TIME FOR CHANGE

Like everyone, I too enjoyed my freedom living Australian way of life free of constraints embracing my freedom to live a fulfilled life. Like every immigrants, I respected the law, appreciated for allowing me to be part of its society and sworn in to pay my allegiance during citizenship ceremony. Like every immigrants, I was pressured to renounce my parental given name, of course, voluntarily as you might think, to a more simplistic, fitting and the familiarly known Anglo-Saxon name in order to earn a decent assimilation. Like all immigrants who came to this country, of course, with the exclusion of the first arrivals, I didn’t change the nation’s culture, names of places, natives & decimate existing ones except enhancing a rainbow of multinational or multicultural aspirations conducive to living in harmony.

I too agree that racism, unfortunately, has been confirmed as a learned behaviour and it starts at a very young age.

We all have been following traditional & cultural lines of misguided or the not so favourable practices of faith or many sorts that our fore parents did for the same motives.

There will be times when we shouldn’t compromise our core values, our integrity, and we should have the moral responsibility to speak up in the face of injustice.

Talking about moral responsibility, Waleed is a man who really understands and able to put himself in others shoes with no hesitation, because he’s been, you name it, through it all and has the tenacity, resilience and determination to speak up about any confronting situations to educate and change any harsh conditions in our society.

Waleed has given a thorough assessment of the naming, shaming and prejudices of labelling different racial and religious groups causing tragic incidents, similar to the Christchurch Mosque massacre, later changed to “Christchurch Terror Attack” in the media, in New Zealand, by prominent figures and society in general.

Waleed, like other believers a devout Muslim, said, struggling with emotions, “I’m gutted, I’m scared, and I’m overcome with utter hopelessness.”

Waleed Aly's powerful reaction to Christchurch Mosque attack

This disgruntled racist and white supremacist killer wasn’t called a terrorist. Mind you, the media calls him with all sorts of different names as described, but terrorist. Think about that! Don’t misinterpret my views that I’m in no way sympathizing with anyone who commits crime and let alone destroy human lives as our human birth is very rare and precious and a conceit to be finished in such a vindictive way.

Today, it’s not enough to create change at the level of symptoms and structures. We need to work together even more deeply to change the underlying paradigms of thought and to connect with our deeper sources of creativity and self.

The process of unifying people is difficult and the road to agreement is often littered with the debris of historical grievances, animosity and resentment.

However, any failure can be turned into an opportunity to learn and grow. I say it can, because it requires a particular attitude to benefit from our failure. Without that mentality, all our failures will go to waste. This is true in political affairs as it is in personal life for a leader as well as a follower. So what is that mentality?

It is a mentality that is willing and able to reflect on past experiences, past actions and their outcomes. It is only through such reflections that one learns one’s strengths, weaknesses and the environment and conditions in which actions were undertaken and what could have been done differently that could have resulted in a positive outcome. It is not enough to admit collective failure. One needs to evaluate one’s role in the failure.

A United Kingdom Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, said, the Palestine Royal Commission in 1937, the following remarks: “I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.”

These days in age, we don’t need guns and weapons of mass destruction to change course of history, by sharing practical concepts as an interconnected society, we can write and re-write anything until we get it right, peacefully.
Nevertheless, this is a wakeup call for all humanity and government officials to take heed and reaffirm the responsibility for their own actions or face this ongoing inevitable fate again & again for generations to come. I’m not violent or inciting violence, but commenting my own assessment as I’ve lived through this and all sorts of incidents, war and cruelty and demanding for change.

A Philosophical Poet, John Donne, wrote, “No man is an island.” an expression emphasizing a person's connections to his environs. But we failed to follow that expression. Similarly, another South African philosophy of UBUNTU which roughly translates to human kindness towards others is the belief in a universal bond of sharing with all humanity replaces the simple greeting of ‘How are you?’ with the more sentimental response ‘I’m well if you are well.’

