Ethiopian History is Not Three Thousand Years! Says Prof. Ephraim Isaac

An open letter to an inquisitive young Ethiopian sister

28 DECEMBER 2013 

Ethiopian history is not three thousand years!

Dear Beloved Ethiopian Sister,

Thank you very much for your important question about the origin and extent of Ethiopian history.

Thank you for inspiring me to write this response.

I am prompted to write the response to your question in a public forum. I do so because many of your doubting friends to whom you refer would also be able to see my answers.

You write, “Edeminot, I would like to ask you something if you have [the] time. [Many] people … specially the young…have doubts about our 3000 years history … they ask [for] evidence... Some comment that[one ethnic group] wrote the history like they want… [But] they doubt if our history is even 100 years…. Can you suggest [to] me [a] good book… about Ethiopia?Thank you, Sir”[M.B.]

I have always known young Ethiopians to be bright and inquisitive. Over 600 years ago it was written in Mashafa Berhan (please see my own translation The Book of Light, EJ Brill,1973) from Emperor Zar’aYa’eqob (1434-68) time: “all the peoples of Ethiopia are thirsty for knowledge”. So, I am really not surprised to know that our young continue the ancient tradition of our people to be thirsty for knowledge. I am especially happy that they are inquisitive about our common history. May the Almighty bless them and open the door for them to learn and teach.

Right at the outset, let me tell you that the young people are right to say that we do not have a 3000-year history. We have a 10,000-year common history! Going back to about 10,000 years, all the peoples who inhabit Ethiopia-Eritrea-Horn of Africa today had one single common ancestry.

As you probably know, I am a student of ancient Semitic and Afroasiatic languages. So, my answer here to your question about a common Ethiopian ancestry and heritage is based on a sound ground of the study of Ethiopian languages and conclusions reached by the leading international experts of historical linguistics-- scholars from Russia, France, Germany, Israel, Australia, USA, et.al. My own Institute of Semitic Studies publishes the major scholarly publication in this field: Journal of Afroasiatic Languages.)

About 10,000 years ago, one single nation or community of a single linguistic group existed in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Horn of Africa. That nation had one culture and one language. For lack of better terminology most scholars call that language Proto-Afroasiatic (PA.)Most, if not all the languages of Ethiopia today, definitely Ge’ez, Oromifa, Amharic, Tigrigna, Afar, Gurage, Hadiya, Kambaata,Somali, Sidamo, and all the other languages known as Semitic and Cushitic as well as Omotic that including Wolaytta,Hamar, Amuru, Boro, Anfillo,Ari,et.al. are branches of oneancient language spoken by one people.

This is not just my view. As I said above,it is the view of impartial worldwide linguists. They are scholars who study ancient languages and the origin of languages objectively and scientifically. They do deep linguistic research objectively and might have not even visited Ethiopia, like some of the subjective (tiraaznataq) social scientists who think they know everything about our country after a year or two of a visit and study, and whose writings often mislead not only our youth but also our educators.

My sister: the study of languages is not social science speculation. The relationship of most of the languages of Ethiopia today and the other languages of the world is based on serious scientific research -- a systematic and in-depth comparative analysis of languages and historical linguistics.

As an example, it is easy to find words in Oromifa that are identical to Hebrew or Ge’ez, two closely related Semitic languages. For instance, Oromifa words like ana (I),ati (you), abba (father),lubbu (soul, heart), kalē (kidney), dīmā (red),garā (abdomen, throat) baē (come out, come), simbro (bird), rēti (goat), sa’a (cattle),jir ā (dwell, live),gibē/goba (hill),‘ol (upward),‘akkam (how? like what?), māl (what, why) etc. are interesting proto-Afroasiatic terms that have cognates found also in Hebrew and other Semitic languages. Certainly such specific words point to a strong relationship of one or two languages. They are important, but not even definitive for our basic conclusion.

What really determine the relationship of languages are not only similarities in core vocabularies, but more importantly grammar. It is not the relation of words but the formal analysis and identification of thestructure (morphology) of the languages. In this regard, almost all Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Horn of Africa languages of today originate from one language, PA. We can conclude that the Ethiopian speakers of these languages today descend from one primordial family.

Unfortunately, not on account of their own fault, our young people are not up to date on the study of ancient languages and ancient world history, particularly their own. On the contrary, some half-baked foreign experts of Ethiopia and political philosophy condition them. I elaborate these problems in the following three points: a) reading of available social science writings that focus on our differences instead of on our similarities and common heritage; b)the recent powerful worldwide political philosophies that questioned the validity of our past history and cultures and influenced the world view of the my generation of Ethiopians; and c) the deficiency of our modern educational system going back to the last century.

