Ogaden community in Kenya keeps eye on upcoming Ethiopian May 2015 election

By Ahmed Abdi | January 31, 2015

Ahmed Sadik, Head of the Ogaden Refugee Council

Kenya-Ogaden Community in Kenya are doing all possible precautions as they keep on eye on the upcoming Ethiopia elections on 15 May,2015. 

 

Eng. Ahmed Sadik, Head of the Ogaden Refugee Council, has urged the communities and refugee leaders in Kenya to be precautious. 

 

“It is time the communities and refugee leadership to be vigilant and think carefully about who they see,” he said on Wednesday. 

 

Speaking with Radio Xoriyo also known as Radio Freedom, he said Ethiopia exports its domestic problems to the neighboring countries like Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia whenever it feels the burden. 

 

“For Ethiopia, it never be ashamed of attacking refugees mainly Ogaden, Anuak and Oromo community leaders that have fled from its army brutality as the case of the 2010 elections.” 

 

” For instance, when Ethiopian elections was happening in 2010, Ethiopian Security Forces attempted to kill activists, opposition figures and community leaders from Ogaden region, Oromia and Gambella,” Sadik said. 

 

Sadik added that EPRDF-dominated government will get elect itself and that nothing good expects to happen for the May 2015 election.

 

Sadik called on the government of Kenya to be aware activities of Ethiopian assailants and those conspiring with them to ensure that they would not harm any one without the knowledge of Kenya. 

 

The Ogaden community in Kenya numbers approximately 120,000, of whom 100,000 are registered with the UNHCR.

 

Ethiopian assailants occasionally kidnap or kill opposition members within Kenyan soil. 26 January 2014, Sulub Abdi Ahmed and Ali Ahmed Hussein  were abducted by Ethiopian Secret Agents. The two officials were in Kenya to facilitate peace talks with the Ethiopian government.

 

Human Rights Watch accused the Ethiopia’s government of systematically cracking down on media ahead of the May 2015 election. 

 

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn  asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to act as mediator with the ONLF taking advantage of  Erdogan’s visit to Ethiopia, according to Africa Intelligence. 

 

ONLF was founded in 1984, and it has been engaging army struggle with the Ethiopian troops stationed in Ogaden region since 1994, after the Ethiopian government cracked down its members, following after Ogaden parliament overwhelmingly voted yes for

Barruuleen Warraaqsaa fi Dhaadannoon Qeerroo Godina Gujii Aanaa Garagaraa Keessatti Maxxanfamee, Bittimfame Uummataanis Raabsame.‏

Gabaasa Qeerroo Godina Gujii aanaa Shaakkisoo  Amajii 30,2015,
Dargaggootni fi Qeerroon oromoo godina Gujii kaleessa Amajii 29 aanaalee garagaraa Gujii keessatti waraqaalee dhaadannoo bittimsuun mootummaa Wayyaanee rifaasisuu fi uummatnis dammaqsuun Qeerroon gabaase, baatiima kana keessa mootummaan wayyaanee rakkoo uummanni jiraattotni Gujii miliyoonaan lakkaawamu rakkina daandii fi ibsaa qabaachuu,rakkina isaanis furmaata itti gochuuf, yeroon filannoon jala gahetti hojii misoomaa daandii baasuu fi ibsa uummataaf galchuu irratti caasaa isaa misoomaa gara bobbaasee jiraachuu miidiyaa of harkaa qabu RTVOn lallabaa ture, odeessi midiyaa Wayyaannootan darbu uumata biyyattii biratti odeessa kijibaan darbu malee kan haqa of keessaa qabu akka hin taane saboonni biyyattii gahaatti ni beeku. Haala kanaan Qeerroon godina Gujii keessa jiraatu olola mootummaa Wayyaanee soba of keessaa qabu ifatti saaxile, dhaadannoolee:-Mootummaan wayyaanee waggaa 25 aangoo ture keessatti rakkoo uummataa
furuu hin dandeenye,Daandii baasuu fi ibsaa galchuun mootumma wayyaaneef dadhabbii tahe,
kanaaf nurraa haa ka’u,Dirqamaan kaardii filannoo hin fudhannu,Humni waraana mootummaa nu keessa hin deemin nu keessaa haabahu,Nuti bilisummaa barbaanna,walabumaatti ammanna! Oromiyaan kan oromooti, kan habashaa miti!Mirgi keenya nuuf haa kabajamu!Mootummaa sobduu hin barbaannu!Mootummaan Wayyaaneen ajjeesaadha, saamtuudha, aangootti fufuu hin qabu!
Dhaadanollee hedduun uummata keessatti aanaalee adda addaa keessatti darbatamuun bittimfamee jira, uummannis har’a akkuma jirutti waraqoota faca’e kanatti gurra dhaabuun gammachuun itti dhagayame, diddaan isaaniis dargaggoota godinichaa waliin hiriiruuf mootummaa Wayyaanee dura dhaabbachuun falmii gaggeessuu kutatan,dhaadannon Qeerroo kaleessa galgala ka’ee aanaalee hunda keessatti naannoo
mana barumsaatti faffaca’uu fi bakka uummanni arguttis maxxanfamuun dhagayame, kanumaan har’as barattootni kanneen akka mana barumsaa sadarkaa lammaffaa, qophaayinaa aanaa Shaakkisoo barumsa dhaabuun dhagayame.

Filannoon Sobaa Bilisummaa Oromoo fi Mirga Sabootaa Hin Fidu Mata Duree Jedhuun Sochiin FDG Magaala Adaamaa fi Naannoo Isheetti Itti Fufe

Amajjii 29,2015 gabaasa Qeerroo Adaamaa, Sochii mootummaan Wayyaanee maqaa filannootin ummata keenya burjaajessu dura dhaabbachuuf ,akkasumas filannoon biyya keenyaa ol’aantummaa paartii biyya bulchu qofaan kan adeemsifamu waan taheef ummatni Oromoo filannoo irraa akka of daangessee QBO faana sochii isaa akka taasisuuf ibsoota ejjennoo fi dhaaddannoowwan garagaraa kaleessa galgala magaala Adaamaa,bishooftuu,duukam fi fantaalle mataa haraa keessatti manneen barnootaa fi waajjiraalee jiran hunda irratti raabsamee jira. dhaaddannoowwan kunis

1. Filannoon kijibaa mirga saba keenyaa hin dhugoomsu,akkasumas gabrummaadhaa nu hin baasu
2. Filannoon mirga malee dirqamaa miti ,kanaaf kaardii filannoo dirqamaan kennuun haa dhaabbatu
3. Barattoonno oromoo sababa gaaffii mirgaa gaafataniif qofa hidhamuu fi ajjeefamuun akkasumas mana barumsaa irraa ari’amuun haa dhaabbatu
4. Qote bulaa oromoo sababa investimentiin qe’ee isaa irraa buqqisuun haa dhaabbatu
5. Hoogganoota OPDO ergama wayyaanee galmaan gahuuf ummata keenya irratti hojjetan ni balaaleffaffa. fkn 1Abbaa duulaa Gammadaa (minaasee w/goorgis) 2,Kumaa Dammaqsaa (Taayyee Taklahayimaanot) 3,Muktaar Kadiir ,4,Abdul Aziiz Mohaammad fi kkf fa’a
6. Ummata oromoo saboota ollaan walitti buusuf daangaa oromiyaa ciruun saba biraaf kennuun haa dhaabbatu
7. Ilmaan oromoo oromummaa isaanin yakkamuun akka bineensaa adamsamanii jireenya isaanii irraa hidhaatti guuruun haa dhaabbatu
8. Seerri ummata Oromoof  hin hojjenne ummata Oromoo irrattis hojjechuu hin qabu.
9. HUB-Nuti sabni Oromoo mirgaa fi biyya diinaan nurraa mulqame filannoo sobaatin otoo hin taane qabsoodhan deeffanna- dhalli Oromoo shira mootummaan Wayyaanee uumata Oromoo irratti hojjechaa jiru hubachuun kaardii filannoo dirqamaan nutti laatamu dura haa dhaabbannu -maaster pilaanin finfinnee dhaabbatee otoo hin taane sochii barattoota oromoo dhaamsuf tooftaa bahe ta’uu hubachuun falmii keenya itti haa fufnu
   INJIFANNOON UMMATA OROMOOF
   Sochii taasifame kana erga agartee tikoonni wayyaanee daran yaaddoo keessa galuun dabballoota ishee magaala keessa facaasun waraqaa faca’e guuraa jiru ,dabalataanis haalichi mataa bowwoo itti tahee waan qabanii fi dhiisan dhabuun rifannoota keessa seenanii jiru  Qeerroo naannichaa irraa

