Seyum Tsadik

[Beginning of Recorded Material]

Interviewer:    It is November 12 2019, the capital city of Ethiopia. My name is Jongwoo Han, I am the president of Korean War legacy foundation. We are conducting this interviews specially commissioned by the ministry of patriot and veterans affairs of Republic of Korea for the commemoration of 70th anniversary of the breakup of the Korean War in 2020. Thank you for coming, it is my great honor and pleasure to meet you sir, please introduce yourself, your

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…name and spell it for the audience please.

Translator:                  እኔ የመጣሁት ከኮርያ መንግስት ነው. እና የመጣሁት የናንተን ታሪክ ፃፌ የናንተን ታሪክእንተርቪው አድርጌ ሁሉም አለም እንዲያየው እና የኛ ተማሪዎች የናንተ የልጅ ልጆች ተምረውበት ሁሌም እንዲያዩትነው የመጣሁት እና የመጣሁበትም ምክንያት ዋናውም ይሄ ነው እና አሁን እራስዎትን ያስተዋውቁ. ሙሉ ስምዎትንይንገሩኝ ከቻሉም እያንዳንዱን ቃል ለየብቻ ይንገሩን. (I came from the Korean government. I have come to interview you for your story so that the whole world can see it and your grandchildren can always see it and that is the main reason I came and now introduce yourself. Tell me your full name and if you can, tell us each word individually.)

Seyum W/Tsadik:                   እሺ እኔ ስዩም ወልደ ፃዲቅ እባላለው

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…ስዩም ወልደ ፃዲቅ ሀብተጊዮርጊስ. የተወለድኩት በ1924 ዓ.ም ነው እንደ ኢትዮጵያ አቆጣጠር. በ1924 ዓ.ም መስከረም21 ቀን ነው የተወለድኩት. ከዛ መንፈሳዊ ትምህርት ነው ትምህርቴ የመጀመሪያው. አባቴ ካህን ስለነበሩ የመጀመሪያውትምህርቴ መንፈሳዊ ትምህርት ነው. (Okay, my name is Seyoum Welde Tsadik Habtegiorgis. I was born in 1931. I was born on September 21, 1931. Then my first lesson was spiritual education. Since my father was a priest, my first lesson was spiritual education.)

Translator:      My name is

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…Seyum Weldetsadik Habtegiyorgis. I can spell it S E Y U M, My middle name W E L D E T S A D I K, My last name H A B T E G I

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… O R G I S.

Interviewer: Thank you and when were you born and where were you born?

Translator:                  መቼ ነበር የተወለዱት እና አመተ ምህረቱ መቼ ነበር, ቀኑስ መቼ ነበር? (When were you born and when was the year and when was the day?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     በ1924 ዓ.ም, መስከረም 21 ቀን ነው የተወለድኩት. (I was born on September 21, 1931.)

Translator:                  I was born in 1931 and I was born in.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     September 24.

Translator:                  September 24.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     September 21.

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Interviewer:                Wow, you born very close to my mother birthday.

Translator:                  የእናቴ ቀን ጋር ኦልሞስት ተመሳሳይ የሆነ ጊዜ ነው የተወለዱት እያለ ነው. (It is said that you were born at the same time as my Mother.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የእናቱ የሱ? (His mother?)

Translator:                  አዎ የሱ. (Yes, his.)

Interviewer:                My birthday is also September.

Translator:                  የኔም የተወለድኩት ሴብቴምበር ላይ ነው የተወለድኩት እኔ ራሱ እያለ ነው. (He say I was born also in September.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     Good.

Interviewer:                Thank you and nice to meet you sir and tell me about the Ethiopia

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…at the time then when you born? How was Ethiopian economy and society at the time?

Translator:                  እርሶ በተወለዱበት ጊዜ የኢትዮጵያ ነገር እንዴት ነበር? ሀብቷ እንዴት ነበር እስኪ ያስረዱኝይንገሩኝ እያለ ነው. (What was Ethiopia like when you were born and how was her Economy?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የኢትዮጵያ ሀብት እኔ ስወለድ መቼም በዛን ጊዜ ላውቅ አልችልም. ግን እኔ በተወለድኩበት ዘመንጃንሆይ በነገሱ በአመቱ ነው የተወለድኩት. ሀይለስላሴ ነግሰው በአመቱ ነው የተወለድኩት. እና እናቴ …

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…እንደምንትነግረኝ በሀገሩ ላይ አንበጣ መጣ እንበጣ መጥቶ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ መስከረም ሰብል የሚደርስበት ጊዜ ነውመሉ ለሙሉ. እና በዛን ጊዜ እንበጣ መጥቶ ሀገሩን ሁሉ ስለበላው እርሀብ ሆኖ ነበር ብላ አጫውታኛለች በዛ ዘመን እናብዙም ደስ የሚል ዘመን አልነበረም አመቱ ማለት ነው. እና ይህን ነው ማውቀው. (I did not know the Ethiopia economy when I was born. I was born after the year Haile Selassie reigned. And as my mother would tell me, at that time the locusts came and devoured all the grain whole country. And that’s what I know.)

Translator:                  I was born, I could not remember off course

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…when I was born at that time but my mother used to tell me that I was born one year after the Emperor Haile Selassie came to the throne. So at that time there was a grasshopper really difficult time. The grasshopper took everything so in that time it was really, really difficult time that I remember.

Interviewer:                Grasshopper.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. (Yes.)

Interviewer:                So there shortage of the food right?

Translator:                  Yes.

Interviewer:                And what about Italian occupation?

