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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1989)
Friday, February 17,1989 The Battalion Page 5 Problem Pregnancy? 1 r freedt .K. protests 'homeini leath order ■SOCIATED PRESS a »ritain protested to Iran on ■ursday over Ayatollah Ruhollah Bomeini’s orders to kill Salman Hshdie, the author of “The Satanic ■rses,” and religious students in threatened suicide attacks on he bounty for killing the Indian- |ni writer was doubled to $5.2 mil- la, and Britain’s airlines — includ ing British Airways — tightened se- ■rity following bomb threats Igainstsome flights. ■The death threats against Rush- K, whose book has been de- IHunced across the Moslem world as IBsphemous, were called “appal- IHg” by the U.S. State Department, i leading Islamic theologian who poses the book said in Egypt that omeini erred by not giving Rush- achance to repent. Rushdie, a naturalized Briton lose novel has sparked violent pro- its from Islamic fundamentalists, ng when we reacliti canceled a promotional tour for a friend’s relatives;:; lie book in the United States and re surprised toseeusi P‘ ns ' n hiding with his American ed and hungry. |fe, Marianne Wiggins. Published ;c [ there for two it ports said they were under police want to tell us web! ar d in Britain, were very poor anil offer us We didir Moslems say the allegorical novel ■fends their faith by satirizing the iecond day Md(i[fl°P^ et Mohammed as fallible; im- ’friends disguisedi3p |vm g that Islam is not the , onl y tr V e asants and waitedll"? 10111 portraying Mohammed s as to take them i„l ves as prostitutes; and suggesting phu c But the I wrote the Koran, rather than re- .1 caused the rive e the man could > by Phelan M. Ebenk »rsive, now isa * living it from God. I >h we were staying! Id go tmother twoii stav with someonti nit months untilllit: Mekonnensaid ■ men arrived at konnen/Paee5 The British Foreign Office sum- joned Iran’s lone diplomat in Brit- told him Khomeini’s threat was otally unacceptable,” demanded lecial protection for its Tehran bassy, and froze plans to expand la plomatic relations with the Islamic ate. “We recognize that Moslems and jhers may have strong views about e contents of Mr. Rushdie’s book,” 'British Foreign Secretary Sir Geof frey Howe said after his office sum- loned Iranian Charge d’Affaires J' M iohammed Basti. M odeo, paradei“ However ’ nobod y has the ri s ht r . ■incite people to violence on Brit- Bi soil or against British citizens, ag in the grand en-Batollah Khomeini’s statement is ;o in the Astrodonif Hoi.illy unacceptable.” in. , will have Saturdavr d Sunday morninj the livestock show] a fun trip,’’ Lindsey will be a lot of Ah I a lot of horses." -C College Station“Ge nit tee is helping the the $500 needed for i. The parade and | will be televisedb) vision stations and rally on cable. i information and 19, the assoda- ts third annualPav- e Informaton Line, all 1-800-253-8989 Inancial aid infor- 0 am. to 6 p.m. ifted children speak on matching gifted c hildren uiili on. will be offered for inistrators and pai nt if ving ability in n and planning ar id social and emo- •ment. rence is sponsored Vi's Institute fortlie dented and the Id ee Center, Region die. For more infor- itact Dr. Patricia 5-1802. Mekonnen (Continued from page 4) destination, they were given employ ment. Mekonnen’s job was to guard the cattle of about 15 area ranchers. “I did that for about four months,” he said. “It was a pain for me because I wasn’t used to it. It was a different environment for me. I spent most of my life in the city with electricity and running water. In the, country you have nothing.” Mekonnen’s two friends had simi lar jobs in the area, but one of them who was pretending to be a farmer was exposed as a dissenter. “He couldn’t do things the way a farmer does,” Mekonnen said. “People became suspicious of him. My job, on the other hand, was not something that could expose me.” The man was on a weekly visit to Mekonnen when government offi cials came for him at the home at which he was staying. The man Me konnen’s friend was staying with came warned him not to return home. “I couldn’t take him with me be cause every night I rotated among the homes of the 15 ranchers,” Me konnen said. “At about five o’clock, I told him that I would come back af ter I returned the cattle and spend the night in the forest with him. But when I came back, I couldn’t find him.” Mekonnen and some others re turned to the forest the next morn ing and found his friend. They ar ranged for him to travel to another safe place. When spring came, Mekonnen and his remaining companion walked for more than a week to reach their next destination, staying with different people each night. “Most of the time we were hun gry,” he said. “The people we stayed with were poor and had nothing to feed us.” Mekonnen and his friend stayed at the next place for about six months. “It was a hopeless situation,” he said. “The country was getting worse and more and more people were fleeing the cities. Some of them had even started an army of their own. By that time, I heard that most of my friends had been killed. T he govern- ement’s philosophy was that who ever opposed the government would die.” At the end of six months, Meken- non along with four other men, de cided to flee the country. They walked for two weeks to reach the nearest border, Sudan, which is on Ethopia’s western border. “Some of us were sick and tired and couldn’t walk,” Mekonnen said. “The area we walked through was largely uninhabited. Usually we would walk for about a day and find a village. In between we