ADDIS ABABA – The National Museum of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the University Museum of Tokyo, Japan (UMUT) showcased on Wednesday a “Special millennium exhibit” under the theme ‘Human Evolution Time Line in Ethiopia’.
Created by the University of Tokyo University Museum and the National Museum of Ethiopia to exhibit Ethiopia’s unique contribution to the understanding of human evolution, the Millennium Exhibit was opened at the National Museum lobby venue with the aim to introduce the entire timeline of Ethiopia’s world famous fossils a number of which were unveiled to the public for the first time.
Ethiopia is the only country in the world which possesses 12 categories of the 14 key species of fossil remains spanning the entire timeline of human evolution. This particular exhibition reveals the more recent discoveries that extend the country’s fossil record even further back in time than Lucy’s and Selam’s such as the 10 million-year-old “Chororapithecus” which made international headlines being the latest discovery, according to information dispatched Wednesday.
It was distinctly stressed that “there is no exhibit in any museum in the world that has the entire timeline of Ethiopia’s rich and newly discovered fossils now on display.” It was added that some of the exhibited fossils were found between the late 1960s and late 70s, however, a key educational lineup like this one has so far never been displayed in such a comprehensive setting inclusive of 1990s discoveries by the Middle Awash, Konso, Gona, and Dikika research projects.
Speaking at the opening, Mamitu Yilma, Manager at the National Museum, said the exhibit was conceived as an Academic Exchange program signed between the Ethiopian and Japanese museums in 2005. She thanked Dr. Gen Suwa, the co-establisher from the University of Tokyo side, to have availed himself as well as his fellow associates “who were instrumental in realizing this special millennium exhibit from its concept inception up to its installation.” Dr. Suwa on his part announced that Ethiopia’s unique prehistoric fossil discoveries did not end at the 6th stage of human timeline which was when Lucy was found. Now the 12th stage is also uncovered in the same country. He told The Daily Monitor that the venture was a rewarding experience that himself along with Ethiopian paleontologists Dr. Birhanu Asfaw and Dr. Yonas Beyene have set up designing last September.
Among the speakers Seyoum Bereded from the National Millennium Celebrations Secretariat remarked that the exhibition of Ethiopia’s unique antique fossils helps a great deal in curbing the appalling image that is given to the very word ‘Ethiopia’ often being associated with famine in dictionaries.
Kinichi Komano, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia, for his part congratulated his compatriot and Ethiopian archeologists on the findings and for the immense contribution the distinguished fossils render to Ethiopia’s tourism and economic development of Ethiopia at large. It will also serve as “a bridge between Ethiopia and Japan,” he said.
Ambassador Mohamoud Dirir, Minister of Culture and Tourism, also spoke on the occasion saying “The discoveries have proved that Ethiopia is indeed the origin of man kind”. He thanked all participants involved for bringing to light the collection of “the remains of humans that first walked on planet earth”, pronouncing that they were Ethiopian.
It was noted that the UMUT engages in the applied research of new outreach methods called “mobile museum” and “modular-unit concept” the later of which employed design concepts applied on external contexts in producing the present Timeline Exhibit.
The composition of fossil remains exhibited in separate glass cases at the National Museum comprised: Chororapithecus abyssinicus, Ardipithecus kadabba, Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarnesis (where Lucy and Selam belong), Australopithecus aethiopicus, Australopithecus garhi, Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Australopithecus boisei, late homo erectus, Homorhodesiensis, and Homo Sapiens, placed in order of chronology.
The exhibits are said to be on display for the next six months on.
ADDIS ABABA — The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME) and Falcon Petroleum Limited, a company from Cyprus, signed an agreement enabling the later explore and develop petroleum in the Abay Basin, around Wollo, in the Amhara regional state.
Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of MoME and Radhawan Sadik Hadi, Deputy Managing Director of the company signed the agreement which grants 50 million USD for initial phase of the project on Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel Addis Ababa.
“The ministry has granted Falcon Petroleum Limited, an exclusive right that enables the company to engage in exploration and development within the license area for the period specified in the agreement and will have the right to extend as per the agreement”, said a statement from the ministry which highlighted the main elements of the agreement.
According to the agreement, covering an of 25,875 square km, the initial term of exploration period will be four years with possible extension twice each for two years. The development and production period shall be 25 years with possible extension of 10 years, the Minister said.
Accordingly the company shall give preference to the employment of Ethiopian qualified nationals.
