ኢትዮጵያውያን ማንንም አንጠላም - ነገር ግን ሃገራችንን ሲነኩብን ዝም አንልም

 

እ.አ.አ ኖቬምበር 2020 መጀመሪያ ላይ ህውሃት በኢትዮጵያ የመከላከያ ጦር ላይ ያደረገውን ጥቃት ተከትሎ በትግራይ የተቀሰቀሰው ጦርነት ብዙ ዋጋ አስከፍሏል። በዚህ ጦርነት የብዙሃን ህይወት የጠፋ ከመሆኑም በላይ፤ በዙሃን ወገኖቻችን የአካል መጉድል፣ መፈናቀልና ልዩ ልዩ ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው መሆኑ ይታወቃል። የጦርነት ምንም ደግ የለውም።

ይህን ጦርነት አሳዛኝ የሚያደርገው  በወንድማማቾችና እህትማማቾች መካከል የሚደረግ የተወሰኑ የስልጣን ጥመኞችን በዕብሪት የተሞላ ፍላጎት ለማሟላት በሚንቀሳቀስ አሸባሪ ኃይልና በተቃራኒው ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብና ሀገሪቷን የመጠበቅ ኃላፊነት ባለበትና በብዙሃኑ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ድጋፍ ባለው የኢትዮጵያ ጦር ሰራዊት መካከል የሚደረግ ጦርነት መሆኑ ነው።

እንደሚታወቀው ህውሃት በኢትዮጵያ ለ27 ዓመታት በስልጣን በቆየበት ዘመን እጅግ በጣም አምባገነን ከመሆኑ የተነሳ እጅግ በጣም ብዙ ዘግናኝ የሆኑ ተግባራትን ሲፈፅም የቆየ ነው። ህወሃት በስልጣን ለመቆየት የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ በዘር መከፋፈል ብቸኛው አማራጭ አድርጎ ስላመነ ህዝባችንን ለመከፋፈል የተቻለውን ሁሉ ሲያደርግ ቆይቷል። በብሄሮች መካከል ጥርጣሬ እንዲኖር፤ የጋራ አጀንዳ እንዳይኖርና ኢትዮጵያዊነት እንዲከስም ህወሃት ብዙ ሰርቷል።

ህወሃት ኖቬምበር 2020 ላይ የመከላከያ ኃይላችን ላይ ጥቃት ሲያደርግ የተለያዩ እሳቤዎችን ከገንዛቤ በመክተት እንደሆነ ይገመታል። በህወሃት ዕምነት የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ተከፋፍሏል። በህወሃት ዕምነት የኢትዮጵያን ሰራዊት በቀላሉ በማሸነፍ ስልጣን በቀላሉ መያዝ ይቻላል የሚል የተሳሳተና በዕብሪት የተሞላ ግንዛቤ ነበር። በህዋሃት ዕምነት በኢትዮጵያ የመንግስት ስልጣን መያዝ ብቻ ሳይሆን በኤርትራም የመንግስት ለውጥ ማምጣት ይቻላል የሚል እጅግ በጣም ሌሎችን አሳንሶ የማየት፤ እራስን ያለማወቅና የማግዘፍ ዝንባሌ ነበር።

በህዋሃትና ጥቂት ደጋፊዎቹ ውስጥ የተፈጠረው የበላይነት ስሜት የሌሎችን ጥንካሬ ለማየት እንዲሳናቸው አድርጓቸዋል። ለዚህም ሕወሃት ጦርነቱ እንደተጀመረ ይስጥ የነበረው መግለጫ ትልቅ ግንዛቤ ይሰጣል።

The late Sekuture Getachew exposed TPLF's crimes of attacking the Ethiopian National Defence Force in November 2020.@nytimes exposed #TPLF’s use of #ChildSoldiers

We thank them both for telling the truth unexpectedly. When would the west condemn TPLF?@France24_en @RT_com pic.twitter.com/c7jMAmm3Je

— 𝘽𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖 (@BekeleWoyecha) July 17, 2021

 

