how many salaries can you afford to skip?
and a 'controversial' law
Hi there,
I’m not sure where to start this week’s newsletter – the online harassment and threats that forced my activist sister to leave the country, the emotional reckoning I was faced with in just two days at the Splice Beta media festival, or the possible consequences of Trump’s win, for Ethiopia in particular.
My sister was forced to leave the country because she is an outspoken activist on TikTok (and everywhere else). The match that ignited this particular set of hateful events (there have been many in the past) was tragically lit by another Ethiopian woman – one with a bigger following and a conviction to steer feminism in the ‘right direction’ in Ethiopia. Her idea of doing this consisted in turning the masses onto my sister.
The harassment, abuse, and killing of women in Ethiopia continues – I’ve written about it before – and just last week, Addis Power House, posted about the rising number of femicides in the country (12 since September). This all ties into one another and I don’t have much else to add here other than, we have a long way to go.
Splice Beta, which I attended with all this in the back of my mind, was a safe space for me, and I believe many other ‘solopreneurs’, where we’re encouraged to keep going, trying, and failing. I learned hard and fast lessons about owning up to this newsletter I run, and other helpful tips on keeping the joy going alongside the heavy-duty work of reporting on the continuing crisis of my community.
If you’re looking for tips too, hit reply, and I’ll happily share what I learned. Big shout out to Rishad Patel and Alan Soon, co-founders of Splice Media, who have made this community possible. This year, I also found another Sifter counterpart based in Nepal – Kalam Weekly run by Pranaya Rana – check his newsletter out here (remember Vietnam Weekly from last year?).
Finally, on Trump winning. Earlier this year, I collaborated on an investigative story for New Internationalist, on abortion rights and services in Ethiopia. The story looked at how much progress had been made in the country in terms of maternal mortality, because of a liberal abortion law (‘an outlier in the region’), and how anti-abortion campaigners were looking to roll this back, backed by funds coming from anti-rights groups in the US.
With Trump winning – and possibly implementing the global gag rule – ‘a policy that prohibits foreign NGOs that receive US funding from providing abortion services’ – this could mean millions could lose access to these life-saving services. You can read the full story here.
As I was reading Ken White’s blog on tips he’s giving his fellow Americans on how to deal with Trump’s win, I can’t help but think that we’ve long been implementing these strategies to keep going in Ethiopia (“Believe Unapologetically” in particular is my mantra.) You can read his blog here, and tell me if any of this is new to you (fellow Ethiopians).
To new subscribers, welcome!
My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.
Now, to the news.
Labor rights: 17 months with no salary
The Tigray Teacher’s Association is taking the region’s interim administration and the Ministry of Finance to court over unpaid salaries of teachers.
The Association says that the region’s administration diverted, ‘five months’ worth of federal salary funds for other uses instead of paying teachers’ according to a story by Addis Standard.
The Ministry of Finance is accused of withholding 12 months of salary, ‘despite repeated appeals from the teachers.’
Here’s an excerpt from the story on the case against the Ministry of Finance:
The unpaid salaries are part of a broader context of challenges stemming from the two-year Tigray war, which has affected every sector in the region, including education. Many teachers report continuing their work throughout the war, often under extreme conditions, teaching in makeshift classrooms or even under trees.
The case, scheduled for a hearing next week, includes payroll documentation of more than 45,000 teachers across the region.
The full story on Addis Standard, here.
Law: another ‘controversial’ proposal
Back in June, I had written an update when a flurry of new legislation was being tabled to parliamentarians – laws on immigration, communication, assets recovery. The fear then was these new laws ‘could limit rights on the freedom to movement and encroach on the mandate of courts’.
Last week, parliamentarians were debating one of these laws – the draft asset recovery law. Asset recovery ‘involves the confiscation of illicit assets, usually, the proceeds of crime, and the return of these assets to the legitimate owner’, and the government says that this law is aimed at curbing financial crimes and those doing this.