First the question the youth raise about the origin of our Ethiopian history or the assumption they make about its chronological extent is distorted unfortunately by reading the books of some modern half-baked foreign academic “experts” of Ethiopia,anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists. Unquestioning or trusting Ethiopian students and teachers have transmitted the writings and thoughts of these mostly foreign scholars to our generation of Ethiopians. Many of these fellow Ethiopians, close friends of mine included, are educators in our schools and professors in our universities and leaders in our institutions.

Social scientists make legitimate contribution in their respective fields. However, most of them do not study ancient languages and literature. So, they often rush into historical, anthropological, and sociological judgments. Their conclusions are based on “field research” or translated documents, conclusions “lost in translation”.

Worse still, anthropologists and social scientists, even some historians, focus on what superficially differentiates Ethiopian ethnic/linguistic groups, not on what fundamentally unites them, or what they have in common.

1. There are two incidents I still remember vividly. In the mid-60s when I was a student at Harvard, I was hired as an Amharic teacher for the Peace Corps. The first night at the dinner for all the teachers, a sociologist asked me where I was from. Of course “Ethiopia,” I said. “No”, he said,“are you Amhara, Oromo, Gurage, or Tigre?” “I am an Ethiopian,” I repeated. “So what language do you speak?” I responded, “I speak Oromo, Amharic, and Tigrinya, Hebrew, know words in Gurage, and know many other foreign languages.” He went on, “So, what is your religion?” I replied, “I believe in One God”. Finally, he was frustrated with me and walked away. Some might say that his motives were malicious. I cannot judge. He could have just been naively inquisitive.

2. In 1967, when I was back home as Director General of the National Literacy Campaign of Ethiopia, I was invited by the students of the then Haile-Selassie I University to speak at the annual meeting of Union of Ethiopian Students. After my talk I was invited to sit for dinner at the table for the student leaders. Our conversation quickly turned to the question of nationalities. One student asked me whether I had read William Shack’s book, The Gurage. I happened not only to have read the book but I even also knew the author personally, so I told him. He said, “I am a Gurage, and I did not know that we Gurages are an industrial people until I read this book”. It was a pity that he had a foreigner to make him proud of his ancestry, as all Ethiopian should know and be proud of their respective heritage or ancestry.

In those days, there was a story that foreign social scientists bait Ethiopians asking what Ethiopian national group they originate from, ascribing to the different nationalities political savvy, democratic idealism, or intellectual ability and the like to each respective group. They then prod them, saying that their particular ethnic group must be the leaders who must govern Ethiopia. I could be wrong, but the whole objective appears not for our welfare but to dominate us through “divide and control”.

Of course, there exist many interesting and beautiful differences [I like to think so] among our Ethiopian peoples. But there also exist many amazingly interesting common cultural and historical features and essentials. For instance, the Sidama, Hadiya, Kembata, etc. (of what is known in general Highland East Cushitic group) beyond a thousand or even less years have a common history.The history that we write today for each of these languages/ people going back a thousand years also concerns the other. Argobba and Amharic speakers share the same ancestor that dates about 1200 years ago. The Argobba history beyond 1200 years is also a history of Amharic speakers and vice-versa. If we go back about 2500 years the history of the Argobba-Amharic group also is the history of Harari, Silte, Wolane, and Zay. Then,if we go back about 10,000 years all the Cushitic, Semitic, and Omoticl anguages within our present borders, and the other Afroasiatic languages, that are/ were spoken beyond our current territory such as Berber, Chadic, Old Egyptian, Hebrew, Arabic, will share the same history as they descended from the same proto-language.

One absurd theory that has taken deep root in the thinking of most foreign and even Ethiopian historians is that the Oromo came to Ethiopia in or about the 16th century. During any civil war, as it happened in Ethiopia after the 16th century, and indeed as it happens everywhere in the world even today, there is always a large population movement. But there is no proof that the large great Oromo population appeared in Ethiopia about five hundred years ago. I did once attempt to answer this simplistic question with its self-evident answer at a lecture I gave in 1972 at the then Haile Selassie I University when I was on leave from Harvard. But, this is not the place to go into it now.

In short, however, our study of the Afroasiatic languages does not support the untenable 16th century migration story. Oromifa is indeed one of the original Proto-Afroasiatic dialects of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. The Oromo, like most of the peoples of Ethiopia today, are among the first speakers of Proto-Afroasiatic and contrary to the odd theory, one of the earliest inhabitants of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Their first ancestors can be said to be the common ancestors of most of the peoples who inhabit Ethiopia today from the North to the South, from the east to the west.

We Ethiopians must all be proud of our present respective distinct linguistic and cultural heritages -- as long as we do not preach our own singular superiority. Indeed, we Ethiopians are a beautiful multi-lingual and multi-cultural people who in a flower vase called Ethiopia decorate the great continent of Africa.

