by Alemayehu G. Mariam
President Nelson Mandela turned 94 on July 18, 2012. May he live long with gladness and good health!
All who love and revere President Mandela call him Madiba. He is the ultimate symbol of human love, hope, courage,
charity, endurance, patience and perseverance. He is the
personification of good will, tolerance, generosity, forgiveness and
reconciliation.
In South Africa’s darkest hours, Madiba emerged
from the darkest dungeons of Pollsmoor Prison wearing a big smile on his
face and carrying a torch light in his hand to free all his people from
a wretched prison called Apartheid. When South Africa’s fate dangled
between the forces of good and evil, Madiba stepped in the middle and
said, “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land
will again experience the oppression of one by another.” He convinced
those armed for war to disarm for peace, to bury the hatchet, dagger and
arrow and to beat their swords into ploughshares, shake hands, hold
hands and put their shoulders to the grindstone to build a new South
Africa. When the world stood in awe of what he had done, he humbly
reminded us: “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner
who keeps on trying.” Don’t we all wish we had more sinners in high
places in Africa who just keep on trying?
I have had many
imaginary conversations with Madiba, but only one that I have dared to
make public. In one of my weekly commentaries in May 2011,
I reported on one such imaginary conversation. The
topic was the triumphalism of African dictators. Somewhat impatiently, I
asked Madiba: “What the hell is wrong with African dictators?!?” Madiba
did not want to generalize, but he was very clear about Apartheid
dictatorship and what needed to be done to restore South Africa to its
timeless beauty. He said, “Never, never and never again shall it be that
this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by
another. If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are
also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named
Goodness and Forgiveness.”
Nightmares and Dreams of a Beautiful Ethiopia
Among
the few privileges of being a human rights advocate and an academic are
telling the unvarnished truth to anyone who cares to listen, speaking
truth to power and defiantly hoping (even against hope) for a future
that is much better than the past. That privilege comes from the special
nature of human rights advocacy. A true human rights advocate has no
political ambition. The politics of human rights is the politics of
human dignity, not ideology, political partisanship or the pursuit of
political office. The committed human rights advocate thrives on hopes
and dreams of a better future, not the lust for political power or
craving for status, position or privilege. As Vaclav Havel, the late
Czech Republic and human rights advocate put it, “Hope is a state of
mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not
the same as joy that things are going well,… but rather an ability to
work for something because it is good.” Defense and advocacy of human
rights is something one does because it is good. As Havel said, “Work
for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to
succeed.” I have been relentlessly “sermonizing” (as some
affectionately refer to my weekly commentaries) on human rights in
Ethiopia and against dictatorship for many years now. I have done so not
because I believed my efforts will produce immediate political results
or expected structural changes overnight. I stayed in for the long haul
because I believe defending, advocating and writing about human rights
and righting government wrongs is right, good and the moral thing to do.
Lately,
there has been much talk about nightmare scenarios and very little
about dreams of a beautiful Ethiopia and the two roads that could take
her to that place and moment in time where she “will not experience the
oppression of one by another”. Some whisper of the nightmare of civil
war if one man goes or stays? Is Ethiopia so insignificant in the eyes
of man and God that her destiny is tied to or determined by what happens
or does not happen to one man? Others bemoan the horrors of the past
and seethe with anger and bitterness. They can only see the twilight of a
vanishing order and are blinded to the sparkling new day dawning over
the horizon. Far too many exercise themselves with things that are
divisive, disruptive and discordant. They seem to forget that we have
strong bonds of family, history, culture, language and religion that
bind us in a beautiful mosaic called Ethiopia.
There are some who
seem obsessed with speculation and rumors about the fate of a state
built on the shoulders of one man. Would it not make more sense to be
concerned about the plight and state of suffering of the other 90
million? Louis XIV, the absolute monarch of France who reigned for 72
years is reported to have said, “L’etat, c’est moi” (“I am the state”).
