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Overview
People:
Oromo
Country: Oromia (also phonetically spelled as Oromiyaa)
Area: 600,000 sq.km approx.
Capital: Finfinnee (also called Addis Ababa)
Population: 30 million (1995 estimate)
Language: Oromo, also called Afan Oromo or Oromiffa
Economy: Mainly agriculture (coffee, several crops, spices,
vegetables) and Animal Husbandry; Mining industry; Tourism trade;
Medium and small-scale industries (textiles, refineries, meat
packaging, etc)
Religion: Waaqqefata (the traditional belief in Waaqa or
God), Islam, and Christian (Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant)
The
Oromo make up a significant portion of the population occupying
the Horn of Africa. In the Ethiopian Empire alone, Oromo
constitute about 30 million of the 55 million inhabitants of the
Ethiopian Empire. In fact, Oromo is one of the most numerous
nations in Africa which enjoys a homogeneous culture and shares a
common language, history and descent and once shared common
political, religious and legal institutions. During their long
history, the Oromo developed their own cultural, social and
political system known as the Gadaa system. It is a uniquely
democratic political and social institution that governed the life
of every individual in the society from birth to death.
Ecologically
and agriculturally Oromia
(Oromo country) is the richest
region in the Horn of Africa. Livestock products, coffee, oil
seeds, spices, mineral resources and wild life are all diverse and
abundant. In spite of all these advantages, a century of colonization
by Abyssinia (Ethiopia), a backward nation itself, has meant that
the Oromo people have endured a stagnant existence where ignorance
and famine have been coupled with ruthless oppression,
subjugation, exploitation and above all, extermination. Thus for
the last one hundred years under the Ethiopian rule, the Oromo
have gained very little, if anything, in the way of political,
social and economic progress.
The
Oromo were colonized during the last quarter of the nineteenth
century by a black African nation - Abyssinia - with the help of
the European colonial powers of the day. During the same period,
of course, the Somalis, Kenyans, Sudanese and others were colonized
by European powers. The fact that the Oromo were colonized by
black African nation makes their case quite special.
During
the process of colonization, between 1870 and 1900, the Oromo
population was reduced from ten to five millions. This period
coincides with the occupation of Oromo land by the Abyssinian
emperors Yohannes and
Menilek. After colonization, these emperors
and their successors continued to treat Oromo with utmost cruelty.
Many were killed by the colonial army and settlers, others died of
famine and epidemics of various diseases or were sold off as
slaves. Those who remained on the land were reduced to the status
of gabbar (a peasant from whom labor and produce is exacted and is
a crude form of serfdom).
Haile
Selassie consolidated Yohannes and Menilek's gains and with the
use of violence, obstructed the process of natural and historical
development of the Oromo society - political, economic and social.
In all spheres of life, discrimination, subjugation, repression
and exploitation of all forms were applied. Everything possible
was done to destroy Oromo identity - culture, language, custom,
tradition, name and origin. In short Haile Selassie maintained the
general policy of genocide against the Oromo.
The
1974 revolution was brought about by the relentless struggle over
several years by, among others, the Oromo peasants. The military
junta, headed by Mengistu
Haile-Mariam, usurped power and took
over the revolution. This regime has continued on the path of
emperors Yohannes, Menilek and Haile Selassie in the oppression,
subjugation and exploitation of Oromo, the settlement of
Abyssinians on Oromo land and the policy of genocide.
Forced
to fight against Eritreans, the Somalis and others, many Oromo
have fallen in battle. Many others have died on the streets of
cities and towns during the so-called "Red Terror"
period and in a similar program that has been expanded in the
countryside since then. Massacres in towns and villages coupled
with bombing and search and destroy programs have caused the
destruction of human lives, crops, animals and property, have
driven Oromo from their land and forced them to seek refuge in neighboring
countries. Not surprisingly, this ruthless oppression and
persecution of peoples has resulted in the largest flight of
refugees in Africa. A very large proportion of the refugees in the
Horn of Africa are Oromo.
In
its attempt to oppress and eliminate the essential elements of
Oromo culture, the present regime has used cover-up words such as
'development, relief, settlement, villagization and literacy
campaign' to mislead the world. In fact most of these programs and
projects have been aimed at displacing Oromo people and denying
them freedom, justice, human dignity and peace, thereby hastening
the process of Amharization or de-Oromization.
The
struggle of the Oromo people, then, is nothing more than an
attempt to affirm their own place in history. It seeks equality,
human dignity, democracy, freedom and peace. It is not directed
against the masses of a particular nation or nationality, nor
against individuals, but rather against Ethiopian colonialism led
by the Amhara ruling class and the naftanyas (Amhara colonial
settlers) and against feudalism and imperialism. Thus it is the
Ethiopian colonial system and not the Amhara masses or individuals
which is under critical consideration.
Today
when nearly all of the African peoples have won independence, the
Oromo continue to suffer under the most backward and savage
Ethiopian settler colonialism. All genuinely democratic and
progressive individuals and groups, including members of the
oppressor nation, Amhara, who believe in peace, human dignity and
liberty should support the Oromo struggle for liberation.
Although
the Oromo nation is one of the largest in Africa, it is forgotten
by or still unknown to the majority of the world today.
Unfortunately even the name Oromo is unknown to many, and this
should not be allowed to continue.
The
main purpose of this summary is to introduce readers briefly to
the Oromo people, their land, and culture. For detailed treatment
of the experiences of Oromo under Ethiopian colonial rule as well
as their struggle for freedom, democracy and economic and social
justice, please refer to the book from which this summary is
extracted. Please do note the author's introductory message in
this book: "... it is not the intention of this book to write
a definitive Oromo history. This task is left to the historians, a
work they have unjustly treated or unjustifiably ignored in the
past. In fact the little that has been written about Oromo has
almost always been from Abyssinians and Europeans point of
view".
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