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INSIDE AFRICA
Ethiopia Celebrates New Millennium; Interview With President of Liberia
Aired September 15, 2007 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FEMI OKE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Femi Oke. This is "INSIDE AFRICA," your weekly look at life and issues on the continent. In the show today. Oh, that was quite a party. Ethiopia celebrates the millennium. Yes, you heard it right; the year 2000 has just arrived there. We'll explain why it took so long.
Also, ahead -- thousands of Liberians living in the United States win a reprieve. We talked to Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf about her efforts to keep them from being sent home and from the mean streets.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're trying to get something to smoke (ph), you're trying to get some money (inaudible), drugs and drugs, crime, drugs, crime.
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OKE: To a hot stove. A former gang member shows how cooking and the program started by the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver put him on the right path.
But we begin in Ethiopia, where revelers saw in the new millennium with what can only be described as an extravaganza. Robyn Curnow has more.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The rest of the world celebrated the millennium more than seven years ago, but Ethiopia marked the year 2000 on September the 12th this year. And like any new year, the people partied.
The celebrations included a concert in the capital Addis Ababa, where U.S. pop group Black-Eyed Peas joined the lineup of Ethiopian stars. So the price of tickets was well beyond the reach of the average Ethiopians.
Billed as a uniquely African occasion, the festivities were a chance to forget the troubles in the Ogaden, where a revolt is brewing, and the quagmire in neighboring Somalia, where thousands of Ethiopians soldiers are supporting the transitional government. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi focused on the fresh start a new millennium offers.
MELES ZENAWI, ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): A thousand years from now, when the Ethiopians welcome the four millennium, they shall say that the eve of the third millennium was the beginning of the end of the dark ages in Ethiopia. (inaudible) eve of the third millennium was the beginning of the Ethiopian renaissance.
CURNOW: Many Ethiopians from around the globe returned home to join in the celebrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm celebrating something that comes once in a 1,000 years, and which is unique to Ethiopia. This generation is a lucky generation to get the chance to see the millennium.
CURNOW: Ethiopia is the only country in the world that still follows the ancient Orthodox Coptic calendar, which is seven years behind the more commonly used Gregorian calendar.
But for Ethiopia's Muslim population, some 40 million people, the celebrations didn't mean much. But for the rest of the country, this was the beginning of a new era.
Robyn Curnow, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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OKE: Ethiopia is almost eight years behind most of us, because it follows a version of the Julian calendar which was used in Europe until the year 1582, and that was the year that Pope Gregory ordered a revision that led to the creation of the Gregorian calendar, which is the current standard in most countries. Ethiopia's main religions, the Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, chose to keep their own calendar. They believe it correctly reflects that Jesus was born 2,000 years ago. The Ethiopian calendar contains 12 30-day months, plus a 13th month that usually lasts five days -- that's my kind of working month. In leap years, the 13th month contains six days. So now you know, I'll be testing you later.
Here's a quick look at some of the headlines on the continent this week.
Sudan's president says he's willing to start next month's Darfur peace negotiations in Libya with a cease-fire. Omar al-Bashir made the comments during a visit to Italy, where he met with the prime minister and the pope. A top Sudanese rebel leader has refused to negotiate until a cease-fire is in place.
Human Rights Watch says Central African Republic soldiers have massacred hundreds of civilians since the middle of 2005, forcing scores to flee their homes. A new report says the elite presidential guard is behind most of the killings, but it says rebels and bandits are also responsible. Human Rights Watch says the worst violence happens near the CAR's north- eastern border with Sudan.
Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo are trying to contain the country's first major Ebola outbreak in 12 years. The hemorrhagic fever has killed at least five people, and disease experts are investigating more than 160 deaths. Ebola is fatal in 50 to 90 percent of cases.
Opposition challenger Ernest Koroma appears headed to victory in Sierra Leone's presidential run-off. His All People's Congress had already won a majority in the parliament in the first round of voting.
Many Sierra Leoneans are dissatisfied with the country's slow pace of progress. As Nick Valencia reports, corruption and extreme poverty are among the biggest problems facing the next administration.
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NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are tense times in Sierra Leone. An outbreak of political violence just days before the second round of voting for president, triggering painful memories. It's the nation's first election since the departure two years ago of United Nations peacekeepers, who helped restore order after a vicious civil war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But before the first round, things were relatively peaceful. It was between the first round and the second round that we saw outbreaks of violence. A lot of people were very nervous about that, even on election day.
VALENCIA: Election day itself was generally orderly and peaceful, and the vote is ultimately being seen as a success, despite reports of some voting irregularities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were problems, but most international observers including the E.U. say overall the election was fair enough, and they don't believe these problems will be serious enough to effect the outcome of the election.
