• እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን የአባይን ጉዳይ አሸንፈናል፤ አሁን የቀረን ራሳችንን ማሸነፍ ነው!

    እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን የአባይን ጉዳይ አሸንፈናል፤ አሁን የቀረን ራሳችንን ማሸነፍ ነው!

    . መግቢያ

    ኢትዮጵያዊያን ለዘመናት በአባይ ወንዝ ላይ ያለንን ቁጭት በብዙ መልኩ ስንገልጽ ኖረናል፤ አዝማሪው በድምጹ፤ ጸሐፍት በብዕራቸው፤ ተዋንያን በመድረክ ቴአትሮችና ፊልሞች እንዲሁም ምሁሩ በጥናትና ምርምሮቹ ስለአባይ ተክዘው ኖረዋል፤ እንደመታደል ሆኖ ይህ ትውልድ ከዚህ ትካዜ ለመላቀቅ የሚስችለውን አኩሪ ገድል ችግሮች  ሳበግሩት አባይን በአገሩ አስሮ ለሃይል ማመንጫነት፣ ለአሳ ሃብት ልማት እንዲሁም ለቱሪዝም ወዘተ አውሎታል

    አሁን የበረታብን ትልቁ ተግዳሮት ከራሳችን ጋር ያላቆምነው ጦርነት ነው፤ የዘመናችን የኢትዮጵያ ችግር እኛ ህዝቦቻ ራሳችንን ማሸነፍ አለመቻላችን ነው! ራስን ለማሸነፍ እንቅፋት ከሆኑብን ነገሮች ዋናው ስለጉዳዩ ያለን የተሳሳተ ግንዛቤ/አተያይ ነው፤ ለብዙዎቻችን ራስን ማሸነፍ መሸነፍ ነው፤ ራስን ማሸነፍ ደካማነት ነው፤ ነገር ግን ራስን ማሸነፍ ጀግንነት ነው፤ ሽንፈት ሳይሆን ድል ነው፤ ራሱን ያሸነፈ ከራሱ አልፎ በዙሪያው ላሉ ሁሉ መፍትሄ ይሆናል

    እኛ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ዛሬ ያለንበትን ሁኔታ ከመረመርነው የችግሮቻችን ሁሉ መሰረት የሚሆነው ከራሳችን ጋር ጦርነት ውስጥ መግባታችን ነው፤ ራሳችንን አለማሸነፋችን ነው፤ ሁላችንም ደረጃው ወይም ፈርጁ ይለያይ  እንጂ ከራሳችን ጋር ጦርነት ላይ ከከረምን ውለን አድረናል፤ በመሬት ላይ የምናየው የህዝብ ምስቅልቅል የፖለቲከኞች ቁማር እና/ወይም ዳፋ ብቻ አይደለም፤ እያንዳንዳችን ዛሬ ላለንበት አስከፊ ሁኔታ ድርሻ አለን

    ይህ አጭር መጣጥፍ በሚከተሉት ነጥቦች ዙሪያ ዳሰሳ ያቀርባል፡-

    • ለመሆኑ ራስን ማሸነፍ ምን ማለት ነው?
    • ራሱን ያላሸነፈ ሰው ባህሪያት መገለጫዎች ምንድናቸው?

    ለመሆኑ ራስን ማሸነፍ ምን ማለት ነው?

    በማህበረሰባችን ውስጥ ብዙ ጊዜ እንደታዘብኹት ራስን ማሸነፍ ከአልሸነፍ ባይነት ጋር ማምታታት አለ፤ ሰዎች ራሳቸውን ማሸነፍ የሚያቅታቸው ራሳቸው ከሌሎች አንጻር እያወዳደደሩ በሚፈጠርባቸው የስሜት ምስቅልቅል ከህሊናቸው/ከእውነት ጋር የሚያደርጉት እሰጥ-እገባ ነው፤ በእኔ አረዳድ ፉክክር፣ ውድድር መሆን ያለበት ከራስ ጋር ነው፤ ጦርትን ግን ከራስ ጋር መግጠም ትርፉ  እብደት ነው

    ከራስ ጋር የሚደረግ ጦርነት መንስኤው አሉታዊ የሆነ የውስጥ መንፈስን ለማረቅ ካለመፈለግ/ዝግጁ ካለመሆን የሚመነጭ ነው፤ ከራስ ጋር ጦርነት አንድ ሰው አሉታዊ ስሜቶችን ለመሸሸግ ከህሊናው ጋር የሚያደርገው ግብ ግብ ወይም ሽኩቻ ነው፤  ከራስ ጋር ጦርነት ውስጥ መግባት ቅንነትን፣ ሃቅን፣ መተሳሰብን፣ ፍቅርን ጋርዶ በግለሰብ፣ በቤተሰብ በማህበረሰብ፣ በህብረተሰብ እንዲሁም በህዝብ አብሮነትና፣ አንድነት፣ ሰላም እና ደህንነት ላይ ትልቅ ጋሬጣ ይሆናል፤ በአጠቃላይ ከራስ ጋር የሚደረግ ጦርነት ራስን ካለማሸነፍ ይመነጫል

    ራሱን ያላሸነፈ ሰው ባህሪያት መገለጫዎች ምንድናቸው?

