No Honor at Tampere University for a Dictator in Ethiopia

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn attends the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017. (ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/AFP/Getty Images)

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Author’s Note: In my earlier commentary,  I indicated that I will be contacting the President and Board Chairman of the Tampere University of Technology to withdraw or rescind the offer of an honorary doctoral degree to Hailemariam Desalegn, the putative leader of the T-TPLF regime in Ethiopia. Below is a copy of the letter sent to the aforementioned individuals.

I know that members of the Ethiopian community in Finland have been actively engaged in advocacy to get Tampere University to withdraw its offer. I urge them to continue in their advocacy efforts by mobilizing a broader segment of  Finnish society and human rights organizations.  I specifically urge Ethiopians in Finland and their Finnish friends to use the print and electronic media, including radio and television and social media to get the message out. I urge them to consider and use the evidence I have presented in this letter and raise the questions I have raised with Tampere University officials.

Section 12 of the Finnish Constitution guarantees, “Everyone has the freedom of expression. Freedom of expression entails the right to express, disseminate and receive information, opinions and other communications without prior prevention by anyone.” I urge Ethiopians in Finland to vigorously exercise their right to freedom of expression in making their views public concerning Desalegn’s invitation to receive an honorary degree at Tampere University of Technology.

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March 22, 2017

Mika Hanula, Ph.D.
President
Tampere University of Technology
Korkeakoulunkatu 10
FI-33720 Tampere, FINLAND

Dear Dr. Hanula:

I am informed and believe that you have plans to confer an honorary doctoral degree upon Hailemariam Desalegn, the leader of the ruling regime in Ethiopia, on May 20, 2017.

I am writing to lodge an academic note of protest and to strongly urge you to rescind  your offer of an honorary doctoral degree to Hailemariam Desalegn.

I have carefully reviewed[1] the list of all individuals upon whom your university has conferred an honorary degree since 1982. Some 73 distinguished individuals have been privileged to receive such a degree from your institution.[2] The vast majority of your honorary degree recipients have been university professors, researchers, scientists, academicians and business leaders.

Since 1982, you have awarded an honorary degree to only on six political leaders  including two mayors of the City of Tampere, Timo P. Nieminen (2012) and Jarmo  Rantanen (1997);  two prime ministers of Finland including Paavo Lipponen (2002) and Kalevi Sorsa(1987) and Ilkka Suominen, a Speaker of the Parliament of Finland.

Your University’s policy on honorary doctorates states, “Tampere University of Technology invites persons from Finland and abroad to accept honorary doctorates in recognition of excellence in fields represented at the University and other exceptional scientific, artistic or social merits.”[3]

It is my understanding that Desalegn is the first and only foreign political leader upon whom you intend to confer an honorary doctoral degree in University’s history.

I am appalled and dismayed by your decision to award Hailemariam Desalegn  the same honorary degree you have bestowed to the various illustrious and exceptional Finnish political leaders.

Your selection is both shocking and manifestly and conspicuously inconsistent with your stated policy and the universal principles of honorary degrees (honoris causa) recognizing an individual’s contributions to a specific field of human endeavor or highly meritorious service to the national or global community.

Although my knowledge of Finnish politics and political leaders is admittedly limited, I am informed and believe that all of Finnish leaders your University has recognized in the past with an honorary degree have demonstrated exemplary and highly meritorious service to Finnish democracy and society. I am informed and believe that all of them  have a substantial and praiseworthy record of dedicated public service, high standards of personal and professional integrity, demonstrated adherence to constitutional principles and respect for the rule of law,  documented practice of good governance, and exhibited respect for constitutional and human rights and commitment to transparency and accountability in government.

Hailemariam Desalegn could not be more different from the political leaders you have honored over the last four decades.

