The news of the death in Yemen of Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid- known as Jaarraa Abaa Gadaa- has reached me through a friend who phoned from the Arab Gulf. This is and must be a sad moment for the entire Oromo people. What can we learn from Abdulkarim and what is the best way of advancing the cause of liberation from the iron grip of Abyssinian domination to which he has heroically dedicated his entire life? I met Jaarraa briefly in Mogadishu in 1968. At the time, I was delirious with fever from malaria and was trying to escape inland from humidity in Mogadishu. In that brief encounter I sensed his determination to stand to the Abyssinian arrogance. Among other things he asserted I remember him saying that, to self respecting humanbeings, death is preferable to slavery. Over subsequent years and decades he translated his conviction with exemplary bravery and selflessness to actions that will inform successive generations of Oromo freedom fighters, by fighting first alongside Oromo patriots such as Waaqoo Guutuu, Hussein Bune, Aliyyii Cirrii and Elemoo Qilxu, and finally by reorganizing armed struggle under his own leadership.
Continue reading “The death of Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa, a legendary hero of Oromo liberation struggle.”