    በመሰረቱ ከራስ ጋር የሚደረግን ጦርነት ማሸነፍ አይቻልም፤ በእኔ አረዳድ ራስን ያለማሸነፍ መገለጫዎች የሚከተሉት ናቸው፡-

    • ከራሱ ጋር የተጣላ ሰላም የለውም፣ ለሌሎችም ሰላም አይሰጥም
    • ከራሱ ጋር የተጣላ እውነትን ለመቀበል ይቸግረዋል፣ በመሆኑም ራሱን ሲዋሽ ይኖራል
    • ከራሱ የተጣላ ፍቅር የለውም፤ ፍቅር መስጠት አለመቻሉ ሳይጎዳ ፍቅር መቀበል አለመቻሉ ሌሎች ስለፍቅር የሚከፍሉትን መስዋዕትነቶች አይገቡትም ወይም ዋጋ ያሳጣቸዋል
    • ከራሱ የተጣላ የፍቅር እሴቶች የሆኑት፣ ማለትም ይቅርታ ማድረግ፣ መጸጸት፣ መከባበበር፣ መደማመጥ፣ እና መተሳሰብ አይኖሩትም፤ ከራሱ የተጣላ እነዚህን የፍቅር እሴቶች ለራሱም ሆነ ለሌሎች አይሰጥም፣ አይቀበልምም
    • ከራሱ የተጣላ ስለራሱ ለማሰብ ጊዜም የለውም፣ ምክንያቱም አእምሮውን በማይጠቅሙት ነገሮች ሞልቶ የአእምሮን የማሰብ፣ የማሰላሰል እንዲሁም የማስታወስ አድማስ ስለሚጠብ የራሱን ችግር ነቅሶ ማውጣት፣ መፍትሄም ለማበጀት አይችልም፤ የቅናትና የምቀኝነት መንፈስ ያጠቃዋል
    • ከራሱ የጣላ ለችግሮቹ መፍትሄ ሳይሆን ተጨማሪ ችግር ፈጥሮ ራሱንም ሆነ በዙሪያው ያሉትን ሁሉ ሲያስቸግር ይኖራል፤ የራሱን ችግር በሌሎች በማሳበብ፣ ራስን ነጻ ለማውጣት ከንቱ መባዘን ውስጥ ይገባል
    • ራሱን ማሸነፍ ያቃተው ሰው ስሜተ-ድንዙዝ ነው፤ ምን እንደሚያስደስተው፣ ምን እንደሚያስከፋው፣ ምን እንደሚያስተክዘው፣ ወዘተ…. ራሱም አያውቅም፣ ሌሎችም አያውቁም፤ በዚህም በድብርት፣ በጥላቻ፣ በመሰላቸት ድባብ ውስጥ መኖር መገለጫው ነው፤ እነዚህን አሉታዊ ስሜቶቹን ለማስታገስ ሁልጊዜ በአሉታዊ ድርጊቶች ውስጥ ራሱን ያገኘዋል
    • ራሱን ማሸነፍ ያቃተው ሰው ለመንፈሱ ምግብ ስለሚነፍጋት መንፈሱ የመነመነች ናት፤ መንፈሱ ደካማ ናት፤ በመሆኑም ነገሮችን/ችግሮችን የመቻልና የማሳለፍ አቅም የለውም፤ ቶሎ ሆድ ይብሰዋል፣ ራሱ በደለኛ ሆኖ ሳለ ተበዳይ ሆኖ ይቀርባል፤ ሁልጊዜ የተጠቂነት ስሜት ይዞ ይኖራል፤ ስሜቱን መግራት ስለማይችል ንዴቱንም ሆነ ደስታውን መቆጣጠር ይሳነዋለው፤ በመሆኑም በደስታውም ሆነ በንዴቱ ጊዜያት ሁሉ በዙሪያው ባሉ ሁሉ ሁከትን ይፈጥራል፤ በዚህም ራሱ ባተሌ ሆኖ ሌሎችንም ባተሌ ለማድረግ ይሞክራል
    • ራስን ማሸነፍ ችግር ፈቺ ከመሆን ይልቅ ችግር ተንታኝ ይሆናል

    እንደመውጫ

    ዛሬ እንደአገር እና እንደህዝብ የገጠመን ትልቁ ችግር ራሳችንን ማሸነፍ አለመቻላችን መሆኑን ተገንዝበን፣ የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ድልን ስናስብ ከራሳችን ጋር ከገባንበት ጦርነት ለመላቀቅና ራሳችንን ድል ለማድረግ ቆርጠን በመነሳት መሆን ይገባል!

    በመጨረሻም መጪው አዲሱ አመት ኢትዮጵያዊያን ራሳችንን የምናሸንፍበት አመት እንዲሆን ፈጣሪ ይርዳን!

  • UNDERSTANDING ECONOMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF PROSPERITY

    UNDERSTANDING ECONOMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF PROSPERITY

    Note to readers:This Article is an extract from my newly published book titled ‘Ethiopia: From Revolutionary Democracy to Prosperity – The Moral and Philosophical Foundations of a Prosperous Society’, Pages 108-111; 114. https://www.amazon.com/Ethiopia-Revolutionary-Prosperity-Philosophical-Foundations/dp/B08VCL17FM

    1. What is Prosperity?

    Random House dictionary defines the term prosperity as the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity concept is a comprehensive look into human nurtures, both material and spiritual (non-material) fulfillments. It is such a sophisticated concept that it can be said of a combined acquisition of all the essentials & characters of an elated life: moral height, ethical standards, purpose (goal) in life, material acquisition, political stability, social cohesion & harmony, community & cultural vitality, faithfulness in practicing religions, among others.