VALENCIA: Analysts say the very fact that this presidential election resulted in a run-off is an indictment of the perceived lack of progress achieved by the government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Future politics (inaudible) and need to take their responsibility seriously, because if they don`t, then the people will hold them accountable.
VALENCIA: Whoever takes hold of the reins of power has a long to-do list. Wracked by 10 years of civil war, this country of 5 million is struggling with 70 percent unemployment and a crumbling infrastructure. Reliable electricity and water are a distant dream for many.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People say they want change (ph), and they're very, very passionate about that. And so I think they'll be looking and waiting to see what the new administration is going to do.
VALENCIA: The big question now is this: Will the losing side peacefully accept the outcome and allow this country to continue its long and painful recovery from a decade of civil war?
Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
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OKE: Now, here is a look at some of the "iReport" images we've received this week. Thank you to Seth Anayaru (ph), who sent in these photos of floods in Maiduguri in Northeast Nigeria. My colleague at the Nigeria Met Office tells me the storms usually originate in Sudan and get stronger as they move further towards the north. And floods hit Nigeria every year, but this year they've been especially severe. The forecast is for much better conditions as the rain eases off.
If you have a picture-story you'd like to include on INSIDE AFRICA, please send us your photos or videos from the continent. Just go to CNN.com/INSIDEAFRICA, and click on the "iReport" section.
Aid workers in eastern Congo struggle to cope with the rising tide of displaced people. Ahead on INSIDE AFRICA -- fighting drives thousands from their homes and raises fears of a wider conflict.
And a young South African finds his passion and a much brighter future in the kitchen. See you on the other side.
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OKE: Hello again. From the Democratic Republic of Congo comes a sad reminder of the (inaudible). Four years after a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government, the threat of conflict still hangs over the heads of many Congolese. Fergal Ryan reports.
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FERGAL RYAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are the latest victims. Each and every day, many flee across the border to Uganda. Others swell the ranks at camps like this one, run by the United Nations. Their harried faces evidence that Congo's 2003 peace deal is still a work in progress, in constant danger of slipping back into bitter conflict.
These displaced people are fleeing the latest fighting in North Kivu province.
JENS HESEMANN, U.N. REFUGEE OFFICE: The humanitarian situation in North Kivu has deteriorated. After fighting in the Masisi area, we see hundreds of new displaced marching towards Goma.
RYAN: Rebels loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda are challenging the Congolese army. The general claims the government in Kinshasa is unwilling to confront Rwandan Hutu rebels, who fled to Congo in 1994. They say civilians are being deliberately targeted, leaving them with no option but to flee. More than 30,000 people now live at this camp in squalid conditions.
NDONI SANA, DISPLACED WOMAN (through translator): We didn't have any time to pack anything by the time we saw the soldiers on the hill. We had to flee, and we could only get the children together and some clothes and a few cooking pots.
RYAN: Women are often the ones who suffer most.
NTAKEBUKA WILELMINE, VOLUNTEER AID WORKER (through translator): The problem that we now have is the problem of rapes and violence against women, and instability. We met several women who have lost husbands and have a lot of difficulties, because they don't even have housing.
RYAN: Until recently, most war displaced were absorbed by the local communities. But as the numbers needing shelter continues to grow, space has simply run out.
HESEMANN: The (inaudible) can't cope anymore. They don't have any more food to share, any more space to share in their own houses. So people have to revert to sites like this, where they live under very crowded situation.
RYAN: What little hope there is, rests with these recruits. Indian and Pakistani trainers are working under United Nations mandate to provide skills in basic soldiering and human rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're sitting covered behind in front .
RYAN: A solution to the daily misery of tens of thousands depends largely on the political will in Kinshasa. And perhaps on how well these men learn the military and humanitarian lessons now being taught. But as observers fear a third Congolese war, the reality for these children is the food bowl may well stay empty for some time yet.
Fergal Ryan, CNN, Atlanta.
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OKE: The U.S. president has granted a reprieve to more than 3,500 Liberians who have been facing deportation from the United States. George W. Bush issued an executive order extending their temporary protected status by 18 months. That status had been due to expire on October the 1st.
Mr. Bush's order followed a personal appeal by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. I asked her about her efforts to prevent the deportations.
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PRES. ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF, LIBERIA: Those who enjoy a temporary protected status, the numbers we have right now -- 3,600 -- not such a large number. Numbers that we really will be able to absorb in a about a year or two. They can then strengthen their own abilities and capacities. We will be ready to absorb them.
