ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (UN) — Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) cases have been reported from all ten sub-cities in Addis Ababa, with the highest caseload recorded from Akaki/Kaliti, Addis Ketema, Arada and Kolfe, according to official reports from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH). The outbreak also continues to spread in other regions of the country and new woredas are reportedly affected in Amhara, Oromiya, Dire Dawa and SNNPR. Between 17 and 23 August (34th eepidemiological week), a total of 2,330 new cases of AWD and 22 deaths with 0.9 per cent case fatality rate have been reported from 61 woredas and 10 sub-cities in Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Somali, Oromiya and SNNPR. The ongoing kiremt rains, and the continuous movement of pilgrims and migrant laborers to and from holy water sites and private farms are contributing to the spread of the disease. The re-opening of schools in mid-September also requires a special attention.
Response is ongoing at both federal and regional levels. The central command center continues to provide guidance, meeting twice a day to plan and coordinate response activities. In response to the US$ 500,000 financial request to contain the outbreak in Addis Ababa, WHO committed US$ 30,000 for surveillance, case management and training activities, while UNICEF committed US$ 100,000 for training and operational costs. UNICEF also sent 20,000 bottles of water guards to Addis Ababa health bureau to enable 20,000 households to access clean water for a period of one month. Furthermore, UNICEF is finalizing preparations to establish sanitation facilities at Gishen Mariam, Tsadkane and Wonkshet churches in Amhara in the coming two weeks. UNICEF sent two Case Treatment Center (CTC) kits each to Dire Dawa and South Wollo zone of Amhara Region. For more information contact: [email protected] & [email protected]
Seasonal Update
The latest WFP/FEWSNET food security update indicates that the performance of the kiremt rains in most meher growing areas to date remains below normal, including in some western surplus producing areas where the rains had late onset and erratic performance. The situation could disrupt the food security situation in these areas that managed to sustain normal condition despite various shocks experienced in the past five years. The late onset of the kiremt rains has interrupted timely planting of meher crops including wheat, barley, peas, beans and flax. Consequently, the report indicates that most shortmaturing meher crops are considerably behind their normal phonological stages and are unlikely to reach full maturity unless the rains extend beyond their normal cessation period in September. The prospect for long cycle maize and sorghum crops, which constitute about 50 percent of the total national cereal production, is also not promising in many areas due to poor 2009 belg/gu rains (February to May) and the below normal performance of the current kiremt rains. Meanwhile, food insecurity continues to affect vulnerable populations in northeastern highlands of Amhara, Southern Tigray, Afar, eastern parts of Oromiya and most parts in SNNPR. The report recommends for timely preparation of a comprehensive contingency plan given the poor meher production prospects in the coming months. For more information contact: [email protected] & [email protected]
Nutrition Update
UNICEF reports that admissions to Therapeutic Feeding Programmes (TFPs) continues to increase partly due to the improved access and service coverage with the implementation of the government’s Out-patient Therapeutic Programmes (OTP) rollout strategy. The admission reporting rate and information on key performance indicators for TFPs, however, remain very poor, indicating the need for a strategy to improve report completion rates nationwide. In Amhara Region, for instance, the report completion rate for the January to June period is as low as 10.9 per cent. Meanwhile, training of health extension workers for the rollout of TFP in Amhara, Oromiya, Tigray and SNNP is ongoing, with more than 80 per cent of the planned activities completed in Amhara, SNNP and Tigray, while it is only 50 per cent accomplished for Oromiya. Monitoring activities of TFP interventions also continue. In SNNPR, the observations made by monitoring teams on supplies, quality of services and modalities of collaboration between AWD response activities and OTP services have been discussed with the Regional Health Bureau. In Oromiya, delay of fund disbursement by the RHB has hindered the progress of monitoring activities. For more information contact: [email protected]
Observation Mission Underway in Akobo and Wanthawa, Gambella
A rapid joint observation mission, led by Disaster Risk Management Food Security Sector (DRMFSS), including representatives from the Gambella Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau, UNICEF, OCHA, WFP and FOA, is currently underway in Akobo and Wanthawa woredas. The mission is assessing the impact of the spill-over effect of the recent conflict in Southern Sudan on the humanitarian situation as well as the impact of poor seasonal rains in the general food security situation in the areas. The team will discuss with local authorities and communities to establish a mechanism for distribution of relief items. Due to access constraints, the assessment is being conducted by boat. For more information contact: [email protected]
Improvement in Logistics
WFP reports progress in logistics particularly in trucking capacity with actual allocation of 130 trucks per day to transport food from ports to in-country warehouses. Meanwhile, efforts continue to further improve the situation at the ports to facilitate timely in-country arrival of relief items. Between 12 and 20 August, a joint mission to Sudan led by the State Minister of DRMFSS and the Country Director of WFP assessed the port Sudan-Ethiopia corridor and discussed continued use of Port- Sudan to serve the north western part of the country. In addition, WFP also undertook a recent visit to Djibouti to discuss the possibility of allocating additional berth space, review transport capacity progress and introduce the WFP Djibouti office to officials.
