Faces of Africa: Haile Selassie, the pillar of a Modern Ethiopia

the Empire I think kind of built in this appreciation of what was happening in the rest of the continent for many many years he could not trust anybody else he himself as Minister for education he was really a very special God gifted person [Music] [Music] the story of Ethiopia's great monarch [Music] moderniser and tragic hero haile selassie starts in the thousand-year-old city of herrera [Music] it was here in her air that rusta far as he was known before his coronation as Emperor cut his political teeth it also serves as a strong symbol of the difference between the ancient but primitive feudal society he grew up in and the modern nation he wanted to build as a UNESCO World Heritage Site Herrera cannot construct new buildings within the old city's walls but new buildings do go up outside the old city and technology creeps in from all directions Jeff Pierce is a Canadian author who has spent ten years working on a book about the country's war with Italy in his decade of research he has interviewed some of the top experts on Ethiopian history Emperor Haile Selassie of course he had a special connection to her R and he invested in coffee plantations he was very shrewd financially but he was also very politically astute this was a truth of King hands lesson from different countries hey Lou gaw Shah is a tour guide who has taught himself four languages and shows visitors around Haile Selassie's honeymoon palace in her air Hennis la system actually I was like too young for that and my families used to mention that is one of a good leader and everything is the mirrors in what dimension is everything is very peaceful and most of the things are very cheap they have been brought together by the man dead almost four decades who tried to bring together his nation his continent and the world often with his own personal touch the most unique habitable king highest lassie is not only present pretending like a king and always staying in the palace so my grandfather used to tell me that he always go to a place where people get sick like in the hospitals and visit people and people who don't have finance they're supported by King Haile Selassie so it's a really nice king in my opinion [Applause] Rasta far was the son of nobleman razmik Onan a provincial governor he was also an Ethiopian hero for fighting of invading Italians in the late 1800s brass Makonnen is buried in this higher church in a place of honor [Music] his compatriots who died repelling the Europeans are buried underneath the church [Music] his father decided to educate young Rasta far with tutors of different specialities one an Ethiopian monk and the other a Mexican surgeon Roz Makonnen had two sons upon his death in 1908 his eldest Yale ma inherited the post two years later he also passed away and rastafari came governor while still a teenager if you want to understand the Ethiopian sir a feudal politics is it was really like Game of Thrones it really was imagine this boy who's a Duke and he has given responsibilities to run this province at 14 years old and he is trained by a Catholic priest he's not trained by an Orthodox Ethiopian Clark so already the other nobles are suspicious of this kid at 24 he was appointed Regent by Empress Zod - who used the young man to solidify her own hold on power due to his influential family this made Russ Taff are heir to the throne but he would have to survive some challenges to become emperor when there was a rebellion against him some time around when he was Regent and soon to become emperor he was a he was a fan of flight and he got a plane and they bombed the machine gun the rebels so you had these guys with Spears and antique rifles and Spears and shields coming out and here's this biplane coming over bombing you well that ends that [Music] eventually the Empress passed on and it was time for him to take the throne this moved him from her air through the Ethiopian countryside to the new capital of Addis Ababa at that time we couldn't assume the beauties had different kinds of hearts and a very big house maybe one commander of the army the other low-level commanders they built their hearts around his home around 11,000 people in a desert and there is no road you see nobody can assume that therefore when alice lhasa came to the power very big buildings for justice [Music] while addis was still primitive the new emperor had big plans and decided to build a world-class palace that would impress Ethiopians and foreign visitors alike this palace also it was built after his coronation 1934 in 1934 with 8 other workers and 8 months [Music] his palace is now part of a museum on the ground of the country's first University which he himself founded [Applause] [Music] his visits with students showed the early priority he was putting on modernizing education in Ethiopia he used to visit many schools law told in Tokyo he was encouraging students to learn it was even giving us incentives by giving the small amount of money he will use to give a sweater and so and so forth so he wasn't quite encouraging us to learn I grew up in sort of and his families schools you know I started with his gran Branson school then his son Makonnen and then went to his another grandson in person had the opportunity once or twice for meeting Haile Selassie wanted young people who could do more than just read or write who would become diplomats scientists engineers but he had to start with the basics I think I must have been seven or eight years old and we lined up to meet him and that's the first time I saw him and he gave us 50 cents each and I value that money that's