An Eritrean man separated from his mother when he was a child has been reunited with her 47 years later.
His mother, Zenebech, made an emotional appearance on Ethiopian TV channel EBS days ago, saying her daily prayer was “to see my son before I die”.
Mussie Kahsay Tesfagergis surprised her with a phone call soon after, and flew from his home in the United States to Ethiopia where his mother now lives.
Mussie became teary-eyed as he arrived at the airport, recalling his mother. When asked what what gift he had brought his mother, he replied: “Myself.”
Mother and son were introduced at a ceremony hosted by the family and EBS. Mussie said he had no real memory of her, but knew her face from photographs.
They sobbed as they hugged one another.
“I feel happy when I see my mother after all these years. This is the happiest day of my life,” Mussie said.
“I’d love to kiss the sky, but I couldn’t reach it. I owe my gratitude to all Ethiopians,” his mother said.
Mussie’s long-lost brother said: “I am really happy – I had only seen him in a photo.”
Mussie was taken as a child by his Eritrean father who was an air force mechanic, and travelled to Asmara, the capital, with his two brothers.
They left their mother in 1966, during the reign of Haile Selassie. Zenebech never heard from her sons again.
But she received a letter during the Derg period, stating that one son had gone to the bush to fight alongside the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the other two had moved abroad.
Source: BBC