Sadly, I have yet to see any serious social science book that focuses on our common heritage. (I once published an essay called Social Structure of the Ethiopian Church in the Ethiopia Observer, edited by our distinguished Ethiopisant, Richard Pankhurst, in 1972. Some similar ideas were repeated in Donald Levin’s more well-known “Greater Ethiopia” but one published a couple years later in 1974.) However, we still await more comprehensive anthropological and sociological studies that would focus on the key common heritage of the peoples of Ethiopia rather than always focusing on what separate us and distinguish us from each other as some social scientists tend to do.

Secondly, the generation of the 60’s and 70’s were exposed to foreign Marxist-Leninist thought. It is my generation and many of the actors were personal friends. Some of the leaders were my successors as Presidents of the Ethiopian Student Association in North America. Even if I did not subscribe to their philosophy, I had a lot of respect for them. They too were patriotic. They loved Ethiopia and wanted the best for their country. They wanted to see a modernized Ethiopia: democracy, justice, land to the tillers with which we all agreed.

Beyond such admirable aspirations, however, they were misguided and blinded by a zeal for the then worldwide popular ideologies. I respectfully conclude that they knew very little about Ethiopia and its history and culture. In addition to being indoctrinated by the kind of anthropological works I referred to above, they discovered Marx and Engels, Lenin and Mao- studied with Marcuse—and became preoccupied with these rightly great political thinkers whom they almost worshiped. With the exception of a handful, the blind majority became even so negative about the value and greatness of Ethiopian history and cultures. To be fair, it was not all their fault as I indicate in the following.

Thirdly, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education never developed a curriculum of rigorous study of Ethiopian languages, literature, and history in our academic institutions during my generation. During my two years at the then University College of Addis Abba (1954-56), I took courses on medieval and modern European history, as well as on USA history and geography. Today, we live in a global cosmopolitan world. Therefore, of course, it is important for us Ethiopians to study European, American, Indian, Chinese, Near Eastern histories, languages and cultures and of all the peoples of the world. That is not the problem. However, not a single course was offered on Ethiopian history in our institutions as long I remember. The problem thus became complicated not only by the dearth of the study of Ethiopia, but also by what was being offered (on the contrary)- the study of western history and philosophy without the centrality of the study of our own Ethiopia in the context of its relations to these other world cultures.

It was after I came to the United States that I discovered Ethiopia. I started finding books in the libraries of Harvard about Ethiopia and its ancient history. My eyes got opened to the riches of Ethiopian languages and cultures. I met Harvard professors who knew the Ge’ez language and had read the Ethiopic Book of Enoch and Ethiopic Book of Jubilees. The fact that distinguished Harvard scholars considered such Ethiopic works of such great significance, of course, opened my eyes to the seriousness of studying ancient Ethiopian languages and cultures.

As a person even in my younger days fascinated by the ancient world I would have loved to take a course on ancient or“medieval” Ethiopian history. But as I said above no such courses were being offered at the University College. After many years in the US and when I became one of the promoters of the National Literacy Campaign of Ethiopia, I had the opportunity to confront directly the then Minster of Education “why were course not offered on Ethiopian history, languages and cultures in our university?” His only answer to me was that the college curricula was developed by foreigners who did not know Ethiopian history and that we did not have professors who could teach these subjects. That is why my first exposure to the study of Ethiopian languages and history, as I alluded to above, was only when I became a student at Harvard in the 60’s.

In short, an educated Ethiopian must study other cultures. But there is no reason why we should know more about them and less about our own. It is not good enough to read uncritically books about our own history and culture written by foreign social scientists that focus on our differences, instead of on our common heritage. If we read books written by Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx, Lenin and Mao, why not those attributed to Kristos Samra, Iyasus Mo’a, Zar’a Ya’eqob, Ewestatewos, Onesimos Nasib, and our other ancient writers?We do we not study Ge’ez poetry and literature?Why do we not study and research the rich oral tradition of the Oromo and other Ethiopian peoples about human wisdom and political democratic philosophy? Why do we not listen to or learn from our own ordinary village elders about mutual respect, humility of knowledge, and, love of peace and wisdom.

In conclusion, my sister, it is true we have a one hundred year history. It is true also that we have a 3000-year history, which can easily be verifiable from various records: artifacts, inscriptions, etc. It is also true that, leaving the further pre-historic period, we have at least a linguistically proven history that we all share for 10,000 years!

(Someone might ask so why do we fight with each other then? Well, have you not heard of brothers and sisters who are in continual combat?)

Beyond our common ancestry, it is a fact that there is a mixture of people in our country through intermarriage, language shift, etc. If a genuine scientific study is done, I am sure that the majority of our people will be of this mixed heritage/ ancestor. At one occasion, I remember that I respectfully joked to my late great friend, our Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi (may the Almighty bless his soul): if an Ethiopian says I am a pure Oromo, Amhara, Tigre etc. he/she shouldn’t get a passport; he or she should prove to be mixed! Ethiopia is not a country comprised of racially distinct peoples. The differences among its people is only with languages that even shrink whenever we go back in time until all become one (recall above)!

