A tribute to the Victims of Ethiopia’s Massacre in Borama

January 30th, 2008 marks the 24th Anniversary of Ethiopia’s air bombardment on Borama. 24 years ago like this day, the Ethiopian warplanes launched cruel and indiscriminate air attack in Borama town. The bombardment targeted at residential areas and educational centers. Ethiopian warplanes carried out this attack years after the end of the Somali-Ethiopian war in late 1970’s. The cruel and indiscriminate bombardment of the Ethiopians destroyed a number of Schools in Borama as it targeted residential areas and service provision centers. Borama Boy’s Elementary School currently known as Sh. Abdirahman Qadi School was completely destroyed. The school was hit by the bombs of the warplanes and dozens of innocent school-age children were massacred. Similarly, several other schools such as Sheikh Ali Jowhar Secodary School and Hawa Tako School, were seriously damaged.

Likewise, another dozen of innocent adult people were killed in that attack. Some estimates put the toll that resulted from that attack up to 80 deaths and the demolition of a number of schools, many residential houses and public facilities. Many school-age children who lost their beloved fathers/mothers or childhood friends/classmates suffered trauma and mental disturbances due to that indiscriminate and inhumane attack.

I was a grade 5 student then and lost my father due to that barbaric air raid. My father, Adan Mohamoud Muse, May Allah convey his mercy, was planning to go to Djibouti when he was killed, in order to attend a funeral of his niece in Djibouti. But as he was waiting the vehicle that would transport him to Djibouti, the air raid started and he died for injuries that resulted from the bombardment. May Allah convey his mercy to my father and to that dozens of innocent school-age children as well as the other victims of that hostile raid.

Presently, there are discussions on process for some of the direct victims and parents/relatives of those massacred in that air bombardment in 1984. The discussion is mainly to organize the surviving victims and relatives of the killed innocents so as to revive the annual commemoration of the innocent civilians massacred by dictatorial regime of Mingiste Haile Mariam. Similarly, the plan is to bring together the victims and relatives of the victims in order to be able to list down and bring together the victims of that massacre, collect the bibliography of the victims, collect their photos and prepare annual memorial services to pay tribute to the victims of that immoral massacre.

What is so appalling is that after 24 years, some innocent Somali people are currently facing the sour experience that we tested in 1984 as Ethiopians are carrying out genocidal and indiscriminate shelling to the areas concentrated by the civilians in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the county. I convey my deepest sympathy to the innocent Somali people who are under constant shelling and fear of bombardment. I believe that the awe and shock campaign carried out by the Ethiopians in Mogadishu this time under the leadership of another dictator, truly unveils the full of hatred and ethnic cleansing policy adopted by the succeeding regimes of Adis Ababa for the past several centuries.

Finally, the objective of this piece of writing is to remember and pay a tribute to the innocent school-age children and fathers/mothers massacred in that cloudy day of January 1984.

Abdirahman Adan
Hargeisa

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