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| The Harari honored as environment heroes |
By Yelibenwork Ayele
The Harari were awarded a trophy from the hand of Girma-Woldegiorgis, president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, for their old tradition of planting indigenous trees and keeping the environment clean and efficiently managing water so that the scant supply of water reaches all homes by means of a fair distribution. The Harari region has always had a Mediterranean climate which its inhabitants have worked hard to maintain and have largely succeeded in the venture. They have always believed in the connection between environment and survival Shukria Ahmed, deputy speaker of the Harari Council, who was in here on behalf of the Harari peole to receive the award on Tuesday, said. "Good environment, good life - no environment, no life. That's why the Harari are so concerned about the environment." Fruit trees and vegetables outside Jegol (the wall surrounding the city of Harar) keep the farmlands from degradation. The bushes protect the hideouts of hyenas outside the walls. At night, the hyenas creep into the city through holes in the wall which, hundreds of years ago, the city dwellers had purposefully bored for the purpose. For the hyenas are not just objects of tourist amusement as they eat pieces of meat from a human feeder. They have a permanent job in Harar as scavengers: they clean up the city by feeding on its slaughterhouse byproducts and carrion. Harar's drainage system takes water to the farms outside the city wall but first it is filtered in a pond where plastic materials and other inorganic substances settle to the bottom are removed. Non-organic waste is sorted out and dumped separately. And this has continued for several years. "The old generation is handing down its good cultures to the new," Shukria said. Schools, non-governmental organizations, individuals, and youth groups from Addis Ababa and the regions were also recognized during the ceremony on Tuesday for their achievement in improving the environment. |
