Sunday, July 31, 2011

Ethiopian Airlines: Anti-Oromo

By Dirribi Demissie Bokku


My name is Dirribi Demissie Bokku. I am president of Mecha -Tulama Association. In this capacity I was imprisoned for three years because we protested against the removal of Oromia’s capital from Finfinne. Prior to my imprisonment I was employed at the Ethiopian Airlines for over twenty years. Upon my release from employment the Ethiopian Airlines against its policy and the law refused to take me back. They also refused to pay me my severance pay and other benefits including free tickets for employees who had worked and retired from employment. The Ethiopian Airlines had not done this type of harsh measure against anybody in its long history in the past. This was done specifically because of my strong stance against the removal of Oromia’s capital from Finfinne.




My life history and the saga of Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) are as presented in my book Oromo Wisdom in Black Civilization as follows:



Mr. Dirribi Damuse has put down certain points he sees as milestones in the course of his life to this day. The aim of putting down the points to the attention of readers is not an attempt of glorifying the life of an ordinary Oromo national. It is rather to tell the hardship an Oromo nationalist confronts under the Ethiopian empire even at the turn of this century; it is to the extent of denial of the right to life. It is to tell the reading public how much the state and its machineries boldly act to subjugate or else eliminate an Oromo. This is a rare opportunity the writer grabs to inform the world about man’s inhumanity to man.



Mr. Dirribi Damuse tells us about major events in his life in the form of first person “I” as he claims it is right to do so since he is master of his own affairs. In fact, it is possible to develop his personal account in to a big volume. However, that would lead to unnecessary wastage of precious time of readers.



I, Dirribi Damuse Bokku Abdi, was born to a peasant family in the presently West Shawa Zone of Ilu Galen District in May 1952. I attended Primary School at Gedo town and Secondary School in Finfinnee, the capital. It was during the reign of the Derg that I was imprisoned implicated with affiliation to All Ethiopia Socialist Movement known by Amharic acronym MEISON. I served five years and three months prison term without trial. That created the chance for me to study nationalism in line with the Marxist view of the time associated with history of the Oromo. Out of prison, I was employed at the Ethiopian Airlines in 1983. As a staff of the Airlines, I studied Economics in the evening/extension programmed at Addis Ababa University, which requires longer period than the regular does. When I was in fifth year round (1991) out of the seven years to complete, the Derg was overthrown with eventual closure of the University for a while. I also found mine in the lineup of politics in the new chapter though never returning to school.
I became a member of Waaqeffannaa Religion Followers Association in 2001 in the course of which I began to study the culture, history and religion of the Oromo. In the same year, I became member of Maccaa-Tulama Self-Help Association to which I was elected president two years later. On the other hand, the Association entered into a serious political debate with the government that year. The argument attributed to the issue that Oromia should retain Finfinnee immediately after it was announced that the Council of Oromia moved its capital to Adama. I, together with other board members of the Association, maintained firm stand on the matter.



The Association called for public demonstration to express their view against the decision. The government violently crashed the demonstration blaming the Association for blackmailing the state. Apparently, I was imprisoned from May 18, 2004 up to March 2007 only under litigation process with the pretext of taking buy time for clarification. At the end, I was released up on acquittal. Then I was informed dismissed from my position with the Airlines without any sufficient ground. One could say, unfortunately though, it was due to solely the deep-rooted hatred of Abyssinians directed towards the Oromo. The Ethiopian Airlines Management, in a feat of demonstrating loyalty to the government by starving my family and me, wrote a letter on April 30, 2008 stating, “The reason for interruption of your employment duties would not allow you to rehire.” Besides, I was denied severance pay despite my legal right to claim for it after well over 20 years service. I did neither steal nor damage the property of the Ethiopian Airlines. I never had dispute with any staff member too. If I fought for the rights of the Oromo over Finfinnee, there is nothing to bother the Airlines because it is none of its business.



The die-hard stance is testimony to the harm done on purpose against those who struggle for the rights of Oromo. The intention in this specific case is to deny the claim by Oromo over a city completely encircled by the very population and the issue the government accepted justified. The constitution provides especial rights to Oromia over Finfinnee. It is true that Finfinnee naturally belongs to the Oromo where God created them. Thus, I committed no crime at all. Since I was confident that I never committed any crime, I was ready even to face the gallows on the issue of Finfinnee.



Here the Ethiopian Airlines committed three major crimes: denial of the opportunity to work and live; unwilling to effect severance pay; and denial of 8 free air tickets per year during retirement. The Ethiopian Airlines had the tradition of restoring many of its employees who were released from prison after serving jail terms. There is a notable case to cite. The government released a person called Ob. Darara Damasa in the Millennium Pardon Act. He had been accused of affiliation with OLF and had been sentenced to death but later on changed to life imprisonment. After serving 13 years of jail he was set free in the new Millennium. Moreover, the National Regional Government of Oromia allowed him to resume his job, teaching. The reason behind refusal of restoring me to my position by top management of E.A.L such as Mr. Girma Wake (Chief executive Officer C.E.O)[1] and Mrs. Frehiwot Worku Executive officer human resource E.O.H.R) has never been clear to my conscience. In fact, they did not want direct talk with me. Do not I deserve due human respect? Alternatively, they do not care for human respect. It is from this that I concluded the hatred and contempt of the Habesha against the Oromo to be the underlying cause. (King Sahel Silasie’s army at Bole, which is the current Ethiopian International Airport site, killed my great grandfather. Oromos are still uprooted from Finfinnee and its environs. They are denied job opportunity. Why should the Habesha commit all such heinous crimes? Why do they kill us? How long should they uproot us from our fatherland?)



