On Tuesday, July 23, 2019 Abiy Selassie introduced Ethiopia’s first online shopping application called Addis Merkato at Bellevue Hotel in the presence of local media and partners. The app was launched this Friday.
Addis Mercato is an e-commerce company with logistics services that offers products from supermarkets, electronics, home appliances, local vendors, and others. It currently works with 15 companies and functions in Addis; but intends to work with more companies and in other towns. The app allows Diaspora purchase goods and have them delivered to family and friends quickly and in some cases on the same day. The app adapts an e-payment system and remuneration is done via Pay Pal and Yene Pay (which also happens to be Addis Merkato’s partner). The app is not linked to the customer’s bank account but rather uses Nobel Wallet to perform the transaction.
The managing director of Addis Merkato started by expressing his gratitude to everyone. He said that Addis Merkato has created a way consumers can purchase what they desire without worrying about traffic or parking spaces. The app has a tracking system allowing customers to track their order being delivered to their whereabouts. The managing director said customers are only charged for delivery, and the price varies depending on the urgency of the order.
To use the app a person registers their name and address and selects a language. The app has classified goods in various categories and departments so that customers can easily find what they need. Customers can compare product by size, price, quality, and color. Addis Merkato offers detailed product descriptions which is a very significant part of shopping. In addition it recommends items according to previous choices or trends. The app uses a QR code that helps deliver the products to the right customer.
New online shopping app starts
The United States military machine and the greenhouse gas emissions
The United States military machine, is the world’s biggest institutional consumer of petroleum products and the world’s worst polluter of greenhouse gas emissions. The role of the United States military is not on the agenda of the Paris COP21 Climate Conference. There is an elephant in the climate debate that by United States demand cannot be discussed or even seen. This agreement to ignore the elephant is now the accepted basis of all international negotiations on climate change.
It is well understood by every possible measurement that the Pentagon, the United States military machine, is the world’s biggest institutional consumer of petroleum products and the world’s worst polluter of greenhouse gas emissions and many other toxic pollutants. Yet the Pentagon has a blanket exemption in all international climate agreements.
Benjamin Neimark, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster Environment Centre in Lancaster University stated that ever since the Kyoto Accords or Kyoto Protocol negotiations in 1998, in an effort to gain United States compliance, all United States’ military operations worldwide and within the United States are exempt from measurement or agreements on reduction. Interpress Service reported on May 20, 1998 that the United States Congress passed an explicit provision guaranteeing United States military exemptions.
Benjamin Neimark asserted that the complete United States military exemption from greenhouse gas emissions calculations includes more than 1,000 United States bases in more than 130 countries around the world, its 6,000 facilities in the United States, its aircraft carriers and jet aircraft. Also excluded are its weapons testing and all multilateral operations such as the giant United States commanded NATO military alliance and AFRICOM, the United States military alliance now blanketing Africa. The provision also exempts United States/UN-sanctioned activities of “peacekeeping” and “humanitarian relief.”
Benjamin Neimark further noted that the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol nevertheless became the basis of all future proposed international meetings on a climate treaty, including Copenhagen 2009, Cancun, 2010, Durban 2011, Doha 2012 and the United Nations upcoming 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change meeting in Paris in 2015. In all past international conferences it was again and again the United States government that refused to be bound by any treaty.
Oliver Belcher, Assistant Professor of Geography at Durham University stated that the United States military’s carbon bootprint is enormous. Like corporate supply chains, it relies upon an extensive global network of container ships, trucks and cargo planes to supply its operations with everything from bombs to humanitarian aid and hydrocarbon fuels.
Greenhouse gas emission accounting usually focuses on how much energy and fuel civilians use. But recent works shows that the United States military is one of the largest polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more climate-changing gases than most medium-sized countries. If the United States military were a country, its fuel usage alone would make it the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, sitting between Peru and Portugal.
Oliver Belcher noted that in 2017, the United States military bought about 269,230 barrels of oil a day and emitted more than 25,000 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide by burning those fuels. The United States Air Force purchased 4.9 billion dollar worth of fuel, and the navy 2.8 billion dollar, followed by the army at 947million dollar and the Marines at 36million dollar.
