የጉዞ ማስታወሻ - ጉም አስጎምጉም

የጉዞ ማስታወሻ

ጉም አስጎምጉም

በመዘምር ግርማ

የደብረ ብርሃን ዩኒቨርሲቲ የጅኦግራፊና አካባቢ ጥናት ትምህርት ክፍል የሁለተኛ ዓመት ተማሪዎች ለቱሪዝም ትምህርት ማሟያ የመስክ ጉብኝታቸውን ወደ መንዝ ጓሳ የማህበረሰብ ጥብቅ ስፍራ ቅዳሜ ታህሳስ 25፣ 2007 ዓ.ም. ያደርጉ ስለነበር ባላቸው የሶስት ሰው ትርፍ ቦታ ከትምህርት ክፍሉ ውጭ የመጣን ሶስት መምህራንን አክብረው ይዘውን ስለሄዱ በማመስገን ልጀምር፡፡መኪናው የሐበሻ ቀጠሮ ልማዱን ሳይለቅ ከጠዋቱ 1፡00 ሰዓት ላይ እስኪመጣ ከማለዳው 12፡00 ሰዓት ጀምሮ ጅሩ መንገድ እንጠብቀው የነበርንው ሰዓት አክባሪ ሶስቱ መምህራን  የበጋው የደብረ ብርሃን ቁር ሁለመናችንን ሲቆፍረን ነበር ያረፈድንው፡፡ ዩኒቨርሲቲው በተከራያቸው ሁለት ቅጥቅጥ በሚባሉ የህዝብ መኪናዎች ጉዞው ተጀመረ፡፡ መኪናው ሙዚቃ አልነበረውምና የጠዋቱን ብርድ የሚያስረሳ የወጣቶቹ ተማሪዎች የስልክ ላይ ሙዚቃና የመኪና ውስጥ ጭፈራ ተጀመረ፡፡ ተማሪዎቹ በራሳቸውም ያወርዱና ይዘፍኑ ጀመር፡፡

በጉዞዎች ላይ የሚታዩ የጭፈራ አይነቶች እና የአዘፋፈን ስልቶች የራሳቸው የሆነ ውበት ይታይባቸዋል፡፡ ባለፈው ሳምንት በአድህኖ የተቀናጀ የገጠር ልማት ማህበር ግብዣ ወርቅ ጉር ገብርኤል (ጎሼ ባዶ አቅራቢያ) ከአምስት ጓደኞቼ ጋር ለንግስ በምሄድበት ወቅት ምዕመናኑ በዝማሬ ሲቀዛቀዙ አውራጇ የሚያበረታቱበት ግጥም

‹‹ኧረ ሴቱ ፈዟል፣  ኧረ ወንዱ  ፈዟል፣

ዝማሬ ነው እንጂ ሌላ ምን ተይዟል››

የሚለው ግጥም በመንዙ የተማሪዎች እና የኛ ጉዞ

 ‹‹ኧረ ሴቱ ፈዟል፣  ኧረ ወንዱ  ፈዟል፣

ጭፈራ ነው እንጂ ሌላ ምን ተይዟል››

በሚል ተቀይሮ ሰማሁት፡፡

ተማሪዎቹ በጉዟችን ወቅት የዘፈኗቸውን ዘፈኖች አዝማቾች እና የተወሰኑ ግጥሞቻቸውን እስኪ ላካፍላችሁ፡፡

1.      ኧረ እማማ ዘነቡ፣  ኧረ እማማ ዘነቡ

ጓሳን የምናየው በማነው ሰበቡ?

2.     ኧረ ምታው ምታው ምታው ባንገትህ

ቢገጥም ባይገጥም አንተ ምን ቸገረህ

ምንም ባይሳካ ሲኒየር ሆነህ

ስትመረቅ እኮ ቲቸር እኮ ነህ

(በዚህ ጉዳይ ተገርሜ መምህርነትን የሚወድ ትውልድ ተፈጠረ ብዬ በማሰብ ከመኪና ስንወርድ ከተወሰኑ ተማሪዎች ጋር ባደረኩት ውይይት እንዳስተዋልኩት ከሆነ ተማሪዎቹ ዕጣ ፈንታቸውን አውቀውታል፡፡ በኛ ጊዜ የስነትምህርት ተማሪዎች እኛን አፕላይዶችን ቲቺንግን ስያታልሏት ኖን ቲቺንግ አሏት እያሉ ዕጣ ፈንታችንን የተነበዩልን ለነዚህ ተማሪዎች ከአሁኑ እንደተገለጠላቸው ተገነዘብኩ፡፡ እነርሱም አፕላይድ መሆናቸውን ልብ ይሏል፡፡)

የታደሉ ሰዎች ጂኦ ይማራሉ

ሁለተኛ ዓመት ላይ ጓሳ ይሄዳሉ

ሲመረቁ ደግሞ ቲቸር ይሆናሉ፡፡

በድህረ ምረቃው መርሃ ግብር አ.አ.ዩ. ዶክተር ታመነ ኪቲላ ፔዳጎጂ ሲያስተምሩን እንዳሉት ከሆነ በአስተማሪነት እቆያለሁ ብሎ የሚያስብ እና ሙያውን የሚወደው ሰው የተሻለ ያስተምራል፡፡  እናት ሃገር ሆይ! ሙያውን የሚወድ መምህር መጣልሽ፡፡ እንደሱ ዓይነቶቹን ያብዛልሽ እልሻለሁ፡፡

3.     ጉሮ ወሸባዬ ጉሮ ወሸባ

ጂኦ ድል አድርጎ ሲገባ

(ይህን ዘፈን የ1980ውን የምስራቅና መካከለኛው አፍሪካ ዋንጫን እንደበላን ነው የሰማሁት አሉ አንዱ መምህር)

4.     የሚገርመውና በጉዟችን በተደጋጋሚ የሰማሁት አውራጅና ተቀባይ የሚቀባበሉት ምልልስ ያለበት ግጥም

አውራጅ፡ ዴ በላንዴ

ተቀባይ፡ ዴ

አውራጅ፡ መኪናው ሲዲ የለውም እንዴ?

አውራጅ፡ ዴ በላንዴ

ተቀባይ፡ ዴ

አውራጅ፡ ጓሳ አልደረስንም እንዴ?

እዚህ አገር ዛፍ ብቻ ነው ያለ እንዴ?

5.     ያምራል አገሬ ኧረ ያምራል አገሬ ያምራል አገሬ

የትም የትም ዞሬ ባንቺ ነው ማማሬ

6.     ሰለሜ ሰለሜ

7.     የዓይኔ አበባ ነሽ የዓይኔ አበባ

ቱሪዝም አበባ

ያይኔ አበባ

8.     ሃይ ሎጋ ሃይ ሎጋዬ ሆ

ሃይ ሎጋ

ይወለድና እንከፍ እንከፉ

ጋን ይሸከማል

ከነድፍድፉ

ይወለድና ሆዳም ሆዳሙ

ካፌ ይሰቅላል 12፡00 ሰዓት

እስክስታ የሚመታባቸውና ዳንስ የሚቀልጥባቸው ዘፈኖችም ከስልኮች ጉሮሮ ይንቆረቆራሉ በየመሃሉ፡፡ የጉራጌኛ፣ የኦሮምኛ፣ የትግሪኛ እና የሌሎችም ቋንቋዎች ዘፈኖች ሰቀልጡ አረፈዱ፡፡

እንኳን ልከሽብኝ ልብሽን ወደኔ

እንደዋለ ያድራ ሲርገበገብ ዓይኔ

አባይ ጣናን ዞረሽ አምረሽ ተኳኩለሽ

ነይ በፈረሱ ጋልበሽ

ያው አዝማሪ ስላልያዝን እና የተቀረጸ ዘፈን በመሆኑ አባይ ጣናን ዞረሽ ያለው ዘፋኝ መሃል ሜዳ ዞረሽ ብሎ ሊገጥምልን አልቻለም ፡፡ ይህን ሁሉ ጥበብ ሳይ ታዲያ የዩኒቨርሲቲያችን የባህል ማዕከል የልጆቹን የጥበብ ዛር ማባበል እንዳለበት ታየኝ፡፡

