E-Mailed to blackinformant.com by Young Ethiopian Diasporans
According to a TIME/ABC News poll , 71% of Iraqis said things in Iraq are going “very well” or “quite well”. 71%!
But what we found remarkable was the hope that Iraqis have for the future:
* What is your expectation for how things will be a year from now …
.. in your life? Better ………. 64%
It is a remarkable figure given that this comes in the midst of almost daily bombings from insurgents. Whatever side of the Iraqi war you are on, this is very compelling evidence that people who are free from tyranny have hope that allows them to believe in better days coming.
Liberty and democracy bring hope; and hope sustains liberty and democracy.
The situation in Ethiopia, however, seems much more tenuous. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, in its December 6, 2005 report published the names of those killed, imprisoned and missing since the November uprising, when the Ethiopian government fired live ammunition at unarmed citizens. It is a devastating report.
Meanwhile, leaders of the opposition who have been held without charge since November 1 are on their 16th day of a hunger strike . Two of the leaders, Professor Mesfin W. Mariam, a noted human rights activist and university professor, and Mr. Hailu Shawel, an engineer and successful businessman, both in their 70s are in critical health. Reports are that they were denied medical attention. Ethiomedia reports:
Professor Mesfin has clearly stated that he “would rather die than accept the violation of his freedom brought about by his unjustified imprisonment on account of trumped-up charges of treason” orchestrated by the incumbent government. Since weeks he has only been taking in fluid and nothing else.
With each passing day that the leaders (including the Mayor-elect of the capital city, Dr. Berhanu Nega, a New York educated economist) languish in jail, Ethiopians lose hope.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto, in an interview with Ethiopia Media Forum, said,
Why do I spend so much time in Ethiopia? It is because Ethiopia matters to us. What happens in Ethiopia affects not only Ethiopia, but also the entire region. Our care, observation and focus on Ethiopia are to ensure the stability of it. But what does stability mean? It means when there are democratic institutions.
A free media is one of the benchmarks of democracy. Yesterday, the Ethiopian government jailed two more journalists, bringing the total number incarcerated to 15. A number of them face treason charges, which carries the death penalty.
It is scandalous that Ethiopian authorities have persisted in using outdated and illegitimate charges to send these journalists to jail,” said Ann Cooper, executive director of CPJ.
Ethiopians are dying because they want to believe in democratic institutions. Ethiopians are dying because they want hope that they themselves might not see in their lifetime, but hope their children can inherit.
An Ethiopian woman interviewed by VOA Amharic put it succinctly:
We don’t want bread. We don’t want money. We just want this government not to take away our hope.
That’s all Ethiopians want: hope. They can take care of the rest themselves. All they are asking from us is to tell their story.
