Fixing the Blurry Glasses

The afternoon of Friday, July 12, saw a somewhat "bizzare" incident at London's Heathrow Airport. A smoke was seen on the tail of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The international media made the incident their headline story since late Friday (at least for 24 hours). The amazing thing was, the smoke (probably caused by a fire ignited by "transmission problem", as concluded by investigators) was triggered eight hours after the aircraft was parked at the airport.

I think the Heathrow incident made the headlines not for the fact that the plane is an Ethiopian property. Rather, it was for two other reasons; One: the incident happened on British soil, and two: it happened on a plane that is "equipped with the latest technology." For whatever reason, the incident turned people's heads to our country one more time.

What moved me to write this post wasn't the Heathrow incident. It is rather the comments and responses that came after the news broke out. A considerable number of people, mainly from the western world, were amazed by the fact that Ethiopia actually owns a Dreamliner, even has an airliner. Some even went further to express their disbelief that Ethiopians manage to "eat at all," let alone having their own flag carrier. 

It makes me sick to hear and see people from the so-called "First World" to disregard the "Third World" in an uncivilized way. They sometimes claim to know the nature, behavior, and fate of the people of Africa, Latin America, and Asia as the palm of their hands. In the case of Ethiopia, they think the entire nation became a bare-land after the 1984/85 drought, they were the only ones who saved the day.  They consider a skinny person an Ethiopian, and the people from Ethiopia are "good-for-nothing." They tend to believe we're doomed to live and die poor and starved. Hypocrites!

I believe it's time to tell the facts to those who do not know (or blindfold themselves not to know) the truth. Their racist and fictionally-driven "superior mentality" must be eradicated once and for all. It's time to fix the blurry eyeglasses of "the white folks!"

A lesson in History

Aircraft began to flew over Ethiopian skies long before the establishment of the Ethiopian Airlines. A French pilot, Andrẻ Maillet, flew a twin-engined Potez aircraft from Djibouti, and landed at Jan Meda in Addis Ababa on August 18, 1929. With the threat of the Fascist Italian invasion plans, according to the renowned historian, Prof. Richard Pankrust, the Ethiopian government of the day has ordered two more aircraft from Germany, even though  the delivery was delayed by the French authorities at Djibouti in order to make the French aircraft arrive first. 

After the return of the government after the Italian invasion of 1935-41, Emperor Haileselassie took up the concept of establishing a national airliner seriously, and asked the governments of the US, the UK, and France to help in this endeavor. His efforts have finally paid off, and on 8 September, 1945, the American airliner, TWA, signed an agreement with John Spencer, who was the foreign affairs advisor to the emperor, to establish a commercial airline for Ethiopia.(Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, 2004).

Over the coming years, the airline has made tremendous developments in its activities; such as expanding its routes, replacing personnel from TWA (one such a notable appearance was the introduction of the first African jet pilot, Capt. Alemayehu Abebe), and the acquisition of some of the modern aircraft to date, including the landmark products of Boeing like the B767 (1984) and B787 Dreamliner (2012).

The success of the Ethiopian Airlines over the last 67 years have placed Ethiopia on the world map, as one of Africa's modern nations. Unlike some 'ferenjis,' who are ignorant of such developments, this airline has exhibited strength, dedication, and commitment as the springboards of its success. It is a success that hasn't been interrupted by the succession of governments, famine, wars, or any other mishaps in the country over the years.   

I was pretty much amazed and inspired by the long success story of Ethiopian Airlines for so long, especially by the time I was doing a research on the passenger transport services of the airline about 11 years ago when I was a student at the Addis Ababa University. The success, came with tireless efforts by the staff and management of the company, and even with sacrifices made by the loss of lives, are exemplary for all of the "Third World" nations in showing the way to success without the so-called "Superpowers" breathing at their necks. And Ethiopians are always proud of their national carrier.

Africa's First Dreamliner, "Queen of Sheba". Photo: from Wikipedia

There has been a lot to tell those who doubt Ethiopia can achive so much in the airline industry. But I think it is better to leave that to themselves to find out, since a lot can be found from the archives, and the internet. Their comments, which might come just out of jealousy of the fact that we have the Dreamliner before the Europeans and the Americans, or just of ignorance, are baseless. And so they need to learn history, and redeem themselves for their racist views.

