The Iron Ladies
No Country For Young Bright Man
The depressing moment of my life started to take effect the moment I heard about Zone9ners arrest.I have never felt threatened,scared and confused like the way I did when young brilliant and caring minds were tossed to one of the notorious prison Maekelawi.Maekelawi is a place that is designed and built by tyranny architects who want to suck,drain and darken our passion for a better Ethiopia.
I was always thinking that Reeyot,Eskinder and Andualem among many other will be the last prisoners of consciousness that’s why I was so shocked hearing the arrest of Zone9ners.
A lot has been said about Zone9ners and I am not going to repeat that but I have learnt one thing clearly and that is No Ethiopia For Young Bright Man and Woman.You may have a photo with Secretary Kerry but you have a country that pays you back with torture,you may express your opinion genuinely without no other agenda but you will be tossed to jail or insisted to exile.you may have impressive professional and academic record but your loyalty with the tyranny values most to build your Ethiopia dream.
To Be Continued
What Zone9ners Are
If you are part of a group of people who care for the nation then you gone have to make sure your business card includes prison as your office address.That what exactly happened to Zone9ners,
-They are not the type of guys who build their body and malnourished their mind
-They are not like those university intellectuals who can’t even agree with their students let alone have a national agenda to build the nation
-They are not the young man and woman who are environmental friendly with khat
-Zone9ners are not like those anonymous social media characters who advocate hate and racism
Zone9ners are engineers,lawyers,journalists,statisticians,bloggers,caring,loving,humorous,beautiful,brothers,sisters,daughters,sons.
They are bulldozing injustice with their keyboard and pen.Zone9ners collaborators can be those who liked,shared,favorite,tweeted their posts.Their collaborators can be just friends who have had tea with them.
Unlike those in public office who are busy with silencing our voices Zone9ners are serving their nation from the tiny cell of Kaliti to the torture hall of Maekelawi without breaking their commitment for justice and freedom.
Care Like Zone9ers
We have witnessed countless times when history degrades freedom fighters as terrorist and again when history erases its statement with a time rubber and honors those who once have been labeled terrorist as heroes.
Zone9 are the reflection of our day to day life, they all are young man and woman who are educated and what they are picturing for our country excel the mind frame of the tyranny.Zone9 are not just bloggers who care but they are part of our lives, they are sisters, brothers, friends, daughters and sons of a families in which their absence can impact as much as their presence.
Zone9 took the sacrifice to burn their skin with the tyranny torture but light our hope with their smile even in the face of gun mouth.Zone9 is the past the present and the future, many like them have travelled the same road before and they all say it’s worth it. It’s worth it to slave your body and liberate your mind.
There are many who fill their stomach until they brain start to digest nothing but their food and there are people like zone9 who fill their mind with thoughts of caring.
When we say free zone9ners we are not also forgetting Edom,Tesfalem,Reeyot,Eskinder and many others but zone9ners proved the power of unity.
Ariel Sharon “The Bulldozer” Dies at 85
Ethiopian Intellectual vs Ethiopian Livestock
I was raised in a family who were also raised & grew up in Addis Ababa a town that reflects the beauty of harmony.Race has never been much of an issue in a place like Addis where all the people from all corners of the nation come to build the Ethiopian Dream.Eventhough we were prideful of our race I can assure you that the vast Addis Ababians are disgusted by a system that tag your race in your identity card.
I was awakened by the race issue after joining campus after witnessing the recruitment of student cadres based on their race rather than their ideology.Their political participation was compartmentalized by ethnicity as a result there was no space for a broader dialogue on national agenda.
I never reflected a view that rejects the recognition of ethinicity but I am very against a system that divided us based on our ethnicity & denied us the opportunity in providing a platform that lets us to build #theethiopiandream.
The system is restructuring the race issue in a way that destroy our harmony.companies like EFFORT are recruiting based on political affilation & ethnicity while their business is operational in all parts of the nation;currently language is being used as a tool of barrier from working in all parts of the nation.Ethnicity first move is trashing the recognition of the others by denying opportunities & distorting history.Language should be a tool to channel knowledge instead of a criteria to reject your competency.The word Fikir in Amharic can’t have a Hate translation in Oromigna or Tigrigna but if you tag words like #neftegna #woyane …the term will be affected by the speaker identity.
