By Golto Aila
Teddy Afro is a son of Ethiopia in the purest sense of the word "son"! He has used his talent to entertain us, all of us - young and old, from all backgrounds, and from all walks of life! What many of us preach on this kind of FORUMS, Teddy takes with him on the road - city to city, country to country and continent to continent! Teddy does not only entertain us with music, but he has used his musical as the most effective medium to convey the pain our people live through, day in and day out!
This advocate of justice for our people; this voice for the voiceless; this champion of the oppressed; this ultimate entertainer could have lived in luxury abroad and enjoyed life as most of us do, but knowing the risk to his own life, he returned home to continue the mission he has set for himself! Today he sits in the notorious Kaliti Prison, precisely because of what he does for his down-trodden compatriots! The humiliation he has suffered so far and will continue to suffer hence will be the most poignant symbol of our peoples' suffering for the last two decades!
The tyrannical regime in Ethiopia has spared no effort to silence the voices of those who dared to challenge them, and by locking up Teddy Afro, while simultaneously disenfranchising Ethiopia once again, it has clearly demonstrated its contempt for Ethiopia and its people!The Ethiopian dictator is doing what all dictators do - eliminating those who pose a threat to their grip on power! What shocks me time and again is the utter paralytic inaction on the part of the people into whose eyes this regime has been poking its fingers with impunity!
In the absence of an effective defense of the people’s interest, the regime has been riding roughshod on all Ethiopians irrespective of their background, as long as they are not toeing the line. As I have warned repeatedly in my many write-ups our Tigrean compatriots may well be bearing the brunt of this oppression – history will tell! In my recent write-ups many of which have appeared on these pages, I have tried to lay out why it is imperative of Ethiopians inside and outside Ethiopia form a solidarity forum to try and prevent Ethiopia from slip down the face of a cliff on the brink of which it is currently tittering! As in any culture, our youth are our pillars and future depends on them. I recently lamented that our generation is proving ineffective in the face of an onslaught on everything we value in our culture, I appealed to our youth to make a covenant with our Motherland, and advised the formation of “My Solidarity Forum” youth league!
We have lacked effective tool against this heinous regime, and not because of its strength, but rather because of our weakness! There is no any other way one can explain such humiliation of a population of 80 million people by a handful thugs! There is no organization that I know of in Ethiopia or outside Ethiopia today, to which we can turn and that is a crying shame!!!!
Let us show that we have spine! Let us show that we still have some residue of self- respect, let show that we have a culture we value, let us demonstrate to the world that we have what it takes to regain the dignity which has been the trade mark of our forbearers. Let us show our SOLIDARITY with this young hero who has given all he has for the dignity of his motherland. Let’s honor his mobilization at grass-root level to carry forth his lyrics of emancipation! Let’s show him something as a token of our appreciation for what he has done and continues to do for us! Let us show we have SPINE!
In making this call, may I refer you to my recent write-up “When Our Home is Burning”! Please study and use principle listed therein, and take responsibility to help our Motherland move get out of this darkness. Avoid waiting for someone else to take action and take the lead - evidence from our recent history does not support such an approach! Accept 100% responsibility for Teddy Afro's freedom and Ethiopia's freedom. Do something new, establish a new contact, call a meeting, distribute a flyer, and initiate “My Solidarity Forum”, anything! Don’t let Teddy Afro perish in the hands of one of the most inhuman administration on the continent of Africa today! We can save him, and we can save Ethiopia – we just need to demonstrate self-respect and pride in ourselves and our heritage!
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