Viewpoints | Sep 18,2021
Jan 18 , 2020
By
Every Monday there is a live Jazz band at Fendika, a small cultural space in Kazanchis that usually appeals to the rather upper class, cosmopolitan elite. The band is competent and always a pleasure to listen to. But the jam sessions are the cherry on the cake, always transcendental, surprisingly professional and eclectic.
On the first Monday of this month, during these jam sessions, four young adults volunteered to perform. One of them was European, while three were of African descent. The youngest of them could not have been older than 15. They brought with them a guitar with its synthesizer. They also borrowed an electric keyboard, drums and a bass guitar from the band.
And then they started to play. It was one of the sweetest 15 minutes of my life. It was a sound I had never heard live before. It sounded futuristic. There was no melody: just cool, ecstatic and competing sets of rhythm. It was all the more impressive that it came from youngsters that seemed more likely to punish our ears instead of giving us a memorable performance. But despite their appearances, these were professionals that had sharpened their craft and created something new. I was thoroughly impressed.
All good things have to come to an end and so did the live jazz. As we were making our way out of the small, often crowded but colourful and artfully decorated main hall of Fendika, I overheard a friend of a friend, a Sudanese national, making an interesting comment.
“You guys have this every night,” he remarked fairly impassioned.
He was amazed to have found a small piece of heaven in a country that does not look like it has much of it. The news that keep coming out of this country are not very comforting. Students are being killed at universities, road closures and localised unrest are common, and churches and mosques are being burned to the ground by marauding gangs of youth.
It is easy to be overwhelmed. It is easy to forget the good things that remain and the potential therein. But for a non-national who has not been subjected as much to the inequities of life in this country, our circumstance might not seem too bad. If he has only an intimation of the unraveling socio-political state of the country, he may assume that we are a nation of entitled brats unable to see the awesomeness right under our very noses.
Or perhaps he is right. Perhaps we are too consumed with the negatives that we are underestimating our chances of building a democratic, diverse and prosperous nation that, for once, we are sure our ancestors will admire and respect.
Perhaps we have the silent majority that has been biding its time among all of this extremism and tomfoolery and will make its voice heard when the general election later this year takes place. Perhaps a good image, and significant recognition, will encourage this administration to live up to its promises to conduct a free and fair election. Perhaps an understanding of the clear and present danger of undermining the legitimacy of the national election will lead to political parties that have lost to concede defeat and promise to continue to fight ideas only with better ideas.
And perhaps the national discourse will become more sophisticated and sober, giving rise to a populace informed about its rights and duties.
No one can tell the future and this article upon hindsight may read like a terrible joke. Or, just as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s (PhD) honeymoon period distracted us from estimating the level of socioeconomic and security disruption a political transformation would bring, we are underestimating our chances for a brighter future based on the darkness that looms large today.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 18,2020 [ VOL
20 , NO
1029]
Viewpoints | Sep 18,2021
Fortune News | Aug 21,2021
Commentaries | Sep 21,2019
Commentaries | Dec 25,2021
Commentaries | Nov 21,2018
Fortune News | Nov 05,2022
My Opinion | Nov 18,2023
View From Arada | Apr 17,2020
Viewpoints | Nov 13,2021
Editorial | Nov 21,2020
Photo Gallery | 96804 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 88985 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 67185 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65767 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...
Apr 20 , 2024
In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
Apr 6 , 2024
In a rather unsettling turn of events, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (C...
Mar 30 , 2024
Ethiopian authorities find themselves at a crossroads in the shadow of a global econo...
Apr 20 , 2024
Ethiopia's economic reform negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in their fourth round, taking place in Washington, D...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
An undercurrent of controversy surrounds the appointment of founding members of Amhara Bank after regulat...
An ambitious cooperative housing initiative designed to provide thousands with affordable homes is mired...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Ethiopia's juice manufacturers confront formidable economic challenges following the reclassification of...