Almost a year ago, a buried church was unearthed in Ethiopia.The church has invaluable historical and cultural value. Striking is that the unearthing is initiated by a man with a dream, as Africanews reporter Tedla Desta found out.
However, he had to persue his mission and walk from the upper to the lower official’s chest of drawers but to no avail until finally he went to journalists (the 4th estate). It was then that he realized that media has actually the power to bring about change.
From this time onwards the ears and eyes of the executives, congregates and the society at large started to open very widely.
Following his insistent claim that he is being haunted by a recurrent dream, that the Virgin Mary was speaking to him about a buried temple, Kasim Alemu Ahmed, with the assistance of the government, interested people and residents of Bole Sub City, Kebele 19, finally unearthed a year ago a buried church, human remains and artefacts.
Kasim, a Muslim in his mid forties, said he has been having the same dream for the past seven years.
“I have had to go to all government offices which I thought are responsible and accountable to the matter”, Kassim said during the inauguration of the church rebuilt in a modern way, some eight months ago.
Upon reaching the area this reporter was able to see land full of trees and no sign showing there could be remains in that area.
With the help of some residents living near by, after a few days of the announcement on the media, they dug out features of a well-constructed semi-circular fence made of stones and recovered by human skeletons, giving some clue that there actually is something in that area.
These were evidences of the existence of a ‘Tsilat’ and a church at the same site, he said.
After these few sightings residents of the area, however, have not taken the matter lightly on the people who made the unearthing and on him. According to Kasim, his statements were not welcomed then.
“Most residents have been adamant to believe what I have been saying. They fear the discovery of the church and whatever is in it would lead to their eviction from the area. It was not to lose their possession, and also with some secular beliefs that they were opposing us,” he asserts.
On the other hand there were many guys who stood by his side. Some gave him moral encouragement while there were others who went on paying the money he was asked by the Government in order to excavate.
“Every night in my dream, I was being directed by the Virgin Mary to uncover this house of God,” says Kassim, reminiscing about those times.
Some residents have dismissed the man’s claim of “divine guidance,” and state whatever has been uncovered could have been something left at the time of the Italian occupation.
“Community elders had accepted that I was telling the truth. I have brought the issue to the attention of the city administration, police and the Tourism Commission but none of them were willing to consider my words. The only ones to respond were journalists.”
Kasim had taken the initiative to collect the signature of willing residents for the excavation and reconstruction of the church.
“I am willing to risk my neck, that what I say is the truth and that whatever is buried here is not Italian era. Buried here, and revealed to me by the Virgin Mary is a Holy tablet (Tsilat). I may be a Muslim, but the Virgin Mary has revealed this to me,” Kasim said two years ago.
“This dream has haunted me enough. I am now asking all that are in a position to do something about this, to act and help me put this to rest,” Kasim pleaded.
Another resident of the same neighborhood, Birhanu Belachew (a Christian) also claimed that he had also dreamt similar dreams.
He bizarrely claims that certain people living closely to the area suffer from physical and mental disorders.
Long time residents of the area that Capital spoke to say that the ground over the uncovered structure was fully covered with grass and there was no clue that something else existed below it.
Church people who had come to dig out the Tsilat had reportedly gotten into disagreement about how to go on with the process.
Kasim also spoke of “inscriptions written in a foreign language” on the sword that he says was found during the excavation.
After a year and tiresome activities the said church first built in the 4th century during the time of Abreha WeAtsebeha, was dug out and officially consecrated on January 13, 2007 in the presence of high church officials, and named Dagmawi Eyerusalem Yerer Sellasie Gedam.
Now that the church is fully reestablished, tourists visit it every day in large numbers.
The church holds a number of historical and spiritual articles that are invaluable to the country.
History has it that Ethiopia was christianized in the 4th century AD by two brothers from Tyre—St. Frumentius, later consecrated the first Ethiopian bishop, and Aedesius. They won the confidence of King Ezana at Aksum. It was this church that was built during this century which lasted hidden till today and came out phenomenally.
In addition to Ethiopia being one of the earliest civilizations, it is also one of the oldest Christian nations in the world. The Ethiopian court (governing officials) was first introduced to Christianity in approximately the year 42.
“Then the angels of the Lord said to Philip, start out and go south to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian. This man was a eunuch, a high official of the Kandake (Candace) Queen of Ethiopia in charge of all her treasure.”
A visitor who first went to the place said that he was really astonished by the man’s (Kassim) gift from the Lord and the things that were found in the place.
Like this monastery many others are found all over the country, the miracles that were revealed in this location are puzzling to all. The courageous man’s attempts finally bestowed fruit.
