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Addis Ababa’s largest cemetery to be uprooted

Posted on , Updated on by EthiopianReview.com

Some families whose loved ones are buried at the St. Joseph (Kidus Yosef) Cemetery in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa have contacted Ethiopian Review with information that the land is needed for development and that they need to remove the remains of their relatives.

Families are being told to {www:disinter} their relatives and rebury them on some plot of land located on the road to Jimma.

Obviously the information is terribly upsetting to a lot of people. Yosef Cemetery is about as old as the city of Addis Ababa and almost every resident of the city has some relative buried there.

Addis Ababa Administration, whose mayor is Meles Zenawi’s puppet Kuma Demeks, has warned that the bodies that are not moved by a certain date will be dumped in a mass grave.

Addis Ababa can expand in several directions and there is no shortage of land (see the video below). So it is not clear why the ruling junta is subjecting hundreds of thousands, may be millions of families to the {www:ghoulish} process of exhuming graves.

Kidus Yosef Cemetery is the final resting place for thousands of Ethiopian heroes and patriots such as Abebe Bikila, as well as average citizens. It is a cemetery steeped in Addis Ababa and Ethiopian history.

We invite readers who are knowledgeable about the Yosef Cemetery to share with us what they know about its historical significance to Addis Ababa and the whole nation of Ethiopia.

54 thoughts on “Addis Ababa’s largest cemetery to be uprooted”

  2. That’s true, my mother and my sister were burried at St Joseph cemetery for more than 15 years.Two weeks ago my family were told to disinter and rebury them anywhere they wish.So to dig out your loves one, it cost them $2500 birr for each but when I ask the reason, they told me they are going to built modern cemetery but I dont believe it.

  4. Dear Eritrean or as u claim Ethiopian, infact Egyptian Elias Kifle

    Today u become Cemetery Ambassader. U say if Addis people didnt remove their relatives, Mr Kuma will burry them in mass grave. My question to u is…………does your dead brain will be icluded in the mass grave? or still contine to write bulsheet stuff everday that is irrelevant to Ethiipians or Ethiopian politics?

    DO NOT WRITE BULSHEET STUFF!!!

  5. What is your point, Elias Kifle? Is this a political issue? Is this what the Ethiopian government introduced to the world? What is the problem if the incumbent government re-arranges the city your fathers and forefathers messed up out of ignorance during their enslaving time? What political profit do you want to produce out of it? Now, it is out of your hand to do anything you like in Ethiopia. Stop your crocodile tear?

  7. I’m from Eritrea and both of my parents were born there. But my granfather (my father’s father) was also burried in the St Joseph cemetery allong with his brothers and sisters. Reading this article on how they’re are going to be removed from the cemetery, even though he doesn’t show it, hurts my father deeply. My grandfather has been burried there for about 25 years and has an anniversiry coming up soon (November 23) Removing them from the cemetary is the most heartless and disgusting thing the Ethiopian government has ever done. Even though I am an Eritrean I still love ethiopians and still do. Most of my friends and people i care about are from Ethiopia. … They’re only doing this because they’re going to benefit from disinterring the bodies.

  8. Haile… that is how all ethiopians should think…business baby.. forget these old farts that sit and cry to western people like they care. think how one can better his family and people and invest for betterment instead of blah blah blah “cry me a river” ideology that some diaspora derg supporters seem to possess. and to all eritreans please help your own country don’t stick your noise in ethiopian business we got this under control. go feed your people first. to Amiches too bad you have been deported bye bye adiaos amigaos. c-you later good ridense.

  9. One, speak english you illiterate m**f! And of course your dumb ass wouldn’t know what that means so look it up! Two, you can say whatever you want because this is a FREE COUNTRY and I’m not going to change my opinion just because you think you’re making sense! Three, I AM Eritrean I don’t give a f**k what you say! So go to hell where you belong! Four, it’s “Bullshit” not “Bulsheet” You dumb bitch!

  10. የቀረበውን ሁሉ መሸከም የሚችል አህያ ከተገኘ ስለ ጫኚውም ሆነ ስለ ጭነቱ መብዛት ምን ያስደንቃል?

    አህያው መንፈራገጥ ቢያቅተው እንኳ ያን ሁሉ መሸከም እንደማይችል በተለያዩ ምልክቶች ጌታው እንዲያውቀው ማድረጋ ይኖርበታል!!

  11. First of,these people do not know what love is,they don’t care about humanity even you are alive not only dead.plus we have so many relatives and families buried at yosef who are killed for the last 20 years.let them rest in peace at least in the other world.stop the piece of shit you call development…….what an irony.

  12. Oh my God , now they came for the dead! they destroyed and sold everything alive. Now they started to do this to the dead. Is there anything that is not sold in Ethiopia! Oh our lord, the lord of Ethiopia, please help us just one more time. How long would you forget us?

  13. Elias,

    I agree that it is inappropriate to exhume the remains of loved once, but what do you mean by “Addis Ababa can expand in several directions and there is no shortage of land”? Addis Ababa has been already expanded more than enough and uprooted thousands of Oromo farmers from their ancestral land. Who is expanding and at what cost?