the money I used to buy the first pencil the first rocky part the young impressed passion for education would eventually bear fruit but in the early years it was opposed by the nobility that Rasta far had come from he used to give gifts on Christmas Day to students going to school those days the feudal system in the well they call them now reactionaries but they truly concerned that these people didn't want their children to be going to school and get contaminated by Western culture but Haile Selassie was desperate to have educated people for his administration for his services and even the children wrote them it is the servants children that they sent to school and his first ministers were composed of mostly commoners not from the nobility in order to push forward his agenda for modern education he needed to win over this nobility which he did by supporting tradition he was also conservative he tried to keep the tradition of Ethiopian people and the tradition of the monarchy to keep his hierarchy and he tried also to keep the throne to unify the country and have everyone support his modern ideas he would need to earn the loyalty of those from the countries other 80 tribes chipiya with federal estate there are 83 ethnic groups whose the represent it is really three groups were asking Anasazi from three ethnic groups amara Oromo on groggy or cinta therefore what was the rest 83 ethnic groups not easy it isn't Italy groups they have their own culture their tradition their belief even their traditional kings they have it perhaps the most crucial factor that helped him to unify the country and gain acceptance for his modernization program was the support of the powerful Ethiopian Orthodox Church upon his coronation he was renamed Haile Selassie in the Amharic language power of the Trinity as Emperor he became the head of the Orthodox Church and by tradition had the Religious Right to rule before 1974 just the state and the religion it was linked Lucado noted penalized by the church that's why I said it the churches because the churches it was built on getting for the king he is more dominant in the conv separates the churches and the Kings and also have a power they were also one side of the land was built over the churches of course for us you know we we we we think he's like like God you know and he himself they don't give us that going by the way is a banner he's his treasurer who goes out and hunts coil and our eyes are with him you know very short fellow walking and you know that's it you know you can imagine at that age with what God was worth while he was promoting an agenda based on logic and progressive ideas legend was a powerful tool of the church it claims a biblical relationship between its monarch and the famous Jewish leader and legendary wise man King Solomon the Ethiopian royal line so Haile Selassie himself is said to descend directly from the Queen of Sheba I for one it's very difficult to justify that by just blast it was a direct descendent of trans lasse and Queen Sheba and King Solomon but we simply took it for granted for we love and respect him / her Selassie it was before Christ 995 BC and where she was traveled to Israel which was beautiful woman and she was asleep regime where she came to Ethiopia she was pregnant and born Malik Forest after nine months and five days while Haile Selassie disavow the legend to educated friends and foreigners it was part of the powerful hold he had over the common people [Music] [Music] the Empress religious authority would seem to make it easy to unify the nation but he decided to use his personal touch to make people believe in his love for his country and its people news we scarf this car sometimes with a no quarter for example nights drive there was with Queen Elizabeth in go under go under area even the company go under go under city well it was 40 kilometers far from Wanda and we were camping but Yuma go under with chocolate chip and Metallica I tried but I'm told I'm marina Berg Vera Park on popular and amoeba low but I'm told that marina Peru the zoo Tyreke atonium not a cerrar atonium not Marin as I shown but look the star took a blow and now on the earth so mature again an Adobe AIR lipids beneath with metallic midnight buzz and salmon in a barren I am youkai Cho your doctor his accessibility also showed he had an open mind something that helped him learn from his people and change with the times the other encounter was when I was in civilization school there is funny had a girlfriend and in those days you know if you have a girlfriend has to be very very secretive so were asked walking her home and we made sure that will not encounter her brother so we took a small alley and so we're walking taking our time chatting no and all of a sudden we had the small knock-on on the horn we turn around it was Emperor so the flood I pulled him out and we bowed I'll never forget it he looked at me laughing and he said I saw you these are my my encounters actually yeah he always winter I didn't learn anything about you when you were given your genome you can tell no one get him again lately while he spent a lot of time cultivating popularity with his Ethiopian subjects he also coated international favor he was famous diplomat and a lot of countries had a very good relation with him African countries euro or so America he was everyone almost one two thousand six hundred something twelve thousand seven times he was visiting 14 progress during his time at that time two important problems they will he was visiting 167 countries in the world occasionally there was criticism well his detractors would say is going there to have fun but I am sure for diplomatic purposes that he went he would go to America meet Kennedy over Eisenhower I think he had met them both he I don't think he would just die burn and come back he will come with programs of agent project one sort or another the Emperor learned about modern ideas and technology bringing home worldly knowledge and friendships llegará to a dilemma fraud the international good daylight Rula miss rod Hewlett in your dog Mui Japan be able to Lamaze dog haile selassie anticipated globalization even on the modest scale of the 1930s in 1923 he signed Ethiopia up to be the first African country to join the League of Nations the forefather of the United Nations he saw his country being pulled between the development of an industrialized Europe and its place in its own still wild continent of Africa he would send young Ethiopians very talented young intelligentsia off to the capitals of Europe to get an education because he recognized that the country had to modernize his initial choice appeared to be to lean toward Europe there he mined ideas that would help build ministries schools and institutions that were aimed at taking Ethiopia from a primitive feudal state to a modern nation kasi ammiraju hostel a derecho it's a Mercer Otto Ethiopian the seminary sillustani but this malayalam namitha in 1931 he became the first absolute ruler to voluntarily write a constitution which established a judicial system while still keeping most of the power of government in the Emperor's hands until 1974 he showed different of developments in the country we couldn't deny these kinds of changes in the first Constitution or written in his Market Market I'm the second constitution also improved by his power time he tried to bring civilization to lies the society but how far he tried to talk to to bring this country it is it has its own limitation and the Sigma Z was highly interested to have many models modern scholars in theater to change to bring fundamental change in terms of civilization and development has warned his early efforts to modernize his country through education had only six years to progress before tragedy struck in 1936 fascist Italy decided once again to be the first European colonizers of Ethiopia [Music] the entire world was fascinated by this war it was on the New York Times it was in the London Times 20,000 black Americans were marching in Harlem over this war their battleships in the Mediterranean about to go to war with Italy over this war and it was a precursor to the second world war he had a huge impact on world events the Emperor tried to use his connections to head of the Italian attack he delivered an impassioned speech to the League of Nations pleading for the world's interference [Music] the gears of fascists in the gallery did not stop him I am here to claim justice he said what reply shall I take back to my people you know what got you so said the Emperor it is us today it will be you tomorrow then why Selassie buzzer bowtie Hado recite oh he took as Kikuchi better govern a dictator many he'll give in the self-assemble but the Makeba astrid at all and in agusan against remind Mary but then German hado the League of nation forum lame Shango lie I will to Tyagaraja Kesava we tell them our Emperor also made a very remarkable and prophetic speech he said to them it is we today and do tomorrow after which all the Europeans are falling under the strongest and brutal fitna so it was the kind of professes that had really taken place his eloquence moral authority and logic fell on deaf ears despite the league's refused to intervene he continued to hope that the strength of his people and the righteousness of their position would defeat the Italians it is good that you are here record this picture of me in my palace garden at addis ababa people who see this throughout zone will realize that even in the 20th century with space cried and they just cause David we'll still beat Goliath [Music] the Italians hit harder his youthful stronghold muscley knees planes bombed this city they wiped out the oldest mosque in Africa and few people know about it but there was no military installations here they just decided let's scare the living daylights out of the Ferraris and hi emperor haile selassie of course he had a special connection to her our and and he was very hurt but you know he was very emotionally moved by the plight of the people here eventually the Italians took the capital burning his palace and shocking Ethiopians with their targets they killed more than 300 books it the country the Italians under Mussolini massacred an entire generation that could have led this country into the 20th and 21st century hey listen lassie went into exile in Bath England in 1936 he nearly died there practically of pneumonia and sickness because it was so cold he wasn't used to the climate he came back here and I believe it affected his character deeply that he was never going to give up control and never going to divest control to other people for five long years the emperor suffered in tough conditions in damp cold weather until 1941 once the Italians were chased out by Ethiopian freedom fighters operating from the countryside he was welcomed home to reclaim his throne and once again tried to unite and modernize Ethiopia we had the most difficult time with him with the invasion for example Ethiopia never been invaded by any enemy even always free land the freedom fighter and it's people defended their country five years with his time and he was lucky enough to actually regain the freedom and helped many of the African nations to get their freedom too and he was really very special God gifted person