Stop Masking the Ongoing Amara Genocide, Call It by Its Real Name and Act to Stop It! 

Belayneh Abate

The eyes and the bodies of the massacred Amaras in the recent genocide have not yet decomposed. The survivors are in an excruciating physical and mental anguish. The future is uncertain for the rest of the Amaras who are considered as alien in their own country. And yet, a lot of demagogues are working hard to divert the attention from the ongoing Amara genocide to the usual trivial tricks such as the damn dam issue, church feud and prayer of hypocrisy. The fact of the matter is that there are no dams or churches without people. Unfortunately, it is not only the perpetuators of the genocide, but also the opportunist Amara elites, who are intentionally or inadvertently changing the agenda of the Amara genocide.

It is deeply saddening to watch the continued silence of many Ethiopians and especially the Amara intellectuals while the necks of Amara children, women, and elderly men are chopped off by savages. Inspired by the propaganda of their heinous leaders, these savages are wiping out innocent Amara families in the central, eastern, southern and western parts of Ethiopia.

It is a shame for all of us, the Ethiopians, firstly for allowing this genocide to happen, and secondly for failing to stop it and call it by its real name-AMARA GENOCIDE.

Amara Genocide started 45 years ago right after the dedeb manifesto was drafted. In its earliest face, it was effectively implemented and in Wolkait and Raya. After the dedeb manifesto included “nations and nationalities” in its preamble and became the “constitution” of the country, Amara genocide continued in Harerge, Arusi, Bale, Keffa, Wolega, Metekele, Shewa and many other places. [1-17]

Now, Amara genocide is escalating, and Amara infants, children, women and elderly have been slaughtered even in the big cities such as Shashemene, Ziway, Nazriet and in the outskirts of Addis Ababa.

When all these Amara cleansing and genocides have been implemented for 45 years, even the opportunist Amara intellectuals have been shamefully calling it “ethnic conflict”, an attack on “አንድ ብሔር ተወላጅ” or an attack on non-blah blah ethnic group. Mr. opportunist and hypocrite intellectual, it is NOT an ethnic conflict or an attack on “አንድ ብሔር ተወላጅ”. It is intentionally designed and effectively implemented AMARA GENOCIDE!

It is true other ethnic groups such as the hard-working Gurages, Afars, Agnwaks, and Gamos are secondary victims because they speak Amharic, and they are proponents of united Ethiopia.  But the genocide at this point is designed exclusively for the Amaras although it will never spare others.

All Amaras should understand that they are facing what the Jewish people faced during the Nazi era. The only difference is the Jewish people faced genocide in foreign land, but the Amaras are facing genocide in the very country their forefathers built.

As the Jewish people learned how to survive and thrive genocide, the Amara people should learn how to survive and thrive genocide. Some of the tools for Amaras to survive genocide are:

1. Understand genocide is implemented on you and call it unequivocally and loud AMARA GENOCIDE.
2. Spread the information to your base and the world that Amara genocide is escalating.
3. Be mindful that savages consider patience as fear
4. Do not forget an uncultured dog will chase you further if you run away from it.
5. Organize not to attack, but to defend yourself.
6. Debate to come up with the best survival ideas but stop arguing and fighting each other siding with your village traitors who put you in this danger in the first place.
7. Keep the promise of your ancestors and never take anyone’s property, but fiercely defend yours.
8. Never attack anyone but defend yourself aggressively.
9. Just like your ancestors, never touch innocent people, children, women, sick and elderly. These are the acts of cursed subhuman and coward creatures.
10. Use your well-developed diplomatic culture throughout the world to save Amara from further genocide.
11. Never give up the sovereignty of Ethiopia since it is made up of your forefather’s flesh and blood.
12. Stay away from bad habits such as smoking, drinking, chat chewing and gambling.
13. Emphasis on education! You can do it! You’re the descendants of good minds that cultivated the Ghion civilization; the children of innovate minds that created unique alphabet and calendar. You are the descendants of creative minds that built dozens of churches from one rock!  You are the grandson of Debteras, philosophers, theologians, artists and poets.
14. Work hard day and night like the Amara Peasants! Do not spend a minute without doing useful work.
15. Re-enforce your survival strategy through education, innovation, creativity, experience, and hard work.
16. While you are defending yourself, save others who cannot defend themselves.
17. Do not forget that you will claim your full country one day as other survivors of genocide claimed their countries one day.

