The ‘revolution’ in Libya has a dark side that the main stream media conveniently avoids: racism. Racism is generally rampant in the Arab countries. Blacks in Libya have become targets of abuse and killings.
As Al-gezira grudgingly admits; “ Dozens of workers from sub-Saharan Africa are feared killed, and hundreds are in hiding, as angry mobs of anti-government protesters hunt down “black African mercenaries,” according to witnesses.”
Ethiopia does not have an embassy in Libya . However the Foreign Ministry has established a task force to assist Ethiopians return to their country.
Do you think the African Union has to be involved to address this problem once and for all? What should be done to force the main stream western media to cover this ‘hidden’ crime against humanity? Have Your Say!
The establishment of task force for Ethiopians is a good start and shows how our goverment is moving positively in all aspect. Please pass my appreciation to MFA.
Thank you Aigaforum for focusing on the important issue for ethiopians in General,and our citizens in lybia in particular. The so called ethiopian web sites that are trying to exploite the sad situation these ethiopians have found theselves in by passing them as mercinaries is to say the least very sad and unethiopian
homs i understand very well the role of western media and aljazira clearly expossed them selves
Thanks to the GOVERNMENT OF ETHIOPIA for being careful of its own people to rescue from such racism attack. Ethiopia is poor country though it’s on the right way. Though we are poor our government is the only first government in Africa to take such initiative for our brothers and sisters in Libia. What are now the extrimists, by orgin from Ethiopia and Eritrea, dreaming day and night anti Ethiopian and Ethiopia going to say!? LONG LIVE EPRDF AND WE ETHIOPIANS ARE ON THE SIDE OF EPRDF. I do believe in neither the AU or UN as a result I have no comment on them. Thanks to our government!!!!!!!!!!!!
If any Ethiopians are killed in Libya by the mob of the Libyan people in Benghazi and other cities, the toxic diaspora media like Ethiopmedia, Ethiopia (in reality Ethiopianreview), Addis Neger, Abugida and the other in the relay, are responsible. They have been relaying the fabrication that “Woyane has sent mercenary troops to thwart the revolution”. It is insane of them all to to bring this fabrication to the ear of the angry Libyans. Having heard thid this, they must have vented their wrath on the innocent Ethiopians there.
Foreign media like Aljezeera and the BBC, CNN have also their contribution inn deliberately exacerbating the violence. Especially Aljezeera has been deliberately inciting the problem not only in Libya, but also in Egypt and Tunisia, as a reflection of the political discord that exists between Qatar and the three countries.
America and the rest western countries also seems to strictly follow the axiom ”Strike while the iron is hot”.
I personally would have liked if Libya’s strife was solved by the African Union. But the America and the rest do not seem to let this go out of their grip.
First of all I am sadened by such inhuman act. Just like slavery racism should have been universally rejected by all human beings in the planet.
But let us think about our situation. … what moral stand do some ppl have to talk of anti-racist move while there is racisim back home?
I leave it for my fellow ethiopians to discuss about it!
I am glad the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to reach out to help those Ethiopians affected by the ongoing situation in Libya. Since Ethiopia does not have an embassy in Libya, the only way to rescue those brothers and sisters is through a third party, such as the Red Cross, Red Crescent or other friendly government/s. If the address of Ethiopians is known, those parties can help. The Red Cross for instance has a mandate to help those in danger and has done it many times in different countries.
Another major hurdle I see is finding the whereabouts of those affected Wegenoch. Due to legal aspects and harsh living conditions of host countries, many Ethiopians live scattered at different cities with NO direct access to reach. Some even could be illegal and may not even have cell phone. Unlike other nationals, this is a serious problem we will face and as a result, it may slow the rescue process even if a third party if found.
The solution to overcome this challenge is to develop a working strategy among Ethiopians in Libya in which information is fast disseminated amongst to seek and reach those in danger. This will hush the toxic Diasporas who are trying to profit out of the predicaments of our brothers and sisters.
I hope every thing works well so that our brothers and sisters come back home safe and well.
