by T. Goshu
Let me first be clear that I have no any delusionary thinking that any society is free from being captive of some sort of vicious circle anytime and anywhere. In other words, in one way or another, we live in a world full of mess and trouble. To think of otherwise is nothing, but both to be unrealistic and self-deceiving, and consequently end up with either a wrong direction that terribly jeopardizes our efforts to break the vicious circle we are trapped by, or no sounding solution at all.
The very purpose of my comment under the topic I chose is about the deeply troubling vicious circle we Ethiopians could not break it, and are not able yet to pave the way for the progress we want to make. And what is extremely disturbing is that the more we become ineffective to pull all our efforts together and break the vicious circle we found ourselves in , the more we suffer from an extremely deep political , socio-economic, moral, psychological , identity(national), and even religious crises. And there is no doubt that the very root cause for all this unacceptable level of degradation is the tyrannical ruling circle that established its political power based on the manipulation and exploitation of ethnic-based divide and rule.
It has to equally be admitted that our terrible failure ( as a people) to stop the chronically ill-guided political agenda and practice by the ruthless ruling elites of TPLF/EPRDF, and break the horrible vicious circle of dehumanization has its own huge share for the very disturbing situation we found ourselves in.
Adding salt to our injury, our human dignity and national pride is severely being compromised at this point in time. Thousands of Ethiopians are facing inhuman treatment right across the Red Sea. Yes, it is an ABC of international laws and norms that the Saudi government has any right and responsibility to enforce its laws and regulations. However, committing serious inhuman treatment against Ethiopians who destined in that country including beating up, mass arrest, robing their personal belongings, raping women, and killing in the name of enforcing the law of the country is an inexcusable crime against humanity. And I strongly believe that we have a strong reason to condemn this senseless act of crime with ant any strongest term possible.
Although I am not naïve enough to complain why we do not have all-round personalities of leadership such as Gandhi of India, I want to mention the following just to show to what extent the struggle for genuine freedom can go and should go. Here it is:
Louis Fischer, The author of a very concise book, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World (1954, 1982) states that “Mahatma Gandhi commenced his last fasting on the morning of January 13, 1948.” Fischer further states that ‘Gandhi knew he might die.’ He further tells us what Gandhi said about the possibility of dying as the result of his repeated and long hours of fasting by quoting him (Gandhi) saying, “… death for me would be a glorious deliverance rather than that I should be a helpless witness to the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam.” Although Gandhi hadn’t died from his repeated and close to death fasting on behalf of all Indians and for the independence of India, he was gun downed by an extremist Hindu conspirator right at the payer ground Gandhi was serving on January 30th, 1948. Yes, that was the ultimate price Gandhi had to pay as he had stood incredibly firm as far as the very essence of his great dream of seeing his people from all walks of life and from all religious beliefs living with dignity and fraternity in an independent India. I wanted to bring in this very powerful historical role played by a selfless person (Mahatma Gandhi) just to reflect to what extent the struggle for a real sense political freedom, the prevalence of amicable togetherness and shared prosperity is absolutely necessary. It is just to highlight how a true sense of self- initiated commitment to the struggle we are engaged in is essentially required if we want to break the terrible vicious circle we have found ourselves in for the last four decades in general, and for the last two decades in particular. It is just to reflect my view point on the toughness of the struggle ahead of us that has to go beyond emotionally reacting to horrible events like the one we are witnessing how the Saudi government is treating our sisters and brothers; and how the ruling party in our own country has treated those Ethiopians (The Blue Party and other concerned Ethiopians) who peacefully tried to express their legitimate protest against what is happening to their brothers and sisters.
Dear Fellow Ethiopians, think about the global place of Ethiopia in the first half of the 20th century during which the world was not as small as it is today in terms of the level of information technology and interdependency. She joined the membership of the League of Nations (1923), and the United Nations (1945). Mind you dear compatriots, our country was a glorious example for those who had been suffering under the yoke of colonial rule. Historian, Professor Richard Pankhurst states, “Ethiopia, the victor of the battle of Adwa in 1896, was by the early twentieth century the only state in Africa to have survived the European scramble for the continent.” (The Ethiopians: a History, 1998, 2001).Needless to say, with all the internal political problems she has come across throughout her history, our country has survived as a sovereign country. Her people, with all serious discontents they had due to the total absence of good governance, have secured the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country with their ultimate sacrifices. They have handed down their gloriously patriotic legacy from generation to generation without seeking for any personal benefit back. Yes, we are and we should be so proud of the great history our forefathers/foremothers had made. Now, the very challenging question is: To what extent we have gone to reinforce this glorious history of sacrifice for national independence with establishing a democratic political system? Needless to say, unless we want to deceive ourselves, the answer is not only disappointing but also terribly disturbing. We must honestly and courageously admit that our performance in this regard has suffered and continue to suffer from the political culture of going from one vicious circle to another. It goes without saying that this has caused a very serious erosion of not only our human dignity but also our national pride in this 21st century. And let me reiterate that what is happening to our citizens in Saudi Arabia has to a lot with this terrible weaknesses of ours.
