Σιντάμα: Ένα Μαχόμενο για Εθνική
Ανεξαρτησία Αφρικανικό Έθνος που Πρώτος ο Έλληνας Αφρικανολόγος, καθ.
Μεγαλομμάτης έκανε ευρέως Γνωστό
https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/11/01/σιντάμα-ένα-μαχόμενο-για-εθνική-ανεξα/
===============
Σιντάμα: Ένα Μαχόμενο για Εθνική Ανεξαρτησία
Αφρικανικό Έθνος που Πρώτος ο Έλληνας Αφρικανολόγος, καθ. Μεγαλομμάτης έκανε ευρέως Γνωστό
greeksoftheorient Αφρική, Ορόμο
- Ένα υπόδουλο αφρικανικό έθνος 45 εκ., Orientalism - Οριενταλισμός,
Ανατολιστικές Επιστήμες November 1, 2019 41 Minutes
Οι Σιντάμα
βρίσκονται υπό εχθρική κατοχή για πάνω από 120 χρόνια. Όταν στα μισά της
δεκαετίας του 1890 το βασίλειο των Σιντάμα κατακτήθηκε από τους Αμχάρα και
Τιγκράυ της Αβησσυνίας (που είχαν την υποστήριξη των Άγγλων και των Γάλλων), οι
Σιντάμα αντιμετώπισαν μια μακραίωνη σκλαβιά και γενοκτονία που επιτελέστηκε υπό
διαφορετικά, ‘βασιλικό’, ‘κομμουνιστικό’ και ‘ρεπουμπλικανικό’, καθεστώτα της
Αβησσυνίας, η οποία ψευδεπίγραφα μετονομάστηκε μετά το 1950 σε Αιθιοπία.
Η σημαία της χώρας των Σιντάμα για
την ανεξαρτησία της οποίας όλοι οι Σιντάμα μάχονται
Οι Σιντάμα είναι περίπου 8-9 εκατομμύρια
Κουσίτες, δηλαδή συγγενείς των Σομαλών που μάχονται για να τερματίσουν τον
αμερικανοκίνητο εμφύλιο στην χώρα τους και των Ορόμο της Αβησσυνίας και της
Κένυας που μάχονται επίσης για εθνική ανεξατησία. Τα Σινταμουάφο (η γλώσσα των
Σιντάμα) μοιάζει με τα Αφαάν Ορόμο (τη γλώσσα των Ορόμο) περισσότερο και
λιγώτερο με τα Αφ Σομάλι (σομαλικά): όπως βλέπετε, στις κουσιτικές γλώσσες της
Ανατολικής Αφρικής, παραλλαγές της λέξης –αφ σημαίνουν ‘γλώσσα’.
Οι περισσότεροι Σιντάμα ακολουθούν την
παραδοσιακή αφρικανική, μονοθεϊστική θρησκεία τους αλλά υπάρχουν αρκετοί που
δέχθηκαν την Χριστιανωσύνη, όπως την παρουσίασαν δυτικοί ιεραπόστολοι, και λιγώτεροι
προσχώρησαν στο Ισλάμ. Την ίδια θρησκευτική τριχοτόμηση παρατηρούμε και στους
Ορόμο (που είναι πιο πολυάριθμοι από τους Σιντάμα και ανέρχονται σε πέρίπου
40-45 εκ. ντόπιους στην Κατεχόμενη Ορομία), ανάμεσα στους οποίους όμως υπάρχουν
περισσότεροι μουσουλμάνοι. Αντίθετα, οι Σομαλοί κι οι Άφαρ (: άλλο κουσιτικό
έθνος) είναι όλοι τους μουσουλμάνοι.
Τα ανατολικά αφρικανικά κουσιτικά έθνη
σήμερα είναι απόγονοι των Αρχαίων Σουδανών (: Αιθιόπων όπως τους αποκαλούσαν οι
Αρχαίοι Έλληνες) και των Αρχαίων Αιγυπτίων, και μακρινοί συγγενείς των Βερβέρων
της Λιβύης και του Άτλαντα, των Τουαρέγκ της νότιας Αλγερίας, των Φουλάνι της
Σαχάρας, και των Χάουσα της Νιγηρίας.
Σιντάμα Διασπορά υπάρχει αρκετή στην
Ανατολική Αφρική (ιδιαίτερα στην Κένυα), όπως άλλωστε και στην Ευρώπη, την
Αγγλία, και τις ΗΠΑ. Οι Σιντάμα μάχονταν για την εθνική ανεξαρτησία τους και
για την απαιτητή διάλυση του γενοκτονικού τυραννικού κράτους της Αβησσυνίας επί
πολλές δεκαετίες μαζί με τους Ορόμο, τους Άφαρ και τους Σομαλούς του Ογκάντεν
(περιοχή της Σομαλίας που έχει η Αγγλία παραχωρήσει στην Αβησσυνία κατά την
διάρκεια της δεκαετίας του 1950). Αλλά ο αγώνας τους παρέμενε άγνωστος στον
περισσότερο κόσμο, επειδή τα άθλια πρακτορεία ειδήσεων και δυτικά ΜΜΕ, ακόμη
και σε περιπτώσεις σοβαρών συμβάντων, δεν έδιναν ακριβείς και σωστές
πληροφορίες, κάνοντας λόγο ασαφώς για ‘εξεγερμένες φυλές’.
Κατά την δεκαετία του 2000, ο Έλληνας
αφρικανολόγος καθ. Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτης δημοσίευσε πολλές δεκάδες
άρθρων και επιπλέον συνεντεύξεις με Σιντάμα αρχηγούς εθνικοαπελευθερωτικών
μετώπων σε πολλά αμερικανικά πόρταλς και έτσι δόθηκε για πρώτη φορά παγκοσμίως
μεγάλη δημσιότητα σε ένα από τα πιο παραγνωρισμένα κι άγνωστα αφρικανικά έθνη
με μεγάλο παρελθόν που φτάνει στο Αρχαίο Κους (: Αιθιοπία, δηλαδή Σουδάν).
Ακόμη και σήμερα Σιντάμα ακτιβιστές κι αγωνιστές αναδημοσιεύουν τα διαφωτιστικά
άρθρα εκείνα του κ. Μεγαλομμάτη, ο οποίος τώρα βρίσκεται στο Ανατολικό
Τουρκεστάν (ΒΔ Κίνα).
Οι Σιντάμα δεν βυθίστηκαν στην σύγχυση που
προξένησε στους Ορόμο ο αμερικανικής έμπνευσης διορισμός του εθνοπροδότη Άμπιι
Άχμεντ στην πρωθυπουργία του νεκροταφείου εθνών ‘Ψευτο-Αιθιοπία’ (2 Απριλίου
2018). Συνέχισαν όλοι να μάχονται για την εθνική ανεξαρτησία τους. Αντίθετα,
πολλοί Ορόμο μπερδεύτηκαν και νόμισαν ότι ο άθλιος διορισμός ενός Ορόμο στην
πρωθυπουργία του κράτους που τους είχε κατασφάξει (όπως και τους Σιντάμα) θα
σήμαινε πραγματική αλλαγή για το επίσης επί αιώνα και πλέον καταπιεσμένο και
καταδιωγμένο έθνος των Ορόμο. Αυτοί ολοένα και περισσότερο διαψεύδονται γιατί ο
αμερικανοδιορισμένος Ορόμο πρωθυπουργός της Αβησσυνίας συνεχίζει την τυραννική
διακυβέρνηση της χώρας την οποία είχαν για πάνω από ένα αιώνα οι βαρβαρικές
φυλές Αμχάρα και Τιγκράυ.
Με τα παραπάνω μπορείτε επίσης να
καταλάβετε επίσης πόσο άθλια είναι η περίπτωση απονομής του ψευτο-βραβείου
Νόμπελ Ειρήνης στον πρωθυπουργό της Αβησσυνίας (ψευτο-Αιθιοπίας). Στο πρώτο από
τα κείμενα που παραθέτω στην συνέχεια, θα έχετε την ευκαιρία να δείτε πόσους
Σιντάμα σκότωσε μόλις τον περασμένο Ιούλιο ο χασάπης της Ανατολικής Αφρικής που
έκλεψε την δόξα των Ζόραν Ζάεφ και Αλέξη Τσίπρα. Προσωπικά, επειδή γνωρίζω καλά
τι γίνεται στην Αφρική, θα είχα προτμήσει να το πάρουν αυτοί οι δύο. Όχι γιατί
το αξίζουν. Αλλά για να μην πάει σε τόσο ματοβαμμένα χέρια όσο αυτά του Άμπιι
Άχμεντ.