Must we subject ourselves to the Sturm und Drang of what could happen
to Ethiopia after the fall of a one-man, one-party state that has been
in power for 21 years? For all the speculation, guestimation and
supposition on the part of the Ethiopian opposition and the secrecy,
mystery, fudging, hedging and dodging by discombobulated regime
officials, the answer may be the same as Mark Twain’s who upon reading
his premature obituary quipped: “The reports of my death have been
greatly exaggerated.” Should we really be concerned about a moribund
regime?
Truth be told, we should be concerned about a nation that
has been in intensive care and on life support for the past 21 years and
beyound. We should pray for the healing, speedy recovery and and
well-being of Ethiopia. We should be searching high and low in our
hearts, minds and souls for the best medication to heal Ethiopia from
the cancer of tyranny and dictatorship and the pathology of hate and
narrow-mindedness. We should work tirelessly to detoxify the Ethiopian
body politic from the poison of ethnic domination, sectarianism and
bigotry.
To restore Ethiopia to good health, we must begin
national dialogue, not only in the halls of power, the corridors of the
bureaucracy and the military barracks but also in the remotest villages,
the church and masjid meeting halls and other places of worship, the
schools and colleges, the neighborhood associations and in the taverns,
the streets and markets and wherever two or more people congregate. We
have no choice but to begin talking to each other with good will and in
good faith.
Since the beginning of 2012, I have been penning
special commentaries in a series I called “Ethiopia’s transition from
dictatorship and democracy”. These commentaries were fragments of my
dream that Ethiopia will soon make a transition from dictatorship to
democracy. Of course, dreams could easily change into nightmares.
In one such commentary,
I shared my nightmares about what could happen “on the bridge from
dictatorship to democracy.” I wrote, “there is often a collision between
individuals and groups doggedly pursuing power, the common people tired
of those who abuse and misuse power and the dictators who want to cling
to power. The chaos that occurs on the transitional bridge from
dictatorship to democracy creates the ideal conditions for the hijacking
of political power, theft of democracy and the reinstitution of
dictatorship in the name of democracy.”
In another commentary last month,
I pleaded for constitutional “pre-dialogue” (preparatory conversations)
in anticipation of some potential roadblocks on Ethiopia’s inexorable
march to a constitutional democracy.
Recent events seem to signal
the imminence of a sea change in Ethiopia. While some are preoccupied
with the nightmare of what could happen in Ethiopia if one man or one
party stays or goes, my nightmares have been about what those opposed to
the one man will do whether he stays or goes. History shows that
political transitions in Ethiopia have been nightmares, a race to the
bottom. The transition from monarchy to military socialism proved to be a
colossal disaster. In the name of socialism, millions perished from
famine and political violence. The transition from military “socialism”
to “revolutionary democracy” led to the creation of a police state in
Ethiopia unrivalled in the modern history of Africa. The flicker of
democracy that was seen in 2005 was snuffed out in the blink of an eye.
Now, the sun seems to be setting on the police state; and it could be
curtain time for the chief of police. There is volcanic pressure
building up slowly but surely in Ethiopia. We see small precursor
eruptions here and there. Public dissatisfaction with the status quo
has turned to utter public desperation. People cannot afford the basic
necessities of life as inflation and cost of living soar to new heights.
Corruption, abuse of power, massive repression and poor governance are
about to blast the dome on the grumbling volcano. The situation is
deteriorating by the day. One has to assume that against the backdrop of
the “Arab Spring”, Ethiopia’s iron-fisted rulers must be a little
worried about the winter of discontent of the Ethiopian people being
made glorious by a democratic Summer.
What the managers of the
police state will do or not do concern me less than what those who
profess to stand for democracy, freedom and human rights will do or not
do. Will they do what they have always done in the past: Never miss an
opportunity to miss an opportunity? Continue to play the same old zero
sum game (that is, they win and everybody else loses) of politics? Play
games of one-upmanship trying to outdo, outwit, outthink, outsmart,
outplay, outfox, outmaneuver and outbully each other, while those in the
saddle of power laugh at them? Play the blame game, finger pointing
game and demonization game to show how bad everybody is and how good
they are? Will they invent new games?
