Yonas Biru, PhD
Dear Members of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission:
My and Jawar Mohammed’s identity could serve as a foundation for a solution to Ethiopia’s challenges.
Let Me Start from Myself.
Both my parents come from a mix of Oromo and Amhara ancestors in Wello. Our Oromo identity is a result of Mogassa that we inherited, not from Oromo DNA, but through the mighty forces of ቆንጨራ (matchet) and the cruelty of Mogassa. Today, we have willingly embraced our Oromoness.
Our story does not end there. Our ancestors were Muslims. ወደ ክርስትና የተመነዘርነው (converted to Christianity) not through divine intervention or spiritual awakening, but through Emperor Yohannes IV’s ቆንጨራ and the cruelty of his regime committed at Boru Meda. There is more to our story.
Our Muslim origin, which we were forced to abandon, was itself imposed upon us by Gragn Ahmed ቆንጨራ and cruelty. Today, we have embraced our end result as Christians, happily declaring our ultimate conviction and love with our signature oath, እመየ ማርያምን & መድሃኒያለምን መሃላ. Some of our close relatives, including first cousins, swear by “Wallahi” with ultimate love and conviction as Muslims.
This is not limited to the northern part of Ethiopia. This takes me to Jawar.
JAWAR MOHAMMED
Jawar Mohammed is from Arsi. We know that before the Borena Oromo Mogassa invasion, Arsi was primarily Hadiya. ፋቅ ፋቅ ብታደርጉት (peel him back layer by layer) what emerges from within is not the Oromo Jawar, but the Hadiya Jawar, who has accepted his Oromoness o spare his life from the Gedaa ቆንጨራ and cruelty. Yet, he now lives embracing his Oromoness with love.
Jawar is not alone. If you pick any random Oromo, say Asafa Jalata, you get the same story. Looking at him, he appears to be from Shewa. That means if you peel him back layer by layer (ፋቅ ፋቅ ብታደርጉት), what emerges is not the Oromo Asafa Jalata, but the Gurage, Gamo, or Amhara Asafa Jalata, who has accepted his Oromoness and survived the Geda ቆንጨራ and cruelty. Yet, he now not only embraces his Oromoness with love but has become a የኦሮሙማ የንፍስ አባት (spiritual father of Oromummaa).
Our individual stories show that our identity is complex, evolving through time and different regimes, mostly through the mighty force of ቆንጨራ. Some have been subjugated twice: first, from Kambata to Oromo (through Mogassa, ቆንጨራ, and cruelty), and second, from Oromo to Amhara (through Menelik’s ቆንጨራ and cruelty). All nations in the world are born out of such brutal processes of subjugation. Most identities in the world are the results of brutal invasion and assimilation (ጭፍለቃ).
What surprises me is that አንዳንድ ቤርቤረሰቦች (some nations and nationalities) despise the history of forced assimilation. On one hand, they love the identity they inherited through subjugation more than their religion. On the other hand, they treat subjugation as background music to their lamentations.
For Ethiopia to live in peace, it must remove the false narrative of identity like a cancerous tumor. Only then can the constitution, born out of this false narrative of identity, be amended.
I thank you in advance for keeping this reality in mind as you finalize your project.
Yonas Biru, PhD
Former Member and Interim Chair of PM Abiy’s Economic Advisory Council
Former Chair of The Nile Club that Advised Ministers Gedu and Demeke on Geopolitical issues
Former Co-Chair of The High Level Covid Advisory Council
Currently a Stateless Soul, After the Government Confiscated My Passport for Calling the PM “Boy King and Psychopathic” in published articles