በ2002 ዓ.ም  የታተመ የአዲስ አድማስ ጋዜጣን እያነበብኩ ነበር እየተጓዝኩ የነበረው፡፡ አንዱ ገጽ ስለ እድሜ ልክ ድንግልና የሚያወራ ነበር፡፡ የጽሁፉ መነሻ አንዲት ወጣት ‹‹ጓደኛዬ ወሲብ ስናደርግ ስላልደማሁ ድንግል አልመሰልኩትም›› ብላ ለጋዜጣው የጻፈችው ደብዳቤ ነበር፡፡ ስለድንግልና አይነቶች እና ስለዕድሜልክ ድንግልና ማለትም ወሲብ እየፈጸሙም ሆነ ልጅ እየወለዱ ስለማይጠፋው አይነት የሚያትተውን ገጽ አንብቤ ቀድጄ ወደ መኪናው የዕቃ ማስቀመጫ ቆጥ ወረወርኩትና ቀሪውን ንባቤን ቀጠልኩ፡፡ በነገራችን ላይ ጋዜጣ ሳነብ ያነበብኩትን ገጽ እየቀደዱ መጣል ያስደስተኛል፡፡ ይህ ወረቀት ከቆጡ ወርዶ አንደኛዋ ተማሪ ላይ ያርፍባታል፡፡ ርዕሱን አይታ፣ ወረቀቱን ደባብሳ እና አገላብጣ ጣለችው፡፡ የሴቶች ጉዳይ በሴቶች ለመነበብ አለመፈለጉ ገርሞኝና የንባብ ፍራቻችንን ታዝቤ ንባቤን ቀጠልኩ፡፡

መንዝ ሳንደርስ በሚኒልክ መስኮት ጉብኝታችን ላይ ተማሪ ታምሩ ዋቻራን ስለጉዞው ጠይቄው ‹‹አላማችን ቦታው ላይ ችግር ካለ ደካማ ጎኖቹን ለማየት እና ችግሩን ጠቁመን ስፍራውን ለጎብኝ አመቺ ለማድረግ ነው››  ብሎኛል፡፡ ተማሪ የኔካሳ ዮሴፍ ደግሞ መኪና ውስጥ በጠየኳት ወቅት‹‹ጓሳን አይተን ለመምጣት ነው ሃሳባችን፤ የፒስታውን መንገድ ሁኔታ የምታየው ነው ለቱሪስት አይመችም፤ ለጉብኝት ጥሩ መኪና መኖር አለበት፤ ምግብና በቂ አገልግሎት የለም ተብሏል፤ መሻሻል አለበት›› በማለት የታያትን ሃሳብ ሰንዝራለች፡፡ ቃልኪዳን ተስፋዬ ደግሞ ‹‹ሃገራችን የተለያዩ የተፈጥሮ ገጽታዎች አሏት - የተፈጥሮ ደን፣ አራዊቶች፡፡ ልማት ግን መስፋፋት አለበት -ለቱሪስት እንዲመች፡፡ ፒስታው ደረጃው ቢስተካከል ጥሩ ነው፡፡›› ብላኛለች፡፡

ትምህርት ቤት ከመዘዞ ከተማ ውጭ ጓሳ እስክንደርስ አለማየታችን ያሳሰባቸው ነበሩ፡፡ ‹‹ሊወድቅ የደረሰ ቤት ጋ ትምህርት ቤት ይላል፡፡ትምህርት አለ ወይ? መምህር አለ ወይ? ያስብላችኋል፡፡›› አለ አንደኛው ተጓዥ፡፡  ምንአልባት ትምህርት ቤቶቹ ከመንገዱ ርቀው ተሰርተው ሊሆን ይችላል፤ አላውቅም፡፡ በመንገዳችን አንድ ደብረ ብርሃን የሚገኘውን  የሃይለማርያም ማሞ ትምህርት ቤትን ዩኒፎርም የለበሰ ተማሪ ብቻ ማየታችንን ሳስበው እኔንም ተማሪዎቹ የት አሉ? አስባለኝ፡፡ ስንመለስ የመንገዱ ሌላኛውን አቅጣጫ ስለምናይ አንድ ሌላ ትምህርት ቤት በግድ አገኘን፡፡

ከባሽ ከተማ በኋላ ባለው ጉዟችን የእርከን ስራና በእርከኑ ጥግ የመኖ እጽዋት በማየቴ ተደስቻለሁ፤ እንደ ጎሼ ባዶ ምን አልባት እስካሁን ካልተደረገ በዘመናዊ የማር ምርት ቢታጀብ እላለሁ፤ የንብ መኖ የሚሆኑ ዛፎችንም መትከል ስለሚቻል፡፡ ችግሩ ግን ይህ ሃሳቤ እዚያ ያሉት ሃላፊዎች ዘንድ እንዴት ይደርሳል የሚለው ነው፡፡ ባሽ ላይ ሆኖ ሸዋሮቢት ከተማን ማየት ጣርማበር ተራራ ላይ ሆኖ ደብረሲና ከማየት በላይ ልብን ይሰውራል፡፡ ዳኛቸው ወርቁ አቧራ የረጋበት የሚመስለው የሚለው ይፋት እውነትም እንደ ጥቁር ጉም መሳይ ነገር እንደሸፈነው ለማየት ችያለሁ፡፡  መንዝ ብዙ የባህር ዛፍ እና መጠነኛ የጽድ ደን ያለበት አካባቢ ነው፡፡ ምን ጊዜ ተከሉት ይህን ሁሉ ያስብላችኋል፡፡ ከደቡብ የመጡት ተማሪዎች ሳይሆኑ አይቀሩም ከመጡበት ስፍራ ጋር በማወዳደር ‹‹መንዝ ላይ ልምላሜ ወፍ የለም›› ሲሉ ግን ገና እንደሚቀረን አሰብኩ፡፡

የአንኮበር ቤተመንግስት ሎጅን የሚመስለው የጓሳ ማህበረሰብ አቀፍ ፓርክ የእንግዶች ማረፊያ እልፍኝ እና ጎጆዎቹ ከሩቅ በአስታ ጫካ ተከበው ከተራራውና ሸንተረሩ ጋር ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ሲታዩ አዕምሮን ያረጋጋሉ፣ መንፈስን ያድሳሉ፣ ሁለመናንም ይጣራሉ፡፡ በጎዴ ከተማ መልክ በአባይ ተፋሰስ አጥኝዎቹ አሜሪካውያን ፊታውራሪነት  በዘመናዊ መልክ ለመንዝ ህዝብ የአስተዳደር ማዕከል ትሆን ዘንድ በ1959 የተቋቋመችው እና የዚያን ጊዜ የተጀመሩት የአስተዳደር ህንጻዎቿ አሁንም እንዳላለቁላት የሰማሁላት እና ያነበብኩላት ከተማ መሃልሜዳ ለመድረስ 22 ኪሎሜትር ሲቀረን ፓርኩ ላይ ወረድን፡፡ ‹‹መሃልሜዳ መንዝ መሃል ሜዳ›› አለች ዘፋኝ፡፡ ያኔ ከአሜሪካውያኑ ጋር አብሮ በሃላፊነት ይሰራ የነበረው ተጉለቴው ዶክተር ሃይለጊዮርጊስ ወርቅነህ ያነሳቸው የልማት ዕቅዶች የበጉን እርባታና የእርሻውን ምርት ማዘመኑ አሁን መነሳሻውና መታወሻው ሰዓት አይመስላችሁም?

እንደ ፓርኩ ኃላፊ እንደ አቶ አበበ ገለጻ ከሆነ ፓርኩ ከ17ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን ጀምሮ በማህበረሰቡ የሚጠበቅ ነው፡፡ ነዋሪዎቹ ወደክልሉ ሰውና ከብት ካስገቡ ከፍተኛ ቅጣት ይጣልባቸው ነበር - ፓርኩ በባህላዊ አስተዳደር በነዋሪው ሲተዳዳር፡፡ ትኩስ የነብር ለምድ፣ የቀጨሞ ሙቀጫ (ቀጨሞ ውስጡ ክፍት ነው አሉ) እና አንድ ሺህ ዳውላ እህልን ዓይነት የማይፈጸሙ ቅጣቶች ማህበረሰቡ ራሱን ከስፍራው እንዲያገል ለማድረግ ይጣሉ ነበር፡፡ በተወሰነ ጊዜ እየዘጋን እየከፈትን ብንጠቀምበት ይሻላል ያሉት ከጎንደር መጡ የተባሉት የመንዝ መስራች ሁለት ወንድማማቾች ስፍራውን ሲከባከቡት እንደኖሩ አስጎብኛችን ነግረውናል፡፡ ከሰው ንክኪ ለተከለለው ስፍራ አመራር አቋቁመው ከ3 እስከ 5 ዓመት ድረስ ይጠብቁትና ጓሳውን ይጠቀሙበታል፡፡ ማገዶ እንጨት ቢኖርም ዋናው ለቤት መስሪያ የሚጠቀሙበትን ጓሳ ነው በጣም የሚፈልጉት፡፡ ‹‹ጓሳ ደማችን ነው ብለው ስለሚያምኑ አሁም ይጠብቁታል›› ብሎናል አቶ አበበ፡፡

