Anywaa

Anywaa: The Luo of Western Ethiopia unfolds the impacts of colonial borders which put the Anywaa indigenous at the verge of extinction. This book sheds light on the heinous crimes committed against the Anywaa because of their fertile land rich in natural resources. It explores the dark chapters of Anywaa history under two powerful empires: colonial British Sudan and the Abyssinian Empire. The Anywaa fought multiple wars with the British colonials in Sudan to protect their territorial boundaries and resisted colonization. The expanding Abyssinian Empire during the reign of King Menelik II posed a threat to the Anywaa kingdoms and their territorial autonomy. Thus the Anywaa resisted the expansion of the Abyssinian Empire and slavery. This book brings to light slavery in Ethiopia; it describes the impact of the socialist Derg government on the Anywaa kingdom; and it covers the genocide the government of Ethiopia committed against the Anywaa people under the TPLF leadership, which was followed by land grabbing, displacement, and continued oppression.

Jekap Omod was born and raised in Gambella, Ethiopia. He came from the Anywaa minority ethnic group in Gambella, and he is a genocide survivor. After moving to the United States, he finished his high school at Austin High school and got his neuroscience bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Omod is a literacy advocate, and he volunteers for the Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD) by writing and translating children's books.