Tower in the Sky by Hiwot Teffera

Tower in the Sky by Hiwot Teffera

An eighteen-year old girl sets out to meet a young man whom she had never met before and is swept away by a series of events that transform her life in a way she could have never imagined. Tower in the sky is the story of love, revolution, hopes, dreams, violence, terror, trust, betrayal, tragedy, disillusionment, self-transformation, and the triumphal power of the human spirit. The book vividly depicts a moment in Ethiopia’s history when the country convulsed with violence unleashed by a bloodthirsty military government that massacred an untold number of people, especially the young, and plunged the country into darkness. It is also the story of thousands of young people who stood up against one of the most brutal dictatorships in history and fought for equality, freedom, social justice, and human dignity.

Hiwot Teffera was one of the active youth revolutionary members of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) who fought against the Ethiopian Military Dictator, known as “Derg”, who ruled Ethiopia by Terror. Her book entitled “Tower in the Sky” provides many aspects of the clandestine political works in Addis Ababa and surrounding cities that occurred mainly between 1974 and 1978 Ethiopia Revolution.

Ms. Hiwot tells concise stories that provoke questions and angers why things went wrong during that revolutionary period. It is sad to read that her and several testimonies of dozens of young men and women who found themselves in the middle of one of the most traumatic periods in Ethiopian history. Her commitment to advance EPRP’s mission made her an unwavering revolutionary militant of that period. Her memories of the brutal and terrifying incidents are incredible. She described in detail the chilling, riveting accounts of the Red Terror era until she was released from Kerchele prison in 1986.