Aiga, I’d like to thank you for raising this burning issue.But this is not only about Ethiopians but human right violation. I am surprised to see that AU as an African organ did not come forward to address the criminal activities that is happening in Libya by the African mad man and his children; killing innocent civilians for expressing their grievances and exercising their democratic rights. . I believe and I stand corrected if I am wrong most of the African leaders could not support the revolution of the North African people because there are still plenty of African leaders like Gadhafi, who do not show the strength or confidence in their own legacy to be ready to hand over to someone else or even to allow their opponents to realistically contest elections.
It is very disturbing and saddening to see people get killed in broad day light by their own government for expressing their view and exercising their democratic right. Apparently what we are witnessing in Libya and what we have witnessed in Egypt and Tunisia are people revolting against inequality and unbearable oppressions. This could also spill to the rest of dictators all over the world, especially in Africa. AU must denounce the barbaric act towards innocent people of Libya and elsewhere in Africa. The leaders of the continent must learn and start to serve the interest of the people; time has passed where one can be seen as the ultimate ruler of any country, people of the world are now aware
The diaspora opposition websites are responsible for any possible death of Ethiopian citizens in Libya. Let us keep the record straight and expose the die-hard anti-Ethiopia forces. We thank you Aiga for your concern.
their are more Eritreans Refugees than Ethiopians in Libya and other arab Countries. For not to be deported to Eritrea, when they are asked they say that they are Ethiopians. No one in this Planet is ready to help them. exept Ethiopia. It is good ethiopia evacuates the Eritrean Refugees as well becouse they are our Brothers. So many of them are killed in Egypt and Libya.
Lets get on with rescue our people!
Realy now, I am proud of Ethiopian, EPRDF gevernment doing his job appropriatly,what a responsible gov., but the so called ethiopian review he posted in his web site directly to incite the killing against Ethiopians by saying ” meles export terror to Libya and Areb countries ” what a shameful guy is he.good job EPRDF and Aiga forum for responsible act.
Hi Aiga. I do not agree with the idea that the hatred and angry of Libyans towards the blacks is racisms. It is not about racism, it is about fighting for their democracy and equity. On the way they were told that Africans in Libya are being mercinaries to kill them and save Gadafi. So it is natural for any angry people to have those bad feelings to immigrant Africans in Libya at this time. Afterall it was the western medias and our so called diaspora Ethiopians websites that were aggravating the situation. They were so prompt to tell us that Ethiopians are serving as mercenaries. Anyways let’s pray that they will be safe.
IT’S TIME OUR GOVERNMENT GETING SERIOUS ON WHAT MEANS TO BE ETHIOPIAN AND KUDOS TO MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO TAKE THE STEP AND TAKE OF IT’S CITIZENS
Personally I dont think Ethiopian Government is so much concerned about its citizens. Is it first time that Ethiopians are exposed to such brutality? what about our own government attitude towards its citizens? we all know what happened in broad daylight in 2005. It is absolutely ridiculous to know a task force being set up to help the plight of Ethiopians in Libya. Perhaps the task force is another name for the so called mercenaries caught in Libya.
AIGA !!!! YOU deserve credit for being very responsible At this VERY ,VeRy difficult time FOR ETHIOPIANS in LIBYA.First of all there is violont uprisinmg against the repressive government ,there is extreme turmoil and caious. IT is a civil war .THERE was AN AMERICAN GENERAL who said ” war is HELL ” and civil war is more hellish.
SECONDLY, there is the PERCEPTION that the sub-sahara AFRICANS are MERCINERIES Of COLONEL GHJADAFFI, unfortunately some of the sub-sahara AFRICANS are mercineries which brought the wrath of the LIBYAN people. ON top of the usual RACISIM of the ARABS this are also the factors which exasurebate the situation.
ADVICE to the ETHIOPIANS in the ARAB world .PLEASE, use your. FREEDOM OF TRAVEL granteed to youi by the ETHIOPIAN constituion .BE LEGAL USE YOUR GOD given rights .
FOR THE FIRST TIME I AM PROUD of the foorein ministry of ETHIOPIA!!!