So there you have it, you doubters! Believe it or not: We have an airline, and we have the Dreamliner (five of them, actually). We have pilots, flight attendants, and technicians that bring our national colors to the sky. We have the facilities to train airline personnel from all around the world, maintain aircraft from any part of the globe, and we have more than half-a-century's experience in flying under our belt. Stop being narrow minded, and start digging for history. We're not only of famine and poverty. We have so many success stories to tell, and we're a proud nation. And there's nothing you can do about it!

Long Live Ethiopia!

የምር “ወንድ” እንሁን!!!

ዛሬ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ በአማርኛ ልጽፍ ነው፡፡ በሦስት ምክንያቶች፡፡

·         አንደኛ፡- ይህንን ብሎግ ከጀመርኩበት ጊዜ አንስቶ  አብሮኝ ያለውን “አንድ ቀን በአገሬ ቋንቋ እጽፋለሁ፡፡” የሚለውን ሐሳቤን ለማሳካት፣

·         ሁለተኛ፡- የዛሬው ርዕሴ ትንሽ ከበድ ያለ እና ድርጊቱም በአገር ደረጃ አሳፋሪ እና አሰቃቂ በመሆኑ በዓለም አቀፍ ቋንቋ ጽፌ አገሬን “ሰድቦ ለሰዳቢ” ላለመስጠት፣

·         ሦስተኛውና ዋነኛው ምክንያቴ ደግሞ ፡- ስለዚህ ዘግናኝ እና አሳሳቢ ጉዳይ ለመጻፍ ከአፍ መፍቻ ቋንቋዬ የተሻለ ቋንቋ ስላላገኘሁ ነው፡፡

ባለፈው ሳምንት በእጅጉ የማደንቀው ጸሐፊ ዳንኤል ክብረት “እስከመቼ” በሚል ርዕስ በብሎጉ ላይ ባወጣው ጽሑፍ በአንድ መሥሪያ ቤት አብረው በሚሠሩ እና ሰርክ በሚያስቀና ፍቅራቸው በሚታወቁ ወንድም እና እህት መካከል በተፈጠረ ጊዜያዊ አለመግባባት ምክንያት የተከሰተውን ዱላ-አከል ጠብ አስመልክቶ የተሰማውን ስሜት አስፍሮ ነበር፡፡ በዚህ ጽሑፍ ላይ አንባቢያን የየራሳቸውን አስተያየት ሰጥተዋል፡፡ አብዛኞቹ ድርጊቱን ሲያወግዙ፣ ጥቂቶች “እና ምን ይጠበስ?” ዓይነት አስተያየት ነበር የሰጡት፡፡

ጉዳዩን እንዲሁ ላይ ላዩን ሲመለከቱት ቀላል ነገር ይመስላል፡፡ “ወንድም እና እህት በሥራ ላይ በተፈጠረ አለመግባባት ተጋጩ፣ ወንድም እህቱን በጥፊ ወለወለ፣ በቃ፡፡ እንኳን ሰው እና ሰው እግር እና እግርስ ይጋጭ የለ?” ብዙዎች ይህንን እንደሚሉ አይጠረጠርም፡፡ ነገር ግን፣ ይህንን  ነገር ሰፋ አድርገን ካስተዋልነው ግን እነዚህን መሰል “ቀላል” ነገሮች ተጠራቅመው ከባድ እና አሳሳቢ እንደሚሆኑ ማስተዋል ይቻላል፡፡

ለዚህ አስተያየቴ መነሻ የሆነኝ ክስተት የተፈጠረው ባለፈው ሳምንት ማብቂያ ላይ ነበር፡፡ ቅዳሜ ጥቅምት 10 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም. አዲስ አበባ ከተማ ውስጥ በተለምዶ “መስቀል ፍላወር“ ተብሎ በሚጠራው አካባቢ ከጠዋቱ ሁለት ሰዓት ከሩብ ላይ አንድ ግለሰብ የቀድሞ ባለቤቱ የምታሽከረክረውን መኪና በመኪናው መንገድ ዘግቶ ካስቆማት በኋላ በያዘው ክላሽኒኮቭ ጠመንጃ ተኩስ ከፍቶ እርሷን በ18 ጥይቶች መትቶ ሲገድል፣ አብረዋት የነበሩትን ወላጅ እናቷን እና ሁለት በአካባቢው የነበሩ ግለሰቦችን አቆሰለ፡፡ በመጨረሻም ራሱን ለመግደል ሲሞክር ጥይት በመጨረሱ ሳይሳካለት ቀርቶ በቁጥጥር ሥር ዋለ፡፡     

