Nelson Mandela: Farewell, My African Prince!

The Sinner-Saint who never stopped trying

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela finally finished his long walk to freedom in the last month of the Year 2013.

The sun cast its last rays on the man who lifted South Africa from the darkness of apartheid. Nelson Mandela’s shadow is all we have left. We must now look to that shadow to cast light on a world wrapped in hatred, beset by fear, racked by violence and numbed by indifference. We shall not fear. Mandela’s spirit is near.

I never met Nelson Mandela. How I wish I had! Not for the honor of meeting the most honored man in the world. Just for the opportunity to say “Thank you!” to the most humble man in the world who brought the highest dignity and honor to all Africans.

Nelson Mandela was a bridge builder. He built bridges across racial, ethnic and class divides. Nelson Mandela was a fireman. He saved the South African house by dousing the smoldering embers of racial and ethnic strife with truth and reconciliation. Nelson Mandela was a pathfinder.

Ethiopia approved more than 361 investment projects to Saudi Arabia

Editor’s note: despite a growing criticism against Saudi government’s brutal crackdown on Ethiopian migrants, the ruling party just signed an agreement to give more land to Saudi Arabia.

JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS — Saturday 7 December 2013

Ethiopian ambassador Mohammad Kabeera said his country has approved more than 361 investment projects to Saudi Arabia mainly in the agricultural sector.

The envoy said that Saudi Arabia comes at the forefront of the GCC countries investing in Ethiopia, one among several African nations that have been targeted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Agricultural Investment Abroad.

“We have issued licenses for 361 Saudi investment projects in Ethiopia, 125 of which have begun operations. These projects have created job opportunities for around 35,000 Ethiopians,” he said.

Ginbot 7’s Response to EPRDF’s Request for “Negotiation”

December 4, 2013

The authoritarian system that has been built by the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is in apparent crisis. It is now evident that panic and nervousness within EPRDF is increasing with the passing of each day, and there is ample evidence that indicates towards this major behavioural shift within the ruling EPRDF party. For example, the sudden death of its leader, the ever increasing popular resistance inside and outside the country, and the customary uneasiness of the regime as national elections approach are some of the main indicators. The long-standing political behaviour the EPRDF regime demonstrates that whenever EPRDF is cornered or finds itself in a crisis situation, it uses negotiation as a quick way out or crisis management tool. We believe EPRDF’s most recent call for “negotiation” is not different from its established political behaviour.

A Call for Action by All Ethiopian Groups around the World

December 3, 2013

For Immediate Release

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia (GAFRESA) has been formed recently in response to the killings, gang rape, torture and other forms of crimes being committed against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia.

GAFRESA was created at a time when Ethiopians across the globe have been expressing outrage on such criminality and savage thuggery that has affected the lives of tens of thousands of Ethiopians who have faced not only such an appalling and inhuman mistreatment in the hands of Saudi security forces and criminal vigilantes but also herded en masse in harsh concentration camps in the scorching desert where food, water and medical help is deliberately withheld and denied.

Teachable Moments for the Ethiopian Diaspora?

Alemayehu G. Mariam

 Stop the violence against Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia now!

The ongoing human rights abuses of Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia have triggered massive expressions of outrage against the regimes in Riyadh and Addis Ababa and unprecedented outpouring of concern and support in Diaspora Ethiopian communities. Over the past several weeks, enraged and brokenhearted by the shocking video clips of dehumanization of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia, tens of thousands of Diaspora Ethiopians from Australia to the United States faced off cowering Saudi embassy and consular officials.  An estimated 6-7 thousand Ethiopians peacefully marched on the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. to demand an immediate stop to the violence and

Saudi Arabia: Labor Crackdown Violence (Human Rights Watch)

November 30, 2013

Human Rights Watch

Ethiopian Workers Allege Attacks, Poor Detention Conditions

(Beirut) –  Ethiopian migrant workers have been the victims of physical assaults, some of them fatal, inSaudi Arabia following a government crackdown on foreign workers. Many workers seeking to return home are being held in makeshift detention centers without adequate food or shelter.

Human Rights Watch spoke to five Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Four Ethiopians in Riyadh told Human Rights Watch that the attacks began after November 4, 2013, when authorities resumed a campaign to arrest foreign workers who they claim are violating labor laws.