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ABSTRACT
Using untapped archival documents from the Däbrä Marqos provincial archives in Gojjam, and the archives of the Ministry of National Defence (MOND) in Addis Ababa, this study attempts to investigate the untold stories of militiamen drafted into the Ethiopian army in 1977 on the eve of Somalia's invasion of Ethiopia and in the wake of the fall of many towns in Eritrea in the hands of insurgents. These men played a critical role in reversing these threats (temporarily in the case of Eritrea, on a much longer-term basis in that of Somalia), and their impact on the region's history was massive. The archival evidence gathered from the former Gojjam province sheds new light on their personal lives, and the dislocation for those left behind, which is often missing from the larger histories of the Därg's wars. Those stories have been substantiated by interviewing ex-militiamen. Many of the stories revealed in the archives are quite disturbing – broken marriages, emotional distress, separated families and the like. This study, thus, attempts to show the importance of ‘history from below’ in the construction of narratives of the Ethiopian revolutionary wars.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Negussay, “A Brief Profile of Wars in The Horn of Africa,” 1.
2 Gebru, The Ethiopian Revolution, 124.
3 See Joshua, “The Use and Abuse of Militias”; Felbab-Brown, “The Rise of Militias in Mexico”; Stanton, “Regulating Militias”; Pitcavage, “Ropes of Sand”; Fumerton, “Beyond Counterinsurgency”; Staniland, “Militias, Ideology, and the State”; and Jentzsch et al., “Militias in Civil Wars”.
4 Jentzsch et al., “Militias in Civil Wars.”
5 Stanton, “Regulating Militias,” 900–1.
6 Joshua, “The Use and Abuse of Militias,” 342.
7 Felbab-Brown, “The Rise of Militias in Mexico,” 173.
8 Pitcavage, “Ropes of Sand: Territorial Militias,” 481.
9 Fumerton, “Beyond Counterinsurgency,” 61.
10 Staniland, “Militias, Ideology, and the State,” 770.
11 Ailes, “Peasant Women and Conscription,” 60, 78.
12 McCurry, “Soldiers’ Wives and the Politics of Subsistence,” 139–41, 145.
13 Howard, “Women of the Ozarks in the Civil War,” 72.
14 Gurses, “War and Women,” 60, 70.
15 Duany and Duany, “War and Women in the Sudan,” 63.
16 Kiley, “National in the French Revolution of 1789.” Accessed December 26, 2019. www.cusd200.org/cms/lib.
17 Figes, “The Red Army and Mass Mobilization,” 175, 182.
18 Gebru, The Ethiopian Revolution, 124.
19 Tsehai, Ethiopian Warriorhood, 74; Minale, “Women and Warfare in Ethiopia,” 6.
20 Fantahun and Shiferaw, “Women in Ethiopian History,” 30.
21 Jonas, The Battle of Adwa, 115, 187.
22 Mikias and Getachew, eds, The Battle of Adwa, 28.
23 Tsehai, Ethiopian Warriorhood, 281–83.
24 Mängɘstu, Tɘglachɘn (Our Struggle), 383–84.
25 Fantahun, The Ethiopian Army, 29–30.
26 Fɘqrä, Eňňana Abyotu (We and the Revolution), 21.
27 Mängɘstu, Tɘglachɘn (Our Struggle), 380.
28 Fantahun, The Ethiopian Army, 101–2.
29 Ministry of National Defense Archives (MONDA), Addis Ababa, file Operations 518B, Report of Somalia’s Unprovoked Aggression, 1978, 48.
30 Fantahun, The Ethiopian Army, 122.
31 Ibid., 133–34.
32 Gojjam Provincial Archives, (GPA), Däbrä Marqos, file 0057, Mängɘstu H. Maryam to Fɘqrä Sɘllase Wogdäräs, 27 Nov. 1989.
