… do the right thing and you will be celebrated as heroes. Or continue to kill and mayhem for Woyanne, and you are nothing but pigs.
Somali pilot returns to city he refused to bomb
Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:29am EDT
By Hussein Ali Nur and Guled Mohamed
HARGEISA (Reuters Life!) – On July 13, 1988, Somali fighter pilot Abdi Mohamed Hassan was ordered to bomb Hargeisa city as part of operations by dictator Mohamed Siad Barre to crush anti-government forces.
Hassan defied his superiors, and instead dropped his load on bare mountains close to the hilly city in north Somalia that is now capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Then he crash-landed on a beach in neighbouring Djibouti after running out of fuel, handed himself in to local authorities, and eventually won asylum in Luxembourg despite Somalia’s bid to bring extradite him.
Twenty years on, Hassan — now a businessman in Luxembourg — is back in Hargeisa for the first time, invited by the government as a guest of honour during this week’s celebrations of Somaliland’s independence from Britain on June 26, 1960.
“The instruction was to bomb Hargeisa city using Russian made Fab 500kg bombs,” the 56 year-old father-of-four told Reuters in the city, where ruins still bear witness to the massive bombardment of 20 years ago.
“But I had already made up my mind never to drop the bombs. As a soldier, I swore to protect my people. There was no way I could hurt my own countrymen.”
Now Hassan is thinking of moving back to his homeland — either Hargeisa or Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, where he was born.
In Hargeisa, a camouflaged metal replica of Mig fighters like the one Hassan flew stands in Independence Square as a memorial to the bloodshed and terror unleashed by Barre, who was toppled in 1991.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, won independence in 1960 just four days before Italy relinquished the south. The two territories joined together to form modern Somalia.
Inter-clan hatred ensured the union was a difficult one, and those four days in 1960 now form the legal case for Somaliland’s 1991 declaration of independence.
Although it lacks international recognition, the northern enclave has held democratic elections and is relatively peaceful compared to the rest of Somalia, especially in the south.
The bespectacled and bearded Hassan is disgusted by daily violence in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the south, where insurgents are battling the Somali government and its Ethiopian Woyanne military allies.
“Innocent civilians die every day in the south. I wish to urge the combatants to spare our country and people. I long for the day when peace will prevail in my beloved country,” he said.
In Somaliland, Hassan is lauded for his decision 20 years ago. Peace activists gave him a certificate of appreciation.
“I am glad I did not drop those bombs here… I got a hero’s welcome. I miss home and will one day return to settle in Hargeisa or Mogadishu,” he said, showing the certificate.
The Ethiopian Sport Federation in North America (ESFNA) is a money-spinning organization owned by few individuals who never care for sport at all. The organization maintained its tax exempt status from the Federal and State governments by claiming that it is a non-profit organization, and it doesn’t affiliate with any political group. Ironically, each year thousands of Ethiopians are required to pay fees to watch soccer tournaments; people with political motivation and affiliation have been making donations; soccer tournament gatherings have been used as a juncture for political propaganda, etc.
The leadership of ESFNA has been advised in multiple occasions to be isolated from any politically motivated donation, and to make it clear to the public how much money they are making each year. Since all donations and business profits have been utilized in the name of ‘assisting Ethiopians’, the public has a right to know if the funds have been used for what they were originally obligated for- that is assisting Ethiopians.
ESFNA has been urged numerous times to provide articulated financial records attesting the allocation of funds. To date, no one, except the so called ESFNA executives know how much money ESFNA has raised in the name of Ethiopians, and how much of the money were justifiably spent.
Recently, we learned that ESFNA received a donation of $300,000 from the Ethiopian tycoon, who is a close ally of the current Ethiopian regime. While the motive behind such a huge money donation is mysterious, one thing is very clear for most of us that once again, the ESFNA collected the money in the name of assisting Ethiopians.
Although we appreciate the social gathering opportunity facilitated by the annual soccer tournament, we all hate to see our Ethiopian identity being used to raise money for no other reason than boosting few individuals’ prosperity.
ESFNA should be reminded of its legal obligations that sport gatherings cannot be used as a means for political propaganda, donations should not be collected from politically driven donors, and the public must be informed about the expenditure of funds received from the sale of tournament tickets and donations.
