Stirling Castle skeletons date from independence wars

Nine skeletons were found at Stirling Castle by a team of archaeologists in 1997

Skeletons uncovered at Stirling Castle reveal the individuals were likely to have died during sieges of the castle during the Scottish wars of independence, experts believe.

Nine skeletons were found at the castle in 1997, inspiring a number of studies and theories about their origins.

Dr Jo Buckberry, a Bradford University battle trauma expert, believes they date from 1296 to 1357.
A talk is to be held at the castle to discuss her findings.

The nine skeletons, which have been broadly radiocarbon dated to the period of the conflict, consist of seven males, one female and a baby.

They were found by a team of archaeologists in the oldest part of the castle still standing, the royal chapel, dedicated to St Michael by King Alexander I in the early years of the 12th Century.

The skeletons had mostly suffered from blunt trauma injuries, with some showing evidence of malnutrition, consistent with periods when the castle was under siege.
Medieval battles

One male skeleton has more than 100 fractures, while the female skeleton has skull injuries consistent with being struck by a weapon such as a poleaxe or mace.

Dr Buckberry said: "The patterns of injury seen in the Stirling Castle skeletons is completely different to what we usually see in the medieval period, when most battles were fought hand-to-hand using swords and other weapons.

The skeletons were discovered at Stirling Castle

"They stand out as different to other skeletal populations associated with medieval battles."
Stirling Castle was besieged repeatedly during the wars of independence, changing hands a number of times between the Scottish and the English.

From the remains, scientists can not tell which side they fought for, although there is evidence they were of high status, given their rich diet and the fact they were buried inside the castle walls.

Dr Buckberry will be on hand at the castle on 24 and 25 May to discuss her findings as part of the Road to Bannockburn event, which includes recreations of military camps, weaponry demonstrations and a sword school.

Lorna Ewing, Historic Scotland's head of visitor experience, content and learning, said the research gave a "fascinating glimpse into castle life".

She said: "The discovery of the nine skeletons at Stirling Castle continues to teach us more about how people lived and died in the castle in the 13th and 14th Centuries.


"Dr Buckberry's ongoing research helps to bring history to life, offering fascinating details about everything from diet to injury and cause of death."

East Africa’s refugee crisis compounds Djibouti’s drought crisis

Source: British Red Cross Society - UK

Any views expressed in this article are those author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Driving out of , the capital of this small country in the , we join a huge convey of trucks heading south towards the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The trucks are so heavily loaded that they hardly move along the steep, winding road through the barren countryside. The containers on their trailers are full of goods for the Ethiopian market. Much of these supplies and merchandise will be taken to shops and retailers in the Ethiopian capital, , having found their way into Africa through the port of Djibouti.

Part of the cargo that has landed on the port is fresh food and aid for Djiboutians, who this year face yet another .

A combination of drought and high food prices has affected at least 120,000 people in Djibouti, according to a joint rapid assessment of the impact of drought in rural areas by the government of Djibouti, UN agencies and FEWS Net.

This is worrying news for the country’s rural poor who make 30 per cent of Djibouti’s 800,000 people population. Many rural Djiboutians have lost livestock and their coping mechanisms have progressively deteriorated due to recurring droughts in the past four to five years.

A desolate place

As I have witnessed during a visit to the township of Balabala on the outskirts of Djibouti City, many people in rural areas have had enough of the countryside woes and are moving to the capital. The lights in the city may be powered by imported electricity, but they still provide a glow that seems to offer an escape from the hardship of the village. Sadly, in most cases they only exchange one form of hardship for another.

Balabala is home to many of those who have come from rural areas. Most people are living in shacks made of anything they can get their hands on: cardboard, cloth, plastic sheeting, sticks and metal poles. Yet this burgeoning shanty town is patched dry due to water scarcity.

As the emigrants soon find out, water here is a bigger problem for many than it is back in their villages. The only source of water in Balabala is a government tanker that comes once a week with everyone’s ration.

The Djibouti Red Crescent this week distributed plastic barrels and other water storage equipment to the most vulnerable people in the township. The exercise was part of a joint effort between the organisation and the British Red Cross to support to this very vulnerable community.

Those receiving the equipment were selected by themselves including the elderly, the sick and the unemployed.

Refugees

Considered a least-developed, low-income food-deficit country and ranked 147th out of 169 countries in the 2010 UN Human Development Index, Djibouti also has top shoulder effects having instable neighbours.