ብዙ ዓይነት የግድያ ወንጀሎችን በዕድሜዬ ሰምቻለሁ፡፡ በተለይም በባል እና በሚስት መካከል ከሚፈጠሩ አለመግባባቶች ጋር ተያይዞ እስከሞት ድረስ የደረሱ ጥቃቶችን አውቃለሁ፡፡ ይህኛው ግን ሲበዛ አሰቃቂ እና አስፈሪ ሆኖብኛል፡፡ ከባለጉዳዮችም አልፎ ሌሎች ንፁሃንንም የጎዳ እና ከልክ ያለፈ አረመኔያዊ ጥቃት!

ባለችኝ ጥቂት የጦር መሣሪያ ዕውቀት መሠረት አንድ የክላሽኒኮቭ ጠመንጃ የጥይት ካርታ 30 ጥይቶችን ይይዛል፡፡ እንደሟች እናት ምስክርነት ሟች በ18 ጥይት ተመትታ ነው የተገደለችው (ፖሊስ ገና እያጣራ ቢሆንም)፡፡ እናት በሦስት ጥይቶች መመታታቸውን ተናግረዋል፡፡ ሁለት መንገደኞችም በተኩስ እሩምታው ቆስለዋል፡፡ ምናልባት እያንዳንዳቸው በሁለት ወይም በሦስት ጥይቶች ተመትተዋል ብለን እናስብ፡፡ ስንደምራቸው ወደ ቢበዛ ወደ 27 ያህል ጥይቶች በሰለባዎቹ ላይ አርፈዋል፡፡ ተጠርጣሪው ራሱን ለመግደል ሞክሮ ጥይት ስለጨረሰ ሳይሳካለት ቀርቷልና ቀሪዎቹ ሦስት ጥይቶችም ተተኩሰዋል ማለት ነው፡፡

ይህንን ዓይነት ጭካኔ የተሞላበት ግድያ (ርሸና ብለው ይሻላል) ቀደም ሲል የምናውቀው በምዕራቡ ዓለም ነበር፡፡ ከሥራው የተባረረ፣ ትዳሩ የፈረሰ፣ አዕምሮው የተቃወሰ እና የጦር መሣሪያ እጁ የገባ ሁሉ አገር ፈጅቶ እራሱን ሲያጠፋ ብዙ ጊዜ ሰምተናል፡፡ እኛ አገር ከጥቂት ዓመታት በፊት በግል ጠብ ምክንያት ይህን የመሰለ ጥቃት መፈጸሙን አስታውሳለሁ፡፡ ትዳር-ተኮር በሆነ ምክንያት ግን… ይህ የመጀመሪያዬ ነው፡፡

እንደሚዲያዎች ዘገባ ከሆነ ተጠርጣሪው የቀድሞ ባለቤቱ እና ልጆቹ “ጠልተውኛል” የሚል ስሜት አድሮበታል፡፡ ለዚህ ስሜቱ ወይም ስጋቱ መፍትሄው መግደል ነው ብሎ ማመኑ እርምጃውን ለመውሰድ እንደገፋፋው ማሰብ ይቻላል፡፡ ነገር ግን ይህ አስተሳሰብ በምድርም ሆነ በሰማይ የተሳሳተ፣ ወንጀልም ኃጢያትም መሆኑ አያከራክረንም፡፡ ግጭቶችንና አለመግባባቶችን ለመፍታት ሰላማዊ የሆኑ ብዙ መንገዶች ስላሉ፡፡

በፍቅርም ሆነ በትዳር ግንኙነቶች ውስጥ አለመግባባትና ግጭት ይከሰታል፡፡ እነዚህን ችግሮች ቢቻል በውይይት፣ ካልተቻለ በሽምግልና፣ ከዚያ ከከበደ ደግሞ በመለያየት መፍታት ይቻላል፡፡ እነዚህ በፍቅርና በትዳር መካከል የሚፈጠሩ ግጭቶች በአግባቡ መያዝ እስከተቻለ ድረስ ግንኙነቱን እንደሚያጠናክሩ አምናለሁ፡፡