    More often than not, prosperity is understood synonymous with wellbeing. For instance, in the literature of economics & behavioral sciences, theoretical and empirical evidences on the essence of prosperity are embedded in wellbeing studies. As such, wellbeing is defined as when people simultaneously experience two states of emotions: the absence of the crippling elements of the human experience – depression, anxiety, anger, fear – and the presence of enabling ones – positive emotions, meaning healthy relationships, environmental mastery, engagement, and self-actualization (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Seligman, 2011). Extensions to this work have focused on issues of trust within individual/community networks and on the importance of material and spiritual (emotional) capital for people.

    All in all, prosperity and wellbeing are inalienable concepts for many reasons. For one, both entails on quality of life (see World Health Organization Quality of Life Group, 1995 and Diener, 2006). Moreover, as in the case of wellbeing, prosperity is determined by material and non-material factors.

    • The Essence of Prosperity Concept

    For long, economic literature has taken for granted material fulfillments analogous to prosperity (wellbeing). However, the practical realties were in contrast to those assertions. In the major capitalist societies of the world, lust for material glory, featured by overconsumption has been a growing phenomenon while happiness level unable to keep track of material acquisition. Overconsumption means consumption level which is justified neither by biological nor by socio-economic considerations (Jackson T., 2008).

    In the long term, a significant effect of overconsumption is quality of life deterioration confirmed by wellbeing paradox observed in industrialized countries. This paradox is known as Easterlin paradox, named after Richard Easterlin, who discovered the fact in his seminal work published in 1974 which is titled ‘Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence from Nations and households in economic growth’ The then Professor of economics at University of Pennsylvania, Richard Easterlin discovered that at a point in time happiness varies directly with income both among and within nations, but over time happiness does not trend upwards as income continues to grow. 

    According to Esterlin Paradox the sense of happiness doesn’t rise proportionally to the increase in income. It results from the fact that beyond a certain level of welfare the further income growth generates additional nonmaterial costs like overwork, stress, permanent hurry, and lack of time to rest and to cultivate family and social relations. When an individual accepts current deficiency of life satisfaction trying to secure their own future and expecting to be happy in retirement thanks to their current sacrifice the “Deferred Happiness Syndrome” occurs

    Generally speaking, the essence of prosperity lies in three:

    The first one is that the very reality that material wealth alone doesn’t justify wellness of people. Second, conventional understandings of civilization, often synonymous with material accumulation endangered sustainable society as it violates the rule of nature and harm the moral foundations of societies. Third, the past course of human action disturbed the ecological balance, risking the world of calamities of climate change.

    • Understanding Economy & Economics in the Context of Prosperity

    A conventional understanding on the essence of economy entails any activity (production, consumption and exchange) involved in a monetized transaction. On the other hand, the term economy, in its conception with prosperity, is quite different. For one, the focus of economy in prosperity is not limited to material satisfaction, but also spiritual acquisition. More importantly, an economic character involves how people manage a balanced life, where their material and spiritual needs are better served.

    According to James Allen (1962), in the context of prosperity, there are seven (7) types of economic resources. These are: Money, Food, Clothing, Recreation, Rest, Time and Energy. Therefore, the economics of prosperity entails maximizing wellness of people (communities) through optimal allocation on those mentioned seven (7) dimensions of resources, which can be categorized as material and non-material by their virtues.

    The end up of optimization is to achieve a mental economy – a state of mind economic agents can focus or concentrate on meaningful activities. Accordingly, once economic agents are in such state of mind, they are able to develop the three ingredients of success in material life: free mind, vision, spiritual strength or courage (industriousness). As such, prosperous people are those whose value balancing their material and spiritual needs.

    • The Material aspects of Prosperity

    The material aspect of prosperity include people`s access to quality services on basic socio-economic amenities like housing, education and health (Diener, 2006; Camfield and Skevington 2008). Material prosperity entails existence of equal opportunity and freedom of choice to enjoy from the available opportunities in the economy. An ideal economic environment which promotes collective prosperity is one which devises the necessary institutional, legal and bureaucratic system that encourages & incentivize economic agents unleash their full potentials, engage in innovative activities and help them make use of it for the benefit of the society. 

    The distinguishing feature of a prosperity-led system of economic governance is that it envisions a balanced economic order. In the context of prosperity, balanced order is a guiding principle in theorizing (teachings) and practicing economic science (devising development policy).

    The foundation of this principle is the essential virtues of prosperity concept itself, that can be understood in both dimensions of an ideal economic system, which are behavioral (decision makings of economic agents) and structural (institutional) aspects of the economic environment.

