Thursday, November 21, 2013

OLF Info Desk: Statement on the Ongoing Harassment Against Immigrants in Saudi Arabia

Sadaasa/November 21, 2013 · Gadaa.com

በባእድ ኣገራት የጥቃት ሰለባ ለሆኑት ስደተኞች ዋነኛው ተጠያቂ የኣገር መሪ ነኝ ባዩ የወያኔ ስርኣት ነው
ኣብዛኞቹ ኦሮሞ የሆኑ የተለያዩ ብሄር ብሄረሰብ ተወላጆች ባገራቸው ሰርተው ማደግ ተስኖኣቸው በያመቱ ወደ ጎርቤትና ሩቅ ሃገራት ይሰደዳሉ። ኣብዛኞቹ በህገ ወጥ መንገድ ድንበር ኣሳብረው ጎሮቤት ኣገራት ይገባሉ። ጎሮቤት ኣገራቱ ውስጥም የወያኔ መንግስት ተጽእኖ ኣላሰራ ሲላቸው ለደህንነታቸው ሰግተው ርቀው ለመሄድ ሲሉ የከፋ ኣደጋ ያጋጥማቸዋል። በዚህ ሁኔታ በሱዳን፣ ሶማሊያ፣ ሶማሊ ላንድ፣ ፑንት ላንድ፣ ጅቡቲ፣ ኬንያ፣ ደቡብ ሱዳን፣ የመን፣ ሳውዲ ኣረቢያ፣ ዱባይ፣ ባህሬን፣ ሊባኖስ፣ ቃታር፣ ግብጽ እና ደቡብ ኣፍሪካ በመሳሰሉት ኣገራት ውስጥ ተሰድደው የሚገኙ ከኦሮሞና ከሌሎችም ብሄር ብሄረሰብ የሆኑ ዜጎች ብዛት በመቶ ሺዎች የሚገመት ነው።
ከነዚህ ስደተኞች ገሚሶቹ በፖለቲካ ችግር ሳቢያ የሚወዷትን ኣገራቸውን ለቀው የወጡ ናቸው። የተቀሩትም ባገራቸው ሰርተው የመለወጥና ራሳቸውን ችለው ቤተሰቦቻቸውን የመደገፍ እድል ተነፍገው ለተሻለ የስራ እድል ርቀው የሄዱ ናቸው። ባገራቸው ነግደው፣ ኣርሰው፣ ኣርብተው ኣልያም ባላቸው ሞያ ኣገልግለው እንዳይለወጡ ስልጣን ላይ ያለው ስርኣት እንቅፋት ሆነባቸው። የወያኔ መንግስት ባገራቸው ከማናቸውም መንግስታዊ የፖለቲካ ጉዳዮች ነጻ ሆነው ሰርተው መሻሻል የሚፈልጉትን ዜጎች የግድ የፓርቲዬ ኣባል ካልሆናችሁ እያለ ያስፈራራቸዋል። ይህን የማይቀበሉትን በሰበብ ኣስባቡ ኣደናቅፎ የስራ እድል ይዘጋባቸዋል። ኣርሶ ኣደሮቹን የማዳበሪያና የምርጥ ዘር ዋጋ ያስወድድባቸዋል ኣልያም ከናካቴው ይከለክላቸዋል። ነጋዴዎቹን ውሃ ቀጠነ ብሎ በማስቸገር የንግድ ፈቃዳቸውን ከነጠቀ በሁዋላ ይህን ያህል ሺ ገንዘብ ካልከፈልክ ኣታገኝም ይላቸዋል። ወደ ንግዱ ኣለም ለመግባት ያላቸውን ሃብት ኣስይዘው ከባንክ ገንዘብ መበደር የሚፈልጉትን በቅድሚያ የፓርቲያችን ኣባልነት መታወቂያ ኣምጣ በማለት ያሰናክላቸዋል። እነዚህ እንቅፋቶች ዜጎች ባገራቸው ሰርተው ራሳቸውንም ሆነ ኣገራቸውን እንዳያሳድጉ በማደናቀፍ ልባቸው ስደት እንዲመኝ ገፋፉ። ከኢትዮጵያ እየወጡ ወደተለያዩ ኣገራት ስራ ፍለጋ የተሰደዱ ዜጎች ቁጥር ከማናቸውም የጎሮቤቶቻችን ኣገሮች ልቆ የሚገኝበት ምክንያትም በዚህ ኣይነቱ የመንግስት ተጽእኖ ሳቢያ ነው ቢባል ማጋነን ኣይሆንም።
እነዚህ ስራ ፍለጋ የሚንከራተቱ ዜጎች የኢትዮጵያ ዜጎች እስከተባሉ ድረስ በደረሱበት ሁሉ ደህንነታቸውን የመከታተል ሃላፊነት የወደቀው ኣገር መሪ ነኝ በሚለው የወያኔ መንግስት ጫንቃ ላይ ነው። የወያኔ ህወሃት መንግስት ግን በኣንጻሩ ስደተኞቹ በደረሱባቸው ኣገራት ለሰብኣዊ ፍጡር የማይገቡ የጭካኔ እርምጃዎች ሰለባ እንዲሆኑ በማድረጉ ሴራ ውስጥ በቀጥታም ባይሆን በተዘዋዋሪ ተሳታፊ መሆንን መረጠ። በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ዜጎች ለስራ ፍላጋ በተሰደዱባቸው ኣገራት ተገድለው ሬሳቸው ጎዳና ላይ ሲጣል፣ ደማቸው እንደ ውሻ ደም የትም ሲፈስ ወያኔ ይህ ለምን