4 Ethiopian Track Team Members Missing from World Juniors

Loot wrote:

What a joke, there is no political "upheaval" in Ethiopia that threatens it's citizens in any way. These are just more runners looking to cash in on another Euro or American club like Aregawi did.

Just a little bit of research would help you:

The EPRDF* won the 2010 elections by a landslide, taking 499 seats, while allied parties took a further 35. Oppositions parties took just 2. Both opposition groups say their observers were blocked from entering polling stations during the election on Sunday, May 23, and in some cases the individuals beaten. The United States and the European Union have both criticized the election as falling short of international standards. Additionally, the EPRDF won all but one of 1,904 council seats in regional elections.

*The ruling party, EPRDF was re-elected in 2000, and then again in 2005 amidst protests and riots that led to the death of many Ethiopians. Hundreds of political leaders–some of whom were elected to parliamentary positions– were arrested in connection with these protests.[citation needed]

As of February 2006, hundreds political remained in custody, facing trial in March.[citation needed] About 119 people are currently facing trial, including journalists for defamation and opposition party leaders for treason.[citation needed] Human rights organisations have raised concerns over the well-being of some of these prisoners. However 8,000 prisoners have already been freed.[2] Concerns about the implications of these trials for the freedom of the press have also been raised.[citation needed] According to the US Department of State 2009 human rights report, there are hundreds of political prisoners in Ethiopia. Among them is the leader of the largest opposition party Birtukan Midekssa. Fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, are, in practice, circumscribed.[citation needed]

What a joke that they are human beings seeking a better way of life?

Not Cool Broi wrote:

Politburo wrote:

They are on a bender since the drinking age here is only 21.

I got a chuckle out of this.

So did I and it took me a few reads to fully appreciate it.

Glad to see people paying attention. I was prepared to cast a pearl before swine as usual.

Waiter wrote:

Not Cool Broi wrote:

I got a chuckle out of this.

So did I and it took me a few reads to fully appreciate it.

Loot wrote:

I'm not mad at Aregawi

Thanks Tupac.

Loot wrote:

Hassan ran many steps as a highly touted junior prospect and was discovered by a Dutch track club and recruited to run for them solely for athletic purposes.

This is untrue.

"The Ethiopian government relocated forcibly ca 70,000 indigenous people from the Gambela Region between 2010 to January 2012 to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and educational facilities.

State security forces threatened, assaulted, and arbitrarily arrested villagers who resisted the transfers. From 2008 through January 2011, Ethiopia leased out at least 3.6 million hectares of land, an area the size of the Netherlands.

An additional 2.1 million hectares of land is available through the federal government’s land bank for agricultural investment. In Gambella, 42 percent of the land is marketed for investors.

Gambela Region has a population of 307,000, mainly indigenous Anuak and Nuer. Its richly fertile soil has attracted foreign and domestic investors who have leased large tracts of land at favourable prices."

I've no idea if these 4 are from Gambela, which is in the lowlands of Ethiopia.

"If the four are seeking asylum, the process is a long one that starts with an application available online, said attorney Anna Ciesielski of the Oregon Immigration Group."

As for their chances to be granted asylum, Cielsielski said it's difficult for people from many countries, but Ethiopians and Somalis "have a pretty decent chance."

There are also resistance movements among the Oromo people:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oromo_Liberation_Front

That is mostly in the highlands. Many of the Ethiopians runners are Oromo.

There is still violence between Ethiopian and Eritrea along the border as well. There are refugee camps there also. Part of the continuing instability in Somalia is that Eritrea and Ethiopia have used that territory to wage a proxy war.

A lot of Brazilian soccer players have switched passports to other contries.

Even more Chinese table tennis players, aspecially among women where the European championships has seen more naturalized winners than not over the last decades.

Some Canadian hockey players that didn't make it to the NHL headed for Italy (and other southern Europe nations), came to stay and are now representing them.

Not really for political upheaval, right?

Oh, but all those Russian and Checz hockey players that defected in the 70s and 80s and stayed in the good ol' USA, they hade legit cause, right, even if they actually won fewer worlds and olympic medals than they would had they stayed home... ;-)

Actually she was sent to Holland by her mother. Here she was put in some sort of camp where she couldn't get outside and where her biggest wish was to die.

Only 8 months later she could move in with an older woman, where she slowly started picking up her running training.

A couple years later she moved to Eindhoven, where she could integrate in the local Ethiopian community and where she joined her first track club.

Peter Andersson wrote:

A lot of Brazilian soccer players have switched passports to other contries.

Even more Chinese table tennis players, aspecially among women where the European championships has seen more naturalized winners than not over the last decades.

Some Canadian hockey players that didn't make it to the NHL headed for Italy (and other southern Europe nations), came to stay and are now representing them.

Not really for political upheaval, right?

Oh, but all those Russian and Checz hockey players that defected in the 70s and 80s and stayed in the good ol' USA, they hade legit cause, right, even if they actually won fewer worlds and olympic medals than they would had they stayed home... ;-)

What does that have to do with defection?

Other than the Russian defectors....

Hope they are safe... And about the asylum who cares I would probably try the same if I was in their shoes. Just 4 more people living off the government....

Ethiopia is essentially a one-party state. Also, marriage by abduction seems to be popular in the country.

So they won't exactly get a multi-party democracy here, but the women at least get to avoid being abducted and forced to marry some a$$hole.

Great scheming on their part. I wish them the best. I commend them.

A quick read of the Oreganian article on this states that the asylum process is laborious, with even an initial interview sometimes taking up to or more than a year.

It gives me pause to know that three of the four are women from a country that still does not know basic equality rights.

Also, I wonder with the Southern US border inundation of South American immigrant children whether these four will be summarily denied.

Kenyans do not come from a Socialist country.

3 Ethiopian runners found in Beaverton living with friends, 1 is missing

I think it's pretty clear that these athletes are defecting, but I don't know whether it's for asylum, (doesn't make sense because they have a future in track) or money and better facilities for running (they would be deported and arrested once they got back in Ethiopia so that also doesn't make sense) or both. Anyways, they actually just recked their lives because now they can either lay low and have a low-paying job in the US because they havn't graduated college (they're juniors, remember) and never have much of a social life or get a car or have a house under their own name or they can go public and get deported, going back to Ethiopia, get in trouble with the law and Most likely being banned from representing their country in pro track.

Don't worry, they'll be running for the West Side Runners in New York by the end of the week.