by Yilma Bekele
Watch the YouTube video before reading this article.
This is Debretsion Ethiopian Orthodox Church in London England. The
picture seems to have been taken on a cold winter day. It is such a
beautiful church. Doesn’t it look so serene and peaceful? I am sure it
is that most of the time. But according to this video it was nothing but
serene a few weeks back. The best way to express the twenty one minute
video is it felt like was watching a scene where the mental patients
have taken over the asylum.
I agree it is totally depressing to see all classic Ethiopian
behavior on display in a controlled environment. The location being a
church gives it that special quality of raising the bar to show how low
we have sunk. Such a brawl in some obscure hall, how ugly it is,
normally is not worth a mention. I guess we get so consumed with the
righteousness of our cause that we toss out all civilized behavior out
of the window regardless of the place or the time.
The video is not intended to be a work of art. It is not fiction that jumped out of some ones
imagination. This play does not have a director, a producer or a lead
actor. This video is real unrehearsed presentation of Ethiopians and
their social interaction. The setting adds to the drama of the moment.
We thank the individual who had the patience to record reality in that
hallow ground.
If you care to dig deep deeper into the story you will find out the
reason to the madness you are subjected to watch but that is another
story all by itself. Unfortunately having an excuse does not justify
bad and shameful behavior. Wrong or right does matter but with this
short presentation that we are left with all we can do is watch and
marvel at the utter stupidity our situation at home and abroad. I am
interested in parsing out what fate has presented us- a way to watch
ourselves from afar. It is priceless.
As I said before the setting is Debretsion Church in London, England
and all those present are immigrant Ethiopians. All come to Debretsion
by their own free will. We assume they are followers of Christ AKA
Christians. For Christians a church is a most hallowed place. It is
God’s home. Christians go to church to pray, praise the lord and cleanse
their soul of evil thought and bad feelings. We expect love,
understanding, forgiveness and chartable acts to flourish in such a
location. Is that too much to ask?
It looks like Debretsion is not such place. The fathers and mothers
the sons and daughters of Debretsion are not one happy family. Obviously
they got a problem. The twenty one minute video is a general example of
how the unhappy group went about cooling tempers and looking for
solution. It speaks plenty on how we go about resolving differences in a
civilized manner. I think it is safe to conclude this gathering to be a
microcosm of the bigger Ethiopian society both at home and in the
Diaspora. We take pride in our dysfunctional behavior. Look at the
combatants of Debretsion. They make us all proud.
After watching twenty one minutes of the meeting do you think there
is a lesson to be learnt? I know it looks totally hopeless doesn’t it?
How could all those adults act in such a lawless manner? How do they
justify such shameless behavior in front of the young people? How do you
think their kids are going to act in a social gathering when they have
seen their parents foaming at the mouth inside a holy church? What kind
of anger forces a sane human being to be so hating and threating with
all sorts of nasty acts?
The last forty years have been a time of upheaval in our country. It
has affected our culture in a profound manner. The last two dictators
although lacking in the art of leadership were richly endowed with
mental deficiency, mental illness and were given to delusion of
grandeur. Our old culture has experienced disruption in a major way. We
are the result of an aborted development.
The biography for Debretsion London church give nineteen seventy six
as day one making it about thirty seven years in the making. It also
says it is paid for. My first reaction is how fortunate they have such a
united and generous community and are able to worship in such a
beautiful church. I am sure some people worked hard thru the years to
make it happen. Not all of us can put time, effort and money to achieve
such goal. Because of the hard work of the few now they have a place of
their own to enjoy and grow. They make their congregation and all of us
in the Diaspora proud.
You would think the Board of governors and the clergy deserve a
heartfelt thank you. You would think the members will strive to build on
that success and plan bigger and better things to come. You would think
even if there is a problem it will be dealt with in a careful manner so
as not to destroy what has already been achieved.