ሆነ ብሎ ሲጠይቅ ኣልተሰማም። ሰርተው ለመቀየር ያለሙ የኣገራችን ሴቶች ለግርድና ስራ ወደ ኣረብ ኣገራት ተሰድደው በጭካኔ ሲገደሉ፣ ሲደፈሩና ያፈሩትን ጥሪት ሲነጠቁ በተደጋጋሚ ተሰምቷል። ኣንዳንዶቹ ምሬት ጠንቶባቸው ከፎቅ ላይ ራሳቸውን ወርዉረው ነፍሳቸውን እንዳጠፉም ይታወቃል። ከኣንድ ኣመት ገደማ በፊት ኣለም ደቻሳ የተባለች የኦሮሞ ተወላጅ በቤይሩት ጎዳና ላይ በኣገሬው ሰዎች እንደ እባብ ስትቀጠቀጥ የሚያሳይ ቪድዮ በ ዮቲዩብ መለቀቁ ይታወሳል። ኣለም በወቅቱ እነዚያ ኣረመኔ የኣረብ ወጣቶች የሴትነት ክብሯን ደፍረው እርቃኗን ጎዳና ለጎዳና እየጎተቱ ሲጫወቱባት እዚያ ኣገር የሚገኘው የወያኔ ኤምባሲ እንዲደርስላት እያለቀሰች ስትማፀን በዚያው ቪድዮ ላይ ተስምታለች። ኤምባሲው ግን ኣልደረሰላትም። የሚገርመው ደግሞ ኣለም ደቻሳ ላይ እንዲህ ያለው ዘግናኝ በደል የደረሰው የወያኔ ኤምባሲ ካለበት ሁለት መቶ ሜትሮች ብቻ ርቆ በሚገኝ ስፍራ ላይ መሆኑ ነው። የወያኔ መንግስት በዚህ ኣንገብጋቢ ጉዳይ ላይ የኣገሪቷን መንግስት የጠየቀው ነገር ኣልተሰማም።
በቅርቡም እንደሚታወቀው ሳዉዲ ኣረቢያ ውስጥ በስራ ላይ ተሰማርተው ይኖሩ በነበሩ የኢትዮጵያ ዜጎች ላይ ኣስነዋሪ የጭካኔ እርምጃዎች ለሳምንታት ሳይቁዋረጡ እየተወሰዱ ናቸው። በዚህም እርምጃ ቢያንስ የሶስት ዜጎች ህይወት ጠፍቷል። የሳውዲ ፖሊሶች ከኣገሬው ወጣቶች ጋር በመሆን ዜግነታቸው ከኢትዮጵያ በሆነ ስድተኞች ላይ የተለየ ኣስነዋሪ የጭካኔ ድርጊት ሲፈጽሙ በተቀረጸው የቪድዮ ምስል ታይተዋል። ይህ ሁሉ ሲሆን እነዚህ የሚደበደቡ፣ የሚገደሉና የሚደፈሩ ዜጎች የትውልድ ኣገር መንግስት የሆነው ወያኔ ኣፉን ሞልቶ ድርጊቱን ሲያወግዝ ኣልተሰማም።
እንደ ኢንዶኔዢያና ፊሊፒንስ ያሉ መንግስታት ዜጎቻቸው ከሳውዲ በሃይል መፈናቀላቸውን ተቃውመው ወዲያውኑ የቅሬታ መግለጫ በማውጣት የሳውዲን መንግስት ኣወገዙ። በሳውዲ የሚኖሩትን የሃገራቸው ስደተኛ ዜጎች ደህንነት ለማስጠበቅ ባላቸው ኣቅም ሁሉ እርምጃ ወሰዱ። የወያኔ መንግስት ግን እንዲህ ያለውን መንግስታዊ ሃላፊነት መወጣት ቀርቶ እንዲያውም የሳውዲን መንግስት ጸረ ሰብኣዊ መብት እርምጃ ለመደገፍ እየተሞዳሞደ መሆኑን በራሱ ላይ መስከረ። በኣገሩ ዜጎች ላይ ሳውዲ ውስጥ እየደረሰ ላለውና ኣለምን እያሳዘነ ለሚገኘው ውርደት ስሜት ኣልነበረውም። ወያኔ ዘንድ ዋጋ የሚያወጣው ለኣገሩ ዜጎች ክብር መቆም ሳይሆን ለሳውዲ ኢንቨስተሮች መሬት ሸጦ ኣልያም በነጻ ሸንሽኖ እየሰጣቸው በኣጸፋው በሚወረወርለት ጥቅማ ጥቅም የንዋይ ጥማቱን ማርካት ብቻ ነው። ዜጎች ኣገራቸው ላይ ሰርተው እንዳያድጉ በሰበብ ኣስባቡ ገፍቶ በማስወጣት እነርሱ ለቀው የሄዱለትን መሬት ዛሬ ዜጎቹን እየገደሉ ላሉት የኣረብ ጥጋበኞች ይቸበችባል። ይህ የኣንድ ጸረ ህዝብ መንግስት ትልቁ መለያ ምልክት ነው።
እንደ ሱዳን፣ የመን፣ ጅቡቲ፣ ሶማሊ ላንድ፣ ፑንት ላንድ፣ ኬንያና በመሳሰሉት ሃገራት ውስጥ ከረጅም ጊዜ በፊት ጀምሮ ከኢትዮጵያ በሄዱ ዜጎች ላይ የሚደርሰው የሞትና እንግልት ኣደጋ ተነግሮ የሚያልቅ ኣይደለም። ይህ ሁሉ ሲሆን ታዲያ የወያኔ መንግስት ከነዚያ የባእድ መንግስታት ጋር ተባብሮ ስደተኞቹን ማስገደል፣ ማሳሰርና ወደ ሃገር ቤት መልሶ ማሰቃየት ካልሆነ በስተቀር ዜጎቼ ብሎ ደርሶላቸው ኣያውቅም።