33 Wubätu, Hulum Nägär wädä Tor Gɘmbar, 292; Interview with Andargachäw Kassa, Märagna, 20 March 2006.
34 See for instance Gebru, The Ethiopian Revolution; Gilkes, “Revolution and Military Strategy”. See also memoirs by Nɘgatu, Tɘwlɘd Yanawotä Tornät (A War that has Shaken a Generation); Wubätu, Hulum Nägär wädä Tor Gɘmbar (Everything to the War Front); Täsfaye, Yä Tor Meda Wɘlo (Battlefield Reminiscences); Kasayé, Yä Tor Meda Wɘlowoch: Kä Mɘsraq Eskä Sämen’ (Battlefield Reminiscences from the East to the North); Wasihun, Eta Fanta Ena Mäswaɘtnät (Destiny and Sacrifice).
35 Formerly, these archival documents of the then Gojjam governorate general (later Gojjam province) were housed in the provinvial administration office in the heart of Däbrä Marqos town. Several years ago, Däbrä Marqos University managed to move those priceless documents to its library. These documents are now well cataloged and kept in two separate rooms in the main campus and they are in a very good situation. I am grateful to Mr. Gɘzachäw Andarge and Solomon Ashagre for facilitating my access to those archives.
36 Interviews with Esubaläw Yɘhune, Yɘsmala, 03 March 2017, Mɘstiru Täräfä, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017, and Säbsɘbe Tafärä, Dangɘla, 10 May 2017.
37 Interviews with Abawa Mänkɘr, Dangɘla, 30 May 2017, Aduňňaw Bälay, Dangɘla, 22 April 2017. 2018 and Kassahun Täfära, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017. See also GPA 0244, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 07 May 1983.
38 Interview with Mɘstiru Täräfä, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017 and Qälämu Bitäw, Gɘsh Abbay, 18 March 2017. See also GPA 0113, 14th Division to Gojjam Province, 18 November 1986.
39 GPA 0244, Gojjam Province to Bahir Dar Awraja, 07 May 1983; Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 09 April 1984; Gojjam Province to Macha Sɘnan Awraja 23 May 1989; GPA 0057, Gojjam Province to Macha Sɘnan Awraja, 02 May 1990.
40 GPA 0113, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 25 December 1984.
41 Interviews with Esubaläw Yɘhune, Yɘsmala, 3 March 2017 and Mäkuriyaw Däsaläw, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017.
42 GPA 0113, Ministry of Interior to Gojjam Province Administration, 11 May 1987.
43 Interview with Samuel Gobäze, Bahir Dar, 14 August 2007.
44 GPA 0244, Ministry of Interior to Agäw Mɘdɘr Awraja, 21 July 1983.
45 GPA 0113, Ministry of Interior to Gojjam Province, 24 November 1984.
46 GPA 0113, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 25 December 1984.
47 Ibid.
48 GPA 0113, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 27 May 1985.
49 GPA 0057, Gojjam Province to Qolla Däga Damot Awraja, 6 June 1987.
50 GPA 0113, 16th Division to Gojjam Province and Bichäna Awraja, 7 June 1988.
51 GPA 0244, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 7 May 1983.
52 GPA 0113, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 15 April 1985; Gojjam Province to Agäw Mɘdɘr Awraja, 28 March 1985.
53 GPA 0244, Gojjam Province to Bahir Dar Awraja, 7 May 1983; Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 9 April 1984; Gojjam Province to Macha Sɘnan Awraja 23 May 1989.
54 GPA 0057, Gojjam Province to Macha Sɘnan Awraja, 02 May 1990.
55 GPA 0113, Ministry of Interior to Bichäna Awraja, 10 August 1985.
56 GPA 0057, Gojjam Province to Goza Liben Awraja, 29 July 1989.
57 GPA 0113, Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 20 October 1987.
58 GPA 0113, Däbrä Zäyɘt Training and Rehablitiation Center to Ministry of Interior, 9 February 1984; Gojjam Province to Bichäna Awraja, 11 January 1984.
