By Tedla Asfaw
he Monday April 29, 2013 cloudy sky with drizzle seems to remind the largest Ethiopian crowd in recent memory here in NYC the darkest time of our people under the minority regime of TPLF/Woyane. The cry of Amharas in Beni Shanguel Gumuz, Gura Ferda, Waldiba who were ethnically cleansed and dumped as landless and homeless by cruel and inhuman TPLF/Woyane thugs carrying the ID of "Nations and Nationalities" is indeed the turning point in our struggle.It reminded us how it is uncomfortable just to stay few hours out in a rain knowing that it will be over and each one of us will go to our home in D.C., Maryland, Buffalo, Philadelphia, NJ and to all boroughs of New York City. We stood tall to be the voice of poor farmers and monks and challenge UN to condemn the Ethnic Cleansing underway in Ethiopia. We stared at the UN building where Tewodros Adhanom lectured just last week about TPLF/Woyane's role on Somalia "security". We call it "Kiraye Sebsaba Politica" or blackmailing politics.
Shame on him and his regime who snatched the "security" of thousands of Amharas from their home they built from scratch. Shame on him who Kicked out children from their school without warning. Shame on him who forced pregnant women to give birth in forests with no medical care.The condemnation of the Woyane fascist and barbaric regime that started at 11am by fifty brave Ethiopians who came from NY Tri State area some driving seven hours from upstate New York started with a good news from NY organizers. By 10:30am the copy of the letter prepared for H.E. Ban Ki-Moon UN Secretary General was delivered to USA Ambassador to United Nations, Ambassador Susan Rice. We know pretty well that the content of this letter will soon reach to President Obama via John Carry, Secretary of State.
John Carry who is travelling to Addis Ababa on the 50th anniversary of OAU next month will be challenged to condemn Ethnic Cleansing and all human rights violations in Ethiopia in public. The USA Ambassadors to Ethiopia past and present were and are acting as "member" of TPLF. The State Department findings about Ethiopia is nothing more than empty gesture. We believe this time is different if they take note of the anger building in the diaspora community this month alone. We demand the Obama Administration to follow the recommendation of its own department without any excuse whatsoever.
The campaign to be heard by UN Secretary-General went on for a week by email and fax from the Ethiopian Diaspora all over the world. The fax and email flooded his office. When our five delegates went to deliver the letter asking UN to condemn Ethnic Cleansing and send an independent investigation team the positive reply we received was not surprising to most of us.
"The Secretary Genera was aware of what was going in Ethiopia " especially the Ethnic Cleansing even before he received our letter. The Prime Worshipper/Minster Hailemariam was forced to admit in his own parliament about Ethnic Cleansing after his European tour of begging. He blamed the "locals" for carrying out the crime. Yes crime is committed locally but order was given from TPLF/Woyane who some were heard saying on VOA and ESAT Radio that they needed to clear the land for investment.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Amharas was to secure land for Woyane landlords. The list of the people who are directly connected to the crime against humanity was out to the public and UN . Omad Obang, Gambella, Shiferaw Shigute, Gura Ferda and South Omo Valley, Ahmed Nasir, Beni Shanguel Gumuz, Abdi Mohamud Omar, Ogaden, Abdi Maxamud Cumar, Ogaden, Abay Tsehai and Sebhat Nega , Waldiba was a short list for crimes against humanity present and past for which we demanded UN investigation.
The past crimes against Annuak, Mursi, Ogaden and Oromo people were executed under the direct order of late Meles Zenawi. The crowd condemned Hailemariam as a "leader" who is led by TPLF/Woyane thugs behind the curtain to finish the Job the late Meles Zenawi started more than 21 years ago. Bereket Simon and Shiferaw Tekelamriam the "director" of the Movie "Jihadwi Harkeat", Christians VS Muslims anti Muslim propaganda were among the names accused as crimes against humanity.
The huge crowd from D.C. who came in two buses, vans and small cars joined the rally between 12pm and 1pm. Dag Hammarskjold Plaza ( UN Plaza ) was on fire. The big blast from the sound system should have awaken anyone from long distance. No wonder the Woyanes from the surrounding area were forced to come out and face the condemnation of the system they are defending.
The drizzle had no impact on the protesters at all. Bishop Filipose and Sheik Kalid short but direct call to all of us here and back home was emotional. Bishop Filippose compared our situation to the time of fascist occupation of Ethiopia where one patriot Dr. Melaku Beyan organized black Americans to stand with the Ethiopian people who were abandoned by League of Nations and USA..
