Megan Dobney from the Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Committee writes: Today (Thursday 18 May 2017) I was delighted to meet Dr Hailemichael Afework Aberra, the Ethiopian Ambassador in London, at the Marx Memorial Library on Clerkenwell Green. I was able to update the Ambassador on the campaign for the statue of Sylvia (she was given a state funeral in Addis Ababa in recognition of her constant support of the Abyssinian/Ethiopian people in their fight against Italian fascism; her son Richard also lived in Addis Ababa until his death in February this year). MML Archivist Meirian Jump welcomed the Ambassador to the Library and showed him round the facilities and collections there.

The picture shows (left to right) Meirian Jump (MML Archivist), Ambassador Dr Hailemichael Afework Aberra, Megan Dobney (Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Committee), Gail Warden (Press Office of the Embassy of Ethiopia) with the maquette of the statue that is on display in the Library’s reading room