Suit filed after bus driver calls Ethiopian 11-year-old ‘monkey’

By Edna Adato and Efrat Forsher

Israel Hayom

“Not even a lawmaker would imagine that a young girl would be so humiliated by a bus driver on a school field trip only because of the color of her skin and ethnic background,” the complaint says.

An 11-year-old Israeli girl of Ethiopian descent has filed a lawsuit against a school bus driver who humiliated her and made disparaging racist remarks during a class field trip to a swimming pool.

The lawsuit, filed at the Jerusalem Municipal Court with assistance from the Justice Ministry’s legal aid department, emphasized the importance of a case highlighting such “extreme” defamation.

The complaint details the bus driver’s offensive actions, saying that at one point he took the microphone and said to the girl, “Hey you, the monkey in the back.”

Later, when she was outside the bus taking her bag from the baggage compartment, the driver called out, “Where is the monkey?”

When she returned to the bus, the driver said: “There you are. You will not behave this way on my bus. You can act like that in your parents house. What difference will it make? They are monkeys anyway, so you can go to that zoo.” The remarks were made in front of the girl’s friends.

The complaint also said the fifth-grader also feared that the driver would hit her.

The bus company Pituach Mateh Binyamin released a statement saying that “the claims were brought before all relevant bodies. We were surprised to hear about the lawsuit because we have not been summoned to court.”

Eritrean rebel group based in Ethiopia claim to have killed dozens of intelligence agents

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
Sudan Tribune

April 29, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – Eritrean rebel group, the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO), alleged on Monday it had killed and wounded dozens of Eritrean government intelligence agents in an attack inside the reclusive East African nation.

The Ethiopia-based rebel group said that the strike was carried out at the military barracks of an intelligence unit based in the Northern Red Sea region in the vicinity of Alhan.

Ibrahim Haron, the leader of the rebel group, told Sudan Tribune that their “forces in the early hours of Saturday attacked the military camp and killed 27 intelligence agents and wounded many others belonging to the 15th sub-division intelligence unit”.

The rebel leader said his fighters took control of the military base for over eight hours following the attack, destroying the entire camp before leaving the area.

The group also claims to have captured various types of weapons.

There was no immediate comment from the government in Asmara and the claims cannot be independently verified.

He said there were some 70 government intelligence members inside the camp during the assault but he said none of them tried to engage the rebel fighters.

“They preferred to runaway than fight against [us]. This indicates how much the government army is weakening,” the rebels said.

Ibrahim said the latest assault was in retaliation to ethnic killings by Eritrean government agents targeting Afar minorities.

This is the rebel group’s first cross-border attack since 2012 when they killed 30 Eritrean soldiers in an attack at a military base in the Southern Red Sea region.

RSADO which is a member of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA), a coalition of 11 Eritrean political organisations, renewed its calls for other opposition members to join the armed struggle to topple president Isaias Afwerki’s regime.

After the 1998-2000 bloody border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Asmara considers Eritrea’s Afars as being aligned to Ethiopia and having links to fellow Afar tribes in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s Jewish community divided

24 April 2014

BBC

As Jewish people around the world marked the festival of Passover, thousands of Jews living in northern Ethiopia, did not have much to celebrate.
Many have been left disappointed by an Israeli government decision to end a 30-year-old programme that saw tens thousands of Ethiopian Jews airlifted to the Holy Land.
And many families are grappling with being separated from their loved ones, as Focus on Africa’s Emmanuel Igunza found out in the north-western city of Gondar.

http://youtu.be/nBaAMm9B9vE

የማንነት ብዙነትና ወሳኝ ማንነት

22 April 2014

ከስማቸው ተሰማ
Borkena.com

የኤርትራን ነጻ አገር መሆን ተከትሎ በጥቂት አመታት ውስጥ የኢትዮጵያና የ ኤርትራ ጦርነት ሲጀመር በብዙ አስር ሽዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች ወደ ኤርትራ ተባረሩ፤ ከተባረሩት ውስጥ ቀላል የማይባል ቁጥር ያላቸው ተፈናቃዮች ተወልደው ካደጉባቸው የኢትዮጵያ አካባቢዎች ጋር ያላቸው ምስ ስል እና ቅርበት በዘር ሀረግ ከሚዛመዱት ከ ኤርትራ ማህበረሰብ ጋር ካላቸው ምስ ስል የበለጠ እንደነበር ግልጽ ነው። ከ ኢትዮጵያ ለመፈናቀላቸው ኤርትራዊ ማንነታቸው ምክንያት ይሁን እንጅ፣ በሄዱበት ኤርትራ ደግሞ ብዙ ርቀት አቋርጠው ከመሄዳቸው ጋር በሚያያዝ መልኩ “አምቼ” መባላቸው የማንነታቸው አንዱ መገለጫ ሊሆን ችሏል፤ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ሲኖሩ ኤርትራዊነታቸው የጎላውን ያህል፣ ኤርትራ ውስጥ ሲኖሩ ከ ኢትዮጵያ መሄዳቸው ወሳኙ የማንነታቸው መገለጫ ሆኗል።

በተመሳሳይ መልኩ ዜግነት ስለሌላቸው ብቻ ተወልደው ካደጉበት አገር በተለያዩ ምክንያቶች ወደ ወላጆቻቸው አገር እንዲሄዱ የሚጠየቁ ሰዎች ተመሳሳይ ችግሮች ያጋጥሟቸዋል። ባደጉበት አገር ከሌላ አገር ከመጡ ወላጆች መወለዳቸው ጎልቶ የሚታይ በመሆኑ ወሳኝ ማንነታቸው እሱ እንደሆነ ተደርጎ ቢቀርብም እውነተኛ አገራቸው ወደተባለው አገር ሲሄዱ ግን ካደጉበት አገር የወረሱት ቋንቋ፣ ባህል ፣ የ አመለካከት እና ሌሎችም ዝንባሌዎች ጎልተው ይወጣሉ። ከልጅነታቸው ጀምሮ አሜሪካ አድገው በወንጀልና በህገወጥነት ምክንያቶች ወደ ሌሎች አገራት እየተባረሩ ያሉ ሰዎችን በዜግነት አሜሪካዊ ባይሆንም ከ አገሪቱ ጋር ባላቸው ቁርኝት የተነሳ ተባረው በሚሄዱበት ቦታ እንደ አሜሪካ ስደተኞች እንደሚኖሩ ለማሳየት Daniel Kantstroom የተባለ ስድተኞችን በተመለከቱ ህጎች ዙሪያ የታወቀ ምሁር እነዚህን ሰዎች “the new American Diaspora” በማለት ይገልጿቸዋል።

