Accounts of abuses beginning 1991-1993
Adus Tahir Omar, 67, Aweday, near Harar, E.
Harage.
Two of his uncle's
sons, Bashir Osman Omar, ca50, and Baker Abrahim Omar, ca30, both traders
and growers of coffee and khat, were shot
to death in Aweday by soldiers using pistols, because they had supported
the OLF. So Adus burned his OLF membership card. This was in mid-1992 while the
OLF were encamped away from towns in preparation for the elections, in an
agreement with the TPLF, which was brokered by US diplomats.
Two of Adus' sons
were detained in August 1992. Soldiers said 'We will take them to university'. Mohammed Adus, ca32, and Fozi Adus, ca27, have not been found since, despite
attempts to locate them using ICRC.
Fighting continued
and the mass arrests of Oromo began. 20,000 to 45,000 were detained in late
1992 and in 1993.
[1]
On
leaving hospital, Adus walked to a maize farm in the Sherif Kalid area, where
he was advised by his brother to flee. He went to Jijiga and thence to Puntland
(see p. 46).
Mohammed Said Ibrahim, 65, Kamise, Wollo.
An OLF member in
1991-2, Mohammed chaired the elders committee which coordinated the Oromo
parties' representation in the transitional government. He opened an Oromo
language school in Kamise. He was detained in Kamise military barracks in June
1992, when 'the EPRDF detained and killed many key figures'. He was kept for
four months. He was beaten, whipped with electric cable and beaten with an iron
bar. He still has scars from being beaten in this period. He was forced to walk
on his knees on gravel and to carry a 70 kg boulder up and down a slope
'continuously for two months until my body was exhausted'. He had 'wounds
everywhere' and paid 500,000 Birr to be allowed to attend hospital. He escaped
from hospital and fled the country in May 1993. His account of deaths and
refoulement of refugees in Djibouti is given on p. 46. He came to Nairobi in
2004.
In Kenya
'I now have
mandate status in Kenya as well as Djibouti. I have received many threats and
have reported them to embassies and to VOA [Voice of America radio]. I received
a threatening text message on 15 February this year and showed it to Pangani police
station: 'You have been talking about those people who surrendered themselves
to Ethiopia and about the OLF remnants in Kenya. You will see what will happen
to you.'
'On 2 June this
year, four people came up to me in daylight, holding a knife and telling me I
will be killed. I got hold of two of them. A lot of people helped and we chased
them off. Three of them were Borana that I knew. Kituo cha Sheria [a legal
organisation which engages in advocacy work for refugees in their dealings with
police and NGOs] phoned them and they said they would continue to fulfil their
threat. I reported it to the police.'
'There is no day
without threats. Whenever I walk about I see them. They say they will hire
thugs to kill me. Even yesterday, I was told that I need to take care because
people are vowing to kill me. There are four people who recruit for the
Ethiopian government here. They speak Oromo and pretend to be Oromo refugees.
They belong to IFLO [Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia]. I know them.
The hostility of the IFLO [to the OLF] is being exploited by the Ethiopian
government. They come to Ethiopian community meetings.'
N.xiii. Name redacted, 42, Bale.
Primary
school teacher before joining the OLF in 1991.
He was the OLF
representative in one of its Eastern Oromia Region offices from 1991-2. When
offices were attacked and the encamped troops were overran in June 1992, to avoid being killed or imprisoned, 'the cadres and members were
forced to join the fighters'. He was shot in the right forearm and hip in 1994
and received treatment in the field and clandestinely from doctors. He was
training cadres in the southern front when he had to disperse them because of
the break-up of this command in 2000. Some were taken by government forces and
revealed his identity under torture. He was the head of political intelligence
training and when he was targeted by name, it became difficult for him to
survive. He fled via Moyale and arrived in Nairobi in 2000.
In Kenya
His planned
resettlement was interrupted by the 2000 corruption scandal at UNHCR. He
applied again for resettlement after 2004 but was refused: 'The countries are
not taking your case at the moment.' (See Refusal of
resettlement by USA and UK, p. 47.)
He has had no
treatment for his psychological problems or his wounds. He feels insecure
because of his OLF profile and has been denounced by defectors to the Ethiopian
government.
In June 2009, he
was detained in Pangani police station because of a false allegation that he
had threatened to rob someone at knife point. He believes this was engineered
by the Ethiopian government and reported that robbery with violence carries the
death penalty in Kenya.
Farmer
and owner of a shop and restaurant, a known elder serving the community in his
area.
Hassen was first
detained in late 1992, six months after the OLF were
forced out of the transitional government. He was held and tortured for four
months in Negele military barracks.
In 1993, eight
months after his release, he was detained again in the same place and tortured
for five months.
His torture
consisted of immersion of his head in water and having a one litre bottle of
water suspended from his testicles, in addition to being beaten with wooden
staves.
His mouth was
gagged with cloth, tied in place with electric cable, and he was questioned and
immersed every few minutes until he fainted. As soon as he regained
consciousness, his head was forced under the water again.
This was carried
out twice each week throughout both episodes of detention and each session
continued for two hours. During each two hour session, the bottle of water was
hung from his genitalia until he was returned to his cell. He was forced to
stand and sit repeatedly to feel the weight.
Elders came to the
camp and promised government officials that Hassen would have nothing to do
with the OLF. On his release, he signed an agreement that he would forfeit his
life if he was found to be involved with the OLF or if there was any OLF activity
in the area. He signed that he would be restricted to his immediate
surroundings, would report and sign on every month and would inform and get
permission from the authorities to attend weddings and funerals up to 25 km
away, but no further. He was forbidden to attend meetings. If he attended
weddings, someone was sent to listen to what he said and report on who he spoke
to.
In Kenya
He delayed fleeing
to Nairobi until 2000 because of concerns leaving his large family. He finally
left, fearing repercussions from the killing of eight soldiers by the OLF nearby.
Hassen was awarded
mandate status in 2001, but has been asked twice to complete another
application form since then.
'We came here with
fear for our life. We live under the same fear here. My problem is one that all
Oromo have. We fear the police and Mungiki [see footnote, p. 15], because they
kill even children. We fear many agents of the Ethiopian government, people who
come and go. I know at least five who are coming here.'
'Especially those
who work with the Oromo community are listed. We receive threatening phone
calls. I checked with Safaricom and they are calls from Mandera [a border town
with Ethiopia]. I received four such calls in the last year. When we complain
to the Kenyan government, they say they are told by the Ethiopian government
that we are the trouble makers.'
Abdusalam Mohammed Waliyi, 60, Robe, Bale.
Abdusalem was a
representative of Oromo elders in Dire Dawa, E. Hararge, an important supporter
of the Oromo Relief Association
[2]
(ORA) and a member of the OLF when it legally represented the Oromo in the
transitional government from 1991-2. He was arrested in Dire Dawa in 1992 and detained for two
months in underground cells in Harar military camp. He was held incommunicado when
he was detained for a second time, from 1993 to 1995 in Dire Dawa. ICRC visited
him once but were not allowed follow-up visits. He paid
20,000 Birr to a Tigrean, Towalde, to get released.
He was at liberty
for only 20 days before being re-arrested and held for 33 days at Deder
military camp, E. Hararge. He was released from there with standard warnings
about meeting people and having any contact with OLF supporters.
He fled to Addis
Ababa but was detained in the palace prison one month after his release from
Deder, still in 1995, a few days after returning from a visit to Bale. He was
held there for 16 months. He was taken from his cell at night and tortured. He
was subjected to 'bastinado' or 'falaka', in which the soles of his feet were
beaten raw while he was suspended upside down with his limbs tied around a
pole. He still has pain from this and from the beatings he received to his
back. He was also whipped with electric cable and left lying on the floor for
long periods with his hands tied behind his back. He was tortured every night
for several weeks and then twice per week.
Throughout this
detention he was held in solitary confinement and shackled at the wrists, with
one hand being freed for toilet visits but not for eating. 'I became confused
and mad' he said.
On his release in
1997 he received 'strong warnings' about restricting his contacts, not
attending social gatherings, staying in Addis Ababa and having to report to the
security forces and sign on three times
per week.
On 11.9.00, two
visitors came, a neighbour and an OLF supporter. As they left, he heard
gunshots and he ran to Mercato. One of his
visitors was killed. The other man and Abdusalam's wife were arrested. He
fled the country.
In Kenya
He lived in
Kariobangi, Nairobi, after arriving in November 2000, but moved after seeing a
TPLF army commander there, known to him as 'Belay'. In May 2002, many Oromo
were arrested in Eastleigh and taken to Kasarani police station. Marad Musa,
from the Ethiopian embassy, was calling out names of detainees to identify themselves, ostensibly so they could be released. Friends of
Abdusalam reported that his name had been called, indicating that the embassy
knew of his presence in Nairobi and that they sought him. He complains of mental stress and
depression and has had counselling for feelings of being followed. 'I stay at
home and don't involve myself as an elder should', he said.
Najash Hussein, 28, Tokkuma Magarssa, W. Hararge.
'In 1992, they
came to my home. They killed my father (Hussein Ahmed) and shot me in the
legs.' He had bullet wounds in his left shin and right thigh. Although he was
only ten years old at the time, he was detained with most of the remainder of
his family at Hurso military camp for two years.
