ኃይል ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን

              

Bedrock of Art and Faith-LALIBELA, Ethiopia

The St. George church in Lalibela, dedicated to Ethiopia’s patron saint, is one of 11 Ethiopian Orthodox churches that were carved out of the rock in the 13th century and are literally anchored in the earth.

ON the roads through Ethiopia’s highlands traffic raises a brick-red haze that coats your clothes, powders your skin and starts a creaking in your lungs. Despite the dust people wear white. Farmers wrap themselves in bleached cotton. Village funerals look like fields of snow. At churches and shrines white is the pilgrim’s color.

I wear it too, protectively: long-sleeved white shirt, tennis cap, Neutrogena sun block. A pilgrim? Why not?

I’m here for something I’ve longed to see, Ethiopia’s holy cities: Aksum, the spiritual home of this east African country’s Orthodox Christian faith and, especially, the mountain town of Lalibela, with its cluster of 13th-century churches some 200 miles to the south.

Lalibela was conceived as a paradise on earth. And its 11 churches, cut from living volcanic rock, are literally anchored in the earth. In scale, number, and variety of form there’s no architecture or sculpture quite like them anywhere. They’re on the global tourist route now, though barely. To Ethiopian devotees they’ve been spiritual lodestars for eight centuries, and continue to be.

With No Way Home, Ethiopian Migrants in Yemen Face Growing Health Challenges

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 20, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM is concerned about...

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 20, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM is concerned about the wellbeing of thousands of Ethiopian migrants stranded in Yemen's northwest region of Haradh, near the border with Saudi Arabia, following an ongoing outbreak of dengue fever which started last month.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by a virus. Its symptoms include fever, headaches, muscle joints pains, skin rash and spontaneous bleeding. Depending on individual immune system response, the disease can lead to death, especially in babies and children.

Although no deaths has been reported so far in Haradh, the outbreak is significantly adding to the health problems experienced by the estimated 12,000.stranded migrants, who include an estimated 3,000 Ethiopians registered with IOM wishing return home.

Some 17 cases have already been reported at IOM's Haradh clinic this month, five of whom are IOM staff. The clinic, which is located in IOM's Migrant Response Centre, provides emergency care, assisted medical referrals and psychosocial aid to between 70-100 migrants a day.

The Migrant Response Centre, which was set up in 2010 to house 150 vulnerable migrants, now houses over 300. IOM, in collaboration with WHO and local health ministry officials, is carrying out periodic fumigation in and around the building to kill the mosquitos.

Most of the migrants arrive in Haradh hungry, sick and exhausted from their long walk from the Horn of Africa in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia. Tightened Saudi border controls now make this impossible and the migrants often find themselves stranded in Haradh without adequate shelter, food or water.

To date IOM has helped over 7,000 Ethiopian migrants to return home from Haradh, less than 10 percent of the estimated 82,000 migrants who entered Yemen over the past 18 months.

http://www.starafrica.com

Ejegayehu Dibaba steps up to marathon for second time

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) – Ejegayehu Dibaba, the oldest of three Ethiopian sisters who have all made their mark on the track, steps up to the marathon for only the second time in London this Sunday.

Dibaba, 30, has been overshadowed by Tirunesh, a double Olympic champion in Beijing, while a second sister Genzebe emerged this year to win the world indoor 1,500 title in Istanbul.

Last year Ejegayehu clocked two hours 22 minutes nine seconds while finishing second in the Chicago marathon, the third fastest debut ever. It was also her first race beyond 10 kms.

On Wednesday Dibaba, whose best track performance was a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic 10,000 metres final, said the sisters were friendly rivals. The trio are cousins of twice Olympic 10,000 metres gold medallist and 2001 London marathon champion Derartu Tulu

“I hope one day we will all be in a marathon,” Dibaba said.

Sunday’s race will also serve as a trial for the Kenyan Olympic team, with five women competing for three places including defending champion Mary Keitany.

“I will have to work extra hard on Sunday because I know it will be my last chance to impress the selectors,” she said.

Germany’s twice champion Irina Mikitenko said the London race often contained stronger fields than the world or European championships which made it an ideal test for this year’s London Olympics.

“Just as in a championship, you have to be self-reliant,” she said. “Something completely unexpected can happen and you have to radically change your plans during the race. But I like that kind of challenge.”

Emirates Recruits 230 Ethiopians

Including 119 cabin crew a total of 230 Ethiopians are enjoying working for Emirates Group, which currently owns a total of 171 aircraft and 232 on order.

The airline has recruited cabin crews from 120 countries while serving exclusive menu to its passengers. Expanding its global network, Emirates, has announced its plan of launching four additional routes in the coming months of the year 2012.

From June to September 2012, the airline is planning to launch flights from Dubai to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, Spain’s Barcelona, Portugal’s Lisbon and Washington DC.

According to Abdalla Al Zamani, Emirates’ Office in Ethiopia Manager, other than the four destinations the airline has started seven new routes in 2012 to different cities of Latin and North America as well as Africa.

“We continue to invest in the future – our expanding network, new aircraft and service commitment,” he said. “Our aircraft order for 50 more Boeing 777s placed in November 2011 demonstrates this commitment to investing in our fleet and ultimately our growth.” The manager also noted that Emirates is the world’s largest airline operator of Boeing 777 aircraft operating every model of the Boeing 777 family.

