Podcasts about eritreans

Ethiopian authorities have reportedly deported hundreds of Eritreans. Many Eritreans there are refugees who fled forced military conscription and government oppression We hear about the lives of Syrians who fled war at home for a new life in Somalia Why did China give the least developed countries it has diplomatic ties with tariff free access.?Presenter Charles Gitonga Producers: Sunita Nahar and Yvette Twagiramariya in London. Blessing Aderogba in Lagos and Susan Gachuhi in Nairobi Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne.

Playlist: Tekle Tesfazghi - yeknelyCanada Private sponsorship As of November 29.2024 Paused Temperley - Canada Private sponsorship As of November 29.2024 Paused TemperleyDr. Sharon Woldu - Five food good for our eyes and two food things needed to avoidAzmara mamo and Yordanos - Live of single mothers Eritreans

Dr. Tekleab Mengisteab was a medical doctor and a leader in the World Health Organization for the nation of Eritrea. He was also an ordained minister in the Orthodox Church of Eritrea. Since November 19, 2004—20 years ago this week—Dr. Mengisteab has been a prisoner for Christ, imprisoned without charge or trial by the government of Eritrea. Today he is one of more than 300 imprisoned Christians there. This week on VOM Radio Mengisteab's daughter, Hana, shares the story of her father's arrest and of God's faithfulness to her and her family through the past 20 years. She will tell us how she has found joy amidst suffering, but also how she's come to know that the Lord “welcomes my grief.” In 2002, the government of President Isaias Afwerki outlawed evangelical churches. The Eritrean Orthodox Church was permitted to continue holding services. While Hana's father was leading a legal church congregation, his ministry looked different than some others within that church structure. “My father was a very faithful preacher of the gospel,” Hana says. “In his writing and teachings, he was calling for a transformation of the heart.” Dr. Mengisteab wanted Eritreans to have the gospel preached—and have the Bible—in their own, everyday language. Hana was just six years old when her father was arrested. She remembers her mother and church elders at their home talking about her father being gone. “What did it mean that my father is in prison?” Hana wondered. Even after Dr. Mengisteab's arrest, the church continued to meet and minister. Hana's mom continued her church activities, risking her own arrest. Only months after her father's arrest, Hana found herself in police custody when authorities raided a children's Sunday School meeting. Children as young as 12 were put in handcuffs, yet these young believers had been prepared for Christian persecution. They began to loudly sing praises to God. The same week that Dr. Mengisteab was arrested, two other pastors were also taken into custody. All three will mark 20 years in prison this week. Please pray for , , and along with more than 300 other Christians currently imprisoned in Eritrea. Pray also for Hana and her family as they continue to learn how to grieve her father's absence while also finding joy in serving the Lord.

Dr. Tekleab Mengisteab was a medical doctor and a leader in the World Health Organization for the nation of Eritrea. He was also an ordained minister in the Orthodox Church of Eritrea. Since November 19, 2004—20 years ago this week—Dr. Mengisteab has been a prisoner for Christ, imprisoned without charge or trial by the government of Eritrea. Today he is one of more than 300 imprisoned Christians there. This week on VOM Radio Mengisteab's daughter, Hana, shares the story of her father's arrest and of God's faithfulness to her and her family through the past 20 years. She will tell us how she has found joy amidst suffering, but also how she's come to know that the Lord “welcomes my grief.” In 2002, the government of President Isaias Afwerki outlawed evangelical churches. The Eritrean Orthodox Church was permitted to continue holding services. While Hana's father was leading a legal church congregation, his ministry looked different than some others within that church structure. “My father was a very faithful preacher of the gospel,” Hana says. “In his writing and teachings, he was calling for a transformation of the heart.” Dr. Mengisteab wanted Eritreans to have the gospel preached—and have the Bible—in their own, everyday language. Hana was just six years old when her father was arrested. She remembers her mother and church elders at their home talking about her father being gone. “What did it mean that my father is in prison?” Hana wondered. Even after Dr. Mengisteab's arrest, the church continued to meet and minister. Hana's mom continued her church activities, risking her own arrest. Only months after her father's arrest, Hana found herself in police custody when authorities raided a children's Sunday School meeting. Children as young as 12 were put in handcuffs, yet these young believers had been prepared for Christian persecution. They began to loudly sing praises to God. The same week that Dr. Mengisteab was arrested, two other pastors were also taken into custody. All three will mark 20 years in prison this week. Please pray for Dr. Tekleab Mengisteab, Dr. Fitsum-Berhan Gebrenegus, and Rev. Gebremedhin Gebregergis, along with more than 300 other Christians currently imprisoned in Eritrea. Pray also for Hana and her family as they continue to learn how to grieve her father's absence while also finding joy in serving the Lord. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast or download the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Content warning for discussion of genocide, torture, mutilation, rape, and slavery Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome back for Day 15 of Have a Day w/ The History Wizard. Thank you to everyone who tuned in for Day 14 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. This week marks the 6th part of our mini series of currently ongoing genocides and humanitarian crises. Episode 2 was on Palestine, Episode 11 was on Congo, episode 12 was on Sudan, episode 13 was on Xinjiang, episode 14 was on Rakhine State, and today's episode will cover the genocide that is ongoing in Tigray in Ethiopia. Let's see what the Alchemist's Table has in store for us this time. Today's libation is called Memories of Summer. Muddle some mint and strawberries in the bottom of your shaker, add .5 oz of simple syrup, 2 oz of gunpowder gin, stir well for about 30 seconds before double straining over ice and topping with lemonade. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy. Now it's time for everyone's favorite part, it's time for the historical context. Tigray is both the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia, as well as an ethnicity. Tigray is known as the birthplace of Ethiopian civilization and their motto is “There is no mountain we would not climb.” That's fucking badass. When the Scramble for Africa began at the end of the 19th century CE barely 10% of africa was under EUropean colonial control, and by the time World War 1 broke out more than 90% of the country had been colonized, with only Liberia and Ethiopia remaining free states. While Ethiopia remained under its own sovereign control, this was in large part because they willingly allied themselves with Great Britain. In fact many Ethiopian troops fought on the side of Britain during the Mahdist War in Sudan that we discussed on Day 12. Part of Ethiopia's independence also came from their alliances with Italy. King Menelik II of Ethiopia signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy in 1889. This treaty guaranteed Ethiopian sovereignty as long as Italy could control areas north of Ethiopia's currently held territory (in areas that are now the nation of Eritrea) and in return Ethiopia would receive arms and munitions and Menelik would have Italian support as emperor. Menelik would remain emperor from 1889 until his death in 1913. Though, it is worth noting that Etiopia was only able to maintain its sovereignty because of their victory during the Italo-Ethiopian War that ran from January 1895 until October 1896. The beginning of Menelik's rule was marked by severe tragedy though as it coincided with the 1890s African rinderpest epizootic. Which is a very fancy way of saying that disease killed 90% of Ethiopia's cattle and that this, combined with a drought caused by reduced rainfall killed about 1/3rd of the country's population. The virus, known as Rinderpest, is potentially thought to have been introduced into Eritrea in 1887 by Indian cattle brought by the Italians for their campaign against Somalia. Lack of rainfall from as early as 16 November 1888 led to famine in all but southernmost provinces; locusts and caterpillar infestations destroy crops in Akele Guzay, Begemder, Shewa, and around Harar. Conditions worsened with a typhus epidemic, a major smallpox epidemic (1889–90), and cholera outbreaks (1889–92). Making the beginning of Melenik's rule really fucking bad. Near the end of his life Melenik was filled with with concern over issues of succession. He hadn't yet picked an heir and if he died without one his nation would descend into civil war and would become ripe for the picking for European colonial powers. He would eventually settle on one of his grandchildren Lij Iyasu, as his heir. Iyasu would only reign for about 3 years before being deposed on charges of converting to Islam. Ethiopia had been a Christian kingdom since King Ezana of the Aksumite Empire adopted Christianity as the official religion in the 4th century CE. There's no definitive proof that Iyasu converted to Islam at any point in his life, but there was enough “proof” that everyone felt comfortable stipping him of authority and giving it to Haile Selassie. He served as the Regent for Empress Zedwditu from 1916 until her death in 1930, and after her death served as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until he was deposed in 1974 by the Derg following the 1973 oil crisis. Derg or Dergue is Amharic (a Semitic language descended from Ge'ez, which is the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It translates as committee or council. Now, Ethiopia would fall under partial Italian control during the 1930s as part of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War between Fascist Italy and Ethiopia, and while Italy would have some successes during this war, they'd never attain full control over Ethiopia, making Ethiopia the only African nation to not ever fall under colonial control. Some would argue that Liberia would fall under that umbrella as well, but considering that Liberia, as a nation, was artificially created by the US as a place for freed slaves to return to, I don't think it qualifies. Haile Selassie as the emperor of Ethiopia would be one of the founding members of the United Nations. Haile Selassie's rule ended on 12 September 1974, when he was deposed by the Derg, a committee made up of military and police officers. After the execution of 60 former government and military officials, the new Provisional Military Administrative Council abolished the monarchy in March 1975 and established Ethiopia as a Marxist-Leninist state. The abolition of feudalism, increased literacy, nationalization, and sweeping land reform including the resettlement and villagization from the Ethiopian Highlands became priorities. Mengistu Haile Mariam would become the ruler of Ethiopia following the fall of Haile Selassie until in May 1991, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) forces advanced on Addis Ababa from all sides, and Mengistu fled the country with 50 family and Derg members. He was granted asylum in Zimbabwe as an official guest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Now the period of Derg rule is also known as the Ethiopian Civil War. It lasted from 1974 until 1991. The Derg in its attempt to introduce full-fledged socialist ideals, fulfilled its main slogan of "Land to the Tiller", by redistributing land in Ethiopia that once belonged to landlords to the peasants tilling the land. Although this was made to seem like a fair and just redistribution, the mismanagement, corruption, and general hostility to the Derg's violent and harsh rule coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare, separatist guerrilla movements in Eritrea and Tigray, resulted in a drastic decline in general productivity of food and cash crops. Although Ethiopia is often prone to chronic droughts, no one was prepared for the scale of drought and the 1983–1985 famine that struck the country in the mid-1980s, in which 400,000–590,000 people are estimated to have died.  Hundreds of thousands fled economic misery, conscription and political repression, and went to live in neighboring countries and all over the Western world, creating an Ethiopian diaspora community for the first time in its history. Insurrections against the Derg's rule sprang up with ferocity, particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea which sought independence and in some regions in the Ogaden. The Ethiopian Civil War left at least 1.4 million people dead, with 1 million related to famine and the remainder from violence and conflicts, which is one third of population.  In July 1991, the EPRDF convened a National Conference to establish the Transitional Government of Ethiopia composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution. In 1994, a new constitution was written that established a parliamentary republic with a bicameral legislature and a judicial system. Mengistu's authoritarian military regime faced organized opposition for all of its fourteen years of rule. Opposition groups including the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), a rival Marxist–Leninist group, and the Tigray-based Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition of ethnic democratic forces, led armed resistance to the Derg in a conflict known as the Ethiopian Civil War. The Derg used violence, commonly enacted through military campaigns, to suppress dissidents. In 1976, the Derg instigated the Qey Shibir (Ethiopian Red Terror), a violent political repression campaign targeting the EPRP.  Under Mengistu's leadership, the Derg did not only rely on state personnel to carry out the Qey Shibir; it also armed militias and civilian supporters and granted "genuine revolutionaries and patriots" impunity, further localizing state violence.  The Qey Shibir resulted in 50,000 fatalities.  In addition, many victims of the Qey Shibir were subjected to torture, exile, and sexual assault. The Qey Shibir and the 1983-1985 famine, an event partly created and exacerbated by the government's military policies, increased popular support for the EPRDF, which successfully overthrew Mengistu's regime in 1991. As we entered the 21st century ethnic tensions began to increase between the people of northern Ethiopia, specifically in the Tigray region and the rest of the nation.  Data from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) project were used by Charles E. Riddle to study the degrees of discrimination by the dominant Amharas against the non-dominant ethnic groups in Ethiopia from 1950 to 1992, during the later reign of Emperor Haile Selassie and that of Mengistu Haile Mariam of the Derg. Amharas dominated during the Haile Selassie epoch.  Systematic discrimination against Afars occurred throughout the period. Tigrayans were initially culturally assimilated with the Amharas, speaking Amharic, and suffered little discrimination. Under the Haile Selassie government, the Oromo language was legally banned from education, public speaking and use in administration. During the Haile Selassie regime, the Harari people were persecuted. The imperial forces ordered the confiscation of Harari property and mass arrests of Harari men, as a result an estimated 10,000 Hararis fled their homeland in 1948. The Derg culturally rejected the Tigrayans, who decreased their usage of Amharic, reverting to Tigrinya, and discrimination against the Tigrayans became strong. Eritreans, treated by MAR and Riddle as an ethnic group, and Somalis were strongly discriminated against throughout the period. The Oromos were initially strongly discriminated against, but adopted Amharic as their official language when the Derg came to power, and discrimination against them dropped. Both the Haile Selassie and the Derg governments relocated numerous Amharas into southern Ethiopia where they served in government administration, courts, church and even in school, where Oromo texts were eliminated and replaced by Amharic. In the aftermath of the Ogaden War during the 70s, Hararis, Somalis and Oromo Muslims were targeted by the Derg Government. This leads us to needing to talk about the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. The Tigray People's Liberation Front, also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. The TPLF was in charge of Ethiopia from the time the Derg was overthrown in 1991 until 2018. Now it's finally time to get to the beginnings of the Tigray Wart and the Tigray genocide. To do that we need to discuss the 2020 Tigray regional election. As we stated previously, Tigray is a regional state of Ethiopia, and in 2020 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia postponed the 2020 general election over concerns of COVID 19. Tigray decided to hold their elections anyway, regardless of the proclamation made by Ahmed. Their election was considered illegal by the Ethiopian federal government. The TPLF won 98.2 percent of the vote. After years of increased tensions and hostilities between the TPLF and the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, fighting began when TPLF forces attacked the Northern Command headquarters of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), alongside a number of other bases in Tigray. The ENDF counterattacked from the south – while Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) began launching attacks from the north – which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described as a "law enforcement operation". The war officially ended in November 2022. On 2 November 2022, the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan leaders signed a peace accord, with the African Union as a mediator, and agreed on "orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament". The agreement was made effective the next day on 3 November, marking the two-year anniversary of the war. As part of this process, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed TPLF's Getachew Reda as head of the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, and the Ethiopian parliament removed the TPLF from its terrorism list. But where does the Tigray Genocide come into play? Why are we talking about this civil war in this podcast? Let's get into it. Issued on Tuesday, June 4th  by the United States-based New Lines Institute, aa 120-page draft quotes multiple, widespread and credible independent reports that Ethiopian forces and their allies carried out “acts constituting the crime of genocide” during the conflict, which ran between 2020-22. The authors call for Ethiopia to be brought before the International Court of Justice. In a report issued in September 2023, the United Nations said war crimes and crimes against humanity were still being committed nearly a year after government and Tigrayan regional forces agreed to end the fighting. It says the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), alongside the allied Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) and assorted regional militia “possessed the intent to destroy Tigrayans as an ethnic group”. At least four acts constituting the crime of genocide are noted in the report: killing Tigrayans, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life upon Tigrayans calculated to bring about their destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births among Tigrayans. Additionally, the finger is pointed at social media posts made by “certain individuals” that constitute public incitement to genocide. Ethiopia, which has been accused of seeking to prevent international scrutiny, has repeatedly denied that its forces carried out war crimes during the conflict. Eritrea has claimed such accusations against it are defamatory. However, the new report, which took two years to compile and features the contribution of dozens of legal experts, backs up the findings of the UN by stating that there is “reasonable basis to believe” that the countries are responsible for war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. In conclusion, the authors call on the international community to put pressure on Ethiopia via bilateral relations, as well as bringing the country before the ICJ. The war had a devastating impact on the healthcare system of Tigray; of the 853 health facilities in the region, 86% were at least partially damaged; 232 of them were left "completely unusable", and 28 were destroyed entirely. It also led to a higher rate of maternal and infant mortality in the Tigray Region. In a study funded by UNFPA Ethiopia and UNICEF Ethiopia, it was estimated that maternal mortality rates had increased from 186 deaths per 100,000 people pre-war to 840 deaths per 100,000 people post-war. According to Tigrayan health official Tsegay Gidey, 81% of mothers in the Seharti Samre woreda had birth defects, and 32 newborn infants had died between January–June 2023. Although the war largely came to a halt after the peace agreement was signed, Eritrea continues to occupy parts of Tigray as of mid-2023. The EDF has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in northern Ethiopia since November 2022; from 17 to 25 November alone, Eritrea was reported to have destroyed 241 houses and killed at least 111 people. by 30 December, it was estimated that Eritrean and Amhara forces killed 3,700 since the signing of the peace deal. The Tigray Health Bureau noted that 852 cases of rape and sexual assault were reported between November and December 2022; according to aid workers and interviews with survivors, most of these were committed by Eritrean forces. As of January 2023, over half of Irob district was occupied by Eritrea. Irob advocacy groups and former residents have described it as a "de-facto annexation" of the area. A religious Irob leader told The Guardian in August 2023 that Eritrea was blocking off international aid to the area, and lamented that "there has been no improvement for us since the peace."  In January 2024, Human Rights Watch reported that authorities and regional forces were still forcibly expelling Tigrayans from their homes in the Western Tigray Zone, which is largely inaccessible to humanitarian agencies. Additionally, nearly 40% of the Tigrayan population is suffering from extreme food shortages, a situation made worse by the World Food Program's suspension of aid deliveries in May 2023. All the available evidence points to a continued genocide against the Tigray people from the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea as they as systematically denied food, water and access to medical care.  The Tigray Genocide is often described as “The War The World Forgot”, and based on the West's general attitude towards Africa this feels right. Especially when I account for the fact that I, a genocide studies scholar didn't even know about the Tigray Genocide until 2024. I account this a failure on my part, but also on the part of the global mainstream media that this never even came across any of the news websites I frequent, nor the social media websites I, more often, get reputable news from. That's it for this week folks. No new reviews, so let's get right into the outro. Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. If you want to see/hear more of me you can find me on Tiktok @thehistorywizard or on Instagram @the_history_wizard. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you  for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day, and Free Tigray.          

