Genocide Watch, the international campaign to end genocide, has called on United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Justice Navanathem, to initiate an investigation against the government of Meles Zenawi. Genocide Watch cited the atrocities committed in Gambela against the Anuaks and ethnic Somalis in the Ogaden as examples of the crimes that have not been seriously investigated by the UN body.
In an open letter Genocide Watch President Dr Gregory Stanton wrote to the Commissioner, he commended the International Criminal Court for indicting the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Al Bashir, but noted that “one of the first leaders to defend Omar al-Bashir and condemn the warrant was Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, whose government has also been implicated in a pattern of widespread perpetration of serious human rights atrocities in Ethiopia and in Somalia.”
“He and those within his government may be keenly aware of their own vulnerability to similar actions by the ICC in the future that could upend a deeply entrenched system of government-supported impunity that has protected perpetrators from any accountability,” Dr Stanton noted.
The Genocide Watch President asserted that a UN investigation was justified due to the culture of impunity that existed within Ethiopia and underlined that “extensive documentation is available to examine the violations, most of which has been compiled in independent investigative reports completed by international human rights organizations.”
“We also believe that the Ethiopian people have been waiting long enough for genuine justice and relief from the harsh oppression and brutal tactics committed by a government that purports to be a partner in the War on Terror, while terrorizing their own people,” the letter noted.
Dr Stanton said that Genocide Watch and Survivors International confirmed that the atrocities committed in Gambela against the Anuaks in 2003 “fit the definitions of genocide and crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch also conducted two investigations of their own and determined that the crimes against the Anuak meet the stringent definition of crimes against humanity.” He also indicated that Genocide Watch was willing in providing assistance to the Commission in carrying out the investigation.
“We in Genocide Watch, and other human rights organizations are determined to pursue justice, even long after violations have occurred, as part of our mission. Investigative reports, contacts and other information can be provided should you need them,” he said.
By Jenny Higgins
Seriously, the toilet perils of traveling don’t get talked about enough – maybe because so many of the Africa travelogues I’ve read are written by men and, I don’t care what anyone says about gender equality, men simply don’t have the same issues when it comes to toilets. They can generally whip it out and pee anywhere (and they do… every time I turn a corner there’s an Ethiopian man peeing up a fence or a lamppost or on a parked car) but for women it’s not so easy.
For a start, sometimes a toilet, however rudimentary, doesn’t actually exist. At our school there are no toilet facilities (they are being built) and very little cover to enable you to pee behind a tree. Consequently, if I’m at the school from early morning until the evening I have to either drive back to the town to pee (which makes me feel utterly ridiculous) or just hold it. So I try and plan to only stay for a few hours at a time, and ration the amount I drink (not so easy when it’s really hot!).
So wherever you’re going and whatever you’re doing, you try and make sure there are toilets. The first time my three male colleagues and I were going to drive from Lalibela to Addis Ababa, I made sure I said to Abiy, the driver, ‘look, you guys are men, you can pee anywhere, but we have to make sure we find me a proper toilet sometimes’.
I don’t mean I have to have a western style toilet, I’m quite happy with a hole in the ground – in fact, sometimes these can be a more pleasant experience. Toilet wise, I have done things I never would have done in the UK. I have peed while a goats watched, peed in a group, behind a tree (okay, I’ve done that one before!), in the most disgusting and smelly shed, and – most memorably – I have peed in a hat (don’t ask. Really, don’t ask).
I’m not asking for 5 star toilet facilities, I’m relatively unfussy. The one thing I do ask for is some kind of privacy – it amazes me that in most of Ethiopia they don’t feel that a door is an essential part of the toilet experience. I really do. In one café where we stopped for breakfast, people eating had a perfect (I’m talking cinema-scope) view of anyone using the toilet as there was no door. Of course, this is fine for men, but for women it’s not ideal. Can you imagine what would have happened if I’d used the toilet? A faranji? I suspect they would have been talking about it for days.
Even when there is a toilet door, it’s rare that the door closes properly. A newly built, beautiful hotel in Lalibela has toilet doors that have to be held shut whilst you are peeing, which requires quite a lot of balance and freakishly long arms. Worse than that, the toilet doors are half glass! Half glass!! What’s that all about? Yes, it’s ‘smoked glass’ so you can’t see detail, but you can still see the shape of someone sitting on the toilet, and quite frankly, that’s not a silhouette I want anyone to see.
