My article is a
heart-cry in a ruinous age about our attitude to our culture. What I am
witnessing is, in my opinion exactly what the apostle Paul warned Timothy
against: �For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound
doctrine, but following their own desires, will surround themselves with
teachers who tickle their ears. They will stop listening to and will
wander off to fables� (2 Tim.4: 3, 4).
Ethiopia in history is noted in terms of keeping its
traditional values and paying huge sacrifice to preserve its precious
traditional heritages and secure its existence as a sovereign nation. Call
it far-fetched, or impractical, our culture plays an important role in the
spin of Ethiopian history. It serves as a force of our survival and
inspiration and will continue to give much more in the future if we keep
it safely and adhere it strictly.
When I say Ethiopian culture, it includes all Ethiopian
people traditions despite religion and ethnic background. The universal
culture of Ethiopians revolves around the following golden ideals:
1. To walk humbly with our God
2. To do justice and to love kindness
3. Defending our dignity and country
4. Respecting our parents, elders and others.
5. Reconciliation and tolerance, etc.
At this juncture, the very roots of Ethiopia are in
danger. The new generation has become less fond for his precious values
under the assumption that Ethiopian culture is backward and incompatible
for modern times and this kind of attitude is prevailing in our society
and that�s why people are becoming lovers of self, lovers of pleasure.
However, this argument is unwise and utterly baseless. The core values we
have created are the secret for our country and her people continuous
existence to present day. If it were not that, our history would have been
different at this time.
If we measure our culture in terms of its aptitude of
gratifying material wealth, I think that's an attempt to dilute the
meaning of what immortal culture means. We cannot measure any society
progress solely by material wealth it possesses. People want very much for
a higher meaning to life than the quest for material stuff. So to avoid
this problem, a fundamental improvement of religious and moral standards
is necessary. As people we have to see clearly where Ethiopia stands and
what we must do.
The nation that made a great contribution to the world
is fighting for its
very existence at this time I can say. If we slacken to reverse this
terrifying situation, our country would lose everything. In other words,
the very roots of its development, that have borne so much fruit over 3
millennia, would be lost. So let's return to the ancestry
foundation of our strength, teaching that �man does not live by
bread alone.�
I can�t understand why this generation failed to
appreciate the untainted culture he inherits. Our fathers paid huge
sacrifice to preserve our traditional values we are proud of now and kept
the unity of our beloved country. We know that there is no society with
out flaw. Americans have great respect to their founding fathers not
because they were faultless, but largely because they kept the integrity
of the country, which became later the base for their social progress we
are witnessing now.
This generation must understand that merely cursing the
past monarchial social system and adulating alien ideology will not solve
our deeply rooted social problems. By the way, did we provide any thing to
our people that make us proud at this time? Perhaps. But, by me, let alone
doing that, we can�t even keep safely what we inherited from our
ancestors. So we must admit our failure and stop seeing our past history
based on western/eastern approach because our experience is different from
them. So let�s pay undivided attention to our rich long-established
values and use it properly instead of yearning western values that are
taking its people to the path of paganism.
In my lifetime, I saw Ethiopian culture in action in
two most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances that
elevating our dignity above anything and saving our country from
crumbling.
1) During the infamous (1984-1985) famine, hundreds of
thousands of famine victims flocked to Sudan to save their lives. Besides
the horrible famine image, the western media crew also planned to film a
wicked drama with their TV camera when the famine stricken people fighting
over food supplies and even looting. They thought the starved people would
scramble like vultures on dead animal. How ever, my people did not succumb
to their devious wish. Instead, they got their portion peacefully and
their dignity stood tall more than any thing before the so-called western
journalists. The media people were astonished by what they had seen. To
them that particular event was tantamount to a violation of natural law.
Then some thing sprang to their mind like this: �Who are these people
who give priority to their dignity while they are on the brink of death?�
They learned some thing that Ethiopians never as weak as they look even at
their trial times to guard their self-esteem and that experience etched in
the reporters� memory forever. I do not know if any other people/culture
could do the same thing at its trial time.
2) The other scenario was when the Dergue government
was replaced by EPRDF. For some days there was no functional government in
our capital city, but there was no unusual circumstance in the country.