He was again
detained at Hurso military camp from 1999 to 2003 and accused of supplying the
OLF with shoes and clothing. He was beaten, especially on his back, and
received stab wounds to his back and waist. For the first three weeks, three
times each day, his torturers grabbed his testicles with a gloved hand and
pulled hard, threatening to pull them off, for 15 minutes at a time. He was
gagged and his upper torso immersed in water so that he could not breathe,
every night for almost one year. 'Tell the truth' he was told.
6,000 Birr was
taken from him. He was released after signing an agreement to report every
month and that he would provide information about the OLF. About one month
after his release, there was fighting with the OLF at Massalla. Others were
detained and killed because of this. Unable or unwilling to provide any
information about OLF movements, he decided to flee to Kenya.
In the refuge camp,
'It is a harsh life, a bad, harsh life.' Despite arriving and being interviewed
by UNHCR in 2003, he still has not received mandate refugee status.
Shuke Halaki, 37, Yabelo, Borana.
In late 1992, her
husband was accused of supporting the OLF and detained for one year. He was
detained again, with 45 others, in 1996 and held at a military camp at Hage
Mariam (Guji, Borana), from where he was released after paying some money. He
was thereafter restricted to Yabelo town and not allowed to trade.
In 1998, when harassment
increased as Oromo were accused of being unsupportive in the war with Eritrea,
Shuke's husband was abducted one night at 10 p.m. and has not been seen since.
After his arrest,
she was visited three times by security men and taken out of town to 'a wild
area'. She was threatened with rape and with being killed, with a gun pointing
to her face and inserted into her mouth. She had a
small baby with her and was beaten but not raped. She was told to produce
(nonexistent) OLF documents belonging to her husband.
In Kenya
Shuke's 14 year
old daughter was abducted in 2001 from Kakuma camp. She believes her daughter
was taken by her husband's family, to be married. Her 7 year old daughter died
of cerebral malaria in 2006. Shuke has married again in the camp and because of
this her husband's family took her eldest son in 2009. She fears that other
children may be at risk of abduction. She
complains of 'stress and poor sleep' but has 'hope still, and awaits God's
help'.
Abdulahi Omar Tesso, 46, Liban, Negele, Borana.
From October 1993
to August 1994, he was first held for 20 days in Negele, Borana, and then
transferred to Awassa (SNNPR). He was accused of supporting the OLF, beaten and
had his property confiscated. Chilli powder was put in his eyes and he was
beaten about his head with metal bars. Cold water was put in his cell, covering
the floor up to a depth of several inches, preventing sleep. Every week he was
ordered to mop out the water and more water would then be put in. Eight people
were in this cell.
During this first
detention, for the first three months he was taken every week to the forest at
night. A rope was tied around his waist and he was lowered head first into a
deep hole containing water until he nearly drowned. This was done four times
each visit. Two victims were treated like this at a time, in hourly shifts.
Eventually at the insistence of ICRC, he appeared in court in Negele and was
released on condition that he report every two weeks and restrict himself to
his local area.
In the second
detention, for six months at the '43' military camp, near Negele, he was badly
beaten 'day and night' every 5-6 days for the first two months and every two
weeks or so thereafter. Three men were doing the beating each time. He was
threatened with a pistol put into his mouth. The pistol was then held alongside
his temple and fired. He was presented with lists of prominent people and asked
if they helped the OLF. 'Tell us and we'll let you go' he was told. Some
prisoners did so. He was released when an uncle paid 7,000 Birr, on condition
that he had no contact with other people, did not travel outside his immediate
area, did not listen to the radio and did not read non-government newspapers.
In 1999, he
obtained permission to take his mother to Mada Walabu for one month. On return,
he was accused of attending an OLF congress in Mogadishu. All his belongings
were confiscated, including a generator used for irrigating his plot, a truck
(co-owned with two other men), a motorbike and 17,000 Birr. 'It all belongs to
the OLF' he was told. He was taken to Ganale military camp and held for three months.
He was beaten and accused of preventing young men from fighting in the war with
Eritrea. He was not tortured during this detention. He signed a warning on his
release that he would be killed if the OLF came to the area again.
On 15 September
2000, there was fighting between the OLF and the government at Malka Bulbul,
Borana. Arrests of local people began, including in Negele. He was warned that
he should leave as he was on the wanted list.
In Kenya
Four months after
arrival in Nairobi he obtained refugee status and lived for a year in
Eastleigh. His older brother, an OLF member, was abducted from Mogadishu,
Somalia, by Ethiopian government forces in 2002. Abdulahi saw the security
chief from Negele, Kedir Ababunda, in Eastleigh and sent someone to talk to
him. The security man claimed to be Sudanese and showed a refugee mandate for a
Sudanese national. Abdulahi found out that Kedir Ababunda was reported to be
travelling back and forth to Ethiopia. The abduction of his brother from
Mogadishu and the presence of this security man in Eastleigh persuaded him to
leave. One month later, in May 2002, as soon as he could arrange it, Abdulahi
and his wife were transferred to Kakuma.
He described
Kakuma as 'not very safe'. While they were in Kakuma Two and Three, there were
many thefts and robberies. One night, when he went to investigate a
disturbance, he got caught up in a fight and was stabbed in his left thigh. The
security situation is now improving, however.
Accounts of abuses beginning in 1994-1996
Abdulwasid Ahmed Mohammed, 34, Dire Dawa.
Initially, he was
held in a dark cell with his elder brother, Yusuf, who was later taken elsewhere and disappeared. Abdulwasid was then held on his own.
In 1996, when he
was being taken by Land Rover to court, he escaped by jumping from the vehicle.
He remained in hiding in Chalanko until 1999, when he was told that he was
being sought by the authorities. He found out that his family compound in Dire
Dawa was deserted and fled to Nairobi.
In Kenya
He approached
UNHCR in October 1999, was registered and seen yearly until being sent to
Kakuma in 2004. He had his RSD (Refugee Status Determination) interview in 2004
and received his rejection, along with many others, in 2006. He appealed
straight away and was, unlike others, again rejected within 1-2 months. He has
had no news about his wife and three children.
He usually sleeps
outside, but is sometimes sheltered by friends. He relies on friends for food.
He appeared tearful and depressed. 'There is a lot of stress and depression' he
says. 'There are about ten people in my situation.'
Ragatu Harun, 34, Obora, near Deder, E.
Hararge.
When aged 18 in
1994, she was detained at Harawajat military camp at the same time as her
father because they were accused of supplying goods from the shop to the OLF.
Her father became partially sighted because of the torture he underwent.
Ragatu was whipped
with electric cable and thorny branches. Some spines are still inside her body.
She was beaten like this during interrogation every night for about six months.
She was told 'We know your father was transporting weapons for the OLF. Why
don't you give us information?' Both of them were kept in detention for one
year. She signed a declaration on release that she would restrict her
movements, would report every two weeks and would be held responsible 'if'anything
happens in the town'.
In 2000, her father disappeared after going on a business trip to Dire
Dawa. The authorities accused him of going to Dire Dawa to obtain weapons for
the OLF but she doesn't know if he ran away or was killed or detained. She was
detained at Harawajat military camp again in July 2000. She was held for one
month and repeatedly told to produce her father. For the first 15 nights she
was blindfolded and raped many times.
She does not know how many people raped her but she was raped at least five
times each night 'until I fainted'.
She was released
after promising to produce her father and then fled to Kenya, taking her one
year old child with her.
In Kenya
'But my problems
were not over' she said. In Nairobi, she worked as a maid in a house, but it
was difficult with her child and her employers were getting angry. She married
a man she met at UNHCR but he was resettled a few months later, in 2005. She
now has a four year old child from him, but he has stopped contact with her
because of unfounded rumours of infidelity.
In March 2008, at
6.00 a.m., at Mulango Kupa in Eastleigh, on her way to UNHCR (early because of
the queues), she was grabbed by an Amhara-speaking Ethiopian and a Kenyan. She
was taken to a small room in a garage warehouse where they both raped her. She believes they had been watching her and knew
that she lived alone with her children. She now shares a room with other single
women. She reported being followed and harassed still.
Ragatu survives by
selling tea and is forced to walk around alone, despite being frequently
propositioned for sex. 'There is no time that I am safe' she said. 'My great
worry is for my 11 year old child.' She attended school but stopped in 2008, at
grade 5, because she could not afford to continue.
Tahir Dahor Challa, 45, Jeldu, Showa.
Tahir was a trader
in perfumes, soaps and toiletries.
He was arrested in
early 1994 and detained for two years and eight months. For the first two
months he was held in Jeldu, where he was accused of supporting the OLF, beaten
and interrogated. He was given a list of names and ordered to pick out those
who supported the OLF. He was taken out at night and threatened with a pistol
inserted up his nose. 'This is your last chance', he was told. When there were
gunshots, he was told that another prisoner had been killed and reminded again
that this was his 'last chance'. This happened once or twice each week for the
two months he was at Jeldu.
'Some were taken
at night and did not return' he
reported. Three of these were known to him by name:
Misgana Diinsa, late 20s, teacher, Jeldu
Erko Bulti, 40s, shop owner, Jeldu
Dejene, 30s, farmer, from a rural area near Jeldu
After two months
in Jeldu, he was transferred to Hurso military camp, where he was held with
over 3000 others in a place separate to the area where visiting ambassadors
were intended to go. However, a doctor informed the ambassadors about those
being held at another site, where they were seen, standing naked, in conditions
so cramped that there was no room to sit or lie on the floor. Tahir believes he
would not have been released if the ambassadors had not seen them.