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…What did Ethiopia people do about this Italian occupation from 1935 to 1941?

Translator:                  በዛን ጊዜ የጣልያን ወረራ ለስድስት አመት የነበረው ወረራ ኢትዮጵያ ምንድን ነበር ስታደርግየነበረው እንዴት ነበር? (What was Ethiopia doing during the six-year Italian invasion at that time?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የዛን ጊዜ እኔ እድሜዬ ትንሽ ነው. ሶስት አመቴ ነበር ገና ሶስት አመት ከሰባት ወር ከስድስት ወርገደማ ነበረ. እና ስንሸሽ አውቃለው

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…ጣልያን መጥቶ እኛ ወደ ዘመድ ስንሸሽ አውቃለሁ እና የዛን ጊዜ ብዙም እድሚዬ ትንሽ ስለነበረ ብዙውንአላስታውስም ይህን ያህል ነው ብሎ መናገር አይቻለኝም. እና ግን ጣልያን ብዙ ጉዳት አድርሶ እንደነበር በኃላ እሰማለውእና አርበኞቻችን እንዴት ነበሩ አባቴ ደግሞ ቄስ ነበሩ እና ከአንድ አጎታቸው ጋር በሳጥን…

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…ጥይት እያረጉ በጥጥ እና በበርበሬ ውስጥ እያረጉ ለአርበኞች ያቀብሉ እንደነበር ይህን አውቃለሁ. ጣልያን ደግሞ እያለእኛ ቤት ሽፍቶች እየመጡ ቤታችን ጫቃ አካባቢ ነው በቅሎዎች እና ባሮች አንድ ደጃዝማች መሸሻ ሚባሉ የሳቸውባሮች ሶስት ሴት ባሮች አንድ ወንድ ባሪያ

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… እና እነዛ ፈረሶቹ ፍየል ጋጣ ተደብቀው ሌሊት ሌሊት ውሀ ሲያጠጡ አውቃለው. (I was only three years old at the time, I do not remember much. And I know when we run away to a relative and I hear later that Italy has done a lot of damage and I know this, my father was a priest and he and his uncle were putting the shooting at a box and covering with cotton and giving it to the patriots.)

Translator:                  The thing I remember is not much because I was just a three years kid at that time when the Italy try already concord for six try to concord so but my father and my mother used to tell me that it was a difficult time really Italia do so many things in Ethiopia really,

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…really bad things in Ethiopia so they used to tell me that my father was a priest and then he use to help the Ethiopian soldiers at that time they will give them foods so many things for the soldiers and also our house was in the jungle so it was really difficult at that time.

Interviewer:                So please tell me about your father that your father was priest of often the Christian.

Translator:                  ስለ አባትዎት እስኪ ንገሩኝ? አባትዎት ቄስ የነበሩት የኦርቶዶክስ ቄስ ነበሩ ወይ. (Tell me about your father? Was your father an Orthodox priest?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. የኦርቶዶክስ ቄስ ነው

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…የቅዳሴ መምህር ነው. አስተማሪ ነበር እና በበአል በበአል ሰዎች ሁሉ ከሩቅ እየመጡ አባቴ ጋር ይማሩ ነበር እና የአንድቤተ ክርስቲያን አገልጋይ ነበር. ቤተክርስቲያኑን የተከሉት የሱ አባቶች እና አያቶች ናቸው. አሁንም እስካሁን ድረስ ይህቤተክርስቲያን በኛ ቤተሰብ ነው ሚገለገለው. (Yes. He is an Orthodox priest and a liturgy teacher. He was a teacher and at holiday all the people came from far away to study with my father and he was a minister of a church. It was his fathers and grandparents who build the church. This church is still serve by our family.)

Translator:                  My father used to be a teacher of the Orthodox Church and he was priest of the Orthodox Church so still now that Church is teaching by our family.

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Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ጊዬርጊስ ቤተክርስቲያን ነው እሱ. (It is called Giorgis Church.)

Translator:                  The Church called Giyorgis Church.

Interviewer:                So what school did you go to through and I did you learn anything about Korea from the school?

Translator:                  ምን ትምህርት ቤት ነበር የተማሩት እና ያ የሚማሩበት ትምህርት ቤት ስለ ኮርያ ተምረዋል? ትምህርት ቤት ገብተዋል አይደለ? (What school did you study and did you learn about Korea? You went to school, did not you?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እኔ? (Me?)

Translator:                  አዎ. (Yes.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ገጠር ነዋ. (It is in Rural.)

Translator:                  እኮ ስለ ኮርያ ተምረው ነበር የዛኔ? (Did you learn about Korea then?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አይ. ወታደር ከገባው በኃላ ነው የተማርኩት. ወታደር ገባው

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…ያን ትምህርቴን አቋርጬ አዲስ አበባ መጣው እና ወታደር ገባው. ከሀገር ቤት የመጣሁት ዘመናዊ ትምህርት ለመማርነበር ግን በዛን ጊዜ ሶስተኛ ቃኘው የመጣበት ጊዜ ስለነበር ያንን ሰልፍ አይቼ ወታደርነት ገባው ከዛ ወዲህ ነው ስለ ኮርያጦርነት የተመማርኩት. (No, I learned after I joined the military. I dropped out of school and came to Addis Ababa to join the army. I came from the countryside to study modern education but at that time the third battalion came from Korea and I saw them and I joined the army. It was after that I learned about Korea.)

