Part V
By Odaahora
The Railroad issue: The Tail end of Alfred Ilg’s services
Alfred Ilg met Sahle Silasse in Liche in January 1879 and left Abyssinia 1906, seven years before syphilis killed Menelik in 1913. He came to the most primitive barbaric Abyssinia ruled by brigands (Sheftans) arose at the end of the so-called “Zemenemesafnt.” The era that extends to a century of butchery and chaos designated as human locust to the infantry militias led bybrigands (Sheftans) that preyed on the resources of the local victimized population to the extent nothing remained edebile for the families, especialliy the children.
He came as a mechanical engineer, signed two years of contracts with an annual salary of five thousand francs to work for Menelik. He traveled with two Swiss citizens, Appenzeller (Woodworker) and Zimmermann (Mechanic). They had a long journey that took about seven months to arrive at their destiny from Zurich to Abyssinia. At the time, the bumptious propagandas of rose in Europe, a civilized, humane and generous to bring their civilization to the “uncivilized world” that waiting so long in the dark until Europe brings light wherever her she footholds.
But, facts and reality checks speaks the opposite, It was the preparedness to invade, exterminate, slave, exploit the world she called “uncivilized” via seas and oceans, and occupy, forever exploit resources that she in desperately needed to survive and develop. She had almost over five centuries of experiences in doing so at the time Alfred Ilg was born and grown up. He came with the same mission of bringing “civilization” nothing was especial indeed from his fellow Europeans who actively engaged with handling and smuggling firearms and ammunitions from Europe to Africa and Asia. Alfred Ilg obtained an entry visa the titled; Railroad construction from Finfinne to Somalia coast in the horn of Africa. One of the most primitive, barbaric warlords terra known as Habesha or Abyssinia (the terms are a synonym).It was the Swiss company, named Esher and Furrer who had a storehouse in the British settlement of Aden (Yemen), whom Menelik commissioned, found Alfred Ilg for Sahle Maryam. Alfred knows Fureer in Zurich who further arranged their journey from Zurich to Abyssinia. The company was recognized as a transit, handles, and storages of Firearms, Ammunitions and Cos. from Europe, and transit for plundered, Looted objects, historical artifacts, symbols, exploited resources, slaves, etc, from Africa and Asia. At the mean time, it was a transit route of Alfred Ilg and his two college’s journey to Abyssinia.
Alfred Ilg served Menelik (a rubber black Leopold II of Belgium Congo) of Abyssinia about three decades without pause. He began as a technician in repairing nd maintaining firearms, ammunition, building roads, bridges, houses, inspector, and constructor. In the area of administration, he served as secretary, interpreter, advisor, protocol chief, recruiter.He rose to the level of the Minister of all, nicknamed Superminister. As hander smuggled firearms, ammunitions , bullets and patron fabrics, gunpowder and corresponding materials, ingredients and machines etc. He obtained all awards what Menelik had to offer. From domestic Mule to wild Zebra to Bitweded, “Councillor of the state with excellence status.”
Thus, the real difficult question to find an answer to it is not what and where he provided the services, but what and where did he not. As it was thoroughly explored in previous parts, Indeed, Menelik without Alfred Ilg can be considered, a blind man who lost his stick, or without a guide. Without Alfred Ilg, one of the primitive, barbaric, predatory empire known with stolen name the con. “Ethiopia” could never exist on this Planet with her contemporary demarcation on the global map.
To have the complete picture of the world of politics during Alfred’s and Menelik’s mutual intermarriage of interests, it is essential to have a birds eye view of the geopolitical importance of the horn of Africa at the global stage, and the preparedness, the coming of the resourceless, avaricious, moral and ethicless Europeans. The kindling point, where thirteen European head of states; Aristocrats who butchered each other throughout their history, come together in Berlin for the first time and signed the consensus to slice Africa as a piece of cake: The scrambling for Africa began in earnest. As by-product aüice of turf between the Red Sea and the River Abaayaa (the River Nile) called Abyssinia was left to act as a puppet for all participants with interests in her of the Berlin conferences. No single individual African or representative was part of it. Abyssinia warlords rose in the region at that period fulfill the given roles by European colonizers. As a result, dependent “Quasi-Abyssinia–state” was invented in the horn of Africa.
The significance of the horn of Africa at global arena: then and now
As a gate to three continents, most specifically to Africa, red sea and its coasts played a significant role in human civilization then and now. European colonizers computed to gain a foothold on the Islands around the Red Sea, as a transit to the hinterland of the African continent. France bought Obock (the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, Djibouti) in 1862, and later on established the small administrative center, as a point of departure for further colonial expansion she dreamed. To facilitate her colonial dream she intended to build a railway to join Djibouti, the far eastern coast of the African continent to far West Africa, Dakar-Senegal. Her classical rival, Britain had already established an Imperial station in Yemen known as the Aden settlement in 1839. From Aden, she garrisoned the so-called British Somaliland. Britain also occupied Cairo in 1882 and Cape Town in 1806. She had also a dream to join Cape Town with Cairo and build Railroad popularly known Cecil Rhodes plan (the genocider of Africans under his occupation).