Η κατάσταση παραμένει πάντοτε πολύ τεταμένη
στην Χώρα των Σιντάμα, ενώ ολοένα και περισσότεροι Σιντάμα πρόσφυγες φτάνουν
από την Αβησσυνία στην Κένυα. Αναδημοσιεύω στην συνέχεια
1- Σύντομες ειδήσεις για τους σκοτωμούς του
περασμένου Ιουλίου
2- Ένα δυναμικό πατριωτικό άρθρο του
Σιντάμα Γιοχανάν Γιοκάμο (Yohanan Yokamo) υπέρ της
ανεξαρτησίας της Sidama Land – Χώρας των Σιντάμα (όπου θα βρείτε αναφορές σε πρότερα άρθρα του κ.
Μεγαλομμάτη)
3- Ένα άρθρο του κ. Μεγαλομμάτη για τον
Σεγιούμ Χαμέσο (Σιντάμα ιστορικό) και τους διανοούμενους της Διασποράς των
Σιντάμα, και
4- Μια δυναμική συνηγορία υπέρ της
ανεξαρτησίας των Σιντάμα γραμμένη επίσης από τον κ. Μεγαλομμάτη που
περιλαμβάνει και τμήμα συνέντευξης του Σιντάμα ηγέτη Καμπάτα Ξόλα, αρχηγού του Sidama National Liberation Organization (SNLO)
Στο τέλος θα βρείτε επιπλέον συνδέσμους για
περισσότερη έρευνα.
==================================
Ethiopia: At least 17 killed in violence over Sidama autonomy
A local official says 13 people were killed a day after hospital
authorities reported four died of gunshot wounds.
At least 17 people have been killed in clashes between Ethiopian
security forces and activists seeking a new autonomous region for their Sidama
ethnic group, according to a local official and hospital authorities.
A local district official told Reuters news agency on Saturday
that at least 13 people were killed in a town near Hawassa city, 275 kilometres
south of the capital Addis Ababa, while hospital authorities said on Friday
that four protesters had died of gunshot wounds in the city itself.
Confirming the 13 civilian deaths in Wotera Rassa, located about
27km from Hawassa, Shubale Buta, head of the town’s Malga district, said
soldiers were travelling to calm the violence in a nearby town on Thursday.
“When they saw people gathered near the roads, they thought they
were there to create a problem and that is how the killings happened,” he told
Reuters via telephone.
A Malga resident said late on Friday he saw 14 bodies after a
shooting.
“My house is near a field where the people had gathered,” he
said.
“I was told by people who were there that the military came to
the town [on Thursday] and randomly opened fire on people who had gathered and
were discussing the referendum,” he added, saying that he later went to the
place where the shooting happened and counted the bodies.
Shubale said the town was “relatively calm” on Saturday.
The Sidama, the largest ethnic group in the southern region, have
been calling for a semi-autonomous state, posing the latest political challenge
to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Expectations had been high that they would unilaterally declare
their own region on Thursday.
Ethiopia is already partitioned into nine semi-autonomous
regions. The constitution requires the government to organise a referendum for
any ethnic group that wants to form a new entity within a year of them
requesting it.
The Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM), which has been leading
calls for the new state, accepted government demands for a delay pending a
plebiscite before the end of the year.
The federal system in Africa’s second-most populous nation is
designed to allow larger ethnic groups a measure of autonomy but smaller
communities such as the Sidama say they have been sidelined and some are
demanding their own regions.
==================================
Ethiopia: The Sidama People, the False Marriage With Nations and
Nationalities and the Need for Legal Divorce
By Yohanan Yokamo
Sidama People are the indigenous Cushitic or Kushitic language
speaking Ethiopians. After EPRDF assumed power in 1991 immediately after the
transition period, the Sidama nation has been granted its regional
self-administration for the brief period of time as per constitution.
Only Gedeo and Burji incorporated to it. However, this was only
short lived when unexpectedly previously 5 distinct regions of the south were
merged all together without consulting the Sidama people and others concerned.
Sidama nation was forcefully amalgamated to be one of the zones of Southern
Nations and Nationalities and People’s Regional State (SNNPR). Such illegal,
undemocratic & forceful amalgamation (marriage) was concluded without the
consent of the Sidama People with different nations and nationalities is
literary a false marriage. Indeed, the formation of “SNNPR” is inconsistent
with FDRE’s constitution, as there is no basis whatsoever to lump the Sidama
people together with 55 or so very different ethnic groups.
Since its establishment the Sidama people were demanding
constitutional referendum to self-govern and administer itself with statehood
structure. Still the Sidama nation has continued with their quest with utmost
heroism, bravery and unshakable unity. In this regard, the National Election
Board is silent and not responding to undertake the referendum according to one
year constitutional time framework that about half-a-year ago (in July 2018),
members of the Sidama zone council approved unanimously for the second time a request
by the Sidama people for regional statehood.
The manuscript further discusses the nature of the Sidama people
struggle for self-determination and fight against the forced false marriage
what further tasks required from Sidama people within constitutional time-table
before referendum. It discusses the silence of the national election board of
Ethiopia, federal government reluctance and other agenda’s implication to
reverse the constitutional process of Sidama people. To this end, there should
be quick move peacefully, democratically and legally to divorce of this false
marriage and better to form 10th Sidama National Regional State in democratic
way.
Sidama People: Brief Note
The Sidama People are one of the indigenous Cushitic or Kushitic
language speaking Ethiopians. (Wolassa Lawisso Kumm (PHD), 2016). The
geographic coordinates of the Sidama land are latitude North: 5’45” and 6’45”
and longitude East: 38′ and 39′. Sidama borders the Bale sub region
in Oromia in the East, Arsi (Oromia) in the North East and East Shewa (Oromia)
in the North. Wolayita, Gedeo and the Oromia region of Borena and Gujji boarder
Sidama in the West and South respectively. (Wolassa Lawisso Kumm (PHD), 2016)
According to the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, Sidama has a population
of about 4 million in 2015. (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Central
Statistical Agency, 2013)
The Sidama Zone has favorable soil and climatic conditions that
are conducive for agriculture. The Sidama people predominantly inhabit two
zones in SNNPRS, namely Sidama Zone and Hawassa Special Zone. The Sidama Zone
is further sub-divided into 19 Woredas and two city administrations whereas
Hawassa Special Zone comprises seven urban sub-cities and twelve rural kebeles.
(Markos Tekle Rike (PHD), 2014)
The Sidama society is characterized by pervasive gerontocracy in
which older generations have served the people for centuries in preserving the
moral order. In doing so, the gerontocracy in Sidama emphasizes on
decentralized decision-making and consensual rule, and practices far more
community participation and rational discourse than the people of nation-states
practice. (Hammer, 1998) They used to have an egalitarian political
administrative system known as the “Moote” system where the “Mootichcha” is
presented to a “Fichche” for “Qeexalaa”.
The Mootichcha, assisted by his “Ga’ro” rules in consultation
with the council of people’s representatives known as the “Songo”, a council
sharing similarities to both the Gada/Chaffee council and modern day
parliament. They are also a nation with an indigenous and unimaginably complex
systems (even by the standards of postmodernism) like the Luwaa, the Seeraa,
the Woma and the Kotta/Shuffo systems that both govern and keep the social,
economic and spiritual equilibrium both among themselves and their
neighborhood.
Concerning female role in Sidama, The customary Sidama tradition
offers certain rights including the control of family subsistence, especially
dairy products. Women used to be represented in the traditional council of wise
people (womu songo). However, like other societies, Sidama too is patriarchal
society. (Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis (June 5, 2007)) Though the
society recognizes the significant role of women in families and society, the
gender role granted for the woman is more of related with preparing food,
cleaning, taking care of children, and taking care of her husband and gusts.
(Book: Ye Sidama Biher Tarik ena Bahil) However, today it’s common to see many
female scholars, activists and influential figures coming from the Sidama
Society.
For the past 27 years, the Sidama nation was forcefully
amalgamated to be one of the zones of the south with more than 55 distinct
nations and nationalities of the entire southern Ethiopia who are given
pseudonym known as Southern Nations and Nationalities and People’s Regional
State (herein referred as SNNPR in this paper). Prior to it after EPRDF assumed
power in 1991 immediately after the transition period, the Sidama nation has
been granted its regional self-administration for the brief period of time as
per constitution. Only Gedeo and Burji incorporated to it. As Gedeo and Burji
are known to be culturally and linguistically similar with Sidama, therefore,
it makes sense for having done so.