Translator:                  I was in a religion school but I did not learn about Korea at that time. I just I know about the Korea when I was in the military and then I know about the Korea at that time, so I came here to study

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…the school but I started the military when I was here.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ያን ጊዜ ደሞ ስለ ኮርያ ብቻ ሳይሆን ስለ ጀርመን, ስለ ናዚ, ስለ እንግሊዝ, ስለ ፈረንሳይ እነ ናፖሊዎንእነ ሂትለር የነዚህ የነዚህን ሂስትሪ እንማራለን. ዳግማዊ ሚኒሊክ ይህን ይህን ሂስትሪ እንማር ነበር. የአለም ታሪክእንማራለን ሂስትሪውን. (Then we will learn not only about Korea, but also about Germany, the Nazis, Britain, France, Napoleon and Hitler. We were learning about Menelik II’s history. We learn the history of the world.)

00:09:00

Translator:                  After we joined the military we used to learn about the German, all about the world history at that time.

Interviewer:                And when did you join the military? And why did you join the military?

Translator:                  መቼ ነበረ ውትድርናን የተቀላቀሉት እና ለምንድን ነበር የተቀላቀሉት? (When did you join the army and why did you join?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     በዛን ጊዜ ስገባ ሶስተኛው ቃኘው ከኮርያ እየመጣ ነበር. እና በሰልፉ ተማርኬ በወታደርነት ሀገሬንለማገልገል ነው የገባሁት. ስገባ ግን

00:09:30

… የካቲት አስራስድስት ቀን በ1946 አ.ም ነው የገባሁት. (At that time, the third battalion was coming from Korea and I admire by military parade then I joined the army to server my country as a solider. I joined on February 23, 1953.)

Translator:                  መቼ? (When?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የካቲት አስራስድስት ቀን በ1946 አ.ም. (February 23, 1953.)

Translator:                  የዛኔ ነው ውትድርናውን የተቀላቀሉት? (Did you join the army then?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. (Yes.)

Translator:                  የዛኔ ማለት ነው? (Does that mean then?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. የካቲት አስራስድስት በ1946 አ.ም. (Yes, February 23, 1953.)

Translator:                  የተቀላቀሉት? (You Joined?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. በአመቱ ነው ወደ ኮርያ የሄድኩት. (Yes, then I went to Korea after one year.)

00:10:00

Translator:                  So at that time the 3rd battalion of Korean War veterans was coming back to Ethiopia. So I saw them coming and then I was really amazed when I see them, so I wanted to join the military in the year of 1953. So I joined that the military at that time it was in the February 21 in that time.

Interviewer:                And when first

00:10:30

…land in Korea how was it? What was your first impression of Korea? Tell me honestly and detail description.

Translator:                  ያኔ ኮርያ ልክ ሲገቡ ትክክለኛውን እና የውስጥዎትን እውነተኛውን መልስ ይመልሱልኝ ኮርያንእንዴት ነበር ያዩአት ምንድን ነበር ያዩት ምንድን ነበር ስሜትዎት ልክ የመጀመሪያ ሲያዩአት? (Give me the right and true answer, when you arrived in Korea then. How did you see Korea? What did you see? What did you feel when you first saw Korea?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እንግዲህ እዚህ አንድ አመት ከሰለጠንን በኃላ

00:11:00

…ሰኔ ወር ነው ወደ ኮርያ የሄድነው በአመቱ ማለት ነወ ሰኔ ወር ነው. እና እዛ አራተኛ ቃኘው ነበረ. ያው ትንሽ ከበድየሚለው የበረዶው ወራት ነበር እንጂ ኮርያ በዛን ጊዜ አሁን እንደሆነው አይደለም በየቦታው አንድ አንድ ትንሽ እርሻዎችየአትክልት እርሻዎች የሩዝ እርሻዎች ይታዩ ነበር እንጂ እንዲህ ያለ ሀገር አይታይም ነበር. በአብዛኛው ጫካ ጋራ

00:11:30

…ይህን ነበር ምናየው. እርሻዎችም ቢኖሩ ትንሽ ትንሽ ሜዳ ሜዳ ቦታዎች እሩዝ እናይ ነበር. አትክልት ቦታዎች ጎመንእንደዚህ የነበሩ በአንድ በሬ ጋሪ ማዳበሪያ እየጫኑ እስር እስሩ እያረጉ እሱን ይጠቀሙ ነበር. ይህን ነበር ምናየው እናቡጃንቦ የሚባል አካባቢ

00:12:00

…ደግሞ ነዳጅ መስመር እንጠብቅ ነበር የነዳጅ መስመር እና ይሄን ይሄን ነው ማስታውሰው. (So after a year of training here, we went to Korea in June. And there was a fourth battalion. The snowstorm is a little bit difficult But Korea is not the same as it was then and now. There is some small farm field, they used to grow rice and some vegetables like cabbage. They used one OX to farm. We saw mostly is forest and mountain. We saw this and we were waiting for the gas line in an area called Bujanbo and this is what I remember.)

Translator:                  The thing I remember when I was in Korea it was really to be honest there was nothing to see in that time. Everything was destroyed at that time so we used to see the a farm not to big but small and also we used to see farmers but they used to farm with the only one OX in that time. So we had one year training here and then…

00:12:30

…we leave from Ethiopia at the month of June. So the thing I remember the most was there was nothing to see everything was destroyed at that time.

Interviewer:                Where did you go and what did you do daily routine? Because the Ethiopian young children are very queries about what you did daily. So what time do you wake up and what did you eat, where did you sleep how often where you able to take a shower?

00:13:00

…Kind of detail and everyday duty that you did during the Korean War please.