According to Oliver Belcher, it’s no coincidence that United States military emissions tend to be overlooked in climate change studies. It’s very difficult to get consistent data from the Pentagon and across United States government departments. In fact, the United States insisted on an exemption for reporting military emissions in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. This loophole was closed by the Paris Accord, but with the Trump administration due to withdraw from the accord in 2020, this gap will will return.
The recent study is based on data retrieved from multiple Freedom of Information Act requests to the United States Defense Logistics Agency, the massive bureaucratic agency tasked with managing the United States military’s supply chains, including its hydrocarbon fuel purchases and distribution.
The United States military has long understood that it isn’t immune from the potential consequences of climate change, recognising it as a “threat multiplier” that can exacerbate other risks. Many, though not all, military bases have been preparing for climate change impacts like sea level rise. Nor has the military ignored its own contribution to the problem. The military has invested in developing alternative energy sources like biofuels, but these comprise only a tiny fraction of spending on fuels.
Patrick Bigger, Lecturer of Human Geography at Lancaster Environment Centre, in Lancaster University argued that the American military’s climate policy remains contradictory. There have been attempts to “green” aspects of its operations by increasing renewable electricity generation on bases, but it remains the single largest institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world. It has also locked itself into hydrocarbon-based weapons systems for years to come, by depending on existing aircraft and warships for open-ended operations.
Patrick Bigger stated that climate change has become a hot-button topic on the campaign trail for the 2020 presidential election. Leading Democratic candidates, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, and members of Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are calling for major climate initiatives like the Green New Deal. For any of that to be effective, the United States military’s carbon footprint must be addressed in domestic policy and international climate treaties.
The recent study shows that action on climate change demands shuttering vast sections of the military machine. There are few activities on Earth as environmentally catastrophic as waging war. Significant reductions to the Pentagon’s budget and shrinking its capacity to wage war would cause a huge drop in demand from the biggest consumer of liquid fuels in the world.
As Patrick Bigger well explained, it does no good tinkering around the edges of the war machine’s environmental impact. The money spent procuring and distributing fuel across the United States empire could instead be spent as a peace dividend, helping to fund a Green New Deal in whatever form it might take. There are no shortage of policy priorities that could use a funding bump. Any of these options would be better than fuelling one of the largest military forces in history.
Voice of breadwinners
They raided the Toyota Corolla automobile which was parked at a roadside in the middle of merkato, the biggest open market in Ethiopia. All are young boys under 20 …some with braided and dyed hair. They were chatting with one another. Some were smoking cigarette. Two of the young boys got closer to the driver, a foreigner (ferenj), and started speaking to him in broken English. The driver did not respond to them. Two boys with their clothes torn to shreds kneeled down near the front fender…tried to light their cigarettes using the blinking red hazard light. One of the boys pushed away the other who failed to light the cigarette … wetted the end of his own cigarette with his tongue and placed it on the red light… still sucking on it till his cheeks deepened…
The ferenj driver felt the incident was very interesting. “What the fuck these idiots are doing? … Oh, my God! These must be real jungle boys and very idiotic! I have never seen such a backward scene in this backward continent. …Yes, this must be caught by camera…” He stretched his hand to the backseat feeling for his camera. Still he fixed his eyes at the boys who were pushing each other to light their cigarette with the red blinking hazard light. The ferenj could not reach his camera which he placed on the backseat. He twisted his neck backward to get better view. There was nothing on the seat. ‘What!’ …He was sure he damped many of his things there. His laptop bag, two hard drives, sheaf of travel documents including novel manuscripts, cameras, GPS apparatus… He looked at the opened widows from both sides. He sprang up and got off the car.
He looked around. There was no one. Those young boys who were trying to chat with him were not around. The foreigner walked round his vehicle. When he got back to the driver’s door, he discovered that those boys who were trying to light their cigarette had disappeared. He giggled to himself in anger. Arms akimbo, he searched with his eyes for somebody who could help. No one gave him attention. Young and old were rushing all over the area. He kicked with his boots the side of his car in anger. That moment a piece of paper flipped from its loosen paste on the side of the car. It was a bus ticket. He looked at it carefully. Something was scribbled on the blank side of it. He picked it up, “Hey friend, you don’t worry yourself. Just call through these cell phone numbers.” He read the short message which was followed by cell phone numbers.
