It is really a fabulous trend to any onlooker to observe and divulge the opulence and depth of the Ethiopians culture, norms, and values, among others. Ethiopia has been annually marking Nations, Nationalities and People’s Day with a view to consolidating people-to-people ties, cultural exchange, experience sharing thereby building stable and peaceful nation.
Taking the significance of celebrating the Day into account, The Ethiopian Herald approached Alemu Tizasu, a sociologist graduated from Addis Ababa University, to have professional insight about the significance of commemorating the Day.
He said, “Celebrating the Day is of paramount importance in cementing citizens together, developing fraternity and promoting amicable way among/between citizens. Yes, living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognize, respect and appreciate others ideologies, as well as living in a peaceful and united way.”
As to Alemu, living together with others in Peace is significantly useful in promoting peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity. The Day also aims at upholding the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity so as to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony.
As to Alemu, the Day invites citizens to further promote reconciliation to help ensure peace and sustainable development, and one of the purposes of celebrating the day is to achieve collaboration, regardless of race, sex, language or religion, by promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction.
The Day is also helping the nation to promote a culture of peace and non-violence that benefits all of humanity, including future generations.
He said that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, vibrant participatory process, in which dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are resolved in a spirit of mutual sympathetic and cooperation.
The Day also helps citizens recognize the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination and intolerance, including those based on sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, ethnic or social origin, he added.
According to Alemu, the Day is significantly useful in saving future generations from the scourge of war and making them the main actors for creating a stable nation.
“Ethiopia is the home to all citizens, i.e over 120 million people. If we cannot create a situation where we can flourish and do well together in the country, none of us will be able to live in a state of peace and security,” he stated.
“The Day would be of instrumental in fostering the culture, history, heritage, value, wealth and common pride of all Ethiopians, and we all have to learn that we are all very important to Ethiopia and our beauty will be bedecked with patriotism,” he said.
He said all nations and nationalities together show the great and beautiful Ethiopia, just as the country, and the celebration of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day plays an important role in further strengthening unity and brotherhood among nations and nationalities in the country.
It has also played a crucial role in promoting co-existence, solidarity and brotherhood among nations and nationalities, and it is very important to create common understanding among nations and nationalities as well as promote their cultures, traditions and values, he opined.
Noting the presence of challenges facing the country from inside and outside, he stressed that it is important to strengthen national unity and brotherhood among nations and nationalities to overcome all sorts of challenges. That is why the day is celebrated with various events that promote the values of equality and solidarity in due process of bolstering national unity.
He said, “Yes, the difference we have had is a beauty and source of potency, indeed! The celebration serves as a platform to honor the diversity and equality of over 80 ethnic groups of Ethiopia, and the day is marked by various cultural and musical performances by ethnic troupes, each displaying their respective unique cultural and traditional identities.”
The Day reflects Ethiopia’s commitment to recognizing and respecting the rights of all its nations, nationalities, and peoples under the framework of its federal democratic governance, he said.
He further noted that the celebration of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Day contributes to reinforcing the unity and harmony of Ethiopians while calling for the consolidation of multi-national federalism to accommodate the diversity among its people.
“Being a country with strong groundwork, Ethiopia should never fail to accomplish what it has started at a time. If Ethiopians try to use their diversity for a purpose, the unity of the country will be wonderfully built upon all our values,” he added.
The celebration has also become an engine to boost tourism and investment in the host regions as all nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia gather to showcase their rich cultures. It is also a Day when the Constitution of the land was adopted and, the Constitution too belongs to the Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, he opined.
According to Alemu, the Day is also a demonstration of unity that embraces diversity, an expression of cultural religious, linguistic and ethnic multiplicity and where all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples bring the assets of their culture to one place. It is also an expression of freedom accommodating diversities between and among people to further strengthen unity in diversity, enhance national consensus, empower them and enlarge the awareness of people towards the constitutional system.
He called on various Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia to scale up their support for the growth and transformation of the country. The Day has brought equality of language, religion, culture and history for all nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. He noted that celebrating Nations, Nationalities and People’s Day has played a great role in sharing experience, promoting culture and above all harmonizing unity in diversity.
The Day is celebrated annually to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution that enshrined the rights of nation, nationalities and peoples, which they have been deprived of by the previous regimes.
Many Ethiopians believe that the celebration of the Nations, Nationalities and People Day has been adding a significant value in enhancing the unity of the people to its summit. The conviction Ethiopians made in every special event on the day every year has contributed to bring Ethiopian together and stand hand in hand for the resurgence of their country.
The Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia have used the celebration as an opportunity to renew their commitment to strengthen the bond among them and work hard to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development in the country.
It is undeniable that Ethiopians have already identified poverty as their arch-foe, and unless all citizens work together to get rid of this arch enemy, their effort to create a strong nation will be compromised. The celebration of the day has also contributed a lot to effectively carry out the shared vision of citizens. Pulling their country out of the quagmire of poverty, enhance democracy, good governance and justice, and to make the country one of the middle income generating nations within the shortest time possible. It could also help strengthen and consolidate cultural tolerance among the people and initiate them to work together so as to ensure Ethiopia’s renaissance and realize the efforts to weaken poverty.
He said, “The Day has also has become a symbol of peace, democracy, justice, tolerance, love and affection between and among Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. Besides, it is a demonstration of unity that embraces diversity, an expression of cultural religious, linguistic and ethnic multiplicity and where all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples bring the assets of their culture to one place.”
In sum, he concluded, “The purpose of celebrating the Day is beyond festivity. It is developing infra-structures, enhancing culture and tradition, strengthening citizens association and reinforcing tolerance amongst people, respecting the rights and responsibilities guaranteed by the Constitution and most importantly, strengthening the understanding, love and respect between and amongst all Ethiopians.
This fascinating and breath-taking day has exemplified the harmony of the Ethiopians at good and bad times entertaining unity in diversity. The Day is an actually remarkable and simply memorable merrymaking to give a clear message to everyone that the Ethiopians are as all the time united and strong.
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER 2023