The world is changing & pulling toward a globalized village,unification & multilateral cooperation but it doesn’t mean our identity is erased.For Greece to be rescued by Germans they didn’t format their identity & installed a German culture,the secret ingredient for Americans to become great was their ability to build a system that allows anyone to function & to be judged by their performance.Their state of mind didn’t stop them from electing a black president eventhough they knew 50 years ago blacks were not legit to vote.
On the contrary the unrepresentative pig officals & intellectuals from gov & opposition camps are still busy in distorting history in their favor to manipulate the mass poor farmer who remain uneducated but polished with wisdom of life.All races in Ethiopia were victim of all the governance by a degree that varies but they were all Ethiopian.As Ethiopian we have to share eacother pain instead of tagging #rawandasyndrome.
During my little month exposure in the rural parts of #oromia,#tigray & #amhara I was able to witness a broader & uniform image among the society in which all of them suffers from extreme poverty,food security,electricity & clean water shortage.But these farmers are not busy in tracing & checking my background rather they were restless in making me comfortable so that I can address & solve their issue.
For a farmer in Amhara #teddyafro appraisal for #menelik & for a farmer in oromia #jewar campaign #boycottbedelle won’t make sense more than the moan of their cattles,a farmer in Tigray don’t have time to assure the continuity of the late PM mourning.Amid all these facts those of us who were able to count a bit ABCD & who knows how to log in are doing less contribution than the farmer livestock.
For a farmer it makes more sense to mourn more for a cattle he lost than the passing of an intellectual who is survived by the fruit of its vengenance.
#embeembe #kukulu #muomuo
Rebirth of Opposition in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
The year 2005 in E.C marks a reviving political movement after napping for almost 8 years.The activism and awakening believed to get momentum for the following stated reasons.
1-Late PM-After the death of the late PM,TPLF was more focused on re-positioning it’s control in EPRDF so as not to lose control due to the appointment of a leader that was not part of their camp.The struggle for power control let for the creation of different groups(the old guerrillas,the young reformers,……) because of this the party wasn’t able to focus on evolving oppositions.
2-Anti-Terrorism-Law,after the passing of the Anti Terrorism Law around 12 journalist including 2 Swedish were jailed.Unlike the old days the prisoners of mind remain defiant by rejecting a pardon bargains that scores negatives to their activism.These in return pushed one of Ethiopia strong ally US to draft Ethiopian Human Rights Act Bill.After congressman Smith openly warned Ethiopian gov to face consequences for continuation of crackdown it was considered as a triumph for oppositions based in US.Dr Birhanu Nega invitation to the senate hearing Ethiopian gov was seen as a loser in the game of labeling oppositions as terrorists.
3-Religious Intervention-For many still the Ethiopian Muslims affair remain unclear since most of the information was hijacked and poisoned by gov medias.The call for the release of the Muslim leaders was altered with a reckless allegation that label them as terrorist and extremist despite that a year has passed since a peaceful and sustained rally started.Their quest was also acknowledged by western states and international medias.The different BASED ON LIE STORY documentaries that were fabricated by ETV wasn’t able to alter the course of the movement rather intensifying and making itself a best tool to recruit new activists to the group.
4-Semayawi Party and Andinet Party-The existence of Semayawi party didn’t score more than a year but they were successful is staging the first largest opposition rally after 8 years of fasting public demonstration. Eventhough the party lacks the manpower and clear agendas it was enough for the people to show their oppostion to EPRDF more than support for a young party.After Semayawi effect other oppositions like Andinet Party were active in a coordinated,peaceful campaigns that called as a Million Voice March that calls for the anti-terrorism law to be revoked.
5-Corruption or Faction-In a recent wave of crackdown on political figures of the ruling party and business tycoons many were jailed on the basis of corruption.The story didn’t really water-dawn with the public since the move hasn’t touched the TPLF heavyweights and it’s business that are believed to be cruising on the ocean of corruption with their yachts.Also the largest business corporate Military Engineering was given a cover story of National Security to avoid possible auditing.
These all factors along with social media activism are cracking a slight door of opportunity in the upcoming 2015 election.This Sunday in a surprising way two parties will be rallying at the same time and place in two very contradicting agendas.
