Perceptions from outside the U.S. #4: Ethiopia

I am Mekdes Mezgebu. I am now working with the UNDP in Addis Ababa,

Is there an advocacy movement for Darfur in Ethiopia?

To my knowledge, there are no advocacy movements for Darfur in Ethiopia. While neighboring and very close to Ethiopia in a lot of other respects, often times, Darfur does not attract a lot of attention in Ethiopia. It is raised as an issue only when there is an African Union Summit in Addis or when State officials delegations come to Addis to discuss the issue.

What, if anything, have you heard about the US-based Darfur advocacy movement?

Yes I have heard about it but only because I was in the US for one year. But since I moved back to Ethiopia, I haven’t heard as much.

What types of people do you think are involved in it?

Students, activists, academicians, politicians, lobbyist….

What do you think they are trying to accomplish?

I think they are trying to bring to the attention of the world (particularly the Western world) to what is going on in Darfur and to push for intervention.