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Zmeselo
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The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 13:23

The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

November 21, 2020



When the BBC launched its Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya services in late 2017, it boasted that these services would fill the information void faced by the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Will Ross, the man who was responsible for setting up these services, proudly claimed that the BBC would help Eritreans find their true place in the World. It has never been made clear, just what this statement actually means.

One has to remember that by the time the BBC had its Tigrinya service up and running, its partner in crime, The Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) which had ruled Ethiopia with a barbaric iron fist for twenty-seven years, was on the verge of being ousted from power by the struggle of the Ethiopian people.

The beginning of the end of the reign of the TPLF was marked by the arrest of its main financial backer, Mohammed Al Amoudi the Ethiopian born Saudi businessman, by the Saudi government on charges of corruption.

Bearing in mind that Mohammed Al Amoudi was a very powerful figure in TPLF controlled Ethiopia— if not the most powerful man who had the entire country in the palm of his hand— news of his arrest should have been huge, warranting extensive cover. But the BBC, whom we were told would fill the information vacuum, chose to ignore such a hugely politically significant news, as reporting it would dishearten the followers of the TPLF and as such was not sanctioned by the TPLF, which for all intents and purposes made— and still does— the editorial decisions at the BBC Tigrinya services.

The assertion that an organisation like the BBC would relinquish its editorial responsibilities to the TPLF, might seem a bit far fetched, until one examines the circumstances under which the service was set up.

When positions in the soon to be set up BBC services were advertised, the salaries were set so low, that no self respecting professional journalist would be interested to work for such meagre pay. I suspect, although this is a personal opinion, that the BBC had made arrangements with either the then Ethiopian government or the TPLF, to supplement the salaries of those who would eventually be given the positions. When one sees who ended up getting the jobs, and examine their backgrounds and links with the TPLF, it is clear that, like the iceberg there is more than meets the eye.

Yemane Negash, the head of the BBC Tigrinya, is someone who has come through the ranks of the TPLF’s propaganda apparatus. His aim and ambition to drive a wedge between the people of Eritrea and their government by using propaganda, is on record. So also is his claim, that the Eritrean government is an illegal entity more akin to a mafia group than a proper government. Despite these views, he is still allowed by the BBC to be in charge of the Tigrinya service, which counts the Eritrean people amongst its audience.

Another TPLF stalwart employed by the BBC is Girmay Gebru a former rebel fighter with the TPLF, who is based in Tigray. Girmay is the TPLF’s fixer. His speciality is to get those who have witnessed or experienced the atrocities committed by the TPLF, to change their story. His modus operandi is to pay a visit to anyone who has commented against the TPLF in a story that has gotten attention, and air a retraction euphemistically labelled as a ‘voluntarily’ revised version of events. Sometime ago when the BBC reported about the dire food shortages in TPLF controlled Ethiopia, Girmay Gebru who was then the VOA correspondent, visited the area and managed to get the people that had been interviewed on camera by the BBC, to change their story. After the TPLF has been ousted from the seat of power, as a BBC reporter, he visited the area where the TPLF’s General Kinfe Dagnew had been arrested by Ethiopian forces while trying to flee the country, and managed to get the people who a day earlier had said the General was caught fleeing, to change their version of events so that it appeared that the General had in fact handed himself over to the authorities willingly. In June of 2019, when the Ethiopian Satellie Television (ESAT) broke the news that Dr. Aregawi Berhe had been arrested in Mekale while on his way to attend the funeral of the assassinated General Seare Makonnen, it was Girmay Gebru that interviewed Dr. Argewai Berhe while the doctor was under police escort at Mekele airport waiting to be put on a flight back to the Ethiopian capital, and broadcasted Dr Aregawi Berhe’s supposed rebuttal of the reports of his arrest. Dr. Argewai Berhe, once in the Ethiopian capital and out of reach from Girmay and his henchmen, explained at a press conference that he had indeed been arrested while in Makele and his driver forced to drink poison. The BBC conveniently did not cover this story nor amended their version of events, nor did they make any attempts to ask Dr. Aregawi Berhe to explain why he had given such differing accounts in a matter of few hours.

As of the early hours of 4th November 2020, the Ethiopian government in response to its military camps in the north of the country and its soldiers there being attacked by TPLF forces, has launched a major military campaign to restore law and order in the region controlled by the TPLF. This area is the home territory of the BBC Tigrinya and one would naturally expect extensive coverage of events in the region. It is true that the internet is down and according to the Ethiopian government it is the TPLF itself that had disconnected it — something never mentioned by the BBC— in its bid to control the flow of information to the people of Tigray and keep them in the dark, about the reality on the ground.

