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mind entropy of the ethiofricanArchive for politics
What Obama Should do for Africa
I have been floundering attempting to understand and articulate the Obama doctrine on Africa post-Obama-euphoria. It’s a bit premature for Obama to have the policy drafted and published,…but somehow, I’ve stumbled upon a fantastic article which articulates exactly what I believe Obama’s approach should be toward Africa. Read below an excerpt.
Military or humanitarian concerns alone will serve neither the US’s, nor Africa’s long-term interests.
A deeper understanding of US interests in Africa would require supporting Africa’s overall desire to lead herself and enhancing African institutions that promote democracy, accountability and human rights. A new US Africa policy should aim to trigger fundamental internal changes in the modes of rule in the continent.…
Africa would benefit from an Obama presidency if more resources were invested in long-term projects in rural and inland infrastructure, agriculture and health, basic and higher education, trade facilitation and enhancement, the elimination of obstacles to private investment, the development of credit facilities, support to African civil society organizations, leadership, institutions and expertise and the sound management of Africa’s natural resources and open its markets to Africa’s exports.
The US will not alone provide the full array of investments that are needed to overcome the continent’s economic problems. But Obama could significantly strengthen and revitalise important public constituencies for Africa in the US and broaden the basis for US engagement in the continent. Read more.
I think it’s so important to lock focus on building self-sufficiency rather than building dependency on aid. Ideology-based diplomacy which beams on African issues through the tinted prisms of ‘war on terror security issues’ ‘anti-abortion/abstinence’ and in the past ‘anti-communism’ is also not a good idea.
An exciting emerging phenomenon is mentioned in passing in the article as a “revitalization of important public constituencies for Africa in the US”; I’ve alluded to it in previous posts. This phenomenon is the increasing number of young educated African Immigrants in the US and their engagement in US politics. 1st-3rd+ generation African Immigrants working within capitol hill…getting involved in campaign organizations like Africans/Ethiopians/Somalis etc.. for Obama. There is a chance these organizations will be a trigger for the involvement of the African diaspora within U.S. politics. As stakeholders who fulfill their obligations, these Americans can harness their rights to make demands. The development of these Africa-affiliated public constituencies (i.e. political/community African Immigrant Organizations) could mean they can push the African agenda…at a time when the U.S. will continue to have an expanding basis for engagement with the continent. Jewish communities are well known in their ability to unite for their common causes.
There are reasons to believe these organizations played key roles in some of the successes of the Obama victory last week. Concrete data is pending; however, allow me to indulge in some extrapolations:
- CNN called VA decided by the African American turnout.
- Precinct 8 is the primary locality for a majority of the Ethiopian Americans in Virginia. The report on precinct 8 is: “Obama’s win in Virginia was buoyed by his margin of victory in Northern Virginia, in particular Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and eastern Fairfax County, inclusive of the 8th and 11th Congressional districts…Out of 3,470,390 total votes cast in Virginia, Obama’s 154,238 statewide advantage, for 51.7 percent of the total, was matched almost exactly by his 154,749 margin in the 8th and 11th districts.” Read more.
What is to come; we shall see. What these Africa-affiliated public entities will amount to; we have no clue. But their engagements early on in the Obama campaign, the dynamism of the young African-born immigrants who have “the highest median earnings/highest education amongst immigrants in the US” and a common ambition to see a better Africa tells me there are some intriguing times up ahead.
There is due cynicism revolving around Obama’s Africa policies. To be expected, especially when taking over from Bush, reportedly one of the more successful leaders in his engagement with Africa… at a time when the U.S has woes that would restrict the plane of vision of any well-meaning, informed president…And here I issue my disclaimer that I agree with some of the skepticism surrounding the issue. But for once the euphoria makes me see that there is more in our hands than we initially perceive. We should help Obama help us. Stay tuned world.
Ethiopians Celebrating with the World -Ust DC
Thank you Nyalasmokes for this historic footage! 
Ust NW and 13th St NW Washington DC, USA in front of Dukem Restaurant
International Development with Obama
The world has been swept with feelings of joy and there are huge and mounting expectations for Obama. Some of the greatest moments of our lifetime and we’re all looking to see what this incredible individual can bring. Here’s some of what we can look forward to in terms of International Development.
“The security and well-being of each and every American is tied to the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders, according to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The theme of global interdependence is the bedrock of Obama’s new strategy for America’s engagement in the world, in which global development matters, a lot.
