Zenebwrk Balaynea Geamda

 

[Beginning of Recorded Material]

 

Interviewer:    It is November 13 2019 the capital city of Ethiopia, my name is Jongwoohan am the president of Korean War legacy foundation. We are ask by the ministry of patriot and veterans of affairs of Republic of Korea to conduct this interviews in Ethiopia because we going to make a special website for the 70th anniversary of the breakup of the Korean War in 2020 you are going to represent your country…

00:00:30

…Ethiopia in this special website. It is my great pleasure and honor to meet you sir. Am sorry that I interrupt your lunch but thank you for your hospitality. Please introduce yourself your name and spell it for the audience please?

 

Translator:      እኔ ከኮርያ ነው የመጣሁት እና የእናንተን ታሪክ ለሚቀጥለው አመት ፕሮግራም በቪዲዮ መልክአስቀምጠን ልዩ የሆነ ዌብሳይት አስቀምጠን የእናንተን ታሪክ እንዲቀጥል ለማረግ ነው የመጣሁት…

00:01:00

…ይሄ ቃለምልልስ ለአለም ነው የሚወክለው እና ይህንን እርሶ ኢትዮጵያን ወክለው ለአለም ህዝብ ሁላ ያዯታል ለዛነው የመጣሁት. አሁን መሉ ስምዎትን ይንገሩኝ? (I come from Korea. We want to save your story in video for the next year anniversary. We will also put in website to transfer it to generation. This interview will represent Ethiopia to the world. Now please tell me your full name.)

 

Zenebework:   ስሜ ዘነበወርቅ በላይነህ ገመዳ ይባላል. (My name is Zenebework  Belayneh Gemeda.)

 

Translator:      My name is Zenebwrk Belayneh Gemede. Spell like Z E N E B W R K my middle name

00:01:30

B A L A Y N E H and my last name G E A N D A

 

Interviewer:    Thank you and what is your birthday?

 

Translator:      መቼ ነበር የተወለዱት? (When were you born?)

 

Zenebework:   በኢትዮጵያ ካላንደር አቆጣጠር በ1922. (I was born in 1929 in Ethiopian calendar.)

 

Translator:      I was born in 1929.

00:02:00

 

Zenebework:   አዎ በህዳር ወር. (Yes, in November.)

 

Translator:      በህዳር ወር? (In November?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:      It was on

 

Zenebework:   በህዳር 15. (November 15.)

 

Translator:      ህዳር 15? (November 15?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:      I was born in October 21 around.

 

Interviewer:    So now you are almost 90 year old right?

 

Translator:      ያማለት አሁን ወደ 90 እየሄዱ ነው ማለት ነው አሁን? (Does that mean you’re going to be 90 now?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ 91 አመቴ ነው አሁን. (Yes, I am 91 years old now.)

 

Translator:      I am 91 years old.

 

Interviewer:    91 years old. Wow and…

00:02:30

…where were you born?

 

Translator:      የት ነበር የተወለዱት? (Where were you born?)

 

Zenebework:   እዚው ሸዋ ነው. እዚሁ ሰሜን ሸዋ ክልል. (I was born in here in shewa region.)

 

Translator:      I was born in north shewa.

 

Interviewer:    And tell me about when did you join the military in Ethiopia?

 

Translator:      ውትድርናውን መቼ ነበር የተቀላቀሉት ኢትዮጵያ እያሉ? (When did you join the army in Ethiopia?)

 

Zenebework:   በኢትዮጵያ እያለው የተቀላቀልኩት በ1938 ነው. (I joined the army here in Ethiopia in 1946.)

 

Translator:      አስራ ዘጠኝ? (Nineteen?)

00:03:00

 

Zenebework:   ሰላሳ ስምንት (1938).

 

Translator:      ሰላሳ ስምንት? (38)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:      ምን ወር ነበር ያስታውሳሉ? (What month was it, do you remember?)

 

Zenebework:   ሰኔ ወር ላይ ነው እሱ እንኳ. ከዛ በፊት ከአባቴ ጋር በጠላት ወረራ ጫካ ውስጥ ነበር የምንኖረው እናልጅ ነበርኩኝ እና ከዛ ጠላት ድል ሆኖ እንደወጣ ከኢትዮጵያ እንደተባረረ ምን አልባት 5 አመት ብቆይ ነው. ከ 5 አመትቆይታ በኃላ ነው ወታደርነት የገባሁት በ 38. (It was on June. Before that I was with my father living in the jungles because of the Italian invaders when we won the war with the invaders and when they left I stayed 5years and joined the army.)

00:03:30

Translator:      ጣልያን ከወጣ በኃላ ማለት ነው? (That means after the Italians left. Right?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:      I joined the military after the attack of Italy in Ethiopia in 1945.

 

Interviewer:    So tell me about how Italians actually did in Ethiopia from 1935 to 41? How was it being there?

 

Translator:      እንዴት ነበር ጣልያን እንደዛ አድርጋ ኢትዮጵያን ብዙ ነገር አድርጋ ከወጣች በኃላ ምንድን ነበርያደረጉት? እስኪ እንዴት ነበር ያብራሩልኝ? (After Italians left Ethiopia what did you do? How was it tell me in details?)

00:04:00

Zenebework:   እኔ በውነቱ እንግዲህ ልጅ ነበርኩ ከጠላት ወረራ ውጭ በኃላ ጠላት ከወጣ በኃላ ከአባቴ ጋር ተመልሼእኔ የነበረኝ ወደ ከብት እረኝነት ነው ሌላ ትርጉም የለውም. ምንም ማውቀው ነገር የለም. አሁን እዛ ትንሽእንደቆየው እንደው አንድ አንድ ነገር ስሰማም ሳይም ትንሽ አይ የነበረው መንከራተት ሳስበው እንደ ለሀገሬ ወጥቼባገለግል ይሻላል…

00:04:30

…በሚል ነው ወታደርነት የገባሁት. እና በ38 ሰኔ ወር ላይ ነው ወጣው በቃ ሳገለግል ወደ 26 አመት ነው እንደዚህገደማ ነው አገልግዬ ከዛ በኃላ ወደ ሲቪል ተዘዋውሪያለው. (I was a kid at the time, after the invaders left I served my father by keeping the herds. I did not know much about it but I heard a little about the invasion so I thought it will be good if I serve my country so I joined the army. I joined in June 1946, I served for 26 years and I become civil after that.)

 

Translator:      In that time I could not remember much because I was just a little kid in that time so I was a cattle keeper in that time in the north shewa…

00:05:00

…so I came here and after I see that I want to help my country and then the other country who want help that is how I joined the military.

 

Interviewer:    So can you explain why Emperor Haile Selassie decide to send Ethiopian solider to the Korea?

 

Translator:      ለምን ይመስልዎታል ሀይል ስላሴ የኢትዮጵያን ወታደር ወደ ኮርያ ለመላክ የወሰኑት? ለምንይመስልዎታል? (Why do you think Haile Selassie decided to send Ethiopian troops to Korea?)