He also indicated that Emirates is the world’s largest A380 customer and operator worldwide with 21 in operation and another 69 on order. The manager also stated that there has been neither oil money nor government guarantees for Emirates nor the Dubai government’s open skies policy has remained intact. “Emirates does not receive any protection or subsidy. Our profits are earned the old-fashioned way – by increasing revenues and keeping our costs under control,” he said.  

http://www.newbusinessethiopia.com

በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ ስትደበደብ በፌስቡክ የታየችው ሕፃን በድጋሚ ስትደበደብ ተገኘች

ከሦስት ሳምንታት በፊት በበርካታ የፌስቡክ ተጠቃሚዎች በአያቷ ስትደበደብ የታየችው ሕፃን በድጋሚ ስትደበደብ ተገኘች፡፡ በወቅቱ በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ ወ/ሮ ሐሊማት መሐመድ በተባሉት አያቷ ስትደበደብ የምትታየው ሕፃን፣ በድጋሚ ትናንትና ወሎ ሰፈር አካባቢ በወንድ አያቷ ተደብድባ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ መሄዷ ታውቋል፡፡ አያቷ ወሎ ሠፈር ካለው ዳንዲቦሩ ትምህርት ቤት ጀርባ በሚገኘው ሐምሌ 19 ሕፃናት መዋያ የጥበቃ ሠራተኛ ሲሆኑ፣ ትናንትና ከሰዓት በኋላ የሕፃናት መዋያው በር ላይ ሲደበድቧት ተገኝተዋል፡፡

አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ጌታቸው የተባለ ቧንቧ ሠራተኛ ግለሰቡ ከሕፃናት መዋያው አንጠልጥለዋት ሲወጡ አይቷል፡፡ አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል እንዳለው፣ ‹‹ሕፃኗ በመጀመርያ የሕፃናት መዋያው በር ላይ ነበረች፡፡ ከዚያም ተመልሳ ገብታለች፡፡ በመቅጽበትም ግለሰቡ በዱላ እየደበደቧት አንጥልጥለው አወጧት፤›› በማለት በድርጊቱ የተደናገጠው አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል፣ ሕፃኗ ምንም ብታጠፋ ልጅ በመሆኗ ከመደብደብ ይልቅ ቢመክሯት እንደሚሻል ለግለሰቡ ቢገልጽላቸውም፣ ‹‹ልጄ ናት ምን አገባህ፤›› እንዳሉት ተናግሯል፡፡ በነገሩ የተበሳጨው አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ከግለሰቡ ዱላውን እንደተቀበላቸውና በወቅቱ ሕፃኗ መሬት ላይ ስትንፈራገጥ እንደነበር ገልጿል፡፡

ከዚያም አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ከሌላ መንገደኛ ጋር ተባብሮ ደብዳቢ ግለሰቡን ይዘው ወደ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ እያመሩ ሳለ፣ መንገደኛው ሕፃኗን ከዚህ በፊት በቪዲዮ እንዳያት ለደብዳቢው ሲገልጽላቸው፣ ልጅቷ እሷ መሆኗንና በጣም እንዳስቸገረቻቸው መግለጻቸውን አቶ ኃይለ ሚካኤል አስታውቋል፡፡ መንገደኛው ደብዳቢውን ግለሰብ ቄራ አካባቢ ፖሊስ ጣቢያ የወሰዳቸው ሲሆን፣ ቃላቸውን ሰጥተው በዋስ መለቀቃቸው ታውቋል፡፡

ቃላቸውን የተቀበለው ፖሊስ እንዳስረዳው፣ ልጅቷ ከአያቷ ጋር ለመጫወት የሕፃናት መዋያው የሄደች ሲሆን፣ በትምህርት ቤት ውስጥ የነበረውን ስብሰባ ረብሻለች በሚል እንዳስወጧት ግለሰቡ በሰጡት ቃል አረጋግጠዋል፡፡ ፖሊስ ጉዳዩን እየመረመረው እንደሆነ ገልጾ፣ በልጅቷ ላይ ምንም የሚታይ ጉዳት እንደሌለ ማረጋገጡን አስረድቷል፡፡

በሕፃኗ ላይ በመጀመርያ በተፈጸመው ድብደባ ተጠርጥረው ታስረው የነበሩት ወ/ሮ ሐሊማት መሐመድና ወጣት ሜሮን አስናቀ ባለፈው ሐሙስ መፈታታቸው ታውቋል፡፡ ሕፃኗ አሁን ወደደበደቧት አያቷ ዘንድ የሄደችው የሚያሳድጓት ወ/ሮ ሐሊማት መሐመድ በመታሰራቸው ነበር፡፡ በአሁኑ ወቅት ሕፃኗ ትምህርቷን ማቋረጧን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡ ስለጉዳዩ ማብራሪያ እንድትሰጠን ወጣት ሜሮንን ብናነጋግራትም፣ በፖሊስ የተያዘ ነገር ስለሆነ ምንም መናገር እንደማትፈልግ ገልጻለች፡፡

http://www.ethiopianreporter.com

Translator Needed For Ethiopian Maid Accused Of Beheading Sponsor’s Daughter

KUWAIT CITY, April 17: The Criminal Court presided over by Judge Hani Hamdan has set May 16, 2012, to look into the case of an unidentified Ethiopian maid who is accused of allegedly murdering the daughter of her sponsor to give time for the Embassy of the Republic of Ethiopia to arrange for a translator during the session, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Case papers indicate on Nov 17, 2011, the maid killed the victim (her head was separated from her torso) and headed for the airport in a vain attempt to leave the country.

However, personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department were able to take the maid into custody a few minutes before the plane took off from the airport.

According to the victim’s family, 25-year-old daughter was preparing for the wedding ceremony but she was found dead in her bedroom one day earlier.

She was allegedly murdered in her sleep. Reports say the victim might have woken up when the suspect stabbed her and tried to resist but a machete blow to the neck severed her head from the body.

The victim’s family says there was no friction of any kind between the maid and the victim before the incident. The family also says the maid was not subjected to any harassment, whether by the victim or any member of the family.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com