የዩ.አይ.ኤ.ኤ ተራራ ክብካቤ ሽልማትን ያገኘው እና በዘመናዊ መልክ እ.ኤ.አ. በ2003 የተመሰረተው  መንዝ ጓሳ በሰሜን ኢትዮጵያ በአፍሮ አልፓይን ተራሮች ክልል ውስጥ ይገኛል፡፡ ማስጎብኘቱና ዘመናዊ አሰራሩ እ.ኤ.አ. ከ2009 ጀምሮ እንደጀመረ፣ እንዲሁም በጀርመኑ የፍራንክፈርት ዙኦሎጂካል ሶሳይቲ እና በአውሮፓ ህብረት እገዛ እንደተቋቋመ ተነግሮናል፡፡ ቀይ ቀበሮ፣ አንኮበር ሰሪን የተባለች ወፍ፣ ጭላዳ ዝንጀሮ እንዲሁም ሌሎች እንስሳት በስፍራው ይገኛሉ፡፡ዝንጀሮዎቹ ዋሻ ውስጥ ካደሩ ጅብ ስለሚበላቸው ገደል ላይ ያድራሉ፡፡ አብዛኞቹን እንስሳት ለመጎብኘት በጠዋት መነሳትና ርቀት መንገድ መሄድ ግድ ይላል፡፡ የማህበረሰብ ጥብቅ ስፍራው አላማ ማህበረሰቡን መጥቀም ነው - ጤና ጣቢያ እና ትምህርት ቤት የመሳሰሉትን የህዝብ መገልገያዎች መስራት፣ በዕደ ጥበብ በተለይ በባና ስራ ህዝቡን መጥቀም እና በአጠቃላይ ስነህይወታዊና ባህላዊ ሃብቶችን መንከባከብ ፡፡  የጓሳ ክልል 7800 ሄክታር ይሸፍናል፡፡

ፓርኩ የሚያስጎኛቸውን ሁሉ ጎብኝቶ ለመጨረስ አንድ ጎብኝ የሶስት ምሽቶችና የአራት ቀናት ጉብኝት ያስፈልገዋል፡፡ 11 አልጋ እና 6 ክፍል መኝታ ቤት በስፍራው ሲኖር ጎብኝዎች በብዛት ከመጡ በድንኳን ያድራሉ ወይንም ወደ መሃል ሜዳ ከተማ ይሄዳሉ የሚል መረጃ ተሰጥቶናል፡፡ ፓርኩን በአመት ከ300 ያነሰ ሰው የሚጎበኘው ሲሆን በብዛት የሚጎበኘው አዲስ አበባ በሚኖሩ የውጭ ዜጎች ነው፡፡ ኢትዮጵያዊ ጎብኝ በጣም አነስተኛ ነው፡፡ 

የፓርኩ ባለንብረቶች በአቅራቢያው ያሉት የዘጠኝ ቀበሌዎች ነዋሪዎች ናቸው፡፡ ፓርኩን ያቋቋመው የውጭ ድርጅት በተለያዩ ምክንያቶች ስፍራውን ለቆ በመውጣቱ የአማራ ክልል የጓሳ ማህበረሰብ ጥብቅ ስፍራ ጽ/ቤትን አቋቁሟል፡፡ ለሰራተኞች የሚከፈለውን ደሞዝና የስራ ማስኬጃውንም ከጉብኝቱ እና ዶክመንታሪ ፊልም ከሚሰሩ አካላት ከሚገኘው ክፍያ ይሸፍናሉ፡፡ ሎጁ እንዳይድግ የመንገድ ችግር አለ፡፡ ጥበቃው ደካማ ስለሆነ የፓርኩ ተጠቃሚ አይደለንም የሚሉ ቀበሌዎች ነዋሪዎች ከአጣዬ እየመጡ ጓሳውን ያቃጥሉ ነበር፡፡

በስፍራው ያገኘናቸው ጀርመናውያን ቱሪስቶችን ይዞ የመጣው ‹‹ጀርመን ሃገር 28 ዓመት ኖርኩ፤ አሁን ግን አዲስ አበባ ተመልሻለሁ›› ያለን ሐበሻ ‹‹የቱሪዝም ኢንዱስትሪው እዚህ አገር ውድ ነው›› ብሏል፡፡ ‹‹ከጀርመን ተነስተህ፣ ግብጽ ደርሰህና አካባቢውን ጎብኝተህ 15 ቀን ተዝናንተህ ከነአውሮፕላን መሳፈሪያው 300 ዩሮ ትከፍላለህ፤ እዚህ ግን 3000 ዩሮም የበረራ ወጭህን ሸፍኖ ሁለት ሳምንትም አያኖርህም፡፡ የኢትዮጵያዊና የፈረንጅን ዋጋ መለያየት አስመልክቶ ጀርመኖቹ እናንተ አገር የጥቁር አፓርታይድ አለ ብለውኛል›› ብሎናል፡፡ ‹‹ልጄ ማስተርሱን እያደረገ ነው፤ ኢትዮጵያ መጥቶ የተማረው አማርኛ ‹መብራት የለም፣ ውሃ የለም፣ ችግር የለም › የሚል ነው›› አለን፡፡

በጓሳ በጥበቃ ስራ ላይ ለተሰማሩ አንድ ሰው ያቀረብኩት ጥያቄ ነበር፡፡ ይኸውም ‹‹መንዞች የጥንቱን የአባቶቻችሁን ትውልድ፣ ዘራችሁን እንዴት ነው የምትቆጥሩት›› የሚል ነበር፡፡ ‹‹ምን እኔ ብዙም አላውቀውም፤ ግን የሚየውቁት ሲቆጥሩት ከመጀመሪያው ጀምረው ጉም አስጎምጉም ብለው ነው የሚጀምሩት፡፡›› አሉኝ፡፡ የዚህንም ጉም አስጎምጉም የሚለውን ትርጉሙን ሳሰላስል ቆየሁ፡፡ ጉም አንዴ መጥቶ አስገምግሞ አደባይቶ ያልፋል፤ ዝናቡን፣ በረዶውን፣ ካፊያውን እና ውሽንፍሩን አውርዶት፡፡ ወይንም ዳኛቸው ወርቁ እንደሚለው ጀጅሮ፣ ወይንም ተጉለቶች እንደሚሉት በነሃሴ እኝኝ ብሎ፣ አፍኖ፣ መብረቅ በመብረቅ አድርጎት፡፡ መሬቷ ከመስከረም ወዲህ አትረጋም ይላሉ ዝናቡ እስካለ ድረስ፡፡ ልክ እንደወላድ ያደርጋታል፤ ወልዳ የምትገላገለው ጸደይ ሲገባ ነው፡፡ ያ አንድ ትውልድ መሆኑ ነው ወደ ሰዎች ሕይወት ስናመጣው፡፡ መንዞችም ትውልዳቸውን ከዚህ ጉምና ውጤቱ ጋር አዛምደውታል ማለት ነው ጉም አስጎጉም ሲሉ፡፡ ከመንዝ በመጣሁ በማግስቱ አያቴን አግኝቻት ስለዚህ ጉዳይ ማለትም ስለ ጉም አስጎምጉም ስጠይቃት ‹‹በኛ በተጉለቶች ዘንድ ሰው ሲበዛ ነው እንደዚያ የሚባለው፤ በለቅሶም በሰርግም  ሰዉ ጉም አስጎምጉም ነው ከተባለ እንደ አሸን ፈላ ማለት ነው›› ስትለኝ ‹‹ይህም አለ›› ብዬ  ‹‹ሌላ መንዜ ዘር ቆጠራ አዋቂ አዛውንት እስካገኝ ልጠብቅ›› ብዬ ዝም አልኩ፡፡