  14. Mr Elias you might want to check another cemetery that is about to be uprooted which is Eyesus Cemetery near Ferenci Legasion!
    That is another cemetery Woyanes have decided to uproot!

  16. How can we expect any kind of human decency, empathy and respect for the dead Ethiopians from a man that has not shown an ounce of kindness to Ethiopians for the last twenty years, and from a man that has given orders an innocent mother of a four year old girl to be thrown in jail, young Ethiopian students and law abiding citizens to be locked up, tortured and killed? I think Meles is a very sick ice-cold man that was born without empathy. The longer the Godless dictator stays in power, more mistreatment of Ethiopians we are going to witness, regardless they are dead or alive. Meles is doing his best to do what his father instilled in him –to be unsympathetic to all mankind. The heartless man cannot help it, he is doing what he knows best, better than any other dictators in the world and make Woyanes very proud.

  17. I am very disturbed and exceedingly disappointed. My Mom is buried there. I have no one to exhume the body for I am here.

    I grew up around that church and a lot of famous Ethiopians are buried there. The late Marathon champion Abebe Bikilla is buried. Of course woyane has no regard for Ethiopians whether dead or alive. They tried our patience and dicovered that we are a scaredy pussy cat. Now they are even after us in death.

    We all died when we let woyane piss on us

  19. The hellhole at Copiapó, Chile where 33 miners were entombed was symbolic in that, now that they are out, it is reserved as an eternal deep end for the wicked people across the globe misruling in Ethiopia. First there were the several thousands of people in the Arat Kilo area who were told to abandon their ancestoral abodes and scatter wherever they wish, and now comes Kidus Yosef. Do not take this lightly because both your property/heritage and the place where bones of your ancestors rest are your boundaries. Addis Ababa is our Jerusalem. Do not settle for it for money or change it. Such incredible action attests to their utmost wickedness; it shows their Ahzab rule.

  20. October 11, 2010

    Africa: $130 Million From United States to Train Doctors in a Dozen Countries

    By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

    The United States will donate $130 million to African medical schools to improve medical education on the continent, the Obama administration announced last week. The donations, to be made over five years, will go to about 30 medical schools and teaching hospitals in a dozen countries, and to about 20 American medical schools that have agreed to collaborate with them.

    Although most of the money will come from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, it will go to train doctors in all sorts of medical skills, including surgery, childbirth and infant care.

    Africa’s hospitals and clinics face a constant “brain drain” of doctors and nurses because Western aid agencies and countries elsewhere offer higher salaries. Various grants will, for example, support exchanges of professors between American medical schools and African ones, supplement the salaries of doctors who might otherwise quit or moonlight to make ends meet, pay for technology that will let medical students present cases from remote clinics, and underwrite scholarships so students from poor families can be recruited. Some of the money will go to equip laboratories; some could buy teaching tools, like models of a woman giving birth that obstetrics students can practice with.

    Dr. Michael P. Johnson, deputy director of a National Institutes of Health center providing part of the $130 million, said he hoped the program would have the “side effect” of making American medical schools better at teaching rural health along with the high-tech medicine they excel at.

  21. I am an Eritrean decent born and raised in addis ababa,my mom was buried in yoseif church and per meles first he don’t want to see our eye color now he is messing with our buried loved onec.I swear meles you touch my mom that is it, you will hear my pain through your loved once too.it will take time but …….

    dear Elias can you find me somebody who can transfer my mom to another church. wey gud, wey eda!!!!! please brothers help

  22. All loved ones once said to their beloved,may our dear loard,God rest your soul and body in peace.

    The Homes For The Dead Are Demolished;What have they done wrong?

    Zinawian,even they hate the dead.When Zinawian robbers came into Ethiopia,they were barefoot,but had a lot of guns and bullets to loot and murder Ethiopians.Time favored them and invaded Ethiopia.They then moved quickly into the villages,the towns,the cities,and the neighbourhoods and broke into homes and vandalized the lives of families.

    More than 1.5 Million Ethiopians gave a heroe welcome to the dearest brother Abebe Bikila.When Abebe passed away,2.5 million Ethiopians came out to the streets to pay the last and everlasting respect to Our dear brother,Captain Abebe Bikila.

    The eulogy read,in memory of Abebe Bikila,a father,a husband,and an olompian,and goald medalist,Rome and Tokyo.

    Abebe Bikila made permanent connection between Ethiopia and the rest of the world;lived his life and went back to his eternal home.Now he is a homeless.

  23. This is done every where when development needs it done. Japan has evicted the entire farming population in the 60’s and 70’s when it needed to expand and update its major airports. There were riots but it was what needed to be done. I think this is not a political issue. Lets move on.

  24. Is this Meles’s five year plan or what? He can’t even leave the dead alone. Mr midget primate Meles hands-off this crazy idea of using this resting place of many great citizens. One of my hero’s Ato Sisay Gebretsadike founder of felegeyordanos school was also buried their please who ever came with this crazy idea they need to come to their sense and leave the place alone and let the dead rest in peace.

