BY ESSEYE MENGISTE
ADDIS ABABA– A noted Nigerien journalist Rahmatou Keita appealed for Ethiopians and other Africans to support her quest of making Amharic among the official languages of the African Union (AU).
In a press briefing she gave here yesterday, Keita, who is also a film director, noted that she has waged a struggle for seven years to make Ethiopia’s working language be used by the continental body. “Now I need due support from all corners to list Amharic as one of the official languages of the Union. Africans should protect their treasures, among which Amharic is the one.”
Explaining her motive to pursue such a campaign, she indicated that Amharic is Ethiopia’s indigenous language and is widely spoken in other African countries including Eritrea, Djibouti, and Northern Kenya. Besides, Ethiopia is the seat of the AU and has a special place in African independence movements.
In a letter submitted to the Rwandan President, Keita pleaded with the latter to help the campaign to make Amharic on
the list of the AU’s official languages. She reminded the president how Africans innocently failed to pay due attention to the issue of utilizing their languages in arenas where they regularly get together for common agenda.
She brought to the attention of her addressees an incident that occurred some six decades back. “At the time of the creation of the African Union Organization in 1963, presided by Emperor Haileselassie, Amharic was put aside in regard to the fact that it was spoken in a restricted amount and only in Ethiopia.”
During the media briefing, a Historian Taye Bogale stated that supporting the journalist’s campaign and going hand in hand with her would make Amharic one of the official languages of the AU. Amharic is not merely attached to the Amhara community; it is the language of all Ethiopians.
Keita is also doing her best to put Amharic in the limelight. In 2016, one of her seminal works, “The Wedding Ring,” movie was released and she used Amharic writing post-credit (closing credits).
Available sources indicated that Amharic was widely spoken in Ethiopia from the 9thcentury onwards and became a state language in the 14th century. Serving as the official working language of the Ethiopian Federal Government, Amharic, one of the ancient languages in the world, is spoken by over 100 million people.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2023