የህወሃቱ ሴኩቱሬ ጌታቸው ስለ ህወሃት አጥቂነትና ጠንካራነት ሲነግረን ህወሃት መብረቃዊ ጥቃት ማድረግ ብቸኛው አማራጭ እንደነበረ ነግሮናል። ይህ ትዕቢት የተሞላበት ንግግር ብዙዎችን አስቆጥቷል። ህወሃት በወቅቱ ጥቃት ሲፈፅም የነበረው ግንዛቤ መከላከያን ጨምሮ የተቀረው ህዝብ ምላሽ የማይሰጥና እራሱን መከላከል የማይችል አድርጎ አሳንሶ የማየት ዝንባሌ ነው። በሃገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ያለው የህወሃት ኃይልና ደጋፊ ትልቅ የሆነ የግንዛቤ ችግር ያለበት ባይሆን ይህ ጦርነት እዚህ ደረጃ አይደርስም ነበር። እነ አሉላ ሰለሞን ጦርነት ባህላዊ ጨዋታችን ነው ሲሉን፤ እነ ስየ አብርሃ ደግሞ ስለ ጦርነት እኛ ፊት እንዳታወሩ ይሉን ነበር። ይባስ ብሎ ፈረንጆቹ እነ ኸርማን ኮህንና ሌሎች አውሮፓውያን ህወሃትን ከሌላ ዓለም የመጣ ለማስመሰል ሞክረዋል።

Ethiopian P.M. Abiy is fooling himself if he believes his inexperienced army can defeat the battle hardened TPLF military, even with Eritrean support. To keep #Ethiopia unified, it must be truly decentralized through unprecedented constitutional dialogue.

— Herman J. Cohen (@CohenOnAfrica) November 5, 2020

ህወሃት ራሱን በራሱ ጠልፎ ከወደቀ በኋላ እንዴት ብቻዬን እውድቃለሁ በሚል ጦርነቱን ወደ ሌሎች ክልሎችና ሉዓላዊት ሀገር ወደ ሆነችው ኤርትራ ለመውሰድ ብዙ ጥሯል። ህወሃት አልተሳካለትም እንጂ የአፍሪካ ቀንድና ቀጠናውን ጦርነት ውስጥ ለመክተት ያላደረገው ጥረት የለም።

ህወሃት የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ በዳይ ሆኖ ሳለ የምዕራብ ዓለም ፖለቲከኞች፣ ጋዜጠኞች፣ በኤክስፐርትነትና በስብዓዊ መብት ተቆርቋሪነት ስም ድብቅ ዓላማቸውን ከሚያከናውኑ ግለሰቦችና ተቋማት ከፍተኛ ድጋፍ ሲያገኝ ቆይቷል።

ምዕራባውያን ፖለቲከኞችና ሚዲያዎች ለህወሃት ድጋፍ ከመስጠት በተጨማሪ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ አላስፈላጊና መርህ አልባ የሆነ ተፅዕኖ ሲያደርጉ የቆዩ ሲሆን አንዳንዶቹ የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ባለስልጣናትና ቢሮክራት በኢትዮጵያ የመንግስት ለውጥ እንዲኖር እየሰሩ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳዩ ምልክቶች እየታዩ ነው። በዩጎዝላቪያ፣ ኢራቅ፣ ሊቢያ፣ ሶሪያና የመን እንዳደረጉት ሁሉ በኢትዮጵያ የውስጥ ጉዳይ ውስጥ ጣልቃ ለመግባት እየተዘጋጁ መሆናቸውን የሚያሳዩ ምልክቶች እየታዩ ነው።

የምዕራቡ ዓለም ፖለቲከኞች ጋ የግንዛቤ ችግር ያለ ይመስላል። ኢትዮጵያ የራሷ የሆኑ የቆዩና በመላው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ውስጥ ዘልቀው የገቡ የጋራ እሴቶች መኖራቸውን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ለጠላት መቸም ቢሆን ተንበርክኮ የማያውቅ መሆኑን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ከመቸውም በላይ በአንድነት ሆኖ ለሃገሩ ዘብ ለመቆም ዝግጁ መሆኑን፤ የኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ የኢትዮጵያ ብቻ ሳይሆን የመላው አፍሪካና የጥቁር ህዝቦች ጉዳይም ጭምር መሆኑን ግንዛቤ ውስጥ ያለማስገባት ሁኔታ ይታያል።

