Thread by @RedietBAyalew, I have been meaning to find ways to talk about the past [...]

I have been meaning to find ways to talk about the past two weeks. It was confusing, scary, exhausting but mostly heart breaking!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😩" title="Mattes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Mattes Gesicht">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💔" title="Gebrochenes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Gebrochenes Herz"> The night I found out Hachalu died, I was in shock & grief. Even though, no one speaks Afan-Oromo in our household his & Jambo& #39;s video works..1/n

...were music we listened to regularly. But most of all a young man with so much life in him, with kids who still needed him & with youth that looked up to him for what he stood for; to be murdered & taken away suddenly is just not fair. 2/n

The next morning I called my colleague to check if he was going to the office coz he had z key. He lives in Ayat & tells me it was chaotic & he won& #39;t leave his house. Then I start hearing different accounts from friends on how chaotic it is & how they all are staying in. 3/n

And then the Internet was blocked, we started hearing what happened while his fans were escorting his body. Phone service was partially not working as many of my friends tried to call & check up on me. Relatively, where I live wasn& #39;t affected as much besides the occasional.. 4/n

..gunshots & shouting. *Imagine, thinking this isn& #39;t bad

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😩" title="Mattes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Mattes Gesicht">* The next few days were filled with doubt & fear. Many of my friends told me they were told to collaborate & protect their neighbours by the police. The one entity that should be able to diffuse this situation.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😔" title="Nachdenkliches Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Nachdenkliches Gesicht"> 5/n

When I 1st learnt about the struggle of Qerro and what it stood for, I was in my 4th year in law school. I was envious of these youth, that stood firmly for what they believed in. Despite z various aggression & threat they faced from gov& #39;t, they were firm in there struggle. 6/n

So what happened for us to fear these youth that a lot of us idolized?? I can& #39;t answer for everyone but what I hear happening around the city scares me. If you go around the city of Addis, you would see a lot of businesses vandalised, lots of windows & glasses broken. 7/n

But most of all the innocent lives lost in Ambo & all the other cities, should just pain & hurt us all coz we lost our brothers & sisters.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💔" title="Gebrochenes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Gebrochenes Herz">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💔" title="Gebrochenes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Gebrochenes Herz"> I don& #39;t know who killed Hachalu, but I hope they are brought to justice & rote in eternal hell. 8/n

Do I believe what the gov& #39;t cooked-up? No!! But I am deeply saddened & heart broken by what ensued the following days. It is important to acknowledge a few facts for our country to heal. Is Islamophobia & Oromophobia a thing in Ethiopia? YES! 9/n

Was the killings of the past two weeks religiously & ethnically charged? YES! ጥያቄው የማን ብሄር ከማን ብሄር የበለጠ ቆስሏል አይደለም! የአንድ ብሄር መቁሰል፣ የሌላው ብሄር መቁሰል ነው! ጥያቄ ውስጥ መግባት ያለበት አይመስለኝም! 10/n

It is also okay to unlearn some deep rooted bias we have, unlearning & learning things is the way to grow. ህዝብ፣ ህዝብ ላይ አይጨክንም! ተደራጅቶ መንግስትን መቃወም ካለበት፣ ይቃወማል እንጂ። I really feel like these divisions were imposed, so we won& #39;t unite... 11/n

...& ask the right questions. የጋራ ችግሮቻችን ብዙ ሆነው እያለ፣ ሰርተንና ፈልገን ባላመጣነው የብሄር ማንነታችን መጣላታችን ያሳዝናል። ዛሬ ማንም ከማንም ብሄር ቢሆን ሽንኩርት 40 ምናምን ብር ገዝቶ እየኖረ ነው፣ ብዙ ሰው መብላት ቸግሮታል! 12/n

I really hope we get to unite behind the same front & raise concerns on the gross human rights violations, the economic struggle, the failed education system & the unfair distribution of wealth. I hope we learn to listen to each other beyond the surface. 13/n

When people tell us their historical grievance, I hope we graduate to sincerely listen rather than defending. Leaders are humans like us, so they err. They can& #39;t be entirely bad or good. I hope we find the way to come to the middle ground too. 14/n

But most importantly, I feel like the real fight is a class fight.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙈" title="Nichts sehen-Affe" aria-label="Emoji: Nichts sehen-Affe"> You should all pray to the divine power you believe in for a better Ethiopia.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😊" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤗" title="Umarmendes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Umarmendes Gesicht"> May the children of Hachalu remember him for z strong symbol of freedom he was & not the sadness that followed his death 15/n

Here is to a better tomorrow for our great county, Ethiopia and to being kind to one another. Justice for #HaacaaluuHundeessaa
Also #FillingTheDam because #ItsMyDam #Ethiopia

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇪🇹" title="Flagge von Äthiopien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Äthiopien">

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