#Oromay | Reviews of Oromay in Books| Hashreview

#Oromay

Oromay (an Eritrean Tigrinya word meaning 'it is pointless', borrowed from the Italian oramaiUhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A - C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2003. p. 426) is an Amharic-language novel, published in 1983. It was written by Read More..

by Baalu Girma

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Description	Oromay (an Eritrean Tigrinya word meaning 'it is pointless', borrowed from the Italian oramaiUhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A - C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2003. p. 426) is an Amharic-language novel, published in 1983. It was written by Baalu Girma. The novel presents a cynical account on the Red Star Campaign of the Derg military junta. The book was published by the Kuraz Publishing Agency in Addis Ababa.Iyob, Ruth. The Eritrean Struggle for Independence: Domination, Resistance, Nationalism, 1941-1993. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1997. p. 175 In spite of a government ban on the book, it became widely read and famous.Universität Hamburg. Aethiopica: international journal of Ethiopian studies. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998. p. 241 According to Ruth Iyob, the book presents 'an accurate and compelling account of the events surrounding the failure of this campaign'.The Red Star Campaign had been declared by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam in a speech in Asmara on January 25, 1982. In his speech Mengistu called for the crushing of 'secessionist bandits', i.e. the EPLF guerrilla in Eritrea, the TPLF in Tigray and the EPRP and EDU in Gondar. The campaign was supposed to focus both on military means as well as supporting reconstruction in the affected areas. The Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia was assigned the task of leading the campaign. The government sent some 120,000 troops to participate in the campaign, making it the largest military offensive of the Derg in the Eritrean war.Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. p. 341 The author Baalu Girma, had been invited by Mengistu to work as propaganda chief in the Red Terror Campaign. He had assumed the position believing in the goals of the campaign. However, he came to feel that the ideals of the campaign had been corrupted by militaristic mindsets. Once the campaign had been abruptly called off, Baalu Girma began writing Oromay based on the events of the campaign. Whilst the official propaganda lauded the Red Star Campaign as a success, Baalu Girma considered it a failure. He stayed behind in Eritrea during this period.Abraham, Kinfe. Ethiopia, from Bullets to the Ballot Box: The Bumpy Road to Democracy and the Political Economy of Transition. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1994. pp. 113-114 Oromay is a love story set in Asmara in the midst of the conflict.Baalu Girma Foundation. BookstoreBaalu Girma changed the names of real-life Derg officials.Michigan State University. Northeast African Studies. [East Lansing, MI]: African Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1995. pp. 139-140 Dawit Wolde Giorgis, then the head of COPWE in Asmara is depicted in the book as the character 'Solomon Betre-Giorgis'. Other real-life Derg officials depicted in the novel are Fisaha Geda (as Tedla Regassa, Chief of Protocol), Tesfaye Wolde-Selassie (as Betru Tesema) and Fasika Sidelel (as Mashafe Daniel). These were figures that Baalu Girma knew personally. According to Dawit Woldis-Giorgis it was obvious whom the fictional characters depicted.The Derg government is illustrated as corrupt and inefficient in the novel. However, the bulk of the book is dedicated to accounts of the war in Eritrea.Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. African studies abstracts: the abstracts journal of the African Studies Centre, Leiden, Volume 27. East Grinstead, West Sussex, UK: Hans Zell, 1996. p. 42 In Oromay accounts of massacres and rapes committed by government militias in Eritrean villages are presented, as a consequence of the discourse equating all Eritreans with rebels.Adera, Taddesse. Silence Is Not Golden: A Critical Anthology of Ethiopian Literature. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1995. pp. 159-160 The book also deals with the real-world rumour that Tekle Gebre Mariam, an EPLF leader that had defected to the Derg, had been an EPLF double-agent.Pateman, Roy. Residual Uncertainty: Trying to Avoid Intelligence and Policy Mistakes in the Modern World. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003. p. 79-80During this period it was extremely rare that literature presenting any form of criticism (even in mild forms) of the government could get past the official censors.Article 19 (Organization), and American Library Association. Information Freedom and Censorship: World Report 1991 ; Article 19. Chicago: American Library Association, 1991. p. 16 According to Kinfe Abraham, the only reason Oromay could get published was a feud between Mengistu and Fikre Selassie. However, just 24 hours after its release the government banned the novel. All copies were removed from book shops. Confiscated copies of the book were turned into pulp at the Wenji sugar plant.Molvaer, Reidulf K. Black Lions: The Creative Lives of Modern Ethiopia's Literary Giants and Pioneers. Lawrenceville, NJ [u.a.]: Red Sea Press, 1997. p. 351 Possession of the Oromay became dangerous, as owners were subjected to government harassment. But some 500 copies had already been sold before the ban had been issued and the book continued to be copied through xerox machines.Baalu Girma was fired from his job. Some months later he 'disappeared'. It is generally believed that his disappearance was linked to the publishing of Oromay.
