Today is “Ethiopian Day,” at the (ESFNA) 30th Anniversary in the University of Maryland Capital one field at BYRD Stadium. More than thirty thousand Ethiopians packed into the stadium to watch the Ethiopian Cultural celebration where many different ethnic groups performed their traditional dances. All different ethnic groups participated, many with children on their backs. It was so moving for me to watch that I felt chill in my back.
I have never seen any other country out of Africa, or elsewhere for that matter, bring thousands of their people in the Diaspora together the way Ethiopians have done during this week of the Ethiopian Sports Federation’s soccer games. Despite the negative problems of Ethiopia, it makes me feel very happy to be part of it.
When you look around, you see a rich background of Ethiopian images. You might notice the Ethiopians flags circling the stands or peaceful Ethiopians walking—young and old—smiling, holding the hands of their young children and perhaps, wearing Ethiopian flags on their clothing. You do not see the differences of ethnicity, but instead, you see people as Ethiopians ( Humanity before enthnicity or simply, people as people—all beautiful and unique.
Ninety per cent of the people at the stadium were young, meaning under the age of 35. They were showing their patronage of anything Ethiopia—buying Ethiopian flags, T-shirts with Ethiopian images and words, Ethiopian CD’s with Ethiopian music and Ethiopian food to eat.
As flags were happily waved by the young people, I was overwhelmed with the hope that somehow, this love of Ethiopia, alongside the joy of living in a free country like America with its openness and acceptance of other people, could somehow be channeled into these young people deeply caring about those stuck in the TPLF apartheid regime and tragedy of life within Ethiopia. I wondered whether the gap between these two realities could come together to form a greater youth movement to free Ethiopia.
I also wondered whether older Ethiopians could learn from the youth who saw each other as “equally Ethiopian.” The youth were not being divided against one another based on ethnic suspicions and loyalties, regional background, political alliances, religious views and cultural backgrounds like their parents.
Here in America, it no longer mattered so much. In Ethiopia, something like ethnic loyalty and achieving dominance over other groups was equated with opportunity and even basic survival. Here it was equated with competition over who would win the soccer games—two different worlds.
The openness to each other I saw, showed a glimpse of a promising possibility—that if you the reader, not only the politicians, activists or educated Ethiopians, could change in this setting, we could change in another.
Those at the University of Maryland Capital one field at BYRD Stadium stadium all seemed to be so in love with Ethiopia; yet, there was something missing—not only an understanding of how bad things were in Ethiopia, but a lack of involvement in changing the downward direction of the country.
I have never seen any other country out of Africa, or elsewhere for that matter, bring thousands of their people in the Diaspora together the way Ethiopians have done during this week of the Ethiopian Sports Federation’s soccer games. Despite the negative problems of Ethiopia, it makes me feel very happy to be part of it.
When you look around, you see a rich background of Ethiopian images. You might notice the Ethiopians flags circling the stands or peaceful Ethiopians walking—young and old—smiling, holding the hands of their young children and perhaps, wearing Ethiopian flags on their clothing. You do not see the differences of ethnicity, but instead, you see people as Ethiopians ( Humanity before enthnicity or simply, people as people—all beautiful and unique.
Ninety per cent of the people at the stadium were young, meaning under the age of 35. They were showing their patronage of anything Ethiopia—buying Ethiopian flags, T-shirts with Ethiopian images and words, Ethiopian CD’s with Ethiopian music and Ethiopian food to eat.
As flags were happily waved by the young people, I was overwhelmed with the hope that somehow, this love of Ethiopia, alongside the joy of living in a free country like America with its openness and acceptance of other people, could somehow be channeled into these young people deeply caring about those stuck in the TPLF apartheid regime and tragedy of life within Ethiopia. I wondered whether the gap between these two realities could come together to form a greater youth movement to free Ethiopia.
I also wondered whether older Ethiopians could learn from the youth who saw each other as “equally Ethiopian.” The youth were not being divided against one another based on ethnic suspicions and loyalties, regional background, political alliances, religious views and cultural backgrounds like their parents.
Here in America, it no longer mattered so much. In Ethiopia, something like ethnic loyalty and achieving dominance over other groups was equated with opportunity and even basic survival. Here it was equated with competition over who would win the soccer games—two different worlds.
The openness to each other I saw, showed a glimpse of a promising possibility—that if you the reader, not only the politicians, activists or educated Ethiopians, could change in this setting, we could change in another.
Those at the University of Maryland Capital one field at BYRD Stadium stadium all seemed to be so in love with Ethiopia; yet, there was something missing—not only an understanding of how bad things were in Ethiopia, but a lack of involvement in changing the downward direction of the country.
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