Marriage proposal to Mighty Awash and HMD comes to the US. By Yilma Bekele
Our elders know how to tell a story. The way they do it could be compared to like pealing an onion, you have to go thru so many layers to get to the heart of the matter. Even then it requires insight to really understand the hidden message. Some might think it is so backward and are tempted to opine why go thru a maze when you can just go direct to the point. I am sure our people know how to say it with few choice words but to truly tell a good story one needs patience and wisdom. It would be considered uncultured and not worthy of a civilized mind to blurt something out like a wild animal. So do me a favor and settle down I want to tell you a story.
The event I am about to tell you took place in Afar country in North Eastern Ethiopia on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. It was the 1970’s and young educated Ethiopians were using modern methods to harness the power of the mighty Awash to irrigate the land to grow cotton, sorghum and sugar cane. The land was virgin, the young farmers were highly motivated and the project was going better than their wildest expectations. Naturally they wanted to acquire more land. In that part of Ethiopia the land belongs to the nomadic but fierce Afar people and our farmers were very, very careful not to antagonize our warriors thus they Walked lightly, spoke softly and will do anything to remain on the good side of the elders. If you value your life and property that is what you do in Afar country.
Our story took on one of those occasions where the young Haramaya (Alemaya) College graduates sit down to talk to the elders and exchange pleasantries and get to know each other. That ceremony by itself is one beautiful story that remains to be told. Anyway after a long leisurely exchange of the usual pleasantries the farmers asked if it was at all possible if they could be allowed to plant on a few more acres adjacent to what they already have now. As the story is told to me by my dear friend Ato Solomon the elders did not even flinch. They smiled their usual bright smile looked them in the eye and responded with a riddle of their own.
They used Awash to reply to their request. During the rainy season the mighty Awash over flows its banks due to the many tributaries feeding it and becomes bigger than anything you have ever seen. It swells up to twice its size inundating Afar country as far as the eye can see. It was during this season that one of the small tributary’s feeding Awash feeling big and pompous sent a delegation to the house of Awash asking for marriage.
As the elders tell it Awash was not upset by the impertinence of the little runt of a stream coming up with such a proposal. Far from that Awash was amused. Thus Awash looked at the gathered elders and replied in a polite manner. ‘Why don’t we wait and go over this important request come next May?’ You see my friends May is the dry season and there is no more stream not even a drop of water entering the mighty Awash. Saying outright no would have been uncultured and there was no need to be rude to the delegates and hurt the feeling of the young one. Honor was saved all around and the elders went back in peace.
What reminded of this story is the visit by the Woyane delegation to the UN and the talked about meeting with the great kahuna President Obama himself. Visions of Awash and the little trickle of a stream came to mind when I saw the picture of Obama and the delegation that was pretending to represent our ancient land in that little room in New York and I smiled a knowing smile. Where are you our Afar warriors when we need you is all I could think of?
I am sure all Ethiopians have heard of the audience with the great white masters this time due to circumstances represented by a black man (the Black face of the American empire according to Cornel West) and the happiness and joy it brought to our Woyane idiots in power.
It is no wonder the TPLF minority government used the occasion as a God send opportunity to show our people how the US thinks they are doing miracles in our country. Their children in America were overjoyed and did not spare ink and cyber space to fling it on our face. This fools tale was told in so many ways and their little minions and cadres inundated social media with the video and photo opportunity Susan Rice created for them. The clueless tyrants want to prove their self-worth by what outsiders say about them not by their own accomplishments.
The meeting took place in a small Hotel room in New York and you can tell it was a hastily arranged affair created for photo opportunity and nothing substantial happened. Mr. Obama stuck to the prepared script and the whole idea was to mention the 1) double digit growth 2) encourage selling of our land and 3) prepare the ground for future missions of the TPLF mercenary force.
All three points go contrary to the interest of Ethiopia but serve the interest of the US and Western Europe in an incredible manner. All there points are easy to refute but who is listening? The Ethiopian people due to the fact that there is no free media cannot discuss the issue in an open and transparent manner, the US media is not even focused on little old, poor Ethiopia leaving her children in the Diaspora the only one left to expose the second attempt to occupy our motherland. I will attempt to refute the three points without boring you the victims.
Point number 1) Ethiopia’s Economy is not growing because we have created jobs by improving our education system, increasing manufacturing output and creating more wage earners but it is like a house built on sand foundation. It is borrowed money from World Bank, China and the IMF to tackle balance of payment problems. The economy is one giant real estate Ponzi scheme that is bound to crumble with the slightest tremor. Look at Ethiopia’s external debt.
Date Amount US$ % to GDP
1975 343.7 14%
1991 9.1 Billion 214%
2013 16.1 Billion 285%
Thus according to experts ‘Ethiopia’s external debt is not simply unsustainable; even the most generous debt relief would not bring the country within reach of meeting its responsibility within the context of global poverty-reduction goals.’ External Debt and Economic Growth in Ethiopia, By: Melese Gizaw Desta – Publication: 2005 76 pages
Do you my dear Ethiopian relatives see the joy in building a glass house with borrowed money and sticking your children with substantial debt that they would under no circumstances be able to pay back without selling additional assets due to your reckless act? You see Woyane warlords will take their cut and buy property in the west, the banks have to be paid no matter what and our poor people just have to tighten their belt and suffer some more.