The town of Ali Sabieh, about fifty miles South of Djibouti City is home to around 16,000 refugees mainly from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

According to official from the Djibouti Red Crescent society, some of the residents at the Ali Addeh have been here for more than twenty years. The organisation is trying - in an important way - to help people overcome the psycho-social problems of isolation and loneliness, which come with being refugees.

Through the Red Cross movement’s Restoring Family Links programme, refugees here are being provided a to help them contact their families around the world. The day I arrive at the camp, we witnessed someone from the camp speak to their family in America while another person spoke to family members in Sweden for the first time in a long while.

Together with other aid organisations, the Red Cross movement is also providing water, food and health care to refugees at Ali Addeh.


As we leave the camp, we hear news of the European Union agreeing the drilling of water boreholes in six different sites across the country, and hope for better times for Djibouti’s poor.

Ethiopian Airlines Management and Staff Visit the Grand Renaissance Dam

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - The fastest growing and most Profitable African Airline, Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce that its executive management and employees will visit the Grand Renaissance Dam from May 15-18, 2014.
The visit organized under the theme “we will complete what we have began” is planned with view to create awareness about this critical national and continental project and to show Ethiopian management and employees unwavering commitment to support the project, financially and in any other way, until its full completion.
“The Grand Renaissance Dam is the biggest infrastructure project in Africa. It is a special pride for not just Ethiopians but for the entire Africans. It is a testament to the will of the Ethiopian people to eradicate poverty through hard work and perseverance. It also clearly shows to those who had any doubts that the 21st century will be an Ethiopian and African century. As Ethiopian Airlines and personally as a citizen, it is a special privilege and honor to visit this historical and transformative project. It is our duty to continue to support both collectively and individually this critical project for the development of our country and the region until its full completion. We at Ethiopian Airlines pledge to continue to provide all our support to this project until it is fully completed.”, said CEO Tewolde Gebremariam of Ethiopian Airlines Group.
The Grand Renaissance Dam, when completed, will help the country in attaining 10,000 mega watts electricity generation capacity as per the country’s 5 year Growth and Transformation Plan. This will support the country’s and the region’s robust economic growth by serving as a critically essential energy source.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.
Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 80 international destinations across five continents.
Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
For more information about this press release, please contact:


Manager PR & Publications 
Ethiopian Airlines
Tel: (251-1) 517-84-07
Email: publicrelations@ethiopianairlines.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ethiopianairlines
Twitter: @flyethiopian

Life in Djibouti: how do you survive in a country with little rain?

Much of Djibouti is desert or mountains – ©IFRC/Charlie Musoka

Djibouti is not a nation blessed with an abundance of arable land – only 0.04 per cent of the country is suitable for agriculture. So how do people survive? On a recent visit to the East Africa nation, Paul Jenkins witnessed a number of challenges faced by Djiboutians and visited a refugee camp home to around 16,000 people.

This morning we drove out of Djibouti City, the capital of this small country in the Horn of Africa. We joined a huge convoy of trucks heading south towards the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The trucks are so heavily loaded they hardly move along the steep, winding road through the barren countryside.


The containers are full of goods for the Ethiopian market. Many of the goods that people buy in the stores in Addis will have found their way into Africa through Djibouti.

The city’s port is the lifeblood of this country, providing its biggest source of income and employment. Without the trade that the port brings, it’s hard to imagine how this country would survive.

With a population of around 800,000, Djibouti doesn’t face the challenges of a burgeoning population that confronts many African countries.

Yet for many Djiboutians, life is incredibly hard. Around 30 per cent of people still live in the countryside. How they survive is a mystery to me.

Life without rain

Looking out of the vehicle as we wind our way through the hills, it seems that only the numerous goats and camels could thrive in this environment. In fact, only 0.04 per cent of the country is suitable for agriculture.
Most of the country is desert or mountains. Amina Farah, who is accompanying me on my journey, tells me that there have been few periods of prolonged rainfall in Djibouti City in the last ten years.

Children play on an open football field in the middle of Balbala, Djibouti City – ©IFRC/KatherineBundraRoux

Amina works for the Djibouti Red Crescent and has seen first-hand how many people struggle to survive in this country.

People’s livelihoods in rural areas have traditionally been based on rearing small herds of goats and sheep, selling their milk and meat to survive. But this life is increasingly difficult.

Apart from a few fruits and vegetables, nothing is grown here in Djibouti. The trucks that pass us on our journey travelling in the opposite direction are returning from Ethiopia with the food that keeps this country fed.