ኢትዮጵያውያን በፖለቲካ አመለካከት ልንለያይ እንችል ይሆናል። በተለያዪ ዓለማት ተበትነን እየኖርንም ሊሆን ይችላል። በሃገራችን ጉዳይ ግን በፍፁም አንደራድርም።

ኢትዮጵያ ለሌሎች ሃገራት የምትሰጠውን ክብር ራሷም ማግኘት አለባት። ስለዚህ የአሜሪካና የአውሮፓ ፖለቲከኞችና ቢሮክራት በኢትዮጵያ የውስጥ ጉዳይ ላይ የሚያደርጉትን ጣልቃገብነት መታገል ግዴታችን ነው ። ከማንም በፊት የኢትዮጵያን ጥቅም ማስጠበቅ የምንችለው እኛው ራሳችን ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን:: ኢትዮጵያውያን በፍፁም ችላ እንዳንል። 

ኢትዮጵያውያን ማንንም አንጠላም። ነገር ግን ሃገራችንን ሲነኩብን ዝም አንልም። በኢትዮጵያ ጉዳይ ዝምታ የለም። በፍፁም።

 

EU is getting it wrong on Ethiopia- it is regrettable

I was a great fan of the European Union; great admirer of the system. I believed it was an institution that was for fairness, genuine human rights protection, democracy and rule of law. As a British citizen, I had chance to travel visa free across Europe; rights to work across Europe; European Health Insurance and many good things, I thought the union was good for Europe and a good model for other continents. 

When the United Kingdom went to the polls in June 2016 to decide on the EU referendum, I voted to REMAIN. UK decided to LEAVE. I have many good friends who voted LEAVE. When I asked them for their reasons for voting LEAVE, they often said, ‘EU is autocratic and doesn’t listen to citizens on the ground’. I can see that. 

All EU’s actions on Ethiopia since the November 2020 conflict are unfriendly, immoral and out of character. It looks it has lost a partner in the TPLF. It looks EU’s attitude for Ethiopia and for Africa is different from its attitude for Europe and other parts of the world. EU is trying to dictate a sovereign country. EU is trying to say, ‘do it my way or I will suspend this or that’. We recall that EU suspended developmental aid to Ethiopia following the conflict in Tigray. It wanted to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. When Ethiopia was bold and determined, EU changed its attitude. EU for sure knows Ethiopia is an important and strategic partner in Africa. That was why it once again made a statement on the strategic importance of Ethiopia for the European Union and started to work with Ethiopia. EU also decided to send observers to the June 2021 general election, which was a good sign of rebuilding relationships. EU even sent a team to observe the preparatory work. All these were welcomed by Ethiopia. 

Although Ethiopia welcomed EU’s decision to send observers to the June 5 general election, we have now learned that EU is not sending observers. The reasons are clear. Ethiopia is not bowing down to EU’s unconvincing demands. EU has put forward unusual conditions to Ethiopia to observe the June 5 election. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, EU has demanded that it should bring in telecommunication equipment for VSAT services if it were to observe the June general election. This has never happened; and why now? Ethiopia is ready and capable to provide telecom services during EU’s and indeed others’ stay in the country as observers. What makes EU so special to put this as a precondition to observe an election? To insist that EU should bring in equipment for VSAT services smells fishy; rather disrespectful and unexpected. Do they want to give the equipment to TPLF remnants and resuscitate TPLF from the ashes? 

EU shouldn’t forget that when it is in Ethiopia, it is only a guest, nothing more. 

Another demand by EU is very dangerous. EU has demanded that it wants to make public comments and announcement about the general election before even the National Board of Ethiopia. This is scandalous and seriously questionable. EU had observed Ethiopia’s sham elections in the past. It knew the elections were not democratic. Yet it didn’t have demands. So why now? 

Whether EU likes it or not, the June 5 general election will go ahead. Ethiopians don’t need validation by EU on their most important democratic exercise. Ethiopians decide, nobody else! Ethiopia will prevail and come out victorious in all fronts. One thing is for sure, EU also will come back; it is a matter of time. For the time being we say, thank you but not thank you! See you later, EU.

 

GERD - Get it done no matter what!

As Ethiopia prepares for the filling of its most important dam, we have seen anger in some quarters in Egypt, which could be either intentional to create tension or total ignorance of the situation. Whatever the challenge, Ethiopia has to get its Dam done. 

