
Aug 28 , 2021
By Christian Tesfaye
There is a long-running sub-narrative in HBO’s TV series Oz that is reminiscent of Ethiopia. The show is about the inmates of a maximum-security state correctional facility. Much drama takes place inside the prison, especially in a unit known as “Emerald City,” an ironically nice-sounding name for a place that ugly.
Much of the story arcs revolve around the inmates' attempts to reconcile themselves to spending much of their lives in prison. Robbed of their freedom and hope, they turn to gangs that provide a common sense of purpose. There are Aryans, Sicilians, Latino, and African-Americans gangs and groups organised around religion and sexual orientation. The primary fault line for the frequent violence that breaks out is an underground drug trade in the prison and the constant racial tensions that erupt. There is also the constant settling of scores.
A storyline built on the latter offers an interesting case study of the political situation in Ethiopia. It revolves around two inmates, Tobias Beecher and Vernon Schillinger, who take a Hatfield-McCoy like feud to a whole new level. It starts when Schillinger, who has been in prison for years, becomes cellmates with Beecher, who physically and psychologically abuses him. Their initial relationship becomes Beecher’s – a white Anglo-Saxon protestant from an upper-middle-class family – introduction into the harsh reality of the American penal system.
Beecher eventually manages to change cells but takes the trauma with him. On the other hand, Schillinger has a parole hearing coming, for which he must improve his behaviour. He foreswears violence and attempts to make peace with Beecher, who will have none of this and goes to great lengths to ensure that Schillinger does not get out on parole. This act does not improve Beecher’s life in any way, but it is revenge, and that is the only consolation he can find for being brutalised when they were in prison together.
Now it is Schillinger's turn to ruin Beecher’s life even further. He concocts a plan that ends in him breaking three of his enemy’s limbs. The feud escalates. Beecher responds by starting a series of events that gets one of Schillinger’s two children killed. The blood-letting, which is not benefitting any party in any way but worsening their situations further, continues. They have too much greed and pride to stop at this point.
There is a significant development mid-show. Beecher becomes religious and decides to make a major gesture for peace. He pays to have Schillinger's son, who has been missing, tracked down and arranges for a meeting between the two at the prison. Before Beecher can tell Schillinger that he has done this for him, Schillinger finds out by himself.
Does he recognise this goodwill and reciprocate in kind?
Of course not. This is a gesture coming out of nowhere. In the reality the two have constructed for themselves, goodwill does not exist. He cannot see a scenario in which the two can ever learn to tolerate one another – his imagination does not take him that far. Beecher must be planning something. This is just another trick, he assumes.
“We need to go on the offence,” he tells his gang.
Schilinger proceeds to have Beecher’s two children abducted and one of them killed. So goes the feud.
Something similar is taking place at a national level in Ethiopia. Groups on the opposite side of the political fault line are in a race to the bottom. They are even killing one another’s children. They have too much pride and greed to bring peace; I expect the bloodletting to go on for a while. By the time they are done, they will have left in their wakes nothing but corpses, widows, displaced people, poor households, malnourished children and famine.
At least Beecher and Schillinger managed to strike a détente. Let us see if our political elites can manage to do more than two fictional criminals in alleviating one another’s suffering.
PUBLISHED ON
Aug 28,2021 [ VOL
22 , NO
1113]
Films Review | Dec 07,2019
Life Matters | Jun 22,2024
Viewpoints | Apr 29,2023
Commentaries | Jul 18,2021
Life Matters | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 128734 Views | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 124989 Views | Aug 21,2021
My Opinion | 123068 Views | Sep 10,2021
My Opinion | 120885 Views | Aug 07,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
May 3 , 2025
Pensioners have learned, rather painfully, the gulf between a figure on a passbook an...
Apr 26 , 2025
Benjamin Franklin famously quipped that “nothing is certain but death and taxes....
Apr 20 , 2025
Mufariat Kamil, the minister of Labour & Skills, recently told Parliament that he...
Apr 13 , 2025
The federal government will soon require one year of national service from university...
May 3 , 2025
Oromia International Bank introduced a new digital fuel-payment app, "Milkii," allowi...
May 4 , 2025 . By AKSAH ITALO
Key Takeaways: Banks face new capital rules complying with Basel II/III intern...
May 4 , 2025
Pensioners face harsh economic realities, their retirement payments swiftly eroded by inflation and spiralling living costs. They struggle d...
May 7 , 2025
Key Takeaways Ethiopost's new document drafting services, initiated in partnership with DARS, aspir...