- The Assault on Truth
By Abel Merawi
January 26, 2022 (Ezega.com) -- Defending Truth is a uniquely human endeavor, but it is ventured by heroes who are willing to sacrifice. Let us save the essence of such sacrifice to the conclusion, however. Let’s begin with the struggle. Wherever and whenever the truth teller claims to communicate reality to the public, and when this figure is defamed and accused by the powers that be, we see a struggle between truth and untruth. As we witness opposing sides engage in a verbal battle to tell the truth and discredit the opponent, we witness the struggle of falsehood to overcome truth. The public views such claims and disclaims of truth with a hint of doubt and cynicism. Deception never defeats truth by replacing it, but it can reduce truth to mere opinion. When this occurs, the public goes beyond conceptions of truth and
- Vice in the name of Virtue
By Abel Merawi
November 15, 2021 (Ezega.com) – How do you write about something without a name? What do you call something that is yet to be identified, explained, and defined? Amazingly, we fail to recognize an existing phenomenon when a term for its recognition is lacking. I chose to deal with a situation that is designed to escape category – a nuisance of life created by narcissistic humans whose intent is remaining undetected by most, and when detected ignored. The lack of terminology is no reason to withhold a troubling fact, and so I chose to explain its intricate pattern and keep the labeling for the future.
Shakespeare writes in Hamlet, “…conscience does make cowards of us all….” In this line, Shakespeare explains how our sense of right and wrong keeps us in fea
- Dream of a Reality
By Abel Merawi
September 24, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- New Year has dawned, and in this time of hopefulness and optimism, I wish to speak of a dream. This dream is not as great as that of Martin Luther King Jr., or of the prophets, or of Dostoyevsky, or of all those noble and gentle creatures who transcended the immediate ill to envisage health and vigor. It is not as great for it is a dream I was able to clearly see through the visionaries. I was able to heed their call because the dream served to awaken a grand truth that resides in all of us. Sadly, we all dream grand dreams of universal bliss but we easily abandon it. We fear it will disturb our hardened hearts. If we live out this dream of truth and love, we subconsciously fear it will weaken the cruelty we confuse with strength. We also fear it will expose our true selves by removing our shields of rati
- Identity Frames and Humane Response to Suffering
By Abel Merawi
August 5, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- I wish I could write about the past with the intelligence and arrogance the present affords. But almost anyone with possession of historical documents can do so since one would no longer be captivated by the magical spell of an identity frame. For instance, I could write or even mock the false frame of identity that made aristocracy or serfdom possible since these types of identity are outdated and hokum to me. We no longer afford such luxury when faced with imminent horrors in the present, which add folly to future annals of history. Currently, as both victims and agents of parochial identities, we either gaze in bewildered indifference or actively partake in the making of tomorrow’s regrets. I know my writing will be a failure because I am blind to my generation’s mythical so
- Necrophilia – The Affliction in Servants of Death
By Abel Merawi
June 18, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- Every life form seeks to perpetuate itself. This is evident in the primacy of reproduction in every species. As Tupac Shakur beautifully articulates, a rose bursting out of concrete seeks life. Human beings are no different as the survival instinct equally operates in us. In Greek mythology, this affirmation of life was personified in Eros, the god of love, or by the Roman Cupid. But Eros fails to explain war, torture, suicide, and the legion of evils that destroy life. This perplexed the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, who coined it a ‘death instinct’ that operates as an unconscious urge to die. Long before, Greek mythology personified death in Thanatos. Building upon these theories, the psychologist Erich Fromm explained these two forces competing for mental orientations using
- Even Monkeys Can Use Smart Techs
By Abel Merawi
April 15, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- What I am about to say may come across as an insult to our civilization, but I pray that you read the article in light of recent disastrous events which make us lose heart in humanity. I promise to expound on it but the basic argument runs like this. Contemporary human beings remain primitive in morality, spirituality, and rationality while possessing the technology par excellence of a great civilization. To avoid misunderstanding, civilization is used here in the strictest lexical meaning that denotes social development and organization manifested in the excellence of thought, manner, and taste. In other words, we are primitive beings without such refinement. Being primitive expresses an archaic and lower form of civilization, characterizing compartmentalized tribal tendencies, imprudenc
- Adwa – Triumph of Unassailable Humanity
By Abel Merawi
March 8, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- Adwa marked the victory of freedom for the oppressed over the Western ideology of supremacy. White hegemony has been an agency of evil, which spread its insidious root using shallow pseudointellectuals to cover sheer lust for power and money. The academic wolves wore sheep garbs to defend their theory of Teutonic Origins. This theory advocated white supremacy by claiming to have noble origins as descendants of ancient Germany’s Teutonic tribe, which vouches of whites’ exceptional ability for nation-building, justifying their unparalleled crime of colonization and slavery. This white fire of hoax had affirmed itself as most African nations and indigenous people across the globe were consumed by this evil. Consequently, they were able to make the world believe their dominance, being undefeatable by any ot
- Democracy and Democratic People
By Abel Merawi
February 16, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- Democracy is an elusive concept as its preceding and competing notions such as authoritarianism or socialism. This is because the elements that encompass democracy place requirements on not just the government but also on the people and the institutions serving as outlets. Even in the case of authoritarian governments, dictators attempt to persuade the people because if they don’t accept the propaganda of living under dictatorship and institutions of force, it could not survive with sheer force.
