What would you do if you felt exiled in a place you call home? What measures would you take if you felt excluded from the community you believe you belong to? If you found yourself with nowhere to escape to, trapped in a space where your oppressors reside, what steps could you take? How do you cope with being excluded from your own home affairs? What actions might you take if you felt like a mere observer of events unfolding in your home? When feeling helpless, encircled by cultural and political hegemonic beliefs, how do you respond? What is the last resort you consider when you feel like an exile in your own city?
Questions ... Too many questions…
Ever unanswered ... Ever un-analysed…
Questions … becoming the only answer to endure … to prolong life
What would you do if your neighbourhood is enveloped in a profound silence, galvanised by state power and repression? What would you do if your own neighbour is spying on you? If your friend is spying on you? Even if your sibling is spying on you? What would you do when uninterrupted silence surrounds you, haunting you in a relentless cycle with its piercing presence?
What would you do when the very trust that binds your community is stolen?
What would you do if silence became your only companion? Would you embrace it? Would you dance with it? Would you converse with it? Would you remain quiet alongside it? Would you rebel against it? Would you find a way to act with it? Would you challenge authority with it? Would you confront evil with it? Would you listen to it, so quietly ... so loudly?
HAUNTING SILENCES
In Ethiopia's communal society, communication is crucial for sharing daily life during various traditional and cultural events. However, systemic repression and political hegemony have forced the community into silence, a powerful alternative form of communication. This haunting silence is reflective of the political repression that has occurred over the years.
A historical parallel occurred in the late nineteenth century, when Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II, upon facing a complete silence from citizens protesting exorbitant taxes, chose to negotiate peace. Remarkably, it was their silence, not their frequent previous verbal complaints, that prompted his response to make peace with them.
It all started with a poem
የጸጥታ ወግ
Tales of Silence: A Poem in Three Languages (Amharic, English and German). Translated by Nebiy Mekonnen, Eric Ellingsen, Chris Beckett and Rike Scheffler.
‘’የጸጥታ ወግ’’
በጸጥታ መኃል…. አርምሞ ለሰማ
ጸጥታ ወግ አለው…. ሚኒሊክ እንዳለው
አሁን እኔና አንተ… አሁን አንተና እኔ ካወራነው ሁላ
የትኛው ተወዶ… የትኛው ተጠላ ?፤
ይሄው ከላይ መንደር
ሰው ከቀየው ጋራ… እንዳይነጋገር
ወገኛው ወዳጄ…. ለራሱም ያልበጄ
ወግ ለሌለው ሃሳብ …ወግ እያሳደደ
የመንደሬውን ሃቅ …ቁርሾ እያደረገ
ኮሽ ባለ ቁጥር …. ስንት ማቲ አስፈጄ ? ?
ኽረ እንዴት ነው ጎበዝ …ምንድነው ባገሬው እየሆነ ያለው…
ይሄኛው ከተማ…መኃል ሀገር ያለው
የሚለው እያለው… ለምን ነው ዝም ያለው ?
እያልኩ ደጋግሜ…. እሞገተዋልሁ
ታሪክ ላጣ ቀዬ… ታሪክ እመዛለሁ
እንደዚህ እላለሁ……
በጸጥታ መሃል… አርምሞ ለሰማ ….
ጸጥታ ወግ አለው… ሚኒሊክ እንዳለው፤
እንግዲህ ሃሳቤ… በሃሳብ ተቀጣ
ስንት ንጉስ ይንገስ…ስንት ድግስ ይውጣ
ጸጥ ያለው መንደሬ ….ተንጦ ተንጦ ቅቤ እንዲያወጣ ?፤
አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ… ያልተተነተነ ብርቱ ጥያቄ አለኝ
ጸጥ እረጭ እያለ …ቀየው ያወጋኛል
በዝምታው መሃል… ታሪክ ይነግረኛል
ታሪክ እየበላ ….ታሪኬን ነጥቆኛል፤
ሳንጃው ጎረቤቴም እንዲህ ያወጋኛል……
“የድሮ ዝምታ የድሮ ዝምታ
ለንጉስ መብረቅ ነው ለአምላክ ሹክሹክታ”
እያለ እያስባለ…ተስፋ ያስቆርጠኛል
ኑሮየን በነበር … በዜሮ እያጣፋ….
ትረካውን ነግሮ ….ታሪክ የማይሰራ ትውልድ ያደርገኛል፤
እኔ ግን እዚያው ነኝ …እኔ ግን እዚያው ነኝ
ከከተማው መሃል …ከተማ ጠፍቶብኝ
ሰርክ የምፋለመው ብርቱ ጥያቄ አለኝ፤
“ኽረ አንተ ከተማ …ኽረ አንተ ከተማ
ጸጥ ካለው መንደርህ… ከቅኔው ገጽህ ላይ…. ወርቁን እንዲያወጣ
ስንት ዘመን እንፍጂ…. ስንት ሀሳብ ይቀጣ ጸጥታ ሚያዳምጥ…ንጉስ እስኪመጣ ? ? ?”
SAGWN, ÜBER DIE STILLE
Translation from the English by Rike Scheffler
Dieses Gedicht. Dieses Gedicht handelt, ist
das Gegenteil und das Gleiche, wie Mihrets Gedicht: Inhalt und Veränderung werden vermischt.
Dieses Gedicht entsteht durch das, was es sagt, das es ist, wenn es fragt: Geliebte, Stadt,
was bist du so still?
Dieses Gedicht spricht, von Menelik, dem König. Von Gold und Ideen, Butter, Stolz und Milch.
Dieses Gedicht lässt Verstimmtes, Geschichte in sich, lässt die Stille nicht zu, nimmt sie auf.
Dieses Gedicht ruft nach allen Bürgerinnen
und Bürgern einer Stadt, als seien sie einer oder eine. Dieses Gedicht ist selbst eine Stadt, eine Sage,
die nach Worten klagt, um für Verlorene,
auf Wahrheit zu bauen: mit Wegen, Häusern, Hühnern, Kühltruhen, Händen und dem sanften Mond,
mit Abendlicht und Zähnen, Zungen, Zäunen und Injera-Brot. Diese Stadt, sie brütet, hütet sich, fragt
nach den Stimmen: Wieso sind sie so still?
Dieses Gedicht ist voller Liebe.
Es beruht auf Klängen, Kehllauten, einem warmen Vokal, und sehr vielen I’s.
Dieses Gedicht ist Addis Abeba. Ist Ankara. Athen. Alabama. Jakata. Aber auch Wien. Es schämt sich nicht, es trägt das Gold, von dem es spricht.
Dieses Gedicht handelt, wie Butter, Sahne und Milch,
vom richtigen Filtern und Schütteln: vom Frei Schütteln, Auf Schütteln Aus Schütteln Um Schütteln Wach Schütteln Nach Schütteln, Vor Schütteln Voll Schütteln Voll –
Dieses Gedicht fragt nach Königen, wie nach großen Ideen. Es macht die Stimmen zum König. Macht
mächtig,
macht Macht. Es handelt vom Handeln, aus der Stille. Dieses Gedicht ist nicht still.
TALES ABOUT SILENCE
#evolutionarypoems1 2015
This is a version based on a translation of a poem by Mihret Kebede from Amharic into English by Nebiy Mekonnen and Eric Ellingsen, then from English into German by Rike Scheffler, then back into English by Chris Beckett.
This poem is an act which is the opposite but also the same as Mihret’s poem. Stability and change are all mixed up in it.
This poem exists through what it says, it is the thing it asks when it asks: My dear, my city, why are you so silent?
This poem speaks about Menelik the king, about gold and ideas, butter, pride and milk.
This poem leaves the out-of-tune, the history of itself out, it does not allow silence in, it takes silence up.
This poem calls to all citizens, female and male, she or he.
This poem is itself a city, a tale, which pleads for words, for the lost, to build on truth: with roads, houses, chickens, freezers, hands and the soft moon, with evening light and teeth, tongues, fences and Injera. This city broods, watches out, it asks the voices, why are you so quiet?
This poem is full of love.
It rests on sounds, gutturals, a warm vocal and many many I’s.
This poem is Addis Ababa, is Ankara, Athens and Jakarta, but also Vienna.
It is not ashamed; it carries the gold of what it says.
This poem acts like butter, cream, milk, with filtering and shaking, freely shaking up and out and round, shaking awake and after and before, it is full of full shakings – this poem asks about kings like big ideas. It makes a king out of voices. It makes powerful, makes power.
It acts out of the act of silence.
This poem is not quiet.
TALES OF SILENCE
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2016
This audiovisual piece was created through an experimental process utilising sound waves recorded during interviews conducted in Addis Ababa. By asking the question, ‘how is life?’, I received responses marked by fear and self-censorship. Emotions were concealed, yet visible gestures and restlessness revealed underlying doubts about the uncertain environment.
The erosion of trust within our community spurred my investigation. Fear has resulted in widespread silence throughout the country. These interviews captured a range of expressions, uncovering many untold realities. To protect the interviewees, the visual interpretations became the final outcome of the exhibition, which itself illustrates the extent of such repression.
The artwork visualises these recorded sounds, depicting a spectrum of expression from strong to soft, anger to omission, truth to uncertainty, and even the silent moments, each carrying its own meaning. These silences are products of state violence and repression, which have become a powerful form of resistance. Silence, as a political act, has driven the government to take desperate and arbitrary measures – including imprisonment and torture – culminating in the significant revolution of 2016.
THE LIMITS OF SILENCE
Le Gaité Lyrique, Paris, France, 2018
This collaboration features the talents of jazz musicians Melissa Laveaux, renowned for her skills as a vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and composer, and Nathalie Ahadji, a distinguished horn/sax player hailing from Paris.
The limits of silence is to the beginning of noise, the beginning of noise is the revival of silence
Following the introduction of so-called free speech and release of political prisoners as the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed took power — which ironically only lasted months — this performance is a significant component of an ongoing project dedicated to revisiting the censored words found within poems written under the #evolutionarypoems series. Through an experimental and creative process, a new poem was written and recited from the censored words, with an attempt to amplify repressed and silenced voices. These poems traverse the delicate balance between the spoken word and silence.
THE ECONOMY OF PRESENCE
Kulturehaus Brotfabrik, Vienna, Austria, 2023
A collaborative performance with Masimba Hwati, featuring guest artists Princess Esohe and Whitney Akpetsi.
This performative intervention reclaims a space where knowledge flows through complex languages and texts, often using technology to spread specific ideologies. Here, stereotypes can become tools of resistance for self-preservation. In the pursuit of political change, every revolution begins within and around silence. Silence is not an empty void but holds communicative power.
In this intervention, the outcome is predetermined: refusal becomes self-preservation. Choosing words and tone carefully may stem from fear, yet it can also inspire fear. The issue is complex, not either/or, but a distinct stance of rejection — refusing to be interpreted, understood, or pigeonholed. This performance encourages the audience to see silence as a form of resistance, not as the absence of speech but as a presence of authenticity.