The Story of A student | Human of Oromia

During the unwarranted search, special forces demanded information while periodically assaulting his family members, severely injuring his mother and sister.

Tadele Belay had the potential to be an amazing doctor, lawyer, or engineer. But all that was taken away from him simply for being Oromo. Belay was born in 2003 in a small town of Akayu in the Horogurdru Wollega zone. He comes from a small, simple and loving family that inspired him and encouraged his successes. This shone through in Belay’s studies as a high school student at Alibo Preparatory School in Jardaga Jarte Woreda of the Horogurdru Wollega zone. Belay was just days away from his scheduled 12^th grade national exam; an important moment that would determine his graduation. He aspired to do great things after high school, a dream that came to an untimely end due to the  intensified crackdown against the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) by government forces.  

On March 5^th 2021, Belay left a church service and was catching up with friends at a local barbershop when security special forces arrived on the scene. They immediately began accusing Belay of having ties with OLA and detained him for further questioning. While in the custody of security special forces, Belay was brutally beaten before being taken back to his family’s home. There, security forces began to ransack his house, searching for evidence or weapons to justify the human rights violations they were committing. During the unwarranted search, special forces demanded information while periodically assaulting his family members, severely injuring his mother and sister. After finding no evidence, special forces shot Belay in his family homes, bringing his short life to an end.

Belay was a young man with so much to offer the world. Now we will never get to see what he could have become.

This is the horrific story of Tadele Belay.

“Humans of Oromia are being brutally beaten, raped, murdered and held in detention centers for just simply being Oromo. Follow us as we take you on a journey through their untold horror stories.”