Rumors
Wednesday, January 6th, 2009
by Teddy Fikre
EA4C Guest Blogger
“No greater weapon has been formed than the forked tongue of one man against mankind.”
Exactly 64 years ago today, Martin Niemoller spoke before the representatives at the Confessing Church in Frankfurt Germany. He said:
“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
I am here today to speak for my friend Abonesh Adnew, better known as Abiti. I first met Abiti when Ethiopian-Americans for Change was organizing the Ethiopian-American Appreciation Day. She came out to support and to have a good time with the rest of the throngs of people who came out to enjoy Mahmoud, Yehune, Wayna and other artists who performed for free at this wonderful cultural event. I did not have a chance to talk to Abiti for too long, but she mentioned that she would have loved to perform for free as well had someone reached out to her.
I did not even know at the time who Abiti was, but I told myself that if Ethiopian-Americans for Change held another event, I would definitely reach out to her. In the back of my mind, I wondered if she really meant what she said, that she too would have loved to perform. So two weeks later, when we were organizing Ethiofest at Bus Boys and Poet—a concert meant to pay off some of the debt incurred from the Ethiopian-American Appreciation Day—I ran into Abiti at the showing of Teza. I asked her if she would perform, and she gladly accepted. Of course I told her that this was yet another “pro-b ono work” and all of the artists involved were doing it for free. She smiled and said she would gladly take part in such a wonderful cultural event.
Up to that point, I had never heard Abiti sing before. But when Ethiofest came around, she got on the microphone and proceeded to turn the house into a festive celebration. People got up and started doing Guragina, jumping in pure elation to the sound of her melodic voice. I thought to myself, wow, what beautiful music. She proceeded to sing songs from almost every part of Ethiopia—talk about versatility. I became an instant fan, of course because of her music, but also that someone as talented as her would perform for free once again. The very next day, I bought Abiti’s CD, I did not realize it at the time, but her CD was way up at the top of the shelf. I thought it was odd at the time, but did not put too much time into it.
In the subsequent days, I found out more and more about Abiti. I found out that Abiti used to have a wonderful restaurant, that she has two amazing kids, and that Abiti is not just some local singer, she is a renowned performer who used to pack every venue—in the past. And I also found out that Abiti wears a scarlet letter, the letter W that is attached to anyone who dares says anything that could be remotely associated with supporting one party or another in Ethiopia. Abiti was the target of a McCarthy witch hunt, she was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion by an invisible judge and a hidden jury—a whisper campaign that read guilty on all counts.
Do you want to know what her crime was? Abiti went to Ethiopia and upon her return, she was interviewed by the Ethiopian Television Network (ETN) what she thought about Ethiopia during her visit. Abiti replied “I think Ethiopia is improving”. She did not endorse anyone, she did not say Ethiopia was getting more Democratized, she did not say that Ethiopia was a model country of freedom. She just merely said, “I think Ethiopia is improving”. That was her crime, and for that, the lynch mob went into frenzy.
Look, we all take part in rumors. I do it every day, I talk about this entertainer that might be this way or this politician who might be seeing someone. Rumors are a part of life, fighting against rumor is like fighting against the Nile River. But, in our community, there is a particular perniciousness about they way rumors are waged as a continuation of war. Rumor are not really rumors, rumors become a cottage industry where boycotts are staged over buna. Whispers are traded over Johny Walker.
Next thing you know, an organized wall of resistance is formed, and through an echo chamber of vicious innuendo and unfounded claims, lives are destroyed for simply being different. I was once a victim of these rumors; last year, while we were organizing Ethiopians for Obama, I read on some blog board that I was a Woyane. I have been in America for 28 years since the age of 7, until that point, I did not even know what a Woyane was, I just wanted to help organize our community.
So the wheels were set in motion to destroy and burn. “Did you hear, Abiti is a government supporter.” Semash, did you know that Abiti is a Woyane?” The rumor mills started burning up, and next thing you know, an implicit boycott was organized. What was once one of the busiest Ethiopian restaurants in the DC Metro area became a ghost town. This went on for weeks, then months, finally, Abiti had to close the restaurant down. All for what exactly, because she said “I think that Ethiopia is improving”.
Memo to the rumor mongers, Abiti is first and foremost a performer—she sings. She is not there to preach about anything or any principle, there are “activists” who do that already. When she sings, I don’t expect her to remind me of what is wrong with Ethiopia; I want to be reminded about what is beautiful about Ethiopia. I want to hear about love, dancing, joy, and laughter in songs, I don’t want to hear about some four or five acronym political party in Ethiopia. Does everything in Ethiopia have to be formed into a political football, and if you dare say anything that can be construed as not taking one side of the football, you are banished to Siberia.
Of course this does not happen only to Abiti. Almost any business person who wants to start a business in Ethiopia is branded a traitor. Never mind that if he/she is successful in creating a business in Ethiopia, a whole village could prosper or dozens of children could start attending schools instead of working on the streets. What room is there for sensibility when one side is hell bent on revenge or power; and that is what this is all about, power. If it was really about Democracy, you know the truest way to speed up democratic reform is through economic development. Look at what is going on in China, sure China has a long way to go, but in many ways, China is more capitalistic than the United States—Democracy is not that far behind. Once people get a taste of freedom, they don’t easily give it back.