ይህ ማለት ግን ሁልጊዜም ግጭት መኖር አለበት፣ ግጭቱ በየትኛውም መልክ የሚገለጽ ይሁን ማለት አይደለም፡፡ በግጭት ስም ዲያቢሎስ ወደቤታችን እንዲዘልቅ በፍጹም መፍቀድ አይገባንም፡፡ አበው “ሰይጣን ሰውን ሲያታልል “ስለፍቅር በስመአብ ይቅር” ይላል” ይላሉ፡፡ ዛሬ በአገራችን እያየን እና እየሰማን ያለነውና በፍቅርና በትዳር ውስጥም ሆነ ውጭ የምናየው ጭካኔ የዚህ አካሄድ ውጤት ነው፡፡ ግጭትን በሰከነ መንፈስ ለማብረድ አለመቻል፣ በስሜት መነዳት፣… ይህ ሁሉ የወንጀል ምንጭ ይሆናል፡፡

ትናንት እናያቸውና እንሰማቸው የነበሩ በፍቅርና በትዳር ውስጥ የሚፈጠሩ አለመግባባቶች የፈጠሯቸው ጥቃቶች “ቀላል ናቸው” ብለን ስናልፋቸው፣ እነሆ ዛሬ ወደከፋው ደረጃ ደርሰዋል፡፡ የትናንቱ ጥፊ ዛሬ ወደቦክስ፣ ወደዱላ፣ ወደፈላ ውሃ፣ ወደአሲድ፣ቀጥሎም ወደ ጥይትና ቦምብ ተቀይሯል፡፡ ነገ ደግሞ ወደየት እንደሚሄድ ፈጣሪ ይወቅ፡፡ አሁኑኑ የማያዳግም እርምጃ ካልተወሰደ በስተቀር፡፡

እንደወንድነቴ፣ እነዚህ ሁሉ የጭካኔ ተግባራት በሙሉ እየተፈጸሙ ያሉት በወንዶች በመሆኑ አዝናለሁ፣ አፍራለሁም፡፡ በእኔ አመለካከት ”ወንድ” ማለት ትዕግሥተኛ፣ አመዛዛኝ፣ እና ምክንያታዊ የሆነ፣ ተፈጥሯዊ የአካል ጥንካሬ የበላይነቱን በተገቢው መልኩ የሚጠቀም ሰው ነው፡፡ ወንድነት የሱሪ ጉዳይ አይደለም፡፡ የአዕምሮ ብስለት እንጂ፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያ የነገራችን መነሻ የሆነን ሰው የቀድሞ ሚስቱን ለመግደል ሲወስን ሌሎቹን የችግሩን መፍቻ መንገዶች በአዕምሮው ውስጥ ዘግቶ ነው ለማለት ያስችላል፡፡ ቀድሞ ፈራጅ ባልባል፣ ይህ ሰው የመግደል ሐሳቡን ያመነጨው ተኝቶ ሲነሳ አይመስለኝም፡፡ አስቦበት፣ መሣሪያ ገዝቶ ወይም ተውሶ፣ የሟችን መውጫ ሰዓት ጠብቆ የድርጊቱን ውጤት እያወቀ እንደሆነ ምንም ጥርጥር የለኝም፡፡ ይህንን በጭካኔ የተሞላ ወንጀል ዛሬ እንደቀላል አይተን ካለፍነው ነገ ሌሎችም የግጭት መፍቻ መንገድ አድርገው እንደማይወስዱት ምንም ዋስትና የለንም፡፡

እናም ሕጉ ይጥበቅ፣ ተተኪውን ትውልድ ከዚህ መሰል አረመኔነት ለማዳን ትምህርትና ምክር በስፋት ይሰጥ፣ ከሁሉም በላይ ደግሞ ወንዶች ትዕግሥትን እንላበስ፣ የምር “ወንድ” እንሁን!!!

A Glorious Moment

Yesterday was definitely one of the happiest days in Ethiopian history. The public in general and the football-loving community in particular, were in a festive mood throughout the evening, and even, today. After a 31 year absence, our country has returned to Africa’s biggest football event, the Cup of African Nations (CAN). This was made possible after the Walias, as the Ethiopian men’s national team is nicknamed; beat their Sudanese counterparts 2-0 at the return leg of their qualification match (5-5 on aggregate, but Ethiopia won by the “away goal” rule). This victory, as many people here agree (myself included), is a “once in a lifetime”event. It is, evidently, more than the game; it’s a sign of national unity, harmony, and the dawn of a new era.

