Harari officials campaign in Addis

By Abiy Demilew

A delegation of senior officials of the Harari Regional Government, led by Murad Abdul Hadi, President, held discussions with Hararis living in Addis, in a campaign for attracting and encouraging investment to the ancient town of Harar.
The regional government plans to embrace the private sector involvement in the development of the town, especially encouraging Hararis living in Addis, it was reported.
In the recent Harar Revitalisation Forum, held in Harar town two weeks ago, President Murad noted that the regional government will work closely with the private sector, in attracting investment to speed up the development of the town.
“The private investment sector is among the stakeholders listed to take part in the activity to develop the basic facilities in Harar,” senior official told Capital.
The regional government wants to uplift Harar in speeding up development activities with the support of major stakeholders and this is part of that initiative and commitment, according to the official who posed for few words with Capital.
Harar lacks modern amenities such as hotels, restaurants, hospitals etc and suffers from a chronic water shortage. Each resident now gets five gallons of water per day. Harar also faces a challenge to meet the demands of the 4500 tourists who visit every year. The character of the Old Town desperately needs to be preserved, while at the same time the infrastructure and housing conditions need to be improved for the residents, according to the study that was presented on the forum.
“This is the first ever large campaign to involve this number of senior officials for a special mission” disclosed the official.
“Economic Model for the Revitalization, The overall economic model for the revitalization (the source of revenues resulting from the revitalization and how they would be captured to repay the cost of the effort) will be a key output of the Forum. The economic model is expected to include a role for the Harari diaspora,” according to the study presented on the forum three weeks ago.

Gursum Community in Diaspora Applauds the Italian research team of Mount Kundudo.

GURSUM COMMUNITY IN DIASPORA NEWS RELEASE
The Fugnanbira Community Group Association
www.gursum.com Email. Fugnanbira@rogers.com
March 6, 2008
Gursum Community in Diaspora Applauds the Italian research team of Mount Kundudo.
This was confirmed today in a letter sent by Gursum Community Vice President Meftuh Shash to Professor Marco Vigano and his team.
Mr. Meftuh Shash in his letter to the research lead said:
We applaud you and your team for your initiatives and bring to light one of the most beautiful and breath taking high mountains in East Hararge region (Kundudo) of Ethiopia with its unique wildlife (Wild horses) in the verge of extinction. We strongly believe this region is with high potential for the country’s tourism resources if due attention is given and revitalized and protected as you have indicated in your report.
We are highly in support of Prf. Vigano’s report and recommendations and encourage all the local government bodies, such as the FDRE Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Ministry of Tourism and International Environmental Protection Program UNEP to give due attention in protecting these environment and saving its unique Wild horses. It is fare to say this region was not explored and little or no attention was given to its wildlife. The study by the team indicates may be these are the only living wild horses found in East Africa and highly potential for the country’s tourism. This area needs active promotions at all levels and facilitating the required amenities.

Mount. Kududo, 3000 meters high located in Eastern Hararge Region of Ethiopia.