The same applies to socialism, which can only survive with the direct or indirect acceptance of the people and centralized institutions that further its dominance. In the same manner, democracy does not spring into life even if the government declares to rule democratically. It can only function by setting de
- Educational Purpose: Good Citizenry Vs Rational Autonomy
By Abel Merawi
January 26, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- Before diving into a discussion on the purpose of education, I venture into the age-old legend of the hero. Leaving aside the divine touch in the protagonist, which was indispensable in the classics, I portray the purely human protagonist. The hero begins life by participating in the ordinary social routine until maturity brings an insatiable thirst for more. This perpetually grows until the hero is unable to endure the immediate reality. Then the arduous journey into the wilderness becomes the only solution to the hero’s disquietude. Embarking on this journey is breaking social ties, which presents harsh criticism from beloveds and society at large. The wilderness too presents the hero with both ephemeral worldly desires and imminent dangers before awarding even minor vict
- Ethiopia Under the Threat of Crowd Mentality
By Abel Merawi
December 31, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- Nations are built by the autonomous and unified strivings of citizens. Contrariwise, nations are destroyed by crowds who operate blindly to fulfill petty and irrational goals. Crowds may originate from various elements. In Ethiopia, they emanate from the catastrophic element of race and ethnicity. Currently, we are witnessing crimes against humanity in various parts of our country, and they all point towards crowd leaders and their hypnotized followers. The effort of the government to put a halt to these atrocities become futile when citizens abandon national identity and form ethnic factions. These ethnic cliques are led by crowd leaders deranged by lust for power and money. Crowds and their leaders have a symbiotic relation, and the destruction of one necessarily leads to the end of t
- Ethiopian Police Issues Arrest Warrant on 76 Generals, Military Officers
By Staff Reporter
November 19, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- The Ethiopian Federal Police have issued arrest warrants for another 76 army generals and military officers for alleged treason by working with the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF).
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ethiopian Police said the army general and senior military officers have been accused of having roles in the killing of members of the northern command division.
Retired army generals and military officers are among the suspects whom police issued an arrest warrant for the second time after war broke out between TPLF and the central government two weeks ago.
The army generals have also been charged with the instigation of several ethnic and religious-based violence and unrest which resulted in the killings of innocent people and destruc
- TPLF Leader Calls on All Tigrayans to Fight Federal Army
By Staff Reporter
November 18, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- The leader of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) Debretsion Gebremichael called on all Tigrayans to fight what he referred to as “Abiy’s fascist forces” as the federal army captures key towns in Tigray.
Speaking to Tigray TV on Wednesday, Debretsion said TPLF forces have turned into offensive and defeated the federal army on all war fronts.
However, Debretsion has confirmed to a local TV station that federal troops have captured Shire, but called it a "tem
- PM Abiy Calls for Surrender as Fighting Intensifies in Tigray
By Staff Reporter
November 17, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday announced the end of the three-day surrender deadline his government has given to Tigray Special Forces and militia to lay down arms.
There are no reports of members of the Tigray special force and militia have given hands to the federal army following the premier’s call except those fighters who have surrendered amid battles in different places of Tigray.
In a message conveyed in Tigrigna language three days ago, Prime Minister Abiy called upon the Tigray Special Forces and militia in Mekele to save their lives and help the national defense forces apprehended TPLF leaders without causing casualties.
“The call for the Tigray Special Forces and militia to save themselves and the people around them, as Tigray Pe
- Ethiopia in Conflict - Part I: EPRDF and the Creation of Ethnic Division
By Abel Merawi
November 16, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- When we seriously examine the genesis of every civilization, we see people who find themselves together without intentionality. In the beginning, some people are migrants, some relatives, some conquered and some conquerors. But time slowly begins to transform and unite this crowd, which becomes the identity of the nation this people call home. As people occupy the same space, they begin to have shared experiences too. Through the bond of marriage and through various processes of unification, they form a collective identity. This identity is used by the ruler of the land to create a nation. However, every civilization is bound to go through transformation together with the ideal that constitutes it. The life of the rulers of every civilization, remains as long as the ideal remains al
- TPLF Bombs Bahir Dar, Gondar Airports; Warns Asmara
By Staff Reporter
November 14, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- The Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) fired rockets in the neighboring Amhara region and inflicted damages on Bahir Dar and Gondar airports, the Ethiopian government has disclosed.
“In the late hours of Nov. 13, 2020, rockets were fired towards Bahir Dar & Gondar cities. As a result, the airport areas have sustained damages. The TPLF junta is utilizing the last of the weaponry within its arsenals,” Ethiopia Emergency Fact Sheet said in a statement.
TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda has confirmed that TPLF forces launched missile attacks on Gondar and Bahir Dar and threatened Asmara with a similar attack.
Getachew said the attacks have carried out in retaliation for air strikes conducted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s forces in various parts of