ተማሪዎቻችን ጠዋት ያስረፈዳቸው ነገር ከዩኒቨርሲቲው ምግብ ቤት ምግብ ማስቋጠር ኖሮ እነሱ የቋጠሩትን ፍርፍር፣ እኛም ጓደኛችን መምህራቸው የያዙትን ስንቅ ጓሳ ግቢ ውስጥ በላን፡፡ እርስዎ ጓሳ መሄድ በሚፈልጉ ጊዜ ስለምግብ ጉዳይ የየማህበረሰብ ጥብቅ ስፍራውን ሰዎች ማነጋገር ይኖርብዎታል፡፡ እያበሰሉ እንዲመገቡ ሁኔታው ይመቻችልዎታል፡፡ የጓሳ ሎጅ ግንቡ ከአካባቢው በሚገኘው ጥቁር ድንጋይ የተገነባ ሲሆን ጣራው ደግሞ በእንጨት ተዋቅሮ ሳር የለበሰ ነው፡፡ እጽዋትን፣ ጭላዳ ዝንጀሮን፣ ፍልፈል የቆፈራቸውን ጉድጓዶች፣ የአካባቢውን የገጠር ቤት፣ የህዝቡን አሰፋፈር እንዲሁም አኗኗር ለማየት ችለናል፡፡ ከተማሪዎቻችን ጋርም የተወሰነ ርቀት የእግር ጉዞ አድርገን አካባቢውን ቃኝተናል፡፡ የጦስኙ ሽታ፣ የአስታው እና የጓሳው ትዕይንት፣ የመልከአምድሩ ወጣ ገባነት ሁሉ ቀልቡን ያልሳበው ጎብኝ ከመካከላችን አልነበረም፡፡ ከተምኞችና የከተማን ህይወት የለመዱ ስለበዙ በየስፍራው ቁጭ ማለትና ሲሄዱም ማለክለክ የጉዞው አካል ነበር፡፡ ለተማሪዎቻችን በእንግሊዝኛ ማለክለክ ‹‹ቱ ፓንት›› እንደሆነ ነግሬያቸው የአንድ ኢትዮጵያዊን ተማሪ ገጠመኝንም ነገርኳቸውና በሳቅ ፈረሱ፡፡ ተማሪው አሜሪካ የትምህርት ዕድል ደርሶት ጥቁር ፓንት ለብሶ እንዲሄድ የደረሰው የአለባበስ መመሪያ ያሳስበዋል፡፡ ግማሽ ደርዘን ቅያሪ ጥቁር ፓንት ገዝቶም ይሄዳል፡፡ እንደገባም አሜሪካውያኑ የታል ጥቁሩ ፓንት ሲሉት ቀበቶውን ፈቶ ያሳያቸዋል፡፡ ግን በአሜሪካውያን እንግሊዝኛ ፓንት ማለት ሱሪ ማለት ነበር፤ ተማሪውም ይህን አላወቀም ነበር፡፡ በኛ አገር ፓንት የምንለው ደግሞ በአሜሪካን አንደር ዌር ይባላል፡፡

በአጠቃላይ ጉዳይ ከሌለው አንድን ስፍራ ሄዶ ለማይጎበኘው ለኛ ሰው ይህን ዓይነቱ አጋጣሚ የማይገኝ ነው፡፡ እኔም መንዝን እስካሁን ሳላይ ቆይቼ ስላየሁት ደስተኝነት ተሰምቶኛል፡፡ የደብረ ብርሃን ዩኒቨርሲቲ ተማሪዎችን ይህን ዓይነት ጉዞ ማስጎብኘቱ ቢቀጥል የሚል አስተያየቴን እሰጣለሁ፡፡ በቅርብ ያሉትን ስፍራዎች ሲጎበኙ አካባቢውን በምርምርና ማህበረሰብ አገልግሎት ለማገዝ ያመቻል፡፡ ሌላ ሩቅ ስፍራ ከሆነ ግን ወጪውም ከፍተኛ ነው፡፡

Ethiopia cave 2

A TRIP WORTH THE EFFORT! Entoto Observatory

A TRIP WORTH THE EFFORT!
By Mezemir (English Dep’t)
The trip to the Entoto Observatory meant for the Debre Berhan University (DBU) community was a golden opportunity for science lovers. The Ethiopian Space Science Society’s (ESSS) DBU Branch was preparing for this trip for months. Even the Ministry of Education in Addis Ababa sent additional buses for this purpose. On Saturday, April 26, 2014, 70 teachers, and 255 students headed to the area from Debre Berhan at 7:00 a.m. and reached the observatory at 10:30 a.m.
ENTOTO’S STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Till the telescope operators came to the area, we had been visiting Entoto, and the capital under a reconstruction seemed to have fallen under our control. An instructor told me that a student asked him what the town lying ahead of us was called. Really! For a new comer and for one who doesn’t know the capital well, this town may be confused for another. Neway Belachew said that the place was windy, the topography pleasant, and it would be nice if they had wind power generating plant in addition. Someone asked me, “Why do your relatives like such high places?” “Which ones are they?” I asked back. “Taitu et al!” “My God! Taitu is nearer to you than she is to me!” I thought. “Why Entoto?” You may ask, too. Experts’ answers await you below. Past the Entoto church and in the middle of the dense Eucalyptus forest, this scientific oasis is properly sited.
WHAT REALLY IS IN THE BREATHTAKINGLY EXPENSIVE OBSERVATORY?
Before the visit, the place would be taken for just an ordinary one for laymen as it had only a few buildings without a fence. The planners built two special hut-like structures, a guest house, and a server room. The roof of the hut-like structures, the dome, is a half circle whose purpose is to protect the telescope from sunlight, frost and rain. On the dome, there is a window which closes and opens for the telescope to access the outer space. The dome revolves 360 degrees; however, at this time, the testing stage, where there is no observation yet, we haven’t seen it revolving. Did we regret then? No, we shared the hope the scientists there have.
The automated telescope which is provided and set up by a German company, Astelco, occupies the second floor one of the hut-like structure. No light is permitted at the telescope room. They say even Addis Ababa city’s light disturbs a little bit at night, the convenient and only time for observation. The one-meter-diameter mirror is at the bottom part of the telescope accompanied by two side mirrors and another top mirror that reflects what comes from up the sky. Our guide told us that in Chili, Atacama Desert, and elsewhere in the civilized world there are big telescopes with mirrors long in diameter – up to 16 meters. A 32- meter-diameter telescope is said to be under construction in the developed world. Our Optical telescope cost 3.4 million Euro including installation. There are radio telescopes elsewhere in the world. The telescope is manually operated using buttons. Reflected rays will come to the down mirror, and then, they go to the side ones. After this, they go to the control room in the ground floor where the data is changed to image form and people see it. If big diameter telescopes were there, one would see much area, but precision would go down. Hey! Please don’t just expect a telescope that you see through with your naked eyes without machine processing.
Downstairs is the place for the control cabinet which contains a spectrograph with a CCD camera, two terabyte highly concentrated computer and a six-hour-serving battery. The spectrograph is used to process the data captured and supply to the computer, which changes it to images decipherable by people. When the observatory goes operational, using a pc anyone who is permitted to use can access the services from anywhere in the country. “In what interval do you record?” asked one of the 25 professors visiting in my group. “We record the data needed; if someone says I need a certain star, he can access,” responded the operator who must be the mechanical engineer.
Asked outside the visit, Bulti Kumera, a Micro Biologist, commented, “To acquaint ourselves with the environment and to have geographical information this observatory is useful.” We visited till 12 a.m. and started our back journey. The mathematician, Mengisu Calchisa, is also interested in the research and development that this observatory enhances.
WHY OBSERVATORY? WHY SPACE SCIENCE?
Our physicists, who are busy compensating the time we lost without a good acquaintance with the space, won’t hesitate to teach people about the field of space science. They answer questions you may ask just out of curiosity: Why Observatory? Why Space Science? Gezahegn sufa, auditor of DBU ESSS and an atmospheric physicist, has a lot to say about the discipline: “Field trips should be integrated with the curriculum since students get motivated when they practice. When they go to work also they won’t get confused. For Ethiopia to grow, a scientific society should be built. At this time space science is a matter of survival, not luxury. We can relate it to securing our developmental sites. We should also work to have internationally competent experts and contribute to the development of science. We shall not be neutral in this regard. This is connected with food security, security and our day-to-day lives. In the developed world you shall not tell your location in a relative sense, but you just tell the latitude and longitude which is detected by GPS. Space Science should be included under the curriculum at least at degree level. If there is a shortage of doctors, you can be treated using tele-medicine. The ESSS should not last long as an association and the government should set up something more than this. Space science and observatory are separate organizations. Space science helps the Entoto observatory through the fund it gets from donors. ESSS should have its own television and radio programs since its main wish is to inculcate its ideas to the public; it cannot just make all the people its members. Above all, a planetary museum should be set up for the public to know about our activities.”
Gizaw Berhanu, a physics instructor and a PhD candidate at the University of South Africa, who was unable to give me an interview because of the telephone network problem, said the trip gave a good lesson particularly to the students. I believe that this network problem shall be resolved when our observatory and the ESSS achieve their missions.
Kibru Teka, a mathematics instructor said, “I feel happy to see the observatory; I will come for a visit when the observation begins; everything made me happy. When it goes operational, it will be useful for research, and we will launch rocket from here. We can also sell the data.”
Asked what he and his students benefited from the trip Asratemedhin Bekele, a physics instructor and a PhD candidate at the University of South Africa, said “it has an immense contribution to the country’s development; it tells you which season or month is conducive for agriculture, and its importance for the students is that it will be helpful to learn in practice the courses they are given at the university. For example, introduction to space physics, astrophysics, astronomy, space physics, metrology, and plasma physics are the courses in this area given in our department. Students who take those courses benefit from the observatory when they need to conduct a research. It is a nice opportunity to collect data.”
Asked what stakeholders should contribute for the observatory and the field, Asrate responded:
Our university is the sixth involving itself in the activity of the ESSS where the number of universities in the country is more than 31. As a member of the ESSS, DBU donated ESSS 200,000 Birr. Universities like ours should feel ownership and the society’s importance to our country will be high. After five years, we will launch an information satellite. Likewise, Ali Gebeyehu, an instructor of GIS and remote sensing here at DBU, wrote to me that, “The observatory is a breakthrough to develop the infrastructure of space science. One of the branches of space science, the satellite technology, which is important for communication (mobile, television, and internet…) has a tremendous importance for development. As we know, satellites are also significant for weather and climatic data collection, for the detection of resources which are found on the surface of the earth, and for the planning of urban and rural land.”
Gezahegn asks a question that he answers himself, “Is space science a luxury? No, it is a matter of survival!” Let me take this opportunity to thank all the active professors at all of our colleges for helping DBU move one kneel ahead in such endeavors as the physicist did! Finally, I think you wondered where the white, big metal birds of Mesqel Square built to illuminate the Ethiopian Millennium are left. I had a glance of them in the Entoto forest. In the Social Science magazine, I will discuss an issue related to this: Solid waste. I also saw women fuel wood carriers who undergo a debilitating task and felt sad. You know? The one I saw unloaded her bundle by a bridge and gave water to the baby she was carrying in the front.