Here we would like to take this opportunity to share our experience and adventure trip to this magnificent and one of the highest Mountains in the region, with a very unique plain field that happen to be the home of the exotic Wild Horses in Eastern Ethiopia.
1974 Adventure Trip to Kundudo Mountain:
In 1974, ten of us as young teenagers including myself all of us from the town of Gursum, took an adventure trip to Mount Kundudo in search for the Wild Horses. Our journey started from Mount Stinico in the town of Gursum, were the chain of mountains stretches all the way to Mount Kundudo. After three hours journey on foot, we reached the bottom of Mount Kundudo which was covered by a very thick cloud with zero visibility. Though we had difficulty to find the only narrow ally way entrance to the top of the mountain, finally we reached to our dream height. At the time the plain magnificent field looked like a green golf course. On the beautiful landscape on top of the Mountain we met with a colony of Baboons to the east of the entrance and around 10 beautiful Wild Horses to the West. We were so excited to meet these beautiful horses and as they see they had company they started moving away. As we approach them for a close look they started running with a beautiful display. On the other side as we approach the baboons, they quickly took an exit down the mountain to the east. We were all amazed of the height and the beauty of the overlook of the environment, it was just breath taking.
From the pictures released by the research team we also noticed sever environmental degradation on top of the mountain field, which during our trip over 30 years a go, it was golf green plain as if it was trimmed with mower.
Although we planned to camp on the field of Mount Kundudo, this was not possible due to heavy rain fall in the evening and we were forced to climbed down to the nearest town called Fugnan Hujuba. We spent the night over and left for hometown of Gursum the next day.
July 23, 2007 our Journey to Eastern Hararge Regions.
On July 23, 2007, During Harari Millennium Celebration event my colleague and I took a trip to our hometown of Gursum, Fugnanbira. Our Journey began from Harar via Babile for a shortstop at Dakhata Valley, Known as (Marvel Valley of Rocks) and also an Elephant Sanctuary. We found this magnificent valley and natural phenomenon spectacular and have a great potential for tourism. As we arrived to Gursum and toured various areas, we also had the opportunity to speak with the Deputy Administrator of the town and discussed to work together as a community to introduce the regions tourism potentials. Kundudo Mountain Wild Horses were part of our discussion. We were advised that soon there will a documentary to promote the potential areas and we extended our desire to promote our home town around the world to get the exposure needed internationally.
Our way back to Harar we drove the root to Mountain Kundudo, via Awe Bare, Fugnan Hujuba, Ejarsagoro, Jarso, Fellana, Kombolcha and finally our destination the City of Harar.

This was the memorable adventure trip we had ever, traveling over the chain of mountains and hill sides over looking forests, it was just amazing. Although we didn’t climb to the top of Mount Kundudo due to time constrains as darkness prevailed, we enjoyed being just at the bottom of the mountain and took our memories with us that we will never forget and to promote the hometown beauty. It was a great experience for us to be back home after leaving for over 30 years.
Marvel Valley of Dakhata, Babile in Eastern Ethiopia

Harar is also an ancient walled city with ample tourist resources and the administration has been striving to promote its region world wide.
We believe as a community it is our obligation to elevate the awareness in conservation and promote our country’s potential resources for its development. Our community has been promoting conservations and reforestation of the degraded environment of the region as can be seen in this attached document. http://www.wscsd.org/ejournal/article.php3?id_article=232 you may notice our activity on one of our members study paper. We will continue striving in our capacity to communicate with the local administration and our community back home in an effort to help promote our Country’s development endeavors.
We hope to see Mount Kundudo once again revitalized and not only become the home of the Wild Horses but also one of recognized tourist resource for the country.
Released by:
FBCGA/PR/Kundudo
END
3

The taekwondo class has started today at abdal school

The taekwondo class has started today at abdal school. I would like to thank all those who sponsored, pledged to sponsor, or are thinking of sponsoring a student, as well as those who prayed for the success of the program.

Present at the inaguration ceremony were: Mukhtar Ali, Vice speaker of the Harari parliment,
Yimage Idris, head of Cultural & Sports Bureau, and Elias Abdumalik, head of urban development Bureau.


The students were very excited about the program.

Many who did not make it to the program were sad that they did not get to be sponsored. They asked "what about us?".

I said insha'Allah there will be more people to sponsor you. The reality is we have not gotten even the minimum of 30 we were aiming for, and we have not gotten all the pledged amount yet. Therefore, we urge those of you who have pledged to sponsor students to send your payments, and those of you who haven't pledged yet to do so now.

Attached is a photo of some of the children in the program. There will be more picture soon.

This is an update for the "tae kwon do class in Harar"

As'salamu alaykum everyone:

This is an update for the "tae kwon do class in Harar". The class will not start on the previously scheduled date of February 1st, 2008.

We have moved the start date to 2 weeks later due to some technical problems that we have resolved now.

Here is some pertinent information that you might want to know:

1. The class will be offered at Abdir School at Abdal
2. Only 5th grade students at that school will be sponsored
3. Ratio of boys to girls shall be 50-50%
4. Class will start in mid February

The board members of the school have met and agreed with the concept. We met with school officials today, and they have agreed to work in partnership with this program. They will discuss the issue with both students and parents and get back to us within a week.

