Until the demise of feudal monarchy in 1974, Ethiopia has long been ruled by alternating monarchical regimes that unashamedly considered themselves as �Elects of God� and not accountable to their own peoples, their subjects. Consequently, a ruthless and doctrinaire Marxist regime subjugated the Ethiopian people for almost two decades, beginning in 1974 and lasting up until May 1991, when it was toppled by the TPLF/EPRDF rebel movement(s). Till then, democracy as a form of government as well as a way of life were absolutely unknown in the country, thus lacking a democratic orientation in the society�s political culture that is said to be essential for implanting, nurturing and sustaining a well- functioning and stable democracy as a political system with all the necessary institutions and mechanisms in place.

�The democratic method� or democratic civic culture refers to the �behaviours, practices, and norms that define the ability of people to govern themselves� [Diane Ravitch]. The key question here is the extent to which a particular society has a democratic orientation or what Schumpeter (1947:294-5) calls �democratic self-control� in its political culture. The implication is that it is not easy to establish and sustain a democratic political system in a society that lacks the political culture and historical experience to nurture democratic institutions. It is taking into consideration the above factors that I shall attempt to tackle some of the crises that confront us today in our struggle to implant, build, nurture and sustain democratic development in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia today, owing to our recent and nasty brush with multi-party democracy, politics has gone awry: it has gone from dirty to "muddy" and from a sometimes criminal to an all times "suicidal", confined not only to the art and science of political competition for public office as normally expected but pervading all walks of life, including community associations, churches, professional groups, independent scholars, NGOs, etc. There is much evidence for the suicidal nature of Ethiopian politics if we begin to reflect on the past decade or so, and the present political climate in Ethiopia. But no matter how bad and suicidal Ethiopian politics has become over the past several years, many politicians, whether members of the ruling party or the opposition, and supporters of both camps, are just not willing to forego the old habits of hostility, hatred, arrogance, intolerance for dissent and for differences of opinion, belligerence and trickery and cheatings in favour of fair dealings (a level-playing field), whether the political theatre is at home in Ethiopia or in foreign lands.

The ongoing debates between supporters of the incumbent party and government and those in the opposition bloc, just on the eve of the fourth national elections to take place in 2010, do not still reflect any respect for one another�s views and opinions. They are mostly negative and hateful, indicating a complete lack of understanding and consensus on a number of crucial national issues among the protagonists in the nation�s political arena even after 17 years of constructive engagement and working together in the national parliament. There is a lot of acrimony, hostility and mistrust between the opposition bloc and the ruling party and the latter�s so-called �allied political organizations�. Despite 2000 years of Christian teaching that admonishes a Christian to turn the right cheek when someone smites his/her left cheek, this sort of meek behaviour is seldom appreciated or acceptable and thus unthinkable among human beings, whether Christians or not, most of all, amongst �worldly� politicians. As Newton�s Third Law of Motion, �every action has an opposite and equal reaction,� social behaviour is also reciprocal; you reap what you sow, so to speak. By their very nature public debates are rancorous and conflictual.

Reflecting on ancient Athens, the philosopher James Harrington, a contemporary and follower of Hobbes, remarked that he could think of �nothing more dangerous� than �debate in a crowd.� Once you provoke negative and hateful emotions in others, you have to expect similar negative and unpalatable reactions from the other side, sometimes double-fold and even more. But why? Why can�t we conduct public debates and criticisms with utmost civility and due respect for one another�s views and positions, however divergent our differences in ideology may be, and leave the verdict to the people, if our aims are indeed to serve the people and not ourselves�to seize political power as a means to an end, the end being not to snatch power for power�s sake but to deliver goods and services to our people. The �war of words� and the tit-for-tat correspondence that we often observe on numerous websites and print/broadcasting media is reminiscent of the politics of the student days of the 1960s and 1970s at the then Haile Sellasie University of Addis Abeba. Nothing seems to have changed for the better after more than four decades or so; no meaningful social transformation seems to have occurred over such a long period of time amongst the elites of the country, whether they live at home or abroad. �Can an Ethiopian change the colour of his skin?� Can a leopard take away its spots?�, says the Bible, Old Testament (Jeremiah 13:23; I wish it also said the same thing about our rigid character and mentality as well, because this is the most persisting malaise that has become part and parcel of our character and way of life. Sadly, we seem doggedly resistant to change and to adopt democratic values and a political culture of tolerance. And this brings us to the leadership crises resulting from politics of confrontation and hatred spilling over to the circles of intellectuals, independent scholars, community associations, churches and other NGOs in general.