During her trip to Australia, Michela Wrong, a respected author known for her perceptive analyses of African countries such as Eritrea and Rwanda, engaged in a discussion with SBS Tigrinya. She illuminated the themes explored in her book "I Didn't Do It for You," particularly delving into the complex political environment of Eritrea. Additionally, she highlighted the burgeoning presence of young Eritrean movements dedicated to instigating transformation within the nation.

According to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2023 Eritrea's government is continuing to severely repress its population and imposing restrictions on freedom of expression, opinion and faith. At the end of 2021 there were almost 600 000 Eritreans refugees and asylum seekers abroad. We have seen clashes between Eritreans in several European cities, including in Bergen and Oslo. Why are Eritreans fighting each other in Norway? How is the Eritrean regime operating here and how does it affect the human rights of the Eritrean diaspora? What is the human rights situation in Eritrea like at the moment?

This episode is presented by Carolina Readiness Supply –  A protest turned violent in Charlotte over the weekend as groups of Eritreans battled each other and police. Subscribe to the podcast at: https://ThePeteKalinerShow.com/  All the links to Pete's Prep are free: https://patreon.com/petekalinershow  Please note: Google Podcasts are merging into YouTube Music. See details here.Get exclusive content here!: https://thepetekalinershow.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we are discussing the recent events in Tel Aviv, where protests erupted between Eritreans that left dozens of people injured. Just a day after the protests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made remarks to the public stating a plan to remove Eritreans living in Israel, as well as migrants from other parts of Africa, such as Sudan. Many claim that they cannot return to their home country due to conflict or repression, while the Israeli government recognizes them as economic migrants. This plan could include nearly 25,000 African migrants, and has raised questions about international law and their right to seek asylum. The Aljazeera Article about these events can be found here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/3/israels-netanyahu-calls-for-immediate-deportation-of-eritrean-refugees Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below! Connect With Us If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at seekingrefugepodcast@gmail.com or connect with us on any of these social media platforms: https://twitter.com/refugepodcast. https://www.instagram.com/seekingrefugepodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/seekingrefugepodcast Our Team: Anusha Ghosh (Script Writer) Shireen Kaur (Researcher) Thrisha Mote (Host) Claire Mattes (Editor) Rohit Swain Victoria Halsey Diana Clark Saanvi Somani Emily Jensen Jackie Burnett Shireen Kaur Archana Ramesh Yatin Nerella This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Today, we're looking at Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld's response to a recent riot by Eritreans in the city. Plus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Asia, where he discussed the dangers of misinformation. And finally, the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke about how tools are needed to respond to COVID-19, since the virus is here to stay.

Today, we're looking at the start of Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich's trial in Ottawa, which got underway this morning. Plus, Eritrean political tension boiled over and onto the streets of Calgary this weekend, as a large group was involved in a melee with weapons. And finally, we'll take a look at recent remarks from New Zealand's prime minister, who is insisting nobody was forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

On today's Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, a look at the riots which took place in south Tel Aviv over the weekend, in which groups of Eritreans with different political views violently attacked each other and the police. A statement from the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu's office announced they will "convene a special ministerial team to examine measures to be taken against illegal infiltrators who took part in the disturbances, including steps toward deportation." However Josh says that it is unlikely that deportations, justified as they are, will take place. He argues that Israel refuses to deport Arab terrorists or their families, and therefore sadly will most likely not take necessary action in this case as well. Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/maygolan/8724768756

Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for immediate deportation of Eritreans who participated in violent riots; Ukrainian lone soldier's family flies in from no-fly zone Kharkiv for funeral & outcry from concert-goers who were canceled on twice for Nigerian afrobeats star Rema who came to Tel Aviv and left without putting on a show.  New “Welcome to Israel” campaign with Hasod Store: https://bit.ly/3DK2SKD Support the show here: https://linktr.ee/israeldailynews Israel Daily News Roundtable: http://patreon.com/shannafuld Music: Sibat Hasibot; Nicole Raviv and Elon Eckart.  Purchase Judaica from the Jerusalem Art Project: http://shrsl.com/298r5-2ze1-1d847 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/israeldailynews/support

Listen to the Sun. Sept. 3, 2023 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our PANW report with dispatches on the mass rally held in Niamey, Niger demanding the withdrawal of French troops; there have been accusations that France is involved in supporting the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria; Tunisia has placed a leading opposition figure under house arrest; and Eritreans are being threatened with deportation from the State of Israel after clashes inside the country. In the second hour we examine developments in Gabon, Niger and Zimbabwe. Finally, in honor of the 44th Detroit Jazz Festival, we will listen to the second part of an interview with legendary musician Horace Silver.

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened up 50-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,700 on turnover of $1.7--billion N-T. **Haikui Causes 44 Injuries Across Taiwan ** Emergency officials say Severe Tropical Storm Haikui has caused dozens of injuries, as well as damage across much of eastern Taiwan. The Central Emergency Operation Center says the storm left 44 people injured, mostly in Taitung, Tainan and Hualien. Other damage included hundreds of uprooted roadside trees, as well as damaged roads. Haikui has been hovering in waters about 50 kilometers west-northwest of Tainan, moving west-northwest at a speed of 9-km per hour. The storm decreased in size and now has a radius of 150-kilometers, but still covers Taitung, Hualien, and all areas south of Taichung. Officials say the outer periphery (外圍) of the storm will continue to bring heavy rain to much of Yilan and Hualien, and the precipitation is expected to ease somewhat heading into the evening. (NS) **Taitung Households Still Without Power ** In related news….. Over 10-thousand households and businesses in Taitung remain without power this morning. Local officials say more than 50-thousand users lost power yesterday, and after emergency repairs by TaiPower crews, around 13-thousand still do not have access to electricity services. The severe tropical storm also brought strong winds and heavy rain to the region, with 7 townships recording accumulated (積累) rainfall of near 400 milimeters. Officials also say over 20 roadside trees were uprooted, but Taitung's famed bishop wood in Chishang Township remains standing, despite suffering some broken branches. (NS) **Israel migrant riots ** Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash (衝突) in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country's African migrants. His remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Laurence Brooks has this report. **SKorea President to Stresses Sanctions on NKorea at ASEAN Meeting ** South Korea's president says he'll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week. President Yoon Suk Yeol is to visit Jakarta to attend a series of summits scheduled alongside a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders. He'll travel on to New Delhi for a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies. In written responses to questions from The Associated Press, Yoon says during the G20 summit, he'll stress the need to block North Korea's cyber hacking and other illicit (非法的) activities that fund its weapons programs. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

Email Us: TheDayAfter@THENEWBLXCK.com WhatsAPP: 07564841073 Join us in our twitter community - ⁠⁠https://shorturl.at/jkrNQ⁠⁠ The Day After, (00:00) Intro: (21:29) Headlines: Sir Keir Starmer to shake up shadow cabinet, Jeremy Hunt under fire, Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov dismissed (25:16) What you Saying? What is the best part of your life worth?? Can/Does everything have a monetary value??

Your daily news in under three minutes.

Russia thwarts Ukrainian attack on Crimea bridge, Ukrainian war disrupts adoptions, Russian drones attack Ukrainian port, Rahm Emanuel buys fish near Fukushima plant, Bolivia acknowledges becoming cocaine production hub, violent clashes involving Eritreans in Tel Aviv, Turkey celebrates women's volleyball team success, Danish scientists recreate ancient Egyptian aroma, former US diplomat Bill Richardson passes away, Pope Francis praises Mongolia's religious freedom.

In 2002, the Eritrean government extended its programme of compulsory national service to make it open-ended. Instead of serving 18 months as the government had originally decreed, most students finishing secondary school would be conscripted and forced to remain in government service indefinitely - either serving in the army or in civilian jobs. The Eritrean government said conscription was necessary because the recently ended war with neighbouring Ethiopia could break out again. But the prospect of working for the state for an indefinite period, without a proper salary, prompted many young Eritreans to begin trying to escape to neighbouring countries and to Europe. Over the past 20 years hundreds of thousands have left. It's an exodus that continues to this day. Rob Walker speaks to Semhar Ghebreslassie who began her national service working as a teacher in 2008. This programme contains descriptions of sexual violence. (Picture: Eritrean migrants. Credit: Getty Images)

The Victory of Adwa on 2nd March, 1896 marked a milestone in the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa' - because, whilst so much of the continent had been colonised by European nations, Abysinnia successfully defended their country from the invading Italians. Rome had underestimated the Ethiopians' weaponry, motivation and strategy, and turned up with bad maps, demoralized troops - and orders to march on. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a tricksy treaty was used to justify the incursion; consider the fates of the Eritreans who fought alongside the Europeans; and question the wisdom of getting your troops to march for nine hours straight before engaging in combat…  Further Reading: ‘First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Adwa' (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/italo-ethiopian-war-battle-of-adwa-2360814 ‘The History of The Battle and Victory of Adwa (African History month): https://ahm.africa/the-history-of-the-battle-and-victory-of-adwa-125th/ ‘How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia?' (Animated History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hln0GjuUQk&t=4s ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?' Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   Love the show? Join  

Isaias Afwerki, usually known as Isaias, is Eritrea's only ever President, having served in the role since 1993. After rising through the ranks of Eritrea's liberation movement during a thirty-year war for independence against Ethiopia, Isaias has instituted a colossal centralisation of power around himself; Eritrea has no free newspapers, no constitution, no parliament; it doesn't even have a formal budget. The country also has one of the strictest systems of conscription in the world.  Though this state of affairs is very unpleasant to the ordinary Eritreans wo have to live  with it every day, the international community would probably be happy leaving Isaias be if he left the world alone. But this isn't what Isaias has done. Since 1993, Isaias has involved Eritrea in wars in Sudan, Somalia, the DRC and most significantly Ethiopia, where, since 2020, the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments have been waging war against the Tigrayans. This war is the deadliest war the world has seen this decade so far, and Isaias, who hates the Tigrayans, is largely to blame for it. Never more than Isaias has my guest and I discussed a single person so singularly to blame for so much harm. My guest today is Martin Plaut. Martin is a journalist specialising in the Horn of Africa region, he worked as a BBC news journalist for nearly thirty years and currently works for Chatham House. Along with Sarah Vaughan, he is the lead author on an upcoming book, Understanding Ethiopia's Tigray War, due to be released in February 2023. As well as the War in Tigray, we discuss Eritrea's colonial history, the country's long struggle for independence, and the implications of being governed not just by one group of people for thirty years, but by a single individual. 

Listen to the Sun. April 10, 2022 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This episode features our PANW report with dispatches on the parliamentary ouster of Pakistan Prime Minister Imram Khan through a no-confidence vote; the fighting in Ukraine is continuing between the Russian armed forces and western-backed military units; Ethiopians and Eritreans are scheduled to hold mass demonstrations in California against the recently passed congressional bills to impose sanctions on the Horn of Africa state; and the military regime in Guinea has once again called upon the bauxite mining firms to build refineries inside the West African state. In the second hour we examine events in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo related to peacekeeping and regional integration. Finally, we pay tribute to the 29th anniversary of the assassination of South African Communist Party and African National Congress leader Chris Hani.