Being and Becoming A Global Nation: The Oromo of East Africa

By Dorii Abbaa Fugug | January 28, 2015
Globalization is a phenomenon that has been metamorphosing from negative imperialistic connotation background to more positive, progressive and cherished representation. However, it is still suffering from cynicism and prejudice as some group of nations continuously prospering on the expense of others mortification.  Long before the existence of the term globalization and when the concept of globalization is not as comprehensive as today people were fighting over the dominance and some of them with the only rudimentary awareness of the glob and aspired to dominate the world mainly to maximize their sphere of influence or revenues. Others had mainly focused in strongly defending their territory and live in peace and tranquility for many centuries. The Oromo people were among those strong, democratic and peaceful nations in the region. 
However, their unshakeable power in the region for many centuries prior to European conquest was deranged; and with help of colonizers’ superior armaments; the once dying Abyssinian enclave happened to control the mighty Oromo nation. Thus with extraordinary weaponry supplies and unrelenting advice of their masters, this “dependent colony” strived and maintained its power over the Great Nation for over a century.
During this time, the Abyssinians tried their best not only to completely eradicate the Oromo identities (language, cultural, etc.), but they had also committed ethnic cleansing in which the Oromo population was reduced in half. They prohibited the Afaan Oromo from spoken in public or in offices and further worked hard to make the Oromo totally ignorant of the world around them. In other words they destroyed all traditional relationships with their neighbors and effectively blocked their interaction with them and the entire world at large.
For instance, until the Italian period in 1935-41, the Oromo males were not allowed to go to market (magalaa/gaba’aa/ katama) as they were killed by Naftangas as “cursed and unruly enemies”. On the other hand, the Oromo were also neither surrendered their dignity easily or stopped fighting them during this time. Patriotic Oromos like Muce Ahmed Muce was remembered by countless banana trees he planted on the graves of Naftanyas he killed. He is also remembered by eating Minelik’s commander, waldegebriel Aba Seyxan’e ear. I am very sure many Oromos from different corners of the Country have similar stories to tell.
During the emperor period and afterwards, the Oromo were discouraged to have any access to outside world be it in terms of business, education or any travels. They were geven, derogatory mistrusting nomenclatures like Aligaza bay “galla” (unruly “gella”) during Menilek; Banda(collaborators) during Hailesillasie; sargogab ( infiltrators) during Mengistu and OLF during Melles Zenawi (wayyane) regime only for the purpose of justifying the killing or robbing of the innocent Oromos. Yet, the Oromo continued to abjure such Abyssinian aspersion and illegally trekked to the neighbouring Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and other Arab countries.
These assiduous and risky defiant encounters resulted in creating Oromo heroes like Waqo Gutu, Jarra Abba Gada, Elemo Qilxu and many, many others who were the key for the formation of Oromo Liberation Army. History also witnesses thousands of Oromo who were captured and massacred by Abyssinian militias while crossing the border. Some of them were even followed and killed in neighboring countries. People like Ayyub Abubake, Jahatani Gurmu, Mullis Ababa Gada, etc, are the case in point. It was in this defiant and antipathy of Abyssinian anathema that the most precious Oromo freedom fighters, the eleven members the top OLF leaders, perished in the hands of hostile Ogadenian bandits, while travelling to Somalia for diplomatic purposes.
However, with EPRDF policy of killing some Oromos and expelling other from the country, thousands of Oromians took flight out of the country, all for the purpose of defending the Oromo nation right for self-determination and to become one of free world nation. In a nut shell, the Oromo have paid ultimate sacrifice for their independence not less than Algerians or Eritreans in any standards which most of us should be proud of. As I tried to mention above I don’t mean in anyways that globalization is a trend or a phenomenon that Africans have benefited from and as a result we cherish it. No, not at all. My point is that While becoming a victim of globalization, in general, is a bad thing, yet being deprived of your national identity, as Oromo, in the globalized world, is the worst thing ever and the opposite is true.
My other point here is that although the Oromo as a nation with its own national boundary and sovereign rule is in waiting, our diaspora efforts are already making Oromians a global citizen/nation in short cut. Today the Oromo have very strong community organization, vibrant civic and political organizations in Diaspora. Most importantly the majority of the Oromo have long been mentally liberated and completely forgotten Ethipiawinet.
Now that, we have seen how the Oromo were defiantly absconding the country sadistically since the beginning of the Abyssinian colonialization of Oromia and particularly during the 1950s and 1960s of Jarra Abba Gada-Waqoo Guutuu generations, which brought about the Oromo freedom fighting that continued to swelter like conflagration .
On the other hand, unprecedented new fashion of defiant flees or mass exodus of Oromo happened after 1991-2 Revolution. While few OLF left the country through Bole many thousands had flocked to the different corners of the countries’ border. As it goes, if we cannot succeed through Bole we will be making it through Bale became a motto. Anyway, most of these people destined to refugee in neighboring countries only to seek eventual resettlement to the third countries (to western world). As a result most of these refugees succeeded in resettling in countries like Australia, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherland, the UK, The United States and Canada. Although the trauma of refugee camps and establishing in new counties are not simple matter, many of these refugees are quickly established themselves and involved in the doing Oromummaa projects.
Although deserting the country especially by few top OLF leader during the crisis was seen as an abhorrent historical disaster for the Oromo struggle for independence, there are people who believe that leaving the countries enabled the Oromo people to be free of oppressive government and work for the Oromo struggle from outside of the country. Leaving the former for history, we are witnessing the latter becoming the reality.
That doesn’t mean however every Oromo in Diaspora is working for the benefit of Oromians, there is a group of Diaspora Oromo that chose to seek yet another Ethiopiawinet citizenship. How on earth someone can seek a new citizenship in the country where he was born and where the citizenship right in the county is already by birth.
On the contrary, however, those who left the country for the genuine pursuit of Bilisumaa continued working on a plethora of Oromummaa projects here in Diaspora. For example, all the proliferated Oromo free Medias, strong community organizations and other civic organization like OSA, OSG, ORA, HRLHA, Mada Walabu, IOYA, Barnoota and many other organizations are only the tip of the iceberg. These actives are undoubtedly becoming the reliable means for the Oromo to being and becoming the global nation. Furthermore, these are the outcomes of the Oromo defiance against the Abyssinians policy of concealment, camouflaging and containment. It is also a remarkable confirmation of the total failure of Abyssinian century old struggle against the Oromo or the demise of Ethipiawinet for good.
Thus, the assiduous process of reintroducing or reconnection of the Oromo nation to the world community as independent entity, of course, has reached the stage where no one can relapse it. We can see a multifaceted movement in continuums. The diaspora Oromo Students Organizations, Oromo community associations, the OLF and OSA and Oromo Medias are the leading champions of these developments.
The OMN which is envisioned by young Oromo student Obbo Jawar Mohammed and his friends started its role as a giant media outlet. They mobilized the diaspora Oromo behind the mission and the OMN has successfully been launched in March 2014. The OMN not only informs about what is going on in the world concerning the Oromo and the Horn of Africa’s natios but is also instilled the moral and spiritual connection of the Oromians all over the world as well as demonstrated that the Oromo can do so many great things when worked together. It also showed the Oromo that for every problem they are suffering from now, the solutions are always right in their hand.
The other promising Oromo project of our time in diaspora is Toltus Tufa’s’ Education project(Afaan). Toltu Tufa is an outstanding Australian born Oromo girl who envisions the greatness of educating her people in diaspora. Started with small project in Melbourn, Adde  Tultu expanded the horizon of her vision to reach all the Oromo children in every corner of the globe. Currently she is touring around the world to distribute the children books she authored.
Totlu project is so crucial for the Oromo people in diaspora for several reasons: First, Oromiffaa/Afaan Oromoo is one of the few languages that survived the language genocide. Please refer to the UN Genocide Convention definitions,( Art. 2b & 2e), which clearly stipulates what the linguistic genocide means, and how it occures. So Toltu’s project of teaching Afaan Oromoo is not only helps us to survive our languages from the threatening foreign media and scholastic language genocide in diaspora; but it makes our children be active future leader and inheritors of our struggle for independence. Secondly, it preserves Oromo identity as intact as it was. Toltu, herself, is a role model and charismatic leading light for our young foreign born Oromians.
There are many other emerging young talented Oromo leaders of Qube Generation like Toltu and Jawar whose achievements in the field of Oromumma are yet to be witnessed. As they are marching on natural course of actions( for a just cause), these young leaders are always successful to the detriment of those time-worn old gantuus Oromos who are derailed from the right trajectory.
The other acclaimed successful diaspora Oromo achievements are the naming of Minneapolis Oromo Street and the Melbourne Oromo community, hosting Oromo flag (right beside the Australian National flag) on Melbourne Street only to represent the Oromo nation as a distinct entity. These are shining Oromo community achievements in diaspora which shows the being and becoming of global nation. The OLF participation on “world stateless nations” conference in last year was nothing more than a confirmation for the world community that we are the nation without the state. Indirectly that means we are a state in exile or Oromia is the state in waiting.
Generally the Oromo in diaspora do actually know the fact that strengthening their organizational capacities and becoming viable global citizen enables them to revive and reconnect to their age older brotherly relationship with East African nations to work hard for the demise of the crumbling Ethiopian Empire. Many neighbouring nations have already joined hand in hand against tyrannical Ethiopian regime. Thus the disintegration of Ethiopia Empire will definitely paves the way for the integration and re-alliance of eastern African loving nations.
Mind you, while the Abyssinian in Washington reaffirmed their deep-rooted hatred to the Oromo her in the USA, the Somali and Oromo in Minneapolis demonstrated their Cushitic ties by working to together to make their dream of enshrining their names on the street of Minnesota. This trend of working together with brotherly spirit for the revitalization of old Cushitic bonds should continue with other East African communities.
Finally, we must be well aware of the multiple opportunities ahead of us to make difference in making the great Oromo Nation more known to the world communities and for the ultimate of Bilisummaa Oromoo. Each Oromo community association in diaspora has to bear the responsibility of doing at least one thing in their cities that make Oromo lined up among free nations. We become one of the independent World nations in our own rights!!!!

Barattooti Oromoo Diddaa Sirnna EPRDF Kaasuuf Jedhu Sababaa Jedhu Irraa Ka’ee Waraanni Wayyaanee Mooraa Yuuniversitii Jimmaa Sakatta’aa Jira.