The first structural crisis emanates from the complete distrust of the current regime by some groups at home and abroad as being anti-Ethiopian and bent on tearing apart the nation along ethnic lines, thus seriously questioning the legitimacy of the ruling party and government. The government of Meles Zenawi has been, and still is, vehemently condemned by these groups as being �tribalistic� and labelled as a minority Tigrean regime allegedly favouring Tigreans in particular and TPLF/EPRDF party members in general by appointing them in key government posts massively over and above others. A well known scholar and so-called Ethiopianist Christopher Clapham has also subscribed to this line of thinking when he recently made similar remarks via the Ethiopiamedia website in an article entitled, �Comments on the Ethiopian Crisis,� where he states:

�The EPRDF has never been able to rid itself of the sense that this is essentially a Tigray government. Though it has selected ministers from a wide range of nationalities, the core

of the regime has always lain in the TPLF that created it�.�

These are indeed harsh words for a party that has established a broad-based coalition government by co-opting political elites from the major ethnic communities of the country and that claims running a multi-nation federal state based solely on equality, proportionality, democratic principles and balanced economic growth for all regions and all ethnic groups throughout the country, without favouring any particular region or ethnic group. Be this as it may, let us ask ourselves some simple questions regarding the TPLF/EPRDF�s appointment policy and political practice. Firstly, does the TPLF/EPRDF government make appointments in its core basing on nationality or ethnic criteria? And, secondly, is this really an insufferable problem for us? And I will say, definitely YES! To the first question and a resounding NO! to the second one. Why?

As widely accepted practice worldwide confirms, leadership is like a family�it goes with trust. Anybody in a position of power must always put key positions into the hands of people he/she trusts, and can trust, that is, from his/her own political party and/or ethnic group. In fact if you look carefully at the governments of modern democracies they do exactly the same thing the TPLF/EPRDF government does in Ethiopia today. When President Bill Clinton of the USA came to power, most of the people occupying key posts in the Administration came from the Democratic Party and in particular from Arkansas, Bill Clinton�s birthplace. The current leadership in the same nation has most people from the Republican Party and specifically from Texas, President George W. Bush�s home state. It just makes sense for a president or prime minister to have the people he/she both knows and trusts come from his/her political party and in particular from his his/her home area or those he/she can trust based on his/her previous knowledge about them. Nobody was disappointed and accusatory when President John F. Kennedy appointed his own brother Robert Kennedy as Attorney General of the United States of America during his term.

Since a president or prime minister does not/cannot appoint everybody in leadership, the upper appointed people go to recruit people to work for them, again the trust kicks in a second round and another round and another round down to the lowest position of political appointment (mind you, I am not talking about the civil service area which must reflect, as far as possible, the multi-ethnic character of the federation and in fact affording utmost priority to the hitherto marginalized ethnic groups of the country). Yes, some appointments can, and should be, made from out of the incumbent leader�s party or home state, more so in a multi-ethnic and plural society such as ours, but the core leadership always comes from the same birthplace or home area of the topmost leader. Today if I am elected a prime minister of Ethiopia or to any other senior position in government, surely, the people to assume positions of political appointment and who are assigned to work under me will come from my native area in the South or from amongst my close friends I know and trust to do a good job. For I know and trust them and we have the same call almost, and they know other people from again their birthplaces or elsewhere who can be trusted to do a good job. The rest of Ethiopians will trickle into this Administration as recommended again by the people directly under me. I am not going to be sworn in as a President or Prime Minister and look in a phone book to get a name out of the Amhara or Tigrai or Somali or Afar, etc., region for a Deputy President or Prime Minister. That will not happen for I know no one in those regions for crying out loud. And I am not going to base my critical decisions on an Ethiopian I do not know for he/she is from some other region, and I do not want to be seen �tribalistic�, so to speak.

