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Mary Robinson has been digging holes in Ethiopia - and has an important message for Europe

The former Irish president thinks we can learn a lot from the east African nation when it comes to looking after refugees.

Mary3 Mary Robinson helping to plant a tree during a trip Liam Burke / Press 22 Liam Burke / Press 22 / Press 22

FORMER PRESIDENT OF Ireland Mary Robinson has called on European leaders to look to Ethiopia when it comes to the treatment of refugees.

Despite being on the United Nations’ list of the world’s least developed nations, Ethiopia has taken in more refugees than any other country in Africa.

“It’s really depressing at the moment that there is so much attention on refugees and migrants nearly losing their lives then not being treated well when they get to Europe,” Robinson said.

Yet [in] Ethiopia… they are made welcome and they are cared for, the way it should be. Europe can learn from what is happening here in Ethiopia.

Robinson – the UN Special Envoy for El Niño and Climate – has been in the east African nation on a three-day tour.

Part of her trip has involved observing the impact of El Niño, a warm weather phenomenon that can cause variations in temperature and rainfall in equatorial countries – with it partly responsible for the current drought in Ethiopia, the worst in the country for 50 years.

While El Niño is a natural phenomenon, its effects are aggravated by man-made climate change.

“Many African countries want to go carbon neutral as do other developing countries,” Robinson said.

The former Irish president was in the country accompanying Concern Worldwide, GOAL and Trócaire, supporting the humanitarian and development efforts of these Irish-based charities.

Read: Angela Merkel may be about to win an award in Tipperary

Also: 7 ways Mary Robinson WAS nineties Ireland

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    Mute 8-Bit-Relic
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:49 AM

    Gosh, close them and restart them once they are done… they were responsible for 153 of the cases last week. If that’s one of the main things preventing us from reopening get it done.

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:54 AM

    Absolute cop out answer by Harris also. He should be getting briefed on the situation and informing the House.

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    Mute frank_1916
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:51 AM

    whoever owns the meat plants should know who’s working there and also where they live

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:53 AM

    @frank_1916: meat industry has a lot of Government connections, no sign of inspections or shut down. We’ve been averaging what 50ish a day for the last two weeks? So 100 per week in meat factories means about 2 out of every 7 cases is from one now. With lack of contact tracing this is clearly a significant factor for why the numbers aren’t lower.

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:38 AM

    @frank_1916: Meath Factory Owners are just that , they are not “keepers” , they cannot follow the workers home and see what they do and where they go . Isn’t the problem with the HSE and Dept of Ag, who have Dept Vets in there. Just like the Nursing Homes, HSE not really doing their job.

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:04 AM

    @frank_1916: anecdotally, the problem isn’t in the meat plants per se, it’s not possible for employers to police behaviour once people clock off and go home. It appears that correct precautions are in place in the plants, but the employers have no power outside of the workplace to ensure social distancing etc.

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    Mute Cormac
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    Jun 5th 2020, 11:36 AM

    @Eugene Comaskey: the vets are responsible for checking the animals for diseases. They have no responsibility towards the factory employees. It is either the HSA or the HSE that should be taking charge

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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:48 AM

    The vast majority of these workers come from a particular community (in our local plants anyway) so contact tracing you would think would be a bit easier. I also think they have a mindset of even if I am bit under the weather I am going to work anyway.

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    Mute Mary Walshe
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:22 PM

    @Sharp Elsi Mate:
    Probably because they cannot afford not to go to work, I’d say!

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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:24 PM

    @Mary Walshe: Yes sadly most likely but is the system not supposed to allow you to get the PUP if you cannot go to work?

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    Mute Isabel Oliveira
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:34 AM

    All workers contacts ( colleagues and families ) should be traced . Simply no excuse. 70%?is not good enough.

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    Mute George
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:03 AM

    Big issue is Harris & HSE not using these sites to perfect their tracing procedures. We will have clusters and they will need immediate action. Country cannot shut down again

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    Mute Michael Mcloughlin
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    Jun 5th 2020, 11:04 AM

    Close them like they have the schools and shops and dont reopen them until all the workers comply with the testing .
    I know in the Midlands some of the partners of the people working in the meat Factorys are working in Nursing homes and working as care assistants so it needs to be sorted

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    Mute DK
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:09 AM

    27 hospitalised out of 1,048 cases is less than 2.6 percent. I think this gives a good rough guide on serious cases rate for adults in 18 – 50 age range. Also no mention of any deaths but they haven’t said there hasn’t been any either so can’t assume that’s the case.

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    Mute Sean Reddin
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:34 AM

    People / workers are secondary once there is money to be made even in a pandemic unfortunately.

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    Mute Vladimir Macro
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    Jun 5th 2020, 12:02 PM

    1800 peolpe now trained to work in contact monitoring.

    What are they doing?

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    Mute MickN
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    Jun 5th 2020, 12:23 PM

    Has anyone asked who gave the ok for the planeloads of Brazilians than flew in during the lockdown to go straight to work in the meat factories…?
    No….?
    Didn’t think so…

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    Mute Dolores English
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:56 PM

    Shut the meat factories down, engage with the employees and help them instead of talking about these workers as if they didn’t matter

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