I was about five years old at the time of Ethiopia's last CAN appearance, which was in 1982. I remember the feeling of the day, although it was not a time when we were lucky to watch the games live on TV as we do these days. But the promotion made for the national squad, which was reorganized after seven of its players gone missing at Côte d'Ivoire, was huge. The newly organized squad have managed to send Guinea out of the qualifying round, and thus qualified for the finals. As I remember, though, the squad was short of the much needed team spirit and national feeling; hence lost all of its group-stage games. And that was the last of Ethiopia’s participation at the football event of the continent that it co-initiated 56 years ago…, until yesterday.

A lot has happened over the last three decades; many federation leaders, various coaches, three generations of players, millions of fans… All of that has finally been paid off on Sunday. We’re now on our way to the 2013 African Cup of Nations to be held in South Africa in January. Such a joyous moment!

The last 10 minutes of the game, which were added by the referee after the Ethiopian goalkeeper, Jemal Tassew, was stretched off and taken to hospital by an ambulance after a nasty fall by the back of his head, were, perhaps, the longest times that I have spent worrying in my entire life. With ten men on our side, and the last minute struggle by the Sudanese against the midfielder Abiy Hntsa, who took up with the charge of keeping the goal since the team has already used all its three substitutes, I could say we were both lucky and strong all along.

At the sports bar where I watched the game, people were happy and crazy like hell. With each goal or every goal attempt, the crowd, both men and women, were screaming, jumping, and cheering from start to finish. When Adane Girma scored the opener, the place was banged with the scream and chanting of the crowd. A guy who sat next to me stumbled on my feet twice, as he jumps on the chair and came down hard with joy. He even took his shirt off when the second goal by Salahdin Seid was scored. Over the last 10 minutes of the game, I was on the edge of my seat. It was so painful to watch those moments. What if the Sudanese scored at the dying seconds? In fact, they have scored, only it was scored a couple of seconds after the ref blew the whistle marking the end of the game. Those were agonizing moments.

It’s all over now. The Waliashave secured their place in CAN2013. But we have much to celebrate; their female compatriots, The Lucy, will participate in the African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea in a couple of weeks, the U-17 squad beat one of the continent’s super powers in football, Tunisia, 3-0 on home soil, and put one feet on the African U-17 Championship to be held in Morocco around April 2013. So I think 2012/13 is a year of football fiesta for the nation. And the moment that we’re right now, is a glorious moment!

As we celebrate these achievements, though, I believe we should also set our concerns towards the future. A well-planned and adequate preparation for the upcoming competitions must be held starting now. Our national squads need international match experiences. The national federation must take up this task quick and coordinate all prospective stakeholders into action. I also believe that it is high time we must think really hard on sports professionalism. The days of amateur sportsmanship are long gone in the modern sports world. As our Amharic saying goes, "There’s no one that has ploughed by the old day ox." The world’s changing fast, so shall we be.

 Adane Girma, Scorer of the First Ethiopian Goal

Congratulations to our men and women footballers! You’ve made a nation united and proud. Your efforts for your country’s success will not go unnoticed, and will be remembered throughout generations. Thanks to Sewnet Bishaw, Abraham Teklehaimanot, and Yared Tolera, head coaches of the senior men’s, women, and U-17 teams, respectively, and their staffs for their unreserved dedication for their respective teams and magnificent leaderships. And congratulations to the people of Ethiopia, who’ve stood by the teams and against all odds for all those years that the nation was merely a participant of the international football arena. Let’s enjoy the moment, look for a bright future, and start working for the better of our success.

God Bless Ethiopia!!!

Diminishing Identity

As a proud Ethiopian, I understand that the pride of being an Ethiopian isn't economic might or financial richness, or being big in size or population. I believe it's because of the nation's natural and cultural heritage, the people's kindness and hospitable nature, the harmony and mutual respect between different religions, and more.

If we pause for a moment and think about what Ethiopia has offered to the world, the word that we can come up with to say it all will be "enormous." Keeping this treasure, however, has become equally enormous these days.

It's been a saddening fact that those rich and magnificent cultural heritages are diminishing more and more by the day. Not only the culture, the local languages are being treated as "unnecessary" and "worthless" by some, and favoring English as the most valuable means of communication.

I miss 'Hoya Hoye'  and 'Abebayehosh', the traditional chants by children for Buhe and Enkutatash,  respectively. It's such a pity that we're losing this culture and start living in memories.

