2020 April 19 archive at Tadias Magazine

Archive for April 19th, 2020

COVID19: Interview with Dr. Tsion Firew

Published by Tadias Magazine April 19th, 2020 in Featured. Closed

Dr. Tsion Firew is Doctor of Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor at Columbia University. She is also Special Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

By Liben Eabisa

Updated: April 19th, 2020

Interview with Dr. Tsion Firew, Doctor on the Frontline in NYC

New York (TADIAS) — In New York City, which has now become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, working as a medical professional means literally going to a “war zone,” says physician Tsion Firew, a Doctor of Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor at Columbia University, who has just recovered from COVID-19 and returned to work a few days ago.

“You’ve slained our colleagues, disrupted communities, but I return to the battlefield fixed on the light that whispers a promise we will win this fight,” she shared on social media recently announcing her recovery. “So happy to be back, recuperated & armored with an antibody!”

Indeed the statistics coming out of New York are simply shocking with the state recording a sharp increase in death toll this months surpassing 10,000 and growing. According to The New York Times: “The numbers brought into clearer focus the staggering toll the virus has already taken on the largest city in the United States, where deserted streets are haunted by the near-constant howl of ambulance sirens. Far more people have died in New York City, on a per-capita basis, than in Italy — the hardest-hit country in Europe.”

At the heart of the solution both in the U.S. and around the world is more testing and adhering to social distancing rules until such time as a proper treatment and vaccine is discovered, says Dr. Tsion, who is also a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia.

Dr. Tsion adds that at this moment “we all as humanity have one enemy: the virus. And what’s going to win the fight is solidarity.”

Below is an audio of my interview with Dr. Tsion Firew.

COVID-19 and Its Impact on African Economies: Q&A with Prof. Lemma Senbet

Webinar on COVID-19 and Mental Health: Interview with Dr. Seble Frehywot

Ethiopia COVID-19 Response Team: Interview with Mike Endale

Ethio-American Tech Company PhantomALERT Offers Free App to Track & Map COVID-19 Outbreak

‘Your Safety is Our Priority’: How Ethiopian Airlines is Navigating the Global Virus Crisis

Inspiring Amharic Poetry: A Reflection by Shimelis Amare (YouTube)

Getting Through COVID 19: ECMAA Shares Resources With Ethiopian Community

Maryland Issues COVID-19 Fact Sheet in Amharic for Ethiopian Community

Art in the Time of Coronavirus: Guide to Virtual Exhibitions from Ethiopia to U.S.

We Need Seismic Change, Right Now: by Marcus Samuelsson

City Sleeps: A Look At The Empty NYC Streets Amid The Virus – In Pictures

Ethiopia enforces 14-day quarantine for all travelers

Diaspora-based Tech Professionals Launch Ethiopia COVID-19 Response Task Force

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Hopeful & Inspiring Stories Shared by Obama

Pleas to Diaspora to Assist Coronavirus First Responders in Ethiopia

Coronavirus Sparks an Epidemic of People Helping People in Seattle

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Athletics@Home – ‘Color the Stars’ Series Features Olympic Icon Tirunesh Dibaba

Published by Tadias Magazine April 19th, 2020 in Events. Closed

With most international athletics competitions either canceled or postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic the World Athletics website has launched a downloadable 'color the stars' series for kids featuring iconic sports figures, including this week's highlight Tirunesh Dibaba. (Image: World Athletics)

World Athletics

Updated: April 23rd, 2020

Athletics@Home – colour the stars!

Have some crayons or coloured pencils? Then get to work colouring and getting to know some of our sport’s biggest stars.

We continue with two more all-time greats: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia and Japan’s Koji Murofushi.

Dibaba is one of the finest distance runners ever, having collected two world 5000m titles, three world 10,000m crowns, three Olympic gold and four world cross country triumphs. Murofushi, the 2004 Olympic champion in the hammer throw, also spun to the world title in 2011.

Download the pictures, get them printed and get to work.

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‘Hope’ Artist Honors Essential Workers

Published by Tadias Magazine April 19th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

The work is part of a series from Adobe honoring essential workers. (Shepard Fairey, Guts Not Glory, part of Adobe's "Honor Heroes" campaign. Courtesy of the artist and Adobe)

Art World | Artnet News

‘Hope’ Artist Shepard Fairey Has Made a New Series of Freely Downloadable Posters to Celebrate the Bravery of Healthcare Workers

Street artist Shepard Fairey has joined forces with Adobe to create a new series of works that celebrate the health care workers and volunteers on the front lines of the global pandemic. Titled “Honor Heroes,” the works represent essential workers of all stripes, from mail carriers and grocery store employees to teachers and sanitation works, as well as doctors, nurses, and first responders.