Simple greetings and sorry expressions shouldn’t be a very hard act to follow. I have tried my best to break that cycle whenever I’m confronted with one. If I sound harsh and uncompromising in my deliberations, it is a reflection of the level of my frustration, and I kindly ask readers to take it as an honest expression of an emotional plea to the likes of our beer culling culture & our country’s highly educated elites to be honest, to show their respect and to give their best.

We’ve the choice to live together in harmony or continue to live in a world of hate and inequality.

Let’s anticipate eliminating shared problems that have entrenched us for so long by redefining the way we perceive its symbolic grounds without blaming others. If we do so by using all of our senses, we may empathize rather than trivialize.

As always, good piece of work, Waleed.

Condolences to all the people who have lost their loved ones

HONGI TO YOU NZ!
KIA KAHA!

WE’VE GOT TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK

If you want to change the way you feel, you’ve got to change the way you think.

TO YOUNG GENERATIONS

To our young generations including my children, don’t worry whatever you have done so far as it’s part of discovering to find the path to your life’s blue print. I’m not here to sermon anybody, but sharing my extensive experiences that shaped me till this day, gave me the grit & tolerance to survive and thrive in different countries and cultures after I left my maternal country leaving my families and friends behind at the age of 24, having no one to turn to.

Can you hear me? Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

You must listen and respect the words of the elderly and your parents’ as they have been where you’re now and been through all the smart things you’ve been trying to outmaneuver them. You must also stop blaming your families for all your actions and everything that happened to you as a result. Everyone, including your families, has their own upbringing that turned out to be a vicious generational cycle. More on that later!

You must also remember to carefully monitor the people or friends you connect with otherwise you’ll be ruptured, tortured & scarred for life. More importantly, don’t let modern day tech gadgets come between you & human interactions. You’ve to know when, where and how to use them rationally. You must remember that all your past actions can’t be your destiny as you have an ability to change and go on living mindfully.

So, make no mistake, we can’t control what has happened in the past, which shaped the brain we have today, programmed our cells, and caused certain genes to switch on. However, we do have the power in this moment and going forward to choose our perspective and behaviour, which will change our understanding and our destiny.

We can’t afford to dwell on our differences. It is not sufficient when someone merely acknowledges, regrets, or apologizes for something they have done. Change in our perception is very essential in the family, community & society, in whatever level of services we’re dealing with, whether sports, welfare or community organizations or day to day interactions to be able to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of individuals and most of all paying our gratitude for their services unreservedly.

Also, the safest way to live your life is by doing the right thing. If you do the CRIME, it’s a matter of time, you’ll get caught and you’ll do the TIME.

Make this day a day that will change your life and be prepared to take each of your friend’s, unjustified actions and undesirable life experiences seriously and if you are going through some painful times, speak to your closest family or friends who will give you a helping hand and most importantly, inform your doctor.

ROACHFORD - THIS GENERATION LIVE

TO MY GENERATIONS

To my generations, we need to break free from the vicious generational cycle negative emotions of the past & outdated beliefs of generational scenario, inherited collective mind patterns that have kept our parents & ancestors in confinement, without blaming & shaming the conditions created so much of their suffering for eternities and manifesting in our misery today.

There will be times when we shouldn’t compromise our core values, our integrity, and we will have the responsibility to speak up in the face of injustice and do all that we can to survive without resentment.

To do so extended families and our society need to cultivate and nurture the concept of diversity helpfulness and social cohesion rather than individualistic hatemongering approach that serves no purpose to anyone.

 To appreciate how playing with the fire of racial hatred is so tense with unintended consequences, it will be good to remember that mutual recognition is a precondition for social trust. A sense of self-worth by any group in society is only partially internal; it also depends on the willingness of other competing groups in society to acknowledge the worth of the other. It’s time that we attentively and sympathetically watch and listen to the ambitions of the younger generations carefully and guide them succinctly.