If the origin of the Nile was Egypt, then Egypt might find a tap to stop the flow of Nile Waters. Fortunately that is not the case. To think as if the source of the Nile to be Egypt is disingenuous.  

No need to be angry at Ethiopia’s flagship project like 2 year old toddlers crying for everything they see. 

Egypt has to come to a negotiating table for a 21st century negotiation. Ethiopia is contributing 85% of the Nile Waters and deserves fair share. We all know Nile waters are more than enough for all. 

Vital to remember that both the 1929 & 1959 agreements are void and unacceptable as far as Ethiopia was concerned. Ethiopia is not a signatory to the party. 

Equally vital to stop intentionally ignoring the reality as it is for the benefit of all to come to a mutually acceptable agreement. It is not time for one side wins all and others remain bystanders. 

After all it is about Mutual Benefits, Reciprocity, and Sovereign Equality. This is 21st century, where we are interdependent on one-another and should cooperate; but that cooperation should be mutually sought based on mutual interests. 

ከፊታችን የተደቀነውን ፈተና በጋራ ማለፍ ይገባል

የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በተለያየ ጊዜ ፈተናዎች አጋጥመውታል። ባለፉት 5 ወራት ግን ፈተናዎቹ ዘርፈ ብዙ ሆነዋል። ተደጋጋሚ ዘር ተኮር ጥቃቶች ፤ በትህነግ አነሳሽነት የተጀመረው ግጭትና ታላላቅ የሚባሉት እንደ ቢቢሲ እና ሲ ኤን ኤን ያሉ የሚዲያ ተቋማት የተዛባና እውነትን መሰረት ያላደረገ ዘገባ ፤ በሰብአዊ ድርጅት ስም የሚሰሩ እንደ አምነስቲና ሂውማን ራይትስ ዎች ያሉ ተቋማት ውስጥ ያሉ ድብቅ አላማ የተሸከሙ ግለሰቦችና ድርጅቶቹም ጭምር በግልፅ የሚታይ መርህ ያጣ ውንጀላ ፤ የአውሮፓ ህብረትና የአሜሪካ ቅጥ ያጣ ጉትጎታና ከልክ ያለፈ ጫና።

የኢትዮጵያ ጠላቶች ከዚህ የበለጠ ጫና ለመፍጠር ሊሞክሩ ይችላሉ። የሰው ኃይል ፣ የገንዘብና የቁሳቁስ አቅርቦት በማሟላት የበለጠ ጥፋት ለማስከተል 24 ሰዓታት ባለማቋረጥ ሊሰሩ ይችላሉ። ከምንም ጊዜ በላይ ጥንቃቄና አርቆ አስተዋይነት ያስፈልገናል:: ዛሬም እንደ ጥንቱ ተስፋ ያስፈልጋል። ከምንም በላይ አንድነት ያስፈልጋል።

እንደ ኢትዮጵያዊ ከመቼውም ጊዜ በላይ መደራጀትና ለአንድ አላማ መስራት ብቸኛው አማራጫችን ነው::

ከፊታችን የተደቀነው ፈተና መታለፉ አይቀርም። ፈተናዎቹ ቢበዙም ህዝባችን ዛሬም እንደ ጥንቱ በህብረት በመሆን ኢትዮጵያን ሊታደጋት ይገባል። ኢትዮጵያም ማሸነፏ አይቀርም።

በመላው ዓለም ያሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከመቼውም በላይ በህብረትና በብዛት በመሆን ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ሊጮሁና ለኢትዮጵያ ህብረት በትጋት ሊሰሩ ይገባል። ኢትዮጵያ ከመቼውም በላይ ልጆቿን ትሻለች::ሀገራችን ስትጠራን ደግሞ አቤት ማለት ምርጫችን ሳይሆን ግዴታችን ነው። ይህንን ግዴታችንን ጊዜ ሳንወስድ መወጣት አለብን። ሀገራችን የገባችበትን አጣብቂኝ ሁኔታም በሰከነ አዕምሮ መመርመር የግድ ይሏል።