That scenario works among civilized people. By civilized I don’t mean
high rise buildings, airplanes, factories, highways and stuff. I mean
people with culture and pride. People that don’t have to shout to be
heard. People that know their place in history. People that have already
lost so much by being displaced from their homeland that a little
compassion and caring for each other in a strange land will be the norm.
We are unable to do that. Debretsion is just one example of the
disfunctionality that has taken over our social interaction. Debretsion
has been repeated in every Diaspora assembly no matter the cause we are
trying to create a common ground. This sickness of demeaning each other,
belittling our efforts, slandering those who work on our behalf and
routinely dismissing any and all ideas has become something to be proud
of.
Debretsion Church is an example of a confused and rudderless crowed
easily whipped into frenzy by a few anti-social elements. Why do you
think that is so? Yes I am asking you the reader why do you think a few
can disturb the peace of the many? My simple answer is because we let
them! We know something has gone wrong, we know things are not right but
our first response is to sit quiet and watch. We seethe inside, our
stomach turns, we are very much disgusted but we keep quiet. We don’t
dare tell the rowdy ones they have gone too far, we are not familiar
with the word NO!
I am also sure after the assembly and meeting we will find plenty
that will show disgust and alarm with the noise makers. They will even
become animated explaining how offended they felt. There is a saying in
our country ‘jib kehede wusha chohe.’ That is the story of our
existence.
I can see all this because our Church was a victim of the same
ruffian type behavior. Those who felt change is necessary were too lazy
to work within the system. They felt a short cut was acceptable since
their position was such that ‘by any means necessary’ was an acceptable
method. They packed the assembly, they registered new members and they
brought their loud mouth to silence anybody that stood on their way.
Winning was the only outcome acceptable to them and the price did not
matter. Destroying the church to save the church seemed to be a good
idea.
Out of the millions of options in front of us we seem to choose the
one that hurt ourselves and those around us. We can leave an association
if we don’t agree with the direction it is heading. We can relocate to a
new neighborhood if we don’t like the location we are in. We can quit a
job if it does not meet our monetary and social needs. One is free to
change a church if the current one does not satisfy one’s spiritual
need. We Ethiopians do not exit with grace. Most of us will wreak havoc
on the association, burn our home, badmouth our employer and destroy our
house of worship before we leave. We are not programed to accept a
simple amicable divorce. In the end we all lose.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How about a video in
living color? This video is priceless. It says many things about us in
the Diaspora. There is no reason to assume we are any different over
there either. By over there I mean Áger Bet, Ethiopia. In fact we are a
duplicate, warts and all.
It is definitely a surreal scene to watch some taking a video of this
madness as if to preserve it for future reference while a few were
sitting in silence seeming un affected by the chaos. I knew I was
entering a new dimension when I saw the Metropolitan Police walking
among the combatants. He was not asking for silence, not demanding
attention or clearing the scene but quietly showing his presence but
allowing the play to go forward.
So the question in front of us is- are we going to learn from this
madness and change? Are we going to be responsible for our actions not
to be led by the crazy and idiots among us? Are we going to judge
matters on their merit or base our stand on ethnicity, marriage and
friendship? Are we going to sit and listen to each other as adults or
pace around like a wounded animal? Are we going to work thru the system
we ourselves set up or improvise as needed and change the rules to suit
an individual? Are we going to give respect to those that work hard to
create something and give them credit or demean their efforts and
slander their work?
I will give you an example you can try. The next assembly of
Ethiopians you meet weather in a coffee shop, Lekso bet or Eder mention
any of the organizations working on our behalf like Ginbot 7, Andenet,
ESFNA and see the reaction. The first thing that comes out is a barrage
of insults, demeaning language and put down. Most probably the
individual has never attempted to know, read and find out the goals and
plans of the organization. Has never contributed monetary and other help
to help them achieve. It does not stop them from being rude. They are
always willing to vent out insult and defamation no matter what. Our
community needs help. God help Debretsion and God help our country. Now
watch the video below and see Debretsion in all its splendor.
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