Preface
What is presented in the following pages is a unique experience in oral history. It is a selective record of four days of reflections by protagonists of the Ethiopian student movement in those heady days of the 1960s and 1970s. It comprises
mostly of presentations by the resource persons. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to include all the reactions to these presentations. That would have caused even more delay of a project that is already behind schedule, as the original transcripts would have had to be translated. The full Amharic transcript, which is more than twice as long as what is presented here, has been deposited at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies Library. But what is presented here does, I think, give a sufficiently comprehensive picture of the ups and downs, the achievements and shortcomings, of that movement. It is with some sense of gratification that I note that almost all the questions that were posed at the inception of the project have been answered to varying degrees of exhaustiveness.
Far be it from me to say that this constitutes the full story. That full story will have to be written not only on the basis of these reminiscences but also a careful examination of and correlation with the massive literature, both primary and secondary, that the subject has generated. That will be my next undertaking. What has been attempted here is as faithful and dispassionate a record of the activities of the protagonists as is humanly possible. Aside from the Introduction, which sets the context, and occasional interpolations and footnotes in the interest of clarity and factual accuracy, I have refrained from commenting on the reminiscences. But I made sure that participants had another chance to make any changes that they deemed necessary to their original submissions. Many took advantage of that, some even coming with new written versions. Some, however, did not have the time to make any revisions.
In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude to the participants of this fascinating experience. To consent to reflect on a period whose reverberations are still being felt was an act of courage in the first place. To devote four full days out of their generally busy schedule was a clear indication of the value that they attached to the undertaking. I am also indebted to Hailu Berhane for translating the Amharic transcript into English and to Heran Serekeberhan for copyediting the text. Needless to say, my deepest expression of gratitude goes to the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), without whose financial support this project would not have been realized, and to the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), which provided the logistical support for the retreat as well as the funds for the publication.
Bahru Zewde
December 2009 |
