“UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. LET US NOT SPLIT INTO FACTIONS WHICH MUST DESTROY THAT UNION UPON WHICH OUR EXISTENCE HANG. “ PATRICK HENERY
BY DR. HAYMANOT ASSEFA NADEW, MARYLAND, USA, April/2021
We have a moral duty to make ourselves un-ignorant and un-stupid as we can. We need to open our eyes and understand what is going on in the world. As a nation we need to wake up, be intelligent, leave behind our age-old follies, unite and transform our country for the better. We cannot continue like this. We should not continue to be the butt of a joke. We should stop being cited as an example of bad things such as war, famine, disease, illiteracy, division, laziness, ignorance, stupidity and all bad things. We need to ask ourselves, if not me then who? Each and every one of us should change our ways and save our country and rescue our people from imminent demise. Nothing in this life really matters, let us not tear apart each other for temporal material gains. Let us not short change. Let us all see the bigger picture!!
So many moons ago, when I was in high school, our history professor used to tell us that Ethiopia always had “historical foreign enemies.” Given the material wealth and socioeconomic condition of Ethiopia at the time, I was skeptical of the veracity of those accounts. To be blunt, I thought such accounts were mere exaggerations. How wrong I was!! My venerable professor, please pardon me! What is going on in Ethiopia today, present day western media crusade & western governments sustained pressure campaign against Ethiopia proved me wrong (completely wrong!).
Ethiopia has always been in constant fight with aggressors, colonizers and foreigners that attempted to control its territory and subjugate its people. We prevailed against all odds. Every generation of Ethiopians fought foreigners that came to our borders for control and conquest. Present day Ethiopia once again is besieged by foreign forces that are intent on destroying and vanquishing the country. Our chronic internal division, mistrust among each other, debilitating misunderstanding, our inability to see the bigger picture and our unwitting willingness to cooperate with Ethiopia’s historic enemies threatens to tear Ethiopia apart.
The new generation of Ethiopians have a patriotic duty and moral obligation to come together, listen to each other, respect their fellow human being, respond to the highest call of duty of their lives, namely save more than 112 million compatriots from eminent annihilation and defeat.
In instances where foreigners managed to score apparent victory, almost always they had support from a disgruntled Ethiopian war lord, ethnic gathering, political group, or prominent individual (family). Divided, we are always an easy target. Ethiopia’s historic enemies are once again effectively utilizing an age-old conquerors trick of divide and conquer. To sound like a professor, divide and rule (Latin: divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.
We have a moral duty to make ourselves un-ignorant and un-stupid as we can. We need to open our eyes and understand what is going on in the world. As a nation we need to wake up, be intelligent, leave behind our age-old follies, unite and transform our country for the better. We cannot continue like this. We should not continue to be the butt of a joke. We should stop being cited as an example of bad things such as war, famine, disease, illiteracy, division, laziness, ignorance, stupidity and all the bad things. We need to ask ourselves, if not me then who? Each and every one of us should change our ways and save our country and rescue our people from imminent demise. Nothing in this life really matters, let us not tear apart each other for temporal material gains. Let us not short change. Let us all see the bigger picture!!
Our historic enemies do not want us to change, to be better, to grow and transform. The weaker and divided we are, the easier for them to come and take whatever they want. As we spend more time arguing over minute things, the enemy gets a free access to our backyard and exploit us. While we squabble over political power, economic matters, ethnic issues, social agendas and the like, the enemy stocks the fire and enjoys the show.
Please understand what is going on in the world and act in your country’s self-interest. When Western countries issue a press release, publish reports, slander Ethiopia, or put diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia, they have always a specific goal to achieve. Think how you as a citizen could help your country. At least stop being an instrument of foreign forces that intend to weaken and destroy Ethiopia.
Divided and weakened, you will not be able to till your land. You will not be able to use your natural resources like the Blue Nile (Abaye river). As it has been the cause for millennia, your adversaries will keep excluding you from the exploits of your own water resources. They will continue developing megacities in the desert, expanding super mega agricultural projects in the Sahara and Sinai desert, they will intensify exporting your water to international markets and they continue leaving you and your children behind.
I call up on all Ethiopians in the country and all people of Ethiopian descent scattered around the globe to be outraged over the age-old injustice and unfairness. Rise up to reclaim what is yours. Rise to end the shame associated with our kind. Rise to end being a butt of a joke. Rise to end being beggars. Start catching your own fish. Say no to destitution, say no to misery, say no to division, say no to killing one another, say no to being the instrument of your enemies. Say enough is enough and transform Ethiopia. IT IS TIME!
