Pawlos Nio Nio is receiving Medical treatment in Germany after he was diagnosed with Prosta Carcinoma, a disease curable with medication.
Retired from his 32-year career, Ato Pawlos enjoys an active life writing and researching historical books.
After having a prostate surgery, he was unable to use his left muscles and bones, as a result of the complications from the surgery. He was advised to go abroad for further treatment and friends raised the funds to send him to Germany.
Ato Pawlos is the author of 14 fictional and historical books. He is one of the most popular writers in Ethiopia.
For further medical attention, Ato Pawlos’s friends are collecting donations from Ethiopians and others. For more information on his condition and how to help, write to Prof. David Wiley, Director, African Studies Center, 100 International Programs, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Thousands of people carrying banners and placards in Amharic, Oromigna, Tigrinya, English, and Arabic demonstrated in Addis Ababa Meskal Square to give moral support to EPRDF and its government’s Charter in early November.
Mulualem Abebe, administrator of Addis Ababa and EPRDF member said in is speech: “The skepticism of some who claim that the Charter will lead to the break-up of Ethiopia is based on ignorance exploited by some destructive groups to impede the democratic process going on in Ethiopia.”
The demonstration is seen as an EPRDF staged showcase by many, including the leader of the United Democratic Nationals Party, Ato Tsegaye Abiye. Tsegaye said that the EPRDF brought truck loads of EPRDF troops from around the city and its vicinity to act as demonstraters, realizing that Addis Ababa residents have now lost confidence in the Charter, and the EPRDF run transitional government.
A large number of the demonstrators demanded that former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam be extradited from Zimbabwe, where he lives now, to face trial. They also insisted that former high officials such Legesse Asfaw, Tesfaye Wolde Selassie and others accused of crimes be brought to justice.
Disarming a section of the population, while leaving others untouched has proved to be an invitation to disaster–sometimes of genocidal proportions. The killings and massacres that are reported to be taking place in various sections of the country, notably Dre Dawa, Harar, Arsi, Sidama, Jibat and Metcha, and Danakil, are caused in part by the imbalance created by the government’s lopsided disarmament policy. EPRDF leaders are painfully aware of their minority status, and instead of enforcing the policy equally on all sections of society, they are disarming those who they perceive to be potential rivals or even “enemies” while they leave those who are actively allied to them armed. It is no secret that their allies are doing the killing while EPRDF troops allegedly “watch as passive onlookers.”
President Meles Zenawi is quoted by TIME magazine as saying that “The choice is to disarm the irrational and arm the rational elements,” in the hope that those whom he categorizes as “rational” will chose not to use their weapons. Today in Ethiopia where fear and paranoia seem to rule supreme on all sides, how does one measure rationality or irrationality? Both past experience and the hard reality in the country today utterly contradict this view.
Tens of thousands of tons of food for starving refugees in Ethiopia are rotting on arrival piers, the U.N. High commissioner for refugees said early in November.
The agency’s Geneva headquarters said at least 71,000 tons of food “is scattered on piers” in the port capital of the neighboring nation of Djibouti.
There is also more than 600 tons of relief food supplies in the town of Dire Dawa, it said, “but security is dramatically deteriorating in the eastern part of Ethiopia, seriously threatening the distribution of food to the refugee camps. In Dire Dawa, all movement of vehicles has been suspended.”
Unknown gunmen have been shooting at food convoys and one convoy from Djibouti was hijacked twice on the open road.
The report said there are more than 500,000 refugees in the camps and food stocks “are very low.” Without an improvement in the situation, “the camps will run out of food very soon.”
Since the dismantling of the previous Ethiopian regime, the U.N. agency said, the new provisional government has been unable to provide adequate security. Various measures are being considered by the UNHCR, including getting food to the camps via the port of Berbera or even repatriating the refugees to their homes in northwestern Somalia.
Source: UPI, Geneva (Nov. 19)
If one looks for troops in their usual encampments in Addis Ababa today, one does not find them. The old 4th division military camp is empty. So are other military garrisons in the city. THE EPRDF chose to house all its troops in private villas and other buildings, mostly previously owned by Derg/WPE high officials who are now in detention.
