ዓሣ እና ስጦታ

A Fish and a Gift (taken from ASb)

ዓሣ እና ስጦታ

Yusuf waits in anticipation for his father to return from fishing. He has promised to bring Yusuf a gift today.

ዩሱፍ አባቱ ከዓሣ ማስገር እስኪመለሱ ድረስ በጉጉት ይጠባበቃል፡፡ አባትዬው ለዩሱፍ ዛሬ ስጦታ እንደሚያመጡለት ቃል ገብተውለታል፡፡

One special Friday Yusuf's father gets dressed before a flicker of light brightens the sky. He pulls on his heavy weather-proof jacket and the green woolen cap that covers his ears. He waves his boy goodbye. Yusuf's eyes brighten when Papa says, "Today is the day I will catch a fish and bring a gift home for you."

በአንዲት ልዩ አርብ ዕለት አንዲት የብርሃን ፍንጣቂ ሰማዩን ከማብራቷ በፊት የዩሱፍ አባት ልብሶቻቸውን ለባበሱ፡፡ ከባድ የዝናብ ልብሳቸውን ለበሱ፤ እስከ ጆሯቸው ድረስ የሚሸፍነውን አረንጓዴ የሱፍ ኮፍያቸውን አደረጉ፡፡ ለልጃቸውም በእጃቸው የስንብት ምልክት አሳዩት፡፡ አባትዬው ለዩሱፍ ‹‹ዛሬ ዓሣ የማጠምድበት ቀን ስለሆነ ስጦታ አመጣልሃለሁ›› ሲሉት  ዓይኖቹ በብርሃን ተሞሉ፡፡   

A fish and a gift? Oh, what will it be? Papa cycles down to Muizenberg Beach. Squeak squeak go the wheels all the way to Surfer's Corner. Gulls circle the sky. "Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" they cry. "What will you bring back for Yusuf?" Papa rings his bell. "Wait and see what it will be!"

ዓሣ እና ስጦታ? ኦ፣ ምን ሊሆን ይችላል? አባትዬው ወደ ሙዘንበርግ የወንዝ ዳርቻ በብስክሌት ወረዱ፡፡ የብስክሌቷም ሰንሰለት እስከ ጀልባ ቀዛፊዎቹ ስፍራ እስኪደርሱ ድረስ ሲጥጥ ሲጥጥ ሲል ቆየ፡፡ ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፍ ወፎች ሰማዩን ከበውታል፡፡ ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለትም ይጮሁ ጀመር፡፡ ‹‹ለዩሱፍ ይዘህለት የምትሄደው ምንድነው?››   እያለ አባባ ደወሉን ደወለ፡፡ ‹‹ጠብቁና ምን እንደሆነ እዩ!››

The fishermen watch the sun rise. They check their nets. They check their oars. They listen to the wind. They drag their boats down to the water. Yusuf's grandfather, Oupa Salie was a treknet fisherman. Before him his father, Oupagrootjie Ridwaan, knew the sea too.

ዓሣ አጥማጆቹ ፀሐይዋ ስትወጣ አዩዋት፡፡ የዓሣ ማጥመጃ መረቦቻቸውን አወጡ፡፡ መቅዘፊያዎቻውን አነሱ፡፡ ነፋሱንም አዳመጡ፡፡ ጀልባዎቻቸውንም ወደ ዉኃው ጎተቱ፡፡ ኡፓ ሳሊ የተባሉት የዩሱፍ አያት፣ ዓሣ አጥማጅ ነበሩ፡፡ ከእርሳቸው በፊትም አባታቸው ኡፓግሮትጄ ሪድዋን ባህሩን በሚገባ ያውቁት ነበር፡፡

The boat rides into the waves. Papa's arms stretch to the oar. His leg brace s against the side. His neck strain , his back muscles ripple. Papa sings as he works: "Drop and swish. Find a fish. Pull and plop. Don't you stop."

ጀልባዋ ነፋሱን ተከትላ ትቀዝፍ ጀመር፡፡ የአባባ ክንዶች አግድም መቅዘፊያውን ይዘዋል፡፡ እግሮቻቸውም ወደ ጎን ተዘርግተዋል፡፡ አንገታቸው  ቀጥ ብሏል፡፡ ጀርባቸው ይወዛወዛል፡፡ አባባ እየሰሩ ይዘፍናሉ፡፡ ‹‹ውደቅ አንሣ፤ ፈልግ ዓሣ፡፡ ሳበው ዛቀው፤ እንዳትለቀው፡፡›› 

All day long Yusuf looks at the sky. It is bright and clear and windless. A fish and a gift! What will Papa bring home from the sea? Sometimes he brings a beautiful shell. Sometimes he brings a jewel green bottle rinse d by the waves.