Do you remember H.R. 2003 (“Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act”)? That was a bill sponsored by Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) to promote the “advancement of human rights, democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, peacekeeping capacity building, and economic development in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.” It passed by a unanimous vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on October 2, 2007. A motley crew of human rights advocates and defenders, grassroots activists, international human rights organizations and others toiled long and hard to help get that bill passed. While we were pounding the pavement on Capitol Hill, guess what the other side was doing?
Getting Fleeced on “K” Street
Dick Armey’s army at DLA Piper was leading the cavalry charge on the Hill against H.R. 2003. Or were they? The evidence from the official lobbying reports show that the “K” Street boys (“K” street is the address of choice for the high powered Washington lobbyists) were on “easy street” lobbying for the dictators in Ethiopia. In the Sharkdom of Lobbying, DLA Piper is BIG, “with 3,500 lawyers located in 29 countries and 67 offices throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US.” Between 9/01/2007-7/30/2008, DLA Piper was “variously” paid by the “Government of Ethiopia” $1,351,851.25 for fees and expenses. DLA Piper made several hundred “contacts” with U.S. officials, media reps and others for the “Government of Ethiopia.” With the exception of a few face-to-face meetings with members of Congress, all of the other official contacts were with congressional staffers by email. (See fn. 1) The Piper firm made over 114 contacts with U.S. officials on H.R. 2003, almost all of them by email to Congressional staffers.
The Dewey and LeBoeuf (DL) firm was also retained to do additional lobbying. DL is a prominent “white-shoe firm” (a phrase used to describe leading American professional services firms that have been in existence for more than a century) with many Fortune 500 clients. Between 12/26/2007 and 02/01/2008, DL snagged four payments from the “Government of Ethiopia” ($183,307.48; $28,642.50; $73,962.30; $300,000) for professional fees and expenses. DL arranged a total of 17 face-to-face meetings and 13 telephone contacts, principally with officials in the U.S. State Department Office of East African Affairs and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. (See fn. 1.)
The “Government of Ethiopia” paid the Mark Saylor public relations firm $328,040.18 for consulting fees and expenses between 3/19/2007 and 9/29/2008. (See fn. 1.) The firm made 78 phone calls, wrote 35 emails and arranged 13 in-person meetings, mostly with representatives of major U.S. media outlets. Saylor claims that its “principals serve as trusted advisors, offering clients strategic and tactical counsel on sensitive matters.” Highlighting its “aggressive” style, Saylor brags: “We find opportunities where others see only disaster. We combine swift action with careful judgment.” Saylor sure knows how to find opportunity in disaster for themselves.
The total payments by the “Government of Ethiopia” to the various lobbying firms in 2007-2008 exceeded $2,265,802.
Inscrutably, between November 2007 and October 2008, “lobbyist payments from Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party” were made in the amount of over $91,418 12 “for membership fee and contribution.” [2] (See fn. 2.)
Paying the Piper of “K” Street?
