Happy 2013 Ethiopian New Year of Peace, Prosperity and Progress

Author’s Note: Since 2008[1], I have issued my personal New Year’s Message to my readers and all Ethiopians on my blog site.

As I was drafting my 2013 (2020) New Year’s Message today, I paused to listen to an extraordinary two-part interview given by H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed which was aired over the past couple of days. (Interview [2] Part I and Part II.)

Having listened to PM Abiy’s New Year message, I discarded my draft as PM Abiy had stated everything I wanted to express for the New year. I decided to translate PM Abiy’s New Year’s message and share it with my readers as my own.

2013 Ethiopian Calendar[3] – Year of Peace, Prosperity and Progress

(Unofficial translation of excerpt of PM Abiy Ahmed’s Ethiopian New Year Message. [4])

… I believe 2013 will be better than 2012, 2011 and 2010.

In 2013, the government will be stronger. Our institutions will be strengthened. Our economy will continue to improve.

Our people will enjoy domestic tranquility, exercise self-restraint and possess self-confidence. They will have greater appreciation of the extraordinary worth of their country. They will solemnly reflect on the harm inflicted on our country. From this realization, we shall enjoy greater stability and harmony.

2013 will be the year we shall have a democratic free and fair election. It will be the year when we will complete critical elements of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project.

We have plans to plant 6 billion tree seedlings in 2013. We plan to share 1 billion of those seedlings with neighboring countries and spread the idea of tree planting throughout the Horn of Africa. If we can do that, and we have a good rainy season and our land is adequately watered, we can expand our agriculture, build and develop our country and make significant progress.

The new year is a new chapter, a new registry, a new book. If we unite and write in the book hourly and daily, we shall have written a good book. If we forget, if we sleep, the outcome will be naught. If we work together without squandering our time, we will have  a much better and great year.

I wish all Ethiopians a peaceful, loving and successful year. It shall be a year in which we will get to know and understand each other better, get to know our country and show greater love for our country, help each other, exercise greater self-restraint and live in reverence of our Creator. I wish it will be a year in which citizens appreciate Ethiopia’s greatness and strive to make her a grater. I wish for all Ethiopians to receive the new year with joy and do our work joyously.

I wish all Ethiopians will spend the New Year in peace, love and happiness with their families and children. I wish those people who design evil and destruction, engage in  killings and disturbances to come to their senses and mend their ways. If they persist in their evil ways, they shall be held to account before the law. I wish the new year to be one where we will not be concerned about the incidental crisis but rather a time will register and celebrate new victories and successes. These are the things that are in my prayers and wish to happen in 2013…

It is my prayer and wish 2013 will be a year of Peace, Prosperity and Progress in Ethiopia. As I have always proclaimed, “Ethiopia’s best days are yet to come!” 2013 shall mark the beginning of a new epoch, a new era in Ethiopian history!

Thank you PM Abiy Ahmed for all you have done for Ethiopia! “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

Last but not least, I wish peace, prosperity and progress to the people of Eritrea and all others in the Horn of Africa in 2013.

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[1] Each year, I review my previous year’s message and events of the current year in composing my wishes, dreams and resolutions. Until 2018, all of my previous messages were birthed in anguish and despair. In my December 29, 2008 commentary, I wrote:

2008 in Ethiopia was Groundhog Year! It was a repetition of 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004… Everyday millions of Ethiopians woke up only to find themselves trapped in a time loop where their lives replayed like a broken record. Each “new” day is the same as the one before it: Repression, intimidation, corruption, incarceration, deception, brutalization and human rights violation. Everything that happened to them the previous day, the previous week, the previous month, the previous 18 years happens to them today. They are resigned to the fact that they are doomed to spend the rest of their lives asphyxiated in a Prison Nation. They have no idea how to get out of this awful cycle of misery, agony, despair and tribulation. So, they pray and pray and pray and pray… for deliverance from Evil!

2013 [2020] is a new day in Ethiopia. In 2013, hope shall spring eternal in a land where despair once galloped unrestrained. Like the 5 billion tree seedlings dotting the Ethiopian landscape, the seedlings of democracy are taking root in the hearts and minds of 110 million Ethiopian.

In 2013, the world will see ETHIOPIA INVICTUS!  The harder the battle we fight, the sweeter the victory.

[2] It was a spellbinding and captivating interview delivered with extraordinary eloquence, passion and wit. (Part I and Part II.) PM Abiy’s New Year Message contained all of my thoughts, wishes and dreams in the Ethiopian New Year.

[3] Today, September 11, 2020 is Meskerem 1, Ethiopian New Year’s Day (Enqutatash “gift of jewels”). Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar consisting of 12 months of 30 days with a 5 or 6 day “13th month” (leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years and 8 months behind  the Gregorian calendar which is used in most parts of the world.

[4] I am aware that my translation will not do justice to PM Abiy’s words, thoughts and sheer eloquence. I have done the best I can do and ask to be excused for any translational deficiencies.