Pasta, Djiboutians will tell you, is the national dish, probably made in a Chinese owned factory in Addis. The ubiquitous pylons that shadow our route carry the power generated in Ethiopia that keeps the lights on in Djibouti City.

Many people in rural areas have had enough of the struggle just to survive. As in so many other African countries, they are abandoning their villages and moving to the city.

The lights in the city may be powered by imported electricity, but they still provide a glow that seems to offer an escape from the hardship of the village. Sadly, in most cases migrants to the city only exchange one form of hardship for another.

Supplying water and barrels

Yesterday we visited the township of Balabala on the outskirts of Djibouti City. This area is home to many of those who have come from rural areas.

Most people are living in shacks made of anything they can get their hands on; cardboard, cloth, plastic sheeting and whatever else they can find.

The slums of Balabala, Djibouti City, where many pastoralists migrate in search of a better life – ©IFRC/Katherine Bundra Roux

Water here is a bigger problem for many than it was back in their villages. The only source is a government tanker that comes once a week to supply everyone.

To get the water, you need somewhere to store it. If you only have a few small buckets, that will be your water supply until the tanker comes again.

Yesterday was an important day for the township. The Djibouti Red Crescent was distributing plastic barrels and other water storage equipment to the most vulnerable people.

Water barrels being distributed by the Djibouti Red Crescent – ©BritishRedCross

The British Red Cross funded the support to this very vulnerable community. Those receiving the equipment were selected by the community themselves.

As always during these events, the scene appeared chaotic with lots of shouting and whistle blowing, and inquisitive children getting in the way of everything.

But eventually the barrels were all given to those selected, the crowd dispersed and the dust settled. Hopefully now some very poor people will at least have one less challenge in their unbelievably difficult lives.

Overcoming isolation and loneliness

Today we’re visiting the town of Ali Sabieh, about 50 miles from Djibouti City. The local Djibouti Red Crescent branch welcomed us and we travelled together to the Ali Addeh refugee camp.

The camp is home to around 16,000 refugees mainly from Somalia, but also from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Some of the residents have been here for more than 20 years.

©IFRC/Charlie Musoka

Many organisations are working in the camp, providing people with the necessities of life such as food, water and health care. I’ve visited many refugee camps and I’m always amazed by people just trying to get on with their lives.

People here are hundreds of miles from home, living in what seems to me to be a desolate place, yet they still try to live a normal life. You’re surrounded by people, yet it must be lonely, cut-off from many family members and friends.

The Djibouti Red Crescent is trying to help people overcome this isolation and loneliness. Through the restoring family links programme supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, they provide a mobile phone service to the refugees to help them contact their families.

One of the dedicated volunteers shows me the list of people who have used the service. “Today we’ve helped someone from the camp speak to their family in America. Another person spoke to family members in Sweden.”

What a difference this must make. Sweden and the Ali Sabieh camp seem worlds apart. But these volunteers have made them seem a little bit closer and for some people here, that makes a world of difference.

Paul Jenkins is head of partnership development at the British Red Cross. The blog post was written while on a visit to Djibouti at the start of May.

Why ‘Made in Ethiopia’ Could Be The ‘Next Made in China’

Workers at a factory in Hangzhou, China, making national flags for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

By Tom Gara

China’s was once known as cheapest factory floor on the planet, but in the last two decades its economy has transitioned to become one of the world’s most advanced industrial powers. That means someone else needs to start making all those shoes and sweatshirts, hence all those apparel companies in recent years moving their factories to Vietnam and other cheap spots throughout Asia.

And it’s not just Asia. China’s Huajian Group plans to invest up to $2 billion in Ethiopia in the next decade, turning the country into a shoe manufacturing base for exports to the U.S. and Europe. As the WSJ’s Peter Wonacott reports:

Mounting labor costs in China are part of what makes Africa so attractive. The average monthly wage for a low-skilled Ethiopian factory worker, for example, is about 25% of the pay for a comparable Chinese worker, according to the World Bank. As the wage gap widens between unskilled Chinese workers and their counterparts elsewhere in Asia and in Africa, as many as 85 million factory jobs could leave China in the coming years, according to former World Bank chief economist Justin Yifu Lin.

In addition to its pool of low-cost labor, Africa represents an enticing market for Chinese products manufactured on the continent. Africa is now home to six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund, and many African countries are reducing their dependence on extracting resources, such as oil, metals and gems.

Africa’s poor infrastructure and uneven distribution of skills erode its cost advantages, however. The World Bank study estimated that a Chinese worker making shirts, for example, could produce about twice as many per shift as an Ethiopian worker.

Chinese factory wages have been rising an average of 20% a year for the last decade, pushing low-cost manufacturers toward places where salaries are stagnant. Here’s a chart the WSJ put together last year:

And as China steps more prominently into Africa, what do its officials say in response to suggestions the country could act as a new form of colonial power? In an interview with the WSJ, Chinese ambassador to South Africa Tian Xuejun had little time for such claims:

Some media say China assists Africa only for the market and resources, and they talk about “neocolonialism,” but I say these kinds of criticisms are absurd. One reason is that they don’t know much about China-Africa cooperation. Another reason is maybe that they have other agendas.

China has assisted in the building of infrastructure, roads, bridges and railway stations. This has greatly improved the investment environment in many African countries. China has invested in manufacturing and sent agricultural experts to other countries. China also has helped to build many hospitals, schools and stadiums.

People are talking about neocolonialism but what is neocolonialism? People in Africa know very well about colonialism—this is about using gunfire to open the door to Africa to grab their resources. It is China who buys resources with a fair price under internationally recognized rules.

Sudan to export electricity to Eritrea

Photo/Sudanese Online

K. O. Peppeh 

The Government of Sudan has agreed to supply electrical power to neighbouring Eritrea during a visit by President Isaias Afwerki to Khartoum last week.

Reports indicate that work on the 45-kilometer transfer line between countries has already began. Online sources have revealed that the electricity power line is expected to have a capacity to transfer about 66 KV.

President Afwerki also discussed and entered agreements with President Omar al Bashir in other important areas including trade, border security and petroleum.
 
There are speculations that Sudan is set to also begin transferring fuel to Asmara. But according to a top Sudanese official present at the meeting, no agreement has been reached on this issue yet.

Last year, the Sudanese government signed a deal with Ethiopia that will see the former supply its neighbour 100 MW of electricity.

Ethiopia has also entered into similar deals with up to 6 other east African nations to supply them surplus power upon the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

US government to support efforts to strengthen Somali armed forces

 

 

The US government says it intends to increase its efforts towards the strengthening and rebuilding process of the Somali armed forces.

The US government wants to double its support to the Somali security agencies and the armed forces, according to US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Speaking at the US Department of State, Thomas-Greenfield said that Al Shabaab had been losing ground to the allied forces in recent months and that shows a sign of a weakening force.

She said that the government of the United States has been working with its partners in the Horn of Africa region on ways to eliminate Al Shabaab militant group from the region.

She hopes that the group will soon be defeated and promised that the US government will increase its humanitarian support to Somalia.

An appraisal of the ‘Dervish state’ in northern Somalia (1899-1920)

By Markus V. Hoehne

The Somali Dervish ‘state’ was related to the Dervish uprising, that shook the British Protectorate and other parts of northern and also partly southern Somalia between 1899 and 1920. A ‘state’ implies a minimum of centralised and institutionalised power (i.e., a government), a territory and a population. The Somali Dervish state indeed featured a clear centralised governance structure, with Sayid Mohamed Abdille Hassan on top. The Sayid (which is an honorary title; the British called him ‘Mad Mullah’) was surrounded by a group of trusted commanders and advisors who were members of the Dervish council (in Somali called khusuusi). Together, the Sayid and the council controlled the military units. Islamic judges had the task of upholding law and order among the Dervishes and their kin. But clearly, Mohamed Abdille Hassan had the power to take the final decision in all matters he deemed important. The Somali Dervish state never had a clearly demarcated territory.

The Dervishes operated between different temporary local centres (e.g., Aynabo, Buuhoodle, Eyl, Taleeh) in northern Somalia and, for a shorter period, had also stations in central Somalia such as Beledweyn. When confronted with superior colonial forces, their usual strategy was to retreat to the sparsely inhabited and arid hinterland. Also the population of the Somali Dervish state fluctuated. It consisted largely of the close patrilineal relatives and wives of the followers of Sayid Mohamed Abdille Hassan. Only temporarily did the Dervishes establish more permanent centres of power and ruled over larger areas. Therefore, it is appropriate to speak of the Somali Dervish movement/state.

Mohamed Abdille Hassan was the charismatic leader of the Dervish movement/state. He was a gifted poet, and Islamic scholar and a warrior. Born of an Ogadeen/Bah Geri father and a Dhulbahante/Ali Geri mother in the countryside near the village of Buuhoodle, in 1856 or in 1864 (Aw Jaamac 1976; Martin 2003 [1976]: 180), Mohamed grew up in a pastoral-nomadic environment (Aw Jaamac 1976: 3-5; Samatar 1982: 100). He then learned the Koran and became an itinerant sheikh (Somali: wadaad). In the 1890s Mohamed visited Mecca and Medina several times. He came into contact with Sheikh Mohamed ibn Salih in Mecca and joined his order, the Salihiya. Mohamed became a khalifa (initiator recruiting followers) for the order (Arabic: tariqa) in Somalia (Martin 2003 [1976]: 180; Aw Jaamac 1976: 6-7). The Salihiya belonged to the Islamic reform movements in the nineteenth century. Its teachings were inspired by the earlier ideas of ibn Taymiya (1262-1328) and Mohamed ibn Abdul-Wahab (1703-1792).

Read more: An appraisal of the ‘Dervish state

Markus V. Hoehne

Email:mhoehne@eth.mpg.de
University of Leipzig
Germany

MAGACYADA BILIHII IYO MAALMAHA REER SOMALILAND

Magacyada Bilaha Reer Somaliland:

1.                              Muxarram 

2.                             Safar  

3.                            Mawliid 

4.                           Rajal Hore 

5.                          Rajal Dhexe 

6.                         Rajal Dambe 

7.                    Sabbuux 

8.                      Waabariis 

9.                      Soon 

10.       Soonfur  

11.             Sadataal  

12.             Carafo.

Magacyada Maalmaha Reer Somaliland:

1. Sade = Sabti   

2. Carte = Axad  

3. Uguus = Isniin  

4. Agaax = Salaasa  

5. Agaal  = Arbaca 

6. Case  = Khamiis 

7. Lamme = Jimce.

Kuwa Kalena Waa La Sheegay Sida:

1. Koobin 

2. Laabin 

3. Labatakor 

4. Koodaar 

5. Hakis 

6. Hakis Bila

7. Sooroga

Macluumaadkan kor ku qoran waxan ka soo minguurinay websiteka http://aleel999.wordpress.com/baro-af-somaliga/magacyada-bilihii-iyo-maalmihiin-soomlida/, cidii wax ku kordhinaysa ama saxaysa waan soo dhawaynaynaa si jiilalkeena dambe u helaan xog sax ah oo ku saabsan sooyaalkii awoowyaashood.

African Union: Reject Immunity for Leaders

Johannesburg,  A proposal to give immunity to sitting government leaders before Africa’s regional court would be a major setback for justice for grave crimes, African organizations from 19 countries and international organizations with a presence in Africa said in a letter to African governments released today.
Justice ministers and attorney generals of African Union (AU) member countries are scheduled to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 15 and16, 2014, to consider a draft protocol to expand the authority of the African Court on Justice and Human Rights to include criminal jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. A proposal providing immunity for heads of state and senior government officials from prosecution for such crimes is being considered as part of the amended protocol.

“Exempting sitting heads of state and senior government officials from African Court jurisdiction on grave crimes would shield the powerful from the reach of the law,” said Sulemana Braimah, executive director of the Media Foundation for West Africa. “This is fundamentally at odds with the AU Constitutive Act, which rejects impunity.”

The consideration of the draft protocol comes at a time of intense opposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by some African leaders, particularly in the face of the ICC’s proceedings against Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who were later elected as Kenya’s president and vice president.

“Impunity remains one of the biggest threats to human rights protection in Africa,” said Thuso Ramabolu, human rights officer at Lesotho’s Transformation Resource Centre. “It’s crucial for people responsible for mass atrocities to face justice, irrespective of their official positions. Immunity poses grave alarm and would create an incentive to hold on to power indefinitely.”

International conventions, including the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 recognize the imperative of accountability for grave crimes irrespective of the title or position of those responsible. The irrelevance of official capacity before international criminal courts has become entrenched in international law since the post-World War II trials before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.

Immunity with respect to serious crimes is also barred before some domestic courts in Africa.

“Even domestic law in Kenya and South Africa bars immunity for sitting officials before domestic courts on grave crimes,” said Stella Ndirangu, program manager at the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists. “African governments should not roll back important progress in ensuring perpetrators can be held to account.”

Source: HRW