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Thus Spoke Ethiopia's Reeyot!

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Thus Spoke Ethiopia's Reeyot! ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com Thus Spoke Ethiopia’s Reeyot! By Prof. Al Mariam Date : July 14, 2015 Reeyot Invictus! Thus spoke Reeyot Alemu to the Voice of America- Amharic Service on July 9, 2015, a few hours after she was literally thrown out of the infamous Meles Zenawi Prison in Kality, (Ethiopia’s “Robben Island”) on the outskirts of Addis Ababa: I will continue to fully struggle to make Ethiopia a good place where democracy and justice prevail. Until I can see such an Ethiopia, I will continue my struggle. Reeyot served 4 years and 17 days (that is 1480 days) in prison on a 14-year sentence commuted to 5 years. She was convicted under a so-called terrorism law enacted by the late Meles Zenawi and his gang, the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF). The great Nelson Mandela warned his apartheid oppressors, “You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.” That was pretty much Reeyot’s message to the tyrannical apartheid-style thugtatorship of the TPLF. “I will continue my struggle until democracy and justice prevail in Ethiopia.” 1 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com La luta continua! Mandela also said, “Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one’s commitment.” On July 9, fresh out of Meles Zenawi Prison, Reeyot showed her uncompromising commitment to democracy and justice in Ethiopia. But that came at a very high price. For four years and seventeen days, Reeyot faced daily humiliation, solitary confinement, degradation and dehumanization in Meles Zenawi Prison. But she persevered. For four years and seventeen days, Reeyot remained captive in the belly of Meles Zenawi Prison, that “pit of wrath and tears”. She faced the horror of abuse and mistreatment in prison without “wincing or crying out loud.” She remained patient. For four years and seventeen days, Reeyot survived in Meles Zenaiwi Prison with her head “bloodied, but unbowed.” She prevailed!!! Reeyot faced the “menace of the years” in Meles Zenawi Prison, but she remained unafraid. Unafraid because she was and is the “mistress of her fate and captain of her soul.” It was for Reeyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Woubshet Taye, Temesgen Desalegn, Abraha Desta, Zone 9 bloggers and so many other political 2 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com prisoners like them that William Ernest Henley wrote his poem “Invictus” (Unconquered) generations ago. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Release of 4 of the zone 9 bloggers The TPLF regime also released five young bloggers and journalists held at the Meles Zenawi Prison. They had been held in illegal pretrial detention for over one year. I am writing about the Zone 9 bloggers about whom the the Committee to Protect Journalists has said, “Ethiopian government officials accuse the Zone 9 bloggers of working with foreign human rights organizations and using social media to create instability in Ethiopia. The group wrote about political repression and social injustice, and their blogs were frequently blocked inside the country.” 3 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com On July 8, the TPLF regime dropped all charges and literally threw them out of Meles Zenawi Prison. They were not even given the chance to say good bye to their friends with whom they have been imprisoned for over a year. The released bloggers and journalists include Zelalem Kibret, Mahlet Fantahun, Tesfalem Wadyes, Asmamaw Hailegiorgis and Edom Kassaye. The released bloggers expressed their bafflement why they were released and the other four bloggers and journalists facing the same charges were not released. Well, that is the mystifying mysteries of the TPLF’s monkey court justice system. Ethiopia has Reeyot Alemu All nations are blessed from time to time with she-roes (heroines). The Americans have many heroes, and fewer she-roes. Many of America’s she-roes are unsung. American she-ro Harriet Tubman in the 1850s led the resistance against slavery by setting up an “underground railroad”, which consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses for slaves escaping to freedom. Susan B. Anthony in the early 1870s led the suffragist movement advocating for the right of American women to vote, to own property and even become members of labor organizations. Rosa Parks, whom the United States Congress called “the first lady of civil rights”, and the mother of the American Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1950s sparked the struggle for freedom, equality and justice by a simple act of defiant civil disobedience She refused to give up her seat and sit in the back of the bus. “No, I shall not be moved!”, she told the segregationist police and (in)justice 4 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com system. Millions of African Americans soon joined her singing: “We shall not be moved! / Just like a tree that’s standing by the water/ The union is behind us,/ We’re fighting for our freedom,/ We’re fighting for our children,/ We’ll building a mighty union,/ Black and white together,/ Young and old together,/ We shall not, we shall not be moved/We shall not, we shall not be moved.” African American women were the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. But they remain the unsung she-roes. Eleanor Roosevelt, the mother of the modern human rights movement, was singularly responsible for the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the bedrock document which has served as the foundation for all post-WW II human rights conventions. In my view, Reeyot Alemu belongs to this group of revolutionaries, better yet, history-changers, women of courage and convictions who were ready to pay the ultimate price for justice, equality, civil and human rights without batting an eye. The truth teller Reeyot has been called “Ethiopia’s Truth Teller”. When the modern history of Africa is written and names are inscribed in the African Hall of Fame, across from the ignoble African Hall of Shame, Reeyot’s name will be registered at the very top in the category, “Grace Under Fire.” Reeyot Alemu faced the fire and brimstone of Meles Zenawi for four years and 17 days. On July 9, we saw a young radiant woman radiant with steely resolve walk 5 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com out of Meles Zenawi Prison and declare to the world: I will continue to fully struggle to make Ethiopia a good place where democracy and justice prevail. Until I can see such an Ethiopia, I will continue my struggle. The TPLF thugs tried to break every bone in her body to make her kneel before them. They threw her into solitary confinement to crush her spirit and extinguish her hopes. They denied her medical care as she battled a potentially life-threatening illness. They denied her womanity and humanity. They tried to execute her soul. They did all they could in that “place of wrath and tears” known as Meles Zenawi Prison. But they could not break Reeyot. They could not crack her mind. They could not shatter her spirit. They could not destroy her will to survive; To stand up proud and tall and say to the world: I will continue to fully struggle to make Ethiopia a good place where democracy and justice prevail. Until I can see such an Ethiopia, I will continue my struggle. 6 / 21 ethiopanorama.com ethiopanorama.com http://www.ethiopanorama.com Minutes before her TPLF captors literally threw her out of Meles Zenawi Prison, she told them like it is. They should not let her out because she is going to continue her struggle where she left off four years earlier. Reeyot warned the TPLF thugs, “If you are letting me go to bring me back when I tell the public that I was released without asking for a pardon, I would rather stay. If you lie about my release, I will tell the truth.” On numerous occasions, Reeyot’s captors had offered her freedom in exchange for her signature on an application form begging for pardon. She told them to take it and shove it. They used to call Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher “The Iron Lady.” If she were alive, I would have said, “Move over Maggie! Make way for Reeyot!” Why did they release Reeyot and the other bloggers and journalists? The TPLF thugs did not let Reeyot go out of concern for justice or the “goodness of their hearts” (indulge me in an oxymoron because thugs have neither goodness nor hearts). No doubt, they gnashed their teeth and belly ached as they let her go. They would have much preferred to see her go out feet first in a wooden coffin and explain to the world she died from some dreadful disease. Fate was not on the side of the TPLF this time. They did it to save face and impress President Obama when he shows up later this month.
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