Rape Charged Illinois Fugitive Binyam Bereket-Ab Lives Free in Ethiopia

Charged in Will County with raping his adoptive sister over two years starting when she was in 5th grade, 20-year-old Benyam Bereket-Ab fled to his homeland of Ethiopia from Naperville in January 2006.

Bereket-Ab's bond had initially been set at $4 million, but his attorney successfully argued that he wasn't a flight risk because he didn't have the resources or capacity to flee the country. The judge then lowered Bereket-Ab's bond to $100,000 and required him to turn over a passport — but Bereket-Ab surrendered an expired Ethiopian passport, court records and interviews show. His adoptive parents posted the bond.

Bereket-Ab flew to Washington's Dulles airport and continued on to a brief stop in Rome, landing the next evening in his native Ethiopia.

Federal agents and investigators from the Will County State's Attorney's Office said they couldn't determine how Bereket-Ab paid for his airline tickets.

But the agents had no trouble tracking Bereket-Ab to the capital, Addis Ababa, where at the request of U.S. authorities he was questioned by Ethiopian federal police Deputy Commissioner Hassen Shiffa in April 2006, the Tribune found.

Bereket-Ab told Shiffa he was likely to get a 15-year prison sentence if he came back to Will County, and said he "would rather live in poverty for 15 years than return to the U.S.," according to a law enforcement official involved in the manhunt. And with that, Bereket-Ab was free.

Ethiopia is an important U.S. regional security partner that in the decade up to 2009 garnered $4.7 billion in American government assistance, according to the State Department. But America does not have an extradition treaty with the country.

Will County prosecutors told the Tribune they were ready to "move quickly" to apprehend Bereket-Ab should he enter a country with a U.S. extradition treaty, however federal prosecutors dismissed their warrant for Bereket-Ab in February 2009 with a court motion explaining that "extradition is not an option."

Bereket-Ab's adoptive father had been an Ethiopian high court official before seeking political asylum in the U.S., and today he is a top state law enforcement official — an assistant attorney general in the Environmental Law Division of the attorney general's office. He declined to comment.

http://www.chicagotribune.com and http://ethiopiaforums.com

Gebrselassie receives Prince of Asturias award from Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe

Haile Gebrselassie, the multiple Olympic and World champion and World record breaking distance runner was the recipient of the Prince of Asturias award for Sport during a ceremony held last night in the Campoamor Theatre in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo (21).

 The award was presented by Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon and was one of eight bestowed by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world, who have made a notable achievements in science, humanities and public affairs, and is considered to be the equivalent of the Nobel prize for the Spanish speaking countries.

 The foundation’s jury decided to confer the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports on Gebrselassie for his sporting and human excellence.

 Past recipients have included Sergey Bubka, Hicham El Guerrouj, Hassiba Boulmerka, Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis, Fernando Alonso, Rafael, Nadal, and the Brazilian Football Team.

 All winners receive a 50,000 euro prize, a sculpture by Joan Miro, a diploma and an insignia bearing the Prince of Asturias Foundation’s coat of arms.
http://www.iaaf.org

Indian baby picked as world's 'seven billionth' person

A baby born in India has been declared the world's seven billionth person by child rights group Plan International.

Baby Nargis was born at 07:25 local time (01:55GMT) in Mall village in India's Uttar Pradesh sta
te.

Plan International says Nargis has been chosen symbolically as it is not possible to know where exactly the seven billionth baby is born.

The United Nations estimated that on Monday 31 October, the world's population would reach seven billion.

However, the UN itself has decided not to identify a specific child as the seven billionth person.

Earlier on Monday, the Philippines also declared a symbolic seven billionth baby, a girl born in a Manila hospital.

'Good luck'

Every minute, 51 babies are born in India, 11 of them in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

Nargis was born to Vinita and Ajay Kumar on Monday morning in a small government-run hospital in Mall village, nearly 50km (31 miles) from the state capital, Lucknow, a Plan International official told the BBC.

The daughter of a poor farmer, Nargis was chosen as the seventh billionth baby to focus attention on the ills of female foeticide and India's skewed sex ratio, the organisation said.

Hundreds of thousands of female foetuses are aborted in India every year, even though sex-selective terminations and the use of ultrasound technology for foetal sex-determination are illegal there.

Photos of baby Nargis were shown at a function attended by nearly 250 villagers at the hospital, the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi reports from Mall.

Health officials presented the birth certificate to her father at the event.