but his time away from home had given him some valuable perspective and he would return with a plan on how to build a new Ethiopia and how to try and empower Africa so it could look after its own the pillars he would build his modern Ethiopia on would be people educators cultural heroes diplomats engineers and mechanics and even pilots [Music] to try and connect Africans he would build an airline and use his wisdom charm and diplomatic experience to move Africa forward toward an era of independence and unity after independence he really wanted to modernize this country this nation when the AU was established in 1963 and black-and-white television was introduced for the first time so it's a very exciting time here on us to visit the palace here in front the general populace worshiped [Music] [Music] you [Music] Haile Selassie's drive to modernize Ethiopia restarted with urgency after the Italian occupation ended and he was back in Addis Ababa [Music] the Emperor's first order of business was to create an educated class of young people who could power his country forward with their intelligence and ability to adapt to new ideas in a rapidly developing world [Music] he started with two schools one for secondary students and one for university pupils he made education his priority as a matter of fact for many many years he could not trust anybody else he himself as Minister for education for many years he took a team I tell you this is why I used to come in every boarding school he was like our Father bring fruits at soul nah that murtabak old battle-ax him recite o que haya Alma taught ballet yet Mert Minister in Natanz and so a guru numero uno para mantener animals ran a barrel bazoo it myrtle what at which hospital today there are hundreds of secondary schools throughout the nation and over 150 colleges or universities so this was really something that in different subjects she was always interested in seeing helping people and education the child he was the Minister of Education himself to the educate all of us actually to bring us to this level and let's be forget whatever he has done so well his products I would say Haile Selassie's crusade to create a brilliant team of young achievers helped steer his nation to where it is now modern education is his legacy the other thing is our not just education but excellence in education he quickly grew local educators to replace foreigners and here was a place to start his pan-african leadership in 1958 he invited 200 African students to Ethiopia to study at Haile Selassie University now called Addis Ababa University he wished to transfer his dream of modern education to the rest of Africa but he also saw the need to engage others to promote Ethiopia's role on the continent by bringing European diplomats scholars and tourists to Ethiopia he also saw a way to increase his Countryman's exposure to new ideas and develop international trade partners but he needed to make sure they appreciated his nation so he turned to some of the young Ethiopians he was building his contemporary society on including hub disa la cita Fez I could treat him any day he was very kind with me the Emperor sent him off to Germany on Ethiopian Airlines first flight there he came back with some ideas on tourism that was the first in Agra flight is a bishop relates to Frankfurt big dealers and in the process the Germans were talking about tourism the Emperor instructed him to get a tourism operation going the Emperor called me he said you have to do this job I said Your Majesty I know nothing about this job he told me pay that reward I remember play like a Lords daughter so I said okay Haile Selassie was always helpful in the efforts to impress foreigners dignitaries or ordinary tourists well then I tell you my tourists he said bring them I bring ten fifty thirty tourists to him he orders champagne he orders tej he gives them to drink they take take a picture together take a picture of their Timlin and visit here all has to visit the palace here in front tourists went took a pictures of a tower look around even his bedroom after a few years of bringing in groups of foreigners and shooting photos all over the country helped the silastic coined the country's famous tourism slogan your support is your place 30 months now calendar and then there is sunshine 30 my thing here anytime the rainy season rain comes the all of us know that after 15 minutes I will come out Ethiopia uses what they call the gaze calendar which is seven years difference from the commonly used Gregorian calendar and also breaks the year down into 13 months [Music] another area that enjoyed the Emperor's personal touch was culture and in particular theatre actor hymanot alamou remembers when he was 9 years old and the Emperor came to see a play at his school he had come to see a play and he brought the Queen and they both sat sort of where you are now and the play was molière's the miser excellent actor Makonnen Dori was so good and so I sat there and half the time I wasn't watching the play I was watching the Emperor and I saw the play looked a simple it looked like a simple thing to do on stage enough to bring an emperor to our school and that's when I decided that I want to be an actor and never changed my mind since high minutes Correa blossomed with encouragement from the Emperor and the occasion of scolding Emperor came and I played the Italian collaborator which is a character everybody loved to hate and I have a very bad monologue where I really slam Ethiopia and Ethiopians and he walked he walked out of the theater and went to the palace then the three actors in the playwright were called to the palace