There are almost 100 students in the 5th grade in Abdal school, with male to female ratio being almost 50-50 (48 vs. 47). The initial goal is to sponsor 50 students from this grade. We are developing a criterion for students to join the program - using attendance record and performance in school.

However, our ultimate goal is to sponsor all the 5th grade students. That will be possible only if Harari community members take this program seriously and sponsor more children. "no child left behind" should be the goal of this project.

Why 5th grade students you might ask? It takes about 4 years to get a black belt. Therefore, by the time the children complete the 8th grade they should have their black belt. Thereafter, these children can instruct the younger generation - and will be able to make sport and discipline to be the future part of the culture in Harar.

Therefore, I urge all of you who have pledged to sponsor a child to send your payments now.

We also urge those who have not pledged to do so now. We would like to see afochas and jamas sponsor at least 5 children each.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have already sent your pledge for this noble cause.

In order to have a fruitful harvest in the future, we have to sow the seed now.

w/peace,
Mohammed Al-Harari

A 30 Million Birr Roadway Construction Contract is Signed

Friday, 01 February 2008

The Harari National Regional State signed a 30 million Birr contract for a construction of 15 km of roadway with Hunan Hunand, a Chinese company that is specialized in the construction of highways and bridges. The proposed roadway is to be constructed in the city of Harar.

The Harari National Regional State signed a 30 million Birr contract for a construction of 15 km of roadway with Hunan Hunand, a Chinese company that is specialized in the construction of highways and bridges. The proposed roadway is to be constructed in the city of Harar.


The president of the Harari National Regional State, H.E. Murad Abdulhadi signed the agreement on behalf of the regional State. During the signing ceremony, he stated that roadway construction was part of the strategic package for the current administration. The president expressed his confidence that the construction of the roadways will play a highly important role in the expansion of investment and tourism opportunities for the Harari Regional State. The Regional State has allocated 80% of its capital budget for the timely completion of the project.



The Manager of Hunan Hunand, Mr. Young Riwa, remarked that their company has modern equipments and expertise necessary to construct quality highways that would fulfill the needs of the citizens of the Regional State. Mr. Riwa further stated that the project is scheduled for

Defense Ministry Hands Over 27 Hectares of Land

Friday, 01 February 2008
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s Defense ministry handed over 27 hectares of land to the Harari National Regional State based on an agreement reached between the two sides on January 29, 2008. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s Defense ministry handed over 27 hectares of land to the Harari National Regional State based on an agreement reached between the two sides on January 29, 2008.

Harar was used as a military garrison by the previous regimes. Around 200 hectares (2 million square meters) of the land were used as a military camp, which seriously hindered the growth and revitalization of the Harari National Regional State. Further negotiations are underway with the Defense ministry to recover more lands to be used for various investment and housing projects.

News release from Haddeed Secretary

ለሐረሪ ሕዝብ አማራጭ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ ተቋቋመ Print E-mail
Sunday, 13 January 2008
ተመሳሳይ አመለካከት ያላቸው የሐረሪ ክልል ተወላጆች የፖለቲካ ፓርቲ በማቋቋም ለክልሉ ተወላጆች አማራጭ የፖለቲካ ፕሮግራም ይዘው መቅረባቸውን አስታወቁ፡፡ የአዲሱ ፓርቲ ፀሐፊ ክልሉን በማስተዳደር ላይ ያለው ፓርቲ መስራችና ስራ አስፈፃሚ ነበሩ፡፡

የሐረሪ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ድርጅት (ሐዲድ) በመባል የተቋቋመው ፓርቲ ከብሄራዊ ምርጫ ቦርድ ታህሳስ 24 ቀን 2000 ዓ.ም የምስክር ወረቀት አግኝቷል፡፡

