It is nature at work and cannot be eliminated altogether. Even in the most closed, brutal and suppressive empire in history such as Ethiopia changes are inevitable. If I ask myself what is the story I know best, the answer must be, of course, my own story. I was born in an Arsi village in Bale in a house where there was, of course, no question of running water or electricity. To me candles were, for long time, more precious than things like gold. As I grew up, I realized some wells were strictly avoided because they were poisoned. I was moved to another village. The first cruelty I experienced in my life was when I started learning Qur’an. I had two teachers at different times. The first one was an extremely kind person, a sheikh with great insight into Islamic teaching. He did not demand the learning of the text by heart. Besides, he entertained us humorously with various constructive stories from the early history of Islamic tradition. However, he left the village to take care of the family of his brother who died in another part of the region. The second teacher was the opposite. He had himself most probably learned the Qur’an by rote and demanded the same from us. His violence and terror took a real toll on the children. Decades later when I met him, I found him transformed into a mild person by old age and experience.