It might not become a surprise since we are ignorant of almost everything around us, but losing our identity and culture, that's quite sickening.

On New Year's Eve, I saw a couple of young girls chanting 'Abebayehosh' at the gate of a building. Only two girls! Usually, it takes at least four or five girls to form a group when the spring time girls' play time starts. Seeing those two poor girls broke my heart. Is this where we are going? Are we on the verge of a grave "identity crash?"

The Buhe tradition has already lost its charm for quite a while. The kids these days have traded the traditional reward for their 'Hoya Hoye'  chant, the mulmul, or freshly baked traditional piece of bread, for cash. This is awkwardly disappointing!

The westerners have maintained the customary Halloween tradition that has taken its root in 16th century Scotland. Children dressed in various Halloween costumes go door-to-door and receive candy fro their neighborhood on the night of October 31. I believe it's high time that we should start learning from them and preserving our own. There's no one to do this job for us.

I'm afraid, though, that we're running out of time to play our role in this area, since we're losing those responsible citizens who strived to maintain this harmoneous heritage. Parents, teachers, schools, cultural institutions are burdoned with this responsibility. And we, the people, are obliged to assist in whatever means that we have in our disposal. Getting back a lost heritage is a long shot, so let's start the race against time to nurture the effort to preserve true Ethiopian culture.

Trying Times

This week has been one of the most difficult and burdensome in the history of Ethiopia. The country has lost two of its influential and powerful leaders under unexpected and somewhat bizarre circumstances. His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died this week, leaving the nation in total shock, disbelief, and a load of unanswered questions. The nation is in a mood of absolute distress and shock over these incidents, especially with the latter. Even the weather seems to back up the feeling.
It was unbelievable for me to see the emotions reflected on Tuesday night when the body of the PM arrived in the capital Addis Ababa. Thousands of Addis Ababans turned out to the streets from the airport towards the National Palace where his body lies in state, braving the heavy rain and aching cold of the night to welcome their deceased leader. People were crying loudly, as if they have lost a member of their family. I even could not stop my tears from falling down as I followed the event live on TV at home. I'm sure that not all of those people who cried their hearts out for Meles have voted for his party, EPRDF in the 2010 elections. Nobody has forced them to do that. It's just a feeling that they felt at the time when they learned of his passing, not forgetting the impact that he made on the younger generation, and with concern over what is to come next.
People surely have their own perceptions about Meles. Some say he was a visionary and successful leader, others say he was a dictator, and a leader with an iron fist. In my opinion, every leader has his/her own strengths and weaknesses, and Meles is no exception. His administration has fruited a great deal of endeavors in the political, economic, and social sectors of the nation over the last two decades. On the other hand, it has failed to succeed in a number of areas of those sectors. At both ends, Meles was all aboard. He was the architect for the government policies and strategies, so it's no wonder if he was the one to be hailed for the successes, and blamed for the failures. Furthermore, I think politics makes one smart , and at times cruel, and I believe Meles has lived both worlds.
Then it all came down to the day he passed away. And ever since he was gone, people everywhere have been expressing their feelings. Most expressed their heartfelt grievances over his passing, praising him for what he has done for Ethiopia, and Africa at large. Even those who strongly opposed him on the political front at home have acknowledged his efforts in spite of their ideological differences. A very few, regrettably, expressed their joy over his death. It's no surprise Al-Shabab, the Somali-based Islamic faction, hailed his death, since he was the man who literally "ended" its "joy- ride" in Somalia. But to listen to some Ethiopians (if they're truly Ethiopians) say they are "extremely happy", that's so sickening! My advice to these people is this: Let's be human for a moment here. Meles may have hurt you one way or another. But this is no time to hail his death. Please look at the big picture. He wasn't just a random guy. He was a leader of this great nation. He had its fate on his hands for the last 21 years, for better or for worse. You should be worried about Ethiopia and its people; "What would happen to them after Meles' gone?" should be your concern. Let's think as citizens, not as sworn enemies. Dancing over a fellow citizen's death is not Ethiopian. And remember, you will die, eventually, too.

