My name is MeriGeta Yemaneh Mekonnen. My age is 59. My place of birth is northern wollo. The place where I used to live at Jimma zone Nigu Seka woreda, I have lived there for 37 years with my family my brothers, children of my aunts and uncles, there were many of us, more than 10 house-holds. We did a lot of things here. We were able to acquire property for many years gave birth to and raised our children here, we wed our kids here, we considered it our home. We were living good lives, we used to work earn profit and help those less fortunate than us. We were living good lives. Oneg Shene, now they call it by a different name called Oneg shene but generally in Ethiopia these are anti-peace forces. For Ethiopia peace is a huge big wealth. If there’s no peace mankind cannot live. Everyone wants peace even animals want to live in peace leave alone humans. This anti peace force comes from eastern Wollega from Dembi Dollo organized for many years, it’s been organizing since 1997(2005) then it went on and on while it was under the government and the government ignored it and day by day it got stronger, then they made a plan. They said “let’s eradicate the ethnic group called Amhara” when asked why they say during the time of Menilik
Amhara cut off the breasts of Oromos something that has never been said before and that never even happened, they just came up with it. In the olden days they used tall oromos as pillars when building their houses. They cut off Oromo women’s breasts so that we don’t get to nurse from our mother’s breasts and Menilik said “don’t kill animals let alone galas” so he did us wrong and today we are awake and educated and we will pay back for the blood. For something that happened in the 18th century and even that is a lie now they want to use that as a reason to remove all Amharas from a place where they have been living organized from their homes, from where their kids were born a place where they saw grandkids. No w as you can see the country has been good the creator has been giving us rain on time there is nothing amiss, no hunger or suffering. The only problem is the one brought on by these anti- peace forces. People, human beings even when killed they are not buried, they are killed and burnt, imagine that, its unheard of. Its one thing to be killed and buried that’s a great honor, we are even denied that they are killed collected in a straw hut so that its easier to burn so that even their bones wouldn’t be buried. Girls, small kids
and pregnant women, they ask, what is that? What is the gender of the baby? Let’s open her stomach and see. The type of thing that hasn’t been done before on earth is being perpetuated against us by Oneg Shene and they did this by targeting us by ethnicity just those of us who are Amharas. Just because we are Amharas and we worked hard to change our lives equally to them. Let alone working we taught them how to eat, dress how to trade. We taught them how to farm we have taught them many things we have not hurt them one bit. Now what came about was when some people had cases with woredas, police stations, administration offices, courts they started saying “If you don’t speak Oromigna don’t enter the compound. What can we do then? They said we need to pay an Oromigna speaker by counting the words and paying 50, 200, 300 up to a 1000 depending on your case. We have to hire/ pay an Oromigna speaker to communicate. Also there has never been a court case decided in our favor even if we have evidence or whatever for our properties, leave alone, towards the end, we started losing our lives. The only choice we had, however we can, we didn’t look back at the property we left behind we didn’t stop of bend down to
pick up any of our belongings. Those of us who survived used whatever means like cars or going through the deserts and forests we came home to our region. May all thanks be to God. They used tell us “ if you return to wollo you will be eradicated by drought” . we are not hungry Wollo is a blessed place. They gave us what they had to eat themselves, they gave us their own clothing they gave us what they had in their pockets. Northern Wollo, southern wollo all of it, when they were told that our people, our brother have come they brought out whatever they had and gave it to us with the administration. Food and drinks some kind we had not even had when we were home but still when we run out of things we worry about what will happen to us in the future, there were worries but we lived like this for a while. There is a saying “don’t lend a sickle to a person who is sad/depressed” while we were living here in relative peace from this end the Junta and the Tigres came and as we feared the army got close and started raining bullets on us. When this happened again, like my brother said, we were forced to leave behind the few belongings we had been given here like mattresses, cups we drink with and post for cooking they had given us everything
when this happened again, we didn’t stop to pick up anything. There are mothers and fathers and kids that are not able to walk 5 yr olds, 6 yr olds, 2 yr olds, 1 yr olds even months old 6-month babies. We just took the kids we held some to our chests and some on our backs and dragged the older ones on our way to dessie, Kombolcha to many places even to Gojam, Mota and Bahirdar we were made t walk 3 months from tikimt to tahisas now that time of suffering has passed. Then now, may all thanks be to God, when the Junta was removed from our region we were told to return to where we were, to the refugee camp since we didn’t find a place to stay where we were we returned after hidar/tahisas. There is more of us now we have increased in number than last year we are ok but we don’t have our needs fulfilled but we are ok but we worry about our future. We go hungry and we go thirsty we don’t have farms we don’t have business we have nothing; we have no work we just sit there, 24 hours sitting there at night we sleep. We have to look at people’s hands for help. People may run out, let alone people God runs out. What would we do if those people run out and stop? What can they do for us if they don’t have any? Why can’t we work and give
back? why can’t the government give us land to farm, it can be in our region. There may be empty land or create other jobs, why can’t they make us work? We ask to those concerned but we haven’t heard anything satisfactory from the government concerning getting farm lands. Our greatest wish is to be given land we want to help we can help. We are able and have energy. I am old there are those better than me younger than me look, they can do a lot, they can produce a lot daily. The women and men will work government should find a way to provide us with this. We can’t return to where we came from because the problems have not been cleared, the problem is still there are getting worse. That’s the issue we don’t hate the place where we have lived for 30 – 40 years. Our plants, our coffee our eucalyptus trees and all properties we accumulated for many years. Some homes are still standing many have been burned down we would have like to return there. But these anti-peace agents and still they haven’t been removed. Government hasn’t taken sufficient steps against them. They are still there now organizing and getting stronger. So now we don’t want to be a burden on the government or a burden on charitable people. The government is
responsible the charitable people have given what they have, we thanks them for that, they will be repaid by God. We don’t want the government to think we are settled and living here, they have to find a way to settle us permanently. Government can find away there is nothing they cannot do. Let the give us land, they need to help us but we need to be working as well. If that happens and they give us such support in two years those of us getting help will be giving help. I will stop what I have to say here. You came to see us, its our happiness, its like food to us even if you don’t do anything for us the joy we get when you ask our problems shouldn’t be taken lightly. We become very happy. We can think that these big people know about us and worry about us. Our thoughts and worries shouldn’t be taken lightly. It makes us happy. May God keep you well. Nothing is impossible to God and government. May it all end well.