 

Zenebework:   እሱማ ያው ተነግሮናል ምክንያቱም ሰሜኑ ክልል…

00:05:30

…እና ትንሽ አመፅ አርጎ በመከፋፈላቸው ነው. አንድ ሀገር ነው አይደል ኮርያ? (It was told to us that the south rebelled and the war broke. They were one Nation. Right?)

 

Translator:      አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Zenebework:   ሰሜኑም ደቡብም አንድ ነው. ግን ከጠላት ወረራ በኃላ ከሁለተኛዉ አለም ጦርነት በኃላ ምክንያቱምራሺያም በስተሰሜን በኩል ሲገባ በደቡብ በኩል አሜሪካ ነው የገባው አይደል እንዴ? ሲገባ አሜሪካ እና የያዘውን ይዞእንደያዛ በመካከላቸው ጦርነቱ ቆመ ሰሜኑን የያዘው ደሞ…

00:06:00

…ወደ ሶሻሊስት ማለት ወደ ኮሚኒስት ተዛወረ አዘዋወሩት ያው ስርአቱ ነው. የምስራቁ እና የምዕራቡ አለም የስርአትአካሄድ ነው እና አንድ የነበሩትን ሀገር ሁለት ከፍለውታል. ያ የተከፈለው ሀገር ደሞ አንድ መሆንም ፈለገ ሰሜኑ. የደቡቡን ህዝብ ወረረው መታው መምታት አልነበረበትም የገዛ ዘሩ ትውልዱ ነው አይደለም እንዴ…

00:06:30

…ያንን ሲያደርግ እርዳታ ተጠየቀ የአለም መንግስታት ኢትዮጵያ እንድትዘምት ተጠየቀ ንጉሱ እሺ አለ አዘመተ. (Both the south and north were one nation. After the Second World War Russians were on the south side supporting them and the Americans were on the north side so the south become communist. That time eastern and western world had different political ideology. So that divided the country. The South Korea Invaded the North, they should not have done that because they were their own people they are from the same blood. So it was called worldwide for help in the UN. So Ethiopia was asked and our king was willing so we went to Korea.)

 

Translator:      The reason why Emperor Haile Selassie sent the tropes was from the north part the Russian was helping the north part and then from the south part the America was helping the south part so they were divided at that time so the north wanted the south to get back so…

00:07:00

…they tried to attack and then the Emperor has been asked from the United Nation to help that country so the Emperor asked and then accept that and that is how they sent.

 

Interviewer:    Did you know anything about Korea before you left for Korea?

 

Translator:      ለኮርያ ጦርነት ከመሄድዎ በፊት ኮርያን ያውቋት ነበር? (Did you know Korea before you went to the Korean War?)

 

Zenebework:   አላውቅም. ልጅ ነኝ ያኔ የ 18ዓመት ልጅ ነኝ. (I do not know. I was then 18 years old.)

 

Translator:      I did not.

 

Interviewer:    And how did you come to know of the breakup of the Korean War? Was it through magazine , …

00:07:30

…newspaper or how did you know about it?

 

Translator:      እንዴት ነበር የኮርያ ጦርነት መጀመሩን ያወቁት? በመፅሀፍ ነው, በጋዜጣ ላይ ነበር,  በዜና ነው? (How did you know that the Korean War had started. was it through book, newspaper or news?)

Zenebework:   በንጉሱ ነው የተነገረን. ንጉሱ ሰብስበው ክፍለ ጦሩ ሲነገር አሁን እኛ ወደ ጦርነቱ የምንሄደውንመለመሉን ተመረጥን እዚሁ ሰልጥነን ዘመትን.  (It was told to us by the Emperor. We were selected from the army and get some training here and went to Korea.)

 

Translator:      The Emperor majesty Haile Selassie them self’s told us about the war because from the military we was been chosen and then go to there…

00:08:00

…them self’s told us.

 

Interviewer:    So when the Korean War break up what was your rank? And what was your unit in the Emperor military?

 

Translator:      እዚህ እያሉ ወደ ኮርያ ጦርነት ሲሄዱ ገና በሚሄዱ ሰአት ማዕረጎ ምንድን ነበር? (What was your title here in Ethiopia before you left to Korea?)

 

Zenebework:   ወታደር ነኝ, ወታደር ነኝ. (I was a soldier, I was a soldier.)

 

Translator:      እና ምድብዎትስ ምን ነበር? (And what was your unit?)

 

Zenebework:   ምድቤ እግረኛ ነኝ. እግረኛ ነኝ. (I was foot soldier.)

 

Translator:      I was infantry man in that time.

 

Translator:      እና ምድቡስ ስም አለው አይደል? …

00:08:30

…የምድብ ስም? (And the unit has a name, right? Unit name?)

 

Zenebework:   እሱ እንግዲህ እንዴት መሰለክ ሻለቃው ሻለቃ ሲሆን በሻለቃው ውስጥ እኔ የሁለተኛ ሻምበል ውስጥነኝ. የሁለተኛ ሻምበል አንድ መቶ ነኝ. ምድቡ ይሄ ነው.  (A unit is called “shamble” and I was in the 2nd shambel 100 division.)

 

Translator:      The name of the unit was second shambel.

 

Zenebework:   አንደኛ መቶ ሆኜ ነው. (I was the 100 division.)

 

Interviewer:    So when did you leave to Korea?

 

Translator:      መቼ ነበር ወደ ኮርያ የሄዱት ወደ ኮርያ ጦርነት? (When did you go to the Korean War?)

 

Zenebework:   በ1945 በኢትዮጵያ አቆጣጠር. (In 1952 in the Ethiopian calendar.)

00:09:00

Interviewer:    በ1945 ነው ከዚ የሄዱት? (Did you leave in 1952?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ የካቲት ወር. (Yes, month of February.)

 

Translator:      ስንተኛው ቃኘው? (What battalion.)

 

Zenebework:   ሶስተኛ ቃኘው. (Third battalion.)

 

Translator:      I left to Korea in 1952.

 

Interviewer:    So please explain what was it like to be in the ship for 22 days to go to Korea?

 

Translator:      ለ22 ቀን በመርከቡ ላይ መሄድ ምንድን ነበር ስሜቱ እስኪ ስለሱ ያጫውቱን? (What was the feeling of going on the ship for 22 days? Tell us about it?)

 

Zenebework:   በመሰረቱ እኔ ምንም ስሜት የለኝም ምክንያቱም ልጅም ስለሆኩ…

00:09:30

…እንደውም ደስ ይላይ እንጂ ቅሬታ አልነበረኝም እና በባህር ላይ ደሞ የመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ነው እርግጥ በሀገራችንእንዳለ ባህር ባናይም ያው በሀገራችን ወንዝ ውሀ አለ ባህር አለ እንዋኛለን ያ የታወቀ ነው ይህን ያህል ችግርአልነበረም. (I was young so I was happy. I did not feel anything bad. It was my first time to travel in the ocean so we were exited though there were lakes, and rivers that we swim in our country.)