I submit the following evidence for your review and consideration as I exhort you to rescind and withdraw your offer of an honorary degree to Desalegn:

Desalegn is the head of a regime that controls 100 percent of the legislative seats in the Ethiopian “parliament”[4]. In 2010, Desalegn’s regime won 99.6 percent of the legislative seats.[5] The late Saddam Hussein is the only leader in the world to have claimed victory by 100 percent until Desalegn repeated the claim in 2015.[6]

Since October 2016, Desalegn’s regime has ruled by martial law described as a “state of emergency” and suspended the Ethiopian “constitution”.[7] Human Rights Watch has provided a complete legal analysis of that expansively arbitrary “state of emergency” declaration.[8]

Since the declaration of the “state of emergency”, Desalegn’s regime has imprisoned, by its own admission, 11,000 persons.[9]

In December 2016, Desalegn ordered the imprisonment  of a major opposition leader, Dr. Merera Gudina, for attending a European Union-organized seminar and participating in discussions on the situation in Ethiopia.[10]

Desalegn and his regime have “criminalized” journalism in Ethiopia through his “Anti-Terrorism Proclamation” and managed to decimate all peaceful democratic opposition in Ethiopia.[11]

Desalegn’s regime has a well-documented record of committing murders and massacres. Herman Cohen, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the first Bush Administration declared: “I fail to understand why the Ethiopian regime feels it necessary to exercise such extreme control to the point of committing murder periodically against their own citizens.”[12]

Under Desalegn’s regime, Ethiopia has been named the “fourth worst offender” of press rights in the world[13], and the second worst jailer of journalists in Africa for the past several years under the leadership of Desalegn.[14]

Desalegn’s regime is currently spending nearly USD$2 million dollars to lobby, wine and dine American politicians while 5 million Ethiopians remain at high risk of death  from famine.[15]

Under Desalegn’s regime, Ethiopia has been rated 123 out of 125 worst fed countries in the world.[16]

Under the regime of Desalegn and his predecessor, “Ethiopia has lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009.”[17]  Global Financial Integrity concluded, “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry.  No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.[18]

Desalegn’s regime was ordered to pay USD$6.5 million for illegally selling unregistered bonds in the United States.[19] Selling unregistered bonds in the U.S. is a crime under the “Securities Act of 1933”, sec. 20 (b)).

Desalegn’s regime operates a police state in Ethiopia with informants and spies infiltrating the household level as documented by Dr. Negasso Gidada, former President of Ethiopia[20] and others.[21]

Desalegn’s regime operates an ethnic apartheid system called kilils (kililistans that are similar to apartheid South Africa’s Bantustans) in Ethiopia.[22]

Desalegn and his regime have a long and infamous record of human rights violations as documented by Human Rights Watch in 2016, and in numerous other reports.[23]

Desalegn’s regime practices torture and other forms of abuses against detainees and prisoners as documented in the January 2017 Human Rights Watch report.[24]

In September 2016, security forces loyal to Desalegn’s regime gunned down prisoners as they fled a burning jail.[25]

Desalegn and his regime have refused to investigate the killings of over 500 celebrants by security forces at the Irrecha Festival in October 2016 or any other massive human rights violations committed under his rule.[26]

Desalegn’s regime “has refused entry to all UN special rapporteurs since 2007. Among the outstanding requests are from the special rapporteurs on torture, freedom of opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly.”[27]

Desalegn’s regime has used the power of eminent domain to displace urban residents and force them into homelessness and makeshift accommodations.[28]

Desalegn and his regime have allowed land grabs[29]  that have resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people from Gambella, Omo and other regions in Ethiopia.[30]

Desalegn’s regime is so corrupt that the World Bank issued a 417-page report, the only one of its kind, entitled “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia”.[31]

Desalegn’s regime has plunged Ethiopia into a bottomless ocean of debt. The African Development Bank in its “Country Strategy Paper for 2016-2020” reported that Ethiopia is  drowning  in debt. “Ethiopia’s external debt stock has soared fivefold, from USD 2.8 billion in 2008/09 to USD 19 billion in 2014/15, up from 12.1% of GDP in 2009/10 to 26.2% in 2014/15.[32]

In the past week, Desalegn reported to his parliament that 100 million birr allocated for development had been lost to corruption and used for private purposes by local and ethnic leaders. Desalegn refused to neither name the corruption suspects to “parliament” nor discuss what actions, if any, he planned to take to bring the offenders to justice.[33]

Under Desalegn’s regime, Ethiopia has become the second poorest country[34] in the world and the beggar nation of Africa panhandling for handouts year after year after year.[35]

On March 9, 2017, “a mountain of trash” in Addis Ababa collapsed on a neighborhood resulting in hundreds of deaths. Such a tragedy occurred under Desalegn’s nose right in the capital city. The man who earned a graduate degree from Tampere in Sanitary Engineering did nothing to prevent the collapse of “trash mountain” even though he knew about the imminent danger since he took over power in 2012.[36]

I could go on for many more pages documenting the high crimes, crimes against humanity, corruption and abuse of power of Desalegn and his regime. I should be glad to provide voluminous information and evidence if requested.