Until the Amaras organize and decisively defend themselves, the opportunist Amara intellectuals, all Ethiopians, Africans, the world, the newspapers, the magazines, the websites, radios and televisions shall stop masking the Amara genocide and going around the bush. What is happening in Ethiopia is NOT ethnic conflict! The barbaric slaughtering of Amara children, Amara women and Amara elderly in Ethiopian is NOT an attack an ethnic group:  It is an AMARA Genocide.  Call it by its real name and stop masking it. Thank you.

End Notes 

1. Ethiopia Blames Militia for killing 338 people, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ethiopia-says-gunmen-killed-338-people-oromiya-region-june-2022-06-30/ (Last accessed in July, 2022)
2. Over 200 feared dead in Ethiopia Massacre, The New Your Times
   https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/world/africa/ethiopia-attack-amhara-people.html((Last accessed in July, 2022)
3. Villagers massacred in Western Ethiopia, The   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/villagers-massacred-western-ethiopia-says-state-appointed-.((Last accessed in July, 2022)
4. Attack on Amara, Ethiopia NPR  News https://www.npr.org/2022/06/19/1106157864/ethiopia-attack-amhara#:~:text=More%20than%20200%20killed%20in%20attack%20in%20Ethiopia%2C%20witnesses%20say%20%3A%20NPR&text=Press-,More%20than%20200%20killed%20in%20attack%20in%20Ethiopia%2C%20witnesses%20say,military%20and%20a%20local%20militia. ((Last accessed in July, 2022)
5. International Crisis Group: Diffusion Ethiopia’s latest Perilous crisis, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/defusing-ethiopias-latest-perilous-crisis
6. ሰበርዜና፡ በአርሲ ነገኤ የተፈጸመው እጅግ አሳስዛኝ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DXRSpxariQ 
7. ሰብአዊመብት ጉባኤ ሪፖርት 2008 ዓ.ም. http://ehrco.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HRCO-141st-Special-Report-Amharic-Sene-01-2008.pdf (Last accessed in April, 2020) 
8. Protest Crack Down killed hundreds, Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/15/ethiopia-protest-crackdown-killed-hundreds (Last accessed in April, 2020) 
9. Extrajudicial executions, Arbitray arests and detntions Amnesty International (Last accessed in April, 2020) https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/ethiopia/report-ethiopia/(Last accessed in April, 2020) 
10. Ethiopia, Police Open fire on Protesters https://freedomhouse.org/article/ethiopia-police-open-fire-protesters (Last accessed in April, 2020) 
11. Genocide watch documents on Ethiopia http://www.genocidewatch.org/ethiopia.html(Last accessed in April, 2020) 
12. Three million Amhars Missing, Berhanu Abegaz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-g-YWYBdbM (Last accessed in April, 2020) 
13. Three Million Amara are Missing: An Analysis based on the 1994 and the 2007 Ethiopian Population Censuses , Berhanu Abegaz , http://ethiomedia.com/101facts/45139 (Last accessed in April, 2020) 
14. Human right violation of Amharas Muluken Tesfaw http://video.ethsat.com/?p=24983(Last accessed in April, 2020) 
15. Amara Genocide in Bedeno Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZJIfUkx9M(Last accessed in April, 2020) 
16. Amara Masscre in Arba gugu video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3v9jcDAmDI(Last accessed in April, 2020) 
17. The impact of Cervical Cancer Prevention Vaccine in Amara Region.: Ambar https://www.ambapu.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/አምባ%20HPV%20Vaccine%20in%20Ethiopia_1.pdf (Last accessed in April 2020) 
18. Remembering the Anuak Massacre: Begin by Lighting Your Candle and then Your Neighbor’s Until Our Candles Bring Light Over Our Nation  http://www.anuakjustice.org/
19. Torture in Ogaden Jail: we are like dead” the Guardian https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/04/we-are-dead/torture-and-other-human-rights-abuses-jail-ogaden-somali-regional( last accessed in May, 2020) 

The writer can be reached at abatebelai@yahoo.com 

July 28,  2022.