 

Translator:      Because I was just a kid at that time I was really excited to be to go with ship…

00:10:00

…and also to see the sea to see the ocean even though we have a river and we can swim here but still I was excited to go.

 

Interviewer:    When did he land in Korea and where? Did you remember?

 

Translator:      መቼ ነበር ኮርያ ላይ የደረሱት እና የት እንደነበር ያስታውሳሉ? (When did you arrive in Korea and do you remember where it was?)

 

Zenebework:   ቦታውን አሁን እረሳዋለሁ ያኔ ልጅነትም ስለነበረ ቦታውን አላስታውስም ግን ቡሳን ነው የወረድነው. ቡሳን ላይ…

00:10:30

…ወረድን ለ 8 ቀን ያህል ነው የቆየነው ቡሳን ላይ. ከ 8 ቀን በኃላ ወደ ጦር ግንባር ወሰዱን ገባን. ሁለተኛ ቃኘው ሻለቃነበር እሱን ቀየርን እኛ በሱ ቦታ ገባን ተተካን. (I do not remember the place specific name but it was in Busan for 8 days then we went to the war front and replaced the 2nd battalion.)

 

Translator:      So I could not say I remember exactly because I was a kid back then but I think it was in Busan and then we stayed there for 8 days and then go to the front line.

 

Interviewer:    Front line. So that is…

00:11:00

…1952 or 53?

 

Translator:      It was in 1953 because we changed the second battalion and then we changed them in that time.

 

Interviewer:    Was war ended at the time or still going around?

 

Translator:      በዛ ሰዐት ጦርነቱ እብቅቶ ነበር ወይስ? (Did the war end at that time?)

 

Zenebework:   አላበቃም አላበቃም አላበቃም እኛ እንደገባን መጋቢት ማለት ነው መጋቢት 12 ቀን…

00:11:30

…ቻይና ወደ ሰባ ሺ ጦር ነው ያዘመተችው እና ያ ሰባ ሺ ጦር ደሞ እንዳለ መሀከላችን እኛው ጋር ነው የቀረው እንዳለአንድም በሂወት አልተመለሰም ከነዛ መሀከል የሞቱ ሰባተኛ ዲቪዝን አዛዥ ማንነበር ስሙ እረሳሁት የዛ ክፍለ ጦርአዛዥ የነበረ ነው. ቀጥታ…

00:12:00

…ምን አለ ይህንን ጦር እንምታው ነው ያለው አንድ ላይ ምክንያቱም ከባድ ጦር ነው ከባድ ጦርነት ነው የተከፈትውይህ ጦር ከሚማረክ እና ቦታው ከሚያዝ አብረን እንደብድበው አለ. አዛዣችን ደሞ አይደረግም ኢትዮጵያ እንዳለጠባይ የላትም ተወዉ አቁም አለው. (The War was not over. It was on March 19 the Chinese added 70,000 troops at that time. They were destroyed there on the battle. No one returned alive from them. The 7th division commander was American said to us let destroy them, no one should be alive do not let alive even the ones that surrender. But our Ethiopia commander did not agree he told him we Ethiopians do not have such a culture.)

 

Translator:      ይህን ያለው ማን ነበረ? (Who said that?)

 

Zenebework:   የኛ ወልደዬሀንስ ሽታ ኮረኔሉ. (Our colonel woldeyohanness shita.)

 

Translator:      እንምታው ባዩስ ማን ነው? (Who ordered to attack them?)

 

Zenebework:   እንምታው ያለው የሰባተኛው ዲቪዝን አዛዥ…

00:12:30

…እና እሱ ያውቃል የአሜሪካ ፕሬዝዳንት ሆኗል በኃላ እሱ ነው.  (He was the seventh division commander. I heard he was American president after that.)

 

Translator:      እሺ ላስረዳው ይህንን. (Okay let me explain this to him.)

 

Translator:      So in that time the war does not stop when we get there even in that time China sent seventeen thousand soldiers to us I remember so there was no Chinese survived at that time even the seventh division general asked to hit all of them in one time…

00:13:00

…he did not even regret to kill them so but the Ethiopian commander said no we do not do that if there is any surrender we will surrender him but we had a fight at that time I remember.

 

Interviewer:    So you told me that you did not much about Korea before? And when you landed in Korea what was your perception image? What was the image of Korea to you how was Korean people living there?  …

00:13:30

…How was economy? Tell me exactly honest description of the Korea you saw in 1953?

 

Translator:      በዛ ጊዜ በ1945 ስላዪት ሀገር ነው ሚጠይቅዎት እና አንድም ነገር ሳይደብቁ ይንገሩኝ. ያኔ መጀመሪያኮርያን ሲያዩአት ምንድን ነበር የተመለከቱት? ህዝቡ እንዴት ነበር? ሀብታቸው እንዴት ነበር? እስኪ ያስረዱን? (He is asking you the country you saw at that time in 1953. Tell us everything you saw when you first arrived in Korea? How was the people? Were there reach people?)

 

Zenebework:   መቼም በእውነቱ እንዳየሁት እኔንጃ አሁን…

00:14:00

…በዛም ሀገር ያለው እንደኛው ሀገር ሳር ቤት ነው መኖሬያቸው ገጠር ነው, ከተማዋም ቢሆን ያን ያክል የጎላ ደስየሚል ከተማ አልነበረም ፈፅሞ በፍፁም እና ህዝቡ ደሞ እንደምታውቀው በብዛት ተደብድቧል አልቋል በቃ ወድቆነበር ህዝቡ በስቃይ ላይ ነበር ያለው ስናየው የሚያሳዝን ነበር እናት አባት ሞተው…

00:14:30

…ልጅ ይሰቃይ ነበር ያን ሁሉ በማየታችን እኛም በእውነቱ በሀገራችንም ደርሷል ግን ያንንም ስናየው ደሞ በጣምበጣም ቁጭት ነበረን ያ ነው ትንሽ እንደው እኛም ጠንከር ያለ ትግል ያረግነው በዛ ነው ትልቁ እና የሚያሳዝን ነበረ. (What I observe is that there were no cities, they leave in huts. There were no large city at all it was destructed by the war. The people were in great terror, we were very sorry to see orphans, who have lost their parents in the war. They were in great hunger. Though there were also some problems in our country, what we saw in Korea was touching. That gave us a great purpose and strength on our fight there.)

 

Translator:      In that time when we are arrive we have seen so many sad things when we get there because the people was…

00:15:00

…really, really in the hurt time they don’t have anything to eat the children’s use to cry because losing their father there mother in the war, children without any family in there they use to be in hunger that the reason I think the soldiers of Ethiopia has been become stronger because having seen that it was really, really sad thing to sea.

 

Interviewer:    That is the very good observation and so…

00:15:30

…from you went to the front line right?  And what was your specialty and what was your daily duty? What did you do? Describe detail?