Thus, the idea of railroad construction in Abyssinia was invented, designed by France, as a prestige to dominate her sphere of political influence on the warlords rose in the region specifically on Sahle Maryam who was known as “the boy of France.” Leon Chefneux, a France citizen was responsible from France side, as Alfred was in Menelik’s side. Both, Leon Chefneux and Alfred Ilg were long years of business partners in all sphere from a clay pot to gold, experts in smuggling Firearms, Ammunitions, and co. for decades that acted as bridges between Europe and the horn of Africa especially with Menelik. Britain and Italy were also equally active with similar plans and strategies and intrigues played in shaping the region. They also had their own boys among rival warlords arose in Abyssinia proper correspondingly and representatives in charges from Rome and London.
Railways were used efficiently since Bismarck’s era, as the fastest transport vehicles on land at that period to connect the far periphery to the center of control and resource exploitation, military transport, etc. For instance, one of the most known beneficiaries from African content by using Railroad at that period was Leopold II of the Belgium Congo; the genocider of Congolese; the rubber Black Death as it was called. The analogy made was the notoriously know as Black death was a disease called plague caused by the bacterial agent known as Yersinia pestis that succumbed one-third of the European population in middle ages alone. Leopold did not only exploit rubber but also copper, radium, diamond, gold from one of the richest part of the heart of the African continent.
Engineering Intelligence test: according to Menelik’s know-how
As Alfred Ilg and Leon Chefneux presented their design to construct the Railway from Finfinne to Somalia coast to get a consensus from Menelik in February 1893, they got the shock of their life on that day. Menelik order and arrested Alfred Ilg and Leon Chefneux. He kept them in a small hut, solitary confinement plausibly built by Alfred Ilg, and guarded by Menelik’s “Zebenyas,” gun carriers (Ashkers). And,the guns were provided by both predominate firearm smugglers Alfred Ilg and Leon Chefneux to Menelik pre-eminently beside ranges of hide-outs local or foreign weapon smugglers.
One may imagine what was going on in the mind of someone who was awarded as “Bitweded,” recognized as a son, sworn and devoted to giving all that he can. And most importantly he served as a loyal servant for the last solid sixteen years. without pause since his arrival in 1878 to the day of solitary confinement. Someone who considered him as “Father figure.” Furthermore, it was Alfred who brought Sahle Maryam from nomadic Zagol, outlaw and robbery life to one man empire. Alfred Ilg built a permanent new settlement in Finfinne, in the Umbilical cord of Tuulamaa Highland by evicting Autochtonous Oromos from their ancestral soil turned them to Slaves, Serfs, Homeless, and settled by Neftanya’s. Furthermore, he was an architect and the brain, promoter of the invasion campings against the whole south, actively participated in a series of campaigns mobilized by Menelik’s “Hagermaqnat whereas” project. To fulfill his master obligations he traveled seven times, brought back all materials, firearms, equipment for construction and building patron and gun powder fabric, Menelik’s advocate in foreign relations, united the aliens of the north under one person controlled byMenelik for the first time in the Habesha history.
What was more surprising was that Alfred Ilg gave the name Menelik to his son and further recognized him as the “Ye Kiristina abat/the father of baptism One can imagine the extent of intimacy by naming his son after the father of genocider, ethnoicder and a gruesome actor of Harma dubartii muraa (the chopper of Females Breast, Harkaa fi Miila muraa (the chopper of Arms and Legs of men) that indicates the deep-seated habeshanaization of the spin engineer Alfred Ilg ,with a conservative protestant Swiss upbringing. No better evidence be claimed to be proved right than this. Nevertheless, both were jailed
On the other side, what was going on in the mind of a demon Menelik Why did He jailed them? and What did he want to do with them next; a little quiz ? knowing the relationships between Alfred Ilg and Menelik from previous writings, let you make a little pause, a break for a minute from further reading. Make some brain jogging on the issues of why and the what questions, and notice down all possible answer that came into your mind and finally you will compare with what he really did with the engineers kept in the isolated hut in the coming part soon. Did the engineers trusted the untrusty warlord?.
The idea behind the quiz was thought to ferret out primarily how much we know about the aliens of the north honestly, and then to understand the basic behavior and mannerism of the Abyssians nature of upbringing that one must know independent of time. As a saying:The fish rots down from head to tail, not the reverse.” If every there were/are change, then the worst from generation to generation of the Neftanyas; settler Habeshas in occupied colonized south as a whole. Besides to that there are more and more vultures
flying to the heart of Oromland from every corner of the globe within days and hours than ever, whereas during Alfred era it took at least six months,no flying objects.
Compare the current Tigrean lead-gangsters groups of today’s “ Melesawiyan and Menilikawiyan” called “hagermalmat and hagermaqnat ”policies respectively, planned systemic genociders and ethnociders to reduce the Indigenous people to half deploying every means the have since they come to power in summer 1991, and cling to it till they kicked out or die. Indeed that was exactly what Menelik did.
