Reorienting a fellow Ethiopian: A reply to �The Irrelevance of the Millennium�
By Dan Bahta

I was referred to Tedros� article by a friend who is not Ethiopian, but has so much admiration and respect for the country and the people. She couldn�t believe what she read: a disgraceful way of representing Ethiopia by an Ethiopian PhD. My answer might come a bit late, but I believe it is not late �for any Ethiopian- to try to reorient Tedros Kiros towards Ethiopian history. I don�t even know this guy.

Tedros, you seemed to have stumbled upon your own words several times. How is it, that in your eyes we have become the undeserving and the �lacking�? You have aligned the concept celebration with material wealth. You seem to have reserved the �right� to celebrate for the rich only. But Ethiopia�s riches are beyond measure -though remain entirely obscure to the eyes (such as yours) that see things through the prism of money. 

I can say that the way you perceive Ethiopia and Ethiopians is somehow affected by the image the western media have tried to create since 1984. It is funny, they succeeded on you only. You have learnt from the self-claimed �knowers� and now, you have become the knower. The worse kinds of Orientals are the natives, who [mis]recognize the symbolic power of those they deem not only as rich and powerful but also as deserving and reasonable, while relegating themselves to oblivion in the space for humanity. 

In your words, you said: �Reasonable people celebrate because they have achieved a dream, realized a goal, and exacted a plan. Ethiopia has not achieved any of these, since the days of Axum and Lalibela, pillars of classical Ethiopian history.� 

If you look back at our history, it is all about dignity we never demeaned ourselves. Neither do we recognize anything as better than us. We celebrate what is uniquely ours. And we celebrate passionately, not superficially. We are reasonable; we celebrate because we have defended as well as preserved our honor, integrity; our cultures and social values, for thousands of years. Why couldn�t you see that Ethiopia is a land of struggle and survival as well as pride? Not enough for a cause to celebrate? 

Another thing to mention: we have a unique calendar and a conceptualized view of �millennium�. And that, on its own, deserves celebration, for we�ve counted 2000 in our own way. One has to be reminded that our calendar, written in our unique (or native) characters signifies our great civilization that deserves to celebrate its own greatness. If we don�t celebrate -the way we did- then, even the Classical Days you mentioned will lose their meanings. 

I am not sure whether you are talking about individuals, the people or the country -your words tend to overlap. In either case, you are wrong. Who are those you perceive as reasonable, and who have achieved their dreams? Whose dreams have they destroyed to live theirs and then say �Grace�? 

I should stop right here, happy millennium. There�s still time to celebrate.

Dan 
Offended