Translator:                  በዛ ሰአት ያረጉ የነበረው ሁሌ በቀን በቀን ያረጉት የነበረውን ነገር የኮርያ ዘማቾች ቤተሰቦችማወቅ ይፈልጋሉ ልጆቹ ማወት ይፈልጋሉ እና የት ነበር የሚተኙት በምን ያህል ጊዜ ነበረ ገላዎትን ሚታጠቡት የነበረውምንድን ነበር የሚያደርጉት የነበረው ሁሌ እስኪ ይንገሩን? (Families of Korean veterans want to know what you were doing at the time, and where did you sleep? How often do you take a shower? Tell us what you were doing all the time.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የዛን ጊዜ እኛ በወታደሩ ክፍል ችግር አልነበረም. ራሽ እንደልብ ይቀርብልናል ጦር ሜዳ እንውላለን

00:13:30

…ያው ጠዋት ቁርሳችንን አስራ አንድ ሰአት እስከ አስራ ሁለት ሰአት እንበላለን ከዛ በኃላ መሳሪያ ይዘን ጦር ትምህርትእንውላለን. ቀይ መስቀሎች ይመጣሉ በጂፕ መኪና ወተት ቡና ጦር ትምህርት ሜዳ ይዘውልን ይመጣሉ እሱንእንመጣለን በእረፍት ሰአት ከዛ አስራ አንድ ሰአት እንመለሳለን ግማሹ ሜንስ ይገባል ግማሹ ሻወር ይገባል እንዲህ እያልንነው

00:14:00

…እና ችግር አልነበረብንም የልጅነት ወራትም ስለነበረ በደስታ ነው ምናሳልፈው የነበረ. (At that time we had no problem with the military. We are served with a meal then we go to the battlefield. At the morning we eat our breakfast from 5 PM up to 6 AM, then we will take up our gun and go to battlefield for study. The Red Cross bring coffee and milk by jeep car at the battlefield. Then we will return at 5 AM and take shower. We had no problems and we were happy.)

Translator:                  አራተኛው ቃኘው ነዎት አይደለ? (Are you fourth battalion?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አምስተኛ. (No, I am fifth battlion.)

Translator:                  So at that time we used to sleep at the camp, our camp. So we eat our breakfast starting from 5Am up to 6Am in that time. So we used to go out because our the fifth battalion at that time so there…

00:14:30

…was no war at that time, so for us it was good time they use to give so many food, so many milks, coffees. They bring food and coffee with the Jeep car, so we eat our lunch every time every daily. So we go back to our camp at the time of 5Pm, so it was good at time.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     በረፍታችን አንድ አንድ ጊዜ ደግሞ ቮሊ ቦል ኳስ እንጫወታለን ኮርያኖች ይመጣሉ ሾው ያሳዩናልአንድ አንድ ጊዜ በፕሮግራም ማለት ነው

00:15:00

…እና በዚህ በዚህ ያስደስቱን ነበር እነሱ ደግሞ. (When we return to our camp, sometimes we play volleyball and Koreans came and show us some entertainment.)

Translator:                  So when we have break so we used to play volleyball at that time also with Korean all together and also the Korean show us so many entertaining shows at that time.

Interviewer:                So was it after the War? I mean was it already the war ended with the ceasefire or was it before where you there?

00:15:30

Translator:                  እርቅ ከወረደ በኃላ ነው አይደለ እርሶ እዛ የነበሩት? (You were there after the reconciliation?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ እርቅ ነበር. ያው ጦር ትምህርቱን እንማራለን ሁኔታው ያው ነው እንግዲህ እርቁም የፈረሰእንደሆነ እየተባለ እንትኑ ጥንካሬ ነበረው ጥበቃው እና ጦር ትምህርቱ. አንድ ቀንም ቤት ውለን እና ምናልባትአጠራጣሪ ስለነበረ በዛ ሁኔታ ላይ ነበር የነበርነው. (Yes, it was reconciliation. But we continue studying the military course because we were not sure by the agreement and the security was very tight. Even we did not stay one day at our camp, we always learning the military course.)

Translator:                  Yeah, it was after the agreement,

00:16:00

…but still there was training because we was not sure that the agreement will be long so we used to training really well at that time because we do not know if the North Korea changed their mind and back to Korea again, so we used to be trained.

 

Interviewer:                How long did you stay there? When did you leave Korea?

Translator:                  ምን ያህል ጊዜ ነበር እዛ የቆዩት? እና ከኮርያ መቼ ነበረ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ የመጡት ከኮርያ? (How long have you been there? And when did you come to Ethiopia from Korea?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ከኮርያ አንድ አመት ከአንድ

00:16:30

…ወር ያህል ነው የቆየነው በ1948 መጨረሻ 49 ነው የመጣነው 48 መጨረሻ አንድ አመት ከአንድ ወር ያህል ነውየቆየነው. (We have been in Korea for a year and a month. We come back in at the end of 1955.)

Translator:                  We stayed there for one year and then one month in that time. So we came back from Korea at the year of 1955.

Interviewer:                How did you, how much did you were you paid by the Ethiopian government?

Translator:                  የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ምን ያህል ክፍያ ይከፈልዎት ነበር

00:17:00

…በዛ ሰአት ያስታውሳሉ? (Do you remember how much the Ethiopian government paid you at that time?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. ከዚህ የተከተለን ደሞዝ አስራሁለት ብር ነው. አስራሁለት ብር ነው ያቺ ሰባት ብር ከምናምንነው ሚደርሰን እዛ የቀረው እዚሁ ነበር የሚቀመጠው. (Yes, we paid twelve birr at that time. The remaining salary was stayed in here Ethiopia.)

