By IWPR

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s political rivals smiled for the cameras, the crowds cheered and the bitter enemies shook hands.

Six months after the country’s momentous March 29 general elections, which delivered to President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party their first electoral loss in almost three decades, the veteran 84-year-old leader was, on September 15, forced to agree to sharing power with opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s prime minister designate.

Mugabe signed away his sweeping powers to Tsvangirai in a remarkable ceremony attended by a full complement of Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state or their representatives.

Analysts immediately warned that the power-sharing deal was fragile and will require former enemies to put aside their differences and work closely to overcome scepticism.

With nervous glances and awkward handshakes, ZANU-PF formally ceded its near-total monopoly on power to the MDC. And, as opposition party members witnessed the ceremony, their flag-waving, singing supporters danced in the streets, welcoming a new era they hope will end the economic meltdown that has seen inflation skyrocket to more than 11-million per cent.

“I have signed this agreement because I believe it represents the best opportunity for us to build a peaceful, prosperous, democratic Zimbabwe,” Tsvangirai said after the ceremony. “I have signed this agreement because my belief in Zimbabwe and its peoples runs deeper than the scars I bear from the struggle. I have signed this agreement because my hope for the future is stronger than the grief I feel for the needless suffering of the past years.”

In his speech, a dejected-looking Mugabe gave a solemn promise to see that the deal was honoured to the letter so Zimbabweans could embark on the task of nation-building and reconstruction.

“We are committed to deal. We will do our best,” he said. “To the opposition I say congratulations, while expressing the fervent hope that you will shoulder your weighty responsibilities with dignity, a sense of responsibility and seriousness of purpose.”

However, true to form, he railed against the British and saluted “African leaders for solving an African problem”.

As cannons boomed and fighter jets whizzed over the capital, thousands of people flocked to see the spectacle.

“I took off from work; I had to see it for myself,” Cynthia Makaza, 21, a hairdresser, told IWPR at the sidelines of the signing ceremony. Hundreds more crowded into the conference centre to witness the historic occasion.

The signing, beamed live on Zimbabwe television, touched off a carnival mood in MDC strongholds, relief in many parts of the country and general optimism among a battered and anxious population.

The world watched South Africa president Thabo Mbeki together with his United Nations reference group representative Haile Menkerios, and African Union chairman Jakaya Kikwete as they brought together the erstwhile rivals.

Britain and the United States, who have stridently pushed for “real power-sharing” to break the crippling impasse arising from a discredited presidential election run-off, swiftly welcomed the development and, in a joint statement, European Union foreign ministers said, “The EU is ready notably to adopt a series of measures of economic support and help to a transition government that took measures to restore democracy and rule of law in Zimbabwe, notably by organising transparent and pluralistic elections.”

The deal – which will be entrenched in a new constitution – creates the post of executive prime minister, who will supervise ministers and lead government in parliament. It also provides for the sharing of cabinet positions based on the total number of votes cast for each party in the March 29 poll.

The parties will share 31 cabinet posts, with 15 ministries for ZANU-PF, 13 for the Tsvangirai MDC and three for the Mutambara MDC.

The arrangement, which could usher in a new era of reform, will assume legal and constitutional force when parliament is summoned, possibly this week or early next week.

Mugabe was expected to announce the formation of a new all-inclusive cabinet and ZANU-PF legal affairs secretary Patrick Chinamasa told IWPR that the parties had worked out a full list of ministries but there had as yet been no allocations. The MDC is anxious to take control of the important ministries of finance, industry, home affairs, justice and foreign affairs.

Analysts say a truly representative coalition cabinet is crucial to unlocking key financial support.

“The establishment of an all-inclusive and competent coalition cabinet is a critical first step in the effort to woo back western donors, who have withdrawn desperately needed financial assistance from Zimbabwe, saying the economy is severely mismanaged,” said economic commentator Best Doroh.