However, this was only short lived when unexpectedly previously
5 distinct regions of the south were merged all together without consulting the
Sidama nation and others concerned by the decision of the late Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi. The zone council pushed the quest for a separate regional status
all the way to the Council of Nationalities until the late prime minster
intervened. (Aalen ‘The Politics of Ethnicity pg. 153)
However, important principles exist in the FDRE Constitution
that provides the right to form its own statehood that the Sidama People unlike
other nation and nationalities in the region has strongly requesting to
exercise constitutional right in democratic way. Thus, unlike the other times,
however, this is a critical time and the Sidama people are in the verge of
writing a new chapter in their history book. About half-a-year ago (in July
2018), members of the Sidama zone council approved unanimously (for the second
time – the first one being in 2005) a request by the Sidama people for regional
statehood. (Tunsisa Tafe (PhD), 2019)
The issue was an agenda item in a subsequent “SNNPR” council’s
meeting as well. After brief deliberation, the SNNPR council endorsed the
decision taken by the Sidama zone to National Election Board for referendum. To
this end, many academician and politicians at different level forwarded their
point that this issue has been dragging on for many years and, therefore,
deserve an expedited resolution per constitutional guidelines.
The Nature of the Sidama People Struggle for Self-determination
and Fight against the Forced False Marriage
The widely accepted narration through stories and tales by the
Sidama elders and scholars about their experience and historical memory within
Ethiopia is one of repression and discrimination. Yet the Ethiopian official
discourse does not address the problem save concealing it by selectively
memorizing events and course of actions that justify its line of choice. (Dr.
Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis (June 5, 2007))
The Sidama’s had demanded and fought bravely for their freedom,
from the very first day they had fallen to subject-hood under SNNPR and the
current quest of the Sidama for a separate region is part and parcel of the
Sidama people struggle for self-determination. They also have fought for
self-determination and statehood for years, paying huge sacrifices while so
doing. The memory of Looqe massacre (2002) is still a fresh one and led by
Baalichcha Worawo’s courageous spirits, young Sidaanchoos and freedom fighters
like ‘Ejjeetto group, in Sidaamu Affo Language’ led by personalities selected
from Sidama people at different level are still at struggle even as we speak!!
However since the said illegal and unconstitutional arrangement
was imposed on Sidama and the entire Sidama people didn’t stop demanding their
constitutional rights to be reinstalled although no success was achieved. In
the letter dated 08/11/97 members of the Sidama Zonal Counicil have combined
history, geography and injustice against the group, particularly with respect
to group’s share of the subsidy from the federal government and wholesale
dehumanization of the group by the regional state’s officials to receive
distinct regional status. (Yared Legesse: Secession under the Federal and
Sub-national Constitutions of Ethiopia: pg. 125)
As we speak all segments of Sidama people are demanding these
denied rights. Therefore, the nation youth and old alike continue to push
forward the arrangement to be dismantled and the Sidama nation be the owner of
its own affairs. However, the EPDRF government disregarding the provision of
these rights in its constitution articles 39 and 47, brutally suppresses the
Sidama nation and continually tortures its people when they raise these legal
and legitimate questions. Sometime also the regime tries to hoodwink the Sidama
people by using the Sidama cadres whom it has handpicked to install them at the
regional and zone levels to make them to do its jobs.
For example, when the ‘massacre’ of peaceful and unarmed Sidama
civilians demonstrating against the denial of constitutional rights to regional
self-administration in Loqqe village (out skirt of Sidama capital -Hawassa
city), has been committed by the regime’s defense and police forces, on May 24,
2002; the entire people of the Sidama nation was united.
The numbers of needlessly, but brutally murdered Sidama
civilians were over 70 and others several hundreds were wounded for which no
one held into account to this date. The Sidama nation has witnessed
unprecedented violations and abuse of the rights of its people. Mass
imprisonment, torture, harassment and intimidation were rampant; the abuse of
human rights continued to date because the Sidama people as a nation have
intensified their struggle for regional self-determination. (W. L. Kumo, 2007)
Recently in July 28, 2018, the Sidama Zone Votes for Statehood
for the second time. The Sidama Zone Council has unanimously voted in favor of
the quest for statehood in this day. It is a welcome development, and I hope
there is no Sidama person who reasonably objects to this people’s demand and
aspiration for statehood. No one, including from the leaders to the community
member (both at the Federal and SNNPRS level) or anybody else for that matter,
can stand against the just demands of the people. Furthermore, since culture is
an intrinsic part of life and awareness of individuals and communities. It is a
living asset of past and present creative activity, which has shaped the system
of values, traditions and tastes that define the distinctive genius of people
over the centuries. Thus culture is bound to make an imprint on economic
activity and define the strength and weaknesses of a society’s productive
process. (Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO 1989)
To this end, The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia (FDRE) that is currently at work clearly specifies that all
nations, nationalities and peoples enjoy recognition and equal legal protection
including the freedom to develop and preserve their identity and enhance the
unabridged use and enrichment of their cultures and languages. (Art. 39 FDRE
Constitution) In this regard, what the Sidama People requires is consistent
with the Constitution and is to make economic progress and develop its culture.
Indeed, the Sidama question is a just and legitimate question.
It is a question to exercise their constitutionally recognized right to
statehood (via self-determination and self-governance). It is no exaggeration
to say that this is the culmination of the age old expression of the Sidama
people’s aspiration to achieve self-governance. Moreover, the formation of
“SNNPR” is inconsistent with FDRE’s constitution, as there is no basis
whatsoever to lump the Sidama people together with 55 or so very different
ethnic groups and collectively refer to all of them as “southern people”. This
is downright wrong and must be corrected. (Tunsisa Tafe (PhD), 2019)
The above recent Sidama’s decision is only forwarding step in a
series of activities towards conducting a referendum on the matter.
Technically, the case has been submitted to the Council of Nationalities for
passing the case to referendum according to FDRE Constitution that this council
has passed the case to National Election Board. Once the decision is obtained,
a referendum shall be organized within a year (Article 39 & 47 FDRE
Constitution,). If the referendum confirms the demand for separate statehood
(which is the most likely outcome), then Sidama automatically becomes the 10th
State constituting the Ethiopian Federation, thereby injecting an informal
amendment to (at least) Article 47 of the FDRE constitution.
There are those who are deriding, mocking, or otherwise
undermining this decision today. The Sidama never demanded anything outside of
their own legitimate rights. However, as a community, Sidama people have not
done anything to harm any other people or groups’ rights or interests. But many
attempts have made to create conflict between non- Sidama people living in
Sidama area. Such attempts are not uncommon in Ethiopia today.
It has now become evident that the country has been buzzing with
the various changes. (Ambaye Ogato (PhD), 2018) Despite these avalanche of
changes, however, there have been, and continued to be, some chilling news of
conflicts and violence in many parts of the country that have made it to various
media outlets and the social media. (Ambaye Ogato (PhD), 2018) The recent
conflict between the Wolaita and the Sidama is a famous conflict that has
covered much coverage albeit the Sidama’s that has been accommodating the
Wolayta and other ethnic groups peacefully. Dr. Ambaye argued that most Sidama
think that the Wolayta are conspiring to abort the Sidama quest for regional
status. Apart from this there is no real or perceived quagmire in the
relationship between the two ethnic groups.
However, there is no pressing reason why others can object to
Sidama people aspiration for statehood. The Sidama have a just cause. To this
end, the Sidama People has no space to no one to be allowed to intimidate them
or to shame them for demanding their rights. Furthermore, no one with sane mind
would argue that it is illegitimate and I would not indulge into that sort of
notoriety which is too cheap because the demand of the Sidama people according
to the Ethiopian constitution is legitimate and legal, which needs to be addressed
by granting it. (Ambaye Ogato (PhD), 2018)
What Further Tasks Required from Sidama People within
Constitutional Time-table before or right after Referendum
While the process granting is going on, the Sidama People may do
well to:
A. Start a good faith negotiation about borders with other
regions (especially the manner, duration, and terms of cohabitation, at least
temporarily, as a boundary of Sidama National Regional State and SNNPRS and
between other surrounding Oromia Region).