I somewhat agree with Belayneh’s comment. I do believe this has to do more with politics rather than sincere concern for its citizens. Nonetheless, it is a good start. For those of you who are not aware, there are 100s of Ethiopians being enslaved in Eritrea’s’ labor camps. These are Ethiopians who also deserve to be saved, and yet Ethiopian government is yet to utter a word about them. Those were Ethiopians, mostly from the border areas, who were abducted by Eritrea’s mobs during its invasion of Ethiopia in 1998.
I sincerely wish that people do not underestimate the issue of racism against blacks in the Arab countries. It is real and nasty. Libya is only one manifestation of it. Africans/Ethiopians in Saudi, Egypt, Lebanon, etc… will tell you what it means to be black in these countries.
This talk about mercenaries in Libya is a cheap talk. I wonder how even us, Ethiopians/Africans are taking this propaganda as a truth. In the first place, if Chad, Eritrea and Niger are sending their troops to Libya, then – even if we consider this to be true- these are not mercenaries. It is a government to government military aid. Would you consider a possible US military intervention as mercenary?
Secondly, if you see a migrant workers fighting on the ‘side’ of Ghadafi, it is because they are forced to fight or be killed on the spot. In other words they are being used as cannon-fodders by Ghadafi men.
In my mind the time has come that the African Union raise the issue of the plights of black Africans in the arab countries. This is, albeit, a sensitive issue that has to be tackled sensitively, nonetheless it must be raised.
On the whole question of Libya it tells us a lot about the double standard approach of the western nations. They have nothing to say about the devastating civil war and destruction the Somali people are facing in Somalia. They refuse to embolden and assist Somalis achieve peace and reconciliation. And yet, see the incredible amount of resources and energy that is being spent in Libya. Is it the oil, or the racism? Both.
In my crude estimate, the west has not provided Somalia a fraction of resources compared to what is being pledged and spent in Libya in a two-week period.
Time to open our eyes!
On a second note; the changes in the Arab countries are god send to Ethiopia. Both Libyan and Egyptians leaders were in their own admission Ethiopia haters. It is interesting to note that Ghadafi, in his first long speech after the revolt mentioned Haileselassie (Ethiopia) as one of the enemies he fought!! I was told about this by an attentive friend who followed the whole speech in Arabic.
regards
Hello Ethiopians,/Abesha/ this is the begning ,lets continue travelling arm to arm each other ,especially people living abroad .we can make a difference.ethiopians are one ,leave poltics and take it to trash.lets fight immature media , ineffeciant journalist and corruptors.our goal is one ethiopia as one family.If we are unified , ethiopia will have space all over the world.Ethiopia god bless you
You may think you just raised an important issue that had been hidden from the world. But, the lynching of innocent Blacks in Libyan rebellion was a tragic consequence of the fact that most of the mercenaries were Blacks.
But in General Arab racism is not institutionalized so there is very little outsiders can do except influence opinion makers of the Arab world.
AU is neither respected nor recognized as an essentially Arab institution, Besides, AU has no influence whatsoever among Arabs.
And now, if one had to depend on your websites to inform oneself on what is going on in our part of the world, one wouldn’t know what is going on in Libya
Your responsibility as a media is to inform, not to news-filter, like some Orwellian security apparatus.
The developed world are mostly concerned for these wealthy & oily countries, but about humanity & human rights for real! We as Ethiopians should be united to help our people in Ethiopia & abroad. We have so many Doctors, professors… But it is so sad that they are only nto their power hunger.
Thank aigaforum! You brought a very important topic! We can see from here how dark it is for them now! The gov’ has to everything in its power to help them.
Eritrea had send troops to help Gadhafi who is fighting the Peoples unrest against him. Gadhafi has financed fully the Eritrean war against Ethiopia. He may end up in Eritrea as a Refugee. For how long?
Dear Aiga,
You have deleted my opinion? you only post Melesite’s opinion? We will overthrow you Aiga. Aiga website will become zferese una geza. Nai atehasba dehkatat.
