Nearly two million immigrants have come to the United States in the last 30 years. Hundreds of thousands are registered voters who are expected to go to the polls next week to choose a new US president, as well as state legislators and local officials. William Eagle asked some African voters around Washington, DC, about the issues of concern to them this election season.
The concerns of many first-generation African voters in the US are not much different from those of others polled. Their overwhelming {www:concern} is the economy, followed by worries about health care and the war in Iraq.
Leykun Brouk is a financial advisor in Alexandria, Virginia. Brouk, who is originally from Ethiopia, says many of his African clients are worried about job security and the future.
“[The economy] is on everyone’s mind…the news is unprecedented,” says Brouk. “The market is global, and there are no bright signs anywhere. Consumers are tightening their belts to see how far [the market turmoil] will go. On an individual level, people are postponing purchases they had planned, and they are concerned about money they have saved, like bank deposits.”
A Shortage of Loans
Consumers and businesses alike are experiencing a credit crunch, with many banks reluctant or unable to grant loans.
That affects new homebuyers and those who want to renegotiate loans with high interest rates.
Habte Ghebre, originally from Eritrea, is a mortgage broker in Silver Spring, Maryland.
“We generate our business from people who want to purchase properties [or] refinance their existing mortgage,” explains Ghebre. “Our [problem] is we have clients with pending contracts trying to purchase bank properties [such as homes] but for some reason those contracts are not moving smoothly or in a timely fashion. As long as long as our clients are on hold, our business is on hold.”
And, he says customers are not able to renegotiate [refinance] their existing mortgages because falling home prices mean they no longer have enough equity in their property for a new loan.
Food Prices Rising
The global hike in food prices over the past two years has also affected voters. Part of the reason for the rise is the higher cost of fuel to transport food and to the {www:diversion} of grains to make biofuels like ethanol, rather than for human consumption or as livestock feed.
Yared Mamo, who is originally from Ethiopia, is the co-owner of Habesha Market and Carry Out in downtown Washington, DC.
“Each time food prices go up,” he says, “we don’t want to raise the price but it’s becoming hard to survive in this kind of atmosphere.”
The US secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, told the press that food costs are likely to rise over 40 percent this year.
Mamo says he’s been in the United States for nearly 20 years and has never seen such inflation.
“The corn [maize] oil we used last year it was 19 dollars for five gallons, now it’s 42 dollars. The price went up over 100 percent and meat, flour, you name it, ….everything has gone up.”
Mamo says he’s also concerned with the spiraling cost of health insurance, for himself and his workers. He says he and other small business owners cannot afford to buy health insurance for employees. He’d also like an end to the war in Iraq. He says he’s familiar with the financial and human costs of conflict, since in recent years his own country of origin, Ethiopia, has endured a civil war and one with neighboring Eritrea.
What Kind of Change ?
For some of the Africans interviewed, a desire for change mixes with ethnic pride, leading them to support Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama.
But not all. Businessman James Enos-Adu of Annandale, Virginia, favors the Republican Party, which he says is better for business, national defense, and moral values. Enos-Adu, who is originally from Ghana, is the CEO of an information technology security firm, and the former owner of a restaurant and catering firm.
“Being a business owner working 30 hours in a restaurant,” he says, “you go to purchase things and you see someone [buying] food items and at the end, repaying it with food stamps [government subsidized coupons]. And when they walk out, you see them driving a brand new car and wearing bling-bling, gold. If this person is paying with welfare and I’m working 24 hours and barely making it, is it a good system ?”
On the other hand, mortgage broker Habte Ghebre says an Obama win would remind his young daughter that if you work hard, you can do anything in the US, regardless of gender, race or religion.
Restaurant owner Yared Mamo says it’s the candidates’ policies, not race, that’s important.
He says if it were only about electing a black president, he says he could have stayed in Ethiopia.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Reuters) – Developed countries are planning to cut aid to Africa due to the global financial crisis, a senior African Union (AU) commissioner said on Wednesday.
While Africa is relatively protected from the global {www:turmoil} as African banks are less exposed to credit risk, analysts believe there could be a reduction of aid flows as well as foreign direct investment and remittances.
“I have had informal discussions with representatives of our development partners and the message that I’m getting is that this could affect development aid to Africa,” said Maxwell Mkwezalamba, the AU commissioner for economic affairs.