Photos from: The Reporter (www.ethiopianreporter.com)
The passing of the two high-profile leaders has greatly affected the nation. The loss is multi-faceted. But it is also an opportunity, an opportunity to pause for a while and think about the future. As my favorite blogger Daniel Kibret observed, it's time to ask "Why did we lose the Patriarch and the Prime Minister at this time?", "What message is God conveying to us?", and "What lesson are we going to get from all this?"
I believe it's about time that all of us [Ethiopians] need to open up our minds and think long and hard about what is to come to our nation. What happened to this country this week is a clear sign for all of us that we're facing some tough times, as well as answer some tough questions. So let's be clear about one thing: This is not a joke. It's a serious matter. This is a time to look for answers for the dreadful problems that we're having all around; be it in the church, the mosque, the palace, or the household.  Apart from personal or institutional grudges, let's think for the better future of this awesome nation of ours. Let's be true Ethiopians, for once in our lives. This is a trying time for all of us in Ethiopia, and trying times call for wise reactions. So let's be wise.
May God be the guardian for Ethiopia and its people!!!

The Spirit of the Olympics III

The flame has finally been puffed off at the Olympics Stadium in London on Sunday night. After 16 days of thrilling sporting actions,mixed emotions, and, above all, a spirit of solidarity and international friendship, the 10,000+ athletes form around 204 nations are packing their bags to return home. It's pretty amazing how much the games have captivated us over the last couple of weeks; no deep interest over the global political affairs making the news on the media, no crying over the economic hangover, or no ear-dropping over celebrity gossip, only the Olympics!
Another thing that amazed me from the Olympics was the variety of the sports that have been featured this year, 26 to be precise. It seems to me that everybody had a nice treat throughout the days of the Olympic games.
On the home front, I'm satisfied with the seven medals; three gold, a silver, and three bronze, that Ethiopian athletes have earned. given the problems that were surfaced prior to the team's departure to London, on team selection and training strategy. Of course, the medals have not met the expectations of the EOC, i.e; 12 medals (4 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze), they are quite enough for a nation whose sporting participation is restricted on athletics. However, it has become a wake-up call for the nation's sports' governing bodies, saying that the results were not up to the country's status at the Olympics. On the other hand, though, a big shout-out to the ladies, namely; Tirunesh, Tiki, Meseret, Sofia, and a special one for Worknesh, whose dedication to her country's victory was outshining. On the men's department, Dejen's and Tariku's silver and bronze, respectively, have been quite exemplary.
Thanks to the Games Makers

Thanks to the Games Makers
Photo from: www.london2012.com

Back to London, the organization to the game was excellent, despite some irregularities that have been exhibited at first. The Local Organizing Committee has done a tremendous job in making the games exciting. And the 70,000 "game maker" volunteers, including a number of Ethiopians, have been so dedicated for all the games. Everyone involved has helped make the game, and the spirit of the Olympics, a reality.
Thank you London for hosting such a decorated event as the Olympics. The games have truly "inspired a generation." Thank you the athlets, for  inspiring the world. Thank you, our Ethiopian olympians, for inspiring a nation. Thank you everyone for keeping the spirit alive!
Look forward to Rio 2016!



The Olympic spirit rises out of the Flame
Photo from: www.london2012.com

The Spirit of the Olympics II

A week after I wrote my last piece entitled "The Spirit of the Olympics," I came across a photo posted on Facebook. It shows a group of athletes riding together in a bus at the Olympics arena in London. They are no random athletes: They are ERITREANS AND ETHIOPIANS!

The familiar faces in this picture includes Tirunesh Dibaba from Ethiopia and Zeresenay Tadesse from Eritrea. It's so amazing, at the same time, so exciting to see athletes from two neighbouring nations who were in a bitter series of wars and bloodshed for close to 40 years enjoying their moment together. That's the Spirit!
As I have stated in my last post, the Olympics is all about peace, love, respect, and harmony. With a high-spirited hope to see these pillars of the game in action, I have been waiting to see how athletes from countries whose relations with other countries are at a limbo would react when they encounter those nations at the sporting events. I'm glad to see the athletes representing my country and our northern neighbors smiling to each other, and maybe, cracking jokes.
It doesn't matter what caused the rift between the leaderships of the two nations, or what goes on inside their political platforms in their respective capitals at this moment. This is sports, even better, the Olympics. These athletes have shown true sportsmanship, and made us think, once again, that we are of the same bloodline.
Congratulations on your unity. You have shown high respect for each other, and for the spirit of the game. Our leaders, and we the peoples, may not see eye to eye right now, but you have proved that we may, sometime in the near future. You are the heroes of the hour!
Good luck to you all!!