He was released at
the end of 1996, on condition that he signed on at the village administrative
office every week and obtained permission if he left the village. He was refused
a National ID card but was urged to join the OPDO (the government Oromo party,
the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation), which he refused to do. Because of
this, he experienced hostility at every kebele meeting. He had to attend or be
branded a supporter of the OLF.
'There was some
assistance from the Red Cross, but only to OPDO members - cattle, fertiliser,
seeds, farm implements and cash.'
In the second half
of 2003, there was student unrest locally and he was detained again in Jeldu.
He was not tortured, but merely beaten and kicked. He was held in a large old
wooden building, formerly used for administrative purposes by the Derg. After
12 days, there was heavy rain during one night and the building collapsed,
killing about seven prisoners. Some escaped straight away. He assisted injured
prisoners and in the confusion was able to walk out, unchallenged by the single
guard.
In Kenya
Tahir fled initially
to Mogadishu and thence to Dadaab camp in early 2007, escaping from the
fighting and abuses associated with the invasion of Somalia by Ethiopian
troops. He described difficulties faced by Oromo refugees in Dadaab, due to
hostility from Somalis because of the atrocities committed by Ethiopian
soldiers against civilians in Somalia following the December 2006 invasion, and
during the 1977 war between Ethiopia and Somalia. Some of the problems are
described on p. 40 and more details
have been reported separately.
[3]
N.ix. Name redacted, 56, Moyale.
Her husband was
repeatedly harassed, detained and tortured after 1992. 'The government took our
property and cattle to feed their army.' Her husband was killed at Hidi Lola, between Moyale and Mega, in 2001.
She was detained
six times beginning in 1995: at Moyale military camp (No. '44'), other military
camps near Moyale and between Moyale and Mega, Yabelo prison and Yabelo police
station. She was held for periods of 20 months, 8 months, one year, 2 months
(at Yabelo police station), 3 months and one year (at a military camp 'without
anyone seeing me').
'I was raped at every place of
detention, as well as at my own home.' She became pregnant from rape and
miscarried after being severely beaten by the man who got her pregnant, the
security chief at the military camp.
Her elbows were
tied tightly behind her back for 5 hours or more. She does not know for how
long, because she lost consciousness. She was stabbed in her right knee.
'I was forced to
dig a hole and told "We will kill you here". They put me inside and
pointed a gun at me. Then they fired it over my head.'
N.iv. Name redacted, 34, Ambo.
She was a musician
in the Gadaa band. In September 1995, as a grade 10 high school student, she
demonstrated about the relocation of a bullet factory to Ambo and its taking up
the local iron ore deposits. Her brother, Tesfaye,
13, was shot dead during the
demonstration and she was shot in the right thigh and detained for three years
at Senkele police training camp. She was beaten, intimidated and forced to cook
for the camp. She was not raped. A colleague who was detained with her was
disabled because of the beating and has a paralysed leg and walks with
crutches.
On release in
1998, she signed a document renouncing her right to claim her high school
certificate, declared she would not take part in any demonstration again or have any association with the OLF, would restrict herself to
Ambo and would attend no meetings with students or teachers. She was not made
to sign on regularly at the police station or kebele office. She disobeyed
these restrictions, went to Addis Ababa and attended another high school. She
married and both she and her husband joined the Gadaa band. The band performed
in Addis Ababa in support of the campaign to put out the widespread forest
fires in 2000.
[4]
She and her husband were sought for arrest and fled to Kenya in 2001.
Elema Jarso, 34, Mega, Borana.
Pastoralist
family. Her husband
moved around with the animals. She stayed at home.
Her husband's
brother joined the OLF in 1991. Her husband and his father were arrested for
sending him to fight and for supporting him in the bush. Between 1997 and 1999,
her husband was detained twice in the '147' military camp, about one hour's
walk from Mega. He was detained for one year and again for 18 months, the
episodes being separated by about three months of freedom. Elema was herself
detained in Mega for one month at the time of his first arrest. Shortly after
his first release, her husband was told at a public meeting to produce his
brother within two months. He was unable to do this. At the time of his second
arrest, another, younger, brother of his was also detained when taking
provisions by donkey to family members with the herd. He was accused of supplying
food and goods to the OLF and the provisions were confiscated.
They fled after her
husband's second release, when his younger brother was arrested again.
In Kenya
Elema and her
husband initially lived in Nairobi but settled in Kakuma in 2001. They divorced
and were therefore rejected for resettlement. She now lives as a single mother
with her children.
She supported her
family by doing laundry. She was raped in the camp and was referred to the gender unit. She was being considered for
resettlement again, but a pregnancy intervened. She was tearful and remorseful,
complaining of being stigmatised, harassed and discriminated against because of
her being an unmarried mother. She expressed concern 'Who will marry my
youngest, illegitimate, daughter?' She was anxious about retaining custody of
her children.
'There is no
durable solution and inadequate access to medical treatment. There are bandit
attacks and several rapes of other women. A local armed Turkana man raped a
Somali lady in March or April this year, in front of her husband and children.'
She was frightened that her 14 year old daughter will be raped.
Awel Mohammed Hussein, 38, Bale.
Awel openly
supported the OLF in 1991-2. He was repeatedly questioned and harassed and then
detained twice, for 16 months in 1996-7 in Goba, Bale, and from April to
October 1999 in Ginir, Bale. His wrists and ankles were shackled. He still bore
visible scars from this and from being tortured by having hot, molten plastic
dripped onto his lower legs. He has kidney problems following the severe
beatings he had and has had asthma since these detentions. Awel was subject to
refoulement from Dadaab camp in 2001 (see p. 43). His present location in Kenya
is secret.
xii. Name redacted, 36, Yabelo,
Borana.
He was a cattle
farmer whose brother left home to join the OLF in 1997/8 after friends were
killed by government soldiers. The leader of the local community, Jimo Dida Gandile and his whole family, seven in all, were killed at their home in Dilo, Homo
area.
He was harassed
and then detained at '147' military camp, Boku Loboma, for one year from late 2001. Every 3-4
days early in his detention, he was taken out of the camp at night and beaten.
He was made to lie in a hole in the ground, sometimes with his hands and legs
tied together behind him, and threatened at rifle point to reveal the
whereabouts of his brother. They shot over his head while he lay in the hole,
in a variant of commonly practised mock execution. Some who were arrested with him were taken out at night and did not return.
A wealthy brother,
who owned a hotel, paid for his release, and he signed that he would never
provide support for the OLF. In early 2004, there was fighting between the OLF
and government troops near a watering place in the Harka area. He was with the
family herd for the summer, at Boru Fora village, Kacharo. Government soldiers
were searching villages and his mother went to warn him. They were approaching
home when soldiers began shooting at them. He fled alone, not knowing if his
mother was killed or not.
He went on foot to
the border at Ori. He hid briefly in the house of another Oromo but was told to
leave or the police would be called, as they thought he belonged to the OLF.
In Kenya
At UNHCR, his
translator was poor and the interview was two days after his wife had given
birth. He was rejected refugee status in December 2005. He appealed and was
interviewed one year later, in December 2006.
'I was only asked
three questions:
Are you a member or a supporter of
the OLF?
Are you a shifta?
Did you have money with you when you
left the cattle?'
He received his
final rejection on 16 December 2006. Since then his ration card has been
deactivated, even for his wife and children of 1 and 5 years. He tried to have
his case re-opened in Nairobi but was unsuccessful.
'I am in a bigger
problem here than at home. You cannot grow crops or herd cattle here.'
G.vii. Name redacted, 37, a small town
between Mega and Yabelo, Borana.
This farmer was
interviewed briefly. He reported being detained four times and being deaf in his
right ear from being beaten about the head with a wooden baton. In 1997, he was
thrown in a pit where dead cows and donkeys were disposed of and he was forced
to remain there all day in the sun. As he was thrown in, a piece of metal
pierced his right thigh and this was left in place for five days. In Kenya he has had ten appointments
for interview with UNHCR since his arrival in February 2009. Each has been
postponed.
Rowda Aba-Fita, 34, Yebu, Jimma.
Her husband was
arrested in January 1998 and detained for the whole year. She was harassed by
security men who came repeatedly to the home, questioning her about her
husband's activities and acquaintances. She was unable to provide the
information they wanted and was detained herself at Mirab Iz (Western Command)
camp, in Jimma, from April to October 1998.
'I was subject to
intense interrogation and beaten with iron bars. I was raped three times by different people, at gunpoint [Kalashnikov].
There were six women in my cell. All were raped.' She was asked if it was fair
to say that 50% of female detainees were raped. She answered '50% is not fair.
Almost all female detainees are raped.'
Rowda was released
after signing that she would report to the kebele office every week, would stay
within a 30 km radius of her home and would report on whatever was happening in
her area and the activities of her husband.
In January 1999,
three weeks after his release, her husband decided to flee. When he failed to
report to the kebele office, eight days after he left, she was arrested again
and held for four months, again at Mirab Iz camp, until released on 25 April.
'I was treated
worse this time, because I had not informed about my husband. Every week or
two, they took me out at night to a dark place, in a small hut away from the
others in the camp so that no-one would hear. I was beaten. They put a gun to
my forehead and inside my mouth, saying 'Nobody will ask us about this if we
kill you.'