People were doing their business as usual and even the humiliated and
defeated Ethiopian army was begging for a bread or Injera, while he had a
weapon in his hand, from his fellow Ethiopians. In practice, He can
plunder and force people to satisfy his needs, but did not bring himself
down to that shameful acts. Moreover, westerners were predicting Ethiopia
would/could be 2nd to Liberia in terms of lawlessness and chaos, but our
traditions pulled the country out of presumed turmoil. This shows that to
what extent our culture is civilized and powerful in protecting Ethiopia
and her people from havoc & disintegration. That�s why I say always
we Ethiopians must preserve and protect our dear culture from any thing
that infect our golden values.
Right now our country has become the victim of two
devils. The rift within political and religious leaders has been widening
from time to time and as a whole immorality becomes rampant among both
clergy and the so-called political leaders. Our politicians are busy in
the affairs of their personal interests than the affairs of the Ethiopian
people. At the same time, some religious leaders are also sliding away
from the firm foundation of our church. They took an oath, which bound
their thought and action, to the realm of God, but the intoxication of
power and greed are becoming a norm in our churches rather than love for
God.
Our culture/religion teaches us to reconcile with our enemy despite who is
wrong, but our hard-hearted politicians/ religious leaders willfully
disregard this noble practice. From where did they learn this? I believe
from the book of communism, which does not espouse peaceful co-existence,
but annihilation of an adversary and destruction of moral values.
In the past, we searched for a better system in the
arena of socialism, but we were pushed to nomadic existence and
uncertainty. Now we are trying to introduce a western style government to
establish a loveless system of things. Is that a solution for our current
challenges? I do not think so. Here, I am not saying uncompromisingly we
should not learn from others, but my point is, the thing we desire to
establish in our motherland should be based on the heritages of the
country so as to avoid confusion and accelerate social progress in our
homeland.
Truly I say to my fellow Ethiopians that at this time we are left only
with our culture whether to live in order or break up as people. If we
follow it, we will be saved, if not we will scuttle for cover or join in
the feast of pagans.
At this moment, Ethiopianness (unity) and ethnic
politics are struggling for mastery. In guarding our unity, still our
culture is playing a pivotal role in keeping us as people and country.
Based on that it possible to say that the only force we have now and can
be used to save Ethiopia is our culture. The medicine we have for the
dangerous disease that has plagued the country for more than three decades
is our culture. Our culture prevents many terrible situations like
genocide from happening. Again my praise for the culture we have is
never-ending because it keeps my country and her people to live peacefully
despite perilous policy of the government.
As the inheritors of undying culture, we must keep the fight for the basic
values that Ethiopia has created in its thousands of years of history.
Even more, we must fight for the extraordinarily foundation of these
values, both in the past and future.
What makes some human culture undying or flourish and
whither away
quickly like a grass? I believe the ingredients of a culture are central
to existence or extinction of a society. The immortal one has nothing to
do with material wealth and is eternal. Jewish culture is a good example
for this one. It escapes cultural death repeatedly before many great human
civilizations and remains as a major force for western culture, their
literacy, etc. On the other hand, the mortal one depends on material
object and its strength emanates from that, which is subject to
destruction. Those who believe their effort and knowledge is every thing
and their endeavor is to achieve material prosperity are always subjected
to grow old and death. The Roman Empire and ancient Greece are suitable
for this situation.
We must be aware that there is a vast conspiracy to rob our senses and
steal our identity and then to destroy the unadulterated culture we have
for 3 millennia.
Our enemy is powerful, his way is subtle and his weapon is inflicting
pleasure to those who easily fall to his trap and use them for his hidden
agenda. In the name of religion, our enemies are working hard to yank what
we have for generations so as to replace by their polluted ones. So we
must be vigilant to prevent this canny scheme.
The struggle to keep our material and spiritual values
is very intense in Ethiopia. We become toothless against all odds that are
afflicting us now because of the wrong path we have traveled so far. We
saw our politicians naively to flee from one ideology to another to find
meaning for our peaceful existence. The sad thing is, however, in their
way they never looked a solution for our problems from our culture. That�s
why our political views not poverty become the most lethal thing in
bringing our country into the brink of collapse.
Before I finish, I warn this generation to focus on who you are, not on
the alien things that has no place in our history and daily life. Our
strength emanates always from the culture we have and let�s rekindle it
to lead us in the dark we are traveling now. Let�s start to believe that
our civilized culture is a force of liberation from the bondage of life we
are enduring and an anchor in pulling ourselves backs into the orbit of
unity (Ethiopianness) from the verge of balkanization.
God bless Ethiopia and her people!
Haile Desta
The writer can be reached @
