Thursday, May 5, 2011


Is It a Revolution We Seek?
                     Roman Dynasty declined and finally called it a night without shading a stray of light in to the avenue of the future. It is known that history repeats itself, like a meditative mantra, but by God! It is always destruction that repeats.  This is the great scene of Greek tragedy that keeps repeating like a new play every time Ethiopian empires rise and fall.  This is the saddening spirit of the revolving times. If we do not listen to our own heart and our own calling but rather plunge in, hot headedly, to the abyss of a civil war similar to what we are now seeing in neighboring Arab countries, Ethiopia may once and for all sink in to the Dark Ages.
The Axum Dynasty (100 – 900 AD) crumbled down giving the uprising empire a degraded nation, full of pride, which neither knew how to peacefully retire an old comrade nor appreciate the youth of a new leader. The Axum dynasty left its soul under protection of the prominent religion:- The Orthodox Church,  left the people during those changing times within the hands of churchmen, gave one last fight in the name of thy bravery and passed the throne to the Zagwe Dynasty.  
The Zagwe Dynasty, 1137 to 1270 AD, once on the throne craved of national popularity and royal glamour building Ethiopia anew. Most aristocrats might not agree with this statement, but it’s simply factual and has been The Primitive Nature of Ethiopian dynasties. They tend to rampage through and destruct the nation like a tsunami before trying to rebuild it. I consider it as a very foolish aptitude for any ruling dynasty or party.
During the Zagwe dynasty individual creativity was driven speaking literary or literally in all parables, to extinction.  From then on any art, poetry or sophisticated work of engineering was done for the church or for rulers and was not expected to portray genuine individualism. The coming dynasties or military juntas or superficial democratic governments did not improve on this aspect to any great extent. It was the same pattern of pseudo Ethiopian culture that reverberated through history. This is not enough to become a strong nation. A country lives by the accomplishment of each person and shines by the creativity of every individual. I do believe that Ethiopians need yet to discover 2000 years worth of innovative creativity and self discovery through self analysis. The other alternative is to follow, blind eyed to our dying soul and civilization, the modern shepherd which we all know as western civilization.  
 The Zagwe dynasty like an abandoning father or a betrayed son (which so ever you choose to accuse) left the country, my country – Ethiopia to the wolves. These wolves, by blood and bone pure Ethiopians, knew of one clearly written ancient manual of French Colonialism in North Africa: The Divide and Rule Theory. It is very hard to pinpoint who, in history, came up with this political concept.  History can ascertain such queries as irrelevant; it doesn’t bring any crop to the fields to ask who was responsible for coming up with degrading constructs or concepts. The fruit of the seed is, when applied, this disintegrating idea, had devastating and lasting effects on both North African nations and to speak subjectively; Ethiopia’s nations and nationalities. This political propaganda of ruling a clan and not a nation, ruling an ethnicity and not a whole country gave the Ethiopian kings a wealthy life rid of duty. On the contrary it left a skeptical or worse yet cynical Ethiopian to ferment from the grotto. So yes, our problems resemble Arab countries like Libya’s, Tunisia’s and the whole Middle East’s; as if these problems were concocted by the same sorcerer.
The same card was played by the Solomon Dynasty which ruled from 1262 to 1974. In its history the dynasty had a sudden decline for about 100 years known as the Z’mene Mesafint. During this time the nation disintegrated and the wolves benefited with the divide and rule concept. The same fist of destruction which history saw being used by The Zagwe dynasty was followed by an attempt to reconstruct the nation. Soon came the fall of the Solomon Dynasty by the Dereg regime.
This military junta (Dereg), during the 1970’s and 80’s, brought fear upon the people. It was so destructive and not much was left from the previous dynasty.  This obviously was not new to Ethiopia. It was the same Greek tragedy. At the present this beautiful nation is under a so called democratic government.
Ethiopia as a nation was always one. Through time the diverse cultures and languages and ethnicities that color the country where used against the people to disintegrate it. There were many who fought for the unity of our country and who sacrificed their lives so we can have one great nation.
 I believe that, historically speaking, the war which brought the EPDRF (Ethiopian’s People Democratic Revolution Front) to power and the fall of the Dereg regime resembled the same war the Middle East and other Arab countries are burning in at the present. We are now twenty years ahead of these nations. In the past fifty years we have seen two revolutions. For most Arab nations this is their first revolution since the end of colonialism. This is the capital difference between Ethiopia and Middle East.
Here in America, still holding the polluted notion of a nation, democracy exits.  Any foreigner (third world immigrant or refugee or visitor), in the general terms of understanding but without complete acceptance, acknowledges the monumental democratic rights given by so many great nations including America to their citizens. But there (nostalgia makes such statements really hard), in Ethiopia, the path to democracy is long and filled with dreadful consequences; so potentially alarming that the fight to gain the democratic nation will unjustly ruin the existing civilization. It’s a fact no nation was found democratic. And some might argue at the present time civilization doesn’t exist in Ethiopia. None the less we must come to terms with what we really want. Is it a revolution we seek? Haven’t each of us seen enough blood bath from such forsaken and sickening so called revolutions costing us a beloved’s life? Should we even consider the now ruling government our enemy?
The uprising that is swallowing the Arab nations is a long overdue rebel act by their citizens. They are fighting for their path to a civilized nation. Thus far it is their battle and not ours. The question should not be whether the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East affect us. Inevitably it will.  Question is, “Are the problems they are fighting for similar to our ever pressing needs?”  Will it further our democracy or send us back to another civil war? Should we give ear to the domino effect of such an uprising? It is so near to Ethiopia geographically; but is it not so farfetched a solution for our beloved nation and the cries of the people?
                                                                                                            Biruk Eyesus
                                                                                                            Friday, April 22, 2011 