    The need for a balanced look in economic life also necessitated by the need to be pragmatic/realistic in devising economic policies and strategies, which is manifested by development policy that integrates economic theory with prevailing context in the economic environment

    More specifically, the underlying issues triggering a balanced economic order stem from the goals & objectives of macroeconomic governance in the context of prosperity, which is realizing sustainable economy & society, as enlisted below:

    • Serve the needs of man by virtue of its being a human
    • The need to serve the basic necessities of all people irrespective of segmentations based on social class or any form of affiliations
    • The need to promote economic fairness while preserving economic productivity
    • Interconnectedness (system) of the economic structure
    • Promoting a sustainable society which values sustainable consumption
    • Help unleash the potentials of factors of production: labor, capital, land and entrepreneurship
    • Promoting the innovative/creativity capacity of labor/human capital
    • Promoting a vibrant/dynamic economic order rooted on the values of entrepreneurial skills and creativity of human mind

    Keeping the right/appropriate balance in the economy may take different aspects of the economic order:

    • Across economic activities – production, consumption and exchange
    • Across sectors of the economy – agriculture, trade, industry and financial sectors
    • Across ownership status of means of productions like land and capital – private sector and public sector

    The behavior of economic agents should also adhere to principle of moderation. The pillar point in this regard is molding the behaviors of economic agents in such a way that they would take into account of (being middle way) alternatives while making decisions in their economic transactions, which consists the followings:

    • Current consumption vs future consumption (saving);
    • Work time vs leisure time
    • Self-interest vs altruistic motives;
    • Physical exertion vs mental exertions
    • Material satisfaction vs spiritual (non-material) fulfillments

    All in all, prosperity-led economic governance is principally designed to device the legal, institutional, policy and/or incentive system that promote decent economic standards of citizens; realize a just economic system; realize sustainable economy encouraging ecologically friendly production & consumption order.

    • Non-Material aspects of Prosperity

    Some of the non-material aspects of prosperity can be ascribed (by their nature) as psychological, sociological, anthropological and political.

    From psychological perspective of prosperity, referring recent developments in positive psychology, well-being of people is understood from two perspectives: hedonic wellbeing (feeling good), but also includes eudemonic wellbeing (functioning well). Hence, Wellbeing is now understood not simply as positive emotions, but, rather, as thriving across multiple domains of life (Easterlin (1974; 1995; 2013)

    From sociological point of view, prosperity is defined as the bounty of social harmony. Accordingly, a less prosperous society is characterized by one where people are at risk of deprivation of, not only, material well-being, but also deprived of their social status and unable to fetch out of socio-cultural institutions. A sociological narrative of prosperity focuses on the workings of those institutions and how far people access them to serve their life in many ways.

    As such, social relations among family members, friends, and neighbors are important aspects of prosperity. Moreover, socio-demographic, economic, cultural, and political factors are worth considering while conceptualizing wellbeing of people

  • THE ONGOING WAR IN ETHIOPIA’S TIGRAY REGION REQUIRES EARLY SOLUTION

    THE ONGOING WAR IN ETHIOPIA’S TIGRAY REGION REQUIRES EARLY SOLUTION

    Four months on since the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region broke, the civilian causalities is horribly increasing day in and day out. For a steady peace in Tigray, military solution is revealing not fetching. Worth noticing is that the destruction is getting escalated ever since the day the end of the war declared by the Ethiopian government back in mid-December 2020.

    Circumstantial evidences shows that until the federal government security forces control the larger parts of Tigray, the civilian causalities were relatively minimal. Rather, the damage of the war has been growing in the days afterwards. That is a clear indicative that the conflict in Tigray region is turning from conventional war to guerrilla warfare.

    Counting the cost of the war may be important, but a more pressing issue that should be a concern for all Ethiopians is the fate of 8 Million people living in Tigray region. In fact, the concern lies not just for the wellbeing of people of Tigray, but also for the wellness of all Ethiopians too. As I observe it so, each day the news heard about the bleeds happening on fellow Tigrayans, the hearts of Ethiopians in other parts of the country also bleed.

    More important of all, the instability in Tigray has a knock-on effect turning a clear & present danger against the interest of the country and its 120 Million people. The spillover effect of war can be interpreted in terms of economic, political, humanitarian and security instabilities a likely scenario all over Ethiopia in the near future.

    How to Achieve Amicable Solution to Security Deadlock in Tigray Region?

    As I believe it so, at least at this time, it may be very hard to convince both parties on war to look an early solution to resolve the conflict. That is because they are as fresh in the fights busy of justifying their causes to move on with their war. Motivated by grievances or revengeful mindsets, the ego of both sides in the conflict may be unabated at this particular time. Only hardships in the upcoming months would give warring sides a real lesson to calm down and look for peaceful solutions.

    In the meantime, however, millions of innocent civilians are at risk of losing precious lives and the destruction of their livelihoods. It is unfortunate to conclude so, but that is a hard reality to admit unless swift response holds to cease the conflict.

    It is my firm stand that TPLF takes the lion share of the responsibility for the current state of destruction in Tigray. That, however, doesn’t mean TPLF the only party responsible for the chaos. It is understandable that the federal government in Ethiopia forced to involve in the war. While so, however, that doesn’t mean Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government immune from taking responsibilities altogether for the political mistakes that has been fermenting in the past three years which finally turned an armed conflict.

    What I would call for both parties on war in Tigray is to take crucial lessons as early as possible from the ongoing destructions of lives and properties all across Tigray and in Ethiopia at large.

    For TPLF forces, my message is to crush their ego motivated by lust for political power, and return to their soul to prioritize the interest of the Tigray people whom they claim to have stood to benefit. The TPLF big-wigs need to evaluate how far their moves ended up less to the benefit, and much to bereave of fellow Tigrayan mothers, fathers, sisters & brothers.

