Friday, September 30, 2011

Sedro-Woolley couple charged with Ethiopian child death

A Sedro-Woolley couple denied food to a 13-year-old adopted daughter who died in May at home, Skagit County prosecutors said Thursday in filing homicide by abuse charges. A Sedro-Woolley couple denied food to a 13-year-old adopted daughter who died in May at home, Skagit County prosecutors said Thursday in filing homicide by abuse charges. Larry and Carri Williams were arrested Thursday and jailed, with bail set at $500,000, the Skagit Valley Herald reported ( http://bit.ly/nf8Ota). Hana Williams, who was adopted in 2008 from Ethiopia, lived in a closet, and some people who know Carri Williams said she regretted the adoption, court papers say.
The couple also was charged with first-degree child assault for allegations they abused Hana's 10-year-old brother who was adopted with her. Early May 12, Carri Williams called 911 and reported Hana was not breathing, saying the girl had refused to come into the house. She was found face down in the backyard with mud in her mouth. An autopsy found she died of hypothermia, but malnutrition and a stomach infection were contributing factors. In July, the Williams' remaining seven children were placed into foster homes. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

Alecto Starts Gold Exploration in Ethiopia

Alecto Minerals plc, the AIM listed resource company, announced today that it had started exploration programmes on its 1,953 sq km gold exploration licence in a mineral-rich region of Ethiopia. The company’s key focus has been on advancing its 1,953 sq km gold licence in the Aysid-Metekel region of north western Ethiopia, Damian Conboy, managing director of Alecto, said. Alecto acquired the 1,953 sq km gold exploration licence in May which marked its move into the Arabian-Nubian shield on the Western Akobo Greenstone belt, a prime mineralised region with extensive artisanal workings. Gold exploration activities in Ethiopia have increased substantially with both foreign and local companies involved in the sector. Alecto’s license is approximately 50 km north and north east respectively of the Towchester and Brantham tenements owned by AIM and ASX quoted Nyota Minerals Limited. In addition, the Fiti skarn gold deposit, discovered by MIDROC Gold Mine plc, owner-operator of the Lege Dembi gold mine in southern Ethiopia, is about 80 km away. Alecto recently completed an initial reconnaissance exploration programme including regional stream sediment, soil and rock chip sampling. It is now compiling and analysing the data, alongside results from reconnaissance work carried out by the previous owners, in order to establish a staged exploration campaign appro
priate to the geology of the region.
 Source: Mineweb

Arrested: Parents of adopted Ethiopian girl who died in rain, cold


Hana Grace-Rose Williams came to Washington state from Ethiopia in 2008 with ringworm, cold sores, parasites and hepatitis B. But none of those things killed her. Instead, Skagit County authorities say, 13-year-old Hana died because her adoptive parents chronically starved her, abused her and left her outside on a cold May night with inadequate clothing. On Thursday, more than four months after her death from hypothermia, Carri and Larry Williams, of Sedro-Woolley, were arrested and charged with homicide by abuse in connection with the death of their adopted daughter. They remained in the Skagit County Jail Thursday night on bail of $500,000 each. Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich said in charging papers the couple engaged in a pattern of assault or torture on Hana. The couple repeatedly denied her food, locked her in a dark closet and beat her with a long plastic tube, according to an affidavit from the Skagit County sheriff's office. They also made her sleep in a barn, shower outside with a garden hose and even sit outside while the family celebrated Christmas inside. If guests came over, the affidavit says, Hana was allowed to sit at the table but was given only bread to eat. Hana lost nearly 30 pounds in the last two years of her life, and her thinness meant her body wasn't able to retain enough heat that night in May, according to an autopsy report. Hana died May 12 when the temperature dipped to 42 degrees. A report on her death concluded she'd died from "a culmination of chronic starvation caused by a parent's intentional food restriction, severe neglect, physical and emotional abuse and stunning endangerment." Hana had been adopted through an international agency in 2008 along with a 10-year-old boy, also from Ethiopia. Prosecutors on Thursday also charged the adoptive parents with assault of a child in the first degree in connection with their treatment of the 10-year-old boy. The boy is deaf, according to court documents. Both children were treated differently from the couple's six biological children, who ranged in age from 7 to 17, documents allege. For instance, both were disciplined for being "rebellious," one family member told investigators. 


