Afarvänner i Sverige

In spite of being the eldest people, in fact, the original people, in the Horn of Africa and in the Afar triangle (the land of the Afar is most probably the cradle of humankind), the Afar people and their land is among the least known in the world. Two of the oldest finds ever of prehistoric man were found in the Afar region in Ethiopia, 4.5 and 3.5 million years old, respectively. The first fossil was found in Aramis and the second (known as Lucy) in Hadar. Both localities are situated along the Awash River, which runs through Afar country in the Horn of Africa. This provides evidence of the vast amounts of time that this region has been inhabited. The Afar region, often referred to as the Afar Triangle, is situated in three different countries: Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The area covers approximately 250 000 km2. The number of people is estimated to be approximately five million.

The Afar people are mostly pastoralists, but also farmers, fishermen and salt-workers. The strategic position of the Afar country has since long led to that the Afar people have become subject to various kinds of external aggressions. They have a long history of war against the Portuguese armed forces during the 16th century and against Turkish, Egyptian and Abyssinian forces from the highlands as well as Italian and French invasion troops at the end of the 19^th century. After these cruel and savage aggressions and without the consent of the people, the country was partitioned into three.

Why is it important to help the Afar people?

Afarvänner i Sverige / Afar Friends in Sweden        Postgiro 480 33 73-2

P.O. Box 2515 6                                                   Bank account 99603448033732

S-750 25 Uppsala, SWEDEN                                  IBAN: SE68 9500 0099 6034 4803 3732

e-mail info@afarfriends.org                                   BIC: NDEASESS

Last changed: 12 november 2008

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