  25. Dear Elias,
    Now you really make me question your state of mind.I think you are sick or pschotic but either way you need medical attention and you need it soon rather than later.Hence,you don’t have a place in the political landscape.You are declared unfit.
    I remember you have been told to stick to substances and issues that Ethiopians care about but you don’t seem to listen.
    Infact you stick to name callings and posting irrelevant issues that couldn’t help bringing about change.
    The dirty staff that you are vigorously engaging in apparently will not take the struggle a step farther.
    As to the cemetry,I think the government is doing the right thing.
    Cemetries as large as Yared’s is a waste land and its good that it should be developed as it creats many jobs for the living.You know people in the developed world are learning to creamate their dead as it makes no differece to the dead.Once we are dead are dead and we better care about the living.

  28. Dear Ittu Aba Farda #23,
    I can’t agree more but Elias doesn’t seem to get it.
    I makes me question his state of mind.He is sick or pschotic but either way he needs medical help.
    I also suspect his ulterior motives of why he doesn’t stick to the substance and important issues that people care about.
    Defamation,name callings and posting irrelevant issues will not move the struggle a step farther infact the otherwise.
    Cemetries as large as Yared’s is a waste land and the government’s decision to develop the land is plausible.

  29. omg the peoples enemy weyane doing this horror to Ethiopians. heartless and cruel. one day his grave will be dug and….how would they feel if we uproot their cemeteries in adwa.

  30. Netsanet Betigil, it seems to me you need some type of medical attention. Elias didn’t create the story, he’s just reporting it and tt’s a true story. I think you’re woyane(hodame) and you don’t want anything to be reported what the woyane incompetent gov. is doing to its people. My cousin exumed his dad’s and sister’s bodies and reburied them outside Addis Ababa five weeks ago. It’s a tragedy dead souls are not allowed to rest in peace. This has been emotionally and finacialy painful to many Ethiopians whose loved ones were buried at Kidues Yosef cemetery for many generation. God bless Ethiopia.

  31. Meles is tipped from his foreign advisers (UK & USA security people) about humiliating and killing the spirit of the people. He is on a series of psychological attack. We are seeing a glimpse of the plan in the coming five years. They are only afraid of international condemnation and indictment, they would have committed open genocidal acts (particularliy the Amara’s and Guraghe’s are targetted). Idiots like Kuma and the other zombies are being used by Meles without knowing what they are doing. It will not be long before Meles and his woyane entourages order the people to leave the city. The rising cost of living and the increasing poverty immediately after the 2005 election tells it all. Someone must dare to do something on this coward and bring him back to his cowardice senses.

  32. It really is sad but this is the ugly face of capitalism. So many countries U.S.A., Japan, South Korea, U.S.S.R., Germany and few others have done similar stuff. Actually in Germany they have a law that you have to remove the body after certain times. If you don’t they will bury it where ever. They don’t have a perpanent burial place. But as an Ethiopian, I am very sad because this is not what I am used to.

  33. Are the Eritreans buried there liable to deportation? What if we want to re-bury our relatives back to Eritrea respectfully? They do not have eyes to be disliked by Meles CHENAWI.

  35. Elias,you are right this church has long history and it seized so many celebrities in its soil like late artist Bizunesh Bekele,Kiros Alemayehu and journalist and writer Solomon Tessema.This church is not only cemetry but also like a musium .

  36. “Addis Ababa can expand in several directions and there is no shortage of land”
    We can’t afford to expand this city more than its current limit for reasons such us cost of infrastructures. Can you tell me a country which gives 1000m2 of land for a single grave other than the poor Ethiopia?

  37. Selamawi #25,
    How pathetic! Your judgment of Elias is unwarranted. As usual, you are one of those woyanes who criticize the messengers instead of the very man that has been committing unspeakable crimes on hundreds of thousand of innocent Ethiopians. Where is your criticism of dictator Meles that claimed victory by 100%, a man that has been terrorizing Ethiopians for the last twenty years, and now even the dead Ethiopians? Why is the illegitimate TPLF government making money from the families of the dead to remove the bodies of their loved ones? what is going to happen to the bodies of Ethiopians, if their living families cannot afford to pay the very costly fee? Removing the Ethiopian bodies and bury them with dignity and honor somewhere else is one thing, but the chance of Woyanes doing that is 0%. I am afraid, Woyanes are going to bulldoze the dead Ethiopians and tossing their remains in the trash.

  39. While paulos get his statue built as usual the mafia gangs of meles zenawi are trying historical facts. if they don’t know great cities like London keep old cemteries in the most expensive areas why let the dung brained meles tugs make research and give answer. long time ago when i heard the same was done on the cemetery at St. Ouraeal church i was angered why compurgation did not boycott going to that church so that the evil priests and their head can feel the heat when the income they receive from the public is cut off. So boycott and pray at your home. do you remember during junta mengistu’s time they have tried to robe St. Raguel church at Merkato it was not the Christians only who chased those evils was also people from the neighboring Mosque. So Christians and Muslims should come together to stop this evils.

  40. Elias,
    You have done your civic duty to the Ethiopian community by posting this news and your in put.

    Kindest Selassie church where special supporting evidence is required in order to be buried because service, royalty, some military and war veterans are buried there is may be the top historical cemetery within the compound of the wonderful church.

