Al Mariam’s Commentaries
Author’s Note: In this memorandum commentary, I reflect on a poem read by the late Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah at the inauguration of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 in honor of Ethiopia. Nkrumah’s special poem extols Ethiopia’s natural beauty and bounty and the wisdom of its people. Nkrumah’s poem, “Ethiopia Shall Rise”,…
Last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia met with the top leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (ETOC) and urged them, indeed preached to them, to reconcile with the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church in Exile in the Diaspora. PM Abiy said: Differences may have arisen [between Church leaders] for various reasons, but they…
… Security forces wearing uniforms and caps (inaudible). Their job is to prevent people from fighting (breach of the peace). [The inability of the security forces] to perform professionally may be related to the fact that they just don’t know or understand the requirements of their jobs. Or it could be that kilil officials have…
… What I want to pledge before you now is that those who have media in America and those who speak for democracy in Ethiopia, those who cry out, those who are outraged and those concerned about Ethiopia, I want to pledge before you that we want them to have their headquarters in Addis Ababa….
Who’s is the hardest working man in show business? Back in my day, it was James Brown. Down in Augusta, GA where I went to college. “In my hometown where I used to stay, The name of the place is Augusta, GA.“ sang it J.B. We all did the Boogaloo with J.B. Who is the…
“… All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 1961. Author’s Note: This Memorandum is to…
Author’s Note: For the past couple of weeks, I have read and heard unjustified and irresponsible criticism of PM Abiy. Many of his critics are Hippos (older generation) like me, who still cling to the faded political ideals of their youth in the 1970s and stubbornly remain sticks-in-the mud. A few of these old war…
My interview on Voice of America (Amharic) on April 16, 2018 re: H.R. 128 and PM Abiy.
Author’s note: In my last “commentary” (My Personal Letter to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed), I promised to focus my future observations on issues and topics that will serve to promote peace, reconciliation, unity and the general well-being of the Ethiopian people. The time for recrimination, denunciation and diatribe is passed. The time now is to…
Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all – never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land…