Despite the supposed internet disruption, Girmay Gebru the BBC’s correspondent in Tigray, manages to send reports which are usually aimed at contradicting the version of events given by the Ethiopian government, or highlight what they call ‘atrocities’ committed by the Federal government.

The BBC’s Tigrinya services might use the lack of communication lines with Tigray, for not reporting on events there. But its efforts to suppress any news that is deemed to be against the narrow interests of the TPLF, is exposed by its decision not to report on events deemed to be against the interests of the TPLF which occur outside of Tigray. As an example of this, the recent visit to Ethiopia by a high level Sudanese delegation led by the leader of the country has been ignored, so has the shuttle diplomacy of the Ethiopian government that has seen the Ethiopian foreign minster tour neighbouring countries. In addition, the condemnation by the United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and the United States Secretary of State, of the 14th November rocket attack on the Eritrean capital by the TPLF forces has been ignored by the BBC, as has the condemnation by other countries of this terrorist act perpetuated by the TPLF on Eritrea. There is also no mention by the BBC of the gratitude expressed by the American Secretary of State, about the Eritrean government's restraint, in light of the unmitigated provocation.

Despite the Ethiopian government giving daily briefings on the conduct of its operation against the TPLF, unsurprisingly, the BBC Tigrinya service has chosen to ignore it. As such, despite Will Ross’ empty boast, we now find ourselves in a position where more information about Tigray, the home ground of the BBC Tigrinya service, can be found from Ethiopian government sources, while the BBC has chosen to stick its head deep into the sand—hoping for a miraculous turn of events to save its TPLF.

There should be an independent investigation into the way the BBC, especially its Tigrinya service, has reported on the events in Ethiopia with particular focus on the events that have transpired since 4th November 2020, as there seems to have been a deliberate and concerted attempt by the BBC to suppress information and news on behalf of the TPLF.

Questions should be asked as to why the BBC is exercising self censorship, at the expense of the public’s right to be informed. With the Ethiopian government recently revoking the licence of Reuters and the warning given to the BBC regarding its standard of reporting, the process of holding the BBC accountable has began. Governments and people across Africa are waking up and seeing the BBC for what it is, a well oiled propaganda machine working against the interest of Africa and Africans— something Eritreans have known for a very long time.

Yafet Zereou

Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 13:38





Fishing around the newly built dams is becoming the norm, in Eritrea. As part of its Food Security program, the gov't of Eritrea has built 100s of dams throughout the country. Besides being used for irrigation farming, 70 of these dams are now used to farm fish.
(#AmazingEritrea: @tesfanews)
______________





Semenawi-Bahri: the Green Belt of Eritrea.
(Ghideon Musa: @GhideonMusa)
Last edited by Zmeselo on 21 Nov 2020, 14:07, edited 1 time in total.

Awash
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 13:40

Shouldn't you be more interest in the defection of thousands of troops from the deqi komarit komarit shabo junta? Always blaming the media for all the totalitarian savages' crimes.
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Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 14:01

😎 💪 🇪🇷



Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 13:40
Shouldn't you be more interest in the defection of thousands of troops from the deqi komarit komarit shabo junta? Always blaming the media for all the totalitarian savages' crimes.
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Awash
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 14:15

Amuse your Zombie self with cartoons. This is real.
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Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 14:16



“It’s not as easy as it seems to study agriculture!” Niat Abraham

By Milka Teklom

https://shabait.com/2020/11/21/its-not- ... t-abraham/

Q & A

Nov 21, 2020



She is a very smart, astonishing and devoted student. She participates in extracurricular activities, especially in organizations that empower women and fellow students. She just graduated from Hamelmalo College of Agriculture, with distinction. She is determined to convey what she learned to farmers in need, beginning with a biological pesticide. Here is her journey.

Thank you for accepting our request for the interview. Let’s get you acquainted with our readers?

My name is Niat Abraham. I grew up in a family, where education is considered as essential as food and the other necessities. Both of my parents are educated. My father is well educated and has consistently helped and pushed me to be better. I think that’s one of the reasons, that always made me strive to be a front-runner. I was a prize winner throughout my school years, and then I went to Sawa in the 28th round, scored 3.4 in the matriculation exam. I joined the Institute of Technology at Mainefhi and learned my freshman year there. When I was a kid, as all parents do, my parents motivated me to be a doctor or some sort of a health professional. I took this to heart and when I finished the freshman courses I wanted to join departments that specialized in health sciences, but couldn’t because I didn’t have the required grades. So, I was assigned to the College of Agriculture, where I studied plant protection for four years.

What was your experience in college like? Was your expectation met?

