BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
Ethiopia, a country with ancient tradition, is currently in the mire of unheard cultural in her long history caused by the uncultured fighters of the terrorist TPLF. It is a unprecedented barbaric act in the twenty-first century that shook the country to its foundation. While the world is racing to the moon, the perpetrators or the devil incarnates, by passing the righteous cultural heritage of the country, are bent on the satanic evil deeds. Their throne is mounted on cruelty and insatiable avarice whiles their glory is in lamentation and agony of their victims.
By nature, man is not a solitary being, he a social being. He cannot live without companions. He needs to have a person or persons with whom he should share pleasures, misfortunes, work, etc. Even the occasion of joy for a lonely person becomes meaningless and melancholy being the ultimate result he suffers from. There should be a sophisticated binding factor that can create the feeling of belongingness among a group of certain people in a given geographical setting.
Thus people in any part of the world have their own beliefs, behaviors, objects and characteristics and ways of life for an entire society which are shared by them all. More than anything else, it should be noted that belief or the feeling that the relationship between the members of the society is real and honest. Culture includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals and art. Thus, they are well cherished and passed down from generation to generation. The safety and integrity of culture is jealously guarded by all sane members the society.
Primarily, manners, the practice and custom from birth, stand out among the pillars of the social fiber. In a society, an individual or a group, in order to adjust to the situation, should know the acceptable way in which things are done. At the same time, manner is a person’s way of behaving towards others. The right way of dealing with people with whom one moves is highly appreciated and it is a highly respected human act. But with the TPLF, wickedness is the prime concern in all things it undertakes, a situation diametrically in opposition to Ethiopia’s way of social life.
As a solid foundation, religious beliefs, in which all believe that they are under the control of a supernatural power or God who they should obey by keeping his commandments and refrain from doing evil to fellow humans. Such ethical moral standard has governed Ethiopians way of living together with love for thousands of years. The show of love, mercy and assistance to one another is what is expected from each and every member of the society. It is a high social standard that has been there in the history of the country for which the country is noted.
It is such a culture that is shared by the people. Significant value is owed to it in things such as ceremonial artifacts that constantly remind the people of adhering to righteousness. Anything contrary as it is recently introduced by the brutal soldiers of the junta in Amhara and Afar regional states is a sheer value reversal that has already ensued multi-faceted national crisis, with innumerable total destructions of all kinds.
Annihilation is the irritating musical tune that the terrorists restlessly dance to joyfully as if nothing has ever happened. The routine gun sound and the percussion that sends the lunatics frenzied. Norms, the informal, unwritten rules that govern social behaviors virtually disappear in the presence of the terrorists. Wherever they are found, the trumpets of horror are blown and the cry of innocent and unarmed civilians loudly heard. The wailing of the children sounds like flute to them; anger overwhelms them preparing them for the next atrocious crime.
The God-given kindness is totally abandoned and they cling to the evil edicts of their master Lucifer. The streams of tears and the flood of the blood of the people are their swimming pool for their routine recreation. This is the utter violation of precepts of human culture.
Ethiopia has people-oriented culture that upholds the respect of the people. The likes and dislikes of the people are the foremost consideration while people coexist. Anything that violates it, be it man or other, is highly condemned and done away with unquestionably. Killing without apparent reason is the most disliked act to normal people. Nobody in his sane mind condones the culprit and justice must automatically be served. A healthy culture should be friendly and collaborative. In this respect, the people, instead of killing each other, get together to celebrate joyous religious festivals according to their beliefs.
Culture embodies religion. Religion preaches that man is created in God’s image and should be protected possibly from all danger and his right to live must be protected. Love is the core of culture that is learned and developed throughout life. This means that every single thing that we learn during the course of our life is influenced by cultural lenses that our family, environment and infancy have given to us. Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies. Still love and understanding governs the fabrics of culture. Cultures are not restricted to territories of the countries: the good sentiments of a culture in one territory are also available in a culture from a different territory.
As it is already pointed out, people who have reliable culture, it is obvious that they have love for other people without discrimination of ethnicity, wealth, status, whatsoever. Yet, we see that such noble cultural standard is reduced to a devouring bestial behavior. Acts which are not different from that of animals are exhibited in the soldiers of the junta from the way they often handle their captives. As an example, brutally kicking the stomach of a pregnant woman to death is their everyday ritual. Humanly regret is never visible in their cruel actions: Love and mercy for a mother never exists and it is rather blotted out of the dictionary of their conscience. It is a never heard heinous act unlike that of a disciplined Ethiopian hero. Innocent children either shot down or made to watch the death of their parents. However harsh the war situation may be, in a culture of civilized warfare, children should be protected rather than sacrificed to the god of the war criminals.
In history, Ethiopia has fiercely fought to preserve her churches, Holy Scriptures, statues and the like. Very rarely that she lost them to war in any historical era. Yet, it is at this juncture, in our time, that value reversal took root when the Junta rebel desecrated holy places and destroyed everything therein. They dishonored popes, priests and deacons to the extent of raping a deacon, an imaginably humiliating act ever happened in Ethiopia. Ethiopians lamented over such a misfortune. It so heart rending that many noble people took their own life unable to bear such a moral decadence.
These war criminals, more than randomly gunning down whoever they come across in the process of the genocide, they carried out complete destruction of hospitals, universities schools, big electric light transformers, industries after taking away everything they thought was valuable. Desks, tables, shelves window glasses and all the rest were totally destroyed. To satisfy their insatiable demonized ego, they discarded away tablets and spilled those that are in liquid and powder form all over, never to be used again. In some places they even burned down clinics and feverishly danced around the fire as it is the way they conduct a religious ceremony for the devil. For everything they do, one can conclude there is a ritual attached to it. To them, the death of patients due to lack of medication is a way of making a sacrifice to Satan, their master. As it has been their usual way, the destruction of schools to pave the way to future mentally grained citizens through the mechanism illiteracy.
They have lost gesture of deep respect for people, sacred places and history. Wherever they set foot, nothing ever works right. Such is cultural destruction and moral decadence.
The Ethiopian Herald December 29/2021
