The celebrations of the Ethiopian Third Millennium going on all over the world have ended, but we still have reason to celebrate! Why? Just this past month, the recently released Kinijit leaders began a tour of the United States, Australia, Africa, Canada and Europe, speaking to thousands of excited Ethiopians in the Diaspora who are hoping that there will now be strong guidance towards stopping the oppression of the people in Ethiopia and instead bringing true freedom, justice, equality and peace to the nation.Just this week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill HR2003 which will directly connect the receipt of financial aid and diplomatic privileges with the upholding of human rights and democracy within the country. This was accomplished despite the alleged huge financial investment Meles and the EPRDF made to the lobbying firm, D.L. Piper, to block the bill’s passage.
More cause for celebration was given when on the same day and close to the same time of the vote on HR2003, Kinijit leaders and an Ogadeni human rights representative were given the opportunity to testify before The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, “The Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in the Horn of Africa: The Cases of Somalia and the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia”
All of these successes can be seen as a great advancement in the struggle, but it is not a time to sit back and rest. There is major work still to be done and we cannot stand by and be spectators, waiting for others to do it for us. Instead, we all must get ready for what may be the most difficult part of our battle for a new Ethiopia—a movement of united people—representative of all Ethiopians—that will bring about the Ethiopia we want for tomorrow. Right now, the celebrations must be quieted and the difficult work of transformation must begin. May God be our leader, guide and protector as each of us humbly carries out whatever our part might be.
Our success, if we are to achieve it, is about all of us doing our share, contributing to the whole, if we are to find our way out of the “valley of the shadow of death” that now encompasses all of Ethiopia. That valley is like a maze that brings us into unknown regions. If we Ethiopians are currently going to find our way out of such dark confusion, it will require the eyes of the Afar, the ears of the Ogadeni, the legs of the Gurage, the hands of the Tigray, the shoulders of Oromo, the head of the Berta, the feet of the Amhara, the arms of the Sidamo, the mouth of the Anuak……and the hearts of each of us to make it safely and completely to the other side. Then we will have cause to celebrate. Until then, our people remain in jeopardy.
Tremendous atrocities—what some now call a genocide—are being perpetrated against the Ogadenis. This is going on today and is a silent Darfur that we must do more than our best to stop before the lives and livelihood of these fellow Ethiopians are destroyed. This should be cause for outrage for all of us. This government’s poison has crossed the border into Somalia and the people there are suffering similarly at the hands of Meles and those under his command. We must speak up for them as well as people of moral courage who are against such evil or we may be found culpable at some later date.
Besides the ongoing human rights abuses and the suppression of the people by Meles, many areas of our country have been victims of natural disasters. Reportedly, 200,000 Ethiopians, from Gambella to Amhara have been affected by the recent flooding—many being displaced or losing their homes, crops and property. To add to this cause of misery, the rate of inflation has been climbing at record speed, causing such hardship that more and more people cannot afford the basics to survive.
We have seen recent reports that more and more educated Ethiopians, in particular, those in the medical and health professions, are leaving the country for better opportunity elsewhere, leaving an already crippled health system, even worse off than before even though Mr. Meles Zenawi, says Ethiopia does not need doctors!
Now, with all of these realities, we should know that if this bill, HR#2003, goes to the Senate and becomes law, we can be thankful for what it will accomplish and should heartily congratulate those who worked so hard on this, but please know that the struggle is not over.
More importantly, it is critical to recognize that we need the average Ethiopian, not only the politicians, to make themselves available to contribute to creating a better Ethiopia for those who follow us. Ethiopians need to regroup and reorganize. Like when nature struck, it affected seven regions of the country, making it important to work together because what is happening is affecting many of us. Ethiopians on the ground must do the work because we know outsiders have their own interests.
For instance, with Burma, as the monks courageously stood up this past week and said enough to a tyrannical government, it is Ethiopians who must do the same in our own country. If there is a message to the people of Ethiopia it is to be ready to not be a spectator but instead to become an active participant.
The Ethiopian problem cannot be solved by one political party, but will require all of us. They deserve our gratefulness for starting this struggle, but now, it will require all groups to come together because one group cannot do it by themselves. Yet, the Kinijit can take a strong stand by reaching out to all Ethiopian organizations. In fact, the most effective way to go forward is with unity, even more than democracy.
For Ethiopians to succeed, problems within organizations, not only within the Kinijit, should be quickly resolved and then each should start by reaching out to others to be coalition builders. Insulting each other, infighting, backbiting and rumormongering will only hold back the new millennium hopes for a new Ethiopia. Instead, it will be through tolerance, putting aside one’s personal interests, agendas and resentments that we will be able to move on. In the meantime, let us remain calm, but persevering in our goals and reflect on some of our strengths as well as the obstacles we must overcome.
Our country is unique and gifted with an ancient history dating back over 3000 years. We are the second largest country in Africa in terms of population, now around 80 million. We host the headquarters of the African Union. We have a reputation for being able to live in peace and harmony with Christians, Muslims, Jews and Animists.
Yet, unfortunately, when many people of the world think of Ethiopia, they are still reminded of images of famine, beggars and starving children. Someone on American radio has even referred to one of the poorest states in America, Louisiana—after Hurricane Katrina, as being “the Ethiopia of the United States.” What an embarrassing comparison.
Our standing on most every survey of how we are doing as a society, rates us near to the bottom in the world, thanks to the EPRDF who cannot even admit our dire situation. Instead, they perpetually exaggerate progress by boasting that things are improving in the country when we know how bad things really are.
Where there is development, huge debts are being incurred, robbing the future away from our Ethiopian youth of tomorrow who will be expected to pay it off. As we face the advent of the Third Ethiopian Millennium, it is high time to soberly consider where we are today and what we must do to give our descendents increased freedom, justice, equality, opportunity and prosperity in the future.
Yet, it is hard not to be excited about the recent release of the Kinijit Opposition Party leaders, journalists, human rights activists and now 18, 000 more Ethiopians (still not all) from all over the country who have been detained for months or years even though Meles had previously denied there were any political prisoners in the country. One might wonder where these 18, 000 or more prisoners came from!
As some of them are now visiting Ethiopians in the Diaspora, we can be extremely grateful to them for so quickly organizing a political movement before the May 2005 National Election that brought together so many different groups under one umbrella of the CUDP. It was in many ways, a miracle that no one, even them, expected! Even though most of us knew that Meles was a repressive dictator, we were surprised when he risked his reputation as “a new breed of African leader,” to become “one of the most vicious dictators” according to both Congressman Chris Smith and Congressman Donald Payne, made public in recent statements, by openly hijacking the election, killing 197 Ethiopian protestors and forcing the Opposition leaders and countless others to be detained in the prisons of our country.
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