Wasted Solid Waste - By Mezemir Girma

Wasted Solid Waste
By Mezemir Girma
mezemir@yahoo.com
My dear reader, please go to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, where you would get the following definition on waste: “materials that are no longer needed and are thrown away.” This could be the case in our town or elsewhere in Ethiopia. However, in the civilized world, waste is really more than something to be thrown away. This piece briefly covers the issue of solid waste in the places I visited so far.
Virtually in any city I visited in the last few years, I noticed how the issue of solid waste is what naturally should come in any sane person’s mind. Any one of the paths and streets are shouting for our attention. If you walk either in the streets of the capital Addis Ababa or any other town in the country, you will definitely see how waste is wasted.
Once, a German environmentalist admired Ethiopia in the national radio for her environmental protection regarding the plastic mineral water containers which we keep for further use unlike in his home country. The containers are kept for use because our farmers mostly use them to carry water, oil, and gas with. Other sorts of plastic materials such as bags are left everywhere including in the farmlands and rivers where they make the most damage. Animals eat them, children put them into their mouths and the wind takes them from place to place.
Metallic waste is left on the streets and villages. Who cares if a nail injures poor people going barefoot! Whose worry would it be if a piece of tin waste cuts the hands of an unfortunate person? I and you should care! We should worry! How I was shocked as I saw my uncle’s foot injured by a rusting nail.
In Debre Berhan University, paper waste should be a matter of crucial attention for me and you; shouldn’t it? Some foreigners I met so far use both the back and front sides of sheets of paper. Nonetheless, I and my colleagues mostly throw paper with the back unused. In addition to this, we burn the exam papers after use. Some shop owners use used paper, documents and books to wrap commodities. The fact that used newspapers from other countries are employed here burns me. Why don’t we at least read for local shop consumption? I have heard of Rwandan companies exporting the paper waste to china for reproduction.
Who do you appreciate in their care for the environment? Gash Abera Molla, Wangari Matai or yourself? It is not flattery that put you among these great people, but it is a good wish. I believe that I and you can stand one day with pride for our concern for the environment. Kaizen is the fashion of the day now; isn’t it? Using this or any other knowledge, let us at least clean our surroundings.
What do you feel to be in the midst of construction waste, electronic waste, broken glass, khat waste, worn clothes that you trample on the road and every sort of waste that people throw? Am I blaming you my colleagues? No! I am rather motivating you all to be models for our students and the community. I believe that awareness creation should come first. That is why I scribbled what you already know. Have you ever asked yourself about solid waste management in our campus? I know that it is improving at least since we have some dustbins
Management schemes implemented in Addis are really promising. The authorities arranged a program where each household pays the collectors of the waste and it is taken care of before it causes the most damage. In the condominiums of Debre Birhan also the residents pay and get rid of the waste on time. An environment clean, green and conducive for humans comes this way.
I remember people saying when people throw waste 25 meters away from their homes, it comes back home one way or the other. Burning and landfill are hazardous and bad means of removing waste. Rather we should sort out the organic and the inorganic waste. The sorted out inorganic waste will be recycled. The organic waste can be used as fertilizer after the three months it takes to rot. Inorganic waste including glass and plastic can be exported or processed locally. Sustainable waste management comes this way; job opportunities will be available; green public areas will be there for the people to spend their times at; zooming compactors and municipal trucks will take care of the waste that is collected from every home. Let us work hard and envision a country clean and beautiful!

Ethiopia’s Engidwasha Cave Served As Safe House to Patriots During Italian Occupation

It was nine years ago that for the first time I experienced what I call “Adefris Syndrome.” Like “Adefris,” the character in Daniachew Worku’s prominent Amharic novel, I continually raise new ideas that seem strange to local people. As a college student, I tried to share ideas from my modern life and education with the people of my birthplace.

At the time, I was not accustomed to reading fiction during my summer break, but mostly to listening to the radio and entertaining new thoughts, such as, Why not introduce some places of importance from my hometown, Sasit, a three-hour drive north of Debre Birhan, to the public and tourists?
I knew the first step was to visit them myself and thoroughly research them by collecting oral stories about Engidwasha, a spectacular cave found in Moja, the place formerly known as Tegulet. Many people told me that a local patriot, Kasaye Wendaferew, had used Engidwasha to hide nearby residents and all of their livestock from fascist butchers in 1935.
I asked my interviewees, most of whom were community elders, if they knew how big the cave was, and they said it was endless. With my collection of oral stories complete, I started the job of organizing some people to venture in to the cave.
Around 100 people from the area organized themselves and prepared to go in to its heart. On Sunday, September 17, 2006, around 6:30 a.m., the amateur researchers came face-to-face with the graceful cave that resembled the entrance to hell.
The locals call it “hyena cave” and dreaded entering it, but just as “Adefris” drives his people toward a plethora of thoughts, I was driving my compatriots into this fearsome living hell relying solely on oral history.

Before we went into the cave, we enjoyed the surrounding scenery and the horizon, which included views of Menz and Selale that appeared before us as the sun rose behind the cave.

The entrance to the cave looked like an Ethiopian girl bent forward, washing her hair. The two mountains on the cave’s sides looked like her shoulders, and the river flowing in the valley between the mountains looked like her lathered hair. The vegetation around the entrance of the cave reminded me of how this country is really green at heart.
Touching the waterfall, we could get an intimate sense of the seasonal gift, which made us feel we had nature in the palms of our hands.
The mouth of this magnificent natural wonder of Tegulet measures 105 meters wide. Inside, its height varies from one to three meters, and it is necessary to crawl along the narrow parts to reach the furthest corners of the cave.
The ascending and descending roofs give the cave the look of a big tent. Inside the cave, impenetrable darkness and stalactite and stalagmites — coupled with the stories about the presence of hyenas, tigers and snakes — make it a fearsome place.
Two brave local men, Ashenafi Workshet and Dereje Asrate, were courageous enough to go through the narrow passageways and into the inner parts of the cave.
Rocks; wild animal excrement; dry, red soil; and the skeletons of both animals and people are some of the things we stepped on as we went in deeper. The roof of the cave was dark, but when we scraped it, we saw that it twinkled with minerals. The elders of the area told us that Engidwasha had been darkened by the patriots who used smoke from torches to prevent the Italians from seeing what they thought were precious minerals and taking them away.
When I read the biography of the late-Haile Giorgis Workneh, the first Ethiopian civil engineer to receive a doctorate, I learned that a cave near Sasit served as a shelter for more than 400 patriots and their family members who were on the run during the Italian occupation in 1937. When the Italians came to look for the patriots, the locals informed the Italians that the patriots, whom they were hunting, were in the cave. The Italian forces surrounded the cave by the thousands, trapping the people in the cave. And after 14 days of hunger, thirst and confrontation, the men were butchered and the women and children, including Haile Giworgis, were taken to a prison in Menz and eventually Debre Birhan. I believe Engidwasha must be the cave from the story Haile mentions because of its size and the presence of a waterfall in front of it.
More Research To Be Done
I recommend an organized visit be made and research conducted in Engidwasha. It is a fertile area for research by archaeologists, geographers, historians, and geologists — all of which that can be done at universities like Debre Berhan, which is the nearest to the cave.
I invite all of my readers to make the journey to Sasit to visit and explore inside the magnificent Engidwasha cave and other historical caves. You can walk the hills and valleys that the Ethiopian patriots walked in order to see their fortresses and sit under the same trees where the patriots sat and plotted counterattacks against the enemy as they sheltered themselves from the sun.

