"Jo'ogaam", also known as the Highlanders, had long refused or protested being assigned, transferred, or rejected to Gambella because they considered it hellish (inhabited by cannibals, snake eaters, drinking blood, smelling fish). Later, those who went there were shocked to witness a vastly different form of civilization in Gambella than in their own country. It is difficult to convey the shock they felt when they saw how the Gambellian live. There are many civilizations which developed along waterways; the Gambella civilization was no exception, developing along the banks of so many rivers in the Gambella state. As the highlanders discovered, later about the uncivilized savage people they have been told, contrary to that misconception, they highlanders found out the Gambella people were more exposed to other world's civilization, well civilized, versed in many international languages, including English, Italian, Arabic, Greek, Amharic Oromognia, as well as several local languages that they all spoke to communicate with one another. They found out that Gambella has a better global connection than the places they were ushered here from, and that everything else is better than they were told, they did not expect to find it in such a neat, well-organized state. Later, we found out that the Abash themselves took part in spreading lies about the Gambella people as imperial civil servants who were responsible for spreading such lies. It was unsubstantiated biased stories told by expatriate highlanders living well among the Gambella people with extravagant lifestyles, who decades later were reluctant to return to their country after completing their duty assignments, some even with tears in their eyes when leaving. The government, however, forced them to return to their country of origin. As a result, expats angry with the government's compulsory discharge told lies about the people they met in Gambella as a form of revenge. Rather than telling the truth about our people, they presented false representations to different audiences back home. Due to those falsehoods and innuendos, they have spread, many Ethiopians from the highlands have avoided Gambella land and people because they are afraid of it. The truth is that such gossips have ingrained savagery in the minds of the highlanders. In their minds, the Gambellian represents savagery. I met an old Abasha fellow at the bus stop going to work a few years ago. From the conversation I had with him, I assumed he would be from northern Ethiopia, Tigray, or from one of the disputed territories between Amhara Tigray, because I saw him conversing with another person with Tigrinya when we switched topics. Anyhow, the man looked at me, said Sudan, I said no, I'm Ethiopian. Gambella is where I'm from. You people over there eat snakes, right? "No, man," I replied. While we live in an area rich in wildlife, snakes are not one of the species we eat. Due to a silly question, my participation in this conversation was immediately terminated. Looking at him, I saw a man who was ignorant, illiterate, and very arrogant. As he spoke, he was mumbling rubbish while holding a lathered incased Bible to his left, but he vomited Bs. He is not alone in his condescending attitude toward the Gambellian people, there many like him out there. One of the problems is that no one asked the simple question of how did the gossipers survive cannibalism when the rest were being devoured? What food did you survive on over there, since they were sub-human cannibals? How did you communicate with them? In the no man's land, how did they manage to survive, how did they escape? No one asked such good questions, and the rest is history. The news about Gambella in the hinterlands of the country today is different, Gambella is not hell on earth anymore, the wrong images they implanted in the minds of the highlanders no longer match the reality they live in now. Everyone rushes to Gambella today, wanting to plunge their hands into its deep wealth, get richer quicker, prosper faster.
In conclusion: when you are told something, ask about sources, then ask a lot of questions, visit the library, if there are no libraries in your area, ask some old people around you, gather as much information from qualitative sources as possible. If you are financially secure, you can visit some of the places you were misinformed about, and you can make your own observations. As to the story of the Highlanders, I guess they are all like us right now, savages, cannibals, the end.
Have a good weekend
አበቃው የሣምንቱ ሠው ይበለን
The author of the article is Namphili Otho Gilo. He can be reached at amhare14@gmail.com.
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