Alemayehu also said, “Today’s event marks an extension of the exploration in areas other than the historical Ogaden basin which in itself contributes to our mind set as such petroleum opportunities could exist in volcanic terrains and we will continue working in a similar manner to attract oil companies to explore other parts of the country.” To date, exploration agreement have been acquired which collectively covers more than 70% of the surface coverage of the country, and this is a significant success following which Ethiopia is foreseen to be one of petroleum producing country in East Africa, he added.
Falcon petroleum Ltd is a company registered in Cyprus and is involved in petroleum exploration in different parts of the world. In accordance with the petroleum agreement signed, Falcon Petroleum Ltd shall have exclusive right in the area to undertake petroleum exploration and development.
This agreement encourages other companies to engage in petroleum exploration on the surrounding areas of the basin, the statement added.
(Goshen College) GOSHEN, INDIANA — After three months immersed in another culture, most college students studying abroad are ready to get back to the comforts of home. The last thing many students would want to do is start over learning a different culture in a new country for another three months.
But for Goshen College senior Lydie Assefa, from Indianapolis, Ind., visiting another East African country – Ethiopia – after living in Tanzania for a semester through Goshen College’s Study-Service Term, felt more like going home.
Assefa’s father, Dagne Assefa, is an Ethiopian who moved to the United States in the 1970s to attend Goshen College. So when she found out she would be two countries south of Ethiopia during the spring, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to connect with her Ethiopian heritage.
In Ethiopia during the summer, she was able to live with biological relatives, instead of with an adopted host family, as she had in Tanzania. She lived in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with one of her aunts, and she was also able to travel through the country and visit with family members she had not seen since she last visited eight years ago.
“Before coming to Ethiopia, reconnecting with my family was sometimes a source of anxiety as I wondered how they have changed, if they would remember me, if they would even like this cousin or niece from America who has had relatively little contact or communication with them,” Assefa said.
During her three months in Ethiopia, she was able to visit with and meet about 100 relatives. “When I first got there they kissed and hugged me,” Assefa said. “They were so excited to see me and some were crying.”
While it was easier to connect with her older relatives, the real challenge was warming up to her shy younger cousins who were not born or were too young to remember the last time she visited, and had only heard stories of their cousin from the United States. But Assefa was able to find a way to transcend culture, age and language.
“One day we played jump rope the whole afternoon,” Assefa said. “And then we were best friends.”
For Assefa reuniting with her 78-year-old grandmother was a special experience. “When I first met her I was really nervous,” Assefa said. “But when I walked into the compound, she was running toward me.”
Assefa’s grandmother, who speaks very limited English, didn’t let the language barrier prevent her from spending quality time with her granddaughter. “She just liked to talk to me. She didn’t care if I understood,” Assefa said.
But Assefa’s three-month stay this summer was not just one big family reunion. She kept busy during the days conducting interviews for her college senior history thesis and completing an internship at the nongovernmental organization Compassion International.
For Assefa’s senior history thesis, she chose to research the relationship between the Meserete Kristos Church (the Ethiopian Mennonite Church) and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church – Ethiopia’s predominate Christian church since the fourth century.
The first Mennonites went to Ethiopia in 1945 as relief workers. But with Ethiopia being the only country in Africa that was never colonized – with the exception of an Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941 – the foreign missionaries needed to show the government and its people that they were people of service, not intruders. In 1947, Mennonite relief workers built a 40-bed hospital in the town of Nazareth – the same town where Assefa’s father was born. In 1959, with permission from the emperor, a Bible Academy opened in Nazareth, congregations formed and the Meserete Kristos Church was officially founded.
The Meserete Kristos Church grew in the 1960s and ’70s, and this became threatening to the Orthodox Church. As the dominant, state church of Ethiopia for hundreds of years, the Orthodox Church was worried that the establishment of this new church from abroad would affect its membership and position in society and were therefore suspicious of the practices and beliefs of Meserete Kristos Church members. Meserete Kristos converts – many from the Orthodox Church – dismissed their Orthodox upbringing and looked down on the Orthodox Church. Hostility grew between the two churches, and the Meserete Kristos converts faced varying forms of persecution during this time, including physical beatings, imprisonment and shunning by their families.
“As I talked to my dad about his experiences in the Meserete Kristos Church as a believer in the late 1960s and 1970s, I became more intrigued with his personal story of persecution by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,” Assefa said. “This dynamic really interested me, and so I decided to pursue [studying] the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Meserete Kristos Church by examining it on a personal level through the stories and narratives of individual believers, beginning with my dad.”