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The writer can be reached at [email protected]
Of all the cheap flights in the market, the flights to london are the only one that offer quality on flight services. Although the flights to boston have always promised quality, they have seldom delivered it. A good example would be of flights to phoenix that accepts the bad quality, or the flights to paris, that accept that they are outrageously expensive.
In Wolayita, one of the most affected areas of Ethiopia, recurrent drought has reduced to almost nothing the availability of food for a chronically food-insecure population. The seasonal rains failed last year and again in the first two months of 2008. Crops that would normally have helped to sustain families through the past four months have not been available.
In the village of Bibiso, for Alena Seta and his wife Alkase Ayele the food distribution could not have come at a better moment.
‘We already ate all the planting seeds we had. Without rain there was no reason to plant. We ate the cow; sold the ox. The sheep died. A family member gave me a calf but it is too young and skinny to be of any use,’ says Alena.
This morning the children had some buna (coffee) and some maize. Lunch does not figure on the family menu. For diner Alena considers cutting the inset, also calledfalse banana tree and boil the potato like fruits inside its trunk.
Families have not managed to produce any food at all for the past nine months. Cows and sheep that are usually sold to provide cash to buy food have also died or are too weak to sell. Planting seeds have dried up or been eaten.
Each village has a traditional leadership structure called Timata, a council of elders which gives advice, rules and delivers judgments. Some 40,000 beneficiaries were identified for a four-month emergency food distribution.
Alena’s neighbour, Ingda Birhanu, is a Red Cross volunteer since 1997. The 37 year-old farmer shares the same living conditions and problems as his neighbours. He labours a quarter of a hectare of land belonging to the government which even in a good season will not produce enough to feed his family of four.
Birhanu’s only income is from selling vegetables or from odd jobs in town. He can not afford renting ox for ploughing, so just like his neighbour, he uses tools that one would describe as prehistoric.
But the Red Cross volunteer does not even question his availability to help others. ‘Thank God, I am healthy and so is the rest of the family. My cow is alive. I should not complain,’ he says while patting the animal whom he shelters under the same roof as his family.
Like Birhanu, 200 volunteers from Lera, Damota Pulassa, Sodo, Boditi or Bibiso have answered the call of the Ethiopian Red Cross.
The current rise in prices over basic commodities in Ethiopia has contributed to a further deterioration in the food security situation of the most vulnerable people. The Ethiopian government estimates that 4.5 million people are in need of emergency food aid, more than one million more than an earlier estimate of 3.4 million. According to authorities, only 33 per cent of the food requirement can be covered.
‘It is a combination of poverty, minimal assets and high food prices which make it difficult for families to access additional provisions from an already weakened market’, explains Nancy Balfour, disaster management coordinator for Eastern Africa at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), stressing that climate change patterns are obvious in the current crisis.
Drinking water is yet an additional problem. Across the area 40 wells dried up because of rain shortage but also because they were hand dug and only 10 metres deep. All the 80 water springs have dried up as well. Children are sent to fetch water from the Shappa river, up to three hours walking distance away. The Ethiopian and Swedish Red Cross are already planning spring protection activities with two springs repaired during the coming months.
‘Families do not recover quickly from food crises and rains do not produce immediate food,’ adds Balfour. Red Cross Red Crescent estimates that it takes three to five years of continuous support and favourable conditions for a community to achieve complete recovery.
Revival work is about to be launched alongside emergency relief. This would include activities that would enable affected families to possess tools and seeds as well as livestock as soon as there is adequate rain to plant or graze animals.
In the longer term, farmers and pastoralists need more drought-resistant production systems. In March 2008, the IFRC has launched a 45 million Swiss franc long-term food security initiative targeting 15 countries across Africa, including Ethiopia. It aims to improve overall food security for families at high risk from drought and other climate related disasters and assist in building resilience so that the rapid escalation of malnutrition can be avoided in future.
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Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu is Federation’s Communication Manager for Eastern Africa
Strengthening Local Capacity for the Achievement of the MDGs
(A joint press release between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of the Federal Democratic Republic Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations Development Programme)
The Government of Ethiopia has initiated the implementation of a number of programmes and projects in line with its five year (2007-2011) development strategy, entitled “A Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty” (PASDEP), to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels, is implementing a UNDP-funded project, entitled “Strengthening Local Capacity for the Achievement of the MDGs”. This project, with a total budget of US $8 million, supports the Government of Ethiopia’s efforts in achieving the MDGs. In order to develop local capacities to serve the citizens in an effective way, the project had successful interventions in three main areas: (i) the preparation of regional development plans and strategies that are based on applied research and consistent with the MDGs; (ii) basic social service delivery in the Emerging Regions; and (iii) Strengthening the monitoring and evaluation system.