ዩሱፍ ቀኑን ሙሉ ሰማይ ሰማዩን ሲያይ ዋለ፡፡ ብሩህ፣ ንፁህና ነፋስ አልባ ሰማይ ነው፡፡ ዓሣና ስጦታ! አባባ ከባህሩ ምን ይሆን የሚያመጣልኝ?  አንዳንዴ ቆንጆ ዛጎል ያመጣልኛል፡፡ ሌላ ጊዜ ደግሞ ማዕበል ያንሳፈው አረንጓዴ የጠርሙስ ጌጥ ያመጣል፡፡

Some days Yusuf's father brings a story. Like the time they found sea turtles on the sand, hundreds washed up in a storm. "Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" cried the gulls. "What will you do to help the turtles?"  Papa said, "We saved those turtles, I tell you straight. We sent them back to the ocean, every last one."

አንዳንዴ የዩሱፍ አባት ተረት ያመጣሉ፡፡ አሸዋው ላይ ማዕበል ያመጣቸው በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ የወንዝ ዔሊዎች ያገኙ ጊዜ እንደሆነው ሁሉ፡፡  ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለት ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች ጮሁ፡፡ ‹‹ዔሊዎቹን እንዴት ታግዛቸዋህ?›› አባባ ‹‹እነዚያን ዔሊዎች አድነናቸዋል አልኩህ፡፡ መልሰን ወደ ውቅያኖሱ አስገባናቸው፡፡ አንድም ሳይቀር፡፡›› 

Always Papa brings a song. He sings the song while he pulls the oars. He sings the song while he pulls the nets. He sings the song as he winds the ropes. He sings the song as he cycles home. "Drop and swish. Find a fish. Pull and plop. Don't you stop."

ሁልጊዜ አባባ ዘፈን ያመጣል፡፡ መቅዘፊያዎቹን ይዞ ሲቀዝፍ ይዘፍናል፡፡ መረቦቹን ሲስብ ይዘፍናል፡፡ ገመዶቹን ሲጠቀልል ይዘፍነዋል፡፡ ወደ ቤት በብስክሌት ሲመጣ ይዘፍናል፡፡ ‹‹ውደቅ አንሣ፤ ፈልግ ዓሣ፡፡ ሳበው ዛቀው፤ እንዳትለቀው፡፡›› 

Ouma Safiya wants a nice fat yellowtail for her supper. "But we'll be lucky if they catch even a tiny crab. More likely it will be fish tail Friday. There's not so many fish left in the sea," says Ouma shaking her head.  Yusuf holds Ouma's hand. They cross the road at the bathing cabin s."Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" cry the gulls perched on the bright rooftops. "What is for supper?"

ኡማ ሳፊያ ለራት ቆንጆ ወፍራም ባለቢጫ ጭራ ዓሣ መብላት ትፈልጋለች፡፡ ‹‹ግን ትንሽዬም ዓሣ እንኳን ካጠመዱ ደስተኞች እንሆናለን፡፡ ዛሬ የዓሣ ጭራ የሚበላበት አርብ ሳይሆን አይቀርም፡፡ ወንዙ ውስጥ ብዙም ዓሣ የለም፤ አልቋል፡፡›› አለች ኡማ ራሷን እየነቀነቀች፡፡ ዩሱፍ የኡማን እጅ ያዘ፡፡ መታጠቢያ ቤቱ ጋ ያለውን መንገድ አቋረጡ፡፡ ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለት ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች በአንጸባራቂዎቹ ጣራዎች ላይ ሆነው ጮሁ፡፡  ‹‹ለራት የምትበሉት ምንድነው?››

Last year the fishermen fought with the surfers. Angry fists and shouting words. "Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" cried the gulls. "There's enough sea for everybody," said Yusuf's father. He showed them the fishing license that had been Oupa Salie's. "Waves for all. Water for free."