 

Translator:      ያኔ እርሶ ፊት ለፊት እንደሚዋጉ እንደመሆኑ ምንድን ነበር የእርሶ ችሎታ? ማለት ተኳሽ ነበሩ? (What was your ability then to fight face to face? Were you a shooter?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ በዛን ጊዜ ጠብመንጃዬ መተሬ የሚባል ነበር. በፈረንጆቹ በአሜሪካኖች አኳኋን አልሞ ተኳሽማለት ነው. ያ ነበር መሳሪያዬ…

00:16:00

…በእውነት ጥሩ መሳሪያ ነበር ኤም1 ነው በዛ ጊዜ. (My carried a gun called muter it was M1. I was a sniper shooter.)

 

Translator:      አልሞ ተኳሽ? (Sniper?)

 

Zenebework:   አልሞ ተኳሽ ነበርኩ አዎ.  መተሬ ተብሏል በእጄ ላይ የነበረው መሳሪያ. (Yes. I was a sniper. The gun I had in my hand was called a “mutre”.)

 

Translator:      ስሙ ማለት ነው? (Is that mean the name?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ ስሙ መተሬ ነው ሚሉት. (Yes, they call it “mutre”.)

 

Translator:      In that time I was a sniper so my gun use to called “mutre” the name of my gun.

 

Interviewer:    M1?

 

Translator:      Yes M1. So mutre so in that time I was my specialty was that.

 

00:16:30

 

Interviewer:    Wow the sniper is very dangerous because you might kill enemy but also enemy find you because they afraid of you. So was there any dangerous moment you could be killed?

 

Translator:      ያማለት አልሞ ተኳሽ ኖት ማለት በጣም በጣም አደገኛ ኞት ማለት ነው. ያማለት እርሶ እያለሙ ነውያንን ጠላት የሚገሉት እና ጠላት ደግሞ እርሶን ስለሚፈራ በጣም እርሶን ሊያጠቃ እና ሊገል ይፈልጋል እና እንዴት ነውእሞት ነበር ይሄኔ ብለው የሚያስቡት አደጋ አጋጥሞት ነበር ወይ? (So you were a sniper. That you were dangerous for the enemy. So the enemy will try to kill you first. Was there any dangerous moment that might get you killed?)

 

00:17:00

Zenebework:   አልነበረም ፈፅሞ. እንደውም እንዳለ አላማም ሀሳብም አልነበረም.  በአንድ ወቅት በአንድ ወቅትበውጊያ ላይ እያለን እውነት ጏደኛዬ አሁንም አለ እዚሁ አፅሙ እዚህ ሀውልቱ ጋር በዳኔ ነገው ይባላል ጏደኛዬ ነው እሱአጠገቤ ተበጣጥሶ ሲሞት እኔ ግን አፈር ቀበረኝ ጏደኞቼ ናቸው አፈሩን ከላዬ ላይ በአካፋ አንስተው ያወጡኝ ይሄየማይረሳ ነው.  …

00:17:30

…ግን በመሰረቱ ግን ያው እኛም በጣም ፍቅር ነበረን እርስ በእርስ እንዋደዳለን ያለነው በሰው ሀገር ነው እና ወደኃላአንልም ወደፊት ነው እንጂ ተያይዘን እጅ ለእጅ ተያይዘን ወደፊት መዋጋት እንጂ ወደኃላ የምንል አላማ አልነበረንምፈፅሞ. (There was no any trial of the enemy to kill me alone. But there was one moment during the war, there was a heavy shooting my friend get killed beside me. His whole body was scattered around and I was buried by the bombing. My other friend uncovered me and helped me out of the soil. Basically we were so close to each other, since we were abroad we love each other, we always move to the front holding hand to hand during the fight. There was no one go back we all fight bravely.)

 

Translator:      So I was lucky I can say that because I have never got dangerous moment of my life but the one thing I could say was I lose…

00:18:00

…my best friend beside me in the bomb because the bomb came to exactly where we were but I lose my friend and then I was buried in soil but I survive in that time.

 

Interviewer:    Were you afraid, were you scared, were you sad? How was it to see your friend just dying beside you?

 

Translator:      በጣም ፈርተው, ተጨንቀው ነበረ ጏደኛዎትን እንደዛ ሲያጡ በቦንብ? (Were you scared or worried when you lost your friend with a bomb?)

 

Zenebework:   በፍፁም በፍፁም አሉ እኮ…

00:18:30

…በጏድ ውስጥ ዘጠኝ ነን አይደለም እንዴ.ከመካከል ከጏዳችን ውስጥ አንድ ሰው ነው የሞተብን እሱ ብቻ ነው እኔጎን ነበር እሱ ደሞ ቁጥራችንም ተከታታይ ነበር እና እንዲህ ያለ ጠባይም አልነበረንም ፈፅሞ. (Never, we were nine on that place and we only lost one. There was no fear and back down at that time in our culture.)

 

Translator:      I have never scared that makes me stronger because we have been nine friends together we lost our friend one friend beside us that makes us stronger doesn’t makes us scare.

 

Interviewer:    Were you better…

00:19:00

…than Chinese sniper or Chinese were better? Give me some example?

 

Translator:      የቀልድ ጥያቄ ነው እና የኢትዮጵያ አልሞ ተኳሽ ይሻል ነበር ወይስ የቻይና አልሞ ተኳሽ? (It’s a question for humor, who was better shooter? was it you or a Chinese sniper shooter?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ እንግዲህ በቻይና በኩል ያለውን እርግጥ አንድ ጉዳይ ልንገርክ ቻይና ከአልሞ ተኳሽነቷ ይልቅካራቲስትነቷ ነው…

00:19:30

…እንዴት በለኝ?  በአንድ ወቅት አንድ የኛው ጦር አዛዥ መቶ አለቃ ነው ሀያ ሰባት ወታደሮች ይዞ ወጣ ፖትሮል. እዛእንግዲህ ምንድን ነው ሲመጡ እጅ ወደላይ ሲሏቸው እጃቸውን ሰቀሉ ሁሉም ወደላይ, እጃቸውን ሰጥተዋል ብለውሂዱ ሲሏቸው በካራቴ ሀያአምስቱን ጣሏቸው…

00:20:00

…ይሄ ማይረሳኝ ነው በሂወቴ. (I do not know about the Chinese. Let me tell you what happened one time, the Chinese were good in karate not in shooting. One time one commander went with 27 soldiers for patrol during their inspection they found some Chinese and they surrender. The commander told them to put their hands up, they all raised their hands. The commander though everything is fine and tried to move them to us but the Chinese suddenly attacked and knocked down 25 of the solders. I could not forget this.)

 

Translator:      So what I want to say first was to be honest Chine is not good at sniper but she was good at karate so I remember one time there was one commander going out for patrol and then he have seen the Chinese and then he said put your hands up and leave your guns down so they did that then the commander say ok they surrender now then he can take them but the one thing he did not know the Chinese were really good…

00:20:30

…at karate so they kick there ass and they get them down.