He grabbed his cell phone and called through the numbers. Somebody with rough voice responded from the other end. “Good afternoon, sir! This is the voice of breadwinners. …peaceful fellows of merkato. I should tell you that we are very sorry about the incident. On behalf of the breadwinners, I would like to tell you one important thing. We have just taken your properties for the time being. What I can tell you now is that we don’t need them all. But be informed that we need a favor from you… You are under our strict surveillance. We give you our brotherly advice not to report this incident to the police. If you do that, you will never get your properties back. We will call you back after an hour,” the cell phone disconnected.
The ferenj was so angry that the guy did not give him the chance to speak a single word. He looked around to discover the guys who might look at him that moment. No one was looking towards him. He giggled and climbed aboard his car… He thought he should report the theft to the police. ‘How should I keep quiet while I am losing my important documents! My novels, travel documents, research papers… I should get them all back. No… It is better to report this theft to the police. But what if the police fail to get back my properties! No! It is a fool of me to trust them. The police can never get back my lost properties. Moreover, the guy warned me that I might not retrieve the properties if I did this…’ He was determined to wait for the second call from the bread winner guy.
An hour later his cell phone called. He answered it immediately. The same rough voice came through. “Yeah, we have just checked in your laptop and hard drives. There are a lot of documents stuffed in there. We think these things are very important for you; not for us…. We can delete them all at a single click and sell the apparatus. But we don’t do that… So, let’s come to dealings… Hey buddy, are you ready for that?”
“Yes, I am ready. Please come up with your demand,” the foreigner said.
“Ok… we breadwinners are demanding you to pay us…” he stopped talking for a long time.
The foreigner from the other end was breathing heavily. “Hallo, please name the amount of money you need me to give you… please!”
“Yeah… we don’t need much. No need to hurt you as you have been doing good jobs. Ok, we want you to pay us only 5,000 USD! No phony notes! Genuine dollars. We don’t want you to give us in local currency. If you agree to our demand, just say it now. If you don’t want to say it now, we can call you tomorrow…”
“No! No need to wait till tomorrow. I have accepted your demand. I am ready to settle the payment. I can do that. Please…” the foreigner pleaded.
The cell phone clicked dead. The ferenj was so disappointed that he was about to hurl away his cell phone. But it rang right away. This time he saw different numbers on the screen. He does not want to talk to others. He should give priority to the breadwinners who took his properties. But what if they called using another cell phone… He responded to the call.
“Yeah, this is the real voice of breadwinners. Now listen very carefully. Do you have the money with you now?”
“Yes, I have it here with me. I can pay you right now.”
“That’s good! Please get out of your car… Yeah! Put your hands up one by one, above your head, and turn around. … Please do it one more time. Ok… turn your face to your right and look ahead straight. …Can you see a LADA Taxi …a blue-white painted one with its number plate covered with black plastic?”
“Eh…Eh… Yes, there I can see it from afar!”
“You will go directly to that taxi and climbed aboard on the driver’s seat. You are not allowed to touch anything inside except the cell phone you see on the passenger’s seat next to you. You will answer the call that will be coming through this cell phone… Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Now throw your cell phone inside your vehicle. No… No! Do it again very slowly so that I can see it… Ok! Now close your vehicle. Be informed that no one will touch your car. …Now do as instructed!”
The ferenj did as he was told. He walked some two hundred meters and boarded on the LADA Taxi. He saw the cell phone on the passenger’s seat next to him. Five minutes later, the cell phone called. The foreigner grabbed it immediately. “Buddy, you did a good job! Now you hand over the said money to the man who will pop up in a moment behind you in the cab. Warning… You are not expected to turn your head and face the man.”
The foreigner was so alarmed that he was shaking. He thought he would get injured… probably get stabbed from the back… ‘They are going to snatch my money by chalk holding me… Are they playing a trick on me?’ he thought. Some three minutes elapsed. It was like a year for him. Nothing has happened to him so far. He heard the rough voice coming from the other end.