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sunday

It's Sunday and a breezy air slowly embraces Chicago. I'm off from work but yet Sunday came with it's own burden. Thoughts  lingering inside my head kept distracting my mood, leading it to be upset. But on a Sunday nothing lead anywhere. I woke up in a good mood and the very day started to stiffen my senses as i went out side and met the new air of that is reminding us fall is coming. It's telling us to acknowledge the unsurprisingly cold comfort of fall.  My thoughts started to scatter like the fallen yellow  leaves  pleasantly pushed by the wind of my uneasiness. With out a clue as to why, I kept getting irritated by the very thought of the shift that is surrounding me. I tend to accept my surrounding as the cause for this seamless change of character within me. I blame the day itself for the shift that's not directed in any way.
        Friends and families of me are in their own world. some are near within the reach of a bus stop while some are  across an Atlantic and deep in the wild black continent. They are  fluctuating with in their own orbits and calculatingly returning back to where they should be. In some sense or another. Some are sad while others are smiling. I'm in Chicago, outdoor in the streets with falling leaves; and houses with brownish fade surrounding them.  I plan to meet a friend today, not  right away though, at least not until late in to the afternoon.
       Quite oddly I'm off and its Sunday.
        I mean, a line cook like me never gets an off on a Sunday. So a day off quite simply becomes out of place and as the day slowly moves on, uncomfortable. I feel slightly cold from the wind that embraces Chicago like an old friend who's ever presence is never welcome enough. I keep getting lost in wondering thoughts. I run in the boundaries of thoughts seeking answers that raised questions which not only where responsible for me to think my reasons for thinking where incorrectly guided. mistakes...why is it so silent, Yesterday was a bad mistake... my actions were uncorrectable... Tomorrow I'll have to go to work...  that's inevitable. I'm about to be hit with a very bad headache ... it's lurks and  slowly creeps in with the revolving thoughts. It's about time; I have to stop. "Step out of it-Biruk!" I told myself. I took a deep breath. It can only go down from here unless i distract my self with an adventure.  What a better day to grant one with an adventure that brings me hopefully ... a certain self composure or a serene but distracted clam than a Sunday afternoon meeting a good fried over an Ethiopian coffee.

"Ramatohara" - a critic about the book

The book "Ramatohara" is the second part of Yesemaeke's "Dertogada". This writting is a reflection about "Ramatohara" and what I noticed about it. Its written in Amharic. I know that some might not agree with my perspective so feel free to give your comment.
To read click
ramatohara_tichet

Essay on "The King's Speech" the Movie

I was prompted by a good friend to do this essay. It was done right after i saw the movie. I'm hoping you have watched the movie. Please do comment about it.
To read click

Sebele

This is my first short story.

It has a beginning and it is a simple single scene. It is set in Chicago. I wrote it with some gaps in it. I have either found them unnecessary to fill, or are in the hands of the reader to add to the story. I hope the message is clear.

It's written in Amharic. click on SEBELE to read.

Sebele