Semayai Party calls Sunday March long time ago calling for an End for Religious Intervention
while
EPRDF party not only calls but forces citizens to attend a march that calls for End for Religious Extremism
Moments You Want to Be Ferenji
It was eating me alive every time I thought about writing this post, Until I couldn’t find a way to put it .You may disagree with me, because of your national pride or you may not get what it’s all about. During my campus stay I have been blessed with meeting people from all across the world. I have met a student from Brazil, did a project with an Irish girl, toured Mekelle with interns from Belgium, engaged with American Students for community service, and established an organization with Ghanaian and Italian friend, pizza with a German colleague, church with Ghanaian friend and work with Nigerian brother.
In all these exposure I was exposed to the list of factors that are hindering us behind the world, the effect of these factors remain unnoticeable to these very day and they still remain excusable with a powerless and repetitive word Sorry.
The difference that sets most Ethiopian apart from the rest of the world (I listed these factors by correlating to my personal experience)
1-Appreciation-
In the year 2012 I was appointed as a Google Student Ambassador and I send an email informing my happy news to lots of university staffs including all my teachers but most of the congratulatory notes I get were from few high profile Ethiopians and many foreigners. In the year 2013 my view on African Union was posted on Aljazeera website and I once again shared this good news to my teachers and staffs around the university, except four peoples none of them responded. In all these emails none of them congratulated me. I am not a guy obsessed with congratulatory notes but I am a guy who is very sensitive to the failure of our academic staff’s ignorance and negligence toward their fellow students. I still don’t get it why we remain enemies instead of being soldier in the same platoon fighting to make a change.
Appreciation is a lubricant fluid of moral that keeps your motivation gear to hum even better. For these reason I can’t stop wondering how I might have progressed toward making change if my teachers shows some respect and shared my joy.
2-Community Service
During my campus stay I have selflessly served in community service projects. I was working for HFDW (a student initiative that works to provide clean water service), Blind School (attended holiday lunches, volunteer works), researched for a community project that works on prevention of drug. In all these works I have witnessed the following demographic group being more active (students with urban background, medium in their academic performance, mostly females).students that are high grade scorers fail to meet our expectation with the potential of what they can do. There exist a bold difference in culture of community service between Ethiopians and Foreigners. I never forgot the sixteen girls from America who were carrying stones, digging with shovels at blind school, the American engineering students from Engineers without borders who were building water pump and electricity for the abandoned Mekelle Blind School. A guy from Ghana and Italian who strived to make Ethiopia part of a successful student initiative called Aiesec.
This last semester when HFDW inaugurated a water project we invited more than 80 University academic staffs to attend our ceremony but none of them showed up. Their failure is a reflection of their disrespect for causes that affect thousands of poor lives in a better way.
As a citizen we should give back to our community. We shouldn’t be forgetting that if it wasn’t for the money that was taxed from the poor farmers we wouldn’t be attending a higher education with such negligible price.
Book
The relation of Ethiopian University Students and academician with book remain complicated as unhappy marriage. Unless it’s the academic bible book it’s very hard to find a student or academic staff reading books to broaden their perspective about life and the world we live. Students from private school background, mainly females remain happily engaged couples with book.
It’s highly likely to find a student who graduated without reading one book in his entire life, except the books his teacher told him to read. People who don’t read are resistant to change, remain narrow minded, intolerant to other views.
The intimacy of book and the western world still remain intact despite the engulfing age of technology. Students in Ethiopia who are accessing internet and laptop are becoming victim of series movie invasion and facebook addiction. In order to escape from their guiltiness they create a NEW FOLDER for soft copy books they won’t be reading.
Regarding initiating my culture of reading I always remain grateful for my Irish Friend Siobhan who always send me hardcopy books by saving from her college pocket and also for my former German director who always sends me books that could have been unaffordable if they were selling Book World store.
The Sucks Chronicle
The Sucks Chronicle
The sucks chronicle discovers the sham and the failure behind our institution that ought to be serving the people with honesty, integrity and transparency .The following institutions (ETV, ETC, EEPCO, MOE, EFFORT, EPRDF, INSA) are some of the few who will be covered. Their failure to serve the people instead of carrying out their hidden agenda makes them institutions that terrorize the establishment, foundation and future of this nation.
The foundation of these institutions is laid on the corner stone of spying, lying, corruption, discrimination and so on. Like a house build on sand the existence and continuity of these organization won’t resist the storm of righteousness and freedom.
