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THREAD: 5 years to the day...so called ISIS/Daesh militants in Libya released a horrific video depicting beheadings & shootings of 28 Ethiopian & Eritrean migrants, targeted for being Christians. Etched in the memory &the collective trauma is very fresh. Ill never forget the day.
The day after the video was released...tens of thousands of outraged citizens converged on Addis Ababa's central Meskel Square. Protesters clashed with police, called for revenge and mourned the victims. "ISIS doesn't represent Islam" says the banner.
Eritreans and Ethiopians everywhere can recall the feelings of grief and helplessness felt in the aftermath. In the video, a masked speaker of North American English threatens to kill more Christians. He is the same man seen in a prior video where 22 Egyptian Copts are beheaded.
I did a story on the killers in late 2018. The speaker was killed in the 2016 battle of Sirte. Italian terrorism expert @DanieleRaineri identified him as Saudi national Imran Al Azdi. May have been educated in Canada. His body stayed unclaimed in a morgue. http://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-as-libya-finds-bodies-of-ethiopians-executed-by-isis-the-film-director-of-that-horrific-video-is-alive-and-remains-at-large-what-we-know/
The victims hail from all around Ethiopia and Eritrea. Data on Ethiopian victims is in the public database, and their families received plenty of media air time. In Erittea, where there is no free press, the story was censored & most have no idea how families there suffered.
At the time...I tried to collect the names of as many of the victims as I could. I put some of them under the hashtag #28morethanjustanumber. https://twitter.com/ZekuZelalem/status/595161334234349568?s=19
Daniel Hadush, born in Enticho Tigray, was a computer science graduate from Jimma University. Unemployment in Ethiopia pushed him to attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
Tesfay Kidane. He was from Asmara, Eritrea & lived in Israel but was arrested and sent to a detention center for migrants. He was told he could either leave or stay detained. He left to try his luck in Libya. Israeli policies led him to his death.
Eyassu Yikunoamlak and Balcha Belete were friends and both were from Addis Ababa's Cherkos neighbourhood. Both friends made the trip together and were side by side when they departed this earth.
Efrem Yemane. He's an Asmara born Eritrean national. Ethiopian social media users circulated his picture claiming he was "Jemal" a Muslim who died alongside his Christian brothers, a feel good story. That story is fake & caused distress for Efrem's relatives in Norway and Eritrea
Until now, the likes of Abbay Media and Abebe Gelaw still have their stories on "Jemal Rahman" up on the web 5 years later...with no retractions. As much as the story plays on the heartstrings...it is completelyfalse. There were no Ethiopian Muslim victims in this mass execution.
The men have all been glorified as martyrs by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They've been immortalized in the arts, musicians have dedicated singles to them and they are referred to as heroes of their faith.
For international media coverage from April 2015...here's the BBC's report. Ethiopians and Eritreans continue their gallant uphill battle, against covid19 today...Daesh in Libya is reduced to a relic, bandits in the desert.
5 years ago...lest we forget. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32423688
5 years ago...lest we forget. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32423688
