"I just want to touch the land"

Belayhun Kassa, 54, is a security guard at the Beta Israel Primary Community School in Gondar.  

What were you doing before you arrived in the city of Gondar?

I was a farmer in a small village about 170 kilometers from the city; I produced cotton and sesame. I paid taxes, about 20-30 BIRR a year. In a good year, I would make about 20-30,000 BIRR but when the weather failed us, I would made around 3-4,000 BIRR. I came to Gonday city 16 years ago when I heard that God planned to deliver His promise — that we would go to the Holy Land. I  started working at this school as a security guard five years ago. I have been waiting to go to Isreal now for 16 years.

I must say that it is a harder life here in Gondar. It has been harder for me to find my feet. Over the years, Jews have married Christians and Muslims so that they could purchase land as they could not do this themselves as Jews. But when Judaism was revived due to the opportunity to go to Israel, many people, mainly farmers from the countryside came to Gondar. But because of the difficultly finding a job in Gondar, many of these people have starved and died. We have held Jewish funeral ceremonies at the Jewish cemetery for them here in Gondar. 

Have you always been Jewish?

I knew I was Jewish from a young age. The children from nearby villages would tease us, calling us Falashas. This is a derogatory word, meaning 'foreigner'. Being Falasha is a shameful, so they used it as a joke. This is how I knew that I was Jewish. 

My father’s grandfather also kept Jewish custom. My grandfather used to tell us that Ethiopia is not our home that Israel is our Homeland. He said it is not likely that he will go to Israel, but that our sons and daughters and our grandchildren will. He said that it would take some time, but our family would one day get there.

Where are your children?

I have two children and they are both in Israel. I told the Jewish Agency administrators that my mother’s mother was Christian when I registered for aliyah. The Israeli Government believes that we are not Jewish if our mother is not Jewish., but this is not true. We believe the Jewish blood is in the father, not the mother. Even if the Israeli Government says that we will not go to Israel, God will deliver us there. Just like God released us when we were slaves in Egypt, God will take us to Israel today.

Do you speak to your children? 

I am in good contact with my children in Israel. They cry when we speak, they don’t listen to what I say. When they call, I am upset. Sometimes I cry. I do not eat on this day.

Will you remain here after the close of Operation Dove’s Wings?

I will die here, even if I do not go to Israel. There is a synagogue in Gondar, where I pray 2-3 times a day. I have no life back in the village. The people who are truly Jewish in Gondar have nowhere else to go, that is why we stay here in Gondar city. Even when there is little work and many of us would be better off as a farmer in the countryside, we will stay here. 

The other reason why we do not go back to home village that here, there is equality of religion. Jewish children have the opportunity to go to school. The countryside is still plagued by backward thinking. In the old days, the Jewish people were not allowed to purchase land and so they learnt to fight the enemy, the Christians, with magic. They fought with the power of the evil eye. So if I return to my village, they will know that I am Jewish and they will blame all the town's misfortunes on me. If a baby is sick for example, they will blame me. But here in the town, people are more educated and they do not discriminate like this.

What is the most important thing to you?

Firstly, I would like to go good for others. Worshipping God, the Creator of the universe is the best thing to do. Believing and trusting in God is the solution. It is very important that I go to Israel. It is not because in Israel I will become literate, have more money, or because it is safer, but because it is my right to go to Jerusalem and touch the land. I know there are people demonstrating in Israel to bring their families from Ethiopia to Israel. They are fighting for us.