በነሐሴ የገጠመኝ ችግር

በነሐሴ የገጠመኝ ችግር
የችግሬ ሁሉ መነሻ በጠባሴ ከሚገኘው ለ3 ዓመታት በኪራይ እኖርበት ከነበረው ቤት እስከ ነሐሴ 1፣ 2006 ድረስ ለቃችሁ ውጡ የሚል የጽሑፍ ማስጠንቀቂያ መሰጠቱ ነው፡፡ በግቢው ውስጥ ከምንኖረው 10 ግለሰቦች ለቆ መውጣት የቻለው 5 ሰው ብቻ ነው፡፡ ግቢውን ለሆቴል ፈልገንዋል ቢሉም እስከአሁን ስራ አልጀመሩም፡፡ ክረምትን ቢያቆዩን ወይም ከበጋው ቢነግሩን ምናለ? ከዚህ ግቢ ከወጣሁ በኋላ የገባሁበት የኮንዶሚኒየም ስቱዲዮ በሩን ለመዝጋት እና ለመክፈት ለበርካታ ደቂቃዎች መታገል ግድ ነው፡፡ እቃዎቼን የማጋዙ አድካሚና አድቃቂ ስራ በዕቃ ጋሪ አልጋዬንና የመጽሐፍት መደርደሪያዬን ወደ አዲሱ ቤቴ በማግባት ተጠናቀቀ፡፡ ጓደኞቼም ‹‹እንኳን ወደ ዘመናዊ ቤት በደህና መጣህ›› አሉኝ፡፡ ይህን የዘመናዊ አኗኗር ነገር ሳስበው ትዝ የሚለኝ የስራ ባልደረባዬ መምህር አብዮት ዲባባ ሲሆን እርሱም ‹‹ወደ ኮንዶሚኒየም ግባ›› ብሎኝ ምክሩን አልሰማ ስለው ‹‹ከሽንኩርት ጋር አንድ ቤት መኖር አቁም፤ ዘመናዊ ኑሮ ጀምር፤ ራሱን የቻለ ኩሽና እና መታጠቢያ ይኑርህ፡፡›› ይለኝ ነበር፡፡ ከአንድ ቤት ለቆ ወደ ሌላ ቤት የመግባትን ጣጣ እያሰብኩት እንጅ የአብዮትን ምክር ትክክለኛነት ሳልረዳው ቀርቼ አልነበረም፡፡
ለካ የሰው መዳኒቱ ሰው ነው!
አዲሱ ቤቴ ከገባሁ በኋላ አንድ ቀን አንዲት ዘመዴ ቡና አፍልታ ቤቱን መረቀችልኝ፡፡ እድሜ ይስጥልኝ የኔ እህት! በማግስቱ ግን ከቤት ለመውጣት በሩን ‹‹ተከፈት›› ብለው ‹‹አሻፈረኝ!›› ‹‹ነይ እስኪ ክፈችልኝ›› ብዬ ብጠራትና ብትሞክረው አልከፈት አላት፡፡ ተስፋዬ አሸናፊ እና ለማ ደምሴም ቢሞክሩት አልሆን ብሎ ምሳዬን እንደ እስረኛ በመስኮት ሰጥተውኝ ሄዱ፡፡ ከዚያም በኋላ ለአከራዬ ደውዬ ጉዳዩን አስረድቻት ‹‹ከሰዓት በኋላ ስብሰባ ቢኖርብኝም›› ብላ ባለሙያ ይዛ መጥታ ከሰዓት በኋላ አስከፈተችልኝ፡፡ የገነት በር ይከፈትልሽ የኔ እመቤት! በሬን ቆልፌ ስተኛ ‹‹ደሞ ነገ እንዴት ይከፈትልኝ ይሆን›› እያልኩ፣ ቆልፌ ወደ ስራም ሄጄ ‹‹እንዴት ከፍቼ እገባ ይሆን›› በማለት ስሰጋ ከረምኩ፡፡ ስጋት (አንዛይቲ) ደግሞ ከልክ በላይ የተሰጠኝ ሰው ሳልሆን አልቀርም፡፡
ጉዱ ቅዳሜ ነው፡፡ ምግብ ለማዘጋጀት ጉድ ጉድ ብልም መብራት የለም፡፡ ውሃ ከይድነቃቸው ሶሎሞን ቤት በባልዲ ቀድቼ ስመጣ የመብራቱን አለመኖር አስቤ ወደ መስሪያ ቤት ለመሄድ ስዘጋጅ በሩ አልዘጋ ብሎ በግድ ተዘጋልኝ፡፡ የበሩ የብሎን ማስገቢያዎች በደንብ እና በትክክለኛው ቦታ ስላልተበሱ ቁልፉስ ቢሆን ምን ላይ ይያዝ? ከሰዓት በኋላ ስመለስ ‹‹ና ተከፈት›› ብለው ‹‹አንተ ማን ስለሆንክ እከፈትልሃለሁ!›› አይለኝም! ከዋናው መሸጎሪያ በላይ ያለችው ትንሽ መሸጎሪያ ስፕሪንጓ ለቆ ተቀርቅራ ቅርት አለች፡፡ የታችኛው ቁልፍ ይሰራል፤ እሷ ግን አላስከፍትም አለች፡፡ ቅዳሜ እውጭ አደርኩ፡፡ እሁድ ለአከራዬ ብደውል ‹‹ሰው ፈልገህ አሰራው›› አለችኝ፡፡ የፈለግሁት ሰው ደግሞ ‹‹ይህን በጉልበት በፌሮ ብረት ተከፈት ብለው የበሩ መስተዋት ሊሰበር ይችላል፤ ቁልፉም ከጥቅም ውጭ ይሆናል›› አለኝ፡፡ እሁድም እንዲሁ ታደረ፡፡ ቅዳሜና እሁድ ያሳደረኝ ጓደኛዬ መምህር ሳለአምላክ ጥላሁን ሲሆን እንደ ፈረንጅ አገር ባለ መኝታ ቤቶች አሳድሮ ቁርስ አብልቶ ይሸኘኛል፡፡ በአያሌው አመሰግናለሁ፡፡ ደጋግሞ ‹‹ኮንዶሚኒየም ቤት እንከናም ነው›› ይለኛል፡፡ መታጠቢያ ቤት ውስጥ የተዘጉ እና ቁልፉም በማስቸገሩ ሰው ሳይሰማቸው ውለው ያደሩ ሰዎች እንዳሉ ሳለአምላክ ነግሮኛል፤ ከሌሎችም ሰምቻለሁ፡፡ ሰኞ አከራዬ አንድ ባለገራዥ ይዛልኝ መጣች፡፡ እርሱም በሩን አይቶት ዛሬ ሚካኤል ስለሆነ ብሎ ነው መሰለኝ ‹‹ወደ ማታ እመጣለሁ ከቅዳሴ ሲወጡ›› ብሎኝ በሩን አይቶትና ካል የሚባለውን ቁልፍ በ420 ብር አጋዝቶ ተሰናበተኝ፡፡
በተቀጣጠርንበት ሰዓት ብጠበቀው ቀረ፡፡ ስደውልለት አያነሳውም፡፡ ማታ 12፡30 አካባቢ ደውሎ አልመጣም ነገ ጠዋት 1፡00 እመጣለሁ ብሎኝ እርፍ! ያገሬ ሰው ‹‹አናጢ፣ መናጢ›› ያለው ወዶ መሰላችሁ! ይህን አለመምጣቱን በሰማሁበት ጊዜ ወደ ደ/ብርሃን ከተማ ሄድኩ፡፡ ቤርጎም ያዝኩ፡፡ ለስራ ጉዳይ ወደ ከተማው ከመጣው አጎቴ ጋር አደርኩ፡፡ የቤርጎ የከፈለው እርሱ ነው፡፡ ከእርሱ ጋር ስናወራም ‹‹ኦባማ በቃ እንደበሬ ሆነ እኮ›› አለኝ፡፡ እርስዎ የአሜሪካው ፕሬዚዳንት ወፈሩ ማለቱ ነው ወይ ሊሉ ይችሉ ይሆናል፡፡ ግን ገበሬው ሁሉ መኪና ገዛ ማለቱ ነው ስልዎት ከልቤ ነው፡፡ አስተማሪ መኪና የሚገዛው ከስንት አንድ ሆኖ ሳለ ገበሬው እና ከአራተኛ ክፍል ያቋረጠው ጓደኛዎ ባለ ኦባማ ሲሆን ቅር እንዳይልዎት! ሰው ያለለትን ነው የሚያገኘው፡፡ እግራችን ደህና ይሁንልን፡፡ አድሬም ወደ ጠባሴ (ቀበሌ 09) ከንጋቱ 12፡30 አካባቢ ላይ መጣሁ፡፡ ጠዋት ዝናብ በመሆኑ ሰውዬው ሲዘገይብኝ ‹‹እንደኔ ያለ ሰው እንዲህ ከተፈጥሮ ጋር ይፋለማል›› አልኩ፡፡ በዚህ ወቅት በጓደኛዬ በአማን ቃዲሮ በር አጠገብ ከውጭ ሆኜ የሰውየውን መምጣት እጠባበቅ ነበር፡፡ ‹‹መዘምር ዛሬማ አማርኛሽም ተቀይሯል›› ይለኛል፡፡ ስናደድ እና መላው ሲጠፋኝ እውነተኛው ስብዕናዬ ወጣ መሰለኝ፡፡ ሰውየው ወደ 2፡00 አካባቢ መጣና በሩን ገነጠለ፡፡ የራሴ ቤት እንዲኖረኝ መከረኝ፡፡ መልካም ነው፤ ሌሎችም፣ የስራ ባልደረቦቼም መክረውኝ አልሰማ ብዬ ነው፡፡ ብሰማስ ምን አመጣለሁ፡፡ አዲሱን ካል ቁልፍ ለመግጠም ሲሞር የብሎን ማገቢያዎቹ ቀዳዶች ስላስቸገሩት ወደ ስራው ቦታ መብሻ (ድሪል) ለማምጣት ሄዶ እስከ 6፡00ም አልመጣም፡፡ ሄዶም ካመጣ በኋላ በሩን በስቶ አስተካከለልኝ፤ መክፈትና መዝጋትም ተቻለ፡፡ ከሰውነቴ ላይ የሆነ ነገር ሲለቀኝ ተሰማኝ፡፡
