Living in Unreality: The Disconnected World of Ethiopians

July 22, 2008
I was recently in Washington D.C. to speak at the Ethiopian Border Commission Meeting as well as to
attend the Ethiopian Sport Federation sponsored soccer games, political meetings and other Ethiopian
events, all packed into one week.
My days were filled with intense political meetings and serious discussions regarding the abysmal
condition of Ethiopia and what to do about it, but when I attended the soccer games at the stadium and the
Union Station’s Nightclub event for young Ethiopians it was as if I had entered a totally different world
from the first.
Ever since, I have been thinking about the disconnections
between these worlds. As I did, I was struck with the
impression that we might discover some clues to finding a
way out of our current mess by considering how to bridge
the gap between these and other disconnected realities held
by Ethiopians. My week in Washington D.C. proved to be
filled with opportunities to experience Ethiopian life from
various different perspectives. I will cover three groups of
events in three articles or parts: 1) the stadium soccer games,
2) the youth event at Union Station, and 3) the political
events.
Ethiopian Sport Federation’s Silver Anniversary
This year’s soccer games, sponsored by the Ethiopian Sport Federation, were held in Washington D.C.
from June 29 to July 5. It marked the organization’s Silver Jubilee Anniversary of its hosting of these
soccer games for Ethiopians. Since the events’ inception twenty-five years ago, Ethiopians from all over
the world have been coming together once a year, meeting as one people in some major city in North
America. It is a time Ethiopians get together, not only for the sporting events, but for family reunions,
cultural events and political events.
As tens of thousands of Ethiopians converged on Washington D.C. for this year’s events, Ethiopian flags,
music, food, colors and sports drew young and old, men and women and Ethiopians originating from
most every region of Ethiopia. These Ethiopians now live in many different cities and countries
throughout the world, but they have not forgotten their Ethiopian roots. No other event has drawn more
Ethiopians in the Diaspora to celebrate the beauty, diversity and joy of their cultural heritage than this one
week—a week that is super-charged with “everything Ethiopian.”
The Building Blocks for a New Ethiopia...........press the link above for full article.

Mr. Obang Metho Addresses Ethiopians in Washington DC

Why Should All Ethiopians See the Border Issue as a Collective Threat to Our Existence as a Nation and People?

July 2, 2008

Hello! I am thrilled and honored to be here to speak to my fellow Ethiopians. First of all I would like to applaud the Ethiopia-Sudan Border Affairs Committee for their hard work, commitment and vision in convening us here today to address this matter of most urgent importance—the next chapter in the destruction of Ethiopia—now happening on our western border with Sudan.

I thank this committee for inviting me to speak. It is a real privilege and I am looking forward to working further with all Ethiopians of diverse political, religious, ethnic, regional and cultural backgrounds in order to find new and workable solutions to the crises we are now facing as Ethiopians. This is everybody’s issue. It is not just about one group.

As most of you know, I do not belong to any political group and that when I speak, I am free to speak honestly about human rights as well as what I see is going wrong in Ethiopia without having to claim or favor one group over another. When I speak of human rights, I am speaking about the human rights of every person—of all Ethiopians.

When I speak of justice, it is not limited to the Anuak people just because I am an Anuak. Instead, I speak about all the people of Ethiopia because I firmly believe that unless justice comes to all, no one will have long-lasting justice. I am not even speaking only for the rights of Ethiopians, but I am speaking for the rights of others in the Horn, others in Africa and others in our world.

The human rights of every human being is fundamental to their survival. The same applies to the people of Ethiopia and how this applies to the crisis at our border is the focus of my talk today because failure to resolve this issue will only lead to other issues until our country is destroyed.

If any of you have children, perhaps you have seen the toy where the child is supposed to quickly hammer the head of whichever animal head pops up, but as soon as one head is hit, another one pops up somewhere. Unfortunately, this reminds me too closely of Ethiopia.

Problems are popping up all over. As soon as one is discovered, another one rears its ugly head. We must pay attention well or we will lose the game Meles loves to play—the game of “surprise, deceive, divide and conquer.”

The purpose of my talk today will be to call Ethiopians together to refuse to play by Meles’ imposed rules anymore. One of the reasons he is playing this game is because we leave ourselves open to be manipulated because of our greed for short-lived pleasures and self-interest instead of protecting the country and its people.

As I address this topic, I will attempt to answer four questions:
1) Why should all Ethiopians take this border issue seriously as a threat to their future?
2) What is the background of this border issue?
3) Which account of what is happening should we believe—that of the Ethiopian people on the ground or the version given by Meles—and why?
4) What are the solutions? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Press the above link for full story