However, at this very moment Ethiopia has thousands of Melaku Beyans thanks to the huge populations of Ethiopians in the Diaspora. Woyane's "rent collection/Kiraye Sebsaba" project though succeeded back home using brute force and blackmail it failed miserably to be replicated here in the diaspora, "KeAbaye Befit Zeregnet Yegedeb" before building dam to collect water let us "build" a dam to check on a poison called racism is a rallying cry by Ethiopians.
Sheik Khalid reminded us what Woyane did in May 2005. Woyane played effectively Muslims VS Christians. " If Kinijit captured power the Muslims were told the end of their fifteen years of religious freedom". The Muslims though most of them voted for Kinijit did not stand with fellow Ethiopians to call for their vote to be counted. Woyane resurrected for vengeance !!!! Business who supported Kinijit lost their livelihood and now most retail and wholesale is under control of Woyanes.
Sheik Khalid did not hide his disappointment for fellow Ethiopian Christians not joining the Muslim struggle "Dimtsachen Yesema", Let our Voice be Heard a more than 16 month peaceful struggle which shook Woyane's foundation of ethnic division as was expected. He said our community need to come together and take back our country.
We compliment Sheik Khalid by calling Christians to take their Sunday as a day of prayer and a day to stand with those monks at Waldiba, fellow Christian farmers who are kicked from their land and fellow Muslims who have been struggling for Woyane to get out of Mosques and Islamic Institutions, for Abay Tsehai and Sibhat Nega to get out of our church affairs.
We the believers should take this matter into our own hands back home and here in Diaspora. Priests and church administrators who are on our way should be condemned as cowards who bow for the devil. Let us tell them that this is our Christian Obligation to stand with fellow Orthodox Christians and fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Protest in City Heights of Controversial Ethiopian Consulate Meeting
By Anna Daniels
in Activism, Culture, Politics
Editor's Note -- As usual, government hirelings used foul language to discredit an otherwise excellent report by Anna Daniels. They tried to confuse the reporter by telling her how 'ignorant' she was about the political reality in Ethiopia, etc. Even the US State Dept's report on human rights violations that Anna quoated couldn't stop the cyber zombies from doing the dirty job for the dictatorial regime. A few pro-democracy activists tried to back up Anna with her report but they were outnumbered online. In reality, the propagandists are few in number as compared to the presence of opposition supporters in the Diaspora, and that strength should reflect at the cyber war as well.
Lines of taxicabs were parked along Fairmount Avenue in City Heights yesterday afternoon–Sunday April 28. Police cars were parked in front of the Golden Hall East African Community and Cultural Center where approximately sixty people were holding a protest that spilled into the adjacent parking lot. Signs with “Stop Human Rights Abuses” were visible among the group waving Ethiopian and American flags.
According to protesters, the Ethiopian Consulate from Los Angeles was barricaded inside the cultural center with an undetermined number of members of the San Diego and Los Angeles Ethiopian Community. The Consulate was attending a widely publicized meeting to promote the purchase of bonds to build a controversial dam in Ethiopia that threatens the livelihood of thousands of indigenous peoples.
Protesters maintained that flyers advertising the meeting had been
Protesters were anxious to describe the current conditions in Ethiopia under a government led by the minority Tigray tribe. Someone handed me the 2012 US State Department Human Rights Watch which detailed the Ethiopian government suppression of journalists and bloggers and the alarming incidences of imprisonment and torture. There is no independent press in Ethiopia and dissenting political views are often treated as “terrorism.”
The enormous dam under construction in Ethiopia, undertaken by the current government/Tigray minority, has become a flash point for inter-tribal tensions. The protesters represented non-Tigray ethnic and tribal groups who described being left out of the dam planning process, despite the profound impacts it would have upon their villages.
Because the funding for the dam has not been fully secured, the government has demanded that the populace pay directly for the needed bonds. Protesters described the pressure brought to bear on businesses and individuals to make “donations” for the bonds. Protesters that I spoke with emphasized that dissenters are imprisoned under horrendous conditions. “We have freedom here in this country, but our families have no such freedom,” was repeated by men and women holding both the American and Ethiopian flags.Read full story on SanDiegoFreePress.org
in Activism, Culture, Politics
Editor's Note -- As usual, government hirelings used foul language to discredit an otherwise excellent report by Anna Daniels. They tried to confuse the reporter by telling her how 'ignorant' she was about the political reality in Ethiopia, etc. Even the US State Dept's report on human rights violations that Anna quoated couldn't stop the cyber zombies from doing the dirty job for the dictatorial regime. A few pro-democracy activists tried to back up Anna with her report but they were outnumbered online. In reality, the propagandists are few in number as compared to the presence of opposition supporters in the Diaspora, and that strength should reflect at the cyber war as well.