However, the concerns around this new law are varied. It grants the Ministry of Justice, ‘sweeping powers to trace, investigate, and seize assets acquired through “unexplained means”’.
Here’s an excerpt from a story by Addis Fortune:
Most controversially, the bill proposes measures allowing investigators to bypass privacy laws, including accessing bank accounts and emails without a court order. It also outlines provisions for undercover operations and international collaboration in asset recovery.
Another is that the Ministry will be dealing with the ‘asset seizure and administration’, giving it ‘control over both the investigation and asset management’.
What are the other concerns? ‘The lack of compensation for wrongful seizures and the potential disruption to legitimate economic activities.’
The story adds that the Ministry of Justice has ‘assured legislators that human rights would be safeguarded’.
Last month, changes were also proposed to the country’s media law.
The full story on Addis Fortune, here.
Security: we don’t know her (XXXIII)
The conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara region started last year in August and has since been a cause of serious human rights violations. I have a list of chronologically arranged updates here, and one update in October included the arrest of hundreds of residents in the region, including members of the academic community.
This ‘arbitrary mass detention of thousands in the Amhara region must end’, says the latest statement from Amnesty International. Amnesty’s team says that four makeshift detention camps were built in the region since the end of September to hold civilians who were arrested, at times without a warrant or an explanation.
Here's an excerpt:
An individual that served in the justice system for decades said, “I’ve never experienced or witnessed this level of lawlessness in my nearly 30 years of service in the justice system”.
They added, “Previously, even with instances of illegal detention, people would be brought to court within a day or two. Detainees were at least told who was responsible for their detention, even if the reasons were fabricated. Now, no one knows who ordered the arrests or releases.
The authorities are calling these detentions, ‘rehabilitative trainings’.
The full statement by Amnesty International, here.
Human rights: trust is non-existent
I have written a more detailed post about Ethiopia's Transitional Justice Policy before – you can go here to read about this mechanism ‘meant to deal with the injustices of the country’s past.’ The post looked at whether the Policy was participatory in its inception, as well as the role of different actors in its implementation, including civil society and the international community.
The Transitional Justice Policy is facing many challenges, with the ‘government’s commitment to accountability’ being one of them.
Here’s an excerpt from a story on The Guardian that draws a parallel with the war in the Tigray:
During the conflict, the government cut Tigray’s phone lines and officials downplayed or denied accusations its forces and allies committed abuses. Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopia’s military, but Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, denied their presence for months. The ministry of justice says it has carried out investigations but has released little information about findings, raising fears the transitional justice process will be similarly opaque.
International experts are involved in this transitional justice process only in the capacity of advisors and capacity builders, a move that could be a continuation of the government’s ‘outright resistance to any international oversight, scrutiny, and transparency.’
The full story on The Guardian, here.
Corruption: selling food aid for profit
The audit report about how much food aid was stolen at Ethiopia’s National Disaster and Risk Management Commission in 2022, was presented to parliamentarians last week.
The results? The audit investigation says half a billion birr worth of food aid was distributed fraudulently to fabricated recipients by the Commission’s former head and several other employees, according to a story by The Reporter.
Here's an excerpt from the story:
The audit investigation also found that the officials sold wheat flour worth 107.8 million birr to flour mills. They diverted the aid wheat to mills and benefited individually,” reads the document.
There are various ways public resources continue to be misused including, ‘insurance fund collection and usage, the approval and collection of private loans, budgeting for public projects, construction, educational licensing and accreditation, and right of way compensation.’
Parliamentarians had asked for a ‘crackdown on corruption’ in July this year when Ethiopia’s Auditor General presented her report, which ‘unearthed unprecedented financial mismanagement.’
The full story on The Reporter, here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
In the meantime, feel free to share this with anyone you think can benefit from keeping up with what’s going on in Ethiopia.
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You are so brave. 😭 I just can't imagine this level of anxiety and fear. I hope your sister is okay. 🫶🏻