But again, what place is there for reason when one is dealing with a forked tongue. So you were successful, you were able to shut down Abiti’s restaurant. You were able to make her struggle to pay her bills, you were able to make her go from being driven by a chauffeur to being a chauffeur. But guess what, you were not able to shut down Abiti’s soul, and you are not able to mute her beautiful voice. So Abiti continues to sing, and I will continue to listen; through her voice she sings about the true beauty of every part of Ethiopia. I just hope that next time, maybe, just maybe before you start another rumor of someone being a government supporter or a Woyane, take a pause, and ask yourself, whose life I will destroy today. And if that does not work, just remember, in due time, the forked tongue of others will come back on you. As Niemoller said, “there will be no one else to speak for you”.
Click to go to Abiti's Fan Page
This blog submission was written by Teddy Fikre. The views of guest bloggers are not the views of Ethiopian-Americans for Change. Guest bloggers represent the broad dissection of views and outlooks within our community.
The reason people are embittered with Woyane and their sympathizers have nothing to do with Politics. It has to do with being made non-Ethiopians in their own country. I went to Ethiopia and I was all the things “Abiti” thought were improvements. These are great things if you are an entertainer or a willing prostitute. But if circumstances have placed you in the unenviable postition of not being Tigre, not a Woyane, or God forbid someone with a conscience you quickly find out you can starve to death.
Even worse, justice comes faster if you are a Woyane, your business license, your ability to function, to breathe artistically comes when you are a Woyane or you don’t critisize the Government. We all know what happened to Teddy Afro. Abonesh would never “accidentally kill” someone. But for Teddy, it didn’t even help that he was on an EAL 767-ER approaching Addis Abeba Airport when he was allegedly running over the accident victim. It didn’t help the information could be easily verified, by his fellow passengers, by the Airport Authorities. The Woyane police just kept coming back to the Woyane Judge and asking for 2 more weeks to investigate. The only person who can look at this and say it is an improvement is a Woyane for him the sky is a little closer. So not being a Woyane, I can also tell her that now she no longer has to worry about a business and can focus on raising her kids things are improving in the US.
It takes a lot of insensitivity to say things are improving in Ethiopia, not just for Addis dwellers but for the “nations nationalities etc” crowd these idiots are supposed to have come for. Can you imagine what it feels for your champions to have turned into your worst nightmare. Abiti has shown us she is an Azmari, without a conscience that is willing to prostitute her sense of fair play. She like any artist wields a lot of influence. This is a good way for her to learn learn responsibility. If she has the strength of her convictions now things are not so hot here and they are cooking in Addis perhaps she should go there and open her place. DC seems to have voted with its feet. And you guys at EA4C need to get a clue and listen to the constituents instead of trying to hypnotize them with your bleeding heart nonsense.
That was an amazing article, I literally had goose bumps reading it. We all take part in rumors/innuendos knowingly or unknowingly the level of damage it does on someone’s life and lively hood. However next time we hear it, let’s all think for a minute that this same rumor can one day be spread about us or someone we care about, so unless we know for a fact 100% it is true, refrain from spreading it and even worse take any action to convict and punish. We live in a country that is founded on freedom of speech and escaped one that killed people that were presumed to have or held actual opposing views, so how in the world do we come to the US and practice willingly in assassinating the character and livelihood of someone who is presumed to have or has a different opinion. I had no idea that this was happening to Abiti whose voice I have always loved and considered myself to be a fan of. So if her crime is saying that the situation in Ethiopia is improving and you stand strong against that opinion to the point of driving someone out of business, then I ask you what is it that you have done to ensure that the situation in Ethiopia is improving? Or is your idea of helping to improve situation in Ethiopia to protest while in the US but then go to Addis party at the Sheraton and come back?? If memory serves me right, Ala Mudi (sp?) is an openly avid supporter of the Woyane government so by you going and spending your hard earn money at the Sheraton, if the same is done to you and you get convicted and punished for supporting an establishment that is owned by a Woyane supporter, would it be justified/fair??? Imagine if that actually happened, how many of you would be guilty of this crime???? So really let’s stop and think about what we are hearing, believing and repeating before we go out to purposely convict, punish and destroy someone who has different opinion than we do, especially when we ourselves are not doing a thing differently about improving the situation in Ethiopia if our opinion is that it is not improving. Teddy thank you for bringing this topic to light and for supporting Abiti and others like her who fall victim to conviction by public opinion without evidence or trial. Abiti keep your head up, you have a beautiful voice that no one can shut down and in due time when the anger passes, people will come to their senses and realize that you are an artist and a business woman not a politician, activist, nor a martyr.
First of all: For transparency, and so that people can go by more than a soundbite, can someone kindly post a link to the ETN interview?
Teddy, you raise a hugely important issue. Not Abiti’s predicament in particular, even if it seems very tragic, but the larger issue of how we should exercise our people power, our consumer power. It is important for each of us to place ourselves in Abiti’s shoes as part of our thinking on this matter, before taking then a (needed) detached assessment of the matter. Leave alone apparently apolitical folks like Teddy and Abiti, I know of fierce pro-democracy activists fighting to end the current repression in Ethiopia who have at some point or other been labelled Woyane-lite.
I withhold more in-depth comment until I have the necessary information to make a more informed assessment of this situation. But by way of a few tentative remarks:
1. First on a more general note: Teddy, I wish you commented a bit more on what your opinions are when citizens boycott a business motivated by political or social justice concerns. Do you think it is wrong for consumers to organise boycotts in general, e.g. as African Americans did against Texaco when racist comments were made by senior management? Once the general question is settled whether citizens can use their consumer power to express their political or social beliefs, only then can we move to the Abiti case. That is, if you believe citizens should never make consumption decisions other than based on the quality and price of the good or service, then that’s what we should be debating, not Abiti. If however you feel it is consumers’ right to do so, then the question is whether exercising this right in the case of Abiti is fair: Did Ethiopians and Ethiopian Americans have adequate information on which they could base their consumer decision to frequent or not frequent her restaurant? More can be said on this, but first let’s disentangle the two issues.
