He told me that after a week of riding in cars and buses, costing somewhere around 50 or so U.S. dollars, he arrived to eastern Ethiopia and finally was settled in the camp where I was working.  He is there with his parents and siblings, in a rocky, desolate piece of land where the wind blows long and hard all day and where the sun burns into your bones.

I asked him about life in Moqadishu, where he is from:

I would be sitting in school and outside would be a gun battle.  We'd do our work like nothing was going on outside. This was typical.  You get used to it.

About daily life:

Going to the market was very difficult.  If you had money, the militias would see you and ask you to turn it over.  If you wore nice clothes, or clean clothes, they'd see you and come up and say 'You have nice clothes, so you must have money.  Give it to me.'   And if you refused they'd pull out a bullet and ask you if you knew what is was.  They'd say, 'This is your life.  Your life is worth one bullet.'  Give me your money or your life is over. 

About being a refugee:

It's ok.  But my mind is in the U.S.  I want to get there.  I see myself with a backpack on and being on a campus.  Studying in peace.  I want to do something with computers.

I ask about his chances for resettlement to the West.  Most countries like single men and women, those without famlies.  Muhammed is with his family.  They all share the same ration card.  It decreases his odds greatly.

I tell him that I've read that Sudanese refugees would lie and say they were orphans, that their parents would hide in the camp during interview times.  He says he would never do that, that he is not an orphan, that his family is everything to him. I suggest that maybe he could do more for them by getting out of the camp and getting his education.  He thinks about it.

He speaks Somali, Arabic and English fluently.  He is obviously intelligent.  I've met many refugees over the years, and Muhammed stands out to me.  My colleagues agree; he is unique. 

Immediately, I liked him.  He is warm, sincere, has a look in his eyes which you know you can trust.  And he laughs, a lot!

How is it that his life has become this? 

Leaving his hometown where his worth could have been devalued to nothing by a bullet fired by a warlord's gang in a country without a government since 1991.  A country currently occupied by Ethiopia, a U.S. ally in the "war on terror."  A place where the U.S. has its hands puppetting the geo-political goings-on.

Now he may end up living in a hut for the next decade or more, like some of his countrymen and women who first fled in 1991 and are still living in the camps.   His beautiful mind wasted.  The world never getting to see Muhammed's potential.

And we lose too.  We who sit in our comfort and idle our days reading news of the world and getting angry about it but do nothing to resolve it.  Instead we take out a beer and shake our heads, maybe look up at the stars and give up, thinking it's too big for one person to deal with.

Or is it?  What if we all dealt with it in our own way?  What if we make more of an effort?

Muhammed said to me when I was leaving:

Please.  Do what you can for me?  It's all I ask.

I tell him I will do my best.  But will I?  What is my best?  How will I know I have done everything I can, that it will be my best?

What about you?  How will you know?  Do you want to know?

I was raped in Moqadishu.  My child [on her back] has no father.  When I leave my home, the other refugees insult me, harass me, threaten me.  I've gone out to collect wood for cooking, but they steal it from me.  They've hit me.  I don't go out any more.  Please help me in any way you can.

She is a refugee living in one of 3, soon-to-be 4, Somali refugee camps in eastern Ethiopia.  She has been shunned by her community, a collective and public shaming directed at her, the victim. 

What do you say to a woman who's eyes tell more than her words?  How do you assure her that you will do what you can?  Does she believe what you say? 

What is everything that I can do?  Tell the authoritites for protection inside the camp.  Assure her we will deliver ethanol to her home.  Guarantee that she never runs out of fuel.  Check up to see if her situation has been documented.

What else?

Pray for her safety.  Pray that she heals.  Pray for the child wrapped on her back.  Pray she finds courage and strength to continue her day.  To want to wake up the next day.

Still, it is not enough.  I want to take her with me.  And her child.  I want them to feel safe and loved in my home. 

But I can't.

I want to go to every household in the camp, all 2000 and tell them that she did nothing wrong, that she is their sister, and that Allah would not approve of how they are treating her.   That Islam is not hateful.  That culture is not an excuse.

I want to find the rapist and bring him to justice. 

But I can't.

All I can do is look into her eyes after she finally lifts her head and turns to me and say to her, with a slight smile on my face, "You will not have to leave your house to look for fuel or to get ethanol for your stove on distribution days.  Someone will bring it to your house and you will never run out.  This I can guarantee for you."

It brings a smile to her face, maybe a bit of solace in her day, a little feeling of safety knowing she can cook for herself and her child in the slight peace of their own hut. 

I hope.

