Girma Feyisa, Man of Letters, Departs at 78

Girma Feyisa, a veteran writer who had contributed articles to many publications, passed away at the age of 78 in Brussels, Belgium.

After receiving kidney dialysis for the past five years three times a week, Girma passed away at 5:30am on September 28, 2019, at St. Luc Hospital, where he had been hospitalised.

He and his family found out that he had kidney failure when he traveled to Belgium in 2013 for medical reasons. Through many medical treatments, it was possible for him to stay without going through dialysis for a year. However, in April 2014 he started to receive dialysis three times a week at St. Luc Hospital in Brussels.

Born and raised in Arat Kilo in Addis Abeba, Girma was a public servant and was known for publishing articles in newspapers with strong critiques of socioeconomic problems. He wrote under a pen name "Dandew Serbilo Ke Sidist Kilo". He was also a founding and long-time columnist at Addis Fortune newspaper, writing articles about the urban life of Addis Abeba in The View from Arada column for over a decade and a half. He also wrote for Yezaritu, Addis Zemenand The Ethiopian Herald.

Girma was born on May 29,1942. He attended primary and secondary education at Teferi Mekonnen School.

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Addis Abeba University and a master's degree in development studies from Leeds University in the United Kingdom. He also took a short training on transport and communications in Brussels, Belgium and on project planning in Moscow, Russia.

Starting his carrier as a teacher, he served in different public institutions and non-governmental organisations. Among the public offices, Girma had worked at the Ministry of Planning & Economic Development, the then Ministry of Information & Culture, the Ethiopian Heritage Authority and the Addis Abeba Water & Sewerage Authority in different capacities.

Girma was a linguist proficient in three languages: Amharic, Afan Oromo and English.