Page 127 - Fighting Against the Injustice of the State and Globalization

Fighting Against the Injustice of the State and Globalization
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leaders created the Oromo Relief Association (ORA) in exile as an independent hu-
manitarian Oromo association in the late 1970s to assist Oromo refugees in the Horn
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of Africa. Assuming that the political change of 1991 would allow a peaceful and de-
mocratic political resolution for the Oromo problem, ORA moved its head office to
Finfinne and shifted its program from relief work to rehabilitation and settlement ac-
tivities, developing projects that included health, education, agricultural, and afforesta-
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One thousand three-hundred fifty-two ORA orphans moved to
tion activities.
Oromia from Sudan, when ORA decided to locate its headquarters in Oromia in
1991; some of these children were killed by TPLF soldiers or drowned by big rivers
while being chased by these soldiers, and others were captured and taken to the
Didessa concentration camp where they were beaten,tortured,raped,and where some
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died of hunger and infection. The regime closed ORA regional offices in August
1995 and its headquarters in February 1996, confiscating all its properties. ORA ac-
tivities were banned not only in Ethiopia, but also in Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, and
Kenya. Explaining the banning of ORA in Djibouti, B. Fossati, Namarra, and P. Nig-
gli comment, “The only organization that for some years looked after the Oromo
refugees, the Oromo Relief Association (ORA), was banned . . . in June 1995 by the
Djibouti government at the request of the Ethiopian government.”
tional humanitarian organizations did not object. 73 72 Most interna-
Using the leverage of Western countries, the regime pressures neighboring govern-
ments to return or expel Oromo refugees from their countries.The alliance of the West
with this regime has frightened neighboring countries such as Djibouti, Kenya, and
Sudan and turned them against the Oromo struggle and Oromo refugees.The United
Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has even failed to provide rea-
sonable protection for thousands of Oromos in Djibouti. “The Oromo refugees are
generally regarded by the Djibouti authorities as unwelcome aliens or illegal immi-
grants,despite the fact that Djibouti is a signatory to the Geneva Convention on Refu-
gees. Every day the refugees fear being caught in one of the frequent police raids and
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forced back across the border. Only a small minority has legal refugee status.” The
burdens of Oromo women refugees are heavy; many of them are raped while crossing
the border on the way to Djibouti or they are forced to work as slaves by Djibouti
households or the Djibouti police. Sebida Musa says,“They take the women home and
treat them as their personal property. If one of the women gets pregnant, she is merci-
lessly thrown out into the street, where she and her unwanted child have to try and
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survive by begging.” Oromo refugees have been abused by the Djibouti authorities
and the Ethiopian government, and ignored by international organizations, such as
UNHCR. Fossati, Nammarra, and Niggli note:“The Oromo council of elders told us
they believed they were entitled to a small portion of the international aid available to
refugees, but did not even get a glass of water from the UNHCR and had been com-
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pletely forgotten.” Some refugees also faced terrorism and forced repatriation.
The TPLF/EPRDF forces have entered into Kenya, murdering and looting the
economic resources of some Kenyan Oromos by accusing them of harboring the
Oromo Liberation Army. Oromos are even denied a sanctuary from neighboring
countries and are denied the right to be refugees. Oromos have been assassinated or
murdered by the regime in their own country,Kenya,South Africa,and Djibouti.They
have been denied burial rites and eaten by hyenas and other wild animals. Since
Oromo refugees are not welcomed by neighboring countries and international orga-
nizations, there are also thousands of “internal” Oromo refugees in Oromia and