ETV SUCKS
During my early childhood days ETV was one of the best things I ever wanted to watch. Talak Film (Selina, Siborge, The Specialist, Six Day Seven Night), Ababa Tesfaye(a story telling TV host ordering kids to sit properly through TV screen), Hibre Tirit, ETV Music and 120 (a Sunday 2pm entertainment curfew).are all printed in the memory of any kid who grew up watching ETV.
My joyful affair with these monopolized state media starts to cease upon realizing myself as a grown man.as a man and grown up you became keen to hear about things that matter and you seek for the truth to be told. But these wishes remain unfulfilled in a nation like Ethiopia where the government cares so much for the people choosing what they should hear and instead of what they want to hear.
We don’t need to go way back to discover the failure and sham of this organization. Just this year alone ETV directed an award losing documentary titled Jihad Harekat a documentary that brew bicker among the public.Interms of terrorizing the public nothing matches the damages done by ETV following it’s unpopular documentary that deceived the two greatest religion followers. For the significant portion of the society who viewed the documentary it’s a bit harder to rationalize and to figure out the conspiracy theory choreographed by the government.
Also this year ETV disgraced the nation at continent level by transmitting African Cup of Nation Ethiopian Team Match without paying. The incident proved ETV habit of lawlessness is not only endemic but also cross-continental.
As a result of its continuing lie and unprofessionalism it’s viewers number is declining in quantity as well as quality.in some houses it’s becoming saloon pets favourite channel since what ETV talks about doesn’t make sense for both human and pets. The last time I remember watching ETV was in my dream and I woke up with nightmare and sweating.
Finally ETV has finalized its preparation to broadcast its programme to Hell following the devil and the sinner residence community request. Finally you can tune with the following frequency.
ESATAN-666
ETC SUCKS
The Generation EPRDF Raised
You can consider me as post EPRDF generation since my presence in these world coincides with the presence of EPRDF in Addis.I don’t actually remember what it feels like during the early days of EPRDF days rather I acquire most of my knowledge after realization of myself. My very introduction with EPRDF actually starts with the hearing of ordinary jokes.
An eprdf soldier arriving in Addis saw a traffic police and asked a guy next to him saying “what is this guy doing?”
the guy replied saying “he is a traffic police” and before he finishes his explanation the soldier pushed away the traffic from his task saying, “stop discriminating you should let all drivers go in all direction they want it’s democracy”
Until 2005 election trauma and I haven’t really felt or wondered about EPRDF rather I was reminded about the party existence in a quarter report of the late PM address to the parliament. After 2005 election I became more interested in politics in a moment were many people lose their hope.
On its 22nd birthday I portray EPRDF as a father who raised different kids in a different ways
Bermuda
The kid that turn 22 but who is already spending a great deal of his time chewing Khat and who see himself trapped in the Bermuda of the Drug world.
Paper
These kids were able to join universities as a result of the expansion of many Universities. The majority of these have no confidence in integrating their knowledge with the real world and those who already have the capacity dig a way to leave their country.
The Artist
Art exist in any given situation whether in oppressing or free state.That’s why the nation never fail to produce amazing artists during 1960’s and 1970’s (Tilahun, Mohammud, Menlik…).These artists never fail to produce hits that doesn’t fade along with generation in the darkest hours of the nation history. But if you look out the EPRDF generation it really fails to produce artists that connect themselves with the society and narrates the Ethiopian life in song, dance and paint except few exceptional who were also bitten for their uniqueness.
The Passport
These kids are from everywhere, some of them are educated or even have a PHD and some of them don’t actually know how to write but they all are bonded with one thing and that is Passport. Have you seen the impressive queue the system created allowing the nation to become a Refugee Camp for its own people. This group represent the 16 year old girl who fled to Middle East without knowing her fate, the graduated students who seeks asylum in the name of the people he never speaks up once, the 20 year old young man who bait on his life to cross the Sahara desert and find a better life in Rome.
Home Made Diaspora
This kids are reflection of a group of teenagers who are detached with their identity. They are more American without going to America. They spice their native language once in a while otherwise it’s all (hommie,chillin,nigga).They are allergic and immune to the nation facts and before they go to bed they ask their dear lord please take me to states.
My life journey have gone through most of the groups and still I am trying my best to be a best citizen not a citizen of the system.
Zone9
This group are not result of the EPRDF rather they are an oasis in the oppressing land.They are from all walks of life and they are criminalized for being able to put words that speak truth.They are labeled as terrorist cause they waken a dead generation.
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