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Dejen Radio barking up the wrong and newly blossoming Atse Yohannes tree
By Tesfai Hailu As an alumnus of Atse Yohannes School, I was thrilled to learn on the web about the formation of the Atse Yohannes Alumni Association (AYAA). And although, due to extreme time constraint, I have not had the privilege of being part of such noble cause, I felt indebted to those who have been working hard to make a difference in the school they left behind long ago. Less than a month later, it’s really appalling and upsetting to read Dejen Radio’s alleged blasphemous attack on such innocent organization in its infancy. As to why Dejen would make such preposterous allegation against AYAA is open for interpretation. However, cautious not to fall on the same trap of extreme suspicion I attempt to confront here, I will do my best not to contemplate any ulterior motives on the part of Dejen to undermine AYAA. Instead, I will take this opportunity to address the ills in our political culture, and will try to offer Dejen et al. my unsolicited advice. First, when AYAA’s mission is clearly stated and, more importantly, when there is no a single shred of evidence to prove otherwise, Dejen’s outlandish allegation is clearly unwarranted and irresponsible. But, unfortunately, this is not something new. And I doubt that this has anything to do with AYAA’s suspicious activities. Rather, this likely has everything to do with the, “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” mindset. And something many of us can relate to. When this same issue of organizing an alumni association came up in the mid 1990s, for instance, the main opposing argument I heard was, “why have an association that focuses on one particular school when we have the TPLF and its development wing, the TDA, that are representative of all Tigrai.” The wisdom of the day back then, as many would recall, was that everything has to be done through the TPLF, and that there was no need for grassroots organizations, no matter how apolitical. This legacy of democratic centralism and central planning (read control) is no doubt something we have inherited from totalitarian regimes/political parties. However, after having recently witnessed the disastrous impact of such ideology on our nation, nowadays many are careful not to sing from that old hymnbook. Sadly, old habits die hard. Thus, contrary to the perceived paradigm shift and the endless discourse on the virtues of democracy, some still subscribe to the old school of thought. One can only hope that this is not the case behind Dejen’s attack on AYAA. Second, I personally know quite a few of the individuals behind the splendid AYAA idea, and no one in good conscious could accuse any of them being collaborators with Sebhat Negga, or any other politician for that matter. But that’s beside the point. In the new Ethiopian order, the mantra of modern-day politicians, aspiring politicians, supporters and pundits appears to be: if for one reason or another you do not agree with us or work under us, we will make sure to link you to the most notorious act, group or personality possible. In fact, one could argue that the old way of terrorizing and eliminating real or perceived enemies has been replaced by relentless character assassination. How else could Dejen’s attempt to associate AYAA with – out of all people – Sebhat Negga could be explained! I doubt that Dejen has the nightmare of seeing the “invisible [Sebhat] hand” guiding AYAA. Rather, the goal here appears to be – using the ultimate weapons of mass distraction in one’s arsenal – to misinform and discourage some potential members from joining an association Dejen, for one reason or another, doesn’t endorse. I will be the first to admit here that I’m bordering on the conspiracy theory I promised to avoid in my opening statement. That’s why, as we will see later, I’m also open to giving Dejen the benefit of the doubt, as long as it’s open to righting the wrong. Third, I have had the privilege of listening to Dejen Radio’s programs a few times. And – although I did not necessarily agree with everything said – I was left with the impression that the man (or the people?) behind the program was indeed someone striving for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia. And one of the most basic rights in democracy is the right to organize – be it in the political, religious, labor or social setting. May I remind Dejen that democracy, like charity, begins at home, and that it is important to practice what one preaches? Furthermore, if Dejen is truly concerned about the potential divisions and the weakening of a united opposition to the current regime of Meles Zenawi, perhaps it would be wiser if the broadcaster focuses on the numerous political groups and organizations (some of them frequent guests of its radio show), and advise them to iron out their differences to form a unified opposition. Otherwise, picking on organizations as harmless as AYAA would be as effective as barking up the wrong tree. Finally, I don’t know if Dejen has been an “equal opportunity offender,” but Atse Yohannes is not the only alumni longing to help its alma mater. Recognizing the love and attachment people have to their old school and, perhaps ironically, to be free of the normally conflict-ridden political and ethnic organizing, several Ethiopians have turned to alumni associations as their last resort to helping their people. And one of the pioneers of such noble mission is the Agazi School Alumni Association, which, to my external knowledge, has been doing wonderful things for young minds in Adigrat. Not only should such good deed be commended (and certainly not condemned), but it should be a role model for others to follow that, “it takes a village” and baby steps – not necessarily a state or large institutions – to make a small, positive difference. Giving Dejen Radio the benefit of the doubt and my promised unsolicited advice It is only fair to make the assumption that Dejen, after all, may have heard the rumor, no matter how groundless, and may have had genuine concern. In that case, as Journalism 101 Lesson Number 1 would dictate, what Dejen could have done was “always verify [its] sources!” According to AYAA’s reaction, Dejen failed to do just that. And this, not withstanding the unwillingness to do the right thing, may have to do with the lack of human resources and expertise, which takes me to my next point. I could be wrong but Dejen gives the impression that it’s a one man show of a journalist, editor, broadcaster, host and proprietor. Not only is such heavy responsibility, I presume, time consuming and emotionally draining, but when it comes to investigative reporting, it allows the one and only man play the role of prosecutor, judge and jury. And, this could be harmful not only to the wrongly accused, but also to Dejen’s reputation, its listeners and possibly to the democratic change it strongly and persistently advocates. Thus, my advice to Dejen, if this is not being done, is: how about having associates not only to help verify and edit stories and news reports, but also to be its second sober thought? Finally, because I can bet that there is no way of Dejen proving the AYAA/Sebhat alliance, I’m not going to ask the broadcaster to produce hard evidence. Instead, I encourage Dejen to retract its ill-advised attack on AYAA. After all, admitting an error in judgment is a sign of strength, not weakness, and this is something we desperately need to develop in our political and social relations. Failing to do so, Dejen risks alienating some of its listeners and supporters, not to mention being dismissed as the medium of crying wolf. |