Dr. Laura Anderson is a licensed clinical psychologist who is currently living and practicing psychology on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. She specializes in the provision of psychological services to children and families and in the delivery of competent cross-cultural services. She loves children and appreciates the challenges related to parenting them. Dr. Anderson has also lived and/or traveled extensively in Southern, Central and Northern Africa and feels blessed to have had opportunities to learn from Africa’s marvelous, complex and diverse teachings.
If raising happy confident kids were like following a recipe, there would be several key ingredients. In my recipe, the three crucial ingredients would be structure, nurture, and safety.
Today I’ll talk about the first of those: structure. Kids need routines. They need to know what to expect and when to expect it. They need to know that grownups are in charge and will make sure they get through these routines. Consistent, adult-run routines give children the predictability they need to feel comforted, and they provide a safety net from which children can explore.
With structure, children learn to trust that you will do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going do it. On a daily basis, this means kids need a predictable morning routine, where the same things are expected of them at the same time before school (or daycare) every day. Young children benefit from predictable nap times. Meal times are also best if scheduled and reliable.
After school routines should include a predictable time (and place) for homework. Evening routines often include bathing, as well as organizing clothes and backpacks for the morning. Finally, research shows that young school-aged children need between 10-11 hours of sleep a night to allow their bodies and brains important time for growth.
A set bedtime with a predictable bedtime routine (backpack ready for morning, pajamas on, teeth brushed, bedtime story read or told, lights out), is a crucial part of getting children the sleep that they need.
It is only fair to prepare you that your children may challenge your routines at first, and sticking to the schedule may cause some short-term disagreements. Don’t give up. With a little bit of time and practice, they’ll learn what is expected and they will benefit from your taking the lead and providing them with the consistency and structure that they need. The idea behind the recommendation for these routines is not to turn your house into a military boot camp. Flexibility, spontaneity and humor also play very important roles in childrearing. They complement underlying structure very well.
In closing, know that no parent is perfectly consistent all the time. Life gets chaotic. Today’s families are often overworked and overscheduled and special events will naturally change the flow of any schedule you have established. All you can do is try your best to keep steady routines, with the understanding that your kids need that consistency whenever possible. I think you’ll find that both you and your children will appreciate the comfortable rhythms of the routines.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Ethiopian Artist Bekele Mekonnen Awarded Prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
(05/03/07)
Visual artist and poet Bekele Mekonnen
The United States Embassy extends its congratulates and is pleased to announce that Bekele Mekonnen, painter, poet, sculptor and lecturer at the School of Fine Arts and Design of Addis Ababa University (AAU), has been awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant of $20,000. The award was announced in New York on February 20, 2007 by the Chairman of the Board of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation INC. Bekele Mekonnen was selected from a number of contestant throughout the world by a distinguished committee of art professionals for his achievements in art work.
Getting Ethiopia out of Somalia
By Afyare Abdi Elmi
The Boston Globe
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The UN's humanitarian affairs office in Somalia reports that the recent clashes between Ethiopian troops and Somali resistance groups have killed more than 1,000 civilians and displaced more than 350,000 Mogadishu residents. The European Union, which is investigating whether war crimes were committed, argues that civilian areas were intentionally targeted.
The United States, however, is on a different page. When the Union of Islamic Courts defeated the U.S.-backed warlords, the Bush administration - using the war on terrorism as justification - supported the Ethiopian occupation, arguing that the Islamists were an emerging threat to U.S. interests. But approaching the complex conflict in this simplistic way and linking it to the war on terror was a mistake. The United States has inadvertently stepped into a local, tribal and regional quagmire.
The resistance groups - clans, business groups and Islamists - are challenging the occupying Ethiopian troops and the warlord government in many ways. Recent events in Mogadishu and Kismayo indicate that ignoring their grievances will only perpetuate the conflict.
The fighting has multiple causes - competition for resources, repression, the country's colonial legacy, widespread atrocities and politicized clan identity. Ethiopia, through its proxy warlords, was the principal spoiler of peace efforts. Somalis fear that landlocked Ethiopia wants to balkanize their country into clan-based regions in order to get access to the sea.
Ethiopia, which had been heavily criticized by the U.S. State Department for its human rights record, also used the Somalia occupation as a way of getting closer to Washington.
The United States has been heavily involved in Somalia since the 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration closed Al-Barakaat - the largest telecommunications company and bank, though the investigations of the 9/11 Commission could not establish any link to terrorism. Washington also added about 20 Somali individuals and organizations to its terrorist list. The United States and Ethiopia collaborated to destroy the UIC, a homegrown popular Islamist movement that ruled southern Somalia in the later part of 2006.
