Press Release
The purpose of celebrating the upcoming Ethiopian 2000 New Year (Ethiopian Millennium the Julian calendar) at the City of Dallas in a dignified way is to introduce Ethiopia’s unique culture and its contribution to the world civilization to the international community and to celebrate the American and Ethiopian relations (Ethiopian and African-American Relations).
Date: September 11, 2007
Place at the City of Dallas Flag Room
Time from 11 AM to 4 PM
የኢትዮጵያ ሁለት ሽ ዓመት ዘመን መለወጫ በዳላስ መዘጋጃቤት ውስጥ ለአንድ ቀን በከፍተኛ አከባበር ተከብሮ ይውላል። የዝግጂቱ ዋና ዓላማ፡ ኢትዮጵያ ልዩ የሚያደርጋትን ባሕልዋን ፡ ሕዝቡዋን እና ለዓለም ያደረገቻችውን አስትዋጽዎ በሁለት ሽው ዘመን መለወጫ ምክኒያት ለውጭው ዓለም ለማስታዋወቅ እና በኢትዮጵያ እና በአሜሪካን መሃል የነበረውንም ታሪክ በማስታወስ የሁለቱ ሐገሮች ሕዝብ የመከባበር እና የመቀራረብያ መንገድ በአዲስ መልክ ለማደስ ነው።
Ethiopian Women For Peace And Democracy (EWPD)
PO Box 860374
Plano Texas 75086 U.S.A.
E-mail [email protected]
Just a few decades ago Yemenis used to migrate to Ethiopia fleeing war and poverty.
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By Catherine Weibel in Bossaso, Somalia
Source: UNHCR
BOSSASO, Somalia — Some 3,000 Ethiopians have gathered in the dusty northern Somalia port of Bossaso, joining Somalis preparing to make the risky trip to Yemen across the Gulf of Aden during the annual sailing season.
The bad weather that kept smugglers’ boats ashore between June and August is coming to an end and a fresh wave of people smuggling has already started. Those making the journey risk everything; at least 385 people died during the crossing through the first five months of this year.
UNHCR fears that this season will be as bad. “With insecurity on the rise in Mogadishu and tensions increasing in the Ethiopian Ogaden [region neighbouring Somalia], many more people might arrive in Bossaso,” Guillermo Bettocchi, UNHCR’s representative for Somalia, said during a visit here last week.
“Some humanitarian workers even report having seen a few Kenyans, Eritreans, Ugandans and Tanzanians in Bossaso, which means the town might become a hub for East Africans wishing to cross towards the Gulf countries,” warned Bettocchi, who described the movement as a “human tragedy.”
Bettocchi was in Bossaso to help launch a multi-agency action plan aimed at saving lives and providing basic assistance to those identified with international protection need. An advocacy campaign is also being launched here to warn people about the risks of crossing the Gulf of Aden and to stress that migrants have rights and should not be deported or returned to other areas of Somalia indiscriminately. It will also explain asylum procedures and who is eligible to pursue them.
Bettocchi said he was aware that a proportion of the Ethiopians in Bossaso fled their country for refugee-related reasons. “The advocacy campaign will make sure they know that they don’t need to cross the sea because they can claim asylum and, where appropriate, be recognized as refugees and protected in Somalia.”
The Ethiopians are easy to spot in run-down Bossaso. Many have sought shelter in a ruined building next to the harbour – it costs nothing, but they have to spend some of their precious reserves to use the latrines.
The difficult living conditions and scorching heat further weaken men and women who have travelled more than 1,600 kilometres from grinding poverty back home to reach Bossaso. But they remain determined to cross the Gulf of Aden, hoping to find better prospects on the other side.
Zahara and her brother Zarai have already made one attempt, but the boat broke down and the young Ethiopians were not refunded. “Now we look for small jobs and we sleep on the street because we want to save as much as possible for the crossing,” she said, adding that she was aware of the risks but wanted a better life.
