Horn of Africa This Week 6/14
This is the first edition of OPride.com’s weekly round up of news and analyses from around the Horn of Africa. Each Friday, our editorial intern Mebrat Tekle will catch you up with the most important headlines of the week from the Horn and its vast diaspora. Share the stories you are reading by using #HornStories on Twitter and Facebook.
Reflections on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
by Asfaw Beyene, Ph.D.
(OPride) – On a recent Sunday morning a friend called and asked me to tune-in to an online discussion forum on one of the Ethiopian Paltalk forums. 500 attendants, the maximum allowed per room, packed the voice chatting room. After several attempts, I was able to join the room, which was managed by a postmaster named Aba Mela whose civil tone was pleasing.
UNCHR urges Egypt to protect Ethiopian refugees
(OPride) – As Oromo refugees protested mistreatment by Egyptian nationals for the second day, some of them camping overnight in front of UNHCR office near Cairo, the UN body called on Egyptian authorities to provide better protection and other guarantees in accordance with its international obligations.
Oromo refugees in Egypt protest Nile dam backlash
(OPride) – At least 100 Oromo refugees living in Cairo gathered outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sunday to protest against increased harassment from Egyptians angry over Nile dam.
Dr. Muhammad Rashad Abdulle, eminent Oromo scholar and linguist, dies at 79
by Mohammed Ademo
Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Rashad Abdulle, a noted Oromo scholar, expert in Oromo and Somali languages and researcher died on May 25, 2013 in the city of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. He was 79.
Oromo refugees attacked in Egypt as the Nile crisis deepens
By Mohammed Ademo
(OPride) – An Oromo interpreter for UNHCR in Cairo was beaten, denied police services, and subsequently charged extra for medical care on Thursday in retaliation for Ethiopia’s diversion of the Nile River to build a $4.7 billion hydroelectric dam, according to locals.
Ethiopia: Activists turn to social media to demand freedom of assembly
by Dharra Budicha
(OPride) —An Ethiopian activist and blogger group, Zone9, has launched its third online campaign demanding the Ethiopian government respect citizens’ rights enshrined within the Horn of Africa nation’s constitution.
Blue Party on Ethiopia's checkered political map
(OPride) – In its first political act, Ethiopia’s opposition Semayawi (Blue) Party drew a large crowd to a peaceful protest rally held on Sunday. At least 10,000 people participated in the procession that took place in Addis Ababa, according to Reuters.
Ethiopia: fire destroys UNESCO-registered coffee forest
(OPride) – A recent massive brush fire in the Illu Abba Boora zone of Oromia region, Ethiopia has wiped out a sizable portion of the UNESCO-registered Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve, reports said. The cause of the blaze, which has spread around the Yayu forest over the last several weeks, remains unknown.