After two years or so of joblessness I was employed in Oromiya International Bank that enabled me support myself and my family as part of its objective of alleviating economic problems of the Oromo. This, to my understanding, is the reflection of the role of nationalism in helping nationals under difficulty. The very fact that the Oromia National Regional State re-instated Mr. Darara despite difference in political outlook again is a matter of fellow feeling under nationalism. It means the problem of an Oromo family is a matter of their concern. To the contrary, the E.A.L Management rejected my request to resume my duties as a matter of survival since they do not bother whether an Oromo family starved to death. While running lucrative business in Oromia land and Air space and Finfinnee, center of Oromia, why is E.A.L act against the interest of Oromo? Let history and Oromo people judge as to what the reaction to intentionally starving human beings and that those who are at least formally acknowledged citizens of a country should be.



I ask all my compatriots to demand that Mr Girma Wake, Ex Chief Executive Officer of EAL and Ms. Frehiwot Worku, the Ex Executive Officer of Human Resource, who were officers at the time when the action was taken against me and the current management of EAL, to answer the following questions:

What is the justification that EAL refused to return Mr Dirribii’s to his job?
As a matter of management ethics, is it appropriate to refuse to talk to an employee for the entire year, an employee who served the EAL for over 20 years?
Is it appropriate that an employee who served for more than 20 years should be fired simply because he was jailed without being found guilty of any offense?
It was reported that Ms. Firehiwot Worqu said “when he stands on a street side and begs, he will refrain from his talk of the rights of the Oromo, and others will see him and also stop talking about Oromo rights.” Is it correct to fire an employee from his job to make him example to others for political reasons?
The dismissal letter of April 30, 2008, states the reason for the denial to rehire as follows: “the reason for which your employment was interrupted in the first place will not allow you fore reinstatement to your job.” Following this logic, what are the conditions that become the ground for refusal to rehire of an employee who had been forcefully removed from his job?

The action that the EAL took against me was intentionally done to discourage an individually Oromo from struggling for his people’s cause. The EAL management through its acts has clearly shown that it is an anti-Oromo organization. Even though this organization is created and maintained through the Oromo people’s wealth it has time and again shown its anti Oromo stance. Even if at this stage there are not many things that we could do, I demand our people to boycott flying the EAL until and unless it reverses the action it took against me and change its way of discouraging Oromos from struggling for their people.



[1] He also tried to contact through elders such as Prof Ephraim Isac Mr Bulcha Damaksa, a member of parliament and Mr. Alemayehu G/Medin.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

On the surface, this sounds like a personal issue but it is not. Ethiopian airlines seem to have unwritten policy to promote the amhara culture, tradition and language and has no consideration for non Amharic speakers. You don't need to go far to verify this. Just go to the Dallas airport in Washington DC and see if you can find a kind of help the Amharic speaker passengers enjoy for your elderly parents or relatives who can speak neither English nor Amharic. You will really feel you are an outsider, a foreigner and if you are still in doubt you will once more confirm that you truly are not Ethiopian.

Anonymous said...

Thousands of Oromos are langushing in Ethiopian government prisons as we speak, thousands are forced to exile and hunderds of tose who are exiled became homeless and are living on the streets of sana'a, Beirut,... To others even these options were not avaliable, to those Oromos who were gun down by the brutal government of ethiopia. Comparing to the problems of our people, this is a luxury item to me.

Ethiopian Airlines said...

We refer to the article written by Dirribi Demissie Bokku on the “Oromo Affairs“ blog and we would like to express Ethiopian Airlines’ position on the allegation presented by the writer.

For the sake of clarity, we would like to confirm and reconfirm that Ethiopian Airlines is an equal opportunity employer for all employees with diverse background regardless of race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex and age. Ethiopian Airlines policy welcomes competent workforce from any background and this dynamic diversity has kept the airline going through challenging times in the industry.

We want to affirm to all our fellow citizens and customers of Ethiopian origin residing both in Ethiopia and abroad that the airline doesn’t make any discrimination on its workforce be it on ethnicity nor political orientation. Its vision, mission and strategies are squarely focused on hiring and maintaining competent workforce of any nationality. Ethiopian Airlines is proud for its valuable contribution in supporting the development efforts of the country as well as the continent.


It is understood that Mr. Dirribi Bokku being a senior employee of Ethiopian Airlines is aware of the company policy and procedures and is encouraged to handle his affairs with the airline directly.

Anonymous said...

Your article does not make sense. You said Ethiopian Airlines is anti-oromo because it did not allow you back. But then you said another Oromo man Damara who supported OLF was allowed to return back to his job at ethiopian airlines. are you moron?? you contradicted yourself!

Then you said you asked EAL manager Girma wake but accused airlines management for being anti-oromo. well this is another contradiction.

#1. the airlines CEO girma wake himself is Oromo (from showa oromo) so you don't make sense!

#2. over 45% of people working inside ethiopian airlines are full blooded or mixed oromos!

dude, what the hell are you talking about???
your article is retarded!

who made you president of MTA??