በውጩ ዓለም የምንኖር ሰዎች ብዙ ጊዜ የምንገነዘበው ነገር አለ። በፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች መካከል የሚኖረው ፍጥጫ እጅግ በጣም ከባድ መሆኑን። ፓርቲዎቹ እስከ መጨራሻው የሚነጋገሩ አይመስሉም። የሀገር ጉዳይ ሲመጣ ግል ሁሉም በአንድነት ይቆማሉ። በፖለቲካ አመለካከት መለያየት፤ በሀገር ጉዳይ ግን አንድ መሆን በየትኛውም አለም ያለ ነው። ኢትዮጵያውያንም በሀገር ጉዳይ ላይ ቁርጥ የሆነ አቋም ሊኖረንና ለወደፊቱ ትውልድ የተሻለች ኢትዮጵያን ልናስረክበው ይገባል።

ኢትዮጵያዊነት ይለምልም።

ሰገጤ ነኝ አለች ፤ እኔም ሰገጤ ነኝ

ሰገጤ ነኝ አለች

እኔም ተከተልኳት

እሷ ብቻ አይደለች

እኔም ሰገጤ ነኝ

ስለ ሀገር ማውራቷ

ከልብ መታከቷ

መጮህ መጨነቋ

ኢትዮጵያ ማለቷ

አንተን ካበሳጨህ

አንቺን ካናደደሽ

ችግሩ ካንተው ነው

ፈተናው ያንችው ነው

መድኃኒቱን እወቅ

መፍትሄ ፈልጊ

ሰገጤዎች ጎራ

ብዙ መፍትሄ አለ

ከመፍትሄው ዋናው

ወደርም የሌለው

የኢትዮጵያ ፍቅር

ፍቱን መድኃኒት ነው

 

You are the product of those seconds

 

They keep coming

And going

Minutes after seconds

Hours after minutes

Days after hours

Months after days

And years after months

They keep coming

And going

Notice them or otherwise

They do their routines

As you do yours

Those seconds or minutes
Or the big ones
Make you who you are

As you become who you are
The person you are
And the person others know
To be whom you are

You are the product of

those seconds
the minutes, days and weeks
The months and years

 

Minutes after seconds
Hours after minutes
Days after hours
Months after days
And years after months

They keep coming
And going

Notice them or otherwise
They do their routines
As you do yours

Those seconds or minutes
Or the big ones
Make you who you are
The person you are pic.twitter.com/HgGQH54ifh

— 𝐁𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚 (@BekeleWoyecha) December 26, 2020

The Maikadra massacre - One of the darkest days in Ethiopia

9^th November 2020 was one of the darkest days in the history of Ethiopia. A day when TPLF forces killed hundreds of Ethiopians, who are mostly of Amhara and Wolkait origin, according to eyewitness that gave testimony to Amnesty International and now to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

November 9 brought to light how cruel and merciless TPLF forces are. The cruelty of TPLF is not new for Ethiopians as it has been inflicting atrocities on Ethiopians across the country for over 40 years.  But to go that low even at its eleventh hour shows TPLF is never ready to repent and that it will do everything possible to keep creating havoc in the country. Even though TPLF is at its demise and almost ready for burial, it may continue inflicting pain.

According to the preliminary findings of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, ‘On November 9, 2020, the day of the attack, from around 11:00 AM onwards, the town police started checking identity cards to differentiate people of non-Tigray origin from the rest and raided all the houses/huts, stretching from the neighbourhood known as “Genb Sefer” up to the area called Wolkait Bole (Kebele 1 Ketena 1) which is largely resided by ethnic Amharas. They detained up to 60 people they profiled as Amhara and Wolkait and who were said to use Sudanese SIM cards on their mobile phones and destroyed said SIM cards. Ethiopian SIM cards had already stopped working by then and the motive for confiscating and destroying the Sudanese SIM cards was to prevent any communications or call for help during the attack, according to testimony of the people in the area. Women and children of Tigrayan ethnic origin were made to leave the town a few hours ahead of the attack. On the same day (November 9th , 2020), around 3:00 P.M., the local police, militia and the informal Tigray youth group called “Samri” returned to “Genb Sefer” where the majority of people of Amhara ethnic origin live and began the attack against civilians. According to eyewitnesses and families of victims who spoke with EHRC, the first act committed by the perpetrators was to execute an ethnic Amhara former soldier called Abiy Tsegaye in front of his family and outside his house and set the house on fire. Afterwards, they threw his body into the fire. Residents said Abiy Tsegaye was a former soldier and militia member who had declined a request to re-join the militia as tensions began to rise. They surmise that this might be why he was targeted. The victim’s wife and eyewitnesses have given a detailed account of how the group of perpetrators forced Abiy Tsegaye out of his house and had him shot in front of his family by a local militia and former colleague called Shambel Kahsay, before throwing his body into the raging fire that engulfed their house. The EHRC team also visited said house, still smouldering, and the area around it, still heavy with burned body smoke.’