Our marginalized future young generations are in desperate need of model leadership and guidance from the vast societal structure that are capable of mentoring the new generations into the new direction with improved possibilities without racial divisions, profiling and the rhetoric vision of status quo-business as usual.

There is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to equal opportunity than an education that unravels our genetically given potential for young people.

The wave of crimes committed by young people, pigeonholed and racially profiled as organised gangsters, is a testament to unimaginable injustices and treatments they have endured during their course of growing up in a totally different and rapidly changing social trends.

This cry for help by those juveniles committing various offences amounts to disappointments, frustrations and inability to see their full potential is attainable in their unconducive environments, in which they live, to gain equal access to opportunities that are available to others in order to create conventional possibilities for themselves and the community in which they live, is becoming bleak.  

If few people are benefiting while the majority are struggling, it would be a zero sum game, if not disintegrating and inhumane. That’s exactly what’s being perceived by our underprivileged and our dispirited younger generations in the so called multicultural society, who didn’t have a strong mentors and supporting group in our community.

We are all making our contributions regardless of commendations, acknowledgements, appreciations and validations of our efforts, to improve any ongoing social, political and personal dilemmas in our community. Those contributions are somehow used by individuals in assisting and advancing their actions for a better outcome. That’s morally a good feeling!

Everybody’s views should be represented and valued irrespective of their background, race, colour, religion, status and academic preferences.

These days and age, it’s not enough to create change at the level of symptoms and structures. We need to work together even more deeply to change the underlying paradigms of thought and to connect with our deeper sources of creativity and community.

Make no mistake, the time is ripe, in order to tap all the opportunities and possibilities that are available to a communal society like that of ours, and if we want to change the way we feel, we’ve got to change the way we think.        

Like my generations, I grew up in a multi-ethnic culture and loved it deeply to this day. Unlike some of my generations, learning a positive attitude towards life goes a long way in achieving knowledge and mental peace and thereby keeping me stress free. I quickly transformed myself to be able to adapt with the rapidly changing social order and beliefs without stubbornly staying with my old traditional social creeds.

I stand back but not remain silent and don’t let the daily hassles grind me down. It’s too easy to become angry and cynical. There are millions of reasons and excuses not to do things without hating anybody.

Like every families, we hear and see the plight of family disintegrations in the social media hyped generation. We need not dread but accept this trend as a customary now and see it as common disorderly and uncontrollable scenes.

It is incumbent upon us, the older generations, to appreciate more and resent less, to encourage and support the interaction of young people and to undertake tasks and discussions of the like organized by local communities and various institutions to strengthen their mentoring schemes carefully and efficiently. The least we can do is to refrain from infecting these young people with hatred towards each other. Instead let us earnestly tell them of the good and bad times of our own stories and our determination to get ahead on our long journey to pursuing our success up to where we are today to enrich their journey.

Remember, we may not have the prestige of celebrities, the power of Pope or all other academic luminaries, but our differences of opinions and stories are unique and equally valued, effective and say something no one has expressed before. They may not be accepted, openly communicated, appreciated & validated, but are genuine commitments and opinions of noble thoughts that must be shared with everyone unconditionally and impartially.

It’s TIME FOR CHANGE, let’s accept what is, let go of what was, and have hope & conviction in what will be.

Must read more important commentaries here: https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2016/07/lets-allow-our-true-feelings-be-seen.html

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2016/03/we-can-become-master-of-our-mind.html

THE NEW BREEDS WITH INFO OVERFEEDS!

Anybody or any leaders in the new generations are well informed and capable of accessing helpful & informative ideas thanks to the internet technology and the availability of free social media interactive information.

This testimonial is demonstrated by the election of current new breed of leaders, like the Ethiopian Prime Minister, human right activists and all others passionately involved in various parties and justice activities, around the world. These people amassed more facts and figures and most importantly educated themselves about the acceptable resolutions to proficiently manage all the problems that are causing their multiethnic societies to pity against each other.