This may look very awkward, and some villas and buildings are seen to be heavily congested, with dirty linen and other paraphernalia hanging all over the place. But, according to observers, there are two distinct advantages in this for the EPRDF. As a relatively small force (some say “occupying force”) 20,000 at most, their deployment and stationing in a widely scattered area of the city gives them a better control of the city, while at the same time avoiding being an easy target if they were all concentrated in one or two spots.
By Sophia Bekele
What are the characteristics that make one women hate another? Beauty, success, intelligence, or confidence. Generally, the appearance of `having it all’ brings out negative reactions in women who feel that they lacke these qualities. Conversely, these characteristics are what appear to be attractive to men, yet, also make them uncomfortable. My observation and discussions with both men and women provide evidence and give credence to both kinds of behavior.
First, let us talke about women’s reactions. Well, there is the stereotype. Women who appear to have the above characteristics are perceived to be aloof and condescending. But, is this true or a stereotype? It is difficult to judge unless one gets the opportunity to know these women. Although some women enjoy having this unfriendly attitude, not all women behave in the same fashion. The advertising media also promotes these `have it all’ women as they capitalizing on them to fulfill their self interest, regardless of the contribution these women make to society. The reality is these women are either born with or having acquired what society today deems to be a form of success. Hopefully, they will use their attributes in a non-threatening manner.
Through working and associating with women that `have it all’, I have learned that the common dilemma these women face is the frustration of not being accepted as one of the girls/women in the circles they want to associate in. In fact, most of these women have to work harder than most women to earn trust and understanding, and to achieve intimate relationship because of the attitude society has toward them. Their frustration runs as high as the attention they get.
Now, let us look at another rationale for this `love to hate’ behavior: Not having what others have. Although it appears understandable, it could be self-destructive to the person who has the feeling of inferiority. Yet, unconsciously and consciously many women continue to allow themselves to be consumed with feelings that produce hate. My discussions revealed that lack of self-motivation and self-confidence, and an inability to accept reality tend to reinforce these kinds of emotions. However, with increased self awareness and a positive frame of mind, these perceived differences can be reduced.
What about men? While many of the men I spoke with expressed attraction to the women that “have it all,” they also expressed their love and fear of women who are unpredictable, intriguing and independent.
Some men said they like unpredictable women, because they found challenging. Others did not have the patience to keep up with such women. The intriguing women, as described by one man is captivating, charming, and mysterious. While he expressed his attraction for such women, he admits he feels insecure about her, as this type of women is also attractive to other men. He said, the feeling of insecurity is also enhanced because of the fear of losing such a women.
The subject of independence, however, seems to have brought out more of the fear factor. As I talked with these men, I learned that independence means different things to different men. It could mean either economic, social or emotional. The majority of the men agree that an independent women is someone who has achieved some form of success, is confident, self-reliant, sociable, and free-sprinted. They also agree that it is not easy to relate to such a women. “Not only are these
women outspoken and controversial, they are far removed from playing the traditional role of women, which makes men insecure,” said one. Yet another said, “It is also a control issue. Since men are raised to be always in control, they fear they can’t control the independent women.” He continued, “We still enjoy some form of dependence from women, be it social, emotional or economical.”
“How about the bitch factor?”, I ask, Knowing it would raise some eye brows and is increasingly being associated with the independent woman nowadays. The responses I got were, “I say that to a women who wants to be dominant, tells me what to do, is aggressive, is radical etc.” My next question was, are men not the same way? I usually get blank stares, so I responded, “yes, but it is only natural because society has allowed you to be so.” Then I shared with them the things I read in various articles: “A `bitch’ is an acronym used for a woman for being in total control of herself”, another article read, “women should not feel critical about being called a bitch, because it is a man’s way of saying she knows what she wants and knows how to get it.” The preceding comments were thought provoking to some, yet indigestible to others.
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Sophia Bekele, a resident of San Francisco Bay Area, is a model and an EDP auditor for BankAmerica.
