Torture survivor inspired by Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’

By Feyera Negera Sobokssa

Rehabilitated Feyera celebrates X-Mas with his family

February 10, 2015 (Washington Jewish Week) — I am a torture survivor who was persecuted by the government of Ethiopia because I was advocating for the Oromo ethnic group in the country. I suffered so much between 1991 and 1996; even now I feel the severe trauma of what I experienced at the hands of torturers. I was trying to search for the right vocabulary to explain what happened to me.

After traveling to the United States in 2000, I came across a book called Night by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. This book helped me describe the human brutality and the need to speak out for others who did not have the same opportunity.

This paragraph in Night (p. viii) helped inspire me to become a voice for other victims of torture. Wiesel wrote about the importance of becoming:

“a witness who believes he has a moral obligation to try to prevent the enemy from enjoying one last victory by allowing his crimes to be erased from human memory.”

When I was a young boy in the 1950s and 60s, I witnessed how the government treated my people, the Oromos. The Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, more than one-third of the population. They have their own culture and traditions; our language, Afan Oromo, was banned in schools, government offices and the courts. As a child, I remember seeing Oromo boys beaten if they spoke the language. Even today, the ruling elites in Ethiopia still use the term “galla” to refer to Oromos. “Galla” is a horrible, derogatory word used to dehumanize Oromos and to keep them in a low position.

I was distributing a book called “History of the Galla” in 1991 the first time government agents arrested me. They grabbed me by the arms and took me to a military camp. They forced me to drink something, probably a hallucinogenic drug, and made me dance in front of the soldiers. They wanted to know what types of books I was reading, besides “History of the Galla,” I told them Exodus by Leon Uris was one of my favorite books.

My worst torture experience was in a military camp in 1995. Soldiers inflicted a terrible kind of torture called “Code Number Eight.” They tied my elbows together, causing terrible pain in my chest and damaging my ligaments and muscles. Then they suspended me on a metal object and kept me like that for long hours for two nights. It was so horrible I remember asking the security forces to kill me. They said “We don’t want you to die, we want you to suffer.”

Torture scene in Ethiopia

I finally escaped Ethiopia in the year 2000, leaving my children behind. My wife was in a special refugee camp in Germany which used to be a Nazi concentration camp. I immediately was granted political asylum. Shortly after that I discovered the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC). TASSC is a place that helps survivors give meaning to their lives. They assigned me a case manager who talked to me about PTSD, she listened and cared about me. She also helped my family by writing a recommendation to bring my daughter from Ethiopia to Washington. Today, TASSC provides counseling, housing, health care and pro bono legal services to survivors in the Washington area. It also has an advocacy program where survivors meet congressional staff to create awareness about the impact of torture on victims and their families.

I have always thought the Oromos and the Jewish people have a lot in common because Oromos were persecuted just like the Jews. I realized this a long time ago after readingExodus and visiting the Holocaust museum. It was unbelievable to read about the gas chambers and what happened in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. But Exodus also gave me hope. People who were persecuted can rise from the depths of despair to be free. That made me think that one day Oromos can be free too.

Ethiopian brutal regime’s security force stabs and shoots protesters with live bullet.

Last April, TASSC organized a Passover Seder that focused on the universal desire for freedom by honoring survivors and their journey from persecution to freedom. The Bible teaches us the story of Moses, Pharaoh and the Exodus. I brought Night to the seder and shared what the book means to me with the Jews and the other survivors. The Seder was a wonderful connection for survivors because it helped us transform our pain into strength.

Even, innocent women were not spared from torture in Oromia and Ogaden

Ultra-nationalistic totalitarian movements brought Nazism and Fascism to Germany and Italy, creating hatred for minorities. Many people do not know that we also have a totalitarian regime in Ethiopia controlled by a small ethnic group who are oppressing the Oromos and other ethnic groups. We have to fight these kinds of movements everywhere in the world. According to the human rights group Genocide Watch, Ethiopia has already committed “genocidal massacres against many of its peoples.”

Elie Wiesel was right when he said “Silence helps the perpetrators, not the victims.” For this reason, over the last ten years, I have become a TASSC “truth speaker,” going to schools, universities and churches to speak about torture and create awareness about the persecution of the Oromo people. If given the chance, I would welcome the opportunity to connect with the Jewish community in Washington by visiting synagogues and Jewish groups.