Or will the opposition
collectively be able to soar to new heights of greatness? Will they
forgive each other for the injuries of the past and pledge to work for a
secure and just future for all Ethiopians? Will they be able to forge a
partnership to deal with the multiplicity of problems facing the
people? Will they lead the people to consensus by prioritizing and
focusing on things for which there is broad agreement, or will they
nitpick their way into a stalemate over minutiae? Above all, will they
have the courage to reach out to each other in the spirit of brotherhood
and sisterhood, shake hands, bury the hatchet and put their shoulders
to the grindstone to work together in the cause of freedom, democracy
and human rights in Ethiopia? Will they have the courage to walk in
Madiba’s footprints?:
The sight of
freedom looming on the horizon should encourage us to redouble our
efforts. It is only through disciplined mass action that our victory can
be assured. We call on our white compatriots to join us in the shaping
of a new South Africa. The freedom movement is a political home for you
too…
As freedom looms over the horizon in Ethiopia, do we all
have the courage, humility and foresight to say to those in power and
out of power, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to
work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Is it possible to
create a broad partnership of justice, equality, freedom, democracy and
human rights in Ethiopia today? Could we say now to those who have a
tight grip on power what Madiba said to his white compatriots then, “The
freedom movement is a political home for you too…”
Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner
In
his autobiography, Gandhi wrote, “Man and his deed are two distinct
things. Whereas a good deed should call forth approbation and a wicked
deed disapprobation, the doer of the deed, whether good or wicked,
always deserves respect or pity as the case may be. ‘Hate the sin and
not the sinner’ is a precept which, though easy enough to understand, is
rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the
world….” If one hates another because of race, color, religion,
ethnicity or other factors, the result is more hate. Madiba said, “No
one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or
his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they
can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more
naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” If hate is learned, it
can also be unlearned. If love can be taught, it can be spread across
the land.
We must follow Gandhi’s precept that if we must hate, we
“hate the sin and not the sinner.” It is a tough precept to follow and
live by. We have all been part of the problem and part of the solution
at one time or another. If this is not true, then “He who is without sin
should cast the first stone.” But now all of us have an opportunity to
become part of the grand solution to the political problems facing
Ethiopia. It is a rare chance that comes once in generations. Let’s not
squander it.
In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark
Antony as part of his funeral oration following the death of Caesar
said, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred
with their bones…” Scripture teaches that “He that troubleth his own
house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise
of heart.” Those who have lived in hate and done evil in their lifetimes
will have a testament in history for their deeds which will live long
after they are dead and gone. If we obsess with the sinners, we will
surely inherit the wind of those who have troubled their houses. We will
inherit a tornadic wind that will tear the basic fabric and foundation
of the Ethiopian nation. But if we focus our attention on the sin and
together atone for it, we stand to inherit democracy from the ashes of
dictatorship; human rights from the depths of human wrongs; freedom from
oppression, love from hate; reconciliation from animosity and
forgiveness from rancor. Such are the wages of good. Those who hold the
reign of power should realize that things cannot continue the way they
are now. They have a simple choice to make; and in the words of Robert
Kennedy: “A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful
if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we
are fortunate enough — But a revolution which is coming whether we will
it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its
inevitability.” Why is it not possible to have a revolution in Ethiopia
where we can all win because we are all on the side of freedom,
democracy and human rights?
So, What Time Is It In Ethiopia Now?
Scripture
teaches that there is “A time to love and a time to hate; a time for
war and a time for peace.” So, what time is it in Ethiopia now? I say it
is time for peace–high time to dream for peace. It is time to replace
bitterness with reconciliation; hate with love that heals the community;
revenge with forgiveness; hope with despair; hurt with healing; fear
with courage; division with unity; doubt with faith; shame with honor;
deceit with candor and sincerity; anger with reason; cruelty with
kindness and caring; enmity with friendship; duplicity with openness;
complacency with action; indifference with passion; incivility with
gracefulness; suspicion with trust; selfishness with altruism;
dishonesty with integrity; convenience with virtue; cunning with
scruples; ignorance with knowledge; benightedness with imagination;
acrimony with civility, desire with fulfillment and sniping and carping
with with broad national dialogue. The time to talk and act is now!
