Ethiopia: Shock, Grief and Rage in Addis Abeba

The news of the brutal murder of 30 Ethiopians (possibly including Eritreans) by militants of Islamic State (IS) on the shores of Libya has sent an utter shockwave in Addis Abeba as elsewhere in the country, beginning with the release of a footage of the horrific scene on Sunday.

Two of the victims, Iyasu Yekunuamlak, 35, and Balcha Belete, 35, were identified as residents of the Cherkos neighbourhood, Kirkos District, Wereda 10, off Sierra Leone Street (DebreZeit Road). Family members of the two young men who had left home two months ago on a journey to Europe, trekking the rather dangerous route of Sudan-Chad-Libya, were grieving on Monday and today, while their friends and thousands of others in the District demonstrated their rage against the perpetrators as well as a government whose response to the national tragedy they see as passive.

While trying to show their rage before officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Menelik II Avenue, members of city police cordoned their way near the headquarters of the UNECA, creating a human chain. Demonstrators have returned to the homes of the victims.

Ethiopia's Parliament has denounced the atrocious act during its session on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, and declared a three-day period of national mourning, beginning on Wednesday.

Paying tribute; the residents of Addis Abeba have gathered at the house of Iyasu and Balcha to express their condolences.

Aheza Kassaye, mother of Iyasu, heartbroken by the death of her son who was the source of income for the family, is seen being comforted by her neighbours.

Angry youth carrying a slogan that says sovereignty is a principle that goes beyond once boundary and protecting citizens aboard.

Shown in the middle, Meaza Belete, the sister of one of the deceased Balcha Belete, weeping in the middle of her neighbors who try to comfort her.

Meaza Belete, Balcha's sister, caressing the photo of her brother who left two months ago and remained in the shores of Libya.

The weeping people of the city marching down from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) crying and showing the photos of the deceased. Police are seen at the back following the marchers.

Appeal to whom? Here one of the mourners seems calling for the supernatural to hear their shouts and cries.

ORTODOX MAZIMUR

Practices and beliefs:

The faith and practice of most Orthodox Ethiopian Christians includes elements Miaphysite Christianity as it has developed in Ethiopia over the centuries. 

According to researchers Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, as with many Christian traditions, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity includes elements from the local non-Christian heritage that are rejected by more educated church members, but usually shared by the ordinary priest.[5] Christian elements include God (in Ge'ez / Amharic, ′Egziabeher, lit. "Lord of the Universe"), the angels, and the saints, besides others.[5] According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church itself, there are no non-Christian elements in the religion other than those from the Old Testament, or Higge 'Orit (ሕገ ኦሪት), to which are added those from the New Testament, or Higge Wongiel (ሕገ ወንጌል).[6] A hierarchy of "Kidusan" (angelic messengers and saints) conveys the prayers of the faithful to God and carries out the divine will, so when an Ethiopian Christian is in difficulty, he or she appeals to these as well as to God. In more formal and regular rituals, priests communicate on behalf of the community, and only priests may enter the inner sanctum of the usually circular or octagonal church where the tabot ("ark") dedicated to the church's patron saint is housed. On important religious holidays, the tabot is carried on the head of a priest and escorted in procession outside the church. It is the tabot, not the church, which is consecrated. Only those who feel pure, have fasted regularly, and have generally conducted themselves properly may enter the middle ring to take communion. At many services, most parish members remain in the outer ring, where debteras sing hymns and dance.[5]

Ethiopian Orthodox believers are strict Trinitarians,[7] maintaining the Orthodox teaching that God is united in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This concept is known as səllasé, Ge'ez for "Trinity".

Weekly services constitute only a small part of an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian's religious observance. Several holy days require prolonged services, singing and dancing, and feasting. An important religious requirement, however, is the keeping of fast days. All devout believers are to maintain the full schedule of fasts, comprising 250 days. 1. Fast for Hudadi or Abiye Tsome (Lent), 56 days. 2. Fast of the Apostles, 10–40 days, which the Apostles kept after they had received the Holy Spirit. It begins after Pentecost. 3. The fast of Assumption, 16 days. 4. The gahad of Christmas (on the eve of Christmas). 5. The fast preceding Christmas, 40 days (Advent). It begins with Sibket on 15th Hedar and ends on Christmas eve with the feast of Gena and the 28th of Tahsas. 6. The fast of Nineveh, commemorating the preaching of Jonah. It comes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the third week before Lent. 7. The gahad of Epiphany, fast on the eve of Epiphany.

In addition to standard holy days, most Christians observe many saint's days. A man might give a small feast on his personal saint's day. The local voluntary association (called the maheber) connected with each church honors its patron saint with a special service and a feast two or three times a year.