Ethiopia Buys New Pilot Training Aircraft


The Ethiopian Airlines bought yesterday two, new Diamond DA42 Twin Star, twin engine, propeller-driven airplanes manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries. The airplanes, which will be used in training new pilots, were bought for 550,000 euro each. In addition to the previous ten single engine pilot training aircraft, the two DA42 Twin Star planes will upgrade the performance of the trainees, Beza Tesfaye, fleet planning manager of Ethiopian, said. The new light training aircraft are technologically more advanced than the Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft which served the Ethiopian Airlines for over two decades. The newly bought Diamond DA42 planes will have a great role in improving the training especially for new pilots, Captain Lemma Tekalegn, head of the Pilot Training School, said. The new Diamond DA42 training aircraft will replace the old Piper PA-34 Seneca. The investment will enable Ethiopian upgrade the on-going training of pilots. The pilot Training School of Ethiopian Airlines recently started a Multi Crew Pilot License Training Programme which enables pilots to fly a multi crew, multi engine and technologically advanced aircraft. The Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy has been providing training programmes for pilots, aviation maintenance technicians, cabin crew and marketing and financ

e personnel since 1956.
 Source: The Ethiopian Herald

Jolie's Zahara 'in tears' after ear piercing


Angelina Jolie has been criticised for getting her six-year-old daughter's ears pierced. Zahara - who was adopted from Ethiopia - is said to have burst into tears during the procedure at a salon close to where the family are staying in South-West London. Jolie's five-year-old daughter Shiloh was also going to have her ears pierced, but when she saw her sister's distress she decided against it. Because Zahara is under 16, Jolie had to sign a parental consent form for the piercing. The treatment was priced at £10 (NZ$20), but the cost to Jolie's image could be a lot higher. Mothers immediately took to social networking sites to attack the star. One user called Misty, from Surrey, wrote: "To stick a needle in a young child's ears for the benefit of pleasing the parent (not the child, she hasn't asked for it) is abuse." Anna Collins added: "There are few things I find trashier than little babies with pierced ears. They're people, not little dolls. "Piercing a child's ears because YOU think it's cute is irresponsible and cruel if you ask me." The controversy comes just days after a report revealed hundreds of youngsters have been to hospital with infections after their parents encouraged them to wear earrings. In a report for the Scottish Medical Journal, child casualty specialist Dr Diana Macgregor of the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital said she saw 52 children with painful problems caused by ear piercing in a single year. She urged parents to wait until their children were at least 15 before allowing them to have their ears pierced. She said: "Not only can it be a terrifying experience for infants but there are dangers of serious infection. "Infants are too young to make any decisions about piercing and parents should wait till their child is old enough. Infections occur because the children are too young to clean or care for the pierced sites." Jolie - a mother of six - is staying in Richmond with her children while partner Brad Pitt films zombie thriller World War Z in numerous locations across Britain.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz

Forget hamsters and rabbits... this school’s pet is CHEETAH!

SCHOOL pets are often cuddly, cute and easily kept in a small cage in the classroom. Hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs are often the traditional choice. But in Hucknall, the National Church Of England Academy has taken a left-field walk on the wild side. For one of its ‘houses’ has adopted a cheetah! The pupils at the Annesley Road school have joined forces with the world-renowned Born Free Foundation, which offers the chance to help safeguard endangered animals and keep them in their natural habitats. The group from National have adopted Menelik — a baby cheetah who was found tied up by string in a shop in Ethiopia and suffering from a combination of health problems, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and dehydration. Luckily, he was rescued and is now living at a 77-hectare Born Free reserve 30 kilometres from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. National has signed up to an initial year-long adoption but hopes to continue supporting Menelik, who is named after a famous Ethiopian emperor. Money paid by the school will go towards funding his daily food and care. Kevin Barnett is the tutor of York 4 at National, which is the name of the ‘house’ responsible for adopting Menelik. He said: “Other groups were doing various things for charity, such as cake sales. We wanted to do something different and had spoken about getting a pet. The adoption of Menelik seemed like the perfect opportunity.” Born Free’s head office is based in the UK. The organisation was originally formed in 1984 by actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who starred in the 1966 film ‘Born Free’. The Born Free Foundation was officially launched in 1998 as an umbrella organisation to encompass various campaigns to protect endangered wildlife. One of those campaigns is in aid of big cats, such as cheetahs and lions. Other initiatives include the protection of primates, whales, elephants and bears.
http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Reggae pioneer of the Ethiopians Leonard Dillon dies

SIXTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Leonard Dillon of the Ethiopians passed away yesterday at his daughter's home after suffering from lung and prostate cancer. According to his daughter, Patrice, he was first diagnosed with a brain a tumour and he did an operation in February to remove it, returning home "quite well and okay". In June, he fell ill again and this time he was diagnosed with lung, brain and prostate cancer. His daughter says her dad was in the hospital for a week before he was eventually sent home. Commenting on her father's death, Patrice says: "I was prepared, when I found him this morning, I knew I saw my dad for the last time. I am just happy that he died here. He will be missed, I know it will take one day at a time to go on," she said about the father of seven who has always been there for her. He could be aggressive at times to us kids, but there was no doubting his love for us," said Patrice. Singer Lloyd Parks found out about his friend's death after getting a phone call from a promoter in Australia wanting Dillon to perform. He contacted Patrice intending to pass on the information when he got the shocking news. Commenting on his colleague's death, Parks said Dillon will be missed. "He was really talented and had great ideas. A lot of people might not know it, but he was a cornerstone internationally." Parks shared that Dillon was a humorous person and always had him cracking up. According to the bio posted on Dillon's Facebook page: The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's most influential vocal groups. The duo, which featured Leonard Dillon and Stephen Taylor, was at the forefront of the transition from ska to rocksteady. Moreover, Dillon's style and use of Rastafarian-themed lyrics also paved the way for the socially conscious roots reggae era. In 1964, Dillon met Peter Tosh, who admired his original material and introduced him to the other members of the Wailers. In turn, the Wailers brought Dillon to Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One, where he made his first recordings under the name Jack Sparrow. Since these first recordings, Dillon has gone on to record with the likes of Vincent Chin, Prince Buster, Joe Gibbs, Bob Andy, Rupie Edwards, and Lee "Scratch" Perry. In 2009, he returned to the studio with the legendary Jamaican vocal team The Silvertones to record his album Original Hitmakers From Jamaica, Volume 1: Leonard Dillon The Ethiopian. The Ethiopians were known for songs such as Hong Kong Flu, Fire Deh A Muss Muss Tail, Everything Crash, Nyah Nuh Want Nuh Baptism, and I'm Gonna Take Over Now.
www.jamaicaobserver.com

More refugees flee air raids in Sudan's Blue Nile State

Nairobi, Kenya - A fresh wave of air strikes in Sudan's Blue Nile State since last Wednesday has sent increasing numbers of refugees fleeing into Ethiopia. About 1,500 of the refugees poured through the Kurmuk border crossing last Friday alone.
The latest bombs reportedly fell Monday, a UNHCR news dispatch from Geneva, Switzerland, said 'With hostilities still ongoing, we expect the numbers to continue rising,' UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva, reporting that an estimated 25,000 Sudanese had found refuge in western Ethiopia since the influx started on 3 September. UNHCR and its partner agencies launched a formal appeal for funds Tuesday to help refugees fleeing into western Ethiopia from Blue Nile State. The joint appeal by UNHCR, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the International Organization for Migration amounts to some US$ 18.3 million and is intended to help up to 35,000 refugees. UNHCR's share of this requirement is US$ 10 million. At the Kurmuk border point, refugees said they had fled fighting around Damazine, the Blue Nile State capital, and had walked for up to a week to reach safety. More recent arrivals are coming with beds, televisions and their goats – suggesting they may anticipate a long exile. 'Most of the refugees are staying in local communities around Kurmuk,' Edwards said in Geneva, adding: 'Many are sleeping in the open, presenting increased risk of illness and disease. An additional concern is the safety of refugees in villages near Kurmuk, because of the area's proximity to locations in Sudan, where bombing is ongoing.' UNHCR and Ethiopia's Government Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs are trying to relocate refugees to Sherkole camp, some 50 kilometres to the southeast, where they can get basic services and better protection. So far, more than 3,000 people have been moved and the pace of relocation is expected to increase. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is helping transfer refugees and their belongings to Sherkole. With more refugees arriving, the Ethiopian Government has allocated land to build two transit centres near the main border entry points. Farmatsore transit centre will accommodate approximately 3,000 new arrivals entering Ethiopia through the Kurmuk border and Adimazin transit camp -- near the Gizen border crossing -- will accommodate another 5,000 people. Another site, Tonga, is also being developed as a camp.