2. Teddy, while I find the central point of your blog highly important (and I wish it would enter the diaspora discourse much more) I don’t find your paragraph about the value of music neither relevant or on-target. (a) Apparently the boycott was not because she kept her music and singing apolitical, but because of her ETN interview. (b) It is fine for people to not want to hear anything relating to political power in songs. It is equally fine for others to love Bob Dylan, Patti Smith or Woody Guthrie (or their Ethiopian counterparts) precisely because they speak to issues of power and political freedom in their songs. But that’s simply beside the point here. In the same vein, if the boycotters stopped eating at her restaurant because of what she said in the interview, they didn’t boycott in order to “mute her beautiful voice” as you say toward the end. It’s important to stay focused on the issue at hand.
3. Similarly, another paragraph in which you expound on the fastest way to democracy should be a whole essay in and of itself. You write “you know the truest way to speed up democratic reform is through economic development”. Well, I’m not sure I know that. In fact, lots of ink has been spilled in the research world, leave alone other worlds, on the relationship between democracy and growth: Whether democracy brings about or is irrelevant for growth. Whether growth leads to or doesn’t lead to better political governance. With lots of inconclusive findings. So I think you are not doing the issue any justice by simply stating that it is so. Aside from the point that this really doesn’t seem germane to the what’s at the heart of your blog.
We all know that Ethiopian politics can get caustic in the diaspora (and can be lethal in our home country). This is why I value your courage to speak to one of the ailments of the political community, especially given you also feel you have been personally burnt by it. But precisely because politics is caustic and can sometimes be destructive, it is critical to inject both a good dose of empathy when we tackle issues (which you do) but also take a razor-sharp knife to dissect and analyse our problems, so that we don’t get sidetracked into the emotional or the irrelevant.
Hi Teddy: even though I share some of your concerns, I fully disagree with the story that you tried to paint based on what you may have been fed . I hope you were not blinded by her favor to you and your group.
By the way I do not know the person and never received or rejected a favor to have a pro bone ESKISTA (i.e, do not have financial or favor based conflict of interest to alter my judgment
).
First of all , the average Ethiopian restaurant visitors are members from the bewildered herd than from those who are politically savvy. Secondly, you should have known about the existence of some Woyane owned restaurants in DC metro that function ok irrespective of the political affiliation of the Ethiopian in the Diaspora . Therefore, the assumption that the lynch mob ( I assume the politically active Diaspora, people like me) that went into frenzy is responsible for closing of Mrs Abity’s restaurant should have been seen as over exaggerated and unsubstantiated.
It is like saying …. YENATE KEMIS ADENAKFIGN AYNET…. .
Finally, it would be very important not underestimate the Ethiopian community by assuming it can be easily lead by group of people whom you have considered the lynch mob. If that was the case, the various groups including your own would have a very easy task to accomplish any task …..
Hope Mrs Abonesh….finds something that she can better manage
Melkam Genna,
Kebeye
This article seems to be biased and unbalanced. I suspect the writer has ties with the ruling party in Ethiopia as well; otherwise he or she would not praise a woman who made pathetic remark praising a tyrannical government. She shouldn’t have made those statements. In order for her to regain her niche in the Abesha community, she need to apologize for her comments. But wait, she doesn’t want to because she stands by her word. Well then, the Diaspora has spoken as well! She is a Weyane, and Weyanas are scums of the earth who arrest and murder people on the basis of ethnicity.
Let us get this right here; the Diaspora are what make Ethiopia with the brain-drain, so have respect! We are not some uneducated gullible idiots who want run on pseudo unity of which Weyanas love to propagate.
Let me quote the writer, “I just hope that next time, maybe, just maybe before you start another rumor of someone being a government supporter or a Woyane, take a pause, and ask yourself, whose life I will destroy today. ”
Bottom line she shouldn’t have opened her mouth!
Writer, ask yourself how many million Ethiopian lives has the government destroyed and still continues to destroy by denying that there is no famine in Ethiopia. Do you realize that unless you are a member of Weyana you will not get any sort of aid?
Once again I have to quote the writer, “If it was really about Democracy, you know the truest way to speed up democratic reform is through economic development. Look at what is going on in China, sure China has a long way to go, but in many ways, China is more capitalistic than the United States—Democracy is not that far behind. Once people get a taste of freedom, they don’t easily give it back.”
Dear writer, if you haven’t taken political science classes I think it is best to refrain from commenting on Ethiopian politics.
What a bunch of bullocks. That is the most hysterical thing I have ever herd. What do you say to the monopolization of the industries by TPLFs in Ethiopia? What do you say about EFFORT etc…?
Why are you trying to fake that China’s economy has brought about democratization? If you knew anything about China, you would have known that it is a communist country that has one party system and that is the CCP Communist Party of China. So please spare us the bogus the analysis. China operates on a free markets system when it comes to the economy, but when it comes to politics it is a communist regime. It is a hybrid sort of speak. That sounds familiar to me though. At least the Chinese have let go of the economy but Weyanes control everything.
Furthermore, a bunch of others artists make the Weyane dream team include the following; Neway Debeb, Ephraim Tamiru, Aster Aweqe, Solomon Teklang, etc….
These Artists have been known to work with Weyanes;therefore, they deserve isolation, and their albums and business should be boycotted.
Now if you ask me a true artist, I would say Teddy Afro! By the way, you might want to check out how the crowed went wild when he sang Jah yasterseryal! That should let you know that the Diaspora doesn’t cater to dictatorial regimes.