    I know families buried in Kudus Joseph cemetery as well. You are right that it is one of the oldest and accommodates every diverse members of Ethiopians. It is the Ethiopians Cemetery. The thing about cemetries is, over time, people are able to trace ancestors, ages, some history if any, the spiritual messages inscribed. Well administered, utilized and especially the likes of Yoseph’s cemetry in any country have invaluable worth for generations. Ethiopians especially scattered all over the world the last forty years, when they return it is one historical string to themselves and generations born abroad or at home. All cemeteries in Ethiopia need to be left alone. This is not the first one this regime threatened to transfer. If at all they do, they need to cover all expenses including marker stone contribution. The rural area is not cultivated at all. What business do they have moving cemeteries that had been a part of the city for ages?

  41. semere,
    Thank you for posting the link.

    It is a complicated issue, but exposes lack of government negligence in this important matter.

    “no one will be allowed to construct a gravestone over a grave because they take too much space, contributing to the shortage for space for graves around the city, according to Hairu.”

    Then, they can agree on a standard size marker that does not take up space and let the families have them inscribed with the deceaseds’ information.

  42. The outrageous serial actions and bad news courtesy Woeyane affirms their Ahzab Gentile’s rule. Who in their minds uproots cemetries and an entire sections of cities? Woeyanes a.k.a Assyrians a.k.a Gog Magog a.k.a anti-christ a.k.a the bibilical creatures who emerge from the depth of the world (not alluding to Chile) prove to be the ultimate Ahzabs, more so than Mengistu. When one adds Woeyane + Arabs + Turkey + Indians and Ungodly Africans and Ferenjis in the mix that is what you get. The beauty is that our Amlack would take actions for generations and generations to come. Read your Iasiah. As they toyed with our country their progenies would be toyed with.

    The Physical

  46. Netsanet Betigil,it is not a lie very true,infact i was informed by my mother that my father grave have to be removed from yoseph church,and my family are planing to move it to debre libanos teklehayimanot church,what can i say dear,for your record when gods final judgment day is getting closer our bible tells us lots of houses and buildings will be build but it will be a matter of time before the intire world witnessing the arrival of world leader(satan) my guess is 12/21/2012,after that for 3 years human being will suffer the worst disaster ever happen in our planet history and our almighty god will intervene for the sake of innocent people who fear and love god.my people repent,this planet is already contaminated with all kinds of sin, greed,hate,gays,blasphemy,wars,false witnesses,lies,,,is out of control this days.for weyane thugs your wealth will end up in the abyss(seoul) with you.

  47. Cremating a dead body may save money and space for crowded and destitute cities like Addis Ababa and New Delhi. Poverty, greed, and lack of enough space for every citizen in a poor Ethiopia will play in the future a great role in our country to force many Ethiopians to burn their dead into ashes or to pay a high price for a piece of land for their dead. Of course, the rich will always bury their dead in a most decorated, guarded, and fenced burial place: they don’t have to burn them but bury them in dignity and with elaborate ceremonies.

    Some of the poor dead, in fact, had no place or land of their own when they were alive on this earth, and there would be no place for them when they died; therefore, dead or alive, it is the same thing for those people who lived poor and died poor, and those who get hurt mostly are those poor Ethiopians who are not yet dead but on the verge of dying. Such desperate and poor Ethiopians do not care whether their dead bodies will be burned or buried or consumed by wild beasts since their lives have been miserable under mean and shameful leaders, Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) and his criminal gangs.

    However, the struggle between the Ethiopian Christians and their ethical principles to cremate their dead or lose their entire properties to bury their dead loved ones in the most commonly well-known Christian way and bury them in a Church compound as their ancestors had been doing for centuries will continue for a long time. To fight an enemy in a battlefield and win a victory or lose is much easier than to fight one’s own conscience over such and most sacred issue: to bury or to burn one’s own dead. If one finally decides and burns his dead, the guilt of such an act of burning one’s own child or one’s own mother or father will haunt him until he dies. It is just like a poor woman who aborts her child because she cannot afford to raise him but later on she regrets why she has aborted her child, and the guilt of aborting her child will follow her throughout her life.

    The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church does not allow its members to burn their dead but to burry them ceremoniously and to pray for their departed souls to have rest in the kingdom of God in heaven. For allowing its members to bury their dead but not to cremate does not make this historical Church uncivilized, or that she is against those who believe in cremation. When the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church teaches us, its followers, not to burn our dead, she is following what is written in the Scriptures.

    When Joseph knew he was going to die in Egypt, he said to his brothers: “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” (Genesis 50:25) And of course, following Joseph’s instruction, Moses, later on, fulfilled Joseph’s dream: “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.’’’ (Exodus 13:19) It could have been easier for Moses to burn or to bury the bones of Joseph in Egypt, but instead he carried them to Canaan with him. This clearly shows that our dead body should not be burned but buried in a ceremony and at a proper place, and the proper place for Joseph was Canaan, not Egypt, and the appropriate place for an Ethiopian Christian is to be buried near the Church of his choice. How many of us have fulfilled the oaths that we might have swore to our mothers and fathers that we would bury them in Lalibela or Axum, or in Jerusalem or in any other Christian Church they loved when they were alive on this earth? Perhaps, quite a few of us or none of us have done such things for our loved ones. Facing financial problems, we may have broken our oaths, but God understands our situations, and may forgive us for breaking our oaths.

