Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 A bed of his own blood: Nombuyiselo Ntlane
- 2 This country is my home: Azam Khan
- 3 On patrol in the dark city: Ntombi Theys
- 4 Johannesburg hustle: Lucas Machel
- 5 Don't. Expose. Yourself: Papi Thetele
- 6 The big man of Hosaena: Estifanos Worku Abeto
- 7 Do we owe them just because they helped us?
- 8 Love in the time of xenophobia: Chichi Ngozi
- 9 This land is our land: Lufuno Gogoro
- 10 Alien: Esther Khumalo*
- 11 One day is one day: Alphonse Nahimana*
- 12 I won't abandon Jeppe: Charalabos (Harry) Koulaxizis
- 13 The induna: Manyathela Mvelase
- Timeline
- Glossary
- Selected place names
- Contributors
6 - The big man of Hosaena: Estifanos Worku Abeto
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 May 2019
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 A bed of his own blood: Nombuyiselo Ntlane
- 2 This country is my home: Azam Khan
- 3 On patrol in the dark city: Ntombi Theys
- 4 Johannesburg hustle: Lucas Machel
- 5 Don't. Expose. Yourself: Papi Thetele
- 6 The big man of Hosaena: Estifanos Worku Abeto
- 7 Do we owe them just because they helped us?
- 8 Love in the time of xenophobia: Chichi Ngozi
- 9 This land is our land: Lufuno Gogoro
- 10 Alien: Esther Khumalo*
- 11 One day is one day: Alphonse Nahimana*
- 12 I won't abandon Jeppe: Charalabos (Harry) Koulaxizis
- 13 The induna: Manyathela Mvelase
- Timeline
- Glossary
- Selected place names
- Contributors
Summary
Estifanos Worku Abeto grew up in the town of Hosaena, in the southern region of Ethiopia. The son of a farmer and his second wife, he got a job out of high school working for the local government in agricultural research. Later he studied botany at Haramaya University, returning to the civil service where he would stay for the next 35 years. In 1992, Worku Abeto joined the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a rebel coalition that seized power after years of fighting the ruling Derg, a military dictatorship that had ruled the country since it deposed Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. In 1995, after multi-party elections, the EPRDF took power. Since then, international organisations have consistently condemned the party for political and media repression and massive human rights violations, including rape, murder and genocide.
When I met my wife, she was a student and I was working in the Ministry of State Farm in Awasa. She was 25 and I was 40. I first saw her in church, and she was just so beautiful. I went to her and said, ‘Can you marry me?’ And she said, ‘Let me think about it.’ I told my friend that I wanted to marry this girl so he went to contact her mother and father. When we went to her home, we found the food-and-drinks ceremony ready for us, and we ate too much and celebrated together, and we signed the agreement. They said I must buy a dress for her, with nice gold earrings and a necklace and a ring, and for the father and mother I must also buy their clothes for the wedding and pay for the ceremony. So, we were married. I built our house with a dining room, three bedrooms and a bathroom. I was a chief then. It was a nice life, except for the politics.
AND THEN THEY DISAPPEARED
In 1992 I was living in Awasa and was a member of the EPRDF. It was a big town with a population of over 60 000 and divided into 14 zones. I was doing experimental work in plant research at the time and the people in the area knew me; they knew my character. They knew I was Christian, that I don't drink and that I am a very intelligent person.
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- I Want to Go Home ForeverStories of Becoming and Belonging in South Africa's Great Metropolis, pp. 80 - 95Publisher: Wits University PressPrint publication year: 2018