For her thesis, Assefa interviewed about 35 people, mostly members of the Meserete Kristos Church who converted from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and plans on interviewing more Ethiopians and Mennonite missionaries now that she has returned home to Indiana.
When she wasn’t collecting information for her senior thesis, Assefa completed a history internship with the Christian organization Compassion International. The main goal of the organization is to provide children with sponsorships for their basic physical needs and education.
Assefa worked in the communication department interviewing university students to gain a sense of the impact the sponsorship program has had on their lives. She used those interviews to write articles telling their sponsorship story, which were used in brochures and other publication material to encourage further sponsorship.
“Recording and sharing with people their life stories at Compassion International and for my thesis has been a truly rewarding and eye-opening experience, but reconnecting with my family has been unbelievable,” Assefa said. “The most rewarding aspect of reconnecting with my family is rediscovering a large, intimate family that loves me unconditionally despite communication and geographical boundaries.”
-By Tyler Falk
Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or [email protected].
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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.
EMF – Editor-in-chief of Awramba times, journalist Dawit Kebede and the editor of Harambe newspapers were summoned at Addis Ababa police today, sources said. As part of new wave of attack on the press, the two editors were charged with five and three cases respectively and released on bail.
Meles Zenawi’s regime has recently intensified its attacks against the private press. (Picture: Dawit Kebede, editor-in-chief of Awramba)
Dawit Kebede was charged with supreme law of the land, the constitution of the FDRE. The publication dates of Awramba time’s editions that brought in police investigations include its editorial on April 23-2008 and news stories on May 07-2008, May 20-2008, June 03-2008 and June 10-2008.
Harambe was charged for its editorial on April 15 entitled “EPRDF shall reform itself from the failed elections of 2008.” The other two charges against the editor of Harambe are the opinion from the readers on April 23 publication, and an interview on its May 21-2008 issue.
In its recent press release CPJ has reported that police has threatened on Monday to block distribution of an independently-owned newspaper if it continues its leading coverage of a new political opposition movement, according to local journalists.
“The Amharic-language weekly Awramba Times reported on Tuesday that it had received two separate phone warnings from top police officials to stop any coverage of “anti-constitutional organizations,” Editor Dawit Kebede told CPJ. The warning referred to the paper’s extensive coverage of the activities of the Netherlands-based Ginbot 7 Movement.” According to the New York based media watch dog.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Has Olympic and World 5000m champion Meseret Defar lost some of her spark? Is she no longer the golden girl of Ethiopian athletics?
Those and many other questions were continuously asked of the bubbly 24-year old’s performance this season after compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba sliced over three seconds off of her world 5000m mark in Oslo in June to stop the clock at 14:11.55. Such is the fickle nature of superstardom in athletics that her outstanding performances in 2007 were quickly forgotten. But to all doubts, Defar has one answer.
“Those who thought I had disappeared should watch my performance in Stockholm,” she says.
Comeback in Stockholm
In a performance that practically screamed “I am back” in the Swedish capital, Defar nearly rescued a World record attempt at the final kilometre to clock a personal best time of 14:12.86, just over one second off Dibaba’s mark.
“When I finished the race and saw the time, I was so disappointed,” she remarked. “I was very depressed and cried at the moment. It is very painful to miss a World record by just one second.”
Defar’s performance in Stockholm ensured that she would go to the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing as a favourite to defend her 5000m title and an important psychological edge over her rivals less than four weeks before the start of the athletics events.
“Of course, I would have loved to break the world record,” she says. “But it didn’t happen. I was on schedule early on, but my hopes were squashed in the ninth lap. I did 70 seconds. If I did 68 then, I could have had the record. Now thinking back, I am happy with improving my personal best and using the race to get ready for Beijing.”
Defar on 2008: ‘I just had two bad races’
Although reports of her lack of form had been hugely exaggerated, Defar admits that she has not had the best of seasons.
“At the start of the year, I was running well,” said Defar who opened the season with a World two-mile indoor best in Boston. “I was training well, but then before Valencia [World Indoor Championships], I had food poisoning problems. I missed a bit of training, but I felt I did well in Valencia.”
In Valencia, Defar won a record-equalling third world indoor 3000m title beating compatriot Meselech Melkamu and Moroccan Mariem Aloui Selsouli in the process.