Making money to pay for the crossing is not easy here, but some find work as labourers in the port or as domestic workers or shepherds. The average charge to board a boat ranges from US$50-US$150, depending on the season.
The trip takes several days and passengers are always at risk of being robbed or having their belongings or even themselves thrown overboard if those in charge of the boats are at risk of capture by the Yemeni authorities.
Somalis account for about half of the people undertaking these perilous voyages. Most have fled conflict in the southern and central parts of the country, including the capital Mogadishu. Ali, a 25-year-old student from Mogadishu, said he faced danger and an uncertain future in Somalia.
“I need to build my future,” he said, adding: “As long as Mogadishu is not peaceful, my future is in Saudi Arabia, where I can have a job and live without fearing for my life.”
A Somali humanitarian worker in Bossaso explained that many of those considering making the trip were persuaded by middlemen to head to Bossaso, where the smugglers take over. “Smugglers are businessmen who compete with one another,” he explained. “They are so eager to attract new customers that some have even disseminated videotapes in Bossaso to advertise life in Saudi Arabia in the teashops where Ethiopians gather.”
The aid worker said he tried in vain to tell people that the promises were hollow and to warn them about the deadly risks they faced. “Once the migrant is stranded with 300 others on a small boat and beaten by a crew of four or five men high on drugs and holding guns, he discovers the true face of the smugglers, but it is too late,” he said. “For smugglers, migrants are just merchandise.”
The local authorities in Bossaso, which is surrounded by shantytowns built by displaced Somalis, cannot cope alone with the arrival of so many destitute people. Many of the would-be voyagers, having been robbed of their money, resort to begging in the streets.
The action plan launched last week aims to help the authorities. Aside from UNHCR, participants include the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Danish Refugee Council and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The plan aims to provide those considering making the trip with access to basic services such as water, sanitation and primary health care. Those who may require international protection will be directed towards relevant UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.
Four of the six Kinijit top leaders who are preparing to come to the United States for a working visit have been granted visas from the American embassy in Addis Ababa today. The chairman, Ato Hailu Shawel, expects to get a visa next Tuesday, according to sources close to the leadership. Ato Hailu is made to wait until Tuesday because in his application for visa he stated that he is coming to the U.S. to get medical treatment.
Kinijit sources informed Ethiopian Review that the leaders my depart Addis Ababa for Washington DC by the end of next week.
Dr Berhanu Nega, one of the delegates, is already in the U.S., but will not make any public appearance until his colleagues arrive.
The reception team has finalized preparations for the Kinijit leaders’ arrival. The team has organized an elaborate reception that befits national leaders. In the eyes of most Ethiopians, the legitimately elected (de jure) leaders of Ethiopia are Ato Hailu Shawel and his colleagues in Kinijit, and they need to be treated accordingly. Meles is still in power only because he happens to have big guns and is using them against Ethiopians who rejected his rule. More in Amharic below:
ከአቶ ኃይሉ ሻውል በስተቀር አራት የቅንጅት አመራሮች ክሊራንስ መጣላቸው
ወደ አሜሪካ ጉዞ የሚያደርጉት አራት የቅንጅት አመራሮች ከስቴት ዲፓርትመንት ክሊራንስ መጣላቸው፡፡ ለፓርቲው መሪ አቶ ኃይሉ ሻውል ግን ክሊራንሱ እንዳልመጣላቸው ታውቋል፡፡ በትናንትናው እለት አዲስ አበባ ከሚገኘው አሜሪካን ኢምባሲ ተደውሎ ወ/ት ብርቱኳን ሚዴቅሳ: ዶር ኃይሉ አርአያ: አቶ ግዛቸው ሽፈራው እና አቶ ብሩክ ከበደ ከስቴት ዲፓርትመንት ክሊራንስ እንደመጣላቸው ሲነገራቸው አቶ ኃይሉ ሻውል ግን የተባሉት ነገር የለም፡፡ ምንጮች እንደጠቆሙት አመራሮቹ ዛሬ ከሰዓት በኋላ ወደ ኤምባሲ መሄዳቸውን ቪዛም እንዳገኙ የገለፁ ሲሆን አቶ ኃይሉ ሻውልን በሚመለከት በዛሬና በነገ መካከል ስቴት ዲፓርትመንቱ ክሊራንስ ሊልክ ይችላል የሚል ግምት መኖሩን ነው፡፡
By Andrew Cawthorne
NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – International aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) accused Ethiopia’s [Woyanne regime] on Friday of denying it access to the remote Ogaden region where battles are raging between government troops and a rebel movement.