ባለፈው ዓመት ዓሣ አጥማጆቹ ከቀዛፊዎቹ ጋር ተጣልተው ነበር፡፡ እጃቸውን እየሰነዘሩ ሲጯጯሁ ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለት ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች ጮሁባቸው፡፡ የዩሱፍ አባትም ‹‹ለሁላችሁም የሚበቃ ወንዝ አለ እኮ›› አሉ ፡፡ የኡፓ ሳሊን ዓሣ የማስገሪያ ፈቃድ አሳዩዋቸው፡፡ ‹‹ሞገዶ ለሁሉም፡፡ ዉኃ በነጻ›› ይላል፡፡

Ouma Safiya watches through her binoculars, her fingers curled in curiosity. The shark siren sounds. Swimmers run back to the sand and grab their towels. Surfers rush to the shore, carrying their boards under their arms. Under the showers they strip off their wetsuits. "Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" cry the gulls. "What will Yusuf's father bring from the ocean?"

ኡማ ሳፊያ በመነጽሯ ታያለች፤ እጆቿም በጉጉት መነጽሩን ይዘዋል፡፡ የዓሣነባሪን መምጣት የሚያስጠነቅቀው ድምጽ ጮኸ፡፡ ዋናተኞች ወደ አሸዋው ተመልሰው ፎጣዎቻቸውን ያዙ፡፡ ቀዛፊዎች መቅዘፊያቸውን በክርኖቻቸው ስር ይዘው ወደ ዳርቻ ወጡ፡፡ በዝናብ እርጥብ ልብሶቻቸውን አወለቁ፡፡ ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለት ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች ጮሁ፡፡ ‹‹የዩሱፍ አባት ከባህሩ ምን ይዞ ይሄዳል?››

Yusuf's father and uncle and cousins heave and pull. A little shark has been caught. It twists and thrash es in the waves. Yusuf's father untangle s the nets, singing to the shark: "Drop and swish. Find a fish. Pull and plop. Don't you stop."  When the shark at last is free it streak s back into the waves, leaving only one fat yellowtail in the net. Ouma Safiya will be pleased.

የዩሱፍ አባት፣ አጎቶችና የአጎቶች ልጆች እያቃሰቱ ይስባሉ፡፡ ትንሽ ዓሣነባሪ ተይዟል፡፡ ሞገዱ ሳያግደው ይታገላል፡፡ የዩሱፍ አባት ለዓሣነባሪው እየዘፈኑ መረቦቹን ይፈታታሉ፡፡  ‹‹ውደቅ አንሣ፤ ፈልግ ዓሣ፡፡ ሳበው ዛቀው፤ እንዳትለቀው፡፡››  በመጨረሻም ዓሣነባሪው  ምንም እንዳልያዘው አውቆ ወደ ሞገዱ ገባ፡፡ መረቡም ላይ አንድ ትልቅ ባለቢጫ ጭራ ዓሣ ብቻ ቀረ፡፡ ኡማ ሳፊያ ትደሰታለች፡፡

The men pull the boat in and coil up the cables. A hard white triangle catches Papa's finger. "Whaaat? Whaaat? Whaaat?" cry the gulls. "What did you bring back for Yusuf?" As the sun goes down, Papa answers the gulls. "A lucky shark tooth for my boy." At home Yusuf holds his gift up to the stars.

ሰዎቹ ጀልባዋን ስበው ገመዶቹን ጠቀለሉ፡፡ የአባባን ጣት አንድ ነጭ ጠጣር ሦስት ጎን ያዛቸው፡፡ ‹‹ምን? ምን? ምን?›› በማለት ባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች ጮሁ፡፡ ‹‹ለዩሱፍ ምን አመጣህለት?›› ፀሐይዋ ስትጠልቅ አባባ ለባለ ረጃጅም ክንፎቹ ወፎች መለሱላቸው፡፡ ‹‹ለልጄ የዓሣነባሪ ጥርስ፡፡›› እቤት ሲደርሱ ዩሱፍ ስጦታውን ወደ ኮከቦቹ ከፍ አድርጎ ያዘ፡፡ 

ነገ ጨለማ ወይስ ብርሃን?

 

ነገ ጨለማ ወይስ ብርሃን?