"We were praying all along for a daughter," Ajay Kumar said. "She is Lakshmi [Hindu goddess of wealth], she will bring us good luck," he said.

A street play staged at the event on the importance of the girl child saw many moist eyes among the audiences, our correspondent says.

The person chosen as the world's symbolic six billionth person, Adnan Mevic - who was photographed in hospital in 1999 with the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - is now 12 years old.

His family are living in relatively poor conditions in Sarajevo and have expressed disappointment that since they were visited by Mr Annan, they have heard nothing more from the UN.

It is thought that this could be one reason why the UN has decided not to name a seven billionth child.

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Palestinians get Unesco seat as 107 vote in favour bbc reports

The UN cultural organisation has voted strongly in favour of membership for the Palestinians - a move opposed by Israel and the United States.

Of 173 countries voting, 107 were in favour, 14 opposed and 52 abstained.

Under US law, Washington can now withdraw funding to Unesco. This would deprive the agency of some $70m (£43.7m) - more than 20% of its budget.

The UN Security Council will vote next month on whether to grant the Palestinians full UN membership.

Membership of Unesco - perhaps best known for its World Heritage Sites - may seem a strange step towards statehood, says the BBC's Jon Donnison, in Ramallah, but Palestinian leaders see it as part of a broader push to get international recognition and put pressure on Israel.

This is the first UN agency the Palestinians have sought to join since submitting their bid for recognition to the Security Council in September.

"This vote will erase a tiny part of the injustice done to the Palestinian people," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told the Unesco meeting in Paris, after the result was announced.

Widespread applause greeted the result of Monday's vote in the chamber, where a two-thirds majority is enough to pass a decision.

The BBC's David Chazan in Paris, where Unesco has its headquarters, says Arab states were instrumental in getting the vote passed despite intense opposition from the US.

He says that in an emotional session, China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa voted in favour of Palestinian membership, while the US, Canada and Germany voted against and the UK abstained.

'No shortcuts'

The outcome was swiftly denounced by the US and Israel.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Unesco vote was "premature and undermines the international community's shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East".

Earlier, US ambassador to Unesco David Killion said the "counterproductive" move "will complicate our ability to support Unesco's programmes."

"The only path to the Palestinian state that we all seek is through direct negotiations. There are no shortcuts," he told journalists.

A US law passed in the 1990s allows Washington to cut funding to any UN body that admits Palestine as a full member.

The US currently funds more than 20% of Unesco's entire budget. The proposed budget to be agreed by the conference for 2012 and 2013 is $653m, up $10m on the previous two-year figure.

An Israeli foreign ministry statement called the vote a "unilateral Palestinian manoeuvre which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement".

"The Palestinian move at Unesco, as with similar such steps with other UN bodies, is tantamount to a rejection of the international community's efforts to advance the peace process," it said.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled since last year over the issue of Israeli settlement building.

The Israeli statement also said Israel would be considering further steps regarding its co-operation with Unesco.

Correspondents say Monday's vote is a symbolic breakthrough but that on its own it will not create a Palestinian state.

A vote is expected in November at the UN Security Council on granting full membership of the UN to the Palestinians. The US has threatened to use its veto.

No member has a right of veto in Unesco, where each representative has one vote irrespective of a country's size or budget contribution.

Unesco - like other UN agencies - is a part of the world body but has separate membership procedures and can make its own decisions about which countries belong. Full UN membership is not required for membership in many of the UN agencies, the Associated Press reports.

The US boycotted Unesco for almost two decades from 1984 for what the state department said was a "growing disparity between US foreign policy and Unesco goals"

Dr. Mehretu gives insight on American-Ethiopian history

The U.S. military is flying drone aircraft from a base in Ethiopia to fight against Islamist militants in Somalia. Officials report that the remote-piloted drones are being used strictly for surveillance and are flying unarmed because their use is considered sensitive by Ethiopia’s government, according to BBC News.

Today, Ethiopia is letting the U.S. use its remote civilian base in the southern city of Arba Minch as a way to help fight the war on terror, but the relationship between the two countries dates back over 100 years.

Dr. Assefa Mehretu, an Ethiopian native and professor of geography at Michigan State University, spoke about American-Ethiopian relations at Western Michigan University Wednesday afternoon.

More than 50 people, both students and professors, listened intently as the accomplished Africa scholar talked passionately about the history America and Ethiopia share.