I wish to underscore my perplexity in trying to decipher the selection criteria you employed to award Desalegn  an honorary doctorate. At the risk of sounding repetitive, your policy statement declares your institution confers honorary degrees upon those who have demonstrated “excellence in fields represented at the University and other exceptional scientific, artistic or social merits.”

I am certain that you are not awarding Desalegn an honorary degree for his academic or literary scholarship or his contributions to science and technology.

I am also certain that you did not select him by the same criteria and standards you have used to select the political leaders you have honored in the past.

I cannot imagine you selected him because he was just another alumnus of your university.

Therefore, I am at a complete loss trying to figure out how you selected Desalegn.

Perhaps  you could explain the basis for your selection of Desalegn to receive an honorary degree to the millions of Ethiopians who are just as perplexed as I am.

On the other hand, if I am to understand that you are offering Desalegn, and implicitly his regime, for what he has done and not done during his term of political office, then I can only throw my hands in the air and shake my head in resignation.

I regret to say that you have made a travesty, a mockery, of the honorary degree institution of your University by offering it to Desalegn.

It is your privilege and prerogative to confer an honorary doctoral degree to an individual for exceptionally egregious conduct and actions resulting in the diminution and destruction of human rights, disregard and contempt for the rule of law and entrenchment of a police state in Ethiopia.

It is your privilege and prerogative to confer an honorary doctoral degree to a leader of a  brutal and ruthless dictatorship that has been in power in Ethiopia for over 25 years.

Your exercise of that solemn privilege and prerogative speaks more about your institution than Hailemariam and his regime. You have publicly betrayed your values of “excellence and  exceptional scientific, artistic or social merits” that you so nobly profess by awarding Desalegn an honorary degree.

Be assured that no one, but no one, has illusions about Desalegn and his regime, and his atrocious and flagrant record of human rights violations. Except perhaps, just one?

I wonder if you have thought about the implications of your decision to award ab honorary degree for the people of Ethiopia.

Did you consider how Desalegn will distort, twist, slant, mold and shape his honorary degree from your institution in his state-controlled media?

Allow me to share with you some insights:

Desalegn will use your honorary degree as a political diversion and distraction.

He will use video footage of the award ceremony at on state-controlled television to tell the Ethiopian public that he was honored with a doctoral degree (conveniently omitting the fact that it is honorary) for his good governance and global leadership.

All state-controlled media will be singing Desalegn’s praise for weeks to come as urgent political and social issues are ignored in the media.

Desalegn’s predecessor cleverly used such symbolic events to gain political mileage.

In 2005, the Yara Foundation Board in Norway awarded its prize “recognizing Prime Minister Meles’ [for his] decisive steps towards increasing food production and reducing poverty in one of the poorest countries of the developing world. He has brought about political change in Ethiopia, and placed the rural poor first in the country’s development strategies.” [37]

The Board’s assertions justifying the award were simply not true.

In June 2005, the Guardian reported, “21 years on, fear of famine still stalks Ethiopia.”[38] Yet Zenawi used the award to boast that “he received from the YARA Foundation for his outstanding contribution for enhancing green revolution is the outcome of the struggle of the Ethiopian farmers.”[39]

Like his predecessor, Desalegn will no doubt use this opportunity to launch a self-aggrandizing public relations extravaganza exploiting the honorary degree to legitimize his ruthless dictatorship. The media cacophony of Desalegn’s panegyrics over his honorary degree will whitewash his state of emergency declaration. He will use it to divert attention from the ongoing human rights abuses of his “state of emergency” decree, the need for immediate and full restoration of constitutional governance.

Questions about his dictatorial rule will be drowned in a congratulatory media circus.

Stated simply, Desalegn will use the honorary degree you plan to give him as a PR prop in a video production of “Desalegn, the great leader” recognized by a world-class university.

I ask you if you have considered the fact that your institution will be a “movie prop”. Does it bother you that your university will be used as a propaganda prop to justify the regime of a ruthless dictator? Do you find it embarrassing in the slightest to honor a man who presides over the most repressive African regime, a regime that rules by martial law? Do you care at all?

Tampere University of Technology will have been an unwitting partner in a sophisticated public relations campaign to legitimize, democratize, glamourize, mythologize and romanticize a ruthless and brutal dictator and his regime.