“Hallo! … can you hear me? Yeah, don’t be afraid. We are friends. Nothing will happen to you so long as you want to communicate with us friendly…. Don’t switch off the cell phone. If it is not comfortable for you to handle the phone on your right ear while taking out the money, shift it to the other…” the phone went dead.
Then the ferenj felt something feeling his side. He gave a sudden jerk and tried to turn his head, but he stopped and glanced up to search through the front rearview mirror. But there was no rearview mirror on the windshield. A long thin arm stretched out between the two seats. He peeled out the dollars from his breast pocket and placed it on the stretched palm. Immediately the cell phone called. He answered it.
“Hallo! …Now, put me through the man behind you. You remain seated where you are. Don’t move!” The foreigner did as he was commanded. He placed the cell phone on the same palm stretched out… A couple of minutes later, the palm handed back the cell phone to him. The ferenj placed it on his earlobe. “Hey bro! you did a good job. Now we are about to depart… But one more thing…”
“What about my properties… Please….” the foreigner cut in.
“I need you to cool down. … Now you will walk back to your car. You will get all your properties retrieved in the same place you had left them before they were taken away for the time being… This is the voice of breadwinners. …Last warning! …No reporting to the police! You don’t need to do that if you want to have long lasting friendship with us. Any question?”
“Yes, how can I trust you that you will give me back my properties?”
“What I can advise you is that you will have to trust us. I don’t think you will have another alternative. …You will get your properties. You trust us. If you don’t want to trust us, that’s your choice. But that makes no difference….” The cellphone went dead all of a sudden.
The ferenj ran back to his car. He was very surprised to see all his properties retrieved in his vehicle. He checked for everything piece by piece…. Yes, they all are back. “Thanks to these guys! What would I do if they did not give me back…? …What could I do if they did something bad against me when I was in the LADA Taxi? …. They are very smart! I should thank these bastard breadwinners…”
The writer can be reached at gizaw.haile@yahoo.com
An amazement to share A timely lesson in the singularity of humanity
By Getachew Tedla Abebe
Recently while I was in Sweden, I was watching the local TV channel. I was drawn to what apparently was a political debate between an established liberal politician and a strikingly vibrant black woman.
She displayed confidence and a courteous pride as she competently and brilliantly fielded tough questions and counterarguments from both her opponent.
As I was wondering who this distinguished black woman could be, I learned that she was running for the leadership of the liberal party in an election just three weeks away. “What!” a black African woman aiming to lead a major political party? Here in Sweden? My mind reeled with conflicting thoughts.
To continue, I learned that this woman is from Burundi, a small land locked country sandwiched between Tanzania, Rwanda and DR Congo. Prior to independence in 1962 Burundi used to be known as ‘Ruanda- Urundi’. Its 27,834 sq Km make it quite small in contrast to Ethiopia’s 1,104,000 but with over 11million citizens, it’s one of the most densely populated states in Africa. The capital used to be Bujumbura before recently changing to Gitega. The main industries are leather, agriculture and paper products.
Our amazing protagonist is called Nyamko Ana Sabuni. The fifty year old was born in Bujumbura on March 31, 1969. Her Father, Maurice Sabuni a Congolese dissident and supporter of the late Patrice Lumumba was frequently arrested for his leftist convictions. Although a Christian he married a Muslim Burundian and Sabuni was raised as a Muslim by her mother. Being the offspring of two faiths the future politician seems to have been groomed early in assimilation. On a private level Sabuni does not profess to belong to any religion but is rather a disciple of the struggle for equality and the eradication of racism.
As her father’s left wing views made it increasingly difficult for him to stay in Congo, Sabuni’s father fled first to Rwanda and then to Tanzania. However, after numerous attempts on his life, he obtained the right of political asylum in Sweden.
A short time later, his family left Africa for good and arrived in Stockholm on March 24, 1981. Sabuni was 12 years old when she came to Sweden to reunite with her father.