The danger we have in Ethiopia today is the lack of a democratic political order, good governance, an accountable leadership and an effective, efficient and people-centred bureaucracy, further exacerbated by lack of stringent rules and regulations, and deficiency in the respect of law and order. We need to create a permanent system in Ethiopia so that those elected and appointed Ethiopian officials must be screened through and function from in a transparent manner based on merit. Our leaders must have a right to choose everybody and any people they want to serve with but we have a right to select a system how they lead us. Let me explain. If we have a system in Ethiopia where a law states that corruption is a crime that law must affect me as person from, say Tigrai or Amhara or Oromia or Kambata, etc., as it affects a brother or a son of a president or prime minister. For we are all Ethiopians. That law must be permanent, so governments will come and governments will go but that system must stay; it must be there. So in essence, the leadership of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will come to power through fair, free and credible elections and many key positions of power at the federal level will be held by the TPLF/EPRDF party cadres or supporters but they will be guided by a law which states that corruption is a crime. Tomorrow, Abadula Gemeda or Girma Birru may come to the topmost leadership instead of Meles Zenawi, and many Oromos and OPDO/EPRDF cadres or supporters will be appointed to key positions of power, and the system will tell them that corruption is a crime and they will strictly abide by that system. And, so on and so forth. And in all those examples, anyone who gets arrested for corruption faces the same system for punishment. It does not matter whether you are from Tigrai or Amhara or Oromia, or SNNP, etc., ; a son of the president or prime minister, or a non-Ethiopian for that matter. The law remains the law.

We have two areas that must be addressed immediately in our country. We need to create a permanent and transparent civil service system and a credible electoral system; the latter will undoubtedly do away with most of the lamentations of opposition political parties once and for all. Secondly, we as Ethiopians need to demand that our leaders respect those created systems and laws. If the son of a president or prime minister becomes corrupt we must demand his arrest. And note I used a term �demand�, not ask.

The federal administration of Ethiopia is in Addis Abeba, there is no debate on that, and we are going to get all kinds of people to lead our nation. Leaders will come from all parts of Ethiopia and they will come with all sorts of people to work with them in the powerful positions. We have absolutely no control about that but we can decide how they should lead us. What kind of leadership do we want from our leaders? Let us get the answer to this important question and then use that answer to build the system that must be followed by all of them. It really frustrates me so much whenever I talk to an Ethiopian and he/she tells me how the TPLF/EPRDF, or simply �woyane/ehadeg�, monopolizes all key positions of power: prime minister, ministers, army commanders, security chiefs, diplomatic posts, etc. And I respond: Good for them; they are after all Ethiopians and so are entitled to the right of leadership in our nation. They did/have/ not come from Mars. If Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is comfortable with them why should anybody care? But what I want to know is very simple: Are they elected through fair, free and credible elections in the first place? Again, can a TPLF/EPRDF cadre or official be corrupt and the system picks him/her up from Addis Abeba and takes him/ her to Kerchiele or Qaliti prison? Do the courts of law in Ethiopia treat this TPLF/EPRDF member or official the same way as they treat another citizen or they tend to close one eye and he/she walks away scot-free? If the latter ever happens, mark my words, it will be multiplied a thousand-fold in terms of utmost animosity and demonic hatred not only for the top leader but for the entire ethnic group from which the leader hails, however much that may sound unreasonable. This must be avoided at all costs and the necessary legal and similar other institutional safeguards must be put in place, as such malpractices will surely result in mass discontent and instability.

Creating an effective and workable democratic system in Ethiopia is a war all of us as Ethiopians can, and should, win but a northerner prime minister appointing northerners to key posts of power and employing security guards for his/her own personal security? Do not even think about it for it will happen every day of your lifetime even if an Amhara or an Oromo or any other ethnic leader replaces Prime Minister Zenawi in the future.

And it is clearly what is happening in the daily lives of many nations around the world today. If you had gone to Canada a few years ago you could have noticed that most of the powerful people in Ottawa were all French from Quebec, coming along with Premier Bourassa, himself a Quebecan, freely elected by the people of Canada. Did Canadians complain about that? NO! But they would have complained bitterly if Bourassa�s son was corrupt and not picked up by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Finally, the problem in Ethiopia today is that it is a nation without an effective and efficient governance system to keep some of those overzealous people from the TPLF/EPRDF in order, especially some of those from the police and security forces who hasten to first kick or imprison, or even shoot, and ask questions later.