To be perfectly candid, your decision to award Desalegn an honorary degree does not make moral or rational sense to me. Is it moral to honor an individual with a certified record of human rights atrocities? Is it rational to betray one’s cherished academic values with reckless abandon on the world stage?

I regret to inform you that by conferring an honorary degree on Desalegn, you will have disgraced and dishonored your university. You will expose and invite public ridicule, contempt and infamy to your institution, and bring lasting shame upon your institution, students and faculty. You will also incur the eternal enmity of the people of Ethiopia.

I am glad to inform you that there is an honorable way out for you.

In July 2014, Azusa Pacific University in Southern California withdrew an honorary degree it had offered Desalegn after that university learned of his egregious human rights record.  In explaining the withdrawal of the offer of an honorary degree, Azusa’s Director of External Relations stated, “I can confirm that the event has been canceled.[40]  The university evaluated current developments in Ethiopia including the latest U.S State Department Human Rights Report”.[41] The 2016 version of that report  released earlier this month concluded, “Security forces [in Ethiopia] used excessive force against protesters throughout the year, killing hundreds and injuring many more. The protests were mainly in Oromia and Amhara regions. At year’s end more than 10,000 persons were believed still to be detained.”[42]

I hope you too will read the 2016 U.S State Department Human Rights Report and act out, not just profess in a policy statement, the true meaning of the courage of your convictions and values and do the right thing.

A Special Request:

In the event that you decide to confer the honorary doctoral degree on Desalegn, I respectfully request that you do it without the necessity of his travel to Finland.

I am informed and believe that Desalegn’s trip to Finland to receive the honorary degree could cost Ethiopia in excess of USD$1.5 million taking into account the cost of jet fuel for a 20-hour round trip flight, preparation of jetliner for a VIP trip, meals and accommodations for Desalegn’s entourage, cost of jetliner crew and ground support, cost of maintenance and removal of jetliner from commercial service for the trip, among other costs.

I do not know if Tampere University is paying for all of the costs of logistical support to transport Desalegn. Regardless, my request is a simple one: If you must, mail or otherwise arrange to have the honorary degree delivered to Desalegn in Addis Ababa and save the hundreds of thousands (possibly exceeding $USD1 million) to help Ethiopian famine victims. Every penny counts when it comes to saving the lives of starving Ethiopians!

I trust you will seriously consider the facts and evidence I have presented in this letter and do the right thing.

I have attached a copy of my recent commentary[43] (available at almariam.com) regarding the tragic deaths from the collapse of the “trash mountain” in Addis
Ababa.

I hope you will pay me the academic courtesy of a reply. I should be glad to receive a reasonable explanation for your decision to confer an honorary degree on Hailemariam Desalegn, but I will settle for a plausible one. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Alemayehu (Al) Mariam, Ph.D., J.D., Esq.
Professor & Attorney at Law

C.c. Tero Ojanperä, Ph.D., Board Chairman, Tampere University of Technology Foundation

Others. Read more here

Letter on Ethiopia to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs / Vice-President of the European Commission Mogherini

Federica Mogherini

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs /
Vice-President of the European Commission
Rue de la Loi, Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels

Brussels, March 23, 2017

Dear High Representative Mogherini,

Human Rights Watch wishes to express our deep disappointment over the one-sided statement issued by your office during your official visit to Ethiopia last week. In the public statement of March 17, 2017, you focus only on the important European Union partnerships with Ethiopia on humanitarian assistance, migration, refugees, and economic growth, and reiterate your support for the dialogue with the political opposition currently underway.

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In our view the statement was a missed opportunity to state publicly and unequivocally that Ethiopia’s repressive response to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly –  illustrated by the government’s brutal crackdown on protests– is not conducive to Ethiopia’s long-term stability or the EU’s ability to partner with Ethiopia on areas of mutual interest.

As you are aware, Ethiopia’s widespread human rights violations against its citizens means that Ethiopia is a country producing refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety.

Since November 2015 state security forces have killed hundreds and arrested tens of thousands of protesters, plunging Ethiopia into a human rights crisis. A state of emergency, called in October 2016, prescribes sweeping restrictions that go far beyond what is permissible under international law, eliminating what little space there was for the peaceful expression of critical views. The government has detained over 20,000 in “rehabilitation camps” since the state of emergency was declared, according to official figures. Widespread and long-standing restrictions on media and civil society groups continue to be enforced. Opposition leaders remain in detention on politically motivated charges, including Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) leader Dr. Merera Gudina, who was arrested following his attendance at a briefing on November 9 in Brussels organized by an MEP. Just three weeks before your visit, he was charged with “outrages against the constitution” and faces up to life in imprisonment.