Translator:                  ለጡረታ ማለት ነው? (Is it for retirement?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እንደ ጡረታ ሳይሆን ያው የኪስ ገንዘብ ብቻ ነው. ለፅጉር ቅባት, ለጥርስ ቡሩሽ ምታረጋት ናትእንጂ ያው በመንግሥት ስለምንመገብ ድሞዛችን እዚሁ ነበር ሚቀመጠው. (Not, it is just pocket money. We used that money to buy hair oil, teeth brush.)

Translator:                  ሰባት ብር ማለት ነው? (It is Seven birr?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. እዚሁ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ማለት ነው.

00:17:30

…አስራሁለት ብር ተከትሏል ያችን በምንዛሬ በአሜሪካን ዶላር ታገኛታለክ. (Yes, I mean, here in Ethiopia. We paid twelve birr in Korea by the exchange rate of US Dollar.)

Translator:                  ስለዚህ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ነበር የሚከፍልዎት? (So was the Ethiopian government paying you?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ነው. (Yes. It is the government of Ethiopia.)

Translator:                  The Ethiopian government used to pay us. So it was around 12 birr that we used to paid. So we get the 7 birr because the 5 birr will stay here

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እዛ ያለው ደሞዛችን ሀያሶስት ብር ነው በዛን ጊዜ ጠቅላላው ደሞዛችን. የወታደር ደሞዝ በዛንጊዜ ሀያሶስት ብር ነበር. (The salary of a soldier at that time was twenty-three birr.)

00:18:00

Translator:                  ከዛ ስንት ብር ይደርስዎታል? (How much will you earn then?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ከዛ አስራሁለት ብር እዛ ይዘን ሄደናል. አስራሁለት ብር እዛ ይመጣልናል ከዛ ላይ. በአሜሪካ ሰባትብር. (We get paid twelve birr there. Seven birr in America.)

Translator:                  በአሜሪካ ሰባት ዶላር? (Seven dollars in the US?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ ስባት ዶላር ነው ሚደርሰን እዛ. ሁለት ብር ከዜሮ ሰንቲም ነው ምንዛሬው የዛን ጊዜ. አንድዶላር በኛ ሁለት ብር ከዜሮ ሰባት ሳንቲም ነበር ያንን ነው ምናገኘው. (Yes, we get seven dollars there. One dollar was two birr with seven cents.)

00:18:30

Translator:                  At that time we used to get paid 23 birr, but when we was in here in there they changed to American dollar so we used to get 7 dollar in there so the rest money will stay here because at that time one dollar it was two birr and zero eight cent.

Interviewer:                Yes, So one dollar was two birr.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     Two birr and zero seven cent.

Interviewer:                And who paid it? Who pays your salary?

00:19:00

…I mean wall will it to you? Was it American government or Ethiopian government?

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     Ethiopian government.

Interviewer:                Ethiopian government?

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የስ. አሜሪካ ልብስ እና እራሽን ብቻ ነው ሚሰጠን. (Yes, the American give us food and cloths.)

Translator:                  The American use to just give us the food and then our cloth.

Interviewer:                Ok, what did you do with the money there? Did you spend some or do you have spent some or did you saved it or did you give it to your parents?

00:19:30

Translator:                  የዛኔ የሚከፈልዎትን ገንዘብ ምንድን ነበር የሚያደርጉት? ለቤተሰብዎ ሴቭ ነው የሚያደርጉትየነበረው ወይስ እዛው ነበር የሚያጠፉት? እንዴት ነበር? (What did you do with that money? Did you save for your family or did you spend it there? How was it?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የዛን ጊዜ ቤተሰብ የለንም እኛ  እና ያቺን ፀጉር ቅባት እንገዛለን, የጥርስ ቡሩሽ እንገዛለን, ኮካ ኮላአንድ አንድ ጊዜ ሜንስ ሄደን እንጠጣለን በቃ ለዚሁ ነው ምቱለው. ለራሳችን ነገር ነው ምናውላት የፀጉር ቅባትምናምን. (We do not have a family at that time. We buy hair oil, teeth brush sometimes we drink coca cola. We use it for ourselves.)

Translator:                  We used to buy toothbrush at that time. We used to buy for

00:20:00

…our hair, we used to drink cock at that time. That how we used to use our salary.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ያማረክን ብስኩት ትገዛለክ ምንትላለክ ፀጉር ቅባት ምናምን ትገዛለክ በቃ እሱ ብቻ ነው. (We buy biscuit and eat, we buy hair oil. We used only for this.)

Translator:                  We used to buy biscuits at that time we eat biscuit.

Interviewer:                So you did not save any money for future?

Translator:                  ለወደፊት ገንዘብ አላስቀመጡም ነበር ማለት ነው? (Did not you save the money for future?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     የዛን ጊዜ ምንም. እዚህ ሚቀመጠው ነው ያቺ ተቆራጭ ደሞዝ እዚህ ትቀመጣለች ሌላ ምንምየለም. (We did not save at that time, only we have the money saved here.)

Translator:                  We did not save because the half money of

00:20:30

…our salary was stay in Ethiopia.

Interviewer:                What do you mean by stay? Did Ethiopian government get it or I mean Ethiopian government paid you so they do not have to keep it, did your family keep it or did they keep it for you later?

Translator:                  ያስቀምጡት የነበረው ለናንተ ለወደፊቱ ነው ይህን ገንዘብ ያስቀምጡ የነበረው ወይስ ራሱመንግስቱ ነበር ዝም ብሎ ይዞት የነበረው ብሩን. (Did they save it for you in the future, or did the government itself just keep the money?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     መንግሥት ነው ሚያስቀምጠው ስንመጣ ነው የሰጠን. መንግስት ነው የሚያስቀምጠው. (It is the government that saves for us and give us when we come back.)

Translator:                  The government

00:21:00

…keep it the money for us later.

Interviewer:                And then you were paid later?

Translator:                  Yes.

Interviewer:                Okay, that is good. So it is a saving, you save the money.

Translator:                  ያማለት በቃ ሴቭ አርገዋል አስቀምጠውሏቹሀል ማለት ነው. (It means you just saved it.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አስቀምጧል አዎ. አስቀምጧል ሰጠን ምን ያህል ብር 23 ብር ምንአላት. (Yes, he saved for us. But 23 birr is not too much)

Translator:                  Yes they did.

Interviewer:                So, what did you do with that money that you save? I mean Ethiopian government saved for you when you return.

Translator:                  ስትመለሱ የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ያስቀመጥላችሁን እና ያን ገንዘብ ምን አደረጉበት? (What did you do with the money that the Ethiopian government saved for you when you returned?)

00:21:30

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ምን ትንሽ ገንዘብ ነው. ልብስ ትገዛበታለክ, ትዝናናበታለክ, አባት እናት አሉ ለዚህ ነው ምናውለውያው መዝናኛ ነው ያደረግነው ሌላ የለም. ትንሽ አንድ ቤት ሰርቼ ነበር የዛን ጊዜ እርካሽ ነው አንድ ቤት ሰራው በዛ ጊዜ. (It is not too much, we buy cloths, we have fun there is a mother and a father so we gave to them. Also I built a small house, it is cheap at that time.)

Translator:                  በተሰጠዎት ገንዘብ? (With the money you were given?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. (Yes.)

 

Translator:                  Okay, in that time it was not too much but we used to buy clothes,

00:22:00

…we used to have fun in that time when we go back and also there was a small house that I bought in that time. It was really cheap in that time.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ያን ጊዜ አዲስ ነገር ነው በታክሲ እንሄዳለን የወጣትነት ዘመን ነው. የወጣትነት ዘመን አሳለፍንበትበቃ. (We go by taxi at that time. It is a new thing travel by taxi then, we were young at that time.)

Translator:                  Because we were a teenager at that time, we used to have fun in that time. We used to go with taxi because taxi was new in that time.

Interviewer:                Ask him have you been back to Korea after the War?

Translator:                  ከጦርነቱ በኃላ ኮርያ ሄደው ጎብኝተው ያውቃሉ? (Have you ever visited Korea after the war?)

00:22:30

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ ሄጄ ነበር በ2010 አሁን. (Yes I went in 2017.)

Translator:                  Yes I was in Korea in 2017.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ለአንድ ሳምንት ሄጄ ጎብኝቻለው. (I went and visited for a week.)

Translator:                  For one week.

Interviewer:                Wow. So tell me when you go back 2017, what did you see, what did you think about the change?

Translator:                  ኮርያ ከሄዱ በኃላ በ2010 ላይ ማለት ነው ኮርያን ሲያዩአት ለውጡን ባዩ ጊዜ ምንድን ነበርየተሰማዎት እስኪ ንገሩን. (Tell us how you felt when you saw the change in Korea in 2017.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ ያ ሀገር ነው

00:23:00

…ለማለት አይቻልም በጣም በጣም ነው የተለወጠው. ይህን ያህል ፐርሰንት ማለት አይቻልም በጣም ተለውጧል. ያሀገር ነው የዛን ጊዜ የነበረ ሀገር ነው ለማለት አይቻልም እና በጣም ትልቅ ሀገር ሆኗል, ትልቅ ከተማ ሆኗል. የሰውም ኑሮበጣም የተራራቀ መሆኑን ታያለክ እና በጣም ትልቅ ሀገር ነው የሆነው በለው. (Yes, that country has changed a lot. I have no words to describe, it has changed a lot. It has become a very big country, it has become a big city. Their life is very different and luxury and it is a very big country.)

 

Translator:                  I cannot say that was the country

00:23:30

…we were in the war. I cannot say because there was so many things changed when we was there, so many city’s we have seen so i cannot say that was the country I have fought or I have sacrifice there.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እኛ አሁን ኢትዮጵያ የሶስት ሺህ አመት ዘመን በላይ አለን ብለናል እንግዲህ እናንተ በዚህ በሀምሳአመት ውስጥ ይህን ስራ ሰራቹ ማለት በጣም ይከብዳል. በጣም ይከብዳል እና የሀገራቹ ሰው ሰራተኛ መሆኑን,

00:24:00

…አዋቂ መሆናችሁን ይህን ነው የሚያሳየው እድገታችሁን በጣም አድንቂያለው እና እድገታቹ የሚያስጎመጅ ነው በጣምትልቅ ሀገር ሆኗል በለው. (We say Ethiopia is now more than three thousand years old, so it is very difficult to say that you have done this work in the last fifty years. It is very difficult and it shows that your people are hard workers and brave. I appreciate your progress.)

Translator:                  We had a three thousand years of history but you have the fifty years and then you show us with in fifty years you changed your country this much so I am really jealous and I hope our country will be like you so we are really jealous of you guys.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ግን አልበቃኝም ጉብኝቱ አልበቃኝም

00:24:30

…ቀኑ አጥሮኛል በለው. (I did not visit well, the day was short.)

Translator:                  I still want to see Korean.

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ብዙ ማየት ነበረብኝ. (I had to see a lot.)

Interviewer:                So when you left Korea in 1954, did you ever think that Korea will become like this today?

