Uncle's Mourning: Written by lidetu Ayalew
I received a phone call from one of my cousins one night, as I was preparing to publish this draft. I could not easily forget this call because I found it to be related to my emotional turmoil for the past two months. Before I talk about my uncle's phone call, let me first say a few words about the emotional turmoil I have experienced over the past few months. ²
I was invited to an interview with Jawar Mohammed on OMN Television a year ago when I went to Mekelle for a meeting and, as you can see, a massive campaign was launched. During that rumor mill, I saw a number of prominent people, including government officials, harassing me. I have heard great scholars such as Professor Mesfin W / Mariam publicly advise the government to draw its sword against me and Jawar. Some unidentified people called me on the phone and threatened to kill me. Some people who have been in business with me for a long time also told me that a stranger called and asked about their relationship with me.
The Nobel laureate, Dr. Abiy, did not argue that the constitution stipulates that there will be no government after September 30, 2013. We are preparing to take action against those who say there will be no government later, ”he said.
The next day, strangers followed me in three cars as I left my house in the morning. After I reported the matter to government security officials and the media, the cars following me disappeared. My suspicion at the time was that it was the government that could monitor me, but the government denied me. I temporarily accepted the offer but gave the license plates of the cars I was following to the security officials and asked for an investigation. So far, no explanation or answer has been given to my question.
During my car surveillance, I heard in a foreign media that hints that EPRDF assassins had entered Addis Ababa and hinted that I might be one of the people they were planning to kill. Although I was seen together with Jawar Mohammed, I was saddened by the fact that so many defamation campaigns were being carried out against me and by strangers following me, but I was not so surprised. I have practiced the defamation campaign for at least 17 years and the car surveillance for 120 consecutive days. Not only did it surprise me, but it did not try to move forward. After two years of preaching about change, love, unity and peace throughout the country, Ethiopian politics is backwards like a camel's back. _______________________
I need to end my article on this personal issue because I believe that the current situation in the country and the “change” that is coming will be a good indication of what it will look like in practice.
This situation - "How long can I continue in the raw politics of our country?" It made my mind wander in my mind. I have dedicated my energy, time, money, knowledge, body, and all of my 28 years of youth to this struggle. The result, however, was a loss of security for the country and the people and for my own rights and survival.
Jawar Mohammed and I conducted a wide-ranging campaign on OMN, but there was no misrepresentation or criticism that I uttered during the interview. Instead, the criticisms of most campaigners were: "How does his birth coincide with the 'murderer' Jawar Muhammad?" Surprisingly, most of the people who launched the campaign against me were ESAT and Ginbot 7 people who got up from the ground yesterday and accused me of murder. When I heard these hypocrites liberate me from their own accusation yesterday, "How can you sit with a murderer?" I was saddened to learn that they were blinded by prejudice and could not even understand such a contradiction. The fact that these political rivals, who have considered my conversation with Jawar, the most influential figure in the country's politics, to launch a campaign against me, is nothing more than reassuring to me that they have a growing political personality.
Instead, I was surprised to see that some of my strongest supporters were shocked to meet me and Jawar. Although I know how bitter the united political force is for Jawar - I have no preconditions to discuss with anyone who is involved in Ethiopian politics, and I will not hesitate to say or do what I believe, whether people like it or not. I was a little disappointed when I suddenly found myself in such a state of confusion that at least since the 1997 election, I have been convinced that I am a firm believer that I will never compromise on these political principles. So some questions started running through my mind.
Why do people put me on the agenda of a propaganda campaign by promoting my own free will, which I have achieved with my free mind set by the Creator? When will my political opponents stop campaigning against me, saying, 'Stop being yourself and be like us'? How many more rumors do I have to make to get them to know me, not to be loved or hated by me? How many more rumors do I need to make in the future than the less than 10 dozen rumors that have been circulating about me in my diary so far? How many interviews, how many articles and books have I done so far to disprove the rumors?How many more years of struggle do I have to write? I kept asking these questions, but I could not find the right answer. I don't know where the answer is.
After hearing that I was being monitored, my relatives and friends, both near and far, became more concerned about my safety than ever before. They froze when I was told to stay away from the country and the struggle for a while until I swore and complained, "I wish I had not been created by man." I have lived before I got married and had no children in order to escape this kind of family pressure and influence
However, I could not escape my fears. For so many years, the fact that my friends, acquaintances and family have been suffering so much has made me feel unusually guilty and I feel sorry for them. When they called me, I picked it up and was embarrassed to talk.
In the midst of this pressure, artist Hachalu Hundesa was suddenly killed. The day after he was killed, riots erupted throughout Oromia and Addis Ababa. I could not go to Addis Ababa at that time because I was at my home in Bishoftu and there was a similar riot in Bishoftu werda. As a result, friends and relatives became more and more anxious. Concerned about the artist's sudden death, or those who want to use it for their own political agenda, they fear that they may take advantage of it. Of course, this concern of friends and relatives was a reasonable one and I shared it.