    For the Federal Government in Addis Ababa, my message is to think how feasible the military solutions would be given the country has trapped by multiple shocks at a time, attributed to global pandemic, natural disasters, political uncertainties and socioeconomic woes. 

    More importantly, the Ethiopian government has to understand that the cost of the war would be much to its side than in the TPLF side. This is because the TPLF has an option to move on with the fight as a guerrilla force. In fact, the topography of Tigray region is all suitable for such a fight as a hit-and-run. On top of that, it is not to forget TPLF has predominant support from Tigray people, which fighters would use as a hideout. Popular supports for TPLF in Tigray also interpreted into providing logistics crucial to stay in the fight, like as a source of food ration for militants. The dynamics in the geopolitical environment among countries on the corridor of where the ongoing war is holding, that is the mounting tensions between Ethiopia, Sudan and the State of Eritrea would leave a fertile ground to smuggle armaments and ammunitions in service of TPLF fighting forces.

    All that would prolong the conflict in Tigray, much to the grief of civilians around the war zone, and at the cost of Ethiopians in general.

    My message to warring forces in Tigray is to take lesson as early as possible from the destructions of innocent lives and livelihoods already in the past four months or so. Such is the only way forward to prevent the worst that is yet to come.

  • SAY NO TO ERITREAN INTERVENTION ON ETHIOPIAN DOMESTIC POLITICS!

    SAY NO TO ERITREAN INTERVENTION ON ETHIOPIAN DOMESTIC POLITICS!

    As of recent days, there are news alerts that the Eritrean army is tightening its grip over the border with Ethiopia. What mission the Eritrean army endowed with those moves is not unclear. I would say Eritrea has no moral ground to intervene on Ethiopian affairs.

    For that, let me remind the Ethiopian populace on something not to forget.

    While preserving brotherly relations with Eritreans, Ethiopians should not forget what happened three decades ago, when the Eritrean nation declared independence from Ethiopia in a bullied ‘referendum’. Back then, Eritreans were opted with two: either living under slavery or Liberty (ባርነት ወይም ሃርነት).

    For President Isayas Afewerki and his party – the then Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF) – preserving union with Ethiopia was like living under slavery, urging Eritreans to vote for secession under the guise of ‘liberty’. The Eritreans massively voted for ‘independence from Ethiopia’, and that marked the creation of the State of Eritrea.

    The case on the ground, however, was that Eritreans can be regarded as ‘first citizens’ as they were living under the Ethiopian nationality. Eritreans were key economic actors in Ethiopia, and their dominance in this regard was the major source of political leverage though the Eritrean political elites unable to use it for the progress of their people. It is a recent memory to all of us on the rank and status of Eritreans in the Ethiopian society. Truly speaking, let alone living under slavery, the Eritreans were among the most influential sections of Ethiopian society. However, the decayed politics of EPLF and TPLF left them to poor state of welfare they are living in today.

    After close to three decades, time itself appeared a testimony on the pros and cons of secession from Ethiopia.

    As a matter of fact, today, Eritrea is one of few countries in the world with the highest emigration per se in peace time. The Eritrean nation is almost a failed state, with authoritarian regime in control of every aspect of life of Eritreans, leaving the land of Eritrea a hell for its people. This time, I hope Eritreans have enough experience to evaluate the cost of secession from Ethiopia.

    The past three decades were times of lesson to grip for Eritrean people how important Ethiopia was for them. What Eritrean fathers and mothers have to share to their siblings is only good memories of their time, when they used to enjoy decent life as they were living as Ethiopians. Their children though, fated with the migration, crossing dangerous borders and seas, taking themselves slaves, in search of fortunes far less than which their parents have had in their mother land (Ethiopia) even in dignity. It is unfortunate that all the sufferings of Eritrean youth today are the price of secession from Ethiopia.

    Coming back to my point, as of recent days, there are rumors that Eritrea is deploying its army to Ethiopian border. The motive of such an act in the face where Ethiopia and Eritrea said to have reached a deal for peaceful resolution of their disputes is not unclear. As to my understanding, the move of Eritrean regime is a clear showcase of its growing interest to intervene on Ethiopia`s domestic political affairs.

    But, those intentions of Eritrean government should not be allowed to materialize.

    How foreign interventions complicate the politics and leave the people to unending suffering is clear from the case in Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan. I hope every Ethiopian have enough lessons from the grief of innocent civilians in those countries, hence disallow any political move that changes the direction which opens the door for foreign interventions.

    Today, when secessionist forces like TPLF are mushrooming, Ethiopians in general and the Tigrian people in particular have to take fair fetch from the experience of Eritrea. As any other Ethiopians, Tigrian people are victims of the ongoing political deadlock. And, whatever the ongoing politics can have detaching effect from living under one flag as Ethiopians, I hope Tigray people will not put their motherland (Ethiopia) in exchange of fulfilling the interest of self-serving political circle around.

    In fact, the rift between the federal government in Addis Ababa and the TPLF-led Tigrian rule in Meklle is getting wider as days count. However, I still believe that there are lots of peaceful means to resolve the dispute, if both parties have the will to do so. That being the case, what matter most is people should not allow political forces to harm their long term interests.