በመዘምር ግርማ

 

እነሆ ብዙ ትናንቶችን አሳልፈን ከዛሬ ላይ ደርሰናል፡፡ በምንም ዓይነት መንገድ እንምጣ ዛሬ ካለንበት የደረስነው ሁሉ ስለነገ ልናስብ ግድ ይለናል፡፡ የዛሬ ሩጫ ስለሚያደክመን ግን ለነገ የምናስብበት ዕድል ጠባብ ይመስላል፡፡ ነገን ከምን አንጻር እናስብ ስንል ከብዙ ነገር አንጻር ይሆናል፡፡ ከተወሰኑ ፍላጎቶቻችን አንጻር ነገን ለማየት እንሞክር፡፡ በኔ ምናብ የሚታየኝን አይቼ የናንተን በቀጣይ ጊዜያት ልታጋሩን ትችላላችሁ፡፡

ከመሰረታዊ ፍላጎቶቻችን ማለትም ከምግብ፣ ከመጠለያና ከአልባሳት አንጻር እንኳን ያየን እንደሆነ ከዕለት ዕለት ለብዙኃኑ አዳጋች እየሆነ ያለ ነገር ነው፡፡ ለምን ያህሉ ዜጋችን በዕለት የሚያስፈልገውን ማቅረብ ችለናል? በጊዜ ሂደት እየተወደደ የመጣው ኑሮ ስንቱን ከመሃል ከተማ ገፋ! ስንቱስ የዕለት ጉርሱን የዓመት ልብሱ ለማግኘት ቻለ? ይህን ለማሟላት ባለመቻልስ ስንቱ የበዪ ተመልካች ሆነ? የሰው እጅ ለማየት የበቃውስ? በበጎ አድራጊ ወይም በመንግስት ድርጅት ስም በስማቸውስ ስንት ገንዘብ ተወራረደ? ስንቶችስ በለጸጉ? ነገን በዛሬና ዛሬን ከትናንት አነጻጽረን በምናገኘው ውጤት ስናየው እየባሰ እንጂ እየተሻሻለ የሚሄድ አለመሆኑን ነው፡፡ እየተሻሻለ የማይሄድ ነገ ይዘን እንዴት ስለነገ ሳናስብ እንቀመጣለን? ለምንስ የችግሩን ምንጭ ለመረዳት አንሞክርም! ከችግር ፈጣሪነት ገለል ለምን አንልም? ከተቻንስ መላ ለምን አንዘይድም!

ከትምህርት አንጻር ነገ ምን ይመስል ይሆን ብለን እንይ፡፡ ትምህርት ከትናንት በበለጠ ተደራሽ መሆኑን ለማየት በትምህርት ተቋማትና ተማሪዎች መብዛት ማየት ይቻላል፡፡ በፊት በዞን ከተማ የነበረው የሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት አሁን በወረዳ ደረጃ እየሆነ ነው፡፡ ዩኒቨርሲቲ በዞን ባይዳረስ ኮሌጅ አይጠፋም፡፡ የዚያን ያህል ትምህርት ለውጥ አምጥቷል ወይ ነው ነገሩ፡፡ ያመጣቸው ለውጦች ይኖራሉ፡፡ የትምህርትን ፍሬ ግን ለህብረተሰባችን ለማዳረስ ችለናል ወይ? የተማረ እንደመብዛቱ፣ ትምህርት ቤት በየደጁ እንደመከፈቱና ሰው በርቀትም ሆነ በቴክኖሎጂ የመማር ዕድል እንደማግኘቱ የባህሪ ለውጥ ማምጣትና ችግር መፍታቱ ላይ ጥቂት የተማሩ ሰዎች ከነበሩባቸው ጊዜያት ጋር ሲነጻጸር የሚያስተዛዝብ ነው፡፡ ነገስ ምን ይዞ ይመጣል? ቆም ብለን ካላሰብን እየባሰ እንጂ እየተሻለ እንደማይሄድ ነው፡፡

በሰዎችስ መካከል ስለሚኖረው ግንኙነት ምን ይታየኛል ብዬ ራሴን ስጠይቅ ከተወሰኑ ዓመታት ከነበረው ጊዜ አንጻር አሁን ምን ይመስላል? አሁን ብሷል! ሰው ለሰው አላዘነም! ልዩነቱ እንጂ ሰውነቱ አልታየውም፡፡ በዚያም ልዩነት ሰበብ ማጥቃት እንጂ መደገፍ አልቻለም፡፡ ነገስ? ነገ ምን አይቶ ይሻሻላል? ምንም! አሁን ቆም ብሎ ማሰቢያውና ነገን መቀየሻው ነው፡፡ ለምን? ምክንያቱም አሁን ያልተጠቀንምበት ዕድል ነገ ብንጮህ ላይገኝ ስለሚችል፡፡ ዛሬ የሚሰራው መጥፎ ስራ ትናንት ከነበረን ዕድል በላይ ነገን እያበላሸው ስለሚሄድ፡፡