Feyera Sobokssa is a torture survivor from Ethiopia who received political asylum in 2001. He began his political activities as a young man employed as an accountant by Ethiopian Airlines, helping to distribute publications about the Oromo ethnic group and their history of persecution by the Ethiopian government. Feyera is now a spokesman against torture with the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC). He is a strong advocate for human rights and for raising awareness about the plight of the Oromos in Ethiopia.

=>ayyaantuu

ከዚህ በላይ ዉርደት የለም – የወያኔ ሴራ ከነፃነት ትግሉ አያግደንም!

ከከልለው ኡርጋ*

ከዚህ በላይ ዉርደት የለም
ሁሉም የእግዚሀብሔር ፍጥረቶች – ሰዉ እና እንሰሳት ጭምሮ – ምንም እንኳን ዓይነት እና ደረጃዉ የተለያየ ቢሆንም፣ መብት አላቸው። በ21ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን፣ አደጉ እና ሰለጠኑ የምንላቸው የዓለማችን ሀገሮች፣ የእንሰሳት መብት ከሰው ልጅ መብት ባልተናነሰ ሁኔታ የሚከበርበት ደረጃ ላይ ተደርሶል። የነሱን መብት መጠበቅም ልክ እንደ አንድ የእድገት ደረጃ መቆጠር ከጀመረ ውሎ አድሮል። እነሱም ልክ እንደ አንደ ሰው ፍላጎት እና ስሜት አሏቸው ለምሳሌ ያህልም:- የህመም፣ የደስታ፣ የፍራቻ፣ የብቸኝነት፣ የስቃይ እና የእናት ፍቅር የመሳሰሉት ናችው። ለዚህም ነው ፍላጎታቸውን እና ስሜታቸውን የሚቃረን ተግባር መፈፀም የለበትም፣ የሚሉ አያሌ የእንሰሳት መብት ተሞጋቾች የሚቃወሙት እና የሚታገሉት። መሀተመ ጋንዲ በአንድ ወቅት “የአንድ ሕዝብ ታላቅነት የሚለካው ወይም የሚመዘነው ወይም የሚዳኝው፣ ለእንሰሳት በሚሰጡት እንክብካቤ ነው ያሉት።”

ዛሬ ግን፣ ምስኪኑንና ለፍቶ-አደር የኦሮሞ ገበሬና ለነፃነት፣ ለእኩልነት እና ለፍትህ ብሎ የሚታገለውን እና ለአምባገነኑ የወያኔ መንግስት አልገዛም ያለውን ኦሮሞ፣ ሰባዊ ከሆነ የፍጡር ደረጃ አወረዱት። ዛሬ ዓለም ለእንሰሳት ከምትሰጠው ክብር በታች አውርደውት፣ ልክ እንዳልባሌ ቁስ/ነገር ቆጠሩት። ሰውን የሚያክል ክቡር ፍጡርን በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ ከገደሉ በኃላ፣ መሬት ለመሬት እየጎተቱ በአደባባይ መስቀላቸው፣ ያቺ ሀገር መንግስት-አልባና በተደራጁ የሽፍቶች ቡድን የምትገዛ መሆኖን ማሳያ ነው።

እነሱ ብቻ በተቆጣጠሩት የመገናኛ ብዙሀን፣ የራሳቸውን የሽፍታነት ተግባር፣ ለነጻነት ታጋዩ ምስኪን ገበሬ ይለጥፉለታል። “አሽባሪ፣” “ጠባብ፣” “ሽፍታ፣” “ገንጣይ፣” “አስገንጣይ፣” “ጎጠኛ” ወዘተ … ይሉታል። ደርግም አኮ ‘ፀረ-ህዝብ፣’ ‘ፀረ-አብዮት’ አያለ ነበር እኮ፣ ሕዝብ ሲፈጅ የነበረው። እነዚህም በተመሳሳዩ፣ የተለያየ ታርጋ እየለጠፉ ሕዝቡን ጨረሱት። ታድያ እንዴት አንድ ጭብጥ ነቀዝ ወያኔን ማስወገድ አቅቶን፣ እንዲህ ዓይነት ጭካኔ የተሞላበት ኢ-ሰባዊ የሆነ ድርጊት እና የሥም ማጥፋት ዘመቻ በሕዝባችን ላይ እስከ-መቼ ሲፈፅመ ይኖራሉ? ነቀዝ ያልኩት ለመሳደብ ፈልጌም አይደለም፣ ስድብ የኦሮሞ ባህልም አይደለምና። ቃሉን የተጠቀምኩት የወያኔን እና የነቀዝን ተመሳሳይነት እና አንድነት ለማሳየት ነው። ሁለቱም ውስጥ ውስጡን እየበሉ ባዶ የሚያስቀሩ ተዋስያን ስለሆኑ ነው። በመሀከላችን የገቡትን እነዚን ተዋሲያን፣ በመረባረብ ለአንዴ እና ለመጨረሻ ግዜ ማስወገድ ካልቻልን፣ በታሪክ ተወቃሽ ከመሆን አናመልጥም – ሌላም አካል ሊያስወግድልን አይመጣም። “Surre jilbaa irraan dhumtee abbaatu warranata degaa ijjollummaan dhuftee abbaatu tattafata” ይባላል።