Washington should revisit its strategy. Somalis are determined to resist the Ethiopian occupation and attempts to rescue the warlord-government and impose it on the people have backfired. Despite international calls for inclusive government, the leadership in Baidoa has decided to exclude even more individuals and groups - evidence that these warlords have neither the will nor the political competence.
Ethiopian troops are not filling a security vacuum; they are a source of destabilization. Ethiopian occupation must end. The United States is the only country that can order Ethiopia to leave Somalia.
Rewarding warlords will not bring peace to Somalia. These individuals have committed heinous crimes and they are not interested in peace or democracy. The United States should help in establishing a commission of international inquiry that investigates the Somalia war crimes.
As State Department officials have stated many times, the Bush administration understands the need for a genuine peace process in Somalia. But it has to act. Instead of endorsing the so-called congress in Mogadishu - a convention for the Ethiopian proxies - Washington should support Saudi Arabia's proposed peace conference. The Saudi government has helped mediate similar conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Moreover, most Somalis consider it a neutral country. It has a close relationship with Washington and can influence the Islamist groups that are indispensable for ending the fighting.
Washington can play a constructive role in building peace in Somalia if it identifies with the aspirations of the Somali people, removing the Ethiopians, controlling the warlords, and initiating a genuine Somali-owned peace process.
Afyare Abdi Elmi is a doctoral candidate in international relations at the University of Alberta. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The UN's humanitarian affairs office in Somalia reports that the recent clashes between Ethiopian troops and Somali resistance groups have killed more than 1,000 civilians and displaced more than 350,000 Mogadishu residents. The European Union, which is investigating whether war crimes were committed, argues that civilian areas were intentionally targeted.
The United States, however, is on a different page. When the Union of Islamic Courts defeated the U.S.-backed warlords, the Bush administration - using the war on terrorism as justification - supported the Ethiopian occupation, arguing that the Islamists were an emerging threat to U.S. interests. But approaching the complex conflict in this simplistic way and linking it to the war on terror was a mistake. The United States has inadvertently stepped into a local, tribal and regional quagmire.
The resistance groups - clans, business groups and Islamists - are challenging the occupying Ethiopian troops and the warlord government in many ways. Recent events in Mogadishu and Kismayo indicate that ignoring their grievances will only perpetuate the conflict.
The fighting has multiple causes - competition for resources, repression, the country's colonial legacy, widespread atrocities and politicized clan identity. Ethiopia, through its proxy warlords, was the principal spoiler of peace efforts. Somalis fear that landlocked Ethiopia wants to balkanize their country into clan-based regions in order to get access to the sea.
Ethiopia, which had been heavily criticized by the U.S. State Department for its human rights record, also used the Somalia occupation as a way of getting closer to Washington.
The United States has been heavily involved in Somalia since the 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration closed Al-Barakaat - the largest telecommunications company and bank, though the investigations of the 9/11 Commission could not establish any link to terrorism. Washington also added about 20 Somali individuals and organizations to its terrorist list. The United States and Ethiopia collaborated to destroy the UIC, a homegrown popular Islamist movement that ruled southern Somalia in the later part of 2006.
Washington should revisit its strategy. Somalis are determined to resist the Ethiopian occupation and attempts to rescue the warlord-government and impose it on the people have backfired. Despite international calls for inclusive government, the leadership in Baidoa has decided to exclude even more individuals and groups - evidence that these warlords have neither the will nor the political competence.
Ethiopian troops are not filling a security vacuum; they are a source of destabilization. Ethiopian occupation must end. The United States is the only country that can order Ethiopia to leave Somalia.
Rewarding warlords will not bring peace to Somalia. These individuals have committed heinous crimes and they are not interested in peace or democracy. The United States should help in establishing a commission of international inquiry that investigates the Somalia war crimes.
As State Department officials have stated many times, the Bush administration understands the need for a genuine peace process in Somalia. But it has to act. Instead of endorsing the so-called congress in Mogadishu - a convention for the Ethiopian proxies - Washington should support Saudi Arabia's proposed peace conference. The Saudi government has helped mediate similar conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Moreover, most Somalis consider it a neutral country. It has a close relationship with Washington and can influence the Islamist groups that are indispensable for ending the fighting.
Washington can play a constructive role in building peace in Somalia if it identifies with the aspirations of the Somali people, removing the Ethiopians, controlling the warlords, and initiating a genuine Somali-owned peace process.
Afyare Abdi Elmi is a doctoral candidate in international relations at the University of Alberta. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe.
Ethiopia tops list where press freedom said deteriorating
Thursday, May 03, 2007
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopia tops a list of 10 countries - including three in sub-Saharan Africa - where press freedom has deteriorated over the past five years, a New York-based media advocacy group said yesterday, as several nations around the world mark International Press Freedom Day.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the nations "reflect a mixture of relatively open countries that have turned increasingly repressive and traditionally restrictive nations where press conditions, remarkably, have worsened".