Gabaasa Qeerroo Jimmaa Amajjii 27,2015
Amajjii 27,2015 Mootummaan Abbaa Irree EPRDF/TPLF dhiphina kasaraa Siyaasaa isa Mudatee jiruun yaaddoo keessa seenuun  dargaggootni Oromoo FDG mootummaa irratti kaasuuf qophaawaa jiru yaada jedhuun ka’ee sakatta’iinsa cimaa mooraa Yuunversitii Jimmaa Keessatti gaggeessaa jira.
Guyyaa har’aa balbala Mooraa Yuunibarsiitii Jimmaa irra poolisoota dhaabuun gadi ba’uu fi oldeebi’uu barattootaa irratti guyyaa guutuu sakkatta’insi bifa haaraan eegalame jira.Magaalaan Jimmaas humna waraanaa fi dabballoota milishoota dhiyeenya maqaa Filannoo kijibaa Wayyaanee eegsisuuf jedhuun leenjifamaniin eegama jira. Uummatni Oromoo jirattootni Magaalaa Jimmaa, Aggaaroo, Yabbuu, Asendaaboo, Saqqaa fi Deedoo kardii filannoo sobaa wayyaanotaa ofumaaf hin fudhannu jechuun diddaan uummata itti fufe jira.  Lafa dimookiraasiin hin jirreetti kaardii filannoo fudhachuun bu’aa hin qabuu jechuun uummaatni dhaamsa qeerroon dabarsaafii jiru fudhachuun kaardii filannoo fudhachuun faayidaa hin qabu, dura mirgaabbaa biyyuummaa  keenyaaf haa falmannuu, Oromoon biyyaa isaa keessatti samamaa, hidhama, ajjeefamaa, qe’eef qabeenya irra buqqifama jira, Barattootni Oromoo gaaffii mirgaa gaaffii dimookiraasii fi nagaa karaa dimookiraasii fi nagaa dhiyeeffatan, gaaffiin barattootni Qeerroon Oromoo gaafatan gaaffii keenya, mootummaan Wayyaanee har’a duula filannoo dimookiraasii sobaa labsu kun gaaffii mirgaa karaa nagaa fi dimookiraasii dhiyaateef diibii ajjeechaa, hidhaa jumlaa, barnoota irraa arii’uu, doorsisuun biyyaa irraa arii’uu deebii godhate; egaa Dimookiraasiin wayyaanee isa kamii? Jechuun uummaatni waliigalee wayyaanee dura dhaabbachuutti jira.
Mootummaan Wayyaanee EPRDF/TPLF sochii uummataa fi qindoomina Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromootti yaaddoo guddaa keessa galuun human milishaa bifa haaraan leenjisee human waraanaa waliin magaalaa jimmaa fi Yuunibarsiitii Jimmaa irratti bobbaasee eeggicha guddaa godhaa jira, guyyaa har’aas sodaan wayyaanotaa kun daran hammachuun gara sakkatta’insa barattootatti tarkaanfachuun sakkatta’insii bifa haaraa mooraa Yuunibarsiitii Jimmaa irratti gaggeeffama jira.
Goototni Qeerroon barattootni Oromoo nuti Waraanatti hin amannuu waraannii fi sakkatta’insi, filannoon kijibaa warraaqsa FDG ni finiinsa malee dhaabuu fi ugguruu hin danda’u, nuti Dimookiraasii dhugaa barbaadna, gaaffiin keenyaa gaaffii mirga abbaa biyyuummaa gaaffii mirgaa fi Dimookiraasiitii waan ta’eef mirga keenyaa fi hiree uummata keenyaa kabachiisuuf bakka jirruu tokkummaan harka walqabannee ni qabsoofna jechuun dhaamsa dabarfatan!.

The Role of Waldhaansso and Ejerssa Journals in Promoting and Propagating Oromo Struggle in North America

By Dumeesa Diimaa  | January 26, 2015
It was about 30 plus years ago that some of us arrived in United Stated to pursue higher education. As young and some what ambitious, we joined the student movements in our prospective universities. For those of us from the Ethiopian empire, the Ethiopian Student Union in North America was our initial home. During the ensuing years, the contradictions among the students from subject peoples of the Empire and those of the Abyssinian heritage could not transcend their revolutionary rhetoric and those of us from Oromo nation disengaged ourselves from the Ethiopian Student Union and in a considerable risk and challenge, in a country with a complex historical and social  milieus we hardly knew, much less understood the culture, politics, and other limitation that we might encounter, we organized our own student union.
We called our organization TOKUUMAA OROMO or United Oromo, but during the ensuing years the name has changed several times as we passed through several phases of our development. We were Oromo Students Union in North America and when most of us were no longer students, we just called our organization Oromo Union in North America (OUNA)
As is the case, that the task of any organization is to communicate its views or illustrate the objectives of its raison detȇr through some sort of mass media dissemination, the Oromo Union in North America started its first publication with a booklet called “Sagaalee” Oromo” in 1975, the entire issue was devoted to General Tadesse Birru’s self less- struggle for the rights of Oromo people. The second issue dealt with Obbo Mokonnin Wossanu’s life and times in the Oromo movements during the golden years of the Machaa and Tullama Civic Associations.
In August 1976, the first edition of the journal “Waldhaansso” or (struggle in English) was launched and it became the primary organ of the Oromo Students Union in North America. It became very popular among Oromos in the US and Canada and often sold out its first issues within weeks. Many people contributed articles both in Affan Oromo and in English dealing with the social and political legacies of Abyssinian colonialism and its oppressive nature as well as the long history of Oromo resistance and valiant sacrifices.
THE PRINCIPAL THESIS/THEME:
As the continued suffering of our nation intensified by the whole apparatus of the tyrannical Abyssinian state machinery, there were needs for more literature. We started new journals to augment the ever-popular Waldhasso. These new journals were called Oddaa and Hamttuu Burrussa. They primarily had both political and polemical positions as our Union was constantly evolving. They were finally discontinued and Waldhaasso remained as the sole and notable organ of our Union.
Waldhaansso became our collective and authoritative means of mass communication, an anthology of our stories and it transformed our discourse of the events of our youth with a sense of mission, purpose and power. The continuing struggle and suffering of the Oromo nation underlined our assessments by sifting through the past lies of ghost history of the Ethiopian empire. It exposed the complex, often violent struggle of the Oromo society against the Abyssinian colonialism as well as defined ourselves in the face of political, cultural and economic intrusion from the Abyssinian colonizers. It explained and enunciated our political lines and shaped our doctrine!
We were mindful of the oppressive realities of  Abyssinian colonizers, the profound and dreadful social and material basis of Oromo society and the abysmal political and individual rights of the subject peoples in the Empire, and Waldhaansso  was the vehicle to articulate our understanding of the issues and views of those years. It was noteworthy not only for exposing the defects of the Abyssinian system of governance; but it did also publish general political and ideological commentaries on the crucial issues with global themes. Waldhansso was our Pravda and the Federalist Paper combined. The authors of articles and commentaries used pen names for their safety and they documented the grossly cruel atrocities committed against the Oromo nation by successive Abyssinian rulers. The historical and sociological contexts of Abyssinian conquest were forceful and rigorously researched and argued as well as the dysfunctional political culture of the Empire. It exposed the craven canards written by the Empire’s elite about the Oromo society, history and culture.
After nearly three decades of unchallenged and unrestrained advocacy of issues and predicaments of the Oromo nation, the publication of Waldhaansso was suspended by mutual agreement of the concerned parties in 1991.
Ejerssa is another publication that the Oromo Union in North America founded in 1995 to promote Oromo struggle against the new and more insidious Abyssinian rulers, namely the Tigrean Liberation Front (TPLF). It was the dismal defeat of the Oromo forces by the Woyannee army that precipitated a growing anger among Oromos at home and in the Diaspora and the Journal Ejerssa was instrumental in demonstrating and declaring our anger and resistance against the new colonial state that was superimposing its treacherous machinery on Oromo society. We used Ejerssa to illustrate the essential characteristics of the new rulers of the Empire and their diabolical schemes to restructure the country to fit their nefarious objectives of plundering of Oromia resources to the benefit of their desolate homeland and brutalizing Oromo citizens who resisted their evil agenda toward Oromo nation.
Ejerssa emerged as free for all medium of politics, culture, arts, news and views. It was very instrumental in reaching-out to wider audiences without the ideological and polemical convictions of that Waldhansso maintained. It was widely distributed and read by friends and foes for its contents, perspectives and analysis of the politics of the Empire and the Horn of Africa. Occasional editorial and essay segments were provocative, informative and often infuriated some Oromo Organizations and individuals who found the tone and contents were not to their liking. The disapproval of some individuals and organization notwithstanding, it continued to echo the voice of Oromo struggle until it was discontinued in 1999 due to organizational transformation of the Oromo Union in North America.
To this end, both publications were uncompromising, consistent and played a momentous role to promote and propagate Oromo Struggle to our true friends as well as our detractors.
There were also some difficulties of editorial and managerial concerns that hobbled us during these years. Just like any publications, both journals had ups and downs with editorial directions and organization objectives. But these issues were resolved within the framework of our established guidelines and contentious disputes were amicably ironed-out. Several members of our organization served as editors as well as editorial writers. It was an arduous job for some while others did it effortlessly. It was necessary and politically expedient to produce both journals quarterly and with a considerable challenge and venture we did it diligently for some thirty odd years.
In the perspective of our long struggle, we formed the most durable bonds that transcended regions, religion and variants of cultural differences in the pages of this two and other publication about our battle with forces opposed to our desire for freedom and dignity. It is the memories forged by years of friendship these generation of Oromos, mindful of the oppressive realties of Abyssinian colonizers, the immeasurably dreadful social and material basis of Oromo nation and as well as the abysmal political and individual rights in the Empire that sustained us to continue the task of exposing lies and, to use Obbo Sissai Ibissa’s and Qabbanee’s aptly coined term the “invention of Ethiopia”.
It was a glorious journey of struggle, we rose above our limitation to fit what is universal among us, Oromumma, We had confidence, we had a mission to realize free Oromia and the total essence of the past decades endowed us with reach experiences and convinced of the righteousness of our cause. We believed and continue to believe that these virtues were instilled in us by the essays and political analysis of these two journals.
We take great pride in the role of both journals for exposing the falsehood of Abyssinian colonizers and hopefully in the future a new generation of Oromos will pick up the torch and publish their own Waldhanssos and Ejerssas to combat the next challenges.
Finally, the quest for freedom and willingness to pay any price must continue to shape the political environment of the Empire. It is with historical inevitability that the struggle of Oromo nation will succeed. The courage, the vigilance and the commitment of our people will determine the distance. For sure, we need to go to any length to free our nation from the Abyssinia colonizing structure.
They say… memory is a selection of images. Some looser, others printed indelibly on the brain. Each image is like a thread, each thread woven together to make a tapestry of intricate texture and the tapestry tells the story –the tapestry of one’s past, both journals were the tapestry of our struggle past.
SOME VERSION OF THIS ESSAY WAS PRESSENTED TO OROMO STUDIES (OSA) ANNUAL CONFRENCE, UNDER THE TITLE “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD”
JULY 28-29, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA

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Wallagga,Godina Horroo Guduruu Aanaa Jaardagaa Jaartee Keessatti FDG Humna Mootummaan ol Tahe Dhohe.

Gabaasa Qeerroo Aliboo Amajjii 26,2015

Mootummaan abbaa irree Wayyaanee Bara filannoo 2015 kana milkeessuudhaaf duula Kaardii fudhadhaa humnaan gaggeessaa jiraachuun isaa beekamaa dha. Haalli kunis Aanaa Jaardagaa Jaartee Magaala Jaardagaa fi Aliiboo keessatti daran hammaataa tahuu irraan darbee tajaajilawwan hawaasaa Karoora mootummaa Guddinaa fi Tiraanisfoormeeshinii jedhamuun Uummatatti ololaman keessaa kanneen akka Ibsaa fi Bishaanii haala olaanaadhaan Uummata Magaala Aliiboo rakkisuu fi himatanis qaamni deebii deebisuuf waan dhibeef Hiriira nagaa Humna mootummaa wayyaanee ol tahe godhanii jiran. Barattootni, Barsiisotni, Jiraattootni, Daldaltootni, Hojjettootni mootummaa fi dhuunfaa magaala kana keessaa guutummaan hiriira kana keessatti hirmaachuudhaan diddaa dhageessisanii jiran. Dargaggootnii fi Uummatni Hiriira kana irratti bahuudhaan walleewwan Warraaqsaa ‘’ SII WAYYAAREE, OROMOON LEENCUMA DURUU, ABO NUUF WAYYA,..’’ Kanneen jedhaman wallisuudhaan dhaadannoowwan garaa garaas dhageessisuu irratti argamu. Dhaadannoowwan

1.      Tajaajilawwan Hawaasaa kanneen akka Ibsaa argachuu qabna

2.      Kanneen hidhaman haa hiikaman

3.      Kaardii filannoo dharaa hin fudhannuu fi kanneen biroo kaasuudhaan Hiriira nagaa gaggeessuu irratti argamu

Ebla 2014 keessas Uummatni Magaala kanaa adda durummaan Master Plan wayyaaneen qopheessite dura kan dhaabbate yoommuu tahu FDG itti fufinsa qabu gaggeessuudhaan Mootummaa wayyaanee hundeedhaan akka buqqisuuf FDG itti fufanis hooggansi Qeerroo Magaala Aliiboo gabaasee jira.

Hub: Waraabbii Sagalee akka nu dhaqqabeen isin dhaqqabsiisna.

Gootonni Oromoo Salaaleetti Seenaa Agarii Tulluu Haaromsan, Gootummaanis Wareegaman.

Suurri argaa jirtan kun GOOTOTA ilmaan Oromoo roorroon hammaannan Wayyaanee fuuldura gootummaa dhaan falmaa dhaabbatanii utuu lolanii kanneen harka diinaatti gaafa kufan wayyaaneen gochaa suukaneessaa akkanaatiin uummata yaamtee raawwii akkasii jiilchaf ilmaan Oromoo kanneen irratti raawwatte. Oromoo diina isaa ajjeessaa, falmaa du’uun ykn wareegamuun kabajaa guddaa dha. Bakki gochaan fashitii Wayyaanee kun itti raawwatame godina SALAALEE, aanaa Darraatti baatii dabre gaafa 09/12/2014 ture.
Sababiin gootonno Oromoo kunneen itti bosona seenaniifis roorroo warri ergamtuu wayyaanee OPDO, dabballoota aanaa saniitirraa irra gahaa ture waan dadhaabaniif jiraachuus waan dadhhabaniif tahuutu gabaafama. Maqaan gooticha kanaa KATAMAA WUBETUU kan jedhamu erga dhiirummaasaa fi gootummaasaa loltoota wayyaanee 4 fi foolisoota hedduu galaafatee booda harka diinaatti kufuudhaan gaafa guyyaa 09\12\2014, aanaa Darraa, magaalaa Gondo Masqaal irratti wayyaaneen gochaa gara jabummaatiin uummata keenya jiilchuu fi sodaachisuuf hiriyaa isaa walin fannifte.
Dirreen inni itti lolaa ture, aanaa DARRAA naannoo Harbuu Masqaalee keessatti akka tahe qeerroon aanaa Darraa gabaasaniiru. Jaallan KATAMAA waliin qabsootti bahan ammas qabsoo akka finiinsaa jiraniifi ilmaan Oromoo hundaan hidhadhaa ka’aa! dhaamsa jedhu dhaammataniiru jedhama. QABSAAWAN NI KUFA,QABSOON ITTI FUFA! OROMIYAAN NI BILISOOMTI!

BREAKING NEWS:- Uummatni Magaala Finfinnee Jiraatu Carraa Argateen Filannoo Dharaa Fashalsuudhaaf Duula Wayyaanee Irratti Bahe!‏

Amajjii 25,2015 Gabaasa Qeerroo Finfinnee

Guyyaa har’aa jechuun Amajjii 25 Bara 2015 Waamicha Paartii mormaa Andinnet Uummata Magaala Finfinneedhaaf waamicha hiriira nagaa dabarsee booda Uummatni muraasni hiriira irratti wayita argamu; Mootummaan Wayyaanee garuu dhaadannoowwan dhageessifamaa jiran seera qabeessa miti jechuudhaan waraana hedduumminaan itti bobbaase. Wayita kanatti Uummatni magaala kana jiraatu waraana Mootummaa Wayyaanee Uummata hiriira nagaa bahetti duule dura dhaabbachuudhaan Fincila diddaa garbummaa gaggeessaa oolanii jiran. Uummatni rakkoo jireenyaa fi gidiraa mootummaan wayyaanee uummata irratti buusee jiru hadheeffachuun filannoon dharaas daran waanjoo garbummaa kana kan dabalu malee nageenya waaraa kan hin fidne tahuu ifaan dubbatanii jiran. Uummatni mana mana isaadhaa waraana wayyaaneetti bahuudhaan filannoo dharaan lammaffaa hin gowwoomnu jechuudhaan duula fincilaa godhee jira. Mootummaan wayyaanees haala kanaan kan baarage rakkoo uummata hidhaa fi reebuu hammeessus Uummatnis tarkaanfii walfakkaataa waraana wayyaanee irratti fudhachuudhaan Poolisootni hedduun madeeffamanii jiran. Paartiileen Mormitootaas filannoo dharaa fi abbaa irrummaan guutame kana keessaa akka of baasuu qaban Uummatni diddaa gaggeesse keessatti ifa godhee jira.

Addatti Uummatni Oromoo magaala Finfinnee keessa jiraatu hiriira irratti kan argaman osoo hin taane waraana Wayyaanee Uummata nagaa hiriirsuuf gadi bahe dura dhaabbachuun isaa Paartii Mormaa Andinnet haala olaanaadhaan ajaa’ibsiisee jira. Haala amma eegalame kanaan jabeeffamuudhaanis Mootummaan Wayyaanee hundeedhaan buqqa’uu akka qabuu fi Uummatnis daran diddaa isaa jabeessee akka itti fufu Jaarmayaan Qeerroo Bilisummaa waamicha isaa gadi jabeessee dabarsa.

