[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1882]]
              NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AWARD CEREMONY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2006

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, in August 2006, I visited Professor Mesfin 
Wolde Mariam in Kaliti prison in Ethiopia. Though it was saddening to 
see him in that kind of a situation, I was nevertheless thrilled to 
have had the opportunity to pay my respect to a man I have known for 
over a decade. Professor Mesfin is one of the most dedicated and true 
champions of human rights. He chose to dedicate his life to studying 
famine and food security, writing about and promoting human rights and 
bringing to light issues often ignored and forgotten by many.
  I first met Professor Mesfin in the early 1990s, shortly after he 
founded the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), the most effective 
human rights organization in Ethiopia. I was with several Members of 
Congress on an official visit to Ethiopia. We decided to go to EHRCO's 
office and hold our meeting with Professor Mesfin in order to show our 
support for EHRCO and to underscore the significance of their valuable 
work. It was a memorable meeting and the opportunity to learn of their 
monumental undertaking was very valuable.
  Unfortunately, this is not the first time Mesfin is in prison. He has 
paid dearly over the decades for standing up for what he believes in 
and for exposing systematic abuses and sometimes neglect as the case 
may be over a period of several decades. What is amazing about this 
incredible human being is his sharpness and focus even in prison. This 
is a dedicated human being who chose to stay in his native Ethiopia to 
stand up for, and educate the helpless and the neglected, even though 
he had plenty of opportunity and offers to live comfortably elsewhere.
  In April 2006, his three children wrote about their father stating: 
``Many months have passed since Mesfin Wolde Mariam, the father of all 
three of us, and grandfather of Semra Kristos, Kokeb, Tinsae and Oscar 
has been incarcerated. We miss him terribly and would love to see him 
home. No less important is our utmost respect, concern and commitment 
for the principles he has so staunchly promoted for longer than anyone 
of us has been around.''
  I was thrilled to learn that the New York Academy of Sciences decided 
to recognize Professor Mesfin for ``his leadership in advocating for 
the disadvantage and in promoting human rights, civil society, and a 
peaceful transition to democracy.'' Professor Mesfin deserves this 
recognition and I thank the New York Academy of Science for its 
leadership and efforts.

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