Even if we do not have this amazing blood-bonded 10,000-year common history, we are together now. The earth under our feet is a single united ground. It is a paradise that is hidden to us. Our country is a sleeping giant -- as I heard recently from the former President of the South African Bank.

Just focusing on the present linguistic differences does not help our economic growth and strength. If we spend our energy looking at our differences negatively instead of weaving a beautiful mosaic together we go nowhere.

So should we not enjoy our beautiful multi-color linguistic and cultural differences aesthetically and be proud of our separate contributions and go forward?

Is it necessary to focus on our differences and become fragmented and weak, fighting each other? Or, is it not better to try to accept our mutual differences and then build together a strong united economic and peaceful front that will benefit each and every Ethiopian whatever his/her background?

In passing, let me also add that like our beautiful ethnic differences, our political and religious differences should also be respected. They should not stand in the way of our economic progress. Our political and religious leaders, educators, businesspeople, and civil servants deserve our respect and love. In turn they should show love and respect to all our peoples. Let us not engage in energy-wasting arguments about our differences, whatever they might be. Instead let us patiently listen to each other and respect each other, as our ordinary Ethiopian people actually do. The only way you and I benefit even as individuals, whatsoever our differences, is when all benefit! There is a Jewish saying, “every Jew leans on every other Jew.” That way we can stand strong and do not fall. So, let us unite and show each other love and respect. Let us focus our energy onto overcoming poverty, disease, and illiteracy. That way, Mother Ethiopia can show all Africa too the high way.

Ethiopia is a melting pot. There are now two countries I know that are also melting pots, the US and Israel. Both countries are economically at the forefront of world history. Yet their people are ethnically and linguistically of more different origins than we Ethiopians are. In spite of that, they focus on their common heritage and work together to be socially and economically strong. And they are strong!!! Can we learn from them?

My Sister: Please forgive me if my answer is a long letter. Indeed the answer to your question is a book, not even a long letter. I hope that our Universities will begin to focus on important linguistic, historical, and cultural studies of our peoples to appreciate the positive side of both our differences and similarities and to put them to our economic strength and the prosperity of Ethiopia based on mutual respect and love.

Ephraim Isaac, B.A., B.D., Ph.D., D.Litt, D.H.L.

eisaac@post.harvard.edu

http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/opinion/viewpoint/item/1415-an-open-letter-to-an-inquisitive-young-ethiopian-sister

How Ethiopia Lost Its Endemic Teff

Teff is believed to have originated in Ethiopia between 4000 and 1000 B.C. It is grown primarily as a cereal crop in Ethiopia. Eragrostis teff is one of the 350 species in the genus Eragrostis, consisting of both annuals and perennials, which are found over a wide geographic range.

In 2005, Ethiopia concluded an agreement with the Dutch company Vennootschap Onder Firma (VOF), sharing its teff genetic resources in return for a part of the benefits that would be achieved from developing teff products for the European market. The Dutch company, Vennootschap Onder Firma (VOF) acquired the teff rights from Health Performance and Food International (HPFI), in 2008, for princely the sum of 60,000 euro. More than 20 times the amount HPFI paid Ethiopia, when it initially acquired the rights. The teff rip-off followed a seemingly innocent research proposal from the Larenste in University, in the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Dutch Soil and Crop Company, S&C. The University bought 12 varieties of teff genetic resources, each in 120Kg packages, from the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre (DARC), part of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Centre (EARO), according to a 'to-whom-it-may-concern' letter. The letter was signed by Solomon Assefa (PhD), the then managing director of the Centre, on August 21, 2003. The sale was made in April, 2003.

The major aim was to share the benefit from the export of teff, however in the end, Ethiopia received practically no benefits. Instead, due to a broad patent and a questionable bankruptcy, it lost its right to utilize and reap benefits from its own teff genetic resources in the countries where the patent is valid. The amazing story of the Teff Agreement has been uncovered and meticulously documented in a recent FNI report by FNI researchers Regine Andersen and Tone Winge. Teff is a food grain endemic to the Ethiopian highlands, where it has been cultivated for several thousand years. Rich in nutritional value, it is an important staple crop for Ethiopians. Since it is gluten-free, it is also interesting for markets in other parts of the world.

As stated above, the 2005 agreement between Ethiopia and the Dutch company HPFI gave HPFI access to 12 Ethiopian teff varieties, which it was to use for developing new teff-based products for the European market. In return, the company was to share substantial benefits with Ethiopia. The Teff Agreement was hailed as one of the most advanced of its time. It was seen as a pilot case for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in terms of access to and benefit-sharing from the use of genetic resources (ABS).

But the high expectations were never met: The only benefits Ethiopia ever received were 4000 Euro and a small, early interrupted research project. And then, in 2009, the company went bankrupt. In the years prior to bankruptcy, however, HPFI managed to obtain a broad patent on the processing of teff flour in Europe, covering ripe grain, as well as fine flour, dough, batter and non-traditional teff products. This patent, along with other values of the company, had then been transferred to new companies set up by the same owners.