It’s so distinctive that everything the Ethiopian Prime Minister, political parties and other activists have been articulating, from their individual personal changes to tirelessly campaigning and promoting unity in diversity with forgiveness with no vengeance, has been mentioned.

More importantly, the emergence of the term ‘Medemer’ or ‘to be counted’ and ‘Ethiopiawinet’ phenomenon, which have all been commented in a diversified expressions (various terminologies) on blogs and social medias, has been termed differently during successive revolutions or changes in the country. The notion of Ethiopia Tikedem -‘Ethiopia first’ & ‘to be counted’ task is the same. The fallout of the former was putting it into practice.

ETHIOPIA TIKEDEM

Now, we’re moving forward with openness with renewed ideology, vigor, freedom, peace, forgiveness, love and all the poignant words we’ve never heard before, we’re, hopefully, on the right ship sailing as one people in the right direction.

Our new young generations need to be informed and learn more from our historical revolutions than totally discrediting contributions of our strong generations.

I want readers to know that I’m not suggesting that everyone has been to these sites, but it’s most likely that like some of us, our shared ideologies, what we all have cherished eventually come to a crossroads reflecting our mutual intentions yearning to achieve the same welfares, ethics and principles to attain the ultimate transformations on a personal level or collectively.

Must read those words and more:

https://simenehmakonnen.blogspot.com/2018/05/ethiopia-tikedem-ethiopia-first.html

https://simenehmakonnen.blogspot.com/2015/12/time-for-fundamental-change.html
https://simenehmakonnen.blogspot.com/2009/02/we-need-change-not-vengeance.html 

OUR UNITY IS THE KEY

ድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር
እንኳን ለአዲስ ዓመት፣ በአዲስ መሪ፣ በአዲስ ለውጥና በአዲስ ፍቅር በሰላም በጤና አደረሰን!

Note: Must read where, why and how the fascinating story of Ethiopian New Year celebration all originated.
https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2017/09/happy-enkutatash-ethiopian-new-year-2010.html

አሁን ጭፈራውና ደስታው አለፈ። ለሚቀጥለው አዲስ ዓመት በአዲስ መንፈስ፣ በአዲስ ፍቅርና በአዲስ ሀሳብ ድልድዩን ለመገንባት እንዘጋጅ።

ለሁሉም ጊዜ አለው እንደተባለው፣ ድሮ የበላዮቻችን፣ ቤተሰቦቻችን፣ አንጋፋዎቻችን፣ የሥራ ባልደረቦቻችን፣ ጓደኞቻችንና አብሮ አደጎቻችን እንዳንናገራቸው ዝምታ ወርቅ ነው ብለውን ዛሬ ባሕላችን ሆኖ ቀረ። ንጉሥ አይከሰስ፣ ሰማይ አይታረስ ተብሎ የኖረ ሰው፣ እሱም ስልጣን ስይዝ እንደዛው ለመኖር እነደሚፈልግ መላልሰን በተግባር አይተነዋል። ይህንን የአሠራር ድንጋጌ የሚያስተጋባ የድሮ ሰው ካለ፣ ድሮ ቀረ የሚባለውን አባባል ደጋግሞ ማስተዋልም ይኖርበታል። ታዲያ ዛሬ በአዲሱ ክፍለ ዘመን ይህ ዝምታና ሁለንትናዊ አነጋገር ወደ ኋላ ከማስቀረቱም በላይ ነገራትንና ችግሮችን ትዕግስትና አክብሮት በተመላበት በግልፅና በፍሬዓማ አንደበት ተወያይቶ ለየት ባለ መልኩ ለመለወጥም ሆነ ለማስወገድና ለማሸነፍ በግለሰብ፣ በማሕበራትና በሐገር ደረጃም ታምቆ የኖረው መልካምና የተሻለ ሀሳብ በየጊዜው እየፈነዳ በንዴት መልኩ በመቅረብ መሻሻልን በመፈለግ ችግር ለመፍጠር ችሏል።  

