The Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations in New York says that world peace is a collective responsibility and the Somalia security is Collective responsibly and the priority of the UN. This being the case, regional and international efforts are being exerted, more vigorously than ever before, to ensure peace and stability in every corner of the world. With regard to this, the international community, the African Union, the East African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and the like are striving to ensure sustainable peace and stability in Somalia.
Ethiopia would further consolidate its efforts to ensure dependable peace and security in Somalia , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman told HAN & Geeska Afrika Online Edition reporter in Addis Ato Mulugeta Ababa that Ethiopia is pursuing this goal as instability in Somalia would directly affect the country and the region. Al-Itihad/ONLF has been masterminding and perpetrating terrorist acts in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia for the last decade in line with the directives it receives from al-Qaeda, The spokesman said.
Leaders of the African Union have failed to secure full numbers for a planned peacekeeping force in Somalia. The new AU chairman John Kufuor announced that the numbers of troops pledged were not enough. The Regional Director for international crises group gave us an insight into what this means for stability in Somalia.
Members of the African Union are beginning to offer peacekeepers to support the interim government of Somalia, but not nearly in the numbers needed or even any positive response from the African countries. We spoke to the Apostolic Administrator for the country, who told us that the entire international community must come to Somalia's aid
Somalia’s fate will likely be decided in the coming weeks, said the the Vatican’s apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, as the country now totters between a weak, propped-up transitional government and chaos since the Union of Islamic Courts was pushed from power last week.
“If Ethiopia withdraws its troops and there is no support mechanism put in place, the transitional government can’t stand on its own. It will collapse, therefore the Ethiopian government should stay to keep the peace” Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Dijbouti said.
The most difficult task will be piecing back together Somalia’s fragmented society, which has almost been completely destroyed, said Bishop Bertin.
“The presence of an international peacekeeping force could allow discussions to happen that bring into play Somalia’s traditional clan system. It has been weakened by the warlords, who are self-appointed men acting in their own interests, but it can be restored,” Bishop Bertin said.
“The international community too must avoid acting for hidden interests. We all need to act in interest of a true Somali nation, to ensure its success,” he said.
“In just this year alone, we’ve gone from drought, to flooding, to war,” Bishop Bertin said. “All the classical evils are there.”
Sources: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Vatican radio, Geeskaafrika online Reporter, IGAD2020 Security Watch and HAN staff Reporter In Addis Ababa.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Tina's Ethiopian Cafe - Chandler, Arizona - Watt's Good For You
Watt's Good for You
By Stephen Lemons
Tina Tamrat Hildebrand laughs and smiles shyly when I play reporter rather than gentleman, and ask her age. This fetching little Ethiopian lady could pass for someone in her mid-to-late 20s, but curiosity has yet to kill the culinary critic, which is why I pose the question.
"You know, in Ethiopia, people do not think about age," she explains in her charming trill of an accent. "In Ethiopia, we don't celebrate birthdays. Most people are born at home, and may not even know their exact age."
Further complicating matters is the fact that Ethiopia uses a 13-month calendar that runs about seven to eight years behind our own Gregorian. But when Hildebrand came to the United States in 1991 as a refugee of war and government repression, she suddenly discovered that here, everyone must know his or her age. She finally determined that she must have been born in the year 1974 of the Western calendar, which will make her 31 this year.
Hildebrand communicates all this as we're seated in her cozy little Chandler eatery Tina's Ethiopian Cafe, and it suddenly strikes me how utterly different life must be in the city of her birth, Addis Ababa. I've eaten at the Valley's other Ethiopian restaurants, and at Ethiopian spots in New York and Los Angeles, but never has eating Ethiopian seemed so intimate as at Tina's.
Part of this has to do with the fact that Hildebrand acts not only as chef, but server. Also, I think it's because Hildebrand has made her cafe an extension of her home. In the front part of the main dining area, you can choose from either a Western-style table or one of the colorful messobs, the traditional dining tables of Ethiopia hand-woven from a special grass. Tempe's Cafe Lalibela and Blue Nile offer this, too, but toward the back of Tina's is an area set up like a den, with a couch and comfy chairs, a coffee table, and a TV set, which screens Ethiopian videos showing demonstrations of tribal dancing or maybe a drama. Hildebrand's hubby, Dan, and her children David, 6, and Daisy, less than a year, are often nearby, adding to the overall aura of domesticity.
The windows are shrouded by curtains in the red, green and yellow of the Ethiopian flag. African carvings, Ethiopian Orthodox crosses, and posters of beautiful Ethiopian women cover the walls. Ethiopian music plays on the stereo, and Ethiopian trinkets are for sale in a display case near the front, along with copies of Hildebrand's self-published cookbook Secrets From Tina's Ethiopian Cafe.
Though Hildebrand's family was prominent, with her father owning a candy factory before a Marxist junta took it and all of his money from him, her mother still taught each of her girls their way around a kitchen. Here in the States, Hildebrand trained to be a nurse, but her dream has always been to start her own restaurant. So when the space became available, she opened Tina's in March of last year, right beside a neighborhood bar called El Coyote.