“I have a great belief that this place has a blessing for the whole Ethiopia and even to the world. All of us have to come to this historic and fascinating place and visit it. For this to come true around 800,000 birr was invested, including labor, material and cash contributions,” he told Capital.
There are other miracles that remain to be revealed yet. But Kassim is still facing problems and discrimination from the residents of the area (farmers) who fear eviction.
The entire event has been filmed and recorded, and endeavors to make it public are underway.
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Eritrea must withdraw its troops from a supposedly demilitarized zone on its border with Ethiopia and both countries should show the “utmost restraint,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.
A 1998-2000 war on the border between the two Horn of African neighbors killed 70,000 people and brought untold hardship to two of the world’s poorest countries.
Now analysts are warning of a repeat as troops build up ahead of an end-November deadline by an independent boundary commission for Ethiopia and Eritrea to mark out their border.
“The continued military buildup in the border area is a cause of serious concern, which has already resulted in shooting incidents that underscore the risk of further miscalculation,” Ban said in a report to the Security Council.
The United Nations has a peacekeeping force of 1,700 people charged with monitoring a security buffer zone on Eritrea’s side of the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontier. Under the terms of a June 2000 cease-fire, the zone is supposed to be demilitarized.
Ban said in his report that since early September, Eritrea had moved an estimated 1,000 additional troops and 10 heavy machine guns into a section of the buffer zone called Sector Centre, bringing troops in that sector to more than 2,580.
In a sector labeled Subsector East, Eritrea has around 600 troops, Ban said, while in Sector West, Eritrea moved in some 2,025 troops, tanks and artillery in October, adding to some 2,000 it had already in place.
“I … call on Eritrea to withdraw its forces and military equipment from the zone,” Ban said, adding that Eritrea should also lift restrictions it has imposed on the U.N. force.
Ethiopia, for its part, conducted training exercises and has been adding troops on its side of the border, Ban said.
On Saturday, Eritrea accused Ethiopia for the third time in a week of planning an invasion, an allegation Addis Ababa has termed an “absurd” fabrication.
“Although the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have repeatedly stated that they do not intend to initiate hostilities, the build-up of the forces on both sides of the border area is a cause of serious concern,” Ban said.
WARNINGS OF WAR
Earlier this week, the influential think tank International Crisis Group warned that war could erupt within weeks if there is no major international push to stop it.
Washington sees Ethiopia as its best ally in the region and accuses Eritrea of backing Somali Islamists.
Despite an offensive against insurgents in its east, and a foreign mission in Somalia where it is helping the government fight Islamist rebels, Ethiopia maintains 100,000 troops on its border with Eritrea, the group said, quoting U.S. estimates.
Ban’s report did not give an estimate of troop numbers on the Ethiopian side.
The neighbors have been in dispute since the independent boundary commission awarded Eritrea the town of Badme in a 2002 ruling. Although it now says it accepts the ruling, Ethiopia is still insisting on dialogue over implementation.
The boundary commission brought the two sides together for talks in September aimed at pushing forward measures to physically demarcate the border along the line established in 2002, but Ban said the talks made no progress.
Frustrated by the stalemate, the boundary commission says the countries have until the end of this month to mark the border physically or it will fix the border on maps and let it stand. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
An advisory this week from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group is alerting world bodies and governments to stop Ethiopia and Eritrea from sliding back into a protracted border war. Although both sides agreed in Algiers in 2000 to halt their boundary dispute, which flared up in 1998, and abide by rulings of an international commission, tensions have grown since 2002, when Ethiopia blocked physical demarcation of the border and Eritrea blocked UN peacekeepers from carrying out their mission. Crisis Group Vice President Donald Steinberg, who helped negotiate the Algiers treaty as a US diplomat in the Clinton administration, says the international community must warn both countries that they run a real risk of renewed conflict.
“In our mind, it is essential for the United Nations Security Council, the United States, and also the groups that supported the Algiers agreement, including the African Union, to communicate to both parties that it is time to de-escalate the tensions, to communicate to Ethiopia that they must indeed accept the Boundary Commission that ruled mostly in their favor, but also gave the small, very symbolic village of Badme to the Eritreans, and for the Eritreans to allow the United Nations to perform the full functions that they were sent to do,” he said.
Steinberg warned that tensions are brewing along both sides of the border, with increasing numbers of troops pitted perilously close to each other.
“We’ve been deeply concerned about the movement of some four to five-thousand Eritrean troops into the temporary security zone. In addition, we’ve seen some movements from Ethiopia of troops towards the border, in some continuing buildup outside the temporary security zone by the Eritrean forces, such that we now have literally hundreds of thousands of forces facing off against each other. In some cases, we’re looking at a distance between a potential combatant of less than 100 meters,” he warns.
