ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- Some writers have the power to explore hidden stories and to reveal those stories in the language their society understands. They create this kinship between their society and the readers and they influence people for better or worse. One of the Ethiopian writers who have won many fans with his writing talent is Hailemelekot Mewael, a man who spent more than half of his life in writing and teaching.

Many students call him ‘Memhir’ [teacher] as he also likes to be referred as. But he also became one of the propounding writers of our time - a man who believes in telling his society stories in their own language and ways.

He got critical acclaim with his two published books ‘Yewodianesh’ and ‘Gungun’, also because his books transcend the typical generational gap.
“I write about aspects of life, which I know. I don’t know about the luxurious life in Addis, but I know about my neighbourhood. So I describe that beautifully.” Hailemelekot comments.

For him writing is an innate thing. The opportunity to explore his passion for writing in Amharic language came when he started working for the ‘Ethiopian Workers Voice’, a newspaper under the Ethiopian Workers Association. Before that experience his icebreaking texts were written in Tigrinya language when he used to live in Asmara, the city where he grew up.

He wrote two unpublished books entitled with ‘Tselemt Mekenat’ (Black Belt) and ‘Gahsas Sikay’ [The Miserable Grave]. He also translated the renowned opus “Othello” written by William Shakespeare as well as the literary compositions of Francis Bacon and different Russian writers into Tigrinya language.

He also discovered a new profession in teaching, which he cherishes much like writing. This writer became a teacher in a private school in the 1970s. Together with some colleagues he formed an association for the private school teachers, because he realized that teachers’ treatment was unfair. The newspaper became the voice for their fight against the abuse of workers and the injustice imposed on teachers. He muses over his biggest accomplishment having abolished this specific injustice.

“These private schools were possessed by the government that changed everything. Our burden was eased and it still makes me happy”, remembers Hailemelekot.

Besides teaching he continuously translated books into Amharic language, for example the works ‘The Arabian Powder’ and ‘The Alchemist’ and writing several stories of the day-to-day life of his own society.

One single moment could become inspiration for his creation of ‘Yewodianesh’. He saw a baby deserted in nowhere and it got him reflecting about people, who leave their children. So he wrote ‘Yewodianesh’. In this book he tells a story of a young girl named Yewodianesh, who works as a housemaid and falls in love with the house owner’s son called Getaneh. Their love couldn’t be accepted by his parents, who believe in family lineage. Hailemelekot portrayed different myths and beliefs of the surrounding society, and the author describes he persistence of Getahun to love this girl despite his parent’s willingness.

“Many girls migrate to the cities for a better life and most of the girls get raped. Yewodianesh is just one of those many girls. In reality you can find worse stories than that.”

The outbreak of the revolution of 1974 forced him to quit his writing on ‘Yewodianesh’ and to join the struggle. During that time he shifted his reading interest into the philosophies of Marx and Lenin. He joined EPRP and was imprisoned for three months. After he got out of jail he wasn’t allowed to work as a teacher, so he moved back to his birthplace Semien Shoa (Majete) and started to labour as a farmer for quite some years. This imprinting experience let him looking back into the times of his early childhood and the era of his ancestors. He exposed his attachment to Mother Nature, what encouraged him to write his second book.

Many years later he started to work on ‘Yewodianesh’ again, so he edited some passages while he was employed in a garage. Because of his former political involvement he couldn’t work in better positions. After finishing his book he kept his creation for quite some time. When he showed it to his close friend they encouraged the writer to print the manuscript. His book was approved for publishing but the censorship limited his creation and forced him to destroy one of his characters at the end.

“As you know the Derg was a ‘socialist government’ and my book ended with reconciliation. The book editors told me there is no class reconciliation between the lower and affluent class. That would be an ideology problem, because the working class should be the winner. The problem occurred to me in questioning how to kill the main figure. I thought about it and finally I decided to let the character pass away through natural death.”

While looking back he still feels sad about.

‘Yewodianesh’ became the hit back then even if he didn’t benefit financially. It introduced him to many Ethiopian great writers like Sibhat Gebreegziabher, Demissie Tsige, Base Habte, Mesfin Alemayehu, Seyoum Tefera and they founded a reading club.

“Those writers in our club used to read for an audience what they wrote. I was just observing the scene but after a while it was my turn to read my story. At the beginning I was reading translations only. I did so to keep up with them. I had to write more of my original stories.”

His second book was conceived because he had to read for the other writers. In his second book ‘Gungun’ he traced back to his birthplace Majete and went back to his childhood memories. But he didn’t feel that the story material would be complete. So he had to return to Majete together with Sibhat Gebreegziabhere for verifying the facts and for observing the lifestyles of those villagers.

‘Gungun’ is story of the lives among local people. It clearly illustrates the relationship between landlords and peasants personified in the two characters called Mindaye and Kejazmach. Mindaye is portrayed in his loyalty, and beside that the daily struggle of all peasants and workers is focused as a harsh contradiction. His unique literary style of storytelling and his exceptional usage of language brought him fame and admiration. And the representation of rural characters using typical dialects was not only refreshing but also symbol of a new writing style.

Even if he published 40,000 copies of his book he received only 13% of the total selling price of 7.5 birr for each exemplar.

He had to face the same resistance against the storyline in his second book ‘Gungun’. The editors again asked him to change the end of the narration, but this time he couldn’t change it.

“Mindaye was a loyal person to Kegnazmach Belayneh for decades. The same goes for Kegnazmach. He loves him and considers him as a friend. When they finally met Kegnazmach who became a captive felt pity and gave him his coat. It is not about a class struggle, it’s about humanity. Killing is the last solution for people. So if I was Mindaye, I would have done the same thing”, reveals Hailemelekot.

Now after many decades he feels satisfied with his decision of not having changed the finale end of his story.

Most of his characters seem real, because he constructs the figures inspired by living persons of the society he knows.

“There was a farmer I liked a lot, which I named Mindaye later in my book ‘Gungun’. Mindaye and his wife shared this unique love in my book. Even the real persons who inspired my literary process, were amazing and I couldn’t describe their love in words.”

After his two publications he revived himself being a journalist. He also served as deputy editor in chief for ‘efoyta magazine’ for many years. After working for a governmental office for some years he restarted teaching, what he loves deeply, because he enjoys to share his experience and his knowledge with students.
Many people see a similarity between him and the acclaimed writer Dagnachew Worku and he likes it.

‘‘We are from the same place and our usage of language as well as our narrating technique is quite similar. And the book ‘Adefris’ is always on my table beside the bible. One of the Ethiopian writers I admire is Birhanu Zerihun. I met him once for ten minutes when he was still alive. But I was not able to greet him.’
Nowadays he is not so far from creative writing, because he freelances for magazines and consults amateur writers.

After many decades ‘Yewodianesh’ will be reprinted again. The writer plans to publish his collection and wants to print a book for children. “I want to tell the folklores and pass the forgotten stories of the society to the new generation.”

In a technology era where people are surfing the internet and watching films it becomes a challenge for many authors to create literature. But Hailemelekot suggests writers should overcome this competition. He asks the media which broadcast soccer matches to broadcast book readings, discussions and book reviews. Even if many people complain about the generation gap and exaggerate the good old times, Hailemelekot has hope for the new generation and the writing skills of the younger ones.

‘There are good writers and there are the other ones. It’s not good to hasty generalize everything. Leo Tolstoy said: instead of writing 500 pages you should write 800 words. It shouldn’t be in a rush. The authors have to look at it carefully. There is a vibrant young generation, which is close to information. The writers should look closely to the society’s life style, so they will gain a deep knowledge about the society and the language.’ concludes Hailemelekot