Teza Page #2

Come and eat with your brother.

Should he eat alone?

- I've already eaten.

Should he eat alone? Eat with him.

Isn't it strange?

I'm the first-born, and yet she gave you

the money to give to the boys.

Goodnight!

What's wrong with you?

Come, keep him company!

There was a time when my world

began and ended

at the edge of Lake Tana,

where the water meets the sky.

In my journey beyond, where did I go?

What happened to me there?

Where did I lose my leg?

Anberber, you're a coward!

Coward! Coward! You chicken!

You chicken!

I wish I could meet God

and pour my heart out to Him.

I wish I could meet God

and pour my heart out to Him.

I wish I could meet God

and spill my heart out to Him.

He thinks everything's fine with me,

just because I thank Him in my prayers.

Oh, fly, my bird, fly!

Go tell them to look for me.

Tell them to look for Azanu.

Fly away my bird! Fly away!

Azanu works day and night.

Every morning she milks the cow

and goes to Lake Tana to fish.

What would my mother do without her?

What's her story?

Where did she come from?

Good evening, Tata Tadfe!

- How are you doing, Alebachew?

Fine, thanks be to God.

- What do they want?

Here they go again, bothering my son.

What do they want this time?

How are you, Dr Anberber?

You don't have to get up.

This is my youngest daughter.

She's in bad health.

There's no medicine we haven't tried.

You're my only hope, Doctor.

Go ahead, tell him your symptoms.

I ache everywhere. My neck, my ears...

I don't know if I'm coming or going.

I gave my daughter to a drunken soldier.

He beat her day and night.

He wrecked my whole family.

And I'm caring for my child.

I'm miserable!

You see, he's a doctor.

I look after five, six kids

and can hardly feed them.

What has he ever done for you?

My son means the world to me.

Thank God he came back to me.

I am so numbed...

Everything's gone topsy-turvy.

I have no memory of my past.

How am I to fulfill the

expectations of my family?

Where can I go?

Where can I escape to?

Did you ever imagine a world

other than this village? Please tell me.

Was the world

you traversed as you foresaw it?

Do you have

any memories of your journey?

Did you have any foreknowledge of it?

As you traveled,

did it all turn into a hazy dream?

Are you alright?

Who are you talking to?

Are you alright?

Lord help us.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost...

Some evil has possessed him.

Maybe he got bewitched

when he was abroad.

Holy water is the answer

to this kind of illness.

We can't just sit around

while my brother suffers.

We need to discuss it with him.

Those who've been abroad

don't know about holy water.

So you've come back well, Anberber.

Come, I'll take you to my students.

My whole memory is blocked.

I don't think holy water will work.

Why do you look down on holy water?

- What good will it do?

What do you know about it?

At least it will cleanse you.

Try it, for your mother's sake.

What good is there in making her worry?

Even your modern medicine

only works if you believe in it.

Try it, for your mother's sake.

Why torment her?

In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Ghost!

Invoke the Lord!

What happened to you, my son?

So you've come back to me disfigured?

Did they mangle you up, my son?

Is this your leg?

Did they send you back to me

all cut up, my son?

Don't be afraid, son! Have courage!

They sent you back all ripped up!

I knew he was possessed.

What is it?

- He came back all mangled.

My brother...

My dear brother, Anberber!

What did they do to him?

- Goodness!

They sent him back butchered.

Dear brother!

In the Name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

the Almighty, banish the devil!

We believe in you,

the Son, and the Holy Mother. Amen.

In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Blessed God Almighty, born of

the Virgin Mary, hallelujah, forgive us!

Blessed God Almighty,

who died and rose from the dead,

who was baptized and crucified,

hallelujah!

Satan, get thee out!

Satan, get thee out!

The shock of that freezing water

brought back my memory.

Casandra, Abdul,

Tesfaye, Gabi!

Could we change the tape?

It'll drive you mad,

this 'Ayah yah yah'!

But it's Anbe's favorite.

- So what?

It's always Anbe, Anbe...

It drives me up the wall!

- Calm down!

COLOGNE, 1970s

Anbe, you're missing the party!

Bring her in!

Anberber, we'll study this specimen.

I focused on my studies

as much as I could,

because Tesfaye and I had made a vow:

We were going to be the ones

who would study hard,

return home and eradicate all the

diseases that ravaged our people.

Return home and eradicate all the

diseases that ravaged our people.

So that was the experience

in China, Korea, Albania, and Russia.

Particularly in China,

the masses have triumphed.

Today, they are the owners

of their labor and property

and have created

a democratic, socialist society.

To get to where China is today,

our people need to fight.

In Korea, Albania, Russia,

and especially in China...

Okay, elder,

can you tell us how much you suffered?

Can you tell your community about it?

The troubles I went through...

I couldn't have put it more succinctly.

What I meant to say was

that you've lived a long life,

from Selassie's regime

to today's fascist junta.

You must have a lot to say.

"After an encounter with a snake, you'll

panic when you see a strip of bark. "

Comrade, do you hear me? Comrade!

Comrade!

Are you deaf and dumb?

My son has nothing to do with anything!

What do you want from him?

Don't be frightened. Calm down!

We're here to educate the people.

I only want to explain

our struggle to him.

He knows nothing!

He's sick.

He's here to rest, in his own country.

While the masses lack peace and freedom?

The word 'rest'

isn't even in our vocabulary.

You don't even know him!

He's suffered enough as it is!

Always suffering! Can't one be

at peace in one's own country?

War, war, war, endless war...

Yesterday government soldiers,

today the opposition,

hunting down young people

to feed their warring culture.

All they know is war!

Welcome!

Thank God, we're fine.

How was your journey?

These are the only survivors.

Do you know this one?

This is Gesges Belay.

Here is Berhanu Asfaw's name.

We heard he's in the Sudan.

This is J. K., Jenberu Kassa.

The junta killed him

on his way to Sudan.

And this one is Mesfin.

He was killed along with Jenberu.

They'd grown up in Gorgora together.

All our friends, all wiped out...

Young people like Aweke,

Bitew, and so many others.

So is this where you stay day and night?

Yes. If we step outside,

the warring factions

will catch us and send us to the war.

When I was young, people would say

that a dragon lived in this cave,

the cave where the people

of our village hid from the Italians.

Today, these young people say

the dragon prays for them

so they won't be taken to the war.

Some nights, the youngsters from the

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