https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2020/0 ... modernity/
"With the downfall of the TPLF stooge Abdi ‘Iley’, Jigjiga residents were liberated from fear and paranoia. An old friend described the surveillance during the repressive Abdi ‘Iley’ years as a period in which “people would observe what kind of shirt you had on.” For now, Somali region was at peace with itself.
Edom Hotel, where one could meet Somali elders and Tigrayan security officers, remained unchanged, albeit with no customers. Taiwan market where I used to buy fake Casio watches for my friends had been moved to the old airport area. I was happy whenever I spotted remnants of the old Jigjiga. I was confused when I lost a sense of the city’s new geography.
Jigjiga’s dwellers appeared calm and optimistic at first sight. But behind their smiles and assurances I detected trauma. Those who had stayed behind carried the mental and physical scars of the violent rule of Abdi ‘Iley’. Roughly half of the people I met, including many old acquaintances, had spent time in the notorious Jail Ogaden. The other half had recently returned from the diaspora, coming from places as far away as Minneapolis, Gothenburg, and Jeddah.
"In a time span of two decades Jigjiga’s built-up area has almost quadrupled, reaching 378,477 square meters in 2015. But it took the regime of Abdi ‘Iley’ only two and a half acres—the size of the Jail Ogaden compound—to force its inhabitants into submission. For the residents of Jigjiga, questioning the government’s ‘development plans’ often meant ending up in Jail Ogaden. Undoubtedly, Jigjiga’s rapid urbanization was realized in the torture rooms of its central prison as much as on its construction sites."
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Za-Ilmaknun
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- Joined: 15 Jun 2018, 17:40
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Za-Ilmaknun
- Member
- Posts: 4486
- Joined: 15 Jun 2018, 17:40
Re: Edom Hotel, JigJiga, where Somali elders & Tigrayan security officers meet, remained unchanged, albeit with no custo
TPLF's investment throughout the country is going through the drain as the criminal gangs are enjoying their sunset years at their hideout in Axum hotel. They probably don't care for the loss since the source of the investment is "borrowed" capital from Development bank, which have already been written off as bad debts, by the order of its former boss Aboy Tsehaye.