“The inclusion of private-sector business leaders to head key economic ministries could be a powerful signal that this is the time for fundamental change.

There is a need for new ministers who have the political clout to make painful but critical economic decisions.”

John Makumbe, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said the MDC has devised a promising economic recovery and rehabilitation programme, known as RESTART, for the transitional period, which, he hoped, might kick-start the economy.

“It is my considered view that if that programme is effectively implemented, the Zimbabwean economy could recover within as short a period as two to three years,” said Makumbe. “Part of the RESTART programme seeks to attract both domestic and foreign direct investment in order to revive previously existing industries as well as to expand those that are currently operating at 25 per cent to 30 per cent of their original capacity. The programme also seeks to encourage as many skilled Zimbabweans as possible to return home and help rebuild the shattered economy.”

Several development cooperation agencies have already indicated their interest in resuming or renegotiating appropriate development assistance programmes with the new government.

The RESTART programme will also focus on the revival of the crucial agricultural sector by, for example, creating a land commission to examine such matters as multiple land-holding practices and the under-utilisation of arable land. The power-sharing deal calls for a “comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan” land audit to ensure individuals do not own too many farms.

It also calls upon the British government to accept the primary responsibility for paying compensation for land acquired from former landowners for resettlement. Zimbabwe’s government has repeatedly accused Britain of reneging on an agreement to compensate farmers who lost their land during land reforms.

The political shift is nothing short of extraordinary for Tsvangirai, who lacks any experience in government but will have the task of turning the economy around.

He will have to achieve this with relatively new faces in the legislature who are still learning parliamentary rules and how to find their way through a building most have only seen on television.

The 100 MPs in Tsvangirai’s parliamentary caucus in the 210-seat legislature are teachers, lawyers, students and small-businessmen who are bewildered by government budgets and committees. Some are scrambling to find money to rent offices or print business cards.

By Evelyn Ratigan

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – Though most people rang in 2001 eight years ago with paper hats, noisemakers and champagne, hundreds of Ethiopians officially started partying this past weekend in Cambridge.

[Photo by David Gordon]
Wegene Wells-Bogue (a U.N.H. student) dances in traditional Ethiopian dress during the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association sponsored “Enkutatash” (Ethiopian New Years) celebration on Saturday night at the St. Paul AME Christian Life Center.

That’s because Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar, which has 12 30-day-long months and a 13th month of five days, putting it about eight years behind the West’s Gregorian calendar. Enkutatash is celebrated with music and dancing on Sept. 11 and marks the end of the rainy season in Ethiopia.

The skies were clear at the St. Paul AME Christian Life Center last Saturday, where the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association, a networking and support group for recent Ethiopian immigrants, hosted its annual Enkutatash celebration.

Misrak Assefa, the association’s board president, said many of the families at the Enkutatash celebration were there to connect with each other and immerse their children in the culture.

“It will strengthen them,” she said of the immigrant families. “You’re American, you’re Ethiopian. This is how you survive; you keep both cultures.”

Cambridge boasts the highest concentration of Ethiopians in Massachusetts, said Mayor Denise Simmons during her “proclamation” at the celebration. In fact, there are 4,000 Ethiopians living in Cambridge, according to one estimate. “It’s wonderful to watch how the Ethiopian community has grown,” she said.

Ethiopians are a relatively new group in the U.S. compared to other refugee and immigrant communities, said Binyam Tamene, the association’s executive director. Many Ethiopians in Cambridge are political refugees who may come to the United States on a work or student visa and then request political asylum, he said, and are “mostly law-abiding citizens that aspire to take advantage of the American Dream.”

One Ethiopian, Ashebir Gubir, an Ethiopia native and former Cambridge resident, moved to the United States when his family “won the visa lottery” in 1997.

For him, America means possibility, a place where one of his daughters became a doctor and the other an assistant researcher at MIT.

“[Cantabrigians] allow this community to live a decent life,” Gubir said. “No doubt about it. It’s a land of many opportunities.”