 

Interviewer:    Thank God you are still alive.

 

Translator:      በሂወት መኖሮት በጣም እግዜር ይመስገን እያለዎት ነው. (Thanks to God you alive now.)

 

Zenebework:   አሜን አሜን እሺ. (Amen, amen.)

 

Interviewer:    Where there any occasion that you actually shot enemy and killed?

 

Translator:      በጣም የሚያስታውሱት ነገር አልመው በደንብ የተኮሱት የሚያስታውሱት አለ? (Were there any shoot you make and kill you remember?)

 

Zenebework:   አለ አዎ. አለ ለምሳሌ…

00:21:00

…ፓትሮል አዛዤ መቶ አለቃ ወንጌሌ ቆስጣ ይባላል ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ወጣን, ስንወጣ ከመካከላችን አንድ ወታደርሲሞት ሁለት ወታደሮች ቆስለዋል. አንደኛው ግን ከቆሰሉት መካከል እጁ ተቆርጧል. አሁን ከነዛ መሀከል ሰባቱንተኩሰን ጥለናቸዋል  ሰባቱን ሌሎቹ እየሸሹ ሲሄዱ ከኛ እርቀት ነበራቸው ከሰባቱ ከወደቁት…

00:21:30

…ቻይናዊ መካከል እርቀው ነበር የሄዱት እና  እንደገና አራቱን መተን ጥለናቸዋል. ያ በትክክል የሆነ ነገር ነው ያየሁትነው. (Yes, There is. One time we went out for patrol with our commander “wengel kosta”, during the patrol one soldier was killed from our side, two were injured one of them lost his finger. Then after we fire back and shoot seven of them. The others tried to run. We shoot again and killed four. That is something I witnessed.)

 

Translator:      ዘጠኝ ነበሩ መጀመርያ? (Were there nine?)

 

Zenebework:   እረ እንሱማ ወደ አስራ አምስት ናቸው አስራስድስት ናቸው. ግን ጭለማ ስለነበር በወቅቱ ያየናቸውከላይም መብራት ይወርዳል ከአየር ይተኮሳል ከእኛም ይተኮሳል አሁንበዛ መሀከል እየሮጡ ሲሄዱ ለማምለጥ ሰባቱንስንመታባቸው ተነስተው ሄዱ አራቱን ደግመን መታናቸው…

00:22:00

…ግን የቀሩትን የት እንደገቡ  አናውቅም ወደ ስድስት የሚሆኑት የሉም. (No they were 15 or 16. It was night and dark. We saw them when a light was fired up. That time fighting begin. We shoot seven the others run. We shoot again and killed four. The others disappeared by running.)

 

Translator:      There is one time I remember when we snipe and killed so it was around in the night time there is around sixteen or twenty Chinese so when we snip and kill seven of them the try to hide and then the try to run so I remember four of them we snipe and kill them but…

00:23:30

…around six of them I don’t know where they get in that time so I remember that time.

 

Zenebework:   ይህም የሆነበት ይህም የሆነበት ምክንያት ነበር. ምክንያቱም ምን መሰለክ አለቆቻችን ምንም ነገርሳትታዘዙ ጥይት እንዳተኩሱ እንባል ነበር ምንም እንደው ፈፅሞ ስትታዘዙ ብቻ ነው መተኮስ ነው የሚሉን ያ ነበርችግሬ ጏደኛችንም የሞተው ሁለቱም የቆሰሉብን በዛ ምክንያት ነበር እያየን እየነገርናቸው ለአለቃችን እየነገርነውትዛዝ ነበር ጏደኞቻችን ሊቆስሉ እና ሊሞት የበቃው. (The reason this happened is that our commanders have told us not to fire until we are told to do. So that at the time gap that our friend died and the others injured.)

 

Translator:      We lost our friends one friends and then two injured in that time because of in that time our commander say unless to get order you cannot shoot so we was telling for our commander there is so many enemy in that time but he said do not shoot because that we lost that one that is why all the Chinese back then.

 

Interviewer:    Why did commander said that not to shoot.

 

Translator:      ለምንድን ነበረ እንዳትተኩሱ ብሎ ያዘዛቹ የነበረው? (Why were you told not to shoot?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ እንግዲህ እንደሚመስለኝ ነው ይሄ የራሴ አስተያየት ነው በዛ ሀገር ላይ ሌሊት መብራት እያበራየመሄድ ትላትል አለ ያን አሁን ያንን ሲያዮ የእኛ ሰዎች ይተኩሳሉ ጠላት መጣ ብለው እና ያ እንዳይደገም…

00:24:00

…እንዳይደረግ ነው. እኔ ይመስለኛል ያነው. (I am not sure I guess during night time there are worms that illuminate and give light so some solders to that is enemy firing and shoot so we were ordered not to do so.)

 

Translator:      In my opinion am not sure in my opinion in Korea there is one insect or animal in the night time he have light on himself so they said unless you see human that might be animal so if you shoot you will be seen so that is why I think.

 

Interviewer:    I see. Now you are laughing while…

 

00:24:30

…you talking about it but you did not laugh at the time right?

 

Translator:      አሁን ሲያወሩ እየሳቁ ነው ሚያወሩት እና በዛ ሰአት እየሳቁ ነበር ወይ? (Now you are laughing when you told us, were you laughing at that time too?)

 

Zenebework:   እንዴ ይሄ ግልፅ እኮ ነው ምን ማለት ነው. እንዴ ግልፅ ነው. ምክንያቱም ምን መሰለክ እርግጥ ጠላትንባየናቸው ቁጥር በተቻለ መጠን ጠላትን መምታት ወይም ደግሞ በተቻለ መጠን ለመማረክ እንጂ ይሄ የሚያሳስቅአይደለም. (No, it is clear that we will shoot when we saw an enemy so we always try to shoot and kill or surrender them. So there was nothing to laugh at.)

 

Translator:      It is obvious, it is obvious…

00:25:00

…how could we even laugh because when we see the enemy we have to kill or we have to surrender otherwise there is so many things will become so there was no laugh.

 

Interviewer:    What was the most difficult thing during your service in Korea? What did mostly bother you?