The Ionian Greeks along with their allies from Athens and Eretria had entered and burn Sardis, though they failed to take the Acropolis. They withdrew back to the coast where the Persian would catch up to them and fight the battle of Ephesus. The Greeks would be defeated with the survivors making for their cities, the Athenians and Eritreans sailing home to take no more part in the revolt.With no more aid coming from Greek lands, the Ionians would now take measures that would see the revolt spread throughout other parts of Anatolia. By 497, Much of Aeolia, the Hellespont, Caria and even as far south as Cyprus would be in open revolt. Though, with the revolt spreading, the Persians would be arranging a response to punish those responsible and bring these lands back under their control.Multiple Persian armies would operate throughout the western parts of the empire seeing that Cyprus would once again become a Persian possession. Further operations would also see the trade rich areas of the Hellespont coming back under Persian control. Caria and Ionia would prove slightly more of a challenge. Caria would see hard fighting and would see the Persians having to deal with partisan operations. While In Ionia, a major set piece battle would be fought before the Persians could begin reducing the Ionian cities one by one. Eventually, western Anatolia would be back in Persian hands.Persia's attention would then shift west to Greek lands, where the Ionians, now Persian subjects once again would be part of the forces marching west. They would make up a sizable portion of the Persian navy during both the first and second Persian invasions. With the Greek victory over Persia during the invasions, the war would enter Persian lands in Ionia. The Ionians would now be encouraged to revolt for the second time, with the spark being lit during the battle of Mycale. The region would become important during future operations, with events and decisions leading to unintended consequences for a new generation of Greeks. Casting Through Ancient Greece WebsiteFollow on TwitterFollow on FacebookSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/castingthroughancientgreece)

The Victory of Adwa on 2nd March, 1896 marked a milestone in the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa' - because, whilst so much of the continent had been colonised by European nations, Abysinnia successfully defended their country from the invading Italians. Rome had underestimated the Ethiopians' weaponry, motivation and strategy, and turned up with bad maps, demoralized troops - and orders to march on. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a tricksy treaty was used to justify the incursion; consider the fates of the Eritreans who fought alongside the Europeans; and question the wisdom of getting your troops to march for nine hours straight before engaging in combat…  Further Reading: ‘First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Adwa' (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/italo-ethiopian-war-battle-of-adwa-2360814 ‘The History of The Battle and Victory of Adwa (African History month): https://ahm.africa/the-history-of-the-battle-and-victory-of-adwa-125th/ ‘How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia?' (Animated History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hln0GjuUQk&t=4s For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Semi-Americans Podcast is delighted to present a collaboration with GetFact ET.  We will be starting a new series dedicated to the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. Episode 1 of the series includes a speech performed by a GetFact ET member at the Nov 8th, 2021, protests in Washington DC. Over 5,000 Ethiopians and Eritreans gathered to protest against the failed policy aims of the Biden administration. A special song follows the recorded speech. Stay tuned for future episodes that will provide truthful information as we break down the context and current events.  #NoMore#TPLFTerroristGroup#DisarmTerrorists#EthiopiaPrevailshttps://twitter.com/getfactethttps://www.getfactet.org/https://instagram.com/getfactetSpeech:Abyssinia, a country in the eye of God. Origin of human kind. Our forefathers sacrificed. Kept the black nation independent and united.Now yearning hope. For Emma (Mother) Ethiopia's existence. King Tewodros from Qwara. Gave his life at the battle of Magdala.He said no to invader. And died with honor. Now traitor Rebels from the north. Marching to the south. Murdering brothers. Through Magdala mountains.Where king sacrificed for our unity. For Abyssinia sovereignty. Now, children are helpless. Mothers are victims. Because of power hungry rebels.  Yet the world is deceived by misinformation. Deaf to the voices of the million Abyssinians.Ethiopia, has a place in the eye of God. Support the people because It's a promise land. Emma Abyssinia RiseKing Menelik, a black man. Brought victory to African.Once told the unfathom. But gave a wave of freedom.  To Jah, Mandela, Nkrumah, King and Lumumba. Now Emma Ethiopia is yearning for you. To be united for her rescue. Emamma Ethiopia RiseAfrica Rise!

Joel Segal, National Campaign Director for Bring America Home Now at the National Coalition for the Homeless, joins us to talk about Joe Biden signing a $1 trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill into law and how little substance was on display in the media debate over the bill, instead focusing on the red vs. blue fight. We also talk about homelessness rising in the U.S., with a 2.2% increase during the pandemic, the rash of reporting on Democrats and how they are losing racial minority voters in this country, and how a leftward turn beyond the overblown culture wars may benefit the country. K.J. Noh, a global justice activist, writer, teacher, and a member of Veterans for Peace, tells us about the virtual meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping that took place November 15, and what the conversation managing the US and China's competition responsibly may actually mean, and how this could be achieved considering both countries are still pursuing the idea of unlimited growth. We also talk about Washington and Beijing's joint climate pledge from last week at the COP26 conference, and whether we will see any real cooperation between the two nations. Chris Empas, community mentor and violence interrupter, and Afeni, member of Freedom Fighters DC and abolitionist-in-training, join us to talk about the Blackburn Building takeover reaching its end, with students' demands being met by the Howard University administration, and how direct action can yield real results. We also talk about the homicide spike in Washington, DC, whose rate stands at 198 deaths so far this year, how the pandemic and economic anxieties may have contributed to this, and the way forward to tackle these structural issues in an encompassing manner.Theodros Teshome, film producer and actor, talks to us about the migrant experience of Ethiopians and Eritreans and their journey to and in the United States through his film “Triangle 1” and “Triangle 2”, how these amplify our shared humanity, and the broader impact of the his art right now in Ethiopia, which is facing a national crisis during its tensions with the TPLF.

Episode 8 -  The Persian WarsHi, my name is Clayton Mills.  Welcome to ‘A Short Walk through our Long History' - a podcast where we look at the events of history, and try to see how those events shaped our modern world. Welcome to Episode 8 -  The Persian Wars.  We're talking today about the ancient wars between Greece and Persia.  I've mentioned that Greece has had an important impact on the western world, but did you know that ancient Greece was almost wiped out?  A couple of times?  Greece was a small country, but they tangled with the biggest empire of their time:  The Persians.  The battles between these two countries will become legendary, and will give us a couple of the best quotes of all time.  Also, Pheidippides!  And his famous last words.  Lots of good quotes in this episode.  We've mentioned the days of the Mycenaeans, and the Greek dark ages, and how the beginning of the end of the Greek dark ages was when Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, which was sometime around 800 BC.  Now we're getting to the real beginning of recorded history, and from this point on, we can almost always date what one culture says is going on against the records of other cultures.  In other words, we're finally at the point where we have a unified timeline, and we can fit events to very specific dates on the timeline.  Before this, we always had to say ‘sometime around 800 BC,' but after this, we're getting to the point where we can say ‘on September 27th, 480 BC, this happened.'  That's the date, by the way, of the Battle of Salamis, which was the Ancient Greek version of the Battle of Midway.  Well, with less dive-bombers. So, around 550 BC (ok, I'm still using ‘around' in a few places).  Around 550 BC, the Persians, who were a tribe from what is now Iran, began to expand.  They conquered the Medes, who had been the biggest kingdom in the region, and then continued to expand.  Their king was Darius, and he built up the largest empire the world had seen to that point.  The Persian empire stretched from the Persian gulf in the south, to what is now Kazahkstan in the east, up to the middle of the Black Sea in the north, and in the west, they began to expand into Greek-held lands in what is now Turkey.  This area of Turkey was called Ionia, and at first the Ionian cities did not resist the Persians.  They didn't have the strength.  But in 499 BC, the Ionians tried to rebel.  They were supported by two cities from mainland Greece, Eritria and Athens.  Together, they destroyed a Persian city, Sardis, and then the Eritrians and Athenians went back home. Well of course the Persians quickly came back and re-conquered Ionia.  And the Persians did not forget that the Athenians and Eritreans had helped in the revolt. So the Persians are thinking about the cities of Eritrea and Athens.  And they aren't happy.  This set up 50 years of fighting, known to the Greeks as the Persian Wars.  Ok, now we are getting to one of the most famous battles of all time, the battle of Marathon.  This battle is carefully recorded by the Greek historian, Herodotus, who wrote about it only 50 years after it happened.  In 490 BC, Darius came back to Greece with a massive army and a massive navy. He landed first at Eritrea, and destroyed the city.  Darius and the army then got back in their boats, and sailed to Marathon, a small town just northeast of Athens.  The Athenians sent their best messenger, a runner, a guy named Pheidippides, to run to Sparta, and ask for help.  It's about 150 miles from Athen to Sparta.  Lots of hills.  Herodotus mentions our friend Pheidippides.  Supposedly, Pheidippides ran that 150 miles just in 2 days.  For scale, that's about the distance from Houston to Austin.  The MS 150 is a BICYCLE race from Houston to Austin, and it takes 2 days.  Supposedly Phidippedes ran that whole thing, and then asked the Spartans for help.Normally the Spartans would have been all over this request, since they were maybe the most war-loving city in all of history.  But they were in the midst of an important city festival, and the elders said they couldn't come fight until the festival was over.  No, we can't come defend Greece.  We have this party, see?  It's kind of a big deal, so we'll come when the party is over.  OK?  So Pheidippides ran back to Athens with the bad news.  And then the Athenians sent him on to the front at Marathon with army.  The Greek army had about 10,000 soldiers.  Kind Darius and the Persians had at least 30,000.  Some estimates are higher.  When they began the battle, the Greeks intentionally let the center of their line collapse, and then the phalanxes on the Greek wings turned in and crushed the Persians.  We'll talk more about the Phalanxes and what they are in a separate episode.  The Persians, sensing that they were being beaten, fell apart and ran, and the Greeks chased them and cut them down, chasing them all the way to their ships.  The Persians lost as many as half of their men, which was a stunning defeat.  The ones who survived sailed back across the Aegean Sea to regroup.  Back on the field at Marathon, the Greeks sent our runnin' friend Phidippedes to run back to Athens, and tell then what had happened.  The distance from Marathon to Athens is just about 25 miles, which is where we get the distance for a modern marathons.  Phidippedes runs up to Athens, and says to the elders, ‘Nicómen!', which means, ‘We won!'.  And then he died, right there, right in front of the elders.  As last words go, though, those are pretty good. Right?So we have a historic victory for the Greeks, and and a heroic effort from Phidippedes, and the Persians retreating across the Aegean Sea to Ionia and points farther east.  Not long after that, King Darius dies, but the memory of what happened in Greece does not.  Darius's son, Xerxes (one of the cooler names in all of history, btw), succeeds him.  Xerxes wants to out-do his father, and wants to expand the Persian empire even farther.  So he decides he's going to bring an even bigger army to Greece, and show them what's what.   So in 480 BC, 10 years after Marathon, he sets out, with an army of between 150 thousand and million men.  Accounts vary on the size, Herodotus says a million, but it's quite probable this was the biggest army ever, up to this point in history.  Xerxes also has a huge navy, to try to fight the Greek navy, and keep them from sailing up the coast and flanking his army. But instead of sailing most of his army to Greece, he marches them.  There's a stretch of water they have to cross, in what is now Istanbul, called the Hellespont.  Xerxes has his engineers build a bridge there, using 600 ships, which is an enormous number of ships, by the way, and planks and even dirt on the planks, so his army can march on a road.  It apparently took the army seven days to cross, the army was so large.  Once they were across, they had to march over to the main part of the Greek peninsula.  And they had to march through some mountains to get to the peninsula.  But there waiting for them in the mountain pass, near the town of Thermopylae, was a group of about 7000 Greeks, including 300 Spartans led by their king, Leonidas.  You know where this is going, don't you?  The battle at Thermopylae is one of the most famous battles in all of history.  Leonidas and the Greeks had the advantage of good position, but Xerxes had almost unlimited men.  So sometime in late July or early August of 480 BC (see, we're getting more specific.  I told you we would), Xerxes begins to attack the Greeks.Leonidas and the Greeks held the pass for 7 days, including 3 full days of fighting, against the vastly larger Persian army.  Now we're getting to the great quotes from this battle.  When the Persians sent an envoy to tell the Greeks that they should surrender, the Greeks refused.  The envoy said, ‘We will darken the sky with our arrows!' Which they could easily do, with that many men.    But A Greek soldier, named Dienekes, reportedly said, ‘Good.  Then we will fight in the shade.'  That, is one of the best battle quotes of all time.  But the best is still to come.  The Persian envoy rather forcefully told King Leonidas to surrender all his weapons.  And Leonidas said, ‘Come and get them.'  In all the history of battle quotes, that, is the most bad-ass.  ‘Come and get them.' So the Persians eventually attacked, and the Greeks held them off for 3 days, until a local resident told Xerxes about a small mountain pass and led some of the Persians back behind the Greek lines.  Leonidas, realizing what was happening, let most of the Greeks go, to head back to Athens.  The 300 Spartans, and maybe 700 other Greeks stayed to hold the pass.  Almost all of the Greeks who stayed to hold off the main Persian army ended up fighting to the death.  The Battle of Thermopylae was technically a Greek defeat, but it wasn't really a Persian victory.  The Greek and Spartan warriors had bought the rest of Greece more than a week to prepare, and they had badly dented the morale of the Persians.  But the Persians did eventually break through the mountain pass at Thermopylae, and marched on to Athens.  But when they got there, they found the city deserted.  Now we get to the real victory, and the battle that just doesn't get as much attention as Marathon or Thermopylae, even though it's the one that really matters.  Salamis.  Salamis is an island off the coast of Greece, and it was the site of one of the largest naval battles in all of history.  Again, the Greeks were outnumbered, but again, the Greeks were better sailors than the Persians, and had the advantage of location.  According to Herodotus, there were about 370 Greek ships, against about 1200 Persian ships.  That's more than 3 to 1.  But the Greeks lured the Persians into a narrow straight between two islands, where the huge number of Persian ships actually worked against them, as they were too crowded and couldn't maneuver.  The Greeks thoroughly routed the Persian navy, and killed their admiral, who was one of Xerxes' brothers.   Xerxes himself supposedly watched the battle from a mountainside near the shore, and realized that the Persian fleet had been destroyed.  Xerxes took most of his army and marched back to Asia.  He left behind a sizable force, though, under one of his generals, Mardonius.  Eventually, in 479 BC, the Greeks defeated Mardonius and the Persians at the battle of Plataea, ending the wars between the Greeks and the Persians. The Persians never came back and attacked the Greeks.  Eventually though the Greeks will grow strong enough to attack the Persians, but that won't happen until Alexander the Great comes on the scene.  The Greeks were still a bit bitter about all these attacks, and wanted a bit of revenge.  But the defeat of the Persians in 479 BC begins what is known as the Golden Age of Greece, which is one of the most intellectually productive times in western history.  We'll look at this in upcoming episodes.So how do these battles between the Greeks and the Persians influence our modern world?  Well, as I've said, Greece is one of the most influential cultures in the history of the western world, and it wouldn't have been that if it had been beaten by the Persians. Maybe we would then be talking about how influential Persia was on western history, but hey, Thermopolyae.  Salamis.  Greece won.   The most influential thinkers in Greece show up soon after these battles.  Because the Greeks had bought themselves some time and some peace, they had a time of prosperity, where they were not spending their time fighting external enemies.  And in that time they developed some of the greatest thinkers the world has seen.  We'll look at those guys in upcoming episodes.  Another way that these battles influenced the modern world is that the western world, and especially western military units, have essentially inherited some of the values of the ancient Greeks who strove to defend their homelands.  Courage in the face of overwhelming odds, self-sacrifice, teamwork, leaders who are part of the battle, the importance of choosing your battleground, and the right to defend yourself against tyrants - all of these are important values in the western world.  In the end, this is what the Greek defense against Persia was all about - the Greeks were defending their right to rule themselves, rather than to be ruled by Persia.  And they were willing to take up arms and fight to the death, rather than let someone else rule them against their will.    There are echoes of this spirit in the American Revolution, in the American Civil War, in the Reformation, in the English Civil war, The Scots fighting against the invading British, the Zulus fighting against the invading British, OK, anyone fighting against the invading British, and in many of the great battles of western history.  The idea that some foreign power can come in and take over your land, then tell you to pay tribute to them - that is tyranny.  And though some people have said, ‘ok, we'll submit, that's better than fighting, don't hurt us,'  other peoples have said instead, ‘no, I'm not going to lie down and let that happen.'  That's the spirit of Patrick Henry's famous quote, ‘Give me Liberty, or give me death.'  One last thought on how that matters in our modern world.  It might just be that our current world is moving in the direction of tyranny again.  The history of the world is an ongoing struggle between tyrants who want to control everything, and people defending their rights to self-determination and liberty.  When a government begins to curtail the rights of its people to determine their own destiny, whether it is your own government or the government of a country that wants to take yours over, the time comes when people must choose to either submit, or to fight back.  History does not remember those who submitted.  History remembers those who have said, ‘come and take them.'  History remembers those who have said, “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”  We'll look at that document in a much later episode.In the next episode we will look at the development of Athenian democracy, something that clearly had a big effect on the western world.  But before that episode, we will take another quick side episode, to look at something that I find fascinating - Greek military and naval advancements, and how it was that they won these amazing battles against much larger forces.  