“There are not yet any clear indications as to the {www:magnitude}, but this is what is expected.”
Parts of the continent have been hit by drought and Africa has also felt the effects of high food and fuel prices this year.
“Trade and investment flows are likely to be negatively affected because of the looming consequences of growing recession in the developed countries,” Mkwezalamba told reporters.
He said that more than 100 million people had been pushed deeper into poverty because of the food prices and the situation would get worse with less aid flowing.
Africa will have to find ways to help itself if aid amounts fall, he said.
“We should move towards being self-sufficient. We cannot depend on aid forever,” he said. “We could look at widening the tax base in Africa, for example, and we should look at what we can do to increase trade between our own countries.”
Mkwezalamba criticised the International Monetary Fund’s bailout packages to Hungary and Ukraine.
“These are the same resources that we are competing for,” he said. “If an African country was to experience these kinds of difficulties, would the IMF be able to come up with a similar amount of money?”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- Navy Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4, based out of Naval Base Ventura County, Calif. attended the dedication ceremony of the Abadir Primary School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on October 16, 2008.
With the {www:support} of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Embassy and the 489th Civil Affairs Team, a crew of 11 Seabees from NMCB 4 started their work on the school refurbishing project in early August, 2008 after the project was turned over to them by NMCB 74, based out of Gulfport, Miss.
“We want all Ethiopian students to learn in an environment that helps them be the best students they can be,” said Ms. Nancy Estes, USAID-Ethiopia Program Office Chief. We are proud to work together with the U.S. Military, the leadership of the Ministry of Education and the staff and students of the Abadir School to help these children succeed in their studies and to support the hard work of Abadir teachers and staff.”
The Seabees upgraded all the facilities at the Abadir Primary School starting by repairing the roofs on the classroom and administration buildings. New electrical wiring and light fixtures were then installed in the buildings along with the courtyard, replacing the old, unsafe electrical system. Next, new tile and plumbing fixtures were installed in the bathroom facility and the outdoor wash station vastly improving the sanitary conditions for both the students and staff. New paint was then applied to the interior of the facilities and a colorful marble chip was applied to the unsightly exterior.
“Working on this project is a very extraordinary and vital part of our (NMCB 4) mission.” said Utilitiesman 2nd Class Jordan Gulvas, project crew leader. “We are not only improving a place for the children to learn and grow, we are also continuing to be accepted by the local community. Without this, I don’t think this project would be possible.”
The project was completed on October 10, 2008 with the installation of new chalkboards and refurbished school furniture provided by USAID. As the school progresses, the Ethiopian partners are committed to maintaining the school, while the U.S. Embassy will continue to support the growth of the library with more books and related material. With the total of 1681 man/days on the project and a cost of $180,000, some 300 students will benefit from this particular project, and the Seabees of NMCB 4 will continue to win the hearts and minds of the African Nation.
NMCB 4 Air Detachment is currently on a six-month deployment supporting Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and is completing missions in various countries in Eastern Africa.
Dancers and musicians welcome U.S.
Embassy spokesman Michael McClellan
to the opening of an American Corner
library in Jimma, Ethiopia
(photo: U.S. State Department)
JIMMA, ETHIOPIA – When Michael McClellan, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stepped off a plane in the Ethiopian highland city of Jimma on October 24 and walked toward the terminal, a throng of people dressed in their best finery was walking toward him.
“This looks like a wedding procession,” a colleague of McClellan’s said.
“It might be for us,” McClellan answered.
He was right, in one sense. A few seconds later, the welcoming party and McClellan met on the tarmac. Women filled his arms with bouquets of tropical flowers. The mayor, the police chief, the head of the tourism office and other dignitaries shook his hand and embraced him. In the parking lot, McClellan and his welcomers piled into a 13-vehicle motorcade led by a police truck with its red and blue lights whirling silently. The motorcade snaked through the city, then onto a rutted red dirt road lined with wild coffee bushes, goats and waving children to a small mosque on the summit of a mountain above the city. There, Jimma Mayor Mohammedamin Jemal made the first of many speeches that would be given that day.
After a tour of a former palace and a lunch of Ethiopian stews and injerra, the moist pancake-like food that is torn into chunks and used to pick up food and plunk it in the mouth, McClellan was driven to the Jimma Public Library. Musicians played and sang and women danced as McClellan entered the building.