መንፈሳዊ ነገሮችና እርካታንስ አስመልክቶ፡፡ የባሰው ነገር እዚህ ጋ ነው፡፡ ሰው ለመንፈሳዊ እርካታው እየሰራ ሳይሄድ ሲቀር፣ ባጠቃላይ ባለው ነገር የማይረካ ሲሆን የበለጠ ተስፋ መቁረጥና ደስታ ወደማጣት ይሄዳል፡፡ የዚያም ድምር ውጤት ነገን ያጨልማል፡፡ ተስፋ እንዳይኖረው ያደርጋል፡፡ ስለሆነም ነገ የባሰ እንዳይሆን አሁን ራስን ቆም ብሎ ምን ያህል መንፈሳዊ ነገር ላይ ሰርቻለሁ፣ አጠቃላይ ስብዕናዬና እርካታዬስ ምን ላይ ይገኛል ብሎ ማሰቢያው አሁን ነው፡፡

ነገን ጨለማ ለማድረግም ሆነ ብርሃን ሁላችንም ኃላፊት አለብን፡፡ ከግለሰብ ጀምሮ መሰራት አለበት፡፡ ሥልጣኔ እየበዛ ሲሄድ ህይወታችን እየተበላሸ መሄድ የለበትም፡፡ የእናንተን ዕይታ በአስተያየት መስጫው ላይ አስቀምጡልኝ፡፡

A Virtual Tour of Yad Vashem and the Lesson for Ethiopia

“The international community keeps quiet when genocide is underway, but they remember the victims afterwards”

Virtual Tour of Yad Vashem and the lesson for Ethiopia

Amharic version is also available on my blog https://mezemirethiopia.blogspot.com/2021/04/blog-post.html

Wednesday,  21 April, 2021

Mezemir Girma

Debre Birhan, Ethiopia

 

On Tuesday, 20 April 2021, we the participants of the virtual tour held a test zoom meeting with Ambassador Reta Alemu, the Ethiopian ambassador to Israel and Mr Nurhussein Nuru, a public diplomacy official at the embassy. As we made sure everyone of the lecturers from the universities across Ethiopia was able to use the virtual platform, we set an appointment for Wednesday for the tour of Yad Vashem.

We were advised to make the necessary preparations by referring sources on the issue. For this reason, I watched a virtual tour of Auschwitz Birkenau. Located at  Auschwitz proper, this museum teaches and reminds visitors of the Holocaust. I also read online how the Jewish Diaspora suffered across the globe over millennia.

On Wednesday at 15:30 Jerusalem time, the tour resumed. Mr Nurhussein gave me the opportunity to speak about my genocide prevention endeavors in Ethiopia and I spoke. I explained that I translated Left to Tell, a book on the Rwandan Holocaust into Amharic and distributed 23000 copies. Not only that, I got the book translated and published 2000 copies in Afaan Oromo. A friend translated into Tigrigna as well. The media interviews we gave and the discussion we provoked helped the public have an understanding of how hatred can devastate a country and its people. The concern I raised was that the elite and politicians might not have been reached or convinced by the campaigns we the writers made.

After a short introduction, we started the virtual tour that was supported with an explanation from our guide. Lecturers from Ethiopian universities and one person from the media took part. This is a summary of the points I took note of from both the tour and my online research.

A tribute to the lives of the Jews before the war is rendered in one of the sections of the museum. European Jews mostly lived urban life. The German Jews lived for a long time at the place including in five German republics as German citizens. They comprised 12 percent of German soldiers in the first World War. Their influence was bigger than their number in the national population, eight percent. Jewish youth movement that was trying to save fellow Jews, the victim story, and the wartime ordeal is also covered. Finally, there is a section on the future of the Jewish people. It is a temporal arrangement that they employed in telling the story of the Holocaust.