ዛሬ ደግሞ በዘር ከፋፍሎ የሰሜን ሰው፣ የደቡብ ሰው፣ የእገሌ ሰው፣ የማነህ፣ የማነሽ ብሎ ከማለያየት፣ መጀመሪያ ኢትዮጵያዊ ወይም በተለምዶ አበሻ ነን ማለቱ ተገቢና በኢትዮጵያዊነት ስሜትም እንደሚያፋቅረን ጥርጥር የለውም። የትውልድ ዘር ካስፈለገም በቅንነትና በንጹህ ልቦና ያለመናናቅ መወያየትንም መቻል አስፈላጊ ነው። ማወቅ ያለብን ሁላችንም የሰው ልጆች ነን። ነገር ግን ይህ አባባል በባሕላችን ወይንም በሕብረተሰባችን ዘንድ ስላልተለመደ፣ ማንኛውንም የሰው ዘር ለማክበር ሕሊናችንን ማስተማርና መለወጥ ይኖርብናል። አእምሯችን ብዙ መጥፎ ነገሮችን ለማስወገድና ጥሩ ነገሮችን ለመማር እንደሚችል ሊቃውንቶች ደጋግመው ነግረውናል። ለመለወጥም የግል ጥንካሬንና የዘመድን፣ የጓደኛን፣ የሥራ ባልደረቦችንና የሕብረተሰባችንን ድጋፍና ተሳትፎነትም ይጠይቃል። 

ያለፈውን የአስተዳደር ጉድለትም ሆነ ከብሔር ገዢዎች ጥፋት በመማር ወደፊት እንዳይደገሙ በጥንቃቄ የተሻለ ዘዴ እንድንፈጥር ተደምረን አንድ ላይ መፍቴውን መፈለግም የሁላችንም ግዴታ ነው።

                                     

                                         አዲስ የመደመር መዝሙር
ጥፋቶች እንደነበሩ አምነንና ተቀብለን በቅን ልቦና ይቅር ተባብለንና ተባብረን በሰላም አብረን እንድንኖር በመዛለፍ ሳይሆን በየጊዜው ደጋግመን በአክብሮት መንፈስ በመወያየት መፍታትም ይኖርብናል።

ሀሳብን ከማጋራት ባሻገር መወቃቀስና እንደጠላት መተያየት የትም እንደማያደርሰንና ፍሬ ቢስ የሆነ የቂም በቀል አስተሳሰብን እንደገና ለማሰራጨት ሆን ብለው ሴራ የሚያደርጉትንም በጥሩ ልቦና ማስተዋል፣ ማዳመጥና ወደ ሰላም እንዲመለሱ ማድረግም ተገቢ መፍትሔ የሆነና በሆነ ባልሆነው ነገር በወሬ ብቻ እንደጠላት ከመተያየትም ያድነናል።
የተጀመረውም የመብትና ፍትህ እንቅስቃሴ የትግሬ፣ ኦሮሞ፣ አማራ፣ ከምባታ፣ ጉራጌ፣ አፋር፣ ጋምቤላ፣ ሰሜን፣ ደቡብ፣ምዕራብ፣ ምስራቅ ጐሳ ትግል ሳይሆን፣  በአንድነት ላይ የተመረኮዘ  የመላው ኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ሕልውናና ትግል መሆን እንዳለበትና የሁሉንም ጐሳ ትብብርነት የሚጠይቅ መሆኑን የማያምኑ ካሉ ሀሳባቸውን በውይይት ከተረዱ በኋላ ለመደመር እንደሚችሉ ለማድረግ በትህትና፣ ዘዴና ትዕግስት ማስረዳትንም መልመድ አለብን።