    In essence, politics is a weapon to serving the interest of the people. In this regard, the Tigraian people should be evaluative of the political causes of TPLF forces in line with their long term interests. Otherwise, they are average citizens who pay the price of naivety of their political circle, perhaps as experienced by Eritrean people.

  • Rest in Peace, Almaz Haile (a.k.a Mommy)!

    Rest in Peace, Almaz Haile (a.k.a Mommy)!

    I am deeply saddened by the departure of a prominent figure in Ethiopian arts, Almaz Haile (a.k.a. Mommy). She was one of handful stage women who bravely challenged an old Ethiopian tradition which used to ‘ban’ women from performing in public like theatre play scenes.

    A versatile artistic talent, Almaz resisted the social taboo and was ready to face the unbearable social sanction, which many Ethiopian women of her generation ill afford to pay.

    History remembers Almaz Haile for being amongst pioneers of change in Ethiopian arts, who opened the stage for talented Ethiopian women appear on play scenes.

    Almaz’s departure is a huge loss for the arts and entertainment sector, but her legacy remains timeless.

    May God allow her soul rest in Peace!
    Condolences to her families, friends and fans!

  • MORE THAN THE DONE DEAL IS ITS IMPLEMENTATION!!!

    MORE THAN THE DONE DEAL IS ITS IMPLEMENTATION!!!

    I believe without cleaning its political mess, Ethiopia cannot move forward. As the news breaks today, the big-wigs of Ethiopian politics reached a deal not to annoy major points of disagreements ravaging the political scenery, for which the wider Ethiopian populace has been paying the price in blood and lives.

    If the terms of agreements implemented, the done deal today would be historic for heralding the real path of change in Ethiopia.

    I would say equally important with the agreement reached is to work on its implementation. To that end, each side should be committed to live by the outlined terms of agreement made.

    May God Bless Ethiopia!

  • የትግራይ ምርጫ ጉዳይ!

    የትግራይ ምርጫ ጉዳይ!

    የትግራይ ምርጫ አሁንም ሆነ ዘግይቶ ቢካሄድ ውጤቱ አንድ ነው፤ ሂደቱ ላይ ነው ችግሩ። በሁለቱም ምርጫ ቢካሄድ ህወሓት እንደሚያሸንፍ የታወቀ ነው።

    ነገር ግን የዛሬው ምርጫ ህገ መንግስታዊ መሰረት የሌለው እንደሆነ ይታወቃል። የእልህ አይነት ስለሆነ ምርጫው ምክንያትም፣ ውጤትም የለውም። ይልቅ ህወሓት ከእልህ ነቅቶ ለአገራዊው ምርጫ መዘጋጀት ይኖርበታል።

    በቀጣዩ አገራዊ ምርጫ ውጤት ብልጽግና ትግራይ፣ ትዴፓ እና/ወይም ኣረና በክልሉ ምክር ቤት የየራሳቸው ወንበር/ድምጽ ይኖራቸዋል የሚል እምነት አለኝ፤ ስለዚህ እነርሱም ቢሆኑ ከእልህ ወጥተው ከህወሓት ጋራ የትግራይን ህዝብ በጋራ የሚያገለግሉበትን መንገድ መተለም አለባቸው።

    መልካም አዲስ ዓመት!

  • WHAT EGYPT HAS TO LEARN ABOUT ETHIOPIA

    WHAT EGYPT HAS TO LEARN ABOUT ETHIOPIA

    THE way Egypt behaving is how the late John F. Kennedy said it once

    Egypt & Sudan deserve from Nile; Ethiopia deserves a fair share from Nile River too. Indeed, Nile is enough for all riparian countries.

    However, false rhetoric from the side of Egypt on Nile River and Ethiopias GERD Dam is misinforming on how the world understands the matter.

    Egypt Turning Nile River a Curse than a Blessing

    Today, Egypt is mobilizing all its propaganda machines for subversions, whose destructive actions threaten not just the Nile Basin Countries, but also the interest of the world at large.

    Most of all, Egypt's longstanding zeal for a monopolized use of Nile water is always an existential threat to Ethiopia.

    As a matter of fact, Egypt‘s actions is turning Nile River rather a curse than a blessing against all Nile Basin Countries. This is despite the fact that there is a wider room for Nile to be source of collective benefit & wellbeing.

    Ethiopia`s call is always for a Nile water to remain a blessing for all countries on the stream.

    Nile River is the Resource of all Nile Basin Countries

    An important element of the fabric of Ethiopian state is that the strength of country emanates not from its mighty in terms of material abundance or military arsenals, but within the foundation of the state itself. In terms of international relations, the strength of Ethiopia is a deep-rooted morale and spiritual foundation of the state against oppression and injustices not just in its borders, but also beyond.

    A glance into world history tells that Ethiopians are well endowed with morale and spirit to fight injustices not just for their own causes, but also for the causes of oppressed all.

    Traditionally, Ethiopia is considered symbol of freedom in its historic resistance and triumph against racist motivated oppressions of the blacks. Ethiopians were perhaps the only black people who were up the front in the fight against colonial interests of European powers.

    Emperor Menilik I of Ethiopia Fought Italian Colonial Forces at the Battle of Adwa in the year 1896

    Even in the major global injustices in the post-colonial era, the role of Ethiopia to just global order has been remarkable. Worth mentioning in this regard are belligerent moves of Ethiopia to remove white supremacist rules in South Africa (Apartheid rule) and Zimbabwe (the Rhodesian rules).