“Americans really identified with Ethiopians back then,” Mehretu said of the two countries’ relationship in past years. “It was a love affair.”

Although just a small country in Africa of about 77 million people, Ethiopia has always had the attitude that it was a country to be taken seriously and respected.

When Ethiopia first won the war over colonial Italy with King Menelik II in charge, the United States noticed. They were impressed and made their first official mission to Ethiopia in 1903.

It was not much later that Italy tried defeating Ethiopia again, but this time Americans got involved. In the 1930s, many Americans were willing to go fight the Italians to defend Ethiopia.

“The U.S. didn’t endorse people going over to fight but Americans would go to Ethiopia as tourists and then actually fight,” Mehretu said.

Many of the first pilots for Ethiopian airlines were Americans.

Haile Sellassie, king of Ethiopia at that time, became an extremely visible character even for Americans. He was named man of the year in TIME magazine for being so progressive.

The relationship between America and Ethiopia truly started in 1945 when Selassie met former President Roosevelt. Selassie wanted to develop his country and needed the U.S. in order to cement their independence from Europe. Roosevelt did not mind helping.

“The relationship between the U.S. and Ethiopia was one of the best examples of partnership,” Mehretu said. “It worked because the U.S. and Ethiopia respected each other and had started off as a people to people relationship.”

Selassie went on to meet and work with former Presidents Truman, Nixon and Kennedy. President Kennedy put a lot of money toward Ethiopian education during his presidency. Ethiopia was also the first and largest beneficiary of the Peace Corps.

Ethiopian airlines DC3 also started with assistance from America.

“Whatever the U.S. touched in those days became successful,” Mehretu said. “Ethiopian airlines were one of them.”

”On the other hand, Selassie established the first agriculture college as well as helped the United States in the Korean War.

The relationship changed when President Carter came into office and supported Somalia over Ethiopia in the 1970s. Ethiopia was then taken over by the soviets.

“That arrested almost all the work that has been done in past years,” Mehretu said.

The light in which Ethiopians view Americans today is a lot different now.

“A whole generation has heard only bad things about the U.S.,” Mehretu said. “You do not hear many good things anymore.”

Mehretu credits this to a generational gap.

“Americans invited us into their homes, took us to school, and were part of our air force,” Mehretu said. “Many young people just didn’t know how it was.”

Though the relationship has changed between the U.S. and Ethiopia, it is still considered good.

“The relationship is just more military now because the U.S. wants an ally in the war,” Mehretu said. “It’s whatever he can do for us, the war comes first.”

The connection the two countries first had has faded more into one based mainly on security.

“The relationship that began pre-1974 doesn’t exist anymore,” Mehretu said.

http://www.westernherald.com

Yaregal Aysheshum, Family Assets Frozen over Allegation of Corruption

Assets of Yaregar Aysehshume, MP and director general of the Federal Cooperative Agency, have been frozen by the Federal High Court on October 20, 2011 following a request from prosecutors of the Federal Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC).

 The assets were frozen on the same day as Yaregal was arrested on suspicion of corruption in the bidding procedures of the construction of three educational institutions which cost 83 million Br during his tenure as president of the Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State.

 Assets registered under Yaregal’s wife, Tigist Bekal and his two children, who are minors, have also been frozen on the request of Beryehune Asegdom, public prosecuter of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

 The former Director General’s house, built on 1,204sqm of land in Assosa, 675km from the capital, a 1,000sqm plot, both in Benishangul Region, and a 500sqm plot in Bole district, registered under his name have been frozen. A total of 4,132sqm plot in the region, a one storey house resting on 500sqm in Oromia Regional State, a 500sqm plot in Bole district and a condominium house, and restaurant all registered under his wife’s name were also frozen. The court has additionally frozen a 1,490sqm plot in the region registered under one of Yaregal’s child’s names.

 Also under arrest for involvement in the corruption is Gezahgne Hadge, manager of Gad Construction and Habtamu Hica, former head of the region’s Education Bureau and speaker of the house for the region’s Parliament. Gezahgne was arrested only two days after Yaregal while Habtamu was arrested a while back.

 All of the men are suspected of corrupt involvement in the construction of Tana Beles, a boarding school for women; Gilgel Beles Teachers Training Collage as well Technical and Vocational Training centres that were planned to be constructed in five zones of the regional state six years ago.

 Investigators of the FEACC are claiming that proper bidding and procurement procedures were not followed. As a result, the project, which was supposed to have been finished in 13 months, is not yet completed. The Commission claims that this has resulted in a loss of seven million Birr in payments outside of the contract agreement.