ተማሪውን፣ ገበሬውን፣ ሰራተኛውን – ከሕፃን እስከ አዋቂ – ገደሉ፣ አሰሩ፣ አፈናቀሉ፣ አሰደዱ፤ የምንመካበትን የተፈጥሮ ሀብት መዘበሩ፣ ትላልቅ መሬቶቻችን ወሰዱ፣ ወንዞቻችንን መረዙ። ከዚህም አልፈዉ፣ የምስኪኑን ገብሬ ሬሣ በራሱ ቄዬ ላይ፣ በወገኖቹ ፊት፣ መሬት ለመሬት ጎተቱ፣ እጅ እና እግሩን ጠፍንገዉ ሰቀሉ – ከዚህ በላይ ለኦሮሞ ሕዝብ ሞት ምን አለ? ከዚህ በላይ፣ ወርደት ከወዴት ይመጣል?

የወያኔ ሴራ ከነፃነት ትግሉ አያግደንም!
የኦሮሞ ሕዝብ በዚያች ሀገር ላይ በብዛት ግንባር ቀደም ነው። የኦሮሞ ሕዝብ፣ ከሌሎች ከተጨቆኑ ብሔሮች፣ ብሔረሰቦች እና ሕዝቦች ጋር በመሆን፣ በዚያች ሀገር ላይ ነፃነት ለማምጣት ከፍተኛ ሚና ሊጭወት ይችላል። ሕዝብ ደግሞ በየትኛውም ዘርፍ ከፍተኛ ሚና የሚጫወት አካል ነው። ያለ ሕዝብ ተሳትፎ ሁለንተናዊ እድገት እና ነፃነት የማይታሰብ ነው። በተለያየ ግዜም ሕዝብ፣ አምባገነን መንግስት-ተብየው አካል ጋር እንዳሆነ አሳይቶል፤ ወያኔም፣ ሕዝብ አልባ አንደሆነ ይታወቃል። እየደረሰብን ካለው ውርደት ለመዉጣት አና ነፃነታችን ለመጎናፀፍ፣ እያንዳንዳችን ባለን አቅም እና ችሎታ የምናበረክተው አስተዋፆ፣ ለትግሉ አንድ ደረጃ መድረስና ለነፃነታችን እውን መሆን ወሳኝነት አለው። ይህ በሕዝባችን ላይ እየደረሰ ያለውን አሰቃቂ ድርጊት የመታገል፣ የሁላችንም ግዴታ ነዉ።

ድል ለኦሮሞ ሕዝብ!

* ከልለው ኡርጋ:- kiyu297@gmail.com

=>Gadaa

Ethiopia’s stifled press

WHILE ENJOYING its status as an international development darling, Ethiopia has been chipping away at its citizens’ freedom of expression. The country now holds the shameful distinction of having the second-most journalists in exile in the world, after Iran. That combination of Western subsidies and political persecution should not be sustainable.

According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, at least 60 journalists have fled the country since 2010, including 30 last year, and at least 19 have been imprisoned. Twenty-two faced criminal charges in 2014. The government closed five newspapers and a magazine within the past year, leaving Ethiopia with no independent private media outlets. With the country headed toward elections in May, the pressure on the media has undermined the prospect of a free and fair vote.