ከዚህ ጋር አያይዘን በተለያዩ ጊዚያት ወደ እስራ ኤል የተጓዙ ቤተ እስራኤላውያንንም ማንሳት ይቻላል። ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እያሉ ጎልቶ የሚታየው የማንነታቸው መልክ ከ እስራ ኤል ጋር ያላቸው ቁርኝት ቢሆንም እስራ ኤል ውስጥ ደግሞ ከቆዳቸው ቀለም ጀምሮ ኢትዮጵያዊ መነሻቸው የማንነታቸው ጉልህ መገለጫ የሚሆንበት ብዙ አጋጣሚ አለ።

ከላይ የተጠቀሱት ምሳሌዎች ማንነት አንድና ወጥ እንዳልሆነ ከማሳየት አልፈው በተለያዩ ሁኔታዎች ጎልቶ የሚወጣው የ አንድ ሰው የማንነት ገጽታ የተለያየ ሊሆን እንደሚችል የሚያመላክቱ ይመስለኛል። ማንነት፣ ምስ ስልና ልዩነትን፣ ርቀትና ቅርበትን፣ እንዲሁም መዛመድንና አለመዛመድን መሰረት አድርጎ የሚደረግ ክፍፍልንና መቧደንን የምንረዳበት፣ የምንገልጽበትና የምንተነትንበት ጽንሰ ሃሳብ ነው። የምንመሳሰልባቸው እና የምንለያይባቸው፣ የምንራራቅባቸውና የምንቀራረብባቸው፣ የምንዛመድባቸውና የማንዛመድባቸው ነገሮች በጣም ብዙ ስለሆኑ የተለያዩ ማንነቶች ይፈጥሩልናል። የወላጅ፣ የ አያት፣ ቅድመ አያት ወዘተ መጋራት ቤተሰብነትና ዝምድናን ይፈጥራል፤ በጾታ መመሳሰል የጾታ ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፤ በሃይማኖት መመሳሰል የሃይማኖት ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፤ በቋንቋ መመሳሰል፣ የቋንቋ ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፤ በ አገር መሳሰል፣ የ አገር ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፣ በ አህጉር መመሳሰል አህጉራዊ ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፤ በፖለቲካ አቋም መመሳሰል ፣ የፖለቲካ ማንነትን ይፈጥራል፤ በቆዳ ቀለም መመሳሰል፣ የቀለም ማንነትን ይፈጥራል። አንድ ሰው ልብስ ደራርቦ እንደሚለብሰው ሁሉ ከ እነዚህን የተለያዩ የማንነት መገለጫዎችንም ደራርቦ ይይዛል። ከነዚህ ሁሉ ማንነቶች ጀርባ ሰው በሰውነቱ ከሁሉም ሰዎች ጋር የሚጋራው ሰብ አዊ ማንነት አለው።

ከዚህ በመነሳት ስለ ማንነት የተወሰኑ ምልከታዎችን ማድረግ የምንችል ይመስለኛል። አንድ ሰው ካሉት ተደራራቢ ማንነቶች ውስጥ አስበልጦ የሚያየውን ሊወስን ይችላል። ነገር ግን ይሄ ውሳኔ ከሚኖርበት ከባቢ ተጽእኖ ነጻ መሆን የሚችል አይደለም። ይሄ የሆነበት አንዱ ምክንያት የሚኖርበት ባህላዊ፣ ፖለቲካዊና ማህበራዊ ከባቢ አጉልቶ የሚያያቸው የማንነት አይነቶች ሊኖሩ ስለሚችሉ ነው። ራሱ አስበልጦ የሚያየው የማንነቱ ቀለም እና ሌሎች ሰዎች አጉልተው የሚያዩት የማንነቱ ቀለም አንድ ላይሆን መቻሉም ሌላው ገዳቢ ነገር ነው። ለምሳሌ ባሁኑ ሰ አት የ አለም ህዝብ በዋነኝነት የተከፋፈለው እና የተቧደነው በ አገራት እንደመሆኑ አንድ ግለሰብ ከሁሉም አስበልጬ የማየው ማንነቴ ሰው መሆኔን ነው በማለት ብቻ በፈለገው አገር ሄዶ የመኖር እድል አያገኝም። ወይም ደግሞ ከ እምነት ከማይመሳሰሉኝ ኢትዮጵያዊያን በእምነት የሚመሳሰሉኝ የሳውዲ ሰዎች ይበልጡብኛል ብሎ የሚያስብ ኢትዮጵያዊ በህገ ወጥነት ወደ አገርህ ሂድ ተብሎ ከመባረር አይድንም፤ከላይ መግቢያው አካባቢ በተጠቀሰው አይነት ሰዎች ጥርስ ነቅለው ካደጉበት አገር ወደ “አገራችሁ” ሂዱ እየተባሉ የሚባረሩበት እውነት ይህ አለም የሰዎች ሳይሆን የ አገሮች ነው እንድንል ያስገድደናል።

