91Èȱ¬

This is the 'feedel' of the sound 'yu' in the Ethiopian Amharic language. The feedel is from a marble slab with the words "Haile Selassie University'. When Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1975 the university was renamed 'Addis Ababa University'. The slab was torn down, broken up into pieces and thrown into a neglected corner of the campus at 'Sidist Kilo' in Addis Ababa. My wife and I taught at Addis Ababa University in 1984/5 and came across the marble in undergrowth. We retrieved one of the feedel (letters), cut it to a rectangle, and have kept it in our home since. The Marxist regime that overthrew Halie Selassie tried to remove all public recognition of the emperor, including signage. Many students were killed by the new regime (and the old one); many of those we taught ended up in the army and lost their lives in the civil war. This marble feedel is a reminder of the loss of young lives for revolutionary 'causes' when they should have enjoyed the liberty and freedom of education.