ደግሞና ደጋግሞ የሚሾሙትን፣ የገዢውን ሆነ ማንኛውንም ጐሳና ግለሰብ ያለ አግባብ መዝለፍና መሳደብ አምባገነንነት ምንም ፍሬዓማ እንዳልሆነ በተከታታይ ስላየነው፣ ነገ ሌላው ሲሾም የተለመደው እንጉርጉሮአችንና እይታችን እንዳይደጋገም አጥብቀን ማወቅም ይኖርብናል።

እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ የነበረውም የአስተዳደር ጉድለት ከነገሥታት ጀምሮ ሲወርድ ሲዋረድ የመጣና ሁሉም የሚያውቀውንና ያየውን የአሠራር ሁናቴ ያለማወቅ ከማስተጋባት በስተቀር ሆን ተብሎ ወገኑን ለመበደልና ጠላት ለማፍራት የተደረገ ሴራ እንዳልሆነም በደንብ ብናስተውል እስከዛሬ ድረስ የት በደረስን ነበር። ችግሮችን በጠብ፣ ዛቻና ጥላቻ እንደድሮ ለመፍታት እንደማንችልና ያለፈውን የአስተዳደር ሥነ ሥራዓት ለማስወገድ አዳዲስ ሀሳቦችን በየጊዜው እንዳስፈላጊነቱ ያለ ንቅፈት ማፍለቅንም መቻል አለብን። ይቻላል!እንችላለን!

መጪው ዓመትም የሰላም፣ የፍቅርና የመደመር ጊዜ፣ በቤተስብ፣ በጓደኛሞች፣ በማሕበረሰብና በአገር ደረጃ እንዲሆንልን ሁላችንም በተቻለና በተሻለ መንገድ የምንሠራበት ጊዜ ይሁንልን።

ኢትዮጵያ የሁሉም፣ ሁሉም የኢትዮጵያ !

ለቂም በቀል ሳይሆን ለለውጥ እንሥራ!

ጤናና ትዕግስቱን ይስጠን !

ከዚህ በፊት የተሰጡትን አስተያየቶች እዚህ ይመልከቱ፡

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2008/11/let-us-improvise.html

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2011/07/we-must-change-to-create-new-ethiopia.html

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com/2017/06/we-want-change-tolerance-not-vengeance.html

‘Ethiopia Tikedem’- (Ethiopia First)

AN AMBITIOUS STORY OF CHANGE
versus “YES WE CAN”

I hope you think and focus on the message not the messenger and you don’t spend too much time analysing the title ‘Ethiopia Tikdem’ (Ethiopia First) which was associated with the former Derg –military government. Although, the message mantra was by far a superior ambition, they failed to put it in practice. We can redeem that now!

Like everything else, in life, change is a vital course of existence. We all change as times go on, so is the rebuilding of the nation after natural devastation, invasion and unification with another nation. Whatever happened ages ago are history; whether it’s subjugation, isolation, corruption, migration or invasion, it can’t be redeemed. It’s redemption time.

What we can do now is to change that course of isolation, exploration, displacement, massacre, incarceration, torture, starvation, domination, association, or whatever we want to call it, with sincere gesture of reconciliation, forgiveness and appreciation to bring back everything that’s Ethiopian.

ETHIOPIA TIKIDEM 



Change entails new way of thinking, doing and being.

These days in age, we don’t need guns, weapons of mass destruction and separations to change course of history, by sharing practical concepts as an interconnected society, we can write and re-write anything until we get it right, peacefully.

We need to cultivate and nurture the concept of cultural helpfulness and social cohesion rather than our individual intelligence.

Nobody can control what has happened in the past which may have caused certain inconceivable factors to happen, but we have the resources & power at this moment and move forward to choose and plan what we can do to change things for the better.

The diverse political groups, individual actors, intellectuals and political activists must realize that the future of the Ethiopian state would only be solved via continued dialogue, negotiation & cooperation.

