By Nadhii Gamadda (PhD) | July 18, 2013
After I listened to Aljazeera’s The Stream program ad on the Oromo causes, I told my good friend as these will bring great pain and suffering to some extremist Amhara in Diaspora and their media. As I said, in the last two weeks we witnessed the unfolding and concerted campaign of these extremist groups and their affiliated media against Jawar and us, the 40 plus millions of Oromo people. I was amused by the sheer number of articles and videos they produced and posted on their blogs and websites. What drives these people nuts? Why they picked on Jawar? What would the answer be if tens of millions of Oromo youth and farmers asked the same question? Do we answer it differently? Why we don’t feel Ethiopian? By insulting the great people and person of the continent of African in general and the horn region in particular what on earth these people want to achieve?
Before I entertain these questions, let me say a few things why I refer to the websites they used to wages propaganda war on us, Amahara media. The little known websites like Zehabesha, Quatero and Cyberethiopia have one common and collective agenda. Reviving Etheiopiawinet and bringing back the dead, rotten and outdated Amhara hegemony, of one nation, one religion and one language. That rotten and outdated thinking has no place in that Empire, except in their mind and websites. When they reported the displacement of their Amhara villagers from Guraferda and Benishangul, they didn’t say a word about the death and displacement of thousands of Oromos by TPLF armed and supported Somali region militia. For them Amhara means Ethiopia, for us Ethiopia means Amhara. So what do we have in common the? Nothing!
I have never seen and heard when the late Melese and his TPLF people questioned their Ethiopian heritage. They always believe that they are Ethiopian, but they see and define Ethiopia and Ethiopiawinet differently. The extremist Amhara and their affiliate websites labeled them the enemy of Ethiopia. Why? Because they are Tigre not Amhara. Look what they are doing to Dawit Kebed of Awramba times.
If you are Oromo and you do not have Ethiopian blood in you and their Ethiopia and Ethiopiawinet is alien concept to you and you know as you are Oromo and your Oromumma comes second to none, you are not only their enemy but also you are Muslim extremist, OLF cadre, Egypt agent and the list goes on.
Jawar has the right and capacity to speak for himself. He doesn’t need anyone else’s approval. I read most of the articles they posted on their websites. None of them were forceful and assertive to rebuke Jawar’s assertion. If they are not happy on what he said, is that a way they put their disappointment or difference? I love and appreciate if they awaken by Jawar’s call and assertion and find out the truth and asked themselves, whether this is an isolated incident or widespread views and belief among the Oromos. If Aljazeera asked the same question to tens of millions of Oromo youth and farmers, I am pretty sure they will get exactly what Jawar said.
All the articles and videos posted on this issue are full of hates. They are all intended to impose their Ethiopian and Ethiopiawinet view on Jawar and the Oromo people. They want to do it the way their ancestors did in the 19th century. That was exactly what Jawar said. They didn’t ask why he say this? What went wrong? Is this an isolated incident or wide spread views and beliefs among the wider Oromos? They don’t have time for such rational and sage thinking. They are exactly their fathers’ sons and daughters. They engaged in the politics of denial. They want to achieve their political interest through denying facts and the truth.
Sadly, these people are shameless. When they shamelessly defended the rights of their slut who had sex in public and tried to re-define what Ethiopia mean and the right of individual should be, they insulted and disrespected our scholars and political scientist for speaking up the truth and reflecting the very feelings of 40 plus million Oromos.
Although most of these people are living along side sophisticated society in democratic country, they couldn’t catch up with the systems and society they are living with. I have never seen any person or editor who is bold enough to take this matter one step further and call for dialog to find out what has happened, then what we need to do now and in the future. They rather engaged in cheap, uncivilized and barbaric means, insult.
Barrage of insults and empty rhetoric wouldn’t change the truth or the course of justices or bring us closer. When VOA decided to broadcast Afaan Oromo, they accused VOA us conspiracy to weaken Ethiopia and destroy national unity. Now they turned to Aljazeera. Interestingly, these people accused Aljazeera journalist of incompetency. Isn’t it funny and weird? If gathering petitions, demonstration could change the truth and course of justice, they would have changed the independence of Eritrea, VOA Afaan Oromo program and the incumbent regime in Finfinne.
Sadly, the people of that country has never been united. Thus why we don’t believe and share the same national identity, patriotism, sentiment, flag and history. Our Oromumma is different from their Ethiopiawinet, our sophisticated socio-economic and political system of Gadaa is different and far beyond the reach of their oppressive Gebar Feudal system, Kebra and Fetha Negest. Our Alaba is different from their ‘moa-anbesa’ flag. We have diverse and rich culture of tolerance, trust and solving depute through dialog. They have a culture of mistrust and poisoning their rivals. Thus, why we noticed them when they taste or sip anything they give it to you, to say that look I didn’t poison it. Poisoning and killing your rival is foreign to Oromo. It is equally unknown and unthinkable to sip someone’s full drink. Thanks to Waaqa we have free from such evil things.
Why they picked on Jawar and targeted him? A few years ago Jawar wrote critical analysis about OLF leadership. In that analysis Jawar raised many internal and external factors that contributed for the then OLF internal conflict. His article was critical of OLF leaders not OLF objectives and goals. They thought that Jawar has anti OLF stand. With their shallow thinking and succinct analysis, they believed that, Jawar might play for their team and they fallen in love of his articles and they kept posting them on their websites. They made him their darling political analyst and applauded him with all possible terms they could. They called him a rising star and far sighted young talented and gifted Oromo elite. No doubt about that, indeed he is. His popularity among leftist Amhara media went viral, mainly because his analysis focused on the organization they always wished to see divided and weakened, OLF. Fortunately OLF didn’t disappear as they wished and dreamed about. Amicably, it bounced back and shattered their hope. Why the very people who applauded him yesterday insulted him today? While Jawar was the same person back then and now, they woke up from their deep sleep when he said I am Oromo first and Ethiopia is imposed on me. They thought that Jawar was changed and continued attacking him their fathers’ way. Sadly, they haven’t learned any other way ever since.
As he continue appearing on international media on Ethiopian issue, he clearly and unambiguously asserted the socio-economic and political questions of Oromo people to them and the international communities. The abomination comes after they learned that Jawar is a person of conviction, who is proud of his root and Oromumma. After they learned that they can’t dictate him and he is not the kind of person they can freely ride him as far as they want, they started pulling hairs and waged propaganda war ostensibly on him and actually on all of us who share Jawar’s view.
Let me make one thing crystal clear to friends and foes. Leave Jawar alone. Tens of millions of us, the Oromos, share Jawars view. In our everyday life we tell people we met, we work and study with as we are Oromos not Ethiopia. I want to tell you loudly and clearly that I am born Oromo and I am Oromo first, and my Oromumma comes second to none. Period. Nothing else. I am proud Oromo and proud of my country and the struggle and scarifies our ancestors paid to pass on this great culture, language and most importantly the pride of being Oromo, Oromumma.
Oromo is in my blood and flesh. Oromumma is my identity and it is not limited to being born from Oromo family or tracing once ancestral root in Oromo family or name . It is far beyond that. It is my way of life, the foundation and guiding principle of my life, destination, principle, values and wisdom that explain and define who I am, what I stand for, who I stand with and aligned my struggle with, what I do and contribute in promoting and achieving the just cause of Oromo people, what vision and mission I have for my people and what I have done to achieve these novel and just cause. It is a guiding spirit and ideology millions of Oromo paid the ultimate price for from the period of genocidal Minilik II to this date.
Finally I want to tell them that I am Oromo First, and my Oromomumma comes second to none! Period.
Nadhii Gamadda (PhD)