Lines of taxicabs were parked along Fairmount Avenue in City Heights yesterday afternoon–Sunday April 28. Police cars were parked in front of the Golden Hall East African Community and Cultural Center where approximately sixty people were holding a protest that spilled into the adjacent parking lot. Signs with “Stop Human Rights Abuses” were visible among the group waving Ethiopian and American flags.
According to protesters, the Ethiopian Consulate from Los Angeles was barricaded inside the cultural center with an undetermined number of members of the San Diego and Los Angeles Ethiopian Community. The Consulate was attending a widely publicized meeting to promote the purchase of bonds to build a controversial dam in Ethiopia that threatens the livelihood of thousands of indigenous peoples.
Protesters maintained that flyers advertising the meeting had been
Ethiopian_invitation_2013-04-28_2left in City Heights Ethiopian markets and restaurants. One woman told me that when the protesting group entered the cultural center they were met with invectives, hostility and intimidation before being dispersed from the meeting which had been publicized as open to the public.
Protesters were anxious to describe the current conditions in Ethiopia under a government led by the minority Tigray tribe. Someone handed me the 2012 US State Department Human Rights Watch which detailed the Ethiopian government suppression of journalists and bloggers and the alarming incidences of imprisonment and torture. There is no independent press in Ethiopia and dissenting political views are often treated as “terrorism.”
The enormous dam under construction in Ethiopia, undertaken by the current government/Tigray minority, has become a flash point for inter-tribal tensions. The protesters represented non-Tigray ethnic and tribal groups who described being left out of the dam planning process, despite the profound impacts it would have upon their villages.
Because the funding for the dam has not been fully secured, the government has demanded that the populace pay directly for the needed bonds. Protesters described the pressure brought to bear on businesses and individuals to make “donations” for the bonds. Protesters that I spoke with emphasized that dissenters are imprisoned under horrendous conditions. “We have freedom here in this country, but our families have no such freedom,” was repeated by men and women holding both the American and Ethiopian flags.Read full story on SanDiegoFreePress.org
Needs of Ethiopia’s Street Children not Met, Aid Group Says
Azeb Adefrsew, a researcher with Save the Children, said the limited services provided by local NGOs do not match what the kids see as their greatest needs. “The children say that their major problem was shelter. But the street children organizations were providing mainly food and other items, clothing and so on," Adefrsew explained. "But the children were not satisfied with the services they were receiving.”
Save the Children interviewed kids living on the streets in five major cities, three regional towns and eight rural villages across Ethiopia. The children discussed a wide range of topics, including their needs, health and risks.
There are about 30,000 street children in Ethiopia, with 17,000 in capital city, Addis Ababa, alone. More than half of these kids do not have access to shelter or adequate food.
They mostly survive on what they receive from shining shoes, selling small items to passersby and begging.
There are health risks. Research data indicate some 30 percent are seriously sick, but most do not have access to any kind of treatment. And about 40 percent give indications they have been forced to have sex. Shelter is seen by the kids as way of reducing these kinds of risks.
GOAL Ethiopia is an NGO that facilitates services for street children such as psychological support, non-formal education and guidance on how to reintegrate back into their communities.
Kedir Ahmed of GOAL Ethiopia acknowledged the findings in the study, but said providing a shelter is not the best way to help street kids. “No organization can afford to provide all these services for the children. What we try to do is to do that rehabilitation support while street children are still on the street. So in the environment where all the resistance and the problem is still happening, if you provide the rehabilitation support, they can change their life,” he noted.
GOAL used to provide shelter for street children, but found that it discouraged the children from re-entering their own communities. In most cases, the children had left home because of poverty, and shelters were often more comfortable than the family homes.
The British organization Retrack provides 300 street children in Addis Ababa with shelter. The aid group's country director, Lynn Kay, believes poverty also needs to be tackled because it is a major reason why children leave home. "Poverty is a major push factor for children to move on to the street, that’s our experience with the children," she said. "Also, I think what would be great to see is money being channeled to help children to reintegrate with their families instead of being placed in institutions, where we know that the care for children is not good for children. Children don’t do well in institutions.”
The Ethiopian government is currently in the final stages of completing the National Social Protection Strategy that also includes a new child policy. New approaches and structural changes will be included for vulnerable children -- such as supporting families to reduce poverty and keep children off the streets. The government is reaching out to international organizations to make the new policy happen.
EHSNA Summer 2013 Festival Announcement
For Immediate Release – April 30, 2013
Mark Your Calendar! (July 26th-July 28th, 2013)
Time flies & summer is right down at the corner!
The Ethiopian Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA) is holding its third and biggest annual event in Washington DC this summer from July 26th to July 28th of 2013. We would like every Ethiopian and friends of Ethiopia to get ready to join us during this memorable sensational event.