P.S Either you’re utterly naive about Ethiopia’s internal problems or you are just fronting to be naive trying to rejuvenate Abit’s image. It will not happen!
I knew that writing this article would present one dilemma, how does one write an article defending someone that has been branded with a scarlet letter without also being branded with that same scarlet letter? I really did struggle with this for a minute, for I too fear the whisper campaign, the rumor mongering, the innuendos and the like. I mean rationally, I have nothing to fear, anyone that knows me and my stance would know where my heart lies. I was “marching for freedom and democracy” in DC when I was 16 while some who would call me a supposed “Woyane” were talking about it over buna. But I digress. In the end, I decided to speak up, because not speaking up would be akin to giving the mob power to dictate thought and action by fear.
Now, I will respond to two folks in particular that responded to my article. One was written thoughtfully and with a lot of introspection—someone who does not strike me as a pitchfork wielding member of the lynch mob. Moreover, she had the courage to use her real name and not throw grenades from the shadows. The second was written with anger and malice in mind, led off with an ad hominem attack, was overly gratuitous, and was written by someone who did not have the courage to say their real name, therefore someone who is a classic example of the pitchfork wielding member of the lynch mob. That being said, let me reply to both.
Inde, thank you for your respectful and thoughtful comment. You bring up some very poignant questions. I will try to respond as fully as I can, knowing that at the end of the day, there is no one right answer.
1) You asked me if I disagree with the notion of consumers voting with their feet and with their wallets. The answer, point blank, is not only do I disagree, I live it on a day to day basis. Even as a kid, I was a huge fan of boycotts. The South African racist Apartheid government was brought to it’s knees because of the crippling blow of a boycott, a boycott which was initially demanded by African-Americans here in the United States. It goes to show you the consumer power that the African Diaspora has, and if we apply it strategically, Africa would not be begging for rice from helicopters while her natural resources are being exploited. However, as big of a fan as I am of consumer activism, I would also like to think that it has to be applied with a wisdom and thought. Let me give you an example, during the Rodney King riots in LA, there were a lot of African-American and minority businesses who got vandalized and destroyed by a lynch mob of angry protesters. These young African-American men and boys did not sit down and say “ok these businesses are in my neighborhood, this business is owned by my neighbor, this business is minority owned”. Instead, they grabbed their pitchforks and went into a frenzy. They destroyed hundreds upon hundreds of businesses, and at the end of the day, nothing changed. This is how I see the current state of consumer activism in our community. At the first smell of “woyane” we leap like a rabid dog and—without due process—try to destroy that person. And I don’t write this only because of Abiti. For a vast majority of my life, I have been disconnected from my community. Ethiopians for Obama brought me back home. So I speak as a man who is naive in many ways about our community but who can also speak without fear and without bias—I can speak as a neutral observer you can say. Here is what I notice, anyone, ANYONE who tries to do something different is almost always attacked as a Woyane or a government supporter. I have talked to hundreds of Ethiopian men and women, entrepreneurs, media publishers, non-profit organizers, political activists, heck even fathers of churches. There is one thing in common, most have been attacked in one way or another and accused of being called a “Woyane”. I mean, is there a grand wizard who decides who the “woyane of the day” is going to be and then sends out a dispatch to the mob? Who decides who is who? You know what I think, I think that the first person who says someone is a “woyane” is themselves a “woyane”, it makes sense to me, if you want to divide people, you divide them based on their anger instead of uniting them based on their fear. You know, my father and mother took us out of Ethiopia in 1982 precisely because they grew weary of living a life in shackles, where no one was allowed to express an independent thought for fear of the “Derg”. And I suspect that most came to America for the same reason, to live life without fear of persecution. Yet, those who are part of the lynch mob are the neo-dergs, they are the very same people as Mengistu himself. We live in the greatest Democracy in the world, yet a large portion of our community live in fear of being called a government supporter. They tremble at the very thought of being accused by the lynch mob, so they become avid supporters of the lynch mob so that their credibility won’t be questioned. I don’t know, this sounds very much like Addis Abeba circa 1980s. This also sounds very much like Germany circa 1940s.
2) The reason I inserted the comment about stopping her from singing is because Abiti has been vilieid as a singer and a restaurant for what she said, or did not say. For all intent and purposes, her voice has been muted, her music drowned out by an angry tirade. So I guess what I am saying is that her ability to sing, and I think that most would agree that her songs are a treasure of Ethiopia irrespective of whether or not you like her, has been muted. Thus, just like how the rioters destroyed minority owned businesses that only ended up hurting the rioters in the long run, we ended up muting a great singer because they decided to riot against a non-political person who made what some thought was a political statement. But your point is well taken.
3) In all theories, there is no such thing as an objective fact. Does economic development lead to political liberalization? The answer is mixed. In China, I think the answer is yes and no. When you compare where China is compared to the days of Mao, the answer would be a resounding yes. When you compare China with the United States with respect to freedom of speech, the answer is a resounding no. However, irrespective of how free or not free China is today, no one can deny that China, compared to when Nixon first went to visit is a lot more open than before. However, for every China, there is a Saudi Arabia. No one can deny that Saudi Arabia is a rich country, but no one would dare say that Saudi Arabia is a free and an open country. So I guess what I am saying here is unless you are ready to fly to Ethiopia today and fight for Democracy, then economic development is the only chance we have. So while I agree with consumer activism, “rioting” and destroying our own is not going to change anything, except make Ethiopia poorer in the process.