Less than two months later, however, Defar suffered her first 5000m defeat since September 2006 when going down to Melkamu at the African Championships in Addis Ababa.
“I was not feeling well in the week before the race and had not training as well as I had hoped,” says Defar. “But the African Championships were very important for me because it is the first ever major championship on Ethiopian soil. I had to run in front of my people.”
On her comeback race, Defar failed to scale record-breaking heights in Eugene. “I was told that it was a record-breaking venue before I left Addis Ababa [her training base],” she says. “I had many problems in Eugene. The weather was not good and the race was held in the morning which was not something I was used to.”
“My focus this year was always going to Beijing,” she says when asked why she has raced less frequently in 2008. “To be honest, I just had two bad races this year in Addis Ababa and Eugene. It was not a bad year at all, but I am happy to go the Olympics in good form after illness earlier in the year.”
Defar on the Olympics: ‘It changed my life’
Happy with her pre-Beijing performance, Defar is now putting the final touches on her Olympic preparations in Addis Ababa with her teammates Dibaba, Melkamu, and Belaynesh. The 5000m squad, along with the rest of the Ethiopian athletics team, is camped at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa and primarily do their track sessions at the Addis Ababa stadium, walking distance outside the hotel.
In response to expected conditions in the Chinese capital, Defar and team-mates have altered their training plans this year to include warm-weather sessions in Debrezeit, 45kms outside Addis Ababa.
But unlike many of other squad members, Defar knows the significance of an Olympic medal, not just as a sporting accomplishment, but as a life-changing event.
“Nothing I have achieved so far compares to my victory in Athens four years ago,” she says. “It has changed my career and my life. It has also inspired many girls from Addis Ababa to take up the sport.”
Four years ago, Defar was on the brink of elimination when she was named as a reserve in the 5000m squad, but she was given only a starting berth when Berhane Adere’s was dropped from the team for disciplinary reasons.
However, she will go to Beijing this year as the woman to beat. “It is as difficult to win it for the second time,” she says. “I know the world will be watching and everyone will be preparing to peak in these Games.”
Defar on Dibaba: ‘I don’t want to talk about others’
If archrival Dibaba can negotiate the 10000m without any problems, then she could face Defar in the 5000m in what will be their first match up since the World Athletics Final in September 2006.
With Defar (13 victories) ahead of Dibaba (9 victories) in the head-to-head record, many would put Defar as a slight favourite before their possible Beijing showdown. However, Defar refuses to comment on the possibilities.
“I do not want to speak about other athletes,” she says. “I only speak about myself and will only answer questions about myself.”
Even if she does not win gold in Beijing, Defar already has the perfect set of titles and World records that is the envy of any athlete. But the Ethiopian admits that she has not had enough of top level athletics just yet.
“I want to win these titles over and over again,” she says. “I want to win everything that is on offer and break every record there is to break.”
Enjoying a good laugh
Defar has talked at length before about her love for children and her commitment to women’s empowerment, but this year she has developed a new hobby – watching sitcoms and stand-up comedy videos.
“I enjoy comedy shows in my spare time,” says Defar. “I am particularly an admirer of the Ethiopian comedian Kebebew Geda. He makes me out of nothing which is quite nice.”
And with days to go before she sets out on her Olympic title defence, Defar will hope that she will have the last laugh at the end of the women’s 5000m final.
We look at 10 sporting rivalries worth watching at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
1) JEREMY WARINER V LASHAWN MERRITT, 400 METRES
Olympic and world champion Wariner has dominated the 400 metres since before the 2004 Games. Compatriot Merritt has been in his slipstream throughout and is getting closer. Wariner remains favourite to retain his title but things have certainly got closer since Merritt bet him twice earlier in the season. The second of those victories came in the US trials when he said afterwards: “Once I got into the home stretch I was smelling Beijing and victory.” Only Michael Johnson, something of a mentor for Wariner, and Butch Reynolds have run faster than Wariner’s best time of 43.45.
2) KENENISA BEKELE v HAILE GEBRSELASSIE, 10,000 METRES
The winners of the last three Olympic 10,000 metres titles go head-to-head with Ethiopia’s Gebrselassie hoping to roll back the years for a sign-off triumph over his compatriot. Gebrselassie won gold in 1996 and 2000, both times beating Kenyan Paul Tergat in terrific races. As world record holder and four-times world champion he was the undisputed 10,000 king before moving on to the marathon.
Bekele took the older man’s world records at 5,000 and 10,000 metres, succeeding him as Olympic champion and notching up three world titles. Gebrselassie, now 35, nine years older than Bekele, opted out of the Beijing marathon because of concerns over the air quality.
3) MICHAEL PHELPS v MARK SPITZ, SWIMMING
Phelps, born after his fellow American retired, is engaged in a battle with Spitz for the title of the greatest swimmer of all time. Spitz has held that mantle since he won seven gold medals, all in world record time, at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Phelps came close to matching his mark at Athens four years ago when he collected six golds but is chasing eight in Beijing. Phelps is due to swim the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 200 freestyle and three relays in Beijing — and is favourite to win all of them. Australian head coach Alan Thompson says the American is more than capable of the record feat but his team mates Ian Crocker and Ryan Lochte could spoil the party.
4) KATIE HOFF v STEPHANIE RICE
American Katie Hoff and Australia’s Stephanie Rice will clash in women’s individual medleys. Hoff won both events at last year’s world championships before teenager Rice threw down the challenge when she broke the world records for both events at this year’s Australian Olympic trials. Hoff regained her record in the 400 during the US trials. Rice was romantically linked with Eamon Sullivan but they called off their relationship just before the Beijing Games. Sullivan broke Alexander Popov’s world record for 50 metres this year but lost it to Bernard a few months later before regaining it at the Australian trials.
5) ISABELL WERTH V ANKY VAN GRUNSVEN, EQUESTRIANISM
Dutchwoman Van Grunsven has stopped giving interviews so she can throw everything into beating her equestrian dressage rival of the past two decades, Germany’s Werth, and winning her third successive Olympic gold. She clinched her ninth World Cup title this year by beating Werth, who won silver in Barcelona and then captured the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games by edging out the Dutchwoman. Werth also won silver in 2000. Beijing is almost certainly the sixth and last Olympics for van Grunsven because her children are more important to her than a gold nowadays.
6) YANG WEI V THE HORIZONTAL BAR, GYMNASTICS
With no Paul Hamm in the field, the only obstacle standing in Yang’s way to winning the Olympic all-round title is likely to be the horizontal bar. Four years ago the Chinese favourite was leading the competition going into the final rotation but his Olympic dreams came crashing down when he lost his grip on the bar and finished out of the medals. At the 2007 world championships, Yang again failed to master his hold on the apparatus and suffered a crashed landing. This time, such was the lead he had built up over his rivals, the fall could not deny him a place on the top of the podium.
7) CHINA V US WOMEN’S TEAMS, GYMNASTICS
China reigned supreme at the 2006 world championships before being dethroned 12 months later by the United States, who won their first world team title on foreign soil in Stuttgart. The Americans will be relying on the dynamic skills of Shawn Johnson and the artistry of Nastia Liukin while the Chinese have a team packed with specialists led by vault and floor supremo Cheng Fei, fourth in the 2004 Olympics in the floor. Carly Patterson of the US won the individual all-round in Athens in 2004 and the American team were second behind Romania in the team competition.
8) TONY ESTANGUET V MICHAL MARTIKAN, CANOEING
France’s Estanguet is seeking a third successive gold in the C-1 and faces a serious threat from Slovak Michal Martikan, the 1996 champion. In 2004, Martikan was already celebrating the gold when a review showed he had hit a gate on the course. He took silver because of two penalties. Estanguet reckons the brutal conditions on the Beijing course could be decisive: “The force of the water means you have to fight.”
9) CHINA V REST OF WORLD, TABLE TENNIS
Will anyone stop the host country from sweeping all four table tennis golds? The odds are stacked against the world — China has taken 16 of the 20 golds since the sport debuted at the Olympics. The host country is most vulnerable — in relative terms, at least — in the men’s singles competition. South Korean Ryu Seung-min won in Athens in 2004. Germany’s Timo Boll or Belarusian Vladimir Samsonov could play spoilers in Beijing. However, the top four in the men’s rankings and the top five in the women’s are Chinese.
10) MAHE DRYSDALE V OLAF TUFTE, ROWING
Tufte of Norway, who took silver in doubles sculls in 200, won the 2004 single sculls gold medal and it was after those Games that Drysdale decided to try his luck at the event. Drysdale has won the last three world championships and had to fight off a challenge from Rob Waddell, who won gold in 2000, for the New Zealand Olympic spot after his compatriot came back from a seven-year retirement. Drysdale said that challenge affected his preparations for Beijing
