Media restrictions tighten in Ethiopia

One of the last remaining independent newspapers was recently shuttered by the government

By Mohammed Ademo

Government charges against of one of Ethiopia’s last remaining independent newspaper editors on Friday and a recent forced shutdown of that paper’s presses capped a grim month of media repression in a country already deemed one of the most restrictive in the world by press freedom advocates.

Ethiopian authorities crack down on Muslim press

In recent months, Ethiopian Muslims have begun staging protests on Fridays to oppose government policies they say are interfering with their religious affairs, according to news reports. These protests are a highly sensitive issue for the government,

Ethiopia Muslims wonder what life after PM Meles will be like

While there is still too much uncertainty surrounding the future of Ethiopia’s political scene, Muslims in the country have begun to think of a future post-Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Update on Alem Story: When Suicide is the Only Escape

April 11, 2012

Alem Dechesa allegedly took her own life on March 14 after experiencing severe abuse [EPA]

Al Jazeera English By Khaled A. Beydoun

The writer is a DC-based attorney and author. He is a native of Detroit.

Washington, DC – For Alem Dechesa, death was the only way out. For thousands of voiceless Ethiopian domestic workers working in Lebanon, suicide is the only avenue for escaping a nihilistic existence.

Alem Dechasa’s choice: an unfit preference and a waste death

 April 10, 2012

Alem’s partner, Lemesa Ejeta, explains given he can’t move himself to tell their dual children that she is passed Link to this video

Lemesa Ejeta sniffed and privileged his throat though could not stop a rip from slipping down his cheek. His four-year-old daughter, Yabesira, had usually run out of their mud-and-straw residence to play, and it was as if he felt he could during final let go.

Death of a housemaid in Lebanon sparks calls for action

April 7, 2012

BEIRUT // Moaning and great out, Alem Dechasa-Desisa was dragged by her arm along a Beirut street. Two group afterwards attempted to gold a mom of dual into a black BMW before grabbing her by a hair.

Housemaid’s Suicide Rattles Lebanon’s Conscience

  April 5, 2012

The new videotaped abuse and genocide of an Ethiopian lady (mother of dual Alem Dechassa, 33) has rattled Lebanon’s conscience. Photo by Jamal Saidi, REUTERS / Apr 4, 2012. Reuters around Chicago Tribune By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT – Tragic tales of domestic workman abuse in Lebanon are

Lebanon urged to investigate death of worker abused on tape

April 4, 2012

Lebanon is being urged by human rights groups to investigate the death of an Ethiopian domestic worker who killed herself after she was videotaped being publicly abused in Beirut, spurring outrage over her mistreatment.

Ethiopian envoy: I have learned a ‘big lesson’

Ethiopian envoy: I have learned a ‘big lesson’

March 24, 2012 01:51 AM By Annie Slemrod Bonssa: Legalization is imperative. BEIRUT: Ethiopia’s consul general in Lebanon, Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, said he has learned from the abuse and death of Alem Dechasa-Desisa, but he believes the problems of Ethiopian domestic workers in the country would best be solved by legalizing their labor. Speaking to The Daily Star from the office from where he heard Dechasa-Desisa’s screams over a month ago, Bonssa maintained Friday that the type of violence she was subjected to is uncommon at the consulate.