ከሁሉም የማስበልጠው የ ትግራይ ማንነቴን ነው፣ በዚህም ከ ትግርኛ ተናጋሪ ኤርትራውያን ጋር ያለኝ ዝምድና ይበልጥብኛል የሚል ሰው፣ በ ኤርትራ ሲኖር በሌሎች ዘንድ ከትግራይ መምጣቱ የጎላ የማንነቱ መገለጫ ተደርጎ እንዳይታይ መከላከል ይከብደዋል። ከሁሉም የማስበልጠው አማራ መሆኔን ነው የሚል አንድ የጎጃም አካባቢ ሰው፣ ወደ ጎንደር ቢሄድ የጎጃሜነት ማንነቱን ደጋግሞ እንዲያስታውስ የሚያደርግ ከባቢ ውስጥ ሊኖር እንደሚችል መገመት ይቻላል። ከሁሉም የማስበልጠው ማንነቴ ጎጃሜ መሆኔን ነው የሚል ሰው ወደ ኦሮምያ ወይም ደቡብ ክልል ቢሄድ ጎልቶ የሚጠቀስለት ማነነቱ አማራነቱ ሊሆን እንደሚችልም መገመትም ይቻላል።

ከሌላ አገር በስደት ከመጡ ወላጆች ተወልደው የሚያድጉ ህጻናት ከሚገጥማቸው ማንነት ነክ ፈተና አንዱ ባደጉበት አገር ከሌላ አገር ጋር ያላቸው የትውልድ ቁርኝት እነሱ ባይፈልጉት እንኳን በዙሪያቸው ባሉ ሰዎች ጎልቶ የሚታይ መሆኑ ነው። እነሱ ተወልደው ካደጉበት አገርና አካባቢ ያገኙትን ማንነት ማጉላት ቢፈልጉ እንኳን በዙሪያቸው ያሉ ሰዎች ወላጆቻቸው የመጡበትን አካባቢ እና ከዚያም የሚቀዳውን ማንነት ደጋግመው ያስታውሷቸዋል። ማንነት መመሳሰልንና ልዩነትን መሰረት የሚያደርግ እንደመሆኑ በ አንድ አካባቢ ውስጥ አንድን ሰው ወይም ቡድን በ አካባቢው ካሉ ሰዎች ወይም ቡድኖች ለየት የሚያደርገው የማንነቱ ቀለም ጎልቶ ይወጣል። በነጭ ወረቀት ላይ በነጭ ቀለም ቢጻፍ እንደማይታይ ሁሉ፣ በነጭ ወረቀት ላይ ከነጭ በተለየ ቀለም ሲጻፍ ጎልቶ እንደሚወታው ሁሉ በማንነት ውይይት ውስጥ ጎልቶ የሚወጣው የሚያመሳስለው ሳይሆን የሚያለያየው ነገር ነው። እስካሁን ባለው ሀተታ ወሳኝ ሊባል የሚችለው ማንነት በምርጫ እና በሁኔታዎች ሊለያይ እንደሚችል ግልጽ የሆነ ይመስለኛል። ስለዚሁ ነጥብ አንድ ተጨማሪ አስተያየት በመስጠት ይህን ጽሁፍ ላጠቃልል።

ማንነት ተኮር ግጭቶች ስለሚነሱበት እውነት እያሰብን የ አለምን ሁኔታ ብናስተውል በየ አካባቢው ያሉ የተለያዩ አይነት ልዩነቶች፣ ከህዝቦች ታሪካዊ መስተጋብር ጋር ተዳምረው ስር በሰደደ እና በከረረ ፉክክር፣ በጥላቻ እና በግጭት ውስጥ ጎልተው እናስተውላለን። በቋንቋ አንድ በሆኑ እንደ ሱማልያ ባሉ አገራት የጎሳ ልዩነት ጎልቶ ሊወጣ ይችላል። በደቡብና ሰሜን ኮሪያ መካከል ያለው ልዩነት መሰረቱ ርእዮታለማዊ ነው። እስልምናን በመከተል ተመሳሳይ የሆኑ ማህበረሰቦች፣ በተለያዩ ሴክቶች መካከል ባለው ልዩነት እና ፉክክር ተጠምደው ወደ ግጭት ያመራሉ። ቀደም ባለው ጊዜ በሶሻሊዝም አስተሳሰብ የተቃኙ የኢትዮጵያ አንዳንድ ወጣቶች ከብሄር ወይም ከቋንቋ ዝምድና ይልቅ መደባዊና ርእዮተ አለማዊ ወገንተኝነት የበለጠ ትርጉም የሚሰጣቸው ነገር እንደሆነ መረዳት ይቻላል። የእያንዳንዱ አገር ወይም አካባቢ ሁኔታ ራሱን በቻለ የታሪክ፣ የፖለቲካ፣ የኢኮኖሚና ማህበራዊና ሌሎችም ዝርዝር እውነታዎች የሚወሰን አካሄድ ያለው በመሆኑ፣ በቋንቋ ይሁን በርዕዮተ አለም፣ በጎሳ ይሁን ወይም በአካባቢ፣ በሃይማኖት ይሁን ወይም ሌላ ልዩነቶችና በ አንድ አካባቢ ባለ ግጭት ግልጽ የሆነ የምክንያትና የውጤት ግንኙነት መፍጠር ይከብዳል። ቢያንስ ግን በየሁኔታው ከሚያመሳስለው ነገር ይልቅ የሚያለያየው ነገር ጎልቶ እንደሚወጣና ወሳኝ ተደርጎ እንደሚወሰድ መመልከት ይቻላል። በተጨማሪም የሚጎላው ማንነት እያንዳንዱ ግለሰብ ወይም ቡድን ለራሱ በሚመርጠው ብቻ ሳይሆን፣ ከሌሎች ሰዎች ወይም ቡድኖች ጋር በሚያደርገው መስተጋብር ከእነሱ በሚለይበትና እንዲጎላ በሚፈልጉት እንዲሁም በሌሎች ታሪካዊ፣ ማህበራዊና ፖለቲካዊ ሁኔታዎች ሊወሰን እንደሚችል መረዳት ይቻላል። በተለያየ ሁኔታ ጎላ ብሎ ስለሚወጡ ወይም ስለሚቀርቡ ማንነቶች በዚህ ጽሁፍ ውስጥ የተነሱ አንዳንድ ነጥቦችን በቀጣይ ጽሁፎችም በተሻለ ቅርበት ለማየት እሞክራለሁ።
ቸር ይግጠመን።

The spirit of a pure Christianity: Exploring Ethiopia’s stunning subterranean churches

The noise is in no language I’ve ever heard. Yet the sound is familiar, even if the language is not. I have heard it in Istanbul, the Gulf, parts of Jerusalem. It sounds almost exactly like an imam calling the faithful to prayer.

