A Short Story
BY ALEM HAILU G/KRISTOS
What surprises me most about a shoeshine boy by the gate of Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) found at the heart of Arat kilo is he never lets a shoe go even with the slightest possible dot of dirt unchecked as he works with a labor of love.
It is not unusual to see a line of his customers despite the ubiquitoseness of shoeshine quarters in the vicinity. This favorite shoe polisher of mine goes by Solomon.
Also surprising is Solomon’s aversion to scorn for labor, a common disease today among our youths that idly sitting day dream a handsomely paying job be they a graduate or otherwise. He juggles multiple menial jobs.
A reflection on how our country could catapult to the helm of envisaged development if all of us work with such passion coerces me to do introspection, “Am I contributing my due share to my beloved country Ethiopia, on the journey of renaissance undaunted by internal and external hurdles that seem which do not know a letup?”
That day checking I have 25 minutes before early morning editorial meeting at Editors convening hall I decided to get my shoe polished as last night’s rain had besmirched it with murky water.
When I took a chair on my turn Solomon’s thick dark lips parted to display well-arrayed white teeth that conjure up in one’s mind an analogy with a maize cob.
“Oh. Alex! Where have you been? I have not seen you these days? Is everything Okay?”
“I am doing well. I was on leave. You see I caught cold. This year the rainy season is a bit aggressive. But now I’m in good shape and back to work.”
“Yes your face tells you have fully resuscitated. Good to hear that,” Solomon’s facial expression turned pages from concern to serenity.
Soon when he started work a motorist grinded to a halt in front of us and said “Solomon please hurry up!”
“You are a bit late Today,” Solomon picked a bundle of The Ethiopian Herald Newspaper bearing the photo of child soldiers Terrorist TPLF cannon fodders and handed it to the motorist messenger, who has to distribute the papers to different organizations as early as possible. It is Solomon who collects the paper from EPA’s Newspaper distributing shop at daybreak and hands it over to the messenger as per their deal.
“Yes. There was jamming,” the motorist cleared from the area at a drop of a hat mixing to the vehicles that shuttle to and fro on the wide road between EPA and The Birhanena Selam Printing Press, where the former’s papers are published.
“Have you scoured the cover photo on the paper?” asked one of the clients in the line pushing back his spectacle sliding down his long nose.
“Do you mean the unfortunate youngsters TPLF leaders’ grab by the collar to take them to the front?” I pointed to the spot the newspaper was placed.
“Yes I saw five of them on the photo. It drew my attention as their faces were zeroed in on. Some were carrying arms they found too heavy to carry,” said Solomon “obviously they could find walking hard let alone participating in shooting. May God have mercy on their Soul!”
“They will end up soft targets if things take a turn to the worse,” the spectacled man said with pity charged voice.
“Drugging as well as feeding the kids far-fetched stories that run counter to the long-cherished nationalistic sentiment, the terrorist leaders use them as a human shield cognizant that the considerate nation-loving soldiers facing them may not have the heart to mercilessly attack them. They deploy their real army on the backend,” angrily cut in a short and eagle nosed pretty middle aged lady from a communication office of a governmental organization nearby. She has a habit of moving both of her arms when expressing things.
“In between they use a human wave indifferent to the horrendous causality that could surface,” Solomon replied looking at her boots.
“Not only that. They cry foul if such a youngster fells in a crossfire. They make haste in taking to the media the picture of such children victimized in the tragic episode,” the spectacled man pushed back his eyeglasses back.
“Collecting bodies of kids as well as the feeble and elderly they ferry it back to Tigray to bury them in mass grave! Fibbers!” the lady grabbed her head with her hands.
“Why?” Solomon stared at her disrupting work for a minute.
“It is a set up to accuse the government of a genocide offense,” the man eyed Solomon above his dangling spectacle.
“By now it has become a public knowledge Terrorist TPLF leaders are born to lie. Head to toe they are involved in heist,” I said.