Rowda was not
raped during this detention. She was released after signing that she would
bring her husband. She was admitted to Jimma hospital for three days to recover
from her injuries. While she was there, her husband's mother visited and warned
her that photographs of her and her husband were being circulated following the
killing of three government soldiers. She would be killed if she returned home.
She left hospital that day, contacted her husband and fled with him to Kenya.
In Kenya
Her husband began
beating her frequently. When he threatened to kill her with a knife, she went
to Fida, a Kenyan women's organisation. In June 2004, he took away their two
children, then aged 4 and 7. Elders visited him
frequently for one month and instructed him to return the children, but he
disappeared with them.
'We don't have
mental rest. I need to work. My ex-husband's friends disturb me. They blame me
for his disappearance. . . . The Oromo community disapproves of domestic
violence but they are powerless to stop it.'
In 2007, Rowda
opened a tea room with some friends with a small amount of money they were
given. They worked in shifts and she was working at night, up to about 4.00
a.m. 'In June 2007, there was a blackout during the "night of the Mungiki",
[5]
when they were chasing people with machetes. Three men stopped in a car outside
the tea room. They came in and ordered the customers to lie on the floor. They
took me to Adams [a district in Nairobi] and put me in a house and raped me turn by turn the whole night.
They were Kenyan Borana, not Mungiki. I never went to the tea shop again.'
She has remarried
but her second husband is unemployed. They have to ask others for money.
Amina is the wife
of Abdulahi Omar Tesso (see p.8).
Amina reported
that her brother, Ali Mohammed, in
his 40s, had been detained in Goba prison for several months in 1998 and tortured. He was blind as a result of this torture. Her father, Mohammed Bule, was
detained for five months in 2000.
Rukia Abdusalem Mohammed, 28, Moyale, Borana.
Rukia was a Grade
5 school student when she fled to Nairobi in 2001.
Her father was killed in 1998. Her mother, brother (ca26) and sister (ca24) were arrested
just before she fled in 2001. She has had no news of her family since then.
In Kenya
In Kakuma camp 'Security
is bad. People are killed, especially those in business in the Somali area. I
know of ten inter-clan killings, mainly between 2003 and 2008. At night, people
carrying torches can be shot dead, because of the fear of theft. They break in
to houses, through the roof. One man, a very good man named Hawale, a Somali
hotel owner, was shot dead by a man - the family say a Turkana - who broke in
through the roof and tried to rape his daughter. He was shot defending her and
then they ran. They would have stolen things if they could.'
'I know of one
woman, a divorced single mother, living alone, earning money by looking after
other children. The food is not enough. There are no spices or meat. She was
forced to sell sex. Now she is pregnant.'
Garbole Golicha, 50, Yabelo, Borana.
In 1998, he was detained
in Yabelo military camp for two years and six months, accused of feeding, financing and guiding
OLF fighters. He was released after paying 5000 Birr, on the usual conditions
of signing on every week, remaining under supervision and not working.
Two months later,
in 2001, after trying to run his business again, he was detained with his 17 year
old brother and kept for one year at Boku Loboma military base. He was accused
of grooming his young brother to join the OLF.
Three months into
this detention, he was taken with seven others at night and ordered to bury three prisoners who had been killed. One of
the dead men was his young brother, of whose death he was unaware until
that moment. Garbole was severely beaten and stabbed around the head. He was
warned that he would be killed like his brother if he attempted to run.
Fellow villagers
eventually secured his release by presenting five bulls to the local security
chief. Unable to make a living because of harassment, he travelled to Kenya in
2002.
In Kenya
He lived in Kidiji
in Nairobi but fled when many were killed and many houses burnt down in the
violence after the 2007 election. He acted as spokesman for the 62 Oromo
refugee families who were gathered by the police in Jamhuri Park and taken by
UNHCR to Kakuma in February 2008.
He was reluctant
to move from Nairobi but was reassured by UNHCR that his resettlement case
would continue to be considered from Kakuma. He reported that there has been no
progress in the resettlement of the 62 families. Some have not yet had Refugee
Status Determination interviews.
Accounts of abuses beginning 1999-2002
Asha Jara Gutu, 33, Mada Walabu, Bale.
Asha and her
husband were detained in Bidre, Bale, in 1999. Her husband was held for one
month and she was held for one week. She was gang raped by three members of the security forces on one occasion
during her detention. Another woman in her cell (the singer Elfnesh Qanno) was
also raped and had her head shaved with a piece of broken glass.
She came to
Nairobi in November 2000, with her husband, their six children, younger
siblings of her husband and two of her sister's children - 14 children in all.
After registering with UNHCR they were quickly awarded mandate status but four
of her husband's siblings disappeared in Nairobi at the end of 2000 - three
young girls, Zeinaba, 14; Darartu, 15; and Deko,16,
and a boy, Surur, 17. Asha does not know if they were abducted, killed or ran
away.
In Kakuma camp, she
now cares for four teenage girls, two of her own and two her sister's, aged 13,
15, 16 and 17. Twelve of them (ten children) sleep in one room.
'Every time they
go to school, the girls are sexually harassed. One had her shoulder dislocated
when she was grabbed by a young Sudanese man. There are also problems inside
the school. The young men send love letters and money in envelopes to the
girls. Many of the girls in school become pregnant and drop out of school.
Daughters are reluctant to go to school. They are disturbed. The Sudanese young
men are big. Even the teacher fears them.'
Kasahun Tekalign, 28, Hidi Lola, Borana.
He was first
detained as a secondary school student in Yabelo in 1999. He was beaten and
held for 21 days. Kasahun was forced to dig a trench but not threatened with
being killed and thrown into it. He was shown a list of OLF supporters at this
school, which included his name.
He graduated at Adama
Teachers' Training Institute in 2002. At his first teaching post at Arero, he
refused to join the OPDO and to attend their meetings on Saturdays. He was
therefore accused of 'being OLF.' He was accused of engineering student
demonstrations in 2002 and held in Arero prison for 11 days, where he was fed
on bread and water and ordered again to dig trenches. On release, he was given
a 'last warning' - to cease contact with his friends, to restrict his movements
and to acknowledge that his life would be forfeit if there was any local
activity by the OLF. He was made to report to the local security office three
times each week. He complained about these restrictions and was transferred to
Moyale by the Education Office in Yabelo.
The widespread
student demonstrations in 2004
[6]
were about to reach Moyale in March. Police and security agents took him from
his school one afternoon and forced him to let them search his house, despite
his protests and demands to see a warrant. After searching his house for two
hours they instructed him to report to them three times each day - morning,
noon and evening.
Two days later,
the secondary school students began protesting. Their hostels in Moyale had
been commandeered by soldiers. Kasahum was detained next morning for
'organising the students for the OLF.' He was held for eight days at Moyale
military camp, during which he received only seven or eight small pieces of
very salty bread. He was taken from his cell, beaten and kicked by two or three
different interrogators each night. They threatened to kill him while
repeatedly questioning him about students and OLF support.
The students
refused to return to school until he was released. Again, he was ordered to
report three times each day. Three weeks later, many students crossed the
border, including those who were taught by him. A friend in the police force
advised him to flee, which he did on 24 April 2004.
About 600 students
and 10 teachers were camped in Kenya and many farmers and traders had also fled
across the border. Kasahun's name was broadcast as a 'recruiter for the OLF'.
UNHCR recognised the persecution of the students, most of whom had gathered at Oda, and offered to screen them for refugee status. However,
the students refused because they claimed that any who were rejected by UNHCR
would be persecuted more severely on return to Ethiopia. They were forced to
return to Ethiopia, where at least 25 were arrested. UNHCR took ten teachers,
including Kasahun, to the police station on the Kenya side of Moyale and from
there to Dadaab. In all, 42 were taken to Dadaab.
Kasahun's sister
was detained for six days when she tried to retrieve some of his belongings
from his room.
In Kenya
Refugee status was
initially denied to 35 of the 42 who came to Dadaab. Most were successful on
appeal but 6 or 7, including some students and some civilians, were refused
even after a second appeal.
Later arrivals
(2007 or later) have been given mandate status within a year, but Kasahun still
has no mandate. He has been told his files are lost. He still has a ration
card.
Dirirsa Nagara Kejela, 26, Addis Ababa.
He has been
detained eight times. The first three episodes were:
Ambo, December
1999, eight months;
Gedo, W. Showa,
November 2000, 10 days;
and again at Gedo, W. Showa, December 2001, 18
days.
He studied law at
Mekele university, Tigray Region, and graduated in
2006, but was among 19 students who were denied their degrees. Dirirsa had
repeatedly challenged his persecution and had complained in writing to the
government that his detentions were unconstitutional. He led student
demonstrations in Mekele. He was detained three times in Tigray:
Mosobo military
camp, Mekele, December 2003, eight weeks;
Mekele police
station, December 2004, four months;
and Adigrat military camp, May 2006, four
weeks.
It was feared that
he had been killed when he was held in Maikelawi Central Investigation
Department, Addis Ababa, for three days in December 2006.
[7]
His last
detention, in a military camp at Negele, Borana, from February 2007 to July
2009, was the worst, he reported. He was held for the first three months in
solitary confinement and did not know where he was. He was severely beaten and
shot through his left buttock and testicle. He has medical problems as a result
and walks with a limp.
