Mehari describes his family tree. He talks about the role of the Kes, which included being the spiritual father of the community, as well as teaching Bible and Ge’ez in the local schools. As a child, Mehari worked with the flock and collected firewood. From a young age, he began to study from Kes Yehayis in the village of Asfuriah. Soon after, teachers sent by the Jewish Agency arrived in his village to teach Hebrew. When he reached the age of 13, he ran away to study in the boarding school in the city of Dabat. He describes the acceptance process at the boarding school.

Mehari talks about the large cemetery his grandfather built in 1886 in the village of Genshelman, which was used by 14 villages. He describes the customs of the burial ceremony as they appear in the Oeriyt (the Torah) and traditional burial traditions such as singing the “pokera” or the “shillah”. He also describes the customs of ritual impurity and purification.

They had a close relationship with their Christian neighbors and traded with them, but there were also many incidents when he experienced racism and violence because he was Jewish. He reminisces about winter vacations from the boarding school, when he herded the cattle and led them to grazing areas far from his house.

After studying for four years in the boarding school, he began to study in the governmental school in Dabat. Studies there included memorizing and learning for the national examinations required for studying in high school. He became a teacher for a year in the Dabat school, where he had previously studied. He later studied teaching for two years in the village of Aduha in the province of Tigray.

He began his career as a trained teacher in a school named “Mimishin” and then in the school “Selhilha”. He continued his training to be a teacher for higher grades. While training, he met his wife.

Mehari describes the changes that took place when the government of Emperor Haile Selassie was replaced by the Derg party led by Mengistu Haile Mariam. He was re-stationed by the regime as a teacher for first and second grades in the city of Asmara. He then worked for two years in a village named Ugdan. After fulfilling his duty to the regime, he began to teach in the school in the village of Azezo. From there he moved to teach, together with his wife, in a school in the city of Gondar.

Mehari talks about the activities of World ORT and his work as manager in the field of education in the organization. He was responsible for managing 20 schools in the province of Gondar. Concurrently, he managed the agriculture for the organization. World ORT’s activity was eventually stopped by the Derg regime.

To avoid being arrested due to his former work with ORT and his Jewishness, Mehari moved to Addis Ababa. He continued his teacher training and worked with the manager of the ORT organization during its dissolution. He was arrested in the ORT offices on the accusation that he helped Jews leave the county by issuing approvals for scholarships to his students so they could continue their studies abroad. He was imprisoned and interrogated under torture that included electric shocks and being hung upside down for several hours.

Heavy diplomatic pressure led to his release after nine months. He returned to his work as a teacher for a year in the Saint Joseph school. At the same time, he obtained a scholarship for the members of his family and sent them to Israel. Following bureaucratic efforts, he managed to obtain an exit visa from Ethiopia for himself and immigrated to Israel.