Harassment through criminal charges, arbitrary detention of political opposition members and supporters, restrictions on financing, and registration problems have decimated opposition parties since the 2010 election. Actual or perceived members of opposition parties have difficulty accessing the benefits of development and humanitarian assistance, including that provided by the EU and its member states. This partisan system ensures that Ethiopians in rural or drought-vulnerable areas of the country are dependent on the government, bolstered by EU support, for their livelihoods, food aid, employment, and health care. This further constricts the space for political expression, dialogue and further undermines the effectiveness of opposition parties. From the government’s perspective, the strategy has been successful -- the ruling party and its affiliates won 100 percent of the seats in federal parliament in 2015 despite strong anti-government sentiments in many parts of the country as the protests would later illustrate.

Dismantling opposition parties, imprisoning critical opposition voices, and then inviting whomever remains to engage in a dialogue is not the “right direction,” as your statement said. Nor is having such a dialogue in the shadow of a state of emergency with wide-ranging restrictions on free expression rights. Moderate, yet still critical opposition voices, including Dr. Merera, should be part of any credible dialogue with the opposition, and this should have been stressed privately and publicly to the prime minister as critical for any meaningful dialogue. Your expression of support for political dialogue without acknowledging the systematic destruction of legally registered opposition parties and the suppression of basic human rights is not constructive to the EU’s partnership with Ethiopia. 

Discussing economic partnerships during the state of emergency that followed 18 months of brutality partly triggered by the government’s abusive economic development approach illustrates our concern with your recent statement. The Ethiopian government has ignored the rights of those displaced by investment projects, failing to properly consult and compensate them. It begs the question: what polices or safeguards is the EU insisting are in place to ensure that economic development occurs with professed EU commitments to human rights respected?

In this light, the EU-Ethiopia Business Forum should be postponed until the abusive provisions of the state of emergency are lifted. Moreover, the government should make progress on implementing reforms that are crucial for a rights-respecting business environment, such as the repeal or substantial amendment of the Charities and Societies Proclamation.

The contrast between recent statements by the European parliament and the European Union could not be more stark. Parliament has consistently issued strong statements about the government’s brutal crackdown, including a resolution adopted in January 2016 that stated “respect for human rights and the rule of law are crucial to the EU’s policies to promote development in Ethiopia.” The resolution also stressed that the “EU should measure its financial support according to the country’s human rights record and the degree to which the Ethiopian Government promotes reforms towards democratization.” Parliamentary subcommittee hearings on Ethiopia followed in October. European Parliament actions signaled to the Ethiopian government and its people that there are repercussions for brutality against their own citizens – brutality that undermines European priorities in the Horn of Africa.

In contrast, the EU’s tepid approach, epitomized by your recent statement merely sends the message to the Ethiopian government that its repression and brutality carries no consequences or public condemnation from its most trusted friends, donors, and partners.

As all recognize, Ethiopia is an important partner of the EU in the areas of migration, development and economic growth. But these partnerships are dependent on long-term stability in Ethiopia and, thus, should be dependent on respect for basic human rights.

A further downward spiral in the human rights situation in this country of 100 million people could lead to dramatically increased humanitarian needs and out-migration from Ethiopia, all of which would contravene European and Ethiopian interests. This is where the EU’s focus should be.

We strongly urge you to use future meetings with Ethiopia’s leadership to publicly and unequivocally call for the release of key opposition leaders such as Dr. Merera and Bekele Gerba, the lifting of abusive provisions of the state of emergency, an international investigation into the crackdown on government protests, and the repeal of longstanding restrictions on media and civil society. And as stated in the European parliament resolution, it would be beneficial to clarify what progress on human rights you expect from Ethiopia to maintain ongoing EU support. The European Union’s interests in Ethiopia are best served by taking a principled stance on the importance of human rights protections. Read more here

Kind regards,

Lotte Leicht
EU Director
Human Rights Watch

NASA AI First to Spot Early Changes in Ethiopian Volcano

March 23, 2017 - Artificial intelligence can help satellites and other spacecraft observe interesting phenomena before humans even spot them. Case in point: NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft started capturing images of Ethiopia's Erta Ale volcano as soon as it developed a new fissure in late January, according to engadget.com. Volcanologists are keeping a close eye on Erta Ale, since it's one of the handful of volcanoes with lava lakes at the summit. They sent in requests asking NASA to use its Earth Observing-1 satellite to snap photos of the eruption, but by that time, the images were already available.