It is with great pleasure we announce the third Ethiopian Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA) venue and the return of North American’s largest Ethiopian annual cultural and inheritance festival to the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.
For the last two years, EHSNA has proven itself as the bed rock that unwaveringly cares for Ethiopian culture and heritage. Aside from celebrating the victory of Adwa, EHSNA also establishes a magnificent platform to introduce the Ethiopian richness in diversity, culture, tradition and exceptional heritage by being a central pillar for Ethiopians, irrespective of their religions, ethnicity and political backgrounds. EHSNA is also connecting all Ethiopians by enriching our culture and traditions and strengthening our community. This celebration is for all Ethiopians and the friends of Ethiopia where ever they may be.
This year, after considering several recommendations from the community and combined with on our own firsthand experience from the previous two years’ extremely effective festival, EHSNA will have a unique, family oriented, unparalleled event. The coming festival will show cases enormously extraordinary entertaining programs including soccer tournament, track and field, fashion show, live band music by legend and famous Ethiopian singers, art exhibition and other exciting activities for three days in a row. There will be lectures and educational panel discussions on various topics whose main focus will be the rich heritage we proudly inherited from our ancestors.
We continue to look for volunteers to join one of our subcommittees in areas of their interest or expertise. We are also seeking additional corporate sponsors as well.
Stay tuned and keep visiting our website for the announcement of the event. More information will be up coming soon, since the members of EHSNA are already hard at work to make this festival memorable and elegant.
Until the days of this festival, we invite you to help us spread the word among family members, friends and others. And make sure you save the dates! (July 26th – July 28th).
For more information, questions and suggestions, please email us at pr@ehsna.org or call us (202) 596 -1964.
Kaleb Amare
EHSNA PR
pr@ehsna.org
STOP ETHNIC CLEANSING IN ETHIOPIA: DEMONSTRATION IN GENEVA
A CALL FOR A DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE UN GENEVA OFFICE
WE CALL ON ALL ETHIOPIANS AND FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE TO JOIN US
IN OUR PROTEST AGAINST THE ETHNIC CLEANSING AND INHUMAN DEPORTATION OF
ETHIOPIANS INSIDE THEIR OWN COUNTRY BY THE RULING BRUTAL REGIME
DATE: 08 MAY 2013
STARTING TIME: 13:00
PLACE: IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE IN GENEVA
(PLACE DE NATION – GENEVA)
YOU MAY CALL THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS FOR ADDITIONAL INFO
+41797768773
+41799483736
+41794798904
DATE: 08 MAY 2013
STARTING TIME: 13:00
PLACE: IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE IN GENEVA
(PLACE DE NATION – GENEVA)
YOU MAY CALL THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS FOR ADDITIONAL INFO
+41797768773
+41799483736
+41794798904
Ethiopia: Workers protest in Lebanon
Subhead: The sponsorship system for foreign workers is like modern-day
slavery, particularly for the 200,000 female domestic workers in Lebanon, say critics. They want to stop employers from seizing
passports and operating outside the labor laws. Byline: Sabah Haider
Migrant workers rallied in Beirut on Sunday, demanding an end to the current sponsorship system in Lebanon.
Credit: Sabah Haider.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (WOMENSENEWS)–Late Sunday morning here, as thousands of young men swam in the Mediterranean Sea and sunbathed on the rocks, the sound of chanting voices drifted down from the cliff-side road above.
Hundreds of local activists and migrant workers from across Asia and Africa were walking along the corniche, carrying placards that said “No More Suicides” and “Give Us The Right To Live.”
It was April 28, the day that Lebanese workers and advocates chose to celebrate International Workers’ Day, which officially falls on May 1.
The protesters marched along the seaside towards the city’s Sanayeh Park, where they had lunch and groups from various migrant worker communities performed cultural dances.
Lebanon is well known for the internal ethnic divisions of its multicultural population, but this crowd was focused on the common, harsh face the country turns outward to foreign workers through the Kefala sponsorship system, which gives employers almost unchecked control; free from labor laws.
Migrant workers in Lebanon mostly come from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Nepal and Ethiopia, among many other Asian and African countries.
If they are women they are mainly employed as domestic workers; if male they join the ranks of the city’s sanitation workers and laborers.
Female migrant workers number more than 200,000 in the country, and over the years many who face abuse have committed suicide. Human Rights Watch estimates that an average of one migrant domestic worker dies in Lebanon every week, mostly from suicide or while attempting to escape abusive employers.
The protest march is part of a fast-growing advocacy effort to raise public awareness of the problems inherent in the Kefala system–both for employers and workers–and to abolish it.
Reformers say they want workers to have the protections of the country’s labor law, which means they would earn the right to receive their salaries, to have a day off, to have a maximum number of work hours, to have the right to leave the home and not be locked in, to be able to hold on to their own passports and to quit their jobs if they want to.