Dreams of an Ethiopia at Peace: Roads to Goodness and Forgiveness
Madiba
had a great dream for Africa. He said, “I dream of an Africa which is
in peace with itself. I dream of the realization of unity of Africa
whereby its leaders, some of whom are highly competent and experienced,
can unite in their efforts to improve and to solve the problems of
Africa.” Madiba said, “This must be a world of democracy and respect for
human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger,
deprivation and ignorance, relieved of the threat and the scourge of
civil wars and external aggression and unburdened of the great tragedy
of millions forced to become refugees.”
Ethiopia
is today a dystopia– a society that writhes under a dictatorship that
trashes human rights and decimates all opposition ruthlessly. Last year,
Zenawi told two high level U.S. Government officials what he will do to
his opposition: “We will crush them with our full force.” All
Ethiopians, regardless of ethnicity, language, religion, class or region
must be able to imagine an Ethiopia where no petty tyrant will ever
have the power or even the audacity to say he will “crush” another
fellow citizen, or has the ability to use “full force” against any
person just because he can. Ethiopians must be able to dream of a future
free of ethnic strife, famine and oppression; and strive to work
together for a little utopia in Ethiopia where might is NOT right but
the rule of law shields the defenseless poor and voiceless against the
slings and arrows of the criminally rich and powerful. It is true that
Utopians aspire for the perfect society, but Ethiopians should aspire
and work collectively for a society in which human rights are respected,
the voice of the people are heard and accepted (not stolen), those to
whom power is entrusted perform their duties with transparency and are
held accountable to the law and people.
In my long-winded way,
what I was trying to say was this: “Never, never and never again shall
it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of
one by another.”
Even
utopian Ethiopians know that as we work for unity, they will be working
double overtime for disunity. For every act done to create trust, they
will fabricate ten acts to create suspicion and distrust. It is said
that a thousand mile journey begins with the first step. In making its
declaration, the OLF has taken a giant leap for all Ethiopians. Each one
of us must now take our own small steps for our Ethiopianity (humanity
before ethnicity or nationality).
My dream of Ethiopia at peace is
a dream based on the idea that all Ethiopians need to be a little bit
utopian. Madiba is the greatest utopian in living memory. He was utopian
enough to say, “I have fought against white domination and I have
fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a
democratic and free society in which all persons live together in
harmony and — and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope
to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I
am prepared to die.” Yet, he was realistic enough to warn that if
discussions and negotiations fail to resolve issues, there could be
alternatives dreadful to contemplate: “There are many people who feel
that it is useless and futile for us to continue talking peace and
non-violence – against a government whose only reply is savage attacks
on an unarmed and defenceless people. And I think the time has come for
us to consider, in the light of our experiences at this day at home,
whether the methods which we have applied so far are adequate.” Is it
futile to begin talking in Ethiopia now? To continue talking? To choose
the path of nonviolence in the face of “savage attacks on an unarmed and
defenceless people”? I think not.
It is plain to all that the
present system of one-man, one-party, one-everything has no future in
Ethiopia. It will come to an end peacefully or otherwise, sooner or
later. But we must learn from recent history. “Those who make peaceful
revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” That is
what happened in Libya not long ago, and is happening in Syria today.
There is no need to make the mistakes made in Libya or Syria.
Madiba
understood that the transition from Apartheid dictatorship to majority
democratic rule must involve all South Africans, not just the elites and
others whose aim is to become power contenders. Madiba said:
The
people need to be consulted on who will negotiate and on the content of
such negotiations. Negotiations cannot take place — Negotiations cannot
take place above the heads or behind the backs of our people. It is our
belief that the future of our country can only be determined by a body
which is democratically elected on a non-racial basis. Negotiations on
the dismantling of apartheid will have to address the overwhelming
demands of our people for a democratic, non-racial and unitary South
Africa. There must be an end to white monopoly on political power and a
fundamental restructuring of our political and economic systems to
ensure that the inequalities of apartheid are addressed and our society
thoroughly democratized.
