Once again, the Falashas were in a mood of despair but now they were fortunate to have in Yona Bogale, European-educated with a talent for languages, an able and impressive spokesman who could bring their plight to the attention of Jews abroad. The missionaries were increasing their efforts and were bringing medical aid to reinforce the influence ef their schools. Accusations of sorcery had not been eliminated and had led to instances of murder and arson, and the desecration of cemeteries. The tribe's economic situation was deteriorating as a result of increasing pressure on tenant farmers from greedy and unscrupulous landlords, while the craftsmen were meeting severe competition from factory-made utensils. In desperation, though with little hope, they presented a petition to the Emperor three times, in 1958 and 1959, in which they reported their grievances. They listed the names of thirteen of their number who had been murdered accused of sorcery, three instances of arson, including the school at Wuzaba, eight attacks on cemeteries, innumerable examples of eviction and details of outrageous rents and tithes. They complained that in some areas, in addition to government taxes, they had to pay the landlords half of the harvest, as well as five Ethiopian dollars for a permit to use the land, 25 kilogrammes of wheat to the landlord's agent and 15 kilogrammes of wheat as tithes for the church. In addition, they wrote, 'we are not allowed to erect houses of stone nor to plant fruit trees nor any other kind of trees. We must pay for the clay we use for pottery, for river water and the trees of the forest, which was not the practice previously.' The petition continued on this pathetic note:

We are falsely accused of sorcery, in that we transform ourselves at night into wild beasts such as hyenas, and that not only do we kill our neighbours and their cattle, but that we also exhume the bodies of their dead and eat them. It is by means of such false accusations that your servants are persecuted like wild animals, and many of us have been murdered in the most barbarous manner.

We, your servants, Beth Israel, have been living in this country since time unknown, yet nevertheless, we are viewed