The Story of Benyam Mohammed

A few weeks ago, a group of high school presidential scholars for the year 2007 delivered a letter  signed by 50 students asking George Bush to stop the practice of torture. The letter read:

"As members of the presidential scholars class of 2007, we have been told that we represent the best and brightest of our nation. Therefore, we believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions. We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants."

It is against this backdrop that this story reverberates even more in the Ethiopian community. Not because an Ethiopian life is more valuable than an Afghan's,  an Iraq's or any of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, but because sometimes a story hits home more effectively when it happens to one's own. 

In recent months, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya were identified as the latest countries participating in the Bush administration’s policy of torture called ‘extraordinary rendition’ - a practice where terror suspects are kidnapped from around the world and are taken to what are called ‘black sites', which are torture sites run by the CIA for 'interrogation'. These black sites are located in countries ruled by some of the most brutal dictators.  They include Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Libya.  These so called suspects are subjected to some of the most inhumane treatments in order to extract information to help the US administration's so called 'war on terror'.

So, it should not come as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with the Meles regime that Ethiopia would be a willing participant in this heinous practice. After all, Meles is known for stifling dissent, rigging elections and  imprisoning and torturing his political opponents.   One could only surmise that his impressive resume in this area must be the reason he was awarded this partnership with the US administration. 

This is the story of Benyam Mohammed. Benyam was born in Ethiopia and moved to London when he was 14 years old. While in London, he experimented with drugs for a while and finally decided to clean himself up. To help him kick the habit, he converted to Islam and travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan as sort of a pilgrimage.  That trip changed Benyam's  life forever.  On April 10 2002, Benyam was arrested at the Karachi airport for travelling with a fake passport. According to the U.S. government, Benyam was sent to Pakistan by the Taliban to be trained on explosives. The U.S. military further charged that Benyam met Jose Padilla, the American suspected of plotting to blow up apartment buildings in Chicago using one of the deadliest weapons known to mankind... a kitchen stove!  No joke - your regular, day to day, fry my eggs in the morning gas oven!  Padilla has been in custody since May 2002, but was not formally charged until recently. His case went to trial a few weeks ago. Benyam was suspected of plotting with Padilla to blow up the apartment buildings in Chicago. And how strong is Mr Padilla's case? A U.S. District Judge told prosecutors last summer that their case was "light on facts", but Mr Padilla is still being held in isolation. After his arrest, Benyam was then moved to Morocco, one of CIA's 'black sites', where he was interrogated and tortured. He claims that he was coerced by the U.S. government into signing false incriminating statements with a promise that the torture would stop.

Benyam's story is depressing. The details of his torture are too gruesome. You can read about his case from the report by Amnesty International.

In his diary,  Benyam detailed some of the torture methods used to get him to talk.  Quoting one incident:

"They cut all over my private parts. One of them said it would be better just to cut it off, as I would only breed terrorists."

Here is the full article.

This is what’s being done, in our name, not just as Ethiopians, Americans, or Ethiopian-Americans,  but as human beings - civilized human beings.  This is what our home country has become a willing participant to.   One could only imagine what is being done to prisoners in the secret prisons of Ethiopia both by the CIA and Meles’ thugs.  When did Ethiopia, a country which was once known for its rich history and culture, become a accomplice to such crime on humanity?

Chereka

Ethiopian man hit by lightning!

Chereka

Ethiopian "Discussion" Forums

By Ketsela

I have come to one conclusion about Ethiopian discussion forums which is in these forums, we have failed in all aspects to better ourselves in building a strong union amongst ourselves. Unlike the old days when meetings were held in different locations where many Ethiopians could not make it, our ability to reach one another through technology has made it easier and beneficial for many of us. So what seems to be the problem? Because of our lack of understanding issues, respecting each other's positions, and most of all, the lack of openness to different opinions for our betterment, we pursue a river of no return. In the large majority of discussion forums involving the topic of Ethiopia, we fail in areas of civility and moral obligation. Let me put some of our failures in the following manner.

Defense mechanism:

I am not at all an admirer of Sigmund Freud and the entire school of psychology. I am rather a behaviorist and unlike Freudians, I tend to believe all human beings are kind and good. Yet, the more I involve myself in the Ethiopian discussion sites, the more I tend to agree with Freud's theory of Defense Mechanisms that I see being portrayed by some individuals. All Defense Mechanisms share two common properties:

1. They often appear unconsciously and
2. They tend to distort, transform, or otherwise falsify reality.

I will leave it to readers to further look into Freud's work in this area, but I would like to touch on how much of the theory applies to us in life and discussions.

• Denial: claiming/believing that what is true to be actually false.

Have you ever noticed how many of the participants in these forums make false and alarming claims merely because all they want to do is get their agendas out in the scene by spreading malice instead of the truth?

• Displacement: redirecting emotions to a substitute target.

Here again, the majority of these green-eyed individuals tend to use this means to personally attack the true participants merely because they tend to see them as people who block their misguided plans.

• Intellectualization: taking an objective viewpoint.

This is very common in many of our discussions. It is true that intellectual discussions are required to reach out to our brothers and sisters. But the fact remains that such individuals use them as means of promoting their own agenda by quoting this and that and make readers as fools in the world of objectivity. Of course, their lack of depth in the subject provides them ample reason to be more protective to themselves.