Steven A. Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at CFR, leads a conversation on geopolitics in the Middle East.   FASKIANOS: Welcome to today's session of the CFR Fall 2021 Academic Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/Academic, if you want to share it with your colleagues or classmates. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. Today's topic is geopolitics in the Middle East. Our speaker was supposed to be Sanam Vakil, but she had a family emergency. So we're delighted to have our very own Steven Cook here to discuss this important topic. Dr. Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies, and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of several books, including False Dawn; The Struggle for Egypt, which won the 2012 Gold Medal from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Ruling But Not Governing. And he's working on yet another book entitled The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East. So keep an eye out for that in the next year or so. He's a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine and contributor and commentator on a bunch of other outlets. Prior to coming to CFR, Dr. Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. So, Dr. Cook, thank you for being with us. I thought you could just—I'm going to give you a soft question here, to talk about the geopolitical relations among state and nonstate actors in the Middle East. And you can take that in whatever direction you would like. COOK: Well, thanks so much, Irina. It's a great pleasure to be with you. Good afternoon to everybody who's out there who's on an afternoon time zone, good morning to those who may still be in the evening, and good evening to those who may be somewhere where it's the evening. It's very nice to be with you. As Irina mentioned, and as I'm sure it's plenty evident, I am not Sanam Vakil, but I'm happy to step in for her and offer my thoughts on the geopolitics of the Middle East. It's a small topic. That question that Irina asked was something that I certainly could handle effectively in fifteen to twenty minutes. But before I get into the details of what's going on in the region, I thought I would offer some just general comments about the United States in the Middle East. Because, as it turns out, I had the opportunity last night to join a very small group of analysts with a very senior U.S. government official to talk precisely about the United States in the Middle East. And it was a very, very interesting conversation, because despite the fact that there has been numerous news reporting and analytic pieces about how the United States is deemphasizing the Middle East, this official made it very, very clear that that was practically impossible at this time. And this was, I think, a reasonable position to take. There has been a lot recently, in the last recent years, about withdrawing from the region, from retrenchment from the region, reducing from the region, realignment from the region. All those things actually mean different things. But analysts have essentially used them to mean that the United States should deprioritize the Middle East. And it seems to me that the problem in the Middle East has not necessarily been the fact that we are there and that we have goals there. It's that the goals in the region and the resources Washington uses to achieve those goals need to be realigned to address things that are actually important to the United States. In one sense that sound eminently reasonable. We have goals, we have resources to meet those goals, and we should devote them to—and if we can't, we should reassess what our goals are or go out and find new resources. That sounds eminently reasonable. But that's not the way Washington has worked over the course of the last few decades when it comes to the Middle East. In many ways, the United States has been overly ambitious. And it has led to a number of significant failures in the region. In an era when everything and anything is a vital interest, then nothing really is. And this seems to be the source of our trouble. For example, when we get into trying to fix the politics of other countries, we're headed down the wrong road. And I don't think that there's been enough real debate in Washington or, quite frankly, in the country about what's important in the Middle East, and why we're there, and what we're trying to achieve in the Middle East. In part, this new book that I'm writing called the End of Ambition, which, as Irina pointed out, will be out hopefully in either late 2022 or early 2023, tries to answer some of these questions. There is a way for the United States to be constructive in the Middle East, but what we've done over the course of the last twenty years has made that task much, much harder. And it leads us, in part, to this kind of geostrategic picture or puzzle that I'm about to lay out for you. So let me get into some of the details. And I'm obviously not going to take you from Morocco all the way to Iran, although I could if I had much, much more time because there's a lot going on in a lot of places. But not all of those places are of critical importance to the United States. So I'll start and I'll pick and choose from that very, very large piece of geography. First point: There have been some efforts to deescalate in a region that was in the middle of or on the verge of multiple conflicts. There has been a dialogue between the Saudis and the Iranians, under the auspices of the Iraqis, of all people. According to the Saudis this hasn't yielded very much, but they are continuing the conversation. One of the ways to assess the success or failure of a meeting is the fact that there's going to be another meeting. And there are going to be other meetings between senior Iranian and Saudi officials. I think that that's good. Egyptians and Turks are talking. Some of you who don't follow these issues as closely may not remember that Turkey and Egypt came close to trading blows over Libya last summer. And they pulled back as a result of concerted diplomacy on the part of the European Union, as well as the Egyptian ability to actually surge a lot of force to its western border. Those two countries are also talking, in part under the auspices of the Iraqis. Emiratis and Iranians are talking. That channel opened up in 2019 after the Iranians attacked a very significant—two very significant oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, sort of scaring the Emiratis, especially since the Trump administration did not respond in ways that the Emiratis or the Saudis had been expecting. The Qataris and the Egyptians have repaired their relations. The Arab world, for better or for worse, is moving to reintegrate Syria into is ranks. Not long after King Abdullah of Jordan was in the United States, he and Bashar al-Assad shared a phone call to talk about the opening of the border between Jordan and Syria and to talk about, among other things, tourism to the two countries. The hope is that this de-escalation, or hope for de-escalation coming from this dialogue, will have a salutary effect on conflicts in Yemen, in Syria, in Libya, and Iraq. Thus far, it hasn't in Yemen, in particular. It hasn't in Syria. But in Libya and Iraq, there have been some improvements to the situation. All of this remains quite fragile. These talks can be—can break off at any time under any circumstances. Broader-scale violence can return to Libya at any time. And the Iraqi government still doesn't control its own territory. Its sovereignty is compromised, not just by Iran but also by Turkey. But the fact that a region that was wound so tight and that seemed poised to even deepen existing conflicts and new ones to break out, for all of these different parties to be talking—some at the behest of the United States, some entirely of their own volition—is, I think, a relatively positive sign. You can't find anyone who's more—let's put it this way, who's darker about developments in the Middle East than me. And I see some positive signs coming from this dialogue. Iran, the second big issue on the agenda. Just a few hours ago, the Iranians indicated that they're ready to return to the negotiating table in Vienna. This is sort of a typical Iranian negotiating tactic, to push issues to the brink and then to pull back and demonstrate some pragmatism so that people will thank for them for their pragmatism. This agreement to go back to the negotiating table keeps them on decent terms with the Europeans. It builds on goodwill that they have developed as a result of their talks with Saudi Arabia. And it puts Israel somewhat on the defensive, or at least in an awkward position with the Biden administration, which has very much wanted to return to the negotiating table in Vienna. What comes out of these negotiations is extremely hard to predict. This is a new government in Iran. It is certainly a harder line than its predecessor. Some analysts believe that precisely because it is a hardline government it can do the negotiation. But we'll just have to see. All the while this has been going on, the Iranians have been proceeding with their nuclear development, and Israel is continuing its shadow campaign against the Iranians in Syria, sometimes in Iraq, in Iran itself. Although, there's no definitive proof, yesterday Iranian gas stations, of all things, were taken offline. There's some suspicion that this was the Israelis showing the Iranians just how far and deep they are into Iranian computer systems. It remains unclear how the Iranians will retaliate. Previously they have directed their efforts to Israeli-linked shipping in and around the Gulf of Oman. Its conventional responses up until this point have been largely ineffective. The Israelis have been carrying on a fairly sophisticated air campaign against the Iranians in Syria, and the Iranians have not been able to mount any kind of effective response. Of course, this is all against the backdrop of the fact that the Iranians do have the ability to hold much of the Israeli population hostage via Hezbollah and its thousands of rockets and missiles. So you can see how this is quite worrying, and an ongoing concern for everybody in the region, as the Israelis and Iranians take part in this confrontation. Let me just continue along the line of the Israelis for a moment and talk about the Arab-Israeli conflict, something that has not been high on the agenda of the Biden administration, it hasn't been high on the agenda of many countries in the region. But since the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020, there have been some significant developments. The normalization as a result of the Abraham Accords continues apace. Recently in the Emirates there was a meeting of ministers from Israel, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan. This is the first kind of face-to-face meeting of government officials from all of these countries. Now, certainly the Israelis and the Emiratis have been meeting quite regularly, and the Israelis and the Bahrainis have been meeting quite regularly. But these were broader meetings of Cabinet officials from all of the Abraham Accords countries coming together in the United Arab Emirates for talks. Rather extraordinary. Something that thirteen months—in August 2020 was unimaginable, and today is something that doesn't really make—it doesn't really make the headlines. The Saudis are actually supportive of the normalization process, but they're not yet willing to take that step. And they're not willing to take that step because of the Palestinian issue. And it remains a sticking point. On that issue, there was a lot of discussion after the formation of a new Israeli government last June under the leadership, first, of Naftali Bennett, who will then hand the prime ministership over to his partner, Yair Lapid, who are from different parties. That this was an Israeli government that could do some good when it comes to the Palestinian arena, that it was pragmatic, that it would do things that would improve the lives of Palestinians, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, and seek greater cooperation with both the United States and the Palestinian authority toward that end. And that may in fact turn out to be the case. This government has taken a number of steps in that direction, including family reunification, so that if a Palestinian on the West Bank who is married to a Palestinian citizen of Israel, the Palestinian in the West Bank can live with the family in Israel. And a number of other things. But it should also be clear to everybody that despite a kind of change in tone from the Israeli prime ministry, there's not that much of a change in terms of policy. In fact, in many ways Prime Minister Bennett is to the right of his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. And Yair Lapid, who comes from a centrist party, is really only centrist in terms of Israeli politics. He is—in any other circumstances would be a kind of right of center politician. And I'll just point out that in recent days the Israeli government has declared six Palestinian NGOs—long-time NGOs—terrorist organizations, approved three thousand new housing units in the West Bank, and worked very, very hard to prevent the United States from opening a consulate in East Jerusalem to serve the Palestinians. That consulate had been there for many, many, many years. And it was closed under the Trump administration when the U.S. Embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Biden administration would like to reopen that consulate. And the Israeli government is adamantly opposed. In the end, undoubtably Arab governments are coming to terms with Israel, even beyond the Abraham Accords countries. Egypt's flag carrier, Egyptair, announced flights to Tel Aviv. This is the first time since 1979. You could—you could fly between Cairo and Tel Aviv, something that I've done many, many times. If you were in Egypt, you'd have to go and find an office that would sell you a ticket to something called Air Sinai, that did not have regular flights. Only had flights vaguely whenever, sometimes. It was an Egyptair plane, stripped of its livery, staffed by Egyptair pilots and staff, stripped of anything that said Egyptair. Now, suddenly Egyptair is flying direct flights to Tel Aviv. And El-Al, Israel's national airline, and possibly one other, will be flying directly to Cairo. And there is—and that there is talk of economic cooperation. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Sharm al-Sheikh not long ago. That was the first meeting of Israeli leaders—first public meeting of Israeli leaders and Egyptian leaders in ten years. So there does seem to be an openness on the part of Arab governments to Israel. As far as populations in these countries, they don't yet seem to be ready for normalization, although there has been some traffic between Israel and the UAE, with Emiratis coming to see Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and so on and so forth. But there are very, very few Emiratis. And there are a lot of Egyptians. So as positive as that all is, this is—this has not been a kind of broad acceptance among the population in the Arab world for Israel's legitimate existence. And the kind of issue du jour, great-power competition. This is on everybody's lips in Washington, D.C.—great-power competition, great-power competition. And certainly, the Middle East is likely to be an arena of great-power competition. It has always been an arena of great-power competition. For the first time in more than two decades, the United States has competitors in the region. And let me start with Russia, because there's been so much discussion of China, but Russia is the one that has been actively engaged militarily in the region in a number of places. Vladimir Putin has parlayed his rescue of Hafez al-Assad into influence in the region, in an arc that stretches from NATO ally Turkey, all the way down through the Levant and through Damascus, then even stretching to Jerusalem where Israeli governments and the Russian government have cooperated and coordinated in Syria, into Cairo, and then into at least the eastern portion of Libya, where the Russians have supported a Qaddafist general named Khalifa Haftar, who used to be an employee of the CIA, in his bid for power in Libya. And he has done so by providing weaponry to Haftar, as well as mercenaries to fight and support him. That episode may very well be over, although there's every reason to believe that Haftar is trying to rearm himself and carry on the conflict should the process—should the political process in Libya break down. Russia has sold more weapons to Egypt in the last few years than at any other time since the early 1970s. They have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. It's not clear what that actually means, but that defense agreement was signed not that long after the United States' rather chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which clearly unnerved governments in the Middle East. So Russia is active, it's influential, its militarily engaged, and it is seeking to advance its interests throughout the region. I'll point out that its presence in North Africa is not necessarily so much about North Africa, but it's also about Europe. Its bid in Libya is important because its ally controls the eastern portion of Libya, where most of Libya's light, sweet crude oil is located. And that is the largest—the most significant reserves of oil in all of Africa. So it's important as an energy play for the Russians to control parts of North Africa, and right on Russia's—right on Europe's front doorstep. China. China's the largest investor and single largest trading partner with most of the region. And it's not just energy related. We know how dependent China is on oil from the Gulf, but it's made big investments in Algeria, in Egypt, the UAE, and in Iran. The agreement with Iran, a twenty-five-year agreement, coming at a time when the Iranians were under significant pressure from the United States, was regarded by many in Washington as an effort on the part of the Chinese to undercut the United States, and undercut U.S. policy in the region. I think it was, in part, that. I think it was also in part the fact that China is dependent in part on Iranian oil and did not want the regime there to collapse, posing a potential energy crisis for China and the rest of the world. It seems clear to me, at least, that the Chinese do not want to supplant the United States in the region. I don't think they look at the region in that way. And if they did, they probably learned the lesson of the United States of the last twenty-five years, which has gotten itself wrapped around the axle on a variety of issues that were unnecessary and sapped the power of the United States. So they don't want to get more deeply involved in the region. They don't want to take sides in conflicts. They don't want to take sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict. They don't take sides in the conflict between the United States and Iran, or the competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran. They want to benefit from the region, whether through investment or through extraction, and the security umbrella that the United States provides in the region. I'm not necessarily so sure that that security umbrella needs to be so expensive and so extensive for the United States to achieve its goals. But nevertheless, and for the time being at least, we will be providing that security umbrella in the region, from which the Chinese will benefit. I think, just to close on this issue of great-power competition. And because of time, I'm leaving out another big player, or emerging player in the region, which is India. I'm happy to talk about that in Q&A. But my last point is that, going back to the United States, countries in the region and leaders in the region are predisposed towards the United States. The problem is, is that they are very well-aware of the political polarization in this country. They're very well-aware of the political dysfunction in this country. They're very well-aware of the incompetence that came with the invasion of Iraq, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, or any number of disasters that have unfolded here in the United States. And it doesn't look, from where they sit in Abu Dhabi, in Cairo, in Riyadh, and in other places, that the United States has staying power, the will to lead, and the interest in remaining in the Middle East. And thus, they have turned to alternatives. Those alternatives are not the same as the United States, but they do provide something. I mean, particularly when it comes to the Chinese it is investment, it's economic advantages, without the kind of trouble that comes with the United States. Trouble from the perspective of leaders, so that they don't have to worry about human rights when they deal with the Chinese, because the Chinese aren't interested in human rights. But nevertheless, they remain disclosed toward the United States and want to work with the United States. They just don't know whether we're going to be there over the long term, given what is going on in the United States. I'll stop there. And I look forward to your questions and comments. Thank you. FASKIANOS: Steven, that was fantastic. Thank you very much. We're going to now to all of you for your questions. So the first raised hand comes from Jonas Truneh. And I don't think I pronounced that correctly, so you can correct me. Q: Yeah, no, that's right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dr. Cook, for your talk. I'm from UCL, University College London, in London. COOK: So it is—(off mic). Q: Indeed, it is. Yeah. That's right. COOK: Great. Q: So you touched on it there somewhat particularly with great-power competition, but so my question is related to the current energy logic in the Middle East. The Obama administration perhaps thought that the shale revolution allowed a de-prioritization, if I'm allowed to use that word, of the Middle East. And that was partly related to the pivot to Asia. So essentially does the U.S. still regard itself as the primary guarantor of energy security in the Persian Gulf? And if so, would the greatest beneficiary, as I think you indicated, would that not be China? And is that a case of perverse incentives? Is there much the U.S. can do about it? COOK: Well, it depends on who you ask, right? And it's a great question. I think that the—one of the things that—one of the ways in which the Obama administration sought to deprioritize and leave the region was through the shale revolution. I mean, the one piece of advice that he did take from one of his opponents in 2002—2008, which was to drill, baby, drill. And the United States did. I would not say that this is something that is specific to the Obama administration. If you go back to speeches of presidents way back—but I won't even go that far back. I'll go to George W. Bush in 2005 State of the Union addressed, talked all about energy independence from the Middle East. This may not actually be in much less the foreseeable future, but in really—in a longer-term perspective, it may be harder to do. But it is politically appealing. The reason why I say it depends on who you ask, I think that there are officials in the United States who say: Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. But when the Iranians attacked those two oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, that temporarily took off 50 percent of supply off the markets—good thing the Saudis have a lot stored away—the United States didn't really respond. The president of the United States said: I'm waiting for a call from Riyadh. That forty years of stated American policy was, like, it did not exist. The Carter doctrine and the Reagan corollary to the Carter doctrine suddenly didn't exist. And the entirety of the American foreign policy community shrugged their shoulders and said: We're not going to war on behalf of MBS. I don't think we would have been going to war on behalf of MBS. We would have been ensuring the free flow of energy supplies out of the region, which is something that we have been committed to doing since President Carter articulated the Carter doctrine, and then President Reagan added his corollary to it. I think that there are a number of quite perverse incentives associated with this. And I think that you're right. The question is whether the competition from China outweighs our—I'm talking about “our”—the United States' compelling interest in a healthy global economy. And to the extent that our partners in Asia, whether it's India, South Korea, Japan, and our important trading partner in China, are dependent upon energy resources from the Gulf, and we don't trust anybody to ensure the free flow of energy resources from the Gulf, it's going to be on us to do it. So we are kind of hammered between that desire to have a healthy global economy as being—and being very wary of the Chinese. And the Chinese, I think, are abundantly aware of it, and have sought to take advantage of it. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question, which got an up-vote, from Charles Ammon, who is at Pennsylvania State University. And I think this goes to what you were building on with the great-power competition: What interests does India have in the Middle East? And how is it increasing its involvement in the region? COOK: So India is—imports 60 percent of its oil from the region. Fully 20 percent of it from Saudi Arabia, another 20 percent of it from Iran, and then the other 20 percent from other sources. So that's one thing. That's one reason why India is interested in the Middle East. Second, there are millions and millions of Indians who work in the Middle East. The Gulf region is a region that basically could not run without South Asian expatriate labor, most of which comes from India—on everything. Third, India has made considerable headway with countries like the United Arab Emirates, as well as Saudi Arabia, in counterextremism cooperation. This has come at the expense of Pakistan, but as relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and relations between Pakistan and the UAE soured in recent years, the Indians have been able to take advantage of that. And Indian leaders have hammered away at the common interest that India and leaders in the region have in terms of countering violent extremism. And then finally, India and Israel have quite an extraordinary relationship, both in the tech field as well as in the defense area. Israel is a supplier to India. And the two of them are part of a kind of global network of high-tech powerhouse that have either, you know, a wealth of startups or very significant investment from the major tech players in the world. Israel—Microsoft just announced a huge expansion in Israel. And Israeli engineers and Indian engineers collaborate on a variety of projects for these big tech companies. So there's a kind of multifaceted Indian interest in the region, and the region's interest in India. What India lacks that the Chinese have is a lot more capacity. They don't have the kind of wherewithal to bring investment and trade in the region in the other direction. But nevertheless, it's a much more important player than it was in the past. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Curran Flynn, who has a raised hand. Q: How do you envision the future of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia politics for the next thirty years? Ethiopia controls the Nile dam projects. And could this dispute lead to a war? And what is the progress with the U.S. in mediating the talks between the three countries? COOK: Thank you. FASKIANOS: And that is coming from the King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia. COOK: Fabulous. So that's more than the evening. It's actually nighttime there. I think that the question of the great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is really an important one, and it's something that has not gotten as much attention as it should. And for those of you who are not familiar, in short the Ethiopians have been building a massive dam on the Blue Nile, which is a tributary to the Nile. And that if—when competed, threatens the water supply to Egypt, a country of 110 million people that doesn't get a lot of rainfall. Ethiopia, of course, wants to dam the Nile in order to produce hydroelectric power for its own development, something that Egypt did when it dammed the Nile River to build the Aswan High Dam, and crated Lake Nasser behind it. The Egyptians are very, very concerned. This is an existential issue for them. And there have been on and off negotiations, but the negotiations aren't really about the issues. They're talks about talks about talks. And they haven't gotten—they haven't gotten very far. Now, the Egyptians have been supported by the Sudanese government, after the Sudanese government had been somewhat aligned with the Ethiopian government. The Trump administration put itself squarely behind the Egyptian government, but Ethiopia's also an important partner of the United States in the Horn of Africa. The Egyptians have gone about signing defense cooperation agreements with a variety of countries around Ethiopia's borders. And of course, Ethiopia is engaged in essentially what's a civil war. This is a very, very difficult and complicated situation. Thus far, there doesn't seem to be an easy solution the problem. Now, here's the rub, if you talk to engineers, if you talk to people who study water, if you talk to people who know about dams and the flow of water, the resolution to the problem is actually not that hard to get to. The problem is that the politics and nationalism have been engaged on both sides of the issue, making it much, much more difficult to negotiate an equitable solution to the problem. The Egyptians have said in the past that they don't really have an intention of using force, despite the fact of this being an existential issue. But there's been somewhat of a shift in their language on the issue. Which recently they've said if red lines were crossed, they may be forced to intervene. Intervene how? What are those red lines? They haven't been willing to define them, which should make everybody nervous. The good news is that Biden administration has appointed an envoy to deal with issues in the Horn of Africa, who has been working very hard to try to resolve the conflict. I think the problem here however is that Ethiopia, now distracted by a conflict in the Tigray region, nationalism is running high there, has been—I don't want to use the word impervious—but not as interested in finding a negotiated solution to the problem than it might have otherwise been in the past. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Bob Pauly, who's a professor of international development at the University of Southern Mississippi. It got three up-votes. What would you identify as the most significant likely short and longer-term effects of Turkey's present domestic economic and political challenges on President Erdogan's strategy and policy approaches to the Middle East, and why? COOK: Oh, well, that is a very, very long answer to a very, very interesting question. Let's see what happens in 2023. President Erdogan is facing reelection. His goal all along has been to reelected on the one hundredth anniversary of the republic, and to demonstrate how much he has transformed Turkey in the image of the Justice and Development Party, and moved it away from the institutions of the republic. Erdogan may not make it to 2023. I don't want to pedal in conspiracy theories or anything like that, but he doesn't look well. There are large numbers of videos that have surfaced of him having difficulties, including one famous one from this past summer when he was offering a Ramadan greeting on Turkish television to supporters of the Justice and Development Party, and he seemed to fade out and slur his words. This is coupled with reports trickling out of Ankara about the lengths to which the inner circle has gone to shield real health concerns about Erdogan from the public. It's hard to really diagnose someone from more than six thousand miles away, but I think it's a scenario that policymakers in Washington need to think seriously about. What happens if Erdogan is incapacitated or dies before 2023? That's one piece. The second piece is, well, what if he makes it and he's reelected? And I think in any reasonable observer sitting around at the end of 2021 looking forward to 2023 would say two things: One, you really can't predict Turkish politics this far out, but if Turkish elections were held today and they were free and fair, the Justice and Development Party would get below 30 percent. Still more than everybody else. And Erdogan would have a real fight on his hands to get reelected, which he probably would be. His approaches to his domestic challenges and his approaches to the region are really based on what his current political calculations are at any given moment. So his needlessly aggressive posture in the Eastern Mediterranean was a function of the fact that he needed to shore up his nationalist base. Now that he finds himself quite isolated in the world, the Turks have made overtures to Israel, to the UAE, to Saudi Arabia. They're virtually chasing the Egyptians around the Eastern Mediterranean to repair their relationship. Because without repairing these relationships the kind of investment that is necessary to try to help revive the Turkish economy—which has been on the skids for a number of years—is going to be—is going to be more difficult. There's also another piece of this, which is the Middle East is a rather lucrative arms market. And during the AKP era, the Turks have had a significant amount of success further developing their defense industrial base, to the point that now their drones are coveted. Now one of the reasons for a Saudi-Turkish rapprochement is that the United States will not sell Saudi Arabia the drones it wants, for fear that they will use them in Yemen. And the Saudis are looking for drones elsewhere. That's either China or Turkey. And Turkey's seem to work really, really well, based on experience in Syria, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh. So what—Turkish foreign policy towards the region has become really dependent upon what Erdogan's particularly political needs are. There's no strategic approach to the region. There is a vision of Turkey as a leader of the region, of a great power in its own right, as a leader of the Muslim world, as a Mediterranean power as well. But that's nothing new. Turkish Islamists have been talking about these things for quite some time. I think it's important that there's been some de-escalation. I don't think that all of these countries now love each other, but they see the wisdom of pulling back from—pulling back from the brink. I don't see Turkey's position changing dramatically in terms of its kind of reintegration into the broader region before 2023, at the least. FASKIANOS: Great. Let's go next to, raised hand, to Caleb Sanner. And you need to unmute yourself. Q: Hello, my name is Caleb. I'm from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. So, Dr. Cook, you had mentioned in passing how China has been involved economically in North Africa. And my question would be, how is the U.S. taking that? And what are we doing, in a sense, to kind of counter that? I know it's not a military advancement in terms of that, but I've seen what it has been doing to their economies—North Africa's economies. And, yeah, what's the U.S. stance on that? COOK: Well, I think the United States is somewhat detached from this question of North Africa. North Africa's long been a—with the exception of Egypt, of course. And Egypt, you know, is not really North Africa. Egypt is something in and of itself. That China is investing heavily in Egypt. And the Egyptian position is: Please don't ask us to choose between you and the Chinese, because we're not going to make that choice. We think investment from all of these places is good for—is good for Egypt. And the other places where China is investing, and that's mostly in Algeria, the United States really doesn't have close ties to Algeria. There was a tightening of the relationship after the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, recognizing that the Algerians—extremist groups in Algerian that had been waging war against the state there over the course of the 1990s were part and parcel of this new phenomenon of global jihad. And so there has been a security relationship there. There has been some kind of big infrastructure kind of investment in that country, with big companies that build big things, like GE and others, involved in Algeria. But the United States isn't helping to develop ports or industrial parks or critical infrastructure like bridges and airports in the same way that the Chinese have been doing throughout the region. And in Algeria, as well as in Egypt, the Chinese are building a fairly significant industrial center in the Suez Canal zone, of all places. And the United States simply doesn't have an answer to it, other than to tell our traditional partners in the region, don't do it. But unless we show up with something to offer them, I'm afraid that Chinese investment is going to be too attractive for countries that are in need of this kind of investment. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to a written question from Kenneth Mayers, who is at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. In your opinion, what would a strategic vision based on a far-sighted understanding of both resources and U.S. goals—with regard to peace and security, prosperity and development, and institutions and norms and values such as human rights—look like in the Middle East and North Africa? COOK: Well, it's a great question. And I'm tempted to say you're going to have to read the last third of my new book in order to get the—in order to get the answer. I think but let me start with something mentioned about norms and values. I think that one of the things that has plagued American foreign policy over the course of not just the last twenty years, but in the post-World War II era all the way up through the present day, you see it very, very clearly with President Biden, is that trying to incorporate American values and norms into our approach to the region has been extraordinarily difficult. And what we have a history of doing is the thing that is strategically tenable, but morally suspect. So what I would say is, I mean, just look at what's happened recently. The president of the United States studiously avoided placing a telephone call to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Egyptians, as many know, have a terrible record on human rights, particularly since President Sisi came to power. Arrests of tens of thousands of people in the country, the torture of many, many people, the killings of people. And the president during his campaign said that he was going to give no blank checks to dictators, including to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. And then what happened in May? What happened in May was that fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas and others in the Gaza Strip, a brutal eleven-day conflict. And Egypt stepped up and provided a way out of the conflict through its good offices. And that prompted the United States to—the president of the United States—to have two phone calls in those eleven days with the Egyptian leader. And now the United States is talking about Egypt as a constructive partner that's helping to stabilize the region. Sure, the administration suspended $130 million of Egypt's annual—$130 million Egypt's annual allotment of $1.3 billion. But that is not a lot. Egypt got most of—most of its military aid. As I said, strategically tenable, morally suspect. I'm not quite sure how we get out of that. But what I do know, and I'll give you a little bit of a preview of the last third of the book—but I really do want you to buy it when it's done—is that the traditional interests of the United States in the Middle East are changing. And I go through a kind of quasi, long, somewhat tortured—but very, very interesting—discussion of the origins of our interests, and how they are changing, and how we can tell they are changing. And that is to say that the free flow of energy resources may not be as important to the United States in the next twenty-five years as it was over the course of the previous fifty or sixty years. That helping to ensure Israeli security, which has been axiomatic for the United States, eh, I'd say since the 1960s, really, may not be as important as Israel develops its diplomatic relations with its neighbors, that has a GDP per capita that's on par with the U.K., and France, and other partners in Europe, a country that clearly can take care of itself, that is a driver of technology and innovation around the globe. And that may no longer require America's military dominance in the region. So what is that we want to be doing? How can we be constructive? And I think the answers are in things that we hadn't really thought of too systematically in the past. What are the things that we're willing to invest in an defend going forward? Things like climate change, things like migration, things like pandemic disease. These are things that we've talked about, but that we've never been willing to invest in the kind of the resources. Now there are parts of the Middle East that during the summer months are in-habitable. That's going to produce waves of people looking for places to live that are inhabitable. What do we do about that? Does that destabilize the Indian subcontinent? Does it destabilize Europe? Does it destabilize North Africa? These are all questions that we haven't yet answered. But to the extent that we want to invest in, defend and sacrifice for things like climate, and we want to address the issue—related issue of migration, and we want to deal with the issue of disease and other of these kind of functional global issues in the Middle East is better not just for us and Middle Easterners, but also in terms of our strategic—our great-power competition in the region. These are not things that the Chinese and the Russians are terribly interested in, despite the fact that the Chinese may tell you they are. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to Ahmuan Williams, with a raised hand, at the University of Oklahoma. COOK: Oklahoma. Q: Hi. And thank you for being here. You kind of talked about the stabilization of northern Africa and the Middle East. And just a few days ago the Sudanese government—and they still haven't helped capture the parliamentarian there—have recycled back into a military—somewhat of military rule. And it's been since 2005 since the end of their last civil war, which claimed millions of innocent civilians through starvation and strife and, you know, the lack of being able to get humanitarian aid. There was also a huge refugee crisis there, a lot of people who evacuated Sudan. How's that going to impact the Middle East and the American take to Middle East and northern Africa policy, especially now that the Security Council is now considering this and is trying to determine what we should do? COOK: It's a great question. And I think that, first, let's be clear. There was a coup d'état in Sudan. The military overthrew a transitional government on the eve of having to hand over the government to civilians. And they didn't like it. There's been tension that's been brewing in Sudan for some time. Actually, an American envoy, our envoy to East Africa and Africa more generally, a guy named Jeff Feltman, was in Khartoum, trying to kind of calm the tension, to get the two sides together, and working to avert a coup. And the day after he left, the military moved. That's not—that doesn't reflect the fact that the United States gave a blessing for the military to overthrow this government. I think what it does, though, and it's something that I think we all need to keep in mind, it demonstrates the limits of American power in a variety of places around the world. That we don't have all the power in the world to prevent things from happening when people, like the leaders of the Sudanese military, believe that they have existential issues that are at stake. Now, what's worry about destabilization in Sudan is, as you point out, there was a civil war there, there was the creation of a new country there, potential for—if things got really out of hand—refugee flows into Egypt, from Egypt across the Sanai Peninsula into Israel. One of the things people are unaware of is the large number of Sudanese or Eritreans and other Africans who have sought refuge in Israel, which has created significant economic and social strains in that country. So it's a big deal. Thus far, it seems we don't—that the U.S. government doesn't know exactly what's happening there. There are protesters in the streets demanding democracy. It's very unclear what the military is going to do. And it's very unclear what our regional allies and how they view what's happening. What Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, what Saudi Arabia, what Israel—which Sudan is an Abraham Accords country now—what they are doing. How they view the coup as positive or negative will likely impact how effective the United States can be in trying to manage this situation. But I suspect that we're just going to have to accommodate ourselves to whatever outcome the Sudanese people and the Sudanese military come to, because I don't think we have a lot of—we don't have a lot of tools there to make everybody behave. FASKIANOS: OK. So I'm going to take the next question from Elena Murphy, who is a junior at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. And she's a diplomatic intern at the Kurdistan Regional Government's Representation in the United States. COOK: That's cool. FASKIANOS: That's very cool. So as a follow up, how much do you believe neo-Ottomanism and attempting regional hegemony has affected Erdogan's domestic and foreign policy, especially in consideration of Turkey's shift towards the MENA in their foreign policy, after a period of withdrawals and no problems with neighbors policy? COOK: Great. Can I see that? Because that's a long question. FASKIANOS: Yeah, it's a long question. It's got an up-vote. Third one down. COOK: Third one down. Elena, as a follow up, how much do you believe neo-Ottomanism—I'm sorry, I'm going to have to read it again. How much do you believe neo-Ottomanism and attempting regional has affected Erdogan's both domestic and foreign policy, especially in consideration of Turkey's shift towards the MENA in their foreign policy, after a period of withdrawals and no problems with neighbors? OK. Great. So let us set aside the term “neo-Ottomanism” for now. Because neo-Ottomanism actually—it does mean something, but people have often used the term neo-Ottomanism to describe policies of the Turkish government under President Erdogan that they don't like. And so let's just talk about the way in which the Turkish government under President Erdogan views the region and views what Turkey's rightful place should be. And I think the Ottomanism piece is important, because the kind of intellectual framework which the Justice and Development Party, which is Erdogan's party, views the world, sees Turkey as—first of all, it sees the Turkish Republic as a not-so-legitimate heir to the Ottoman Empire. That from their perspective, the natural order of things would have been the continuation of the empire in some form or another. And as a result, they believe that Turkey's natural place is a place of leadership in the region for a long time. Even before the Justice and Development Party was founded in 2001, Turkey's earlier generation of Islamists used to savage the Turkish leadership for its desire to be part of the West, by saying that this was kind of unnatural, that they were just merely aping the West, and the West was never actually going to accept Turkey. Which is probably true. But I think that the Justice and Development Party, after a period of wanting to become closer to the West, has turned its attention towards the Middle East, North Africa, and the Muslim world more generally. And in that, it sees itself, the Turks see themselves as the natural leaders in the region. They believe they have a cultural affinity to the region as a result of the legacies of the Ottoman Empire, and they very much can play this role of leader. They see themselves as one of the kind of few real countries in the region, along with Egypt and Iran and Saudi Arabia. And the rest are sort of ephemeral. Needless to say, big countries in the Arab world—like Egypt, like Saudi Arabia—don't welcome the idea of Turkey as a leader of the region. They recognize Turkey as a very big and important country, but not a leader of the region. And this is part of that friction that Turkey has experienced with its neighbors, after an earlier iteration of Turkish foreign policy, in which—one of the earliest iterations of Turkish foreign policy under the Justice and Development Party which was called no problems with neighbors. In which Turkey, regardless of the character of the regimes, wanted to have good relations with its neighbors. It could trade with those neighbors. And make everybody—in the process, Turkey could be a driver of economic development in the region, and everybody can be basically wealthy and happy. And it didn't really work out that way, for a variety of reasons that we don't have enough time for. Let's leave it at the fact that Turkey under Erdogan—and a view that is shared by many—that Turkey should be a leader of the region. And I suspect that if Erdogan were to die, if he were unable to stand for election, if the opposition were to win, that there would still be elements of this desire to be a regional leader in a new Turkish foreign policy. FASKIANOS: Steven, thank you very much. This was really terrific. We appreciate your stepping in at the eleventh hour, taking time away from your book. For all of you— COOK: I'm still not Sanam. FASKIANOS: (Laughs.) I know, but you were an awesome replacement. So you can follow Steven Cook on Twitter at @stevenacook. As I said at the beginning too, he is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine. So you can read his work there, as well as, of course, on CFR.org, all of the commentary, analysis, op-eds, congressional testimony are there for free. So I hope you will follow him and look after his next book. Our next Academic Webinar will be on Wednesday November 3, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on the future of U.S.-Mexico relations. In the meantime, I encourage you to follow us, @CFR_Academic, visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for new research and analysis on global issues. And stay well, stay safe, and thank you, again. COOK: Bye, everyone. FASKIANOS: Bye. (END)