Asafa

Anonymous said...

Ethiopian Airlines is not different from other Ethiopian institutions and businesses which are discriminatroy against Oromo and intrinsically anti Oromo. In Ethiopia there is clear institutional racism and marginalization against the Oromo people. Discrimination on pay, promotion existed in the country in which Oromo were always marginalized, but the current tyrannical regime has elevated it to the highest level.

The experience of obbo Dirribi is shared by almost every nationalist Oromo. Thus, as anonymous said this is not a private/personal or isolated issue. It affects millions of Oromo in the empire. This could be a test case for an Oromo with legal and employment law background to help Obboo Dirribi to take EAL to international labour court as the Ethiopian court is not free and fair against Oromo.

Gabrumma fuula hundaan mormuun dirqii dha.

Anonymous said...

I think most institutions in Ethiopia dance to the tune of whoever is the boss. Go to Haromaya University. For years the presidency is assumed by Amahara. No problem with that. But the President makes sure that every position in the University (Vice Presidents, Deans, Department Heads) are filled by Non-Oromo, specifically people from Gojjam and Gondar. Haormaya University looks like University of Gojjam! I am not normally racist but what is going in Haromaya pushes you to the edge. Even promotions are based on your relationship with the President. Everyone knows that. God help Ethiopia.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Dirribi, Have you tried to take a legal proceeding or action by the Law ? That should be the first action. One has to judge by the Law if you ,as an individual or citizen of the country, have equal rights or not. Of course we are deprivd of equal rights in that country. But one has to claim by the law, not by company or by individuals.

Anonymous said...

You must be another sick Oromo. If the CEO of EAL was an Amhara or Tigrean, your case might have some sense. How come you say EAL under an Oromo leadership discriminate you because you are an Oromo. Check your weaknesses or do you expect to wait the EAL until you be free from prison. This is not the way how business is running.

Anonymous said...

pure recism by EAL toward oromo. i will not fly on EAL and will campai
gn oromo and others to boycott unti
l his benefit restored an apology is asked by the EAL.second ,EAL either fire or ask an apology to oromo people publicly for being fore runner by its excutives ,peopl
e of oromo should be punished and abandon to defend thier right.and
we oromos can not take another organized group using our resource
,land , airspace to turn against our people. if you want to keep flying our demand must,must be met.
mr asefa , when you read some thing
,read it throughly . mr damara was
re hired by oromia state school board up on release from jail. you see how those guys been take cared of by thier oromo blood when the abbysians throw the oromos to beg on the street in hope they will give up on thier right of oromumaa
last but not least. my great thanks
to OROMIA INTERNATIONAL BANK for giving job to prominent people of its land and we believe it is by oromo for oromo bussiness
GOD bless oromo and OROMIA.
QEEYROO
to teach

Anonymous said...

firehiwot worku should be fired from her post. how on earth some one wishes the sufering of some one
for they defend thier personal and thier peoples right?keep in mind the oromo people fed your starviing
belly ,when you had nothing to live
on in your native country abbysinia
There is old blessing in oromo culture." let not the dog you raise
d bite your limps"
WE the oromos we believe that there
is another day that day is the day of freedom .freedom that doesnt discriminet the oromo blood.
oromia shall be free.

Anonymous said...

Ms. Firehiwot Worqu said “when he stands on a street side and begs, he will refrain from his talk of the rights of the Oromo, and others will see him and also stop talking about Oromo rights.”

This is very interesting..Mindset of Timkitegnaas

I stopped flying EAL long ago..

What happened to the Oromia Airlines that they were talking about..
I had big hopes for that..

Anonymous said...

What is the blogger implying or trying to say with the following introducing remarks to the article?

" ... In fact, it is possible to develop his personal account in to a big volume. However, that would lead to unnecessary wastage of precious time of readers." Wastage of time?

Anonymous said...

It makes no sense to discriminate agnist an Oromo individual becaouse of his stance agnist instituionalised hatred being an Oromo.

One thing should be clear to every body:
Do not push Oromos to the edge of no- return. It is in the best interest of the THE Nation to accomodate the Oromo-Question.

Anonymous said...

Well, this is nothing more than recording another indication that EAL is anti-Oromo.In a country where there is no rule of law or where justice is manipulated the only wayout is struggle for freedom. Personnaly, I boycot from flying by EAL from now onwards until such time that it respects the right of Oromo people.This kinds of subjugation are what makes you to insist in struggling for your rights. Therefore, the Oromo people should learn from this and capitalize their struggle for freedom.

I am glad that Obbo Diribi pyt the issue upfront and disclose the matter to the world. You know, if you go to Bokle Airport one only find cultural pictures/items taht reflect the Abesha culture NOTHING that reflects Oromo Culture. This is true in all airports in Ethiopia. This is another indication that the EAL is an enemy of the Oromo people. Thus, I boycot from flying by EAL.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Dirribi,

I hope that the response from the Ethiopian Airlines in response to your article on this blog is authentic. I would like to hold them accountable to their own policy and right the wrong done against you.

Secondly, most of the Ethiopian institutions, that includes the EAL, are institutionally racists. Ethiopian society is a racist society and the EAL cannot be any different.

Finally, unless we hear a meaningful steps taken by the EAL to respect Mr Bokkuu for his many years contribution to the success of the EAL and compensate him rightfully, I would like to call upon fellow Oromo nationals to boy-caught flying with EAL.

More importantly, boy-caught anything Ethiopian!

Long live Oromia!

Qoricha Diinaa said...

Mr/Mrs "Anonymous" is talking nonsens and he/she him/herself is an utter moron. Which OPDO/EPDRF=TPLF official is serving his/her people and defending the Oromoos against the heinous ethical persecusion perpetrated by TPLF gangsters? These Oromoo pseudo-officials are simple TPLF instruments to give a a covour up to the brutal TPLF oppression of every Oromoo individual. Girma Wake is as Meles-stooge as Kuma Dammaksa or Abbaa Duula.

Anonymous said...

I have already suspected that EAL is an Anti-African-anti-Oromo air lines from the extent to which their "Selamta" is covering and not many staffs are from the southern part of the country such as Oromo, Somalia, Weleyta, Jamica, Konso etc. From now on I am going to boycott this airlines and advice my friends and other colleagues in North America to do the same based on the genuine concern of discrimination..
I think it is not bad to extend how the EAL is discriminating their African ancestors just because some people from the north look a bit pale than other African of dark skin.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear you have been treated unfairly. Unfortunately our world is full of discrimination. Oromo and Amhara, black and white, disabled and not disabled, female and male, young and old, what you wear, whether people think you're good looking or not, ... the list is endless. Good news is each of us are different and EAL is not run by one person. It has thousands of employees who are different from each other.

By the way, as some here have pointed out, the president of EAL is Oromo. But this doesn't mean we can be 100% sure Oromos are not being discriminated against. The American president is black and yet black Americans still complain about racism (and I believe them when they say there is racism).

I am Amhara (I feel silly saying it - as if saying that I'm Amhara describes me) and I've been discriminated against too - by Oromos. They made me feel like I was worthless. My sister went through even worse, thanks to the same group of people (they are lecturers at AAU) - to the point that her university degree was in question. But I can't generalize this and make a broad statement about other people which is surely going to be wrong. I fear hatred upon hatred will kill us all.

If you have a petition to sign or you need any form of support I'll be happy to help.

Take care.

bilisummaatv said...

What EAL did to bother Dirrbi is arong.Girma Wake was forced to quit EAL but he refused to talk about it.Girma has no guts just like a lot of Oromo men today.Girma knows if he stood up like Dirribi he may lose his job.

Anonymous said...

Just for Mrs. Firehiwot Worqu who said “when he stands on a street side and begs, he will refrain from his talk of the rights of the Oromo, and others will see him and also stop talking about Oromo rights.”

Dont forget the following:

1. Naturally Oromo is not begger, so Mr. Dirribi was not , will not beg wht ever the situation was, is,as he has friends, relatives who can help him:
2.'others see him and stop talking about Oromo': dont you know how this word angered the Oromo people from all levels and stepped up the struggle forward?
3. In general, since you were hired on the Oromo land you forgot from where you came....it is a matter of time anyways....but until that your word is strong insult for every Oromos.

"Ijji baddu bakki ijaa hin baddu" jedha Oromoon.

Badhaasoo Elemoo said...

Before all really, I would like to thank Oromia International Bank for giving a basket of food for this fellow Oromo family. May God Bless your business!

Another thing I would like to say is that Mr Asefa, read what is written not what you think. Mr Darara was returned to his teaching position by his fellow Oromos not by the so Called Eathiopian Airlines.(EAL)

For Firehiwot Worku! never forget for every thing there is a time, never forget that again as you are sucking the blood of the Oromo People!and you will vomit one day!

For E.A.L, management, it is inhuman that you refused to take Mr Dirrib
back to his position. The issue of IMPRISONMENT of Mr Dirrib has nothing to do with E.A.L! His dispute was with tyrant Government not with E.A.L and there is no any tangible reason that you fired him from his position.

If the above response was really from the E.A.L, you raised about equal opportunity and competitiveness: In case of equal Opportunity, let's be realistic that is completely unrealistic. We know each other who works in this Company and how they were hired specially in this regime! I have close relationship with EAL even if I am not their employee and I know much about it.

I do not blame Mr. Girma Wake for he used to do what he was told to do! Just like many other Oromos in this regime.

About to boycott, I will never use this Airline and I pass this message to my fellow friends not only Oromos but also any one I meet explaining the situation.

Finally, I expect the fair response and apology by EAL to Mr. Dirrib family or his children who are growing up to take over the position of their Father and Mr.Girma Wake or Mrs/Ms Firehwot Worku and him self, Mr.Dirri.

Anonymous said...

About competitiveness, you raised in your response if that is your company, is Mr Dirrib not competent for the whole over 20 years of services in this company? sounds sick!

Anonymous said...