Now, let me respond to “Ethiopia”, who is probably someone I know and will smile and say “Teddiye endet neh” when I meet him/her but who—in the comforts of anonymity would call me a Woyane. You are the type of person I do not have patience for nor have any respect for. If you were a true man or a woman, you would have the decency and courage to say the things you say using a real name, why use a fake name. How would you feel if I wrote that article about Abiti and then used “Gondere Number one” as the name of the author. It does not speak very highly of your courage, not in the very least the courage our ancestors displayed in Adwa. Now back to your not very well thought out ad hominem attack. You—sir or Madame—are a colonized mind. Ethiopians versus Ethiopians, Iraqis versus Iraqis, Nigerians versus Nigerians, Congolese versus Congolese, and the list goes on and on. This is the very essence of colonialism. An outside power comes in, they choose one group of people and call them the elites, give them money and guns, and tell them “you are special, the rest of them are scum, we will help you stay in power”. The “elites” use their power and guns to repress a popular revolt by the majority who have been deemed a lower class. The lower class grow resentful and can’t wait for the day where they are in power, so that they can show the elites how it feels to be repressed. Anger breeds anger, hate breeds hate, repression breeds repression, in the end there is no room for thoughtful exchange or compassion. Let me ask you a question “Ethiopia”, what would you do if you ran across a child in Ethiopia who was homeless, hungry, and hopeless. Then you find out that her parents are Woyane. Would you ignore this child, would you attack this child, would you not feed this child because her parents are woyane? This is insane, we are turning on each other and killing each other for the sake of what exactly? Meanwhile, Ethiopia is robbed blind everyday and given rice from helicopters as a down payment for our foolishness. Now, I am sure you are over there saying to yourself “I knew it ,Teddy is a woyane because he advocates feeding a starving Woyane child”. If you really did have this thought, you are hopeless, if you did not, maybe, just maybe you see how insane the idea of it all really is. And you had another gratuitous attack where you questioned by knowledge about politics. To answer your question, not that I should ever feel the need to defend myself, I did take multiple political science classes at George Mason University during undergrad and attained an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. So when I speak about political development and economic development, I would like to think I do so with a bit of knowledge about the two. You said that Abiti deserves to be attacked for what she said, my question to you is “who the hell are you to be the judge and jury”. Did you watch the interview in totality before making that judgment, or did someone just tell you about it over buna and that was enough to convince you. And then you went ahead and listed the “dream team” of Woyane supporters. My God, you actually keep a list of people at home?!? So are you the “decider” or the “keeper” of the list? How do we know you are not a Woyane yourself?
This is the insanity I am referring to. For close to ten years, McCarthy had America paralyzed by the “red scare”, he destroyed the lives of countless thousands just by accusing someone of being a communist. And the country shook before him, he was the most powerful man in America, no one ever dared to confront him. Until one day, a Senator turned to McCarthy live on air and said “Have you no shame sir?” Instantly, the power of McCarthy crumbled and sensible people stopped being afraid of the rumors and innuendos and decided to speak freely. So today, I turn to “Ethiopia” and the rest of the lynch mob and say to you “Have you no shame?”
As a side bar, I will leave you with this, that the first person who accuses someone of being a woyane is most likely a woyane themselves.
Dear Teddy,
In the meanwhile, in a discussion with a very well informed friend, he shared with me a few things: The interview of interest was actually not with ETN, but with Radio Fana, a pro-government station, and took place while she was still in Ethiopia (Fana is in Addis). Furthermore, the interview apparently took place at the time of the heat of the political upheaval, in the 2005/06 period, when peaceful protesters were being killed and journalists and opposition supporters rounded up, jailed, tortured.
It was a very painful and sensitive time, when due to the government massacres and high degree of repression many consumer boycotts of pro-government or TPLF-owned businesses were going on in Ethiopia, and to a lesser extent also abroad. She was apparently pleaded with not to go to Radio Fana because of the signal that would invariably send in this time of heightened sensitivity occasioned by the government violence against Ethiopians, but refused and went ahead, and in speaking to Radio Fana said what she said, which was very poorly received in Ethiopia at this time were nerves were raw, most people knew someone who was swept off the streets by security forces, and people wanted to use their consumer power against government supporters. It may well be that Abiti saw the better roads in Addis, the increase in tall and new buildings, etc. and made her assessment on improvements on the basis of these things alone. I’ve heard some people say that so that that was the foundation of her analysis is not implausible. That is however where those who pleaded with her could have been helpful, as she may not have had the political acumen to realise that it would be perceived as highly offensive and insensitive to make such a remark at such a time.
I personally can’t make an assessment that this warrants or doesn’t warrant the boycotts, I still would like to know more about the case. But I am sharing this because–if matters are as laid out above–this does tell a rather different story of the events, and it is important to share this with the readership.
The person I spoke to is a very astute observer of political developments so I lend his info a lot of credence. But Teddy, if you feel he is wrong after all and her interview wasn’t with Radio Fana but indeed with ETN, and at a calmer time in Ethiopia’s history, I think it is critical for you as the author of the original blog to provide the readers with the link to the interview (the way it’s nowadays commonly done in blogs and even in newspaper articles), so that what actually was said or not said is transparent and available in full context to all, and we can all be more informed commenters. In other words, Teddy, please put the evidence be out there so we don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. We can then take the discussion from there.
