Homicide victim came to US to escape violence in homeland – Author: Jaccii Farris
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - He came to this country to escape the violence of war, but ended up losing his life on the streets. Hagos Mezgebo, a refugee from the war-torn African nation of Eritrea, was identified Monday as
ALLENTOWN, Pa. –
He came to this country to escape the violence of war, but ended up losing his life on the streets.
Hagos Mezgebo, a refugee from the war-torn African nation of Eritrea, was identified Monday as Allentown’a first homicide victim of 2012.
Catholic Charities brought Mezgebo, 22, to the United States three years ago.
No one, not his friends or his co-workers, said they saw this coming.
“Seeking peace and tranquility and coming here and then meeting such an untimely and unfortunate death is certainly something that has been a shock to all of us here,” said Will Miller, Catholic Charities.
Mezgebo was one of 76 refugees brought to the U.S. by the Diocese of Allentown’s Catholic Charities program.
Before then, Mezgebo spent 2-and-a-half years in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, with scant food, water and medical treatment.
The program helped him find a place to live, take English classes so he could become a citizen and find a job at Heaps on 17th Street.
Mezgebo sent much of his paycheck back to his family in Eritrea.
His friends, also refugees, are devastated by his death. His supervisor said Mezgebo was a shy person who worked hard.
“He was quiet. He was shy,” said Brandon Hieter. “We would joke around with him a little bit to get him laughing. He enjoyed it here. It’s a shame to hear what happened to him.”
Mezgebo didn’t run around with the wrong crowd, said Miller, adding that immigrants don’t always understand the culture and customs of their new country.
“They are not as attuned or even knowledgeable about things that would concern or worried about,” said Miller.
Mezgebo was an orthodox Christian. His death happened at the beginning of the Christmas celebration, which Miller said was very hard for the Eritrean community to deal with.
Catholic Charities is helping Mezgebo’s family with funeral arrangements. The family wants to bury him here in the country he loved.
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Abdi January 10, 2012
I feel sorry for him,but his name and the way he got sponsored suggest that he is a tigraway who migrated under Eritrean name!,mezgebo never heard of.
alex January 10, 2012
Abdi
Didn’t you read they want send the body to Eritrea. Show some manner.
Who cares about his originality at this sad time, think obout his family.
farapolice@yahoo.com January 10, 2012
@ Abdi, OMG! who cares where he is from. You are such a moron and uneducated person. grow up!!!!!!! you live too far away from wherever the heck you are from to be a racist. Mezgebo, I am so sorry. RIP, Brother.
Biniam January 11, 2012
Selam Abadi,
How come that you judge a person by his name? If so can Dr. Haile Mezgebe, ( the well know Eritrean American surgeon) a tigrian? If so then your name indicates you are Tigriyan. For me it doesn’t make any difference. You are well far behind mentally. RIP Haile. but Abadi you are ABDI ( meaning ….denkoro)
halengi sewra January 11, 2012
tell me who u r and i will tell you where u come from….agametay
Orthodox January 10, 2012
Abdi
You are a moron! How can the world get better with your kind of people in plenty! Bastard terrorist!
yasin January 11, 2012
May God give his family the strength to cope with the loss. May he rest in peace.
But Abdit as your name you must be Abdi adgi behaki. Show human sympathy and have respect.
Popular Front for Dictatorship and Jailing(PFDJ) January 11, 2012
Abdi!
your name tells us the really one!
what a shame! you are really obsessed with hate for Tigriain.
what the hell are you talking… and Respect him and his familiy.
read it again and try to understand it.
otherwise dont act like your master Isayas.. who goes with no brain and full of hate and lie.
Rest InPeace(RIP)!
Habte January 11, 2012
Abdi: I know you are using a fake name. You may not be a Muslim too. But it still shows how cruel, how lowly and disgusting creature you are. Let alone an Eritrean no human being worth his soul would try to differentiate in a tragic death wether one is an Eritrean or a Tigraway. He is a human being and a youth only 22 years old – no matter from Tigray, Ethiopia or Eritrea. Please get it out of your infantile evil mind the hatred of Tegaru – for well over 80,000 Eritrean young refugees are still in Tigray. Imagine, God forbid, what you and people like you would do and say if we had 1000 of Tigrian refugees in Eritrea.
And read it again AH:
“Mezgebo sent much of his paycheck back to his family in ERITREA.
His friends, also refugees, are devastated by his death.”
If you are an Eritrean I am sad and indeed it is a shame for me to say that you are a compatriot. Shame on you.
Hagerawi January 11, 2012
To ABDI = ADGI
Sometimes I wonder what kind of man you are Abdi, are u truely an Eritrean ? A young boy died, and automatically you start to differentiate by the name…. and let me tell you, you idiot, son of the bastard Issayas, there are thousands of Mezgebo in Eritrea…. may be you are talking out of your complex mentality… HABAL BELIYA KEYKEDEMETEKI …
May his soul rest in peace poor Mezgebo
ahmed saleh January 11, 2012
The culture we raised is for God sake to be humans, sympathetic to anyone who is sufferings. To share the loss and to weep with the familly is our tradition. God bless his soul. Please, no need to abandon each other this way. If you can help is fine,
otherwise shut your mouth up. I wonder who is real Eritrean or not on our web.
meliyag@yahoo.com January 11, 2012
I never head of an Eritrean named abdi myself. you must be a Jebeli who migrated from yemen or a jeberti who migrated from tigray Ethiopia or just an ignorant PFDJ puppet.
halengi sewra January 11, 2012
no he is from seraye who migrated from northern ethiopia
Mr. T January 11, 2012
Nothing is more tragic than the loss of young man’s life so early which was full of hope and dreams to accomplish something. It is very sand indeed. May God grant him eternal peace in heaven.
tewelde haile January 11, 2012
ABDI,
As a PFDJ supporter, our comment is perfect
wadi eri January 11, 2012
to abdi
no hesitate, you use fake name in order to let the others hate Muslim in Eritrea you bastard, why you don’t use your real name, it is the same thing to our anthropology meliyag@yahoo.com ,you bastard you talk about jeberti no wonder, until you believe no one is bitter then the other we are going to suffer,that is how the PFDJ system to separate us,so stope blaming the others even thought abdi using fake name to talk about jeberti.
i am so sorry for the family for the loss of beloved young man,may his soul rest in peace,,,,,,