These companies now possess the exclusive rights to a large range of teff-based products. But as it was the now bankrupt HPFI that was Ethiopia's contract partner, these new companies are not bound by the contractual obligations of HPFI towards Ethiopia. Ethiopia thus ended up receiving practically none of the benefits promised under the agreement, and its future opportunities to profit from teff in international markets were smaller than before.

How was this possible? 

This is what FNI researchers Regine Andersen and Tone Winge have been looking into in their new report The Access and Benefit-Sharing Agreement on Teff Genetic Resources: Facts and Lessons, published by FNI today. Their report has been written as part of FNI's contribution to the German-led ABS Capacity Development Initiative, focusing on mainly African experiences with access to and benefit-sharing from the use of their genetic resources.

Lessons to be learned

  Through their in-depth analysis of the course of events with regard to the Teff Agreement and the related patent on the processing of teff flour, Andersen and Winge attempt to extract lessons to ensure that future access and benefit-sharing agreements will have better prospects of success. They also provide recommendations for the implementation of the CBD. Some of the main conclusions can be summarized as follows:

  Under the current circumstances, even the very best ABS agreement is without value if there is no willingness to comply with it: As long as there are no measures in place in the user-countries (in the teff case: The Netherlands) such agreements can be seen as gentlemen's agreements, requiring a basis of good faith.

  Provider countries (in the teff case: Ethiopia) need institutional and financial support to enable them to monitor ABS agreements, and to facilitate real access to justice in the user countries. A multilateral instrument for this purpose under the CBD combined with user-country legislation is probably the most realistic possibility to realize the objectives on fair and equitable benefit-sharing of the CBD and its Nagoya Protocol.

  Formulations in ABS agreements prohibiting the patenting of genetic resources may be easy to circumvent, and more sophisticated formulations should be chosen if this is to be avoided.

Notes:-

Whom we blame? Our leaders? Our agricultural researchers? The Company? How are we going to solve it? Who is responsible for the re-claim of our right?

Adam and Eve DID live in Africa at the same time - but they probably didn't know each other

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

Adam and Eve lived in Africa at the same time - but probably never met, scientists claim. It was previously believed that ‘Y-chromosomal Adam’ and ‘Mitochondrial Eve’ - the most recent common ancestors to males and females - lived at completely different times. But a new study of 69 men from around the world found ‘Y-chromosomal Adam’ walked the Earth between 120,000 and 156,000 years ago, much earlier than previously believed. 

A new study of 69 men from around the world found 'Y-chromosomal Adam' walked the Earth between 120,000 and 156,000 years ago, much earlier than previously believed. It places him nearer to Eve who was around 99,000 to 148,000 years ago the analysis found. It places him nearer to Eve who was around 99,000 to 148,000 years ago the analysis found. But the researchers say it is ‘extremely unlikely’ they were exact contemporaries.Initial estimates for the male MRCA ranged from between 50,000 to 115,000 years ago. Geneticist Professor Carlos Bustamante, of Stanford University, California, said: 'Previous research has indicated the male most recent common ancestor (MRCA) lived much more recently than the female MRCA. But now our research shows there is no discrepancy.'

Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam are the two individuals who passed down a portion of their genomes to the vast expanse of humanity. But many aspects of their existence, including when they lived, are shrouded in mystery. The researchers compared Y-chromosome variations among participants from nine globally distinct areas, including some that have only recently been available, such as Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Algeria, Pakistan, Cambodia, Siberia and Mexico.

Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam are the two individuals who passed down a portion of their genomes to the vast expanse of humanity. But many aspects of their existence, including when they lived, are shrouded in mystery 

The study obtained results for 10 million nucleotides, biological molecules that form the building blocks of the Y chromosome, for each individual. The annual mutation rate was then estimated by comparing it with a known event, the human settlement of the Americas about 15,000 years ago.But despite the Adam and Eve monikers, which evoke a single couple whose children peopled the world, they were not the only man and woman alive at the time, or the only ones to have present day descendants.They simply had the good fortune to successfully pass on the Y chromosome and the mitochondrial genome across thousands of years to most of us. Powerful, state of the art microscopes allowed the identification of about 11,000 mutations, enabling the researchers to establish genetic links and timelines with unprecedented accuracy. The study obtained results for 10 million nucleotides, biological molecules that form the building blocks of the Y chromosome, for each individual. The annual mutation rate was then estimated by comparing it with a known event, the human settlement of the Americas about 15,000 years ago.