One work, Fairey’s Guts Not Glory, depicts a medical professional armed with a stethoscope in his graphic, color blocked style. “Guts Not Glory is an illustration of one of the many healthcare workers whose selfless acts of compassion and service are always meaningful, but at this moment are especially heroic,” Fairey said in a statement. “I’m inspired to glorify those who don’t seek glory, but rather to serve humanity when it is most challenged. I want the portrait to emanate the comforting warmth and empathy healthcare workers provide in the midst of anxiety and crisis.”

Fairey, who rose to fame with his OBEY Giant street art in the 1990s, has struck a chord in the past with poster-style works that respond to current events. He designed the instant classic Hope poster for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, and, eight years later, he created a suite of feminist images, titled “We the People,” for the Women’s March that protested the election of Donald Trump.

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Ethiopia’s Eritrea Asylum Policy Criticized

Published by Tadias Magazine April 19th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Eritrean refugee children play within Hitsats refugee camp near the Eritrean boarder, Tigrai region, November 9, 2017. (Photo via HRW)

The Associated Press

By ELIAS MESERET

Updated: April 21st, 2020

Ethiopia’s New Stance on Eritrean Asylum-Seekers Criticized

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A change in asylum procedure by Ethiopia’s government is undermining neighboring Eritreans’ access to asylum and denying unaccompanied children the necessary protection, Human Rights Watch asserted Tuesday.

The rights group said Ethiopia in January changed its refugee policy that had granted all arriving Eritrean asylum seekers refugee status.

“Ethiopia has long welcomed tens of thousands of Eritreans fleeing persecution each year,” said Laetitia Bader, the group’s Horn of Africa director. “With no letup in repression in Eritrea, the Ethiopian government shouldn’t be denying protection to Eritrean nationals, particularly unaccompanied children.”

Eritrea’s system of forced military conscription leads thousands of people, mostly youth, to flee the country. Most go to Ethiopia, which currently hosts more than 170,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers.

Speaking to The Associated Press, the head of Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs said a lack of individual refugee status determination in the past has resulted in a high number of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.

“This uncontrolled practice has resulted in a high influx of unaccompanied minors, illegal migrants and others who do not fulfill the criteria laid out in international instruments,” Eyob Awoke said. “As such, we have initiated a strict modus operandi whose implementation will be applied to all nationalities hosted by Ethiopia.”

Eyob said that from now on, current conditions in countries of origin including human rights, security situations and socio-economic and humanitarian factors will be taken into account to ensure an “evidence-based process.”

Eyob also cited a funding cut from international partners and donors.

Eritreans make up some 22% of the more than 750,000 refugees that Ethiopia currently hosts, according to U.N. data. Another 44% of refugees come from neighboring South Sudan and 26% from neighboring Somalia.

Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018 ended two decades of hostilities by agreeing to end a border conflict and restoring ties. But rights groups have noted little sign of repressive measures being loosened inside Eritrea.

Human Rights Watch said some 6,000 Eritreans arrived in Ethiopia every month in 2019. According to the United Nations refugee agency, 44% of Eritrean refugees based in northern Ethiopia were children as of December.

“The refusal to register unaccompanied children may compel them to return to abusive situations,” Human Rights Watch said.

In March, Ethiopia announced it would close a refugee camp in the north that hosts more than 25,000 Eritreans, the group said, though the coronavirus pandemic has affected the timing.

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‘Ethiopia is my Home’: Syrian Chefs Build New Lives Fuelled by Shawarma

Published by Tadias Magazine April 19th, 2020 in Podcast. Closed

Adna Mohammed moved to Ethiopia in 2013 and now owns a successful shawarma restaurant in Addis Ababa. (The National)

The National

Updated: April 20th, 2020

Ethiopia’s asylum policies have made the country a rare refuge for Syrians fleeing conflict

When Maetz Lebhar visited Ethiopia for a conference on dairy products in 2015, he did not expect to be calling the country his home within the space of a year.

Attracted by the market potential of products from his native Syria, including accessories to make shawarma, the 37 year old returned the following year hoping to find a local partner to help expand his business, perhaps in the form of opening a restaurant. It wasn’t long before the work trip turned into a permanent visit.

“I lost my extended family in the [Syrian] conflict and all our properties turned to ashes. I made Ethiopia my home as my circumstances changed in the blink of an eye”, he told The National.

“In Addis, I have been welcomed and I have managed to make my living selling the delicacies of my home.”

Mr Labhar works as a chef in a local restaurant and earns ETB30, 000 a month (USD 950) close to the annual average wage of $985.

Ethiopia currently hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, at over one million refugees, mostly from Eritrea, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Now Syrians are joining their ranks, attracted by favourable asylum laws.

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