Amajjii 23/2015 Mooraa Yuuniversiitii Jimmaa keessatti Dabballootii fi Humni Tikaa Wayyaanee Yakka Hojjetan

Amajjii 23/2015 Mooraa Yuuniversiitii Jimmaa keessatti yakka dabballootni humnootni tikaa Wayyaanee qindeessuun barattoota Oromoo ittin yakkuuf jedhanii Doormii barattootatti halkan keessa sa’aa 6:00 irratti ibidda itti qabsiisan, Goototni Qeerroon dargaggootni Oromoo itti dammaquun dhaamsuu danda’uun shira Wayyaanee dura dhaabbatan.
Goototni barattootni Oromoo Yakka kamuu ergamtootni dabbaallotni fi humnootni tikaa Wayyaanee ittin ilmaan Oromoo yakkuuf dalagaa jiran mara dura ni dhaabbanna jechuun halkan keessa sa’aa 6:00 irratti Wayyaaneen ergama diinummaa qabeenyaa Oromoo gubuun, ilmaan Oromoo immoo itti yakkuun hidhatti guuruun qindeeffatte, Mooraa Yuunibarsiitii Jimmaa Main Campus Doormii Abdiisaa jedhamuun beekamutti ibidda qabsiisuun yakka hin jirre dalagaa jiraachuun bira ga’ame jira. Goototni Qeerroon Barattootni Oromoo yakka dabballoota humnoota tikaa wayyaanee irratti dammaquun balaa ibiddaa hamaa qabeenyaa uummataa barbadeessuuf aggamamee kana dura dhaabbachuun dhaamsuu danda’ani jiru. Goototni barattootni Oromoo MootummaanWayyaanee yakkamadha, yoom iyyuu yakka dalagee Oromoo ittin dhaadhessuuf duubatti kan deebi’uu miti, yakkoota dalagaamaa jiran kana hundaaf mootummaan wayyaanee itti gaafatamadha. Ilmaan Oromoo dhaabbilee barnoota olaanoos ta’ee sadarkaa garaagaraa fi bakkoota garaagaratti argamtan bakka jirruu hundaa harka walqabannee mootummaa Shororkeessituu Wayyaanee dura haa dhaabbatnu jechuun dhaamsa dabarsan

Fascinating world of Kenya’s Borana Oromo tribe revealed

• The majority of the 500,000-strong Borana tribe live in Kenya but some also live in Ethiopia and Somalia
• Women use clarified butter (ghee) to keep their hair in perfect condition and wear it in elaborate plaits
• Girls have the crown of their heads shaved, with the hair only allowed to grow after they marry
• Other beliefs include the fear that having your photo taken removes some blood and steals your shadow 
• They also believe in a single god named Wak, although more are converting to Christianity and Islam 

By Ruth Styles for MailOnline

January 24, 2015 (TKG News) Split between Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, the 500,000-strong Borana tribe might be numerous but their fascinating customs and religious beliefs are entirely unique.

A nomadic people, their lives revolve around finding good grazing for their herds of camels and cattle, which combined, provide everything they need to survive in the striking semi-arid scrub land they inhabit.

But while men dominate village life and are in charge of the herds, women play a vital role and are in sole charge of building Borana homes and performing the elaborate dances that signal the birth of a baby.

Dressed in her best: A Borana woman wearing traditional garb made from goat skins. The expensive dresses are now kept only for best

Rules: Many of the Borana’s rules apply to children, including a prohibition on addressing anyone older than themselves by their first name

With so little water to be had, their beauty routine is an unusual one and involves anointing their locks with ghee (clarified butter) to keep hair smooth and shiny.

Girls are given the most striking hairdos and wear the crown of their heads shaved until they marry, at which point the hair is allowed to grow back while the rest is plaited into elaborate designs.

But hair isn’t the only part of life governed by the Borana’s centuries-old laws. The majority of rules apply to children who, for instance, aren’t allowed to call anyone older than themselves by their first names.

Those names are also governed by tribal law and are inspired by the time of day they were born. ‘Boys born in broad daylight are always called Guyo,’ explains photographer Eric Lafforgue who took these incredible pictures.

‘Some are named after a major event, a ceremony (Jil), a rainy season (Rob) or a dry season (Bon). Others are named after weekdays while a few get odd names such as Jaldes (ape), Funnan (nose), Gufu (tree stump) and Luke (lanky long legs).’

Whatever their parents decide to call them, all children are given a place in the social pecking order at birth – and once done, it is rare for it to be changed.

Welcome: The birth of a baby of either gender is marked by a traditional women-only dance which welcomes the infant into the world

Hard work: Women are in sole charge of building Borana homes and since they move four times a year, have to work extremely hard

Daragaggoonni Oromoo Sababaa Filannoo Gufachiisuuf Karoorfattaa Jiru Jedhuun Mana Hidhaa Wayyaaneetti Darbamuun Hammaate.

Gabaasa Qeerroo Amajjii 23,2015 Finfinnee
Sirni Wayyaanee filannoo dharaa baatii Caamsaa keessa gaggeessuuf deemu irraa
sodaa sochii uummataa irraa qabuun kan kahe uummatni kaardii filmaataa humnaan akka fudhatu taasisuu irra dabree uummata addatti dargaggoota Oromoo kaardii filmaataa hin fudhannu jedhan mana hidhaatti dabraa jiraachuu gabaasonni Qeerroo bakkoota garaagaraa irraa nuqaqqabe addeessa. Dargaggoota kanneen filannoo kaardii fudhachuu didan isintu akka uummanni kaardii filannoo hin fudhanne taasisaa jira, filannoos gufachiisuuf deemtu jechuun ragaa qabatamaa hin qabneen mana hidhaatti dabraa jira. Dargaggoota godinaalee irraa hedduminaan hidhamaa jiran keessaa adda durummaan sochii Warraaqsaa qindeessuun uumata mootummaa irratti kakaasuun filannoo gufachiisuuf deemtu kanneen jedhaman keessaa kanneen Kutaalee Oromiyaa adda addaa irraa:

1. Dargaggoo Amaan Mohaammadii fi Jamaal Kadiir Roobaa, Baatuu irraa achuma mana hidhaa buufata poolisaatti dabramuun kan argaman.
2. Dargaggoo Tesfaayee Guutaa, TulluBoolloo irraa, achuma buufata poolisa Tullu Boollootti dabramee kan argamu.
3. Dargaggoo Gulummaa Caalaa fi Asaffaa Nadhii Sandaafaa irraa, achuma buufata poolisa Sandaafaatti kan darbaman.
4. Dargaggoo Daani’eel Gammachuu magaalaa Incinnii irraa achuma buufata poolisa Incinniitti darbamanii kan argaman yoo tahu; Kanneen bakkoota gargaaraa irraa mana hidhaatti darbamanii jiran guutummaa isaa Qeerroon gara fuul duraatti qindoominaan ni gabaasa.

Humni Tikaa fi Bulchitooti Wayyaanee Dirqamaan Uumata Kardii Filatnoo Fudhachiisuu Imaamata Godatan.

Amajjii 23,2015 Finfinnee

Uummanni Oromoo filannoo waliin dhahaa fi fakkeessaa mootummaa Wayyaaneen bara baraan gaggeessu ijibbaate ejjennoo mataa isaa fudhatuutti jira. Ummanni filannoo baroota dabran wayyaaneen gaggeessaa turte irraa waa barate, filannoo barana wayyaaneen Caamsaatti gaggeessuuf deemtu sagalee isaa kennuu irraa ofqusachuuf ejjennoo kaardii filmaataa fudhachuu dhiisuutti jira. Mootummaan abbaa hirree ejjennoo uummataatti garaan gubataa jiru, tarkaanfii dirqisiisanii uummata fudhachiisuun bakkoota garaagaraatti hammaatee itti fufee jira. Akka gabaasonni  Qeerroo Oromiyaa bakkoota garaagaraa irra nu qaqqabetti mootummaan wayyaanee karaa caasaa tokko shanee jedhuun uummanni akka kaardii filmaataa fudhate to’achuun ala karaa gama bulchiinsotaa fi dabballoota gandaatiin mana nama dhuunfaa irra deemuun kaardii filmaataa fudhatuu fi dhiisuu isaa adda baafachuu, yoo hin fudhanne dirqiin akka fudhatu taasisuutti kan jiran ta’uus, uummanni ammoo fudhatuu fi dhiisuun mirga akka tahe jabeessee dabballoota wayyaanee hubachiisaa jira.

Haga gabaasni kun nu qaqqabetti, bakkoota uummata dirqisiisanii fudhachiisan keessaas, gandoolee  baadiyyaa fi magaalota naannoo Jimmaa, Aggaaroo, Sukorruu, Giincii, Ejeree, Hoolotaa, Baatuu, Moojoo, Baakkoo-Tibbee, Daannoo, Ijaajjii, Arjoo Guddattuu, Waayyuu, magaalotaa fi baadiyyaalee naannoo Finfinnee kan akka Sabbataa fi Alem ganaa, Burraayyuu, Sulutaa, Dukaam, Sandaafaa, galaan fa’aa akka tahe odeessi nu qaqqabe ibsa.

