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Blen Tamrat Layne’s Open Letter to Meles Zenawi

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

I am Blen Tamrat Layne, and I am writing on behalf of my family. My father, Tamrat Layne, was the former prime minister, and he has been in prison for more than eleven years. He got arrested when I was four years old and my sister was two months old. And we had to grow up with out a dad in our lives, especially my little sister. She was born the same year my dad got arrested and she hasn’t had a relationship with our dad her whole life. I can’t simply explain the pain of having to grow up with out a father. It is really hard to see other children with their father’s and my sister and I don’t even remember what his voice sounds like. We had to grow up with out our dad for many years and we miss him. When my sister was eight years old, we told her that our dad was in prison, and she was devastated. She cried for hours and hours. Every day she tells me that she misses him and she asks me when he’s coming home. Our mom tells us that he will be home soon and all we could do is hope and pray that our father would come home to us so we could be a family again. I remember when I was a child wondering why my dad wasn’t home, and I used to ask my mom where he was. When I finally found out that I wouldn’t see my dad at home, I was heart broken.

I remember seeing my mom cry, and I used to ask myself “Why did they take my dad?” Everybody knows after my dad got arrested, my sister, my mom, my auntie, and I left Ethiopia. It was very hard for my mom to leave our family and live in a foreign country, to get away from the hardships we had back home. Even though we were far from home I never forgot my dad and my family. I was hopeful that my dad would be released and come to us one day so we could be reunited and he could help my mom in raising us. I imagine what my dad was like and I dream that I woke up one day and I finally got to hear his voice. I dream that he would play with me and that he would go to my basketball games, I dream of having a loving dad. My sister tells me that she is Dad’s little princess and she wants to play with him, and she told me that she wants to tell our dad that she loves him and she wants to hear him say that he loves her.

I know that most of you have children and I know that you all want to be there to protect your son or daughter. But think of how your life would be or how your children’s life would be if they grew up with out a father. Imagine seeing their mom crying every night because she misses her husband. I know that when you get home from work you hug your children and tell them you love them. But we didn’t have that. I know that you put your children in to bed at night and show them you are always going to be there for them, but we didn’t have that. My sister and I are just children and we have suffered long enough, why for should we have to live without a father. We deserve a loving father for in our lives, we deserve our father to show us protection and to love us the same way you love your children.

I am writing this letter to ask you to please release our dad so we can live a life with a loving father and so he can be there when my sister and I grow up. During the Ethiopian millennium we heard that many prisoners were going to be released and we were hoping that our father would be one of them. But when we heard that he was not going to be released, we were very sad and very confused. Our dad has suffered enough and so have we, so please release him. I know that he has spent his adult years fighting with most of you for the Ethiopians. But he has been in prison for more than eleven years. When I think about his life it makes me sad, so please release him so we can be a family again.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Blen Tamrat Layne

16 thoughts on “Blen Tamrat Layne’s Open Letter to Meles Zenawi”

  1. Congratulations Blen for the release of your father!!! I feel the pain of being raised w/o dad.
    But please don’t forget to remind your father that it was all a punishment for what he did on Ethiopian People(specifically Amhara). He is still responsible for the 1990’s brutless slaughtering of the Amhara. Shame on him. I want to see how he would pay back for that.
    Congratulations again!!

  3. If Tamerat stands against weyane when he realsed we dont mind. However, if Tamerat stays the same as he used to be 12 years ago. He was one of the most racist and criminal person along the other members of weyane, so we will put him back in jail for the crime he comitted when ethiopia liberated.

    We would not forget tamerat’s anti amahra propaganda that had been a cause for the masscare of many tousands of amahars in arba gugu, bedeno and other oromia regions.

    Anyway, i dont care about one racist and criminal person tamerat who had commited many crimes along the other weyane crimianal groups. Tamerat had also robbed so much ethiopian treasury that his wife and kids are now enjoying in North America, a money that beleongs to millions of poor ethiopians.

  4. Blen,

    I don’t mean to be mean to you but you should know the truth. As #3 comment tells it, the money that helped your mom, you and your sisters to escape to rich country and enjoy is the Money your father stole from the poor Ethiopian people. Remember, your father and Melese were living in a jungle walking barefoot, wearing worn out kahki shorts and use to drink suger disolved in water because they had no food to eat. They got rich after they seized power at a gun point and by stealing money from Ethiopian people.

    I know truth hurt, it is the truth and you should ask your father why he stole money from Ethiopian poor people and why he used his power that he illegally obtained to abuse, kill and put Ethiopian people in jail?

    Ask him does his friend Meles respect human rights in Ethiopia?