Ethiopia to Host International Tourism, Travel Fair



The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association said that it was organising an international exhibition of tourism and travel from June 14-18, 2012.
About 80 companies from 21 countries are expected to participate in the exhibition.  
The tourism and travel fair will be organized for the purpose of introducing Ethiopian tourist attractions to the international business community.
Countries that will participate in the fair include Britain, India, Sudan and Turkey.
Germany, one of the participants, will have sections on ecotourism, health tourism, travel tourism, tour operation, hotel and restaurant services, training and consultancy services pertaining to tourism, hiking companies and wild animal game companies according to Gashaw Abate, manager of the trade fair department at the Chamber.
In addition, it was reported that the Chamber would organise the 16th edition of Addis Chamber of Commerce International Trade Fair due to be held from February 23-29, 2012 under the theme Industrialization for Development and Transformation.
About 200 foreign companies from 25 countries and 300 local companies are expected to participate in the fair.
Source: Capital 

Famine in Horn of Africa highlights threats to global food security

Natural resources management, food prices and food safety on table for discussion By Julie Fortier While the media continue to show images of starving children in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia and governments and aid agencies renew their pleas for help, the solutions to help the drought-ridden region known as the Horn of Africa are far from simple. “From an emergency standpoint, yes, we can provide them with food but at the root of this famine is an organizational problem,” said Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill. “The farmers of those regions are nomadic and have depended on livestock for centuries. If the pastures are destroyed by drought and the animals are lost, then eventually they may have to look at the introduction of drought resistant crops to sustain themselves.” The famine in the Horn of Africa will be at the heart of the 4th McGill Conference on Global Food Security. David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, will be the keynote speaker at the opening public forum, where he will talk about the agency’s efforts to help more than 2.5 million children under five who are acutely malnourished and wasting away in that part of the world. Food security around the world – and in particular for the 800 million people living in the driest parts of the world – continues to face many threats, not only from the impact of climate change but also from the continuing volatility of food prices. “Though we did see a drop in food prices since 2008 [when the hikes grabbed much media attention], the prices have gone back up and are now higher than they were in 2008,” said Madramootoo. Speakers at this year’s conference – which again will see hundreds of delegates from around the world from international aid agencies, research institutes and industry gather at McGill – will address topics ranging from the sustainable management of natural resources and food safety to public-private partnerships and grassroots action (in a session organized by McGill students). Despite the multiplying challenges that can only come from a rapidly growing population, Madramootoo welcomes the increased recognition governments, aid agencies and even philanthropists have given to the global food situation by allocating more resources – financial and human – to try to develop solutions. “For many years, health or environment-related questions drew a lot of resources and international agencies, for example, did not recruit as many agricultural experts,” he said. “But lately there has been an increase in investments and in the willingness to rebuild agricultural expertise and the capacity to deliver agricultural programs.”

Lebanon Begins to Address Abuse of Domestic Workers

BEIRUT — Every year, promises of steady employment and wages higher than in their home countries draw hundreds of thousands of women from Africa and Asia to the Middle East for jobs as domestic workers. While they come to better their lives and those of the families they leave behind, many are met with a different reality: withheld paychecks, backbreaking hours, basic living conditions, confinement, and verbal, physical and sexual abuse. In Lebanon, abuse has been so prevalent in recent years that Ethiopia, the Philippines, Madagascar and Nepal — all major sources of domestic workers for the country — have set bans on their citizens traveling here for employment. While many of Lebanon’s estimated 200,000 domestic workers do encounter such abuses in the households where they are employed, there are also moves by organizations to address the problems facing domestic workers. On a recent Friday night, migrant workers from Africa and Asia joked with one another in English as they filed into a sparse, freshly painted room decorated only by a flat-screen TV playing a muted Bollywood film. They were arriving at one of the first meetings for Beirut’s new Migrant House, a Lebanese-funded, migrant-worker-run gathering spot in the city’s suburbs. “We wanted a safe, migrant-friendly place where migrants can simply meet and use the space as their office and headquarters to organize themselves with the help of Lebanese activists,” said Ali Fakhry, a spokesman for the Anti-Racism Movement, the Lebanese group of social activists responsible for funding the Migrant House. The ambition is to create an independent center where migrant workers can meet and organize in a country where foreigners are barred from unions and syndicates. 