Yet I am in Ethiopia, the cradle of an ancient form of Christianity, and the hotel at which I am staying is in Lalibela, one of the country’s most Christian sites; there are no mosques nearby. So what is going on?

Stepping out on to my balcony, I see the hillside opposite covered with thousands of people dressed in white cotton robes. They are making their way up a series of dirt tracks, their feet throwing up a haze of red dust. The chanting seems to be coming from the hilltop. But there is no sign of a church or indeed any building up there. All that can be made out is the rough outline of part of a giant cross, seemingly carved into the ground.

My guide, Girtane, is waiting for me in the hotel lobby. Seeing my confusion, he breaks into a broad smile. “It’s St George’s Day,” he says in explanation. St George, I learn, is the patron saint of Ethiopia. The damsel whom the knight saved from the dragon is, in local tradition, an Ethiopian princess called Beruktawit. And the chanting is not Arabic but Ge’ez , the holy language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Ge’ez has been spoken in Ethiopia since the time Rome was first founded. It has been the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s religious texts since Christianity originally spread to the country in the early fourth century, brought to this land by a Syrian Greek shipwrecked on the Eritrean coast.

The reason it sounds so familiar is that its origin can be traced to the same linguistic roots which inform Arabic and Hebrew. Ge’ez, it seems, is just another of the many ways that Ethiopia, and its church, has long been entwined with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern – and not just African – tradition.

I had already been in the country long enough to appreciate its rich cultural heritage and how it is a very, very different place to its Live Aid-era image. The capital, Addis Ababa, is a hive of construction (much of it the result of the influx of vast sums of Chinese money). Great stretches of the countryside look lush and green. But, for me, the biggest revelation in my time there was about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and its relationship with the people it serves.

Priests gather at a Lalibelan church (Kirill Serebrennikov)
Ethiopia was cut off for centuries from the wider Christian world by the Islamic conquests to its north. During that time, its church flourished in isolation, untouched by and ignorant of the theological disputes dividing Europe. That means its traditions provide insight into an older, perhaps purer and certainly more mystical form of Christianity – one that dates back 1,600 years and therefore, in its unaltered forms, bears witness to a liturgy practised only a relatively brief period after the time of Jesus Christ.

To better understand this, I had come to Lalibela, Ethiopia’s self-proclaimed “New Jerusalem”. Here, I thought, I could engage with the religion and its beliefs. What I had not expected was that I would also get to see one of the world’s most impressive – and most affecting – architectural marvels.

It was the fall of the Holy Land to Saladin 900 years ago that prompted these remarkable structures to be built. Ethiopia’s new king, King Lalibela, determined that his subjects, as well as the small Christian states scattered along the Nile, should have their own “Jerusalem” at his capital, Roha, to visit in order to show their devotion.

King Lalibela is so surrounded by legend that it is almost impossible to separate the man from the myth. Even his name, meaning “the man bees obey”, is part of that mystique. At his birth, a swarm of bees supposedly settled upon him, covering him but not stinging him. Later, when aged around seven, it is written that he was lifted towards heaven and spent three days receiving instruction on God’s divine knowledge.

Evgeny Lebedev with a clergyman (Kirill Serebrennikov)
The stories may be fairy tales but the monument he created – and which now bears his name – leaves no doubt as to the power he wielded. Claiming the plan had come to him in a dream from an angel, Lalibela instructed that a series of churches be constructed from the rock itself. This meant they were not built up from the ground with stone or brick but actually chiselled out of the surrounding hillsides.

By the early 13th century, 11 churches had been built. The labour involved must have been immense, not least as many are dug out of red volcanic rock. Some of the churches are constructed across the sides of valleys. Others are built deep into ravines, the result cave-like. Many are linked by subterranean tunnels. A river was re-routed and re-named the Jordan. The largest hill overlooking the site became the site’s own Mount Tabor.

No one is sure just how long the project took. Locals often say 23 years – but that is based on the legend that angels themselves came to help work on it, taking over at night as the human workers went home to rest. Without any records from that period, it is not even known how those humans who did toil on the site were housed or fed.

Nowhere in Lalibela is as impressive, however, as the building they finished last. That is the Bet Giyorgis, or the Church of St George, and it is there – it being St George’s saint’s day – that the crowds are gathered and from where the chanting comes. The surrounding roads heave with pilgrims, some beating skin- covered drums and others waving sticks covered in bells, as around them children dart, selling crucifixes fashioned from dried reeds.

A side-view of the Church of St George (Kirill Serebrennikov)
The only way to properly appreciate the Bet Giyorgis is to look down upon it. Dug directly into the hilltop and standing 50ft tall, it is shaped like a giant Greek cross and is set tight within the walls of the surrounding pit. Once the ground was chiselled away by hand to create the monolith, the exterior carvings were completed and the interior hollowed out.

There are no souvenir stalls or safety rails here, health and safety concerns being notably absent. Rather, the pilgrims descend rough-hewn steps. Reaching the church’s entrance, many kneel to kiss the ground. Outside is a small baptismal pool, overgrown with grasses used in Palm Sunday services; inside, the only light flows through narrow windows high up in the wall. On the day I visit, a priest stands in a corner holding burning candles that he waves in front of him. Another wafts a censer, the smoke billowing towards us, as other priests line the walls.