I won’t say much on the democracy and development issue, will leave that to others–other than perhaps to share a link to a recent blog by NYU economist Bill Easterly (you’ll also see my comment to the blog there), entitled “Democracy and Development look different from inside a jail cell”: http://aidwatchers.com/2010/01/democracy-and-development-look-different-from-inside-a-jail-cell/
Teddy:
First of all I would like to give you a pat on the back for having the courage that most Ethiopians don’t to start on a topic this sensitive but so crucial if the ea4c movement for change is to be successful. Although I may agree with Inde about the plausibility of the Abiti story, I don’t think it is relevant to the broader issue of tolerating differences of opinion by other Ethiopians. I work in downtown DC and from time to time I drop by the Ethiopian restaurants. I have not heard of the Abiti story until I read your article. I have not met anyone who heard it either. I don’t believe the closure of the restaurant is a direct consequence of any boycott by the Ethiopian community since there was no such organized activity (radio and newspaper ads, community meetings, etc) that would make people aware of what the issue is. There may well be some rumors about her interview and some people might have actually stopped going there but to say that her restaurant is closed because of it a bit of a stretch. I do not think we in the Diaspora have a unity of purpose for anything let alone boycott any business. I do not want to dwell on veracity of Abiti’s story, as Inde has rightfully done, but focus on the root cause the problem.
Whether the story is true or not, your article has brought to the forefront the core of what needs to change among Ethiopians. And that is the expectation that every Ethiopian should think alike and have the same opinion about everything under the sky. Anyone one that has a different opinion than us is automatically the enemy. This disease is also the main culprit that destroyed the opposition camp in less than a year after that historic post election momentum. It is always my way or the highway. Until we start to respect differences among people we will be in this vicious circle of blaming someone else for all the ills of our country. Who said that freedom of expression is to be respected only by the government? In a society such as ours, family and community matters so much that individuals won’t say their opinion freely to their family and friends for fear that they would be isolated. I agree that the government has to do its part but when you have private radio stations and newspapers spewing false information about businesses and individuals with the intension of intimidating and harassing people, who is to hold them accountable. I don’t have the study to prove it but it is my opinion that freedom of speech of Ethiopians is restricted more by communal pressure than the governmental excesses. That is precisely the reason why you have so many Ethiopians won’t reveal their political view in public here in the USA where presumably there is a freedom of speech.
So the question is, how do you stop restriction on freedom of speech that is coming from fear of the “lynch mob” or not being labeled as this or that? Until we cure this, we will not have a peaceful society. The fight for human right and freedom of expression will be reduced to simply fighting to change governments. Until we change the mindset to accept our brothers and sisters with different opinion than us as our compatriots and not enemies, nothing will change. As the saying goes “gulicha bikeyayer wot aytafitm”. Ethiopia is a country of 80 mil with diverse culture, religion, language… We can’t have the same ideology, opinion and view point about everything. We will have differences and that should be ok and it is the beauty of the country…its diversity.
Peace
First of all the feeling is mutual. It doesn’t take to be a rocket scientist to smell a Woyane rat like yourself. I have no patience whatsoever for Woyanes.
This is the most ridiculous thing I have herd, “As a side bar, I will leave you with this, that the first person who accuses someone of being a Woyane is most likely a Woyane themselves.” I will crack open the head of any pro-TPLF scumbag any day. Please believe me when I say, I harbor no Woyane trait which is to smile the one minute then smirk the other. However, it is interesting you mention that because, if I apply the same logic you stated earlier ( one who accuses another first is just like the other). Doesn’t it make you a Woyane? The fact that you were able to mention or rather point out that I would probably be some double faced person only reveals that you are one. And the interesting about that is that Woyanes are known to be snakes ( double faced). Another trait of TPLF is to immediately “challenge” those they feel threatened by. Revealing my name is of irrelevance to the article and to the discussion, but it evidently bared to me that you are a TPLF because that is what they like to do. They like to often to resort to statements, like “if you are man go fight” “if you are man you tell us your real name.” Statements such as these are all the more common from Woyanes. So I have no doubt you are one. It is hilarious, though! At any rate, I am not here to play around but rather to address your bogus monotonous article.
Your whole article lacks the understanding, assessment, and analytical process (the whole nine) You make an appeal to emotions rather than presenting facts! It sounds as though a desperate salesman trying to sell a product from back when.
You have not mentioned any of the reason why being associated with Woyanas is a “sin.” Why is that? You should have questioned why the so called “lynch mob” you talk about is takings such actions, and by the way you insulted the entire Diaspora. Because I think you will realize that the Diaspora opposition is not a few people but rather thousands.
Let me quote you, “The lower class grow resentful and can’t wait for the day where they are in power, so that they can show the elites how it feels to be repressed. Anger breeds anger, hate breeds hate, repression breeds repression, in the end there is no room for thoughtful exchange or compassion.”
So what are you saying? Should we keep quiet and do nothing? Should we just be subjugated?
This reasoning is typical of a sly TPLF preaching.
You said, “Let me ask you a question “Ethiopia”, what would you do if you ran across a child in Ethiopia who was homeless, hungry, and hopeless. Then you find out that her parents are Woyane. Would you ignore this child, would you attack this child, would you not feed this child because her parents are woyane?”
First of all no Woyane kid would be starving that is a fact! As mentioned above Woyanes are the elite.
All the beneficiaries are Woyanes. However, for the sake of argument we will consider! The kid has no relations ( indications of supporting) a Woyane; therefore, we wouldn’t have any reason to ignore the child. These people we talk about support the regime and are in agreement with the regime. Therefore, they should be despised and hated simple as that. A murderer is not solely defined as a person that kills someone else but rather it also includes and refers to those who support the murderer and also those who snub the actions of the murderer.
Another thing you have not touched on is the ethnic issue. You cannot choose to talk about Abonesh, Woyane, etc… and not take into considerations all the associations comes it. Like I said before you’re either naïve or just purposely playing ignorant.