    The prophet Amos also tells us that burning a dead body does not please the Almighty God: “This is what the Lord says: ‘For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king….” (Amos 2:1) When one disciple asked Jesus to let him go first and bury his father, Jesus replied: “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:21-22) Jesus didn’t say: “let the dead burn their own dead into ashes.” Therefore; the Christian Church is right to prohibit its members from burning their dead but to bury them in a dignified manner.

    Nevertheless, I will say to my Ethiopian Christians that they should never feel guilty if their dead are removed from their burial places to another, or they could not afford to bury them in the right place, or they could not find where they were buried, or the government may have thrown them out. As a Christian who believes in the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I believe every person who died in Jesus Christ will come back to life whether that person was buried or burned or eaten up by wild animals. Every one of us is in the memory of Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ memorizes each one of us, dead or alive, since the creation of the universe, so don’t worry whether your dead are thrown out as unworthy ones, but believe that all of us are worthy creatures in the eyes of the Almighty God, who created us.

  48. Cremating is pagan ritual as far as our culture and history are concerned; it should never be practiced by Orthodox Christians as long as normal interment is afforded. Even embalming and autopsy are a no no for kings. If the goverment was our kind of goverment, it would confer with families and help them with expenses and arrangegment of reburials with no dateline or ultimatum. In the middle east, because of shortage of land, it is common for families to rebox old bones and make room for new ones, that is one method that should work in our case.

    When a person dies, Buddhist lamas will first be invited to recite Buddhist chant while a funeral date is set. On the funeral day, body of the dead will be laid on empty hillside land which is normally known as “ghost land”. There incense are burnt while lamas continue to chant. After the prayer ceremony has ended, the dead body is cut and dismembered into various parts, bones, flesh and organs are separated while the brain is broken with stones. Then the body parts will be burnt and the thick smoke arising from burning serves as an invite to the vultures to come and feed on the body. To Tibetans feeding the vultures with an “empty” dead body is a noble act to do. – Gory Tibetan Funeral

  50. ከቺሊ ስማይ ሥር

    ይህንን ጽሑፍ ስጽፍ የመጨረሻው የማዕድን አውጭ ከጉድጓዱ ውስጥ ወጥቶ ነበር፡፡ ከሌሊቱ ዘጠኝ ሰዓት ሆኗል፡፡ ለ69 ቀናት የጠበቅናቸው እነዚህ ሰዎች ተአምራዊ በሆነ መንገድ ከ622 ሜትር ጉድጓድ ውስጥ ወጡ፡፡ የቺሊ ፕሬዚዳንት ሴባስቲያን ፔኔራ «እግዚአብሔር ከምንወጣው በላይ የሆነ ፈተና አይሰጠንም» እንዳሉት እውነትም የሚወጡት ፈተና ሰጥቷቸዋል፡፡ የሀገሬ ሰውስ «ማከኪያውን ላይሰጥ እከኩን አይሰጥም» ይል የለ፡፡

    ቺሊ ውስጥ ሳን ሆዜ በተባለ የማዕድን ማውጫ ቦታ ይሠሩ የነበሩ 33 ሠራተኞች የመውጫ መንገዳቸው ተዘግቶ ዋሻ ውስጥ መቅረታቸው የተሰማው የዛሬ 69 ቀን ነበር፡፡ ቺሊያውያን እና መላው ዓለም ደነገጠ፡፡ አዘነ፡፡ ምን ሊሆን ይችላል? እያለም ፈራ፡፡ ረዥሙን ቱቦ ሠርቶ፣ ቴክኖሎጂውንም ተጠቅሞ እነዚያን ሰዎች ለማውጣት ቢያንስ አራት ወር ይፈጃል፡፡ እንዲያውም ከገና በፊት የማይታሰብ ነው ተባለ፡፡

    ፀሐይን ሳያዩ፣ በቂ ምግብ ሳያገኙ፣ አስፈላጊው ሕክምና ሳይደርሳቸው፣ ነገ ምን እንደሚሆን ሳያውቁ፣ ከቤተ ሰቦቻቸው ተለይተው እንዴት ይከርማሉ? ሙቀቱን እና ቅዝቃዜውን እንዴት ይችሉታል? ያልተነሣ የጥያቄ ዓይነት አልነበረም፡፡

    የቺሊ መንግሥት በተለይም ፕሬዚዳንቱ ሴባስቲያን ፔኔራ አስፈላጊው ሁሉ እንደሚደረግ አስታወቁ፡፡ ራሳቸው ፕሬዚዳንቱ እና የማዕድን ሚኒስትሩ ጉዳዮችን ሁሉ በቅርብ ይከታተሉ ነበር፡፡ አሜሪካ እና ጀርመን የቴክኖሎጂ ድጋፍ ለማድረግ ቃል ገቡ፡፡ የቺሊ ሊቀ ጳጳስ ጸሎት ዐወጁ፡፡ ሕዝቡ በየቤተ ክርስቲያኑ ከተተ፡፡ ባለ መሰልቸት እና ባለማቋረጥ በመላ ቺሊ ጸሎት ይደረግ ነበር፡፡ በመጨረሻም ከ22 ሰዓታት በላይ በፈጀ የማውጣት ርብርብ ሁሉም የማዕድን ሠራተኞች ከ622 ሜትር ጉድጓድ በተአምር ወጡ ፡፡