The faithful enter and prostrate themselves forward to pray. “They’ve come here for a blessing,” it is explained to me. “We’re taught that every believer must come at least once in their lives to Lalibela. Some will have brought family members who are sick or disabled, as it’s believed the holy water has healing properties. Many will stay all day and all night.”

A curtain separates the inner area reserved for the priests from the main room holding the faithful. A third section stands at the centre of the church. This is its most holy spot and none but the most senior clergy are allowed to enter. It is there – as in all Ethiopian churches – that a representation of the Ethiopian Orthodoxy’s most revered object stands: the Ark of the Covenant.

Pilgrims squeeze their way through the surrounds (Kirill Serebrennikov)
The Ark, the Bible tells us, held the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. For the rest of Christianity, it has been lost – most likely stolen or destroyed in the sixth century k by the Babylonians when they sacked Solomon’s temple. Not, however, for the Ethiopians. They believe they know exactly where it is; indeed, that it has been in their homeland for thousands of years. Since the 1960s, in fact, it has been housed in a special chapel near an Ethiopian town called Aksum, where it is guarded by a succession of virgin monks who are never allowed to leave the chapel’s grounds.

The Queen of Sheba is at the heart of the tale of how it supposedly got there. Travelling to Jerusalem, she is said to have met and fallen in love with King Solomon and, unknown to Solomon, had a child with him called Menelik.

This child would become the first emperor of Ethiopia and ultimately return to Jerusalem to reveal himself to his father. Legend has it that Solomon was delighted and bestowed upon his son all manner of gifts, including a retinue of nobles to protect him on his journey home.

What actually happened next is confused. According to some traditions, it was this noble retinue who stole the Ark without Menelik’s knowledge; according to others, that he colluded with them; and in some accounts that the whole endeavour was set up and supported by the Archangel Gabriel. The result, however, is agreed upon: the Ark of the Covenant was taken to Ethiopia, where it has stayed ever since as a symbol of God’s blessing.

I travel to Aksum, hoping to see the Ark for myself. I quickly discover that there is no chance of that. No one other than its elderly guardian is allowed to set eyes upon the relic – not the country’s president nor even the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s patriarch. The chapel proves to be little more than a concrete box with no architectural interest or style. Standing behind spiky iron railings, it looks like nothing more than a suburban bungalow. To my surprise and disappointment, there is no sense of the sacred here.

The contrast with Lalibela could not be greater. There, you find pilgrims praying, kissing the walls or sitting cross-legged on the floor reading religious texts. Every morning a service is held in all the churches. Lalibela is a place where worshippers’ faith brings life to ancient walls in the most profound manner.

Locals, who believe that the Ark of the Covenant rests in Aksum (Kirill Serebrennikov)
As a Russian, I come from a country that is part of the Orthodox tradition. Culturally, the Russian Orthodox Church is my church – although little I have seen ever enamoured it to me. One only has to consider its hounding of punk-rock protesters Pussy Riot, or its cosy relationship with the state, or the sense of avarice that seems to emit from it, to realise why. In recent years, reports have emerged that a car repair and tyre service was being run underneath Christ the Saviour, Moscow’s largest Orthodox cathedral, and that a brothel was being run on land rented by Sretensky Monastery. Archpriest Mikhail Grigoriev of Kazan was discovered to own a BMW jeep, a Mercedes jeep and a Mercedes saloon as well as three flats and a country house. He was secretly filmed boasting about his £12,000 mobile phone and love of Italian designer clothes. This year, there have been allegations of sexual assault by Russian Orthodox clergy, with students supposedly plied with alcohol before being abused.

The church’s head, Patriarch Kirill, a man who regularly criticises Western commercialism and publicly called feminism “very dangerous”, was even caught out by his own hypocrisy: two years ago, his press team issued a photograph of a meeting in Ukraine in which Kirill’s $30,000 Swiss Breguet watch was airbrushed out. Unfortunately for them, they had overlooked its reflection on a polished table top.

Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church appears very different. On the ground, the impression I get is overwhelmingly one of a clergy committed to personal humility. Again and again I meet priests living lives just as humble as their congregations. They are keeping true to the tenet of their faith that they must forgo almost all possessions and dedicate themselves totally to the spiritual life. This, I feel, gives them considerable moral authority.

After Lalibela, Tigray, to the north, is perhaps Ethiopia’s most sacred spot. Amid its stark, lunar-like mountains, with their steep outcrops and columns rising hundreds of feet into the air, are built Tigray’s own rock-hewn churches. Some of these predate Lalibela’s by hundreds of years and, though less impressive architecturally, have their own power brought by the isolation and otherworldliness of the spot.

Access to many involves scaling a cliff. Again there is no health and safety procedure – or even ropes and carabinas – and I find myself clinging to a sheer rock face seeking out the next crevice as I inch myself towards the top to see one of the churches for myself. There I meet the local bishop, who invites me to his home in a nearby building. It is utterly spartan. A thin mattress on the floor, a beaten-up wooden chest and an old clock radio are seemingly his only possessions. I ask if he doesn’t miss having a few luxuries. The answer is immediate: he does not, he insists. Despite his being a “simple life”, for almost four decades he has got all he needed or wanted from life as he has been able to spend every day “praying”.

As I leave, a group of pilgrims arrives to see him. Standing outside his church, he blesses them. Then he goes inside to get what food he has to share. Together they break bread.

Inside the church would have stood its replica of the Ark, the symbol of God’s promise to his chosen people. Yet what I witness is a living, more immediate, covenant – one that across the country is renewed daily between a church and its believers. If there must be religion, I tell myself, then this is how it should be.