The second crisis is caused by the destructive role played by some groups of our intellectuals/scholars in the Diaspora. As everyone may understand and appreciate, it is scholars who have deep knowledge in their respective areas of intellectual pursuit and specialization. It is indeed scholars who speak the truth in the cause of the downtrodden masses. It is scholars who often have the gut and courage to speak up the truth and who put their lives on the line for its cause. Yes, it is the scholars who give intellectual guidance in a society and for a society---intellectual guidance for all, foes and friends alike. After all, it is the scholars who have the foresight that transcends all borders--ethnic, racial, political, religious, etc. affiliations and numerous other parochial tendencies and leanings that characterize our human lives. The question that one may pose to these Ethiopian scholars at home and in the Diaspora is this: Why take sides and get embroiled in partisan politics when, in fact, most of them do not belong to any political party/parties as full-fledged members? Why don't they rebuke, admonish, and even encourage and support both the ruling party and the opposition parties when that is what they think is appropriate, and that is what they think the latter deserve? Why don't they try to offer their invaluable intellectual guidance to all---the ruling party, the opposition parties and the society at large? Why foment hate politics and whip up ethnic hatred amongst our multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society? What benefits to reap, fellow compatriots? Just go back and reminisce the recent past, that is: The incarceration of more than 100 CUD leaders and supporters, the death of 199 people (including six policemen) and the injury of around 763 innocent citizens, and the destruction of public and private property worth many millions of birr in the riots that followed the third national elections, riots and disturbances mostly instigated and sponsored by our intellectuals in the Diaspora? This is the most unforgettable outcome of the relentless campaigns and efforts of our scholars who unashamedly fretted hard to make or break our national politics from far off foreign lands. What a tragedy! Why don't our scholars try to stand up for the cause of truth that serves our people and our country as a whole instead of hurling scathing attacks and condemnations against the ruling party only? Why don't they criticize the many follies and frailties of the opposition also? Further, why foment acrimony and hatred amongst the protagonists in the country's political arena instead of trying to offer guidance or advice  that may assist to bridge the rift amongst the contending groups, with the aim of discouraging confrontations and encouraging a political culture of tolerance towards sustainable democratisation? Isn't this the utmost duty and obligation of our independent intellectuals/scholars at home and abroad? Why propagate ideas and advance political positions that may only add fuel to the already burning fire and thus hasten our own self-destruction? No one group (or groups) will benefit from such a hostile environment? It is the poor masses who suffer in the end, not the scholars/intellectuals who most often the time board a plane and flee to their safe havens in America or Europe when domestic politics goes awry. This is what worries most farsighted and patriotic Ethiopians at home and abroad.

The third crisis is attributable to a few community associations and splinter Coptic Orthodox Churches/congregations in foreign lands. Although a few of them have been performing spectacular activities for their members in particular and for their country in general, most of these institutions seem to be bent on pursuing destructive goals. As most of us are well aware, since the last decade or so, it has virtually become quite difficult for Ethiopians who work abroad at Ethiopian embassies, including their family members and, all supporters of the ruling party and government who work elsewhere as well, at times, to be wholeheartedly welcomed at community association meetings, congregations of splinter Coptic Orthodox churches and at other similar functions. Their rights of affiliation with the community associations and Christian congregations as Ethiopians have been of no consequence, as they have been perceived as stooges and spies of the incumbent government and party attempting to infiltrate these institutions to glean information on potential enemies of the government. The incumbent government and party, on the other hand, has time and again unambiguously declared that its enemies are no one and nothing else but the scourges of poverty, diseases, lack of good governance and the absence of a well-functioning democracy and deficiency in the rule of law. Whatever the case, one may wonder why social and religious organizations formed to cater to the material and spiritual welfare and needs of Ethiopians residing in foreign countries would be concerned with infiltration at all. What is there, in the first place, to be gleaned from such economic migrants and those who have left their country of birth in search of greener pastures in foreign lands, and not because of their irreconcilable political differences and hostility with the ruling party? What is there to be obtained from church leaders who have gone to those countries to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to convert the 'lost souls' to the Word of God? For God's sake, let us all speak up against this ludicrous and nonsensical mentality. Be this as it may, the crucial questions that must be asked at this point are these: Did the associations, churches and the NGOs or their leadership have any objectives beyond a social, spiritual or welfare nature in the first place? What are the yardsticks for measuring potential infiltrators? Would only the embassy staff qualify as infiltrators, or would any persons who worked for a public agency in Ethiopia, regardless of the government in power, be qualified as infiltrators? Would persons affiliated with other Ethiopian political parties/dissident rebel groups such as CUD, UEDF, EPRP, AESM (MEISON), MEDHIN, AEUP, EDP, OLF, ONLF, EPPF, ANLF, etc., to name only a few, also qualify as infiltrators as well? Or, is it only members of the ruling party and government, its civil servants and other supporters who qualify to be infiltrators? Your answers to these questions may be as good as mine, but as a long time observer of the functioning of many community associations, splinter Coptic Orthodox congregations and similar civic groups operating in many cities in Africa, Asia, Europe and America and run by Ethiopians, I can tell you that these organizations have yet to graduate from this kind of utterly silly, ridiculous and weird ideas and approach or to egalitarian and accommodative mentality and spirit, and new and potential member reception for the good of these institutions, their members and, above all, for the image, unity and dignity of their compatriots in the Diaspora and their ancestral homeland. Why would we indulge in activities that split our own compatriots because of their association with a certain regime, political party, ethnic group or religion? Why tear apart Ethiopians along such misguided and parochial attitudes and outlooks of discord, animosity and belligerence? Why force people to seek protection and security in their narrowly defined family confines and 'ethnic/clan tents' and not in their common citizenship and legitimate state authority? Where are we heading, anyway? And with such attitude, it is no wonder the associations, churches and the other NGOs, including such welfare associations as Idir, Iqub, Mahber, etc. have continued, and still continue, to experience splits, brawls, and one leadership crisis after another crisis non-stop.

