Rammy Mohamed Narrator

Rammy Mohamed Narrator Ayano Jiru Interviewer November 14, 2016 Saint Paul, Minnesota Interview conducted in English Rammy Mohamed -RM Ayano Jiru -AJ AJ: I’m Ayano Jiru recording for the Minnesota Historical Society Oromo Oral History Project. Today is November 14, 2016, and we are in the city of Saint Paul. I’m here with Rammy Mohamed who is a very active member of the Oromo community of Minnesota. She held leadership in youth and women, and also in the man-dominated Oromo Sports Federation in North America [OSFNA]. Rammy is also a founding member of the Oromo Media Network. Rammy is a professional fashion designer and business owner of Kena Events. Rammy, welcome to the interview. RM: Thank you. Thanks for having me. AJ: To begin our interview, let me ask you this question off hand. Where were you born? RM: I was born in Kolfee, in the capital city of Oromia, in Finfinne [Addis Ababa]. AJ: Kolfee, the capital city of Oromia, Finfinne. RM: Yes. AJ: Is Kolfee a neighborhood in Finfinne? RM: It’s like a sub-neighborhood. In Oromia, a lot of places are named after people. So it’s like a city. It’s called Kolfee. I was born in the house. I was not fortunate enough to be born in a hospital—which is a common thing. AJ: It is a very common thing. RM: I was born in 1987. AJ: Ah, 1987. You’re not the only one. I was born at home, too, not a hospital. 1 RM: Yeah? A very common thing. And it was the month of Ramadan. AJ: Oh, lucky you. RM: Yeah. So I was born in the month of Ramadan. AJ: Were your parents born in Kolfee and Finfinne as well? RM: No. You know what? To this day it’s a mystery to me exactly what city my dad was born in. But he was the first generation to live in the city. So he lived in Finfinne as well. My mother, I believe she was also born in Finfinne as well. But I was brought up by my grandmother, who was born in Sendafa, which is the Shewa region in Oromia. So she raised me. AJ: Sendafa, is that a city or is that a village? RM: Well, it used to be about two or three hours away from the capital city of Finfinne. But now, with the whole Master Plan [Ethiopian government’s controversial plan to expand the capital city] and what’s going on, that’s actually one of the cities they were trying to make into the capital city. AJ: Master Plan. The Master Plan is a current event, and we’re going to make a reminder to get back to the Master Plan. RM: Absolutely. Growing up, I’ve visited, and it used to be very rural, very small farming, in the countryside in Shewa. It was beautiful. In my head, to this day, I just remember the greenery. After getting the main road, we used to take like a horse ride and mule actually—a mule ride to where her family used to be. I remember when I was younger. AJ: You get to ride a mule from the big city of Finfinne to the countryside. RM: No. Actually, we would take the bus from Finfinne to Sendafa, but the bus drops you off like on the street because buses can’t go toward the hills. AJ: Yeah, in the countryside. RM: So then right there, the mule and the family member would wait for you, and you would get off there and then your journey begins with the mule starting from there to the house. So then when you want to go back home to the city, you would do the same thing. You would get on the mule to the bus stop, [chuckles] and then you’d take the bus. AJ: Very interesting, very interesting. RM: I do remember that. It’s funny, but I do have a very clear, vivid memory of that. AJ: In Sendafa or in Kolfee, were your parents educated there? 2 RM: My dad was educated. He actually did get a university degree, and he was a businessman. He owned his own business. He used to sell coffee. He was in the coffee business. AJ: Coffee merchant. RM: Yeah. I’m not sure what the level of education my mother has gone for. I believe she has gotten her high school diploma. From what I’ve heard, she worked for my dad. My dad owned a business where they sell different grains and he owned the store, and my mom worked there with him as well. AJ: And their business is in the capital city, Finfinne. RM: In Finfinne, yeah. AJ: Wonderful. How many siblings do you have? RM: There are three boys, and I have two sisters. AJ: All of them born in Finfinne? RM: All of us were born in Finfinne, yeah. AJ: How was growing up like in Finfinne? RM: I loved it. I was one of the most fortunate families. We had TV—black and white TV. I still remember. At some point, right before we left the country, we even had a fridge. So we were your typical Oromo city kids. I loved my city. I watched TV every weekend. AJ: Lucky you. RM: During the day, there’s nothing on TV. There’s only one channel. AJ: What’s on TV in Ethiopia? Like what kind of… Is it America programming or Ethiopian? RM: It’s Ethiopian programming. It’s dominated with the Amharic language. But every weekend, there’s a program called Dhanga, and it’s an Oromo program—growing up. Whether you spoke Oromo or you didn’t speak Oromo, you wanted to wait for Dhanga because they had the funniest drama on TV and characters. If you’re lucky enough, you could stay up past midnight so you can watch American movies. Also on Sunday mornings, there’s about a half an hour kids’ program, where they would broadcast cartoon movies—Disney movies like Pinocchio and Pocahontas and The Jungle Book, all translated in the Amharic language. They would only show about ten minutes. So like that one-hour movie or two-hour movie would last for weeks. So I first watched Pinocchio and Pocahontas when I was young and back home. AJ: It took me a few years to understand those in America, after I came to America. 3 RM: Me too! It’s so funny. I’m like, “Wait a minute! That’s not…” Especially Pocahontas. I remember when I left, they were playing Aladdin, and I wanted to be that stupid Jasmine so bad. I was jealous of her. AJ: Those TV shows in Ethiopia, were they interpreted into Oromo or were they in English? RM: Never in Oromo. It was never in Oromo. There was not actually a program for kids on TV in the Oromo language, but they had it in Amharic for a kids program. But they had a radio program called Qophii Ijolee [children's program] for kids in the radio. But we weren’t much of a radio people when you had TV. AJ: Exactly. [Chuckles.] RM: That Amharic language definitely dominated the city kind of living. You barely hear Afaan Oromoo [Oromo language] on the national television unless it’s the news, and then you would have to wait for the Amharic to be done, and then the Tigray is finished, then the Oromo is the last. It’s second to last actually. It would be the Oromo, and then the English program is at the end. There is news in English as well that they broadcast. AJ: So what language did you guys use in Finfinne? RM: My first language—it’s unfortunate. It’s one of those things I wish I could go back and change. My first language, unfortunately, is Amharic. But my second language is Afaan Oromoo. My family spoke Amharic for businesses and living in the city. But the main language that’s spoken amongst my grandmother and my older aunts was Afaan Oromoo. We always knew that we were Oromo, but unlike a lot of the Oromo kids in my generation who were born in more of the countryside, we were sheltered and protected from the politics or from what was really happening in the country because we lived in the city, and my family worked diligently to protect us from it. So we were the protected generation in a way. But my aunts—I believe my aunt was in prison for five years, and she got away and snuck out to Djibouti and then she was able to migrate. Two sisters, actually, two of my aunts. One went to Italy, and the other one went to Europe and from Europe she came here. She migrated here. AJ: Were they in prison for politics or… RM: Yeah. The funny thing is—it’s amazing—I learned the history of my aunts and what they went through once I came here and when I got to Kenya. In 1998, we at that point didn’t know why we were leaving back home—like our comfortable life. But we were quickly snatched, and we came to Kenya without really understanding. We were young enough to [not] really comprehend exactly what was going on. But we were young enough to come, and later on we found out exactly what was going on. What I found out was my aunt, my youngest aunt—who now lives in Atlanta, who is a business owner, very successful—she was also the first generation that grew up in Finfinne, and she was what you would call a messenger.

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