Leo and Tsega

By A Mom in Addis

February 13, 2006

My daughter is called Tsega. It means Grace in my language (Amharic). She was born in London the same day as Leo Blair in May 2000.I am an Ethiopian and live in Ethiopia. I was very ill during the time of my pregnancy and by the grace of God, I got medical treatment in the UK and got a lovely baby the same day as P.M Tony Blair.

Being in the hospital at University College of London and watching the news of the Blair’s baby, I felt very happy for the proud parents and very grateful for the British because had I not come to Britain for medical treatment, I would have probably died along with my baby. But today I am alive, back in my country with good health and a lovely daughter who is the center of my life, and reading about Blair’s press conference in the progressive leaders summit in South Africa.

P.M. Blair: A little food for thought. Let me tell you a true story which happened in Ethiopia last June.

Let us reverse the situation and say it happened in the UK. Let’s say that the conservative party is in power in Britain and has powerful allies who provide it with a lot of money so that it could do anything in Britain from silencing The BBC to putting the whole leadership of the labour party in prison for daring to oppose them. You competed in elections and won [By the way did you say the Ethiopian government actually won the elections? A few minutes of your time, Mr. Blair, please read reports of the European Union mission about the so-called fair election in Ethiopia.]

To get back to the story so the conservative party didn’t want to lose power, and wanted to remove you so they fabricated charges and sent soldiers to your house to arrest you. Cherie says what right have you to arrest him? Show me the warrant! So after the soldiers put you in the truck one of them goes back and kills your wife for daring to speak these words. All this time Leo and your other kids were watching and later on your daughter is asked to sign a paper saying that it is members of the labor party who killed Cherie, not the Army. So your brave daughter says no, no! I will never sign a paper like that; this would be like killing my mom twice.

Dear Mr. Blair. The Voice of America dared to run this story and interviewed the little girl and our ‘progressive’ government sued VOA because of this and other similar stories and wants to imprison the reporters. This is the overreaction that you said in your press conference.

Dear Mr. Blair, you might have your own reasons why you don’t want to condemn your ally Meles but could you please be brave enough to use words like brutal, murderous, demonic etc [I am sure your Oxford Dictionary has enough of them] when soldiers kill mums in front of their young kids as young as your lovely Leo or my Tsega.

It is an insult to 77 million Ethiopians when brutal leaders who imprison and charge 16 year olds with treason get invited to PROGRESSIVE LEADERS summit.

Many people consider you as a great world leader. All I would say is please show your greatness. Condemn our brutal leader, even though you had once praised him as a new breed of African Leaders. The Tsegas of Ethiopia currently don’t want your money as it is not going to reach them any way. Help the Ethiopian people not their brutal leader who uses your money to terrorize a country.

Tsega was given a chance to be born because of the British; help her to grow up. I believe she has the same right as your Leo to grow and become a useful citizen of this world. Do the right thing for her country. Whenever you want to do your work as Africa’s champion, remember Tsega and Leo.

I would have put my name and Tsega`s picture to this plea but I don’t want my Tsega to experience what has happened to that little girl who saw her MUM killed for daring to protest the unlawful imprisonment of her father.