B. The modes of protection to be accorded to minorities, i.e.,
non-Sidamas, residing in the region. In order to address the issue of minority
and adjust adequate guarantees to the rights of their intra-unit minorities,
the Sidama people has to carefully study the history, socio-economic,
demographic and political position of Sidama Zone and its capital, Hawassa city
and other citizens living in Sidama National Regional State.
C. Draft, adopts, and enacts its constitution;
D. Constitute its government institutions and structure, and
assign officials as appropriate accordingly.
It is hoped that the recent Sidama Zone’s unanimous decision
today will open up a new chapter in the development of the country’s
constitutional processes and the jurisprudence thereof. However, within many
threats, the Sidama people community would not be stopped from demanding what
they deserve. Instead, it makes the nation stronger enough to keep demanding
their fundamental right to decide on their own affairs until they achieve it.
Therefore, in the kind of struggle the Sidama youth and freedom fighter
(‘Ejeetto’ group in Sidaamu Affo Language) is highly engaged; the youth
simultaneously can best promote the image of Sidama nation and appeal its
concern to the international and national bodies.
Although the Sidama youth experienced repeated setbacks whilst
doing so, during their pursuit of justice for their own nation, to date they
aren’t in agreement with the decisions of those who are in power. The Sidama
youth rather keeps pushing for better governance, justice and rule of law in
Sidama land and beyond. The Sidama youth keeps pushing for the constitutional
rights to be fully materialized as per constitution of the country until the
Sidama is regionally self-administrative and is in position to manage its own
resources and all-round affairs.
Silence of the National Election Board of Ethiopia, Federal
Government Reluctance and Other Agenda’s Implication to Reverse the
Constitutional Process of Sidama People
Concerning the Sidama people political movement to establish its
own regional statehood, it’s possible to benefit Ethiopia in terms of improving
development, security and peace in the area. However, why does the federal
government look reluctant and what is the national electoral board doing in
relation to addressing the case is being forwarded to the federal government –
namely the National Election Board (NEB) to formally set a date for referendum.
According to article 47(3/a) of FDRE’s constitution, referendum should be held within
one-year from the time the request has been approved by people’s
representatives (in this case the Sidama zone council). Six months have passed
since this happened.
And yet, no official pronouncements from NEB which,
surprisingly, has chosen to remain silent on an issue of this magnitude. We
know reform is taking place at NEB, including installment of a new chairperson,
but not to be able to announce at least a tentative date for referendum? Come
on. This is simply not acceptable. (Tunsisa Tafe (PhD), 2019) Delay of the
referendum is opening a door for many illegal as well as unrepresentative
people to create a chaos in the region in guise of Sidama people right. Thus,
the National Election Board should quickly respond and arrange referendum for
the Sidama People in accordance with the constitutional principles.
It is also good to look a bit closely into the claims that many
other nation in SNNPR or others working to reverse the quest of the Sidama
people for its own statehood in different way. For instance, other nations like
Wolayita, Keffa and Gurage in the SNNPR have made similar demands like Sidama
people. Many arguments being made that the case that these nations made similar
question for independent region might create a challenge the demand of Sidama.
However, such arguments luck to consider that Sidama request to its own region
is a constitutional and legal question unless such consideration might be seen
as it contains anti-democratic elements that are blindly opposed to this legit
question.
Furthermore, by looking one of the scholar commentary on the
Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC), one can get a look why many in one or
other way working to reverse the quest of the Sidama people for its own
statehood and self-governance legal question in the process. In this regard,
Dr. Wolassa pointed out that the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, supposedly a
non-government organization created to defend the human rights of all Ethiopian
citizens and uphold and protect the constitution of the country with diligence
and without fear or favour, miserably failed to live up to any of these ethos.
In it’s so called “146th Special Report” on the unrest in Sidama
in June 2018 and in other parts of the country recently, the council squandered
an opportunity to conduct a professional and objective assessment of what
unfolded in Sidama. Instead, the commission exclusively dwelt on a one sided
anti-Sidama narrative purported by anti-peace and anti-reform elements that
were hell bent to derail the quest of the Sidama nation for regional
self-administration. (Wolassa Lawisso (PHD) 2019)
Crucially, as one scholar reflected to show the Sidama people
rejection of the EHRC report and in existing awareness within the people that
the Sidama people are fully aware that any attempt to harass the Sidama people,
including the biased report published by Ethiopian Human Rights Watch (“ኢሰመጉ”), for standing
their ground for the cause they deeply care about is nothing more than
politically motivated tactic to shift the focus of our people away from their
legit question. (Tunsisa Tafe (PhD), 2019)
It is important to reasonable person to note that the Sidama
people’s quest for regional self-determination should only be addressed through
constitutional means. Any resort to abort or challenge the constitutional
rights of Sidama people to restore and secure regionally status is totally
unacceptable.
Concluding Remarks
Finally, the Sidama people’s persistent struggle for political
and economic equality in Ethiopia has been around for a long time. To this end,
I would like to urge all those keen observers with clean minds and hearts to
work in addressing the constitutional question of Sidama People and support the
recent Sidama’s divorce proceeding to end the non-consensual false marriage
imposed on the Sidama people with more than 55 distinct nations and
nationalities.
Therefore, the repeated denial of the said constitutional rights
of the Sidama nation to regional self-administration is one of the
driving-forces in uniting the Sidama youth and freedom fighters at different
levels (‘Ejeetto’ in Sidaamu Affo Language) and other segments of the society,
further shaping and reinforcing their nationalism and national identity. Thus,
it’s possible to say that the Sidama youth can be the owner of its destiny and
can shape its futurity by rejecting all forms of injustices imposed on Sidama
people as a nation. It is also pretty obvious that, the role of this young
generation in figuring out and controlling how their land and region is being
democratically and justly being administrated. The role of the Sidama youth
therefore cannot be under-emphasized. They have high acceptance from the
majority of the community members.
To be precise, the Sidama nation in the current political
establishment as previously known doesn’t exist with self-governance and
administering itself under abusing and undemocratic SNNPR structure. Having a
handpicked SNNPR’s Sidama and non-Sidama cadres or rulers merely serving the
interest of the ruler whilst torturing and defaming the Sidama civilians and
wider community members never constitute representation and working to create
historical grievances between Sidama People and with those who shared among
Sidama People.
In contrary, those could help build a strong, if not
unbreakable, bond between the Sidama people and others are still silent and
wrongly acting against the Sidama People. Therefore, the genuine Sidama
nation’s quest for regional self-administration is morally and politically
strong which will continue for generations to come if unresolved in time until
the Sidama’s false marriage dissolution proceeding! The Sidama nation will
continue with their quest with utmost heroism, bravery and unshakable unity to
end the false marriage imposed into it with more than 55 distinct nation and
nationalities.
(Hoola Halaleho / In Sidama’s Truth)
Reference
Aalen ‘The Politics of Ethnicity’
Ambaye Ogato (PhD),COMMENTARY: SIDAMA-WOLAYTA CONFLICT: A
PRISTINE MYTH TURNING INTO REALITY? HOOLA HALALEHO
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis (June 5, 2007): Seyoum
Hameso and the Sidama Diaspora Intellectuals
Hammer: Sidama People, 1998
Markos Tekle Rike (PHD), State-Society Relations and Traditional
Modes of Governance in Ethiopia: A Case Study of Sidama 2014
Office Book titled ‘Ye Sidama Biher Tarik ena Bahil’
Tunsisa Tafe (PhD), 2019)’High Hopes for Referendum to Resolve
the Sidama People’s Quest for Regional Statehood Despite the Surprising Silence
of the National Election Board of Ethiopia’
Wolassa Lawisso (PHD, 2019): The Ethiopian Human Rights Council
Abuses the Human Rights of the Sidama Nation in its 146th Partisan Report.