Description	Oromay (an Eritrean Tigrinya word meaning 'it is pointless', borrowed from the Italian oramaiUhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A - C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2003. p. 426) is an Amharic-language novel, published in 1983. It was written by Baalu Girma. The novel presents a cynical account on the Red Star Campaign of the Derg military junta. The book was published by the Kuraz Publishing Agency in Addis Ababa.Iyob, Ruth. The Eritrean Struggle for Independence: Domination, Resistance, Nationalism, 1941-1993. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1997. p. 175 In spite of a government ban on the book, it became widely read and famous.Universität Hamburg. Aethiopica: international journal of Ethiopian studies. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998. p. 241 According to Ruth Iyob, the book presents 'an accurate and compelling account of the events surrounding the failure of this campaign'.The Red Star Campaign had been declared by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam in a speech in Asmara on January 25, 1982. In his speech Mengistu called for the crushing of 'secessionist bandits', i.e. the EPLF guerrilla in Eritrea, the TPLF in Tigray and the EPRP and EDU in Gondar. The campaign was supposed to focus both on military means as well as supporting reconstruction in the affected areas. The Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia was assigned the task of leading the campaign. The government sent some 120,000 troops to participate in the campaign, making it the largest military offensive of the Derg in the Eritrean war.Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. p. 341 The author Baalu Girma, had been invited by Mengistu to work as propaganda chief in the Red Terror Campaign. He had assumed the position believing in the goals of the campaign. However, he came to feel that the ideals of the campaign had been corrupted by militaristic mindsets. Once the campaign had been abruptly called off, Baalu Girma began writing Oromay based on the events of the campaign. Whilst the official propaganda lauded the Red Star Campaign as a success, Baalu Girma considered it a failure. He stayed behind in Eritrea during this period.Abraham, Kinfe. Ethiopia, from Bullets to the Ballot Box: The Bumpy Road to Democracy and the Political Economy of Transition. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1994. pp. 113-114 Oromay is a love story set in Asmara in the midst of the conflict.Baalu Girma Foundation. BookstoreBaalu Girma changed the names of real-life Derg officials.Michigan State University. Northeast African Studies. [East Lansing, MI]: African Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1995. pp. 139-140 Dawit Wolde Giorgis, then the head of COPWE in Asmara is depicted in the book as the character 'Solomon Betre-Giorgis'. Other real-life Derg officials depicted in the novel are Fisaha Geda (as Tedla Regassa, Chief of Protocol), Tesfaye Wolde-Selassie (as Betru Tesema) and Fasika Sidelel (as Mashafe Daniel). These were figures that Baalu Girma knew personally. According to Dawit Woldis-Giorgis it was obvious whom the fictional characters depicted.The Derg government is illustrated as corrupt and inefficient in the novel. However, the bulk of the book is dedicated to accounts of the war in Eritrea.Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. African studies abstracts: the abstracts journal of the African Studies Centre, Leiden, Volume 27. East Grinstead, West Sussex, UK: Hans Zell, 1996. p. 42 In Oromay accounts of massacres and rapes committed by government militias in Eritrean villages are presented, as a consequence of the discourse equating all Eritreans with rebels.Adera, Taddesse. Silence Is Not Golden: A Critical Anthology of Ethiopian Literature. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1995. pp. 159-160 The book also deals with the real-world rumour that Tekle Gebre Mariam, an EPLF leader that had defected to the Derg, had been an EPLF double-agent.Pateman, Roy. Residual Uncertainty: Trying to Avoid Intelligence and Policy Mistakes in the Modern World. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003. p. 79-80During this period it was extremely rare that literature presenting any form of criticism (even in mild forms) of the government could get past the official censors.Article 19 (Organization), and American Library Association. Information Freedom and Censorship: World Report 1991 ; Article 19. Chicago: American Library Association, 1991. p. 16 According to Kinfe Abraham, the only reason Oromay could get published was a feud between Mengistu and Fikre Selassie. However, just 24 hours after its release the government banned the novel. All copies were removed from book shops. Confiscated copies of the book were turned into pulp at the Wenji sugar plant.Molvaer, Reidulf K. Black Lions: The Creative Lives of Modern Ethiopia's Literary Giants and Pioneers. Lawrenceville, NJ [u.a.]: Red Sea Press, 1997. p. 351 Possession of the Oromay became dangerous, as owners were subjected to government harassment. But some 500 copies had already been sold before the ban had been issued and the book continued to be copied through xerox machines.Baalu Girma was fired from his job. Some months later he 'disappeared'. It is generally believed that his disappearance was linked to the publishing of Oromay.

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Name	Oromay
Name
Authors	Baalu Girma
Authors
Translator
Translator
Genre
Genre
Series
Series
Number in series
Number in series
Language	Amharic language
Language
Country	Ethiopia
Country