‹‹መጣና ባመቱ ኧረ እንደምን ሰነበቱ?
እዚያ ማዶ ሆ…›› የሚሉት ልጆች አመቱን ጠብቀው ጎረቤት ሲያሞግሱ ይህን ጽሑፍ እየተየብኩ ነበር፡፡ የኔን አከራረም ይጠይቁኛል ብዬ ሳስብ የኔ ቤት ገባ ስለሚል አላዩትም መሰለኝ ወደ ሌላ ቤት ሄዱ፡፡ እኔና አንድ የደሴ ኮሌጅ የእንግሊዝኛ መምህር አጠገብ ላጠገብ ተቀምጠን አዳማ ራስ ሆቴል ስለ እንግሊዝኛ ማስተማር የዛሬ ሁለት ዓመት ስንሰለጥን የደላቸው በሆቴሉ ባለ መዋኛ ገንዳ ሲዋኙ ‹‹አየህ እኛ እዚህ ስንት እናነባለን እንጽፈለን እንጨናነቃለን እነሱ እንደዚህ ይዝናናሉ›› ብሎ እንደታዘበው ሁሉ የኛ አከራረም ከበድ ይላል፡፡ ባይጠይቁን ይሻላል፡፡ ግን ላገራችን ለውጥ ስለምሰራ እንጽናናለን፡፡
የሸቀጦች ጥራት
‹‹የተቀደደ ሱሪ ለብሰው ክፍል ሊያስተምሩ ሲመጡ የማይሸማቀቁ የሁለተኛ ደረጃ መምህራን እየመጡ ነው›› ያሉኝ ነባር መምህር እንደታዘቡት ሁሉ የተቀደደ ልብስ የሚለብሱ መምህራን፣ ተማሪዎች፣ ነጋዴዎች፣ ገበሬዎች፣ አናጢዎች፣ ሀኪሞች ባጠቃላይ ዜጎች ይኖራሉ፡፡ ለምን በሉ፡፡ ከምክንያቶቹም ውስጥ ዋነኛው ወደ ሐገራችን የሚገቡ ምርቶች ጥራት ማጣታቸው ነው፡፡ አንድ ህንዳዊ መምህር ሁለት ዓመት ለበስኩት ያሉኝ ጫማ ሁለት ሳምንት የተለበሰ አይመስልም፡፡ እኔ በ750 ብር የገዛሁት ጫማ ግን ገና ወር ሳይሞላው ነው ይላጥ የገባው፡፡ ታዲያ በዚህ ሁኔታ መሸማቀቅ ያለብኝ እኔ ነኝ ወይንስ ይህን የሞተ ጫማ አገር ውስጥ ያስገባው? በየወሩ የሚቀየር ቁልፍ ለምን ወደ ሐገራችን ይገባብናል፡፡ የሸማቾች መብት ጥበቃ ባለስልጣን በራዲዮ ፋና ሕንጻ ስንትና ስንት ፎቅ ይዞ እና በየዞኑ ሳይቀር ቢሮ ከፍቶ ለሰራተኞቹ እኔ ከምከፍለው ግብር እየተከፈለው የማንን ጎፈሬ ያበጥራል! ስንትና ስንት ሺህ ብር የወጣበት ሞባይል ሲበላሽ ‹‹አይ እሱማ ሃይ ኮፒ እኮ ነው ምን ማድረግ ይቻላል?›› ሲባሉ ከብስጭት በቀር ምን ይውጥዎታል፡፡ በትግራይ ስላለው የጋብቻ ስርዓት እና ሙሽራው ስለሚጠበቅበት ግዴታ ያስረዳኝ የትግራይ ተወላጅ ያለኝን ነገር ይህን ሁሉ አገር ሄጄ ላምጣው፡፡ ‹‹ያንተ ሚስት በወርቅ ሳትንቆጠቆጥ ከታየች ይህች ማነች ሳይሆን ይህች የማነች ሚስት ብለው እርሷን ሳይሆን አንተን ነው ሰዎች የሚሰድቡህ›› ብሎ እንዳለው ሁሉ አንድን የተጎሳቆለ ኢትዮጵያዊ ያየ ሰው ያንን ጎስቋላ ሳይሆን መንግስቱን ነው የሚወቅሰው፡፡ መንግስት አንድ የሁላችንም አባት የሆኑ ትልቅ ሽማግሌ ሰውዬ እንዳልሆኑ ይገባኛል፡፡ መንግስት የሚመስለኝ ሁላችንም ነን፡፡ በኮንዶሚኒየም ሕንጻዎች አሰራር ያለውን ንቅዘት ዝም የምንል ዜጎች፣ ሐላፊዎች፣ ነጋዴዎች፣ ስራ ተቋራጮች ሁሉ!
የጋራ ቤቶች ወንጋራነት
ያገሬ ደማሞች እንደሚሉት ከሆነ ‹‹የጋራ ወንጋራ›› ነው ማለቴ አያስወቅሰኝም፡፡ የጋራ ቤት መስራት እርግጥ ነው ቦታ ይቆጥባል፡፡ እርግጥ ነው ቤት መስሪያ ገንዘብ ለሌለው ሰው ጊዜያዊ መፍትሔ ይሰጣል፡፡ አሁን ማን ይሙት የላይኛውን ቤት ቆሻሻ የታችኛው በምን ዕዳው ነው የሚያስታምመው! ከጋራ ቤቶች ችግር የሌለበት አይታችሁ ይሆን ወዳጆቼ? በሩ፣ ሲንኩ፣ የመጸዳጃው ቤት ዕቃዎች፣ የኤሌክትሪክ ዕቃዎቹ ለእርስዎ አገልግሎት ሳይሆን ራስ ምታት ለመስጠት የተጣሉብዎት ዕዳዎች ናቸው፡፡ ‹‹በቀላሉ የተሰራ የገጠር ቤት ምን አለበት?›› ስል ነበር፡፡
በተንገላታሁባቸው 4 ቀናት እንዳየሁት ስደት ክፉ ነው፡፡ እኔስ በወገኔ መሃል፣ በሰላም አገር ሆኜ ነው፡፡ ከሃገራቸው ወጥተው በጦርነት ውስጥ እየማቀቁ የሚኖሩትን ሰዎች አሰብኳቸው፡፡ የመጀመሪያ ዓመት ተማሪ ሆኜ ያጋጠሙኝ ነባር አዲሱን ተማሪ አናናቂ ከሰሜን ሸዋ እና ከወሎ የመጡ ተማሪዎች መኖሪያ አሳጥተው ያሰቃዩኝ ትዝ አለኝ፡፡ ጉልቤ (bully) እንዲጠፋ እፈልግ ነበር፡፡ ያው አይኑን ማጥፋት የማይቻል ስለነበረ ማለት ነው፡፡
ለበጎ ነው
‹‹ኮንዶሚኒየም በዚህ ሁኔታ ከተቀበለህ ይህ ቤት የሆነ ደግ ነገር ያመጣልሃል›› በማለት መልካም ምኞቱን የገለጸልኝ የሐረሩ ተወላጅ መምህር አሸናፊ ምን ዓይነት በጎ ነገር እንደተመኙልኝ ግልጽ አላደረጉልኝም፡: ይህንንም መናገር የቻልንው ቤቶቹ ቢሰሩ እንደሆነ አንክድም፡፡ እሰይ ቤት ይሰራ! ግን በጥሩ ሁኔታ ይሁን፡፡ አንዳንድ አከራዮች ውለው ይግቡ፡፡ የእነርሱ ቤት ባይኖርልን የት እናርፍ ነበር? እኔ ያየኋቸውን አይነት የአዲስ አበባ አከራዮችን ግን ውለው ይግቡ የሚለው ምርቃት ይበዛባቸዋል፡፡

Book Review Yacob Wolde – Mariam, Brief Autobiography and Selected Articles (2003)

Review by Mezemir Girma

This review highlights the life and works of a veteran journalist who has had a hand in shaping the local press. Yacob was the editor-in-chief of three monthlies and two dailies, including the Ethiopian Herald. Modestly priced, 20 Birr, this book, which is “dedicated to all authors of change in Ethiopia,” gives a nice lesson on the evolution of our press.