Equality’s origin is the Enlightment, whose source is Christianity. And Christianity is rooted in Judaism. That was why the Nazis targeted the Jews. Pure Aryan race was what the Nazis sought. Before they killed the Jews, they also killed handicapped and mentally retarded Germans. Where did the Nazis bring the idea of eliminating the Jews from? It is from earlier Antisemetic research and thinking.  There were Nazis’ imagined views of the Jews being their enemies. They thought they were communist members.

560, 000 Jews lived in Germany in early 1930s. Their number gradually dwindled as they emigrated from that country due to the racist policies and practices. We learned how the Nazi party, Hitler and the Third Reich came into being. In 1933 different books were burned down and that determined what one can and can’t think. Jews were branded of controlling the world. Before World War II, the German youth and people understood without being told to discriminate the Jews. This is the power of propaganda. Jewish businesses were boycotted. Even a children’s storybook portrayal of Jews was as communists.. How hate developed is unbelievable. If a quarter or sometimes half of a quarter of your blood is Jewish you are branded as one. Radio propaganda was employed. Rwanda copied radio propaganda idea from Germany the same as social media is used today. One can see how overtime hate developed. German citizenship was taken away from the Jews and the whole world didn’t welcome them. Jews were identified with the yellow star and the J symbol in their passports. The looting of Jewish property went on.

Holocaust is the code name for the whole process. The killing did not take place under the premise of a huge war. This is one of the similarities between the Rwandan and Jewish genocides. During the Second World War, Germany invaded Poland where 2.2 million Jews were in the ghetto. In 1942 the final policy was reached at regarding the Jewish in ghetto – they should be exterminated. In the Warsaw ghetto and many others killing massively and industrially was a means used to exterminate the hostages. Bring these people to the places of murder than the murder to the people was the idea. Burning in crematoriums has helped the vilians leave no trace when their Soviet adversaries come. At some places the victims were forced to dig their own burial pits.

Due to the Nazi advance the Jews were also targeted in the eastern European countries they immigrated to. They were kept in various ghettos and massacred by any means possible. They were also subject to torture, hard labour and abuse of every kind. Nazis and their collaborators killed six million Jews. Yad Vashem, the museum, has the names of four million victims and they know the total number of six million from statistical analysis.

How Ideology made the perpetrators act was analyzed and presented. There could be better humane options during such daring times, but human actions and decisions are highly affected by propaganda and fear. However, there were the righteous gentile, people who saved others in the face of danger.  

The Yad Vashem museum is located within a campus. We were told that knowing about each other'scountries was critical. One of the guests invited from the museum was Bob, a historian of genocide and African studies. He said he came to Ethiopia and lectured on genocide a few years ago. This is interesting to know especially for me because I saw how authorities here fail to cooperate on genocide prevention activities.

During the Holocaust not only Jews, 125 000 non-Jewish communities were also killed. The Antisemitism led to the expansion and implementation of a racist ideology. As soon as a hatred is ethnically motivated it doesn’t differentiate between even children and women.

I asked the questions after the tour. One of them was this: Since we are at a time of putting out fire, why don’t you rather try to educate the politicians in Ethiopia to hold national reconciliation than just teach lecturers? They responded that educators also have a role in expanding the word to their students. 

My second question was: As researchers how do you feel the pain of reading and working on genocide? Bob responded it was getting open enough to be thick-skinned that helped him. 

There may still be questions in one’s mind why at the turn of the 21^st century Germany has the only growing number of Jewish communities in Europe. These Jews are Russian speaking ones though. Whatever happens, humanity has to interconnect again. This is a great lesson for humanity as a whole and those politicians and hate mongers the world over who try to make one group of community rise against the other.   

This visit helped us learn how civilized people can be perpetrators of genocide. Yad Vashem and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) plan to expand the lesson in the higher education sector in Ethiopia. In the future a similar tour will also be given to the media and the public.

We can teach our students and communities how important it is to keep human dignity, the right to life and respecting people that are different from us. One shouldn’t have the values the Nazi perpetrators had. Holocaust education overall teaches that hatred, racism and extremism are damaging and we should stay away from them. The world has not stopped any genocide after the Holocaust. The international community keeps quiet when genocide is underway, but they remember the victims afterwards. The American president of the time Franklin Roosevelt said he cared, but still couldn’t do anything. The world gave a similar response to the Rwandan genocide. International politics does nothing but remember victims after they die.This bitter truth urges every country and people that they should work for their own peace and safety than wait for other countries or the international community to save them.