At first, I did not like the department I was in, but gradually my attitude changed, especially when I realized what I was learning would potentially help farmers to increase their harvest. In general college life was very interesting; I learned to live on my own and was able to develop different hobbies. I engaged in extracurricular activities. I played soccer with the college’s team, on intra and inter college competition. I was the secretary, for the college’s chapter of the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students. I was also a member of the National Union of Eritrean Women. The most memorable time for me was our visit to the school for the deaf in Keren; we went there to share experiences.

We heard that your senior paper might be a solution to the side effects and environmental concerns that come with pesticides. Can you please elaborate?

For the senior paper my team mates and I decided to focus our study on entomology, specifically biological control. In Eritrea, we commonly apply chemicals or pesticides to control pests and other plant diseases. The chemicals have a huge amount of side effects on biodiversity and cause water pollution and acute and delayed health effects on humans. In order to fix the problems that come with the use of pesticides, we came up with a biological control solution for farmers' number one enemy and one of the most destructive insect pests called Aphid. To destroy Aphid, our solution is Syriphid flies because they tend to consume a lot of aphids in their early stage of growth. We based our research on five plants and the results were effective, and we later discovered that Syriphid flies are also very active pollinators. We have plans to expand our study. There are 320 species of Syriphid and we have studied only three.

Thank you!

________________


Local Medicine

By Abrahaley Habte

https://shabait.com/2020/11/21/local-medicine/

GENERAL

Nov 21, 2020



Recently, I heard a medical expert talk about trust in connection with the development of a vaccine for COVID-19. He said that it may take some time for scientists to develop a vaccine for the disease and that people need to completely trust the vaccine, once developed, if it is to be effective.

Most of us laymen tend to think of a drug, a pill or a tablet as one dimensional weapon against diseases. For many of us, it is a potent substance that can, unaided by anything outside itself, neutralize the forces that invade our bodies. Some of us think that it helps our white blood cells fight the foreign bodies, and defeat the germs that infiltrated our defence systems. This interpretation focuses on the materials aspect of medicine, and stresses on only one aspect of the warfare waged against agents of sickness.

Viewed as a practice, medicine can be but an incompetent and impotent profession if it limits itself to doctors prescribing medicines, with no regard for the psychological condition of patients. Doctors derive much of the power they have over diseases from the resolve of patients to recover from their illnesses. In other words, both the doctor and the patient are comrades in the fight against sickness. The doctor may be strategically placed in the fight. However, this doesn’t mean that the patient is the helpless sick person assumed, with no contributions for his healing. Rather, he is and should be understood as a fellow-soldier in the fight for his life.

Seen purely from their material aspect, some of the practices some Eritreans engage in can be naive. Considered from the non-material aspect, however, they make perfect sense and may be considered as intelligent decisions.

In an attempt to have their health restored, some people prefer to visit sites believed to be endowed with curative qualities. They have a bath or a shower in the river or fountain found in these places to effect the healing of their bodies. Some of these places have deep waters, and sick people are immersed in them because local people have strong convictions that the water would do them well, and would cure them of their illnesses. Judging by the number of people who visit these places, it appears that it works for many people. In addition, the fact that the practice has persisted for hundreds of years may also speak to the efficacy of the practice.

The practice has its own procedure. The normal practice is that sick people should stay there for at least one week. This is called hade shewate, a shower or a bath for one week in a mai-chelot (a holy place). Shewate, in Tigrigna is seven. It is the minimum number of days recommended. If someone goes to such a place and hasn’t got well, he or she is asked,
Do you know why you haven’t got well? Hade shawate (one week) is not enough. You need klte shawate (two weeks of shower or bath).
In such societies, sometimes, Science is viewed as an ineffective servant, and what it can do for people is limited. It may delay death but cannot stop it completely from taking its prey. Doctors come to the end of their abilities, and skills, and give up the fight when they realize that it is hopeless. In such situations, relatives are clearly, but tactfully, told about their loved one’s slim chances of recovery.

In such circumstances, some deaths are viewed not only as untimely but preventable through the intervention of a mai-chelot. As often happens, relatives do not give up easily until their loved ones gasped their last breath. “Let’s try mai-chelot” is one of the foremost choices relatives take.
God may be merciful to her and extend her days.
In other words, this is understood as
Science and medicine have done their best, and they have failed. Mai-chelot may succeed where science has not.
A few years ago, I saw a family ‘burying’ their mother in the extremely hot Assab weather in a pit prepared for medical purposes. Such a practice is common among Eritreans, and so I knew a little about it, but not enough to judge if the family were doing it properly.