    ይህንን ዓለም እንደ ልብ ሰቃይ ፊልም በንቃት የተከታተለውን የ33 የማዕድን ሠራተኞች ታሪክ፤ ይህንን የቺሊያውያን አንድነት፣ አርበኛነት እና የሃይማኖት ጽናት የታየበትን ታሪክ፤ ይህንን ከ300 የሚዲያ ተቋማት የመጡ 2000 ጋዜጠኞች የተከታተሉትን ልብ አንጠልጣይ የሰው ልጅ ታሪክ ስመለከት ብዙ ነገሮች በኅሊናየ ይመጡ ነበር፡፡

    H#ለት መቶኛ የነጻነት በዓሏን በቅርቡ ያከበረችውን ቺሊን ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ ያወቅኳት በአሥራ አንደኛ ክፍል የታሪክ መጽሐፍ ስለ ቺሊ አብዮት ስንማር ነው፡፡ በዓለም ላይ አሥቸጋሪ የሆነ ሶሻሊስታዊ ሥርዓት ተዘርግቶባቸው ከነበሩ ሀገሮች አንዷ ነበረች ቺሊ፡፡ ወደ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሥርዓት የገባቸው በቅርቡ ነው፡፡

    መጀመርያ ነገር የሚደነቀው የቺሊ መንግሥት እውነታውን ተገንዝቦ የወሰደው ርምጃ ነው፡፡ ችግሩን ከመሸፋፈን እና አልተደረገም ብሎ ከመካድ ይልቅ የሆነውን ነገር ተገንዝቦ ለቺሊ ሕዝብ እና ለዓለም ገልጸ፣ የሚቻለው ነገር ሁሉ እንደሚደረግ ቃል ገባ፡፡ ከምድር ወለል 622 ሜትር ርቀው ለነበሩት የማዕድን ሠራተኞች ፕሬዚዳንቱ ቀርበው የሆነውን ነገሯቸው፤ ቃላቸውን ሰሟቸው፤ አጽናኗቸው፤ ጥቂት ጊዜ ይፈጃልና አይዟችሁ አሏቸው፡፡

    መንግሥት የፕሬስ ማዕከል በአካባቢው አቋቁሞ በየሰዓቱ እየሆነ ያለውን በግልጽ ይናገር ነበር፡፡ ምን እንደተደረገ፣ ምን እንደታሰበ፣ ከጉድጓዱ ውስጥ ያሉት ሠራተኞች ምን ዓይነት ሁኔታ ላይ እንዳሉ የቺሊ ሕዝብ እና ዓለም በየጊዜው በቂ መረጃ ያገኝ ነበር፡፡ ተደብቆ የሚፈለግ፣ ተሸሽጎ የሚጋለጥ፣ ባለ ሥልጣን ብቻ የሚያውቀው፣ ሕዝብ የሚያጉረመርምበት መረጃ አልነበረም፡፡ እንዲያውም የቺሊ መንግሥት ምናልባት 30 ጋዜጠኞችን ነበር የጠበቀው፡፡ ነገር ግን ከ2000 በላይ ጋዜጠኞች አካባቢውን በመሣርያ ዎቻቸው አጥረውት ነበር የከረሙት፡፡

    ሰውን ከመርዝ በላይ የሚገድለው ተስፋ መቁረጥ ነው፡፡ ከምድር ወለል ርቀው የነበሩት እነዚያ የማዕድን ሠራተኞች ስንቃቸው ተስፋ ነበረ፡፡ በየጊዜው በሚላክላቸው መልእክት አማካኝነት ተስፋቸው ይለመልም ነበር፡፡ ከሁሉም በላይ ደግሞ በጸሎት እና በቃለ እግዚአብሔር አማካኝነት ትልቅ መጽናናትን እንዳገኙ ተናግረዋል፡፡ የሲ ኤን ኤን ጋዜጠኛ እንዳለው «ምናልባት አስቸኳይ የሕክምና ርዳታ የሚፈልግ ሰው ቢኖር ኖሮስ፣ የልብ ድካምን የመሰለ ችግር ቢከሰት ኖሮስ፣ ቀዶ ጥገና የሚያስፈልገው ነገር ተከስቶስ ቢሆን» መልሱ አንድ ብቻ ነው፡፡ እግዚአብሔር ጸሎታቸውን ሰምቷል፡፡

    የዋሻ መደርመሱ ከመድረሱ በፊት የፈረቃ መሪ የነበረው ሉዊስ ኡርዝዋ ያከናወነውን ነገር አስቡት፡፡ እያንዳንዱን የማዕድን ሠራተኛ በሦስት ፈረቃ ከፍሎ በማስተባበር፣ ሥራ በመስጠት፣ አመጋገባቸውን እና የጤና አጠባበቃቸውን በመምራት፣ ተስፋቸው እንዲለመልም በማድረግ፣ በውጭ ከነበሩት የነፍስ አድን ሠራተኞች ጋር በየጊዜው እየተገናኘ በመሥራት፣ ያከናወነው የመሪነት ተግባር፡፡

