Remembering Gonzalo Lira

It's not What One Thinks

 My childhood memories include playing football with balls made of rubber tree products. The trees were pierced and milked for elastic rubber substance that we mixed with other products to make balls in Gambella? Local shops occasionally sell real ones. In our local stores, commercial rubber balls are available that don't last very long, but we still buy them for fun. It might last a week or two, but who cares? We were satisfied with our limits. In those days, life was much cheaper and more beautiful than it is today. Gambella civilization radiated a sense of cleanliness and authenticity that attracted many from far and wide to visit the town. We spent lots of time cooking and eating food from the camp during the winter, hauling frying pans, breads, salt, and green papers to Teirjweni, to catch fish and to catch adpae. We did not eat home foods when we returned home, which made our families unhappy, but they understood. As a person with several family homes, I missed a lot of visitors who wanted to meet me but missed me most of the time. They asked my dad, Where is our son? Since we arrived here, we haven't seen our son, strangers asked my dad, "Where is he?" The kids, especially the younger ones, were curious. It was important to them that they saw me before they returned home. He told them he is around, he lived in the city and rarely returned home. They said, "Wow, that means we won't get to meet him." My dad says that happens most of the time. He doesn't spend much time with us. Sure, I'm busy with my friends out there. We speak a dialect developed locally in Gambella town called "dha Anywaan Paany", considered harmful beyond the town. Perhaps because several foreign languages were incorporated into it. Gambella, being a port city, is cosmopolitan, so many languages unique to the city are learned here. Many Anyuaks speak Amharic, Arabic, Tigrigna, Oromingna, and English, and some older people still speak Italian. Furthermore, Anywaa gained significant advantages through encounters with Ethiopia's Rapid Force "Feteno Derash". Through conversation and interaction with Fetenoderash, Anywaa has become proficient in Amharic. There are still some Gambellans who have never learned a foreign language. They don't care about them. Nothing to be ashamed of. Newland, huh? Back then, it wasn't called that. Because Gambella did not have any refugees. There was no such thing as Newland back then. The native of that section called it Chiengkwar, which literally means Sun Heat, as it turns out this is the only area in Gambella where sun heat is extreme. Historically, it was populated by Anywaa and Komo people who grew groundnuts, surghums, and other cereals as their main crops. A primary school was at that time located adjacent to Chiengkwar settlement, and a secondary school was located at a distance. During school breaks, we visited groundnut farms to scavenge groundnuts to eat while watching the farm owners, who sometimes chased us away. The area is also blessed with wild berries such as Olemo" or grapes Lang-diel red berries, root plants, which also benefit us in our diets. Down the slope, we have marshy grassy pools, which dries up in the summers, exposing Eels fish to extraction. Otherwise, it would be difficult to cash them when in waters. We dig Eels out of the mud soils, and we do it carefully to avoid being bitten by them or they can cut fingers. They are hard to catch, and one can only extract five or three for personal consumption. I have never seen Eels fish in the markets, I wonder why. Perhaps it's a cultural thing that other people don't share with us. Or one of the taboos things for others. I don't know.

