Why are Ethiopians risking thier lives crossing the deadly Red Sea to Yemen leaving behind the paradise created by the Woyanne government in Ethiopia?
GENEVA (AP) – At least 56 Africans have died in recent days trying to make the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.
Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said hundreds of Somali, Ethiopian and Sudanese have crammed into boats since the start of September in an attempt to escape to the Arabian peninsula. Most were taken by smugglers.
Those who made it ashore told UNHCR monitors that people had died as the result of beatings, drowning and simple overcrowding of the often rickety vessels that travel between Somalia and Yemen, Redmond said.
«Many of them had been beaten, and some were reportedly doused with acid by the smugglers,» he told reporters in Geneva, where UNHCR has its headquarters. «The bodies of those who did not survive the six-day ordeal were reportedly thrown overboard.
In one single journey 24 people died, Redmond said.
He said some 925 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, have arrived safely in Yemen since Sept. 3. At least 12 boats have arrived in that time.
The passengers told refugee monitors they paid between US$70 and US$150 (¤50 and ¤108) for the journey.
The smugglers often force passengers to disembark offshore to avoid Yemeni coast guard patrols.
Redmond said an Ethiopian who survived a recent voyage was injured after arrival.
«Once they reached shore, they came under fire from military forces,» Redmond said, adding that UNHCR has raised the issue with Yemeni authorities because it has received three or four reports of this kind.
Yemeni military contingents say they fire at smugglers and not at the passengers, according to Redmond. He said the latest case was still unclear.
At least 282 people have died and 159 have gone missing this year trying to crossing the Gulf of Aden.
Migrants from the Horn of Africa _ particularly from Somalia where ongoing violence between the U.N.-supported interim government and Islamic groups has caused thousands to flee their homes _ regularly face abuse at the hands of smugglers.
Some are attacked during the journey and thrown overboard into shark-infested waters.
The high season for smuggling across the gulf usually runs from early September to May when the sea is less stormy than during summer. Over 10,000 people have reportedly arrived in Yemen by boat this year, the agency said.
UNCHR has 25 officials in the northern Somali Puntland region carrying out an information campaign to warn people of the risks they face at the hands of smugglers, Redmond said.
By Steve Landells for the IAAF
London, UK – World 5000m champion Meseret Defar will make a quick hop across the English Channel on Saturday following what she hopes will have been a successful attempt at her own World best for the track Two Miles at the IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Friday night (14) and will prepare to race over the roads at the 5km Hydro Active Women’s Challenge in London on Sunday (16).
Meseret Defar in Osaka [Getty Images]
The 23-year-old Ethiopian, who improved her own World 5000m track record of 14:16.13 in Oslo in June by nearly eight seconds, currently holds the World 5km best on the road with 14:46 and she may fancy a dart at this mark on the undulating course with a slight downhill finish at Hyde Park.
Defar will be heartened by the fact British athlete Paula Radcliffe set a then World best of 14:51 in the same race in 2003 as she seeks to become the third successive Ethiopian winner of the race after Derartu Tulu and Berhane Adere triumphed in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
There is little word from the Defar camp on whether the Ethiopian will be making a record-breaking attempt but with an ability to not only sustain a furious early pace and boasting a blistering kick-finish she boasts all the ammunition to lower her mark of 14:46.
Leading the home challenge in the London race, which has attracted 20,000 entries, is Jo Pavey, the fourth-placed finisher in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Osaka. Pavey, a runner-up last year behind Adere, will seek to go one place better in her home city.
The international challenge also includes 2004 IAAF World Cross Country champion Benita Johnson. The Australia tripped and fell in the final of the 10,000m in Osaka – finishing 17th – and will have a point to prove at Hyde Park.
Watch out, too, for Lauren Fleshman of the USA, who returns to the English capital seeking a positive 5km outing after triumphed over 3000m in 8:43.92 at the London Grand Prix in August.
European 10,000m champion Inga Abitova is also entered. The Russian finished 12th in the 10,000m final in Osaka and was ninth in April’s Flora London Marathon.
Hydro Active Women’s Challenge races also take place on Sunday morning in the cities of Birmingham and Liverpool and former World marathon record-holder Tegla Loroupe aims to defend her title in the latter city. The Kenyan is a big fan of the event and was a race winner in Liverpool in 2000 and Birmingham 2004.
The elite field in Birmingham includes Polish 5000m champion Karolina Jarzynska, who boasts a 5km road best of 16:28.
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Kinijit supporter Lishan Akuma’s trial has been underway in the Washington DC court for the past two days. Yesterday the judge informed her that today could be the final day of the trial and a decision may be handed down.
Lishan was arrested on July 12 while participating in a demonstration in front of the White House to protest the conviction by the Woyanne kangaroo court against leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) in Ethiopia.
The police arrested Lishan accusing her of not obeying police orders. She will appear in court again today at 10 AM for the final day of the trial.
Kinijit-DC Metro chapter official Ato Alemayehu Abebe urges fellow Ethiopians in the DC area to come to the court in a show of solidarity with Lishan.
Place: District of Columbia Court
500 Indiana Ave NW [see map]
Time: 10 AM
Kinijit supporter Lishan Akuma’s trial has been underway in the Washington DC court for the past two days. Yesterday the judge informed her that today could be the final day of the trial and a decision may be handed down.
Lishan was arrested on July 12 while participating in a demonstration in front of the White House to protest the conviction by the Woyanne kangaroo court against leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) in Ethiopia.
The police arrested Lishan accusing her of not obeying police orders. She will appear in court again today at 10 AM for the final day of the trial.
Kinijit-DC Metro chapter official Ato Alemayehu Abebe urges fellow Ethiopians in the DC area to come to the court in a show of solidarity with Lishan.
Place: District of Columbia Court
500 Indiana Ave NW [see map]
Time: 10 AM
Ethiopian millennium celebration concert in Downtown Washington DC
September 12, 2007, Washington Monument
[Photo: Tewodros Mekebeb]