Fellow Ethiopians, there is no doubt that what the Saudi government has done and is doing to thousands of Ethiopians is horribly inhuman and outrageously disturbing. Receiving this kind of brutality from the country of Prophet Mohammed who sent his followers who were under persecution to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) for their safety makes the situation extremely outrageous. Professor Richard Pankhurst states in his previously cited book that, “… at the beginning of his teachings Muhammad’s followers came under bitter persecution in Arabia.” He further says, “In 615 AD a group of Muslims therefore made their way to Aksum, where they received hospitable treatment.” Why the current monarchs of Saudi Arabia did disregard that valuable religious and historical aspect of our relationship? Well, there is no doubt that that was and is because of either their sheer arrogance or their serious lack of civility. But, it goes without saying that the Saudis have done and are doing this kind of senseless crime against Ethiopians mainly because they concluded that Ethiopians have no government that respects their human dignity at home leave alone protecting their human rights abroad. I strongly want to believe and argue that is the very reason that makes our sorrow extremely deep.
But, on the other hand, I want to reiterate that we have to be honest enough with ourselves that we have been trapped by a very huge paradox especially for last two decades in general and in this month of November, 2013 in particular. It is this month (right after our new year) that we are witnessing an outrageously devastating situation Ethiopians are experiencing across the Red Sea. It is in this month that we are witnessing an extremely disturbing situation when the government of TPLF/EPRDF not only tried to undermine the horrible situation in which thousands of Ethiopians are facing but also committing inhuman treatment against those Ethiopians who went to the streets of Addis Ababa to express their grave concern about their compatriots. Needless to say, it is hardly possible to find words that could express to what extent the level of our human dignity and national pride have horribly been openly compromised not only by foreign governments, but sadly enough, by the tyrannical ruling circle in our country.
I strongly believe that the very urgent response by Ethiopians throughout the world to this outrageous situation is not only quite remarkable but it also gives a sense of optimism as far as the issue of breaking the real vicious circle of our dehumanization is concerned. Yes, what is at an immediate stake is the security of our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia and we have to do something about it. But, unless we remain focused on the issue of how to deal with the root cause of all our misery both in Ethiopia and abroad, there is no doubt that thousands, including those who retuned will flee their country and make the vicious circle much graver. I hope things will change for the better!
Let me first be clear that I have no any delusionary thinking that any society is free from being captive of some sort of vicious circle anytime and anywhere. In other words, in one way or another, we live in a world full of mess and trouble. To think of otherwise is nothing, but both to be unrealistic and self-deceiving, and consequently end up with either a wrong direction that terribly jeopardizes our efforts to break the vicious circle we are trapped by, or no sounding solution at all.
The very purpose of my comment under the topic I chose is about the deeply troubling vicious circle we Ethiopians could not break it, and are not able yet to pave the way for the progress we want to make. And what is extremely disturbing is that the more we become ineffective to pull all our efforts together and break the vicious circle we found ourselves in , the more we suffer from an extremely deep political , socio-economic, moral, psychological , identity(national), and even religious crises. And there is no doubt that the very root cause for all this unacceptable level of degradation is the tyrannical ruling circle that established its political power based on the manipulation and exploitation of ethnic-based divide and rule.
It has to equally be admitted that our terrible failure ( as a people) to stop the chronically ill-guided political agenda and practice by the ruthless ruling elites of TPLF/EPRDF, and break the horrible vicious circle of dehumanization has its own huge share for the very disturbing situation we found ourselves in.
Adding salt to our injury, our human dignity and national pride is severely being compromised at this point in time. Thousands of Ethiopians are facing inhuman treatment right across the Red Sea. Yes, it is an ABC of international laws and norms that the Saudi government has any right and responsibility to enforce its laws and regulations. However, committing serious inhuman treatment against Ethiopians who destined in that country including beating up, mass arrest, robing their personal belongings, raping women, and killing in the name of enforcing the law of the country is an inexcusable crime against humanity. And I strongly believe that we have a strong reason to condemn this senseless act of crime with ant any strongest term possible.