What happened to Obbo Dirrib has been what characterizes Ethiopian colonial government. Therefore, it should not be a surprise at all.This has been bone to Oromo and the oppressed people of the South since their occupation by Ethiopian colonial power.By the establishment of OLF in 1973, Oromo has given up expecting any thing from Ethiopian colonial power. Since then, Oromo people have decided not to hang their destiny on Ethiopian colonial power but to snatch from it and become the owners of their destiny. Those who expect freedom from Ethiopian colonial masters are going for a shock like obbo Dirrib. Expecting freedom of any kind from Ethiopian colonial master is like expecting chicken from the eggs of snake. Ethiopian colonial Airlines is a quasi business arm of Ethiopian government to serve the economic interest of this brutal and cannibalistic Empire. Tigrean did not go to mountain to fight for the freedom of Oromo people. They want to mountain to replace Ethiopian colonial government lead by Amahaaraa and continue oppressing, displacing and looting the immense wealth of Oromia. Therefore, it is only fool who expects freedom from the current colonial government of Ethiopia. For Oromoo people, the only sustainable solution is to fight for it's independence. For those who today work for this backward and thief government of Ethiopia, the time is fast approaching for them to account for their evil deeds and thrown into the dust bin of history. The day will absolutely come when they will be arraigned in court like Mubarak of Egypt.

Anonymous said...

The writer doesn't give strong arguments for his case. He has no ground to expand his case to an all-Oromo case. Besides, the timing is suspicious. As far as I know Mr Girma Wake has already been replaced by another person. It is very likely that the writer has been encouraged by third parties to make this accusation with the innocent hope of getting something out of it. However, this accusation appear to have other sinister motives which the writer himself may not be aware of.

Anonymous said...

EAL claims the reason for the termination of Mr Bokku competitiveness. what a silly excuse; if he was not competitive, why they kept him on his position for over twenty years?

Mr Bokkus claim sounds personal, but this and such discrimination have been exprienced by thousands of oromos in different work places. I would argue there is no a place Oromos have been treated like other Ethiopian citizen. Boycotting flighing on EAL won't bring any change to the problems we have faced. The only and one way we can get our right is getting back our country Oromia. If we fell to do this from time to time, from place to place we will face the same situation. so, let get back our country

Anonymous said...

Dursa Obbo Dirribi gochaa EAL dhalataa Oromoo irratti dalagaa jiru saaxila baasuu isaanitiif guddan isaan galateeffa dha. Gochaan dhabbatni Biyya Itoophhiya jedhamitu keessa jiru saba Oromoo irratti dalagaa jiru kana qofaa miti. Dhabatni tokko sababa tokko malee hojjataa waggaa 20f isa tajaajilaa ture akkamiti hojii isaa irraa gaggeessuu danda'a ? kun saba Oromoo qofaaf osoo hin taane saba kamiif iyyu gochaa ifa jiruudha. EAL jibba ummata Oromoo irraa qabu ifati baasee kan mul'isu dha.Jibba saba Oromoo irraa qaban ifati baasan mul'isaa jiru, dhaloota har'aa fi boru dhalataa jiraniif Gochaaa Habashaan nurratti dalagaa jirtu itti himuu qabna.
Gocha wal fakkaataa EAL yeroo darbe narrati raawate tuqee bira darbuu barbaada. yeroo darbe EAL marsaa isaan irratti Pilot leenjifina jedhanii beeksisa baasan ture, anis beeksisa kana argee online galmaa'e, calqaba namoota 1200 taane qormaata barreeffamaa qoratamnne, namoota qormaata kana darban 110 keessa ani tokkon ture, marree kan itti aanuuf dabbarre kunis qormaata afaani(interview) waa'ee eenyummaa keetii bakka itti calalanii adda baafatani,sabumaadhan dandeetin nama tokko sadarkaa itti gargari ba'u marree anis Oromoo akkan ta'e ibseef kiyya asumati raawate. nagaan gara mana kiyyatti deebi'ee gale... gochi EAL raawataa jiru kana qofaa miti tokkon tokkon saba Oromoo madda ofi keessa qaba. Hiryaa kiyya waggaa lamaaf leenjisan sababa inni Oromoo ta'eef leenjii osoo hin xumurin ari'atan......

Anonymous said...

I have read the post and really felt bad about the situation Mr. Diriba has passed through as a person, having a family to feed, I can’t imagine how much painful it would be to him.
Even if I am appreciating his attempt to make his situation known to the world by posting an article, but I have reservations on the way he tried to portray things. He is disadvantages in many ways as he stated but the only thing he can ask for can be some justice by bringing the case to the court and the court will see his case and give the final decision.
I felt sorry for two things, one for things happened to Mr. Diriba and his inability to deal with them as an individual, and the other by the motives of Mr. Diriba, on his attempt to utilize his personal situations to promote his political agenda by creating hatred among the Oromo and Amhara and the rest of Ethiopian. To my understanding, a person who cannot find a peaceful solution for his personal problems cannot claim fighting for others to bring a solution; rather he creates havocs to hide his motives and work in to fulfilling them with pretext of great causes [fighting for the Oromo].
Blaming a business company [Ethiopian Airlines], and fellow citizens [which here called Habesha] is completely inappropriate and I repeat it again as it is an attempt to create hatred between the Oromo and the rest of Ethiopian people.

Rediat said...

Continued ...