The gold diggers of “K” Street can spot a sucker a mile away. Dick Armey (who resigned from DLA Piper a couple of weeks ago over the bad publicity caused by his FreedomWorks organization turning out anti-heath care reform protesters to disrupt town hall meetings) was the point man lobbying to defeat H.R. 5680 (later H.R. 2003) because the dictators in Ethiopia believed he could best defend their cause on the Hill. After all, Armey was a former republican majority leader in the House and the second most powerful person in that institution. He was also one of the key leaders of the “Republican Revolution” which enabled Republicans to gain control of Congress in 1994. Armey was more connected to political power on the Hill than Siamese twins to each other. The dictators thought he could walk on water. Indeed, Armey did a pretty good job by making sure that the bill never saw the light of day on the House floor after it passed committee in October, 2007. No doubt, he had Republican speaker Dennis Hastert’s ear on the issue. But Democrats “thumped” the Republicans in November 2007, and the whole game changed.[3]
But what really happened to the dictators of Ethiopia on “K” Street? To say they were taken to the cleaners is to state the obvious. They paid millions to have lobbyists shovel hundreds of emails to Congressional staffers, make a few telephone calls and arrange even fewer in-person meetings with American officials. That is not exactly getting the biggest bang for one’s lobbying buck. What a monumental waste of the scarce resources of one of the poorest countries in the world! What a rip-off! But the old saw must be true: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
To fathom what happened to the dictators on “K” Street, one must appreciate the lobbying industry and its role in the American political process. Lobbyists (a term which came in to use in the late 1800s to describe the wheelers and dealers who hanged out in government building lobbies to chat with law makers before legislative sessions) are a special breed of influence peddlers in the American political system. Even though their activities are fully protected by the expressive freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, lobbyists suffer from a bad public image. In the past few years, lobbyists have been at the center of various high profile political corruption scandals in Washington, and various members of Congress were forced to resign or ended up in jail.
Lobbyists are often hired because of their presumed expertise in the legislative process, their knowledge of certain areas of public policy and special connections with certain influential members of Congress and their staff. As of 2007, there were some 15,000 actively registered lobbyists in Washington, and spending on lobbying exceeded $3.3 billion in 2008. In theory, the principal task of lobbyists in the legislative process is to prepare and present information to members of Congress and their staff, and to set up and attend face-to-face meetings. They also play a critical role in arranging testimony for Congressional hearings. In practice, they do a lot more, including drafting legislation, mobilizing grassroots activists, campaign fund raising and other activities. The most effective lobbyists are those with experience as Congressional insiders, often former members or staffers who use their skills and experience to navigate the circuitous legislative process.
For the dictators, Armey and DLA Piper may have appeared to be winning hands in the Republican-controlled Congress. Armey was at the top of his game. They never thought the Republicans would be dislodged from power, and arrogantly and ill-advisedly put all their eggs in the Republican basket. To add insult to injury, they targeted some powerful members of Congress and made them enemies by vilifying and harshly criticizing them. When the Democrats took control of the House, it was time for the dictators to pay the piper. They had burned their bridges and discredited themselves with Hill Democrats, and now they are facing the music for their arrogant miscalculations.
Banana Republic Running (Buying) Capitol Hill?
“While they are entitled to their own opinion,” quipped the arch dictator in Ethiopia, “this government and this country are incapable, unwilling and unable to be run like some banana republic from Capitol Hill. It is very worrisome that some of these individuals appear to have entertained such views.”
What is “very worrisome”, indeed downright creepy, is the fact that an outlaw dictator could spend millions of dollars to influence (buy) the Government of the United States while berating and castigating it. But that’s one of the great things about America: Even the worst human rights abusers, thugs and criminals in the world are given the opportunity to be heard by the representatives of the American people. This does not mean that there are no reasons to be alarmed over the fact that dictators are spending millions to buy influence and corrupt American democracy. We should all be concerned. These dictators are not accountable to the American people, and could not care less about the requirements of the U.S. Constitution. Hiding behind the silk curtains of the lobbying firms and defended by legions of lobbyists, these dictatorships could inflict serious damage by depriving American citizens of their right to clean government. More troubling is the fact that these dictators could overwhelm the efforts of grassroots efforts of American citizens by spending their millions like a drunken sailor.
But there is something weird about the whole situation. Today sleazy dictators are using lobbyists to do work normally and traditionally done by diplomatic missions. While most governments who uphold the rule of law seek to influence American policy through normal diplomatic channels, dictators are increasingly relying on lobbyists and fat cat influence peddlers to circumvent the regular diplomatic process. This presents an obvious question: What do the fully staffed and resourced diplomatic missions do in their day jobs?