EWTN... Ethiopian style!

Going once, going twice…Oromia sold!

Sold by Meles like a treasury bond

Sold to the highest bidder

China, Djibouti and Saudi billionaire

While Ethiopians are starving to death

Meles gave wheat farm land to Djibouti’s Prez

A large tract of land comparable to the size of Djibouti

Was handed over to the father and son with Meles’ authority

Badme, border with Sudan and now Djibouti?

All around great blows to his vanity!

Unable to serve and protect our sovereignty

On all counts, he is pronounced guilty!

Oromia being used and abused

And here is the latest “investment” trick they pulled

Let’s call it what it is, it’s not investment

It’s plain shenanigans, the nation’s divestment!

The rank and files fattening their pockets

Sporadically sharing some with their subordinates

But the large mass is in scathing poverty

Living to see another day, thanks to westerners’ generosity

Now, they can’t even farm their own land

Things are going out of their hand

Somebody stop this transaction

Our nation should not be sold on auction!

Read about the "Presidential investment" here.

Also check out these two stoies. China's "investment" and Saudi billionaire's "investment".

Nobel Women's Initiative 2008 Africa Trip: Addis

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 26, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Who? : Representatives of the Nobel Women's Initiative (NWI) 2008 African Mission including American Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997, Kenyan Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate, 2004, American Mia Farrow, activist and actress.

WHAT?

A press conference with interested journalists at the Addis-based African Union. NWI delegates will make brief comments about their trip, meetings with African Union representatives in Addis and meetings planned with women's groups, government officials and non-governmental organizations in Juba and eastern Chad, followed by a Question and Answer session with Addis-based local and international press.

WHEN?

Monday, July 28, 2008

12:00-1:00 p.m.

WHERE?

African Union Headquarters

AU Press Room

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

WHY?

The trip will spotlight violations to women's rights and the increasing and unabating violence to women in Darfur and eastern Chad; highlight China's influential role in Sudan (especially leading up to its hosting of the 2008 Olympics) and China's potential for positive action; address the crisis of democracy in Sudan and Chad; support and urge local and international press to cover these important stories; and express solidarity with and learn from women's groups in the region.

Background: The Nobel Women's Initiative (NWI) was founded in 2006 by six Nobel Peace Laureates. Struck by increasing instability and gross violations to women's rights worldwide, the women laureates have brought together their extraordinary experiences to work for peace with justice and equality. Violence and repression in Sudan and Burma are among the focal issues for NWI, in addition to women's rights in Iran, ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, disarmament, and the gender dimensions of climate change.

SOURCE : African Union Commission (AUC)

"The situation in the region is of extreme concern," Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the World Food Program said Friday.

"Rising food prices on top of drought this year means that more and more people than in previous years are falling over the edge into destitution," he said.

The British development charity Oxfam and UNICEF of the United Nations have each made similar predictions.

Oxfam said Thursday a "toxic cocktail" of crises was putting millions at risk.

UNICEF characterizes this toxic cocktail this way: "A lethal mix of drought, expanding conflict, rising food and energy prices, disease and high poverty is pushing children and their families in the Greater Horn of Africa to the brink of disaster."

Aid agencies estimate that a total of 14.6 million people are facing disaster if donors do not urgently release funds.

The crisis is especially dire in Ethiopia and Somalia, two of the poorest countries in the world.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) says it urgently needs $400m (£200m) to prevent starvation in the east African region.

The global food crisis is real and rising inflation in food prices due to drought and high oil prices have made things worse.

Several news genciees have highlighted this problem but Lucie Peytermann of AFP may have produced the most detailed work, part of which is reproduced below:
.
The situation is made worse by the pull-out of aid agencies from Somalia, where civil war has raged since 1991 and where aid workers have increasingly been targeted in the violence.

The World Food Programme has launched an urgent appeal for 254 million euros (400 million dollars) to feed people threatened with starvation in Somalia, as well as Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, until the end of the year.

In Ethiopia, where a rebellion is raging in the southeast Ogaden region, a serious drought has left about 4.6 million people in need of urgent food aid, the UN says. It has raised fears of a repeat of the devastating famines of the 1980s that killed almost one million people.

In Kenya, which is recovering from a bloody political crisis that left hundreds of thousands of people displaced, 1.2 million people are facing starvation.

The UN says 707,000 people in Uganda's rural region of Karamoja are in dire need of food, and a further 80,000 people face severe food shortages in Djibouti, which has been hit by numerous droughts in recent years.

In Eritrea, drought and rising food prices are also likely to have serious humanitarian consequences, but details are scant because the Asmara government has ordered at least nine NGOs to leave the country since the beginning of 2006.

Well I've been home from Ethiopia about two weeks now so I guess it is about time for a blog. There is just one problem with this, every time I sit down to write about Ethiopia my mind is flooded with so many thoughts, memories, and emotions I don't know where to start. In many ways it feels like I was there just yesterday teaching, hugging little kids, and worshipping with the believers at the house churches. In another way it feels like the last month has been a wonderfully amazing dream, that I am just now waking up from. If this were the case I just wish I could go back to sleep! :)

So I guess my brain is not composed enough to really write yet so instead I am just going to take some time to write some of the thoughts that are hogging most of the space in my brain in hopes that writing will help me sort them out. If you care to keep reading that would be great but I don't promise this will always make sense (just a warning).

I learned a long time ago that being in a foreign country (now multiple times, in multiple countries) has given me a different outlook on a lot of things. I am thankful for a perspective that is a little different but some times I know that life would be easier without this perspective. I also learned a long time ago that this different perspective can also tempt me to become a little calloused and bitter about the life myself and others live in America. It took me a while to see that letting this perspective effect me in this way accomplished nothing. I learned that asking God why He allowed me to be born in America into so much blessing is not as good of a question as asking Him what He wants me to do with those blessings. In Ethiopia I was confronted with a whole new perspective of heart breaking poverty that basically slaps you in the face daily. I am still trying to comprehend in my mind why God allowed me to see certain things He allowed me to see while I was there.

I have also gained a whole new perspective and love for the Islamic (Muslim) people than I ever expected. While we did not encounter an overwhelming amount of Muslim people in our time in Ethiopia I had enough contact to gain a slightly new perspective on things. Interacting with these people has allowed me to see that while I do not agree with their religion, I love them. It has allowed me to once again confirm that these people all not all extremists who hate us. How sick I am of hearing that lie! There are extremist in any religion or belief it does not mean that we should choose to generalize and breed hate against them all. My heart is heavier than ever when I hear people make comments to this effect.

 I also have seen now more than ever my heart for missions grow. I know for certain that the call is missions. I have seen the great need once again and I pray that God continues to allow me to be a part of meeting that need, even if it is in a small way. I am not sure in what capacity I will fulfill that call. Maybe it is a lifetime of foreign missions work, whatever that may mean, maybe it is life of continuing to do short terms trips. All I am sure of is the call.

I guess the biggest of all questions lingering in my mind is how I allow all of these new experiences, ideas, and emotions to live in one person. How do I allow all of this to co-exist with the person I am back here in America? I know that I am changed, for this I am thankful. I will never be the exact same person I was a month ago again. But I wonder if the two worlds can co-exist inside of me? Can I keep the brokenness and passion I experience in Ethiopia while I am here in the States, or am I doomed to once again conform to the patterns that have been set in place by the society I now live in? My prayer is that I remain changed, that I remain broken for the things that break God’s heart. I don't know, maybe the two are not supposed to fit neatly together. Maybe it is better this way, so that not conforming is at the front of my mind. Maybe...

I'm not in a rush to complete this adoption.  Of course, I'd love to have him/her home as soon as possible, but I've got Oscar now and I'm happy to keep things as they are for a while.  Life is good.  I do, though, want to complete my dossier.  I don't think it's unreasonable to get a response from an agency that is going to charge me another $1800 for an update (down from $2600 - woo hoo!) within a week.  I'm going to have to call them again on Monday.  How do I get them to actually get me the docs I need without sounding like a shrew?  I would go with another agency, but I suspect I would have to start from scratch, and I really do want to use the same SW.  Ugh.  This is the only thing about adoption I don't like - the fact that so many third parties are so involved in my family planning.

We need to know about this so that:
1. We are not ignorant
2. We can be truly thankful for our next plate of food
3. We can do something, however small, to help

I read this article about a single grandmother of ten. Drought killed her June harvest. Family meals have consisted of a bit of corn and coffee in the morning- nothing for the rest of the day and on some days nothing at all.

The price for staple food such as corn and teff from which bread is made, has tripled.

In the West Arsi zone of central Ethiopia the combination of failed rains, chronic poverty and a wild spike in food prices has left 320 000 people needing relief. Now the Ethiopian government says4,6-million people nationwide -- up from 2,2-million earlier this year -- need emergency assistance and 75 000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

Aid workers report that in northern parts of the country's Somali region, where most people are herders, rain has not fallen in two years. In the south, in Oromia's Borena zone, the 45 days of rain that normally replenish the area between March and May dwindled to 15 last year and just five this year. Pasturelands are parched and fields too dry to produce staple foods. The government says 90% of people in the district need food assistance.

A middle-aged man shouts that local officials promised two weeks ago to support the people with wheat, oil and corn, but so far he has received nothing. The crowd has been waiting for four days and the only answer is that they should wait some more. Recently someone died waiting.

Others have been filling their stomachs with a leafy weed that has sprung up since the rains came. But the greens -- boiled in water and salted -- have made some of their children sick with diarrhoea.

A woman offers her only child to an aid worker, because she can no longer feed him.

I had to think about this. I had to really think about it. This is not some soppy story that brings a tear to your eye. This is actually happening to people. I had to put myself in their place. I get cranky if I go a couple of hours without food. They go days without food.

They are hungry. The next harvest is a long way off. "We're wondering if we'll survive until September," says a man

I had to ask myself, what would I do? If I was wondering if I would survive until September because I have no food?

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Martin Luther King, Jnr.

We can make a difference. Lets.

Ethiopia, beautiful land- great poverty and hunger.

Source: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-07-24-where-hunger-lurks

]]> http://oromantic.wordpress.com/?p=538 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:33:49 +0000 oromantic http://oromantic.wordpress.com/?p=538

OLF News, July 20, 2008 - An unjust “verdict” is reported to have been given to Oromo nationals who were in jail without any for over three years by fabricated charges. Our sources from Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) reported that the following innocent Oromo nationals charged under the file of Ashenafi Adunya are sentenced to 10 years of prison on July 10, 2008.

Ashenafi Adunya  sentenced to 10 years of prison.
Mangistu Desta  sentenced to 10 years of prison.
Sanyi Bakkalcha  sentenced to 10 years of prison.
Tsegaye Wolde Yohannes  sentenced to 10 years of prison.

The 4th victim of Wayyane sentence, Mr.Tsaggayee W/Yohanis, is an elderly who is a leadership member of the Mecha and Tulama self-help Association. He was a renowned writer in several newspapers and magazines. He has also published a history of Oromo people’s struggle for freedom and justice in Amharic language named “OROMIAN BEFEREQA?” meaning literally “Oromia is Ruled by Different Groups of Rulers Second Round”.
Moreover, the following innocent Oromos falsely charged under the file of Gammada Qasim are sentenced several years of imprisonment ranging from 5 years to 22 years.

Gammada Qasim sentenced to 22 years of prison.
Tadala Madde sentenced to 10 years of prison.
Guta Tullu sentenced to 10 years of prison.
Nagasa Yadata sentenced to 5 years of prison.

It is reported that the above sentenced oromos have been jailed and tortured over the last five years.

Meanwhile, workers of Oromia Agricultural Development of Ilu Ababor zone Bure district waged a peaceful protest against the Wayyane regime saying that they need good governance and that they were unable to work according to their profession because of Wayyane authorities interferance.

Source: OLF News
 

A little boy sits quietly for me to get a close up.

A more colorful version of a common scene in Addis, Ethiopia.  Many families live in much worse.

Over 3000 child soldiers arrived in Afgoye town, 30 km away from Mogadishu, on Tuesday [emphasis added] and started to attack civilians and loot shops, Press TV corresponent reported.  The soldiers are estimated to be less than 15 years old and they came to town on foot after 9 days.

Apparently four child soldiers have already been killed in the fighting.

US ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Yamamoto, says the United States recognizes Ethiopia's contribution (from this article) in various peacekeeping operations in the region and other areas of conflict in Africa. However, various human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have cited grave abuses committed by the Ethiopian troops.

Some background on Somalia from the U.S. State Department:  the country has faced conflict since 1991, when warlords took over the country after overthrowing their dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre.  A couple of years ago, Islamist militants began to take over southern Somalia, including Mogadishu. Troops from Ethiopia were deployed in December 2006 to assist with removing the Islamists from the capital.  Ever since, the capital and much of the country has been mired in a civil war between the government and its Ethiopian allies, and the Islamist insurgents.

This happened at the same time that Becky was here, and she came loaded with more games from Heartland Church.  And what's even cooler is when I picked up the packages from North Idaho Christian School, there was another package full of Uno and colored pencils from, Jeanne, a woman who happened to find my blog and sponsors a Compassion child in Zeway. It's great to see how God is providing a little fun and development for these children here.

Don't stop sending the packages, though!   Life is hard here for games...  they're well used and get mixed up in the grit and dirt-- no nice kitchen tables for the kids to put their games on.

