Alem suicide highlights sponsorship system’s flaws

Alem’s husband, Lemesa Ejeta, and their two children carry the suicide victim’s picture in Ethiopia

BEIRUT: Alem Dechasa-Desisa left Ethiopia the day after Christmas last year. She headed for Lebanon, where she planned to make enough money to support her two children.

Within three months, she was dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. Even before her death, Alem had become something of a cause célèbre in some parts of Lebanese society and her case drew international attention.

Abused outside her own consulate in a videotaped incident, Alem was forced by a man later identified as Ali Mahfouz into a car as she lay screaming on the ground outside a place that was supposed to keep her safe.

At 33, Alem was one of 200,000 migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. That her case has garnered notice makes it an anomaly, but what happened to her is not.

Nearly every step of her journey from Burayu, her home outside Addis Ababa, to her eventual death in a psychiatric hospital in the Lebanese mountains is indicative of a failure in the haphazard Lebanese system that deals with the women who come to work in the homes and care for the children of many in this country.

Alem’s husband, Lamesa, told The Daily Star that he and his wife borrowed more than 4,500 Ethiopian Birr, around $260, to facilitate her travel. That’s about three months salary of the country’s average national income, and most of it went to a local broker.

Malawi Police Arrested 138 Ethiopian Illegal Immigrants [Nyasa Times]

Police in Mzimba have arrested 138 Ethiopians who were illegally in the  county.

Mzimba Police Station spokesperson Gift Nyirongo confirmed the development in an interview with Nyasa Times  on Tuesday.

Nyirongo said the illegal immigrants were arrested on 16 April near Luwawa forest after Police received a tip off from members of the community.

He said the Police believe these illegal immigrants entered the country through uncharted routes in the Karonga, where Malawi borders Tanzania.

Mzimba police spokesman Gift Nyirongo

Nyirongo also said the Police suspects that these illegal immigrants were being aided by Malawians who later dump them for fear of being arrested.

No Malawian has been arrested in connection to these 138 Ethiopians.

Nyirongo said when interrogated, the illegal immigrants claimed that they had walked all the way from Ethiopia where they are running away from famine.

He said they came to Malawi to seek asylum but Nyirongo quashed this claim saying they would have declared their refugee status at the port of entry into the country.

Police spokesman also wondered if these illegal immigrants were indeed seeking refugee status as they did not posses any documents supporting their claim.

The illegal immigrants, who are being kept at Mzimba Police Station, will be handed over to the Immigration Department in Mzuzu.
http://www.nyasatimes.com

The Beyoncé Experience Ethiopia (Documentary)

       

Haile Gebrselassie confirms he will not run in London 2012 Olympics marathon

No show: Haile Gebrselassie confirms he will not run in London 2012 Olympics marathon

Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie has confirmed he will not race in the London 2012 Olympics marathon.

Fans lining London’s streets this summer will be denied the chance to see one of the true legends of the sport, whose record includes two Olympic 10,000 metres gold medals, four world 10,000m titles, nine marathon victories and the distinction of being the first man in history to run a sub-2hr 4min marathon.

The former world record holder had entered the Tokyo Marathon in February to achieve the required Olympic qualifying standard of 2hr 15min and to run quickly enough to secure his place in the three-man Ethiopian team for London. But his time of 2hr 8min 17sec meant he is only the 19th fastest Ethiopian over 26.2 miles this year.

Gebrselassie, who beat Paula Radcliffe in the Vienna half marathon on Sunday despite giving the Briton a head start, has not given up competing, however, and will appear at next month's Bupa Great Manchester Run.

"Although I will not be taking part in the Olympic marathon I am still enjoying my athletics career and looking forward to coming to Manchester again and to a course which I love," he said.

"It's flat and really suits my running style while I must say the support I get from spectators, which I have enjoyed on every visit, really motivates me to do well.

"I remember in particular my first victory when I achieved a very fast time in what were perfect conditions but since then the wind has always been a factor against me.

"Hopefully this year there will be none and that will make for a much better race."

Gebrselassie will be joined by British pair Mara Yamauchi, who has been selected in Team GB, and Charlotte Purdue in the Manchester race.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን ስለ እጮኛው አመለሰት ሙጬ ያወራል

·         ልጅት በኒው ዮርክ የፊልም አካዳሚ ተምራለች፡፡ በፕሬዝደንት ግርማ ወ/ጊዮርጊስ የህይወት ታሪክ ላይ ዶክመንታሪ ለመስራት አስባ ነበር፡፡

·         ስለፍቅር የተሰኘ ፊልም ፅፋ ያዘጋጀች ሲሆን በ”ይፈለጋል” ላይ ተውናለች፡፡

·         በ2004 ሚስ ዩኒቨርሲቲ በ2006 ደግሞ ሚስ ወርልድ የቁንጅና ውድድሮችን አሸንፋለች

·         ማያ ፊልም ፕሮዳክሽን የተሰኘ ኩባንያ መስርታለች

                    

Ethiopian Yemane Adhane and Tiki Gelana wins the Rotterdam marathon

The day before the Boston Marathon, course records fell in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Paris; and Vienna.

In the Rotterdam Marathon, Yemane Adhane of Ethiopia pulled away from his countryman Getu Feleke in the final mile to win the men’s race by two seconds in 2 hours 4 minutes 48 seconds. Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia won the women’s race in a record 2:18:58, the fastest time of the year.

In Paris, records fell to Stanley Biwott of Kenya (2:05:11) and Beyene Tirfi (2:21:40).

In Vienna, Henry Sugut of Kenya won in 2:06:58. In an exhibition half-marathon, Haile Gebrselassie beat Paula Radcliffe despite starting 7:52 after her — the difference in their personal bests.

         
      

http://www.nytimes.com

Saving the condemned children of Ethiopia

In remote Ethiopia, where tribes still practise ritual infanticide, one man has made it his mission to save the children

Lale Labuko with children from his tribe, the Kara, by the Omo river in south-west Ethiopia

Lale Labuko is driving to lunch in the provincial town of Jinka, in southwest Ethiopia, when the call comes through on his mobile. He stops and gets out of the Land Cruiser, a tall, broad-shouldered man in his late twenties, wearing a purple polo shirt, black jeans and Nikes. His face, normally so calm and dignified, becomes tense and anxious. He gives a few quick instructions in the Kara tribal language, jumps back behind the wheel and accelerates away.

'We have a mingi birth, a baby girl,’ he says. 'She was born yesterday morning, but the phone was not working yesterday. Now we must hurry. No one will give her any milk and many people in the village want her dead.’

The baby’s misfortune is that her parents aren’t married. In the traditional Kara belief system this means she is cursed, unclean, full of sin, bringing malevolent spirits and bad luck to her family, village and tribe. All this evil is contained in the word mingi (pronounced with a hard 'g’).

For many generations, the Kara and two neighbouring tribes have killed these babies, putting them out in the bush to starve or be eaten by wild animals. If a mingi child is allowed to live, they believe, its family members will start dying off and then lethal droughts, famines and diseases will ensue. Infanticide is performed as a sad, solemn ritual to prevent greater suffering.

Married couples must get permission from the elders to have a baby. If there’s an accidental pregnancy, which happens often in a tribal culture with no access to contraception, this too is mingi and the parents have to kill the baby. Twins are mingi, and one or both are killed, depending on the tribe. The evil curse can also manifest in a child’s teeth. If the first tooth appears in the upper jaw, instead of the lower, the child becomes mingi, and this applies to the baby teeth and the adult teeth.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk