Who are the Oromo?
They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, numbering 31 million, and they are the subject of a new report, “Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of the Oromo Diaspora,” prepared by The Advocates for Human Rights, based in Minneapolis. The report describes how the Oromo began immigrating to Minnesota from their homeland 30 years ago, and in the process explains why, despite their mostly successful assimilation, they remain relatively little-known here. The report dramatically reveals the Oromo’s unshareable – until now – secret. First, though, a warning. This column contains language that represents an awful reality, an affliction that at first may seem distant from us, but is actually as near to us as our neighbors — that fellow at the football game, the woman at the mall. State Power So there is a chance that while reading these words you might all at once realize that this wound is open and burning today in Minnesota, which in turn might draw forth sadness from the deeps a