Steinberg adds that Ethiopian threats to withdraw from the Algiers agreement have been disturbing, as have rumors that Addis Ababa may be stirring up internal unrest among groups inside Eritrea to help bring down the Asmara government. At the same time, he notes Eritrea has restricted the movement of about 17-hundred UN peacekeeping troops near the disputed border “such that they’re not able to effectively perform the peacekeeping role that they were sent there to do.”
Steinberg dismisses the notion that Washington’s security ties with Ethiopia due to last December’s intervention in Somalia have effectively given the green light for Addis Ababa to strike at Eritrea, which is said to be harboring Somali opposition forces and lending logistical and possibly military assistance to oust the Ethiopians from Mogadishu.
“The United States government has a really strong interest in peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. Another war along that border would serve no purpose, just as the first war didn’t serve any purpose. And I think that the United States has to communicate this view more clearly to the Ethiopian government, that there would be sanctions should the Ethiopians get involved in anything like a coup attempt within Eritrea. And it has to make it clear at the same time that the United States, as well as other countries, will support in a very strong economic and political way the reconciliation of these two brother states,” he said.
The International Crisis Group report warns that a border showdown could erupt as early as the end of this month, when the international Boundary Commission is expected to finalize the two countries’ border on maps and shut down its operations along the contentious state line.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Students at Ethiopia’s top religious college are protesting the close ties between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the government, alleged restictions on their speech, and American singer Beyonce’s recent meeting with the patriarch.
Beyonce Knowles with self-appointed, gun-totting pop Aba Gebremedhin (aka Aba Diabilos) in Ethiopia
The 26-year-old performer met with the [illegitimate] Ethiopian patriarch, Abune Paulos Aba Gebremedhin, before performing in skimpy sequined outfits as part of celebrations of the country’s millennium, which fell in September according to the church’s calendar.
Daniel Techale, a 28-year-old Theological College of the Holy Trinity alumnus who lives at the college, said he was not protesting but that around 30 of his friends had been hospitalized after a hunger strike they began on Sunday. He said students were upset by the church’s closeness to the ruling party and restrictions on their speech, but that they also were upset over the Beyonce-Paulos meeting.
Beyonce Knowles back at home in the U.S.
“She provoked the whole situation,” he said, accusing the patriarch of “practically a non-religious act. It’s unacceptable, or inappropriate, to say the least.”
Authorities were trying to persuade the students to end their hunger strike, he said.
Another 26-year-old college student from the northern town of Gonder, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation by Ethiopian authorities, said that in addition to the meeting, students were protesting what they saw as the politicization of the church.
The Orthodox Church is Ethiopia’s largest, claiming 45 million out of 77 million citizens as members. It is considered to be very close to the government. It is stringently traditional _ banning modern musical instruments from services, which are conducted in the archaic language of Ge’ez.
The 26-year-old student said he and 14 friends had joined a hunger strike that began on Sunday night. On Monday, ambulances were seen at the campus and on Tuesday, the college was closed and students staged a sit-in.
Not all the students were concerned with the singer, or even politics. Student Kinetibebeu Assefa, 25, said that he had joined the protest to demand an improvement in cafeteria food and demand the firing of some college officials.
“There is no problem with Beyonce,” he said. “But the (cafeteria) food is poisoned.”
College official Bedilu Assefa confirmed that students had complained, but said: “What they have done is they have raised some administrative issues regarding food and clinical facilities. Nobody has protested against Beyonce. Never.”
There are 196 students at the college, training to work at the church, although not as clergymen.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Woyannes are currently distributing fund raising pledge forms to Addis Ababa residents through the EPRDF offices (see the form here) in preparation for the upcoming rigged elections.
Woyanne controls most of the Ethiopia’s heavy industries, ranging from mining to insurance. Profits from Ethiopians Airlines, Ethiopian Telecommunications, and other state-controlled industiries are siphoned off and diverted to Woyanne accounts controlled by its money-man, Sebhat Nega. Now, the ravenous Woyanne is shaking down the poor residents of Addis Ababa.
Click here to see a partial list of companies owned by the Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), a Woyanne business group under direct control of the Meles crime family.
Tegbar League urges American music stars Beyonce Knowles, Janet Jackson and 50-Cent to stay away from Ethiopia during next month’s millennium festival in Addis Ababa organized by the Meles regime in Ethiopia. The says:
“… it was with great shock that we learned about your acceptance to perform at a grand party for the upcoming Ethiopian millennium in Addis Ababa. If for nothing else, for your own safety, please do not come to Ethiopia to party next month. Ethiopia currently is not a place for partying. It is a place where the people are being massacred, tortured, raped, and terrorized.”