“You could take Dr.Twedros Adanom a typical example of a congenital liar. Who fails not to shed some tears when he tells tales to the global community to take them aboard on TPLF’s heinous motives-wrecking down an ancient and gifted nation that sailed safe troubled waters and foiled foreign aggressions time and again,” the lady shuddered.
“Instead of challenging the terrorist group cross examining them posing questions, ‘If you are short of food to feed famished people of Tigray State as you claim so, how could you manage to mobilize another round of human wave? What are you feeding your troops whom you are flogging to the front? Were you deliberately detaining WFP’s vehicles to transport troops? Is that why you stole over 500,000 liter of fuel from the same?Are you repeating the same ruse you employed to come to power?’ Westerners turn a blind eye,” said the spectacled man.
“Pertaining to UN , observably, under the influence of hypocrites, there is an Ethiopian proverb which goes ‘It is hard to stir up a person displaying a deep slumber affectation.’ How could opportunists hush up their Trojan horse to whom their dictate is the oxygen it breathes? With whom else could they back scratch to translate their self-interest optimization theory to the letter?” the lady scanned our faces.
“Yes the Trojan horse is their pet behind whose back they laugh till their sides split ‘What a toy that puts its own mom for sale!’ ”the man laughed.
“Even they bask under the support of EU, whose arm is twisted by hypocrites. The man at the helm of UN was caught directly communicating with them contravening UN’s charters itself. Indecorous decorum! It must be he who gave a green light to Tedros to keep on fibbing,” the lady swang her hands left and right.
“In so doing Buterez is blatantly infringing on Ethiopia’s sovereignty. It is unbefitting” the man laughed.
“That is an uncouth behavior. Both UN’s and WHO’s directors must be held accountable,” Solomon disrupted work once more to have his say.
“Had it not been for Almighty God and super powers from the East, hypocrites and such ill-fit officials were all out to corner Ethiopia. Again and again they did attempt to put the sanction axe on Ethiopia’s neck, ”I said.
“Luckily Terrorist TPLF, crying foul of genocide itself orchestrating one in Mikadra ,is being exposed by journalist of integrity who put light on its dark desires and bent of dishing out erroneous claims using digital army it spread across the globe utilizing for 3 decades amassed wealth, ”said the lady adding “but now genuine Ethiopians and experts and journalists of integrity are outsmarting them.”
“Sending their children abroad for better education and luxurious life phony TPLF leader’s force, even at times sweet talk, youngsters hailing from the lower income bracket to cannon fodder aggressions the former fatuously carry on. Their pampered children abroad, in a show of farfetched misery, flat on their back in big squares, cry foul to garner pity and support,” the man shook his head in dismay.
“Our country is fighting a proxy war waged on it by its historic enemies. Take for instance the jets intercepted by our heroic air force pilots lately up on encroaching Ethiopian territory without permission carrying military arsenals, ”the lady said.
“Though a reeling blow they suffer at the hands of heroic sons and daughters of Ethiopia at every front, putting different masks, say Alshebab, our historic enemies never give up fighting a lost battle,” the man took the chair I evacuated digging into my pocket for money.
“Forgetting the rape they committed on child girls and nuns as well as wives in front of their husbands, Terrorist TPLF troops try to cajole residents in victimized areas to their favor claiming ‘we have no problem with people we are solely against the government,” Solomon received the money I handed him out.
“Yes they fail to remind themselves that they have desecrated churches and mosques,” the lady said.
“They have made dump yards from health facilities and schools scaling up the record of heinous destruction, ”the man pushed back his spectacle.
“Happily there are genuine people on Ethiopia’s side. Ambasador Tibor P.Nagy that saw through TPLF’s sanctimoniousness is to name one. He is telling Whitehouse politicians that they are off the track regarding their stance about Ethiopia,” I said picking up my ringing phone.
I began to run towards EPA’s elevator hearing “Where are you? Meeting has just kicked off. ”
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 2 SPTEMBER 2022