“The government of Ethiopia [Woyanne] has denied MSF access to the five zones of the Somali region under military operation, often referred to as the Ogaden region,” it said in a statement.
Woyanne launched a campaign several months ago to flush out Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels after they carried out one of their bloodiest attacks to date, on a Chinese-run oil field, killing 74 people.
A United Nations fact-finding mission is in the region, assessing allegations by the rebels and rights groups of human rights abuses, as well as the food, water and health needs of Ogaden’s ethnic Somali people.
“MSF urgently calls on the Ethiopian authorities to allow MSF teams to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable civilians living in that area,” the group added in a statement released in Nairobi. But a senior Ethiopian official said the group’s accusation was unfounded.
“Ethiopia does not have any no-go zone,” Bereket Simon, special adviser to [dictator] Meles Zenawi, told Reuters.
MSF said an “exploratory mission” by its personnel in the region prior to the ban had revealed “urgent health needs and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.”
“Despite a signed agreement with MSF, the authorities in Addis Ababa continue to deny MSF access to the area, in order to help the civilian victims of the conflict.”
Earlier in August, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had pulled out of the Ogaden following a government order.
The ONLF accuses [Woyanne] of blockading food relief, choking commercial trade and risking “man-made famine.”
The government denies that, saying the ONLF are Eritrean-backed terrorists peddling lies to the world.
The claims and counter-claims are hard to verify, as the arid region, populated largely by nomadic herders, is effectively off-limits to most rights workers and journalists. (Additional reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa)
Brussels, Belgium – Some 59 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia were rescued by Italian boats in the Mediterranean Wednesday night, according to an EU spoke s man.
The spokesman told PANA here Friday that the migrants were rescued following a distress call made by one of the passengers, who phoned his brother who is a lec turer at a British university.
The Ethiopian-born British lecturer then informed the British coastguards, who i n their turn alerted their Maltese and Italian colleagues who eventually provide d assistance to the 59 illegal immigrants, who include 15 women, four of them pre g nant, and five under-aged children.
By the time the rescue team arrived, the illegal passengers had been adrift for three days without food or water on the high seas, the official said.
The European Agency in charge of monitoring the external borders, FRONTEX, has s uspended its surveillance operations in the Mediterranean till 10 Sept.
A member of the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), based in the Italian island of Lampedusa, told reporters that at least 2, 300 illegal immigrants had arrived in the island during the suspension of the operation in August.
He further revealed that dead bodies of 79 African nationals were found near Lam pedusa in the same period.
On his part, Italian Interior Minister Guiliano Amato noted that the Mediterrane an was increasingly becoming “a sea of dead bodies”, calling on the EU member st a tes “to shoulder the responsibility of this criminal traffic”.
In order to escape detection and arrests, smugglers have resorted to using small er vessels in which they pile up the immigrants, thus increasing the likelihood o f disasters.
With only 5, 500 inhabitants, the Italian island of Lampedusa, located at about 100km from the Tunisian coast, has already taken in more than 1, 000 African ill e gal immigrants at its centre, built to accommodate 190 people, according to an Italian source.
In view of the rising influx of illegal immigrants, the Italian government plans to build another centre with a capacity for 700 people.
Source: Panapress