ፓርቲው የሕጋዊ ሰውነት ማረጋገጫ የምስክር ወረቀት ማግኘቱን ተከትሎ ዋና ፀሐፊው አቶ ኤሊያስ ጠሀ ሸሪፍ ለሪፖርተር እንደገለፁት "ለሐረሪ ሕዝብ አማራጭ የፖለቲካ ፕሮግራም ይዘን ቀርበናል" ብለዋል፡፡

በሐረሪ ክልል ከገዢው ፓርቲ ሌላ አማራጭ ባለመኖሩ ሕዝቡ የሚፈልገውን የመምረጥ እድል ሳያገኝ ለዓመታት መኖሩን የገለፁት ዋና ፀሐፊው "በሚቀጥለው ምርጫ ህዝቡን ከአንድ ፓርቲ ጥገኝነት እናላቅቀዋለን፡፡ በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ የፈለገውን እንዲመርጥ ከአሁኑ ጀምሮ ትኩረት ሰጥተን እንሰራለን" በማለት ተናግረዋል፡፡

በክልሉ ላለው የመልካም አስተዳደርና የልማት ጥያቄ መልስ የሚሰጥ ፕሮግራም እንደተዘጋጀ የገለፁት የሐዲድ ዋና ፀሐፊ በሚያዚያ ወር በሚካሄደው የማሟያ ምርጫ ሕዝቡ በንቃት ተሳታፊ እንዲሆን ጥሪ አስተላልፈዋል፡፡ ነገር ግን በምርጫው እንደማይሳተፉ ገልፀዋል፡፡

የሐረሪን ክልል እያስተዳደረ ያለው የሐረሪ ብሄራዊ ሊግ (ሐብሊ) ሲሆን አዲስ በተቋቋመው ፓርቲ ውስጥ የቀድሞ የሐብሊ አባላትና መስሪያዎች እንደሚገኙበት የገለፁት ዋና ፀሐፊው "ለሐረሪ ሕዝብ አማራጭ ፖለቲካ ፕሮግራም መያዛችንን አሳምነን ደጋፊዎቻችንን በዴሞክራሲያዊ መንገድ እንዲመርጡ አስተምረን ከሁለት ዓመት በኋ በሚደረገው አገራዊ ምርጫ እንወዳደራለን" ብለዋል፡፡ አያይዘውም መሰረት ያለው የምርጫ ስራ ሳይሰራ ወደ ምርጫ መግባቱ ፓርቲያቸው እንደማያምንበትም ተናግረዋል፡፡

በአሰግድ ተፈራ

Harari Congress

Ethio-Harar Muday Alem Hufuq ZiHarari Kilahot Arra
(Pal talk discussion forum)
Report Submitted by; The Volunteer Group of 10 Hararis in Pal Talk.
November 26, 2007.

THE VISION; to speak as one voice on behalf of All Hararis in Diaspora based on the principle of “No Harari Left Behind”, and, by ensuring the Fundamental Right of each Harari to Participate, the Right to Contribute, and the Right to Elect and get Elected to “The Harari Congress” irrespective of the person’s affiliation to any Afocha or Mugad Organizations.

THE BACKGROUND; We Hararis rather appear to be unconnectedly organized by Community/ Afocha, Jammas/Mugads or interest groups. As the result, we were not able to pull our resources together effectively and function on vital matters affecting our Harari Nation as well as our very own survival as a Nation.

THE CONGRESS; the Road to the Congress; On August 19, 2007, Ten participants of Ethio-Harar Muday Alem Hufuq ZiHarari Kilahot Arra (Pal Talk Forum) volunteered to discuss and return with a recommendation on an organizational model for Hararis at an international level, with the intention that the Core Harari Kilahot Arra (Pal Talk Forum) would then discuss the merits of the recommendation and decide either to adopt or reject the group’s recommendation put into view.
In the last few months, the Harari Kilahot Arra Forum volunteers opened-up public consultation on the recommendation put into view asking for inputs, and more importantly to raise the awareness level of Hararis in Diaspora regarding the significance of establishing a Congress.
Despite the consensus built around the idea of establishing a Congress initially, there were a great deal of discussions on how to go about establishing the congress, the volunteer organizers and the Pal talk core circle finally came to an agreement to go forward with a new initiative to include ALL Hararis in the process whether they are affiliated to any of Harari Organizations or not.