Once you’ve worried about showing your big (well, in my case) white bottom to the watching world, you need to worry about quite where you’re putting that bottom. Toilets in Ethiopia run the full gauntlet from ‘nice’ right down to ‘oh my God, that’s disgusting’, but it’s amazing what you can ignore when needed. I have peed (and worse) in the smelliest and most repulsive excuses for toilets I have ever seen. I can’t understand why they just don’t clean them, especially when they’re in hotels and restaurants. When I was in the South of Ethiopia, there was a particularly revolting toilet in a hotel (I’d name and shame, but I can’t remember exactly what it was called). The floor was covered with something that definitely wasn’t mud and as I gingerly tiptoed my way through it, I dropped my wrap. Argh! I could have cried. In fact, I was ready to throw it in the bin – it’s bad enough having to deal with horrible toilets, let alone carry the contents around on your clothes – but luckily there was a big sink outside and a lovely woman who managed to clean it in minutes.
So, cleanliness is not always a given, and you don’t get much privacy, even in the 3 star hotels. You don’t always get toilet paper either. When you first travel in Ethiopia this comes a bit of a surprise and you get caught short sometimes, but soon you get used to it and you learn to steal any toilet paper you come across, stockpiling it in your bag for future emergencies.
Of course, all these issues triple their impact when you start factoring in dodgy stomachs or periods – I know, I know, but nobody talks about this stuff, and it’s an important consideration. How can I go and work at the school when I might need a toilet at a moments notice, and just popping behind a tree won’t cut it? When you’re doing a 9 hour drive and the only place to pee is behind a tree – it’s not the best feeling in the world when you are fighting a heavy period. And if you’re travelling with someone, well, let’s just say that amoebic dysentery really deepens the intimacy between you. That or it ensures that you never speak again after the trip has finished.
So there are definitely lessons to be learnt from this. When traveling in Ethiopia: be prepared for some variations in toilet standards; build up those thigh muscles for the squatting you will have to do; invest in some kind of stick to hold doors closed when you need to; and always, always, always carry your own toilet paper.
The management team of Ethioindex.net is pleased to announce the launching of a new Ethiopian social bookmarking web site with the focus on sharing the latest news and information about Ethiopia. EthioIndex is inspired by a popular American social bookmarking site, digg.com.
Ethioindex.net is a user-driven web site so its growth and the value it provides to our society depends on the participation of our community. Any person can register and become a writer, contributor or editor.
The EthioIndex management has opened its door to any one who is interested about Ethiopia to be part of the team. Our ultimate objective is to make information about Ethiopia easily accessible to every one.
Security Alert – Dire Dawa, Harar, Jijiga and the Somali Region
The American Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reminds American citizens to avoid travel to the cities of Dire Dawa, Harar, and Jijiga, including the areas surrounding these cities, and to the Somali Region of Ethiopia. American citizens who do travel to or reside in these areas are advised to avoid public gatherings and public places, including hotels, and should avoid using public transportation and transportation hubs. The Embassy reminds Americans that there is still a heightened state of alert for these areas, as was noted in the warden message and security alert of June 6, 2008. U.S. Embassy employees are prohibited from traveling to these areas except for essential travel, which is reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis only.
American citizens are reminded to review their personal safety and security posture and to remain vigilant especially at public events and venues. Beware of unattended baggage or packages left in any location, including in minibuses and taxis. American citizens are strongly urged to review all the Department of State’s cautions about travel in Ethiopia, contained in the Country Specific Information for Ethiopia on the Department’s website. The Embassy’s recent warden messages are available here.
For the latest security information, American citizens living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs internet website, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada, or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. Federal Holidays.)
The U.S. Embassy is located at Entoto Avenue, P.O. Box 1014, in Addis Ababa
A massive protest rally is being organized in London on April 2 to oppose the invitation by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi to attend the G-20 meeting. Ethiopians through out Europe are preparing head to London to confront the butcher of Addis Ababa and Mogadishu. The Somali community in London is also joining Ethiopians in the protest rally.
Ethiopians in the San Francisco Bay Area have organized a similar demonstration in front of the British Consulate on April 2.
Place: 1 Sansome Street, #850, San Francisco (Take the San Francisco Bart, get off at Montgomery St. and walk toward Sansome Street). The rally in San Francisco is being organized by Andinet Oakland & San Francisco Support Chapters
Ethiopians Living in the U.S., Listen Up!
A study is being conducted on Ethiopians living in the United States and Health Care Utilization. To be part of the survey, just answer 5 questions at: http://tsehainy.com/survey.html.
In order to participate in this survey you must:
Be over the age of 18;
Have lived in America for the past year; and
If female, not have been pregnant during the past year.
Survey coordinator: Tiberah Tsehai