Evgeny Lebedev is the owner of the Independent titles and the London Evening Standard. Follow him on Twitter at@mrevgenylebedev

በሱሉልታ ከተማ የአማራ ተወላጆች ናችሁ የተባሉ ተደበደቡ

By ናፍቆት ዮሴፍ

Addis Admass News

ሶስት ሰዎች ከፍተኛ ጉዳት ደርሶባቸው በአዲስ አበባ የተለያዩ ሆስፒታሎች ገብተዋል
“ረብሻውን ያነሱት ህዝብን የማይወክሉ ወሮበሎች ናቸው” የከተማው ኮሙዩኒኬሽን)

“ባህርዳር በተካሄደው የስፖርት ውድድር ላይ የኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ላይ አድልዎ ተፈጽሟል” በማለት የተቧደኑ ወጣቶች፣ ባለፈው ሐሙስ የሱሉልታ ከተማ ነዋሪ የሆኑ በርካታ የአማራ ተወላጆች ላይ ድብደባ ፈፀሙ፡፡
በድብደባ በርካታ ሰዎች ከመጐዳታቸውም በተጨማሪ፤ ቤት ንብረት ላይም ጥፋት እንደደረሰ የተናገሩት ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው ግለሰቦች ጉዳዩን ሕገወጥ ነው ሲሉ አውግዘውታል፡፡ የከተማዋ ኮሙኒኬሽን ጽ/ቤት ሃላፊ፤ የስፖርት ውድድርን ሰበብ በማድረግ ረብሻ የቀሰቀሱ ሰዎች ህዝብን የማይወክሉ ወሮበሎች ናቸው ብለዋል፡፡
ረብሻውን ቀስቅሰዋል ተብለው ከተጠረጠሩት ውስጥ አራቱን በቁጥጥር ስር ማዋል እንደተቻለም ገልፀዋል ሃላፊው፡፡
“የቤቴ በርና መስኮት እንዳልነበር ሆኗል፤ አጥር ተገነጣጥሏል፤ መስኮቶች ዱቄት ሆነዋል” ያሉት አንድ የከተማዋ የረጅም ጊዜ ነዋሪ፤ ከ30 በላይ ቤቶች ጉዳት እንደደረሰባቸው ተናግረዋል፡፡ የስድስት ልጆች እናት እንደሆኑ የገለፁልን ሌላዋ ነዋሪ፤ በቤታቸውና በንብረታቸው ላይ አደጋ መድረሱን ጠቅሰው፤ እንደሌሎች ሰዎች ከፍተኛ የአካል ጉዳት ባያጋጥማቸውም በእጃቸው ላይ በደረሰባቸው ጉዳት በከተማዋ አንድ ክሊኒክ ህክምና እንደተደረገላቸው ተናግረዋል፡፡
“ይህ ህዝቡ በሰላም አብሮ እንዳይኖርና እንዳይግባባ ሆን ተብሎ የሚጫር የነገር እሳት ነው” ያሉት የ56 አመት አዛውንት በበኩላቸው፤ መንግስት መፍትሔ ከላበጀለት በቀር በአሁኑ ወቅት ከየአቅጣጫው የምንሰማው በዘር ተቧድኖ ግጭት የመፍጠር ጉዳይ አስጊ ነው ብለዋል፡፡
የከተማው አስተዳደር ኮሙዩኒኬሽን ጽ/ቤት ሃላፊ አቶ መሳይ ከበደ፤ ከከተማ አስተዳደር በደረሳቸው ሪፖርት ተዘዋውረው እንደተመለከቱ ገልፀው፣ የተወራውን ያህል ባይሆንም የስምንት ቤቶች የበርና የመስኮት መስታወቶች ተሰባብረዋል፤ የቆርቆሮ አጥሮች ተገነጣጥለዋል ብለዋል፡፡ ሰዎች አራት እንደተጐዱና የሶስቱ ሰዎች ጉዳት ከፍተኛ ስለሆነ በአዲስ አበባ የተለያዩ ሆስፒታሎች ውስጥ በክህምና ላይ መሆናቸውን አቶ መሳይ ጠቅሰው፤ አንዲት እናት በእጃቸው ላይ መጠነኛ ጉዳት ደርሶባቸው በከተማው ጤና ጣቢያ ታክመው ተመልሰዋል ብለዋል፡፡
“የረብሻው መንስኤ በቅርቡ ባህርዳር የተካሄደው የመላው ኢትዮጵያ ጫዋታዎች ውድድር ላይ በኦሮሞ ተወላጆች ላይ አድልዎና ተፅእኖ ተደርጓል የሚል ሰበብ ነው” ብለዋል አቶ መሳይ፡፡
“በረብሻው ዙሪያ ህዝቡንና የከተማ ነዋሪውን በመሰብሰብ ረብሻውን ያስነሱት ሰዎች ህዝብን የማይወክሉ እና ህዝብን ለማጋጨት ፍላጎት ያላቸው የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ ደጋፊዎች መሆናቸውን ተወያተናል” ያሉት የኮሚዩኒኬሽን ኃላፊው፣ ህዝቡ እንዲህ ዓይነት ቡድኖችም ሆኑ ግለሰቦችን አሳልፎ እንዲሰጥ ተግባብተናል ብለዋል፡፡ ረብሻው ወዲያውኑ በፖሊሶችና ከጫንጮ በመጡ የፀጥታ ኃይሎች መቆሙን ተናግረዋል – ሃላፊው፡፡

ፌደራል ጉዳዮች ሚኒስቴርና የቤኒሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልል መንግሥት ተከሰሱ

Ethiopian Reporter

በየካቲት ወር 2005 ዓ.ም. ከቤኒሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልል ካማሸ ዞን ያሶ ወረዳ በተፈናቀሉ የአማራ ብሔር ተወላጆች ምክንያት የክልሉ መንግሥት፣ የፌደራል ሚኒስቴርና በድርጊቱ ተሳትፈዋል በተባሉ ተጠርጣሪዎች ላይ ክስ መመሥረቱ ታወቀ፡፡