 

Translator:      በዛ ሰአት በጣም አስቸጋሪ የነበረው ነገር በጦርነቱ ላይ ኮርያ ምንድን ነበር? አየሩ ነው ምንድን ነበርበጣም አስቸጋሪ የነበረው ወቅት? (What was the difficult thing during the war back then? Was it the weather?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ በርግጥ…

00:25:30

…ቅዝቃዜው በተለይ ከበረዶው ይልቅ ንፋሱ ንፋስ ቅዝቃዜው ነበር. እኔ እውነቱን ልንገርክ ጫማዬ ሁሉ ተቃጥሎእግሬ ሁሉ ተጎድቷል ጥፍሬ አሁን ፈትቼ ባሳይክ እውነቴን ነው ተኮማትሮ ምላጭ እንኳን አርቆርጠውም በዛን ጊዜእንትን ያለኝ ነው. ለምን በዛን ጊዜ ጦርነቱ እንደቆመ ምሽግ ቁፈራ ይዘን ነበር. ሰላሳስምንተኛ ፓራሬል የሚባል ቦታላይ…

00:26:00

…እዛ ላይ ምሽግ ሶስት ወር ሙሉ ቆፍረናል. በምንቆፍርበት ጊዜ ደረቅ ብርድ መጣ ንፋስ ቀላቅሎ ጆሮ ይበጥሳል. በዛን ሰአት እሳት አነደድንና ስንሞቅ ቀዝቅዞኛል እና እስከነ ጫማዬ እሳት ውስጥ ገባው አልታወቀኝም አቃጥሎኛልበእውነት ግን በመድሀኒት ነው ሰውነቴ የተሻለው እና ይሄ ግልፅ ያለ ነው. (It was very cold there. Not the snow but the wind was very cold. To tell the truth the cold weather freeze my legs and fingers. My legs are injured and I do have still a damaged nail. It is because after the war ended we dig banker. For three months while we were digging bankers at a place called the 38th parallel, a dry and cold wind it was freezing so we burned wood for heat my foot was on the fire but I did not feel it until it burned my fingers due to the cold. I got medication and it is well now.)

 

00:26:30

Translator:      The most difficult thing was the weather really there was really difficult not only the snow the wind specially because the wind was really huge and it intense that we could not even resist I remember one time we was digging for banker and then it was really, really cold in that time there was also wind so we just make a fire and then I remember I just put my leg in it…

00:27:00

…and then I forgot about it and then I almost burn my leg so I just show you my leg it was really damaged because of that weather.

 

Interviewer:    I believed that you were in Korea when be Ceasefire sign right? Is that right?

 

Translator:      እዛ ሲደርሱ የኮርያ ጦርነት ስምምነቱ ላይ ሊደርሱ አካባቢ ነበሩ ማለት ነው እዛ? (When you got there, were they about to reach an agreement on the Korean War?)

 

Zenebework:   እንዴ አዎ. ሀምሌ 21 ቀን ነው የቆመው. (Yes. It stopped on July 28.)

 

Translator:      Yes I was there exactly.

 

Interviewer:    So tell me the day July 27…

00:27:30

…of 1953 when we sign the Ceasefire on the list what was it like? What were you doing and what was it like?

 

Translator:      የዛኔ ሲፈረም እንዳሉት ሀምሌ 21 ሲፈረም እንዴት ነበር ሁኔታውን እስኪ በደንብ ያጫውቱን ስለሱ. (How was the situation when they signed on July 28?)

 

Zenebework:   አይ እኔ እሱን እማ አወያይ አይደለሁም. እኛ ተዋጊዎች ነን እርቅ ሆኖ ጦርነቱ መቆሙን እንጂ ሚነገረንስለዛ ጉዳይ ምንም ማውቀው ነገር የለም. (I don’t actually know how it happened but we were told the war is over while we were there.)

 

Translator:      I do not know detail…

00:28:00

…because I was not inside the officer or something working but we do not know detail.

 

Interviewer:    Did not you know that War is ended?

 

Translator:      ግን ጦርነቱ ካቆመ በኃላስ? (But after the war ended?)

 

Zenebework:   ካቆመ በኃላ? (After stopped?)

 

Translator:      ካቆመ በኃላ. እሱን ነው በደንብ ንገሩኝ ያለው. (After stopped. That’s what he want to know.)

 

Zenebework:   እሱ ወደኃላ ተመልሰን ምሽጉን ቆፈርን ሌላ ምንም ነገር የለም. (We went back and dug bankers and nothing else we did.)

 

Translator:      ጦርነቱ ካቆመ በኃላ ነው ምሽግ የቆፈሩት? (Did you dig a fort after the war ended?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. ያኔ ነው. በጣም በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ምሽግ ቆፍረናል. (Yes. We dug a fort with high power.)

00:28:30

Translator:      የሚያስታውስቱ እሱን ነው በደንብ? (Do you remember only this?)

 

Zenebework:   እሱን ነው ማስታውሰው. (I remember this.)

 

Translator:      The thing I remember after the war stop was we keep digging the banker then that was our job to do.

 

Interviewer:    How was living condition there? Where did you sleep? What did you eat? Were you able to take a shower? How often?

 

Translator:      በዛ ሰአት እስኪ ስለሁኔታዎት ይንገሩኝ. ስለ አኗኗሮ የት ነበር የሚተኙት ምንድን ነበር የሚበሉት? ሻወርስ እንደፍላጎትዎ ይወስዱ ነበር? …

00:29:00

…ከወሰዱስ በምን ይህል ጊዜ ነበር ገላዎትን እንኳን ሚታጠቡት? (Tell me about how you lived there? Where did you sleep? Where did you take shower? And what did you eat?)

 

Zenebework:   ሻወሩ በርግጥ በ ስምንት ቀን ውስጥ ነው ድንኳን ውስጥ ነው. ድንኳን ነው ሻወር አለ ሙቅ ውሀ አለቀዝቃዛ ውሀ አለ እንደልብ ነው ችግር የለም. ልብስም እዛው ይለወጣል ይቀየራል የለበስነውን አይደለም የለበስነውንአውልቀን ጥለን አዳዲስ ልብስ ለብሰን ነው የምንመለሰው ግን በአመጋገብ በኩል ምንም ችግር አልነበረም ፈፅሞምንም ምንም ፈፅሞ. (We took shower in eight days. There was a tent show, shower with cold and warm water. We always wear a new uniform after shower. The meal was good. Everything was alright.)

 

00:29:30

Translator:      የሚተኙትስ ምን ላይ ነበረ? (Where did you sleep?)

 

Zenebework:   ታጣፊ አልጋ አለ. ታጣፊዋ አልጋ አለች የእንጨቷ. (There is a folding bed. There has a folding bed of wood.)

 

Translator:      ካምፓቹ ውስጥ ማለት ነው? (Is it in the camp?)

Zenebework:   አዎ ድንኳን ውስጥ ነው. ካምፕ የለም ድንኳን ነው አጠቃላይ አንድ ተራራ ስር ሜዳ ተቆፍሮ ተደልድሎእዛ ላይ ነበር ያለነው. (Yes it is in a tent. There is no camp, there is a tent. We were there under a mountain and we dig the land and fixed it.)

 

Translator:      In that time we used to take may be per weeks taking shower. Taking shower was not difficult we…

 

00:30:00

…had so many showers we can take even in the heat water, cold water we can take there was no problem in that time also the food also we get so many enough foods in that time and also we used to sleep in the bed inside the tent everything was really good in that time.

 

Interviewer:    So was like Korean hotel.

 

Translator:      ያማለት ኮርያ ሆቴል ነዋ ሄደው የነበረው ማለት ነው እንደዚህ ከተመቸዎት? (You meant it is like a hotel if it was alright?)