The tree, published in Science, also exemplifies the extraordinary depth of genetic diversity present among modern Africans. But it is also possible it represents a time when only a few sequences were passed on and many died out due to an external event that has not yet been identified. They repeated the analysis with the individuals’ mitochondrial DNA to generate the two estimates for Adam and Eve, showing for the first time they overlap. Professor Bustamante said: ‘We can now date certain events very precisely. We found a single variant that shows how three ancient lineages came together about 48,000 years ago, plus or minus only a couple of hundred years. The accuracy is exquisite.’The tree, published in Science, also exemplifies the extraordinary depth of genetic diversity present among modern Africans. But it is also possible it represents a time when only a few sequences were passed on and many died out due to an external event that has not yet been identified. ‘For the most part, it is a random process. Some lineages die out, some are successful,’ said David Poznik, a graduate student in Prof Bustamante’s lab. ‘But it is also possible there may be elements of human demographic history that predispose these lineages to coalesce at certain times.’

ምሁሩን የት ፈልገህ አጣኸው?

የኢትዮጵያ የትምህርት ፖሊሲ አንዳንድ ችግሮች ቢኖሩበትም የችግሮቹን መነሻዎች ግን በርግጠኝነት ለመናገር ስንቸገር እና መላ ምት የሆኑ አስተያየቶችን ስንሰጥ እንስተዋላለን:: ከነዚህ አስተያየቶች መካከልም በዘላለም ክብረት የተፃፈ ፅሁፍ በዞን ዘጠኝ ጦማር ላይ አንብበናል:: ዘላለም በፅሁፉ ለመግለፅ የሞከረው የችግሩን መኖር ብቻ ነው:: የችግሩን መነሾ ለመዳሰስ ቢሞክር ኖሮ ፅሁፉን በተወሰነ መልኩ ችግርና መፍትሄ ጠቋሚ ሊያደርገው ይችል ነበር:: ያንን መነሻ በማድረግ የችግሮቹን መንስኤዎች ከማውቀው በመነሳት ለመዳሰስ እሞክራለሁ:: አስቀድሜ ግን ስለትምህርት ስርአቱ ጥቂት ላንሳ:-

የትምህርት ስርአቱ (Education system) ያሉት የትምህርት እርከን እንደሚከተለው የተከፋፈለ ነው

ሀ) የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ (ከ1ኛ - 8ኛ ክፍል) ይሆንና በ8ኛ ክፍል ክልላዊ መመዘኛ (ፈተና) ይጠናቀቃል::

ለ) መለስተኛ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ (Lower (Junior) Secondary) (ከ9ኛ - 10ኛ ክፍል) ሲሆን በዚህ የትምህርት እርከን ውስጥ ያሉ ተማሪዎች ቀድሞ በክልላዊ ቋንቋ ሲማሯቸው የነበሩትን ትምህርቶች በእንግሊዝኛ ቋንቋ የሚማሩ ሲሆን በይዘቱም ሆነ በአቀራረቡ ሰፋ እና ጠንከር ያለ ነው:: በዚህ እርከን ውስጥ ያለፉ ተማሪዎች ለማጠናቀቅ ሃገር አቀፍ መመዘኛ ወይም ፈተና ይፈተናሉ::

ሐ) ሁለተኛ ደረጃ (High School)

በዚህ የትምህርት እርከን ውስጥ ሁለት የተለያዩ አቅጣጫዎች አሉ::

   1. የመሰናዶ ትምህርት (ከ11ኛ - 12ኛ ክፍል)

እዚህ የምናገኛቸው ተማሪዎች በ10ኛ ክፍል ብሄራዊ ፈተና አመርቂ ውጤት ያመጡት ሲሆኑ በድጋሚ እንደምርጫቸው ወደ ተፈጥሮ ሳይንስ እና ማህበረሰብ ሳይንስ የትምህርት መስኮች ይሰማራሉ:: ይህንን የትምህርት ደረጃ ያጠናቀቁት በድጋሚ ሌላ ሃገር አቀፍ ፈተና ይወስዱና ያለፉት ወደ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ሲመደቡ ያላለፉት ደግሞ ወደሚፈልጉት የትምህርት መስክ (ለምሳሌ ወደ ኮሌጆች ወይም የሙያ ትምህርት) ተሰማርተው ተጨማሪ እውቀት ይዘው ወደስራ ይሰማራሉ::

   2. የቴክኒክና ሙያ ማሰልጠኛ (TVET)

ወደዚህ የትምህርት መስክ የሚሰማሩት ተማሪዎች በ10ኛ ክፍል ብሄራዊ ፈተና አመርቂ ውጤት ያላመጡት/ወይም አምጥተው በፍላጎታቸው የገቡት ሲሆኑ እንደየዝንባሌያቸው ወደሚፈልጉት የሙያ ዘርፍ ገብተው የሙያ ስልጠና ይወስዳሉ::

መ) የዩኒቨርሲቲ ትምህርት (Higher (tertiary) Education)