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://eagleeyelanes.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/refugee-returnees-service-hosting-244-eritreans-that-escaped-abduction-killing-of-terrorist-tplf/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eagleeyelens/message

The EWB podcast is back after a summer hiatus with a brand new episode. This episode features a special guest, Winta Desta, a Canadian - Eritrean physiotherapist. Winta shares from her experience and expertise as a practitioner in physiotherapy and sports. We also get insight into Winta's community engagement through her own platform MayeHealth which provides health education for Eritreans in both English and Tigrinya. If you're looking to expand your definition of wellbeing, inspiration to move your body more or if you deal with a lot of physical pain that might affect your wellbeing then this episode is for you. In this episode we talk about: - Wellbeing and movement/exercise as a lifestyle - What is physiotherapy? - Living with chronic physical pain - The connection between chronic pain and mental health - Community care for us by us: MayeHealth --- Get in touch with Winta and follow her work: Instagram @mayehealth Website MayeHealth.com --- Help us grow this podcast by word of mouth so please send this episode to your sister, friend, aunt, brother, your partner…..Let's grown in wellness as a community. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, REVIEW AND RATE THE PODCAST. Follow us on IG and send questions via DM. INSTAGRAM @eriwellbeing NEWSLETTER Sign up here --- The Eriwellbeing podcast is a mental health and wellbeing podcast, healing black and brown communities through open and honest conversations about our mental health. Hosted by Ruthie Zerai and Mikal Woldu. Produced by Ruthie Zerai, Mikal Woldu and @purecreationmedia, edited by Emmy K. --- Disclaimer: While we hope you love listening to and learning from the podcast, please note this is not a substitute for seeking professional help from licensed mental health professionals. Ruthie and Miki are not Mental health professionals, we are holding this space as community builders. We encourage you to seek professional help in your local area for any mental health concerns that you may be experiencing.

Afghanistan emergency: Bachelet condemns floggings, violations by Taliban Tigray food aid needs to step up fast, warns WFP UNHCR reaches Eritreans stranded in Tigray camps

In today's episode, your usual co-hosts Jaal Maroo and Jaal Aangoo are joined by 3 Eritrean guests: Salem Haile, Awet Tsehaye, and Fikre Gaim. It's a long one -- so for your convenience, you can jump ahead to topics of interest if you'd like. 8:00: about Eritrean resistance movement. 17:30: "independence without freedom"? 29:45: why does Isaias have support? 53:30: how did deployment of troops into Ethiopia impact Eritrean citizens? 1:15:00: what do Eritreans think of the Oromo struggle? 1:28:30: what's next for Eritrea? Listen and let us know what you think at 430-755-0727 (voicemail or text), or reach us on our Instagram or Twitter @teamfreeOromia. Intro/outro song credit: "Rosamo" by Yasiin Bouba, OGE_R, and Adill Jamaal.

Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia stage protests denouncing mistreatment and harassment; The president of Tunisia says he wants to get rid of corruption as his political monopoly continues; Burundi says it is joining the COVAX initiative; And how do you protect the intellectual properties of natural remedies produced by indigenous people?