The scrambling of our ancestral soil as pieces of cakes and evicting our people and Leasing to a selfish, moral and ethicless states and companies worldwide are facts of the daily business of the tyrants. Before going straightforward to the answer, to the Why he put them in jail and what is he going to do with them, some more important facts from Menelik side in relation to the railroad construction project and the knowledge of the engineers about Menelik and the establishment of one-man empire may shed more light on the issue and must be explored thoroughly.
Menelik and his Wife was allergic to the railway project
The main reason why the Swiss and Abyssinians, contemporary “Ethiopians” consider Alfred Ilg as the “cultural ambassador” and still celebrate it indeed was nothing, but to hide the crimes conducted during his three decades of unlimited services. Alfred Ilg was the mastermind, the minister of all, the mentor of the invaders, genociders, and ethociders of Menelik and his hordes. As a result, the empire of Menelik was expanded twenty-seven times to the size of Switzerland, five to six times from her original size.
Switzerland profited from it thanks to Alfred Ilg by selling firearms, ammunitions, its accessories, machines and explosive chemicals, and various industrial products to Abyssinia of Menelik. From Abyssinia in return all looted, stolen, plundered, historical artifacts, cultural objects, agricultural cash crops such as coffee, animal products hides, tusk, mineral resources such as gold, the lists go on exploited from the occupied, and secured territories of the south during “Hagermaqant were” by Menelik hordes were “officialized”and shipped back to the heaven for all exploited material to Switzerland and the rest of Europe. Thus, no wonder if the call him not a cultural ambassador but the Colombo’s of Swiss so far profits were, and still are what finally counts, so far the dirty job of plundering were conducted indirectly by the offspring of divers and invaders, the Abyssinians/Habeshas hordes of Menelik. They were both, mutual profiteers from scrambled lands of the south from Abyssinia proper.
In fact, Menelik was allergic to the railway issue from the very begging, and most importantly his wife Taitu, “his brain” was totally against the railroad construction project followed by the local Warlords, the Shums, the Aleqas, the Debteras, etc, who were in staunch opposition to the construction of the railway. Even there was a warning from one of the warlords that stated: “We shall wait till the white men finished it and destroy it.”
Menelik as an underdog of Yohanis knew that his King, Yohanis forbid railroad construction in his occupied territory proposed by Britain. He also knew that General R. Napier of Britain used railways to mobilize his soldiers from the Asian parts of colonial territories to the read sea coasts for rescue missions of six British captives under Tewodros control. Thus, the railroad plans were considered by Abyssinian settlers as the road of invasion by the European colonizers, and a plan to take away the empire that Menelik already had gained and found in preparedness for further expansion under the motto of “Hagermaqnat.”
What Menelik, indeed desperately needed was modern European firearms, ammunitions, advisors, financiers, etc as his embittered rival, Yohanis IV. Yohanis of Tigre had Swiss Miltary trainer, adviser, a Swiss citizen named Gunner Louis, and had the strongest armed and trained soldiers in the region. Sahle Maryam was weak and the underdog of Yohanis. Thus, his first dream and objective were how to get rid of Yohanis that Menelik presented himself, half-naked, carried stone on his shoulder, walked barefoot and bowed in front of Yohanis feet. After being pardoned he paid an immense amount of attributes from powders, “duuqeet,” to slaves, live domestic animals, etc. He dreamed of finding a person like Gunner who will act as a bridge between Europe and himself. Swiss citizen was very active in this arena. Having an advantage of the political coat or envelope called “Neutral State.”(See Part 1). Menelik sought to get a person from Swiss, so to say, “Gunner II.”
Finally, Alfred Ilg was found to be the perfect match for his services. Menelik found “Gunner II” of his own. Now the offspring of divers and invaders the refugees who settled within the north-eastern Tuulama Gosaas (branches) of Oromos, Sahle Maryam’s dream was going to be realized in the decades to come.The railroad construction contract that was signed in 1878 must not come as an issue if at all it was an issue for Menelik. Never the less after being buried for one-and-half decades, It came to be an issue to be awakened and reconsidered in May 1893. For Alfred Ilg, the railroad construction contract signed for two years can be considered simply an entry visa. For his services, he became almost all namings, awards what Menelik had to offer, each time he comes back from Europe with full packed ship with firearms and ammunition, personal gifts, utensils almost what Menelik needed, most importantly material to make bullet, gunpowder, patron fabrics, explosives and dynamites, etc, to Abyssinia of Menelik. In the next parts, an attempted will be made to accomplish, the topic titled as The Awful truth of Alfred Ilg firearm smuggler: the Bitweded of “Menelik II” in exploring the subtitles listed below:
- The Answer to the quiz; why the engineers were jailed
- Menelik’s, unbelievable behaviors, dramas and its consequences on Alfred Ilg and his project after the consensus railroad construction was signed by Menelik
Odaahora@gmail.com
