News Feature: The Unfinished Burial – Oromo Grievance and a Call for Reckoning

FINFINNE – In a powerful and poignant declaration circulating within Oromo intellectual and activist circles, a statement titled “Our Grievance” (Dogongora keenya) lays bare a deep-seated historical pain and issues a stark challenge to the community’s present path. Framed not as a political manifesto but as a moral and cultural reckoning, the text articulates three core wounds that continue to fester, preventing collective healing and progress.

The statement’s first grievance cuts to the heart of historical memory. It accuses the Oromo people of having “abandoned the history of yesterday”—specifically, the foundational legacy of the Gadaa system and the sacrifices of those who fought to preserve Oromo identity. This, the authors argue, is a profound act of self-neglect, a failure to honor the very struggles that define the nation.

The second point presents a searing economic and spiritual critique. It states that the community has “failed to understand the value of land or the value of bone.” This evocative phrase unpacks a dual tragedy: the loss of ancestral territory (land) and the dishonoring of martyrs (bone). The text contends that while the physical land was lost, the greater failure lies in not ensuring that the sacrifice of those who died defending it was redeemed through continued, effective struggle. The declaration warns against a cyclical resignation where one generation’s defeat is accepted, hoping the next will simply be born into a new fight, rather than completing the unfinished work of the past.

The most direct and impassioned grievance addresses the legacy of state violence. It lists the targeted losses of “Oromo scholars, teachers, doctors, sheikhs, priests, artists, and Gadaa leaders,” accusing the community of a catastrophic failure: while knowing the perpetrators and witnessing ongoing atrocities, there has been a critical absence of holding them accountable. The text condemns this as both a failure to “settle the score” for crimes against the Oromo elite and, more damningly, a failure to “return and differentiate friend from foe,” suggesting a dangerous ambiguity in the face of oppression.

Analysis: Beyond Grievance, A Call for Cohesion

This “Dogongora” transcends a simple list of complaints. Analysts view it as a crucial internal dialogue, a mirror held up to the Oromo national movement at a complex juncture.

“It is a lamentation, but also a prescription,” says Dr. Lemmi Bula, a historian of Oromo studies. “The authors are diagnosing a crisis of continuity and accountability. The grievance about ‘bone’ versus ‘land’ is particularly profound—it asks whether we have honored the sacrifice of our heroes by building upon it strategically, or merely mourned them while the underlying conditions remain.”

The statement’s circulation comes amid ongoing conflict in the Oromia region and persistent debates over political strategy, representation, and reconciliation within Ethiopia. Its significance lies in its source: it is an introspective critique from within, demanding a higher standard of historical consciousness, strategic clarity, and moral resolve from the community itself.

A Community’s Response

The reaction among Oromo intellectuals and activists has been one of solemn reflection. Many agree the issues raised are fundamental. “It hurts because it is true,” shared activist Fayisa Lelisa. “We are quick to declare our heroes but slow to build the disciplined, unified institutions that would make their sacrifice truly meaningful. This is a wake-up call to move from mourning to a more purposeful honoring.”

There has been no official response from the Ethiopian government, to whom the indirect accusations of violence are aimed. The statement concludes not with a demand of the state, but with a challenge to the Oromo people: to reclaim their history, re-evaluate their struggle, and insist on justice for their fallen, framing these not as optional pursuits but as the essential duties required for true liberation.

As one elder, upon reading the text, summarized: “It is not enough to say we remember. We must build a future that makes the memory of our sacrifices proud.” The “Dogongora” now stands as a watershed document, compelling a nation to confront its deepest pains to chart a more coherent and honorable path forward.