Ethiopia has long been known for its censorship and repression of the media, but the situation has deteriorated in recent years. According to theCommittee to Protect Journalists, the country has since 2009 “banned or suspended at least one critical independent publication per year.” After the death of prime minister Meles Zenawi in 2012, successor Hailemariam Desalegn has tightened the regime’s stranglehold on the press. Even Ethiopia’s rival Eritrea looks better: It released several imprisoned journalists last month.

As Human Rights Watch documents, journalists and media outlets who dare publish critical articles routinely receive threatening phone calls, texts and e-mails from party officials and security personnel. Journalists’ movements are often restricted outside of the capital, Addis Ababa. Sources who talk to foreign journalists and human rights organizations can face threats and detainment.

The repression extends across the media ecosystem. State agents harass printers and disrupt distribution processes associated with critical publications. Journalists who flee into neighboring countries are tracked and threatened. The government blocks Web sites from the Ethiopian diaspora, and it has jammed signals of foreign broadcasters, including Voice of America.

Much of the persecution has come under the guise of counterterrorism by a regime that has been a player in the fight against the al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabab. At least 38 journalists have been charged under a 2009 “anti-terrorism proclamation” and the criminal code. In 2012, prominent journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega was jailed for 18 years on charges of terrorism after criticizing the government’s repression.

Despite these policies, Ethiopia has retained its status as a U.S. ally and recipient of large amounts of U.S. development assistance — including $373 million for health and humanitarian programs in 2014. By contrast, U.S. spending on democracy and human rights assistance in Ethiopia has fallen dramatically in the past several years, from $3.4 million in 2012 to $162,900 in 2014. The decline in assistance for human rights bows to a 2009 law that prohibits nongovernmental organizations receiving more than 10 percent of their funding from abroad from conducting human rights advocacy.

The State Department recently spoke out against the media crackdown. But more than words should be at stake. The Obama administration should link continued aid to the release of imprisoned journalists and bloggers, and it should enlist other Western aid donors to do the same. The West should not be subsidizing a regime that is one of the world’s leading persecutors of journalists.

=>washingtonpost

Ethiopian Shade Coffee Is World's Most Bird Friendly

A new study found high biodiversity on traditional coffee farms.

Ethiopian coffee farmer Awol Abagojam and his son Isaac harvest their product near the village of Choche, much the same way their ancestors did a thousand years ago.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AMI VITALE, PANOS

Brian Clark Howard

National Geographic

Shady coffee plantations in Ethiopia, where coffee has been grown for at least a thousand years, hold relatively more forest bird species than any other coffee farms in the world, new research shows.

The research suggests that traditional cultivation practices there support local forest bird biodiversity better than any other coffee farms in the world.

In Ethiopia, coffee is traditionally grown on plantations shaded by native trees. These farms boasted more than 2.5 times as many bird species as adjacent mountain forest, according to a study slated for publication February 11 in the journal Biological Conservation.

"That was a surprise," says study co-author Cagan H. Sekercioglu, a biologist at the University of Utah and a National Geographic Society grant recipient. Further, "all 19 understory bird species we sampled in the forest were present in the coffee farms too, and that just doesn't happen elsewhere."

Other studies have shown that shade coffee farms provide better bird habitat than full-sun plantations, but the effect may be more prominent in Ethiopia because farmers there tend to use native trees instead of the exotic species popular elsewhere.

Coffee cherries, the fruit that contains the coffee beans, are seen up close on the plant in Ethiopia.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AMI VITALE, PANOS

Why It Matters

The new study may be the first of bird biodiversity on Ethiopian coffee farms, because the country is relatively remote and poor. Ethiopian coffee farmers face pressure—as in many countries—to convert more coffee production to full-sun plantations.

Growing coffee in the sun can reduce the risk of fungal disease, cuts labor, and can yield more coffee beans, but at the costs of lower-quality coffee that fetches less per pound and degraded habitat for wildlife, says Sekercioglu.

The Big Picture

Scientists found all but one of nine species of migratory birds on the coffee farms, but not in adjacent forest. Sekercioglu suspects that the open structure of the farms was more inviting to the birds than the denser natural forest because it more closely resembles the habitat they are used to in the north.