All Ethiopian ethno-nationalist groups must be considered integral actors in the changing process and all negotiation procedures occupying the place they deserve on the reconciliation and compromise issues.

Today, looking at the history of ethno nationalist movements such as EPRP, the Pan-Ethiopian nationalist movements emerged as inclusive political organizations, TPLF and EPLF, the rebellions with ethnic grievances as their agenda, that mostly emerged from Tigrigna speaking highlands as well as OLF, the Oromo Liberation Front arose as rebel organizations that are exclusive to their ethnic groups’ interests and their ethnocentric views, Ethiopia’s contemporary history shows that despite some political actors affiliated with such movements have come to evolve in their views of what the Ethiopian state should be. It is crucial to reminisce that these organisation’s political platforms remain embedded within their old ethnocentric agendas.

Autonomy for ethnic federal system was a self-gratifying fraught with conflicts denying fundamental freedom, human rights, economic and social opportunity and democracy to the vast majority of Ethiopians.

Ethnic federal system lent itself to manipulation by federal, regional and local authorities to serve TPLF/EPRDF government’s narrow economic, financial and political purposes and gave them carte blanche authority to erode bonds among Ethiopia’s diverse population.

It is time that all Ethiopians, academics, experts and laypeople take the initiatives to stop incessantly criticizing, forming fragmented organizations, activism as Amhara, Oromo, Annuaki, Somali or other. The potential outcome of a united group and advocacy is far greater.

Some of our scholars, I mean some, goes to the extreme argumentations and reflect gloomy perspectives to say nothing nice but repulsively criticize, denigrate, contemplate and spread their agnostic and ineffectual assessments that are obstacle to changes.

I said some because some individuals and intellectuals ultimately using our old mindset to do business while some are flexible to change and show a sense of optimism, opportunity and encouragement persistently. While the latter deserve unreserved commendations for their contributions for instigating a peaceful change in our country, we can still encourage the former to join peacefully.

Furthermore, unless all of our people agree on the principles, values and structures that are essential to implement the key ingredients of inclusive values and principles, there will never be peaceful efforts to reform our nation.

                                                            "LOVE YOUR ENEMIES"

We must recognize that the most powerful weapon against any brutal government is unity and collective action. When the people unite, there is nothing they cannot achieve.  The need for unity and transformation is greater than ever and all efforts must be made to bring people together in the pursuit of freedom through democracy, rule of law, justice and equality to achieve a real change.

The quest for freedom and change is steadily enduring and we all must stand together for fundamental change in a global village.

“YES WE CAN”, Obama’s “unlikely” story has a resemblance to that of our own Obama, Abiy Ahmed’s “Ethiopiawinet”. He is not just making rhetorical talks, but obviously building up the bases for change instead of jumping the crocodile to build the ceiling. Everything he’s done so far agrees with my own perception for change. Therefore, I take my hat off to him and do my part to help him achieve his mission for change.

                                                                     "YES WE CAN"

Here is a meritorious resemblance of the lives of the two most popular leaders, Obama and Abiy, from two different but friendliest countries.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barack Obama, USA                                                                           Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, in 1961. His mother is Stanley Ann Dunham, an American, English descent and His father is Barack Obama, Sr., from Kenya, Africa. Obama grew up without a father. His father returned to Kenya and saw Obama only once before dying in an automobile accident in 1982 and Obama’s mother lived in Hawaii before dying of ovarian cancer in 1994.

Of his early childhood, he described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.

Obama has seven half siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living, and a half-sister with whom he was raised.  

Obama was a Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. In The Audacity of Hope, he describes his father as “raised a Muslim”, but a “confirmed atheist” when his parents met. Through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand “the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change”.

Obama met, his wife, Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm and were married in 1992 and have two wonderful daughters together.

Obama graduated from law school and served as a professor of constitutional law and served as community organizer, senator and finally as President of the USA, the highest office in the land, The Whitehouse.