    መሪ ማለት ይህ ነው፡፡ ሕዝቡን ከመከራ የሚያወጣ፡፡ በአስቸጋሪ ሁኔታዎች ውስጥ ሳይጨነቅ፣ ተስፋ ሳይቆርጥ፣ አእምሮውን ሳያጣ፣ ሳይረበሽ እና ሳይርበተበት መፍትሔ የሚያስብ፡፡ ከደረሰው ችግር ይልቅ ሊመጣ የሚገባውን መፍትሔ የሚያስብ፡፡ ተረጋግቶ የሚያረጋጋ፤ ወስኖ የሚያስወስን፤ ጸንቶ የሚያጸና፡፡ ብርሃን አይቶ የሚያሳይ፡፡

    ሉዊስ ኡርዝዋ ከሁሉም በመጨረሻ ነው የወጣው፡፡ መሪ ማለት ይኼ ነው፡፡ ራሱን ለሚመራቸው ሰዎች የሚሠዋ፤ ለመከራ ራሱን ለጥቅም ሌሎችን የሚያስቀድም፡፡ መሪ እረኛ ነው፤ መሪ አባት ነው፤ መሪ ሩኅሩኅ ነው፡፡ ሕዝቡን ስለ ራሱ ሳይሆን ራሱን ስለ ሕዝቡ የሚሠዋ፡፡ እኔ አለቃችሁ ነኝ፤ ብዙ ነገር የሠራሁ ነኝ፣ ብዙ የደከምኩ ነኝ ስለዚህ ቅድሚያ ይገባኛል አላለም፡፡ ሁሉም ወዳጆቹ ወጥተው ካልተጠናቀቁ ዕረፍት እንደማ ይኖረው አስቧል፡፡ እናም መጨረሻ ወጣ፡፡ ፕሬዜዳንቱ «ሉዊስ ዛሬ የሺፍት መሪነትህ ሥራ ተጠናቀቀ፤ መርተሃል፣ አስተባብረሃል፣ መሥዋዕትነት ከፍለሃል፤ አሁን ጨርሰሃል፤ መሪ ማለት አንተ ነህ» ነበር ያሉት፡፡

    ይህ አጋጣሚ ቺሊያውያን እንደ አንድ ልብ መካሪ እንደ አንድ ቃል ተናጋሪ ሆነው የታዩበት ነው፡፡ ወታደሮች፣ ጋዜጠኞች፣ ካህናት፣ ሐኪሞች፣ መሐንዲሶች፣ መሪዎች፣ ሁሉም ለአንዲት ሀገር የሚጠበቅባቸውን አደረጉ፡፡ ለቺሊ «የበረከት መከራ» ነው የሆነላት፡፡ መሪዎቿ ይህንን መጥፎ አጋጣሚ የሕዝቡን አንድነት፣ ጽናት፣ ሀገራዊ ስሜት፣ መተሳሰብ እና መቀራረብ ለማምጣት ተጠቅመውበታል፡፡ ከሕዝባቸው ጋር በመሥራት ፍቅራቸውን እና ክብራቸውን አሳይተዋል፡፡

    ሠላሳ ሦስት የማዕድን ሠራተኞች ብቻ ሳይሆኑ ቺሊያውያን በጠቅላላው ከመሬት መንቀጥቀጡ በኋላ ከነበሩበት የመከራ ጉድጓድ ወጥተዋል፡፡ ፕሬዚዳንት ፔኔራ «ቺሊ ከ69 ቀናት በፊት በነበረችበት ሁኔታ ላይ አይደለችም፤ ሌላ ሀገር ሆናለች» እንዳሉት፡፡

    የሚገርሙ ፕሬዚዳንት ናቸው፡፡ የማውጣቱን ዕቅድ መርተዋል፤ ተከታትለዋል፤ በመጨረሻም ከመጀመርያው ሰዓት ጀምረው በቦታው ተገኝተው ጸልየዋል፣ አልቅሰዋል፣ ተደስተዋል፤ መግለጫ ሰጥተዋል፡፡ እንደ አባት ሁሉን አቀፉ፡፡ እንደ መሪ ተከታተሉ፣ እንደ ዜጋ ዘመሩ፣ እንደ መንፈሳዊ ጸለዩ፣ እንደ ሰው አነቡ፡፡ ሁኔታውን በስልክ ወይንም በሪፖርት አይደለም የተከታተሉት፤ ስብሰባ ላይ ወይንም በዓል ላይ አልነበሩም፤ እንደ ሠራተኞቹ ልብሳቸውን ለብሰው በቦታው ነበሩ፡፡ ለ22 ሰዓታት ያህል በቦታው ቆመው እያንዳንዱ የማዕድን ሠራተኛ ሲወጣ ጨብጠውታል፣ አቅፈውታል፣ ስመውታል፣ አበረታተውታል፡፡