Structuring the U.S. Government to Meet 21st Century Challenges
“To succeed, we must improve our civilian capacity. The finest military in the world is adapting to the challenges of the 21st century. But it cannot counter insurgent and terrorist threats without civilian counterparts who can carry out economic and political reconstruction missions – sometimes in dangerous places. As president, I will strengthen these civilian capacities, recruiting our best and brightest to take on this challenge. I will increase both the numbers and capabilities of our diplomats, development experts, and other civilians who can work alongside our military. We can’t just say there is no military solution to these problems. We need to integrate all aspects of American might.” — Barack Obama, Washington, August 1, 2007
In confronting unprecedented global challenges, a new commitment of resources will not be sufficient. As we have seen from the failure of the Bush administration’s reconstruction efforts in Iraq, assistance is not just money to be thrown at a problem – it is a tool we must use wisely to invest in a more secure and prosperous future.
Barack Obama has called for the creation of a civilian assistance corps, and he will reform the infrastructure that manages U.S. foreign assistance. Today, what we call “foreign aid” is spread across 25 government agencies, programs, and initiatives, with too little of our taxpayers’ resources getting to the problem and no single person within our government responsible for directing and managing what should be one of our most powerful foreign policy tools. Successive administrations have talked the talk of reform, while proliferating
agencies and programs such that American tax dollars are now spent in an uncoordinated and rigid manner at a time when accountable, flexible, and transparent processes are most needed.
Elevate, Streamline and Empower a 21st Century US Development Agency. Barack Obama will lead an effort to modernize our foreign assistance policies, tools, and operations. Obama will coordinate and consolidate PEPFAR, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Middle East Partnership Initiative and many foreign assistance programs currently housed in more than 20 executive agencies into a restructured, empowered and streamlined USAID. He will ensure that this agency has the highest caliber leadership and plays a central role in the formulation and implementation of critical development and related foreign policy strategies. An empowered and elevated agency should be more nimble in the face of change and use tax dollars more responsibly. It is also essential to ensuring that development is established and endures as a key pillar of U.S. foreign policy. Obama will mobilize our civilian agencies to address a new set of global challenges and boost the stature of the government’s long-term development mission to attract the most talented professionals.”
Summary:
~Invest in global health infrastructure, including creating health care systems that train and retain health care workers; and (last but not least)
~Coordinate and consolidate the twenty-some U.S. agencies currently involved in U.S. foreign assistance (including the Millennium Challenge Account and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in a restructured and empowered U.S. Agency for International Development.
~Expand prosperity through investments in agriculture, infrastructure and economic growth so the benefits and burdens of globalization are shared equally and economic policy is seen as central to security policy;
~Create an Add Value to Agriculture Initiative to promote a Green Revolution in Africa in addition to other measures to increase poor farmers’ access to agricultural markets;
~Establish a $2 billion Global Education Fund for primary education to help eliminate the “global education deficit”;
~Launch a Global Energy and Environment Initiative, create an Emerging Market Energy Fund, and spur the creation of an open-source, real-time mapping system to forecast the impacts of climate change country-by-county to address climate change and other global environmental challenges;
~Lead efforts to reform the International Monetary Fund and World Bank;
~Develop a rapid response fund for societies in transition;
Read more in the strategy paper released by Obama for America.
Read More: African Policy of an Obama administration – by McCain Advisor
African Policy for an Obama Administration – by Obama Advisor
the world feels like a different place
History has been Made
I cannot begin to express how this feels! I cannot begin to put thoughts into words! This is awesome; phenomenally, fantasmicaly ahhhhhhhhhhh!– between crying, bouncing about like a monkey and hugging everyone around — I’m at complete loss for reactions. Today at work, I am over-processing information; binging on all the political news and analysis I can find! Just pure erratic, ecstatic ingestion of all info being spewed out about this beautiful beautiful VICTORY!! A victory where the PEOPLE were the change agents. I was looking at my coworkers thinking; wow. They are as excited about the results…him and her too? wow…There was even an impromptu ice cream party and calls for champagne at lunch.
HISTORY WAS MADE through a grassroots victory. The man chosen is a true leader exuding immense maturity, intellect, good measured judgment and an acute and fixed attention on the interdependence of our existences. An individual of awe-inspiring wisdom. A man who sees listening as the true cornerstone for peace! An individual with an incredible grasp for the extremely intricate complications of the world’s systems and yet seems to have a locked focus on the simpleness of humanity’s interconnectedness. A man of Compromise.
When I think of Obama’s perspective on issues this MLK quote comes to mind: “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
At last. The president of the leading nation in the world has been elected due to the quality of his character and not the color of his skin.
At last. This world has a political leader who brings people together, a leader for us to look up to and say – I want to be like him/i want my kids to be like him when they grow up.
Finally. Finally. Finally.
Congratulations all my beautiful People rejoicing all across the world, from Addis to Lima to Moyale to Jedda. The opportunity to make change is truly and surly in the handsof the PEOPLE of the leading nation in the world.
The People
More than anything — America has sung out to the world that indeed a democracy of the people, for the people, by the people is possible! That is HUGE! Anything is Possible. We will have to wait and see how the Obama Administration plans to engage the owners of the Obama campaign, but everyone testifies to the grassroot nature of the Obama Movement.
The people own the campaign, the people should own the presidency! This is the real call to real ACTION. To speak up, to end the revolting taste of apathy and take the issues further work for a better order! It’s striking that during his victory speech Obama sounded so sober and calm. Indeed the road ahead is steep and hard. And there’s plenty reason to be overjoyed — everyone is invited to the round table. It’s the People’s Ball and all need to come out and partaaaay – start dancing on that round table!
Sobering Reality
For the world; the sobering realization is that America is a nation with its individual national interests; and that shall not change. We have seen a Clinton America sitting around sipping coffee over the definitions of the word ‘genocide’ as hundreds of thousands have died; we have seen a neutral America standing by as war is waged in the dry barren corners of the world where American interest is not adorned with neon lights. We have seen the failures in Moqadisho and the back-seat position cool gaze of the US in place of a prodding finger to abusive, nondemocratic governments across the world- that prod did not happen to the ‘right’ direction if the right direction was not for US interest…
The sobering reality is that a man of African decent in the white house – an East African American none-the-less is not going to herald emancipation from many of the chains in daily life within East Africa. BUT — this moment is huge because this IS going to be a different Washington. This will be a Washington without lobbyists at the forefront but a clear invitation for individuals to become activists and for organizations like Africans/Ethiopians/Eritreans/Somalians for Obama to to actively involve their communities in issues they care about through organizing. This is a Washington with ears for the humanitarian pleas of its people who are clearly gaining more and more interest in a better world order (refer to the numbers of study abroaders, international volunteerism and development initiatives by the American people). This would be a government which listens and has the potential to be less of a selfish chess player aiming for a win in foreign affairs less but rather — with a beacon of light guiding its Foreign Affairs agenda: Defense, Diplomacy, Development. There are rumors about a possible proposal in the Obama Administration to establish a separate Department of International Development, expanding the small agency USAgency for International Development currently under a department. This would elevate international development as an issue of national importance on equal level as Condi’s Department of State issues.
A Moment for Africans in the Diaspora
This is not the same Washington that the developing country governments sent lobbyists to, for ruling party interests. This is a Washington glancing away from lobbyists to give an opportunity for people to scream out what they want and be heard; for diaspora communities to have a voice. It is your moment Ethiopians in the Diaspora! Horn of African Americans.
Being Black in America
We are at the pinnacle of an incredibly historic event which has people dancing in the streets across the world! This pinnacle would arguably be the very end of the Civil War (awesome article by Friedman). We can believe again — ALL things are Possible even the realization of an old joke in Kisumu that a Luo-Kenyan will become president of the United States before becoming president of Kenya.
And lastly and most passionately, there was the Jessie Jackson minutes of tears. — that said beyond words the meaning of Obama’s status as the first African American President of the United States only 40 years after the murder of MLK. Years of struggle and pain for a people has reached the pinnacle of a dream being realized.
Anything is possible! YES WE CAN and WE DID!
Reactions from Around the World:
In Tunisia, the Arabic daily Al Chourouk said: “Today America elects “The President of the World.”
Many in the international media are saying stuff along the lines of “THE END of 8 years in hell. Wooo hooooo” 
Obama’s family in Kenya were partying and getting ready to start packing for the white house “Who needs a passport? We’re going to the White House!” they sang.
“This has restored my faith in democracy,” said Duncan Adel, a computer technician who had been part of the election protests in Kenya last year.
“The World Enters America” was the headline of the Hindustan Times lead editorial Wednesday morning, reminding the 44th president of the United States to be mindful of an interconnected world roiled by a financial crisis and two wars. “For America to chart these choppy waters, it will have to have a helmsman who understands and engages with the world on the world’s terms,” it urged. – New Delhi, India
“The biggest economy in the world has a leader that the world can talk to,” said Alejandro Saks, an Argentine television scriptwriter. “There is the feeling that for the first time since Kennedy, America has a different type of leader.” – Buenes Aires, Argentina
Tata Mandiba Mandela
if there is any political world figure I feel I need to pay tribute to, it is this man. A man who stands for peace! and what better time than his birth day when the world celebrates him – a world which he has recolored, recharged and graced.
“How blessed we have been. He has become the most admired statesman in the world, an icon of forgiveness and reconciliation, a moral colossus.” – Desmond Tutu
His many names:
Tata – This isiXhosa word means “father” and is a term of endearment that many South Africans use for Mr Mandela. Since he is a father figure to many, they call him Tata regardless of their own age.
Madiba – This is the name of the clan of which Mr Mandela is a member. This name is much more important than a surname as it refers to the ancestor from which a person is descended. Madiba was the name of a Thembu chief who ruled in the Transkei in the 18th century. It is considered very polite to use someone’s clan name.
Tribute to Mandiba, the man through his quotations:
~ I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.
~ Whatever the sentence Your Worship sees fit to impose upon me for the crime for which I have been convicted before this court may it rest assured that when my sentence has been completed, I will still be moved as men are always moved, by their conscience. I will still be moved by my dislike of the race discrimination against my people. When I come out from serving my sentence, I will take up again, as best I can, the struggle for the removal of those injustices until they are finally abolished.
~ No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
~ True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past.
~ If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
~ Extremists on all sides thrive, fed by the blood lust of centuries gone by.
~ As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others… For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
~ The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale. You may be poor, you may have only a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope. African music is often about the aspirations of the African people, and it can ignite the political resolve of those who might otherwise be indifferent to politics.
~ As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.
~ I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
~ If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
~ It always seems impossible until its done… There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
~ There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
Hand-tied: pulse of the horn
* Another green drought in Ethiopia with 4.5mil people needing emergency aid + hunger due to food prices in the towns (I’ve heard of govn’t job holders eating Qolo and water)! + blackouts in the cities
* Scattered explosions in Addis Ababa * Djibouti and Eritrea about to start a war, Djibouti backed by France * Ethiopian soldiers burning towns and villages in the Somali region * Continued fighting in Somalia, Ethiopian soliders occupying the country
and the list goes on…
I feel completely hand-tied sometimes! Like that time there was this group activity thingie where everyone had their eyes blinded or hands tied to test drive a disability.
Sometimes I feel rage, this bubbling anger at the brutality people allow for their luxurious, ridiculous pleasures. I want to screammm, yell at them! Harass them into submission! Something!
Sometimes the corners of my eyes sparkle with unshed tears, my heart so freaking heavy and jaws clenched that it hurts below my ears… some other time I just can’t help it and I chuckle at the heartbreaking predictability and absurdness of the events in the horn!
The horn of Africa is in flames (ha!…who knew keratin could be so flammable? hu?!) the Horn is an incomprehensible, unfathomable mess beyond all limits I knew! It is such a mess it makes me mad sitting and contemplating it,, chatting along with others about ‘ohhh this freaking government!!’ or some other forsaken issue we try to solve…!
So then I decide I won’t talk. I will act instead.
After all, I’d rather pick something and do something about it than yap about it all day, dammit!
I realize even the tiny darn bit would help! The horn is desperate!… so why not get my azz up and take action…? I do! I get up. Then I get so burnt, discouraged, disillusioned. It irks me to make a generalization that the ethiopian diaspora community is more about having a grand old fiesta than any other past-time (where drought relief efforts happen, of course!)… ahem… so I won’t make such a generalization!
…phshhh oh enough already with these abstractions here’s the brutal truth:
It is so easy to turn one’s back, get swept away by the tandem of life’s events in the US, minutes ticking away…despite how disheartening that is; it is very easy to fluff our pillows with nonchalance and complacency in the Godforsaken first world!