There’s Hope for Renewing Anyuawa Again

The other day, I was chatting with someone I knew back in the day. I tutored him back in the day, but he wasn't a close friend. The man is now large with a lot of wisdom, knows a lot about government from the ground up, and is qualified to be consulted on regional political matters. According to his past nostalgia, he was once a revolutionary respected by his peers in the community. Listening to him, I immediately believe him, his background speaks for itself. As a respect to my tradition, I called him nephew, and he called me uncle in return. In Africa, a nephew is not only someone related to a person, but also someone who meets certain ages. Anyway, we discussed politics, I expressed my concern about the deteriorating security of our homeland, and I wondered how he was handling it. Since I have lived on this beautiful land for so many years, he said this is the most dangerous situation he has ever experienced. I'm sure we'll manage it, uncle. Eventually, we'll find a way out. I am fine, as are all my family members. Amid threats to our homeland security, he understood my concerns and those of others in the diaspora. However, he calmly assured me that it was under control, though not dismissive, but he wasn't frightened. Nevertheless, he urged diaspora Anyuawa to help us raise funds so could buy refiles to protect our land and help the poor who couldn't afford to buy guns. He advised diaspora to do just that, leave the rest for them, believe me you should worry less, if help us our hands with what I have just mentioned for us to deal with security and threats to our land. As an army officer, I am a soldier. I am armed to protect myself, my country, and my people. Currently, I am in the Itang district, en route to enforce the order that was shattered by clashes between Anyuawa and Nuer two days ago. In the automobile he was in for duty, his comrades were making loud noises, interrupting my conversation. Well, I see you're busy, so I'll speak with you again when you're free. Without worrying, I hung up. My conversation with him gave me a better insight into who he is and how he works. In his detailed description of the Nuer tribe with which he was working, he described many of them as egotistical, wanting power, control, notices, appraisals, promotions, rankings, privileges, and mostly they wanted to be called chief that chief that, and even passed on the praise to anyone who respected them. The Nuer are very nepotistic, even among themselves, which is awful. The notion of my village, my boys, my family, my neighbors, my cousins, my nephews, or my nieces dominates their decision-making process. If those demands aren't met, chaos or anarchy will ensue. For all social conflicts in Nuer tribes, war is the first choice to settle them. He claims to have gained a great deal of experience from many years of military service, including several expeditions he had taken to enforce peace and prevent clan fighting in the Nuer country. He told me a peculiar story about a Nuer boy who was a head monitor but was dismissed due to incompetence. The boy became angry and went home brought his father, family, clans carrying spears, and guns with them to school, challenged the teacher and the school authority, and refused to give up his position to another student who had received a lot of votes. As I listened to him tell the story, I remembered many stories I was told when I was young about Anyanya I the first South Sudanese Liberation Movement, its sagas. The story of Captain Nyang Rundiel, who told his disciples to respect him as it was decreed at Bura-Agnaya, that only his peers would speak to him, not those of the lower common, and that anyone not appointed, anointed into rank and file of the liberation army officers at Bura-Agnaya should not dare to challenge him. As one can see from this, other stories, it's understandable that the Nuer stock, not all of them are self-centered, they want attention, control, appraisal, promotion, ranks, on top of that, they are sycophants who admire other people jealously, by copying everything. Currently, their music contains Tigre, Oromo, Amharic, and Anyuawa rhythms. To put it another way, they survive by stealing the culture and property of other people.   

  Good Day

Writer Namphili Gilo, can be reached at the following email address: amhare14@gmail.com

 
 

 

 
  

 

Note From Caribou Coffee House

Politically, the Nuer and Oromo stocks are similar. It is a group of expansionists, manipulators, and liars. Historically speaking, they own nothing. Everything they own has been acquired through conquest, theft, or robbery. In their inability to appreciate what they have, they want to own other people's property, be it intellectual, cultural, or material. The prime minister of Ethiopia, for example, has the urge to copy everything he sees abroad, copy them at home, despite knowing his country cannot afford them all. In the name of development, his group has robbed banks and confiscated land and properties as part of crime syndicates. As the adage goes, the Oromo regard everything in Ethiopia as their own, including the earth and sky. In addition, the Nuer stock believes that they own everything on Anyuawaland. If they don't lie about owning them, then they would resort to violence to take them by force. They see everything in Anyuawaland through the lust prism. Democracy is viewed by both tribes as having a larger demographic number than other societies. By this definition, majoritarian democracy can be defined as tribal democracy, were tribal votes matter regardless of political party inclination. In both tribes, the Oromo and the Nuer, democracy does not entail a majority vote cast by political parties, but tribal votes exercised through whims, expanse of political dispensation, and manipulation and interference of tribal votes, or cheating by inflating tribal numbers. Instead of political stability, they prefer chaos and violence. They believe in mob rule or lawlessness. They don't follow the law and are difficult to manage. The Anyuawa civilization, on the other hand, suffers from being law abiding, and for their high regards for government, the respect for the rule of law. In contrast to people who are granted power through the backdoors or the windows, they believe in law and order, equality, justice, and power distribution based on merit. In the light of this grave phenomenon in front of our eyes, Anyuawa should take a stand for their higher principles and protect their destiny. A better future for Anyuawa must be built free from such violent relationships.  

