 |
| Bete Golgotha Mikael [Picture: UNESCO, © Aezana Yohannes] |
ADDIS ABABA, DECEMBER 03, 2021 - The Ambassador of France to Ethiopia, Rémi Maréchaux, on Monday, met with Dr. Belete Molla, the Minister of Innovation and Technology, to announce plans to resume the renovation project of the rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela, a 13th-century monolithic cave Church dubbed the 'New Jerusalem' located at the heart of Ethiopia.
French Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, officially launched the renovation project of the rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela, a World Heritage site, in September 2019. The renovation was being undertaken with funding and technical support from the French Government.
This decision from France to resume its work comes just a day after Ethiopia announced the liberation of Lalibela town from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) terrorists.
The French Ambassador, who met the Minister of Innovation and Technology, emphasized France’s desire to strengthen the 125 years of relationship with Ethiopia. He expressed his country’s willingness to work with Ethiopia in the technology sector especially in the space science and digitalization sector.
 |
| The Church of Saint George [Picture: UNESCO] |
Nevertheless, many Ethiopians are skeptical of France’s sudden appearance as Ethiopia’s friend because of its reservations from condemning the TPLF massacre which was committed in Afar and Amhara region which the United Nations Human Rights Commission attested to.
Just a week ago France was putting pressure on Ethiopia when it was urging its citizens to leave the country without delay heeding to the TPLF’s claim that it was approaching Addis Ababa. Although, the Ethiopian government said TPLF’s statements were not true, France ignored Ethiopia’s call for calm and joined in the scaremongering frenzy led by the United States (US) Embassy in Addis.
Ethiopia’s State Minister at the Ministry of Peace, Taye Dendea, criticized the US Embassy for causing huge damage on Ethiopia’s economy just by painting a picture that the seat of the African Union (AU), Addis Ababa, is nearing imminent destruction. The French Embassy was also involved in this madness albeit not as loud as the US.
In August 2021, France had also abandoned Ethiopia when it sought for assistance. The two had made an agreement for military cooperation in which France would loan 100 million USD to Ethiopia in order to build a navy. However, France went back on its promise to assist Ethiopia reportedly due to its concern over PM Abiy Ahmed’s leadership in handling the Tigray conflict.
Ethiopians can renovate the rock-hewn Church themselves
It is not just the French that are facing skepticism but the also the Italian-built thick metal rod shelters covering the rock-hewn Churches.
In 2008, four protective shelters were erected over five of the rock-hewn Churches supposedly to protect them from weathering, in particular water infiltration from the roofs.
Initially presented as temporary, these shelters, which have been a matter of concern to the World Heritage Committee since the project’s introduction in 2006, now represent a challenging issue affecting the Churches and community of Lalibela, says the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Many residents and religious leaders of Lalibela town have complained repeatedly that the metal rods are causing immense damage to the ancient world heritage sites.
“There was not a single night that my father forgot to tell me stories about the rock-hewn Churches. I would rather die than see them collapse”, said Deacon Henok Yemanu in a town meeting held in November, 2017.
The Italian-built shelters that are supposed to protect some of the Churches have earned the anger of residents who believe they are ugly and fear that they could collapse at any moment.
Deacon Muchie Deribie, also a resident of Lalibela town, said, the daily laborers who built the shelter were not trained and they were dropping metals and you can see the crack on MedhaneAlem and Ammanuel Churches.
“The resident of the town may not have knowledge of science. But the one who built these Churches had spiritual knowledge. The residents objected the construction of the shelters because they knew it had problems but they were threatened and silenced,” said Abune Ermias, Patriarch of North Wollo Zone.
“We don’t have to be engineers. It is enough that we are Ethiopians and residents of this town to foresee the challenges. They told us the shelters were only for five years but they cheated us”, added the Patriarch.
He said it is better for the rock-hewn Churches to face the weathering than carry the metal rods because the former takes effect through time but the latter leads to a faster damage.
“Ethiopians should come up with the solution. The solution must come from Ethiopian experts. We must stress on this. They distracted us. As a religious institution and as a government, they distracted us. The fact that it was registered by UNESCO and the idea that it receives protection has left us in slumber”, said Abune Ermias.
 |
| Abune Ermias speaking at a community discussion event in Lalibela town, 2017 |
UNESCO sent an Advisory mission to Lalibela in 2018 which stressed the necessity to remove the shelters, after the necessary conservation works to the Churches are carried out.
With all the trials the 800 year old rock-hewn Churches faced by the hands of the so-called western experts, it is high time that the Ethiopian government gives the opportunity to renovate the 13th century Churches to Ethiopian experts and the local community, who are the true owners.
It is in line with the objective of the #NoMore campaign, which promotes Ethiopians and Africans solving their own challenges, to advocate solving the dilemma of Lalibela's rock-hewn Churches without outside interference.
Comments
Post a Comment