    In all their fronts of fight, Ethiopians were all in triumph not because they overpowered their enemies in terms of military arsenals, but because they always make sure they have great causes worth fighting before taking them into wars.

    Today, when Ethiopia is facing injustices worth fighting to defend their sovereign right of developing & use of its natural resources.

    My Message to Egypt

    History is a testimony that Ethiopians and regimes that ruled Ethiopia for having sense of respect and brotherhood for Egyptian brothers and the Arab world in general. That is not in just a mere rhetoric or hearsays, but with solid actions from Ethiopians and their governments in the past and present.

    For both Ethiopia and Egypt, Peace is better than War

    Ethiopia has a glorifying history in Islam for it has opened its land and kept companions of Prophet Mohammed (the Sahabah). Ethiopia was shelter for Muslims in those days when they were taken fugitive by the then Bedouin Arabs for the sake of their religion.

    Nejashi Mosque in Northern Ethiopia, Wikro town is one of the oldest Mosques in Islamic History

    A fair fetch from history tells Ethiopia has kept on its good record for global justice, and that is apparent in its role to resolve the age old problem in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine too. In the Middle Eastern great fallout – for which Egypt has a stake in it – Ethiopia has never shied away from lending its support for a sovereign Palestine state.

    The first Muslims arrived in Ethiopia in time of the Axumite Empire during the Hijarat as early disciples from Mecca, persecuted by the then ruling Quraysh tribe.

    History is a good reminder that various armed forces and countries attempted to invade Ethiopia committed the same mistake, which is being naïve to paralleling the poor material state of Ethiopians with their immeasurable moral sense and determination to their freedom & sovereignty of their country.

    I hope the current rulers of Egypt and its political elites would not commit same mistake. My message to Egypt is to learn about Ethiopia and its people!

    Another reminder to Egypt is that deal on GERD Dam is unachievable while insisting on colonial treaties to hold today. Egypt has to know that its move in this regard is an infliction not just against GERD Dam, but also stretches further annoying the history of Ethiopia.

    For Ethiopia, to sign on the 1929 agreement on Nile water use amounts to reverse its colorful history (of being a country never colonized). It amounts putting on colonialism at will, while our fathers and forefathers died in defense of their land from colonial interests.
    Egypt has to know Ethiopians cannot do it, having historic responsibility to preserve the good record of Ethiopian history for freedom & sovereignty.

    My message to Egypt is to learn about Ethiopia and its people!

    My Message to Fellow Ethiopians

    Today, Ethiopia is facing injustices over its sovereign rights of use from the Nile water.

    No Force on Earth can Stop Ethiopia from filling GERD Dam, which will start on July 1, 2020.

    As Egypt is influencing the world for bad, my message for all Ethiopians is to stand united and defend their flagship project, the GERD Dam. Ethiopians have to optimize all available means and tools in their capacities and voice out their concern in this regard.

    My Message to the World

    The world has to understand that Ethiopia’s stand over GERD Dam is a matter of survival or extinction. As we remember from the woes of the two world wars of the 20th century, silence over global injustices cost humanity great losses.

    The GERD controversy is a reminder of yet for another global injustice emerging. This time, I believe the world is not naïve.

    My message to the world is to show solidarity for a just and fair global order.

  • CONTROVERSY OVER NILE RIVER: ANOTHER SHOWCASE OF GLOBAL INJUSTICE?

    CONTROVERSY OVER NILE RIVER: ANOTHER SHOWCASE OF GLOBAL INJUSTICE?

    Egypt & Sudan deserve from Nile. Ethiopia deserves a fair share from Nile River. Nile is enough for all riparian countries too! However, false rhetoric from the side of Egypt on Nile River and Ethiopias GERD Dam is distorting the mind of the world.

    Today, Egypt is mobilizing all its propaganda machines for subversions, whose destructive actions threaten not just the Nile Basin Countries, but also the interest of the world at large.

    Most of all, Egypt‘s longstanding zeal for a monopolized use of Nile water is always an existential threat to Ethiopia.

    Ethiopia‘s call is always for a Nile water to remain a blessing for all countries on the stream.
    A glance into world history tells that Ethiopians are well endowed with morale and spirit to fight injustices not just for their own causes, but also for the causes of oppressed all.

    • As a matter of fact, Egypts actions is turning Nile River rather a curse than a blessing against all Nile Basin Countries. This is despite the fact that there is a wider room for Nile to be source of collective benefit & wellbeing.

    Traditionally, Ethiopia is considered symbol of freedom in its historic resistance and triumph against racist motivated discriminations and attacks against blacks.

    Even in the Middle Eastern great fallout which has made Palestinian brothers stateless – for which Egypt has a stake in it – Ethiopia has never shy away from lending its support for a sovereign Palestine state.

    My Message to Fellow Ethiopians

    Today, Ethiopia is facing injustices over its sovereign rights of use from the Nile water.

    As Egypt is influencing the world for bad, my message for all Ethiopians is to stand united and defend their flagship project, the GERD Dam. Ethiopians have to optimize all available means and tools in their capacities and voice out their concern in this regard.

    My Message to the World

    The world has to understand that Ethiopia’s stand over GERD Dam is a matter of survival or extinction. As we remember from the woes of the two world wars of the 20th century, silence over global injustices cost humanity great losses.

