VOA News - Ethiopia = Mourns Treasured Singer at State Funeral

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23 April 2009

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Ethiopia Mourns Treasured = Singer at=20 State Funeral
By Peter = Heinlein=20 Addis Ababa 23 April = 2009

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have attended a state = funeral for=20 legendary singer Tilahun Gessesse, considered a symbol of = national=20 unity since the time of Emperor Haile Selassie. Many of = Tilahun's=20 songs were considered anthems, binding together a country = through=20 war and famine, monarchy and dictatorship.

Mourners = wailed=20 in the streets and security forces struggled to control = massive=20 crowds as a nation said farewell to a man many call 'the = father of=20 Ethiopian music'. Radio stations interrupted regular = programming for=20 a live broadcast of the memorial service.

Hours = before the=20 service began, tens of thousands of fans, many with tear = streaked=20 faces, gathered under a blazing sun in Addis Ababa's main = square,=20 chanting and singing along with Tilahun Gessesse's=20 songs.

Fifty-year-old Antene Gizachew said nobody = will=20 replace him in Ethiopia's heart.

"He's a legend for = Africa,"=20 said Antene Gizachew. "He was motivator, humanitarian, so = the United=20 States has legends, as a young man I remember Elvis was a = legend.=20 He's like our Elvis. He lives in each Ethiopians hearts and = minds=20 forever."

Tilahun's golden voice captivated a = struggling=20 nation, transcending politics and time. He was a favorite of = Emperor=20 Haile Selassie, and served in the Imperial Guards. =

His fame=20 grew through the years of Marxist dictatorship known as the = Dergue,=20 under Mengistu Haile Mariam. His songs about starvation = raised=20 millions of dollars for a famine-stricken nation. He = traveled=20 abroad, thanking the world for its support during the famed = "We are=20 the world" campaign.

But unlike many who fled the = terror of=20 the Dergue, he overlooked politics and kept on singing to = his=20 adoring public.

He won over the current = government a=20 decade ago during Ethiopia's war with Eritrea when he went = to the=20 front to entertain the troops.

The front row of = seats at the=20 memorial service was dotted with the faces of top government = officials.

Also prominent at the service was a = massive=20 floral bouquet sent by the young singing sensation Teddy = Afro, whose=20 songs were adopted by the opposition during the violent=20 anti-government protests following the 2005 elections. Afro = is=20 currently serving a prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run = traffic=20 accident.

Famed artist Sileshi Demisse says even = though=20 Tilahun's music sometimes had a political edge, politicians = of all=20 stripes embraced him.

"He was not anti any government = personally, but through his music he expressed his feelings = during=20 all these three regimes, and all these governments were = going to=20 give him a hard time," said Sileshi Demisse. "But he wasn't = that=20 politically hard, but he was saying what he wants to=20 say."

Prominent actor Abdullah Balcha, who also = served as=20 Tilahun's personal attorney, says the singer not only had a = knack=20 for expressing the people's feelings, but could do it in = several=20 languages.

"There was some operation in every form at = the=20 time of the emperor, at the time of the dergue, there was = that=20 feeling of expressing, and he was always the voice of the = people,"=20 said Abdullah Balcha. "He used to sing perfectly and = eloquently in=20 Amharic and Oromifa and in Sudanese, Arabic as = well."

Tilahun=20 had been in poor health in recent years, suffering from = diabetes. He=20 died Sunday, hours after returning to Ethiopia from the = United=20 States. He was 68-years-old.

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