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!

 

Interesting Views About Ethiopian Music

Right now, I'm listening to beautiful Amharic music by various artists old and new but mostly contemporary music, which I enjoy these days very much. It has been every day for almost 6 months now. I am not listening to oldies anymore, though I still love them, but I am liberated now that I have incorporated all new Amharic music into my music selection. They are available on Spotify and other music platforms. We are no longer living in gloomy times like the 90s and 80s, when families used to send us cassettes of brand-new music when we arrived in the States. Today, you have access to everything you need to receive and enjoy music thanks to the high-tech of informational technology. As someone from old school, I have found it difficult to adjust to the new trends in music. Nonetheless, as someone who believes in the changing dynamics that occur in the world, I have also had to change some odd habits to conform to the changing trends in music, or else I would remain stuck in my ways. After a long period of distance from contemporary music due to my distaste for rap music and computerized voice manipulation, I'm now enjoying it again. As a result of my research, I discovered that Ethiopian music movement has been gaining great new experiences, it has undergone a great tectonic shift; restoring its originality, spicing it up, and withdrawing some experiences from the past, and replacing them with new ones. Let me be the first to say that I love the new Ethiopian sound. In addition to listening to music, I also read comments about artists, their performances, styles, voices, dresses, or outfits. It became apparent to me that some of these people are extremely popular commentators, while others are intrusive, condescending, abusive, and do not appreciate musicianship in any form. However, most fans are supportive, appreciative, and loving. The best of the good will came from faraway places, such as the Middle East, Central Asia, South and Far East Asian nations, including Australia. A Kazakhstani man and a Nepali man were surprised by the angelic voices of the Ethiopian singers, Amharic is beautiful, beautiful, an angelic language, which foreign schools should teach the say. A Nigerian woman championed Fikreaddis, Tamir, Rahel Getu, Veronica as therapeutic music for pharmacies. The song "atasferaragn" by Helen Berhe, Rahel Getu, "aleguaguam" is popular in Juba South Sudan, Siria Linka, Rwanda Kigali, Veronica, Lemlem Hailemichael "Kidus Lalibela" is popular in Nepal, along with Tameer music "manawa." In addition, all best wishes, love were coming from Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan Gahanna, Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa, including neighboring countries. As a result of my observations, I discovered that many people from all over the world have never heard of Amharic music and language before. However, they love the language and wish they knew what was being said in it. Since discovering this language, a man from Kenya has been playing Amharic music in his bar, Everday.  A final note, I think many post-colonial countries have no national languages like Amharic that have developed over centuries. My roommate from Botswana used to listen to my Amharic music with great interest, fifteen years ago. Then one day, I asked if he could play some Botswana music for me, he replied that he had mostly English music, however some Botswana plays local tribal music, which is meant for specific local geographies, like in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, etc. 

The end.     

  

 
  

 

''ኮረኔሎች መንግስቱን ስለሚንቁት እንጂ በወያኔ አንሸነፍም ነበር!'' | Mengistu Haile Mariam | E...

ሰበር - የአፋሩ ፕ/ት ለጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩ ያቀረቡት አስገራሚ ጥያቄ | መታየት ያለበት || MR. AWOL ARBA ...

