Tariku's Droplets

Stolen Dreams? (Tariku Abas Etenesh) A well-intended praise of Martin Luther King Jr. by a friend who said there would never be someone of greater prominence as MLK, giving him the once in a thousand years sort of phenomenon in the history of the black people’s struggle for freedom and justice in America, caused this reflection. It seems that in regards to the-still-ensuing struggle for equality and justice, there is a danger of not valuing the everyday struggle, little but deserved steps in the direction of justice and the need for more to be done as part of the echoes of MLK’s dreams. Part of this is what seems to be the act of stealing the dream from the person by recreating King of the people into king of the embellishers.   The Peoples’ King  Martin Luther King Jr. was an uncontested great man of the civil right movements and of USA. This was attributed to not only his unique gifts of oratory, great academic background ,his service as a pastor an...

Released?   I heard,   The news of your release from prison; And I hoped, It will one day be the nation's turn. ......................................... (For all jailed at the whim of those who were supposed to protect them.) 

  Justice ‘Absurdistan’ style: ‘Tweet’ your death! By TAE Absurdity in the Federal Democratic Republic of “Absurdistan”—also known as Ethiopia—is no anomaly; it is the norm. And nowhere is this more evident than in the grotesque parody that is the justice system. In “less absurd states,” the security of every citizen is treated as an inalienable right. In Absurdistan, it is a luxury—selectively granted, often denied. Take the case of the slain Samuel Awoke , etched vividly in my mind. He cried out for help. He cried out for justice. He showed the world his wounds—live, public, documented—for all to see on social media. And what did the justice system do? One would expect—again, in “less absurd states”—that a citizen publicly assaulted by ‘unknown’ hooligans would receive protection. That his attackers would be tracked down. That justice would be served swiftly. But this is Absurdistan . You cry for justice when you’re threatened—no justice. You cry for justice when you’...

ትላንት፡ ህዝቡ ለፋቨስቱ ግራዚኒ ሃውልት በሀገረ ጣልያን መሰራቱ ለገደላቸው ኢትዮጵያውንና ለሀገራችን ክብረነክ ነው አለ፡፡  ብሎም ሰልፍ ወጣ፡፡  ወጥቶም በሃገሩ ፖሊስ -በራሱ ዘ.ጎች- ተደበደ በ፡፡  መንግስትም አለ፡ መደብደባቸው ትክክል ነው፤፤የሰልፍ ፊቃድ የላቸውም፡፡   አሁን፡- ህዝቡ  በደቡብ አፍሪካ ከዛም በየመን  ከዛም  በሊቢያ ዚጎች ዘግናኝ ሞት መጋታቸው ለኢትዮጵያ ክብረነክ ለዚጎችምአንገብጋቢ ነው  አለ፡- ፡፡  ብሎም ሰልፍ ወጣ፡፡  ወጥቶም በሃገሩ ፖሊስ-በራሱ ዘ.ጎች- ተደበደበ፡ ፡ መንግስትም አለ፡ (የሰልፍ ፊቃድ የላቸውም አንዳይባል ራሱ መንግስት ነው ጠሪው!) -ሊላ ምክንያት- ፡ ሰልፈኞች መንግስትን -በራሱ ሰልፍ- ላይ ለምን ተቃወሙ!! ህዝቡም አለ ፡ በመብት-በዚግነት ክብር-በነጣነት-በሁለንተናዊ ልማት ጉዳይ የራሳችንን መንግስት ካልሞገትን ሲልም ካልተቃወምን ታድያ ማንን!  ነው ወይስ መንግስት የህዝብን ምሪት የመሰማቱንም ስራ ለቻይና ኮንትራት ሰጥቶታል!!!

So said Nightmare to Despair Despair met Nightmare; and was asked:  ‘why are you imitating me?’ And these words  Despair  had to spare: ‘I looked south; I was burned to death; I looked north; I was slaughtered to vile ends; I looked west; My image mirrored in kidnapped souls; I looked east; where home is, I was clubbed for mourning my own death;’ Then,  Nightmare said to despair, solemn ; You have a sad question to answer: ‘Where is home’? ………… (April 22, 2015) (To all souls brutalized at home and abroad.)

Ethiopia; don’t forget your Archives are Africa’s too! ---Tariku Abas- Etenesh---- When you hear some actions of some Ethiopian government agencies, you feel at a loss of context to conceptualize or understand them. Well let us try to understand one of such impossible-to-understand scenarios: Think of a scenario in an African country, deprived of its rights of access to archives by the former colonizer yet striving to secure access. A nation that realized such archives are not only instrumental in retelling the true cruel nature of the African colonial past but also for taking informed, legitimate steps towards correcting the wrongs of the past.   Think of a nation like Kenya, where 40,000 Kenyans sued Britain for the brutality they suffered in British colonial detention camps based on documents in colonial archives; a nation like Namibia suing Germany for Germany’s genocide on the Herero people Namibia based on document in archives. Kenya and Namibia ...

Summers  and winters Like a simmered down blast of cause, From that boundless space called ‘unknown’ and the ‘accepted’ ethos; Hurled into being : Like summers of quest and desires glowing red in the horizon, Like winters of reticence and fear coated yet brazen, Between adjustment and permanence, Searching the ‘why’ of ‘what’ of ‘here’ and ‘then’; We are summers and winters of existence’s sojourn. ።።።።።።።።።