None of these rights currently exist for the country’s migrant workers.
Galvanizing Moment
A galvanizing moment for the cause of ending the Kefala system came in 2012, when an amateur videographer used his mobile phone to capture an Ethiopian domestic worker lying on the sidewalk in pain outside the Ethiopian embassy. The worker was then attacked by Lebanese men and dragged by her hair and shoved into a car. The footage was leaked on the Internet and went viral, with the Lebanese media also picking up the story. She committed suicide a few days later.
“The Kefala system is similar to modern-day slavery in our opinion,” said Maya Ammar, communications officer at KAFA, a nongovernmental group organizing the demonstration, whose name means “enough violence and exploitation in Lebanon and the Middle East.”
The group–established in 2005 and pulling together rights activists who have been active in Lebanon for decades–has a mission of ending gender-based violence and exploitation of women and children through advocating for legal reform and change of policies and practices, influencing public opinion and empowering women and children.
KAFA worked with a number of other local advocacy groups to hold the event for the second year last weekend.
“Fi Shi Ghalat,” Arabic for “There’s something wrong,” is a media campaign the organizing groups of the April 28 demonstration launched two months ago, to raise awareness.
“This is the second year we’re doing this event on Workers’ Day because domestic work is work, and here it’s not recognized as real work by society, by the system and by the law,” said Ammar. “We want Workers’ Day to be inclusive, to represent their demand to end the Kefala system and for them to be included under the labor law.”
‘Right Now We Are Suffering’
Mohammed Bashan is president of a Bangladeshi migrant worker community association in Lebanon. “We all want the governments to sponsor us, and we want our governments, our labor ministries in Bangladesh and Lebanon, to negotiate and respect our terms and make sure we are paid, that we can keep our IDs and we have proper insurance and contracts. Right now we are suffering,” he said.
The Kefala system was established in Lebanon over five decades ago, and it ties a migrant domestic worker’s residence permit to one specific sponsor or employer in the country.
In practice, however, migrant domestic workers are excluded from the labor law, making them vulnerable to exploitation and compromising their rights, according to a 2012 report from KAFA. Migrant workers and their advocates consider it a system for denying dignity, freedom and basic working conditions.
“We come here to work, but are not given the rights to live here,” said Mado Dioman, a domestic worker who came to Lebanon from the Ivory Coast three years ago and attended the weekend rally.
The Gulf Arab state of Bahrain abolished its Kefala system in 2009.
KAFA’s Ammar said that abolishing the Kefala system in Lebanon would help employers as well, an idea her group is trying to publicize. “The relationship should be of an employer and an employee protected under labor law that ensures a minimum wage and better insurance and working hours for the workers. Abolishing the Kefala system would enable both parties to end their relationship without a penalty,” she said.
Protecting an Investment
Ammar said the Kefala system is also hard on employers because it requires them to spend a lot of money for the necessary permits to sponsor the employee and then forces them to become the sole legal guardian of their employee. This pressure can be a trigger for abusive behavior in what is ultimately a master-servant relationship.
Migrant workers rallied in Beirut on Sunday, demanding an end to the current sponsorship system in Lebanon.
Credit: Sabah Haider.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (WOMENSENEWS)–Late Sunday morning here, as thousands of young men swam in the Mediterranean Sea and sunbathed on the rocks, the sound of chanting voices drifted down from the cliff-side road above.
Hundreds of local activists and migrant workers from across Asia and Africa were walking along the corniche, carrying placards that said “No More Suicides” and “Give Us The Right To Live.”
It was April 28, the day that Lebanese workers and advocates chose to celebrate International Workers’ Day, which officially falls on May 1.
The protesters marched along the seaside towards the city’s Sanayeh Park, where they had lunch and groups from various migrant worker communities performed cultural dances.
Lebanon is well known for the internal ethnic divisions of its multicultural population, but this crowd was focused on the common, harsh face the country turns outward to foreign workers through the Kefala sponsorship system, which gives employers almost unchecked control; free from labor laws.
Migrant workers in Lebanon mostly come from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Nepal and Ethiopia, among many other Asian and African countries.
If they are women they are mainly employed as domestic workers; if male they join the ranks of the city’s sanitation workers and laborers.
Female migrant workers number more than 200,000 in the country, and over the years many who face abuse have committed suicide. Human Rights Watch estimates that an average of one migrant domestic worker dies in Lebanon every week, mostly from suicide or while attempting to escape abusive employers.
The protest march is part of a fast-growing advocacy effort to raise public awareness of the problems inherent in the Kefala system–both for employers and workers–and to abolish it.
