Falls Church, Virginia— This release serves to inform our community that the Inauguration Day “Save Oromo” rally, organized to highlight human rights violations occurring in Ethiopia, has been postponed due to security concerns. OLLAA wants to assure all of our members and followers who had planned to attend this event that we are evaluating all possible alternatives to get our voices heard without endangering your security.
We understand that this is an extremely difficult time for our community. Many of us have been adversely affected by the health and economic consequences of the global pandemic. During this time of unprecedented suffering, we pray calm comes to the United States. Unfortunately, as we have seen in Ethiopia, the pandemic has served to give an opportunity for dictators to oppress their people. Now more than ever proactive activism is needed to fight the spread of totalitarianism. Though we can not rally in person, we ask that you consider taking the following actions to raise awareness for human rights issues facing Oromos:
- Save the date to attend the youth virtual workshop on January 17, 2021
- This will be an interactive conversation as we create action plans
- Reach out to your representative to let them know what is going on in Ethiopia
- We must engage our representatives to ensure that they are aware of events. Email them with news, articles, or OLLAA reports. Templates are available on our website, OLLAA.ORG, which can be used to contact your elected representatives.
- Keep an eye out for additional announcements regarding 2021 activities
- Sign up to become an OLLAA member and stay connected with current events, content, and articles relevant to Oromos. (Please reach out to us if you have signed up for the mailing list and have yet to receive an email)
Finally, while we have invested significant funds, time, and energy planning this Inauguration Day event, the safety of our community and the wellbeing of our country is our priority. We wish President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, and everyone a safe and happy Inauguration Day.
Regards,
OLLAA’s event organizing committee