Wolassa Lawisso Kummo, “The Sidama Nation: History, Culture and
Political Economy” 2016
Yared Legesse (LLB, LLM, S.J.D): ‘Secession under the Federal
and Sub-national Constitutions of Ethiopia: Navigating the Distance between
Text and Structure’
Online Source:
Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO 1989, accessed on
December, 2018)
Editor’s Note: Yohanan Yokamo is a lecturer in Law, Hawassa
University, School of Law; LL.B, BSc, LLM Candidate (HU); HU Free Legal Aid
Supervisor, and Research Fellow at the Young African Leaders Network (YALINet).
https://allafrica.com/stories/201901150814.html
=================================
Seyoum Hameso and the Sidama Diaspora Intellectuals
By Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
(initially published in the American Chronicle on 5/6/2007)
Although small in numbers, the African Nation of the Sidamas
features some of the most perspicacious and sagacious intellectuals of the
Black Continent. Either close to the authentic source of Wisdom, the Old Sidama
Land that currently bears evidence to the barbaric Abyssinian cruelty, or
dispersed in the four corners of the planet, among their Diaspora, Sidama
Intellectuals through books, websites, articles, speeches and conferences
remind to all of us that in the southernmost confines of the Abyssinian Hell,
we can still find a Shelter of Humanity and Noblesse. The landlocked nation,
confined among the Oromos, Kenya and Sudan, outnumbers many European countries
in terms of population.
The entire world will be a richer and fairer place, if the
Sidamas have their own representative in the African Union and the United
Nations. To rediscover the most original noblesse of Africa and the Sidama
world that livs among us in the West, we should go through the excellent paper
of the illustrious Sidama intellectual, Mr. Seyoum Hameso, and encounter the
Sidama Diaspora and their peaceful national and cultural endeavours. We
reproduce here Mr. Hameso’s paper integrally.
Diaspora identity formation and forced flight of Sidamas
1. Introduction
The Sidama diaspora refers to people of Sidama descent who live
outside Sidama-Ethiopia. The majority of Sidama diaspora members have been
forced to leave their homeland due to political repression with few exceptions
who migrated in search of better opportunities. Yet nearly all of them face the
condition of exile or what Edward Said calls “being somebody away from the
place that he was born and belonged to” (Said 2001). In the words of Greg Gow,
the diaspora experience can be dystopic: “loss, anguish, divided loyalties and
the longing for cohesion and community feature in the lives of displaced
people. In the host country, experiences of discrimination, exclusion and
invisibility negatively constitute diaspora consciousness” (Gow 2004:304).
The essay explores the experiences of the Sidama diaspora based
on personal experience, observation and discussion with Sidamas. It compares
and constrasts the cultures of exile of other comparative diaspora groups such
as the Oromos, Somalis, Palestinians and Iranians.
The essay starts by describing the contested territories of
history and identity, nation and homeland. It then examines the flight and
forced migration of Sidamas followed by analysis of the creation of the Sidama
diaspora, their settlements, and their cultural projects. It finally concludes
with findings that relate to broader themes and comparative cultures of exile.
Since no study has been done on Sidama diaspora, this is an original attempt,
and as such generalizations and conclusions are tentative and open to further
research.
2. Who are Sidamas?
The Sidamaland is situated in north-eastern Africa
(Ethiopia) where there is deep contest and conflict over identity, including
the population size. The Sidama population is estimated to be over 5 million;
and they are one of the major Kushitic speaking people in Ethiopia, a country
of over 70 million. The Sidama people believe to belong to Sidama country, or
the Sidamaland.
The Sidama are a persecuted ethno-national group; their condition
resembles that of the Oromos in Ethiopia who “are perhaps the most recent,
least known and most disadvantaged immigrant group.” Gow (2004:302). The Sidama
have all the necessary components of a nation: a land, a unique culture,
language, history, and a people with common descent. In this sense, they are a
nation and a people without state. Like Palestinians, Sidamas lacked a
political roof of their own or autonomous political decision making and face
discrimination and violation of human rights.
The Sidama nation, its people including its diaspora, its
history and culture are scarcely known. Sidama studies were virtually
non-existent even for academic purposes for two reasons. First, the
introduction of education and the emergence of enlightened nationalists were
late in comparison to other regions in Ethiopia. Secondly, the Ethiopian
historiography had no room for the development of non-Abyssinian (mainly Amhara
and Tigrean) cultures. Worse still, it had circumvented and undermined their
knowledge production by isolating the Sidama from the world for more than a
century, although recently its children scattered around the world are bringing
their experiences to bear and their presence felt.
National identity is hotly contested in Ethiopia resulting in
competing claims, counter-claims and persistent struggle. The official
Ethiopianist discourse projects the authenticity and historicity of Ethiopian
nation to three thousand years. The myth of descent from the so-called
Solomonic dynasty is frequently mentioned to build an image of national
continuity and a unique civilisation (Zewde 2002).
On the other hand, Sidama and Oromo scholars (e.g. Holcomb and
Ibssa 1990, Hameso and Hassen 2006) draw distinction between modern Ethiopia
and the historic Abyssinia (Amharas and Tigreans). The Sidamaland had fallen
under the formerly Abyssinian and later Ethiopian rule since 1893. This came
about after the war of conquest undertaken by Emperor Menelik II of Shawa,
Central Ethiopia. The system that emerged was based on “physical appropriation
of land and the pursuit of cultural hegemony” (Gow 2004:303) of Orthodox
Christian kingdom of Abyssinia. The same system resulted in the decimation and
forced displacement of millions of Oromos, Sidamas and others who resisted the
conquest.
The subsequent nation-building project was pursued through the
policy of assimilation and homogenization, mainly into Amhara culture.
Successive attempts to homogenise the Ethiopian nation along Amharic culture
and language meant that languages such as the Sdiama were relegated or
suppressed alongside the political importance of the peoples speaking them. The
social and political subordination of Sidama people caused their economic
dispossession and inevitable resistance. Resistance to apartheid style
discriminatory political framework took the form of national liberation
struggles and the formation of several liberation fronts in different parts of
Ethiopia including Eritrea, Tigray, Afar, Oromo, Sidama and Ogaden who waged
wars with centrist and unitarist regimes in Addis Ababa. The prevalence of
domination and repression created a multitude of diasporas.
3. The Forced Flight of Sidamas
Large scale forced displacement in sizeable numbers in manners
comparable to Palestinians, Somalis or even Oromos is not the case for Sidamas.
Yet, the history of conquest, subjugation, violation of human rights and
cultural suppression meant that conflicts and liberation struggles led to
forced displacement of Sidamas from their homeland.
The majority of Sidamas who are involved in trans-national
flight constitute of refugees and asylum seekers, followed by increasing number
of voluntary migrants to the West under voluntary resettlement schemes such as
the U.S. Lottery DV programs. Labour migration is unheard of from Sidama until
recent times. Indeed, unlike Somali communities who are reported to have “a
strong culture of migration” (Horst 2006:1), trans-national border crossing and
labour migration of Sidamas have been limited. Yet, due to a combination of
reasons including rights violation and economic depravation, Sidamas are
undertaking costly flights to different destinations.
Historically, the first wave of migration from Sidama took place
in 1977 following the clampdown of political dissidents by the military Derg
which took power in 1974 and led by col. Mengistu Hailemariam. The destination
was Somalia and the number of involved persons is estimated to be over ten
thousand comprising, mainly of peasants with a handful of educated persons as leaders.
The group formed the Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM). After receiving military
training in Somalia, many of them had returned to Sidama as freedom fighters
conducting armed struggle in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Led from Somalia,
the struggle was short-lived and came to end in 1982. The Barre regime
supported the SLM and later the refugees by offering them training, equipment
and land. Initially, the movement laid the basis for written Sidama language
literacy in the refugee camps. Moreover, pamphlets and Sidama language radio
broadcast propaganda work started in the early 1980s followed by the creation
of popular music.
The second wave of Sidama refugees, took place after the change
of regime in Ethiopia in 1991. This round of flight was precipitated by local
and regional factors. Locally, cautious optimism prevailed among Sidamas who
believed that the regime led by the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (the TPLF,
the key rebel movement in the overthrow of the Derg regime) will lead to the resolution
of their predicament; but this was not meant to be and many fled
TPLF-instigated persecution later. On the regional level, the fall of the Siad
Barre regime in Somalia in 1990 was followed by turmoil and civil war and the
disintegration of the Somalian state. Then hundreds of Sidamas returned to
Ethiopia in 1991 when the SLM joined the newly formed Transitional Government.
Others, who integrated into Somali society and were given farmlands, remained
in Somalia while others fled to Kenya’s refugee camps such as Kakuma. For
Sidama refugees in such refugee camps, resettlement in the safe third country
had become the most desired option. Through the offices of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kenya, the governments of Norway, USA,
Canada and Australia received many refugees for resettlement.
While Sudan has been the main route or destination of Ethiopian
refugees, very few Sidama refugees or migrants traveled to or through Sudan.