ለበርካታ ዓመታት ከኖሩበት አካባቢ ያለምንም ማስጠንቀቂያ 1,346 የሚሆኑ አባዎራዎችን ጨምሮ 3,240 ቤተሰቦቻቸው መፈናቀላቸው ይታወሳል፡፡

በመሆኑም ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ በወቅቱ ለምን እንዲፈናቀሉ እንደተደረገ፣ የተፈናቀሉትም ወደነበሩበት ቀዬ እንዲመለሱና ለደረሰባቸው ጉዳት ካሳ እንዲከፈላቸው፣ አፈናቃዮቹም ለሕግ እንዲቀርቡ በተደጋጋሚ መጠየቁ አይዘነጋም፡፡ የአማራ ተወላጆችም የተፈናቀሉት ኪራይ ሰብሳቢዎች በሠሩት ስህተት መሆኑን በመጠቆም በሕግ እንደሚጠየቁ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኃይለ ማርያም ደሳለኝ በግልጽ መናገራቸውም እንዲሁ፡፡

ነገር ግን የክልሉ መንሥትም ሆነ ፌደራል ጉዳዮች ሚኒስቴር ለተፈናቃዮቹ ካሳ መስጠትም ሆነ ወደ ቀያቸው እንዲመለሱ ባለማድረጋቸውና በተጠርጣሪዎቹ ላይ ዕርምጃ ባለመውሰዳቸው፣ ሰማያዊ ፓርቲ በታዋቂው የሕግ ምሁር ዶ/ር ያዕቆብ ኃይለ ማርያም አማካይነት ያቀረበው ክስ ተቀባይነት በማግኘቱ፣ በክሱ የፌዴራል ጉዳዮች ሚኒስቴር፣ የክልሉ መንግሥትና ሌሎች ተጠርጣሪዎች ሚያዝያ 9 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. በፌዴራል ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት ስምንተኛ ፍትሐ ብሔር ችሎት ቀርበው የተጠረጠሩበት ክስ እንደሚነበብላቸው ታውቋል፡፡

ከቤኒሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልል ካማሽ ዞን ያሶ ወረዳ 3,240 የአማራ ብሔር ተወላጆች መፈናቀላቸው እውነት መሆኑን የክልሉ ፕሬዚዳንት አቶ አህመድ ናስር አረጋግጠው፣ ችግሩ የተፈጠረው በኪራይ ሰብሳቢዎች መሆኑን በመጠቆም፣ ሁሉም ወደ ነበሩበት ቀዬ እንዲመለሱ መደረጉን መናገራቸውን መዘገባችን ይታወሳል፡፡

Sudan denies military cooperation with Ethiopia

April 10, 2014

Star Africa

Sudan has denied any military coordination with Ethiopia in order to protect the Ethiopian renaissance dam. The Sudanese army spokesman Col. Alswarmy Khalid Saad on Wednesday told reporters that the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian forces were formed to monitor the common border and stop the criminal actions of human trafficking and smuggling on the border.

â€œWe have nothing to do with the Ethiopian dam protection, it is an internal responsibility of Ethiopian government to protect its territoriesâ the spokesman stressed.

â€œWe are keen to balance our position in this sensitive issue and for example we have joint patrols to protect our border with Egypt as well as he added.

The Ethiopian government has threatened that its troops are ready to repulse any “possible but unlikely” attack from its neighbours over the building of a controversial dam on the River Nile.

England continues to hold on to Ethiopia’s treasures looted in 1868

10 April 2014

By MURPHY BROWNE (Abena Agbetu)

Many Christians consider the Easter season to be the holiest season of the Christian faith. Easter is a special time of celebration for millions of Christians around the world. It is believed that Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection happened around that time. The Easter weekend (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday) is supposed to be a time that Christians commemorate the culminating event of their faith. Some Christians believe that it is a time that proclaims God’s purpose of loving and redeeming the world through Christ’s supreme sacrifice. However, in the eyes of some, not all Christians are created equal. Easter of 1868 was an especially brutal time for Christian Ethiopians living in Maqdala. Over the three day Easter weekend of 1868 a group of White Christian men slaughtered a group of Christian Africans in Ethiopia.

On Easter Monday, 1868, after three days of fighting that began on Good Friday when the British attacked, the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II committed suicide rather than allow his enemies to capture him. On that Easter Monday of 1868 after the British captured the fortress of Maqdala, which was Emperor Tewodros’ mountain capital in north-west Ethiopia, the British soldiers celebrated by desecrating the body of the Ethiopian monarch looting everything of value and burning the town.

The British “expedition” was led by Robert Napier who had been promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of 32,000 men. Clements R. Markham, who has been recognized as the leading British historian of the time was part of the expedition. Markham wrote that Napier’s men, on entering the citadel, swarmed around the body of the deceased monarch then: “gave three cheers over it, as if it had been a dead fox, and then began to pull and tear the clothes to pieces until it was nearly naked”.

British journalist Henry Morton Stanley who wrote glowingly about the British “victory” at Maqdala corroborated Markham’s account of the events. In the 1874 book, “Coomassie And Magdala: The Story Of Two British Campaigns In Africa” (reprinted in 2009) Stanley wrote of the scene where the Emperor’s desecrated body lay: “mob, indiscriminate of officers and men, rudely jostling each other in the endeavour to get possession of a small piece of Theodore’s blood-stained shirt. No guard was placed over the body until it was naked, nor was the slightest respect shown it. It lay subjected to the taunts and the jests of the brutal-minded”. These good British Christian soldiers swarmed the area and looted not only the Emperor’s treasury but also the Christian church of Medhane Alem, including its store house, “constituting a gross act of sacrilege”.