It's at El Coyote that you can purchase some beer to have with the various watt, or stews, that you'll be eating. Tina's only offers sodas, water, and Ethiopian tea and coffee, the latter flavored with roasted cloves. But Hildebrand allows customers to brown-bag something in from next door, which is helpful because beer does go quite well with Ethiopian food. Hopefully, with time, Hildebrand will get her own liquor license or come to some arrangement with El Coyote, because it would be a real treat to have Ethiopian Harar beer with dinner.
Tina's menu may not be as extensive as at a more established spot like Cafe Lalibela, but what it lacks in length, it makes up for in quality. This is Ethiopian soul food, though much more healthful than the American version, especially since Hildebrand says she eschews the use of Ethiopian butter in her recipes, sticking instead to extra-virgin olive oil.
Hildebrand's enjera, or spongy Ethiopian flatbread made with flour from the native grain teff, is perhaps the thickest and the tastiest I've ever had. Of course, those of you familiar with Abyssinian fare will know that watt is served on a round pancake of enjera, and you can eat either with pieces of enjera torn from this pancake or from a side of enjera accompanying the meal. Hildebrand gives you a whole basket full of the bread, each portion rolled tightly into soft, pale cylinders. By itself, enjera tastes slightly sour, but it really soaks up the juices of the different watt, so you can see why the Ethiopians have not forsaken eating like this for the use of spoons and forks.
Indeed, the watt at Tina's is so savory that you'll be glad there are no utensils to delay its progress to your munch-hole. On the vegetarian side, there's shiro watt, a brownish, souplike substance made from chickpea powder; yemiser watt, or mildly spiced lentils; and fosolia watt, or simmered green beans and carrots. But those I enjoyed the most were the spinach watt, the kik watt, and the yatkilt watt. The spinach is made with onions and olive oil, the kik with yellow split peas and herbs, and the yatkilt with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The kik is almost like a warm split-pea purée, and the yatkilt reminds me of similar Indian dishes, probably because of the inclusion of yellow curry powder.
Tina's house salad, made with tomatoes, cranberries and sunflower seeds, is also a standout, but I'm a carnivore at heart (or, should I say, at stomach), and that's why I'm such a fan of Hildebrand's meat dishes, which include yedoro watt (chicken), key watt (quarter-inch bits of beef), and beef tibbs, larger pieces of grilled beef with onions and green peppers. Both the yedoro and key watt are slightly spicy from the addition of an Ethiopian red-pepper-based seasoning referred to as berbere, as well as garlic and ginger. But the tibbs is not spicy at all.
For an appetizer, sometimes Hildebrand will bring an Indian-style samosa, or a cup full of dabbo qolo, little bits of fried corn muffin mix, which are habit-forming, they're so scrumptious. I do wish lamb were part of Hildebrand's bill of fare, but she says not enough customers order it. Maybe if I phone ahead, she can make it special for me next time I go.
By Stephen Lemons
Tina Tamrat Hildebrand laughs and smiles shyly when I play reporter rather than gentleman, and ask her age. This fetching little Ethiopian lady could pass for someone in her mid-to-late 20s, but curiosity has yet to kill the culinary critic, which is why I pose the question.
"You know, in Ethiopia, people do not think about age," she explains in her charming trill of an accent. "In Ethiopia, we don't celebrate birthdays. Most people are born at home, and may not even know their exact age."
Further complicating matters is the fact that Ethiopia uses a 13-month calendar that runs about seven to eight years behind our own Gregorian. But when Hildebrand came to the United States in 1991 as a refugee of war and government repression, she suddenly discovered that here, everyone must know his or her age. She finally determined that she must have been born in the year 1974 of the Western calendar, which will make her 31 this year.
Hildebrand communicates all this as we're seated in her cozy little Chandler eatery Tina's Ethiopian Cafe, and it suddenly strikes me how utterly different life must be in the city of her birth, Addis Ababa. I've eaten at the Valley's other Ethiopian restaurants, and at Ethiopian spots in New York and Los Angeles, but never has eating Ethiopian seemed so intimate as at Tina's.
Part of this has to do with the fact that Hildebrand acts not only as chef, but server. Also, I think it's because Hildebrand has made her cafe an extension of her home. In the front part of the main dining area, you can choose from either a Western-style table or one of the colorful messobs, the traditional dining tables of Ethiopia hand-woven from a special grass. Tempe's Cafe Lalibela and Blue Nile offer this, too, but toward the back of Tina's is an area set up like a den, with a couch and comfy chairs, a coffee table, and a TV set, which screens Ethiopian videos showing demonstrations of tribal dancing or maybe a drama. Hildebrand's hubby, Dan, and her children David, 6, and Daisy, less than a year, are often nearby, adding to the overall aura of domesticity.