and was given a dressing-down he was really upset this fire gaseous I was also fortunate to have the Emperor take notice of him he was training to be a lawyer when Haile Selassie caught him performing I wasn't nervous when he came but still I guess I was good enough good performance called me in the morning his to his palace gave me his watch asked me what my plans were I said I'm going to and studied law after the minister beside him how many students are going to study though I think he answered 12 that's quite a lot so we have very many lawyers under trading we need someone in the theatre they have the ministrations of the theatre the managers and directors who have white people they didn't speak America the local language and so you need Europeans to replace them so he said it's all sort of an order that you go and study theatre and I don't don't regret it at all I'm very happy he ended up as the manager of the National Theatre as well as starring in countless performances his favorite was Hamlet I played Hamlet also that's another great place I was the first Hamlet to wear what we call first Ethiopian premieres by our prominent later own prominent playwright staged by me Haile Selassie stayed interested in Ethiopian theatre throughout his life she after him that's what we missed there were no leaders and you know to see our productions but he did attend comedies or historical place or tragedies he did and even before the Italian invasion and the establishment of proper theaters in the country he used to invite people who wrote dialogues or pieces of theater to his palace for when his children got married some wedding parties things like that in he gave prizes to the writers into the actors he was a great benefactor of the Arts despite his pressing duties as head of state his personal touch was always felt they cannot populous worship him and so you can imagine him coming here and we small actors being honored by his presence usually also stayed late after the show and shook hands with us and said good [Music] you [Music] after Ethiopia suffered at the hands of the Italian Air Force during the 1930s occupation one might guess that the Emperor might have wanted one of his own for defensive purposes but he started Ethiopian Airlines for different reasons number one was to connect his own country which has very difficult terrain to cross see this is what I really caught the Emperor the Emperor's wisdom after independence he really wanted to modernize this country this nation and all the promises were far apart and he knew the only way to connect these provinces will not be possible by rock because the mountains and the terraces to return expensive so he chose airplanes and succeeded [Music] he also saw the airline as a way to link Africa with Ethiopia as its center Jayram the Sultan when a purpose a man the zeal a to pay a year Mangat do you talk rats at oh look at the telly Arawa by a g0 a malama button na Amisha shall button language after capital letter and that really puts the nation together and gradually we wanted to extend this to the rest of Africa and also were very very sure in the planning that since we are far apart from the rest of the world we have to be independent so we started our maintenance right away [Music] while the early days at Ethiopian Airlines were tough financially the effort paid off in more ways than one the Olli was started there was no other flight than ask connecting the nation and I remember I forgot the data now Arthur came up but before AIA every headline used to pay the tickets he was who said whatever price you want Scott then attack him prices were regulated all major airlines of the world broke Ethiopian Airlines made money in 2012 the company made a profit of 42 million u.s. dollars connected to the rest of the world and Africa by air Haile Selassie now became Africa's biggest champion uniting the continent through the organization of African Unity or oau he wanted to move the continent forward in terms of trade and security to help everyone progress he saw an opportunity to lead a post-colonial Africa from Addis Ababa to show them how a modern independent African nation could achieve great things if your pet has never been occupied by the way for five years Italians say were their colonies but they were able to monitor only the towns all the other countryside was controlled by the freedom fighters are by nature cold and because of that because our independence for centuries we felt responsible to lead lead the rest of Africans you know to come to a standard because they are new they do not have actual governments like us in history there were 33 leaders of the African nations which has United for the first time and this was his like and it regarded as the father of the other African nations as well many of Africa's independence leaders went to the Emperor for inspiration advice and even material support such men as Kwame Nkrumah Jomo Kenyatta Julius Nyerere Kenneth Kaunda and even Nelson Mandela many of them they were really given him recognition for what L done and we are already Canada and many others I mean like the chroma as a rapist a few in a girl at all at all saach-- oh yeah we cannot donate lemon mousse red but gentlemen can a brutal murder of Cara yet Onaga guru yet Aslam but this our katha malai kofta knows of Sivan de tarragona yeah African did not chart arou nd forum yeah Dora Boots satella - we had a good appreciation about pan-africanism eventually when the AU was established in 1963 and black-and-white television was introduced for the first time so it's a very exciting time so the kind of temper I think kind of built in this