Slager Ferede – December 26, 2024.
As a renowned journalist, Bealu Girma was a prolific writer and author of several articles and books. Bealu was articulate, astounding, and mindful. He was highly sensitive and passionate about writing about common people’s daily-toil and their rights on how to withstand the struggle against suppressions done by government authorities. So, Bealu crafted and composed his manuscripts meticulously in such a penmanship style, that his readers are mostly touched by and blown away with the stories he presents and the power of his observation and expression of the reality on the ground.
According to sources on Facebook, Bealu Girma wrote the Amharic dictum below about half a century ago. Yet, this poem clearly mirrors exactly what we feel and see about the situational reality in today’s Ethiopia, where law and order, peace and proper-existence, citizenship and freedom of movement, sense of belongingness, and property ownership rights, are just out of question; where chaos, outlaws, and conflict-pushers reign the countryside; where-human-rights defenders and freedom fighters are branded as “terrorists”, and where tribal-gurus operating from the capital city prophesize more about green-legacy, empty promises of regional and national peace, progress and prosperity; where endless conferences and meaningless meetings (Cheek Malfat) are continuously held in few major cities and towns, basically by applauding mind-numbing lectures.
| Let me tell you,
If you love him – what will the country do? My beautiful city has become a building – a heap of stones, The road to my beautiful city has become a stone fence. My beautiful city – My beautiful country, It is the human heart! No border – no border. No matter how tall the building – no matter how clean the house, If the road is widened – if the asphalt is laid, If man-man-doesn’t smell – what is the beauty? (Poetry – The Glory of the Festival) – Source: Facebook. |
Literally translated into English it reads as follows. (Translation – mine)
| Let me hurry and speak – from an escarpment’s peak,
Without loving people – What has love to do with my origin? My striking city isn’t the street edifice – a stone fence, My gorgeous nation isn’t the construction – a pile of rubble, My beautiful city – my adored motherland, It is the heart of a humankind! Loving persons devoid of restrictions – or without borders. No matter how high buildings rise – and how clean the houses be, No matter the width of city streets – how formal the tarmac stays, What is a nation’s beauty? – Lest humanity is treated humanely. (Poem – Bealu Girma) – Source: Facebook. (English Translation – mine). |
Summary taken from Amazon website.
Bealu Girma – Taken from Amazon website.
Born in rural Ethiopia to an Ethiopian mother and Indian father, Bealu Girma was a graduate of Addis Ababa University and later studied journalism in the United States. In addition to serving as editor of several of Ethiopia’s most respected magazines and newspapers (including Addis Zemen and The Ethiopian Herald) he also worked as a civil servant in Ethiopia’s Ministry of Information. This position allowed him access to government officials during both the Imperial and Communist governments.
Prior to Oromay, he wrote five other popular and critically-acclaimed Amharic-language novels, including: Beyond the Horizon, The Bell of Conscience, The Call of the Red Star, Haddis, and The Author.
His integrity as a journalist, courageous criticism of repressive regimes, and martyrdom to the cause of literary freedom make him a significant figure in modern Ethiopian history and Amharic literature.
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