It Was Only Yesterday...

Just finished reading the book by Emebet Hannah Mariam Dereje, great granddaughter of His Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.Here is my take on the book that I found to be the ultimate page turner that forced me to finish reading it in a couple of days.This book has the power to manifest Emperor Haile Selassie both as an Emperor of one of the oldest nations in the world with well defined, conservative national values and as an ordinary Ethiopian elder (የሃገር ሽማግሌ) whose love and care towards his large family members is no different from an everyday, traditional Ethiopian elder with a large family. The very surprising liberal attitudes of the Emperor are also well represented where Emebet Hannah demanded to wear trousers that was met with her mother's protest but decisively countered by the Emperor's permission to let her be. Who would have thought?The "palace kids" deference to the keepers of the palace was beyond amazing. It showed the values of then Ethiopians. The princes and princesses were respectful of their parents' employees. This is specially mind boggling to my generation who have seen children of officials who have served a lot of beating and humiliation to traffic officers who stopped them for speeding or other reasons.Its a book written for those who understand and respect monarchy and for those who possess open mind and willingness to go beyond this book to further understand the Ethiopian monarchy and its familial dynamics.In this book, its clearly written how the Emperor adored Emebet Hannah's father and how he felt indebted to his loyalty that resulted in her father's untimely death. For that reason, coupled with the Emperor's love towards his family and children in general, the great grandfather took the role of a father and provided much needed love, care and a close watch over her upbringing. This part of the book and the part that details her last moment with her great grandfather speaks a volume about the reality. That reality is, despite the Derg's claim that the Emperor had billions stashed elsewhere, the most he was able to give to his beloved great granddaughter whom he knew was saying farewell for the last time to, was a small envelope of hundreds of dollars. Reading this during the time when unbelievably ridiculous amount of looted capital was being siphoned away by government officials and their children, I can't help but conclude that it was indeed a divine plan that made this book possible. The royal children were simply counting on excelling to serve God, country and the Emperor. Emebet Hannas decision to leave her jewelry box filled with expensive gifts from around the world, knowing it probably was the last time to see the country, is a perfect example of the absence of greed, specially, in the younger generation of the family.Children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the "billionaire" Emperor ended up looking for ways to make a living as waiters, parking lot attendants etc.....after the revolution.Yes, the Emperor's family, as any royal family around the world, legitimately used state coffers to finance the education and livelihood of its members. Presidents and prime ministers are no different. Same state coffers financed the education of those that brought down the empire.Her comments about the needed land reform and the reasons behind the Emperor's hesitation is very insightful and informative. Her judgment wasn't clouded by her royalty.What I think she left out but should have been part of her book was the Emperor's reaction when the "derg manipulated famine documentary" was aired. How he was shocked by what he saw, how he left his dinner and retired to his room and how he forcefully and mercilessly criticized those responsible for hiding the scope of the famine from him.Perhaps Emebet Hannah didn't want to seem over protective as the book was intended to tell her personal life experiences but not justifying HIM's government despite the fact that the Emperor was not totally aware of the situation.Many ridiculed the Emperor because of the famous birthday cake but again, it would have been a plus to let the public know that the Emperor nor his children never ordered the cake but rather it was another member of aristocratic family who wanted to show a goodwill. It was not a secret that the Emperor's children were very unhappy about that damned cake.Going through the happy times and then the ordeals that involved the mass loss of beloved family members as a result of torture and execution, the incarceration of loved ones for over a decade with little or no means of communication was not an easy feat for the young members of the family to endure. But yet, with God's grace, the culprits suffered at the hands of their enemies while the survivors of the imperial family emerged victorious at the end. Fake propagandas debunked and the Emperor finally and posthumously getting recognition for the great man that he was and his descendants excelling in their own domains armed by the values of the great Emperor.This book somehow, remotely reminded me of one of my favorite novels by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo.As to the author,I have always understood Emebet Hannah as a very insightful, well learned, detail oriented inquisitive scholar and have always sensed her purposely hidden innocence. This book, her own doing, showed us the real Emebet. Independent woman but yet respectful of our conservative traditions. Proud and then humble enough to care for her milk delivery man by couriering his letter to the Emperor personally and remembering from her nannies to the cooks and palace keepers.An innocent royal woman who recounted and shared her romantic memories graciously despite being divorced from her ex-husband she described as a handsome man.She clearly was invested in her book passionately and wrote it with no constraint and thought of political (royal) correctness.Pretty much a first for an Ethiopian oriented book based on personal experiences.

In "It Was Only Yesterday" by Hannah Mariam Meherete-Sellassie tells a riveting story of her Great Grandfather,Emperor Haile Selassie. From the first pages, it draws you into his political and family life. In AfricaEmperor Haile Selassie is remembered for his tiresome work in creating the Organization of African Union together with other African leaders such as President Kwame Nkrumah President Nkrumah lovingly describes the Emperor as a loving father and grandfather.Emperor Haile Selassie was not just our leader but a loving father figure to those of us who grew up in that era.