As Ethiopian we all have common enemies, Poverty, Backwardness, and those racist views to one another. If the Amhara had been a racist and the Oromo suffered the consequence in the past, I don’t think the Oromo can solve its problems by becoming another racist; as two wrongs cannot make right. My understanding is whoever calls the other a racist is a racist himself. Amhara, Oromo, and the rest fellow Ethiopians can join hands together to fight Poverty and backwardness by putting aside the racist mindset that is kept us behind for long.
I have seen the level of frustration and indignation of some of the people who commented on this article to the extent of considering boycotting flying with Ethiopian airlines. Your feelings are right but I doubt the appropriateness your decisions. We are talking about our brothers and sisters who by some historical consequence found themselves born in the Amhara or Oromo or other family. They got their ethnicity from their family, but as Ethiopian they share the same history and national identity. We are Ethiopians whether we are from the Amhara, or Oromo …. We share the land, we share the hardships, we share the responsibility for the wrongs in our history. Our identity manifest to the world with the things we can achieve together. The only solution to solve the problem of racism is to have leaders from here and there trying to bring Amraha, Oromo and the rest of Ethiopians together respecting their differences. This strength we have as a nation is clearly reflected by Ethiopian Airlines flying as an icon high above the skies of the Africa and the rest of the world next to our Athletic Heros.

Rediat said...

I have read the post and really felt bad about the situation Mr. Diriba has passed through as a person, having a family to feed, I can’t imagine how much painful it would be to him.
Even if I am appreciating his attempt to make his situation known to the world by posting an article, but I have reservations on the way he tried to portray things. He is disadvantages in many ways as he stated but the only thing he can ask for can be some justice by bringing the case to the court and the court will see his case and give the final decision.
I felt sorry for two things, one for things happened to Mr. Diriba and his inability to deal with them as an individual, and the other by the motives of Mr. Diriba, on his attempt to utilize his personal situations to promote his political agenda by creating hatred among the Oromo and Amhara and the rest of Ethiopian. To my understanding, a person who cannot find a peaceful solution for his personal problems cannot claim fighting for others to bring a solution; rather he creates havocs to hide his motives and work in to fulfilling them with pretext of great causes [fighting for the Oromo].
Blaming a business company [Ethiopian Airlines], and fellow citizens [which here called Habesha] is completely inappropriate and I repeat it again as it is an attempt to create hatred between the Oromo and the rest of Ethiopian people.

Rediat said...

As Ethiopian we all have common enemies, Poverty, Backwardness, and those racist views to one another. If the Amhara had been a racist and the Oromo suffered the consequence in the past, I don’t think the Oromo can solve its problems by becoming another racist; as two wrongs cannot make right. My understanding is whoever calls the other a racist is a racist himself. Amhara, Oromo, and the rest fellow Ethiopians can join hands together to fight Poverty and backwardness by putting aside the racist mindset that is kept us behind for long.
I have seen the level of frustration and indignation of some of the people who commented on this article to the extent of considering boycotting flying with Ethiopian airlines. Your feelings are right but I doubt the appropriateness your decisions. We are talking about our brothers and sisters who by some historical consequence found themselves born in the Amhara or Oromo or other family. They got their ethnicity from their family, but as Ethiopian they share the same history and national identity. We are Ethiopians whether we are from the Amhara, or Oromo …. We share the land, we share the hardships, we share the responsibility for the wrongs in our history. Our identity manifest to the world with the things we can achieve together. The only solution to solve the problem of racism is to have leaders from here and there trying to bring Amraha, Oromo and the rest of Ethiopians together respecting their differences. This strength we have as a nation is clearly reflected by Ethiopian Airlines flying as an icon high above the skies of the Africa and the rest of the world next to our Athletic Heros.

Rediat said...

Ethiopian Airlines gives employment opportunity for many Ethiopians [Oromos and others]. The tax collected from the airline and the employees by the government is allocated to fund development projects [roads, dams, schools, hospitals ...], running public services, pay salaries, in all regions including Oromia. Thus boycotting flying Ethiopian airlines is just taking away one more bread from Oromo and other Ethiopians. Thus I doubt the correctness of your decision in doing that. Saying I don’t fly Ethiopian Airlines means I will rather pay for other carries who will do nothing to our internal affairs. A person who thinks like this may have something to learn from from the dogs we keep as pets in our homes as they are a little bit smarter handling such kind of situations. Two dogs fighting over a bone always put their differences away and collaborate to chase away their common enemy. Once they chased their enemy they normally go back to their business from where they left off. No matter how much we are offended and wants to show our solidarity to the victim in the article, I still believe that we are not losing our sanity to the extent of denying every one another bread by boycotting flying Ethiopian airlines. I empathize to the victim but will keep fly with Ethiopian airlines, and will keep on flying with my national carrier as seeing it flying on the skies tells many things about me and my fellow Ethiopians [Oromo, Amraha, Kembata, Konso …].
The way Mr. Diriba presented his arguments is in a way that fuels the hatred that few people are trying to inspire on all Ethiopians with the right state of mind. Oromo may suffer much from racism in the past, so does the black South Africans, and so does African Americans in the US, but I don’t think becoming the master racist over others will solve any problem of the Oromo people. So I suggest to Mr. Diriba to be more matured in handling of his situation than to try spreading hatred and the dying ideology of racism and disharmony.

Anonymous said...

As a son of a retired Oromo executive, and one that personaly knows Girma Waqe(CEO of EA for many years), it is hard to swallow that opportunites at the Airlines are denied to Oromos.

However, do not be naive. You cannot be an enemy of the state and expect good treatment in a State owned company. It is your naivity that got you in trouble sir. You picked the wrong fight.

Anonymous said...

Response to Red: The person with long comment above.

