From Tunis to Cairo and Cairo to Addis

29. January 2011 by Assimba.

Twenty Years After the Cold War, New Winds of Change in Africa

By Maru Gubena

I have often wished, especially given that things have started very recently in Tunisia and Egypt, to prove me wrong. I have even begged my Lord God, kneeling down and bowing my head to the ground, to prove me wrong, at least at this time, at this very moment - to allow us to share and enjoy the newly ripening fruits of political and power changes that have taken place in Tunisia and are currently under way in Egypt. Yes, I did implore my Lord to help speed the winds of radical change that have been blowing from Tunis, which have quickly reached Cairo and other major cities of Africa, and to let them blow above the skies of my country as well! Yes, I begged my God to help us bring unexpected, abrupt changes in the attitudes and behaviours of all Ethiopians, both at home and scattered throughout the globe, to fight against our longstanding hostilities and resentments, including their foundations in deep-seated jealousies and animosities, and instead to be kind and caring to and for each other. Yes, I certainly and unambiguously want to be proved wrong at this time, at this very moment, marked by a sudden uprising of the people of Africa against their cruel, repressive and brutal rulers. I want those massive winds of change of the peoples’ revolution, now blowing across the skies of other countries and peoples, to quickly reach the skies, mountains and hills of my country, Ethiopia, as well, shaking the houses, the living rooms and the sleeping rooms of the corrupt and cold-blooded rulers of Ethiopia.

Oh yes! As can be read and heard in my various articles and interviews of the past five or more years, I always have argued relentlessly that the long-standing Ethiopian political culture that has shaped and reshaped the attitudes and socio-political behaviours of Ethiopians would not and will not allow Ethiopians to rise up, not just against their heartless, brutal and tyrannical rulers, but also against the cardinal foundations and the elements that divide them, including the factors of family and group orientation and regionalism. Yes, I have said and written as recently as the first week of December 2010 that unless we take the required decisive measures as urgently as possible to end the prolonged infighting and persistent wrangling among us, the lifespan of Meles Zenawi and those around him will be extended by an additional two or more decades, “unless some kind of coup d’état within his own circle, possibly by the armed forces, were to occur”.

Maru Gubena

Readers who wish to contact the author can reach me at info@pada.nl

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