couldn’t find water to drink.” The five men faced another prob lem upon reaching the Ethiopian- Sudanese border. Armed guards were preventing people from crossing the border. They made their move at about 5 p.m. when most of the guards were asleep and managed to cross the bor der safely. “But our problems didn’t stop there,” Mekonnen said. Once across the border, the men were held in a Sudanese police de partment for questioning. They were not allowed to leave the build ing for five days while they ex plained their situation. They explained that their only hope was to reach Khartoum, Su dan’s capital city, where the United Nations Fligher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was. However, the journey was three days by train and they had no money, so the po lice chief gave them train passes. In the meantime, the men were hungry, but had no money for food. “We communicated with some people in English, which is every one’s second language, and ex plained our situation,” Mekonnen said. “They gave us some money for food, but it was embarrassing. We were actually begging, but we had no choice. We were dirty and our clothes were torn. We looked differ ent and many people were afraid of us.” When they reached Khartoum, they received money from UNHCR. “We bought new clothes and started feeling better,” Mekonnen said. “But things were different than we expected. The people in Sudan are Muslim and their entire culture is different from the Ethiopian cul ture. “In the Muslim society, they don’t show affection for people of differ ent religions. It is even forbidden for a man and a woman to walk down the street together and all the women must be dressed in a differ ent way. Some even cover their faces.” At that time, 200,000 Ethiopian refugees were in Sudan with thou sands more coming every day. “They thought that we were spoil ing their culture and the Sudan gov ernment started deporting refugees to cities other than Khartoum,” he said. “I went to another city where I worked at a small clinic for four years with a Swedish organization which helped refugees in western Sudan.” While in Sudan, Mekonnen met an Ethiopian woman named Hare- gewein who also had fled. They were married in 1980 and applied to en ter the United States in 1982. After a year-long process, Mekonnen and his wife were allowed to immigrate to the United States. They arrived in Houston in 1983. “It took courage to come here,” he said. “It’s not easy to adapt to a new culture. My hope revived after I got here. It’s like a new life, a new begin ning for me to start here.” A church organization that was sponsoring Mekonnen found him a job in a Houston animal hospital be cause of his medical experience in Sudan. After taking some English courses, he applied to Texas South ern University in Houston where he earned an undergraduate degree in biology. He continued working at the animal hospital while attending school. “The first week in school I couldn’t even comprehend what the teacher was saying,” he said. “It was frustrating, but I managed to get caught up quickly.” After graduating from TSU, Me konnen was accepted into A&M’s veterinary school. His wife and seven-year-old daughter, Tigist, live in Houston where his wife works in a bank. He sees them only on some weekends. “I have had to work hard,” Me konnen said of his American school ing. “I probably work twice as hard as other students because of the lan guage and other barriers. It has cost me a lot. Most of the time I have ne glected my family. “In my country, we are tuned to one philosophy. The only way to make it in life is to go to school and work hard. That’s the only way to be at the top in my country. “Education is taken for granted in the United States. In my country, only a few people have the chance to be educated. So those few people work hard and take advantage of what education has to offer them.” After living in the United States for five years, Mekonnen was eligi ble to apply for citizenship. He was sworn in as a United States citizen in January 1988. “My plans are to stay here,” he said. “I can’t go back to my country, and I don’t want to go back. I’m fine here. And my little girl is definitely all American.” This Spring Break, go Greyhound® instead. For just $25 each way, you and your friends can afford to pile on Greyhound. Whether it’s the beach, the slopes or your hometown, going Greyhound won’t cramp your style. each way based on round-trip purchase. 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Spring Break fare available 2/15/89 through 5/15/89 and is subject to change without notice. © 1989 Greyhound Lines, Inc. * evv’e listen, tVe care, We help •Free Pregnancy Tests Ts •Concerned’ Counselors Brazos Valley- Crisis Pregnancy Sei-vice We’re Local! 3G20 E. 29th Street (next to Medley's Gifts) £4 hr. hotline &23-CARE A&M Steakhousel Delivers 846-5273 Call Battalion Classified 845-2611 • We Deliver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 • -.i—- - - £ © o © 108 College Main, Northgate ~p © 6&M Stcakhouse Friday-Saturday-Sunday Special Cheeseburger Platter * $3. 49 1/2 lb Burger Fries Iced tea 0) 01 to Dine in only Sf - u • We Deliver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 • A Decade of Dreams The 1989 Miss Texas A&M University Scholarship Pageant Saturday, February 25,1989 7:30 pm Rudder Auditorium Tickets available at the Rudder Box Office JJ P - « • # # 4T • » • •••••• & • 6 J? ♦j£* ^^Here’s Your Chance FARMER’S MARKET HAPPY HOUR Buy 1 Submarine Get 1 FREE Mon., Feb. 13-Fri., Feb. 17 5-8 p.m. Dine in only Equal or less value. 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