To find out, I asked a friend who was close-by, and observed what the family was doing to see if they were doing it properly.
No,
he said.
For a successful treatment, they should dig a not-so-shallow pit, where the woman should lie, as if lying on a bed. They then should bury her so that she may absorb the heat from the ground. No part of her body, except her face, should be left uncovered.
Honestly, the heat above the ground (let alone the heat under) was so unbearably hot that I wondered how someone in his or her right mind could ask other people to ‘bury’ him or her under the scorching sand. Luckily for the woman, it was February, when the weather is not so bad though hot enough for people from the highlands to begin perspiring before it is noon. No wonder the woman chose to be half-buried, and half-exposed, not because (I believe) she didn’t know how it was done but didn’t want to go to that extreme. It appears that she had no idea about the meaning of the Tigrigna expression, Fewska inte ilomka, which shows the extremities people could go to get a cure for their illnesses. It implies that people do unthinkable things, if these things are a matter of life or death. Judging by her action, she didn’t seem to want to go to that extremity or was not in a desperate situation about her health.



As many of us assume, these practices are not fruitless. I have heard people claim that they got their cures after being buried in such ways or taking a hot-spring bath at places such as Mai Wuui, or after a bath in a holy place. They say that after the bath or burial the water or the heat completely cured them of their afflictions. It is hard to establish what cured them. One is tempted to conclude that probably the hot water has curative qualities, which local people discovered a long time ago, and that the people’s belief has nothing to do with it. The fact, however, remains that people’s beliefs about the place and their healing remains unchanged, and this belief impels them to do things, which to many of us can only be described as foolish and superstitious, a practice that would disappear like a puff of smoke before the powerful gust of Science.

As a practice based on people’s observation, learning and experiences, however, traditional medical practices cannot be dismissed automatically. People have practiced it for hundreds of years, putting their confidence in their practical learning. In their interaction with the environment, they have come to know it so intimately that they developed a store of knowledge about the environment in general, and how it can help them confront and defeat some illnesses. In the process, they have discovered cures for various other diseases. In fact, “Fewsi Habesha” (literally, Habesha medicine) a very common phrase in Eritrea, shows that traditional medicine played an important role in the lives of Eritreans and that many Eritreans still make use of the knowledge of such practitioners (for example, birth attendants) though they have received no formal training.

About forty years ago, I had a fall and I had a broken arm in a football game. My father, despite the fact that there was a modern hospital in Asmara (where I lived at the time), and I guess despite the presence of skilful doctors who could have handled my broken arm very successfully, chose to take me to a ‘habesha doctor’, a woman who practiced her profession in her house. My father did so because Habesha medicine had the confidence of a large section of the population. (Incidentally, it still does, though over a smaller section of the society). My father’s confidence was well-rewarded as my ‘habesha doctor’ did a very successful job, and treated my broken arm as if I had received a cast in a modern hospital.

I have not complained about my arm, since then.


Last edited by Zmeselo on 21 Nov 2020, 16:49, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 14:17


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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 14:47



Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 15:25

This, never gets old!

:lol:



Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 14:17

Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 15:37








Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 14:47


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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 16:18

Your grandmothers are happy
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 17:16


💓💕😘😍




ሮራ ባቕላ (Rora Baqla)

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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 17:30










Sudan here we come: Your granma, your mom, your cheap h00ker sister etc.... The sudanese will now have, cheap maids & extremely cheap punani.


Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 16:18
Your grandmothers are happy
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Awash
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 17:39

Welcome to the development and progress of Wedi komarit's totalitarianism. ISSU'S PROSPERITY in action
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Last edited by Awash on 21 Nov 2020, 17:54, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 17:48

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Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 18:07


One can not say, they didn't bite the bullet. :lol:

6 years ago, someone made this.

And I’m sure, they are still asking themselves...

HOW DID WE GET SO STUPID? 👇🏽




When we team up, sky is the limit! Long live the friendship of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 17:39
Welcome to the development and progress of Wedi komarit's totalitarianism. ISSU'S PROSPERITY in action
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 18:15

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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Awash » 21 Nov 2020, 18:19

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Zmeselo
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Zmeselo » 21 Nov 2020, 18:19


ብዕድል ወለዶታት ኤርትራ ክግበር ዝጸንሐ ናይ ኣሽከዓላል ጸወታ: GAME OVER ኢልናዮ ኢና። ድሕሪ ደጊም ንፖለቲካዊ ኣሽከዓላል ዕድል የለን።






Awash wrote:
21 Nov 2020, 17:48
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Re: The BBC’s Failed Anti-Eritrea Mission

Post by Temt » 21 Nov 2020, 18:30

I Know ደብረጨን is in this cartoon. But he represents Asswash, almaze, QB, Antico, Sabur, Deqi Telamit, eden, Thomas H, Mahlana, Dawi, injustice seeker, so & so forth.


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