"What does torture sound like?" - In this episode, Sara and I talk to Meron Estefanos, an Eritrean refugee advocate, journalist, and activist, who has the answer to this. Meron tells us all about her country of origin, that's been dubbed "The North Korea of Africa": Eritrea. She tells us why every month thousands of Eritreans have to flee their country to escape the cruelty of the dictatorship and what happens to them when they do. Furthermore, she explains what happens in the Sinai desert to refugees who get captured there by criminal gangs who abuse them, torture them and extort money from their families for their release. We also address the struggle about the conflict with the Tigray region and the complex history behind it. Meron Estefanos is a first-hand witness to the horror refugees face on their perilous journeys, she's witnessed unspeakable crimes, yet never gave up on people in need. She also speaks to us about how these experiences make her feel, what she thinks of EU migration policies and what we can do to help. "At last I couldn't accept that the person I had interviewed 5 minutes ago, had died.(...) This is not about migration, this is about racism." (Meron Estefanos) [please excuse the bad audio on my part this time - apologies!] More information about Sea-Eye: https://sea-eye.org/en - Feel free to support us with a donation! Meron Estefanos's in the Documentary about refugees in Sinai: "Sound of Torture" https://vimeo.com/ondemand/soundoftorture3/244505269 Her Twitter Acc.: @meronina Sara's latest article "Women rescued at sea reveal scale of alleged Libya abuses": https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2021/7/27/women-rescued-at-sea-reveal-scale-of-alleged-libya-abuses [Intro&Outo: Thanks to Jan Wohlfahrt]

Meron Estefanos is a Swedish-based Eritrean human rights activist and journalist, who works tirelessly to aid and raise awareness about the plight of Eritrean refugees, who have been kidnapped, tortured, raped and held for ransom in the Sudan and the Sinai. In her efforts to rise up against the dictatorship in Eritrea she is engaging researchers in Ethiopia, who she has been paying with bitcoin. We're also discussing the fact that Bitcoin can take down dictators and many human rights activists use bitcoin discreetly."Bitcoin helps people on the ground as a money transferring method, as an investment and even to topple a dictatorship. In Eritrea 36% of the population survive because of remittances. Banking is controlled by the government, the Hawala system is controlled by the government. The people that give out the money in Eritrea are part of the government and they need the hard currency sent from abroad. If we Eritreans and other African regions fighting dictatorships would start using Bitcoin, we'd take away the power of the government, because without money, they are nothing." - Meron Estefanos, Human rights activist Shownotes on the episode page

Meron Estefanos is a Swedish-based Eritrean human rights activist and journalist, who works tirelessly to aid and raise awareness about the plight of Eritrean refugees, who have been kidnapped, tortured, raped and held for ransom in the Sudan and the Sinai. In her efforts to rise up against the dictatorship in Eritrea she is engaging researchers in Ethiopia, who she has been paying with bitcoin. We're also discussing the fact that Bitcoin can take down dictators and many human rights activists use bitcoin discreetly. "Bitcoin helps people on the ground as a money transferring method, as an investment and even to topple a dictatorship. In Eritrea 36% of the population survive because of remittances. Banking is controlled by the government, the Hawala system is controlled by the government. The people that give out the money in Eritrea are part of the government and they need the hard currency sent from abroad. If we Eritreans and other African regions fighting dictatorships would start using Bitcoin, we'd take away the power of the government, because without money, they are nothing." - Meron Estefanos, Human rights activist Background of Meron Estefanos General situation in Eritrea Human rights, living standards Military service and women's situation Journeys and hardships of refugees Traffickers taking hostages How Meron got involved Using bitcoin as a means of payment Bitcoin compared to Western Union and Hawala Is there a solution to this horrible situation? How Meron copes with the depressing stories How the audience can support refugees and Meron's work Donate bitcoin to help Eritrean refugees: bc1qr8v9s5elndezh6r9ff6g20f5kz99pq5hfemfwl ----------- Want more episodes? sorted by guest https://bitcoinundco.com/en/guests/ sorted by topic https://bitcoinundco.com/en/topics/ ----------- Card Wallet - the easy cold storage solution for your bitcoin. No software needed. Order now and get 20% off! https://www.cardwallet.com/anita Looking for other Bitcoin podcasts? Check' out https://letstalkbitcoin.com the Let's Talk Bitcoin Network ----------- Like it? My work is open and free to use. If you value my work and would like to send me a tip, they are always appreciated! Donate: https://anita.link/donate ---------- Anita Posch is author of the book (L)earn Bitcoin (July 2021), host of the Anita Posch show and Bitcoin advocate and solopreneur. She is a member of the board at Bitcoin Austria - an educational non-profit organization. Anita translated two volumes of "The Internet of Money" by Andreas M. Antonopoulos to German. Her research and activities around Bitcoin are discussed in media all over the world: Bitcoin Magazine, CoinDesk, Bayern2, Deutschlandfunk, Radio FM4, and ARD television amongst others. ---------- Follow and Subscribe: Anita's Weekly - the best stories in Bitcoin from my point of view: https://anita.link/subscribe Twitter: https://twitter.com/anitaposch YouTube: https://youtube.com/AnitaPosch ---------- #Bitcoin #Eritrea #HumanRights

Ethiopia's ambassador to the UN says Eritrean troops who have been fighting in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray will leave soon.Taye Atske Sellasie Made says it was a matter of sorting out some technical and procedural issues regarding when they could leave.The ambassador says there was a commitment from the Ethiopian government and the Eritreans are very clear as well.UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock says no one should be surprised to see a rerun of the 1984 devastating famine if violence does not stop and the Eritrean troops do not withdraw.

Eritreans have different opinions come May 24th every year when it comes to celebrating Independence Day. In this episode I talk about what we as Eritreans sacrificed to secure our independence after 30 years of armed struggle. Looking back at what we paid for the independence of our country and freedom of our people. Shouldn't we celebrate Independence Day in our own ways? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mekerminleb/message

In the Moment, May 4, 2021 Show 1041. ACLU Indigenous Justice Organizer Candi Brings Plenty offers a legislative update for our #MMIWinSD May Spotlight. Lee Strubinger talks about the state's expectation for tourism season and workforce shortage. Lily Mendoza of the Red Ribbon Skirt Society discusses the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis in South Dakota and previews a May 5th art installation at the Journey Museum in Rapid City. We talk with Evan Williams, director and producer of the new FRONTLINE investigations into the persistent human rights violations of the Eritrean government in East Africa. Since 2016 Williams has been uncovering and verifying hidden footage of prisons and detention camps and interviewing Eritreans who have escaped the regime. NPR's Tiny Desk Contest launches today. SDPB's Katy Beem joins us to explain the process and we'll hear music from last year's Local Favorite.

Human Rights Watch has called for an urgent United Nations-backed inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Ethiopian region of Tigray.The lobby group accuses Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of indiscriminately shelling the city of Axum in November.Human Rights Watch says the Eritreans later massacred an estimated 200 civilians while referring to a report last week by Amnesty InternationalEritrea has previously dismissed the allegations. Ethiopia's Human Rights Commissions says they should be taken seriously.The UN Security Council failed to agree on a joint statement on the conflict in Tigray.

In Episode 9 of Season 2, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan breaks down the binary of Neocolonial and Postcolonial states with Vanessa Tsehaye. Vanessa Tsehaye is an Eritrean human rights activist who was born and raised in Sweden. She founded the organisation One Day Seyoum when she was in high school to continue the work of her uncle Seyoum Tsehaye, a journalist who has been imprisoned without a trial in Eritrea since 2001. One Day Seyoum is today one of the largest youth organisations fighting against human rights abuses committed against the Eritrean people, both still in the country and after they flee. She holds a law degree from SOAS, University of London and currently serves as Amnesty International’s campaigner for the Horn of Africa. In this episode Vanessa helps dismantle the reductive way formerly colonised states are seen. How do the ways we glorify postcolonial states or condemn necolonial relations impact the people on the ground? Through her work to better the lives of Eritreans we unpicked the rhetoric that hides human rights abuses and obscures the displacement of so many people made refugees and harmed by borders. We ask what criteria we should use to extend support for states across the world, and how might we better understand dynamics of statehood? For more information on One Day Seyoum's Eritrean Refugee Centre click here. To read the transcript of this episode instead, follow this link: https://www.suhaiymah.com/breaking-binaries-transcripts.

Playlist: Serge-Mortgage broker - Interview via zoom with serge-mortgage broker on how to prepare to buy a houseAbraham Afewerki - Abraham afewerkiMicheal Teclemariam - Interview via zoom with Eritreans opinion purchasing community hall.

We now arrive on the eve of the Greek and Persian wars. The Greek colonies of Ionian had traded one ruler for another and were now part of the Persian Empire. Their lack of freedom and rising taxes would see discontent grow. With some help from ambitious leaders, Ionia and surrounding regions would rise up in revolt.The Ionians would seek help from their cousins back on the Greek mainland to assist in their plight. Only two city states, Athens and Eretria would answer the call with limited help, but it was enough for Darius to shift his gaze west. The ultimate goal of the rebels was to march onto Susa, one of the Persian capitals. But the campaign would be short lived with the Greek force being foiled at the first major city. Sardis. The Persian forces were able to force the battle of Ephesus and the Greeks were routed, with the Athenians and Eritreans returning home and taking no more part in the revolt.The Persians now began systematically re subjugating the various regions along the Anatolian coast line in a series of campaigns lasting another 4 years. Eventually the revolt would be effectively defeated at the naval battle of Lade. Now though, with the prelude to the Greek and Persian wars over the Persian Empire would now begin preparations to move against the lands of Greece.

A common response when I've mentioned Eritrea is "Where is that?" or "I've never heard of that country". Eritrea is a country on the Horn of Africa, bordering Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Since then it has been a one-party state with, according to Human Rights Watch, one of the worst human right records in the world. As a result, many Eritreans have fled the country to escape persecution or the country's compulsory and indefinite military service. In recent years, more and more Eritreans have settled in Tasmania, with the community now estimated in the hundreds. Ruth ( not her real name ) agreed to talk with me about her story of escaping Eritrea to an refugee camp in Ethiopia and sharing some of her experiences of settling down in Tasmania in the last 3 years. I hope that Ruth's story will help others appreciate the difficult realities many refugees face once they have fled their country and appreciate better what to us are unthinkable conditions that drive people to flee their home.

We are back again with another Corona special, this time with Dr Kemal Ibrahim, a Psychiatrist from London. In this conversation, we talk about how to take care of your mental health during the corona pandemic if you have a pre-existing mental health condition/diagnosis. This episode will also speak directly to anyone that might be a caretaker of a loved one or a family member that is struggling with a mental health condition. We say this often but it’s worth repeating, we are always so grateful when we get to speak to and learn from Mental Health professionals like Dr Kemal from our community that really understand the complexity of our experience, as Eritreans, as black people and as children of immigrants. Please do share this episode with your loved ones or anybody that you know that might be struggling with the lockdown. ______________________________ Get in touch with Dr Kemal Email: kemal.ibrahim@doctors.org.uk Youtube Channel Eritrea Health - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUjoQfgFAyPsoslopwLHI2w Fitness App that Dr Kemal mentioned, Seven - https://seven.app/ ______________________________ Get in touch with us on IG @eriwellbeing. Thank you for listening, if you enjoy this podcast then please share the episode with a friend, share it on social media with #eriwellbeing and please give us a review on your platform of choice. Be well

Eritrea is one of the most censored countries in the world, restricting all Eritreans to speak up for their rights and making them live in the oppression of the governmental regime. Vanessa Tsehaye, an activist and founder of the movement One Day Seyoum, came to the College Freedom Forum (CFF) to share her work and experience in the search for freedom for her natal country, Eritrea. The activist remarks that global ignorance affects countries like Eritrea and enables oppressive regimes to continue to operate undisturbed. But, with the help of solidarity and diffusing information as well as freedom movements, this can be changed. Tsehaye tells the story of her uncle, a journalist that was imprisoned because he documented the regimen crimes and expressed the truth of the situation in Eritrea. She explains the border problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia that has been used as an excuse for the government to continue with oppressive politics, making Eritrea the most censored country in the world. Then, Tsehaye reveals how she got involved in activism because she was tired of this situation in her country. She started by speaking up and founding an organization named in honor of her uncle One Day Seyoum, she explains how the organization works and uses tools to get people informed about the situation in Eritrea. The activist mentions that in 2018 the border problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia ended, but the regime is still the same. She points out that this event encouraged people to make a change, and she started to see it in her work when Eritreans and Non-Eritreans were fighting together for the cause. To conclude, Tsehaye shares her happiness to see the passion of people working together, remarking the importance of international solidarity and asks for the help of anyone who can do something to end the oppressive regime.

Weekly Sport (27/01/2020) * Eritrean cyclists dominate La Tropicale Amissa Bongo* Ethiopian athletes dominate Dubai Marathon* Ugandans beat Ethiopian 5-1 on aggregate in preliminary qualifiers for FIFA Womens U17* Kobe Bryant's death shocks the sports world - ሰሙናዊ መደብ ስፖርት (27/01/2020) * ኤርትራውያን ተቐዳደምቲ አብ ላ ትሪፒካለ አሚሳ ቦንጎ ጎብለላት ናይ ነጥቢ፡ መንእሰይን ዓቐብን ኮይኖም፡* ማራቶን ዱባይ ኢትዮጵያውያን ኣትሌታት ብዓብላሊ ውጽኢታት ብሒቶሞ፡* ኢትዮጵያ አብ ቅድመ መጽረዪ ንዋንጫ ዓለም ፊፋ መንእሰያት ደቀንስትዮ ት17 ብድምር ውጽኢት 5-1 ብኡጋንዳ ተሳዒረን፡* ኮኾብ ኩዕሶ ሰኪዐት/ባስኬት ቦል ዓለም ኮቢ ብራያንት ብሓደጋ ምውዳቕ ነፋሪት መይቱ፡ ስንባደን ሓዘንን ኣብ ልዕሊ’ቲ ስፖርትን ዓለምን ፈጢሩ፡

When Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October, many Ethiopians and Eritreans marked the historic moment with pride and celebration. It was also an opportunity for me to re-visit the shared and intertwined history of the two sister countries with my friend Moges. We talk, laugh and discuss our Eritrean and Ethiopian identities and examine the important moment where our histories diverge. I learned so much and was reminded that coffee will always be a shared value and perhaps the secret to peace is in the shurro. This episode is edited by Bukachi Akatsa (bstu.av@gmail.com) and the Up/Root jingle is written and performed by my wonderful daughter, Selah.

00:36:53. Meron Estefanos reports on slavery and internment camps in Libya with a special focus on Eritrean refugees. Fleeing persecution oppression and conflict, refugees from Africa and Asia find themselves confined in horrific conditions in Libyan internment camps and sometimes sold as slaves. In the camps human rights and sexual abuse is rampant and life beyond the camps often results in the hazards of a Mediterranean sea journey or the loss of freedom in North Africa. Estefanos brings her own experience and work as a journalist to make authentic voices to a broader audience. Twitter : @Meronina Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Miissing.Eritreans http://eirr.org Eritrean Initiative on Refugee Rights http://eritreanrefugees.org/ American Team For Eritrean Refugees This American Life did a segment on her https://www.thisamericanlife.org/502/this-call-may-be-recorded-to-save-your-life Feedback to: dwatchnews@earthlink.net

Meet Lindsay:Lindsay Bryson is a pediatric nurse by training and worked predominantly as a pediatric nurse in Canada and the USA before joining MSF in 2003. Between 2003 and 2007 she worked in different capacities (nurse, medical team leader) in Congo-Brazzaville, Burundi, Chad, Somalia and the DRC. She started as Medical Coordinator in 2007 in the Central African Republic and worked in this capacity in in Haiti between 2012 and2015, DRC in 2016 and most recently Ethiopia between 2016 and June 2018. She gained her Master’s in Health Sciences specializing in Bio Medical Ethics at the University of Toronto in 2011.Lindsay has been involved in wide ranging aspects of medical operations within MSF ranging from design and implementation of sexual and gender-based programming, running complex hospital structures, responding to outbreaks (hospital and community based), medical advocacy, research for neglected diseases and malaria and large-scale refugee responses for South Sudanese and Eritreans arriving in Ethiopia. Lindsay has co-authored publications around obstetric care access and cholera treatment in pregnant women in Haiti. She is the Principal investigator on a long-term operational research project studying the neurodevelopment and growth of neonates in Haiti. She started as Medical Advisor to the Sweden Innovation Unit in 2018.Contact Lindsay:Website: www.msf.orgFacebook: lindsay.bryson.71Go to http://www.bit.ly/thenatandsarahshow to catch this week’s livestream!