Pastor Sarah in Ethiopia

Catalyst in El Salvador

``Yes, Mam ´´ was my reply. She gave me a frowning face that says ``don’t let me find you here after a week.´´

 I didn’t even have to think -why only me? There are large number of Ethiopians living in Nairobi and Kampala. Most of whom are refugees claiming political and economic causes. A large number of them came in the same way I did but they just never went back home.

Another incident was while I was leaving Kenya to Uganda by road .The immigration officer at the Kenyan border looked at me as if I were a felon or rather his next victim. He is used to taking bribes from my fellow Ethiopians.

``Are you leaving for good? ´´

``Yes, Sir´´

``But you were supposed to be leaving with in a week´´

``Sir, it says Sunday and today is still Sunday´´

He threw the form I was supposed to fill in at my face looking disappointed and murmuring something in Kiswahili.

Standing in another line –now on the Ugandan side of the border-I could here my fellow Ethiopians, who have just arrived in another bus. They had paid bribes to the Kenyans and are speculating about the Ugandan officers.

``But If you tell him that, he will know you are cheating´´said one of them in Amharic. Looking at him you will instantly realize how much he has suffered to get where he is now. Something has sucked the blood out of him. You can even count the bones on his face.

Once again it was my turn at the Ugandan immigration; the officer threw my passport back with out even looking at it. I pushed it back. He checked the documents and put a stamp looking at me in disbelief. It also took a minute to convince the lady who was checking passports at the bus gate that I was a legal resident in Uganda.

I kept on thinking why?  It is really that bad? Is the country that hard to live in for all these young men and women exodus to anywhere they’ve got the chance to?

In neighboring Uganda and Kenya, where the economic development is not that much better than Ethiopia, you can find hundreds of Ethiopians waiting for their resettlementto Europe and North America. Some make it there but many others stay in these countries for years. Living conditions are as harsh as facing constant abuse, lack of basic needs and health problems. Getting back to their country is one thing you don’t want to mention to these people. They just don’t want hear it. They came and go in every face, size and color .The majority being youngsters. And they just left me wondering ``is it really that bad to live in Ethiopia???´´

After two weeks vacation in Sardinia, it's quite hard to get it running again… On the beach, I read an interesting book about the life of the marathon runner Abebe Bikila: "Barefoot Runner" by Paul Rambali. 

Abebe Bikila was born 1932 in Ethiopia. He was spotted by Onni Niskanen, a Finn hired by the Ethiopian government to train potential athletes. He joined the Ethiopian athletic team only in the last moment to participate in the 1960 Olympic summer games in Rome. In a fascinating race, he won the Olympic marathon in a time of 2:15:16 running barefoot, as no pair of shoes fit him. He was the first black African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

Shortly after returning to Addis Abeba in Ethiopia, he was sentenced to death. Bikila, who didn’t understand politics, had been forced to take part in a coup. The coup attempt failed and Bikila was pardoned by the Emperor Haile Selassie.

He repeated his marathon triumph in the 1964 summer Olympic games in Tokyo in a new record time of 2:12:11 – notably only 4 weeks after an operation because of appendicitis.

In 1969, he suffered a car accident which left him quadriplegic. He subsequently participated in archery competitions. He died in 1973.

The book tells the fascinating story of an outstanding athlete. Moreover, it gives interesting insights into the evolution of Ethiopian runners who now dominate running.

Yesterday, we travelled in the morning & then got situated in our living accommodations & had a service at Pastor Eyob's church in the evening, so it was a nice, full day.  The service went well - I ministered on following Jesus' voice as our shepherd & not the stranger's voice.  God also gave me several verses to minister to specific individuals in the service, so it was fun to flow in this gift.  Everyone was very happy to sleep last night & most slept extremely well.

This morning, we've had the great opportunity to do a vbs at Pastor Eyob's church for street kids, orphans & HIV / aids kids.  It has gone really well & at present, we're providing lunch for them.  We probably had around 500 kids, so its been lots of fun!

Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to do some street outreaches & evangelism, so we're really praying about that & looking forward to it!

Pls pray:

1 - ongoing favor & open doors to minister:  Addis has about 5mill people & so there are plenty of people, its just finding the right contexts in which to share Jesus.

2 - health & strength:  we want to have the strength to continue being effective in sharing Jesus

3 - finish strong:  since we're leaving Sat night, we want to maximize our time over the next few days to be as effective for Jesus as possible

THANKS LOADS FOR PRAYING!!!

Really appreciate all the support, comments, prayer, etc!!!