    ከሠራተኞቹ ጋር ሲያወሩ፣ ከቤተሰቦች ጋር ሲመካከሩ፣ ሲስቁ እና ሲጫወቱ ላየ ፕሬዚዳንት አይመስሉም ነበር፡፡ እኔ ፍርሃት ሳይሆን አክብሮት፣ በሕዝብ እና በመሪ መካከል ርቀት ሳይሆን ፍቅር ነበር ያየሁት፡፡

    የተቀበሩትን የማዕድን ሠራተኞች የማውጣቱ ሂደት የተጀመረው በስብሰባ አይደለም፡፡ በጸሎት ነው፡፡ ሕዝቡ ሁሉ ልቡናውን አቅንቶ ጸልዮአል፡፡ መሪዎች እና ሕዝብ እንደ ነነዌ ሰዎች አንድ ሆነው የእግዚአብሔርን ረድኤት ጠይቀዋል፡፡ የለመኑትን የማይነሣ፣ የነገሩትን የማይረሳ አምላክም ረድቷቸዋል፡፡ ለዚህም ነበር ፕሬዚዳንት ፔኔራ «እግዚአብሔር ባይረዳን ኖሮ» ያሉት፡፡

    ሕዝብ እግዚአብሔርን ሲያስቀድም፤ መሪዎች ከእግዚአብሔር ረድኤት ሲጠይቁ፤ ቅድሚያውን ለፈቃደ እግዚአብሔር ሲሰጡ፡፡ ስሙን በክብር ሲጠሩ እና ሲያመሰግኑ መስማት ያስቀናል፡፡ በእውነቱ የቺሊያውያንን ጸሎት የሰማ እኛንም ይስማን፡፡

    ለቤተሰቦቻቸው የተሰጠው ቦታ የሚገርም ነው፡፡ እነዚህ ሰዎች እዚያ ዋሻ ውስጥ የቀሩት ሀገራቸውን ሲያገለግሉ ነው፡፡ የተከበሩ ዜጎች ናቸው፡፡ እነርሱን ያፈሩ፣ የተንከባከቡ እና የነፍሳቸው ቁራጭ የሆኑ ቤተሰቦቻቸው ክቡራን ናቸው፡፡ ቦታ ሊሰጣቸው ይገባል፡፡ ከመጀመርያው ጀምሮ መረጃ እንዲያገኙ ተደርጓል፡፡ የማውጣቱ ሥራ ሲጀመር በቦታው ተገኝተው አይተዋል፡፡ ወዳጆቻቸው ከጉድጓዱ ሲወጡ በእንባ ተቀብለዋቸዋል፡፡ የሀገር መሠረቱ ቤተሰብ ነውና ተገቢውን ቦታ አግኝተዋል፡፡

    «ቺሊያውያን በመሆናችን ኮራን» ነበር የሚሉት ቺሊዎች በየጎዳናው፡፡ ለምን አይኮሩ፡፡ አገር አንድ ሆኖ ሥራ ሲሠሩ አዩ፡፡ የሠላሳ ሦስት ሰዎች ጉዳይ ጉዳያችን አይደለም የሚለውን ከመሪዎቻቸው አልሰሙም፡፡ ታሪክን በአይናቸው እንጂ በሪፖርት አልሰሙም፡፡ ክፉ እና ደጉን ከመሪዎቻቸው ጋር ተካፈሉ፤ በመሬት መንቀጥቀጥ የተጎዳው ልባቸው በታሪካዊው ሥራቸው ተጠገነ፡፡ ከተለመደው ዓለም ርቃ በላቲን አሜሪካ ደቡብ ጥግ ያለችው ቺሊ በዓለም ሕዝቦች ልብ ውስጥ ገባች፡፡

    ከተቻለ ችግር አይምጣ፤ ከመጣም በሚጠቅመን እና በሚያፋቅረን መንገድ እንወጣው፤ ደግሞም እንማርበት፡፡ ፕሬዚዳንት ፔኔራ «ካለፈው ትምህርት ወስደናል፤ በቀጣይ የማዕድን አወጣጥ መንገዳችንን እንፈትሻለን፤ እናስተካከክላለን» ነበር ያሉት፡፡ የ17ኛው መቶ ክፍለ ዘመን ኢትዮጵያዊው ፈላስፋ ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ «ስሕተት ባይኖር ኖሮ ሰው እንዴ ይሻሻል ነበር» እንዳለው ለተማረበት ስሕተት የዕድገት እና የለውጥ መነሻ ይሆናል፡፡ ሲሸፋፍነው የሚኖር ግን ጠባዩ እስኪመስል ድረስ ይደጋግመዋል፡፡

    ሌሎችን ወደ ላይ ለማውጣት ስድስት ባለሞያዎች ወደ ታች ወረዱ፡፡ ከፍ ለማድረግ ዝቅ አሉ፡፡ ሠላሳ ሦስቱን የማዕድን አውጭዎች አውጥተው ሲጨርሱ እነርሱ ጉድጓዱ ውስጥ ነበሩ፡፡ የተላኩበትን ተግባር ሲፈጽሙ mission Cumplida አሉ፡፡ እኛስ? አላሉም፡፡ እነርሱ ሌሎችን እንደረዱ ሁሉ ያመኑት እግዚአብሔር እነርሱን አይረዳም እንዴ፡፡ – D.K

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