10769
BBC Radio interviews professor on Libyan migrant shipwreck tragedy [PODCAST]
Last Thursday, Fort Lewis College's Associate Professor of Political Science Yohannes Woldemariam was an invited guest on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio 5 Live show, Up All Night, which covers news, politics, and cultural affairs from around the globe. Woldemariam weighed in on the trials and tribulations facing Africans who flee poverty-stricken, war-torn, and persecuted countries in search of a better life.
Woldemariam talked with Up All Night host Rhod Sharp about the desperate conditions in countries such as Eritrea, Syria, and Somalia. Last week, a vessel carrying more than 550 men, women, and children attempting to leave Libya for Italy capsized as it crossed the Mediterranean, killing at least 400 people.
“The political situation in the [Horn of African] countries that I’m familiar with — there isn’t much stability … governments are facing resistance from within,” Woldemariam told Sharp. “You look at all the countries of the Horn, there’re all kinds of insurgencies and governments commit human rights violations with impunity. There isn’t much future for the youth.”
Woldemariam was born in Eritrea, Africa, and raised in Ethiopia. He lived in Sudan as a refugee before resettling in the United States. He has provided expert opinion and information on Eritreans and Ethiopians in U.S. courts and currently researches refugee issues and political Islam. Woldemariam is involved with the International Refugee Rights Initiative. At Fort Lewis College, he teaches political science.
“It is good that the BBC covers these tragedies and helps raise awareness,” said Woldemariam after the interview. “Sadly, the American media is not as engaged. We need sustained engagement for politicians to take notice and respond. As members of the human family, such political cynicism should concern all of us. This is a human rights issue. It is an issue that won't go away and needs to be understood and addressed urgently.”
The April 16 interview is available in its entirety on the BBC website.