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Miss Belgium Kedist Deltour (24) and the committee behind the election return to Belgium from Ethiopia two days earlier than planned. Because of the unstable situation in the country – threat from rebels who are now advancing to the capital Addis Ababa – the Foreign Office has tightened its travel advice. All Belgians are now being asked to leave the country immediately.
“We deeply regret this as we have never felt unsafe here at any time. But we are here with Miss Belgium as an official organization, so we can hardly ignore the advice of the government,” says chairman Darline Devos. In his own words, Kedist himself also thinks it is “a shame”. “On Friday, after fifteen years, I was reunited with my father. I would see him and my family again on Tuesday. That cannot go on now,” it sounds.
Kedist has been looking for her roots in her native country in recent days. She visited the orphanage where she was a child, the house where she grew up and visited the cemetery where her mother is buried. On Sunday, the group should have traveled to Arba Minch in the south.
(bpr)
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