EO-1's AI called Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) was alerted by one of the other satellites in its network about the event. It then sent EO-1 to work, photographing Erta Ale's evolving lava lakes way before anybody even asked. ASE has been guiding its host satellite's actions for the past 12 years. It notifies researchers within 90 minutes of detecting an event and giving EO-1 a new task within a few hours. A ground team typically takes weeks to accomplish the same thing.

The EO-1 was designed to test cutting-edge satellite tech, and the team was only supposed to use the AI for six months. However, they were so successful that they "did it for more than 12 years." During that span of time, ASE ordered the satellite to map active lava flows, monitor methane leaks and to keep an eye on reforestation efforts in the Amazon, among many other tasks.

NASA will shut down EO-1 and ASE by the end of March, but everything they've accomplished won't go to waste. They've managed to convince astronomers that AIs will make it possible for spacecraft to act as soon as an event takes place. As ASE lead scientist Ashley Davies said, it will allow probes to "capture valuable science data that would otherwise be lost." (engadget.com)

Great S. Sudan run to promote peace launched in Ethiopia

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

March 20, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Great Ethiopian Run association in collaboration with an Ethiopian investor said it organizing the first ever Great South Sudan Run, which aims at promoting peace.

Olympic marathon runner from South Sudan. Guor Marial, August 2012 (AFP/Getty)

The founder of the Great Ethiopian run association, Haile Gebreslassie and renowned Ethiopian investor, Ayesheshim Teka announced the launch of the great run in Addis Ababa Monday.

James Morgan, South Sudan’s envoy to Ethiopia attended the event.

The Great Run, which is expected to bring together diverse people, will take place on 8 April 2017 in the South Sudan capital, Juba.

South Sudan Ambassador to Ethiopia said the great run seeks to promote peace in Support of South Sudan government’s extensive efforts bring unity and reconciliation among citizens of South Sudan.

Morgan further said the national dialogue and a peace prayer conference were some of the government’s efforts undertaken to promote peace in the war-torn nation.

It will be held under the theme "Fund raising for famine and poverty fighting" with the aim of assisting humanitarians in the work to help thousands of South Sudanese affected by the current famine.

Organizers said the initiative of the great South Sudan run is an added support for the peoples of South Sudan who share blood, religion, culture and a long border with Ethiopia enjoying flourishing ties and a long history of collaboration and partnership.

Some 5,000 South Sudanese are expected to take part in the Great South Sudan run.

The Great Ethiopian run, an independent association, was launched in 2001 by Haile, one of the world’s most successful distance runners.

It is an annual 10 kilometers public running event, largest in Africa and fifth largest in the world. Last year, the Great Ethiopian run saw a record over 40,000 participants including hundreds of elite runners.

Similar events were also held in African nations like Ghana and Liberia. Read more here

As Trash Avalanche Toll Rises in Ethiopia, Survivors Ask Why

A funeral service last week for victims of a garbage landslide in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. At least 113 people were killed in the March 11 collapse, according to the government. CreditMulugeta Ayene/Associated Press

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — At the moment when she lost her home and family, Hanna Tsegaye was spending her Saturday night with a neighborhood friend.

Around 8 p.m. on March 11, Ms. Hanna, 16, heard a strange sound, like rushing wind, and felt the ground shake beneath her feet. She rushed outside and saw that an enormous pile of garbage at a nearby landfill had collapsed.

Her home, which had been a couple of hundred yards from the trash heap, was buried. So were her parents and two siblings.

At least 113 people, according to the latest government estimate, were killed when part of the Repi landfill, in the southwest of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, collapsed. In the days since, grieving survivors have been tormented by a pressing question: Could this tragedy have been prevented?

“We don’t know how such a thing could happen,” a weeping Ms. Hanna said. “Hopefully, someone can tell us and find a solution for the future. I hope this can be a lesson for the government, and that they remember us.”