appreciation of what was happening in the rest of the continent in our young minds [Music] the OAU found a home in addis ababa in part because Ethiopian Airlines could bring Africa's new leaders together here [Music] having just celebrated its 50th anniversary and now called the African Union the organization boasts many achievements achievements that would make the Emperor proud they include ending white minority rule in southern African nations helping to create a new nation in South Sudan and promoting stability in Somalia Haile Selassie took a personal interest in promoting peace between African neighbors his airline would prove to be crucial to his ability to go to flashpoints where his diplomatic skills would achieve dramatic results I remember one incident I think 1965-66 I'm not sure of the date traditions were at the brink of war Morocco and Algeria I think that their troops are already the Emperor whether to the front line we took him with the 720 B and I remember there was ro jet start you know a car that used the pressure to start the engine so until the Emperor negotiated we kept one and you're running for six hours and we brought peace that was he did everywhere there is a problem he used to water with danger and that continued and that was what brought Africa really to what it is he's jetting off to solve other people's problems didn't keep him from paying attention to his own family with six children from his wife quim Menon haile selassie had a large family to be concerned about he wrote about how he handled his family's how he related with his wife and their different to social advice based on that advice he wrote to his son various family members held positions in provincial governments such as his grandson in law Prince Manisha say you it was the fourth farsighted person and it was very easy for him to understand us whenever we brought problems of course as the minister I was one who was very near to his majesty but he didn't let his relatives take outsized positions in his administration or line up of advisers his fun bits about Chacho Becerra good Jacob and Aunt Sarah like a funeral Jurgen danijon reasoning in engine with 70 below band and a garage in the Taiyo Sultan I'll tell you he was worried about his wife health but as far as I know from later their relation was very good [Music] in the 1960s his family would feel significant pain with the death of Queen menon it was a loss that the emperor would feel at home every day aware of his own mortality he kept a thorough exercise resume and a consistent diet he had an exercise he had some weight lifting everything he was in good shape father look cool Asahi listen of course I'm sorry just taught us to make additional cost I think a typical were would we know was at work on perhaps at this time he was too focused on building industries and relations with his neighbors he didn't hear the drumbeat of socialism's growing popularity across the world in Africa and at home if the obvious land title's still largely belonged to the nobility and students wanted that changed and a new socialist movement called the derg eventually seized power and changed the system even many of the emperor supporters were jubilant when land reform was realized the feudal system controlled all the land 3,000 washes and they're not working on it sit here so were eager to see that in fact there was a demonstration way back in Vassar College Maurice Leroux was a slogan let land go to the tiller all that over a lot of land I lost three gashes of land but I want it gone because I am not terminal farming so when the Derby came and announced that when me and my brother-in-law eight hours who have been jumping around a desire being happy because that was justice his must have stopped there but things continued you know we're not politicians or just that was the idea being fair but the new regime would target the monarchy we knew that the Resta - he was somewhere around us because they kept record the bottle the record salute nothing my name nothing I got other world will not be alive now to talk to you Haile Selassie's family members ever fled or were jailed as many were associated with his regime my wife my mother-in-law and director the other princesses with the four sisters of my wife my wife was caught and I went to Sudan instead so they became the freedom fighter fare and while the other families have been detained here for 14 years I was 8 years in prison with 56 counts and said 8 years the first few days the commander said will judge you according to the law [Music] the Emperor himself received the ultimate punishment Simas to say was shot poisoned suffocated but we don't have any confirmation concerning the way he died from a sniper cover each almond cocoa butter color and the calendar the key thing as a well welcome Haile Selassie's greatest sin his greatest mistake was living too long when the current regime eventually overthrew the Doug in 1991 Haile Selassie's body was eventually discovered in a basement and was enshrined in the National Cathedral in a tomb next to his wife queen Menon [Music] here we have two historical tubes this one belongs to Emperor Haile Selassie and that one belongs to his wife Empress Menen she died of natural causes fifty years ago gone but not forgotten people will continue to look back on the remarkable life of Ethiopia's modern emperor [Music] [Music]

Channel: CGTN

Views: 345,098

Rating: 4.6322703 out of 5

Keywords: CCTV, CGTN, CCTVNews, News, WorldNews, Politics, Africa, FacesofAfrica, HaileSelassie, Ethiopia

Id: M9xN6DeZWDI

Length: 58min 18sec (3498 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 28 2019