Translator:                  ያኔ ከኮርያ ጥለው ሲመጡ ማለት ጨርሰው ሲመጡ ስራዎትን ኮርያ አሁን ላይ እንዳዩአትትቀየራለች ብለው አስበው ያውቃሉ? (When you came from Korea, did you ever think that Korea would change as you see it now?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     ያን መቼም አንድ ሀገር

00:25:00

…በሂደት እንደሚለወጥ የታወቀ ነው ግን ይህን ያህል ታድጋለች ብዬ አልገመትኩም ነበረ እና ያን ጊዜ የነበረበትንዝቅተኛነት እና የነበረኝ ግምት አሁን ደሞ ሳይ ደሞ ያየሁት በጣም ይራራቃል. ሶስት አይነት እንትን ነው የፈጠረብኝአንደኛው ያንጊዜ የነበረው ዝቅተኛ ነው ሁለተኛ ይህን ያህል ትሻሻላለች ብዬ አልገመትኩም ነበረ እና ያየሁት ግንከገመትኩት በላይ ነው. (It is well known that a country will never change over time, but I did not expect it to grow so much, and it is far from what it was then and now. It made me feel special, one was at that time, the country was at low level and the second was that I never thought she would improve so much, but I saw more than I expected.)

Translator:                  Yes, I think about it to be honest

00:25:30

…but I did not expect this much but because every country developed through times but I did not expect Korea will be changed like now.

Interviewer:                So after you return to Ethiopia what was the kind of, is there any lesson or impact of your service in Korea during the war upon your life? There is those Korean War service affect you personally?

Translator:                  እርሶን የኮርያ ጦርነት

00:26:00

…እርሶን ብቻ ያስተማረዎት ነገር ህይወትዎት ላይ የቀየረው ነገር አለ? (Did the Korean War teach you something that changed your life?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ. የቀየረው ነገር ምንድን ነው ብዙ ነገር እንዳውቅ አድርጎኛል, ላገሬ እንዳይ አድርጎኛል በዛጦርነት ምክንያት ጃፓንን አይቻለው የጃፓን ህዝብ አይቻለው አሁን ደሞ ተመልሼ ኮርያን ሳይ ደግሞ አለምንእንደጎበኘው ነው ምቆጥረው እና ለውጥ በአይምሮ ውስጥ ጥልቅ ለውጥ አለኝ. ወታደር ባልገባ ኖሮ ይህን ሁሉ ሀገርአላይም ነበር እና ለውጥ አለው. በኢኮኖሚ ለውጥ ባይኖረውም በአይምሮዬ

00:26:30

…ሀገር በማየት, ነገሮችን በማሰብ ትልቅ ለውጥ ትልቅ ትምህርት ሰጥቶኛል. ማየት ትምህርት ነው. (Yes. What has changed has made me realize a lot. The country has seen me because of that war I have seen Japan I have seen the Japanese people. Now, when I see Korea, I think I have visited the world. If I had not joined the army, I would not have seen this whole country. Although it has not changed in the economically, but it does change mentally. It has taught me a great lesson in my mind, seeing the country. Seeing is a lesson.)

Translator:                  The Korean War rally affect my life I so many ways because I have the chance to see the country’s, I have the chance to see Japanese and the When I came back to Ethiopia I have even so many experiences with the country with the movement with the how the situation were in that time so

00:27:00

…it affect my life like this.

Interviewer:                So now what does Korean government do for the Korean War veterans in Ethiopia?

Translator:                  የኮርያ መንግስት አሁን ለኢትዮጵያ ዘማቾች ምንድን ነው ሚያረገው ወይም ለኢትዮጵያ ምንእያረገ ነው ያለው? (What is the Korean government doing now for Ethiopian soldiers or what is it doing for Ethiopia?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አሁን ሁለቱ ሀገሮች በጣም እየተደጋገፉ ነው እና ለኢትዮጵያ ዘማቾች ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ,ለዘማቾች ብቻ ሳይሆን ለኢትዮጵያ አደረገ ነው ምለው. ትምህርት ይሰጣል, ጡረታ

00:27:30

…ይሰጠናል እና ይሄ ወደ እያንዳንዱ ቤተሰብ ሲወርድ ለጠቅላላው ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ነው ያረገው ብዬ ነው ማስበውበለው. ሚደረገውን ድጋፍ ሁሉ ለኮርያ ዘማቾች ብቻ አይደለም ወደታች እየወረደ ሲሄድ ለብዙ ህዝብ ነው ለሀገሩ ህዝብነው ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ነው እየጠቀመ ያለው ወዳጅነታቹ እየጠቀመ ያለው ብዬ ነው ማስበው እና ለዘማቾች ብቻአይደለም. ይሄ አሁን

00:28:00

…ምናገኘው ገንዘብ በእለት የሚያልቅ ገንዘብ ነው ግን የሚሰጠን ወዳጅነት እና የሚሰጠን ትምህርት ወደ ስፋት ወደህዝብ ሲወርድ ብዙ ህዝብ እንትን እያለ ነው ሚሄደው. (The two countries are support each other and I say it is not only support for the veterans but also for the Ethiopian people. They give us education and they give us money. All the support is not only for the Korean veterans, but also for the people of the country. So our relationship is very strong.)

Translator:                  This two countries have been helping each other in so many ways I could say the Korea government is helping not only the Korean War veterans they are helping the Ethiopian people our country, so I am really great full. So our relationship will continue always.

00:28:30

Interviewer:                That is right you helped us and saved us and so that we were given opportunity to rebuild our nation. Now it is time for us to pay back to you and we grow together, we change together so I want to thank you on behalf of Korean nation for your honorable service.