Abiy Ahmed was born in Agaro town, Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, in 1976. His father, Ahmed Ali, is a Muslim and his mother, Tezeta Wolde, a Christian who passed away, like Obama’s mother, without seeing her son’s highest accomplishment. Like Obama, Abiy Ahmed also never habituated to seeing his father and he is the youngest of 6 siblings.

Abiy Ahmed, like Obama, was a product of two racial families with different beliefs and lifestyles. Like Obama, he grew up with his mother and amassed huge perseverance, resilience, and considerable self-discipline to succeed in a racially and culturally competitive upbringing.

Abiy, is married to Zinash Tayachew and have three daughters together, He met his wife while both were serving in the Ethiopian defence forces and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Like Obama, he’s a new breed of generations: a successful scholar in various professions, smart, witty, articulate, persuasive, humble, compassionate and humanitarian and has a quality & fine-looking, qualified and suitable to his current position.

              Barack & Wife Michelle Obama             Abiy Ahmed with Wife Zinash Tayachew

Like Obama, he appeals to the people to work together, “from the ground up”, not the other way around as this development was undeniably not reflected in the past successive government practices, thus, appeared to recycle status quo manifestations in our history.

Like Obama, Abiy is the man who really understands and able to put himself in others shoes with no hesitation, because he’s been, you name it, through it all and has the tenacity, resilience and determination to change any harsh conditions fronting our country, certainly, with our persistent support not defamation.

 I applaud him for his gestures of reconciliation and inclusion and I regret to say many of us in the diaspora have not publicly responded in kind.

It’s my deepest & foremost wish the country that I love will also change the national flag emblem with Ethiopian symbolism and ultimately choose its own democratic system of government and change all divided regions of the country by borders and people with identifications and restore the unity and Ethiopiawinet that have been uniquely Ethiopian values for centuries.

             NEW ETHIOPIAN FLAG

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ancient united Ethiopian map                            Recently divided regions

       



 United we can repair the pain

 Today, it’s not enough to create change at the level of symptoms and structures. We need to work together even more deeply to change the underlying paradigms of thought and to connect with our deeper sources of creativity and self in a heterogeneous society.

                                                        What is your life's blueprint?  

Let’s accept what is, let go of what was, and have hope & conviction in what will be.

I am so elated in a long time, with the nomination of the new Prime Minister and hopefully, he will be re-elected again by the people. I feel the winds of changes are really propelling our way, peacefully.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu. Need I say changing one thing at a time; Abiy certainly will surprise all his challengers.

Please, contain yourself from being hatemongering and antagonist for having or presenting my views different than yours and making any assumptions to judge me for what I stand for because whatever I wrote here wouldn’t be a characterization of my persona.

We all can have different opinion without contentions. It’s just my genuine insights, observations, thought provoking suggestions and propositions for the change we need and I don’t mean to offend anyone for no apparent reasons.

Most importantly, I send my greatest admirations to our youths who have sacrificed their lives and those who continued to make their voices for change amid their disrespectful spirits, the way the new Prime Minister is handling the adjustments, every now and then. My absolute admiration and appreciation also goes to my fellow Ethiopians –activists, all opposition party affiliates and homeland loving people everywhere and those loyal supporters in the diaspora who have used the technology to spread vital information to our people to bring democracy and justice for all with courageous demonstrations and persistent calls for equality and Ethiopiawinet.

We’ve the choice to live together in harmony or continue to live in a world of hate and inequality.

As one nation, we rise together as one people.

Let’s all watch each other’s back and more importantly that of the Prime Minister!

ONE ETHIOPIA FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE ETHIOPIA!

Read more:

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/the-awakening-memo-to-stand-with.html

https://timeforchangesociety.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/solidarity-is-key.html  

(የአማርኛ ጽሑፍ) ለአገራችን ለውጥ ጥሩ ሀሳብ፣ምክር፣ጊዜና መተባበር ወሳኝ ናቸው።