The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
Ethiopian Review
August 27, 2005
On June 6, Addis Ababa University students staged a sit-in demonstration to protest the May 2005 rigged elections. In a show of solidarity, students in many parts of Ethiopia staged similar peaceful protests. The Meles regime reacted with extreme violence against them and other civilians. Meles gave orders to the Federal Police and his special forces, the dreaded Agazie army, to use brute force to disperse the peaceful protesters. The police and the Agazie forces savagely attacked and shot people indiscriminately. Many civilians, including children, died. Many more sustained severe wounds. Messeret Tadesse is one of the victims of this indiscriminate violence by the Meles regime against unarmed civilians.
Messeret is fourteen years old. She was attending an elementary school in Kotebe until she was shot in the back with a high caliber bullet on June 6. Miraculously, she survived.
Fighting uncontrollable tears, Messeret recounted her story to Ethiopian Review: "As I was heading home from school, soldiers with red berets started coming after me. I ran. They followed me with their machine guns pointed at me. I was frightened so I continued to run while holding my books. I heard one of the soldiers saying "shoot her." That was the last thing I heard until I woke up at a hospital at midnight, feeling thirsty. The people by my bedside told me that people in the neighborhood found me lying in the street and rushed me to the hospital. I asked them to give me water. They said to me that I could not drink water because I had undergone a stomach surgery. I was dying of thirst. I asked the people around me to call those soldiers in to finish me off."
The frail young girl continued to tell her story: "The bullet had pierced the left side of my back and came out in the front, destroying one of my kidneys. I am surviving on one kidney. They inserted this tube on the right side of my stomach to help me urinate. I have three holes in my belly. I'm in constant pain. I can't turn to the other side."
It is gut-wrenching to watch this young girl in such intense pain and suffering, and without proper medical care. Her family is too poor to keep her in the hospital. Her father is a guard at a government building, where he earns 130 birr (approximately $16) per month. The family is struggling to make ends meet on meager income, let alone to pay for Messeret's medical expenses.
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Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
Like the Taliban, TPLF and the likes are trained to kill, they will be a great menace not only to the Ethiopian people but also to the trainer unless they are stopped immediately.
They know all the intrigues, the American Government is talking about democracy but in reallity as long as their interest is fulfilled they support all forms of tyranny.
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
i am really sory for what happened to our sister.the question is who is responsible? i want to see the responsible persons to stand trial.i am sure they will answer for it.
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
I am very sad to see the history Messeret and others victims of woyane.
The question is what to do next? if we continui our struggle until we free ethiopia & its people from tyrany melse regime their deth is heroic, otherwise it is meaningless. so we have discuss how to organise & contiu our struggle?
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
degefa,
Just want to let you know that the person who is responsible for all the murders and gun shot victims like Messert is Meles himself. The one you want to see to stand on trial is Meles. Meles is the one who gave the order to shoot and kill the innocent people. Don’t you agree that only a mad man is capable of this magnitude of cruelty?
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
What about Hailu shawel who dreams to be a PM in violence.Is it constitutional to instigate citizens for distruction? Will it be value less to stand in trial? I don't think so.
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
Messeret Tadesse,she's in did a victim of agazzi=those fed and trained to kill inoccent people,more over trained by british soldiers.Lehulume geze alewu but,this time woyane running out of time,keep press hard untill woyane outta from Ethiopia.The march's on woyane are dying.
Re: The story of Messeret Tadesse, a victim of state violence
Hello Babi,
You will take responsibility for accusing people. We all come to deal with what we stand for. I do not know Hailu Shawl but I have not seen him instigating any violence in Addis. I am only a witness to a police inciting people to violence in Merkato in early November. I can go on with my witness but I don't think the time is not yet...
I know what is going on and I am holding my breath until we all come back to our senses. May God help us...