Around the Corner

At anytime there can be a Dergue official that escaped unharmed here in the U.S. At anytime I can round the corner and my brother's executioner could be there. At anytime, I can turn the corner and the Dergue officer who tortured my sister could be sitting at the same Ethiopian restuarant that I am. Around the corner, not very far from my memory is an unsettled past with ghosts and real people I would rather not see. I hope I never see them. Two Ethiopian women who resettled in Atlanta, Georgia after surviving the Dergue were enjoying their new found safety and freedom...only to randomly encounter, their torturer. That was years ago. I wonder where the women are. I know the torturer is just around the corner.

Regional Governor, Yusuf Shiekdon Ali

While the university was shut down, my brother continued his work as regional governor advocating for agrarian reform from the feudal system that was currently in place. We, the Oromos did enjoy a good life with the Emporer yet we also suffered because we were not part of the ruling ethnic group. We were landless yet nomadic yet in transition to be settled. The art and music of Haile Sallasies time was like no other and I revist the classics of yesteryear. The music of the day was the best. However, while the Emporer was beginning his annual feast for the "village" of Ethiopia, there were people in the outer regions who were sick and hungry...isolated from the benefits of living in the capitol, near the Imperial Palace of privilege. Change was in the air, yet we had no idea just how devastating the change would be.

Memorial Site

This is the mass grave where my brothers and others were buried. My brother does have a marker, the central one. It was a very emotional experience for me to visit. I had a mix of feelings from anger for a life lost too early, sadness for the loss of my guide in life and bitterness that the people surrounding me at the time of this visit and photo had little to no connection to the my brother and this site,yet felt compelled to claim a prayer. I am not sure for whom they pray: the deceased, my family in perpetual grief, or for the show. A communal culture connects through need and/or convenience. In this case, I am not sure. My brother-in-law drew a crowd with his over zealous prayer. I just wanted a moment of silence. My wife placed flowers near the marker. An oddity for onlookers.

Life gives life gives life-Yusuf's Flowers

Yusuf and I at the family compound. He came to visit us while attending the University of Addis Ababa. He inspired in all of us the desire to learn and to make our life better through education. He was the first to study at the university. His hosting family in New York were raising scholarship funds for Yusuf to attend Colombia University for his graduate studies. Meanwhile, he expanded our family garden and erosion control plantings. Our compound is situated on a hill side. During the rainy season, the rains come hard and continuosly for days at a time. Yusuf helped plant trees and perennials along the hillside and tiered section of the compound. The flowers still bloom.

Class Reunion

Yusuf Shiekdon spent a year abroad in the United States as an exchange student. He lived with a wonderful family and attended Amherst Central High School in Buffalo, New York. When he returned, he told us the stories of life in the United States...