By Abbas H. Gnamo, Ph.D.*
I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing away of Dr. Paul Baxter. I join Prof. Mohammed Hassen, OSA Board Chair, and Dr. Ibrahim Elemo, OSA president, in expressing my sorrow and my tribute to an astute anthropologist, and a meticulous ethnographer, a great friend of the Oromo people.
Dr. Baxter studied the Oromo society, culture and its principles of social organization rigorously and thoroughly, and disseminated his findings through his numerous publications. He left us with a treasure accumulated over half a century. I have cherished his writings, and read many of his chapters, conference papers and articles with delight, and learned a lot or better understood our culture and the functioning of Oromo society (both in Kenya and Oromia) and its institutions. His writings reflect the breadth and depth of his knowledge accumulated over decades of observation and careful analysis of the Oromo ethnography. I have benefited from his remarkable works and rich data for my dissertations and other writings. I am quite sure, that his works will remain the place to start for those who would like to explore Oromo culture and social organization.
My first contact with Dr. Baxter goes back to 30 years, when I was still a Graduate Assistant at Addis Ababa University. I wrote a letter requesting for two of his articles inaccessible in Ethiopia. Instead, he sent me 8 of his articles and chapters in books at his own cost, a testament to his generosity. He, jaarsa faranjii as he was known, was adored in Kofale where he conducted his fieldwork in the late 1960s, the basis for his popular articles, such as Atete, Weellu, etc. He kept sending me letters although many of them were opened as his name was on a black list of theDarg regime. Until a decade ago, he was available to help anyone and he reached out to many Oromo scholars and students he knew, specially those who studied in UK.
Above all, there is something special for which the Oromo do remember him. Dr. Baxter was one the rare people to show the Oromo predicament in the Ethiopian empire, and their political oppression and cultural marginalization openly and courageously. As far as I Know, he was the first expatriate professional and social scientist to put the Oromo question on global politics. His grounding breaking article: “Ethiopia’s Unacknowledged Problem: The Oromo”, African Affairs, Volume 77, Number 208 (1978): 283-296, is the case in point. Ever since he became persona non grata, a public enemy, in Ethiopia. Not surprisingly, he was denied a visa to attend Ethiopian Studies conferences. However, he did not bow down as he chose not to be among the “pleasers” of the empire and its politico-intellectual elites. In fact, the Oromo question was important then and now. At very least, we know much better than 40 years ago.
I highly value his scholarship and immerses contributions to Oromo studies as well his genuine friendship with the Oromo people. My thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends.
May his soul rest in peace.
* Abbas H. Gnamo, Ph.D., has authored a monograph, and many articles on Ethiopia and the Oromo as well as the book, “Conquest and Resistance in the Ethiopian Empire, 1880-1974 – The Case of the Arsi Oromo.” He has been affiliated with several research centres in Canada, and has taught at some major Canadian universities, including Ryerson, York and the University of Toronto.
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