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The disaster is at odds with the image Ethiopia wants to project as a rapidly developing country. Poverty rates have decreased by more than 30 percent since 2000, according to the World Bank, and government officials have claimed economic growth in the double digits over the last decade. Addis Ababa, home to the African Union, is a bustling city where new malls, hotels and apartment buildings are constantly being built.

Photo

Rescue operations at the Repi landfill the day after the collapse. More than a week later, the smell of trash and decomposing bodies was still wafting through the neighborhood. CreditMulugeta Ayene/Associated Press

But that has caused large-scale displacement for the poor in the capital. The government has been constructing high-rise apartment blocks on the edges of the city to house people at subsidized rates, but critics say those efforts have been plagued by corruption. Many of the displaced have resorted to building makeshift shelters in dangerous and undesirable areas, including on and around the Repi landfill.

“The government must take responsibility for what happened and come up with a better plan for a sustainable solution for these people,” said Girma Seifu, who was the only opposition member in Parliament until a 2015 election gave the governing coalition every seat.

Ethiopia has been under a state of emergency since October, enacted after months of sometimes deadly protests by demonstrators demanding more political freedom.

Repi is now a mass grave. More than a week after the collapse, a horrible smell of trash and decomposing bodies still wafts through the neighborhood, which is crowded with survivors, mourners and volunteers. Corpses are still being pulled from the refuse.

“The idea that they died buried in dirt, just like they lived in dirt, is heartbreaking,” Mr. Girma said.

A security worker at the site, who did not want to give his name for fear of retribution, said that he thought the death toll could exceed the government’s estimate by hundreds of victims, and that many families were finding it difficult to identify the recovered bodies.

Photo

A victim’s coffin was lowered into a grave in Addis Ababa last week. Bustling development in the capital has pushed many of the poor to build shelters in dangerous areas like landfills. CreditMulugeta Ayene/Associated Press

Repi, which covers more than 60 acres and whose vast heaps of waste are blanketed by a noxious haze, has been Addis Ababa’s main dumping ground for about half a century. The site is also known as Koshe, derived from the Amharic word koshasha, or dirty.

Hundreds of people used to comb through the refuse every day, looking for scraps to use or sell, even though basic landfill infrastructure for drainage, containment and odor control was essentially nonexistent.

The government had planned to shut down the site and open a new landfill outside the capital early last year. But that was in a town called Sendafa in the Oromia region, home to the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, who have long complained of marginalization at the hands of the government.

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Oromo grievances erupted into widespread protests starting in late 2015, and security agents often responded with deadly force. After Oromo farmers blocked garbage trucks from dumping at the Sendafa site in July, Repi had to resume its role as Addis Ababa’s main dumping ground.

Some work has been done there in recent years. A project to capture and flare methane fumes, to limit greenhouse gas emissions, has been operational since 2013.

There is also a major project under construction, set to open this year, that aims to burn 1,400 tons of Repi garbage daily and generate 185 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. Cambridge Industries, the development and construction company that is spearheading the project, estimates that it could power 25 percent of the capital’s households.

Photo

A funeral service last week. The government is starting an inquiry into the landfill collapse, which is at odds with the image Ethiopia wants to project as a rapidly developing country. CreditMulugeta Ayene/Associated Press

Samuel Alemayehu, the East Africa managing director for the company, commended the government for investing in renewable power. But he said the deadly landslide was “absolutely horrific” and “should not have happened at all.”

The government has not yet given a cause for the collapse, but is starting an investigation, said Negeri Lencho, a government spokesman.

He added that officials had created a committee “to provide victims with sustainable support because they have lost their homes, and the government is responsible for resettling these people.”

Community members have volunteered time, money and supplies in the aftermath of the disaster. Martha Tadesse, 26, a photographer, used to tutor students in the Repi area. Now, she is attending funerals and helping to organize donations of baby food, clothing and sanitary pads.

“I do see many people being involved, due to social media,” she said, adding that people have been reaching out to offer help.

But for those who lost their homes and families, this outpouring of support came too late. Repi has long been considered a blight on the city’s outer limits, and the people who live in the area describe a lifetime of governmental neglect — made worse by discrimination from their compatriots.

Adane Kebede, a young man who lost friends in the collapse, said other Ethiopians had sometimes refused to speak with him because he grew up near the landfill.

“No one considered us worthy” before the disaster, he said. “But death does not discriminate. We are now visible. Hopefully the world will know our sorrow.” Read more here