Ethiopia’s Koren Yal Looking For Toronto Marathon Record


She says she’s fitter than she was last year.

Like many of her Ethiopian compatriots Koren Yal’s success in marathoning has been fueled by a desire for a better life. The 24 year-old returns to Toronto for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16th, chasing a fast time and another hefty pay check.  A year ago she finished 4th in this IAAF Silver Label race with a personal best time of 2:24:32 but claims she is ready for more.

“My fitness and preparation has been better than last year,” she said.  “My target will be to run my personal best, under 2:24, but to do it everything depends on the weather conditions and if I have a good pacemaker like last year.  I’m training daily under the supervision of my Ethiopian coaches, Gemedu Dedefo and Gebeyehu Berihun. They follow the technical advice and programs of an Italian coach, Gabriele Nicola.”

Yal says that the summer months constitute the rainy season in Ethiopia and for that reason they sometimes skipped either the evening or morning training session. Still, she has been consistently running 160 to 170 kilometers a week. The training group includes Aberu Kebede , Aselefech Mergia, Tirfe Tsegaye and Atsede Habtamu.  Habtamu was fourth at last Sunday’s BMW Berlin Marathon in a personal best 2:24:25.

They do most of their training on the roads around Sabata and Sendafa at altitudes of roughly 2,500m and sharpen up with speed training on the track inside the Ethiopian national stadium. Her 2011 form is apparent.

Already this year Yal has competed in two marathons. On January 16th she won the Mumbai Marathon in a new course record of 2:26:56 earning USD 36,000. Then on April 10th she finished 3rd in Paris with 2:26:56. Though she is well traveled she can’t say she enjoys the experience.

“Due to language problems (I speak little English) I have had a hard time traveling around the world,” she explained.  “It was quite stressful, but now I’ve more experience and feel comfortable while traveling.  I’d like to point out I was lucky enough that I never faced problems as some of my athlete friends did and I never spent the night lost around the world, waiting for the next flight, simply because they were not able to communicate and ask for help.”

Koren Jelila Yal grew up in a family of six children born to farmers in the Shewa area of Ethiopia. As a young girl she admired Derartu Tulu the two-time Olympic 10,000m champion and former London and New York Marathon winner.

“I have two brothers and three sisters,” she said.  “Nobody followed me into running, some are students and some are farmers.  Until now I did not win many races, not a top race. I hope I’ll do it in Toronto and I’m ready to organize a nice party with family and friends to celebrate this achievement and share my joy with them.”

Despite her young age Yal has much international experience. As a 20 year-old she represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombassa, Kenya finishing 19th in the senior women’s race. A year later, in Edinburgh, she finished 14th. But she realized that her future lay in road racing and not as a national team member.

Being a full time athlete means there is little time for anything but training, physiotherapy and rest. Yal concedes she likes to watch television or read a book when there is time to do so. Spending time with friends is also high on her list of pastimes. And there is another priority in her life.

“I’m engaged to Shumi Gerbaba (2:09:03 marathoner),” she revealed.  “I believe he understands my condition and feeling as athlete and this is great as life with an international level athlete is not always easy.”

Gerbaba won the 2011 Stockholm marathon and helps inspire his fiancé with his performances.