Good Day

Writer Namphili Gilo, can be reached at the following email address: amhare14@gmail.com

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The Unresolved Separation of Church and State in Ethiopia?

 A week ago, there was huge mass protest in the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopian capital city. For years the Ethiopian Tewahedo church was riven by long suppressed and suffocating grievances between its church and the Ethiopian state. For a very long time, the Ethiopian government has been acting like a mafia political organization. Due to its involvement and inability to fix things, it utterly failed to do the right thing. This led some people to believe that even the breaking up of the Muslim councils, its leadership, six months ago was the result of government interference in Muslim affairs. As it was stated, the prime minister often dabbled in deadly problems throughout the country. In fact, he did not merely attempt to resolve them, but rather aggravated them. Whenever there is a problem, he deploys state security apparatus forces to resolve it by force, including whipping and shooting people. The present feud was started by a few disgruntled clergy, who violated the church's working mechanism, and doctrine, and even though they were aware of the imperatives of the Tewahedo inner workings system of the church, they did not care if they violated its principles due to political motives. The prime minister has been implicated in the affair, which he shouldn't have been involved in given the country's tribal politics. There were many who wondered whether the prime minister had taken sides because the claimants were from his tribal background. Perhaps he was unaware of what had happened, but many question whether he hadn't been informed. If the prime minister hadn't been involved, he would have ordered investigation into the case. This would have allowed him to set up a commission to investigate the affairs of those presented to him, but with the knowledge of the Canonical Governing Council. But he did not do it, that has resulted in the widespread mass protest last week across Ethiopia, as well as from Ethiopian exiles in other parts of the world. The state seems caught unprepared by the flood of protests that filled Addis Ababa's streets due to this sudden demonstration that didn't sit well with authorities. A prominent Ethiopian historian described the event as unprecedented in the country's history. But few are aware that the church was responsible for organizing this mass protest, and with the help of its followers, church devotees, it went smoothly without violence. In opposition to the Ethiopian government's draconian bantustanization policies, they demanded none-interference by the government in the affairs of the church. And Tewahedo church leaders called on their flowers to protest the sitting government's interference in the affairs of the church. According to church leaders, the government in power has crossed the red line for Ethiopia's independent church, which has existed for thousands of years. In their letter, they demanded respect for Canonical law, its administration imperatives, and independent governing principles. That the authorities must stop intervening in the affairs of the church, allow the church to function without government interference. We don't have guns, killer drones, armor, armed armies, but our crosses, recited the church leaders along with their ardent disciples. All roads and perimeters were filled with people carrying crosses on their shoulders, chests, and hands. As the crowd sang, "We are not afraid of your guns, but our faith in Jesus Christ, Mary, and our crosses do." We are children of God, children of the Tewahedo church. We do not fear any earthly power, nor the government of Abiy Ahmed. Abiy Ahmed, stop dividing our church into groups based on ethnicity; this is a violation of the law of heaven and earth. Please refrain from interfering in our church's affairs. Please follow, the Ethiopian constitutional law, which defines the state as separate from the church. As stipulated in the constitution, the church was protected, and the state would not interfere with its activities, so it should not interfere now. In response, the government of Abiy Ahmed, noticing the severity of the situation, tried to play a double game of politicking, but it appears the state has accepted its defeat, they are now on a different course. There is no doubt that the state underestimated the power of the church, those dedicated fervent followers of Christ who unquestionably respond to every call the church makes to carry out the church's mission. Done!

  Have a nice weekend!