We love Teddy! Free Teddy!

Ethiomedia | May 12, 2008

We love Teddy not just because he is an outstanding singer, entertainer and artist. We love him, above all, because he is a great Ethiopian patriot; a young man who not only loves his country with every fiber in his body, but is also unafraid to sing TRUTH to dictators who nakedly cling to power.

We also love Teddy because he never sold us out, even when they offered him all of the riches in the world. He chose to stay with us: to sing for us songs of joy and happiness, songs of pride in our Ethiopia, songs of unity and reconciliation of all Ethiopians, songs of liberation and freedom, and songs of love and heartache.

But why do we really, really love Teddy? Well, let us count the ways….

We love Teddy because he loves our Ethiopia above all else. In his sweet melodies, Teddy worships his motherland and the Almighty that created her. On every stage and in every continent his song is “Agere Ethiopia!” His flag, the green, yellow and red. That’s Patriot Teddy for you!

We love Teddy because at the dawn of the New Millennium he chose to thank God and pray for Ethiopian unity and harmony than join hands with the merchants of misery who were drowning themselves in imported champagne and cognac. He gave us a prayer in a song that reflected our innermost hopes and desires, “Abebaye hoy… We thank God for bringing us to the New Millennium. We pray that he keeps us, and the green, yellow and red flag together, forever.”

We love Teddy because he told the absolute truth. He sang it to us: “Those phony revolutionaries who sneaked their way to the throne did not bring change to Ethiopia, but a new king.”

We love Teddy because he helped us gain our sight when evildoers poked our eyes out to keep us in the darkness of dictatorship. He called upon us to become a lambadina (flashlight) for justice, for freedom and for human rights.

We love Teddy because he warned us not to fall for the devilish practitioners of divide and conquer, those who tell us that there is no such thing as Ethiopia or Ethiopian people, only a bunch of people who happen to occupy a corner of the earth without a common history or culture. But Teddy sang it: “Chemin de Fir. Let us not forget that the country where Christians and Muslims and people of all backgrounds have always lived in harmony, peace and love is none other than Ethiopia.”

We love Teddy because his songs fill our hearts with joy, uplift our spirits and face up to the ruthless mercenaries who scheme day and night to drive us into hopelessness and despair. Teddy prophesied, “Hold on, hold tight! Ethiopia’s resurrection (Ye Itopia tinsae) is near, if only we forgive each other in love."

We love Teddy because he is a true artist unbounded by political correctness. He couldn’t care less whether the corrupt and depraved criminals approved his songs. He sang his praises for the “African fathers, Haile Selaasie and Jomo Kenyatta for toiling to bring about African unity and promote pan-Africanism.”

We love Teddy for telling our young people particularly that “there is no advantage in gossiping and complaining (alamash lesew) behind the back of the one you love. Talk directly to the one you love in the language of love.” That is Teddy’s simple message for all who live and love.

We love Teddy because he knows the one solution to all of our problems: “JAH! YATESERYAL.” He sang to us that the biggest problems we have do not arise from differences in ethnicity, geographic region, language, religion or political ideology. The biggest problems we have are problems of the heart. Teddy sang it: Let’s do our part and come together! Forgive each other! Love each other! Hold hands together and put our collective shoulders to the grindstone for our Ethiopia, and keep on pushing! Let JAH do the rest. “JAH! YASTESERYAL.”

Shortly before Teddy was carried to the Kality see'ol (hell), in a deeply stirring hymn (mezmur), he made a profound profession of faith, and an affirmation of his unshakeable belief that his own fate and the destiny of Ethiopia remains in the palms of His hand: “Hale, hale luya to the Lord who died for me on the cross, how will I ever be able to repay Him for all he has done for me?” We join you Teddy, today and every day, “Hale, hale luya…”

So, here is our dedication to you Teddy, as you sit in the dark belly of Kality prison, Babylon System¹, written and sung by the man you called Ye Ityopia Anbessa, Bob Marley:

Babylon system is the vampire, yea! (vampire)
Suckin' the children day by day, yeah!
Me say: de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire,
Suckin' the blood of the sufferers, yea-ea-ea-ea-e-ah!
Building church and university, wo-o-ooh, yeah! -
Deceiving the people continually, yea-ea!
Me say them graduatin' thieves and murderers;
Look out now: they suckin' the blood of the sufferers (sufferers).
Yea-ea-ea! (sufferers)

Tell the children the truth;
Tell the children the truth;
Tell the children the truth right now!

Free Teddy right now! Free Teddy from Babylon, right now! Let our Teddy go, right now!
JAH YASTESERYAL! TEDDY, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

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¹Bob Marley’s song audio and lyrics available at:
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bob_marley/babylon_system.html