You asked who I was to make such a judgments on others, and I will tell you with a straight face because I am Ethiopian. I have the natural right to denounce others based on their anti-Ethiopian actions , and I know I stand with the million of Ethiopians.
Lastly, I can understand if you do not want to state the facts on Woyanes because in the end you wouldn’t be able to go back and build a flourishing business. It is no hidden agenda that you have to be a Woyane to have a business and profit. The question, however, is are you willing to sell yourself and vast poor Ethiopian people for riches? If you do, then you are a person with no value or sense of honor or for that matter Ethiopiawinet. I believe it was MLK that said that the ultimate tragedy is not oppression and cruelty by the bad people but those who keep quiet. I will remind you again there is no so called middle ground here you are either for the poor, the underdogs, or you are against them. This is simple!
PS You are disgrace to Tewdrose II.
First of all the feeling is mutual. It doesn’t take to be a rocket scientist to smell a Woyane rat like yourself. I have no patience whatsoever for Woyanes. This is the most ridiculous thing I have herd, “As a side bar, I will leave you with this, that the first person who accuses someone of being a Woyane is most likely a Woyane themselves.” I will crack open the head of any pro-TPLF scumbag any day. Please believe me when I say, I harbor no Woyane trait which is to smile one minute then smirk the other. However, it is interesting you mention that because, if I apply the same logic you stated earlier ( one who accuses another first is just like the other). Doesn’t it make you a Woyane? The fact that you were able to mention or rather point out that I would probably be some double faced person only reveals that you are one. And the interesting about that is that Woyanes are known to be snakes ( double faced). Another trait of TPLF is to immediately “challenge” those they feel threatened by. Revealing my name is of irrelevance to the article and to the discussion, but it evidently bared to me that you are a TPLF because that is what they like to do. They like to often to resort to statements, like “if you are man go fight” “if you are man you tell us your real name.” Statements such as these are all the more common from Woyanes. So I have no doubt you are one. It is hilarious, though! At any rate, I am not here to play around but rather to address your bogus monotonous article.
Your whole article lacks the understanding, assessment, and analytical process (the whole nine) You make an appeal to emotions rather than presenting facts! It sounds as though a desperate salesman trying to sell a product from back when.
You have not mentioned any of the reason why being associated with Woyanas is a “sin.” Why is that? You should have questioned why the so called “lynch mob” you talk about is takings such actions, and by the way you insulted the entire Diaspora. Because I think you will realize that the Diaspora opposition is not a few people but rather thousands.
Let me quote you, “The lower class grow resentful and can’t wait for the day where they are in power, so that they can show the elites how it feels to be repressed. Anger breeds anger, hate breeds hate, repression breeds repression, in the end there is no room for thoughtful exchange or compassion.”
So what are you saying? Should we keep quiet and do nothing? Should we just be subjugated?
This reasoning is typical of a sly TPLF preaching.
You said, “Let me ask you a question “Ethiopia”, what would you do if you ran across a child in Ethiopia who was homeless, hungry, and hopeless. Then you find out that her parents are Woyane. Would you ignore this child, would you attack this child, would you not feed this child because her parents are woyane?”
First of all no Woyane kid would be starving that is a fact! As mentioned above Woyanes are the elite.All the beneficiaries are Woyanes. However, for the sake of argument we will consider! The kid has no relations ( indications of supporting) a Woyane; therefore, we wouldn’t have any reason to ignore the child. These people we talk about support the regime and are in agreement with the regime. Therefore, they should be despised and hated simple as that. A murderer is not solely defined as a person that kills someone else but rather it also includes and refers to those who support the murderer and also those who snub the actions of the murderer.
Another thing you have not touched on is the ethnic issue. You cannot choose to talk about Abonesh, Woyane, etc… and not take into considerations all the associations comes it. Like I said before you’re either naïve or just purposely playing ignorant.
You asked who I was to make such a judgments on others, and I will tell you with a straight face because I am Ethiopian. I have the natural right to denounce others based on their anti-Ethiopian actions , and I know I stand with the million of Ethiopians.
Lastly, I can understand if you do not want to state the facts on Woyanes because in the end you wouldn’t be able to go back and build a flourishing business. It is no hidden agenda that you have to be a Woyane to have a business and profit. The question, however, is are you willing to sell yourself and vast poor Ethiopian people for riches? If you do, then you are a person with no value or sense of honor or for that matter Ethiopiawinet. I believe it was MLK that said that the ultimate tragedy is not oppression and cruelty by the bad people but those who keep quiet. I will remind you again there is no so called middle ground here you are either for the poor, the underdogs, or you are against them. This is a simple choice.
PS You are disgrace to Tewdrose II.
To Ethiopia et al,
I had some time to reflect on this article. I, by no means, regret writing this article. I think it started a conversation that is sorely needed. If we as Ethiopians really want true Democracy, we will have to accept with it the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression. That means you respect someone with a different thought or idea than you, even if you hate what that person stands for, you have to cherish his/her ability to express that idea.
The most profound statement of this whole exchange was raised by Mr. Solomon. He stated:
“The fight for human right and freedom of expression will be reduced to simply fighting to change governments. Until we change the mindset to accept our brothers and sisters with different opinion than us as our compatriots and not enemies, nothing will change.”
I agree with you Mr. Solomon, you are showing the wisdom of Solomon with that statement.
Although I came to the defense of Abiti in this article, the main point of this article above and beyond defending Abiti is a message of accepting a different view point and to stop the hateful innuendos and whisper campaigns that are started when someone says something we don’t agree with. To embrace a different idea–even if we don’t like what they are saying–because they have the right to express it.