Three countries on the list - Ethiopia, Gambia and Congo - show that "democracy's foothold in Africa is shallow when it comes to press freedom", 0 CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in the report.
"These three African nations, as diverse as they are, have won praise at times for their transition to democracy - but they are actually moving in reverse on press issues," Simon said. "Journalists in Ethiopia, Gambia, and DRC (Congo) are being jailed, attacked, and censored, a picture far worse than what we saw only a few years ago."
Other nations on the list are Russia, Cuba, Pakistan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Thailand. Countries in which conflict was ongoing, such as Iraq and Somalia, were not included because of instability and lack of governance.
Ethiopian government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle defended his country's media system.
"Freedom of the press does not mean that they are going to do whatever they want, unlawful things," he said. "We can only talk about the freedom of press when the press is going to respect the law of the land."
He also said the country's parliament is debating a new press law to better define the media's role and restrictions in Ethiopia, but he refused to discuss details.
Many of the government's crackdowns resulted from a contentious 2005 parliamentary election in which riots over the election results ended with the jailing of more than 100 political opposition leaders and journalists.
Twenty-five have since been released, among them eight journalists.
On Tuesday, the OpenNet initiative, a Web group dedicated to open access to websites, cited Ethiopia's censorship of anti-government Websites and blogs, a charge Ethiopian officials denied.
"This is a baseless allegation," Zemedkun said, adding that any blocks were the result of "a technical problem".
The nations were judged on seven criteria: government censorship, judicial harassment, criminal libel prosecutions, journalists' deaths, physical attacks on the press, journalists' imprisonments and threats against the press.
In Pakistan, the CPJ said, eight journalists have been slain since 2002, but arrests and convictions have been won in only one case. In Russia, 11 journalists have been killed in the last five years, but no case has been solved, the report said.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopia tops a list of 10 countries - including three in sub-Saharan Africa - where press freedom has deteriorated over the past five years, a New York-based media advocacy group said yesterday, as several nations around the world mark International Press Freedom Day.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the nations "reflect a mixture of relatively open countries that have turned increasingly repressive and traditionally restrictive nations where press conditions, remarkably, have worsened".
Three countries on the list - Ethiopia, Gambia and Congo - show that "democracy's foothold in Africa is shallow when it comes to press freedom", 0 CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in the report.
"These three African nations, as diverse as they are, have won praise at times for their transition to democracy - but they are actually moving in reverse on press issues," Simon said. "Journalists in Ethiopia, Gambia, and DRC (Congo) are being jailed, attacked, and censored, a picture far worse than what we saw only a few years ago."
Other nations on the list are Russia, Cuba, Pakistan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Thailand. Countries in which conflict was ongoing, such as Iraq and Somalia, were not included because of instability and lack of governance.
Ethiopian government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle defended his country's media system.
"Freedom of the press does not mean that they are going to do whatever they want, unlawful things," he said. "We can only talk about the freedom of press when the press is going to respect the law of the land."
He also said the country's parliament is debating a new press law to better define the media's role and restrictions in Ethiopia, but he refused to discuss details.
Many of the government's crackdowns resulted from a contentious 2005 parliamentary election in which riots over the election results ended with the jailing of more than 100 political opposition leaders and journalists.
Twenty-five have since been released, among them eight journalists.
On Tuesday, the OpenNet initiative, a Web group dedicated to open access to websites, cited Ethiopia's censorship of anti-government Websites and blogs, a charge Ethiopian officials denied.
"This is a baseless allegation," Zemedkun said, adding that any blocks were the result of "a technical problem".
The nations were judged on seven criteria: government censorship, judicial harassment, criminal libel prosecutions, journalists' deaths, physical attacks on the press, journalists' imprisonments and threats against the press.
In Pakistan, the CPJ said, eight journalists have been slain since 2002, but arrests and convictions have been won in only one case. In Russia, 11 journalists have been killed in the last five years, but no case has been solved, the report said.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Thousands Exposed to Danger of Landmines
ADDIS ABABA, 18 April 2007 (IRIN) - Ethiopia's Afar and Tigray regional states are so heavily mined that hundreds of thousands of people living there are exposed to danger from the ordnances, official statistics show.
Most of the landmines were planted during the recent Ethiopia-Eritrea boundary war, which was mainly fought in the two states because they share borders with Eritrea. Data compiled by the national Landmine Action Office shows that 375,899 and 66,478 people in Tigray and Afar regional states, respectively, are exposed to the danger of landmines.
According to a local NGO, Rehabilitation and Development Organization (RaDO), at least 39 new mine and UXO (unexploded ordnance) accidents were recorded in the two regions between January 2005 and May 2006. Ten people were killed and 16 injured.
On Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) announced an €8 million donation to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the removal of landmines in the two regions.
Signing the agreement for the donation with Sam Barnes, the UNDP country director, the EC head of delegation in Ethiopia, Timothy Clarke, said: "In the 10 years since the signature of the Mine Ban Treaty the EU has been the top global donor with a total contribution of more than €1.4 billion."
The agreement was signed during the opening ceremony of the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) security dialogue on the problems of landmine and small arms.
Barnes said the UN was currently providing mine action assistance to 17 African Union member states including Ethiopia and Eritrea.
More than 11 sq.km of land has been de-mined in Ethiopia, destroying 184 antipersonnel mines, 98 anti-vehicle mines, and 6,607 items of unexploded ordnance since 2005, according to the 2006 Global Landmine Report
Most of the landmines were planted during the recent Ethiopia-Eritrea boundary war, which was mainly fought in the two states because they share borders with Eritrea. Data compiled by the national Landmine Action Office shows that 375,899 and 66,478 people in Tigray and Afar regional states, respectively, are exposed to the danger of landmines.
According to a local NGO, Rehabilitation and Development Organization (RaDO), at least 39 new mine and UXO (unexploded ordnance) accidents were recorded in the two regions between January 2005 and May 2006. Ten people were killed and 16 injured.
On Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) announced an €8 million donation to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the removal of landmines in the two regions.
Signing the agreement for the donation with Sam Barnes, the UNDP country director, the EC head of delegation in Ethiopia, Timothy Clarke, said: "In the 10 years since the signature of the Mine Ban Treaty the EU has been the top global donor with a total contribution of more than €1.4 billion."
The agreement was signed during the opening ceremony of the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) security dialogue on the problems of landmine and small arms.
Barnes said the UN was currently providing mine action assistance to 17 African Union member states including Ethiopia and Eritrea.
More than 11 sq.km of land has been de-mined in Ethiopia, destroying 184 antipersonnel mines, 98 anti-vehicle mines, and 6,607 items of unexploded ordnance since 2005, according to the 2006 Global Landmine Report
Nine oil workers captured in eastern Ethiopia have been released.
Canadian Press
Sunday, April 29, 2007
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Seven Chinese oil workers and two Africans kidnapped during a rebel attack on a Chinese oil field near the Somali border were released Sunday, the Red Cross said.
Patrick Megevand, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ethiopia, confirmed the release but declined to provide details. The Red Cross was taking the men to a safe location to be turned over the Ethiopian and Chinese authorities, he added.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack on the Chinese-owned oil exploration field in eastern Ethiopia on April 24 that left 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers dead. The group said six Chinese workers "were removed from the battlefield for their own safety." Ethiopian and Chinese officials said seven Chinese workers were missing.
The rebels, ethnic Somalis who claim to be fighting for independence for the Ogaden region, said in a statement Sunday that all of the Chinese citizens were in good health and had been treated well. The group had refrained from new attacks while negotiating with the Red Cross to release the abducted workers, but complained that the Ethiopian military was cracking down on ethnic Somalis in the regional capital, Jijiga.
"Civilians in Ogaden are being told by troops that they will pay the price for the recent ONLF military operation," the rebel statement said.
Earlier, the group said it would resume fighting after the Chinese workers were transferred to the Red Cross. The rebels warned foreign companies against trying to work in Ogaden.
China has condemned Tuesday's attack and rejected the group's warning.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Seven Chinese oil workers and two Africans kidnapped during a rebel attack on a Chinese oil field near the Somali border were released Sunday, the Red Cross said.
Patrick Megevand, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ethiopia, confirmed the release but declined to provide details. The Red Cross was taking the men to a safe location to be turned over the Ethiopian and Chinese authorities, he added.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack on the Chinese-owned oil exploration field in eastern Ethiopia on April 24 that left 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers dead. The group said six Chinese workers "were removed from the battlefield for their own safety." Ethiopian and Chinese officials said seven Chinese workers were missing.
The rebels, ethnic Somalis who claim to be fighting for independence for the Ogaden region, said in a statement Sunday that all of the Chinese citizens were in good health and had been treated well. The group had refrained from new attacks while negotiating with the Red Cross to release the abducted workers, but complained that the Ethiopian military was cracking down on ethnic Somalis in the regional capital, Jijiga.
"Civilians in Ogaden are being told by troops that they will pay the price for the recent ONLF military operation," the rebel statement said.
Earlier, the group said it would resume fighting after the Chinese workers were transferred to the Red Cross. The rebels warned foreign companies against trying to work in Ogaden.
China has condemned Tuesday's attack and rejected the group's warning.
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