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Wow….racism,
really?
By
Hailu Nega
Dear
Mr. Al Mariam,
I
gathered you are or were a staff member at a higher learning
institution. I am, therefore, going to try to appeal to your
reasoning abilities to help us draw different conclusion than what
you did about the senator’s statement. Senator Inhofe went, saw
and then spoke. Unfortunately, part of what he saw was ugly. You
are calling the description of ugly fact racism. In a scientific
world, one would want every detail of the subject in order to draw
a complete and accurate picture. Wax and Gold does not
apply.
Let
me make two points very clear to you and others like you who are
crying wolf.
- Babies
are damped (pardon the insensitivity, I guess a
“civilized” person like yourself may prefer
“abandoned”) not only in Ethiopia and Africa, but also in
developed countries, including the USA.
- I
am going to describe a scene around a municipality dumpster in
Addis Ababa. I am sure it will make you sick. It has, however,
nothing to do with racism but a lot to do with realism of
poverty in your country. It is a typical scene and if you
still insist for evidence, I will get you a picture from Addis
Ababa: the municipality garbage dumpster is the feeding ground
for homeless children, goats, crows, vultures and dogs; yes
starving stray dogs. Are you beginning to get the picture?
Unfortunately, it is also a common damping site of
teenager-birthed babies. Now tell me if the stray starving
dogs will spare dead and nearly dead babies.
I
guess the above description makes me a super racist or perhaps one
of those “non-Ethiopian” nationalities trying to destroy the
Ethiopian image. Where have you been and what in God’s name are
you trying to pull? Are you and your vocal friends trying to cover
up the ugly realty of abject poverty in Ethiopia or scare the
world to submit to your views only? I am now beginning to
understand why the Ethiopian Diaspora has capitulated into silence
and has allowed you and your likes to dominate the US political
and social scene. You have successfully scared them off with rabid
accusations like this from expressing their differing views and
taking steps to help their.
I
hope Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans will read and circulate
this short note and speak out. Judging from the articles you have
authored and pictures you have posted on the internet, Ethiopia is
nothing but a flag and a map to you. I guess it is easier for you
to glorify inanimate objects than deal with real people and their
problems. No sir, Ethiopia is any of those but a wonderful and
beautiful mosaic of nations and nationalities. Unfortunately, most
are poor but honest and hard working people, trying very hard to
pull out of poverty on their own. And yes, homeless underage
mothers are part of the society and do like anywhere else in the
world abandon babies. Mr. Al-Mariam sir, abject poverty, and trust
me that is not government created either, is the root cause of
shocking occurrences like this.
As
you have your own definition of democracy, which accepts a flag
and a map, but not the people they represent, it is apparent that
you also have a variant definition of racism. Those who dare point
out ugly facts are racists in your eyes. I realize the message
that babies are abandoned by their teenage mothers and get eaten
by dogs is stomach churning and nauseating and add whatever
superlatives and descriptors you would want to. Nonetheless, the
fact still remains that it did and does happen in Ethiopia. Your
anger and accusation of the person who said it after he witnessed
it will not erase the incident.
So,
why sir are you trying to turn this into such a controversy? You
and I know better that it will not get you support, but stands to
discredit you by those better informed.
If your intent is to scare those less informed you should
perhaps be considered a racist yourself. It is extremely
presumptuous and unfortunate. if your intent is to scare the
remaining members of the senate from speaking out against HR 2003.
I have a better and plausible explanation, yes, it is partly to
destroy the credibility of the first US senator for speaking out
against your HR 2003, but more importantly, you are trying to
rally disintegrating party around drummed up controversy.
The
poverty and hardship of Ethiopia will not disappear because you
wished it or are ashamed of it. We, the supposedly educated but
intolerant and hateful Ethiopians in America should be ashamed of
ourselves because we failed to lift a finger to accelerate the
rate of poverty reduction in our birthplaces. Worse yet, we have
taught our children to hate and portrayed to them Ethiopia as the
nation it is not instead of what it is and what it will likely be.
Your articles of hate and arrogance dear professor are my
references and I do not have to provide any. However, should you,
dear professor insist about the lack of evidence of what I
described above, I will get you a picture…it is your call.
Hailu
Nega
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