 

Zenebework:   አይደለም ኮርያ ሆቴል…

00:30:30

…እኔ አላውቅም. በዛን ጊዜ ሆቴል ሚባል አናውቅም. ከተማውንም አላቅም እኔ. ቡሳንን ብቻ ስወርድ ያየሁት እንጂአላቀውም ሌላውን. (Not at all. There was no hotel. I only know Busan no other places.)

 

Translator:      I cannot say hotel because I do not even know the city.

 

Zenebework:   ሆቴል ሚባል አላየሁም. (I have never seen a hotel.)

 

Interviewer:    So where there any Korean people working for Ethiopian solders or for you in the banker or tents any Korean children?

 

Translator:      በኮርያ እንትን ውስጥ እናንተ ውስጥ ሆናቹ ኮርያዊ የሆነ…

00:31:00

…ለእናንተ የሚሰራ ልጅም ሆነ ኮርያዊ ነበረ? (In Korea, was there a Korean boy or Korean working for you?)

 

Zenebework:   እዎ እዎ. (Yes, Yes.)

 

Translator:      እስኪ ይንገሩኝ? (Tell me?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ አሁን ስሙን አላውቅም በእውነት እረሳዋለሁ ስማቸውን ብዙ ያስቸግረኛል ምግብ ቤት ይሰራ ነበር. ምግብ ቤት ሰራተኛ ነበር እና አሁንም በህይወት ይኖራል እርግጠኛ ነኝ. ልጅ ነው ያኔ እንዴት ልበልክ ምን አልባትእንዳንተ ልጅ ቢሆን ነው. ልጅ ነው ምግብ ይሰራል…

00:31:30

…በጣም ጥሩ ልጅ ነበረ በጣም ታዛዥ ቅን ነበረ. (I do not remember his name. It is difficult for me to catch the name. But there was a boy who worked in the kitchen. He cooked us food. I hope he will be still alive. He was a good cooker and person.)

 

Translator:      አማርኛ ይችል ነበረ? (Can he speak Amharic?)

 

Zenebework:   አይችልም.ያው እንግሊዝኛ ይሞክራል ትንሽ ትንሽ ያው ብቻ ምልክ በመጠቃቀስም በምንም ይሰራልሌላ ነገር የለውም.  ምግብ ሲቀርብለት እሱ አሰራሩን ያውቀዋል በሙሉ እና በዚያ ነው እንጂ እኔ ቋንቋውንም አብሬስለማልሰራ እኔ ያው እግረኛ ስለሆንኩ ምግብ ሲዘገጋጅ ሄጄ መብላት ነው እንጂ አላቅም. (No, he speaks a little English. We communicate by hand sign mostly. He was a good cooker. Since I was a solider, I only see him when we were about to eat.)

 

00:32:00

Translator:      There was one Korean who use to work for us on cooking food I remember but I don’t remember exactly his name he was in the age of twenties in that time I use to remember. I am hoping he will be still alive in that time because he is to work food.

 

Interviewer:    When did you leave Korea then?

 

Translator:      ከኮርያ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ መቼ ነው የተመለሱት? (When did you return from Korea to Ethiopia?)

 

Zenebework:   በ አመት ከሰባት ወር ነው የቆየነው ነሀሴ…

00:32:30

…ምን አደከመክ መስከረም 1 ነው. (We have been there for a year and seven months. On September 8th.)

 

Translator:      አመተምህረቱ ምን ነበረ? (What was the year?)

 

Zenebework:   በ1946 መስከረም1 ነው. ነሀሴ ነሀሴ 30. (In 1954. September 5.)

 

Translator:      እኮ 1946? (In 1954?)

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:      We stayed there for 1year and 7 month am not sure the year but it is around 1954 around there we came back.

 

Interviewer:    And have you been back to Korea since then?

 

Translator:      ከጦርነቱ በኃላ…

00:33:00

…ወደ ኮርያ ለጉብኝት ሄደዋል? (Did you visit Korea after the war?)

 

Zenebework:   አሁን ከዚህ? (From here?)

 

Translator:      ጦርነቱ ካለቀ በኃላ? (After the war?)

 

Zenebework:   በዛን ጊዜ ነው ምትለው? (You mean, at that time?)

 

Translator:      እረ አሁን? (Right now?)

 

Zenebework:   አሁን ከዚህ ሄጃለሁ. (Yes, I went.)

 

Translator:      መቼ ነበረ? (When was it?)

 

Zenebework:   በ 2005 ገደማ ነው. (It is around 2013.)

 

Translator:      በእኛ አይደለ?

 

Zenebework:   አዎ. በእኛ 2005 ገደማ ላይ ነው. (Yes. It’s around in 2012.)

 

Translator:      Yes I have been to Korea in 2012.

 

Interviewer:    So now will you to tell me please, how different…

00:33:30

 

…Korea was to you? You were there in 1953, 54 and you back there 2013 whatever, how different please give very detail description of the differences.

 

Translator:      ስለዚህ አሁን ማወቅ የምፈልገው ነገር. እስኪ ልዮነቱን ይንገሩኝ የዛኔዋ ኮርያ እና አሁን ያዮአት ኮርያልዮነቱን እስኪ በደንብ ያስረዱኝ. (Now I want to know what difference you see between now and back then in Korea.)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ በእውነት ይሄ ነው ብዬ ልነግርክ…

00:34:00

…አልችልም ሰማይ እና መሬት ነው. የሰማይ እና የመሬት ያህል ነው እርቀቱ ዛሬ ኮርያ እውነት ልንገርክ እኔንጃ እንዴትአርጎ እንዴት ልታድግ እግዲህ አድርጎ ውበቷ የመንገዱ, የመንገዱ አሰራር እውነቴን ነው የመንገዱ አሰራር እጅግአስገራሚ ነው ከተማው ህንፃው ልዮ ነው አንዳንዱን ደሞ በትንሹ ነው…

00:34:30

…ያየሁት በብዛትም አላየሁትም ልማቱ በጣም በጣም አስገራሚ ነው በጣም እጅግ በጣም አስደናቂ ነው በጣምእውነቴን ነው የምልህ ካየነው እጅግ የሚያስገርም ነው በጣም እኔ አሁንም ቢሆን በአይምሮዬ አይጠፋም.ካየሁትድሮ የነበረውን እና አሁን ያየሁትን ሳይ ሳመዛዝነው ሰማይ እና መሬት ነው በቃ. (I could not describe the difference it is like the sky and the land. It is a miracle for me to see Korea like this. It has grower fast. The roads and the buildings are beautiful it is mind blowing change. Since I remember the past the difference is much.)

 

Translator:      To be honest I don’t even have how to explain the difference…

00:35:00

…that Korean have made herself because there was so many differences that I see back then the road, the skyscraper was really, really good I was really jealous and then I don’t know how they even do this with in this years but it was really, really unimaginable to see that thing.

 

Interviewer:    So you must be proud of yourself that your sacrifice and your owner able service never been wasted by the Korean people.