Reformers say they want workers to have the protections of the country’s labor law, which means they would earn the right to receive their salaries, to have a day off, to have a maximum number of work hours, to have the right to leave the home and not be locked in, to be able to hold on to their own passports and to quit their jobs if they want to.
None of these rights currently exist for the country’s migrant workers.
Galvanizing Moment
A galvanizing moment for the cause of ending the Kefala system came in 2012, when an amateur videographer used his mobile phone to capture an Ethiopian domestic worker lying on the sidewalk in pain outside the Ethiopian embassy. The worker was then attacked by Lebanese men and dragged by her hair and shoved into a car. The footage was leaked on the Internet and went viral, with the Lebanese media also picking up the story. She committed suicide a few days later.
“The Kefala system is similar to modern-day slavery in our opinion,” said Maya Ammar, communications officer at KAFA, a nongovernmental group organizing the demonstration, whose name means “enough violence and exploitation in Lebanon and the Middle East.”
The group–established in 2005 and pulling together rights activists who have been active in Lebanon for decades–has a mission of ending gender-based violence and exploitation of women and children through advocating for legal reform and change of policies and practices, influencing public opinion and empowering women and children.
KAFA worked with a number of other local advocacy groups to hold the event for the second year last weekend.
“Fi Shi Ghalat,” Arabic for “There’s something wrong,” is a media campaign the organizing groups of the April 28 demonstration launched two months ago, to raise awareness.
“This is the second year we’re doing this event on Workers’ Day because domestic work is work, and here it’s not recognized as real work by society, by the system and by the law,” said Ammar. “We want Workers’ Day to be inclusive, to represent their demand to end the Kefala system and for them to be included under the labor law.”
‘Right Now We Are Suffering’
Mohammed Bashan is president of a Bangladeshi migrant worker community association in Lebanon. “We all want the governments to sponsor us, and we want our governments, our labor ministries in Bangladesh and Lebanon, to negotiate and respect our terms and make sure we are paid, that we can keep our IDs and we have proper insurance and contracts. Right now we are suffering,” he said.
The Kefala system was established in Lebanon over five decades ago, and it ties a migrant domestic worker’s residence permit to one specific sponsor or employer in the country.
In practice, however, migrant domestic workers are excluded from the labor law, making them vulnerable to exploitation and compromising their rights, according to a 2012 report from KAFA. Migrant workers and their advocates consider it a system for denying dignity, freedom and basic working conditions.
“We come here to work, but are not given the rights to live here,” said Mado Dioman, a domestic worker who came to Lebanon from the Ivory Coast three years ago and attended the weekend rally.