በጥቅሉ ሲታይ በባእድ ኣገራት ውስጥ በኦሮሞና ሌሎችም ብሄር ተወላጅ ስራ ፈላጊ ስደተኞች ላይ እየደረሰ ላለው ሰቆቃ ዋነኛ ተጠያቂው ባእዳኑ መንግስታት ሳይሆኑ ራሱ የወያኔ መንግስት ነው። በበርካታ ምክንያቶች ተጠያቂ ይሆናል። በመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ስደተኞቹን ገፍቶ ከሃገር እንዲወጡ በማድረጉ ይጠየቃል። በሁለተኛ ደረጃ ስደተኞቹ በደረሱባቸው ኣገራት ሰብኣዊ መብታቸው ተከብሮ እንዲሰሩ በኤምባሲዎቹ ኣማካኝነት ክትትል ባለማድረጉ ተጠያቂ ይሆናል። ሶስተኛ ደግሞ ስደተኞቹ በሚኖሩባቸው ኣገራት ሰብኣዊ መብቶቻቸውን ሲገፈፉ ፈጥኖ ደርሶላቸው ተገቢውን እርምጃ ኣለመውሰዱ ተጠያቂ ያደርገዋል።
ከሁሉም በላይ ግን ስራ ፈላጊዎቹ ዜጎች በገዛ ኣገራቸው ላይ ሰርተው ራሳቸውን እንዲችሉ በማበረታታት ምትክ ተስፋ ቆርጠው ስደትን እንዲመርጡ መገፋፋቱ ትልቅ መንግስታዊ ጉድለት ነው። ዜጎቹ ኣገራቸውን ለቀው ኣንዳይሄዱ ለማድረግ ከፖለቲካ ተጽእኖ ነጻ የሆነ የስራ እድል ማመቻቸት መንግስታዊ ሃላፊነቱ ነበረ። ሁሉም ዜጎች በሚኖሩባቸው ክልሎች ከማናቸውም የፖለቲካ ኣመለካከቶች ነጻ የሆነ ሰርቶ የመሻሻል እድል ማግኘት መብታቸው ነበር። ወያኔ ያንን የዜግነት መብታቸውን ቀማ። ለምሳሌ የኦሮሞ ተወላጆች በክልላቸው ኦሮምያ ውስጥ ባለው የተፈጥሮ ሃብት ተጠቅመው ሰርተው መሻሻል ይችሉ ነበር። በእርሻ፣ በከብት ርቢ፣ በንግድ እንዲሁም በሲቪል ኣገልግሎቶች መንግስታዊና መንግስታዊ ባልሆኑ መዋቅሮች ውስጥ ያላንዳች የፖለቲካ ተጽእኖ ተሰማርተው ራሳቸውንም ሆነ ኣገራቸውን መጥቀም ይችሉ ነበር። የወያኔ መንግስት ግን እነዚህን መሰል የስራ እድሎች ነጥቆኣቸው ለስደት ህይወት ዳረጋቸው። በስመ እንቬስተርነት የራሱን ካድሬዎችና ሰላዮች መልምሎ በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠር ገንዘብ ኣሸክሞ ክልሎች ላይ በማሰማራት የስራ እድሉን ነጠቃቸው።
የዚህ ችግር መንስኤ ራሱ የወያኔ መንግስት ኣድሎኣዊ ኣሰራር እስከሆነ ድረስ የችግሩ መፍትሄም በራስ ኣገር ላይ ሰርቶ የመኖርን መብት የቀማውን ስርኣት ታግሎ የራስን መብት ማስከበር ብቻ ነው። የነዚህ ስራ ፈላጊ ስደተኞች ችግር ላይ ላዩን ሲታይ የኢኮኖሚ ችግር ይምሰል እንጂ መሰረቱ ግን ኣገር ቤት ላይ የሚደርሰው የፖለቲካ ጫና መሆኑ ታውቆ የፖለቲካ መፍትሄ ሊያገኝ ይገባል። ጎሮቤት ኣገራትና መካከለኛው ምስራቅ ውስጥ ስራ ፍለጋ ሲንከራተቱ የተገደሉ፣ የተደበደቡ፣ ለኣካል ጉድለት የተዳረጉ፣ የታሰሩና በሃይል ተይዘው ወደ ኣገራቸው የተመለሱ የኦሮሞና ሌሎች ብሄሮች ተወላጅ የሆኑ ዜጎች በሙሉ ራሳቸውን መጠየቅ ያለባቸው ጥያቄም ይሄው ነው። ኦሮምያ ላይ ሌላው ሰርቶ በኣጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ሚሊዮነር ሆነ ሲባል እኔ ለምን ኣገሬ ላይ ሰርቼ ማደግ ተሳነኝ? ለምን ለስደት ህይወት ተጋልጬ በባእድ ኣገር ላይ ተዋረኩ? የሚሉትን ጥያቄዎች ራሳቸውን ጠይቀው ምላሹንም ማግኘት ይገባቸዋል። የጥያቄዎቹ ሁሉ ምላሽም ግልጽ ነው። ከለምለሟ ኣባት ኣገራቸው ላይ ኣፈናቅሎ ለስደት የዳረጋቸውና ለራሱ ዘርፎ እየከበረበት ያለው ራሱ የወያኔ መንግስት ነው። ይሄ ምንም ጥርጥር የለውም። ይህን ሁኔታ ለመቀየር ታግሎ የሃገር ባለቤትነት መብት ማረጋገጥም ብቼኛው መፍትሄ ይሆናል።
ድል ለኦሮሞ ህዝብ!