Full report of The Human Right Commission below 

Yohannes Abraham – Ethiopian American leading the day-to-day operations of Joe Biden’s transition team

 

As Joe Biden is on course to take oath of the US presidency, his transition team has been preparing so as to ensure continuity of government as soon as the president takes power in January 2021. The team will have a series of preparations to have as Joe Biden will take over amid the coronavirus pandemic, the economic challenges and other extremely important stuff that need attention.

One of Joe Biden’s transition team members is Yohannes Abraham, who is leading the day-to-day operation of the transition team and who also served in Barack Obama’s White House for 8 years.

Abraham is one of the Obama lifers who were totally committed to getting things done during the tenure of the former president. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times Valerie Jarrett, one of the most senior advisors of president Obama said, “Abraham was illustrative of many of the early staff, passionate, hard-working, without ego or agenda, determined to help recapture the true honour of public service.”

Abraham’s bond with Obama continued when the president left White House as Abraham served as Senior Advisor at the Obama Foundation, helping to set up the foundation and subsequently as the interim Chief Operating Officer of the foundation. The Ethiopian American who spent 8 years in White House West Wing has a very important role to play as he leads the daily operation of Biden’s transition team.

Abraham a son of Ethiopian immigrants, who was born and raised in Springfield, Virginia is a graduate of Yale College and has been the Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

As Joe Biden said in his victory speech, “America is a country of possibilities”. All that matters is the strive for success and the readiness to go extra miles. Abraham has all it takes.

Ethiopia will be proud of Abraham’s success. It’s more than important to have such an influential White House staffer linked to Ethiopia, the cradle of mankind which is on course to finalising its most important project – The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the building of which was threatened by the outgoing president. The future is promising.

GERD is Ethiopia’s and Africa’s - NOT Trump’s - stay away Mr. President

The Trump administration has been meddling in the internal affairs of many countries for a while, but it has now gone beyond the red line by inciting violence on a sovereign country - Ethiopia.

When the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiation was about to take place in the US, there was hope that Trump’s administration would remain neutral and help only as a convenor of the meetings. That didn’t last long as the administration went from being a convenor to negotiator, deal broker and finally decision maker. All the Trump administration cared was about its own interests and the dignity of the president. For Trump and his administration nobody else matters. For the president, it is all about him. 

The futile attempt by the Trump administration to subdue Ethiopia so that it signed a deal that only favoured Egypt was not successful thanks to the many wise Ethiopians who have been working on the issue for years. Great that Ethiopia rejected a deal that was never a fair deal. Of course, that would have irritated the president and his administration and hence we saw a number of statements by the Trump administration in the run up to the scheduled July dam filling. Whether the Trump administration liked it or not, the job had been done and continues to be done.

On the day Trump was boasting about being a peace maker and deal broker, following the Sudan- Israel normalisation process, he made a gross mistake and made utterly disgraceful comment suggesting that ‘Egypt could blow Ethiopia’s dam’. The president is egocentric and desperate for attention. In so doing, he doesn’t care what his actions and rhetoric could bring on others.

His reckless and totally irresponsible comment about Ethiopia and its flagship project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is unacceptable and extremely dangerous.  In his infamous comment whilst speaking to the leaders of Sudan and Israel, the president brought unrelated item for conversation. He said, “Ethiopia broke the deal which they should not have done. That was a big mistake and we've stopped payment to them.  … They will never see that money unless they adhere to the agreement. They built the dam which stops water from flowing into the Nile and you can't blame Egypt for being a little bit upset. Right? … I had a deal done and then they broke the deal, and they can't do that. They can't do that. So the deal was done and it's a very dangerous situation because Egypt is not going to be able to live that way and they'll end up blowing up the dam and I said it, they say it loud and clear, they blow up that dam.” and he then asked the Prime Minister of Sudan to talk to Ethiopia and said the following about Egypt, “I'm telling Egypt the same thing. By the way they could have stopped it. They should have stopped it long before it was started. I said how do you let it get built and then you say they have a dam?”