Anyway, under Barack Obama’s watch, the panhandling dictators are being defanged so that they will not spread their venom in the American body politics. No doubt, they will keep trying new tricks to get back in the game. But President Obama has made his position crystal clear to Africa’s tin pot dictators: “Africa’s future is up to Africans,” and “history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen. It needs strong institutions.”
The Little People United Can Never Be Defeated
Back in late 2007, supporters of Ethiopian human rights were all bent out of shape worrying that Armey’s army would vanquish us on the legislative battlefield on Capitol Hill. But the E-Mail Warriors of DLA Piper, DL and Saylor proved to be no match for the defiant ragtag crew of pavement-pounding, Capitol-Hill-hoofing Ethiopian grassroots advocates. For the millions they paid to lobbyists, the dictators could not get a single vote against H.R. 2003 on the House floor. The bill got stuck in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and failed to make it to the Senate floor because of entangled Senate procedures, unrelated to its merits.
What is the lesson to be learned? The dictators can spend millions on lobbying to buy American politicians to do their bidding. They can spend all the money they want to change their ugly image. But the fact remains that even the mighty Goliath DLA Piper could be defeated if thousands of little Davids band together.[4] If the little people unite, they can kick the rumps of the “K” Street boys and their sleazy paymasters: Exhibit A — H.R. 2003.
——————–
[1] http://foreignlobbying.org/client/Government%20of%20Ethiopia/
[2] http://foreignlobbying.org/client/Ethiopian%20People%20Revolutionary%20Party/
[3] http://almariamforthedefense.blogspot.com/2006/11/farewell-mr-hastert-good-bye-mr-armey.html
[4] http://almariamforthedefense.blogspot.com/2007/09/letter-to-dla-piper.html
OMO VALLEY, ETHIOPIA –- It’s the traveler’s Catch-22. We want to explore and interact with exotic people from exotic lands, but the fact that we’re interacting changes the dynamics of the encounter. This unfortunate reality is illustrated in southern Ethiopia, one of the most culturally diverse regions on the planet.
A photo op of this boy, or any other member of most
Ethiopian tribes, involves a cash transaction that can
make a traveller feel sad and empty.
[Photo by ROBIN ESROCK]
Fifty-three tribes inhabit the area, most have unique traditions that range from incredible art to self-inflicted mutilation. Tour operators offer the chance to meet several of the tribes found in or around the southern Omo Valley, and an increasing number of tourists brave horrific roads and long drives in order to go tribal. But the experience comes with challenges.
The root of the problem is popularly known as the “Ferengi (Aramaic for foreigner) Frenzy,” the mob that surrounds tourists in the region wherever they seem to go. Whether it is the result of prolific non-government organizations (NGOs), aid workers or irresponsible tourists, ferengis are heavily associated, by rural people in the south, with free handouts. While it is tradition in Ethiopia to refuse gifts and be generous with what you have, anyone booking a “tribal” tour will find these traditions hard to come by. Instead, ferengis (also the name of an alien race from the Star Trek series) are often mobbed for money, pens, empty water bottles, anything. Especially, and sadly, by children with few clothes.
Our Land Cruiser stopped off the side of the highway to visit a band of Alaba, a Muslim tribe living in dark mud huts with thatch coverings. Immediately, children with their hands out surrounded me as our guide negotiated a price with the leader of the family. An argument ensued, a price was settled, the atmosphere became as welcoming as a doctor’s waiting room. A band of several dozen people stood looking through me, admiring my cheap watch, pulling my shirt with the request of “one birr.” In Ethiopia, it is customary to pay anyone you take a picture of one or two birr for their image; one birr is equivalent to 10 cents Canadian. It’s fair and well-intentioned, but many locals now see it as a quick and easy way to make money.
Like many travellers, I always ask people permission to take their picture, with the aim of capturing a moment, an authentic image, the picture to speak a thousand words about life in that country. An Italian tourist expressed the problem when he told me, “I don’t mind paying for a photo, but I’m finding it hard to find people being natural. They want to pose for me, so I can pay them.”
After entering a dark, smoky hut and asking some casual questions, it was time to leave. Most tourists spend about 15 minutes with the tribe, longer than most exhibits in a zoo, but not by much. As uncomfortable as I felt, it was about to get much worse.