The Gulf Arab state of Bahrain abolished its Kefala system in 2009.
KAFA’s Ammar said that abolishing the Kefala system in Lebanon would help employers as well, an idea her group is trying to publicize. “The relationship should be of an employer and an employee protected under labor law that ensures a minimum wage and better insurance and working hours for the workers. Abolishing the Kefala system would enable both parties to end their relationship without a penalty,” she said.
Protecting an Investment
Ammar said the Kefala system is also hard on employers because it requires them to spend a lot of money for the necessary permits to sponsor the employee and then forces them to become the sole legal guardian of their employee. This pressure can be a trigger for abusive behavior in what is ultimately a master-servant relationship.
PDFየፐርዝ፣ አውስትራልያ ከተማ ኗሪዎች የዘር ማጥፋት ሰለባ ለሆነው ወገናቸው ደራሽ ለመሆን ተንቀሳቀሱ
የወያኔ ኢ.ሓ.ድ.ግ. መንግሥት በተለያዩ ክልሎች፣ በተለይም በቤኒሻንጉል-ጉሙዝና በጉራፈረዳ፣ በአማራ ተወላጆች ላይ
የከፈተው የዘር ማጥፋት ዘመቻ ያሳዘናቸውና ያስቆጣቸው በምእራብ አውስትራሊያ የፐርዝ ከተማ ኗሪዎች ሰሞኑን በመሰባሰብ ለጥቃቱ
ምላሽ ሰጥተዋል። ጥቃቱ በጥልቅ የተሰማቸው እነዚሁ የፐርዝ ኗርዎች በመጀመሪያ ኤፕሪል 14 ቀን 2013 ተገናኝተው ምን
እናድርግ? በማለት በሰፊው የተመካከሩ ሲሆን፣ እንደገናም ኤፕሪል 21 ቀን 2013 ለሁለተኛ ጊዜ በመሰባሰብ አምስት አባላት
ያሉት አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴ በመምረጥና ወደ ተግባራዊ እንቅዝቃሴ በመሸጋገር ገንዘብ ማሰባሰብ ጀምረዋል።
አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው መቋቋሙን ተከትሎ እንቅስቃቅሴው ስፋትና ጥለቀት ያገኘ ሲሆን፣ በተለይ ኤፕሪል 28 ቀን 2013 በተካሄደው ስብሰባ እርዳታው ለጥቃቱ ሰለባዎች በትክክል የሚደርሰበት ያአፈጻጸም ስልትና አብዛኛው የፐርዝ ኗሪ ኢትዮጵያዊ በእንቅስቃቅሴው በቀጣይነት ሊሳተፍ የሚችልበት እድል በሰፊው ተመክሮበታል። በስብሰባው ላይ ታዋቂውን ሃገር ወዳድ አቶ ገብረመድህን አርአያን ጨምሮ በተለያዩ ሙያዎች ለሃገርና ለወገን አስተዋጾ የሚያደርጉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ተካፋይ ሆነዋል።
በዚሁ መሰረት እስከ አሁን ለተፈቃነሉት ወገኖቻችን መርጃ $10,200.00 (አስር ሺህ ሁለት መቶ ዶላር) የተዋጣ መሆኑን አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው አስታውቋል። እርዳታው ገና ተጠናክሮ የሚቀጥል መሆኑንም በተጨማሪ ገልጿል።
እሁድ ኤፕሪል 28 ቀን 2013 ከቀኑ 2፡00 እስከ 6፡00ፒ.ኤም. በሎፍተስ የመዝናኛ አዳራሽ በተካሄድው በዚሁ ስብሰባ ላይ የኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ከተለያየ አቅጣጫ በሰፊው የተገመገመ ሲሆን የሚከተሉት ነጥቦች በጉልህ ታሳቢ ሆነው ነበር፤
1. የስርዓቱ መሪ የሆነው ህዝባዊ ወያኔ ሓርነት ትግራይ (ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት) ሥልጣን ለመጨበጥም ሆነ በሥልጣን ላይ ለመቆየት የቀየሰው ቀዳሚ እስትራቴጂ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ በዘርና በሃይምኖት መከፋፈል መሆኑ ተወስቶ በዚህ አኳያ በተለይ አማራውን በጠላትነት በመፈረጅ የማያቋርጥ ጥቃት እንዲፈጸምበት መደረጉና የአሁኑ የአማሮች መፈናቀልም የዚያው ዓላማ ቀጣይ ተግባር መሆኑ ተሰምሮበታል፤
2. አሁን በመካሄድ ላይ ያለው አማሮችን የማፈናቀል ዘመቻ በህ.ወ.ሓ.ት መሪዎች አዝማችነት የሚካሄድ ዘር-የማጥፋትና ጸረ-የሰው ዘር ወንጀል በመሆኑ፣ ወንጀለኞቹን ለመፋረድ የሚቻልበት ዘዴ ተመክሮበታል፤
3. ዛሬ በሁሉም ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ፣ በተለይም፣ በአማሮች፣ በጋንቤላዎች፣ በአፋሮችና በሌሎችም ላይ የሚደርሰው የሰብአዊ መብት ረገጣ፣ የዘረኝነት፣ የሃብት ዘረፍና የማፈናቀል ተግባር፣ የኑሮ ውድቀትና ስደት በአጠቃላይ በሕዝቡ ላይ የተጣሉት ማህበራዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ ችግሮች የወያኔ ስርዓት ከስሩ ሲገረሰስ ብቻ የሚወገዱ በመሆኑ ሁሉም ወገን ስርዓቱን ለማንኮታኮት በጋራ እንዲነሳ ጥሪ ተደርጓል፤
4. ተስፋ ሰጪ ከሆኑት የቅርብ ጊዜ ክስተቶች መካከል ደግሞ በነባሮቹ የኦሮም ነጻነት ግንባር መሪዎች አዲስ የተቋቋመው የኦሮሞ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር (ኦ.ዲ.ግ.) ወደ መድረኩ መምጣትና የኢሳት መጠናከር መበረታታትና መደገፍ ያለባቸው እድገቶች መሆናቸው ተወስቷል።
በመጨረሻም ከሁሉም ነገር በላይ አሁን ተፈናቅለው በስቃይ ላይ ለሚገኙት ወገኖቻችን የድረሱልን ጥሪ አፋጣኝ ምላሽ መስጠት አጣዳፊ ተግባር በመሆኑ ገንዘብ የማዋጣቱ ተሳትፎ ተጠናክሮ እንዲቀጥል ጽኑ ማሳሰቢያ ተሰጥቶ ስብሰብው ተጠናቋል።
ኢትዮጵያ በክብር ለዘለዓለም ትኑር!!
አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው
አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው መቋቋሙን ተከትሎ እንቅስቃቅሴው ስፋትና ጥለቀት ያገኘ ሲሆን፣ በተለይ ኤፕሪል 28 ቀን 2013 በተካሄደው ስብሰባ እርዳታው ለጥቃቱ ሰለባዎች በትክክል የሚደርሰበት ያአፈጻጸም ስልትና አብዛኛው የፐርዝ ኗሪ ኢትዮጵያዊ በእንቅስቃቅሴው በቀጣይነት ሊሳተፍ የሚችልበት እድል በሰፊው ተመክሮበታል። በስብሰባው ላይ ታዋቂውን ሃገር ወዳድ አቶ ገብረመድህን አርአያን ጨምሮ በተለያዩ ሙያዎች ለሃገርና ለወገን አስተዋጾ የሚያደርጉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ተካፋይ ሆነዋል።
በዚሁ መሰረት እስከ አሁን ለተፈቃነሉት ወገኖቻችን መርጃ $10,200.00 (አስር ሺህ ሁለት መቶ ዶላር) የተዋጣ መሆኑን አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው አስታውቋል። እርዳታው ገና ተጠናክሮ የሚቀጥል መሆኑንም በተጨማሪ ገልጿል።
እሁድ ኤፕሪል 28 ቀን 2013 ከቀኑ 2፡00 እስከ 6፡00ፒ.ኤም. በሎፍተስ የመዝናኛ አዳራሽ በተካሄድው በዚሁ ስብሰባ ላይ የኢትዮጵያ ሁኔታ ከተለያየ አቅጣጫ በሰፊው የተገመገመ ሲሆን የሚከተሉት ነጥቦች በጉልህ ታሳቢ ሆነው ነበር፤
1. የስርዓቱ መሪ የሆነው ህዝባዊ ወያኔ ሓርነት ትግራይ (ህ.ወ.ሓ.ት) ሥልጣን ለመጨበጥም ሆነ በሥልጣን ላይ ለመቆየት የቀየሰው ቀዳሚ እስትራቴጂ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ በዘርና በሃይምኖት መከፋፈል መሆኑ ተወስቶ በዚህ አኳያ በተለይ አማራውን በጠላትነት በመፈረጅ የማያቋርጥ ጥቃት እንዲፈጸምበት መደረጉና የአሁኑ የአማሮች መፈናቀልም የዚያው ዓላማ ቀጣይ ተግባር መሆኑ ተሰምሮበታል፤
2. አሁን በመካሄድ ላይ ያለው አማሮችን የማፈናቀል ዘመቻ በህ.ወ.ሓ.ት መሪዎች አዝማችነት የሚካሄድ ዘር-የማጥፋትና ጸረ-የሰው ዘር ወንጀል በመሆኑ፣ ወንጀለኞቹን ለመፋረድ የሚቻልበት ዘዴ ተመክሮበታል፤
3. ዛሬ በሁሉም ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ፣ በተለይም፣ በአማሮች፣ በጋንቤላዎች፣ በአፋሮችና በሌሎችም ላይ የሚደርሰው የሰብአዊ መብት ረገጣ፣ የዘረኝነት፣ የሃብት ዘረፍና የማፈናቀል ተግባር፣ የኑሮ ውድቀትና ስደት በአጠቃላይ በሕዝቡ ላይ የተጣሉት ማህበራዊ፣ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ ችግሮች የወያኔ ስርዓት ከስሩ ሲገረሰስ ብቻ የሚወገዱ በመሆኑ ሁሉም ወገን ስርዓቱን ለማንኮታኮት በጋራ እንዲነሳ ጥሪ ተደርጓል፤
4. ተስፋ ሰጪ ከሆኑት የቅርብ ጊዜ ክስተቶች መካከል ደግሞ በነባሮቹ የኦሮም ነጻነት ግንባር መሪዎች አዲስ የተቋቋመው የኦሮሞ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር (ኦ.ዲ.ግ.) ወደ መድረኩ መምጣትና የኢሳት መጠናከር መበረታታትና መደገፍ ያለባቸው እድገቶች መሆናቸው ተወስቷል።
በመጨረሻም ከሁሉም ነገር በላይ አሁን ተፈናቅለው በስቃይ ላይ ለሚገኙት ወገኖቻችን የድረሱልን ጥሪ አፋጣኝ ምላሽ መስጠት አጣዳፊ ተግባር በመሆኑ ገንዘብ የማዋጣቱ ተሳትፎ ተጠናክሮ እንዲቀጥል ጽኑ ማሳሰቢያ ተሰጥቶ ስብሰብው ተጠናቋል።
ኢትዮጵያ በክብር ለዘለዓለም ትኑር!!
አስተባባሪ ኮሚቴው
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