Open Letter To Ethiopians Who Live In The Islands Of Music & Sport! 

By Getachew Reda 

 My grievance is not against those who enjoy music & sport and at the same time do their part in the fight to remove the ruling Bandas. My complaint is focusing directly to those who decorate hair to toe themselves, their houses, their cars, saloons, their restraints, shops, offices, business cards with the nations flag, but remote themselves from the struggle to confront the enemy who is attacking the survival of the nation and the flag, who they claimed they love. (I have not even seen a group of musicians who perform their art to the public for income to support the opposition. That itself is another whole issue we need to explore another day!). 

From time to time, it is been explained by many fellow Ethiopians, that we are in a time where our country's history, dignity, unity & fraternity, caring and love among us is under attack (completely eroded)! This land of ours is turning to a worst vengeance and betrayal. It is a frightening scenario. This country of our who we all talk about everyday is not as beautiful as the "citizens" of "Music and sport" presented her to the public as rosy as heaven in their cars, restaurants, watches, business cards, their clothes tells us. This country with its flag is living not only under tyrants, but also under young Banda thugs. The Ethiopian youngsters for our shame don't have a clue what is taking place at this moment in Ethiopia. The young generation is deceit by music and sport, which is becoming the milking cow of income to the few individual business people. 

The sport or the music that never initiate to participate in the new fight against the Bandas can't represent the spirit or the culture of the nation. If such project is only aiming for financial income by taking advantage of the nature of the project (entertainment), without giving room to the nations cause (to the struggle against the Bandas), then such sector is loosing loyalty to the *nation*with no doubt. The Banda thugs have weigh the dignity and history of our people, as worthless object. There is nothing worst to happen to Ethiopia more than shutting her ports! They legalize greedy and introduce greedy as policy. They came with the name free market another name for "greedy". The birth of greedy is a welcome culture in our nation as we speak. The thugs operate the nations investment (music, sport, commodity,) under their control without checks and balances by the public. Their breeds in the business sector here in the United States are exploiting the public by stocking million worthless CDs and videos in their shop, WHILE ignoring reading materials (magazines, books and news papers) which are produced by the free press society NOT TO MENTION THE ANTIQUE GEEZ SCRIPTURS, HOLLY QURAAN ISLAMIC BOOKS, THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH CLOTHES & CROSSES WHICH THEY OPENLY STOCKED THEM IN THEIR SHOPS AND RESTORANTS FOR SALE! 
NOT TO MENTION HOW SAD THEIR SHOPS TURNED TO BE A DUMPING GROUND FOR THE ERITREAN ALBUMS & VIDEOS. YOU WALK RIGHT INTO THE SHOPS, YOU HERE THE ERITRIAN ALBUM TURNED ON LOUDELY CASTING AND DISRESPECTING THE TIGRIANS AND THE Ethiopian GALLANT ARMY AS COWARD. AND IT IS SHAME THOSE OWNERS ALLOW SUCH REDICULEOUS ALBUM TO BE SOLD AND PLAYED INSIDE THEIR SHOP KNOWING THE Ethiopians ARE INSIDE THE SHOPE DOING BUSINESS, WHILE SUCH SONG IS PLAYED ON! And Ethiopians ARE THEIR MAIN CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS who they depend on FOR THEIR COMMODITY (I AM TALKING ABOUT HERE IN THE USA. Here in San Jose, where I live! 

Is money worth than the nation? I will come back to go detail other times regarding this ridiculous betrayal of nationalism that is going on around the restaurants and shop owners.) Is it Greedy? Yes! Greedy at this time is the number responsible enemy of our society. A nation can loose its dignity and pride if greed takes over. Greedy forced you to neglect friends and family. Greedy for money with out limit disintegrate society into class who turn at each other as foes. Greed for money, greed for power can force people to sale their country's dignity and history. Take a look at this new generation whose greed for music and sport look alike! We have witnessed our sisters and brothers going into nightclub be it Ethiopian or foreign clubs, spending hundreds of dollars for one night show. Take a look at the young and middle age Ethiopians when they rush to buy a new release CD or Video for as much as $25.00 for *rap* music, while decline to contribute $1.00$5.00$10.00 one time pledge to help for the struggle against the Bandas. (Not to mention how they are not bothered to spend $1.50 or $3.00 Ethiopian papers and magazines to read about their country and the flag they beautify themselves on.) I wouldn't complaint if that kind of money is spending for Solomon Tekaling or my dear sister Aster Aweke's CD or other nationalist musicians. 

Some readers might wonder why I am in fever of Solomon or her (Aster). Please read how the Bandas in her Addis Ababa's tour mistreated Aster, she revealed on her interview (I can't recall the year & the month of her interview) with the magnificent Landafta Amharic Magazine published in Atlanta, which is now out of publication. What do you notice when you all go to the Ethiopian "Sport or Musical" concerts? You will notice everyone beautify her/himself with the national flag (green-yellow-red dress ornaments.) Go early to one of the concerts when guest musicians arrive in one of the town or cities. And stand up near the gate. You will see beautiful Ethiopian men and women including little children dressed an Ethiopian cultural clothes decorated with the color flag. Rushing everyone to have a front sit and can't wait till the roaring guitar blasted the hall. Looking at each other's eye, to check out the way who dresses what and how. 
The music started! IRIKUM ZEMEDA, Ethiopia Hagere Yedeferesh Yiwdem! Hands wave to the deep sky where God of Ethiopia is located. Tears start streaming, missing Ethiopia the land which is way far away. The music still flooding and invading the ear with *irikum zemeda* shoulders, necks, tense tickled, shivering and trembling turned them hysteria. May god bless them! 

Do they love and for real miss that nation to stream that much tear in the night where suppose to be smile and enjoy? Oh! No! Why are they fragile? What is that tear all about? About the flag? About Ethiopia who is under the shoe of the Bandas? How can they break to tears when they are not interested in the nation's affairs? How can they wave and decorate themselves with the flag and went frenzy when the song *Imama-Ethiopia Lijochish-Iyalen Belijochish Kuri*is played? How is it possible, when they decline to show up in a national or local Ethiopian opposition meetings? This happened in Oakland, California where the Ethiopian national soccer tournament took place last year. Everyone dressed to beautify her/him self with national flag at the time was expected to show up for the meeting. But few came to the meeting hall, which was prepared and called by all opposition groups. If Ethiopians fly from state to State in dedication for the spirit of sport and music, paying expensive plane tickets and hotel expenses, and decline to show up for a meeting which is few blocks away from the sport arena, then, what is the message those *CITIZENS of MUSIC & SPORT Islanders* want to pass on to us when we see them decorating themselves with flag, *but* decline to detached themselves few hours from the tournament for not to pay few minutes to be with the prayers hall "a tribute for the heroes who are falling every second in jail by the Bandas?" 

Would the Ethiopian National soccer tournament participants of this year too going to be the same as the people of last year? Or they will help the opposition civic & political organizations with all their heart, soul & money in participate in the nation's struggle to oust the Bandas from our land?

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