In Kenya
Two incidents have
worried Dirirsa since his arrival in Nairobi in January 2010. On 15 April, he
was approached by four men, at least one of whom was an Amharic speaker. They
asked him to go with them and when he refused they tried to strangle him with a
rope. His companions raised the alarm and the assailants fled. He was left with
an injured, but not broken, jaw.
The second
incident occurred on 10 September, eight days before the interview. He helped a
man install a computer after being called upon at his home. He thought that his
mobile phone had been stolen by the man, who had rented a house in the same
compound. When he confronted this man, he was threatened with 'Not only your
phone, your life will be taken.'
Mengistu Chimdeessa Aga, 25, Lalissa Biya village, Nekempte,
Wallega.
Mengistu was
detained twice as a student at Hareto secondary school near Nekempte and held
at Hareto military camp. In 2000, the authorities were recruiting at the school
for soldiers in the war with Eritrea. They brought a woman's dress with them
and threatened to put it on any young man who refused to join the war effort.
Mengistu and nine others were detained because they opposed conscription,
saying 'We are students. We want peace and we don't want to be soldiers.' They
were accused of supporting the OLF, beaten with their hands tied behind their
backs and made to lie on a bare concrete floor. Mengistu was released after ten
days on the usual conditions and made to sign at the kebele office every week.
In 2001, there was
OLF activity in the area and Mengistu and his two flat mates were taken from
their room near the school and held for 15 days. They were again beaten and
subsisted on meagre rations of bread. Mengistu's father begged for his release
and both he and Mengistu signed a document acknowledging that their lives would
be forfeit - that they 'would be responsible for their own lives' - if they
were suspected of having any association with the OLF.
When studying at
Gonder University, Amhara Region, he was accused of being a 'narrow
nationalist' by university and higher authorities in Addis Ababa after
complaining about discimination by Amhara staff members. After graduatiung in
2003, he taught at Moyale secondary school. The security chief in Moyale
accosted him on the street and took him to his office, where he was questioned
and accused of coming to Moyale on a mission for the OLF. The security chief
threatened him with a pistol and ordered him to report to the office every
week, saying 'Take care who you are with and who you talk to. If not, you will
take responsibility.'
In April 2004, he
crossed the border with the large number of students, teachers and others
following the demonstrations and protests. (See footnote, p.
17.)
In Kenya
'In Dadaab, the
Oromo live on poor terms with the Somalis because of their negative history in
1977 and 2006. We are unable to go to school because of this. I have reported
it to SCF, UNHCR, CARE [who run the schools] and to
the police. But the school supervisor, headmaster and deputy head are all
Somalis.
Women are
restricted to their homes and are called 'gaal' in the market, at food
distribution points, at water taps and when they visit NGOs. Some women don't
even know where the market is.
There are Somali
health workers in the hospitals. Oromo women, children and men are treated
badly. . . . Delivering women are first asked their nationality and religion.
They are discriminated against in terms of the attention given to them.'
There is a backlog
of RSD decisions since 2004. Many who were rejected in 2004 were told their
files were lost two or three years later. Those who were re-interviewed
obtained status later. He went for verification in 2010 and was told he was an
asylum-seeker, not a refugee, because his file was lost. 'People have been here
since 2004 without a result.'
N.xv. Name redacted, 30, Moyale.
He was a farmer of
crops and animals and was detained 13 times between 2000 and 2005, mostly in
military camps, notably Moyale Showa Ber. He was detained from 2000 to 2003 and
most of the other episodes were for several months. The longest time he was out
of detention was four months. He was once seen by ICRC in Moyale police station
(June 2003) but was returned to Yabelo prison following that.
During detention
he received many injuries, including three broken ribs. 'The beatings were
almost continuous.' His arms and legs were tied behind him and he was beaten on
his feet and hands with sticks. On more than 30 occasions, he was placed in a
hole in the ground, with his limbs tied around a stick behind him. A rifle was
put in his mouth and 'they held a spade to fill in the hole.' The rifle was
fired over his head.
In November 2005,
after paying a 3000 Birr bribe to get released and while receiving treatment
for his injuries, 'They killed my
brother, [name redacted], 33, and took all our animals - camels, cows,
sheep - for the army to eat, and they burnt all the crops that were gathered
in.'
In Kenya
He arrived in
Nairobi in December 2005 and lives with two brothers. Although registered early
on, his RSD interview is not until October 2010. 'They kept telling me to go to
Kakuma but I'm not healthy enough for that hot place after all my beatings.'
'Even the police
here tear up the document we show them.'
As well as bearing
obvious psychological scars he has weakness and wasting of his legs and bony
swelling of his knees and ankles.
xix(i). Name redacted, 37, Arsi
Negele.
He was detained
for nine months in Shashemane military camp in early 2001. He was accused of
mobilising farmers and students against the government and ordered to identify
OLF members and supporters. He was tortured for two or three nights each week.
His hands were tied behind his legs and he was made to run barefoot on gravel.
He was gagged and his head forced down into a barrel of cold water. He was
forced to sniff hot green pepper powder.
He escaped when
fellow detainees, former Derg soldiers who were attending a toilet block with
him, overcame their guard. He arrived at the border two days later and
travelled by lorry to Nairobi in October 2001. He registered with UNHCR
straight away and obtained refugee status in 2003.
In Kenya
In Eastleigh, he
was detained by Kenyan police 20-30 times and released with the help of UNHCR
and the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK). Eventually he refused to return to
Eastleigh and slept at UNHCR until transferred to Kakuma camp.
Although the dates
of his episodes of detention and of the following incident were not recorded by
the interviewer, Dechassa reported that he had been arrested and released with
warnings that he'd be killed if he associated with the OLF again.
Soldiers came to
his village after military action nearby. He and the leader of the village, Abdulahi Ibro, a farmer in his fifties,
were returning to the village when they saw soldiers sitting with their backs
to a fence. They ran but Abdulahi was
shot dead and Dechassa was shot in the right hand and arm. There is
considerable bony and soft tissue deformity of the limb, with significant loss
of function and power.
Darmi Dida, 38, Hidi Lola, Borana.
In Kenya
Darmi is the
leader of the family now, as her husband earns nothing. She has a travel
document which allows her to travel to and from Nairobi three or four times per
year to obtain goods to sell; incense, clothes etc.
UNHCR knows the family. Darmi’s foster daughter travelled to the USA for two
weeks to represent the Kakuma community there.
She has lost
contact with two of her daughters, who now live in Nairobi. Regarding health in
Kakuma, ‘all of us have our own problems’, she said. She had difficulty getting
spectacles, needing a referral by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to
Nairobi.
'Education is
poor. Teachers are sometimes absent. Some of the houses are falling down. The
community would help those who are vulnerable, for example those with HIV/AIDS,
but needs finances to do this.'
Zeituna Hussein, 57, Mada Walabu, Bale.
In 2001, her
husband was accused of being a member of the OLF and detained with Zeituna’s
two foster sons and their daughter in a military camp at Negele Borana, Dibe
Xayara (Air Strip). They were still in detention in 2004 but she doesn't know
where they are now.
Every two or three
months, security forces came to her home asking where her husband was, despite
him being in detention.
[8]
When she told them that he was in their custody, in 2004, she was herself
detained for three months. When she was released, she was told she would be
killed if she did not produce her husband. All her property and belongings were
gone.
She gathered her
eight children from relatives and paid all she had to go to Moyale in a grain
lorry. She then got a lift in a cattle truck to Nairobi. 'My children were
crying for food.'
In Kenya
She could not
afford rent in Eastleigh and lived in a mosque for four years, not knowing
about UNHCR. In October 2008, she was taken by an Oromo to UNHCR and was sent
to Kakuma in November. She got her mandate status two weeks before being
interviewed.
She has difficulty
feeding and clothing her eight children and sells part of their ration to buy
clothes, pens and books for school. She works as a traditional health worker
but is not officially employed.
'I see people with
many diseases. Women commonly have infections - offensive discharges and
bladder infections. Female circumcision often causes problems with delivery of
babies.'
Her health work is
not legally sanctioned. 'I was even arrested for setting someone's broken arm.'
Kababe Jirma, 26, Negele, Borana.
When he was 30
years old, in mid-2002, he was taken from their compound after midnight and shot dead outside. Kababe was pregnant
and ran in panic to her neighbours, leaving her one year old child in the house
with her husband's younger brother, in his twenties. When she returned to the
house, they were not there.
She ran to Liban
next morning, where she stayed for two years, delivering her baby there. Her
hosts were not relatives, although members of her clan. They became worried
about her continued presence and asked her to leave. She went to Moyale in
2005. There, she was beaten on the street and her baby was thrown to the
ground, injuring his head.
In Kenya
She was helped at
the mosque on the Kenyan side of Moyale in order to travel to Nairobi, where
she immediately contacted UNHCR. She got married in Kakuma, because she needed
protection. Her child is now eight years old and unable to speak or move, due
to his head injury. The clinic in Kakuma told her that nothing could be done to
help him. She had another baby by Caesarean Section last year but the baby
died. She feels imprisoned at home because her 8 year old is not safe to leave.
'Many are
suffering. People talk to themselves. The worst health issue is the mental
health issue.'