The project has also been successful in developing the capacities of selected ministries and other government institutions including Regional Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Federal Affairs, the Central Statistical Agency (CSA), the Public Financial Enterprises Agency (PFEA), and Regional Management Institutes. MoFED and UNDP share the common understanding that such capacity related support is effective results in better policy research and public service delivery at the grass root level and fostering a sense of strong ownership and partnership in achieving MDGs.
As part of its capacity development intervention, UNDP Ethiopia has delivered nine TOYOTA double cabin vehicles for government partners at regional and federal level. The nine vehicles are part of the capacity strengthening programme. The vehicles will be distributed to 8 regions namely Afar, Amhara, Benshangul, Gambela, Oromiya, Somali, Tigray, and SNNPR. One vehicle will be transferred to the Ministry of Federal Affairs. The delivery of those vehicles is based on the capacity assessment of BoFEDs and WoFEDs to enhance their capacity in coordination, monitoring and reporting of UN assisted programs in their respective regions.
Similarly, for this year, UNDP Ethiopia has allocated US $10 million to support the Government’s on going efforts in developing local capacity for the achievement of MDGs.
The Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia and UNDP use this occasion to revitalize their partnership and commitment to work hand in hand for the success of the Millennium Development Goals in Ethiopia.
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Contact:
1. Admassu Nebebe, Team Leader
MoFED, Multilateral and Development Cooperation Department
Telephone: +(251-11)151-2400
E-mail: [email protected]
GURAGE ZONE, Ethiopia – Mubarek weighed barely 3.5 kg when he arrived at the Kuno Alimena Health Post in Ethiopia’s drought-affected Gurage Zone. His weight would be average for a newborn baby, but as a toddler, he weighs approximately one-third of what he should. His diagnosis is severe acute malnutrition.
Still, Mubarek was lucky; his mother brought him to the weekly UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding programme that has been set up to save the lives of severely malnourished children. He did not have medical complications that would require clinical treatment and was able to begin home-based care, receiving weekly rations of ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
But Mubarek’s twin brother was not so fortunate. He died even before his mother could get help.
International appeal for help
Children are the most vulnerable to nutritional deficits and the first to succumb when there is not enough food at home. Those with severe acute malnutrition have a 25 to 50 per cent chance of dying if they don’t receive proper treatment.
UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson visited Guraghe Zone during her recent trip to drought-affected areas of southern Ethiopia. She concluded her trip by calling for immediate help to feed malnourished children and their families
“The situation in the hardest hit areas is extremely serious,” said Ms. Johnson. “Children are now at risk of dying in numbers in several areas if help is not provided urgently. The government and partners are doing their utmost to help, but needs are not being met with adequate speed. More resources need to be provided.”
Swift response needed
Therapeutic feeding alone will not be enough to address the nutritional needs of children affected by the drought. If Mubarek’s mother does not have enough food to feed him when he returns home, chances are that he will slip back into malnutrition.
For now, the health post has enough supplies to feed Mubarek. However, UNICEF could face a shortage of supplies to meet the needs of severely malnourished children in drought-affected areas.
UNICEF is the main provider of therapeutic feeding products in Ethiopia. The agency and its partners – including other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations – are working closely with the Government of Ethiopia to respond swiftly and effectively to the crisis.
‘There is no food’
The Government of Ethiopia estimates that 75,000 children under the age of five in 124 drought-affected districts are severely malnourished, and that 4.6 million people are in immediate need of humanitarian aid.
UNICEF needs $28 million in funding to meet the immediate needs of children and women throughout the affected areas and $21.3 million for mitigation and preparedness in broader vulnerable areas of the country.
“We talked to mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and all actors in the field,” said Ms. Johnson. “This picture was confirmed by all of them and a clear message was conveyed: There is no food. The assistance needs to be taken to scale and it has to happen urgently.”
Ato Zenawi Asres, the father who brought to this world one of the worst mass murderers in Africa’s history — also known as the Butcher of Addis Ababa and Mogadishu — Meles Zenawi, has died today in Addis Ababa at the age of 82. Ato Zenawi’s body was flown to Adwa for burial.
