Worancha ወራንቻ

To the Honorable Sidama Regional State Government, I am writing as a concerned and committed individual to respectfully, yet firmly, request the official organization of Fichee-Chamballala in the current year in a manner that fully reflects its cultural, social, and moral significance —and not merely as a symbolic or politically driven event. Fichee-Chamballala, the Sidama New Year celebration, is officially recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . This recognition affirms that Fichee-Chamballala is not an occasion for political visibility or short-term consumption, but a living philosophy grounded in peace, renewal, social cohesion, reconciliation, and collective responsibility. Historically, Fichee-Chamballala has served as a deeply rooted social institution through which the Sidama people renew moral commitments, strengthen unity, resolve tensions, and reaffirm shared values across generations. Its meaning lies in substance, participation, and respect f...

  The article “ Awassa at a Crossroads: Federal City Status as a Path to Economic Revival, Accountability and National Balance ” presents federal city status as a cure-all for Hawassa’s alleged decline. However, the argument rests on historical inaccuracies, selective interpretations of governance challenges, and a questionable political agenda that fails to withstand critical scrutiny. Rather than addressing real structural and national problems, the article redirects blame toward Sidama administration and proposes federal takeover as an unjustified and impractical solution. Historical and Administrative Misrepresentation First, the article repeatedly refers to the city as “Awassa,” ignoring the correct and official name Hawassa . This is not a minor semantic issue; it reflects a deeper disregard for the city’s historical and administrative reality. Hawassa has always been administered by Sidama , long before and after its role as the capital of the former SNNPR. Portraying Sid...

Hawassa stands at a defining moment in its urban history. The city’s expanding road networks and corridor developments are visible signs of progress and ambition, and they deserve recognition. These projects have reshaped parts of the city and improved mobility. Yet Hawassa must now confront a critical truth: physical transformation alone will not secure a livable, inclusive, and sustainable future. The city deserves more than roads and corridors. It deserves people-centered development grounded in equity, good governance, and environmental stewardship. This is a call for Hawassa’s leaders, planners, and development partners to move beyond a narrow infrastructure-first approach and address the city’s most urgent structural challenges. Rapid urbanization and population growth have pushed the city into a severe housing crisis, with nearly half of residents relying on informal housing. Skyrocketing rents, weak land administration, and illegal peri-urban land transactions have created wide...

First of all, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for the hard work and historical achievement of Professor Anbessa Tefera, which makes him not only a Sidama or Ethiopian exemplar, but a symbol of pride for all people of African descent. As someone from Sidama, I am overjoyed to see such an outstanding success in the scientific and academic sectors emerging from our community. There are indeed many Black and African-rooted professors around the world who inspire us, yet knowing that one of these exemplary figures is from Sidama fills me with a unique and profound happiness. Recently, however, I have been reflecting on how Ethiopians, as a whole, have reacted to Professor Anbessa’s achievement. I expected a wave of recognition, national pride, and celebration for his appointment as an associate professor at Tel Aviv University, the first scholar from the Ethiopian community in Israel to reach this position. Surprisingly, the reaction from Ethiopians at large has been muted. I...

  How Cultural Misreadings and Political Bias Undermine Ethiopia’s Indigenous Movements By Nomonanoto Critica  SIDAMA, ETHIOPIA — In recent months, a growing number of anonymous publications in the national newspapers have scrutinized the Sidama people’s cultural systems and political history, particularly targeting the traditional Wolapho institution and the Eejjeetto movement that led to regional statehood in 2019. Marketed as “balanced historical critiques,” these writings often obscure deeper biases that distort the Sidama struggle and reduce its multi-generational fight for self-rule to little more than tribal essentialism. This response is not an effort to silence free speech and it´s inquiry—but rather, to correct the record. Sidama Liberation Is Not Tribalism The constitutional recognition of Sidama as Ethiopia’s 10th regional state was a product of sustained, peaceful resistance—rooted in civic discipline and inclusivity. The Eejjeetto movement mobi...

በባህርዳር ከተማ ተገኝተው ልምዱን ያካፈሉት “የሲዳማ ብሔራዊ ክልላዊ መንግስት የፍትህ ቢሮ ም/ሀላፊና የህግ ጉዳዮች ዘርፍ ሀላፊ ክብርት ወ/ሮ አሽሌ ዳንኤል ሲሆኑ:- እንደ ሲዳማ ብሔር ይህ ቱባ ባህል የከበረ ባህል ሲሆን ዕድሜ ጠገብና እጅግ የሚያኮራ እንዲሁም ለዕርቅና ለሰላም ግንባታ ትልቅ ሚና ያለው ባህል ብለዋል። "አፊኒ" ትልቅ የሀገር እሴት መሆኑንና ይህንንም ባህላዊ የዳኝነት ስርአትን የሚደግፍ የማህበረሰብ ፍትህ አገልግሎትን ለማጠናከር የሚረዳ አዋጅ በሲዳማ ክልል ምክር ቤቱ እንዳፀደቀ ገልፀዋል:: በመድረኩ የኢፌዲሪ ፍትህ ሚኒስቴር ዴኤታ ክቡር ዶ/ር ኤርሚያስ የማነብርሐን, የክልሉ ም/ቤት አፈጉባኤ ክብርት ፋንቱ ተስፋዬና የጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት ፕሬዝደንት ክቡር አለምአንተ አግደዉ ተገኝተው መልዕክት አስተላልፈዋል:: የማህበረስብ አቀፍ ፍትህ አገልግሎት ሚናን አስመልክቶ የሲዳማ ብሔር "አፊኒ" ባህላዊ ዳኝነት ስርዓትና ተሞክሮን በተመለከተ ህብረተሰቡ ዘመናዊ የዳኝነት ስርዓትን በማይቃረን መልኩ ሳይጉላላና ለአላስፈላጊ ወጪ ሳይዳረግ ፍትህ እንዲያገኝ በማሰብ እየተሰራ ያለ መሆኑ ተገልፆአል:: በአማራ ክልል ባህርዳር ከተማ የተዘጋጀው መድረክ ላይ ክልሉ የራሱን የረቂቅ ሞዴል ህግ እንዲሁም ሌሎች የጥናት ጽሁፎችና የኦሮሚያ ክልል ልምድም ቀርቦ በሀገር ሽማግሌዎች: የሐይማኖት አባቶችና ምሁራን ሠፊ ውይይት ተደርጎአል። የባህል ፍርድ ቤቶችን ስለማቋቋምና እዉቅና ስለመስጠት፣ የባህላዊ ግጭት መፍቻ ዘዴዎች ዳሰሳ መደረጉ ስርአቱን ለማጠንከር ማህበረሰዋዊና ብሎም ሀገራዊ ሰላምን አብሮነትን የሚያጠነክር መሆኑም ተነስቶ ከሲዳማና ከኦሮሚያ ክልል ለቀረቡ ልምዶች ላቅ ያለ ምስጋና ተችሮአል:: FastMereja.com