Ethiopia: Media Being Decimated

Legal, Policy Reforms Crucial Prior to May Elections

January 22, 2015, Nairobi (Human Rights Watch) – The Ethiopian government’s systematic repression of independent media has created a bleak landscape for free expression ahead of the May 2015 general elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In the past year, six privately owned publications closed after government harassment; at least 22 journalists, bloggers, and publishers were criminally charged, and more than 30 journalists fled the country in fear of being arrested under repressive laws.
The 76-page report, “‘Journalism is Not a Crime’: Violations of Media Freedom in Ethiopia,” details how the Ethiopian government has curtailed independent reporting since 2010. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 70 current and exiled journalists between May 2013 and December 2014, and found patterns of government abuses against journalists that resulted in 19 being imprisoned for exercising their right to free expression, and that have forced at least 60 others into exile since 2010.
“Ethiopia’s government has systematically assaulted the country’s independent voices, treating the media as a threat rather than a valued source of information and analysis,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director. “Ethiopia’s media should be playing a crucial role in the May elections, but instead many journalists fear that their next article could get them thrown in jail.”
Most of Ethiopia’s print, television, and radio outlets are state-controlled, and the few private print media often self-censor their coverage of politically sensitive issues for fear of being shut down.
The six independent print publications that closed in 2014 did so after a lengthy campaign of intimidation that included documentaries on state-run television that alleged the publications were linked to terrorist groups. The intimidation also included harassment and threats against staff, pressure on printers and distributors, regulatory delays, and eventually criminal charges against the editors. Dozens of staff members went into exile. Three of the owners were convicted under the criminal code and sentenced in absentia to more than three years in prison. The evidence the prosecution presented against them consisted of articles that criticized government policies.
While the plight of a few high-profile Ethiopian journalists has become widely known, dozens more in Addis Ababa and in rural regions have suffered systematic abuses at the hands of security officials.
The threats against journalists often take a similar course. Journalists who publish a critical article might receive threatening telephone calls, text messages, and visits from security officials and ruling party cadres. Some said they received hundreds of these threats. If this does not silence them or intimidate them into self-censorship, then the threats intensify and arrests often follow. The courts have shown little or no independence in criminal cases against journalists who have been convicted after unfair trials and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, often on terrorism-related charges.
“Muzzling independent voices through trumped-up criminal charges and harassment is making Ethiopia one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists,” Lefkow said. “The government should immediately release those wrongly imprisoned and reform laws to protect media freedom.”
Most radio and television stations in Ethiopia are government-affiliated, rarely stray from the government position, and tend to promote government policies and tout development successes. Control of radio is crucial politically given that more than 80 percent of Ethiopia’s population lives in rural areas, where the radio is still the main medium for news and information. The few private radio stations that cover political events are subjected to editing and approval requirements by local government officials. Broadcasters who deviate from approved content have been harassed, detained, and in many cases forced into exile.
The government has also frequently jammed broadcasts and blocked the websites of foreign and diaspora-based radio and television stations. Staff working for broadcasters face repeated threats and harassment, as well as intimidation of their sources or people interviewed on international media outlets. Even people watching or listening to these services have been arrested.
The government has also used a variety of more subtle but effective administrative and regulatory restrictions such as hampering efforts to form journalist associations, delaying permits and renewals of private publications, putting pressure on the few printing presses and distributors, and linking employment in state media to ruling party membership.
Social media are also heavily restricted, and many blog sites and websites run by Ethiopians in the diaspora areblocked inside Ethiopia. In April, the authorities arrested six people from Zone 9, a blogging collective that provides commentary on social, political, and other events of interest to young Ethiopians, and charged them under the country’s counterterrorism law and criminal code. Their trial, along with other media figures, has been fraught with various due process concerns. On January 14, 2015, it was adjourned for the 16th time and they have now been jailed for over 260 days. The arrest and prosecution of the Zone 9 bloggers has had a wider chilling effect on freedom of expression in Ethiopia, especially among critically minded bloggers and online activists.
The increased media repression will clearly affect the media landscape for the May elections,.
“The government still has time to make significant reforms that would improve media freedoms before the May elections,” Lefkow said. “Amending oppressive laws and freeing jailed journalists do not require significant time or resources, but only the political will for reform.”
Source: Human Rights Watch

URGENT: Statement released by Western Australian Oromo Community

(Oromedia, 21 January 2015)The Western Australian Oromo Community says any individual or/and group of individuals who may take part in  meeting with the Ethiopian government do not represent the Oromo Community in Western Australia.
This is in reference to telephone conversation and written request made by Ethiopian Embassy in Canberra, Australia to meet with Oromo diaspora by high level of delegate from Oromia Regional State led by Vice President. Thank you for your invitation.
As Oromo Community in Western Australia, we held a series of meeting and discussion about your request and made the following official statement to your request. We would like to inform you that we are not only unable to participate in any formal or informal discussion or dialog with the current Ethiopian Government body or it’s representative, but also we strongly and firmly oppose such gathering in its any form.
We the Oromo community in Western Australia demands that the current Ethiopian regime immediate cessation of hostility against Oromo people. We demand that Government stops its lip service campaign in the election year; release all political prisoners without any precondition, respect the basic human right of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and expression.
We also demand that the Government stop displacing Oromo people from its ancestral lands. We speak loud and clear that the Government cease the power immediately and allow opposition political parties to operate in the country freely. We also demand that the Government respect its article 39 constitution and allow the nation and nationalities in the empire of self-determination including cessation or union at will. Then only we believe that the door of dialog and discussion with this Government be open.
According to the press release “the current Ethiopia Government is the regime that dehumanized the Oromo public: marginalized the Oromo people politically, economically, and socially.”
Here is the press release from Oromo Community of Western Australia. Official Statemen_OCWA
The email letter sent to the Oromo community from Ethiopian Embassy Canberra indicated that “high level delegation of the Oromia Regional State led by the Vice President will visit Perth after January 23, 2015 (the specific date will be notified later) to meet with Oromo Diaspora in your city and the surroundings.”
The purposes of the meeting are:

1. To brief on the objective situation (political, economy and social development) of the region,
2. To brief on the Diaspora Housing Development Program and
3. To brief on the upcoming Oromia International Diaspora Day

The venue will be in one of the big hotels in Perth, the cost of which will be covered by us. Therefore, as Chairman of your association, we seek your assistance to inform the leadership and members to attend the forthcoming meeting in Perth. The Diaspora Minister Counselor will call you on Saturday, 17 January 2015, for detailed discussion.
Here is a letter sent from Ethiopian Embassy Canberra: Ambassador’s Letter

1. Ethiopian Embassy letter to Dr. Nuru Said, Chairman of Oromia Community

2. Response to the letter by Oromo Community in W. Astralia

10 comments - What do you think?
Posted by admin - 21/01/2015 at 6:40 am

Categories: HOA News  Tags:

1. Tolaa says:

   21/01/2015 at 10:07 am

   Kunoo akkas malee ijoollee Oromoo.
   Afaan Oromootiinis facaasaa.
   Gara isheen deemtutti qaanessuu dha.
   

   Reply
2. Caalaa says:

   21/01/2015 at 10:35 am

   Maqaa “Abbaa Bokkuu2- vise president fi ambasaderii” waan hin barreeffamneef kun waan namni biraa sobee qosaaf jedhee isiniif barreesse fakkaata. Tawus, toftaa akkanaa T P L F irraa yeroo filmaan dhiyaate eegamuun ni danda’ama. Akkuma hundi keessanuu beekamu, yeroo kanaan dura darbeeyyu qotee bultoota Oromoo naannoo Finfinneetii otoo waan tokko illee hin kenniniif lafa irraa fudhatanii, hawaasa (diaspora) Toophiyaa fi Oromoota tokko tokko biyyoota hojjatanii jiraachuu danda’anii waamanii, akka siyaasaa isaanii deeggaraniif jedhanii lafa sana badhaasani. Hawaasni garuu lafa sana gurgurateeti achii deeme. BAQALAA GARBAA waan daba isaan hojjatan ceepha’ef hidhame. Yeroo kana immoo hawaasni Oromoo Amerikaa fi Awurophaa jiran waan yeroo yerootti isaan balaleeffataniif gara Awustiraliyaatti fuul isaanii garagalfatani.
   “Kana caala Oromoo gowwoomsuu hin dandeessan.” jedhaanii.
   Oromoota dhokatanii dhaqan eegatii adaba irra buusaa.
   Oromoonni OPDO wajjin hojjatan jiraachuu dandawu. Isaan “mee dhaqnee haa ilaallu ” jedhanii nama gowwoomsuu dandawu. Kanarratti tokko tawuu qabdu.
   

   Reply
3. Gurmuu Karrayyuu says:

   21/01/2015 at 12:00 pm

   Watch out for some TPLF/naftagna who fluently speak afaan oromoo to be used by the Woyyanee regime cadres to represent the Oromo Community in Australia. The “discussion” and support for the EPDRF government could air on so called ETV next week.
   Oromos should never, ever, again put down their arms till the last drop of our blood. We will either perish from the horn of Africa or live with dignity, equality and freedom with all the oppressed people of the region. In the mean time we have to start weeding out the BANDAS/OPDO mercineries who still want to serve TPLF in Oromiyaa
   Live free or die with dignity!!!
   

   Reply
4. Abaroba says:

   21/01/2015 at 1:39 pm

   Ya Oromo jabadha harka kenachufitat wayanen.
   

   Reply
5. Land says:

   21/01/2015 at 1:48 pm

   House development? They can develop at Mekele, Gonder etc but not displacing Oromo in Finfinee and it’s surrounding !
   

   Reply
6. Galmee Dhugaa says:

   21/01/2015 at 2:35 pm

   Kun sagantaa Wayyaaneen Australia qofatti qabdu otuu hin tahiin biyyoota assa addaa keessatti saganteefatte. Toftaan Wayyaanee fi kittilayyoonni isaani deemaniin kun dura dhaabatamu qaba. oromoon flimaata tokkichi qabdu sirna kana hiddaan buqaasuu qofa.
   Jarri kun ummata keenya fixaa, hidhatti guuraa, saamaa fi gidiraa adda addaa irratti raawwacha biyoota alaa kana keessatti fuula tolfachuu fi kashlabbee waan isaan deemaniin kanaan sobamtuuf omishachuu oliif gad kaachaa akka jiran oromoo biyyoota alaa kana keessa jiru beekuu qaba.
   Kisaaraa karaa Deplomacy fi siyaasaan Oromoonni biyya alaa jiraatu Wayyaane (mootummaa gooleesitu) irratti geesifte irraa rifatan maqaa oromoo nama qabu ergani oromoo soobuuf yaalaa jiru.
   Bakka isaan qophii qaban hundatti hiriira itti bahuu fi qophii isaanii fashalsiisuun dirqama lammumaa ti. Waan taheef jabaannee irratti hojjachuu qabna. Ummata fixaa, hidhatti guuraa, barnoota irraa arihaa lafa oromoo qircachaa developmen ykn guddinni isaan himan hin jiraatu.
   Kana ergaan jedhe booda Ilmaan oromoo Australia dhihaa hedduu galatooma ajachuun barbaada. galanni keessan bilisummaa haa tahu.
   