The article is about Mr. Dirribi's claim of discrimination because of his Oromian nationality and of his political idealogy. Your comment by large is about unity of peoples in the Empire known as Ethiopia. For most of us the Oromos, when you talk about the old and deceptive say "we are one. we all are Ethipians.... blha blha" It's just does NOT make sense!!! Does not fly!!! just gibrish!!! Let's face it!!! we are not one. We were forced to be one and we are still remain in that empire by FORCE. Why not give the people the time and the option to choose their destiny. When you guys talk that non-sense we are all "Ethiopians" we have a common enemy, poverty, etc. It's non-sense to me. Before you guys, the Abysinians open your mouth regarding the peoples in that Empire, we know what your going to say. You know the say "singing to the choir" So I urge you to STOP that and if you know of an Oromian who advocates for the right of the Oromo people to determine their destiny, sit with him/her and hear his/her point and debate on the issue. You can explain your point and hear the other person's point too.

Going back to this fellow Oromian case, this is not unusual. Although, I can only imagine his situation, I would say there are millions like this. Some one who recently, came from back home told me a reality on the ground back there. You all know Coffee grows in Oromia and the south only. Right? logically, you think Oromians will be the primary beneficiary of this percious crop/commodity. right? The reality is diffrent. Oromo business men can only take it to the broder ( be it Sudan border, Dijbouti border, etc) and then sell it to Tigrian business men, they then in a day light take the traillers, (lorry) to the next town in the negboring country and sell it for a lot of profit. This is TRUE! Go to big cities in Oromia, Benishangul, Afar, etc. Do you know who owns big hotels and stores, TIGREANS.

Mr. Red, if this is not racisim to its fullest, what it is?

Ilman Oromo, yoo jabaanee kara kamiyu ta'u billisummaa kenya argachu dha baannee, dhalota hanga dhalota amaas hange dhalota xumura hin qabnetii gabrumaa jalatii hafnaa.

Nagati

Anonymous said...

I wish to give my perspective insights about Ethiopian Airlines regarding the issue Mr. Diriba raised. Working for Ethiopian Airlines for the past 25 years, I can surely testify that Ethiopian Airlines is an equal opportunity employer by substance. It is a place of diversity where all employees are real intentional aviation professionals working in a very modern air transport company. Ethiopian Airlines is a very unique first world standard airline in Africa; organic and run fully by Ethiopians only with multicultural tolerance and culture. I kindly advise the forum to encourage Mr. Diriba for the deliberation of the case in a court of justice, as he made Ethiopian Airlines wrong a target by projecting his personal case with his misplaced accusations.

Anonymous said...

I have been carefully following Obo Diribi's plea covered with allegation under the guise of ethnicity in a bid to kindle the nationalist sentiments of individuals which unsurprisingly followed by a torent of racist remarks without even giving the benefit of the doubt to the accused i.e. Ethiopian Airlines. What is so sad is the fact that Obo Diribi has not been able to realize the anti-Oromo tendencies of the airline while working for the airline for about 20 years but suddenly figured out that the company has an anti-oromo policies because he was not re admitted back to work. Could it be that he has also new of his Oromo roots after he has been denied to go back to work? and thus he has to rally all Oromos to boycott the airline untill his demands are met? it is utterly ridiculous and shambolic. Is this the kind of leader the sons and daughters of Oromo are looking for? Is Diribi's return to office today's most important damand of the Oromos at large? Mr Diribi, I think gone are the days when few street smarts can easily rally thousands behind on the grounds of Ethnicity and narrow nationalistic tendencies to turn their personal dreams into reality or to cling to power. You can not settle scores, if any with the airline by just giving it a political and racial tone. So your personal matters can be handled with the airline personally.
The hundres if not thousands of oromos in the company are living proofs that competence alone is the requirement and not ethnicity. I also pitty my fellow Oromos who have come to the rescue of Diribi by just posting racist remarks without even giving it a second thought. Let us think twice before we embark on such actions.

Anonymous said...

I have a message for a cadre of Ethiopian unity. I want him not to count me in his Ethiopian unity. I have never been and will never be in unity with Ethiopia because there is nothing that can unite us. I'm Oromo and Oromian. I was born in Oromia and do not know Ethiopian language, culture, history and religion. I'm Cushitic, African, Eastern African, Horn of African and Oromian.For we do not want to force ourselves on anybody, do not try to force yourself on us Oromians. We do not want you. Why do you want us?Do you want us to love you by force?We do not need you.We can survive alone.The union between Ethiopian and Oromia is a forced union.The way forced marriages do not work, the forced union between Ethiopia and Oromia has to be dismantled. The political marriage between Ethiopia and Oromia is like forced marriage in which Oromo people had no hand. Therefore, this forced marriage will anon (soon)become things of the past. You Ethiopians should quickly shape up or you will be shaped out.You Ethiopians, you are running out of time. Remember, what few Eritreans did, We Oromians can do more. As the power of the people is like the power of God, the triumph of Oromo people is inevitable and the down fall of Ethiopian colonialism is very real.

Anonymous said...

