Fortunately, when his mother arrived at the neighbor’s home, Gelila was there. She agreed to help Tadesse and followed his mother home. Gelila patiently explained how the constitution protected both human and democratic rights, and helped him copy down relevant passages from a pocket-sized copy of the country’s constitution she’d brought with her. Once he’d finished his homework, she stood and said, “I hope that helped.”
“It did, thank you very much.”
Gelila was touched by his humility, and by how quickly he seemed to absorb knowledge. “Of course. Don’t hesitate to ask me any other questions you might have. You know where to find me.”
Tadesse smiled and nodded. His mother invited her to stay for dinner, but Gelila apologized and said she needed to get home.
Tadesse immediately got lost in thought. He pictured what Monday would be like: Mr. Dargie would collect the exercise books, then ask for volunteers to explain the homework aloud. Tadesse would be the only student to raise his hand. He would explain the constitutional nuances so eloquently that Mr. Dargie would ask the class to stand and clap. At recess, all of his classmates would want to play with him. He’d be the most popular boy in school. He wished time would speed up.
Gelila, who was still standing behind him, smiled at his faraway expression and patted his head. “Don’t worry, Tade. You’re a smart boy,” she whispered.
“Thank you, Gelila,” he said, his cheeks warming.
She began asking him about his favorite subjects in school when Tadesse’s nineteen-year-old brother, Anbesse, bolted into the yard, a stream of blood running down his forehead. His eyes were swollen, his cheeks bruised and pale. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Gelila screamed, “What happened to you?”
Their mother came running outside at the sound of the commotion. Seeing her son bruised and bloody left her speechless.
“Who did this?” asked Tadesse.
Anbesse was silent. He didn’t want to explain what had happened to him. He knew something just as bad, or worse, could happen to his family.
“It was the cops,” he said finally, after further prodding from Gelila. He spit a red-tinged glob of saliva into the dust. “They beat me mercilessly, for no reason at all. When they finally released me, they admitted I was innocent — they knew it all along.”
“But that’s illegal! The police can’t go around beating people,” Tadesse said. He watched the blood run down his brother’s forehead. “Everyone is equal before the law until they are convicted.”
Their mother remained in a state of shock. She examined the extent of Anbesse’s injuries as tears flowed down her face. Gelila was furious. She paced back and forth.
Anbesse was, despite everything, a tough young man. He never gave up, especially if he believed there was an injustice to be corrected. Once, he’d had a dispute with their neighbor over a sewer pipe that had been leaking into their yard. The stench was making his family sick. He had confronted the neighbor and demanded that he fix the pipe. The neighbor had called over his security guard. Anbesse still had a scar on his forehead as a result of the encounter, but he’d convinced the neighbor that he wasn’t someone to trifle with, and the pipe had eventually been repaired.
Their mother brought a jug of warm water from the house and washed the blood from Anbesse’s face, attempting to soothe him as she checked to see whether his nose was broken.
Gelila was trembling uncontrollably. “I still don’t understand. Why would they do this to you? What exactly happened?”
Anbesse sighed, then winced as his mother wiped dirt and blood from his nose. “It’s all a blur. I saw a group of people running toward me, so I assumed something bad was happening behind them, and I took off as well. But in the chaos, I tripped and fell. The cops caught up to me and immediately started beating me with their batons, as if they were trying to smash me into the gravel. I tried to tell them I hadn’t done anything, but they wouldn’t listen. So I curled myself up, hoping that if I was still enough they’d leave me alone. If I’d tried to resist they would have killed me.”
“How did you manage to escape?” Gelila asked.
“Luckily, another person the cops had detained admitted that I wasn’t the man they were looking for. He told the policemen that the suspect they were pursuing had already escaped. The cops had no choice but to let me go, saying, Well, you shouldn’t have run.”
“They should have taken you to the hospital. I’m going to go deal with this.” Gelila started walking toward the road.
“Where are you going?” Anbesse asked.
“To the police station. They must be held accountable. You need medical attention.”
“Gelila is right. They have to do something for Anbesse,” Tadesse said.
Tadesse, Anbesse, and their mother decided to follow Gelila to the station. But before they had gotten far, they encountered three police officers on a nearby street.
“There they are!” said Anbesse, pointing to the men.
Gelila approached them swiftly and confidently. “What nonsense is this? You beat my friend for no reason, and now you’re strolling in the street like you’re peacekeepers. Shame on you!”
One of the cops frowned. Another said, “Who are you?”
She ignored his question. “You’re supposed to protect and serve the public, but instead you are beating innocent people. What happened to justice? Is there no law in this country?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you crazy bitch.”
“You nearly beat this young man to death. If he was guilty of something, you should have arrested him. You can’t go around beating and humiliating innocent people.”
“We did no such thing,” the cop said.
“What is this blood, then? All of us have witnessed your bullshit!” Anbesse shouted.
The officer relented: “We thought you were the guy we were chasing.” He kept his tone even, trying to calm everyone down.
“So what? You still ambushed him. We want justice!” Gelila said.
One of the policemen grew angry: “This is none of your business. You must be one of them. You are antipeace, antidemocracy, and antiorder.”
“This is nonsense, you can’t just go around punishing someone whenever you want.” Gelila took a step closer to one of the officers.
He drew his arm back and slapped her in the face. She blinked, mouth agape. Then she screamed so loudly the neighbors came out of their homes. The three policemen realized they were outnumbered and started waving the crowd back, yelling at the gawkers to disperse.
Tadesse was frightened. He cautiously watched each movement the officers made, from behind his mother’s skirt. Anbesse, emboldened by the gathering crowd, rushed toward one of the policemen. The officer quickly lifted up his baton to strike Anbesse on the head.
“Don’t hurt him!” Tadesse screamed. He forgot his fear and took a step toward his brother, wanting to protect him.
The policeman swung his baton to strike Anbesse, but missed — and hit Tadesse instead. Tadesse fell to the ground, his body limp. In the weak light, Anbesse knelt down to lift up his brother. Tadesse’s head flopped back like a rag doll.
An old man cried out from the crowd, “What have you done? He’s only a child!”
Someone else screamed: “Please call an ambulance!”
The crowd gathered around the two brothers, and in the commotion the policemen took off.
“It’s too late,” Anbesse said quietly. His brother felt so light.
Their mother laid her head on her oldest son’s shoulder, and wept.
Agony of the Congested Heart
by Teferi Nigussie Tafa