Nyamko grew up in Kungsängen, a Stockholm suburb. Her primary school years enabled her to master Swedish. She took a course on migration policy at Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna, and information and media communications at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm. She also graduated with LLB (Law degree) at the famous University in Uppsala (northern Sweden).
Multi-lingual in Kiswahili, English and Swedish she founded and ran the Afro-Swedish Association and learned about and solves problems affecting refugee communities. She went onto work at various organizations. Sabuni married Allan Bergquist in 2004 and they have twin sons.
She joined the Liberal party’s Youth Wing and rose rapidly, serving on the board from 1996 to 1998. She then entered parliament after she had been elected on the Folkpartiet (the Liberal People’s Party) ticket. Sabuni served as MP From 2001-2013 and she was appointed in 2002 to be minister of integration and gender equality, becoming Sweden’s first ever black African Cabinet Minister. Eleven years later, Sabuni resigned her post voluntarily in order to better serve her party. Sabuni is cheered and applauded as she delivers earnest speeches throughout Sweden. She also has few critics who accuse her of being a racist despite her African identity. Personally, I was particularly struck by these few lines from a speech she gave in recent times.
“Many refugees (immigrants) wrongly perceive their democratic rights. For instance, freedom of religion does not mean one has the right to commit anything he or she wants in the name of religion……. Therefore, as long as you are settled, live in Sweden; possess your home, raising children; you must integrate yourselves with Swedish society and its culture and values. This is imperative.”
Being quite eager to meet her, I phoned her office but was politely told that she would be available only after the campaign is completed. I did not want to reschedule my flight, and thus I did not meet her.
A day before I was to fly out I heard that Mrs. Sabuni had defeated the incumbent to become the new leader of Sweden’s Liberal Party. This is not merely remarkable but truly miraculous!
Some of you may say, “What’s so amazing about this naturalized Black Swedish woman being elected to be a leader of a prominent political party?” Well, it’s a reasonable question. Just imagine for a second whether Sabuni would have risen to where she is today had she been in Ethiopia. Perhaps she may have been crudely expelled from Ethiopia because she is a foreigner and not to mention she is from another tribe which does not ‘belong’ here, etc. etc …. . In truth, Mrs. Sabuni should have had better opportunities in an African state rather than the massive white majority of Nordic kingdom.
My thoughts keep on churning. Sabuni is as dark-skinned as it gets. Her brown eyes, hair, lips, her entire physical being is wholly black African. She was not born in Sweden and only arrived when she was 12, sufficient age for the hard wiring of an African consciousness. Yet she developed in mind and spirit, obtained an education, integrated with Swedish society’s lifestyles and culture and proudly declares herself to be a daughter of Sweden, her homeland.
At this point, we must all commend the people and government of Sweden for creating the socio-political conditions by which such boundless tolerance and respect for universal values has been emphatically demonstrated.
So, how could I help but be amazed at this given that here in Ethiopia we exist at the absolute opposite bottom of the spectrum. I was born, raised, educated and lived in my homeland Ethiopia. My ancestors, grandparents and all my relatives have deep roots in this our one and only country. I have married and raised children who bring joy to us at every gathering, holiday and family events. I have accumulated innumerable close friends and acquaintances and avidly participate in community and national affairs. In short Ethiopia lives in me, makes up my psyche and defines my identity. And yet today despite my inextricable Ethiopic being, I am labeled by my so called tribe. “You are Amhara; you are Oromo; or you are from the South; Tigre or such and such tribe – leave our land and go back to your region; you are a new comer to the region; this is not your home! Due to this unfortunate occurrence, many had been displaced; too many have been killed, maimed, raped and brutalized because of their different tribe. We should learn from countries like Sweden before Ethiopia’s reckless ethnic politics is tearing it apart.
So, would you still say I shouldn’t be amazed by Sabuni’s inspiring story? I think not. I wonder what she would say if she knew what was happening in my almost fractured country. This is why I penned this piece, So that the contrast will hopefully provide a valuable lesson to you and to all of us as it did to me.
I pray that peace prevails in Ethiopia. I pray that we return soon to our former inclusiveness, shared love and to our previous cooperative community spirit.
May a United Ethiopia live on forever and ever!