የኦነግ ኢንፎ ዴስክ
ህዳር 20/ 2013
Godaantota Biyyoota Ambaa Keessatti Balaa Mudataniif Kan Itti Gaafatamu Sirnuma Biyyan Bulcha Ofiin Jedhu Wayyaanee ti
Ilmaan Oromoo fi sabaa fi sablammoota biroo biyya keessatti hojjetatanii guddachuu dadhabuu irraa baruma baraan biyyoota ollaa fi fagootti godaanu. Kana keessatti lakkoofsi ilmaan Oromoo haalaan guddaa dha. Irra guddaan isaanii karaa seeraan alaatiin biyyoota ollaatti godaanu. Biyyoota ollaa irrattis dhiibbaa sirna Wayyaaneetiin nageenya dhowwatamanii fagaatanii deemuuf jecha balaawwan rifaasisaa adda addaa mudatu. Haala kanaan baqattoonni Oromoo fi saboota biroo Sudan, Somalia, Somali Land, Punt Land, Djibouti, Kenya, Suudaan Kibbaa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, Masr, Libya fi Afriikaa Kibbaatti faa godaananii argaman kumoota dhibbootaan herregamu.
Godaantonni kun gariin isaanii rakkoo siyaasaatiif biyya jaalatan irraa baqatan. Gariinis biyya keessatti dalagatanii guddachuuf, of jiraachisanii fira ofiis gargaaruuf hiree dhowwatamanii, cunqursaa bifa adda addaan hiraafamanii carraa hojii wayyaa barbaachaaf jecha biyyaa bahan. Biyya isaanii keessatti nagadanii, qotatanii yookiis ogummaa qaban birootiin hojjetanii akka hin guddanne sirna aangoo irra jirutu gufuu itti tahe. Wayyaaneen ilmaan biyyaa siyaasaa mootummaa irraa walaba tahanii hojjetatanii buluu barbaadaniin dirqamatti miseensa paartii kootii taatan malee jedhee doorsisa. Warra kana dide sababa itti barbaadee carraa dalagaa itti cufa. Warra qotatu gatii xaahoo fi sanyii filatamaa dhowwata, yookiis garmalee gatii itti qaalessa. Warra nagadu eehama daldalaa irraa fudhatee qarshii kuma hangas kafaltu malee hin argattu ittiin jedha. Warra baankii irraa horii liqeeffatee daldalatti seenuu barbaaduun dura waraqaa miseensummaa paartii keenyaa fidi ittiin jedha. Haloonni akkasii kun ilmaan biyyaa biyya abbaa isaanii irratti hojjetanii guddachuu fi biyyas guddisuu mannaa hiyyuummaa fi cunqursaa jalaa baqachuuf qalbiin isaanii akka godaansa yaadu taasise. Lakkoofsi namoota Itoophiyaa irraa gara biyyoota adda addaatti godaananii kan biyyoota ollaa keenyaa kamiiyyuu caalaa kan guddatee argameef dhiibbaa mootummaa kana fakkaatu irraati yoo jedhame dhugaa irraa fagaachuu hin tahu.
Ilmaan biyyaa kun hanga lammii Itoophiyaa jedhamanitti, bakka gahan maratti nageenya isaanii hordofee mootummoota biyya itti godaanan sanii waliin tahee tika taasisuufiin kan irra ture, mootummaa aangoo siyaasaa Itoophiyaa harkaa qabu. Mootummaan Wayyaanee TPLF garuu, faallaa kanaan, baqattootni kun marti bakka gahan maratti balaa dhala namaatiif hin malle akka mudatan gochisuu keessaa qooda qabaate. Yeroo adda addaatti wayta ilmaan biyyaa biyya hojiif jecha itti godaanan keessatti ajjeefamanii daandii irratti gataman, dhiigni isaanii akka dhiiga sareetti dhangala’u, kun maaliif tahe jedhee wayta itti gaafate hin qabu. Shamarran hojjetanii guddachuuf jecha biyyoota Arabaa gara garaatti godaanan yeroo hedduu haala kanaan ajjeefamu. Yookiis salphina namummaa isaanii irra gahe obsuu dadhabanii darbii (building) gubbaa irraa of gadhiisanii du’u. Waggaa tokko dura intalli Oromoo Alam Dachaasaa jedhamtu daandii magaalaa Beeyruut keessatti warra biyyaatiin reebamtee yoo ajjeefamtu kan agarsiisu viidiyoon tokko you tubeirratti gadhiifamee ture. Alam wayta ilmaan Arabaa gara jabeeyyiin namummaa ishii salphisanii uffata irraa baasanii qullaa lafa irra harkisanii itti taphatan, embaasiin Wayyaanee magaalaa sana keessa jiru akka dhaqqabuuf yoo waywaattu viidiyoo san irratti ni dhagahama ture. Kan nama raaju ammoo, bakki hammeenyi kana fakkaatu lammii Oromoo tana irratti raaw’atame, bakka embaasiin Wayyaanee argamu irraa fageenya meetiroota dhibba lamaan tokko hin caalle irratti ture. Sirni Wayyaanee dubbii tana irratti mootummaa biyya sanii waan gaafate hin qabu.