Enkutatash is a time for Gubir to reflect on the hardships and triumphs of past years, but also celebrate the prospects for the future. “We don’t want to forget what we had or what we inherited from our parents,” he said. “We want to keep going with that tradition.”

Traditional Ethiopian families were not the only ones trying to connect to the culture last week. Rick Wheeler, the adoptive father of two Ethiopian children, heard about the event through a network of other adoptive parents, and traveled from his Connecticut home to ring in the New Year with his family.

“We do want the boys to know some of their culture,” Wheeler said. “We want them to be exposed to their culture, even if we don’t know a whole lot about it yet.”

STUTTGART — It has been a frustrating year for 24-year-old Ethiopian distance runner Meseret Defar. She first lost her world record at the 5000m to teammate Tirunesh Dibaba; she then failed to retain the 5000-meter title in the Olympic final where she finished a disappointing third.

But her fortunes changed this weekend at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart where she doubled the 5000m on Saturday and the 3000m on Sunday, winning both races.

In both the 3000m and 5000m, Meseret Defar’s biggest rival was Kenyan runner Vivian Cheruiyot, who had beaten Defar the previous week in Brussels. In the women’s 3000-meter race, she set the pace at the start and led until the final kilometer. But she couldn’t shake off Defar. When the Ethiopian began her kick with 250m to go, Cheruiyot flagged. Defar went on to win in 8:43.60. Cheruiyot placed second in 8:44.64 while Jane Kiptoo, also from Kenya came in third running 8:47.65.

In the 5,000-meter race, Meseret Defar crossed the line in 14:53.82 edging out Cheruiyot (14:54.60) by under a second. Meselech Melkamu (Ethiopia) placed third in 14:58.76.

The focus of last week’s AT News and winner of the Golden League’s $1 million jackpot, Pamela Jelimo, extended her winning streak in the 800m with her 14th consecutive victory, running a 1:56.23.

In the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase on Sunday Paul Kipsiele Koech ran incredibly well in chilly temperatures. The 26-year-old Kenyan went out on his own to win easily in 8:05.35—ten seconds ahead of his teammates Ezekiel Kemboi (8:15.32) and Richard Mateelong (8:16.05). “I actually wanted to run under eight minutes, but without pacemakers and in this cold weather it wasn’t possible today unfortunately,” said the Kenyan who has the fastest 3000-meter time in the world this year, 8:00.57, and has run under eight minutes on several occasions. Koech’s victory Sunday was his fourth consecutive World Athletics victory.

The women’s 3000-meter steeplechase was a repeat of last month’s Olympics. Olympic champion and world-record holder Gulnara Galkina (Russia) won her duel against rival Eunice Jepkorir in 9:21.73. Jepkorir finished less than three seconds later in 9:24.38. The race was a close one until the last 600 meters when Galkina dropped the hammer and surged ahead of Eunice. Jepkorir’s strong performance at the World Athletics Final demonstrates that Kenyan women are beginning to follow the example of the men who have dominated the steeplechase event for years.

In the men’s 5,000m, last year’s champion, Kenyan runner Edwin Soi, won again. His rivals had no chance matching his finishing kick as he broke the tape at 13:22.81. Moses Kipsiro (Uganda) was second in 13:23.02, while third place went to the Kenyan Micah Kogo in 13:23.37.

The American’s had a strong showing in the men’s 3000-meter race. Bernard Lagat (USA) won in 8:02.97. His victory ended second-place finisher Edwin Soi‘s (Kenya/8:03.55) chances for a repeat win. Third went to KIMbia’s Matt Tegenkamp (USA) who ran 8:03.56.