    The GERD controversy is a reminder of yet for another global injustice emerging. This time, I believe the world is not naïve. My message to the world is to show solidarity for a just and fair global order.

    GERD IS MY DAM!

    GERD IS YOUR DAM!

    GERD IS OUR DAM!

  • ግንቦት 20 የሚዘከረው ቀኑ የህዝባችን ቁስል የተሻረበት የምሥራች ቀን እስከሆነ ጊዜ ድረስ ነው!

    ግንቦት 20 የሚዘከረው ቀኑ የህዝባችን ቁስል የተሻረበት የምሥራች ቀን እስከሆነ ጊዜ ድረስ ነው!

    ማስታወሻ፦ ይህ መጣጥፍ ግንቦት 19 ቀን 2011 ዓ.ም የተጻፈ ነው፤ በድጋሚ የለጠፍሁት የያዘው ሃሳብ ዛሬም ጉዳይ ሆኖ ያለ በመሆኑ ነው።

    በዘመናዊ የኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ በተለያየ ዘመን የተፈራረቁ አገዛዞች ሥልጣን የጨበጡት በሃይል እንደሆነ ሀቅ ነው። እናም የስልጣን በትር በእጃቸው ያስገቡበትን ቀን የድል ቀን አድርገው ደንግገዋል። ግርማዊነታቸው ጥቅምት 23 ቀን፣ ደርግ መስከረም 2 ቀን፣ ኢህአዴግ ግንቦት 20 ቀንን ብሔራዊ በዓል ብለው አውጀዋል።

    በዘመን ዥረት አንዱ ሥርዓት በሌላው እየተተካ ቢመጣም ቴዲ አፍሮ እንደተቀኘው ለህዝቡ አዲስ ንጉስ እንጂ ለውጥ ከቶም አልመጣለትም ነበር።

    የሥርዓት ለውጥ ሲመጣ የተሻለ ነገን የተመኘ ሁሉ ቀናቱ የሆነ የምስራች ይዘው ይመጡ ዘንድ እየተመኘ ሲዘክር ቆይቷል፥ በጊዜ ሂደት ግን አገዛዞቹ ከቀደመው ብሰው ሲገኙ ቀናቱን ከማወደስ ይልቅ ሲረግም ኖሯል።

    እርግማኑም ‘ሰምሮለት’ የቀደመው የድል ቀን ተሽሮ በሌላ የድል ቀን ሲተካ ኖሯል።

    በእኔ ምልከታ ግንቦት 20 ን ስናከብር አንድ በሰላማዊ መንገድ ለመስተካከል ያልቻለ ሥርዓት በሚገባው(ላልቶ ይነበብ) መንገድ የተቀየረበት ቀን እንጂ በራሱ ግብ ሆኖ መታየት አልነበረበትም።

    ግንቦት 20 ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ዲሞክራሲያዊት ኢትዮጵያ እውን ትሆን ዘንድ የብስራት ቀን ተስፋ ነበር እንጂ ዲሞክራሲና ፍትህ ያሰፈነ ለመሆኑ ምስክር ጊዜ፣ እማኙ ህዝብ ነው።

    የግንቦት 20 አከባበር እንድምታ ግን ከዚህ በተቃራኒ ነበር። የኢህአዴግ ዲስኩር በዝቶ፣በጉራ ብቻ ተሞልቶ፤ ታገልኩለት ለሚለው ዓላማ ረገድ ራሱ ጠላት መሆኑ በጊዜ ሂደት ተረጋገጠ።

    ኢህአዴጎች ለለውጥ የተሰዉ ውድ ጓዶቻቸው አጥንት ሳይወቅሳቸው እንዳሻቸው ሲፈነጩ ከርመው እነርሱም ከህዝብ ማዕበል ሳያመልጡ ይኸው የቀደምቶቻቸው እጣ ደርሷቸው ግንቦት 20 የጮቤ ቀን መሆኑ እንዳከተመ ጊዜ ምስክር ሆኖ፣ እኛም እማኝ ሆነናል።

    የዶ/ር አብይ አስተዳደር በይፋ ባያውጅም ግንቦት 20 ን በመጋቢት 24 ለመተካቱ ብዙ አስረጅዎችን ማቅረብ ይቻላል።

    መራራ ኑሮ እስከቀጠለ ድረስ ህዝቡ ለለውጥ መስዋዕት መሆኑ የህይወት እውነት ነው። ህዝብ ሌላ የተስፋ ቀን፣ ሌላ የምስራች ቀን ሽቶ ሲባዝን የመኖሩ ጉዳይም ሌላ የህይወት እውነት ሆኖ ይቀጥላል።

    አሁንም የለውጥ ሀይል ነን ብለው ለህዝብ ተስፋ የሰጡና ሥልጣን የተቆናጠጡት ለተነሱለት ዓላማ ካልታመኑ፣ ከቀደመው መማር ካልቻሉ፣ ለውጥ ያወጁበት መጋቢት 24 ቀን የተስፋ ሳይሆን የመርገምት ቀን ተብሎ በህዝብ መፈረጁ አይቀሬ ነው።

    ፈጣሪ ኢትዮጵያን እና ህዝቦቿን አብዝቶ ይባርክ! አሜን!!!

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