Transcript: Are there merits to military conscription? In this programme, I will discuss diverse views of surrounding military conscription. Scholars have, in the past, linked military conscription and nation-building. They argue that conscription can either shore up or undermine the national construct. Military conscription is a policy, which relies on coercion to compulsorily recruit members into the military. Modernization theorists have hailed military conscription as a modern model of organization that is dedicated to nation building especially in newly formed states. In addition, proponents of military conscription argue that, military conscription is an essential tool for building a sense of nationalism and a strong feeling of citizenship particularly in young conscripts. It is considered as a unifying process and a critical instrument for national unity and social integration. In this regard, Amita Etzion, a prominent social anthropologist scholar, views military conscription as, and I quote, a Sociological Mixer, end of quote, that is a powerful means to integrate heterogeneous societies. Scholars also equate military conscription as a and I quote school of nation, end of quote. This term refers to a disciplined environment in which citizens would learn transferable skills, the value of social engagement and the importance of self- sacrifice. Military conscription is also seen by scholars (name) an institutional setting well suited to increase “communicative effectiveness” and thus breaking down dividing lines based on race, ethnicity, religion or class. Since conscripts are required to perform common tasks in a highly structured environment and in close quarters individuals therefore from diverse backgrounds would not just interact but would learn how to effectively communicate with each other. In this regard, Eritrean military service, for instance, has partially contributed for Eritreans to have a share common identity and solidarity. However, the unconstructive impact outweighed the good given the justification of the current massive Eritrean youth exodus. Opponents of military conscription argue that it is often divisive and does not unify a nation. In addition, military services do not lead to inclusive common identities or solidarity but rather reinforce existing cleavages. In South Africa, when military conscription was compulsory for all white males to join the South African Army in the sixties, the Army, was not only used to fight liberation movements in the neighbouring countries such as Angola Mozambique and Namibia, but it was also used to uphold the apartheid regime in the country. Opponents further argue that conscription limits citizens' opportunity to explore other things other non-military experiences and that might have serious consequences in society such as productivity of the citizens. This has potential to weaken society. Other scholars point out that the negative experiences of some of the conscripts might lead them to detest the military. In the end the country’s armed forces may face low morale and disciplinary problems due to the presence of unwilling conscripts. In addition, opponents of military conscription have studied the paradoxes underpinned it. Even though conscription's is seen by governments as a means of building a sense of nationalism or citizenship, it depends whether conscripts come out with a positive attitude. Studies have shown there is a strong correlation between the professionalism within the army and the willingness of young people to join freely. Nationalism is pointless unless the citizens have the power to achieve their goals, privileged opportunities and have the vision to change their communities and the nation.

An Ethiopian, Egyptian and Bengali discuss the history behind Ethiopia and Eritrea's war, their recent peace agreement. A great listen for Ethiopians and Eritreans who want to learn more, as well as outsiders who'd appreciate some context behind the unfolding historical events. Podcasters: Adil: @thatethiopian Karim: @karimxgalal Rafeed

What will the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist, do to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s image, and to already-jittery oil markets? Eritreans continue to spill across the border with Ethiopia, which opened last month—but they worry about it closing again. And our journalists vote on the face to grace Britain’s new £50 note; why do banknotes’ famous figures stir such fervour? Jason Palmer hostsMusic: "Making a Change"; "Evocative"; "I'm going for a Coffee"; by Lee Rosevere(CC x 4.0) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's podcast the Africanist takes the conversation to East Africa as we are joined by Dagmawi (@Dag_DMV)a good college friend of ours from Ethiopia. Dag is one of the leaders, and a board member and Treasurer of Habesha Networks and also a real estate expert. He explained Habesha Networks to us and its purpose to create a positive and inclusive space for Ethiopians and Eritreans to network, build meaningful connections, and support the community through supporting the people and their businesses to make a bigger impact. He also broke down the do's & don'ts of real estate & provided very much needed advice for home buying. A loaded pod with great information ENJOY! Outro Song: Okeke - Runaway Dag: Instagram: @dag_dmv & @habeshanetworks Website: www.habeshanetworks.com Africanist Email: africanistpodcast@gmail.com Website: www.africanistpod.com Facebook: The Africanist Podcast Hotline: 301-887-3375 Instagram & Twitter: @africanistpod SoundCloud: @the-africanist Mixcloud: Africanistpod iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-a…nist/id950115888 Google Play: playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.googl…o-pr-mu-pod-16

When a rising high school track star in  Eritrea, East Africa, is arrested under the military dictatorship, he realizes he might have a way out....run. For more information about issues facing African migrants in Israel and resources on how to help, Israeli organization Eritrean Women’s Community Center website. Teklit Michal writes a blog for Times of Israel and hosts a news channel in Tirgrinya for fellow Eritreans in Israel. You can follow his work on his Facebook page. Producer: Shaina Shealy Season 9 Episode 13

Scott Pruitt is making changes at the EPA and one of the newest is a move away from "secret science" in crafting regulations. On Tuesday, the justices of the Supreme Court sounded as if they are ready to shred the California law that requires pregnancy centers to notify women that the state offers subsidies for abortion. The Austin Texas bombing suspect blew himself up. A Southern California town stands up to the state and votes to reject sanctuary law. Canada's refugee system is now in "turmoil" as more than 20,000 illegal immigrants have jumped the U.S. border into Canada, "including thousands of Haitians and Nigerians and hundreds of Turks, Syrians and Eritreans" who are trying to avoid having to navigate Trump's immigration system. Plus, don't forget about the Edwards Notebook and the Veteran's Tip of the Day! All of this and more as time allows. Listen live, join the chatroom, be a part of the show.

Scott Pruitt is making changes at the EPA and one of the newest is a move away from "secret science" in crafting regulations. On Tuesday, the justices of the Supreme Court sounded as if they are ready to shred the California law that requires pregnancy centers to notify women that the state offers subsidies for abortion. The Austin Texas bombing suspect blew himself up. A Southern California town stands up to the state and votes to reject sanctuary law. Canada's refugee system is now in "turmoil" as more than 20,000 illegal immigrants have jumped the U.S. border into Canada, "including thousands of Haitians and Nigerians and hundreds of Turks, Syrians and Eritreans" who are trying to avoid having to navigate Trump's immigration system. Plus, don't forget about the Edwards Notebook and the Veteran's Tip of the Day! All of this and more as time allows. Listen live, join the chatroom, be a part of the show.

Why do Eritreans risk their lives on perilous journeys to Europe? Why they don’t stay in neighbouring countries where they could get safety and protection?

Why are so many Eritreans fleeing their country? With a population of just six million, this young country in the Horn of Africa has accounted for the third largest flow of refugees into Europe this year, behind only Syria and Afghanistan. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of guests on Newshour Extra this week as we try to understand the forces driving hundreds of thousands of Eritreans risking their lives in the hope of a better future. Contributors: Ahmed Mohammed Mahmud, Chairman of the British Eritrean Community Organisation Network Feruz Werede, Eritrean human rights activist Bronwyn Bruton, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council's Africa Centre Ghirmai Negash, Professor of English and African literature, Ohio University Alex Last, former BBC correspondent in Eritrea Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

After Syrians and Afghans, the largest nationality of people who are fleeing as refugees to Europe are Eritreans. And the vast majority of Eritreans who are fleeing to Europe are young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are escaping an oppressive system of compulsory national service.  National service itself is not a problem. Lots of liberal democracies have some of draft or conscription. But the System of national service in Eritrea takes this to the extreme and has become a system of forced labor and population control.    Amnesty International recently published a report called Just Deserters: Why Indefinite National Service in Eritrea has Created  Generation of Refugees that explores in depth the human rights abuses of this system and its implications for global security. On the line with me today is the report's lead author Claire Beston.    We discuss how this system works, why so many young Eritreans are fleeing the country, and why countries in Europe are turning a blind eye to this major driver of refugees to their shore.   This is a very interesting conversation about how policy decisions by one small and brutally repressive government can have profound repercussions around the world. 

Sixty thousand people have crossed the Mediterranean and made it to Europe so far this year. Frontex, the EU border agency, warns that between 500,000 and 1 million people - Eritreans, Syrians, Afghans, Somalis - could be waiting to leave the shores of Libya for Italy. Its latest report says resources are being devoted to migrants' care but not towards screening and collecting basic information such as their nationality - which means many are quickly moving on to countries like the UK. According to the report, 'this puts the EU internal security at risk'. There are also fears terrorists belonging to the so-called Islamic State could secrete themselves among the migrants. So how easy is it for people to avoid security checks as they journey across the EU? European countries are supposed to stop illegal migrants and enter their fingerprints and details on a central database. EU rules state that the country where people are first fingerprinted must look after them and consider their asylum applications. This means many migrants set on coming to this country try to stay under the radar in Italy and France, hoping to reach the UK without being processed. Jane Deith follows the routes used by some of those headed for Britain. She also investigates the smugglers who help them - from individuals using their own cars, to organized crime gangs offering money back guarantees on a new life in the UK. Is Europe losing the battle for control? Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Paul Grant.

Alice McCool interviews Amanuel Ghirmai, an Eritrean refugee and journalist for Radio Erena (www.erena.org). With the support of Reporters Without Borders, this Paris based broadcaster offers freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea. Alice and Amanuel discuss the issue of press freedom in his country, and how the radio reaches one of the most closed countries in the world. Listen to Radio Erena and support their work at www.erena.org

This podcast has been translated into Spanish by Iris Tome Valencia. Alice McCool interviews Amanuel Ghirmai, an Eritrean refugee and journalist for Radio Erena (www.erena.org). With the support of Reporters Without Borders, this Paris based broadcaster offers freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea. Alice and Amanuel discuss the issue of press freedom in his country, and how the radio reaches one of the most closed countries in the world. Listen to Radio Erena and support their work at www.erena.org

This podcast has been translated into Swahili by Andrew Harvey. Alice McCool interviews Amanuel Ghirmai, an Eritrean refugee and journalist for Radio Erena (www.erena.org). With the support of Reporters Without Borders, this Paris based station offers freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea. Alice and Amanuel discuss the issue of press freedom in his country, and how his radio broadcasts reach to one of the most closed countries in the world. Listen to Radio Erena and support their work at www.erena.org

In the Pacific Northwest, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia coexist, making a life for themselves and their family in a new country. In the book Seeking Salaam : Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press, 2011), Sandra Chait goes into these communities to understand the particular issues and conflicts that they face, particularly with each other. Though these immigrants often work together and have children in the same school, tensions among them are high, due to historical as well as current events in the Horn of Africa. Violence and poverty continue to plague these three countries, and news from back home increases the resentment that creates a heavy burden for these immigrants to carry. Chait, herself having grown up in apartheid South Africa, felt a need to bear witness to their stories, and records their narratives with grace and sensitivity. Though Salaam (peace in Arabic) may be difficult to find, these survivors continue to search for it, as they struggle to move on and build a better life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Pacific Northwest, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia coexist, making a life for themselves and their family in a new country. In the book Seeking Salaam : Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press, 2011), Sandra Chait goes into these communities to understand the particular issues and conflicts that they face, particularly with each other. Though these immigrants often work together and have children in the same school, tensions among them are high, due to historical as well as current events in the Horn of Africa. Violence and poverty continue to plague these three countries, and news from back home increases the resentment that creates a heavy burden for these immigrants to carry. Chait, herself having grown up in apartheid South Africa, felt a need to bear witness to their stories, and records their narratives with grace and sensitivity. Though Salaam (peace in Arabic) may be difficult to find, these survivors continue to search for it, as they struggle to move on and build a better life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Pacific Northwest, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia coexist, making a life for themselves and their family in a new country. In the book Seeking Salaam : Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press, 2011), Sandra Chait goes into these communities to understand the particular issues and conflicts that they face, particularly with each other. Though these immigrants often work together and have children in the same school, tensions among them are high, due to historical as well as current events in the Horn of Africa. Violence and poverty continue to plague these three countries, and news from back home increases the resentment that creates a heavy burden for these immigrants to carry. Chait, herself having grown up in apartheid South Africa, felt a need to bear witness to their stories, and records their narratives with grace and sensitivity. Though Salaam (peace in Arabic) may be difficult to find, these survivors continue to search for it, as they struggle to move on and build a better life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Pacific Northwest, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia coexist, making a life for themselves and their family in a new country. In the book Seeking Salaam : Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press, 2011), Sandra Chait goes into these communities to understand the particular issues and conflicts that they face, particularly with each other. Though these immigrants often work together and have children in the same school, tensions among them are high, due to historical as well as current events in the Horn of Africa. Violence and poverty continue to plague these three countries, and news from back home increases the resentment that creates a heavy burden for these immigrants to carry. Chait, herself having grown up in apartheid South Africa, felt a need to bear witness to their stories, and records their narratives with grace and sensitivity. Though Salaam (peace in Arabic) may be difficult to find, these survivors continue to search for it, as they struggle to move on and build a better life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Pacific Northwest, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia coexist, making a life for themselves and their family in a new country. In the book Seeking Salaam : Ethiopians, Eritreans and Somalis in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press, 2011), Sandra Chait goes into these communities to understand the particular issues and conflicts that they face, particularly with each other. Though these immigrants often work together and have children in the same school, tensions among them are high, due to historical as well as current events in the Horn of Africa. Violence and poverty continue to plague these three countries, and news from back home increases the resentment that creates a heavy burden for these immigrants to carry. Chait, herself having grown up in apartheid South Africa, felt a need to bear witness to their stories, and records their narratives with grace and sensitivity. Though Salaam (peace in Arabic) may be difficult to find, these survivors continue to search for it, as they struggle to move on and build a better life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Azerbaijanis, Somalis, Hausas, Malays, Acenhnese, Burmese of Houston; Kurds, Eritreans, Ewe in Dallas-Ft. Worth, City Vision,