For, technically, almost every adult Ethiopian in the Diaspora has affiliated at one time or another with the various past and present political parties and progressive groups in Ethiopia, and/ or worked directly for the past or present government or both. Now, which administration of the government of Ethiopia one works for, or worked for, may not matter much as each administration since the days of Emperor Haile Sellassie I to Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has got a paper trail of unsavoury records, even if they differ in intensity and degree. So, unless a potential member was convicted of a capital crime or other heinous offences for which he/she is likely to tint or tarnish the public image of the community association or NGO (keep such members in the background), every Ethiopian residing abroad should be welcomed to join the association and similar such groupings with open arms. Otherwise, the community associations and NGOs would continue to deprive themselves of quality leadership, cohesion and continuity, and a boost in membership and economic power by former Ethiopian government officials, professionals and scores of ordinary Ethiopians in the Diaspora who may be put off the constant infightings and bickering, or who may continue to shy away from these organizations and their activities for fear of being unfairly targeted by some self-righteous persons whose very social and political history leaves a lot to be desired. The associations and NGOs must refrain from prejudging people for their past or present social and political affiliations, and embrace each member or potential member with utmost respect as a way of restoring confidence in community leadership, and promoting peace and understanding among the rank and file membership of the associations and NGOs in order to advance the latter's growth and development. The infightings and ethnic, religious or class rivalries within these institutions ought to stop so that they can begin to undertake meaningful programmes for the welfare of their members.

The fourth crisis arises out of our misguided mentality of fretting to start everything anew or from the scratch and our inability to deal with the past leaders. We have been told and retold that the problem of our country lies in our past leaders. Emperor Haile Sellasie I, Mengistu Haile Mariam and their erstwhile supporters have often been demonized. Till now they and/or their children have never had the opportunity to extricate themselves and their forebears. Even if they could, we have already �crucified� them. We have virtually distanced ourselves from them, denied a world renowned statesman and one of the founding fathers of the OAU Emperor Haile Sellasie a dignified public burial ceremony and even left his sons and daughters lead degrading life in exile abroad. The names of the previous leaders get dragged into every criminal affair and economic failure, the sole purpose of which is to humiliate and make them part of the problem. This has been done in such a way that whenever their names are brought into context it actually has the effect of reducing the burden of the current regime/leaders and their henchmen to account for their own questionable activities. As most of us who lived in Ethiopia during the Derg era were well aware, gross human rights violations took place with disturbing regularity in Ethiopia throughout the 17 years of that brutal regime. The Derg in collaboration with its cadres unleashed a reign of terror, mass murder, torture and killings. � It was said that between 100 and 150 people were being killed every night in the capital Addis Abeba during the �Red Terror� purges of the late 1970s. Victims� bodies were left lying on the streets and relatives were forced to pay for the bullets that caused the death of their loved ones. Mengistu�s security forces tortured political prisoners, dipping bodies in hot oil, raping and inserting bottles and heated metals in bodies of female prisoners.� Violations however have not, of course, been a monopoly of state officials and their functionaries. Widespread atrocities were also perpetrated as much by various political organizations and armed rebel groups fighting against the military regime (�Derg�) as by the security forces, the police, the cadres and the so-called �revolutionary guards� of the junta. While human rights violations due to factional skirmishes and killings amongst political organizations and rebel movements were rampant throughout the country.

