29 October 2014

The Postman


Waiting for the man is our business,
Though he may or may not come.
He may come but pass our place without a glance.
This means he has nothing for us as usual.
We still wait for the following day,
To wait for the man who may or may not come,
Look through the window for the gentleman,
With whom we are all in love.
As if he was the one who would decide on what we all want.
That gentleman whom we all long to see may not be seen for days,
This is something unbearable,
Yet we have no basis to complain.
We simply wait and wait for the gentleman,
With whom we are all in love,
Though he does not know us at all.
He is yet our hero,
Our hero if he shows up with that message,
The message we all wait to receive,
The message we all want to hear.
The gentleman may turn up, but with messages for old occupants,
Or probably with the junk letters to which we are not interested
Or he may come up with some in our names,
without him knowing that he can make or break our day.
The man we adore so much is the postman.

Written in May 2009

2 July 2014

Open letter to H.E. Field Marshal Abd Rabuh Mansur, President of Yemen


H.E. Field Marshal Abd Rabuh Mansur
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sana’a, Yemen 

          Re:  The Detention of Mr. Andargachew Tsege 

Your Excellency,

I am writing this letter to express my grave concerns regarding the abduction of Mr. Andargachew Tsege, a British citizen and a renowned critic of the Ethiopian government while in transit at Sana’a International Airport on June 23, 2014.

I am particularly concerned that the continued illegal detention of Mr. Tsege is politically motivated and against international law. I urge the Government of Yemen to release him immediately and unconditionally.

Mr. Tsege is a well-known pro-democracy and human rights advocate who is a man of high moral standards and dogged determination for basic themes of democracy. He has been vigorously campaigning for social justice and the rule of law in his native country Ethiopia. His abduction is unlawful and totally unacceptable.

Mr. Tsege was imprisoned in Ethiopia for his political activities during the ill-fated election of 2005. He has since escaped assassination attempts.





Your Excellency,

I would like to call on your attention to the doctrine of non-refoulement, which is a principle of International Law that forbids the rendering of a true victim of persecution to his persecutors. 

I kindly urge your government to adhere to these recognised principles aimed at protecting human rights.  I trust you will do everything in your power to see Mr.Tsege released and united with his family as soon as possible.


Yours Sincerely, 

Bekele Woyecha
London, United Kingdom.

CC:     The Rt. Hon William Hague, Secretary of State For Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, UK.
            The Rt. Hon Hugh Robertson, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth office, UK.
            Amnesty UK
            Human Rights Watch
            International Committee for the Red Cross          
         


3 January 2014

Unity is the way

Ethiopians in all walks of life irrespective of political, ethnic or religious differences should unite and work together towards achieving their dreams in 2014 and beyond. Division helps only the few political elites who cannot live without it. Unity is power. Power is needed to work for change. We need to build relational power to work together; not power OVER others as it will no more work. If we want change, we need to change the way we do politics including the way we think about ourselves. We need to think in broader terms and see issues from different angles and perspectives. As someone born and raised in Ethiopia, I am an Ethiopian. I am also an African. As a British citizen who can work and live freely anywhere in Europe, I am also a European citizen. As a human being, I am part of the human family of this world. We should not waste our precious time and energy on unwanted and unhelpful arguments. What unites us is more than what divides us. When the late Nelson Mandela fought for freedom and justice, he fought for all South Africans. He liberated both the oppressed and the oppressors. He liberated people of all colours, race and backgrounds. Loving one another and working in unison should be the way forward for my fellow Ethiopians. To love is natural. As Martin Luther King once said, “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” Love and unity is what it takes to achieve the common good- democratic and strong Ethiopia.

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