Support for the Karrayyu Abbaa Gadas tribute

This appeal is to support a community in grief and shock from the mass murder of its elders by special forces under the command of their own government. The community is the Karrayyu-Oromo indigenous tribe of the Awash Valley in Ethiopia. Until now it has tried to stay out of the civil war, which has now arrived in its homeland in a terrifying and brutal way. Survivors of the massacre and more than 25,000 community members are driven from their homes and utterly destitute and in need of urgent assistance.

 

The Karrayu are pastoralists who live in the Rift Valley. They have a traditional Oromo society structured around an age-set (“Gada”) system. The highest social and political institution is led by figures known as Abba Gadaas.

 

On 1 December, Oromo Region Special Forces, a branch of the Ethiopian military, surrounded a meeting of 41 of the most senior elders of the Karrayyu, including the Abba Gada Kadiro Hawas Boru. Fourteen men were murdered. Twenty-five were forcibly abducted and are still missing. This was a particularly horrific and unexpected attack because the village of the Gada is considered sacred and outside normal politics. The elders had no protection and never expected to be attacked.

 

This comes in the wake of a campaign to force the Karrayyu to form a militia to fight in the civil war on the side of the government, and skirmishes between the Oromo Liberation Army and government units in nearby areas.

 

In the last few weeks, the Karrayyu people have been robbed of the livestock on which they depend for survival and driven from their homes. Over 25,000 members of the community are hiding in the bush, without shelter or supplies of essential food and medicine. Small children, nursing mothers, and the elderly are in desperate condition.

 

We are appealing for your support to sustain this Gada village and the family members of the victims of the massacre.

 

Organizers :

1.Jilo Bakalo

2.Roba Jilo

3.Mohamed Fantale

4. Gada Hawas

5.Roba Saro

6.Fantale Saro

7.Kadiro Elemo

8. Yihun Engida

9.Guyo Wariyo Aba-Jirma

10.Birhanemeskel Abebe segni
11.Abreham Birru
12.Rukesa Boru