Six Kenyans Run Under an Hour at the Rotterdam Half-Marathon

It was an exciting photo finish at the Rotterdam Half-Marathon on Sunday. Fellow Kenyans Patrick Makau Musyoki and Evans Cheruiyot were given the same time of 59:29, but the win went to Musyoki. Both men missed the course record (which Cheruiyot had set a year ago) by only 12 seconds in cold conditions and gusting winds. Third place went to Wilson Chebet (Kenya) who was only four seconds behind in 59:33.

This consistently high-class race also had three Kenyans who broke the sub-one hour barrier: Paul Kosgei (59:37), Charles Munyeki, (59:44) and Joseph Maregu (59:52).

The women’s field was not as deep, but a course record was set. Lydia Cheromei (Kenya) ran a personal best on this fast course with a 68:35 and broke her own course record by 38 seconds. A long ways behind, the Dutch runner Ilse Pol, finished in second place with 74:17.

Irina Mikitenko now the Eighth-Fastest 10K Women Ever

Irinia Mikitenko has run the fastest 10K on the roads this year. © www.photorun.net

Irinia Mikitenko has run the fastest 10K on the roads this year. © www.photorun.net

Irina Mikitenko has returned in style. After suffering from back problems which prevented her from running the Olympic Marathon, the 36-year-old German runner achieved a convincing win in 30:57 at the German 10K Championships in Karlsruhe. This performance took her to number eight on the all-time list. Apart from a German record, Mikitenko’s time was the fastest road 10K in the world thus far this year.

“I wanted to win and see what kind of shape I was in after having a break from competition,” said Mikitenko, who took the lead from the start, running in cool, wet weather on a loop course. For the first four laps Mikitenko ran with rival Sabrina Mockenhaupt. But pulled away during the fifth lap. Mockenhaupt, who is preparing for the Frankfurt Marathon on October 26, came in second in 31:50.

“When I saw the 5K split of 15:27, I thought, ‘oh, that’s really fast.’ I then tried to keep that pace going and didn’t have any problems,” said Irina Mikitenko, who broke her own German record of 31:28 which had stood for five years. She improved this year’s world best (previously held by Hilda Kibet of the Netherlands) by four seconds. “I shall run a marathon this autumn. Since I felt very good today, I’ll make a quick decision where that will be,” said Mikitenko who has won all six races that she has competed in this year—the pinnacle of which was her triumph at the London Marathon last April.

Falk Cierpinski won the men’s race in 29:14.

Olympic champion Constantina Tomescu-Dita to Run the Chicago Marathon

The women’s 2008 Olympic Marathon champion, Constantina Tomescu-Dita, will be running another high-profile race this year. This week, she announced that she will run the Chicago Marathon on October 12. The Chicago Marathon is part of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) series along with Boston, London, Berlin and New York.

The purse at Chicago is a large one: $125,000 dollars and a chance to score points in the WMM series. In the rankings for the 2008-2009 season, Tomescu-Dita shares the lead with the Boston Marathon winner Dire Tune (Ethiopia) as well as German runner Irina Mikitenko.

The verdict is still out whether or not Tomescu-Dita can bounce back after only 8 weeks of rest since the Olympics. Competing for the purse will be the Ethiopians Bezunesh Bekele (2:23:09 PR) and Worknesh Tola (2:25:37 PR), as well as the Russians Alevtina Biktimirova (2:25:12 PR) and Lidiya Grigoryeva (2:25:10 PR).

“I’m looking forward to returning to Chicago because I’ve run some of my best races there,” said Tomescu-Dita, who won the 2004 race and placed second a year later with a personal best of 2:21:30.

William Kipsang is the top seed in the men’s field at Chicago. The 31-year-old Kenyan won the Rotterdam Marathon and set the course record in April with a 2:05:49 (fifth-fastest in the world this year).

