And the winner is..

On Wednesday 21 May 2008, the Caretaker Administration of Berhane Deressa handed over Addis Ababa’s key to the new administration of EPRDF. Kuma Demekssa, Ex-Minister of Defense and (according to Fortune newspaper) father of Seven, was sworn in as the 29th Mayor of Addis in 122 years. And where did this handing-over take place? At the “Addis Ababa Theatreina Bahil Adarash”!!

How fitting, won’t you say? 🙂

I mean, I’ve repeatedly stated how I threw my ballot in favor of, or voted for, EPRDF at the 2005 Hagerawi election. And I’m not about to apologize for it! I still love Meles, the person, and believe if EPRDF had as good Head of propaganda department as War Strategy, it would have gotten away with more than it did/or didn’t!

However, the recent by-election drama in which EPRDF took control, “stole” some might say but I ain’t one of those some ;-), of Region 14 (as if we could have had it any other way :-)), was too comical to pass off. The final touch, however, was exquisite! The icing on the cake, you might say! Confirming, once and for all, the almost cultural trend Ethiopian politics followed (KeEndalkachew Kabine jemiro, I might add) and the theatrical way they tried to cover it up.

Theatre and Culture, there you have it!

The 2nd Coming, friend or foe?!

But first, the backdrop…

I was discussing the May 20 incident with a fellow university student last night, after a fitful minibus ride which sent the sister into a +PanicAttackMode every time the monstrous thing made a strange noise (never knew waiting for your death, or worse, a scenario in which you are sure to lose limbs could be so scary). And guess what this religious brother’s excuse for the car-bombing (the Chinese earth quake, the Myanmar cyclone) was. That they were all signs that we are in “Simintegnaw Shih”. That Jesus was indeed coming. My reply: “Do I care if he never come?!”.

Because when you expect things, it’s assumed there is a catch involved, isn’t there?! That you would be rewarded with something positive (and just not the joy of looking down at those you dislike from your floaty position). According to the bible and this friend, however, the only reward the son of man would get at the second coming, i.e. the final clash between evil and good, is sulfur and “Dign”! A prophesy I found hard to take comfort in, let alone gloat over (if that’s what I am expected to do, that is. You never know with these things!). What’s worse, it seems to excuse those responsible for doing us wrong. Because, you’ve heard this before, they simply are obeying the will of God! A Will, it is written, shall come to pass if nothing else does.

I also wonder why God needs to deal with his creatures with such an iron hand! What have we done exactly to piss Him so? I know this would sound silly and rather 7th grade but it’s not like we tricked him into creating us, you know! WE, had to come into a world and life we haven’t asked for. WE, had to do deal with the type of creatures he saw fit to make us. WE, have to try and be good inspite of all the mess & unkindness around us. Seems to me WE are the victims here. And WE get punished? As if living isn’t punishment enough?! Wouldn’t “not creating us” be wiser than mess everything up and blaming poor US for it?!

I don’t know, my friends! Except it feels monstrously unfair! But I know this! That the second coming doesn’t sound like the kind of thing one desires.

Ya digg?! 🙂