Point number 2) Notice Obama said growth in ‘agricultural production’ not Ethiopia being able to feed itself. He is counting the stolen lands of Gambella, Oromia, Afar and the south that are given to multinationals for free so they could export our products to feed their people. Mr. Obama wants us to feel good because the Saudis, Emirates, the Gulf Arabs and Indians can have fresh fruit on their table while we starve, and our poor farmers are left landless and homeless.
Pont number 3) He cited Ban Ki-Moon of the UN to show how much our soldiers have been effective as peace-keepers. Dear Mr. Obama the TPLF solders are nothing but peace keepers. We are aware of the role they played and are still playing in Somalia where they have committed war crimes against our African brothers and sisters. We have become isolated in our neighborhood and that is not the Ethiopia we want to leave behind for our children.
It is said by expert the future war will be fought in Africa for the untapped resources still buried under our continent. It would involve mainly the US and China. No American president will dare send US military to Africa and risk death in a large scale. This is where we come into the picture. The Pentagon is preparing our solders to be first responders to pacify and occupy on the ground while the mighty US hovers in the sky to do the job with no risk to their children. That is the gist of the meeting in a hotel room arranged by no other than the dead tyrant obituariest the hapless Susan Rice. A pox on her!
Our people are starving and Obama is telling us our belly is full, our children are dying in Southern Africa and all over the Middle East and he is informing us we have one of the highest growing economy in the world, our virgin land is leased to outsiders and poor farmers are left out in the cold and the African American President is celebrating the selling of our country.
I have no quarrel with Mr. Obama he is just doing what he was elected to do not always in a satisfactory manner but anyway that is the job he took to look after the interest of his country. When he heaps praise on tyrants that are killing me, when he enables dictators that are abusing their office, this is when I part company with him. I look after myself and there is no reason I should be upset, discouraged or sad but rather think soberly and device a way to protect my poor country and people.
We are inching our way in a measured manner towards protecting our interest. The last two years our people are coming together and slowly realizing the minority government is the problem for all that has gone wrong in our country. It is not easy to fight a government that has mastered the art of divide and rule and is supported by the big powers for their selfish interest but we are finally realizing there is no magic formula nor a miracle that would appear to help us untangle from the evil thugs in power.
Today we have groups that have organized to take the fight to the enemy’s camp. They have been training the last few years and are ready to unleash their fury on the few that have become fat and lazy sucking our blood. Obama or no Obama is going to save the criminals from justice. It would be good if the foreign devils would help us but it is not a must. We help ourselves. We are the ones suffering, it is our children that are dying, it is our country that is being sold and it is our pride that has been trampled. It follows then it is us, only us that can restore the balance and stand our country right side up.
Mr. Obama’s speech is just hot air that did not even fill that hotel room it was uttered whereas our action is real that would fill our mountain and valleys with the voice of our ancestors that would be there standing behind us beaming with pride. Every one of us have a choice to stand up to bullies and Bandas and help our combatants achieve victory or continue being abused by a few that when things get hot would depart leaving their cadres to face the music. That is how tyrants operate. Shall I remind you of Marcos of Philippines, Shah of Iran, Pinochet of Chile, and Mengistu of Ethiopia? Tyrants and their associates are cowards. They have already started selling their ill gotten real estate in Ethiopia, don’t be left behind paying for their sins.
Where are our Afar elders that are wise and focused, where did the ghost of Tewodros go that sacrificed his life to deny the British the excuse to stay behind, where is Taitu Bitul that asked the foreign devils’ shoes be cleaned least they take our precious soil with them, where is Minilik that played one European against another to protect his children, Where is Abebe Aregay, Geresu Duki, Balcha Aba Nebso that invented the art of Guerilla warfare Oh Ethiopia where did your children go wrong where today they are Kowtowing to a faraway power and meeting in funky hotel rooms to show us how much their master approves of their slave mentality.
The same week the President of India came to the US to attend the same UN meeting. The President of India gathered his Diaspora at Madison Sports Garden for a lavish ceremony that was celebrated with Indian cultural and arts presentation. The President thanked his people for the wonderful contribution they are making to their common country. It was done with respect, love and meant to boost the morale. The President met Mr. Obama at the white house as equal and discussed issues of mutual interest.
We Ethiopians are not that lucky. Our unelected officials normally gather their chosen ethnic group and use our Embassy to demean and insult other Ethiopians. Due to the absence of legitimacy and self-esteem they are overjoyed when they are invited to sit down in small hotel rooms so they would receive the blessing of their masters. They do not have the presence of mind to be ashamed but rather wave their underling status as proof of their self-worth. It is even surprising to hear TPLF cadres complaining the new toy was able to sit with Obama while the dead tyrant never achieved such honor. Poor Ethiopia, how low can we sink?
Have no fear my friend, we still produce patriots that keep the flame of freedom alive. We are living with heroes extraordinaire among us like my friend Eskinder Nega that will not be silenced for ever and ever, Andualem Arage, Bekele Gerba, my leader Andargachew Tsgie and Abubeker Ahmed and many, many more. We are still alive and kicking.
What we have today is usurpers that have sat on the throne but are confused about what it means to be Ethiopian, we are surrounded by fools that would not find the exit door in a studio apartment and we have a perfect saying in our language that explains their condition ጋኖች አለቁና ምንቸቶች ጋን ሆኑ May the Gods help our country and people.
Please read ‘Consistency or hypocrisy? President Obama ‘boosts’ Ethiopia’s dictatorship’ by Aklog Birara (Dr.) an expert analysis on this important issue in most of our fearless and Independent Websites.