The Will
(by Sahlu Bekele - Toronto)
They were out in the field
Roaming together
To search and discover
The things that matter
Like grass, like water
That made their lives better
There were monkeys and donkeys
Somewhat bizarre but a possible mix
There were sheep and goats
Relatives and cousins
There were chicken and eagles
Same family but enemies
There also were buffalos
In the jungle in the plains
But there also were foxes and wolves
Hyenas and wild dogs
The predators and the carnivores
Everyone was out in the field
Tending to their need
While most were grazing the grass
Others were waiting for a chance
While most neglected the danger
Others waited for their dinner
Mobilized by their hunger
Specially the hyena
The tireless observer
Of animal behavior
Was waiting patiently
To attack suddenly
While the field seemed tranquil
It wasn’t safe still
And peace was about to crack
With a hyena strike
Silence was broken
Peace was shaken
Safety was forgotten
Survival uncertain
For the grazing masses
Of peaceful animals
It’s shameful and embarrassing
When one hyena chases
One thousand lives
The herbivores running for life
The carnivores setting the strife
Here chaos, there chaos
Everywhere chaos
Total confusion total turmoil
Fills the air, fills the plains
To the advantage of the killers
In this drama in this course
There appeared a heard of buffalos
Organized and formidable force
Never scared of the hyenas
Fought back with zeal
In unison, with will
Stood their ground
Since they found
What mattered most
Wasn’t in numbers but in the will
The will to cooperate
The will to associate
The will to stand together
The will to do the job
And peace was restored
And the hunters were hunted
And the preys breathed a sigh of relief
And life went on as usual
Thanks to collective defense
Of the buffalo force
Because one needs the whole
And the whole needs the one
To succeed to win
One has to be twin
This business of ours
Needs conviction, needs passion
To keep our being, to save the nation
To take Ethiopia in the right direction
From this generation to that generation¨
Vengeance against the last “Goodwill Ambassador” of Ethiopia
Aklilu Demissie
A regime that is swimming in an all time destruction of the motherland has now unleashed it vindictive rage against the most popular king of Ethiopian pop music. Theodros Kassahun’s (Teddy Afro) songs have transcended all barriers of language, ethnicity, race and creed in our world that has become increasingly small, thanks to all tools of present day communication.
Teddy’s only crime emanates from his songs that have always preached about love, unity and nationalism. Yet, the songs proved to be bone piercing for the minority ethnic regime, which since its inception has set the agenda of dismembering and destruction of Ethiopia as a nation. Quite contrary to the regime’s dream, Teddy Afro has quite successfully reinvigorated what being an Ethiopian mean and hailed storms in the upsurge of patriotism.
In a land that has become famous for celebrating injustices and trampling on individual rights, where the rule of law has become a sham, the nipping of Teddy Afro in an allegation of a hit-and-run accident seems to be the best way the government could manufacture a criminal legal wrangling in attempt to strip the moral integrity and independence by humiliating him and patriots in to powerlessness. The shrewd attempt is to indicate that the regime can do whatever it would with impunity and in so doing send its sworn, born signal, ‘I will eat you any time when I feel hungry for you.’ This detention may be a prelude to a long Kangaroo Court trial with floundering, coached witnesses typical of Zenawi’s courts. There is no reason to doubt that Teddy, an icon of contemporary Ethiopian music, is a prisoner of conscience.
The regime more than any time is besieged by insurmountable, unforgivable atrocities stretching from inside the country to Somali’s blood bath. It is struggling to keep itself alive by preventing citizens from getting independent and unadulterated news, reports like its communist predecessors. Dragging Teddy in the regime’s despicable dungeons for quite a while may have been devised to divert attention from ignominious atrocities and the bigger issue - change of regime in Addis.
Teddy has used his talent to bring the nation together which has also got a tremendous amount of attention in the world. He has ascended to international prominence proving that he is truly with impeccable character and charisma our country’s Goodwill Ambassador of love, peace, unity and independence. Today that is what unites the world. Those who are bent contrary to this belief will ultimately end up in defeat.
Unfortunately, he is forced to a different world where his passion for the motherland has openly let him spend days in jail with no power to defend him.