The Colbinski Chronicles

Gondar

Gondar, which I constantly mispronounced as Gondor (from The Lord of the Rings), was nice but the two days we spent there was too much. Gondar was the place everyone said you had to see along with Lalibela. I suppose I was just expecting so much more. It’s a nice town with a center piazza and it was very walkable. We arrived in the morning and by early afternoon we had seen most of the big highlight sights. The castle ruins were excellent and gave a great perspective to the vast history of Ethiopia. It was certainly worth visiting but didn’t live up to all I heard and pales in comparison to Lalibela as a place to visit.

The above photos courtesy of Iris as my camera was acting up.

Gondar is used as a staging town for people who are going to spend a few days in the Simien Mountains. As a result every person with a taxi or minibus wants to take you to the mountains. When informed that I was only staying for another day the offer changed to a half-day trip to see baboons. I was told by another faranjo that the half-day trip would not bring me close to the Simien Mountains but that it was probably worth going out there. So the next morning I went on a half-day trip. Iris had a “sick foot” as she injured it before arriving in Ethiopia. As a result she didn’t join me on this trip which involved a hike to see baboons. I talked them down to Birr 250 for the hour drive out to the area and back. I paid an extra Birr 50 to the herdsman that led the way through game trails until we got to the area where the baboons hang out. I had a fantastic time hiking through the mountains. The scenery was gorgeous. I can’t say enough about what a beautiful country Ethiopia is. I am disappointed that I was there only during the rainy season as I would like to compare the lush landscape I viewed with how it looks during the non-rainy season. I did see baboons but never got close enough to see their “bleeding heart.” Gelada baboons have a unique red marking on their chest. So I am told as I couldn’t verify based upon the distance and my inadequate camera. All in all it was a nice trip.

You need to play “Where’s Waldo” to find baboons int he above photos.

After this trip I returned back to Gondar. The same people who offered me the half-day trip all wanted to drive us to the airport the next day. It seemed like everyone in Gondar knew Iris and I were leaving the next morning. Everywhere I went I ran into someone wanting to set up a taxi to the airport for the next morning. My negotiating skills still aren’t anything to write home about. But because I still haven’t met up with Iris yet after my side trip I held to my guns and didn’t commit to anything. I figured if I was getting asked every 10 minutes if I needed a ride then Iris may have been also. I wanted to speak to Iris before I did anything. I still hadn’t seen Iris by the time evening came and by this time the offers for an airport taxi had gone from Birr 80 for both if us to Birr 40. I didn’t think we would ever get lower than Birr 20 each so I made the arrangements and gave Birr 20 as a down payment. As it turns out Iris didn’t make any arrangements. The next morning the taxi was a little late and the guard at the hotel laughed when I told him that I gave some guy Birr 20 as a down payment. “Do you think they’ll show?” “You never know.” Was all he would say. Another taxi passed by and said he would take us for Birr 70 and incredulously claimed that no one in their right mind would bring us to the airport for Birr 20 each. Then our taxi showed and I paid the other Birr 20 and off to the airport and then Lalibela.

One highlight of Gondar was a coffee ceremony that Iris and I went to. A young man had taken a shining to Iris and followed us around quite a bit. He invited Iris to a coffee ceremony at his mother’s house and I tagged along. We ended up at his older sister’s house. Along with her two little precocious children (the two year old called me faranjo non-stop and they both sung and danced to whatever pop songs came on the radio.), and grandmother we had a traditional coffee ceremony. The coffee beans were roasted, then ground and then we had three cups as called for in the ceremony. I really had a great time playing with the kids and interacting with the rest of the family. It was one of those events that I wasn’t looking forward to (it was raining fairly hard and I really didn’t want to walk the 10-15 minutes from the hotel to the house) but turned out to be very enjoyable. I’m glad I went.

