A lot has been said about the Victory of Adwa but reports show that not everybody in Ethiopia has managed to appreciate well what exactly it means to the history of the country and how exactly it changed its position and status in the world. It is known that the Victory of Adwa was a huge blow to all colonialists not only the Italian forces who had thought that colonizing Ethiopia was a walk in a park. Some historians have said the Italian forces never expected such resistance and organisation or fire power, the resolve of the patriots, and probably they may have been misinformed and misled about Ethiopian troops, their courage and resolve to fight up to the end of their resources. Instead they had to face defeat and consequent humiliation not only for them but also for others who supported or encouraged them to embark on the invasion of Ethiopia. On the other hand, Ethiopians and all those who identified with them and supported their cause were exhilarated with the news of the victory. They felt proud of the exploit by Ethiopian troops.
It is sad to see that many present day Ethiopians seem to undermine this huge victory or take it for granted as if it was a simple endeavour. It has instead changed the history of relations between colonialists and those who were subjected to exploitation and indignity of all types. The old narrative that Europeans always had the upper hand when it comes to fighting with Africans was also changed after Adwa. Reports show that when the news of the defeat of the colonialists by the invaded Ethiopian troops was disseminated European governments were surprised and anxious about how to operate their colonies in Africa. They tried to down play the news and prevent it from getting full dissemination in their colonies. Reports of those days have also shown that Adwa was such an extraordinary event that it was bound to change history, especially for those who were under oppression or subjugation and were suffering in injustice.
In any case, the history of Adwa has not been told in grand and extended detail because the focus was always only on the result and the main protagonists of the victory. However, the battle of Adwa was a complex and long history that has changed life in the entire country. Citizens were asked to prepare for the war because ‘an alien force has come to deprive you of your land, your freedom and religion. Hence we should all mobilize and be prepared for a hard struggle.’ Those were more less the words of the then emperor who launched the campaign.
It was Emperor Menelik II who made the declaration of war admonishing every capable citizen not to stay behind. As the emperor was very popular, the entire nation got mobilized and prepared its provisions, arms and ammunitions with all they could avail. The place where every one was to gather was months of foot walk and there were several challenges even to reach the place of gathering. It involved huge logistic challenge and there were the huge efforts of organizers including women. As there were so many animals that helped in the transport of provisions and other materials, there were people who were assigned to take care of all these activities.
The preparation of food for the tens of thousands of troops was another massive challenge. In fact, the country was also undergoing challenging days in terms of harvest and agricultural products. It was all a sort of state of emergency and they had to move into the right direction. At the same time there were artists who with their war chants kept the morale of the troops high and incited them to be brave, courageous and expect victory in confidence over the alien invaders. In all these operations the strategic leadership of the Emperor and his spouse was indispensable and irreplaceable and got the admiration of all those who reported on the victory. That was where the wisdom of the emperor was well highlighted by both friends and foe alike.
Motivating the troops for the necessary sacrifice was very important because without belief in what they were doing there would not have been any chance of victory. The troops were all ready to die for their dignity, pride and freedom and every one of them was proud of their engagement in the campaign. The Battle of Adwa hence had immense activities that had to be channeled to one huge objective that is victory. And yet few Ethiopian scholars have written to the deserved details and depth commensurate with its glory. As a milestone in the history of black people of the world beyond Ethiopia, it deserved huge research and not be limited to being observed only on a day in a year event that occurs on March 2.
Undoubtedly the Adwa Victory Memorial has now gone a huge step in to filling this vacuum to a certain extent. The fact that this memorial outlines to a great length the entire operations in the Victory of Adwa is a significant step in terms of showcasing the various aspects of the battle and how it managed to inspire the history of all Africans. The memorial depicts the images of the main protagonists of the battle and the background to the war but it also highlights the role of women and others who normally do not feature in the history of this battle. Moreover, the Memorial also depicts the implications of the victory in the Panafrican movement. Finally Addis Ababa is now blessed with this immense, state of the art memorial that can now inspire every Ethiopian who visits it.
Furthermore, the Memorial is also an attractive tourist destination because many Africans have not had enough exposure with the history of Adwa. Now a visit to the Adwa Victory Memorial would fill that gap stimulating for further study and research. Young Ethiopians will not only be aware of the story but get further motivated to study in depth the various facets of the war and victory as well as the consequences of the victory. They will appreciate more the immense sacrifices their forefathers and foremothers have paid to preserve the country free and sovereign. It is often said that freedom is not a gift that is presented on a golden plate but a precious thing for which bitter fighting and struggle is imperative. Most of those who took part in the inauguration of the memorial were heard stating that just as we got organized and fought hard to defeat the invaders we have to organize, work hard and defeat our current shortcomings with a united effort.
Above all what Adwa showed to the world is that with unity anything is possible. Ethiopians should learn from Adwa that united they can overcome any challenge including poverty, ignorance and drought or any other challenges such as the environment. We have seen that differences along political lines could be natural and even healthy but resorting to armed struggle involving a lot of violence and casualties and waste of so much economic resources in today’s world is unimaginable and destined to fail.
Today we can achieve any political objective using peaceful means, sitting at a table and negotiating. The costs of conflicts we have seen even very recently were extremely high and yet they did not offer permanent solutions. The violence only exacerbated our problems with a huge cost in terms of resources both human and material. President Sahlework Zewde highlighted this point at the inaugural ceremony of the Adwa Victory Memorial while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said we must inherit the values of Adwa and put them in practice.
Adwa is a living witness that unity is bound to win even against formidable enemies. It is hence an inspiration and the fact that the Adwa Victory Memorial is placed right in the heart of Addis will be a golden opportunity to offer us the right stimulus to go ahead and try to face our current challenges in unison.
The Victory of Adwa has now got its deserved place in our day to day life because we should never forget the tremendous sacrifices paid to achieve such a huge and glorious history. More books will be written about this story; more films will be made around the various protagonists of the battle, and many unknown facts will be revealed and reported. The Adwa Victory Memorial is hence a tremendous stimulus to help fill this huge gap. Ethiopians must own their history and avail of its positive messages in their day to day livelihood
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2024