OKE: There are going to be many Liberians living here in the United States, who are feeling ready in the next couple of years to come back to Liberia. This may well be the first time that they have to leave on October the 1st. What would you say to them, Madam President, to get them ready to prepare to come back and help the country?
JOHNSON-SIRLEAF: I think I will say to them to come and know that you will not meet the conditions at home perhaps as fully in the United States or elsewhere. But you'll find in a year or so that we have the basic services that you can enjoy, that you can expect that you will make some sacrifice, but that we expect to be nationalistic, and to make some sacrifice. But you'll also come and you will reach a far greater potential, socially economically and politically, because (inaudible), and because you (inaudible), just being -- you know, just being a citizen of another country or resident of another country, which is not your country of origin.
And so, we believe also that they want to be a part of this renaissance that's going on. They want to be able to say, I was there when Liberia was transformed, you know, from a failed state in a state of chaos, to a place of progress and a place of prosperity. And I think there is a lot of value to that, too.
OKE: And for our international viewers who are looking at this, perhaps a little bit of paperwork that's happening somewhere in the United States between the United States and Liberia. What's the international significance of what you've managed to achieve in the last few days?
JOHNSON-SIRLEAF: Oh, I think what it does say is that if you do have people of other countries in the United States that are making major contribution, and if they are -- they have good relationships with their government, which is promoting and supporting them, that the difficulties that they face can certainly be resolved. And if their countries are on good relationships with the United States, as Liberia is, in fact, we can work toward protecting our citizens wherever they are.
OKE: And finally, Madam President, in terms of your specific influence that you have with the United States, is this a continuing of that great relationship between Liberia and the U.S.?
JOHNSON-SIRLEAF: Yes, I hope so, and I'm very pleased that we have a good relationship with the United States and it's bipartisan. We have a good relationship with the administration and with the Congress. We get support from them in so many ways. And I think that's good for Liberia historically. The United States is our prime partner. We'd like to -- we'd like to maintain that, while at the same time we continue to promote and deepen our partnership with other countries and other places.
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OKE: That was Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Still to come on INSIDE AFRICA -- a former gang member finds all the right ingredients to make a better life. Get the recipe after the break.
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OKE: Good to see you again on INSIDE AFRICA.
A young South African's journey of self-discovery has taken him from the streets to the kitchen. He's traded in his gang membership and dim prospects for chef's hat and a home and a promising career. Isha Sesay has his story.
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ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zimasile Mzamo used to live on the mean streets of Capetown, but now this 22-year old is at home in the kitchens of one of South African's plushest hotels. After years of drifting, Zimasile says he has finally found his calling.
ZIMASILE MZAMO, CHEF IN TRAINING: I know everything about cooking. (inaudible) I was working, I never like (inaudible) something that I love. (inaudible).
SESAY: Yet getting to this destination haven't been easy for him. Growing up in Cailicha (ph), South Africa's second largest township, Zimasile had an unhappy childhood. His parents split up. He lacked adult supervision, and got mixed up with a rough crowd.
MZAMO: It is (ph) something interesting to join a gang and (inaudible) no mom, nobody can say, come here, what time are you getting to school and stuff, you know?
SESAY: (inaudible) on the street, then home. His life began revolving around drugs, alcohol and crime.
MZAMO: That is no life. (inaudible) something to smoke (ph), and try to get some money (inaudible), drugs and crime, drugs, crime, drugs, crime.
SESAY: But throughout his seven years on the street, Zimasile says he was yearning for a better life. In 2005, his path crossed with My Life, a Capetown-based non-profit organization that works with young homeless people.
Its founder Lindsay Thomas (ph) became a second mother to Zimasile, encouraging his enthusiasm to be a chef. My Life has links with British chef Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation, which aims to inspire disadvantaged youth to lead productive lives through cooking.
Zimasile's flair and passion for food made him an idea candidate to spend three months at Oliver's famous school in London. When he got home, he won (inaudible) to attend the Culinary Academy in Capetown.
And now, as well as studying full-time, he's working at the Bay Hotel, alongside renowned chef Mone Bota (ph).
Zimasile says he can hardly believe how much his life has changed. He now has a place to call home, and a future to look forward to. Life is good, but Zimasile says this is only the beginning.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Johannesburg.
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OKE: That's a great story. Thanks very much, Isha.
CNN has created a way for you to impact your world. Just visit cnn.com/impact, and there you'll find CNN stories and links to charitable organizations working to solve a variety of problems around the world. So once again, just go to cnn.com/impact.
And that's it for this week's show. I'm exhausted, I can't believe it. We leave you now with the sights and sounds of Ethiopia's millennium celebrations. I have to say one more time, magamadiz amet (ph). Happy new year.
I'm Femi Oke. Take care.
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