Translator:                  እናንተ የዛን ጊዜ እረድታችሁናል እና አትርፋችሁናል ለዚህም ያበቃችሁን በእናንተ ምክንያት ነውእና አሁን ደሞ እኛም ጊዜያችን

00:29:00

…ነው ተራችን ነው እናንተን የመርዳት እና የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ሙሉ ለመርዳት ስለዚህ በኮርያ ህዝብ ተወክዬ በጣምላመሰግንዎት እፈልጋለሁ. (You helped and saved us then and it is because of you that we are here now and now it is our turn to help you and the whole Ethiopian people so I want to thank you on behalf of the Korean people.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ እኛ ወታደር ነን አሁን በኔ በኩል እርዳታ አልለውም እኔ ግዳጅ ነው የሄድነው እኛ. የወታደርግዳጅ የትም ታዘዝ ትዋጋለክ የእናንተ ግን በጎ አድራጎት ነው እኛ በጎ አድራጎት አይደለም የሄድነው በለው ግዳጃችንንነው

00:29:30

…እና የናንተ ይበልጣል የእናንተ እርዳታ ይበልጣል. እኛ በግዳጅ ነው የሄድነው የወታደር ግዳጅ ስለሆነ የትም መዋጋትስላለብን ነው እና እናንተን ብቻ ለመርዳት የወታደር ግዳጃችን ነው. ስለዚህ ያ በሂደት የሆነ ነው እናንተን የረዳነው እናአጋጣሚው ነው ወደእናንተ የመጣው እንጂ የትም ሀገር ብንታዘዝ እንዋጋለን ወታደር ይዋጋል

00:30:00

…የትም ሄዶ እና ያ ነው የናንተ በጣም ሰብአዊነት ነው የናንተ በጣም ነው ማደንቀው እናመሰግናቹሀለን. (Yes, we are a soldiers. Now I did not say it is help, it is our duty. When you are a solider, you fight wherever you go so, it is our duty to fight for you but yours support is a charity. But our fighting is not a charity, it is duty so yours support is more than anything. And your support is show your humanity, I appreciate it so much, thank you.)

Translator:                  So in that time you know we are soldiers so we have to do anything for every country even if it is not Korea but we was supposed to go anywhere so but you did not forget what we have done because that was our job to do but it was not your job to help

00:30:30

…Ethiopia but still we are really thankful for that.

Interviewer:                Excellent, thank you and next year is 70 anniversary, do you have any special message? Anything that you want to say to the Korean people.

Translator:                  የሚቀጥለው አመት ሰባኛው ክብረ በአል ነው እና ማንኛውንም መናገር እና ማስተላለፍየሚፈልጉት መልዕክት ለኮርያ ህዝብ ካለ? (Next year is the 70th anniversary and if there is any message you want to say and convey to the Korean people?)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     አዎ እንግዲህ አንድ የሀገር…

00:31:00

…ህዝብ ሀገሩን መውደድ እንዳለበት ነው ማስተላልፈው መልዕክት. አንድ ህዝብ ሀገሩን መውደድ አለበት, መንግስትመውደድ አለበት, አንድ መሆን አለበት. በተለይ በወታደር ውስጥ ያለው ክፍል የወታደሩ ክፍል ሀገሩን ሊያኮራ ይገባል እናሀገር የሚከበረው በወታደር ነው.

00:31:30

…ሀገር የሚከበረው በሲቪል ሰርቪሱ ነው በሚማር ህዝብ ነው እና ይህን ካነሳክ አንድ ነገር ልል እፈልጋለው ኢትዮጵያጦርነትን የተማረችበት ከጦርነት ነው. ኢትዮጵያ ጀግና የሆነችበት በጦርነት ነው, ግፍ በመቀበል ነው. ስለዚህ ጦርነትጦርነትን ያስተምራል እና ከሁሉ በፊት

00:32:00

…ሀገርን የመጠበቅ ነገር ነው  ኢኮኖሚ ከዛ በኃላ ነው መብላት መጠጣትም ከዛ በኃላ ነው መልበስም ከዛ በኃላ ነው.የመጀመሪያው ሀገርን መጠበቅ ነው ይህን ነው ማስተላልፈው. (Yes, the message is that a people should love their country. A people must love their country and the government and they must be one. The military in particular should be proud his country and the country is honored by the military. The country is honored by the people who are educated in the civil service and if you mention this, I want to say one thing, Ethiopia has learned war from war. Ethiopia became a hero through war, by accepting oppression. So war teaches war and first of all it is about protecting the country. Economy is after that eating and drinking is after that and dress is after that. The first is to protect the country.)

Translator:                  The thing I want to say for the people of the Korea is you have to love each other as you are now. So first you have to keep your Nation because the first thing is to protect your country from anything so you have to be united.

00:32:30

…So we have to also learn about how to be united from you. Ethiopia study war in the war so war teaches you war so you have to be protected each other’s, you have to protect your people, and you have to be protect your brothers.

Interviewer:    Thank you again sir for your time and you did honorable service for the Korean people and hope that we can work together thank you.

Translator:                  ድንቅ ስራ ነው ኮርያ ላይ የሰሩት እና

00:33:00

…ለዛም በጣም እጅግ አድርጌ አመሰግናለው. (You have done a great job in Korea and I thank you very much for that.)

Seyoum W/Tsadik:     እሺ እኔም አመሰግናለው. ጋምሳሜዳ. (Okay, thank you too. Gamsameda.)

 

[End of Recorded Material]