 Gad Construction, established in 1993, was one of the contractors that allegedly awarded the project through an improper bidding process.

 Although the Commission received tips about the alleged embezzlement at the end of 2009, the investigation and evidence gathering took time, according to the Commission.

 The arrest of Yaregal and Habtamu was held back until Parliament had resumed session. Yaregal’s immunity was revoked by the house on October 18, 2011, a week after Parliament was back in session.

 The investigation has yet to uncover the exact amount paid by contractors to Yaregal and Habtamu for their alleged undue advantage, according to the Commission.
http://addisfortune.com

የአስካሉካን ባለቤት የዋስትናና መረጃ ማሰባሰብ ጥያቄ ውድቅ ተደረገ

ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ በአፍሪካ አኅጉር በተዘጋጀው የዓለም ዋንጫ ውድድር በርካታ ሰዎችን ደቡብ አፍሪካ ለመላክ የገባውን ቃል ባለመፈጸም በወንጀል የተከሰሰው፣ የአስካሉካን ትሬዲንግ ኩባንያ ማኔጂንግ ዳይሬክተር አቶ ግርማይ ገብረ ሚካኤል፣ ባለፈው ረቡዕ በተከሰሰበት የከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት 16ኛ ወንጀል ልደታ ምድብ ችሎት በመቅረብ፣ በዋስትና ወይም በአጃቢ ፖሊስ ወጥቶ መረጃ ለማሰባሰብ ቢያመለክትም በፍርድ ቤቱ ውድቅ ተደረገ፡፡ ፍርድ ቤቱ ማመልከቻውን ውድቅ ያደረገው ግለሰቡ ወደ ጀርመን ኮብልሎ በጀርመን መንግሥትና በኢንተርፖል አማካኝነት ተይዞ መምጣቱ እምነት እንዳይጣልበት የሚያደርግ በመሆኑ ነው፡፡

ከቀኑ በ9፡00 ሰዓት አካባቢ የጀመረው ችሎት በአብዛኛው በተጐጂ ወገኖች በመሞላቱ ሌሎች በርካታ የግል ተበዳዮች ችሎቱን ከደጅ ሆነው ለመከታተ ግድ ሆኖባቸው ነበር፡፡

ችሎቱ የተቀጠረው የዓቃቤ ሕግን ምስክሮች ለመስማት ቢሆንም፣ ቀኑ በመምሸቱ ከአሥራ አንዱ የዓቃቤ ሕግ ምስክሮች የቀረቡትን አሥር ምስክሮች መስማት እንደማይችል የገለጹት የችሎቱ ዳኛ፣ አሥራ አንዱንም የዓቃቤ ሕግ ምስክሮች ለመስማት መዝገቡን ለህዳር 20 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. ቀጥረውታል፡፡

ሆኖም ግን ከቀረቡት አሥር ምስክሮች ውስጥ አራቱ ከተለያዩ የደብብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል ዞኖች የመጡ በመሆናቸው፣ ችሎቱ መዝገቡን መቅጠሩ ለወጪ እንደሚዳርጋቸው በመግለጻቸውና ዳኛው ቅር ለተሰኙት ምስክሮች የሁለት ቀን ተኩል የውሎ አበል፣ ደረሰኝ ካቀረቡም የትራንስፖርት ወጪያቸው እንዲከፈላቸው አዘዋል፡፡

ችሎቱ ከመጠናቀቁ በፊት ከሦስቱ የአቶ ግርማይ ጠበቆች ውስጥ አንዱ የሆኑት አቶ ሞላልኝ መለስ፣ በምስክሮቹ ስድብና የኃይል ጥቃት ዛቻ እየተደረገባቸው በመሆኑ ሥራቸውን ለመሥራት አለመቻላቸውን ለፍርድ ቤቱ ገልጸዋል፡፡

ዳኛውም በችሎቱ ውስጥ የሚገኙትን የግል ተበዳዮችና ወዳጅ ዘመዶቻቸውን ጉዳዩ በሕግ እጅ ስለሚገኝ በኃይል ሊመጣ የሚችል ነገር ባለመኖሩ፣ ውሳኔ እስኪሰጥ ድረስ በትዕግስት እንዲጠባበቁ ካሳሰቡ በኋላ፣ አንድ ምስክር ጠበቆቹ ስማቸውን እያጠፉት መሆኑን በመግለጽ ችግር ካለባቸው ሊከሷቸው እንደሚችሉ ሲገልጹ የተፈጠረውን ጫጫታ በማስቆም ችሎቱን አጠናቀዋል፡፡