Today, everyone likes to say, �Mengistu did this�, and the �Derg did that.� But the truth is Mengistu and the Derg alone did very little. Mengistu was a world class tyrant and the Derg was a blood-thirsty brutal regime, yes, but the evil done and the atrocities perpetrated by the Derg regime, from the �Bermuda� secret detention and torture chambers to the �Red Terror� barbarous killings were all done by Ethiopian citizens who were afraid to question if what they were told by their government and their superiors inside political organizations was the truth or not, and who, because they did not want to admit to themselves that they were afraid to question the government and their masters, refused to see the truth behind that hollow and bankrupt slogan of �revolutionary Ethiopia or death!,� did not have the moral courage to stand up against the mass killings and tortures perpetrated upon their fellow Ethiopians�sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, etc.�now simple statistics and framed in black at every home, and followed Mengistu and his junta into absolute national disaster because of their subservience to tyranny. For instance, could the fascistic Hawzien massacre have taken place if those air force pilots ordered to bomb those innocent citizens at the Hawzien marketplace have refused to obey their masters� orders? No! But the vexed question that arises now is this: Are we the current rulers and their supporters answerable and accountable for our part in the human rights violations that are perpetrated upon our people today? Is the rule of law upheld and respected throughout our country? Do we admit our wrong-doings or misdeeds in public and apologize publicly for these follies? Do we bring to justice all those who perpetrate human rights violations and who compromise our constitutional rights and freedoms? Do we the ordinary citizens have the moral courage to criticize our government when it infringes our basic human rights and fundamental freedoms? Do we have the gut to stand up for our rights and say no to any superiors� orders that undermine the human rights, political and civil liberties of our people? These questions have to be answered in the affirmative if we want to shape a better future for ourselves and our children, and stop blaming the �dead�.

   Finally, the struggle for democracy, human rights and the rule of law and market economy is bound to take a long time before it takes root and bear fruits, as these �values� are still the hardest thing to import and to modify. We can learn new techniques or acquire new knowledge, but it is notoriously difficult to adopt a behavior that is based on values that are foreign to one�s society. Societies� fundamental values evolve gradually, and the introduction of new values is always faced by traditional reflexive reactions. Furthermore, this struggle should not be conceived only in terms of a struggle over the distribution of wealth, power and private accumulation but also the creation of commonwealth by mobilizing all sections of the population beyond ethnic, religious, political, etc. divides in order to improve the living standards of the majority of the population, to enlarge the �national pie� that we all must share equitably, so speak. Above all, the struggle for political power must not be taken as an end by itself but as a means to an end, the end being the welfare and betterment of the whole society by designing correct, feasible and people-cantered political, economic and social policies and programmes, and implementing them efficiently and effectively. All in all, let us be cognizant of the stark reality in Ethiopia today: Our prime enemies are abject poverty, diseases, massive unemployment, lack of good governance, the absence of a robust rule of law and democracy, and currently hunger and famine among many millions of our people in many parts of the country. We have no other enemies than these and let us not fret to create more enemies for ourselves, real or imagined. Regimes and political parties come and go; they are transient. The Ethiopian state and its peoples, I hope, will always be there. Let us endeavor for a better future of our country and its peoples. Let us all struggle in unison to alleviate these perennial scourges of humanity in Ethiopia. And if we sincerely love our people and our country, can we prove our words with deeds by mobilizing funds and other humanitarian assistance for the hungry and famine-stricken citizens of our country? Can we prove our much-talked about Ethiopian patriotism in this time and hour of material need, irrespective of our political, ethnic, religious and other differences, and reach out to save our people? For God and Our Country!