With that, let me apologize to resorting myself to tactics which I denounced the “lynch mob” of doing. By calling folks that took part in the implicit boycott of Abiti as members of a “lynch mob”, I myself resorted to ad hominem attacks and overly gratuitous name calling. If I am preaching to others to accept someone’s ability to express their minds, I cannot then denounce those who do something I do not agree with.
So I apologize to anyone that I have offended. I let my own emotions get away from me because I get frustrated when we turn on one another. However, I cannot hope to bridge the differences by resorting to the very tactic I denounce. So, wondeme Ethiopia, I apologize for challenging your courage or calling you any other names. It is your right to call me whatever you want, the minute I resort to name calling back, it takes away from a thoughtful debate and an exchange of ideas.
I will not question your commitment and love of Ethiopia. It is my hope that you won’t do the same in return. However, if you do not, I cannot let my anger divert me from my main goal, that of spreading a message of unity and acceptance of each other’s differences. Thus, Ethiopia and anyone else I offended, I apologize for the name calling and any insults that has been seen as an attack by me on your character. There is a saying, when you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you. Thus, I will acknowledge that I too was a part of the “lynch mob”, for I resorted to the very tactics I tried to denounce.
Since this is Sunday, I will leave you with one quote from the bible:
“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult”
Let us all try to be prudent, and let us all–in our own ways–help bring a new day to Ethiopia. Have a blessed year and Melkam Gena.
Teddy
Dear Teddy:
I read your last post with mixed feelings – appreciation and disappointment. On the one hand I admire your graciousness to ask forgiveness from your fellow members although I do not think you said anything that should not be said. On the other hand I am disappointed because I felt like you have just become a victim in much the same way as the person you were speaking on behalf of, Abiti. It sounds like people like “Ethiopian (??)” have it their way once again by bombarding their venomous and hateful accusations so we stop talking about this very fundamental problem that we as Ethiopians have, probably inherited from our past. I hope I am wrong and that you are not exiting this debate falling pray to people who have so much hate to anything that is different from what they perceive to be the absolute truth.
Having said that, I truly would like to ask all who are participating in this discussion to continue to talk about this issue in a civilized way and do our part to reverse this divisive and deadly thinking process. This I believe is what is expected from the new generation of Ethiopians and it take courage and leadership to do so. Teddy, I have followed your great work from a distance as far as organizing the Ethiopian community for a common good and I believe you’ve got what it takes to lead this movement in a direction that is badly needed among us, tolerance and understanding of the diversity of Ethiopians. So I encourage you to stay focused and not be bullied by those who don’t want this to happen.
With all due respect to “Ethiopian (??)”, I would like to ask him a few questions regarding his pointed accusation of Teddy as a Woyane. “Ethiopian (??)”, first of all what is you understanding of what a woyane is? Is it an ideology (such as communism)? Is it an Ethnic group (such as tigreans, amhara, ormo)? Is it a political system (such as federalism)? Is it the governing party (eprdf)? What exactly do you mean when you accuse of people like Teddy as being a woyane? How do you fit him in any of these categories? Do you know that the most dangerous serial killer is one who does not know who his target is and shoots randomly at anything that comes across such as the gun man at Virginia Tech or Columbine High or those that shoot people randomly at the malls? Until you clearly specify and define what a woyane is you will make the dangerous assumption of anyone who doesn’t agree with you as a woyane. The problem is you don’t even know what you mean by that and shoot randomly. You will be no different that the V-Tech gunman whose shooting rampage ended up killing so many innocent students. That is why I say your hate is boundless. I am not questioning your opposition to the current government, which is absolutely your right, but your approach to bring change is more destructive than anything the government is doing.
You accuse those who do business in Ethiopia as woyannes. Boy that is a lot of woyannes as there are 80 mill people who are trying to make ends meet in Ethiopia be it in business, farming or other areas. You accuse people like Teddy as woyanne and murderers, people who are not Tigrians, who are so remote to what is happening in Ethiopia, who did not declare any form of idealism associated with “woyanne”. I know you are going to come after me with your usual hateful “here comes another woyanne”, but until you come with a specific definition of what you mean by woyanne and how exactly you categorize Teddy, Abiti, and possibly myself as one, you will prove to me that you are no different than the gunmen I mentioned above and will be considered as a schizophrenic and a danger to society in my book.
Peace!
Ayzo Thomas, I am not going anywhere. One thing my father did not raise is a quitter. However, equally as bad as quitting is would be to play in the mud with the very tenants of name calling and gratuitous attacks that I am speaking out against. What made Obama special last year was because he refused to–for the most part–sink down to the mud slinging that the Clinton camp was taking part in. He answered mendacious attacks with a positive message of hope, and in that way he planted a seed in minorities about dreaming big, and not settling for the lowest common denominator–I know that seed got planted in me.
So far from quitting, I will redouble my efforts. Along the way, if I run into negative thoughts or people that have hate in their hearts, I will consider the source of that anger and try not to judge, and if it is the aim of Ethiopian-Americans for Change to change this mindset and organize our community around the precepts of a common purpose, we will just have to be patient, we will have to withhold judgment, and above all, have a thick skin.
So don’t worry Thomas, I am not going anywhere, and neither is EA4C going
anywhere, we are in this for the long haul. Along the way, we will change minds, one at a time. After all, if a black man can be elected President of the United States, who is to say that Ethiopians can’t one day come together and work together irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation. Yes, that is one audacious goal. But we believe in the audacity of hope.
Teddy