Hawk Newsome, the leader of the Black Lives Movement of Greater New York City, said Wednesday he might take the plight of Africans and especially Ethiopians in Yemen to the United Nations.
Newsome, whose organization confronts racism and racist actions against African Americans, said he was shocked at how little attention the mainstream American news media has placed on Blacks and Ethiopian migrants in places like Yemen.
During an interview on “The Ray Hanania Radio Show,” the BLM leader said people must “rise above” and not just focus on the politics of the conflicts. He wants people to focus on the killing of Blacks inside and outside of the US. A good example was when 44 Ethiopian migrants were massacred in a Houthi-controlled detention center in Sana’a last month.
“I do not have time to get into the personal politics but what I do know is that people were being raped and people were starving in Ethiopia,” Newsome said.
“So, when I hear about what the Houthis did to these African refugees or asylum seekers it really, truly breaks my heart and I am glad that you (Arab News) are all doing a great job in shining a light on this.”
Newsome said that concern for human life should be prioritized above the “politics” of a conflict.
“What we need to do is explain Black Lives Matter across the globe. It does not just matter here because we have phenomenal activists and we also have the first amendment which protects our speech and gives us the right to push back and fight back against this government, at the risk of our deaths,” Newsome said.
“But what folks really need to understand is that a new day has arrived. Black people refuse to be the world’s punching bag, or that they are second-class citizens. We will unify and we will unite and we will shed justice on injustice against Black people wherever it occurs in the world. To my Ethiopian brothers and sisters: My heart bleeds for you and I am terribly sorry for what you are experiencing. But I will do my absolute best to shed light on this subject and to draw attention to this.”
Newsome said that most Americans are unaware of what is happening to Africans in other countries like Yemen and fixate on the politics rather than on the toll it takes on the people, especially Blacks and he blamed the mainstream American news media.
Arab News reporter Rua’a Al-Ameri detailed the kidnapping of Entisar Al-Hammadi, a Yemeni-Ethiopian model, by the Houthi rebels. Al-Hammadi has been held since Feb. 20 as little information on her health or wellbeing has been revealed.
“Entisar is a young Yemeni and Ethiopian model who lives in Sana’a and she was abducted by the Houthis almost two months ago now,” Al-Ameri said.
“She was meant to have her case opened two weeks ago in front of her prosecution. For the second week, it has not been possible. Her lawyer has called for her immediate release. He said she is in a terrible condition and he has also said she is threatening to go on a hunger strike because of her conditions.”
Al-Ameri added the Houthis have a history of persecuting and killing minorities such as the Ethiopians.
“In terms of the Houthis targeting ethnic minority groups, that has been evident in the past,” Al-Ameri said.
“Of course there was the fire in the migrant detention center. The Houthis also have a history of targeting the Jewish community and the Baha’i community in Yemen. So, there has been a lot of issues involving the Houthis and their approach towards minorities.”
Newsome said he was learning more and more about the Ethiopians massacre from last March and is in contact with the Yemeni community in New York City. But he said he was unaware of the kidnapping of Al-Hammadi by the Houthis.
“There is a huge problem in America and in the rest of the world and that problem is called white supremacy,” Newsome said.
“A lot of people will say ‘Oh, you are just calling out racism’ but no the fact is when things happen to Black people they do not matter as much as when they happen to white people. When there is mass murder and genocide happening to Black people across the world, no one cares. But if the same thing were to happen to little blond-haired, blue-eyed white children, then everybody would care.
“So, when you start talking about my Ethiopian brothers and sisters and them being murdered, people barely lift a brow. And that is Black people, that is white people and that is everyone in between because that has been indoctrinated into them. You are taught through the media, you are taught through television, you are taught in so many different ways that our Black lives truly do not matter and that is on a global scale.”
* “The Ray Hanania Show” is broadcast on the US Arab Radio Network on WNZK AM 690 in Detroit and WDMV AM 700 in Washington DC, and live streamed on Facebook.com/ArabNews where you can see the entire interview.