When it comes to GERD, Ethiopians do not need lecture from anybody. Ethiopians have paid their money to get the dam to where it is. No foreign pressure will stop it.

Trump administration hands off Ethiopia. #GERD is an African dam and will have an African solution. #ItsMyDam pic.twitter.com/CgQxbeTlKN

— 𝐁𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚 (@BekeleWoyecha) October 23, 2020

 

The president might bow down to pressure from the historical enemies of Ethiopia, but should not expect Ethiopia to bow down. The president may not know that Ethiopia is a sovereign country with proud history. Someone tell this president that Ethiopia was never colonised and that it defeated all the aggressors that tried their chances. Someone give lecture to this president about the Adwa victory and all the previous and subsequent victories over aggressors. Yes, someone advise this president to study history and mind his own business. Ethiopia is not and will not be a remotely controlled country. Ethiopia has a right for a fair use of its waters. The Nile is more than enough for all the countries that contribute to it, not only Egypt. It is more than time for equitable share of the Nile and that is what Ethiopia has been asking and working on.  The American president should stop interfering in a matter where he is not invited. Leave the issue to the African Union and the African leaders. No ifs, not buts.  Stay away from our dam. 

Whatever the Trump administration does to distract the work of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, it will not be successful. Ethiopians will deliver GERD and come out victorious. Trump should know that GERD is a unifier, and any threat or financial sanctions will not deter Ethiopians from their determination to see GERD finalised.

 

Churchill Fellowship – an investment of a lifetime – glad I did it

About 6 years ago, I was keen to have a purposeful travel, study, have some good time, come back, reflect, and use my learning to better myself and my contribution to society. Although I was keen to do all these, I didn’t know how.  I also didn’t have enough resources. As I did some research online, I came across the Churchill Fellowship, the criteria of which I fully met. Hence, I decided to try it. I thought it was better to try and fail than to regret of not having done it. I hence put in my first application in 2014 which was not successful. Although I didn’t make it the first time around, I didn’t lose hope. I used it as an opportunity to learn. I thus decided to wait for some time and try again after organising myself and my application better than the first time around.

In May 2017, I was in the USA doing a short course on leadership in a program entitled the ‘Global Change Agents’ at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University when I received an email from Neil Jameson CBE, the then Executive Director of Citizens UK, encouraging staff members to apply for the fellowship. Neil knows better than most of us about the fellowship as he himself was a fellow in 1977 which helped him to travel to the USA, meet veteran Community Organisers, reflect on Community Organising in the USA and consequently sow the seeds for Community Organising in the UK where he established Citizens UK in 1989. That email from Neil ignited fire in my belly. It encouraged me to rethink and try Churchill Fellowship again. I flagged the email and waited for some time. This time around, I was more purposeful, focused and knew where to concentrate on and why. Luckily, I even know good colleagues who had succeeded with their fellowship, who all advised me to give it a try. I knew what I was going to do if I succeeded. By the time I was about to put in my application,  I was highly involved in Refugees Welcome movement in the United Kingdom and my fellowship was how I could strengthen my understanding of the sector. I organised my application better than the first time around and submitted it in good time

After I had submitted my application, I kept doing some research on what to do, who to meet and when to travel hoping that I would succeed this time around. It was a good dream to dream; hope to hope and aspirations to aspire. Asking myself what if I was awarded? What could I do? Yes, it all paid off. When I got that email from Winston Churchill Memorial Trust notifying me that I was successful, I had the most emotional moment. Cries with emotions. Smiles in the streets. Yes I did it. Although I was preparing myself for the good news, it was still unbelievable. I had in the past been awarded fellowships, but the emotional feeling this time was different. I had, however, to wait for some time to make the news public as per the conditions attached. As a social media enthusiast and keen to share these sort of news to friends and allies, the wait until the embargo was lifted was challenging, but something all fellows had to deal with.