እዚህ የሚገቡት ተማሪዎች የመሰናዶ ትምህርትን ያጠናቀቁና በተጨማሪ ሌላ ሃገር አቀፍ ፈተና ወስደው አመርቂ ውጤት ያመጡት ናቸው:: በዚህ የትምህርት ደረጃም ከመጀመሪያ ዲግሪ እስከ ሶስተኛ ዲግሪ ድረስ በየደረጃው እንዲማሩ ይደረጋል::

ይህ እንግዲህ የትምህርት ፖሊሲው የትምህርት እርከኖች አጠቃላይ ይዘት በአጭሩ ነው:: ሙሉው የትምህርት ፖሊሲው በዘላለም ክብረት ፅሁፍ ላይ ስለተያያዘ ማንበብ ይቻላል:: በተያያዘ አፈፃፀሙንም ለአፍታ አጠር አድርገን እንየው::

የትምህርት ፖሊሲውን ለማስፈፀምና ውጤታማ ለማድረግ የተለያዩ አካላት የየራሳቸው ድርሻ አላቸው:: ከነዚህም ውስጥ:-

ሀ) ትምህርት ሚኒስቴር

ለትምህርት ስርአቱ አጋዥ ፍጆታዎችን የማቅረብ፣ ስልጠናዎችን መስጠት/ማሰጠት እና በቅርብ መቆጣጠር እንዲሁም አፈፃፀሙን መገምገም ወይም ማስገምገም፣ የፖሊሲ ግምገማ በማድረግ ማሻሻያ ካስፈለገ ማድረግ/ማስደረግ የዚህ መስሪያ ቤት ትልቁ ድርሻ ነው::

ለ) የክልል፣ ዞን እና ወረዳ ትምህርት ፅ/ቤቶች

እነዚህ ባለድርሻ አካላት በየእርከኑ ላሉት የትምህርት ስልጠናዎች፣ የመምህራን ምደባዎች፣ የመምህራን እድገት ውሳኔዎች ሃላፊነት ሲኖርባቸው ለትምህርቱ ጥራትና ብቃት በድጋሚ ወሳኝ አካላት ናቸው::

ሐ) የትምህርት ቤቶች ርዕሰ መምህራን

ለትምህርት ጥራቱ መጓደል ወይም መጨመር ትልቁን ድርሻ ይወስዳሉ:: የመምህራን ክትትል፣ የተማሪዎች ክትትል፣ ከወላጆች ጋር የሚኖርን ግንኙነትና ክትትል በተመለከተ አፈፃፀሙን መገምገም እና አፋጣኝ እርምጃዎችን የመውሰድ ሃላፊነት መወጣት የሚገባቸው ናቸው::

መ) መምህራን

የትምህርት ስርአት የጀርባ አጥንት መምህራኑ ናቸው:: መምህራን በሚያስተምሩት መጠን የትምህርትን ውጤት እንለካለን:: የመምህራን ብቃት ካለም በተዘዋዋሪ የትምህርት ጥራት አለ ማለት ያስደፍራል:: የተማሪዎችም ውጤት በመምህራኑ የማስተማር ብቃት ላይ ያነጣጠረ ይሆናል:: መምህሩ ብቃት እስከሌለው ድረስ የፈለገውን ያህል ጥሩ የሆነ የት/ት ፖሊሲ ወይም አቅርቦት ቢኖር የት/ት ጥራት ሊኖር አይችልም::

ሠ) በዩኒቨርሲቲ ደረጃም ያለው አስተዳደራዊ አካሄድ ከላይ ከጠቀስኳቸው ጋር በተወሰነ መልኩ ስለሚገናኝ አልፌዋለሁ::

• ታዲያ የትምህርት ጥራቱ ለምን አጠያያቂ ሆነ?

የትምህርት ጥራት የለም የሚል አጠቃላይ መደምደሚያ መስጠት እጅግ የተሳሳተ አስተሳሰብ ነው:: ደካማ የሆኑ ተማሪዎች እንዳሉን ሁሉ እጅግ ጠንካራና ምስጉን ተማሪዎችም እንዳሉን መዘንጋት የለብንም:: የሆነ ሆኖ በሁሉም የትምህርት እርከኖች ላይ ሃሳብ ማንሳት ቢቻልም ለጊዜው ከሁለተኛ ደረጃ አንስቶ ያለውን ለመዳሰስ እንሞክር::

