to hell. Don’t worry though, you may get your res. permit in about 7 years. Even then, you’ll have chance to try in another country – it’s another 6 years or so. The good news? – in the whole process, you’ll get used to being less human, and you’ll start to see things from that perspective. That means you’ll not spend a lot of time regreting your decision to stay in the ‘free world.’ For everything, keep on praying that thing do not get better in Ethiopia until you get your permit. For the sake of you and many other freedom lovers, it is extremely important that countries like Ethiopia stay under brutal tyrannies.
Ethiopia is heaven for John and other hodams and woyane killers but hell for millions. It is better for the woyane supporters to open their eyes and realize terrorizing the people will not be possible for ever. Sooner or later Ethiopia will be free from tyrany and poverty and real Tigean/Ethiopians join their brother and sisters and fight any form of injustice whether it is committed by an Adwan, Axumite or anybodyelse. A killer is a killer.
Only Donkeys will continue to be used by the criminal and anti Ethiopian organisation (TPLF)
tantu
John – You don’t have a clue of what you’re talking about.
The three men have the right, like me and you to live in the free world. They are the best candidates for asylum, coming from the dictatorial regime of Ethiopia. I wish them good luck.
john says:
” in the whole process, you’ll get used to being less human, and you’ll start to see things from that perspective. ”
Dear Johnny, Is that how you personally fell? There is no one and noting that makes one less human than Woyane. Ethiopians (with the exception of Tigrayns) are second class citizen in their own country. If you really fell less human wherever country you are residing, there is always a choice to go back home. No one put a gun on your head.
May be they were kidnapped for ransom? But seriously, is this news worthy? I mean, who will not vanish/disappear to first world given an opportunity. People cross deserts and spend years in refugee camp to make it to the west.
Anyway, as always, file for asylum claiming your brother is beaten by ruling party, is in prison and you are vip member of kinjit/andnet/arbaga and you were in a student movement that was squashed by the government.
God willing, you guys will get green card and you are as free as bird to live a life and sending some money via western union to Ethiopia to help your families. Few years later, you can bring your wife from Ethiopia and occasionally visit Ethiopia.
Good luck anyways….
We understand why they are fleeing their country. But running from your home/country/enemy to a foreign country is not the answer. You need to face your problem/enemy in your place. Running is the job to the cowards, weak and selfish. You need to face woyane at home and abroad. Don’t run for your selfish benefit. Or are you going to expose woyane in abroad and fight it in international arenas?
____________________________________________________________
Let them dig their grave and burry themselves in a foreign/hostile soil.
Being an African immigrant/asylum seeker in (western) Europe at this time is like being a slave in the USA, Brazil, Caribbean and so on during the slavery era. If you are educated, if you are someone looking for better life, if you are someone wishing the best in Africa/Ethiopia), if you have dignity, moral, Truth and God’s faith, Please don’t come to Europe mainly in the low lands and others in the surrounding. They will damage you morally, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, financially and with everything that gives you something to be a normal human being. They are working hard to make you lose yourself especially your knowledge and emotion and when it happens they will treat you like you are nobody.
If you are someone or want to be someone, don’t come to Europe. Europe; especially main Europe is not a friendly place anymore. Instead you will lose your knowledge and ability by coming to Europe to stay. You need to keep yourself at home and use yourself as much as possible/you can.
Coming to Europe to stay as an immigrant there is right now sounding like coming to lose yourself forever and vanish in vain.
You have to/must believe when you are hearing/reading/seeing the truth about. It is for your seek. If you are educated or want to make yourself to become a better person, you have to totally reject coming to Europe to stay there to materialise your dream and wish. That will never happen.
Don’t come to Europe to stay/unless it is for study and go back/.
However, if you have to, it is better to chose UK at least you can learn/master the English language you can take it with you any place you go and use it as long as you live. But coming to other small western European countries, gives you nothing but misery and losing yourself forever.
The world have to stop giving visa for ethiopians. We are brining ourselves too low to beg the world to give us aslym. Running away from your own problem is not a solution. We have to face our own challenges be it poverty or dectatorship. The fact that we are not seeing changes in Ethiopia as we wish is because, we all tend to flee away rather than working to change the situation.
What is the big deal about their missing? Here the most important thing is that rotten old fashioned autocratic faction rule in the country is not letting the youth any chance to lead themselves. But rather it wants to remain in power by dominating and denying the right to exercising new ways of thinking, technologies etc. Look at the famine in the country today it is getting worst. There disappearance is not simply missing the way or losing direction. No! It has a very big implication and information about the worst situation of the country. These young men are trying to get freedom from the Tigrian faction domination and threat (psychological and physical). The faction’s leaders once had been in the West and in the Arab World to pursue the struggle. The claimed people freedom but now they are dictators. It is clear that one way or another the youth need a way out to start struggling for life and for the country. So they have to use any chance and opportunity to join the group they wish to. I think UK officials have to understand and help these men. They have a lot to tell about their country’s violent minority faction rule. Today’s Prime Minister Meles was also a refugee in Sudan and even in other countries. The foreign Minister also was Tax driver as a refugee. All of the faction leaders were refugees but today they are best tyrants than former regime. We shouldn’t forget that they have been in power for 18 years. One generation of dictatorship and violence rule.