My Churchill Fellowship took me to Canada to study about its decades long Refugee Sponsorship program.  As my fellowship was more focused and around my job responsibilities and interests, the contribution of the fellowship was enormous. The fellowship equipped me with what I needed to know about the Refugee Sponsorship scheme. To see why Canada’s refugee sponsorship program is successful and what we could bring over to the UK and see how we could use the learning to better our Community Sponsorship program. I am now at stage where I can use my Churchill Fellowship learning and my lived experiences to contribute in the Refugee Welcome movement. I was once an asylum seeker, a detainee and had gone through many challenges in my journeys to sanctuary, but the learning in these journeys were instrumental. Hope and perseverance have taken me so far.  I am now director of UK Welcomes Refugees, which is all about Building Community Sponsorship of Refugees Together with others. Lots of credit to my Churchill Fellowship. Glad I did it. It was indeed a blessing.

Please find my Churchill Fellowship report, HERE

It is compassion and safe routes that is needed more

As our TV screens, newspapers and social media outlets bring more and more atrocious news about the worsening refugee crisis, there is a natural call for us to do the decent thing whilst we are still able to do so. All we need is compassion and safe routes, not dehumanising of fellow humans. After all these people are the most vulnerable in our collective human family and deserve our love, empathy, and care as they have already been through lots of hardships.

The desperation of people on the move and their travels through extremely risky situations is a stark reminder that people will take any risk to go out of the situation they are in unless we have safe and legal routes to help them. One of my Syrian friends often says, “You won’t leave home unless home has the mouth of a shark.” If anybody thinks all those taking risks to cross the English channel in dinghies and other smaller boats should have a second thought, what should that be? Die falling into the mouths of sharks or run away to go into the unknown over the known danger? It is very natural to run for safety. Because hope is what almost everybody has. Hoping for better days and life despite all the challenges and sufferings of the day.

I have read and heard many good initiatives and ideas on what could and should be done to address the crisis. The need for being proactive and collaborative. The need for addressing our collective human responsibilities and moral obligations in the sense of urgency and with more plans in the long run.  I have also read and heard many disheartening stuffs in the past few days. As disheartening as the words are, I am not going to repeat them because I don’t believe they represent the country I know is the United Kingdom. Let us not forget that there are many great people in this country who are doing everything possible to support fellow asylum seekers and migrants. People always on the right side of history. I am a living testament and I wholeheartedly believe the good outweighs. I feel blessed to have had the support of many wonderful people in my life.

I grew up listening to the BBC; watching premier league; supporting England in world cup competitions because of the influence of the premier league on me; reading the best of Shakespeare; learning about one of the most civilised democracies and human rights records. Hence coming and seeking asylum in this country was natural for me when I needed protection and had to flee. People have reasons why they take all those perilous journeys. Let us listen to them as well. Let us give chance to fellow humans to rebuild their lives and unpack their potentials. It may take time, but we will be rewarded with all our good investment.

There is also some fact to know about our immigration system because some people think the immigration system to be the softest ever, which is not my experience as many fellow asylum seekers and refugees will testify similarly. There are lots of ups and downs going through the immigration system. It is not all a 4*/5* hotel life as mentioned by some. I have seen the good and the bad of our immigration system.

It is time to rethink. To revisit our system. To check as to when all the safe and legal routes would be open. How we can widen the welcome and meet the expectation and respect Britain has globally. To also make sure people seeking protection are given the protection they deserve. To make sure those stuck in the system are properly dealt with. Yes, calling for more compassion and positive actions. Finding ways to bring wider civil society, businesses, and others on board so that we all contribute to the Refugees Welcome work through schemes like Community Sponsorship of Refugees. It takes us all to change the course. And the time is now.

Rush and Run - Beautiful London

Rush and run

Everybody runs,

Run, run, run.

Nobody says hi,

Or expects same.

They still run,

Rush and run,

Push and pass,

Run on stairs,

On escalators,

In the streets.

Some run down,

Others run up.

Some run in,

Others run out,

Some run east,

While others west.

Still others run

South or north

They all run,

Rush and run

The beauty of rush hours,

The beauty of busyness.

Run, run, run

Always run

Missing the rush hours in the beautiful London.