All Ethiopian political and civic leaders
must understand that “the people need to be consulted” and the future
of our country can only be determined by a body which is democratically
elected on a non-ethnic basis. It is delusional to think that the
one-man, one-party model will continue unchanged. It is dumb to think
that the clever, cunning and shrewd could outwit and out power play the
rest and seize political power and continue the same old game of
one-man, one-party, one-everything rule. It is wise to remember the
saying that “you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of
the people ofall of the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all
of the time.” These days it is hard to fooll anybody. Those who may be
scheming to play this game should give it up and not waste their time.
It is foolhardy to think that anything other than genuine multiparty
democracy fortified by the rule of law, reinforced by respect for human
rights and sustained by the good will of the people could bring peace to
Ethiopia. Regardless, the one-man, one-party party that has been going
on for the past 21 years is now over!
It is a Tough Job, But All of Us Have to Do it!
When
Madiba was released from Pollsmoor Prison in 1990, his first public
words were about the unity of all South Africans, not the evils of
Apartheid or the crimes and inhuman acts committed by one race over the
other. Madiba said uniting the people is job one on day one:
The
need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as
it always has been. No individual leader is able to take on this
enormous task on his own. It is our task as leaders to place our views
before our organization and to allow the democratic structures to decide
on the way forward. On the question of democratic practice, I feel
duty-bound to make the point that a leader of the movement is a person
who has been democratically elected at a national conference. This is a
principle which must be upheld without any exceptions.”
No
individual leader or single organization in Ethiopia can take on the
enormous task of uniting the people. It is the task of all leaders of
political organizations, faith institutions, civic associations, youth
and women’s groups and others to inspire the people to come together, to
unite and to dream together about a new Ethiopia where no one shall
again experience the oppression of one by another. It is impossible to
unite the people without detoxifying the conversation and abandoning
the obsession about one man. To do what Madiba did in South Africa, we
must commit to the important task now, and that is “uniting the people
of our country.”
My Birthday Present to Madiba
Last
week Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that “the greatest gift we can give
Madiba is to follow his example.” So I shall give him Madiba his
birthday gift by pledging to walk in his footsteps. I am eternally
grateful to Madiba for what he has done for all humanity. His words and
deeds have inspired me not only to speak truth to power and dream about a
bright future for Ethiopia and Africa, but also to begin teaching,
preaching and reaching out to all to begin a journey on the road to
forgiveness and goodness. I understand Madiba’s way does not come with
an iron clad guarantee of success, but I have yet to find another way
that could lead to a durable peace in Ethiopia but the ways of
forgiveness and goodness. I could be wrong, but I would rather take the
wrong turn on Madiba’s road than take the road to nowhere because that
is the alternative. Some may think I am just a naïve and gullible lawyer
whose head swoons in the clouds of the ivory tower. I should like to
think I have my feet firmly planted in the ground.
I do hope that
there will be people who will agree with me that I am right in following
Madiba’s example. Perhaps they may even consider joining me on that
long and hard road despite their fears of being sneered and jeered along
the way. But I shall travel that road in Madiba’s footsteps alone if I
must. Henry David Thoreau said, “If a man does not keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him
step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” And if I
should get tired walking alone, I will just limp along behind the
millions of Ethiopians who will be marching on Madiba’s way lockstep to
the drumbeat of freedom, democracy, dignity and peace. But before
rushing to judge me harshly or kindly, forget not that I am just a
utopian Ethiopian. “Some men see things and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream
things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”. Why not walk in
Madiba’s footsteps? Why not dream of Ethiopia with her children at
peace? Why not outdream each other about what is possible, viable and
attainable in beautiful Ethiopia? Let us all become utopian Ethiopians!
Why not?