• Projection: attributing uncomfortable feelings to others.

Ah! This is commonly observed in forums like "Medrek" ; on a daily basis. Individuals, for no apparent reason, tend to attack someone out of nowhere and for no reason. Again, I am not basically a Freudian, but could it be that there is an underlying need for some biological fulfillment? I guess so.

• Rationalization: creating false but credible justifications.

It is true that sometimes we listen to some of the news items with anger and frustration merely because it is not the kind of news we desire to hear. But there seems to be a group of people who exaggerate the actual event of the story or the news, either positively or negatively, to fit their agenda and/or when they find it difficult to accept the fact, they deny that such thing would happen under this or that government.

• Reaction Formation: overacting in the opposite way to the fear.

Some people have a tendency to take the one-inch and make it a mile. Many times I have noticed hate hibernating in them, and in so doing they lead us all to the wrong road.

• Regression: going back to acting as a child.

Children have a desire to want everything they see. And sometimes, adults do the same out of frustration without any good reason at all. Here the tendency is to resort to calling names. Let me get them before they get me!

• Repression: pushing uncomfortable thoughts into the subconscious.

Out of mere paranoia, there are people who feel an urge to do something and actually do or say something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want.

• Sublimation: redirecting 'wrong' urges into socially acceptable actions.

Have you ever noticed how some individuals are constantly engaged in blaming others? And in the process they accuse and suspect others of some wrong doing for no reason other than to give themselves self-satisfaction.

Having brought forward these defense mechanisms, let me further discuss our politics briefly. When I took drugs and alcohol class in college, I came to witness the conclusion made by a social scientist on the same subject. There are those who are for it, those who are against it and those who are truly have made all efforts to come to a conclusion based on scientific studies. Ethiopian politics, in the same manner, is made up of these three types of people who are for the current government, against the current government, or those who truly make all effort to help the country . The fact is no one can tell who is who except time. Yes, time will tell. There are those like the singer Solomon Tekalegn who cheers with those who are against the government; there are those who hold an important post in the opposition parties but behind the backs of their followers send home money and power-of-attorney documents to build a house!

The current Ethiopian government has brought people together in alliance against it in many ways than one, and yet the "Who's Who" depends on the followers and who they are. In this reasoning, I came to the conclusion, not based on a study I made or read, but from merely by observing people.

First, there are those who still believe that the past feudal system in Ethiopia still exists or will return here in the 21st century through God. They seem to give the indication that anyone who was not born into the royal family cannot and will not lead Ethiopia under any circumstances. Mind you readers, the immediate members of the royal family are living as commoners amongst us all without making any noise. But their followers seem to live in a stand still life style. These people put their blinders on both sides of their face and do not seem to see that changes had come to the country. The other factor that drives the anger of these people is the loss of Eritrea as a province of Ethiopia and the formation of regional governments - a common trait among feudalists who hate "losing land".

Secondly, the Dergists or those who, along with Mengistu, tortured and abused many people and now came to the surface to "liberate" us from the current government. They were part of the "Red Terror" from which many lives were lost and caused many Ethiopians to flee the country into neighboring countries to become refugees. I hold these responsible for the death of a generation in Ethiopia. They ended up being the rising feudals in the country. They systematically wiped out over half a million people. Now, they are living with us all and would like their position back to continue what they started.

Thirdly, there are true and honest individuals who are fighting the current government based on its human rights record and unrealistic approach in ruling Ethiopia. The basic freedom of speech, gathering and writing were all taken from the Ethiopian people. These groups of opposition truly are the heroes of the current movement. Their wish is nothing but a free Ethiopia!

Here is the dilemma we are facing - which one is which? The true and actual fighters against the government are still within the borders of Ethiopia. In this new century and long after the end of the era of Feudalism, some of the participants in the Ethiopian forums, especially those with Feudal attachments, continue to use ethnically degrading terms, such as "geltu ethnicity", "yegered lij", "yeshermuta lij", "kemalam."

When discussions are healthy, we will gradually build a political union and will certainly make quite a difference in the country and consequently on a global level. What is actually needed is the ability to justify our comments and the tolerance to see the opinions of our fellow brothers and sisters. A true and a concerned Ethiopian government will come to the surface, not because we merely engage in forums and chat lines, but because we work together as one in areas that are of great importance to the people of the country. All my experiences tell me that those who talk never walk the road towards a better Ethiopia. Today, the country is one of the poorest in the world. Tomorrow can only be better only if we have the strength to make it better. We never ever thought that the people would come to dis-trust those who are outside the country. Yes, in the same way that someone accused me of living in an air-conditioned apartment in this same Blog. But this much is true - we all have failed to substantiate our words with action. The defense of those who do not make neither financial nor other needed support is because they feel the government will abuse it. Lairs! Even if that was true, make your donation in any form and shape and feel good that you tried to help the people in any way you can. Speak no evil before you make an excuse for assisting the people. Have you ever thought of sending books; help for the orphanage; contribute to the irrigation system in the rural area; cash to build the children hospital? No! But you have a tendency to attack someone for merely speaking out his/her thought.