2015 April 29 archive at Tadias Magazine

Archive for April 29th, 2015

Ethiopia Drafts New Human Trafficking Law

Published by Tadias Magazine April 29th, 2015 in Podcast. Closed

File photo of Ethiopian Migrants in Yemen, near the Saudi border. (Photograph courtesy BBC News)

By ELIAS MESERET

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia is drafting a new law to stiffen punishments for human trafficking in an attempt to stem a wave of dangerous migrations to Europe, the Ministry of Justice said.

Ethiopian officials said they are working through their embassies in Khartoum, Sudan, and in Cairo to bring migrants back home. The Ethiopian ambassador in Egypt, Mohammed Dirir, said more than 190 Ethiopian migrants in the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi have so far registered to return home.

“We are also working with local authorities to secure the release of 40 Ethiopian migrants that are currently in a prison called Koyfiya around Benghazi (Libya),” Dirir told state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, told Parliament last week that most smugglers of Ethiopian migrants are Ethiopians. He said the smugglers have established networks in different migration routes.

The Ministry said human smuggling is increasing alarmingly despite measure taken previously by the government against people involved in trafficking people.

“The main reason for this is measures taken against individuals that are involved in human smuggling have not been severe enough,” Minister of Justice Getachew Ambaye told Fana. “We have established that smugglers are responsible for the current rise of migrants from the country.”

Ethiopia’s current laws stipulate prison terms ranging from five to 20 years for crimes related to human smuggling and a maximum fine of $2,500.

“These law provisions don’t go in line with the level of crime that is being committed by the smugglers so we are drafting a new law that will have severe terms,” Getachew said.
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Lamb: Yared Zeleke’s Film at Cannes 2015

Published by Tadias Magazine April 29th, 2015 in Featured. Closed

Filmmaker Yared Zeleke. (Photo via Manhattan Digest)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

New York (TADIAS) — Another movie from Ethiopia is creating a social media buzz in the international movie circuit. The latest comes from Yared Zeleke and is called Lamb, which tells the growing-up story of a 9 year-old boy named Ephraim and his friend Chuni in Ethiopia’s spectacular countryside during hard times. The feature drama, produced by Addis Ababa-based Slum Kid Films, has been selected to screen at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in France. It is the first time in the festival’s history that an Ethiopian film has been chosen for screening.

In an interview with the Manhattan Digest, Yared who holds an M.F.A. in Writing and Directing from New York University, said: “I grew up in the slums of Addis Ababa during one of the darkest periods of Ethiopia’s 3,000-year history. Emperor Haile Selassie had just been deposed in a military coup and the country was consequently thrown into cycles of war and famine. The ongoing conflict and chaos in my country caused me to also lose my family and home while a young boy. Despite the disturbances, I had a happy childhood.”

Yared now lives back in Addis Ababa and has “worked for various NGOs in Ethiopia, the U.S., Namibia, and Norway before pursuing filmmaking. Yared has written, produced, directed, and edited several short documentary (“Allula”) and fiction films (“Lottery Boy”). He also worked for director Joshua Litle on his award winning documentary, “The Furious Force of Rhymes.” In his native Ethiopia, Yared edited documentaries for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).”

He told the Manhattan Digest that “My first feature, Lamb, is analogous to my life’s journey in that it is deeply personal and inescapably political. It is a semi-autobiographical drama about the heart, heartache, and humor of everyday life in my homeland.”

In the film “Ephraim’s affection for Chuni deepened after he lost his mother to famine the year before. Consequently, his beloved father sends him and Chuni far away from their drought-stricken homeland to live with his distant relatives in a greener part of the country. Ephraim soon finds himself to be a homesick outcast who is always getting into trouble. When his uncle orders him to slaughter the sheep for the upcoming holiday feast, Ephraim devises a devious scheme to save Chuni and return to his homeland.”

Screenshot from Yared Zeleke’s new film “Lamb.”

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Photos: New York Ethiopians Hold Vigil in Times Square for Victims of ISIL Violence

Published by Tadias Magazine April 29th, 2015 in Featured. Closed

The NYC vigil was held on Tuesday, April 28th, 2015 at Times Square. (Photo by Tadias Magazine)

Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff

Published: Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

New York (TADIAS) — Hundreds from the Ethiopian community in the New York City area gathered at Times Square on Tuesday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the recent ISIL violence in Libya.

The NYC event included both Christian and Muslim religious leaders who condemned the murders and called for Ethiopians to stand united. Speakers included Abune Basilios, Kes Mezgebu Menkir of the Beata le Mariam Church, Imam Yisaq Ibrahim of the Ethiopian Muslim Community of New York and Abreham Desta of the Evangelical Church of NY.

Additional speakers were Professor Getachew Haile, community activist Makda Amare, and Tsegereda Mulugeta.

In her speech Makda, Chairperson of Humanitarian Organization for Ethiopians in Need of NY & NJ, shared with the crowd current statistics highlighting the continuing plight of female migrant workers in the Middle East as well as the victims of xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and countless Ethiopian citizens who are currently stranded in Yemen in the midst of civil war. Makda said her organization is working with International Organization for Migration (IOM) to help those in Yemen, but urged others to participate and also called on the Ethiopian government to do more.

The evening also featured songs and the lighting of candles.

Below are photos: