Back to no country named Ethiopia after Meles’ regime
This is a response to all the responses I got on my article: “There may not be a country named Ethiopia after Meles’ regime.”
By Magn Nyang *
May 7, 2006 — I received lots of negatives as well as positive responses from concerned Ethiopians on my article. This is positive. It shows that there are some Ethiopians out there who are very much concerned about keeping Ethiopia intact. In another word, it is nice to see that there are Ethiopians out there who do not want to see this country disintegrated.
Keeping Ethiopia from disintegration was my main reason for writing the article. I made my recommendations to alert my fellow citizens about an impending possible disintegration if the next Ethiopian leaders act like the previous ones. Some fellow citizens misinterpreted my main idea and accused me of advocating disintegration. I do not wish disintegration for Ethiopia. However, I do believe that one monopoly party with centralized governance like Mengistu’s or Meles’ regime will cause Ethiopia to disintegrate. Let it be known, this is just my own opinion. It may not turnout this way. I am just making a prediction.
While I was praised by those who understood my main point in my article, I was also called names such as “sellout” and “baria” by those who missed my point. It is a shame that there are still fellow Ethiopians with primitive mindset in the 21st century. This is a time for civilized debates, not for name calling. Calling me names won’t make me less Ethiopian and won’t solve Ethiopia’s problems either. Name calling such as “baria” will only satisfy ones primitive impulses (emotion and anger). It won’t do any thing to elevate Ethiopia’s problems. We will only solve Ethiopia’s problems if we start to debate our disagreements in a civilized manner. How can we make progress as a nation if the only thing we do is resort to pre-civilization name calling such as “baria” when we disagree with each others opinions?
What surprised me the most was that, the same individuals who claimed that all Ethiopians should stick together and keep the country intact, were the ones who used derogatory words against me. How can we make one Ethiopia if some citizens are considered “baria?” Am I not one of the Ethiopians they want to stick together with to keep Ethiopia from breaking up? The following is a quote from one of the respondents: “Magn Nyang, you are uneducated baria and you deserve to die, you do not know any thing about Ethiopia history, Ethiopia was there before Meles and is going to be there after Meles, and we, the Amhara people and the rest of Ethiopians are going to have democracy.” To me this response sounds stupid. How can this man talk about democracy in Ethiopia if he wants me dead already for voicing my own opinion on the future of Ethiopia? Isn’t democracy about free speech?
If we, the civilized Ethiopians, allow the likes of the man I quoted above to take over Ethiopia, we will regret it. This is a barbaric man who will kill those who have different opinions from his. We do not need to have this man or his likes to get involve in the future of Ethiopians politics. That is if we want one Ethiopia. The future Ethiopia must be free of dictators. A man with this kind of mindset is not only dangerous for Ethiopia, but also dangerous for the whole continent of Africa.
For those who accused me of hatred toward Amhara tribe, I would love to assure them that I do not hate Amhara people (those who know me personally will testify to this). In fact, some of my best friends are from Amhara. My comment about Amhara rulers was not meant as an attack on Amhara people as a whole. However, I won’t miss this opportunity to lend my advice to my fellow Ethiopians, the Amhara. I single out this particular tribe because if not all, most of the name callings I received on my article came from Amhara respondents. I like to say that some Amhara individuals need to catch-up with the changing world. It is bad enough that Amhara has already lost its political position in Ethiopia and you don’t want to make it even worse by antagonizing the minorities, such as the Anuaks (Gambelians). How can you sing one Ethiopia song day and night and at the same time trying to push away the minorities by looking down upon them? In today’s diplomacy world, you need others to be on your side to achieve your dream of one great Ethiopia. You will not achieve your dream of one Ethiopia if you don’t let go your primitive ego.
At this point and time, it is in Amhara’s best interest to work hard to convince minorities about the benefits of one Ethiopia and yet, there are some Amhara out there still holding to their primitive superiority mind. Let me be the first to tell you, if you didn’t realized yet, you are not superior to any one, be it minorities or dark skinned people like the Anuaks. In fact, according to the White men, you are not even white as you foolishly believe; you are just another “nigger” just like me. Do not foolishly deceive yourselves into believing that you are some thing that you are not. Wake up and join the rest of the world where “people are judged by the content of their deeds, not by the color of their skins” as you foolishly believe. Your ancestors might have believed that they were superior to other Ethiopians and it was ok for them to believe that way because they were primitive. However, a 21st century modern Amhara should know better not to follow his/her ancestor’s primitive ideology. Modern Amhara has traveled and seen the world and how it works, whereas, pre-modern Amhara ancestors were limited only to their small villages. They did not travel to see that former secretary of state Collin Powel is a black man. On the contrary, you, the modern Amhara, has traveled or has witnessed through modern media that Collin Powel is indeed a black man. Therefore, there is no need for the modern Amhara, who has seen the world and greatly benefited from today’s technology to still think that he is superior to others. Unless of course, he/she is deceiving him/herself.
In conclusion, I would like to say that Ethiopia belongs to its all 87 tribes. Not just to the few. All 87 tribes have an equal right to voice their opinions on the future of Ethiopia without being chastised by those who claim to own Ethiopia. All future decisions on Ethiopia are going to be made by all Ethiopians through debates and negotiations. Therefore, it is only appropriate that we start to debate our difference in a civilized manner in anticipation of Meles’ departure. We can’t afford being caught unprepared when Meles leaves. Finally, I want to say thanks to those concerned Ethiopians who understood my main point in my article and I promise you will hear a lot from me in our struggle for better Ethiopia for all.
* The writer can be contacted by writing to [email protected]