  5. I don’t want to be rude and I won’t since you have no hand in whatever your father was involved in but i want to congratulate you on your father’s freedom and wish you a very successful life as an Ethiopian not as the descendant of the party your father served before, you can always redeem poor Ethiopian citizens abused by the woyanne regime your father belonged to. Stay with your innocent spotless mind, and make it up for Ethiopians, that is when you will feel that you have personally freed your father’s wrong doing, it will be like freeing him from prison, standout and speak for your fellow Ethiopians. As far as I am concerned, your father maybe physically free but not morally yet.
    Thank you and Merry Christmas

  6. Dear Blen,
    I would, foremost, like to congratulate you for the release of your father six years ahead. You are by now 16. Imagine how old you would be if it were after 6 years yet… you would be 22. That is the most important thing.
    As an Ethiopian HERO, relevant credits should be forwarded to your father too. But, you should be reliefed for the florishing DEMOCRACY in our country.
    Dear Blen,
    My father was a soldier of the DERG regime. I have many friends whose fathers were coleagues of my father. Most of the times, they blindly pronounce hatred on the present government. But, your father and his coleagues have really done fantastic job for Ethiopians except for the mistakes by your father later on.
    So, never get confused by the improper comments from thoose individuals who used to loot the Ethiopian peopls’ treasury by the name of ESEPA. They were the LORDS and the general public were PEASANTS.
    Dear Blen,
    This time, farmers are being AWARDED for the good job for themselves,… and this was the AIM of your father, though he made the mistake later.
    I wish you happy moments for the reunited family,
    Merry X-mas

  9. Congratulations Blen.

    Indeed, it is painfull to miss a father. Extend your thoughts to help other kids get back their Fathers. Convince your Father too, to apologize boldly to those he has directly or indirectly orchestrated to loose their loved ones.

    I know his guilt is cleared off by the mighty mercy of our Lord. But it is also a fruit of the Spirit if he get up and boldly apologize to those he deeply afflicted their lives. It is true. I saw many. Tell him Harrar, Bedeno,Jigjiga, Dire Dawa. He ordered a murder campaign against Amharas.He said ” Now show them…”

    So Blen, tell your daddy to do something great, uncommon, to regret the mistakes his friends and him did against that country of ours. And of course to work hard deligently to counter balance his deadly ‘mistakes’. Thousands of lives…

    So Blen, tell your Daddy to stand up and tell his friends like Nathan. Nathen told King David, the extent of his sins and crimes. Tamrat can do that job now.

    Remember, he must do something. You can manifest your love to your Daddy by helping him do something good to compensate the country he betrayed so long.

    Keep thinking.

  10. hey Blen,
    I can’t tell u what ur father did bout 13 years ago coz I had no evidnce. But I can tell u one thing: YOUR FATHER FOUGHT FOR ALMOST ALL OF HIS LIFE TO THE FREEDOM AND LIBERATION OF ETHIOPIANS.
    I wont be so surprised if I hear that ur father was arrested for a crime coz anything that can happen to a prime minister is POLITICA.
    WISH U N UR LITTLE SISTER GOOD TIME WITH UR FATHER

  11. Hey Blen
    Congratulation to your re-union with your father.
    My advice to you is not to believe what is commented her in this site.Your father was to some extent innocent .He deserved quit enough years of his life to our country and he and your family should be proud of him.But why he be came victimized is really politics.Just it was the other minority ethnic groups agenda. His mistake was he was late to know them. But history will tell you the truth.
    Just stay with no more cry.
    One day may be he will be the most important for the country because he is the most man whom knows the both aspects of the Ethiopian political drama.

  13. Hey, people out their let’s try and be human beings for a second. As Ethiopians we all must have some respect for this family who was with out their father. At the end of day try to separate the man from his crimes. If he is guilty he will have to deal with God at the end of the day. Don’t for one second think that you can go after the family of anyone that has harmed yours. That is wrong on so many levels. We as Ethiopians have to find another way to go about this other than attacking the family they didn’t do anything, and as far her dad. I’m sure after the time that he has served he doesn’t wasn’t to do anything except be their with his family and support them anyone he can. Now for those that think that asking him to join the movement when we as Ethiopians can’t be united for other than anything else except national matters.

  15. Dear Blen( I like your name by the way and I think you look just like your dad).
    All I can tell you is congratulation on your father’s release.Don’t you pay attention to what all these people are telling you about your father as you are not responsible for what happened. I also want you to know all these bad remarks are from few bad people who don’t know how to talk to a kid like you. You have every right to miss and love your father and I am sooooo happy that he has joined you and the rest of the family. Don’t let these mean people tell you how you should feel about your father. I also beg that you don’t let them influence you in one way or the other as they are not good influence to a bright and intelligent kid like you.
    Blenye, I am an Ethiopian left home very long ago and I know the country has gone through a lot and people have done bad things to others, but if we want to get even with the people who did bad to us, we will only make more bitter people and haters. And unfortunately, our people are known for this,but you have to be a better person and forgive.
    I am very upset at these people who don’t have a stage to vent their furstration except on an innocent kid. Shamless!!!
    Love you Blen,
    Your friend Ethiopia( Yes! that is my name)
    God Bless,

  16. Dear Blen,

    Congratulations in having your father back. Now he has a second chance in life to make things right. Please ask your father how he feels about being a free man, and his attempt to ignite racial and religious war in Dire dawa back then when he was in power. Because he really tried to start civil war and I believe it resulted the tension between ethnic groups and religions in the country today. Does he regret consequence of his actions? I think everyone wants to know his thoughts about this.

    Thanks

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