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Ethiopian
millennium under poverty, war and oppression
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May 26,
2007
By Qeerransoo Biyyaa
What have we Ethiopian achieved that we are
rushing to celebrate the ‘Ethiopian new
millennium’-2000? Whose millennium is it any
way? These are questions that inquisitive
minds are likely to ask when observing the
rushes and the extraordinary government
preparation to celebrate the new millennium
in September 2007 Gregorian calendar or
known to ‘Ethiopian’ as September 2000, ‘the
new millennium’. That comes almost eight
years later than the millennium that was
celebrated on most of the world’s
continents. It is the odd one out I guess.
This is perhaps the only millennium of its
kind in Africa to be celebrated at this
time.
Let us come to the meat of the argument to
attempt to answer the questions. The facts
scream that Ethiopia’s 76,511,887 population
according to CIA (2007) are leaving in
abject poverty, major epidemic diseases such
HIV/AID are spreading at alarming rates with
diverse consequences, the country is
involved in major wars and conflicts both
internally and externally. Economy-wise
there is no story worth telling; those
notorious adjectives and pictures which
describe the economy are still there -
‘poverty-stricken’ for instance. There is
nothing false about the description because
it is fact that more than 80 % of its
population are unemployed. But sometimes
statistics is generous; it takes from the
ruling party companies and some people who
can afford and says that the per capita GDP
is $ 100 ‘giving’ the money to the 80 %
unemployed people who do not even have that
$ 100. The cause for all major cause for all
these appears to be the unending wars and
conflicts within and neighbouring countries
because of lack of freedom and democracy to
mobilise it people. Government’s war
spending has even devastated the non-
exiting economy for most of its people, BBC.
Over 10 big rebel movements are active
including the Oromo liberation front and the
Ogaden Liberation Front are struggling for
freedom because the government has proved
that peaceful dialogues is not possible as
long as it there.
To me as person who has observed and
experienced the pains of this country, most
people have more reason to mourn, to cry,
and to curse the millennium, 2000, than
celebrate it. The government has started the
campaign for the celebration at the
beginning of this year. A so called
‘millennium celebration secretariat’ (the
whole millennium plan is found in the ruling
party’s press) has offices in every region
and cities in the country to coordinate the
effort. EPRDF’s surrogates parties are
rushing to spend ‘donors’ money and to
achieve publicity internationally. That is
because the government wants the world to
forget the massacres on all the three de
facto elections that took place from
1992-2005 where tanks and helicopters were
deployed on protesting civilians to silence
them from speaking against injustices of
immeasurable magnitude.
Will thousands of families who lost someone
to conflicts, wars, hunger even put smile,
to the maximum, let alone celebrate the so
called ‘Ethiopian millennium-2000’? That is
impossible when everyone is aware that the
government is trying to project a positive
image about itself regardless of the
screaming facts about what they have made
that country to be. There seem to be many
more reasons to mourn than celebrate. My
attempt is not to finish all of them but to
show that the Ethiopian government is using
the millennium propaganda to campaign for
acceptance amongst world leaders. The
millennium is planned with a ‘great run’
event on which they want to force 30, 000
people out to run to attract the attention
said.
Deconstructed, the Ethiopian millennium will
be, as the preparations show, celebration of
a minority ruling class and affiliates who
have amassed the wealth of the poor
unjustly. On the millennium date, stories
will be told that ‘Ethiopia has never been
colonised’. This is completely controversial
areas where all people of the country have
not yet formed the country by their consent
that is agreed to be ‘Ethiopia’. The
cultural and linguistic expression of the
ruling group has been imposed on rest of the
country. Excuse me if you think this is
outrageous and not true. Of course I’m a lot
patriotic than you think I may not be. May
be I love my country better than you do. I
am only describing that there is not yet a
national identity or a just national state
formed since the nations 100 years history
by the consent of its people. Ethiopian is
an empire which was born and we opened our
eyes to see it clamp down on us. Yet, we are
‘Ethiopians’. The year does not matter, it
can be 3000 thousand as some historians
would flippantly love to write. But where
are we in those hundred or 3000 thousand
years pretending that history is true. It is
painful to and violent to physically fight,
but I am only talking, just conversation so
that you can question what there really is
to celebrate. As rational beings thinking is
what precedes doing. Let us think and do
something…
Without achieving any freedom and democracy,
and as we daily see the all-rounded meltdown
of the Empire (oh sorry, I forgot it is now
called the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia), it is hard to celebrate but
mourn, but cry, but sob, but think that our
own land is not ours. What millennium with a
pack of 77 million dying people. Ok, I have
forgotten the ruling tyranny is not amongst
the dying. It leverages the millennium
celebration to cover up the stinks in its
backyards to stay in power for some more
years. This government off people to itself,
by itself, and against people is never tired
of duping donors to convince them to vote
for the cancellation of its debts. The debts
were used on military spending not on the
bread that people desperately need as the
facts suggest. And it will use the new
millennium whistles for the same attraction.
* The author is based in Ethiopia. He can be
reached at meettaa@gmail.com |
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