Jawar Mohammed

Jawar Mohammed
Born Jawar Siraj Mohammed
(1986-05-12) 12 May 1986
Dumuga, Arsi, Oromia, Ethiopia
Education Stanford University (B.A.)
Columbia University (M.A.)
Occupation Journalist
Spouse(s)
Arfasse Gemeda (m. 2009)

Jawar Mohammed (Oromo: Jawaar Mahaammad, born 12 May 1986) is an Ethiopian-born journalist and activist. The founder of the Oromia Media Network, Jawar was a leading organizer of the 2016 Ethiopian protests[1] and the key intellectual inspiration for the National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy, popularly known as the Qeerroo.

Early life and education

Jawar Mohammed was born on 12 May 1986[2] in the small town of Dumuga (Oromo: Dhummugaa) on the border of the former Arsi and Hararghe provinces.[3] His father was Muslim while his mother was an Orthodox Christian; their inter-religious union was considered novel but was ultimately accepted by the community.[3]

Jawar began his formal education at a Catholic school in Asella. He then attended secondary school in Adama until 2003, when he was awarded a scholarship to study at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, from which he graduated in 2005. He described his experience at the UWC as awakening his consciousness to his own Oromo identity.[3] He then studied at Stanford University, graduating in 2009 with a degree in political science. He went on to pursue graduate studies in human rights at Columbia University, receiving a masters' degree in 2013.[3][4]

Activism

In 2006, while a student at Stanford, Jawar founded the International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA), intended to serve as an umbrella organization for Oromo youth groups around the world, which has engaged in advocacy in front of United Nations bodies in Geneva and held demonstrations to protest Ethiopian government policy.[5][6] Jawar first gained prominence as a writer and speaker on Oromo and Ethiopian politics, chiely amongst the US-based diaspora.[7] He was a notable critic of the Oromo Liberation Front and their perceived failure to effect meaningful political change in Ethiopia and advance Oromo interests.[3]

Jawar has been an important political coordinator for the Qeerroo youth movement, even in exile.[8] However, he has been controversial[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ Gardiner, Tom (20 August 2018). "Jawar Mohammed's red-carpet return signals Ethiopia's political sea change". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Few doubt the importance of Jawar in recent Ethiopian history. Perhaps more than any other single individual, he took the once-marginal politics of Oromo nationalism and made it mainstream.
  2. ↑ Mohammed, Jawar (12 May 2018). "Jawar Mohammed on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Today is my birthday.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jawar Mohammed Biography: The Interesting Profile of an Influential Man". allaboutETHIO.org. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "Jawar Mohammed - Alumni Community". Columbia Alumni Community (members only). Columbia University. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ↑ "Rally in D.C. for Oromo rights". April 3, 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "IOYA shines spotlight on child rights abuses in Ethiopia". OPride. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Abichu, Siban (May 21, 2010). "Where is the Oromo Youth?". OPride. Retrieved 26 September 2018. However, I believe that youth like Jawar Siraj Mohammed, might be a hope in the future. Certainly, Jawar is a rising star Oromo young man of this time.
  8. ↑ Gardiner, Tom (13 March 2018). "'Freedom!': the mysterious movement that brought Ethiopia to a standstill". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2018. He highlights in particular the work of Jawar Mohammed, the controversial founder of the Minnesota-based Oromia Media Network (which is banned in Ethiopia), in amplifying the voice of the Qeerroo even when internet is down. '[Jawar] gives us political analyses and advice,' Haile explains. 'He can get access to information even from inside the government, which he shares with the Qeerroos. We evaluate it and then decide whether to act on it.'
  9. ↑ Borago, Teshome (19 August 2018). "JAWAR: from Oromo radical to Ethiopia's leader". Ethiomedia. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Gardiner (2018). "He and Abiy both dismiss the assumption, widespread in Ethiopia, that Jawar remote-controls the protests."
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