'We had problems
at home. Now we have problems here.'
xix(ii). Name redacted, 37, Arsi
Negele.
As a student and
committed member of Mekane Yesus Evangelical Church, he was detained for one
year from May 2002, being held in Arsi Negele before being transferred to
Gimbi, Wallega, where he was held with about 700 others in a former soap
factory. A paid government agent was arrested with them and identified
nationalists among the detainees for the guards. He was accused of being 'part
of the OLF remnant in the country' and was whipped with rope on his back,
buttocks and head. He was beaten so that several teeth were broken. The Mekane
Yesus Church paid over 1000 Birr to secure his release. He travelled back to
Arsi Negele and then went on to continue his education in Addis Ababa.
He was again taken
in December 2009, when travelling to Arsi Negele from Addis Ababa. He was badly
beaten during six months' detention at Arsi Negele military camp.
In Kenya
Immediately after
release he escaped via Moyale to Nairobi, where he registered with UNHCR in
July 2010. He awaits status determination in Kakuma. He fears fellow refugees there,
believing he has recognised ten registered refugees who are agents of the
Ethiopian government and are pursuing him. He appeared paranoid and in need of
counselling.
Accounts of abuses beginning 2003-2004
iii. Name redacted, 40, Boku
Loboma, Borana.
Her husband's mood
had changed when he was released five days later. He used to be happy and
outgoing but became silent and would not say what had happened. She was crying
when she said this. He was made to report every seven days but disappeared
after setting off to trade in Mega a few days after release. She believes he
was killed.
Soldiers called a
meeting every month. The community tried to avoid them 'because someone would
die'. Instead they locked their homes and fled. Soldiers told them 'We know you
are evil and support the OLF. We know those who support us.'
The OLF attacked a
nearby military camp. She and her village were accused of feeding them. When
questioned at gunpoint, she said her husband had disappeared. She was slapped
and taken to a big hall at Boku Loboma military camp where she was held for
four months.
She was kept naked
apart from a shawl and described being dragged across the floor by her hair.
With her wrists tied behind her back she was taken at night by two armed men (one
in front and one behind) and an interpreter to a hole where they dump dead
bodies. She was told 'You will be one of them and no-one will find you, if you
don't say what you have been doing.' She heard a pistol being cocked behind her
and the soldier in front said 'Don't shoot.' She was pushed to the edge of the
hole and dragged back three times. She fainted and regained consciousness
inside the hall again.
She experienced
this four times during the first month of her detention. She was beaten every
day for the first week and with decreasing frequency thereafter. When she was
released four months later she was warned 'Never do what your husband did.
Never reveal what happened to you in the camp. You must come to meetings if
called. Do not discuss things in groups. Sit alone in your house. If you have
any visitors, you will be held responsible. You cannot go to the market and you
must report to the office every month.'
Following military
engagements by the OLF in her area, there were widespread arrests, 'all Oromo
were in danger' in April 2006. She was taken to a military camp at Mora Mora,
near Hidi Lola and held for six months. She said she 'nearly died'. She was
taken by a different route to the same 'death hole' about ten times, with the
usual accusations and threats. She was severely beaten with gun butts,
especially during the first three months. One
of the two other women in her cell began bleeding from her nose and ears
after such a beating and died [from a
fractured skull].
She was so badly
beaten that she could not stand even to go to the toilet. She was fed mostly on
left over scraps. Three days before being released she was beaten and
interrogated and when she fell to the floor after being kicked and hit with a
gun butt, she severed tendons in her right hand on a piece of glass. She cannot
now flex her 3rd - 5th fingers.
On release, she
was given 15 days to provide a list of the men who had worked with her husband,
and the villages in which they lived. She put her fingerprint to a document
acknowledging that she and her children would be killed if she did not provide
this information.
As soon as she
reached home, she fled with two of her three children. On the pretence of
attending hospital because of her hand, she went to Moyale and thence to
Marsabit in Kenya. People worried about supporting her there because of her
lack of Kenyan ID, so she took a cattle truck to Nairobi.
In Kenya
She was unaware of
UNHCR and worked washing clothes in Kariobangi until she had saved enough to
travel to Kakuma in March 2010. She has now applied for mandate status and
awaits a decision.
She is 'just
surviving in Nairobi and Kakuma'. She coughs blood off and on but has been told
she does not have TB from tests that have been done. She says she has stomach
ulcers and occasionally vomits spots of blood. She feels ill because of her
injuries from beatings and describes symptoms of hyperventilation. She lives
with her daughters, now 5 and 19. She's had no news of her 20 year old son.
Timira's father
died when she was very young and her mother became the second wife of her
father's brother. Her step-father and uncle, Awal Kamal Aliyi, was a religious elder, an Imam who led prayers at
his mosque. He had supported the OLF in 1991 but was not a member. He was taken
away by government security forces at 1.00 a.m. one night in July 2003 and not
seen again. He was not found in any prison and, later, another detainee told
Timira that he had been killed in
detention.
One week after her
uncle's disappearance, soldiers visited her (she was now regarded as head of
the family) and accused her and her family of supporting the OLF. They said she
must have known about this and asked where her uncle was. (See
footnote, p. 22.)
Sometime later, when
she heard from a neighbour that security forces were again seeking her out, she
fled, leaving her children with her mother.
In Kenya
Timira crossed the
border on foot and paid an agent who arranged for her to be taken in a cattle
lorry to Marsabit. Here, she was arrested at a police check point, handcuffed
and locked in prison. Still wearing handcuffs, she managed to escape. She was
given money by people in a nearby hotel and this was used to pay off the police.
Another truck took her to Nairobi.
After staying at a
mosque for two or three nights, she was given work as a cook in a hotel. She
worked at night and slept in the day. When she developed pneumonia, she went to
a hospital but could not afford the treatment. The hotel owner took her to
UNHCR who recommended that she went to Kakuma. She agreed and arrived in April
2009.
In May 2009, while
she was living in Kakuma Three, her home was robbed while she was at a food
distribution point. A thief took all her possessions, including the iron
roofing sheet. She ran to Kakuma One and stayed with relatives but was told to
get her own shelter. She stayed with a family friend but was again thrown out
because of the illegitimacy of her child, which she had while in Kakuma. She
had been sleeping outdoors and had lived at a mosque throughout the recent
Ramadan.
She was in tears
and distraught. 'Even here, I'm living a hard life. I left my children there
[in Ethiopia]. I am stressed, like never before.'
Faiza [Father's name redacted], 23,
Chalanko, E. Hararge.
Her father and
three elder brothers were repeatedly detained because they were suspected of
supporting the OLF. Iskender (would
now be 32) and Shamsudin (30) disappeared before 2003. Nazradin (34),
a civil servant, fled in 1998-9.
In 2003, when many
Oromo were deported from Djibouti, security forces came to her house looking
for her brothers. Faiza, her sister Zeituna (now 26), and their parents were
detained at Chalanko military camp. Faiza was beaten but not raped. Zeituna was raped. One week after being
detained, the sisters were thrown on the street from a vehicle. Zeituna was
bleeding following the rape. She subsequently developed a fistula and has urinary
incontinence, despite never having borne children. The sisters do not know if
their parents are alive. They went to stay with an uncle in Nazret, but he had
been detained also. So they went with their younger brother to stay with an
aunt's sister in Moyale and thence to Nairobi.
In Kenya
In Nairobi, Faiza
worked as a maid but could not support her siblings so they moved to Dadaab in
October 2003. Here, her younger brother, Ramadan, who would now be 20 or 21,
used to help clean the mosque. But he became insane. 'He was taken to hospital
where they gave him treatment used for mad people. He became confused and his
speech was affected. He went more mad. Somalis were
tormenting him. He disappeared in July 2007.'
She reported
hostility and discimination in the camps at Dadaab. (This is
reported more fully elsewhere - see footnote, p. 11.) 'UNHCR drivers
collect Somali cleaners but sometimes refuse to take me. I have had to walk
from Dadaab to Ifo [about 5km] before now.'
'I tried to sell
tea in the market in Dagahaley but they have beaten me twice and broken my
Thermos flask.'
'I tried to find
my brother when I heard rumours that he had been arrested but UNHCR won't
help.' 'The UN brought us here and said we'll protect you. I've reported
several times about my brother but they have not helped.'
UNHCR social
services helped set up men and women's volley ball clubs, providing equipment
and prizes for tournaments. She was captain of a ladies' team which won a
contest and was awarded t-shirts and a Thermos flask as prizes. On their way home, they
were beaten by Somalis, saying 'You think you can beat us. We will beat you
now.' The prizes were stolen or destroyed. A Somali escort was provided by
social services but they beat him too and he ran away, without reporting the
incident to UNHCR. The volleyball stopped.
A member of the
volleyball team, in her twenties, was raped at her home while her husband was
at work, at the end of 2006. She reported it to UNHCR. The incident led to
marital disharmony and she left the area two or three months later. Her present
location is not known.
'People have told
me they are sponsoring me [for resettlement] but when I go to the office they
say it is not traceable. It is difficult to get and pay for transport to the
offices. This has happened twice and I think Somali clerks are responsible.'
N.v. Name redacted, 32, Dodola, Bale.
She helped her
parents in their clothes shop and on their cattle farm.