To all members of Oromo Communities in the UK and around the world!!

Hawaasota Oromoo UK fi biyya adda addaa keessa jirtan maraaf !!

Dr Martin Hill

Fira ummata cunqurfame addunyaa fi warri sagalee hinqabne sagaleen isaanii akka dhagahamu godhaa kan turani Dr Martin Hill biyya lafaa kana irraa lubbuun dabruu isaanii gadda guddaan ibsina. Ummatoota cunqurfamanii fi miidhaan irra gahe keessaa ummatni Oromoo tokko yommu ta’u Dr Martin bara dhibba kudha sagalii fi saddeettamootaa fi sagaltamoota keessa rakkoo Oromoo irra gahaa ture ifa baassuu fi saaxiluun Oromoon akka gargaaramu godhaa nama turani dha.Yeroo dheeraaf adunyaa irratti mirga dhala namaaf ka falmu dhaaba ‘Amnesty International’ jedhamu geggeessaa ka turan Dr Martin Hill biyya lafaa kana irraa ka dabran Jimaata dabre Amajjii 16, 2015 yommuu ta’u sirni awwaalcha isaanii Jimaata dhufu Amajjii 23, 2015 ganama sa’a 11:00 irratti London keessatti waldaa teessoon isaa kanaa gadi kaa’ametti raawwata. ‘Amnesty International’ dhuma bara 2014 keessas akkuma rakkoo ummatoota addunyaa cunqunrfaman saaxile ka Oromoo irra gahes ”Because I am Oromo” jechuun biyyi lafaa akka sirriitti hubatu godhe. Kanaaf Oromoo dabalatee fira ummata  cunqunrfamtoota biyya lafaa kan turani sirna awwaalcha Dr Martin Hill irratti  akka argamtan gaafanna. 
Martin Hill Funeral Annoucement (1)

France: Migrants, Asylum Seekers Abused and Destitute

January 20, 2015, Paris (HRW) – Asylum seekers and migrants living in destitution in the port city of Calais experience harassment and abuse at the hands of French police, Human Rights Watch said today. The abuses described to Human Rights Watch include beatings and attacks with pepper spray as the migrants and asylum seekers walked in the street or hid in trucks in the hope of traveling to the United Kingdom.
Several thousand asylum seekers and migrants, most from Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, are living in makeshift camps or in the streets in Calais. Some said that their treatment by police, a lack of housing for asylum seekers, and delays in the French asylum system had deterred them from seeking asylum inFrance.
“Asylum seekers and migrants shouldn’t have to face police violence in France, and no one who applies for asylum should be left to live in the street,” said Izza Leghtas, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Providing adequate reception conditions and humane treatment for asylum seekers isn’t only a matter of meeting legal obligations, it is also the right thing to do to help end the limbo for many asylum seekers in Calais.”

