Sponsored Contents | Mar 28,2022
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]
Sponsored Contents | Mar 28,2022
Editorial | Oct 16,2021
Commentaries | Jul 18,2021
Life Matters | Aug 14,2021
Photo Gallery | 94096 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 86368 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 66199 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65551 Views | Oct 02,2021
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
Mar 23 , 2024
Addis Abeba has been experiencing rapid expansion over the past two decades. While se...
Mar 16 , 2024
In a striking move that has rattled the corridors of Ethiopia's export sector, the Mi...
Mar 9 , 2024
Mamo Mehiretu's tenure at the central bank's helm is marked by a distinct shift in fo...
Mar 1 , 2024
In the corridors of the Ministry of Finance, on King George IV St., a recent visit by...
Mar 23 , 2024
A microcosm of Addis Abeba's vibrant yet convulsive changeover unfolds in the jammed corridors of the Arada District Land Management & A...
Ethiopia's decades-old energy policy is evolving rapidly, opening doors for private sector involvement in...
Mar 23 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide has intensified efforts to enforce mandatory domestic procurements across...
Mar 23 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
A policy measure that favoured steel importers over manufacturers was laid out as the major issue for the...