 

00:35:30

Translator:      ያማለት በጣም ኮርተዋል ማለት ነው የእርሶ መስዋትነት መና አልቀረም በኮርያ ህዝብ. (That means your proud now since the things you fight for are fruitful?)

 

Zenebework:   ደስ ነው ሚለው በጣም. በእውነት ደስ ነው ሚለው. እንደው ብቻ ያን ህዝብ ይን እልቂቱን ብቻሳስበው ምን አደከመህ ያሉትን እና የሌሉትን ሳስታውሰው ያነው ቅሬታው እንደው አይምሮዬ ውስጥ ሚምታታውእንጂ የልማቱን ጉዳይ ተወው አናንሳው. (I am glad and happy. The only thing that make me sad is who I remember the past, people that are lost and the destruction I witnessed. But I am happy now to see Korea developed.)

 

Translator:      I am really glad and I am really proud to see that because…

 

00:36:00

…they keep it and then our sacrifice have been protected by them self  and also the team what makes me sad is remembering that time back then that is the most sad thing to remember.

 

Interviewer:    I mean Korea is now 11th largest economy in the world and we were able to do that because you fought for us 70 years ago so that is why we are doing this I think Ethiopian young children need know about the war Korean War what is the lesson…

00:36:30

…and how did you fight there? That is why we are doing this.

 

Translator:      እዚም እኛም የመጣነው የናንተን ይህን የመሰለ የጀግንነት ስራችሁን የኢትዮጵያ ልጆች በጠቅላላተምረውት በትምህርት ደረጃ በትምህርት በኩል እንዲሰጥ ነው የመጣነው እና ለዛ ነው የኛ ዋና አመጣጣችንየእናንተን ታሪክ ለማስቀጠል ነው. (The reason we come here is to teach your children your heroism. We want to transfer your history for generations.)

 

Zenebework:   አመሰግናለሁ. (Thank you.)

 

Translator:      Thank you so much.

 

Interviewer:    And what is the relationship now between Korea and Ethiopia now for the Korean War veterans?

 

00:37:00

Translator:      የኢትዮጵያ ኮርያ ዘማቾች ጋር እና የኮርያ መንግስት ያላቸው ግንኙነት እንዴት ነው? (What’s the relationship now between Ethiopian veterans of Korean War and the Korean government?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ እግዲህ በእውነት ልንገርክ አይደለም አሁን የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት 55 አመት ሙሉ ሲገዛ ምንምያየነው ነገር የለም ምንም.  ምንም ነገር ፈፅሞ ግን ባጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ የኮርያ መንግስት…

00:37:30

…ያን ማድረጉ ሀገሩን አልምቶ እንደገና ደግሞ እኛን ለመርዳት በእውነት ይህን ያደረገውን እጅግ አመሰግናለውበበኩሌ በጣም ነው ምስጋናዬ ማቀርበው. (To tell the truth there was nothing that is done for us for the last 55 years by the Ethiopian government. But now in a short time the Korean government is helping us. I would like to thank the Korean government and people.)

 

Translator:      From Ethiopian government for 55 years we haven’t seen.

 

Zenebework:   ምንም ያደረገው ነገር የለም. (The Ethiopian government did not do anything.)

 

Translator:      We have not seen nothing from the Ethiopian government but from Korea with in this short period of time they are been…

00:38:00

…helping us, they have been thinking us, they have been even they never even forgot about us they came just to say hello that is what we want. They think we are family together still now so that is really good relationship we had.

 

Interviewer:    Yeah, I see that there is picture there and it says Ethiopia Kagnew Battalions 6,037 soldiers…

00:38:30

…and Korea will never forget your sacrifice. I see that so I agree.

 

Translator:      ይሄንን እያየው ነው እና እዚህ ጋር የ 6,037 የዘመቱትን እና መቼም ቢሆን አንረሳችሁም የሚለውንአይቼዋለሁ እና እውነት ነው እና በዚህ እኔም እስማማለው እያለ ነው. (I see a photograph that says ‘we will not forget the 6,037 solders of the Korean War, and I agree with that.)

 

Zenebework:   እሺ አመሰግናለሁ. እሺ እግዜር ይስጥልኝ. (Ok thank you. God bless you.)

 

Interviewer:    So next year will be 70th of anniversary of the Korean War…

00:39:00

…do you have any special messages to the Korean people?

 

Translator:      የሚቀጥለው አመት 70ኛው ክብረበአል ነው እና ለኮርያ ህዝብ ልዮ የሆነ መልእክት ማስተላለፍየሚፈልጉ ከሆነ. (Next year we will celebrate the 70th anniversary so what is your message for the people of Korea?)

 

Zenebework:   እኔ መቼም ምንም ልዮነት ይሄ ነው ብዬ ለመናገር ባልችልም በእውነት እግዚአብሔር ለዚህያበቃቸውን እንዲያበቃቸው እመኛለው. ከዚህ ውጭ እኔ አሁን ምንም ምለው ነገር የለም…

00:39:30

…እግዚአብሔር በሰላም በጤና በፍቅር እንዲያኖራቸው እንዲጠብቃቸው ነው ምመኘው ምኞቴ ይህ ነው ሌላየለም. (Though I cannot say much. I thank God for the things I saw in Korea now I wish the best for them. I pray and wish for them peace, love and health.)

 

Translator:      What I want say and what I want to pray every time is I pray for you so that you will be richer, richer than this because you have been working, you have been changing your life and you never forgot about us so day and night I will pray for you to be stronger and healthy.

00:40:00

Interviewer:    Thank you very much for your prayer and do you have anything you want to say the Ethiopian young generation about the war you fought for.

 

Translator:      ለፀሎቶት በጣም እናመሰግናለን እና ለኢትዮጵያ ልጆች አሁን ላይ ላሉት ልጆች ለወጣቶች, ለህፃናቶችስለጦርነቱ መንገር ወይም ማለት የሚፈልግት ነገር አለ? (Thank you for prayer what is the thing you want to say for the Ethiopian youth and children about the Korean War?)

 

Zenebework:   በእውነት እኔ ምንም የምለው ነገር የለኝም ማቀው ነገርም የለማ…

00:40:30

…አይደለም እንዴ. (There is nothing I could say now.)

 

Translator:      I could not say much but I want the children of Ethiopians to know they have to be proud of us they have to be proud of Ethiopian history that is what I want to say.

 

Interviewer:    Thank you, Thank you so much for your advice.

 

Zenebework:   እኔም አመሰግናሁ, አመሰግናሁ እግዜር ይስጥልኝ. (Thank you, God bless you.)

 

Interviewer:    Thank you for your time, thank you.

 

Translator:      ለጊዜዎትም በጣም እናመሰግናለን. (We thank you for your time.)

 

Zenebework:   ጤናውን ይስጣቹ እናንተንም በልልኝ. (God bless you.)

 

Translator:      May God give you the healthiest.

 

[End of Recorded Material]