…then I can’t help thinking… Really, Is a life within the horn of Africa worth least in this world, today? There really is not much of an opt-out as minutes tick away …
non-nonchalance:conundrum shift
And then there are incredible stories that knock u right out of your daily conundrum!
Have you ever heard the bizzaro idea about creativity being the most potent weapon individuals have against war?? I thought it was a bit too ‘happily ridiculous’ at first…until closer consideration… Ever heard people say “necessity is the mother of innovation.”? Well, Wednesday’s news made me say: “hell ya!”
The quirky reflection that came to my mind reading the news goes…
“”It is in creativity, in the fashioning of self and world, that people find their most potent weapon against war.”
…1st, let me meander to a tiny bit of intro….I first stumbled upon this bizarre concept in Carolyn Nordstrom’s “A different kind of war story” on her experience in the devastating 16-year-long civil war of Mozambique. As an anthropologist, she reflects on the messy nitty-gritties of war, civil society intricacies and the trajectories of individual lives…yadi yada…
nyways, she says “……ultimately, war victims have taught me, violence is about the destruction of culture and identity in a bid to control/crush political will.” She saw human condition at its ‘lowest’, when people were helpless, vicious, greedy, desperate and deeply disturbed. According to her “It is often in what we relegate to the margins of life process and theory [violence and the unspeakable] that speaks most fundamentally about core aspects of human existence.”
i think it’s real; in times of war people have very few choices. when they are caught in the most devastating corner of all, they either create ways to survive, maintain their humanities and fight back…or get sucked in to becoming helpless puppets which push the gears of a viscous ‘war industry’.
According to the book, some resistance tools toward survival & peace include communities, creative expression and non-violence…
Here’s the true story that hit the headlines. I’m applauding these brave souls who stepped up for the community, regardless of the side they are on! in breaking rules to find solutions, they were indeed innovating a path away from the mainstream…
“Ethiopian troops in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, have distributed food aid bought with their own salaries. About 400 bags of sorghum were handed out to about 500 people in southern Baynile district. An Ethiopian soldier said his colleagues had organised the collection to help their neighbours in need.
Ethiopian troops, who support Somalia’s interim government, are not popular and the food was accepted with surprise, the BBC’s Mohamed Moalimuu reports. The UN says more than a third of all Somalis rely on outside assistance and the urban poor are finding it difficult to get enough to eat.
p.s. how does it freakin make sense not to have the word ‘chalance’ when there is ‘nonchalance’!?
immigrant stories: theirs*ours
him: do u ever ask yourself why you do it [blog]?
me: yes
him: do you find answers for that question?
me: yes
him: so what are they?
me: i tell myself i write cos i want to share my thoughts about ethiopia’s conflicted identity
i want to put things in writing cos that is valuable to me…i want to provoke thought
him: why restrict urself to one country?
me: no reason. except i’m dealing with it, personally
him: our story is everybody’s story.and their story is our story.
me: true, maybe you can write an article about that, I would love to post it!
him: lol….what i’m trying to say is that. the ethiopia thing should not be your focus, but rather your lens. to the whole world. you can post this conversation if you want
me: the thing is, i don’t believe i’ve reached my level of awareness about other countries’ issues in the personal way i know about ethiopia.
him: i can understand that. as long as ur open to it i think you’ll be fine
me: hmm…actually. i was being ambitious…
wanted to do a comparative thingie about yugoslavia’s states, the orthodox churches*
– and the connection with ethiopia and the orthodox church i.e. nationalism
him: that is an excellent idea. it would have worked beautifully. i have two friends i went to school with and they were best buddies. one of them serbian the other one bosnian
me: wow. that’s crazy
him: and u know their story….so similar to ours. one summer… it was a serbian and a bosnian, a greek and a turk…living together
me: hehehe. roommates?
him: ya, friends, roommates…brothers
me: that’s intense. what was their experience?
him: middle class kids. still best friends. so u see where i am coming from?
my mother and father are from the north. both near the eritrean border
and i was born in addis ababa. i spoke tigrigna first, then amarigna, when i was 4. then english eventually
i was an immigrants son, first genenration….like most of us addisabans, from all over ethiopia
me: now that i think of it…so was i!
him: yup. immigrants are a window into history
me:ohhh actually…i had a draft for a blog post: “we are all immigrants”
him: lol…yes we are
me:inspired by lemn sissay’s quote: “The Vikings were immigrants too – we are all immigrants.”
him:hmm…thats very true
*countries with “national” orthodox churches rely on church ideology for a common bond across the nation. amongst individuals, across ethnic groups. many ethnic conflicts involve countries with orthodox chruches. its like a conspiracy theory, i’in’ it?
