The Tigrayan Electrician
Memories of my father and his beloved motherland
by Issayas Yrgaw Bahta
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Pub Date Mar 23 2023 | Archive Date Sep 30 2023
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Description
As the sun was setting on Sunday, March 28, 1976, Colonel Beshu, a high-ranking Ethiopian military commander, was killed by Eritrean freedom fighters in the center of Asmera, the beautiful East African capital city of Eritrea.
The reprisal by Ethiopian authorities was swift and horrific. Scores of civilians were massacred in their homes through a long, lonely night of terror.
A young electrician was among the victims, as soldiers of the Ethiopian government broke into his home and gunned him down in the presence of his loved ones. His family was left to tend to the slain body in utter loneliness.
The young electrician was my father, I was fifteen years old, and I was forced to flee across wilderness and war zones to become a refugee in Sudan. The Tigrayan Electrician: Memories of my father and his beloved motherland retraces the desolation of that night and the flight it compelled. On the night of my father’s murder the Ethiopian authorities went on a rampage to execute defenseless civilians under the cover of darkness.
Half century later the same crime is being perpetrated on a massive scale, by the Ethiopian government, against my father’s birthplace, the Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government led by a Nobel Peace Prize winning premier isolated the six million people of Tigray under a total communication and transportation blockade and launched a vicious war.
Out of sight of the world’s attention, the Ethiopian army and their allies committed unspeakable atrocities including ethnic cleansing, mass killing and widespread sexual violence. The brutal onslaught was followed by a merciless siege of Tigray that has now been in place for two years.
Tigrayans who did not die of bullets and bombs are now perishing from hunger and disease, totally isolated from the rest of the planet. Genocide is being perpetrated in Tigray with very little concern from the rest of the world.
This book is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the ongoing genocide in Tigray and all proceeds will be donated to support the survivors.
Advance Praise
"Booksgosocial international review of books
The Tigrayan Electrician
Which line stood out from all the others in the book?
A dark cloud is hovering over it, the wrath of the Ethiopian Empire is tightening its grip
General Summary for Context:
The true story of one man’s recollections and memories of his experiences growing up during the time of war. At fifteen he witnessed the murder of his father. He was, however, fortunate in escaping the turbulence and massacre of civilians that was taking place. He describes the beginning of the war and the fight for independence through the eyes and heart of his father before he was annihilated. To this day, the six million refugees remain in peril, as the author brings to light the passiveness of the world, including the United Nations, in attempting to resolve the situation.
Concise Review:
Both an educational and fascinating read of a struggle to survive, and how one young survivor beat the incredible odds against him to become a doctor. An extremely well written saga of violence, fear, and gritty determination in not only the fight to survive but to exceed as well
General Thoughts on the Novel:
Extremely moving and well written, this book will touch your heart and move you to tears. Those of us living in “the land of luxury” in the United States and elsewhere in the world, with our creature comforts, are given an earth-shattering look at what happens in lands we basically know nothing about. This book is not to be missed. "
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798986970004 |
| PRICE | $4.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 169 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Mandy J, Reviewer
To my shame I was only marginally aware of the dire situation in Tigray. I’m not going to try to explain or summarise what’s going on there as I don’t feel qualified to do so without much more research, but what this memoir makes clear is that people are suffering due to their brutal repression by the Ethiopian government. What this moving book does so well is personalise that suffering through the experience of one young man and it’s an homage to his father who was gunned down in front of his family. Part history, part memoir, with some beautifully written lyrical passages interwoven throughout the narrative, it’s a heart-breaking account of inhumanity and cruelty. The book is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Tigray genocide, and deserves a wide readership.
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