Appeal for solidarity

By Golto Aila | May 15, 2008

For much of the last 17 years, those of us who oppose the undemocratic rule in Ethiopia have concentrated our criticism on the current regime in Addis Abeba, and rightly so! Much of the criticism has been based on the presumption that with a certain amount of pressure - be it political or armed struggle - the regime will see the need to change course and accommodate the wish of the Ethiopian people or simply get out of the way so that the process of reconstruction may start. The nature of this regime is very different from many that we know of, historically!

Due to the multiplicity of strategic errors on the part of the opposition and the general population, as well as the tenacity on the part of the regime, the troubles for the country has continued to mount as the opposition continue to weaken, giving the regime encouragement to continue their insult! The recent disenfranchisement of the population; the arrest of a young patriotic artist who used his art to express the pains and hopes of Ethiopia; and the rumors of swathes of Ethiopia’s real estate being given to a hostile nation, are all deliberate deeds designed to rub salt in the wounds of a nation that has suffered incalculable pains at the hands of this regime!

After 17 years of postponements most thinking Ethiopians must now come to the acceptance of what we have always known – United We stand and Divided We Fall! Time and time again opportunities have availed themselves and we, as a people, through inaction or inappropriate actions, have missed the opportunity to stand together and do something we can all be proud of! We have failed to take the actions which would have allowed all of us to be proud of ourselves, and instead took the paths which have led us to live (for those who are conscientious enough) in relative shame!

The opportunity has come again for us to focus on the plight of our Motherland! The anniversary of the infamous theft of the people’s ballot is here again! The insult of and the assault on our people and our conscience by this regime continues! Many have said, with some justification, that we deserve it! However, it is not the time self-deprecation and self-pity or guilty trip! It is time for self-examination, re-assessment of our actions, re-evaluation of the situation on the ground, getting our priorities right and taking of decisive actions as one people, for the benefit of all our peoples and our Motherland.

Every experience is educative, and successful people learn from their experience – good or bad! Those who cannot build a future on good experiences and those who repeat bad experiences and fail to improve their future and those of the generations to follow, truthfully, will have wasted their lives and the lives of those who depend on them! The repeated miss-steps in tackling the current regime, and the repeated failure for the rest of us to stand together to fight a despicable dictator, is a blight on our collective conscience! However, as stated above, we have yet another opportunity to come together and change the cause of history for our people and our Motherland!

Please heed the call for the May 15-18 march, reach-outs and prayers! It will be a cleansing experience for all of us. You will be surprised how much pain we share and how much hope we share! For many of you who have been living side by side for years and ignoring each other’s presence, you will learn how much you have missed by ignoring each other and by not sharing with each other! In the last two weeks, in the effort to bring our people together for this march, I have spoken to our compatriots in Switzerland, Germany, Toronto, Calgary, Minnesota, New Jersey, Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta. Among the people I have talked to are Afar, Amhara, Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo, Tigrean and others! If nothing else comes out this effort, l will live satisfied that I am not crazy to dream that we can come together as brothers and sisters across all barriers and stand together for a common good!

All said, I am very optimistic that when we face ourselves and take responsibilities, and make a deliberate effort to reach out to all those Ethiopians, before the end of this week you will be as optimistic if not more optimistic than I am today, your perception of yourself and your Ethiopian world will be very bright! There is nothing more powerful than being good to each other and share each others’ joy and pain! We are all potentially good people; please make every effort to eliminate enemies and bond with your fellow Ethiopian and fight for justice in our Motherland! Support each other and build a strong Solidarity among yourselves!

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The writer can be reached at gurmesa51@yahoo.com