Dhihoo kana akkuma dhagahamaa jiru, godaantota Itoophiyaa irraa deemanii Saudi Arabia keessa turan irratti ammas tarkaanfiin farra dhala namummaa suukaneessaan torbaanotaaf walitti aansee raaw’atamaa jira. Kana keessatti yoo xiqqaate lubbuun godaantota sadii reebicha irra gaheen dabree jira. Poolisoonni Saudi dargaggoota biyya isaanii waliin tahuun lammiilee Itoophiyaa irraa achi godaanan reebuu, saamuu fi dhalaalee humnaan qabatanii gudeeduudhaan salphisan. Kunis oduu ololaa osoo hin taane qabatamaan viidiyootti warabamee interneeta irratti faca’ee jira. Kun hundi yemmuu tahu, sirni Wayyaanee kan lammiiwwan ajjeefamaa fi salphifamaa jiran biyya isaa irraa tahan afaan guutee yoo gochaa kana balaaleffatu hin dhagahamne.
Mootummoonni akka Indooneeshiyaa fi Filippiins kan lammiileen isaanii haala wal fakkaatuun Saudi keessaa ari’aman hoggasuma ibsa baasanii mootummaa Saudi balaaleffatan. Dirmannaa lammiilee biyya isaaniif qaban agarsiisan. Mootummaan wayyaanee garuu tarkaanfii fakkaataa fudhachuun haa turuutii, inumaa gochaa mootummaa Saudi kan deeggaru tahuu isaa ragaa ofirratti bahe. Salphina lammiilee biyya isaa irra gahee addunyaa gaddisiisee jiruuf gurra hin qabaanne. Isaaf kan gatii qabu investeroota Saudiitti lafa gurguratee akka dhunfaatti duroomuu dha malee kabajaa ilmaan biyyaaf quuqamee dubbachuu miti. Ilmaan biyyaa biyya ofii keessatti hojjetanii akka hin guddanne danqee, lafa isaan gadhiisanii godaanan warra achitti isaan ajjeesaa jirutti gurgurata, yoo fedhes tola kennaaf. Kun mallattoo sirna farra ummatoota bulchaan jira ofiin jedhuu akka tahe ifa galaa dha.
Balaan du’aa fi salphina wal fakkaataa biyyoota akka Suudaan, Yaman, Jabuutii, Soomaalii Laand, Puunt Laand, Keeniyaa fi kan kana fakkaatan keessatti yeroo dheeraa duraa qabee godaantota ilmaan biyyaa, keessumattuu dhalattoota Oromoo irra gahaa ture kan himamee dhumuu miti. Yeroo kun hundi tahu ammoo mootummaan Wayyaanee mootummoota biyya sanii waliin tahee godaantota kana rukuchiisuu, hiisisuu, biyyatti dabarsee zaliiluu irraa kan hafe lammiiwwan kiyyatu miidhame jedhee wayta dirmateef hin qabu.
Walumaa galatti balaa godaantota Oromoo fi sabaa fi sablammoota biroo biyya ambaa keessatti irra gahaa jiruuf kan itti gaafatamu mootummoota alagaa sana qofa osoo hin taane hangafummaatti sirna Wayyaanee mataa isaa ti. Sababa hedduuf itti gaafatama: Jalqaba dubbii, biyya keessaa dhiibee godaansisuu isaaf itti gaafatama. Lammaffaa, godaantonni kun bakka gahanitti mirgi isaanii akka eegamu irratti hojjechuu dhabuuf itti gaafatama. Sadaffaa, bakka itti godaananitti mirgi namummaa isaanii yoo salphifamu dafee sagalee dhageessisee tarkaanfii malu fudhachuu hanqatuu isaaf itti gaafatama.
Hunda caalaatti garuu akka isaan biyya ofii irratti hojjetanii hin guddanne tooftaadhaan dhiibee godaansisuutu yakka olaanaa dha. Lammiileen kun biyya isaanii gadhiisanii akka hin deemneef hiree hojii siyaasaa irraa walaba tahe aanjessuuniif qooda isaa ture. Lammiileen hundinuu naannoo naannoo isaanii keessatti mirga hojjetanii guddachuu kan dhiibbaa kamiyyuu irraa walaba tahe argachuu qabu ture. Wayyaaneen mirga abbaa biyyummaa isaanii san irraa fudhate. Fakkeenyaaf lammiileen Oromoo Oromiyaa keessatti leecalloo (resources)  umamaa jirutti dhimma bahanii hojjetanii guddachu danda’u ture. Omisha bunaa, jimaa, midhaanii, albuudaa; horsiisa loonii, lukkuu, bushaalee, kotte duudaa; akkasumas tajaajila hawaasaa (civil service) caasaa mootummaa fi mit-mootummaa keessatti dhiibbaa siyaasaa tokkoon maleetti bobba’anii ofis tahee biyya isaanii guddisuu danda’u ture. Daldala irrattis akkasuma. Mootummaan Wayyaanee garuu hireelee kana mara lammiilee jalaa fudhatee godaansaaf isaan dhiibe. Maqaa investerummaatiin dabballootaa fi basaastota isaa maallaqa miiliyoonota fe’achiisee kaaba irraa bobbaasee Oromiyaa fi  naannoolee biroo keessatti dalagaa lammiileen silaa dalagatanii ittiin jiraatan humna qawween jalaa fudhachiisa. Kan caalaatti nama suukanneessu ammoo, godaantota Saudii jiran irra guddaa mallaqatti gurguratuun kan achitti guuraa bahe Wayyaanee mataa isaa ti. Godaantonni haala kanaan biyyoota ambaa keessatti balaa lubbuu isaanii irra gahaa jiruuf kan itti gaafatamu qaama kamiinuu caalaatti Wayyaanee dha kan jennuufis kanumaafi.