The windows are shrouded by curtains in the red, green and yellow of the Ethiopian flag. African carvings, Ethiopian Orthodox crosses, and posters of beautiful Ethiopian women cover the walls. Ethiopian music plays on the stereo, and Ethiopian trinkets are for sale in a display case near the front, along with copies of Hildebrand's self-published cookbook Secrets From Tina's Ethiopian Cafe.
Though Hildebrand's family was prominent, with her father owning a candy factory before a Marxist junta took it and all of his money from him, her mother still taught each of her girls their way around a kitchen. Here in the States, Hildebrand trained to be a nurse, but her dream has always been to start her own restaurant. So when the space became available, she opened Tina's in March of last year, right beside a neighborhood bar called El Coyote.
It's at El Coyote that you can purchase some beer to have with the various watt, or stews, that you'll be eating. Tina's only offers sodas, water, and Ethiopian tea and coffee, the latter flavored with roasted cloves. But Hildebrand allows customers to brown-bag something in from next door, which is helpful because beer does go quite well with Ethiopian food. Hopefully, with time, Hildebrand will get her own liquor license or come to some arrangement with El Coyote, because it would be a real treat to have Ethiopian Harar beer with dinner.
Tina's menu may not be as extensive as at a more established spot like Cafe Lalibela, but what it lacks in length, it makes up for in quality. This is Ethiopian soul food, though much more healthful than the American version, especially since Hildebrand says she eschews the use of Ethiopian butter in her recipes, sticking instead to extra-virgin olive oil.
Hildebrand's enjera, or spongy Ethiopian flatbread made with flour from the native grain teff, is perhaps the thickest and the tastiest I've ever had. Of course, those of you familiar with Abyssinian fare will know that watt is served on a round pancake of enjera, and you can eat either with pieces of enjera torn from this pancake or from a side of enjera accompanying the meal. Hildebrand gives you a whole basket full of the bread, each portion rolled tightly into soft, pale cylinders. By itself, enjera tastes slightly sour, but it really soaks up the juices of the different watt, so you can see why the Ethiopians have not forsaken eating like this for the use of spoons and forks.
Indeed, the watt at Tina's is so savory that you'll be glad there are no utensils to delay its progress to your munch-hole. On the vegetarian side, there's shiro watt, a brownish, souplike substance made from chickpea powder; yemiser watt, or mildly spiced lentils; and fosolia watt, or simmered green beans and carrots. But those I enjoyed the most were the spinach watt, the kik watt, and the yatkilt watt. The spinach is made with onions and olive oil, the kik with yellow split peas and herbs, and the yatkilt with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The kik is almost like a warm split-pea purée, and the yatkilt reminds me of similar Indian dishes, probably because of the inclusion of yellow curry powder.
Tina's house salad, made with tomatoes, cranberries and sunflower seeds, is also a standout, but I'm a carnivore at heart (or, should I say, at stomach), and that's why I'm such a fan of Hildebrand's meat dishes, which include yedoro watt (chicken), key watt (quarter-inch bits of beef), and beef tibbs, larger pieces of grilled beef with onions and green peppers. Both the yedoro and key watt are slightly spicy from the addition of an Ethiopian red-pepper-based seasoning referred to as berbere, as well as garlic and ginger. But the tibbs is not spicy at all.
For an appetizer, sometimes Hildebrand will bring an Indian-style samosa, or a cup full of dabbo qolo, little bits of fried corn muffin mix, which are habit-forming, they're so scrumptious. I do wish lamb were part of Hildebrand's bill of fare, but she says not enough customers order it. Maybe if I phone ahead, she can make it special for me next time I go.
9th Ethio-Sudan Joint Border Commission Meet due to be held soon
Addis Ababa, February 2, 2007
The ninth Ethio-Sudan Joint Border Commission Meeting would be held in the Sudanese town of Gedearif from 6 to 7 February 2007, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In a statement it sent to Ethiopian News Agency on Friday, the ministry said the Joint Border Commission is expected to discuss on issues of security as well as border trade and customs, among others.
The meeting would also hear reports on disease control and surveillance activities across the border and seek ways of solving possible health problems that may occur in the areas, the statement added.
The statement said Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Amhara and Tigray state administrations would attend the meeting, while Sudan would be represented by officials of its border towns and states.
Traditional music shows, trade fair and soccer matches would be held simultaneously with the Joint Border Commission meeting.
The ninth Ethio-Sudan Joint Border Commission Meeting would be held in the Sudanese town of Gedearif from 6 to 7 February 2007, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In a statement it sent to Ethiopian News Agency on Friday, the ministry said the Joint Border Commission is expected to discuss on issues of security as well as border trade and customs, among others.
The meeting would also hear reports on disease control and surveillance activities across the border and seek ways of solving possible health problems that may occur in the areas, the statement added.
The statement said Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Amhara and Tigray state administrations would attend the meeting, while Sudan would be represented by officials of its border towns and states.
Traditional music shows, trade fair and soccer matches would be held simultaneously with the Joint Border Commission meeting.
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