Describing the scene of the British soldiers dividing the property they looted from the Ethiopians Stanley wrote: “The perambulatory roll of the drum which in all well governed and systematically military encampments announces a new move or new event, assembled all the officers and crowds of on-lookers around the piled trophies of Magdala which covered half an acre of ground. Fathoms of finest carpets of all countries were spread about, and all the paraphernalia of a thousand churches glittered in the morning sunlight.” Stanley described the British soldiers at the scene who were covetously waiting to take some of the loot back to Britain in this manner: “and jostling each other in the characteristic confusion of mobs (and the most belligerent mob in the world is an English one)”.

The religious manuscripts, crosses and other ecclesiastical objects stolen by the British troops, today grace museums and some private collections in Britain. Sir Richard Rivington Holmes who was Assistant in the British Museum’s Department of Manuscripts, wrote in an official report that at dusk, he met a British soldier who was carrying the crown of the Abun, the Head of the Ethiopian Church, and a “solid gold chalice weighing at least 6 lbs”. Holmes bought the crown and the chalice for “£4 Sterling.” Not satisfied with looting the treasures of the Ethiopian people, the British destroyed Maqdala. The well planned and executed arson attack began with destroying the fort/citadel. The palace and all other buildings, including the church of Medhane Alem, were also set on fire.

The British journalist, Stanley, reporting on the destruction: “The easterly wind gradually grew stronger, fanning incipient tongues of flame visible on the roofs of houses until they grew larger under the skillful nursing and finally sprang aloft in crimson jets, darting upward and then circling round on their centres as the breeze played with them. A steady puff of wind leveled the flaming tongues in a wave, and the jets became united into an igneous lake! The heat became more and more intense; loaded pistols and guns, and shells thrown in by the British batteries, but which had not been discharged, exploded with deafening reports. Three thousand houses and a million combustible things were burning. Not one house would have escaped destruction in the mighty ebb and flow of that deluge of fire”.

The looted treasures of Maqdala were transported to the Dalanta Plain on 15 elephants and 200 mules. The stolen goods were shipped to Britain from the Dalanta Plain. On April 20 and 21, the British military held a two-day auction to dispose of the stolen Ethiopian property. The British coveted the many “richly illuminated Bibles and manuscripts” and other property of the Ethiopian people and wanted them as souvenirs of the horror they had visited upon the Ethiopian people. The British Museum, now the British Library, benefitted from the auction and received 350 Ethiopian manuscripts, many of them “finely illuminated”. The Royal Library at Windsor Castle received six “exceptionally beautiful specimens”.

Some other recipients of the stolen Ethiopian manuscripts were the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Cambridge University Library, the John Rylands Library in Manchester, the Royal Library in Vienna, the German Kaiser and the Biblioltheque Nationale in Paris. Several of these manuscripts contain extensive archival material, including Tewodros’s tax records and other data essential for the study of Ethiopian history. The stolen property also includes two of Emperor Tewodros’ crowns and a royal cap, his imperial seal, the golden chalice and 10 tabots from the church’s altar. Several beautifully decorated processional crosses were given to the South Kensington Museum, the name later changed to the Victoria and Albert Museum; two of the Emperor’s richly embroidered tents are now in the Museum of Mankind, London.

The barbarity of the British knew no bounds as they also stole locks of Emperor Tewodros’ hair, some of it displayed in the National Army Museum, London. Not content with looting and destroying Maqdala, the British took the widowed Empress Tiruwork Wube and her son, the seven-year-old Ethiopian prince, Dejazmach Alemayehu Tewodros, prisoner. While the Empress and prince were being taken away from their home, the Empress transitioned and the prince was orphaned. Prince Dejazmach Alemayehu was taken to England where he transitioned in 1879 when he was 18 years old. His remains are buried in a crypt beside St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Over the years his tomb has been visited by numerous Ethiopians including His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I.

Beginning with Emperor Tewodros’ successor, Emperor Yohannes IV, there have been numerous requests to the British monarchy and government for the return of Ethiopia’s stolen property. On August 10, 1872 Emperor Yohannes IV wrote to Queen Victoria and the British Foreign Secretary, Earl Granville, requesting the return of a Kebra Nagast and an icon, the Kwer’ata Re‘esu. Since they possessed more than one stolen copy, the British Museum very generously returned one copy of the Kebra Negast to Ethiopia. On 18 December, 1872 Queen Victoria replied to the Emperor declaring: “Of the picture (icon) we can discover no trace whatever, and we do not think it can have been brought to England.” The icon was indeed part of the looted property that was taken to England but was not publicly acknowledged until 1890, a year after Emperor Yohannes’s death. In 1905 a photograph of the icon appeared in The Burlington Magazine, a British art journal.

Since the return of the Kebra Negast in the nineteenth century there has been great resistance to return Ethiopia’s property. An English woman who had in her possession a collection of Ethiopian manuscripts from Maqdala had several of them published in London, with translations by Sir Ernest Wallis Budge. These manuscripts were seen by Emperor Menelek’s envoy, Ras Makonnen (Emperor Haile Selassie I’s father), who was in England in 1902 for the Coronation of King Edward VII. In January 1910, perhaps in an attack of conscience, the woman who possessed the Ethiopian manuscripts bequeathed them in her will to Emperor Menilek. The Times reporting this, stated that “envoys from the Emperor were sent over to arrange for their [the manuscripts’] recovery, and it is believed that the present bequest is the fulfillment of a promise then given”.

The English woman died on 20 December 1910 but the powers that be refused to honour her bequest to return the manuscripts to the Ethiopian people. The Ethiopian president made a formal request to Queen Elizabeth II for the remains of Prince Alemayehu to be returned to Ethiopia in time for the celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium (September 12, 2007.) In an article published on Sunday, June 3, 2007 the BBC News reported: “The royal household at Windsor Castle, where Prince Alemayehu was buried, is said to be considering the request.” Like the looted treasures of his homeland, the remains of the teenage prince who was taken prisoner after being orphaned by the British, are still in Britain seven years after that request was made.

tiakoma@hotmail.com

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