Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom

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Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom

• Background to his memoir

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Mawi was born on September 29, 1976 in Adi
Wahla, Ethiopia.
This is a small town
on the border of
Eritrea and Sudan.
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In 1980 his family was relocated to a refugee
camp in Sudan.
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Fighting between Ethiopian soldiers and Eritrean
guerillas forced many families into Sudanese
refugee camps.
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"And the way you do it is that
you just pack your
stuff up and if you are lucky to have some
camels and mules, and
maybe some donkeys, you ride on them."

• He fled the fighting in Ethiopia with his family
  when he was three years old.

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Sudan is host to many refugee caps because of its
size and location.
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• For the next three years, 1980-1983, the
  Umsagata refugee camp in Sudan became his
  family's home.

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The refugee camp was in Umsagata, Sudan. I
dont know if it would come up on any map.
Another name its known by is Semsem.
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• Refugee Camp Statistics
• 100 said they had been captured by government
  troops and forced to resettle.
• 10 reported that they witnessed people being
  killed who tried to escape.
• More than 40 said they were beaten.
• More than 70 were separated from all members of
  their immediate family.

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According to Mawi

• It was safe to assume that 25 percent--or
  125,000--of the settlers had died.

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By mid 1980, the refugee crisis in the Horn of
Africa was the worlds worst.

• 2.5 million people abandoned their homes and
  sought asylum in neighboring countries.

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Causes of the Refugee Crises

• Mengistu Regime killed thousands while fighting
  Eritrean insurgents
• Famine -- by 1973, famine had killed 300,000
• Drought -- In 1987, drought threatened 5 million

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More than 1 million Ethiopian Refugees relocated
to Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti in the 1980s.
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Life in a Refugee Camp

• Absence of sanitation
• Inadequate medical assistance
• Food shortages
• Lack of clean water
• Disease
• Overcrowding

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Mawi's family came to the U.S on a World Relief
ticket. World Relief sponsors refugees from
different countries to America.
http//www.wr.org/whatwedo/refugeecare.asp
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- Every year, World Relief helps up to 10,000
refugees fleeing persecution and war in their
homelands.
- Since 1979, World Relief has embraced over
200,000 refugees, welcoming them at the airport,
helping them find jobs, and extending the hands
of friendship.
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His family settled in Wheaton, IL. Wheaton is
located 30 miles west of Chicago.
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Now you will read Of Beetles and Angels and learn
more about Mawis experiences in America.