Even those who did in the late 1970s traveled back to Kenya and eventually
resettled in the U.S. The most common route of Sidama refugee flow has been
south of the border (either into Kenya or Somalia) rather than the north
(either Sudan or Egypt – most refugees from Ethiopia who did go north have been
and are Ethiopians from the North and West).
In the UK, there were a handful of Sidamas in the 1980s but this
changed in the 1990s. Following the second wave of refugee flows, stated above,
a new breed of people arrived in the UK mostly through regular channels of
migration. In the U.S. and Canada, the Sidama diaspora consist of a combination
of former refugees from Somalia and voluntary migrants through the Green Card
Lottery or Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme followed by family reunions and
sponsorship. In Italy, there are fewer than 100 Sidama migrants, mostly women
who took up religious path to migration (they migrated through Catholic Church
and seminary training but decided to remain there). Some applied for asylum
while others remained irregular and engaged in low-skill, low-paid jobs. Yet
most are supportive of their relatives in Sidama. Other European countries in
which Sidamas reside include Germany, Norway, and Ireland.
Despite the lack of structured study into the varied background
of Sidama diaspora, anecdotal evidence and personal observation show that most
refugees faced similar predicament at one time or another: uprooting, and
deprivation. According to Mekuria Bulcha (2006:40), “uprooting is more than a
physical absence from home. It is a predicament which concerns the inner
balance of the individual. In other words, it involves an emotional crisis
caused by the individual’s separation from his/her natural physical and social
environment and a psychological problem of adjusting to the new one.” In
addition, forced migrants in particular face the problem of discontinuity which
constitutes multiple disruptions of life-goals including marriage, family life,
careers and education.
4. The Development of Written Narratives
Most Sidama refugees descend from rural communities where social
relations are closely knit and life is based on strong sense of solidarity and
interdependence. These values and worldviews accompany them to the destinations
that host them.
A. Literacy and communication among the diaspora
In oral cultures such as that of Sidama, an important medium of
communication is the word of mouth. It also means that oral and visual
communication methods are more popular among people with limited literacy and
access to print media. For those who have the skills to use modern information
technology, internet is the most important source of information of news and
developments about the homeland. Most of the people this writer has contact
with, deploy Internet to search for information or they rely on electronic
communication. Telephony is the other major medium communication. It is
effective means of trans-national network building and maintaining links with
relatives and friends in the homeland.
The Sidama language was developed in written form in 1991,
following the decision by the Transitional Government which consisted of Oromo
and Sidama political leaders who were later forced out of government in 1992.
The role of individuals such as Mr Ibsa Gutama who was the then Minister of
Education and a member of the Oromo Liberation Front was vital in this
decision. The written Sidama uses Latin alphabet in contrast to Giiz or
Ethiopic scripts used for Amharic and other Semitic languages.
B. Expression of longing through music and scholarship
The development of Sidama music outside Sidama had started with
refugees in Somalia. The most famous singer who later returned to Sidama in
1991 was Adunya Dumo. Much of his music is informed by exile experience in
Somalia in the 19809s and it is filled with expressions of loneliness,
uncertainty, uprootedness, nostalgia and desire to return to the homeland. In
his music, he refers to Sidamaland as a motherland, mother, innocent, and love.
A significant degree of idealisation of homeland is evident in his songs. Upon
his return, Adunya was received with great enthusiasm and as a hero. When
relations with the Ethiopian regime and the political movement he was
associated soured, Adunya encountered conflict with the political and social
environment. He then retreated to life of alcohol abuse and unemployment.
Adunya’s story is similar to the Palestinian youth who returned to occupied
homeland and felt disillusioned though in recent times some countries such as
the UK have restricted the latter.
In the Sidama diaspora, some people listen to Adunya’s music to
express their longing for homeland. The imported music audios, and video
cassettes are played on social events such as marriage ceremonies and political
rallies. Some people buy foods items or import prepared food from home. There
are also many Sidamas with no immediate desire to return yet still keep the
collective memory by producing scholarly works on Sidama, writing about its
history and informing the wider world about the Sidama people. Indeed, Sidama
diaspora intellectuals participate in various community projects including the
production of knowledge through literature. In co-operation with like-minded
other diaspora scholars, the Sidama scholars write articles, participate in
international conferences and events. They conduct nationalist discourse by
word of mouth and by written texts (i.e. books, essays, newsletters and
internet discussion groups). Websites such as the Sidama Online (www.sidama.org) and the Sidama
Concern (www.sidamaconcern.com) are the products
of such initiatives. The aims of The Sidama Concern, for example, are:
To collate, analyse and disseminate information of relevance to
the Sidama of North East Africa;
To serve as a means of communication between Sidamas and the
outside world in manners that can be progressively useful to Sidama people at
home and in diaspora;
To promote dialogue on the causes of justice, peace, democracy
and development; and,
To create awareness about freedom of expression and human rights
issues in this part of Africa.
In this regard, Edward Said is right when he wrote: “Much of
exile’s life is taken up with compensating for disorienting loss by creating a
new world to rule. It is not surprising that so many exiles seem to be
novelists, chess players, political activists and intellectuals” (Said
2000:181).
C. Political mobilisation
Sidama forced migrants recall human rights violations in the
form of political persecution, war, forced resettlement and villagization. In
the 1970s and 1980s, they faced brutal repression by Ethiopian military regime
with the support of the former Soviet Union. Since 1991, they have faced
equally brutal suppression by the Tigrayan-dominated Ethiopia government which
is supported by financial backing from the Western countries. The ongoing
political problems forced many a diaspora to participate in politics, by
leading and guiding as well as mobilizing local and international support for
the Sidama cause both in the diaspora and in Sidama.
The significant event that caused widespread uproar was the
Looqe massacre of 24 May 2002. The massacre of about 100 Sidama civilians by
Ethiopian government forces caused indignation not only among the Sidamas but
also among the international community. The most active members of the Sidama
diaspora collected signatures, contacted the UK government and canvassed for support
from UK national and European Union parliamentarians. Repression and rights
violations still continue even after the May 2005 elections of Ethiopia.
While such tragedies bring people together, the Sidama diaspora,
like other diasporas, entertain diverse political outlooks. This resulted in
different loyalties and minor discrepancies in approaches. Competition and
political rivalry among groups and along regional lines have negatively
impacted on the cause, not least among members of the diaspora communities. Yet
all groups and supporters believe in the shared problem of suppression and
violation of human rights by Ethiopian regimes.
D. Gender, social networks and community formations
Most Sidama women migrate to join their husbands. The customary Sidama
tradition offers certain rights including the control of family subsistence,
especially diary products. Women used to be represented in the traditional
council of wise people (womu songo). However, like other societies, Sidama too
is patriarchal society and women do not inherit land which is owned by the
Ethiopian state anyway.
In the diaspora, men are often the breadwinners of families. It
is not very common to have single parent families in Sidama, there are a few
single parent families among Sidama diaspora. Family breakdown is rare, but it
exists.
There are some harmful practices including female circumcision
which takes place when a woman marries a man. The health hazards associated
with such a practice is increasingly publicized and many an educated people
have or are abandoning the practice.
In a communal society like that of the Sidama, the social
networks including relations and friends support community members. Individual
remittances and community activities directed at improving the lives of kin and
kith in the homeland are common. This is despite the fact that many diaspora
members are preoccupied with basic daily living while others managed to enable
themselves to create knowledge about Sidamaland and give meaning to their own
situation.
The formation and running of community organizations has not
been quite successful as political rivalries and conflicts permeate social and
community life. People who know each other, but divided along political lines
find it less controversial and the least risky to pursue religious path than
political causes. Thus churches attract more followers than political
demonstrations.
5. Integration and Myth of Return
One of the achievements of the Derg regime in the late 1970s and
early 1980s has been the expansion of mass literacy programs to large sections
of Ethiopia. The literacy campaign has impact on peoples of the periphery of
Ethiopian politics, mainly in the rural areas. Yet such basic literacy is no
feat for literacy and numeracy levels required in the West for well meaning
integration in societies that host these people. As the result they remain
unemployed and dependent on social welfare benefits. Some adults, especially
women who lacked formal schooling, engage in irregular labor market often at
low wages sometimes below minimum wages. English is their second or the third
language.
Sidama diasporas in London and other parts of the world exhibit
different levels of integration to host societies. Many, who came to UK with
higher education degrees, have proceeded to do post-graduate studies to bolster
their life chances. It is also the case that most of the migrants to UK are
either educated and leaders or members of Sidama political movements; most
arrive as single men and joined by their families later. Many took part in paid
and unpaid work. Still there are many who are not in gainful employment.