The autobiography that extends over the book’s part one starts by narrating that the writer is from Nekempte, “the [former] capital of minerally and agriculturally rich Wollega” (Yacob, 2003, 18). His family had intimacy with Onesimos Nesib, the former slave who translated the Holy Bible into Oromo; Wollega Governors like Dejazmachs Gebre-Egziabher and his son,  Habte –Mariam, who was “allegedly poisoned by Italian fascists late in 1937” (25).

The author was an elementary student in the “Italian times”. He wrote that he was informed later by authority that Italian troops, who invaded Nakamte in 1936, when he was seven, were numbered 12,000. He is a living witness of the heart breaking killings and injustices then. Let us consider this narration:

            … Ayana Birru – a mining engineer who had graduated from the Imperial College of Science and Technology of the University of London – was a family friend who was giving the Italians a hard time. One day, he was spotted in his hideout in Nekempte and betrayed by an enemy to the fascists. One evening, however, he had staged a dramatic escape from prison and was on the run at a treacherously marshy place below our house. Just before catching him at the marsh and killing him on the spot – a marsh in which he was sinking deeper and deeper – the Italians were, I remember, ransacking our house on suspicion that we had hidden him somewhere. (22)

The writer also remembers what happened when the British forces along with local patriots drove out the Italians. “When the thirst was too much for the Italian soldiers they were drinking their own urine. Many an Italian soldier had committed suicide with the words: ‘Addio Roma’” (23). After the Italians went out, the author resumed his lesson at the Missione della Consolata in Nekempte. He adds, “By April 1945, I was in Addis Ababa – the first and only student to graduate from Nekempte for secondary education in Addis Ababa” (27). He pursued his education in the Haile – Selassie I Secondary School (HSISS) at Kotebe, today’s Kotebe College, and whose teachers’ contributions he acknowledges. They organized for their students a supervised class-work after supper. He gives credit to his expatriate teachers including Abebe Bikila’s coach - Major Onni Niskannen, who was Yacob’s sports teacher in the late 1940s. He tells us that he received prizes from the hands of the emperor in music and sports.    

Yacob “passed the London Matriculation Examination with distinction” (34). Nine students were selected out of 83 and left for London for university education; the others were to join the newly opened University College of Addis Ababa, today’s Addis Ababa University. Endalkachew Mekonnen, Imperial Ethiopia’s last PM, and Iskindir Desta are among those children of the aristocracy who studied in London in Yacob’s time. They did not go to Ethiopian Student’s Association’s meetings, which the writer remembers bitterly. He wrote, “As the English saying has it, pride goes before a fall” (40) referring to their eventual execution by the Military junta.

The presence of dramatic changes in the writer’s life is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. He lived with host families there in London and failed to bring his lessons to an end since the government in Addis Ababa had forced him to study engineering, a field he detested. It was the field the sponsoring ministry chose that Ethiopian students had to study then. EELPA was Yacob’s sponsor, so that he would work for it after graduation. In his “Life in London” sub-section, the author relates about his time there as a student. According to him, many great fighters for freedom and equality in the world, including the Pankhursts, came from Britain. After Yacob lost the chance to study his choice, physics and mathematics, he was absorbed in wine and reading. He became fond of reading philosophy, literature and journalism.

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 After a four year stay in London, the author came back home. Having taken vacation in Nekemte, he got a teaching job in Amha Desta School in Addis Ababa in 1955. It was during his stay at this school that the author did something against the resumption of his university lessons abroad.  This is because he married a “beautiful 16-year-old half-caste of Yemeni and Oromo (Worji) origin who had run away from her 40-year-old Arab husband as soon as she was married to him” (59).

Passing these chapters of life, the author joined the press, the Ethiopian Herald in particular, in 1959 at the time when Americans were editors-in-chief of the major papers in English here. He recounts the attempted coup and Abebe Bikila’s victory in Marathon in Rome Olympics in 1960. Due to disagreements in the Herald, “dealing with unmentionable issues” (86), he moved to the Menene magazine in 1962 and became its editor shortly afterwards. Later, he became the joint editor of this magazine and the Voice of Ethiopia. He repossessed the editorship of the Herald in 1964 to help it get rid of its nickname at the time – ‘the daily rag’.

Yacob wrote that he is contemptuous of authority, nonetheless, he seems calculative. He worked calmly under three regimes as an editor of the major state owned papers, whereas he ‘laughs at’ his colleague, Bealu Girma: “It was a pity, however, … that one has to thrust one’s finger into the fire to learn that it burned – as he did with ‘Oromai’ and perished by ridiculing (unlike journalists) those in power who were taking themselves very seriously” (96-7).

Yacob is articulate and at times courageous. He says that he helped in bringing the emperor down by writing satirically. He was told to write the ‘developmental journalism’ way rather, but to no avail. He shares to his readers other writers’ encounters like Negash Gebre – Mariam’s who once asked the Emperor a question and made him “throw off his gown in anger, as he had often done” (103). The question Negash asked was “Your Imperial Majesty, what provisions are being made for a smooth succession to the Ethiopian throne” (103)?  Yacob wrote about the people’s plight as in the following: “there was no denying the fact that the system of land tenure which had prevailed in Wollo was a living monument to man’s eternal injustice against man” (108). He appreciates the Dergue for redistributing land and denounces it for harassing the press.

Unlike other autobiographies, the book showcases the writer’s selected articles covering different issues and published in his years of service - a nice variety. In these articles, he scorns us for our wastage of resources such as governmental budget, and time, on which he wrote “his majesty the Emperor admonishes us to be the masters and not servants of time”. Moreover, the handling of pack animals in our country, witchcraft, the sophisticated ornamental needs of our women and their adverse effects are some of the issues he addresses bitterly.

The veteran comments our society more. He says that we regard our servants as sub-human: “Master, give unto your servants that which is just and equal”.  For egalitarian matrimonial atmosphere he fights. The experience that green graduates are required to have for an employment worries him. Don’t we have this problem now? Bachelors, who use their cars as mobile dwellings going to bed in them, he laughed at. Their cars’ tires are stolen as the bachelors are slept in. Wolves in sheep’s clothing - policemen in civilian clothing committing acts of robbery - he criticized. Their meager salary is also considered. What about now? Really, Yacob’s ideas are felt after many decades now, I feel.

Yacob attempted to modernize this nation in his sharp toned articles as the instances to come exemplify. How should we handle women? He advises men to act on an equal basis to them in our relations. Noise from cars and loudspeakers disturbs the writer. On the role played by hyenas in cleaning our cities and on the traditional belief that ‘evil eyed’ people change themselves to hyenas in the evening he wrote committed; he paid tribute to hyenas killed by a falling electric wire by dedicating an article to them; the body parts of hyenas the society badly needs for magic concerns him.

“What price matrimony?” is written for people who had to endure 100 lashes in public and other severe things in different cultures to get the woman they loved as a wife. Even nowadays, Indian unmarried women or their parents move around the world and toil to pay dowry. Among some pastoralist societies in Ethiopia, Yacob says, a man was expected to present “some ghastly trophy to prove that he has killed a member of a rival tribe” (173).

Finally, I wind up my review by presenting to you some other areas of concern to Yacob and by inviting you to read this interesting book written in the Queen’s English. Corruption and the “breast- son” practice illustrated by the story of a member of President Nkrumah’s Cabinet, who “[gave] rise to an international scandal by ordering a luxury bed framed in solid gold from London” (202), and the need for research on holy water in particular and reform on the Orthodox Church in general are dealt with. Yacob worries about our imitation of unnecessary foreign lifestyles, and he recommends our society to imitate the West in its scientific advancements.

N.B. Copies of the book are available at AAU’s book centre.