My Own Personal Testimony

I was told by Gambellan who lives in Mankato that pastor Okwier has been asking about me, that he wants to see me, and that he is disappointed in me because he hasn't seen me yet. Hearing that I was concerned, I assumed he had bad news for me from home. My heart started palpitating every day for a while. One week later, after I began transitioning into calmness, my heartbeat and throbbing stopped, and my palpitations stopped troubling me. While there is nothing to worry about at home, here in the diaspora, we worry about every single undistilled news story about worse security conditions back home. As a matter of fact, none of the news we've heard from home has been pleasing. This is a given; we can't blame ourselves for it. Perhaps pastor Okwier had no bad news, maybe he just wanted to see me, know how I was doing physically. You are fine, I said to myself, there's no need to worry. Since I had not heard of his arrival, I told the messengers I might be seeing him this weekend, if necessary, that it is possible that he would like to pass on some good news to me if he sees me, which someone else told him to pass on to me. Perhaps I will be able to see him this weekend at Boomtown bar and restaurant next weekend. Boomtown is a popular Bar and Restaurant where many Anyuaks hang out at during weekend. Pastor Okwier and I met at Boom Town one weekend, arranged by student friends who live near the University of Mankato and brought the pastor along. I thought Pastor Okwier would not recognize me, but I was wrong. After I entered the bar, walked toward him, pastor Okwier stared at my face, said hello Amhare, I replied hello pastor Okwier, we hugged, and he asked how I was. I am fine, I replied, and I asked him the same question. Thank God, Gilo, God has taken care of me very well. He asked if I recognized him, and I said yes. I would recognize your face even after a hundred years. The whole room laughed nonstop! The way I remember things is remarkable. As far as I can tell, my memory bank is still functioning smoothly and steadily. Pastor, I heard you were disappointed in me for not coming to your niece's house. Unfortunately, those messengers misunderstood what I said. I didn't mean to offend anyone. To be honest with you pastor, I live in the dormitory of the school, and I haven't interacted with the Gambellian community since I came here. As a result of self- imposed excommunication, I have voluntarily distanced myself from the group. There are no external pressures on me because I live in my own island. Due to my status as a student, I have no means of transportation. I am completely unknown to most of those people who have been visiting you there. Occasionally, I run into some of them between classes, but I'm not sure if they know my name. Also, I did not ask those I knew if they could give me a ride. Pastor, this is a small town, and everything is private. There is public transportation such as taxis and buses, but the response times to customers are not good, especially with taxis. As there are no other routes, those seeking other directions were unsuccessful, and time limits applied to their business. In any case, let me begin by wishing you a warm welcome to Mankato, Pastor Okwier. What is your impression of the city so far? He explained that your small town is different from Seattle, Washington, and even Minneapolis is too small to be comparable to Seattle. Sir, they are incomparable. I asked him how Gambella was doing putting aside all things American. Amhare, Gambella is not the Gambella you grew up in, but an abandoned orphanage without parents. As a result of the illegal settlement of the occupiers on our land, the Anyuawa have become increasingly angry at them. They have, however, been unable to fight their common enemy due to political division and polarization among themselves. The Anyuawa, are united in their tongues, but not in deeds. They are divided by villagization and regionalization. He made me more aware of what he was saying, I was very tentative this time, I am a student of history and politics, and this is what I am interested in, why, when, and how.  It is essential to know the causes of historical processes and political divisions in order to understand them. To put it another way, what made these divisions emerge, and who caused them. Forests, rivers, and irridentism have been our geographical prisons. He replied, "Money" Amhare, has deculturized our very existence as a society. Amhare, the sociocultural, political, and economic system is collapsing, the politicians are doing nothing to alleviate the suffering. The anyuawa, today, Ato, Amhare, do not retaliate against any mistreatment imposed upon them by the brutal regime, and the forces bent on destroying everything they hold dear. My question to him was whether he was referring to only those at home. No, he was talking about the entire modern Anywuawa, including the overseas residents. On my first leg to North America a year ago, I saw deep rooted contradiction among the diasporas, Amhare, the contradiction, or conflict between the diasporas was like one at home. It is about reivers, forest dwellers, semidesert dwellers. And his message was one of unity and togetherness, stick together or get destroyed by your enemy, he said, to the people of Gambella who gathered around him a long time ago. In my message, I asked them to put down divisive political ideologies, concentrate on building unity among your ranks. In his explanation, he explained that we named ourselves Anyuawa because we were ancestrally linked through destiny, through culture, through marriage, and through blood. Our forefathers germinated seeds of blood relation, friendship, and cultural relationship among the Anyuawa people by upswinging their diversity from every different entity in our land through the methodology I have described above. He said he told them to stop spreading toxic thoughts among themselves. Olden days, it was not necessary to take provisions with you on trips to distant and nearby villages. No matter where one chooses to visit, one is always warmly welcomed and greeted brotherly as soon as one arrives. All one must do is introduce himself or herself briefly. In most cases, there are no complicated explanations once a person's background is cleared. The feeling of being in a foreign country will be gone. Through cooperation, unity, kindness, togetherness, and responsibility, the forefathers brought people together not through violence, but by fighting together for survival and maintaining the Anyuakland by helping each other in times of need. But on his second leg here, he discovered the community he loved was extremely divided and isolated, and some of them had accused him of sowing division. It sounds like pastor Okwier was right, I heard the same thing. In other words, pastor Okwier was accused of being one-sided by extremist groups from both sides of the villagization political spectrum, so his talk about unity and forgiveness did not resonate with anyone. Disgruntled elements in the diaspora are, in my opinion, responsible for misinformation, as well as disinformation at home. It is likely that they played a significant role in passing on unsubstantiated stories to authorities.  To conclude, Pastor Okwier was a genuine preacher of God's word, unlike others he has always been a man of God. During our conversation, he predicted how he would die under unusual circumstances, he would be killed and burned at home. Pastor Okwier, foretold everyone that other people will die the same way as he did in broad daylight. His prophecies about a gloomy day coming have been fulfilled. I pray that his soul rests in peace. Amen