The leaders of this city of 200,000, which is said to be the birthplace of coffee, organized the festivities to {www:celebrate} the opening of an “American Corner,” a room in the local library outfitted with computer terminals, books, videos, and CD-ROMs. The purpose of the corner is to provide the local citizens with information about the United States, about HIV/AIDS and many other things.
“I am very, very happy,” said Ilma Tamiru, a former teacher who now works in a public relations company. “I don’t have words to express it. For many years, this library did not have new books and information.”
Assefa Korsa, an official at the Jimma education office, said, “Everybody can get reference information and books. People will be able to improve their talents, thanks to the American Corner.”
Until the 1970s, Jimma had a U.S. Information Service library that some locals still remember. It provided books and magazines and held film screenings and lectures to inform the people of Jimma about the United States. The communist military junta that took power in 1974 closed the library.
“I am delighted that in the case of the Jimma American Corner we are renewing and continuing a partnership that has a solid history of achievement and service in this historic community,” McClellan said. He mentioned Andrew Carnegie, an American businessman and philanthropist who built thousands of public libraries in the United States and other English-speaking countries in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Carnegie believed that “the free public library is the strongest component of building democracy in the world,” in McClellan’s words.
The diplomat stressed that the American Corner operates as a partnership between the U.S. and Ethiopian governments for the benefit of the people of Jimma. He said the governments agree that the American Corner is open to anyone. With that in mind, the corner was established at a public library, where all citizens would have access.
McClellan said that he hopes users of the corner will also draw on resources and expertise of the Information Resource Center at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, particularly those who might be considering going to university in the United States.
The American Corner in Jimma is the fourth in Ethiopia. The U.S. Agency for International Development, through its Ethiopia Education Fund, provided most of the $32,000 needed to open it.
The deputy mayor of Jimma, Ato Shemelis, said that more meaningful than the informational materials provided by the American Corner is the U.S. commitment to help improve the academic performance of the students of Jimma. “It gets us to think globally and act locally. It is the beginning of a new relationship with the American people,” he said.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Afro, an English language radio station in Ethiopia, is to start test transmissions on FM from the end of November with music and programs for 18 hours a day. The new station will beam on FM 105.3 and is established by Addis Alemayehu and his wife, Martha Wondimu, with capital of 3 million birr (US$306,000). Addis Alemayehu told Capital that, so far, his company has invested close to 1.8 million birr (US$184,000) and is finalizing assessments on the interest of its target audience.
Currently, there are five FM stations, all in Amharic. Desta Tesfaw, deputy-director general of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Agency told Capital that, the international community should have a station for information, news and entertainment while living and working in Addis. “Based on a recent study, we have seen the importance of station for this target audience.” said Desta.
In 1999, a proclamation to provide for the systematic management of broadcast services came into force. The Ethiopian Broadcasting Agency is established as an autonomous Federal Administrative Agency.
Federal prosecutors in Tennessee have charged two self-described white supremacists with making threats against Sen. Barack Obama, alleging the men talked about wearing white top hats and tuxedos when they would try to kill the Democratic presidential nominee.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Arkansas, also were charged with possessing a sawed-off shotgun and conspiring to rob a gun dealer.The two met online about a month ago, authorities said, discussing the views of the “white power” movement.
This undated photo obtained from a MySpace
webpage shows Daniel Cowart, 20 of Bells, Tennessee
holding a weapon The two planned a massacre that
would have killed scores of African-Americans and
ended with an assassination attempt, according to an
affidavit filed in the case. No specific time or place
was outlined in the document for the attack.
According to the affidavit filed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the two talked of attacking a predominantly African-American school and killing more than 100 students, including 14 who would have been beheaded.
Officials said they were taking the case seriously. No attorneys for the two could immediately be reached for comment.
Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who is traveling with the nominee, said the campaign had no comment on the alleged plot.
The men planned to shoot at Obama from a car while wearing the tuxedos, the court document said, and “they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt.” They were arrested last week in Tennessee after shooting out the window of a church and they remain in custody.
Both men are scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing, said Lawrence Laurenzi, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
Federal prosecutors in Tennessee have charged two self-described white supremacists with making threats against Sen. Barack Obama, alleging the men talked about wearing white top hats and tuxedos when they would try to kill the Democratic presidential nominee.