Young generations pass through the mainstream education system,
and some aspire for a university education. But older generations find
integration difficult. Those who are over 60 years old, wish their stay to be
short and temporary. Their adaptation and integration is hard to achieve due to
language and cultural barriers not to mention problems of job skills and lack
of access to opportunities. They constantly feel estranged and seek information
and contact with the homeland. As the result, they often get involved in
politics.
Despite generational and gender issues, most Sidamas in exile
left behind families, social networks and cultural resources. Deprived of these
vital resources, they have to struggle to forge new identities and relations in
a foreign, sometimes hostile social and political environment. In the new
environment, they attained physical security and safety being away from harms
way at the cost of loss of family and community social security of the
homeland.
The diaspora who live in the West enjoy the rights denied at
home including freedom of expression, association, and organization for the
first time. They make use of human agency and enabled themselves articulating
the cause, not only of their own but also of those left behind and left without
voice. Through this agency, diaspora members of concerned groups created
community, political, and scholarly organizations to openly define and defend
their individual and collective interests and the Sidama national interest in
foreign lands. The diaspora also helped the Sidama people build bridges that
connect them to the global community. In the era of globalization they use
developments in communication technologies to forge close linkages among
themselves on the global level.
Conclusions
The Horn of Africa has been ravaged by conflict and violence
since the 1970s and the 1980s. Deteriorating life conditions associated with
famine and political upheaval and civil war led to forced displacement of
people in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. Ethiopia in particular is a complex
arena of conflict, wars and deprivation.
The widely accepted narration through stories and tales by the
Sidama elders and scholars about their experience and historical memory within
Ethiopia is one of repression and discrimination. Yet the Ethiopian official
discourse does not address the problem save concealing it by selectively
memorizing events and course of actions that justify its line of choice.
National identity is hotly contested and led to conflicts and wars causing
forced migration and the formation of Sidama diaspora. More significantly,
government repression and violence forced thousands to abandon their homes to
escape conscription, starvation and death by seeking refuge elsewhere. They are
now scattered around the globe, particularly in Africa, Europe, Australia and
North America. As the result, the base of the Sidama diaspora community is
expanding both in number and diversity.
The flight routes and destinations of refugees are predicated
largely not on their choice but the geographic and historical proximity of host
countries. Countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and Norway had
established procedures to identify and receive refugees from camps recognized
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Other factors
include: contacts, relations, income, and information people have of host
countries. It is notable that such information is often meager, less
comprehensive and at times inaccurate.
On becoming part of the Sidama diaspora, some refugees, asylums
seekers and migrants take part in political or human rights activism. Others
form community organizations supporting relatives and friends in the homeland
through remittances. Musicians and intellectuals played a great role in the
imagination of nationhood, studying the roots of Sidama people, its homeland,
observing and announcing national tragedies and enforcing the sense of national
obligation.
In sum, the role of Sidama diaspora has increased in the era of
globalization which is characterized by developments in information,
communication and transportation technologies that have reduced the relevance
of physical boundaries. By developing cultural iconography, campaigning for
human rights, and advocating for change or political progress, the Sidama
intellectuals have played a great role at times giving voice to the voiceless,
the invisible and the oppressed. Yet a lot remains to be done to develop
literature, art, music and other cultural productions.
References
Bulcha, Mekuria. 2006. “Conquest and forced migration: An
assessment of the Oromo experience”. In Seyoum Hameso and Mohammed Hassen
(eds). Arrested development in Ethiopia: Essays on underdevelopment, democracy
and self-determination. Trenton, Asmara: Red Sea Press. pp:27-56.
Hameso, Seyoum. 2006. “The Sidama Nation: An Introduction.” In
Seyoum Hameso and Mohammed Hassen (eds). Arrested Development in
Ethiopia…pp.57-75.
Horst, Cindy. 2006. Buufis amongst Somalis in Dadaab: The
transnational and historical logics behind resettlement dreams. Journal of
Refugee Studies. 19(2), 1-15.
Gow, Greg. 2004. Translocations of affirmation: Mediascapes and
cultural flows among the stateless Oromo, International Journal of Cultural
Studies. 7(3), 301–319.
Holcomb, Bonnie, and Sisai Ibssa. 1990. The Invention of
Ethiopia. Trenton, NJ Red Sea Press.
Said, Edward. 2000. “Reflections in exile.” In Edward Said,
Reflections on exile and other essays. London: Granta.
Said, Edward. 2001. “Interview: Reflections on exile and other
essays” June 17. Available on: Zewde, Bahru. 2002. History of modern Ethiopia,
1855–1991, Second Edition. Oxford: James Currey Publishers.
https://worancha.blogspot.com/2010/11/seyoum-hameso-and-sidama-diaspora.html
=================================
Ethiopian Sidamas Reject Amhara / Tigray Abyssinian Tyranny
By Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
August 26, 2007
As Tigray tribal tyrant Meles Zenawi’s ailing regime entered in
its last days, a great number of political heads and national liberation
leaders of numerous oppressed peoples rise in the Horn of Africa region that gives
these days the impression of an exploding volcano.
It is extremely urgent for the oppressed Ethiopian Kushitic
peoples’ leaderships to definitely outmaneuver and irreversibly cancel the
murderous and inhuman plans of the Kinijit Amharas, who – unable to repent and
ask for forgiveness – dream of a comeback. Shamelessly masqueraded as
‘democrats’ and/or ‘liberals’, the Kinijit thugs are Africa’s most excruciating
political fossils who want to drive Abyssinia from Meles Zenawi’s morgue back
to its worst days in the Hell of Mengistu and Haile Selassie.
Ogaden is in revolt against Meles Zenawi’s Tigray thugs, who
mercilessly kill whomever they meet in the streets of the towns and the
villages of the long-tyrannized province of Abyssinia; Oromia is in uprising
against the environmentally disastrous policies followed by the current
tyrannical administration, and Dr. Negasso Gidada, Oromo and nominal
‘president’ of ‘Ethiopia’ admits the crimes perpetrated during his ridiculous
tenure, therefore proving the impossibility of maintaining the present borders
of and situation in the Abyssinian tyranny – comically re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’.
The abysmal hell of Abyssinia where numerous peoples have been
peremptorily gathered, deprived of their properties and lands, massacred,
terrorized and oppressed in the most inhuman ways is about to split to ten
pieces, and all the oppressed peoples mobilize their forces to get rid of the
Amhara pestilence that spread among them the Black Continent’s most appalling
tyranny.
The Sidamas emerge now in the South, with a strong voice and
even stronger determination to eradicate the foreign – alien presence and
administration of the barbaric Amhara and Tigray rulers; they want to form a
new, independent and genuine African Republic that will better reflect their
democratic and egalitarian social ideals. Among the leading personalities and
political heads of the Great and Noble Sidama Nation is Mr. Kambata Xoola, an
African Original who prospered in his studies, researches and endeavours in the
United States. He represents what can be the best combination of Sidama
Millennia Long Culture with Modern Science, Technology and Political Vision.
We are convinced that through a multipartite interview, the
readers will understand better the multifaceted aspects of Inanity and
Inhumanity that Africa’s most execrable tyranny, namely the Amhara – Tigray
Abyssinian monarchical – communist and pseudo-federal regimes, applied
mercilessly against the Sidama Nation.
Interview with Kambata Xoola, MSc, Chairman, Sidama National
Liberation Organization (SNLO)- Part I
– How is the situation in Sidama land, 5 years after the
terrible massacres perpetrated at Looqe?
– It has got worse!! The Sidama nationals are suffering in
three major ways since the massacre. They include Political subjugation,
Economic deprivation and Socio-Cultural domination. The nation is
systematically suppressed and silenced by the regime’s security forces and its
political cadres since the May 24, 2002’s Looqe massacre and, of course, prior
to that since the TPLF took over political power.
Although there has been profound resistance since the May 24
massacre and the aftermaths of the May 15, 2005 highly rigged Ethiopian
election that claimed lives of more than three hundred civilians and exposed
millions to torture and extrajudicial arrests all over the empire, including
Sidama region; the resistance is internally temporarily suppressed. The Sidama
regional question is the centre of contention that didn’t get positive response
to this date, and remains contentious!