Eega sababni rakkoo kanaa mootummaa Wayyaanee mataa isaa tahee, furmaanni rakkoo kanaas sirna Wayyaanee kan biyya ofii irratti hojjetanii guddachuu nama dhowwaa jiru kana irratti gamtaadhaan qabsaayuun mirga ofii kabajchiisuu qofa. Rakkoon godaantota kanaa gubbaan isaa yoo laalamu rakkoo dinagdeeti haa jedhamu malee, hundeen isaa inni guddaan dhiibbaa siyaasaa akka tahe beekamee furmaata siyaasaa argachuu qaba. Godaantonni Oromoo fi kan biroo biyyoota ollaa fi Baha Giddu Galeessaa keessatti hojii barbaachaaf bobba’anii ajjeefaman, reebaman, qaamaa hir’atan, hidhamanii fi humnaan qabamanii biyyatti deebifaman hundi wanni wal gaafachuu qabanis isa kana. Oromiyaa irratti gariin hojjetee yoo millionaire tahu, ani maaliifan hojjedhee bayyanachuu dadhabe? Maaliifan godaantummaaf saaxilamee salphifame? gaaffii jedhu of gaafatanii deebii isaa irras gahuun furmaata taha. Deebiin isaas ifaa dha. Kan biyya abbaa isaanii magartuu fi gabbattuu san irraa tooftaadhaan dhiibee isaan godaansisee ofii saamee ittiin sooromaa jiru dabballoota Wayyaanee ti. Kun homaa shakkii hin qabu. Haala kana jijjiiruuf biyya ofiitti deebi’anii qindaawanii qabsaayuun furmaata waa maraa taha!
Furmaata maayyiif qabsaawuun rakkoo fakkaataa deddeebi’ee biyyoota ambaa keessatti mul’atu kana irra aanuuf gargaara. Ummatni Oromoo ala jirus sagalee kanneen hiraarfamanii tahuun iyyachaafii qabsoo isaa finiinsuu qofaan rakkina kanatti xumura gochuun akka danda’amu hubatee socho’uun dirqama.
Injifannoo Ummata Oromoof!
Infoo Deeskii ABO
Sadaasa 20, 2013

OSA Open Leter to Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz

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Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz,
Minister of Interior,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
PO Box 11134
Riyadh – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Your Excellency,
We, the Oromo community associations in North America and the Oromo Studies Association, write this letter in relation to the situation in the kingdom of immigrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers from Ethiopia, specifically concerning the Oromo people from Ethiopia. We heard and observed with disbelief and a profound sense of grief the awful news coming from Saudi Arabia. The graphic images and videos of indiscriminate beatings of defenseless immigrant workers, ostensibly at the hands of Saudi Arabian law enforcement officials and vigilantes, has clearly shocked and enraged us. Law enforcement officials have randomly rounded up, kept tens of thousands of the immigrants in concentration camp-type facilities, and deported many thousands more to Ethiopia without regard to individual cases and needs.
We cannot establish with certainty which party is responsible for the inhumane treatment of Ethiopian immigrants in your country. Notwithstanding the evidence of the images, we find it difficult to accept that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condones or sanctions the dehumanizing treatment of human beings, whether they are legal or illegal. Regardless, the indiscriminate and wanton acts of cruelty perpetrated against our compatriots in Saudi Arabia have violated all boundaries of human decency and respect for human dignity.
The Oromo communities in North America are alarmed by the saga of refugees resulting from the rush and cruel measures taken by the law enforcement officials of your country. As human beings, we cannot avoid having a sense of fellow feeling when other human beings are subjected to indescribable suffering. In our view, the heavy-handed approach fails to take into account that all members of the human family are entitled to some inalienable and fundamental rights, including those your government has categorized wholesale as “illegal” and “unwanted.” Worse yet, the approach does not solve the fundamental socio-economic problems Saudi Arabia is trying to resolve in spite the high human toll it causes. We believe that your government does not endorse acts of indiscriminate violence being meted out on any human being. Even those who are found guilty of violating the laws of your country deserve a measure of respect and lawful treatment.
Your Excellency,
While we have sympathy for all Ethiopians who have been subjected to untold suffering, we like to call your attention to the unique case of Oromo immigrants in your country who are lumped together with all Ethiopians and subjected to arbitrary measures. The Oromo people, the single largest nation in the Horn of Africa, constitute about 40 percent of the population of Ethiopia. They are also found in Kenya and Somalia in significant numbers. In Ethiopia, despite their numeric superiority, the Oromo have always been treated as a minority group, perpetually subjected to political, economic, and cultural depredations and dispossessions. It is no wonder a large chunk of the refugees from Ethiopia in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia come from the Oromo nation. Although we know that the majority of the refugees in the Kingdom are migrant domestic workers looking for better opportunities, we like to bring to your attention that the vast majority of the Oromo in your country are refugees and asylum seekers who fled political and religious persecutions in Ethiopia.
