Ethiopia: Anyuak Genocide Survivors Graduated from University

June 30, 2008 (Minneapolis, MN) - December 13, 2003 changed the Anyuak’s lives forever. But it was not the end of the world for the Anyuak of Gambella who were directly hit by the Ethiopian regime. It was a turning point to look at the world differently. All the Anyuak in Diaspora rose up in unison and told the world that the Ethiopian government has committed a crime against humanity in Gambella. Even though there was no action taken against the regime, the world understood the intentional malice.

The Gambella Anyuak struggled in various ways to overcome their misery because life must go on. One sure way was and is the education. Survivors of genocide who got opportunities to go to school are graduating from high schools and colleges out of Ethiopia today. Examples of such graduates are those who had direct family members in the West. The relatives in Diaspora supported their brothers to go to schools in Kenya, Sudan, India or wherever they may afford.  

Kassa Obang, a 26 years old man, was a survivor of genocide. His brother sent him to Delhi University in India. He studied economics as his major and graduated with second division. Now he is a holder of B.A.

Kassa Obang’s reflection said it all: “I was the lucky boy from Gambella who happened to have a brother who supported me from high school all the way to college. I would like to extend my appreciation to him and his beloved wife Mary Oman for their tireless support. Without those two people in my life, my studies would not have happened. My gratitude goes to this wonderful family again and I hope other brothers would do the same thing to their brothers back home. The Anyuaks need education to wrestle the oppressive regimes in Addis Ababa. Now, I have mixed feelings of happiness for my achievement and guilty for my classmates who did not make it to college. Not because they were not smart but because they have been denied to go to college in Ethiopia or denied scholarships to go elsewhere to study. I thank God for the opportunity I got”.

Another survivor who turned hero is Nyingiew Ojay. This young man is a holder of MCL, which stand for Masters of Comparative Law from Delhi University in India. The December 13, 2003 led this man to cross the oceans to be who he is today. He is ready for serious action and challenges ahead i.e. to interpret how Ethiopian laws are applied to Gambella. There are other heroes who will tell their stories any time soon.

In Ethiopia most students, especially minority like the Anyuaks, get low points and could not go to college. Ironically, the same students are able to get high grades to qualify them for college out of Ethiopia. This proves that there is and was a policy to down-grade the Gambella students to minimize the numbers who go to college and further education. If those students were really dull they would not succeed elsewhere in the world. This sort of retardation process is not only against students competing for college but it is also at all levels that the number of students is pulled down by giving them low grades. Teachers transferred from the highlands to Gambella are usually those being punished for crimes. Gambella is viewed as a hardship place good only for treatment of criminals. The success of once poor students in Ethiopia, who again became victims of genocide, is a clear message that Gambella, especially the Anyuak, lived under cover for centuries. The propaganda of development carried by the Gambella state high officials to America was just an attempt to deceive the world that Ethiopia has changed its policies toward the minorities in the country. The alleged development in the region is just a part of regime bogus propaganda. It is not true. Real change must yet come when Gambella people control their affairs without prejudice. 

The December 13, 2003 Massacre strengthened the long lingering suspicion that Ethiopian governments did not treat the Gambella people as equal to highlanders. Lack of development facilities in the region was and is not by accident. It has been an intentional plan to keep the natives of Gamella down to prevent the people to know their rights. The people of the region have been denied of social services for centuries. It was a hidden agenda that the December 13, 2003 proved to be true. The regimes in Addis Ababa have been trying to eradicate the indigenous people in a variety of ways. During Col. Mengistu Halimariam’s regime, thousands of the farmers from highland were brought to Gambella region to settle in the Anyuak lands. The main purpose behind the settlement was and is to assimilate the Anyuak’s culture/way of life into what the regimes in Addis Ababa called main stream culture. Assimilation is one of the patterns the majority (highlanders) would utilize to eradicate a particular ethnic group. It may take time to assimilate a tribe into another tribe, but it is in the making in Gambella.