In November and December 2014, Human Rights Watch spoke with 44 asylum seekers and migrants in Calais, including 3 children. Most interviews were conducted in groups. The migrants and asylum seekers described what appear to be routine abuses by police officers when they tried to hide in trucks or as they walked in the town.
Nineteen, including two of the children, said police had abused them at least once, including beatings. Eight had visible broken limbs or other injuries, which they alleged were caused by police in Calais and surrounding areas. Twenty one, including two children, said police had sprayed them with pepper spray.
In November, the outgoing local police chief, speaking to reporters, denied allegations of abuse. In a meeting with Human Rights Watch on December 16, officials in the interior minister’s office said they were unaware of reports of police violence against migrants and asylum seekers in Calais but would investigate if allegations were based on “precise facts.” On January 14, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department denied any unjustified use of force by police against migrants in Calais.
France faces a crisis of inadequate accommodation for asylum seekers. Currently only a third of those who seek asylum across France are provided with accommodation in reception centers for asylum seekers. As of December 2013, 15,000 asylum seekers were on a waiting list for a place in a reception center and fewer than a third of asylum seekers entitled to accommodation were housed in such centers. The average waiting period was 12 months. A bill before parliament aims to speed up asylum procedures and increase available accommodation in reception centers for asylum seekers across the country.
While there have been asylum seekers and migrants in Calais for over a decade, due to its proximity to the UK by rail and sea, the numbers have sharply risen since the spring of 2014. On January 14, Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, told Human Rights Watch there were about 2,300 asylum seekers and migrants in the Calais area. As of mid-December, local nongovernmental organizations estimated that 200 women and young children were living in camps and that 50 women and young children were in a center run by a local organization.
Most migrants and asylum seekers in Calais have no shelter from the cold and the rain, no access to sanitation, and very limited access to running water. Many depend on food provided by local organizations and volunteers.
The response of the French government to the poor living conditions in Calais has been inadequate and slow, though. The interior minister announced in November that a day center would be made available to provide showers, meals, and legal assistance for 1,500 asylum seekers and migrants by January. But as of January 15, only limited facilities were available on the site until April. Overnight accommodation will not be available until March and will be limited to 100 women and young children.
The government is funding an organization to run a warehouse in Calais in which migrants can sleep for the night, which must open when the temperature is minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) or less. The authorities have discretion to keep the shelter open even when the temperature is above minus 5 degrees Celsius. The warehouse opened on December 26 and closed on January 2, and reopened on January 14 because of high winds in the region. On January 5, the organization that runs the warehouse informed Human Rights Watch that it had a maximum capacity of 500 places, one third of the 1,500 places promised by the government. Denis Robin told Human Rights Watch that if necessary the capacity could be increased to the 1,500 places promised by the government, but renovation works would be necessary. A similar facility was available in previous years, but with a capacity limited to 120 places.
French government officials informed Human Rights Watch in December and January that steps had been taken to register and process asylum claims promptly. They said that asylum applications had significantly increased in 2014, that 422 places in reception centers had been offered to asylum applicants from Calais, and that 500 additional places had been made available in reception centers outside Calais to accommodate those who claim asylum in Calais, although it is unclear how those places will be allocated and when they will all become available.
While these steps are an improvement, the situation remains dire for many migrants and asylum seekers and the new facilities are very basic. The French government needs to intensify its efforts to ensure that all asylum seekers—including those covered by the Dublin Regulation—are provided with accommodation without delay as EU law requires, Human Rights Watch said. The government should consider making the emergency shelter available independently of the temperature, and ensure there are sufficient places for all undocumented migrants who are sleeping in the open.
The French government should also immediately investigate reports of police abuse against asylum seekers and migrants in Calais and hold anyone found responsible for abuse to account. The government should issue clear guidance to police officers clarifying the prohibition of unjustified and disproportionate use of force, including pepper spray.
“The French government should put a stop to any police abuse and honor its commitment to promptly provide housing to asylum seekers,” Leghtas said. “A lasting solution to the crisis in Calais is long overdue.”
Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Calais
Asylum seekers and migrants have been living in makeshift camps and on the street in the Calais area since the French government closed a center run by the Red Cross in Sangatte, near Calais, in 2002. The center had a capacity of 700 people, but accommodated up to 2,000 and was labeled by the French and UK governments as a pull factor for undocumented migrants seeking to enter the UK.
Hundreds were evicted by the authorities in September 2009. The number of asylum seekers and migrants then decreased to about 200, but in the summer of 2014, numbers increased again, with people fleeing from conflict and repression in Sudan, Syria, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Hundreds were evicted from makeshift camps in Calais in May and July 2014, in most cases without any adequate alternative accommodation being provided.
Most asylum seekers and migrants Human Rights Watch interviewed said they had arrived in Europe through Italy, but that they did not stay there due to poor reception conditions.
The EU’s Dublin Regulation allows EU countries to send asylum seekers back to the first EU country they entered, where they are identified by their fingerprints in an EU-wide database. Many asylum seekers in Calais told Human Rights Watch they avoided providing their fingerprints in Italy or France.
An asylum seeker’s preference for seeking protection in one country over another has no bearing on the validity of their asylum claim.
Reports of Police Abuse
Rosa, 25, who said she was from Eritrea, told Human Rights Watch that on November 14, police officers beat her up when they found her in a truck on the highway. As with others interviewed, she is identified only by her first name, for her protection. The first names of some interviewees were changed at their request.
“The police checked the truck and found me,” she said. “I said, ‘Please help me,’ but they beat me and I collapsed outside the truck. They kicked me on the ground.” Rosa said she lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital’s emergency room. When Human Rights Watch interviewed her on November 25 in a Calais hospital where she had had an operation on her right leg, she said she expected to spend six more weeks in the hospital. Human Rights Watch was unable to verify the cause of her injury.
Salamou, 28, from Eritrea, said that three police officers beat him near a gas station on the evening of November 25.
“I was walking, normal,” he said. “Four policemen got out of their van and beat me with their boots and with a baton. After they beat me a policeman put a torch on me and laughed at me. ‘Just help me,’ I said, but he laughed. They kicked me on the ground, just like a dog.” When Human Rights Watch interviewed Salamou, the day after he said he was beaten by police, he had visible injuries on his nose.
“There are good police and bad police,” said Ahmed Ibrahim, a 17-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan living in a makeshift camp in Calais. He told Human Rights Watch that two policemen had kicked him as he emerged from an empty car, where he and three men were sitting for shelter from the rain. “I wanted to claim asylum here but with this violence, I’d rather they send me back to Sudan. I won’t stay in France. They [the police] hit you, people throw eggs at you. I got a bad image of France.”
Mohammad, 32, from Sudan, said he was walking in the street at midday on November 2 when a police officer beat him on the back with a baton. “I ran and I fell into a hole,” he said. “The police called an ambulance. I spent 20 days in the hospital, my arm was broken in three places.” He had a cast on his arm at the time of the interview.
On December 3, “Aziz,” a 29-year-old from Afghanistan, said police officers had beaten him three days earlier.
“I was in the street using Wi-Fi on my phone at about 11 p.m.,” he said. “When they [police officers] came, I started to run, they pushed me down to the ground… One policeman pushed me, I was down on the ground, they sprayed me [with pepper spray] and when I looked back they beat me. There was blood from my face, under my eye and nose and knee. I didn’t see anything because they first sprayed me then they beat me on my legs, all over my body.” A Human Rights Watch researcher saw traces of injuries on Aziz’s face, and holes in his pants’ knees, which he said were from being pushed and beaten on the ground.
Aziz said police officers had also beaten him 20 days earlier when they found him hiding in a truck on the highway. “They beat me with their hands, punched me on my face, my nose was bleeding. [They beat me] with a stick on my body, then they took me out from the lorry and said ‘Go! Go to the jungle!’” The jungle is a reference to the largest of the makeshift camps where the asylum seekers take shelter.
On November 26, Kader, a 24-year-old from Ethiopia, told Human Rights Watch in the emergency waiting room at a Calais hospital: “I was on the road, on my bike, yesterday at 5 p.m. A white police van with a blue line [which corresponds to the description of a van belonging to the French riot police] stopped. Five policemen got out, one of them pushed me on the shoulder and I fell on my right arm. He kicked me, then sprayed my face.” When a Human Rights Watch researcher met Kader a week later, his arm was in a resin cast and in a sling, fashioned from a scarf.
The French authorities claim that pepper spray is only used to deter large groups from climbing onto trucks. But migrants said it was used in other situations as well. Mohammad, 26, from Sudan, said: “They [the police] spray you like you’re an insect. It’s happened to all of us in the street.”
Souhail, 20, from Iran, said: “Three times police sprayed me when I was in the truck. I was alone. The three times were about a month ago. Police officers opened the door and before saying anything they sprayed my face, I couldn’t see anything and twice they punched me with their boots and hands.”
Lina, 25, from Eritrea, said she had fallen off the steep edge of the highway near the largest camp in Calais when police officers sprayed her face as she tried to get into a truck with a group. “We wanted to go in [the truck], the police came, they said ‘Go! Go!’ and sprayed in my eyes, I fell down,” she said.
In a media interview on November 30, Thierry Alonso, the outgoing director of public safety for the Pas-de-Calais department and chief of police in the Calais area, denied any abuse by law enforcement officials against migrants. He claimed that “whatever the accusations against the police and gendarmes” working under his authority, “everything that can be said is unfounded. There have been no injured and there has been no violence against the migrants.”
In a meeting with Human Rights Watch on December 16, the interior minister’s adviser on policing said that “No police violence is tolerated” and that, while he was not aware of reports of police abuse against migrants and asylum seekers in Calais, any allegations based on precise facts would be investigated.
On January 14, Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, told Human Rights Watch that while there were injured migrants in Calais, their injuries were sustained during attempts to cross over to the UK or inflicted by other migrants. He denied that any were due to excessive and unjustified use of force by police.
Excessive and unjustified use of force by police is prohibited under French criminal law, and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which France is a party to. Under the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, may use force “only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.” If the lawful use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must exercise restraint and not use any more force than is proportionate to achieve a legitimate objective such as protecting personal safety.
Inadequate Living Conditions
Lack of Shelter, Water, and Sanitation
In November and December, Human Rights Watch visited four makeshift camps in Calais and a group of asylum seekers living in the street. Hundreds of people, including women and very young children, were sleeping in tents, on mattresses outside, with little or no shelter from the cold. During Human Rights Watch’s visit, temperatures were as low as 1 degree Celsius [34 degree Fahrenheit] during the day.
None of the camps have sanitation and access to water is limited. People collect water from the nearest water source. One camp has a water source, but people in the other places had to walk between 300 meters and 2 kilometers to find water.
Local groups estimate that 800 to 900 people live in the largest camp, consisting of two sites near each other referred to locally as “the jungle.” One is on the site of a chemical plant and includes an indoor sports hall where more than 100 people sleep in tents or on the floor. The other site is in a wood nearby. Local groups estimate that 200 women and children, including small children, live in those two camps.
Until a day center partially opened on January 15, local charities provided one daily meal to around 700 asylum seekers and migrants in the city center. For many, it is their only meal of the day and they have to walk there and then wait in line in the cold to receive the food. The new center is 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) away from one of the large makeshift camps in Calais. The mayor of Calais has banned the distribution of meals in places other than the new center, though one of the charities said they would provide meals to people living in that camp twice per week.
The most common concerns cited by people living in the camps were the cold and the lack of access to sanitation. The humanitarian organization Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) provides showers once a week in two camps and to women and children living in the largest camp, with a capacity of 20 to 25 showers per visit.
Zeinab, a 23-year-old woman from Ethiopia living with her husband in the largest camp, told Human Rights Watch that she washes outside with a plastic sheet around her. “More than food, not having a bathroom is a bigger problem,” she said.
Isabelle Bruand, coordinator for Médecins du Monde in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, described the living conditions for asylum seekers and migrants in Calais as “unacceptable and catastrophic.” Bruand listed skin problems such as scabies, stomach aches and headaches due to insufficient food, breathing problems due to humidity, back problems and toothaches as direct or indirect consequences of these living conditions.
Unwillingness to Apply for Asylum in France
The majority of those Human Rights Watch interviewed said they wanted to apply for asylum, but many said they did not do so in France because of a lack of accommodation for asylum seekers, as well as police abuse and hostility from some sections of the local population. Some also mentioned the length of the asylum procedure as a deterrent.
The ordinary asylum application procedure in France takes over two years. The bill before parliament aims to reduce this period to nine months.
Abdallah, 21, from Sudan, told Human Rights Watch on December 3 that he had been living in the largest makeshift camp in Calais for four months.
“I have friends who gave their fingerprints four months ago and they’re living with us in the ‘jungle.’ So I’d rather try and go to the UK,” he said. “Life is very, very hard. There are problems with everything: the bathroom, one meal a day is provided by [the local charity] Salam, sometimes we get help from people here and we’re thankful but it’s not what we expected.”
“People who gave their fingerprints [in France] are staying here with us,” said Nasr-Eddin, a 30 year-old from Sudan living in a camp in Calais. “I would apply for asylum but the problem is accommodation, the cold, food.”
“Ashraf,” a 25 year old asylum seeker from Sudan also living in a camp, said: “We don’t have a place to wash, to pray. France is good but it [the asylum process] takes time. Where do you sleep, eat? I would apply for asylum in France but there’s no place to stay.”
Mohammad Moussa, a 27-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan living in a camp in Calais, said: “People know life in the UK is hard and expensive. France is much better. But here you’re under the rain, in the cold, you get sick. In the UK, I’ll get accommodation and the asylum process will be quicker.”
Salamou, the Eritrean man beaten by police, said he had planned to apply for asylum in France, but that after he was beaten by police he changed his mind and was trying to go to the UK.
Inadequate Response from the French Government
In November, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve made an announcement about the opening of a day center—where meals will be provided outside—for 1,500 asylum seekers and migrants in Calais, saying it would open in January. But only limited facilities—food, water, toilets, and mobile phone charging—were available on the site as of January 15. The complete site with 60 showers and access to legal assistance will not open until April. The site will include separate shelters, with 20 showers, to accommodate 100 women and young children full time, although this facility will not open until March 20. According to the Prefect and to an advisor at the Ministry of Housing this facility could potentially be expanded to accommodate more vulnerable persons if needed. Men will continue to be without shelter during the night.
Under article 13 of the European Union directive of January 27, 2003, laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (the reception directive), EU member states must provide “material reception conditions to ensure a standard of living adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence.”
Under French law, asylum seekers are entitled to accommodation in a state reception center (centre d’accueil pour les demandeurs d’asile, CADA), where they also receive social and administrative support while their asylum claim is processed.
Parliament in November approved 500 more places in reception centers in various parts of France to accommodate asylum seekers from Calais.
On December 3, the prefect—government representative—in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region announced that a warehouse would be made available for up to 1,500 migrants in Calais on nights when the temperature is minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) or less. The warehouse opened on December 26 but it was closed on January 2 when the temperature rose. It reopened on January 14 because of high winds in the Calais region. The organization which runs the warehouse told Human Rights Watch on January 5 that it has a maximum capacity of 500 places.
The French government should comply with its obligations under the EU reception directive and immediately provide accommodation to all asylum applicants while their claims are processed, including those who indicate an intention to seek asylum. The government should also work with humanitarian and nongovernmental groups to help arrange emergency accommodation for any undocumented migrant without shelter in Calais, particularly during the winter months.
Source: Human Rights Watch

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