We oppose you because you killed Hayelom, Kinfe, … and because you ill treated Aregash, Siye, Asrat Gebru,…? Aiga, Meles might kill you tomorrow, we will not sit and keep quiet. You hodam shabia, you support Meles the murderer of his comrades? the killer banda? You killed Hayelom? and you built a statue for him? Nebsegedachu? in the past 20 years, no opposition has killed top TPLF leaders, but you did it yourself? Leboch, nebsebela, wild beast, arawitoch, and you talk about democracy too? kkkkkkk, is killing TPLF leaders and chasing them, and humiliating them democracy? democracy for who from whom?
Dear Readers
I start with a tigrigna proverb that say” sbeaye fotiyen chihmen tseliyen ” meaning you like to have a husband but you do not like his moustach. What Aiga tried to sell here is the same idea. I am sorry for those that are caught in between in Libya and it is not a blessing to rescue them but a responsibility of EPRDF to rescue them at any cost and save their life.
But TPLF led EPRDF being the source of their misery to fled their country has to be also asked for crime against humanity for those that would not be saved.
What Aiga done is to try to cover up for those tug on power and wheter we like it or not it is Meles who have to be responsible for those in Libya.
Gezae It is true that Aiga only posts selectively and deletes any idea they don’t agree. Aiga like many of the Ethiopian websites are one sided. They are pro EPRDF and pro Lidetu. They are anti Tigrawaynet. Their ideas are much closer to EPRP than to TPLF. They want to suppress Tigryan voices.The only web site that is open and Tigryan friendly in my opinion is Tigray online. But coming to the main point all what you say is untrue. It has no truth at all. You are just fabricating lies. Some three monthes ago I read on the Internet that blames Seye for killing of Hayelom. He was just a liar like you. I don’t believe Hayelom was killed by Seye or Melsew. Seye Gebru and Aregash are not ill treated by TPLF. Their democratic right is respected. They are expressing what ever they want in TV radio news paper and so on. Do you believe Melse, and Seyoum would be treated like that had Seye grabbed power. I am guessing he could have killed them right away. He was a potential killer whose motive was crippled by Tigryans. But Don’t take me as pro Melse. I am against Melse because Melse like Seye and Gebru has also betrayed the people of Tigray. Melse is not ill treating Serye Gebru or any one. He is ill treating Tigray. Tigray is now backward and neglected under Melses EPRF. If I were you I will not stand for Seye or Gebnru the very people who betrayed the people of Tigray to join Amharan chauvinist parties. I wil only stand to the people of Tigray who betrayed by Seye and ill treated by Melse.Comparing the two X TPLF’s ( Seye and Melse) I prefer the genuis Melse to the metally retard Seye.
Gezae and Berhanu,
We are so tired of you accusation but for now we will let you innuendos posted as is so others can read and judge for themselves, if your comments help those stuck in Libya! You are so blinded by hate you could not even differentiate between your hate for PM Meles and his team with that of your “alleged” love for the compatriots in Libya! Sad!
I believe taking genuine initiative to ensure the safety of its citizens is a good start for Ethiopia. I say this with delight because it has been a proven fact for EPRDF to completely disregard the fate of its citizens in prior times. Innocent Ethiopians had no one to stand by them when they were humiliated and robed by EPLE in 1991. In fact, EPLF of Eritrea is still encouraged by EPRDF leadership to enslave and torture Ethiopians of Tigray origins like those of Irob citizens as of this date. BTW, it is a must for any other country in the world to protect the rights of its citizens. Safeguarding the security of its people is the expected role of any government in the world. Apparently, it seems to be a unique and privileged thing in Ethiopia. If you are not considered the ideal supporter of the Party in power, you are stripped of all the God given rights. Sad but so true!
first and most i appreciate for EPRDF to take action save our citizen from libya we encourage such motivationsalways.howover some guys are blame for government depend up on their ill profit i said for those guys donot try to observe for the GREEN LEAF by the DRY eye we accept the true but we ulter the false donot forget as you are in the 21th century,so let try criticize the bad and encourage the right
we ethiopian support Isaias Afewerki 100%
only tigrain are against him.
viva
Isaias Afewerki
viva
Isaias Afewerki
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