Immediately after the May 24, 2002 massacre of innocent and
non-combatant Sidama civilians by the security forces of Meles Zenawi regime,
the resistance was fierce; especially by the Sidama intelligentsia and young
Sidama University students. This has shaken the foundation of the regime in
southern Ethiopia.
Sidama nation’s resistance compromised the position of the
regime on various occasions, and obliged Meles Zenawi himself to go to the
region to hoodwink some Sidama elders with usual lies and empty promises.
Continued and strong resistance by the Sidama nation forced the TPLF leaders to
devise another strategy; a strategy based on intimidation. The ultimate power
given to inadequately trained and ill-mannered Sidama and southern regional
political cadres made the lives of the Sidamas people utterly difficult. The
Sidama people are brutalized by their own sons, who were handpicked and
appointed simply to deceive Sidama people under the pretext of representation.
This is the TPLF policy of indirect rule through the surrogates.
The uprooting of the Sidama people from their capital city and
its vicinity already became effective. Those who have been forcibly uprooted
from their ancestral lands have been left destitute without any protection,
while those who are supposed to protect voiceless Sidama nationals are
supporting rulers and their loyalists to takeover Sidama capital city (Awassa)
and exploit their scarce resources. The said affiliates are trading by the name
of Sidama nation by selling Sidama land for those who are capable of buying,
i.e. ‘Abyssinians’ and their loyalists. The Sidama people can’t afford to buy
land in Awassa simply because they have been systematically robbed and
incapacitated for over a century.
The Sidama TPLF/EPRDF political cadres represent and protect the
interests of Abyssinian rulers instead of standing for the Sidama people. They
are neither capable of articulating the ambitious goals of the Abyssinian
successive rulers, or the effects of the injustices and systematically imposed
policies on the various nations and nationalities in the country. In
particular, they are unable to understand the reason behind the fumigation of
various nations and nationalities in South Ethiopia for simple reason of taming
them for modern slavery. The cadres don’t have know-how and above all, courage
to address Sidama’s national grievances in particular, and southern nations’ in
general.
Therefore, these past years have been years of sufferings,
hopelessness and frustration, ordeal, relentless mourning and abject poverty
for the Sidama nation in particular, and for other systematically subjugated
nations of Abyssinian Empire in general. Equally, these years have been a time
of underground movement that is born out of continued injustices and brutal
treatments. The political cadres and their federal and regional masters are
getting richer by the bloods of innocents, whilst the wider society is
suffering untold ordeal in the history of Sidama nation.
– Would you describe the basic social problems Sidamas are
currently facing?
– The Sidama nation will soon face a serious socio-economic and
politico-cultural tragedy, if several issues are not addressed on time; this
will happen for three basic reasons. Firstly, there is no genuine political
representation for the nation, which is nonetheless the fifth populous nation
in Ethiopia following the Oromos, the Amharas, the Tigrays, and the Ogaden
Somalis, according to the regime’s Central Statistical Authority population
figures. Secondly, if there is no political representation with courageous and
visionary leadership, the nation can’t economically prosper. Its intellectuals
will not be able to create ideas and thoughts for their nation. There will not
be any form of enthusiasm and conducive atmosphere for creativity. Its business
community can’t have opportunity to do their best under occupation.
Thirdly, to do these, there need to be socio-cultural freedom
and liberty. The nation needs to have ownership of its land, cultural heritage,
political leadership and control over its resources to solve its social
problems. Today, all these are non-existent in Sidama land.
Additionally, non-Abyssinian nations of the empire are made to
feel inferior to their colonial masters although the Sidama nation hasn’t
voluntarily surrendered its liberty and national integrity. However, due to
their militarily upper hand, the Abyssinian successive regimes kept their
pervasive, all rounded domination in the past century as it is today. Therefore,
social problems in Sidama region are pretty intertwined with political,
cultural and economic problems deliberately perpetrated by successive
Abyssinian regimes.
– To what extent do traditional social systems survive today
among the Sidamas?
– Culturally egalitarian nation of Sidama was obliged to give
its way for the brutish and incompetent Abyssinian rule since it has fallen at
the hands of Abyssinian colonizers. The Sidama nation’s socially accepted true
ways of life and its egoistic derive are dramatically diminishing amongst young
Sidamas – especially those who are primarily involved in protestant
Christianity and those who are loyalists of the successive Abyssinian regimes.
The socially accepted ways of life, ‘halaale’ is being destroyed and replaced
with an alien culture which is the result of systematic subjugation of Sidama
cultural heritage by the successive rulers. The colonizers regard Sidama ways
of life uncivilized and backward.
However, the majority of the people in the nation in particular
older people and highly educated groups of the society kept their belief and
traditional ways of life intact despite relentless pressures. Sidama National
Liberation Organization (SNLO) struggles and tirelessly works to preserve
Sidama’s cultural heritage whilst adopting modern technology in such a way that
both be integrated for the benefit of our society.
Note
The daily Sidama reality is not as idyllic as the Lake Awassa
shores.
http://free-oromiyaa.blogspot.com/2007/08/ethiopian-sidamas-reject-amhara-tigray.html
==================================
Είκοσι τέσσερις Τίτλοι Άρθρων του
Αφρικανολόγου και Ανατολιστή, καθ. Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτη σχετικά με
το Μαχόμενο για την Εθνική Ανεξαρτησία του Κουσιτικό Έθνος των Σιντάμα (Sidama) στην Ανατολική Αφρική (Αβησσυνία) Δημοσιευμένα μόνο το 2007
Abyssinia’s Tyrannized Sidamas: a Blooming Nation fighting for
Independence / 28-5-2007
Seyoum Hameso and the Sidama Diaspora Intellectuals / 5-6-2007
Sidama: from Starbucks’ brand to an Independent African Nation /
7-6-2007
Sidama: the Paradise we lost, the Heaven we search for /
15-6-2007
Wolassa Kumo, and the Independence Struggle for the Sidama Land
/ 16-6-2007
Colonial Crimes in Africa: Sidama Democratic Society under
Threat of Extinction / 22-6-2007
Oppressed Sidamas denounce the Graveyard “Federal Ethiopia” /
5-7-2007
US, ‘Ethiopia’, Sidamas, Kinijit Amharas, and the Mathewos
Korsisa Tragedy / 21-8-2007
Ethiopian Sidamas Reject Neo-Nazi Amhara / Tigray Abyssinian
Tyranny / 25-8-2007
Sidama Leader Kambata Xoola lambastes the Cruel Amhara / Tigray
Tyrants / 27-8-2007
A Debate on Abyssinia / Ethiopia with Tigray, Ogadeni and Sidama
participation / 28-8-2007
SNLO Leader Kambata Xoola demands Freedom for Abyssinia’s
Tyrannized Sidamas / 28-8-2007
Sidama Leader Xola rejects Kinijit as Democracy’s Worst Enemy in
Africa / 29-8-2007
Sidamas Reject the Inhuman Monstruosity of Tyrannical, United
’Ethiopia’ / 31-8-2007
Ongoing Sidama – Tigray Debate on the Abolition of the
‘Ethiopian’ Tyranny / 11-9-2007
Oromo, Sidama, Ogadeni Indignation for Amhara Apologists of
‘Ethiopian’ Tyranny / 13-9-2007
Clamor of Indignation against Abyssinian Colonial Exploitation
of Sidama National Resources / 27-9-2007
Coffee, Colonialism and Capitalism; Introduction to African
Crisis / 28-9-2007
Coffee, Colonialism and Capitalism; Introduction to ‘Ethiopian’
Tyranny / 29-9-2007
Out of Africa – Sidama Land: Coffee Economics, Politics and
Poverty / 30-9-2007
Sidama and Wolayita Outcry Amhara and Tigray Racism and Forged
‘Ethiopian’ History / 5-10-2007
Evidence of ‘Ethiopian’ Amhara / Tigray Racism: Use of ‘Sidamo’
and ‘Wolamo’ misnomers / 6-10-2007
Sidama Fichchee Marked by the Political Assassination of
Kefyalew Yunka, Great Sidama Artist / 10-10-2007
Sidama Ethiopians reject Amhara Abyssinian Barbarism and Racism
/ 17-10-2007
=======================================
Βασικά στοιχεία:
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/fichee-chambalaalla-new-year-festival-of-the-sidama-people-01054
http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-4023
https://www.southworld.net/ethiopia-the-sidama-people-magano-the-first-ancestor/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidama_people
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Сидамо
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidamo_language
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