Her father was
detained frequently after 1991-2 and his movements were restricted. Her brother
was detained in April 2003 and her father went to look for him in Dodola
prison. He was told that he was himself wanted. Two days later, on 14 April,
'soldiers broke down the house door at night, when we refused to open it. Four
of them walked in and others stayed outside. They ordered us to lie down on the
floor and shot my father dead as
they said this. My brother, aged 31, disappeared in detention.'
In 2005,
immediately after the election when the government was cracking down on opposition
supporters, the rest of her family were detained in Dodola prison, while she
was at her aunt's house. Her mother and her other three brothers were detained.
She fled to Nairobi and doesn't know what happened to them.
In Kenya
She fears
publicising her story because 'many Oromo speakers have infiltrated the refugee
community and report back to the embassy'. 'All of us are suffering. For
example me, [my family used to be wealthy, but] now I am working as a maid for
a rich family.'
'I have received
threatening phone calls from undisclosed numbers, twice in 2008 and 2009.
Initially, they call as friends or relatives asking to meet me. When I refuse,
they say "We will kill you".'
'In July 2009,
when I was out shopping at 6.00 p.m., I was held from behind by three men and
was beaten and kicked in the kidney area of my back. They said "We got
you" in the Oromo language. Others came and chased them away. I reported
to the police and attended the hospital. I believe it was an enemy who I had
escaped from. Now, I'm hiding myself extremely. UNHCR tells us to go to the
camps for security.'
Abiba Ali, 27, Wachile, Harero, Borana.
Abiba was a housewife
and street vendor (clothes, matches, sugar, small items). Her husband was a supporter of the OLF but not a member. He was
arrested in 2004 and taken to Harero and then disappeared. She has looked for him 'in every jail'.
Back at her
village, soldiers told village elders that she should not leave her compound or
speak to anyone. Soldiers took all of her possessions and the money that they
could find, three days later. She had hidden some money and took this,
travelling with cattle traders and their herd on a four day walk to Moyale. She
slept in a mosque and was there given money to pay an agent to take her over
the border (2000/-). She then got a lift in a truck with goats and cattle to
Nairobi.
In Kenya
She lived in
Kariobangi for two years, working as a cook in a hotel, and registered with
UNHCR. In the post-2007 election violence, some were killed in Kariobangi, and
she was taken by UNHCR to Kakuma in February 2008. She has not been called for
status determination interview.
'Life is a bit
easier here. The main problem now is loss of hope. I'm a single mother without
refugee status. People consider you a prostitute, as a single mother. I don't
want to think of my present or past life. I get flashbacks. I have to keep
busy.'
xxx. Name redacted, 18, from a
village near Moyale, Borana.
She was a school
student when she fled to Kenya.Her father
disappeared in detention when she was very young. Two brothers who were grade 12 students, Liban (22) and Boru (20)
were shot dead when running across
the border (a dry wadi in Moyale) in April 2004 at the time of the large
student protests (see footnote, p. 17). Soldiers surrounded their bodies and
denied access to the mother and other family members. Her mother 'went mad and
now sits at home all day, not normal.' Another brother, aged 18, was shot in
the student demonstrations and lost an eye.
When she was a
grade 9 student, from September 2008 to May 2009, she was harassed every day on
her way home from school by a Tigrean soldier, who said he wanted to marry her.
She was unable to consult with her sick mother and her older brothers were dead
or not at home. The soldier finally accosted her and threatened her with his
pistol, saying he would kill her if she did not agree. 'Marry me or I will take
the last measure' he said. She persuaded him to wait until the following day
and fled that night, leaving her young brother to inform her mother. She joined
a group of women walking back to Kenya after shopping on the Ethiopian side of
the border and got a lift to Dadaab via Wajir in a lorry, arriving in May 2009
after two days travelling.
In Kenya
She describes
being no longer scared but upset with the hostility of Somalis in Dadaab and
complains of abuse from them. Among the Oromo community she is one of only two
continuing secondary education in her camp. 'They don't use my name. They just
say "Where is that gaal?" The teachers are Somalis and they are OK.'
One night, about
one month before interview, she was told that al Shabaab were coming to the camp to 'kill all the gaal'. 'Nobody slept the whole night' she
said.
vi. Name redacted, 41, . . . ,
Borana.
'My husband was
accused of teaching politics to the students. One night in late 2004, they came
and broke down our door when we had refused to open it. They took him to Moyale
military camp. One week later, they came in the middle of the night and took me
and my two year old child. My husband was taken from the camp at 2.00 a.m. the following night and has not been seen since. Rumours come
and go about whether he is in Kaliti prison or not. Sometimes they say he is
there. Sometimes they say he is not there.'
She was taken from
the camp to a private house, where she was tortured by being burnt with a
branding iron many times on her torso, arms and legs, while they asked her to
report on her husband's activities.
She was raped every night except one or two in the eight months of
her detention. Everyone who brought food or water to her, sometimes one person,
sometimes two, would rape her. She was still breast feeding her child. She was
released in mid-2005, after signing that she would not reveal what had happened
to her, on pain of death.
Her children spoke
about her detention. Five days after her release, the kebele administrator, [name
redacted], told her she was to be killed because she had spoken about her
detention. She sent two of her younger children to stay with relatives and left
her two eldest children to look after their cattle. She took her three year old
with her to Nairobi.
In Kenya
She complained
about her difficulty getting refugee status. She had her RSD interview at the
end of 2005 but on repeated visits since then she has been told that her file
was lost and mixed up with another woman of the same name. Her file was finally
located in April 2010 but she has made repeated visits since then without yet
getting mandate status.
'I am getting
older and my children are dispersed. They have no father and no money. Without
a refugee mandate, I cannot tell them to come here. If the little one gets
sick, I can't take her for treatment without a mandate. I am told to go to the
City Council hospital which charges very little, just 20-30 shillings, but they
prescribe medicines which I cannot afford. My child has a swollen, sore throat,
and can only drink water, but is just sleeping in the house because I can't
afford the prescribed medicine. I have had to use traditional herbal medicine.'
N.viii. Name redacted, 41, . . . , W. Hararge.
Her second husband
was a coffee trader who was detained twice. They had five children, aged 16-20,
who remained at home when they fled in March 2006.
Her husband was
held in Galamso prison for one year from 2004 to 2005 and within a month of
release was taken there again. He was badly beaten when he was first taken from
the home during the night and was bleeding. She was beaten with a rifle butt to
her face and chest and had her index finger broken when trying to defend
herself. She was forced to give up the keys to their money box and the soldiers
took all their money and the coffee trading licenses. One year later, prison
guards told village elders that her husband needed money. She obtained some
money and handed it over, whereupon her husband was released.
Her husband was
detained again when two soldiers were killed in a hotel facing her husband's
coffee store. The EPRDF said her husband must have allowed OLF fighters to use
his store to mount the attack. He was again severely beaten and, in March 2006,
was taken to the forest in a truck containing detainees, including many
students. When he saw that the detainees were being executed, he and three
others ran off. He told her that all the
other prisoners had been shot dead.
In Kenya
She joined him
that night and they fled to Nairobi next day, arriving five days later. After
six weeks, UNHCR advised them to go to Kakuma. Her husband refused and then
left Nairobi, abandoning her.
She moves around
from place to place, washing clothes and selling tea to make ends meet. Her RSD
appointment in January 2010 was postponed to July and then November.
Accounts of abuses beginning 2005-2006
Tayiba Boru, 26, Assass, nr Shashemane, Arsi.
'They came every two
or three days asking for him' she said.
After several
visits by security forces, she was taken to Assass military camp in 2005 and
held for one month. She was held with male OLF suspects and was raped by more than three men during her
detention. She developed a venereal disease for which she later received
treatment in Nairobi. She still has gynaecological problems due to this.
Two months after
her release, she was taken to Malka Wakana military camp, where she was held
for ten weeks. She was beaten but not raped during this detention. Neighbours
looked after her two young children during both episodes of detention.
Within a few days
of her release in May 2006, she was again sought by security forces. She left
her children with her mother and fled. In Kenya, she was re-united with her
husband and they both now have mandate status.
She had a boy by
Caesarean Section two and a half years ago. He is severely disabled. 'There is
difficulty getting treatment for him' she reported.
Saar Godana, 24, Kebele 03, Negele, Borana.
His older brother
resigned as local kebele administrator and decided to return to cattle farming
around Hadeessa, 40 km from Negele. He was therefore suspected of involvement
with the OLF. Harassment forced him to run away in 2005. Security forces came
looking for him in October 2005 and when they found he was absent they arrested
Saar instead.
He was kept for
six weeks in a shower room, the floor of which was flooded with cold water. He
was beaten every day and forced to maintain a stress position for one or two
hours each day. He was tied in a squatting position with his head between his
legs while holding his hands up beside his ears. This was carried out in the
mid-day sun. While in this position, he was kicked over and fractured his right
elbow. He was bayoneted in the right shin and beaten unconscious. He has
experienced back pain and stiffness and left leg pain ever since.
On release he was
ordered to bring his brother and was refused permission to attend school for
two years. In February 2010, a farmer and his wife who lived near to Negele
were shot and injured for no apparent reason. Saar joined in the protest about
this to local government officials. The names of complainants were taken down
and an official said that he would bring the soldiers who shot the couple to
court. A few days later, the police came looking for those on the list of
complainants. Advised by friends, Saar fled, one week after the shooting.