The Mursi Tribe, numbering between 6,000 and 10,000, are nomads in one of the country’s most remote regions. Famous for the clay lip plates worn as a sign of beauty by their women, ritual scarification and stick fighting, the Mursi are embroiled in an unfortunate dispute with the Africa Parks Board, which is creating national parks in the tribe’s roaming area.
As one of the most extreme tribes to be found anywhere on the continent, the Mursi have been visited by tourists for decades. Foreigners are fascinated by a “primitive” culture as alien to the West as whales are to poodles. It’s a three-day drive to the town of Jinko, and takes more than three hours to drive just 27 kilometres on a bulldozed dirt road into the Mago National Park.
My guide warned that visiting the tribe in the afternoon was a bad idea, because of rampant alcohol abuse and the unpredictability of violence within the group. The Mursi are also aggressive in charging for photos: one birr for an adult, one for a child, and three for a mother and child. They only accept crisp, new one-birr notes.
Deep in the bush, the four-by-four pulled up to a small village of a dozen thatch huts. Immediately, we were mobbed by a tribe both frightening, fascinating and thrillingly exotic. With their faces painted, the women made it impossible not to stare at them and their lips that extended inches below their chins.
“Take picture, take picture, take picture!” I was told, then pushed, poked and prodded by half-naked men, women and children, several of whom held semi-automatic rifles that were used in inter-tribe warfare. As more four-by-fours of tourists arrived, the tribe swept themselves into a frenzy, the tourists took photos while their subjects violently grabbed cash notes. More and more people did their best to get into the photo.
It was sickening, yet the photographs are undeniably incredible. “We want people to stay longer, some don’t even get out of the car. They come, take picture and leave,” a Mursi man told me. But how can tourists be expected to stay longer when they’re mobbed with such feverish aggression? When it was nothing less than a human zoo, everyone was exploited.
Perhaps the solution is organized structure, such as what I found with the Konzo. Tourists pay the government-run central office a fee to visit the tribe in the southern Omo Valley and are assigned a local guide.
While kids initially surrounded me with familiar pleas for money, the guide kept them at check, explaining fascinating traditions and customs. I was told that half the tourist fee is distributed to the tribe, and, although it might not be enough, it benefits all parties.
It is, of course, heartbreaking to turn down children, but aid organizations and charities say giving money, clothes or coveted empty water bottles in Ethiopia only breeds a culture of begging.
A nutritionist for a local NGO told me Ethiopia has moved on from the famine of the 1980s. Kids just want things as a sign of prestige. Better to donate to groups that know local traditions and how best to help.
(Robin Esrock is a Vancouver-based travel writer and TV host.)
Sanya Richards, Russian Jelena Isinbayeva and
Ethiopian Kenenanisa Bekele in Brussels
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (DPA) — American Sanya Richards, Russian Jelena Isinbayeva and Ethiopian Kenenanisa Bekele Friday shared the one million dollar jackpot on offer at the Golden League series.
The jackpot is shared by the athletes who manage to win the same events at all six Golden League meets in one season.
Bekele looked beatable at one stage in his 5,000m race as he seemingly held back, but on the final straight he proved too strong for compatriot Imane Merga, who finished 0.35 seconds behind.
Bekele’s winning time was 12:55.31 seconds, while Vincent Chepkok took third place.
World record holder Jelena Isinbayeva failed at breaking her own world record of 5.07 metres, but as she managed to clear 4.70 with her first jump, she won the competition and $333,333.
Richards won the women’s 400m race – as she has in all five previous Golden League meets this season – and thus was the first athlete to be assured at least a share of the jackpot.
Richards, who also won the gold at the world championships last month, took first place in a world-best time this year of 48.83 seconds, beating Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu into second place by more than a second.
Ohuruogu finished in 50.43. Jamaican Shericka Williams was third.
Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt again showed that he is currently unbeatable as he comfortably took the 200m in a time of 19.57.
A capacity crowd of 50,000 spectators, who braved moist conditions in the King Baudouin stadium, celebrated yet another display of complete dominance by Bolt, who last month won the sprint double at the world championships in Berlin.
American Wallace Spearman was second in 20.19.
Although Bolt did not run the 100m, it was still a Jamaican double as the bronze medal winner from Berlin took first place in 9.90 seconds, beating Americans Tyson Gay (10.00) and Darvis Patton (10.88) into second and third place.
In the women’s 100m race Carmelita Jeter won in a time of 10.88.