On the third day of Hachalu's assassination (before the road to Addis Ababa was opened), the federal police sent me to my house, claiming that I had received information about my safety, and escorted me to Addis Ababa. But when the federal police came to my house at the time, I think it was because of an order or a mishap. I told some media that I was not arrested without being on the list.
At the time, the federal police were urging me to take care of myself, so I decided to go to Lalibela, thinking it would be better to stay in Addis Ababa until the situation calmed down. I had to fly from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar and then from Bahir Dar to Lalibela because Ethiopian Airlines had stopped flying to Lalibela due to the cancellation of tourists due to the distribution of Covid 19. Less than half an hour after arriving at hotel in Bahir Dar, the security guards came to the hotel where I was staying and there were some concerns about my safety. He came and told me. I spent the night there without leaving my room.
When I woke up at 12:00 in the morning and opened the curtain, I saw an armed man sitting near my bedroom waiting for me. After breakfast, I saw the receptionist coming towards me as I was loading my luggage into Lalibela to start my journey to Lalibela. He approached me and said, "Call Gash Lidetu from the security office now. If Lidetu wants an escort for the trip, ask him and he will call me." I was amazed at how they knew I was going to Lalibela today - I said, "Thank you so much for your cooperation, but I don't need an escort," and I said goodbye and got into the car. As I left the hotel compound, I asked myself a question as I looked around. “Am I under the protection of a security guard? Or under the control of people who want to attack me? ” I stopped wandering around with a simple answer to this question and started my journey around 2:00 am in a friend's car from Bahir Dar and after half a day's journey I arrived safely in Lalibela.
As I was in Lalibela trying to calmly think about the danger looming around me, the current political situation in our country seemed very threatening to me. When I tried to look at the events that took place from the death of my friend the engineer simegnew to the recent death of the artist Hachalu, I felt like I was imagining some kind of Invisible hand. In all the ups and downs of life, I have never been afraid of death, but of death. I felt like I was dying and I was scared. That is, not only the government but also any unknown political force; I thought I could suddenly lose my life, not only because of the purpose for which I believed, but also for the sake of pursuing a political agenda. "Should I die of a heart attack like this?" I asked myself over and over again. I felt that dying as an agenda for others, not for myself, was a double death.
While I was eating, the rumor that lidetu had taken place was widely circulated, even in the media. My friends and relatives are still very worried. Some even called me on the phone and even doubted that I was the one talking to them. Some of my friends, who doubted that their voice was mine, also called me and talked to me. At this point, as I mentioned in my introduction, I received a phone call from an uncle.
My uncle is over 65 years old, has his own political experience and is closely following the country's politics. But he was not happy with my political participation from the beginning, so he often argued that I should stay away from politics. When he failed, he left me in despair. As a result, my uncle and I probably haven't talked about Ethiopian politics in the last nine or ten years.
My uncle called me that night and after exchanging greetings, he heard that I was "arrested" and called to confirm that it was true. He then went on to say, "Have you heard of the defamation campaign by a man named Taye Bogale, who did not know your father's name?" I have an angry voice.
“I have not heard; But people have told me. ”
Many years after my uncle stopped talking to me about politics, I wanted to know why this issue had affected him - “What did he say about my father?” I said.
My uncle did not try to give me an answer to this question:Is that not enough for you? But when are you going to give up in Ethiopia? ” I have.
I kept quiet because I didn't hear what I had. I heard my uncle, who I knew was very strong, sobbing as he picked up the phone. I listened in silence for a minute and then the phone rang without saying anything more. I don't remember whether he hung up or not.
I was talking to my uncle on the phone, leaning against one of the corners of the wall. I paused for a moment without picking up the phone and without moving. Maybe after 15 minutes I woke up from my numbness and sat on the edge of my bed and took a deep breath. I was so disturbed by my uncle's condition that I could no longer continue writing when the phone rang. Although my usual bedtime hadn't yet arrived, I went to bed earlier than usual.
That - my uncle's phone call woke me up all night. "But when are you going to despair in Ethiopia?" I couldn't help but hear my uncle's question and cry. All the days after the call; While I was eating, talking to people, reading, writing and doing other things, my uncle's voice kept ringing in my ears over and over again. I could not easily answer my uncle's question. But when will I give up in Ethiopia?
All my friends, friends and relatives who have been suffering for all these years for fear of my safety, who are never tired of worrying about my affairs, I cannot list your names and debts; I humbly thank you for your invaluable and inexhaustible service. Forgive me, for I have sinned against you more and more
From Ermias Balkew
Twitter @Hilinasolom
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