Your Excellency,
We do not question that Saudi Arabia has a duty to provide opportunities for its citizens, and has the right to deport individuals who violate its laws. We are keenly aware that your Kingdom is not party to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, and the attendant Protocol of 1967, we would like bring to the attention that the Kingdom has obligations under the United Nations Charters and the Universal Declarations of Human Rights (UDHR). In addition, your Kingdom’s Basic Law of 1992 states that “the State will grant political asylum, if so required by the public interest.”  As one global family, we believe that extending protection to the refugees and asylum seekers who might be harmed upon their return to Ethiopia is in the best interest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is moreover incumbent on the government to fulfill the international norms it has accepted as a responsible member of the international community to assure the rights of immigrant workers, refugees, and of asylum seekers.
Your Excellency,
We emphasize that the Oromo in your country are political and religious refugees who have sought your generous protection. They deserve being spared the ravages of the dragnet of law enforcement that is rounding up and deporting them in a wholesale manner to Ethiopia.  After all, these are people who sought your protection from the capriciousness of a repressive regime in Ethiopia.
In light of this fact, the Oromo community associations in North America and the Oromo Studies Association, appeal on humanitarian grounds that Saudi officials treat the case of Oromo refugees and asylum seekers with particular attention as they endeavor to enforce the country’s laws. While we respect your government’s right to promulgate and enforce suzerain laws within its territories, we appeal to your conscience to reconsider the status of Oromo refugees and asylum seekers and obviate their further victimization by the indiscriminate roundups and deportations. We urge the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect the basic human rights and refugee protection norms under the international law.
We trust that your government will respond positively to our entreaties and keep the Oromo refugees and asylum seeks under its protection. If, however, your Kingdom does not want to host those refugees, we ask that they be provided opportunities for resettlement in a third country than simply resorting to deporting them to Ethiopia, where they are likely to end up in prison or be subjected to other wanton human rights violations.
We, therefore, request and urge your Kingdom to:
  • thoroughly reconsider the status of Oromo refugees and asylum seekers in the process of the haphazard roundups and deportations;
  • ask international refugee organizations to resettle Oromo refugees and asylum seekers to a third country if your Kingdom does not want to host them any longer;
  • respect basic human rights and afford them refugee protections under the international and Saudi laws;
  • provide basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical attention, and allow international refugee and humanitarian organizations to visit in detention.
Respectfully,
Ibrahim Elemo, M.D., M.P.H
President, Oromo Studies Association.
P.O.Box: 6541, Minneapolis, MN, 55406-0541
E-mail: ielemo@weisshospital.com
The Oromo Studies Association/Waldaa Qorannoo Oromoo
Oromo Community Association of Chicago
Oromo Community Association of Ohio
Oromo Community Association of Michigan
Oromo Community Association of Kentucky
Oromo Community of Minnesota and Minnesota Oromo Elders Council
CC:
Maj. Gen. Suleiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Yahya,
Director General of General Directorate of Passports

My Essay is upon Oromoland

By Gutama Tarafo
( Delivered to the Lovedale Literary Society,  October 1897)
Mr Chairman and Members,
Oromo Children of LovedaleIn Oromoland many things are different from South African things. The people are different, and the country itself is different from this country. First of all, I want to speak about the climate of the country. Perhaps many of you won’t believe about the climate, because none of you have been there, except those that came from there. But you read in the books of Geography, and those books say the climate is very hot. I can tell you the climate is not all very hot. But it is quite true that the southern part of the country is exceedingly hot, because there are no mountains there. The upper country is much cooler than Cape Colony, although it is near the Equator, because there are many high mountains near Abyssinia. There are no lakes in Oromoland. But there are many small rivers. The largest river is the River Abaye, that is, I think, the Blue Nile. Also the Hawash River runs through the north of Oromoland and falls into the Blue Nile, at the West of Abyssinia. There are many other rivers, whose names I forget.
Now I shall tell you about the marriage customs. I heard George Tyamzashe’s paper about Kaffir marriages.2 He said when the Kaffirs are going to get married, they buy their wives.  Ithink you remember when Jacob wanted to marry, he worked for fourteen years, and then he got those two wives. Well, that is not the way of marrying people in our country. When a man want to marry a girl, first he goes and speaks with her parents, and then if her parents agree with him, he will take her, but if not he will leave her. The Oromo people are quite different from the people of South Africa. They are different in dressing. The Oromo people never wear red blankets, as the Kaffirs do. Rich people wear short trousers and a fine mantle of cloth, and poor people wear the same clothes as the Arabs. The women wear a fine skin dress and no one of you could tell the difference between that skin and cloth. The houses are not the same as those here. The Oromo huts are four or five times bigger than these Kaffir huts. I may say the Oromo house has got two storeys. In the upper storey they keep corn and other things; but in the lower one the people sleep. There are two rooms in the lower storey, one is where the mother of the house does her work and the other one is for sleeping and eating.
There are many kinds of grain, as wheat, barley, maize, and bishinga, that is Kaffir-corn, also pumpkins, potatoes, and other things like potatoes, beans, coffee, peas, bananas, also cabbages and tobacco and many other things which I can’t name in English. There is plenty of honey. The people don’t keep bees as in this country. They hang a kind of basket made of reeds high on a tree. When the honey is ready, the people climb the tree, and get the honey. They sell it in the markets, of these there are many. Oromos never eat wild animals. They don’t eat pigs in northern Oromoland; and they don’t eat any kind of birds; and few people eat fowls or eggs. But there are some tribes that live among the Oromos, that eat nearly everything. The Oromo people are rich in cattle and corn. Some of them have farms for cattle, and some for corn.
