As it might be the case for millions of Oromos and other Ethiopians, it was a shocker for me to learn that the TPLF regime of Meles Zenawi had sentenced leading Oromo intellectuals (political leaders, lawyers, engineers, professors and students) and businesspeople to death, life sentence, and long years of imprisonment. This is the second time in less than three months that the TPLF regime issued such a verdict; some three months ago, the regime sentenced the leadership of Genbot 7 and their alleged supporters to death and life imprisonments.
After I saw the news headlines on Gadaa.com and EthioMedia.com, quite instinctively, I went on to read the names of the people. Barely halfway through the list, I was shocked at what I was reading. One of my classmates was among those in the list — Wabe Haji!
Wabe Haji Jarso is an alumni of the Addis Ababa University (AAU) Law School, class of 1993/4. Wabe is an Oromo. He is from the Arsi region of State of Oromia in Ethiopia. Before joining AAU Law School, Wabe served in the Ethiopian Air Force. He was a quiet, apolitical, farsighted and very considerate member of our class. He was the voice of reason and magnanimity. For these noble qualities, we all loved, respected and admired him.
As if I am writing my own obituary, flashback of memory took me back to the Addis Ababa University Law School. I started recounting the five years we spent together there. We learned, ate and played together. We shared, debated and argued on issues, views and beliefs. We were very close to each other, and to the faculty and staff of the Law School. We were ONE family, the Law School family. We knew each other very well. Our small size (fifty students for the entire batch) and the isolated nature of the Law School at the Sidist Kilo Campus of the AAU made us be very close.
I tried to recall every one of them by name – my classmates. Our years of idealism and innocence clouded my memory. At this point, I realized most of us have left the country. And,
most of us are leading successful lives, alas outside Ethiopia. We are dispersed around the world. Most of us now live in Europe and the United States.
I also thought of why we left Ethiopia in drove, and few remained behind. We all made calculated decision to leave or stay in Ethiopia. For those of us who decided to leave, the human instinct of survival and staying alive – at least for ourselves – outweighed all the rest. I could classify those who decided to stay in Ethiopia into two groups. The first group consisted of my friends, who found out that, in the era of TPLF, it was their time and season of power. They were right. All of them are now in positions of authority. They are the judges, prosecutors and propaganda chiefs of the TPLF regime, the most barbarian and cruel regime the world has ever seen. Wabe was sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment by one of them.
Wabe Haji belonged to the second group, those who remained in Ethiopia due to the love of family and country. Don’t get me wrong. We all love our country and family. But, we gambled with the risk to save our lives.
After graduating from the Law School, Wabe started working for the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC). He worked for EIC until he joined the Ethiopian Commercial Bank a couple of years prior to his detention in November 2008. Both corporations are government owned, i.e. they are under the control of the TPLF. Despite the odds of working for a TPLF-controlled company, Wabe was one of the most successful attorneys both at the Ethiopian Commercial Bank and the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation. He was content and happy with his life and legal practice.
A day before I left Ethiopia, I had coffee with Wabe. I told him my decisions. He didn’t object. I asked him what his plans were. His response was crystal clear. He said he had old, young, and poor family members who looked up to him. He said he was the only breadwinner not only for his family, but also for his extended family members. He told me the young looked up to him for guidance, and the old needed his support. He told me even if he wanted to leave to pursue his master’s degree in Europe or the U.S., he could not. He had to work and support his family.
Before we parted, I asked him one last question, which I still recall. I asked him if he had any fear of the TPLF whom everybody knew were targeting the Oromo people, particularly the intellectuals, students and businesspeople. He said he had no fear. He saw no reason why he would be targeted. He said he was not a politician and had no interest to become one. He reminded me of his apolitical stand during the Derge regime. But, I pushed him further, and told him most Oromos I knew were in prison; they were neither politicians’ nor politically involved. On that one, he agreed and said, ?Innocence is not a defense for Oromo political prisoners in TPLF Ethiopia.?
Now, innocence is not a defense for Wabe Haji. He is behind bars in one of the world’s most brutal dungeons. As for his poor relatives and family members, TPLF will get rid of them without being accused of killing them itself. Now what remains is whether Oromos and the rest of the Ethiopian people will defend themselves against the TPLF fascist regime or continue to be killed in vain.