Still, Sekercioglu cautions that "coffee farms cannot simply replace forest for habitat." Although all forest understory bird species were also represented on the farms, their number of individuals was about 80 percent lower. (See how coffee changed America.)

Birds such as the blue-breasted bee-eater can be found on Ethiopia's shade coffee farms.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CAGAN SEKERCIOGLU, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

What's Next

The team would like to measure how birds in the canopy above the coffee farms are faring, since they only measured birds caught in the understory, or the first ten feet above the ground. The scientists also want to study long-term the breeding success and population changes of birds in forest versus shade coffee.

Sekercioglu also suggests that the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centeror the Rainforest Alliance, which certify bird-friendly coffee from other countries, should consider extending their programs to Ethiopia. Certification allows farmers to recoup a price premium, which can help deter the impulse to convert farms to full sun or otherwise develop their land.

Correction: An earlier version of this story suggested the Ethiopian farms had the highest bird biodiversity anywhere, but it has been updated to clarify that the farms have the highest relative bird biodiversity.

=>nationalgeographic

OPDO’s Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa Questioned by OMN Journalists on Records of Human Rights in Oromia and TPLF’s Refusal to Make Afan Oromo Federal Language

(Gadaa)OPDO’s Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa came to Minnesota (also known as ‘Little Oromia’ for having the largest population of Oromos in North America) on an official trip sanctioned by Tigrean/TPLF officials from Mekelle (who know control the power at the Arat Kilo Palace in Finfinne) on January 30, 2015.

Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa’s trip was filled with controversies. At his unannounced arrival at the airport, he was received by members of the Ogadeni Community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Tigrean/TPLF Embassy at Washington-DC worked hard to keep Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa’s arrival at the Minneapolis airport secret in order to avoid a huge protest rally by members of the Oromo Community – whose sons, daughters, fathers, mothers … were imprisoned, disappeared or even killed by the orders of the Tigrean/TPLF regime.

Just a little more than six months ago, more than a hundred nonviolent (peaceful) Oromo protesters were gunned down by the Tigrean elite killing squad called Agazi for opposing the Tigrean Master Plan for Addis Ababa – a Master Plan that is designed to displace Oromo farmers around Addis Ababa (Finfinne) and give the land to Tigrean and other Habesha investors (new/neo-Neftegna’s).
No one – not a single person – has been brought to justice to answer the killings of more than a hundred peaceful Oromo youth, elders – students, mothers and fathers. As a Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, OPDO’s Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa could have used his power to set up a federal committee to investigate the mass killings of more than a hundred Oromo students and other civilians. However, Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa has never done that, instead, he was sent by the Tigrean/TPLF regime to tarnish the image of the peaceful protesters as “violent robbers.” What’s more, after having slaughtered more than a hundred Oromos, TPLF has not stopped the Tigrean’s Addis Ababa Master Plan of displacing Oromo farmers in order to give out the land to Tigrean and other Habesha investors (new/neo-Neftegna’s). OPDO continues to say nothing to stop the Tigrean’s evil agenda of physical and cultural genocide against Oromos in Central Oromia, especially, around the Finfinne areas.

Mr. Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa, the following videos were recorded live as TPLF’s Tigrean elite killing squad – the Agazi – was slaughtering Oromos in Ambo on April 30, 2014, and the other two were from Mendi and Madda-Walaabuu University shootings. The civilians slaughtered by the Tigrean elite killing squad – the Agazi – were not “violent robbers” – they were students and other civilians. Justice will be delivered by the Oromo people soon over these mass slaughtering of innocent civilians. Where will OPDO stand at that crucial time – with the TPLF’s Tigrean elite killing squad – the Agazi – again, or with the Oromo people? When will OPDO stop TPLF’s “5-Year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP)” that continues to evict Oromo farmers to give the land to Tigrean and other Habesha investors (new/neo-Neftegna’s) under the disguise of “poverty eradication and development”? Conscious OPDO members must ask themselves these questions before it’s too late and play their historic role of crushing the aggression of Habeshas/neo-Neftegnas in Oromia.

OMN Journalists Question OPDO’s Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa on Records of Human Rights in Oromia and TPLF’s Refusal to Make Afan Oromo Federal Language

OMN Journalists Question OPDO’s Abbaa-Duulaa Gammadaa on Records of Human Rights in Oromia and TPLF’s Refusal to Make Afan Oromo Federal Language