The Oromos are not lazy people. The men never allow their wives to go and build the housefor them, and they won’t allow them to go and labour in the fields all day for food, while theysit down in their huts and smoke their long pipes. The women there do not work like that but they only work in the house while their husbands till the ground. The Oromos are not lazy people in working. Don’t think because you saw these boys, that all the Oromos are like them. If you go there, then you will know what work is. The Oromos do not waste their money on tobacco and in buying pipes about one foot long. They won’t do that. What they do is this. They get up early in the morning, and they take their breakfast without washing their face, and then they take their bullocks and their yokes, and go to plough the ground. They never return again till the sunset.
The bullocks in Oromoland are very big, much bigger than those in South Africa, as high as a horse. The yokes are nearly like those used in this country. It is a custom to train one of the oxen to guard the Kraal [dalla?] and they sharpen its horns to fight. It does no work but just keeps the kraal. The kraals in Oromoland are bigger than those here, but are made of bushes too. Many people’s cattle go into one kraal. Nearly every cow or ox has a name, and they like  very much to eat salt. There are blacksmiths who make the ploughs, long narrow ploughs, and only two oxen draw them.
There are many forests in Oromoland. In these forests there are many dangerous things, worst of all are robbers that hunt for small boys and girls, and also for big people to kill them, and when they kill anyone, there is a great feast, because he has killed a man or a beast. There are lots of wild animals in Oromoland, such as elephants, lions, leopards, wild bucks or antelopes and many others too. There are many snakes, a very big hairy one, the boa constrictor, the python, the egg-eater, the horned snake, water snakes, and others. Especially the pythons are troublesome.
The Oromo horses are just the same as the Arab horses; they all look like race horses. The Oromos are heathens in religion. They worship a big tree, and in the mountains. They obey just as the king tells them, and the rule is if a person breaks the king’s commandment, he is taken to the market and punished, by being beaten, or sold as a slave. Each part of the country has got a king or a chief of its own. For instance, let us take the Jimma country. That country has got a king or a cheif [sic] of its own. These Kings always want to fight each other, and everyone wants to be the greatest of all the kings. If he conquers one of these kings, first of all he asks for a tax; and if that king won’t pay it, he just comes and destroys him. Sometime that king wants about 200 oxen or he wants some horses, and the other king has to give, because if he won’t he knows that his life will be taken from him, and what he has too.
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This essay is taken from  dissertation  by  Sandra Carolyn Teresa Rowoldt Shell, titled  ”From slavery to freedom:the Oromo slave children of Lovedale ,prosopography and profile”. Republished here after changing some terms in consideration of sensitivity to non academic general public.  The full desertation containing the  original essay and the full dissertation can be accessed here.

Egypt and Ethiopia leaders meet over Nile row

First talks on Ethiopia's plan to dam the Nile since Egypt's Mansour took power end without agreement in Kuwait.


The Egyptian and Ethiopian leaders have met for the first time to discuss tensions over Ethiopia's construction of a huge hydropower dam on the river Nile but the meeting ended without any agreement, sources said.
The Egyptian interim president, Adly Mansour, and Ethiopia's prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of an Afro-Arab Summit in Kuwait, sources familiar with the meeting told Al Jazeera.
It was the first meeting between leaders of the two countries over the Grand Renaissance Dam since the deposed Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, met Hailemariam in May.
Ethiopia began diverting the Blue Nile in May to build what will be Africa's largest dam when it is finished in 2017. Thirty percent of its construction has already been completed, according to Ethiopia. The hydropower station will have a 6,000-megawatt capacity when finished.
Hailemariam and Mansour met on the summit sidelines [Al Jazeera]
Egypt, almost totally dependent on the river, fears the dam could diminish its water supply. Ethiopia, which hopes the hydropower dam will boost its economy through power exports, has said there will be no major impact.
The sources said the Egyptian side had requested the meeting to "negotiate" over the project but that nothing was agreed.
Hailemariam, a source said, rejected a request from Mansour that he be involved in discussons about the project.
Colonial-era treaties negotiated by the British gave Egypt and Sudan a majority share of Nile waters. Seven other countries through which the river flows argue the agreements were unjust and need to be torn up.
Egypt’s only current recourse lies with a panel of 10 experts from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and other countries who have been reviewing the social and environmental impact of the dam.
The panel has issued a report about the project's potential impact on water levels, which has not yet been made public.
At a one-day meeting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum this month the water ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to form a panel to implement the expert recommendations. 
But Egyptian objections about the composition of the committee have been delaying its formation, Ethiopia's water minister has said. 
A second round of negotiations is scheduled for Khartoum on December 8. 
Perceived insult
Egypt has previously sought to delay the construction of the dam and its requests to inspect it have been rejected by the Ethiopians, who say Egypt needs to relinquish its power to veto projects on the Nile, which it was also given as part of the 1929 and 1959 treaties.
Under those agreements, Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic meters a year, most of the Nile's total flow of about 84 billion cubic meters. However, about 85 percent of the river's water originates in the Ethiopian highlands.
A new deal signed in 2010 by other Nile Basin countries, including Ethiopia, allows them to work on river projects without Cairo's prior agreement. Egypt has not signed that deal.
The meeting on Tuesday, the sources told Al Jazeera, was almost called off because Hailemariam, who is also the current chairman of the African Union, was insulted by a request that he should go to Mansour. 
The issue was resolved when the leaders ageed to meet halfway - in a corridor.