Joanne Eisen, a Doctor of Dentistry, an advocate, and a friend of the Oromo, passed away peacefully on January 5, 2025, at her home in Alexandria, VA, due to a terminal illness.
Joanne was adopted as an Oromo in a Guddifacha (adoption) ceremony at an OSA conference in Washington DC in the summer of 2013. She was given the Oromo name Jitu,
Joanne graduated from NYU College of Dentistry and earned her DDS in 1966. She lived and practiced dentistry on Long Island, New York, for most of her career. In the summer of 2015, she relocated to Virginia for retirement.
As an Oromo and US Citizen, Jitu was a great friend of the Oromo people and advocated and wrote for the greater autonomy and civil and human rights of the Oromo in Oromia. She authored and coauthored several scholarly articles on the Oromo related to genocide determination, land grab, dispossession, and human rights, published in The Journal of Oromo Studies (JOS) and the Journal of Pan African Studies (JPAS) see below. She traveled to OSA conferences for years and presented papers at the 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017 annual conferences. She also raised the plight of the Oromo people on a range of other public platforms.
Jitu lived a kind and selfless life from 1942 to 2025. She is survived by two adult children. Her family will mourn her loss privately, according to her instructions.
References to Dr Joanne “Jitu” Eisen’s Publications on Oromo, as solo and co-author:
- 2018. The Great Displacements of 2017: Acts of Genocide in Ethiopia. JPAS Vol. 12, Issue 6
- 2018. Genocide in Oromia through the Eyes of Sexual Torture Survivors. JOS Volume 25 Issues 1&2
- 2018. The Politics of Genocide Denial in Ethiopia. JPAS Vol. 11, Issue 4
- 2017. Proving Genocide in Ethiopia: The Dolus Specialis of Intent to Destroy a Group. JPAS vol.10, no.7, September 2017
- 2016. Famine, Genocide and Media Control in Ethiopia. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.9, no.10, December 2016
- 2015. Countering Land-Grabs by Establishing a Database of Customary Land Ownership Rights of Indigenous Peoples. JOS Vol. 22 No. 1&2
- 2014. Acknowledging Genocide against the Oromo. JOS Vol 21.
Conference Presentations on the Oromo
- Obbo Habtamu Dugo, Joanne Eisen & Paul Gallant, “Acknowledging Genocide against the Oromo,” Paper presented at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Oromo Studies Association, Minneapolis, MN, July 14, 2012
- Melkamu Jate, Habtamu Dugo, and Joanne Eisen (Joint): “Countering Land-grabs by Establishing a Data Bank of Customary Land Ownership Rights of Indigenous Peoples” Paper presented as part of a panel on “Land Grab in Ethiopia” at 2013 Annual Conference of OSA, Washington, DC, August 4, 2013.
- Habtamu Dugo & Joanne Eisen, “Planned Sexual Atrocities as a Tactic of Slow Genocide: Inferring Intent,” Paper presented as part of a panel entitled “Human Rights of the Oromo: Shedding Light in Previously Hidden Areas of Concern” at the 2015 Annual Conference of OSA, Washington, DC, August 1, 2015.
- Joanne Eisen, Independent Researcher, “The Politics of Genocide Denial in Ethiopia,” Paper presented on the panel, “Politics of Genocide and Displacement,” at 2017 Oromo Studies Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC, July 30, 2017.
