Remembering
and Bidding Farewell to a Wonderful Woman and
Friend: Mehret Iyob
Ghelawdewos
Araia, PhD
4/21/2017
I
was shocked and completely taken over by the bad
news on the passing of Mehret Iyob; I did not know
until a friend told me five days after the
untimely death of Mehret and her body laid to rest
on April 15, 2017 at Asmara, a city where she was
born and brought up. The passing of Mehret is a
major loss for her immediate and extended families
and it is with deep sorrow that I am extending my
condolences to her husband, Beraki Gebreselassie,
her children, and her sisters Ararat Iyob and Ruth
Iyob, and the rest of her brothers and sisters.
I
have known Mehret for a long time, spanning at
least four decades, i.e. since our elementary and
high school days; at the Haile Selassie Secondary
School, were we were enrolled, we became close
friends. In fact, my friends (including
Andehaimanot Gebremedhin) and I (the boys) and
Mehret’s group (the girls) established a strong
and intimate relationship while doing our studies
as high school students and enjoying the school
campus at the same time; it was really joyous to
have the Mehret group and we were simply having a
good time without ever anticipating our future
destinations.
Among
the girls that were friends of Mehret were Hebret
Berhe and Mitslal Lijam; three beautiful girls with
impeccable physical appearance that almost every
student and teacher alike was attracted to them,
and a significant number of students and teachers
attempted to date them but without success. Even
my own group, for some unknown reason, was not
successful in establishing a romantic relationship
with these three girls. One fine sunny day, during
a break time, I was chatting with Mehret, Hebret,
and Mitslal in front of the entrance to the main
building of the school and one Amharic speaker
teacher, tall and handsome with discoloration on
his hands, came by and provoked a talk with us;
while talking he was looking unto the faces of all
the three girls, without ever making a glance at
me; he probably did not like my presence but it
was obvious to me that he was seeking attention
from all of them, and in due course of his talking
he implied that he wanted to have a relationship
with one of them, but the three of them burst into
laughter and ended their laughter by sarcastic
smiles on their faces. The teacher, of course, was
offended although he did not exhibit any anger;
however, he expressed his inner feelings by saying
one Amharic proverb: Kejingero
Konjo Min Yimerarťu, literally and roughly translated
it means ‘one cannot make a choice of beauty
from monkeys’. Mehret,
Hebret, and Mitslal again laughed loudly and the
psychologically wounded teacher was compelled to
leave. To be sure, the teacher acted like the
proverbial monkey that was unable to reach the
grapes and said, “The grapes are sour”.
At
a later stage in our high school days, the Mehret
group brought unto their circle one pretty girl by
the name Senait Bahta, but before Senait joined
the group the three girls were popularly known as
The Three Musketeers and I don’t quite remember
who gave them this label and why, but it seems to
me it was due to their discreet behavior rather
than their beauty and attractiveness. It is also
highly probable that they were named The Three
Musketeers because none of the boys were able to
break through their formidable circle and have
them as girlfriends. The name did not change even
after Senait joined the group and the number
became four; but then, by a twist of historical
irony, Mitslal left the Group to Germany and the
number three continued until all of us graduated
from high school and joined Haile Selassie I
University (now Addis Ababa University) during
academic year of 1969-1970.
Meheret
was not only physically attractive and beautiful
(not to mention her figure and stylistic Afro
hairdo) but she was also incredibly beautiful from
within. She had a great heart, and she was
unassuming, soft spoken, calm, quiet, and with all
the attributes of serendipity endowed to her by
the universe. I say this because Mehret was one of
the few women who were fortunate enough to be
loved and respected by both men and women, and in
most instances she got help and love from her
acquaintances without ever expecting anything from
them. In brief, Mehret most often encountered
pleasant surprises, but I would not know whether
her encounters were attributable to grace or mere
chance, or a combination of both that I am not
qualified to evaluate.
But
other qualities and behavior of Mehret that I can
evaluate with confidence were her kindness,
honesty, down-to-earth outlooks, and her
alarmingly humane propensities that forced us to
love her in return.
This was a special woman by all measure and
standards, who could easily outshine the most
celebrated personas who extend goodness to
humanity. Mehret was an embodiment of goodness.
I
believe Mehret was destined to talk less and do
more, and as I stated above she was far from being
an incessant talker. However, although her lips
were sealed for the most part, she expressed her
profound ideas by her beautiful, round, and
perceptive eyes; talking eyes I ever encountered.
One can safely assume that Mehret had a fine brain
behind her forehead by just looking at her
intelligent eyes.
One
of course becomes and is not born with all the
intelligence that humans acquire over the course
of their lives. At least 75% of intelligence is
acquired from the environment and exposure really
matters. The first environment to which we are
exposed to is the homestead unto which we all are
born, and Mehret was lucky to be born in a great
family. Her father, Dr. Iyob was one of the
earliest educated elites and her mother Weizero
Lu’ula was a unique woman who loved to bear and
bear ideas, not to mention her hospitable behavior
that was immensely inviting, and it is because of
the qualities of this loving mother that my
friends and I used to frequent the house of Dr.
Iyob, situated between St. George Church and Ras
Mekonnen Bridge in Addis Ababa. It is thus not
surprising that Mehret became a smart woman,
because she was molded and polished by a strong
family; Mehret’s intelligence is also shared by
her younger sisters, Ararat and Ruth.
Mehret
has made a transition but her legacy will live on
forever. She will not be forgotten, and by way of
bidding her farewell I like to conclude by
reciting the ancient Egyptian discourse of
conversation conducted between God, Osiris and his
son Horus:-
Thy
head is like that of Horus of the Duat,
imperishable
Thy
body is like Khenti-merti, imperishable
Thine
ears are the two daughters of Tempt, imperishable
Thine
eyes are the two daughters of Tempt, imperishable
Thine
nose is like that of Anpu, imperishable
Thy
teeth are like that of Horus Sept, imperishable
Thy
flesh is the daughter of Tempt, imperishable
Though
shall never perish, thy Ka* shall never perish, a
Ka established.
Mehret,
you shall never perish and you are imperishable!
Ka*
in ancient Egyptian Kemetic language means
‘soul’. © copyright IDEA 2017
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