To a commenter who said
"What is so sad is the fact that Obo Diribi has not been able to realize the anti-Oromo tendencies of the airline while working for the airline for about 20 years but suddenly figured out that the company has an anti-oromo policies because he was not re admitted back to work. "
Obbo Diribi’s didn’t say at what point he realized the anti-Oromo tendencies of Ethiopian airlines. It is possible he realized early on but didn’t act on it or he thought it could be fixed by getting involved but later on realized that the issue is deeper than he thought it is. There were and still are many Oromo who believe that Ethiopia can be rehabilitated to be equally a mother to everyone in the empire.
It is also possible that he looked at a bigger picture and wanted to try and bring change in broader form.
Even if he realized the tendency after he tried to get re admission, what is sad about that? Different people react to different issues differently and at different times. Oromo Ethiopian relationship is complex enough for people to realize it at different point in their lift time. We should welcome them any time they realize it.

Anonymous said...

Very simple question to the defenders of the Airlines: Has the Airlines given any thought about its passengers who can not speak Amharic? Had it ever provided services (attendants) to serve his customers who can speak only Afaan Oromoo? Especailly, Oromo being the largest nation in the empire, shouldn't the Airlines ever considered promoting the Oromo culture and history in its in flight magazine?

For God's sake please take a look at their Inflight magazine; it never mentions the historical places in Oromia and in the south. It never mentions the Gada system of governace which our forefathers consitituted and implemented way before today's Western democracey. Had it [Gada] been Abysinians history, by now the entire world would have been feedup hearing, reading their usual bragging.

Some people tried to portray Obbo Dirribe Damuse's case as an isolated individual case. This people delibrately ignore, the writers point in this article. This article notes that this should be viewed in a grand scheme of thing not from individaul angle alone. I strongly believe, the Airlines (specifically the upper management) wanted to "teach a lesson" nationalist Oromos so that they can refrain from their political activity by seeing Obbo Dirribi's agony.

In fact nowdays, Ethiopian Airlines is transformed to Tigrean Airlines. check out the precentage of Tigrean pilots since Wayane came to power. Especially, the young aviation recrutes are for Tigray. If you live in Addis (Finfinee) go to the airport and see the departing and landing crews. If you live abroad and have friend or relative works for the Airlines, ask them the number/percentage of Tigreayn flight crews and personale in the airlines nowadays. The list goes on and on.

Anonymous said...

For the defernder of Ethiopian unity, let me tell you that as there is no unity between lies and truth, between dark an light, there is no unity between Ethiopian and Oromia. As water and oil can not mix, Ethiopia and Oromia can not mix. Accept this fact and try to live it. For how long are you trying to present stone as bread. Do not delude yourself but wake up to the reality and prepare yourself for the immenent reality that is certain to come. As dark can not overcome light, your fake, ficticious and myth, heresay "Ethiopian unity" will not withsatand the Oromian unity. In this era of Oromo nationalism, crying about Ethiopian unity is foolishness of the highest order.You have two choices. One is to be dragged to court like Mubarak or to be civilized like Al-bashir of Sudan and leave Oromo people to freely exercise their Godly given freedom of independence.If you continue to be bone headed and obstinate, Oromian independence will certainly one day knock at your door. As we are certain that the sun will rise in the East,the independence of Oromia will certainly come under your watch.

Anonymous said...

I think there is a point most Abysinians and some non-Abysinians do not want to acknowledge or do not understand it at all.

Whenever the Oromos demand their right or point to historical facts of how they become annexed and opperessed over the years, their opponents label such quest hatred. I'm not Oromo but from Africa (West Africa) and conduct research on world and Africa history/politics. Just to be fair, have the Oromos or any of the Oromo organizations publicly declare that they hate Abysinians? Or, is it because they strongly demand their rights, opponents label it hatred? As far as I'm concerned, hatred in politics is some thing you can not prove. Just because your conterpart passionately, demands what he thinks (wrongly or legtimately) his right, you can not say that is a hatered.

I'm not saying individuals do not hate other groups. What I'm saying is stay on the higher level do not get down to simple individual level. In other words, don't mix that with the real political question. First, debate and understand each other over the real issue. In countries where multi-party system governes, parties strongly oppose each other, they try to out-smart one another in politics they don't go around and say you see our counterpart hates us. Even in the case of South Africa the white minority did not say the ANC hates them. Back in the days when the Biritish occupied Nigeria, they never claimed the Nigerians hate them.

So, stay on the substance and take the hatred out of the equation. Do not use that to stregthen your weak reasoning.

Regards,

Anonymous said...

Mr/MS Red you said
"The tax collected from the airline and the employees by the government is allocated to fund development projects [roads, dams, schools, hospitals ...]"

Could be true but where?, not in Oromia.

It might fund development projects in Tigray and some other place in Abysinia but in many parts of Oromia the roads are worst than what it was 30 years ago. I was wondering don't the government need road to transport coffee and other resouces that they are milking from Oromia?
I guess you don't need smooth roads for a cargo.

Anonymous said...

This is unacceptable. Misleading people based on wrong facts is not professional journalism. Please remove the picture and its content. The way I see it, this will spur more people to join the other side.

This is another injustice..

Anonymous said...

"remove the picture and its content"
By asking to remove, you are acknowledging that you have some thing to hide. You can simply write your side of the story and let the readers make their own conclussion.

Anonymous said...

Oromo Affairs! We are not real shewa but "Jibaat-Maccaa" because the name shewa came to us with Gobena Dache! So, if you ask ,the people don't know that others call them shewa. The real name is Jibaat-Maccaa zone from Ginchi to Bako!

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