Alemayeho describes his family tree and the history of his village and the area. Alemayeho\u2019s father was Italian and served as ruler of the Qwara province. As a Jew, he got to know the Jewish community. He asked Alemayeho\u2019s grandfather to give him his daughter\u2019s hand in marriage, the couple married, and Alemayeho was born. When he was one year old, the Ethiopian army, together with British forces, re-conquered the country from the Italians. His father was forced to return to Italy, and he left behind a lot of money for his family.<\/p>\n
Alemayeho grew up in the house of his grandfather, the ruler of Chilga in Takusa. Alemayeho enumerates the ranks of the regional rulers, and he explains the hierarchy of provincial rule. Due to his family\u2019s wealth and his grandfather\u2019s many servants, Alemayeho did not have to work in agriculture or in any other field. Rather, his time was devoted to studying. At home, his uncle taught him to read and write, read the Bible with him and told him stories about Jerusalem. Alemayeho reads out prayers in Ge\u2019ez and Amharic from his grandfather\u2019s Bible. He relates that they would sometimes bathe in water from the Jordan River that they obtained from Christian monks who had visited in Israel.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, after his studies, Alemayeho would accompany his grandfather, who served as a judge and mediator, and help him with his work. He transcribed the minutes of the mediation meetings and wrote the contracts that grounded the agreements between the parties. Alemayeho describes various disputes and their resolution at length.<\/p>\n
Alemayeho explains the history, principles and laws connected to distribution of agricultural lands, and the lease contracts and land taxes that were imposed under the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie. When the Derg party took power, the principles for division of land were changed such that Jews were able to acquire land. Alemayeho\u2019s grandfather converted to Christianity in order to receive land, and his family therefore became \u201cFalashmura\u201d. He talks about the source of the word Falashmura from Ge\u2019ez to Amharic, its use as a derogatory term, and the racist attitude that both Jews and Christians in Ethiopia expressed toward them. He also talks about how his family secretly observed Judaism.<\/p>\n
Alemayeho studied law in Addis Ababa, and he talks about his studies and his life in the city. After completing his studies, he returned to Qwara and got married. A short time after the birth of his son, his wife died. He was appointed as deputy head of the local council and from there promoted to head of the council. At the same time, he also continued to work in mediation. It was at this time that the revolution took place and the Derg party took power. Alemayeho, who was wanted by the new regime, escaped to Addis Ababa and worked for two years in a law firm.<\/p>\n
After completing his clerkship, he was employed as an attorney by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the gold corporation, and the Ministry of the Interior. Alemayeho gives examples and reads out from transcripts of lawsuits he conducted. After eight years, he set out independently as an attorney and mediator. In this capacity he was involved in cases involving employment, inheritance, and marital disputes.<\/p>\n
When the revolution against the Derg party took place, Alemayeho immigrated with his family from Addis Ababa to Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","tags":[],"class_list":["post-1478","evidence","type-evidence","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n