The Kenyan 4×1,500m relay team set a new world record, beating the 32-year-old previous best mark set by Germany in 1977. William Biwott, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Rono and Augustine Choge won in a time of 14:36.23 minutes, to beat the oldest world record on book of the sport’s governing body International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Another impressive performance belonged to Kenya’s Paul Koech, who won the 3,000 steple chase in 8:04.05 minutes, beating his compatriot Richard Mateelong (8:06.92).
Third place went to Finland’s Jukka Keskisalo (8:13.34).
While Most Advocates for African Issues and Pundits were focused on other things such as the Visit to Africa by Secretary Clinton and the Comprehensive Policy Review towards Sudan,an Internal Investigation by the State Department into the Bureau of African Affairs revealed some unique and chilling remarks.
What did this report reveal about what the Bureau that will be dealing with what will be the next test in US Foreign Policy? This Department is underfunded, facing staffing shortfalls, burdened with demands, has a public diplomacy program that in the words of the report is “failed”, and has questions regarding the priorites of long term planning. Despite these shortcomings the report by the State Department Inspector General Praised the Work of the Bureau.
The evaluation into the Bureau took place between April 20th and June 9th of this year. It should be noted that Johnnie Carson who was nominated by President Obama to this post assumed this position while review was underway. Before Mr. Carson took over Philip Carter III was the acting Undersecretary. The review viewed that the time under the stewardship of Mr. Carter was a time of “renewal”. The report sees Mr. Carson as a Strong Leader for this position.
Some of the lowlights that were also revealed in this report were that Several Unnamed Embassies have significant morale, staffing and leadership issues. There was also a lack of communication from the regional desks to the front office and disinterest in all posts but those that deal with Crisis Situations. All in all this does not bode well for the Secretary of State but could adversely affect decisions made by the President as well.
The Lack of foresight in planning affects several aspects of US African Policy. One glaring example was in Food Aid. Quoting the report” The United States feeds Africa,it is not focusing as it might (should) on helping Africans feed themselves.” Another example was in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The US funds programs that focus more on medication than on prevention of the Spread of this Deadly Disease. The Main function of most humanitarian programs centered around PEPFAR and little if any resources were allocated for education and combating HIV/AIDS.
Another point of controversy is AFRICOM. This newest command of the US Military was resented by members of the Bureau. More often than not the reason was that the Military was getting More Money allocated to it then their State Department Counterparts. For Example A Military Information Support Team dealing with Somalia received $ 600,000 while the State Department got $ 30,000. It should be noted that the Military has resources that State either dreams about or resents. The IG also suggested that the Peacekeeping Training and Support Programs be transferred to AFRICOM if the funding does not increase.
The IG report found that AGOA (Africa Growth and Opportunity Act) has had margainal success due to several factors including poor infrastructure, lack of credit and not meeting the goal imposed by Washington. It also found that within the Bureau that Somalia is the hot button issue but in the grassroots here in the US the Militia Activites are a rising concern as well.
This report is a good news/bad news for the Administration. Africa does have high hopes and expectations of the President. The Military Command is better funded for some missions. Morale is low but the job is increasingly become more and more crucial on a daily basis. Nothing changes poor morale like having some successes. Clearly the State Department needs some when it comes to Africa.
(ScienceDaily) — Central Asian ethnic groups are more defined by societal rules than ancestry. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genetics found that overall there are more genetic differences within ethnic groups than between them, indicating that separate ‘ethnic groups’ exist in the mind more than the blood.
Evelyne Heyer, from the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, France, led an international team of researchers who studied mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome data from several populations of two major language ethnic groups of Central Asia, the Turkic and Indo-Iranian groups.
She said: “Our results indicate that, for at least two of the Turkic groups in Central Asia, ethnicity is a constructed social system maintaining genetic boundaries with other groups, rather than being the outcome of common genetic ancestry.”
The boundaries used by individuals to distinguish themselves from members of other ethnic groups are generally cultural, linguistic, economic, religious and political. Heyer and her colleagues confirm the absence of common ancestry in a specific ethnic group; there were on average more differences between members of the same ethnic group than there were between groups.
Speaking about these findings, Heyer said: “Analysis of genetic data, such as in this study, is an important tool for investigating ethnological issues.”