Yal knows that the Toronto course is conducive to fast running and she will also benefit from the fact the race is three weeks later than in past years.  If the competition develops, as it should, we can expect Yal to be in the thick of the battle.  Could a course record be in the offing? That would be something that Koren Yal would surely enjoy.
http://running.competitor.com

Ethiopian Maid absconds, alleging abuse by employers


Ethiopian housemaid Hawa Ali, 17, worked as a maid for an Emirati family in Dubai, but she ran away to escape the alleged torture


Dubai: The public prosecution is investigating the case of a housemaid who claims she was beaten up and had her hair shaved by her employers.
Ethiopian housemaid Hawa Ali, 17, worked as a maid for an Emirati family in Dubai, but she ran away to escape the alleged torture.
Hawa is under-age and according to the law cannot be employed as a maid, but she changed her age in her passport back home in order to come to the UAE to work and to support her family.
Police said the sponsor claimed the housemaid stole Dh30,000 from the house before she ran away and he filed an absconding case against her.
Police said the sponsor tried to sort out the issue by offering her Dh1,000 as two months' salary and another Dh500 as compensation for her hair loss, but the victim refused the offer.
Police said the sponsor then offered to pay the victim Dh10,000 to drop the case against him which she accepted and agreed to waive the case.
Police said the sponsor later changed his mind and took the compensation back from the police, saying he wanted the case to go to court.
"Now the case is being investigated by public prosecution," police said.
Start of ordeal
Hawa said her pain and agony started two weeks after she started working.
"The family also forcibly shaved my head and harassed me if I did not do enough work," she told Gulf News. Hawa said she was the sole maid in the house of this family where she spent two months before fleeing. "I used to work to serve the five family members and to wash their three vehicles every day.
"Two weeks after I joined work, only when my residence visa was stamped, the wife and the husband started torturing me," she said.
"They used to beat me with clothes hangers on different parts of my body. They used to call me "cow" and "stupid" in Arabic, and used to ask me to shut up every single moment," she alleged.
"If the wife saw dust any-where in the house she used to wipe it with her hand and put it on my face and slap me, and then used to call her husband to beat me," she said.
She said the day she escaped, the man asked her to clean two of his cars early in the morning while he was going to work.

London 2012 Olympics: Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie calls for earlier start to marathon


The great distance runner Haile Gebrselassie has called on London 2012 officials to consider the needs of marathon runners and bring forward the start time of the race at next year’s Olympic Games.
The Ethiopian, 38, said the proposed start time of 11am “was not good” and interfered with the normal routine of marathon athletes, who are used to very early starts.
“Nine in the morning is better for my routine,” he told Telegraph Sport.
“It is a television thing, but the organisers should do something. If I had a chance to chat to the organisers I would tell them to revise the time of the race because to run 42km is not easy.
“Athletes around the world train in the early morning, when we wake up we train and it should be that at the London Olympics we wake up and compete. Eleven am is not good.”
There has already been controversy over the London marathon route starting and finishing at The Mall, just outside Buckingham Palace, rather than at the Olympic stadium in Stratford.
Gebrselassie said the route was not a problem. “I just don’t like the start time of the race,” he added.
Gebrselassie still has to qualify for the Olympic marathon after withdrawing from last weekend’s Berlin race because he was suffering from the effects of asthma. He encountered breathing problems after 17 miles and withdrew five miles later.
Up until he was struck down, he had been driving the pace and the eventual winner, Kenya’s Patrick Makau, set a world record of 2hr 03min 38sec.
Gebrselassie knows he has to run a time of around 2-04 to qualify for London simply because of the strength in depth of distance running in Ethiopia. He hopes to achieve the mark at the Dubai marathon in January and once he has competed at the London Games, says he will return to the track.
Gebrselassie said he feels capable of running under 27 minutes for the 10,000 metres. Britain’s Mo Farah, who won a silver medal over that distance at the recent world championships, has run 26-46.57.
Talk of retirement, Gebrselassie insists, is premature, even though he announced at the New York marathon last November that he had finished with running.
“Sometimes you are out of control,” he said, adding that he had spoken in the heat of the moment because he wanted to return to his hotel rather than go to the finish line and speak to the media.
“That was the first time I had that kind of emotion, it was the first time I really thought about retirement.”
But he took advice from his friends, family and advisers and decided to continue competing, saying that “sport is addictive” – a message he passes on to 14 disadvantaged athletes around the world who are backed by his sponsor G4S.
“I talk to them and share my experiences and they laugh at my childhood,” he said. “I ran barefoot until the eighth grade, that is 14 years-old and when I first ran in shoes if felt strange, they made me [feel] heavy.
"They [G4S athletes] are very young, now, comparatively, they have everything.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Top 10 keywords: What do Ethiopians search for on Google?

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