We are all dealing with the identity issue, the ethnic conflict within ourselves, our families and neighbours – can we take a few minutes and listen to the experiences of others with an openness to feel their walk? …find a common ground that feels smooth for both of us? after all, they really are just like us: “immigrants!”…unless…
grey & worn ethiopian tales
i did not know u could do me like this!!!
how dare u let my dreamlands…my neverlands disappear? how could you let reality bite me from behind without warning?…i thought u had my back?! what have you been doing all this time?
yes you! you, who is supposed to keep weaving fairy tales, myths and stories about a country inclusive of diverse people! yes! you! who is supposed to draw, paint and sing, tell history and folktales…You are supposed to create the imaginary community in which; a lady home-maker who lives near Lake HayQ and I, an Ethiopian in the US share a bond? i don’t need to know her name!! I just need her to hear the same stories, to believe in the same country where her family, traditions and way of life are included!! beqa, that’s it…that is all I ask and what do you do? other than stubbornly clinging to old and grey fairy tales, proudly sticking to your righteousness & not pausing to listen? u tell me!
when i think ‘ethiopia’, instant images flash before me: agerlibs, injera, bandira, ethiopian orthodox church, warriors (tewordros, menilik etc…), gonder and axum…not other images…
my granma/ayate used to tell me tales about my patriotic great-grandpap. ‘He was a great warrior who died fighting against the somalis!’ she said. Truth be told, my granma’s heart was soft for the Somalis, she understood it was a matter of fighting for pride and such was life…She had grown old, with them as her neighbors and friends, after all. And yet, as our storyteller, passing on the family history she tells the story of patriotism, of glory and country -Ethiopia.
I remember history class when I used to learn about the beauty of a glorious land I happen to luckily be from!
i remember teacher talking about great civilizations that competed with those of the greeks and romans, he talked of the king of “ethiopia”, Ezana conquering yemen and sudan… Then came the defiant Zagwe and…the history of biblical ethiopia: solomonic dynasty. And then Adwa and victory! All these fairy tales propped my young patriotism, hugged my self-esteem and handed me validation for living in the country now ranking 7th poorest out of 170, with the 16th largest population. This same country, my country was/is glorious and victorious?…My, life was actually splendid! I felt proud!
And then…the uncomfortable grey areas of history swept their way into my conscious. Making me say ‘Why did I ask questions?’. It is possible that…”ethiopia” is an ambiguous name that Ezana plagiarized from meroe to puff up his grandeur, the word originating in the greek term for the burnt faces of subsaharan Africans. it is possible that the solomonic dynasty is based on a legend later written as the Kebre Nigist during the 14th century (story of Queen Sheba, Menilik I). It is possible that the civilizations, languages and glories of this flimsy “ethiopia” happened through regional collaborations; naturally! Technological & cultural contributions of the others planted the pillars: sudanese, kenyans, somalis, egyptian, yemeni…everyone within and beyond the area, with and without names….! it is very possible that zagwe and solomonic dynasities were very localized in the north. And anyhow, the construction that is “ethiopia” may very well be very recent…and a simple, creative solution for a state looking to legitimaize becoming a nation. It is very possible that while the Italians were kicked out the first time round; 5 years of occupation may question the “never colonized” myth about Ethiopia. Talk to an Italian!
It is most definite the histories of this state came about through the blood and sweat of those other than the valorized, victorious “warriors”. It is definite that some were exploited, enslaved and even forgotten!!! The cunning forgetfulness of historic fairy tales, discarding failures and injustices laid a foundation for a national vanity which worked for cohesion in the past. Should we continue to discard the past, or acknowedge and hold it as we sprint forward?
Now, I choke when I read accounts of history because: “History is written by the victors”. I know this too well when most history books, written by the colonizer/westerner talk of African solutions to daily challenges as savage, barbaric and primitive. I feel it when it’s apparent that colonialism sculpted Africa into a quintessential poster child for “feel-good” anti-poverty projects; our hands extended for aid.
so…it is… OUR fault for being negligent and stubborn about OUR fairy tales. We need to mind the gap! There’s a real need for re-invented folktales and fairy tales…Changing times call for new solutions. We need an Upgrade!
