Abraham Elias

Father's name: Mengistu Elias

Mother's name: Yisumiah Mengistu

Year of birth: 1948

Place of birth: Etatmia Michael, Gondar

Region in Ethiopia: Gondar

Main occupation in Ethiopia: Farmer and pupil

The language of the interview: Amharic

Abraham Elias, nature, agriculture, shepherding, Amharic, Tigrinya, divorce, studies, ploughing, produce, quarter, poverty, droughts, immigration to Israel, rebels, protest, demonstrations, robbers, weapons, fighting, hunting, head of the farmers’ union, Dan Lamat, nature reserves, Italians, Derg, Haile Selassie, Ihapa, Ido, Attamia Michael, Gondar, Humara, Weklait, Ankobuber, Wasaba, Kushlit, Azozo, Ambuber, Wollo, Sudan, Israel, Teda, Armacho.

Summary of the testimony:

Abraham describes his family tree. When he was a baby, his family moved to Humera, on the Sudanese border. However, they could not handle the difficult weather conditions and moved to the province of Welkait. There, as a child, he learned to speak Tigrinya. Six years later, his parents divorced and he moved to the city of Gondar together with his mother and his brothers. Later, they relocated to join his mother’s family in Kushlit, adjacent to Azozo, where Abraham worked as a shepherd for a salary and helped support the family.

When he reached the age of 12, Abraham moved to live and work with his uncles in the village of Ankober, close to the village of Wasaba. As this was a new settlement, most of the work consisted of clearing the forest area and turning it into agricultural land. A year later, when the crops began to yield produce, Abraham’s mother and brothers moved to the village at his behest.

At the age of 14, Abraham began to study in the school in Gondar in which his father worked as a teacher. Abraham tried to study, but his relationship with his father’s new wife cast a shadow over his experience and he was forced to return to the village – back to his mother who had, in the meantime, also remarried. There he worked with his stepfather on their lands. After two years of work, and without receiving permission from his stepfather, he ran away from home and began to study in the Jewish school in Ambover. As he was unable to return to his mother’s home, he lived in his uncle’s house in Wasaba.

After completing elementary school and passing the national examination, Abraham continued his studies in high school in Gondar. Abraham talks about life in the city, and how he paid for his studies and rent by selling firewood and eggs. Abraham recalls the days of the great famine in Wollo and the student protests against the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie as being extremely violent.

During his studies in the city, Abraham met Yona Bugalo and asked for his help to immigrate to Israel. Mr. Bugalo explained that he would offer him a job in the village of Humera. He told him that he could travel from Humera to Sudan and from there to Israel. Abraham left his studies and went to work in Humera.

Abraham, together with other people from the Beta Israel community, arrived in Humera and began to clear large areas and prepare them for agricultural use. They grew corn and various grains, made honey from the wealth of beehives in the area and hunted for different animals to eat. Abraham talks about the weather and the difficult living conditions in the city. When he was promoted to a higher status and role in the village, Abraham became the one to weigh the produce before it was ground and the one to fix the price.

After five years of work weighing produce in the mill, the rebels against Haile Selassie’s regime began to fight in the area and the settlement broke up. Almost all the Jewish residents of the village returned home, but Abraham remained there for another four years. He talks about various meetings with the rebel soldiers and with robbers, and how he assisted those who took part in the first wave of immigration to Israel via Sudan.

During this period, the Derg regime established its rule in the country, and Abraham was selected as head of the farmers’ committee. By virtue of his position he received two tractors and an area he had to prepare for farming. A representative of the regime who was appointed during the period of his work extended Abraham’s authority and made him responsible for management of planting and forestry on behalf of the “Dan-Lamat” organization. For this purpose, he received further training in Teda, in the province of Gondar.

When he completed the training that included farming and forestry studies, Abraham was not only provided with a salary, but also a jeep and 25 weapons for protecting and cultivating nature reserves in the province of Armacho. However, before he had time to work in the province, Abraham was informed that it was once again possible to immigrate to Israel via Sudan and took it upon himself to reunite his children with his ex-wife in Sudan. After many trials and tribulations, he reached Sudan, was reunited with his family and immigrated with them to Israel.