Thus far, the discussions and the Consultation process has generated a lot of interest and a chain of positive reactions among the vast majority of Hararis in Diaspora and brought about many excellent ideas worth considering. Moreover, it became the litmus test that asserted our determination to get organized under one, all inclusive, umbrella organization.
Finally on Sunday, November 18, 2007, the clock to establish the first International Harari Congress in Diaspora, hereafter known as “The Congress “begun ticking at 6:00 PM (EST) around the globe under the principle of “No Harari Left Behind”,
Congress defined as a supreme body of Hararis in Diaspora, with long term objectives and authority to render decisions at an executive level that endeavors to assist in the Political, Economic and Social affairs of our nation. The congress is envisioned to guarantee and respect the Fundamental Right of each and every Harari to participate, the right to contribute, and the right to elect and get elected irrespective of his/her affiliation to any Mugad or Afocha organizations.
In light of the urgency and importance to establish the Congress, we, All Hararis in Diaspora have an obligation to participate in a Call of our Nation to stand by, and lend our unwavering support in every conceivable way to advance our nation’s political, economical and social causes.
We firmly believe that no amount of excuses will justify the abstinence of any Harari from participating towards this noble and civil duty due to the envisioned Congress’s representation to ALL HARARIS in Diaspora. Hence, we urge each and every one of you, male and female over the age of 18 to participate and effectively contribute toward this initiative.
Please exercise your right to participate, your right to contribute and your right to elect or get elected to a Harari Congress whether you are presently affiliated to any Harari organization or not. Your proactive participation and contribution will make a difference in the future state of our Harari Nation.
As we proceed forward, we invite more volunteers globally to draft the framework of the envisioned Congress and to develop a DATA BASE of Membership by initiating a formal and informal communication with Afochas and other Hararis organizations soon.
Thank You
The Volunteers of Ethio-Harar Muday Alem Hufuq ZiHarari Kilahot Arra.

SHAWAL EID CELBERATION IN ADDIS ABABA

SHAWAL EID CELBERATION IN ADDIS ABABA

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

OCT. 29, 2007



Shawal Eid was celebrated among the Harari Community in Addis Ababa colorfully on Sunday October 29, 2007. The event which was held during the day included Mewlid, speeches and interviews and Harari Cultural and modern songs. . Lunch was served at the event. The main organizers of the event were Harai Women League of Addis Ababa .


Although shawal Eid is a controversial holiday to celebrate, one of the elders at the event announced the importance of the event in keeping our cultural heritage and for the community to come together and stick together. Hararis strength and their survival has all depended on their sticking to the culture which was based Islamic principles. During the past the Shwal Eid event has been a means for people to come to know each other and also a pathway for newly weds.



The event's main focus was on the young generation where the message was passed to exert utmost effort in transferring the history culture and language of the Harari People for generation to come. Education was also crucially pointed out for young Hararis to lead their nation in the age of information and technology.



The event was attended by the President of Harar, President Murad Abdullahi, other Harari high authority figures, also Awach and Ayach of the Harari community in Addis as well as most of the community at large

Harari State to execute over 72mln birr dev’t projects

Harar, November 05, 2007 (WIC) - Harari State said it would construct various projects with over 72 million birr this fiscal year.

Finance and Economic Development Bureau Head, Arif Abdulhazif, told WIC that the projects would be carried out in six urban and three rural kebeles beginning this month.

He said the projects focus on education, urban development, agriculture, water, health, capacity building.

Upon completion at the end of this fiscal year, the 41 projects would benefit more than 100,000 residents, according to Arif.

He said the majority of the projects which would be carried out by 14 executive offices and nine kebele administrations are new.

The head further said of the budget earmarked for the execution of the projects,30 million birr was allotted for the construction of a new asphalt road.

The budget allocated for the execution of the projects this budget year exceeded that of last year by 22 million birr, it was indicated.
(c) Walta Information Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia