Listen to this week’s COVID, Race, & Democracy from Pacifica Radio:
The Ethiopian civil war came to an uneasy end in November 2022, with hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than 5 million displaced. It’s often called the Tigray War, although it took place in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar Regions, and people from all three regions are still suffering its devastating consequences. However, media and “the international community” are once again focussed almost exclusively on Tigray, while Amhara farmers and Afar desert pastoralists are rarely, if ever, even mentioned.
Host Ann Garrison traveled to Afar to witness what had happened to the Afar in May 2022, during one of several ceasefires. During the first week of April she followed up with Maalika, whose English name is Valerie Browning.
Maalika is an Australian nurse and wife of Afar pastoralist Ismail Ali Gardo, with whom she founded the Afar Pastoralist Development Association. We talked about postwar Afar and Ethiopia.
***
Apple senior engineer and programming manager Ashley Gjovik discovered a toxic superfund site below her offices at Apple in Silicon Valley after it made her sick. She tried to get Apple to test the building and take care of it and she was fired. She now has evidence that Apple was illegally colluding with the EPA and other government agencies to silence her. She spoke to Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer.
***
The Republican-led states of Florida, West Virginia and Missouri have announced that they are leaving Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC, a group of roughly 30 states on both sides of the aisle that assist one another in maintaining accurate voter rolls. Joshua Epstein from Pacifica Affiliate WSLR in Sarasota Florida has more.
***
Citizens, diplomats and unions gathered in Wollongong, south of Sydney, to say no to Port Kembla, its neighboring harbor, hosting AUKUS nuclear submarine technology. Under the AUKUS plan, Australia would pay the U.S. and Britain to build and deliver three nuclear submarines by the early 2030s to the Port of Kembla. The protesters also said no to a hostile foreign policy towards China. Meanwhile, no plan has been announced by the government regarding disposal of the high-grade nuclear waste generated by the submarines. Reported by Cathy Vogan for Consortium News.
WATCH: Protest at Australian Nuke Sub Port
We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the CRD Collective.
Music:
Afar Music of Ethiopia from Ethiopian TV
Natalia Lafourcade, “Duerme Negrito (En Mano de Los Macorinos)”