59 GPA 0113, 14th Division to Gojjam Province, 18 November 1986.
60 GPA file 0113, The Navy to Quy District, 20 May 1986.
61 GPA 0113, The 22nd Mountain Infantry Division to Gojjam Province, 30 January 1988.
62 GPA 0749, Ministry of Interior to all provinces, 8 June 1988.
63 MONDA, 5066, Operations Department to Military Intelligence Department, 1 October 1977.
64 Sɘntayähu, Kassa Gebre Maryam, 305–6, 357–58; Wubätu, Hulum Nägär wädä Tor Gɘmbar, 246. According to some army officers interviewed by Dr. Sɘntayähu, Col. Mängɘstu H. Maryam had his own motive for sending Col. Kassa to Rora Şälim. He knew that it was a kind of “mission impossible.” By the time General Aman Andom, the chairman of the Därg was at logerheads with Mängɘstu and his associates in late 1974, the latter were suspecting that the general was plotting to stage a coup. As a result, they were intercepting all his telephone calls as a precautionary measure. Col. Kassa was one of the few officers contacted by General Aman. Mängɘstu had all the information about his contacts. That made Col. Kassa a suspect in the eyes of Mängɘstu. In addition, Col. Kassa who was known for speaking his mind is reported to have offended Mängɘstu in a speech he delivered at a banquet held in the palace in 1979. Since that time, Mängɘstu is said to have been planning to purge Col. Kassa. The Rora Şälim operation was thus used in some way to eliminate him. For further discussion see Sintayehu.
65 MONDA 108-120C, Inspection report of the Shɘre Disaster, 1989.
66 Interview with Abawa Mänkɘr, Dangɘla, 30 May 2017.
67 MONDA 2747, Inspection Report on the Wɘqaw Command, 07 May 1982.
68 Ibid.
69 MONDA 1223, Report of the Committee formed to investigate the mutiny of the 3rd Division, 19 October 1982; Nɘgatu Bogalä, Tɘwlɘd Yanawotä Tornät (A War that has Shaken a Generation) (Addis Ababa: Leadership Institute Publication, 2004), p. 73.
70 MONDA 1223, Inspection Report on the Mutiny of the 3rd Division, 03 November 1982.
71 MONDA, Operations 155, Yä Eritrea Enna Yä Tɘgray Guday Mɘn Mähon Aläbät (What Should be Done About Eritrea and Tegray), Hedar, 1981 E.C. p. 1.
72 GPA 0242, Däbrä Zäyɘt Training and Rehabilitation Center to Gojjam Province, 25 July 1985.
73 GPA 0242, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to Ministry of Interior, 10 September 1981.
74 GPA 0242, Ground Forces Militia Accommodation Department to Gojjam Province, 08 August 1985.
75 GPA 0242, the Däbrä Zeyɘt Training and Rehabilitation Center to Ministry of Interior, 25 March 1982.
76 GPA 0113, Ministry of Interior to Gojjam Province, 23 July 1981.
77 Interviews with Qälämu Bitäw, Gɘsh Abbay, 18 March 2017 and Samuel Gobäze, Bahir Dar, 14 August 2007; GPA 0242, Gojjam Province administration to Däbrä Marqos Awraja Administration, 06 Oct. 1984.
78 GPA 0242, Gojjam Province Administration to all th seven Awraja administrations, 05 August 1981.
79 GPA 0242, Gojjam Province administration to Däbrä Marqos Awraja Administration, 06 October 1984; GPA 0113, Gojjam Province Administration to Bichäna Awraja administration, 26 June 1986; GPA 0057, Gojjam Province Administration to Macha Sɘnan Awraja Administration, 20 June 1989.
80 Interview with Kassahun Täfära, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017; Esubaläw Yɘhune, Yɘsmala, 03 March 2017; Mɘstiru Täräfä, Gɘsh Abbay, 10 February 2017.
81 Interview with Abawa Mänkɘr, Dangɘla, 30 May 2017; Aduňňaw Belay, Dangɘla, 22 April 2017. 2018.