Lalibela

Lalibela is amazing. I’d say that Lalibela is probably the second most amazing place I have ever visited. The Grand Canyon takes first place in my amazing rankings. I don’t think I can even do justice to how amazing it is with my description or photos. Lalibela has rock churches built like 900 years ago. Not just churches carved into rock but churches entirely freed from the rock. Think of a rock face you can walk over. All rock all the way down. The churches are dug out of the rock so what you are left with is a quarry with a church standing in it. I can’t describe how amazing it is and it is more amazing when you realize that there are 11 of these churches within 42 km of Lalibela and they were all supposedly built within 23 years. Scholars still argue over how they were exactly made although the locals just say that god and angels helped out or that god made the rock like mud so it was easy to make the churches. Regardless, it is still amazing. We only saw the three groupings (5 or 6 total churches) that are within Lalibela itself.

Iris was still hobbling along on her “sick foot” so we went nice and slow through the churches. I think this slow down allowed me to enjoy it all even more. I was able to soak in how incredible it all was and appreciate it that much more. I give Iris a lot of credit for continuing on through all the churches as the ground was rocky and uneven and must have been extremely difficult for her to transverse. I’m not glad that Iris was injured but I am happy that we went through the churches at a snail’s pace. Really amazing.

Lalibela isn’t much of a town. It’s more like a large village. But nice to walk around and buy souvenirs. I got a nice scarf supposedly made by some local monks. A restaurant had some very tasty local honey. Thick and raw it was great spread on some fresh bread. I also visited a tej beat and upon the waiter’s instructions had the medium tej rather than the strong. The medium was strong enough. At the tej beat I met a couple from Sweden that knew a friend I work with and her boyfriend. So the small world continues in Ethiopia.

Although I was still called a faranjo in Gondar and Lalibela Iris took almost all of the attention away from me. Iris is Filipino and very pretty. While walking around with her I didn’t get stared at like I usually do as all the focus was on her. “Konnichiwa!” or “Hey, Chinese!” were the most common shout-outs to her. Her response was always the same: “I’m not Chinese/Japanese/Korean” or whatever other country they shouted at her. No one ever got Philippines, though. Iris said she was determined to put the Philippines on the map in Ethiopia and that’s why she responded to everyone who yelled something at her. Conversely, I kept to my unwritten rule to ignore shout-outs. But in Lalibela the tendency was to yell the country of origin. (“Hey Chinese!”) There seemed to be many tourists from Spain in Lalibela at the same time. I laughed as I heard “Hey Spanish!” followed by “Hey English!” and finally “Hey American!” after ignoring the first two. But this was only shouted at me when I was alone.

I can’t recommend Lalibela enough. Ethiopia needs to conduct better marketing. These churches should be must see for traveling people interested in different cultures and history. Amazing.

Final Thoughts

I had an incredible time in Ethiopia. Despite being sick on and off for too much time during my first month I still enjoyed my entire time immensely. It’s a great country with great people. Although I have written plenty about the annoyance of people yelling stuff at this faranjo it was never done with any malice. I really only had positive experiences with all the people I met. From those I worked with, especially Meron to Serkie from Cocoon Burger & Juice to Dawit and Mahi at Mr. Martin’s Cozy Place to my interactions with taxi drivers and people who just want to talk to a faranjo were all great. I hope to return to Ethiopia some day and see those people again.

Some other thoughts:

I am happy to report that I took minibuses more than taxis but walked most of all.

Bahir Dar will always hold a special place for me. It was my first trip outside of Addis. It was a weekend that I needed at that time. I remember feeling like the Morgan Freeman character from The Shawshank Redemption while riding on the bus. I was entranced by the countryside and alternatively excited and nervous about the trip itself. But, like Red in that movie, I felt a hopeful anticipation for what lay ahead.

Ethiopia is a country with so much to offer. It’s culture, it’s history, it’s beauty. This is a place that more people should visit. The Ethiopian tourist department should do a much better job of advertising. Especially Lalibela but also places like Harar. And I am sure there are many more places that I never got to that are worth going as well.

So that’s it. That’s Ethiopia. Or more correctly, this is my impression of Ethiopia from three months of being there. It doesn’t tell the whole story of Ethiopia but it’s my story. Maybe it will continue some day.