Earlier this summer, the FOM Steering Committee was invited to speak at the American Association of Italian Studies annual conference in Sassari, Italy. Specifically, we were welcomed as keynote speakers at the plenary session of this three-day academic forum where academics, researchers, educators, and students from the Italian studies departments of many North American universities as well as Italian universities were in attendance. This year’s conference theme was “Precarity, Care, Liberation” and this aligns with FOM’s mission and purpose. Precarity can be defined as a state of insecurity or unpredictability affecting material or psychological welfare. This is the experience of many Ethiopians forcibly taken from their country and imprisoned far from home. We spoke about our ancestors: their time in isolation and exile, the life of the children and others they left behind and the painstaking work to understand the stories of a group of people about whom very little is documented.
Our second invitation was to reconnect with our local partners. These include the administration of Asinara National Park, the mayor of Porto Torres, Cooperativa Sealand Asinara, and others. This time, we also had the opportunity to meet new partners, including the mayor of Stintino and a representative of the Sassari city council. So, we were able to share updates with everyone on our work to date; we have created a registered non-profit organization, we have built an incredible website with the potential to archive data on each prisoner and build a true picture of their lives, we have produced 4 highly researched newsletters in 3 different languages and our capacity for growth is unlimited. We left with promises from them to support our work and provide a forum on Asinara to build a lasting memorial to the Ethiopian prisoners.
The Steering Committee was also able to attend a moving ceremony held to honor the life of Elfy’s great grandfather, Lij Haile Wolde Meskel. He was also imprisoned in Italy where he died. He is buried in Sassari. This event was also attended by local Italian officials and an Ethiopian priest. A prayer was recited and a plaque was placed for Lij Haile. It was an important step in recognizing the loss resulting from this period and remembering a family. We aspire to have a plaque at each location in memory of those families who experienced hardship and loss. It is indeed the reason for our desire to have a permanent memorial on Asinara. We invite you to watch this short video: FOM Sassari 2026.
Qegnazmach Tsemru Gebreselassie was born in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia, in 1894. He was the son of His Excellency Tsehafe Teezaz Gebreselassie and Her Excellency Woizero Esethe. He received his education through Ethiopia’s traditional school system. He later married Woizero Senayit Wolde Gebriel, with whom he raised his large family in Addis Ababa.
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Ato Mekonnen Wolde Yohannes was born in Addis Abeba on July 20, 1905, the son of Weizero Weder Yelesh Wolde Gebrel and Ato Wolde Yohannes Nadew. His mother was from Menz and his father from Bulga and then moved to Addis Abeba. His father ran an artisanal leatherworking business crafting saddles and leather cases for swords. His mother ran a small storefront business. He had three brothers and one sister. The family lived in a sprawling compound in the Kebena neighborhood where the home still stands today. He received his first education in traditional church school. After completing church school, he went on to the Menelik II School in Addis Abeba. The curriculum was primarily taught in French with core academics in mathematics and science. Ato Mekonnen excelled in the new language and mathematics. This early exposure would define the rest of his life. He became a businessman in Addis Abeba, building his own livelihood through the same steady industriousness that his family and teachers had instilled in him. It was an ordinary beginning, but it laid the groundwork for a life that would prove anything but ordinary.
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American Ghibbi, a majestic stone building in the Mercato area, was completed in the mid-1910s for the Minister of War, Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Denagdé, who at the time lived in the vicinity with his entourage and owned much land and property. He used to live in a house on the site where the St. Raguel Church now stands.[1] In September 1935, the building became the official home of Cornelius Van H. Engert, the American Minister Resident in Ethiopia,[2] and subsequently served as the American Legation until February 1937. This distinguished building possesses a rich and significant history.
Learn more...Since our founding, we have been using the English name of From Oblivion to Memory (FOM) in our Amharic and Italian communication. We have since taken time to discuss and select the most appropriate names in both languages to reflect the FOM mission well. We have decided that FOM be known as Mezekir (መዘክር) in Amharic and Dall’Oblio alla Memoria in Italian. Our FOM logo has been revised to reflect these changes.
A general meeting of FOM members, supporters, and friends will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. Addis Ababa time (1:00 p.m. Eastern time). Please pass the word and bring your friends.
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Many thanks to the following contributors on our second quarterly newsletter:
Eden Debebe, Kaleb Debebe.
Tesfaye Adhanom, Esther Antohin, Getabecha Mekonnen, Laketch Mekonnen, Nikodimos Mekonnen, Meqdes Mesfin, Wassy Tesfa, Lydia Tesfaye, and Yadwa Yawand-Wossen.
Debritu Merid Camporeale, Gabriella Ghermandi, Haile Kebede, Angelica Pesarini, and Meqdes Mesfin.
Yitna Firdyiwek and Elfy Getachew Nouvellon