nazret.com Merkato Blog

Ethiopia - Soul of the South, where art thou?

By Golto Aila

Published on April 13, 2008

Part of my early childhood was in southern Ethiopia and by all measure it was the best time of my life. Not because of its bounty, not because of its sophistication, but because of my culture and because of my family values. The rule in my home and among my relatives was in stark contrast to the way the region was ruled! To drive home the importance of treating people with dignity, it was a rule that the family and household workers all ate their meals together from the same sahin. I addressed our servants with titles depending on their gender and age. It is the lesson I carry with me everywhere to this day and I’m proud of it.

In those days, the realm was ruled from the North. The south served the north in every sense of that word. Ironically the advent of Mengistu’s era ushered in the period where the southerners dared to think they were equal to their compatriots in the North! Every cloud has a silver lining, but it was cloud all the same! When the current regime came along they promised autonomy and that somehow the southerners will be masters of their fate. But of course that did not happen – that was not the intention at all, the intention was to divide and destroy! Instead the South became a convenient tool of this regime’s political game! The government’s hand is, invariably, in every so-called inter-ethnic conflict that I have heard of in the South – neighboring ethnic groups and clans fight each other like never before! The latest clash was that between the Guji and the Sidama, near Wendo-Gennet! This regime took the concept of divide and rule to a new level – divide and destroy! So, left to its own devices, there will be no future to talk about by the time Meles is done with Ethiopia in general and the South in particular!

Because of decades of misrule of the South, the politics of the South is largely driven by the psychology of the subjugated, much to the disadvantage of the south itself! Every strategy appears to be a reaction to the previous and current misrule, hence, the drive for “liberation” by the likes of OLF! While such sentiments are perfectly understandable it would be utterly irresponsible to pursue policies which will only lead to more suffering of the citizens of the South and the entire country! It would make some sense if an independent South can just transfer itself to another location in the world where it can be at peace! But that is impossible! So, now “independence” is created in a hostile environment where the people become hostages of their own actions!

We need not go far for examples of what will happen – look at Eritrea who “liberated” itself from Ethiopia! Our brothers and sisters in Eritrea are suffering like they have never suffered before in our history, in spite of having a long coastline of one of the most important and strategic waterways in the world! Eritrea is one big prison camp which they fought for and won! The fact that OLF and ONLF are camped there is no coincidence – it is worrisome that in their efforts to free their people from tyranny they have gone to seek help from tyrant par excellence! The South should learn from their past and make every effort to prevent its recurrence in the future. The most sensible path is for the South to get to the center of Ethiopia’s MARCH TO DEMOCRACY and claim its rightful place in the reconstruction of their great country!

Today is a new day, a day full of challenges and opportunities for Ethiopia in general and the South in particular! Nothing worthwhile in life comes easy! The South should embrace democratic principles, throw off the fears of former misrule (most people in Ethiopia were misruled), embrace the democratic future, and stand up to be counted. The South should stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the country and fight for the survival of Ethiopia in which everybody will live with dignity. It is self-doubt, morbid suspicion, complacency and paranoia that force people to make bad choices! It is incumbent on the Southern leaders (political or otherwise) to come out and join hands with fellow democratic minded Ethiopians irrespective of ethnic, religious, social and economic backgrounds, and lead the way to a brighter future for ALL!

There will always be differences of opinion between people (it happens within families) and that is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact the more the merrier, so that people get the opportunity of greater choices. If your object is to give your constituents the best opportunities in life, why should you have any difficulty in accepting a choice which may benefit even you!

When Eritrea got independence, the calculation from its leadership was obvious – they’ve got Ethiopia where they wanted - by the scruff of her neck! They had decapitated Ethiopia, it would not survive and if it did, it would be at their mercy! Miraculously, don't ask me how but Ethiopia sprouted another head/heads and survived - after some fashion! Little did the Eritrean leadership know of the fact that a head without a body to nourish it cannot survive either! No strategy of mutilating Ethiopia will work for anybody! It is simply foolish because it amounts to a deliberate self mutilation! Also it pays to understand that the task of retrieving Ethiopia from this anarchy and rehabilitating it is squarely on the shoulders of all Ethiopians. It will be Ethiopians who will determine whether or not the country and its peoples will be free and democratic. “Liberation movements” whose strategies are based on exploitation of peoples’ emotions based on past experiences, instead of using those experiences to craft solutions for challenges of tomorrow, are movements towards doom for the country and its entire population! Friends, however well meaning, can only help Ethiopia achieve what Ethiopians set out to do.

Conversely, no amount of outside assistance to Meles will keep him in power if the country doesn’t want him. History is replete with examples of such futility!

So, I appeal to the Soul of the South, to let reason prevail and work for the creation and preservation of a unitary Democratic Ethiopia and your beautiful South, for the posterity!

Waqi ha nu jabbessu!
gurmesa51@yahoo.com