Hannah Mariam's memoir offers an eloquent tribute to the epic life of Emperor Haile Selassie through detailed and personal firsthand accounts. In my opinion, the insight offered by "It Was Only Yesterday" makes it a must read for the younger generation of Ethiopians, so they can fully understand and appreciate His Majesty's profound and lasting legacy.

I never wanted to stop reading once i started the read... having a toddler to tend at home, it took me a while. This book satisfied my curiosity to know about Ethiopian royal life in the palace. Very interesting and personal to the writer.

It was only Yesterdayby Hannah Mariam Meherete-SelassieI have just read Emebet Hannah Mariam Mehere-Selassie’s It was only Yesterday, a fascinating, evocative and very touching memoir of her childhood in her great grandfather’s household in Ethiopia. The fact that her great grandfather was Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, makes this account even more fascinating.This unputdownable book is timely in that it candidly describes life in the Imperial Household, not only for Emebet Hannah, but for various other ‘Palace Kids’, her cousins and relations. It certainly debunks the myths of luxurious living supported by hundreds of servants. Myths which were put together by the Derg, coupled with photographs which implied that His Majesty fed his dogs on prime cuts of beef while the people in the countryside starved. Sadly, this has become an enduring image of Court life in Ethiopia in the 1970s. The propaganda of the Derg, the reportage on British television by Jonathan Dimbleby and, afterwards, the ridiculous and sensationalist work by Ryszard Kapuschinski did so much damage to a great man’s reputation.There are so many touching vignettes of Emebet Hannah’s interaction with His Majesty. His interest in her studies, his championing of her equal rights to her male cousins; he approved of her wish to wear trousers, he suggested she might undergo military training in Israel (much as her male cousins were receiving training at Sandhurst), and, a picture which will now stay with me forever, of his using an exercise bike in his bedroom every morning.Emebet Hannah, conveys the deep pain and longing with which she thinks of her father whom she never knew, he having lost his life resisting the Palace Coup of 1960, before her birth a few months later. Like other posthumous children, she has many ‘what if,’ questions to which she has no satisfactory answers. But she has the solace of knowing that her father died a hero in His Majesty’s service, and that he was never forgotten by the Emperor.The book encompasses events from 1960-74. Years during which I grew up in Addis Ababa, and therefore saw and experienced many of those described in the book. There is good analysis of what may have given rise to the ‘Palace Coup’, and fifteen years later, the ‘Creeping Coup’—both of which are vivid in my memory. The first because it was so frightening for the uncomprehending general populace—the latter because it changed our way of life forever.This book should prompt readers to seek more information about the truly sad events which led to the murder of the last Emperor of the oldest monarchy in the world. The cruelty suffered by the ordinary people in the name of revolution is chilling.On a lighter note, Emebet Hannah’s description of the Emperor’s drive to his country residence at Bishoftou brought a smile to my face. We too, used to go to Bishoftou at the weekend. We too stopped at Cononalpi (a state-owned bakery, pasta and biscuit factory at Akaki) to buy little bread rolls—and wonderfully scented anicetta biscuits. Sometimes the Royal party would have preceded us and there would be no bread rolls left!I would like to thank Emebet Hannah for remembering the Armenians of Ethiopia, that group of people who considered themselves Ethiopian, who spoke Amharic, and whose contribution to the country is often forgotten. The Boghossians, Knadjians and Sevadjians (to name but a few) were all closely linked to the Imperial Court.His Majesty was always exquisitely dressed. Many of his clothes were made by Noubar Donikian, who was a master tailor as all who have seen photos of the immaculately dressed Emperor will attest.My uncle Dr. Arshavir Terzian, the medic Emebet Hannah remembers, did indeed accompany the Emperor on several of his foreign tours. In appreciation of his service and in a show of friendship, Dr. Terzian was given an offspring of Lulu, the Emperor’s beloved buff-coloured chihuahua. The puppy was named Laika—after the Soviet Space Dog. Later, the Emperor also gave him a miniature pinscher named Lady.Emebet Hannah must be congratulated for her objective and measured descriptions, and conclusions about many things which might have proved difficult for a person who grew up in His Majesty’s household to make. Hopefully, younger Ethiopians who have not previously had access to politically impartial writings about those subjects, will read It was only Yesterday and come to an appreciation of the life and work of the illustrious man who was their leader, and the sad, unnecessary and chaotic demise of his reign.RSK23/12/2018

A most interesting insight into the life of the Ethiopian royal family. I was recommended this book by a school friend as we were at boarding school with the Ethipian princesses. I remember Sophie well, the authors mother.

Il libro è ben scritto e dettagliato nella descrizione della vita a Palazzo