TO OROMOS IN DIASPORA
(A free translation from the Qubee version of an appeal-for-fund letter)
We extend to you our fraternal greetings.
We are addressing you on matters that are not unknown to you. We do not wish to waste your precious time by detailing the plight of our people.
However, we believe that it is important to note that the Oromo people in the past have been unable to stand together by pulling their capacity, their material and human resources to counter the traditional disrespect to which our forefathers and fathers were subjected to in our ancestral home.
We, in Oromia (Ethiopia) are today under immense political and economic pressure from the powers that use our own resources to oppress us. The pressure is to force us to back down from our genuine demands for self-determination, including the right to control our resources.
We are unable to dispose of and allocate our resources, thus finding ourselves at the very bottom rang of the economic and social ladder. Our people are so poor that they are forced to sell their birth rights for naught (e.g. their votes). Uncertainty about the next meager meal for the family is the main concern of most Oromo families in rural areas. Let us not deceive ourselves into believing that we have a vibrant people behind us, ready to rise at our call. We have to work hard with our people. They are very receptive.
Thank God, there is a thin upper crust of our society which is able to maintain a lifestyle which could be described as “acceptable” by Ethiopian standard. However, repeated retributions scare them away from assisting their own organizations such as WAFIDO.
It has been a long time since the start of the struggle to free our people from misery so that such misery does not continue with Oromo succeeding generations. WAFIDO was established toward the end of 2004 to do its utmost to continue the ever-intensifying struggle of our people to achieve self-determination. The political tenets of WAFIDO are the same as those of the Oromo traditional demands. Those who are against the genuine interest of the Oromo people are always ready to put obstacles on our way, for example, some private newspapers are paid to portray a negative image of WAFIDO so that our own people are sometimes afraid to approach and support us.
It is understandable that funds are essential for any endeavor. Unfortunately, the cause of poor people anywhere often remains covered. While the Oromo people have historical truth on their side, those who support their cause with fallacious historical allegations are succeeding with their propaganda for their cause because they have the means. The Oromos are unable to bring out the historical truth about their cause. Their cause is that they were invaded and their resources were plundered. The Oromos have no intentions of distorting and re-writing the country’s history. We only want the international community to know that the apparent placid societal relationships today cover the unfortunate truth in Ethiopia that some are the ruled while others are the rulers.
While the above is our ambition, we lack financial resource to continue our struggle. More than anything else, WAFIDO’s leadership is motivated by the need to voice the plight of our people because those who have the means speak louder than we do and the world seems to listen to them. (Their cry is that the unity of Ethiopia is threatened and that the Oromos have the diabolical intention of threatening it).
We started the WAFIDO project penniless as we could not continue quiet and normal life while our resources are plundered and our people are forcefully silenced (Macaa Tulamaa closed and leaders incarcerated). But we have miraculously survived without any meaningful financial support from anywhere. Here, we cannot forget the contributions of some compatriots who came to our aid when we were about to collapse. We wish we could highlight their names, but discretion says “no”.
Our compatriots abroad have not been told the whole truth about our desperate financial situation. This reflects the economic status of our people which is the most impoverished community in the country. Some of our people say: “We cry not tears but blood”. We find our people helpless and downtrodden. How can we stand aloof and uncaring in the face of growing opposition against our people! We are exploited by a minority through our own people. We need security as even animals in the wild want to live in security.
Determination and courage alone cannot do the job. We need funds also. If our compatriots abroad and those in the country do not come to the aid of WAFIDO, our efforts will fail. We may be forced to abandon our effort, and then, the next generation might have to start all over again from scratch. If local and indigenous effort fails, it may be next to impossible for other efforts to succeed. Do not let WAFIDO go under.
We speak in Afaan Oromo always, including in Parliament. We also want to speak to the hearts and minds of our people, specially to those who live away from the motherland. We are confident, that you will hear us.
The Executive Committee of WAFIDO
October 12, 2005
Finfinnee, Ethiopia
N.B. HAQOn jira. Cimaa jira. Hayama seera eegaa jira.
(The Front for the Forces of Oromo Struggle is going through the process of legalization and is actively preparing to launch itself.)