Although I am not naïve enough to complain why we do not have all-round personalities of leadership such as Gandhi of India, I want to mention the following just to show to what extent the struggle for genuine freedom can go and should go. Here it is:
Louis Fischer, The author of a very concise book, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World (1954, 1982) states that “Mahatma Gandhi commenced his last fasting on the morning of January 13, 1948.” Fischer further states that ‘Gandhi knew he might die.’ He further tells us what Gandhi said about the possibility of dying as the result of his repeated and long hours of fasting by quoting him (Gandhi) saying, “… death for me would be a glorious deliverance rather than that I should be a helpless witness to the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam.” Although Gandhi hadn’t died from his repeated and close to death fasting on behalf of all Indians and for the independence of India, he was gun downed by an extremist Hindu conspirator right at the payer ground Gandhi was serving on January 30th, 1948. Yes, that was the ultimate price Gandhi had to pay as he had stood incredibly firm as far as the very essence of his great dream of seeing his people from all walks of life and from all religious beliefs living with dignity and fraternity in an independent India. I wanted to bring in this very powerful historical role played by a selfless person (Mahatma Gandhi) just to reflect to what extent the struggle for a real sense political freedom, the prevalence of amicable togetherness and shared prosperity is absolutely necessary. It is just to highlight how a true sense of self- initiated commitment to the struggle we are engaged in is essentially required if we want to break the terrible vicious circle we have found ourselves in for the last four decades in general, and for the last two decades in particular. It is just to reflect my view point on the toughness of the struggle ahead of us that has to go beyond emotionally reacting to horrible events like the one we are witnessing how the Saudi government is treating our sisters and brothers; and how the ruling party in our own country has treated those Ethiopians (The Blue Party and other concerned Ethiopians) who peacefully tried to express their legitimate protest against what is happening to their brothers and sisters.
Dear Fellow Ethiopians, think about the global place of Ethiopia in the first half of the 20th century during which the world was not as small as it is today in terms of the level of information technology and interdependency. She joined the membership of the League of Nations (1923), and the United Nations (1945). Mind you dear compatriots, our country was a glorious example for those who had been suffering under the yoke of colonial rule. Historian, Professor Richard Pankhurst states, “Ethiopia, the victor of the battle of Adwa in 1896, was by the early twentieth century the only state in Africa to have survived the European scramble for the continent.” (The Ethiopians: a History, 1998, 2001).Needless to say, with all the internal political problems she has come across throughout her history, our country has survived as a sovereign country. Her people, with all serious discontents they had due to the total absence of good governance, have secured the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country with their ultimate sacrifices. They have handed down their gloriously patriotic legacy from generation to generation without seeking for any personal benefit back. Yes, we are and we should be so proud of the great history our forefathers/foremothers had made. Now, the very challenging question is: To what extent we have gone to reinforce this glorious history of sacrifice for national independence with establishing a democratic political system? Needless to say, unless we want to deceive ourselves, the answer is not only disappointing but also terribly disturbing. We must honestly and courageously admit that our performance in this regard has suffered and continue to suffer from the political culture of going from one vicious circle to another. It goes without saying that this has caused a very serious erosion of not only our human dignity but also our national pride in this 21st century. And let me reiterate that what is happening to our citizens in Saudi Arabia has to a lot with this terrible weaknesses of ours.
Fellow Ethiopians, there is no doubt that what the Saudi government has done and is doing to thousands of Ethiopians is horribly inhuman and outrageously disturbing. Receiving this kind of brutality from the country of Prophet Mohammed who sent his followers who were under persecution to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) for their safety makes the situation extremely outrageous. Professor Richard Pankhurst states in his previously cited book that, “… at the beginning of his teachings Muhammad’s followers came under bitter persecution in Arabia.” He further says, “In 615 AD a group of Muslims therefore made their way to Aksum, where they received hospitable treatment.” Why the current monarchs of Saudi Arabia did disregard that valuable religious and historical aspect of our relationship? Well, there is no doubt that that was and is because of either their sheer arrogance or their serious lack of civility. But, it goes without saying that the Saudis have done and are doing this kind of senseless crime against Ethiopians mainly because they concluded that Ethiopians have no government that respects their human dignity at home leave alone protecting their human rights abroad. I strongly want to believe and argue that is the very reason that makes our sorrow extremely deep.
But, on the other hand, I want to reiterate that we have to be honest enough with ourselves that we have been trapped by a very huge paradox especially for last two decades in general and in this month of November, 2013 in particular. It is this month (right after our new year) that we are witnessing an outrageously devastating situation Ethiopians are experiencing across the Red Sea. It is in this month that we are witnessing an extremely disturbing situation when the government of TPLF/EPRDF not only tried to undermine the horrible situation in which thousands of Ethiopians are facing but also committing inhuman treatment against those Ethiopians who went to the streets of Addis Ababa to express their grave concern about their compatriots. Needless to say, it is hardly possible to find words that could express to what extent the level of our human dignity and national pride have horribly been openly compromised not only by foreign governments, but sadly enough, by the tyrannical ruling circle in our country.
I strongly believe that the very urgent response by Ethiopians throughout the world to this outrageous situation is not only quite remarkable but it also gives a sense of optimism as far as the issue of breaking the real vicious circle of our dehumanization is concerned. Yes, what is at an immediate stake is the security of our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia and we have to do something about it. But, unless we remain focused on the issue of how to deal with the root cause of all our misery both in Ethiopia and abroad, there is no doubt that thousands, including those who retuned will flee their country and make the vicious circle much graver. I hope things will change for the better!
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