Fayissa Faromsa, 30, Ambo, W. Showa.
He was detained in
March 2005 at Dolo Odo military camp and held in solitary confinement in a small
cell for six months on suspicion of links with the OLF. In the first two weeks,
he was taken out at night to the bush four times, interrogated and accused of
helping OLF supporters to cross to Kenya. A rifle was held to his temple each
time.
On his release, he
signed a warning that 'immediate measures would be taken if I was found with
strangers or met with other people'. His salary was stopped, he was restricted to his immediate area and had to report every week. After
supporting his wife and two children on contributions from friends for two
months, he got a job with an Italian NGO (CCM) but this NGO was expelled from
the region eight months later, on the pretext of it having links with the ONLF.
(Many other NGOs were expelled from the Somali Region at this time.)
Fayissa was again
detained and held for eight months from January 2006, in underground cells near
to, but not inside, Harar military camp. Many Oromo were there. He was held
with 70-80 other Oromo (OLF suspects and OFDM party supporters) in a
concrete-lined room about 4 metres by 6 metres. He was tortured with falaka/bastinado
(beating of the soles of his feet), once a week for two months, with his elbows
tied behind and suspended on a bar with feet uppermost. He became ill with
typhoid but was denied transfer to hospital until near death five months later.
From hospital he was transferred to Goba central prison, Bale, where ICRC
visited him, After that visit, he was treated better
and allowed to mix with other prisoners. He appeared in court three times but was
not convicted. After 15 months he was released on bail on 13.8.08. Delay in the
court proceedings was due to visiting prosecutors coming from Addis Ababa only
once every six months, he said. On release he signed a document agreeing to be
limited to Ambo, despite his wife and children being still in Somali Region.
In Ambo, he was
harassed and accused of being 'anti-government' and after one month he fled to
stay with a family member in S. Showa. He was asked to leave there after two
months because of fear of government reprisals and went to Kenya in January
2009. Has had no news of his wife and children.
In Kenya
He spoke of
killings and robberies in Kakuma and reported 'People go mad because of the loss
of hope.'
Wondimu Fekadu, 25, Dembi Dollo, Wallega.
When on vacation
in Dembi Dollo in August 2006, he was held for a month in the prison there,
accused of spreading OLF propaganda and inciting students in Jimma and Dembi
Dollo. During both episodes of detention, he was repeatedly questioned about
his contacts ('Who is behind you') and beaten. He
complains that his sight has been damaged from being forced to look at the
midday sun.
His release was
conditional on him signing that he would be accountable if any other
demonstration took place. In January 2007, there was a demonstration at Jimma
University, associated with some violence. All of his dormitory friends were
detained in either Kaliti prison or Zeway, so he fled, crossing the border at
Moyale on 3 February.
Alemnesh was director
of a kindergarten and wife of Workneh Dinsa (see p. 37). Her husband was
detained at least 16 times. Six months after he began his longest period of
detention (1995-2001), in November 1995, she was taken into custody with their
two month old child.
She was beaten
about her face but not raped. She and the child were forced to sleep on the
floor and when the child became ill after five days, she was released on bail.
When her husband
was briefly detained with their eldest daughter, then 17, after the elections
in 2005, Almnesh was accused of reporting their detention to Voice Of America radio, which reported it
and questioned the government about it. One year later, in June 2006, she was
held at Nekemte police station for six weeks and accused of contacting the
media.
Her final
detention was in January 2007. Following another court appearance of her
husband and daughter in Nekemte, she was unable to find them, as they had
slipped away unnoticed, and she assumed they had been detained again. When she
asked about them at the police station, she was herself detained and held for
one month. She preferred not to comment about her treatment at the police
station during this episode of detention.
Her daughter was
at this time in hiding in Addis Ababa. Alemnesh was released after she agreed
to produce her daughter within three days. Her husband was again in detention
at the time. She fled to Nairobi, arriving in March 2007.
In Kenya
'There are lots of
problems here. Conditions are difficult. There is no work and we are supported
by friends.'
Alemnesh is
concerned about abductions and killings in Nairobi. She reported having no
problems herself because she hides away at home, but said she had been arrested
three times by police and had paid bribes of 1500 Shillings twice and 2000 Shillings
once.
Her daughter got
married in 2008, when she was 17 years and 8 months old. 'This is before she
should have married but it was necessary for security. . . . Our daughter fears
Ethiopian spies. She is always in fear when she is out of doors.'
Hamdi Ali, 18, Dubluk, Borana.
Her mother died
when she was young. Her father was
wealthy, a driver with his own lorry and a large family. He was accused of
supplying food to the OLF. All his property was taken by government officials
and he disappeared in detention in
early 2006.
Hamdi's four
brothers were repeatedly interrogated and detained. Mahdi Ali, ca22, and Kadir
Ali, ca21, were shot dead on
their way home from school after their last release from detention in 2006. Her
other two brothers aged 25 and 28, also released that year, ran away and have
not been seen since. Hamdi went to Dadaab with her aunt in late 2006.
In Kenya
In Dadaab, she
enjoyed Islamic Religious Education but attended only 2½ terms because of
ridicule and abuse by the teacher, who called her 'gaal'. Hamdi's aunt is
married to a Somali. 'Her husband used to abuse me and beat me. I don't even go
to their block now. They beat me and throw stones at me. My aunt's husband's
tribe wanted me to marry one of their men so I came to the Oromo block.
Sometimes my aunt visits me here.'
She worries about
her children. She always keeps them close and they are locked in their
compound. 'If they are out, they will be abused and beaten.'
Hamdia Mohammed, 23, Harar.
Her father, Mohammed Abdulahi, ca60, was a driver
who co-owned a vehicle. He supported the OLF in 1991-2, was arrested many times
and detained mostly in Gara Mulata. He disappeared there in 2004. Her elder brother, Afandi
Mohammed, 26-7, worked as a chauffeur and still attended school, from where
he was taken and held in Zeway. He was then held in Dire Dawa and disappeared in October 2005.
Her mother tried
to trace Afandi and lost interest in the shop. She became disturbed and had a
stroke. The driving business had gone to her father's partner. Hamdia and her
25 year old brother, Ramadan, ran the shop.
Security men kept
coming to the shop, harassing her and asking 'Where is you father? Where is your brother?' She kept telling them 'You are the ones who
took them.' (See footnote, p. 22.)
At 8.00 p.m. one
night in October 2006, two soldiers came through the back door of the shop.
They tore open 50 kg bags of rice and sugar, ostensibly looking for weapons.
They accused her mother of 'being the wife of OLF'. The men took Hamdia and
Ramadan to Misrak Iz (Eastern Command) military camp in Harar.
Hamdia was beaten
with wooden staves and her head was forced into a barrel of water containing
chemicals which burnt her eyes and face so that she was temporarily blinded.
She was repeatedly asked 'Where is your father? Where have you hidden his
documents?'
She said 'I was a
girl when I was detained, but they raped
me, two or three of them mostly, every night for the first week and then
every week or two. Three women were kept in my small cell. All of them were raped. I heard others crying out but I don't know
the numbers.'
The other women
noticed she was pregnant because she was vomiting. She was given an injection
and tablets in the camp clinic and had a miscarriage. The rape stopped for two
months and then resumed 'one or two people every week'. Once when she resisted,
she was beaten and exposed to the midday sun for an hour or so as punishment.
Interrogation
continued. She was told 'Your brother has told us everything'. She was told
that her brother, Ramadan, had died in prison. The beatings continued
and she was eventually told 'We will release you if you work for the
government'. She agreed to do so, 'because all of my family had been killed
anyway'. She was released in April 2007 and fled via Moyale to Nairobi, from
where UNHCR took her to Dadaab.
In Kenya
She got married in Ifo camp. She complains of insecurity. 'The Somalis
say we are pagans. Even at the water tap. After us, they insist on washing the
tap, saying pagans have used it. They say we are animals. There is no Oromo
only block. Oromo Muslims and Christians live together OK, but they don't
consider us as human beings.'
'There is a risk
but not much. But if you buy something, they tell you to put the money down on
the table. They do not take it from your hand. Then they throw the change at
you.'
'We are unable to
dress culturally. We can't express our culture. If we celebrate, they are more
hostile.'
Huka Dida, 32, Tuka, Borana.
After his release,
there were skirmishes with the OLF near to his village. He was on his way to
market when he was shot on the orders of the local administrator. He was loaded
into the back of a Nissan Patrol and taken to Moyale military camp. He received
no treatment for his wounds.
One bullet had
entered his left shoulder and exited through the right side of his neck (see
photograph), damaging the spinal cord and/or nerve roots in its passage. Another
bullet went into his right thigh. He has weakness and wasting of the muscles of
his hands and loss of flexion of his fingers (see photograph) and left elbow
due to nerve damage. He also has weakness of his right leg.
Huka attempted to
conduct his business despite sometimes being denied permission to travel or
being delayed from doing so. He got married, but could not sustain himself with
the restrictions under which he was made to work. 'It was a terrible life' he
said.
Huka arrived at
Dadaab two weeks before the interview and was registered with UNHCR on 2.9.10.
He was still
frightened that Ethiopian government agents will come to Dadaab for him. 'I
have heard rumours that Ethiopian troops passed near here' he said. He is also
fearful of rumours that al Shabaab agents and agents of the Ethiopian government
are coming in and out of the camps.
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