የፌዴራል ዓቃቤ ሕግ ነሐሴ 17 ቀን 2003 ዓ.ም. ያቀረበው ክስ እንደሚያስረዳው፣ አቶ ግርማይ ሰባት የማጭበርበር ክሶችና አንድ ከንግድ ፈቃድ ውጭ ሰዎችን ወደ ውጭ አገር በመላክ ሥራ ላይ መሰማራት ክስ ቀርቦበታል፡፡

ፍርድ ቤቱ ነሐሴ 17 ቀን 2003 ዓ.ም. ክሶቹን የሰማ ሲሆን፣ የአቶ ግርማይ ጠበቆች በቀረበው ክስ ላይ ተቃውሞ አቅርበዋል፡፡ የቀረቡት ሰባት ክሶች ከተበዳዮች ስም በስተቀር አንድ ዓይነት በመሆናቸው በአንድ ክስ ተጠቃለው መቅረብ እንደነበረባቸው ገልጸው፣ የክሶቹ መነጣጠል የመከላከል መብታቸውን እንደሚያጣብባቸው ገልጸዋል፡፡

ከዚህም በተጨማሪ ወንጀሉ እንዴት እንደተፈጸመ እንደማያሳይ ገልጸው ተበዳዮቹ የትና መቼ እንደተታለሉ በግልጽ እንደማያሳይ ለችሎቱ አስረድተዋል፡፡ ስምንተኛው ክስ የቀረበው አቶ በግርማይ ላይ ሳይሆን ድርጅታቸው ላይ መሆኑን ገልጸው፣ ድርጅቱ ቀደም ሲል የ30,000 ብር ቅጣት ስለተላለፈበት ክሱ ውድቅ እንዲደረግላቸው አመልክተዋል፡፡

ዓቃቤ ሕግ ክሱን ያቀረበው በሰባት የግል ተበዳዮች ላይ ነው፡፡ በዚህ ጉዳይ ተበዳይ ነን የሚሉ ሰዎች 900 ሰዎች በመሆናቸው "ዓቃቤ ሕግ በሁሉም ላይ የተለያዩ ክሶች ሊያቀርብ ነው ወይ?" በማለትም ፍርድ ቤቱን ጠይቀዋል፡፡

ዓቃቤ ሕግ ለዚህ ምላሽ ሲሰጥ የግል ተበዳዮች 900 ሳይሆኑ፣ ቁጥራቸው 1,200 መሆናቸውን ገልጸው፣ አስፈላጊ ከሆነ በ1,200 ክሶች የማያቀርቡበት ምንም ዓይነት ሕጋዊ ምክንያት አለመኖሩን ገልጸዋል፡፡

ፍርድ ቤቱም በጠበቆቹ የቀረቡትን መቃወሚያዎች በማለፍ አቶ ግርማይን የእምነት ክህደት ቃላቸውን እንዲሰጡ ጠይቋቸው፣ ድርጊቱን አለመፈጸማቸውንና ጥፋተኛ አለመሆናቸውን ተናግረዋል፡፡

የተከሳሹ ጠበቆች በመቀጠል አቶ ግርማይ ከዚህ በፊት ከአገር የወጣው ተበዳዮች ነን ባዮችን በመፍራት የራሱንና የቤተሰቡ ሕይወት ለማዳን መሆኑን ገልጸው፣ አሁን ከአገር እንዳይወጡ ማገድ ስለሚቻል የዋስትና መብቱ እንዲጠበቅለት ፍርድ ቤቱን ጠይቀዋል፡፡

ዓቃቤ ሕግ በበኩሉ አቶ ግርማይ የተያዘው በኢትዮጵያ ፖሊስና ኢንተርፖል ትብብር መሆኑንና ከአገር የወጣውም በሕጋዊ መንገድ እዳልነበር በማስታወስ የዋስትና መብቱ እንዲከለከል ጠይቋል፡፡

ፍርድ ቤቱም የሁለቱን ወገኖች ክርክር ከሰማ በኋላ በሰጠው ትዕዛዝ እንደገለጸው፣ ምንም እንኳ አቶ ግርማይ የተከሰሰበት ወንጀል የዋስትና መብት የማያስነፍግ ቢሆንም፣ ተከሳሹ ከአገር በሕገወጥ መንገድ የመውጣት ታሪክ ስላለው ሊታመን ስለማይችል ተበዳዮችን ሸሽቶ ነው ከአገር የወጣው የሚለውን ምክንያት አሳማኝ ሆኖ ስላላገኘው የዋስትና መብቱን ነፍጐታል፡፡ 
http://www.ethiopianreporter.com

Ethiopian boy gets a reconstructed face and new life

DANVILLE — Nearly two years after his nose was bitten off by a hyena, 8-year-old Sisay Shimeles has a reconstructed face and a new life to go with it.

