Almost exactly three years ago, on the 13th of December 2003, around 425 people were massacred.
No one has ever been brought to justice for these and many subsequent killings and sadly most people have never even heard of what went on.
If even a handful of people had been killed in a westernised nation, the media would be all over the story and would be crying loudly for justice, but when the people are from a small African minority, the Anuak people, the cries for help go unheard.
I recently spoke to the chairperson of the Anuak people in Australia, Ojulu Odolla. Ojulu was in Perth visiting a small number of Anuak families who have settled here as refugees. We talked about the terrible events that happened in 2003 and the ongoing atrocities since that time.
I’ll be broadcasting our chat during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM sometime in the next few days.
You can listen to the interview using the media player at the bottom of this post. You may have to concentrate a little at first to understand Ojulu’s accent but it’s well worth it. The story of the Anuaks needs to be told and I encourage you to let friends, family and fellow bloggers know about the situation.
As a bit of background you can visit the Anuak Justice Council website. The following is some information from that site.
The Anuak are a small minority group in Ethiopia and Sudan, residing mainly in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia. They have been the predominant landowners in the region for several generations, enjoying relative peace and coexisting with other minority groups, although tensions with the Ethiopian government over land ownership have existed for decades. The current regime in Ethiopia has not acted favorably toward the Anuak and over the last decade has become an increasingly oppressive reality for the Anuak.
On December 13, 2003, members of the Ethiopian military and other ethnic groups massacred more than 400 people in the town of Gambella. Since that time, the Anuak have continued to suffer genocide and other on-going crimes against humanity.
In the months following the December 2003 massacre, many Anuak expatriates felt scattered and powerless in their efforts to raise awareness of the oppression against their people and to help family members in immediate danger. Compounding this frustration was the lack of coverage of this tragedy by the international press.
Please consider what you might be able to do to make a difference to this unacceptable situation. Even spreading the word about what’s happening would be greatly appreciated.
It would appear that the killings and victimisation of these people are based entirely on greed. The story of the Anuak people must continue to be told.
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