By: Precious Mills

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 19th October 2018)– The Rastafari Nyabinghi Theocracy Church of His and Her Imperial Majesty recently observed the 83rd anniversary of the 1935 Italy invasion of Ethiopia with an annual sunset Nyabinghi session held at Irie Lime Farm in Sandy Point on the actual commemorative date, Wednesday 3rd October.

Ras Iyah during a recent interview with this reporter spoke about the historical significance of the event which took place on the continent of Africa.

“In 1935 [3rd October], there an invasion occurred in Ethiopia…an invasion of the Italian people who crossed the border to engage on Ethiopian soil to engage a territorial control of the Ethiopians for their sovereignty and their human dignity … and that is why we are here to pay our homage as we have done.”

He went on further to say: “It was seldom to see how Ethiopia that has a population of 2 million and Italy that have a population of over 40 million can claim to go after a country of that magnitude just for territorial control because as Italy stated if it doesn’t have Ethiopia as a branch of its colony, it don’t have nothing to deal with on the context of the African continent so we know that from history…”

According to the Rasta brethren: “We always embark on acknowledging that invasion as the Nyabinghi because we see it fit to acknowledge our ancestors, our forebears who laid the path for I and I to be here so we won’t be feeling like it’s just us alone but it’s us and also our forebears and ancestors with the power of the Most High who guide us through the day of life. So give thanks for those who have suffered a cause and we would always remember others but that was the specific time to mark the horrific invasion of the Italians forces…”

“We see some changes that have come after, and His Majesty has always echoed these sentiments of seeing the cause of human rights and human dignity to be uphold as a principal in life and the integrity of our people social will so we are call for our people who were faced with such atrocities during the 1935 for their names to be recognised for the suffering that they faced and the death toll at that time and so that’s why we are celebrating this hallmark of remembering the atrocities,” Ras Iyah added.
Additionally, he highlighted the vision of the organisation in showing light on such a historical occurrence “as part of our calendar year.”

“We give thanks to remember the lives of our fallen martyrs who were in that fight for the rally cause for Ethiopia not to be controlled. The word ‘control’ is significant to Ethiopians because we know basically we are sovereign people and we never wanted any invaders or foreigners to feel they have nay authority to trample our sovereign right so even though they were occupied at a five-year span, they were still rallying the cause for their full liberation from the Italians so they faced a lot of trouble during that time during the five-year period but we really look at the 1935 …the horrific ways that were really played out upon Ethiopia and Ethiopia people which cannot be forgotten and left out, and so this is a page in our history.”

Ras Iyah underlined the fundamental of what exactly is being observed about the 1935 invasion.

“We are not celebrating the Italian invasion, we are observing the atrocities that was meted out against countless Ethiopians- men, women and children and even the animals were attacked by mustard gas that was outlawed by the League of nation which is now called the United Nations so we know there was injustice perpetrated against the Ethiopia and the League of Nation stand by and let that atrocity which led to World War 2 because of the evil and selfishness they would not uphold the principle which they have signed in the treaty of not letting a country of more engage in aggression and that aggression was outlawed and we still see our Ethiopians being faced with that at that time.”