 Sisay originally was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in January from his Ethiopian home as part of a charity mission to construct him a prosthetic nose and repair his face. Now, nine months later, his surgery and new nose are complete.

 Sisay was attacked by a hyena one night near the village of Kolu when he left his family’s house to go to the bathroom. His father, Shimeles Taye, heard his son’s screams and rushed outside to help him, but the animal had already ripped off Sisay’s nose and most of his upper lip.

 Taye took his son to hospitals across Ethiopia, selling off livestock and borrowing money to pay for his son’s care.

 While at Ethiopia’s St. Yared General Hospital, Sisay was discovered by Geisinger maxiofacial surgeon Dr. Adam Waksor. A native of Et
hiopia, Waksor was on a medical mission to the country, and upon seeing Sisay, he knew he needed much more advanced treatment.

 “The first time I saw him, it was a traumatic experience,” Waksor said during the February press conference where Geisinger first introduced Sisay. “Once I saw him, I knew it was definitely impossible to treat him in Ethiopia.

” Championed by Waksor, Geisinger arranged to have Sisay and his father brought to the United States for extended treatment at the Danville hospital. The two stayed in the Ronald McDonald House on Geisinger’s campus while Sisay was operated on.

 Sisay showed off his new look during a press conference Thursday in Geisinger’s Hospital for Advanced Medicine. The prosthetic nose closely matches the color of his skin.

 “We’re only too happy to cooperate in this,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, chairman of the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. He described himself as having “the easiest part of this. I was the one who said, ‘OK, bring him over, let’s do this.’

“It was a privilege to take care of Sisay,” said Dr. Robert Pellecchia, a maxiofacial surgeon who also operated on Sisay. “It was a difficult case.

” Sisay and his surgeons made four trips to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, where a nasal prosthetic was prepared for the boy.

 Doctors at Geisinger performed reconstructive surgery on Sisay to replace his missing upper lip. Balloon-like tissue expanders were placed in Sisay’s cheeks. Every other week for several months, the expanders were filled with saline to stretch the skin of Sisay’s cheeks. The stretched skin and a piece of Sisay’s lower lip were used to create his new upper lip.

 He showed “remarkable courage” throughout the procedure, said cosmetic surgeon Dr. Joseph DeSantis. Sisay did not talk much in those days, but that’s very different now, DeSantis said.

 During the press conference, Sisay responded to some questions in English. “He’s learned English very well,” Ryan said. Although most of his attention was on a coloring book and crayons, Sisay said he likes his new nose and face and he likes all the people he’s met in America.

 Sisay is now smiling, talking and happy, Waksor said.

 “This is a great reward … a great opportunity to change a child’s life,” he said. “I’m very happy with the outcome.”

 The boy’s dad is just as pleased with the results. “He said he is greatly appreciative for the last 10 months,” said Waksor, translating for Taye from his native language of Amharic. “There are no words to express it. … He just can’t believe it. Everything has changed.”

 And the changes will not stop with Sisay’s new face. While his father is leaving for Ethiopia on Sunday, Sisay will remain in the area because a Bloomsburg family is looking to adopt him.

 Peter Doerschler and his family heard about Sisay through local newspapers and met him through family contacts. He remembered in particular a Fourth of July party where Sisay and his father were in attendance, and the families bonded during that time. “We had just recognized him as a great young kid at that point,” Doerschler said.

 Sisay has gone to the family’s house a few times as a guest and playmate of Doerschler’s 5-year-old and 8-year-old daughters. “They have a great relationship together, the three of them,” he said.

 Doerschler said he hopes Sisay will start school in Bloomsburg on Monday.

 “He will miss his son,” Waksor said of Taye. The boy’s father said it is a sacrifice to leave Sisay in America, but with six other children to care for in Ethiopia, he feels it is in Sisay’s best interests.
http://sodere.com/