1) የስርዓተ ትምህርቱ ቀረጻ እና አተገባበር

በትምህርት ፖሊሲዉ ንዑስ አንቀፅ 3.1.2. ላይ ሥርዓተ ትምህርት ሲዘጋጅም ሆነ ሲተገበርና ሲገመገም ኀብረተሰቡ በሰፊው የሚሳተፍበት ሥርዓት በመቀየስ በየደረጃው የትምህርት ባለሙያዎችን መምህራንን ቁልፍ የሆኑ የልማትና አገልግሉት ሰጪ ድርጅቶችንና የምርምር ተቋሞችን ቸንዲሁም ተጠቃሚ ኀብረተሰቡን ባቀፈ ሁኔታ ይከናወናል ይላል:: ነገር ግን ይህ የተተገበረው (ባለኝ መረጃ) በቅርቡ ለተደረገው የከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋማት ስርዓተ ትምህርት ማሻሻያ ላይ ብቻ ነው:: የሚመለከተው የመንግስት አካል የካሪኩሉም ክለሳ ወይም የፖሊሲ ለውጥ ሲደረግ ቢያንስ መምህራንን በስፋት ያካተተ እና በየደረጃው ሰፊ ውይይት የተካሄደበት ቢሆን የተሻለ ይሆናል:: ጥቂት መምህራንን አሳትፎ ብዙሃኑን ያሳተፈ ማለት ስህተት ነው:: 

2) የፕላዝማ ጉዳይ

መንግስት የትምህርት ፖሊሲዉን ለማስፈፀም ከጀመራቸው ስልቶች ውስጥ አንዱ ትምህርትን ወጥ በሆነ መልኩ በፕላዝማ ቴሌቭዥን አማካኝነት ማስተላለፍ ነው:: መርሃ ግብሩ ሲጀመር መምህሩን እንዲተካው ተደርጎ ሳይሆን መምህሩን እንዲያግዘው አካሄዱም ሃገራዊ ወጥነት እንዲላበስ ታስቦ ነበር:: ነገር ግን በተሳሳተ መንገድ በተሰራጨ አስተሳሰብ ይህ የአፈጻፀም ዘዴ ግቡን እንዳይመታ ተደርጓል:: ለዚህ ተወቃሽ ሊሆኑ የሚችሉት በፖለቲካው መስክ የተሰማሩት የመንግስት ተቃዋሚዎች ናቸው:: ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታ በሚል የፕላዝማው ትምህርት መምህሩን እንዲተካ ታስቦ እንደተቀየሰ ተደርጎ በመምህራኑ ላይ ከፍተኛ ተፅዕኖ ለማሳደር ተሞክሯል:: በዚህም የተነሳ በርካታ መምህራን ቸልተኛ እንዲሆኑ የራሱን አስተዋፅዖ አድርጓል::

3) ወጥነት የሌለው የመብራት ሃይል አቅርቦት አለመኖር

የፕላዝማው ፕሮግራም ሲዘጋጅ መብራትን ታሳቢ ያደረገ ቢሆንም ቀጣይነቱ እጅግም አጥጋቢ አልሆነም:: በዚህም የተነሳ መብራት ከጠፋ መምህራን ክፍል ትተው እንዲወጡ ተማሪዎችም ሳይማሩ እንዲዉሉ የተደረጉባቸውን ት/ቤቶ ማጣቀስ ይቻላል:: ጀነሬተር የተገጠመላቸውም ቢሆኑ ውጤታማነታቸው የታሰበውን ያህል አልሆነም:: ነገር ግን ፕሮግራሙ ሲቀረፅ ይህን ታሳቢ ያደረግ ሆኖ መብራት በሚጠፋበትም ግዜ መምህሩ የፕላዝማ ፕሮግራሙ ካቆመበት እንዲቀጥል የታለመ ነበር:: ነገር ግን መምህራን ላይ በተፈጠረው የተሳሳተ አመለካከት የተነሳ በርካታ መምህራን በየቀኑ ሌሰን ፕላን ሳያዘጋጁ እንዲሁም ለትምህርቱ በቂ ዝግጅት ሳያደርጉ ስለሚመጡ መብራት ሲጠፋ መቀጠል ስለማይችሉ ትምህርቱ ይቋረጣል::

4) የአመራር ብቃት

ይህ ከላዕላይ እስከ ታህታይ ያለውን መንግስታዊ መዋቅር ይመለከታል:: አመራሮች ሲሾሙ ካላቸው ፖለቲካዊ ታማኝነት እንጂ ብቃትን ያገናዘበ እንዲሆን የታለመ አይደለም:: ለዚህ ማሳያ ሊሆን የሚችለው እራሱ ት/ት ሚኒስቴር ሲሆን በውስጡ የያዛቸው ኤክስፐርቶች አብዛኞቹ ማለት በሚያስችል ደረጃ የጅማ እና ሃሮማያ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የግብርና ትምህርት ምሩቃን ናቸው:: ይህ ሊስተካከል የሚገባው ሲሆን በትምህርት አስተዳደር መስክ የተመረቁ ለምሳሌ ያህል የባህርዳር ዩኒቨርሲቲ የትምህርት አስተዳደር ምሩቃን ላይ ያነጣጠረ ምደባ ቢደረግ ለውጥ ማምጣት ይቻል ይሆናል:: መንግስት የራሱን ፖለቲካዊ አቅጣጫ ለማስፈፀም በሚኒስትር ደረጃ የሚፈልጋቸውን ሰዎች አድርጎ ኤክስፐርቶችን ግን በሙያው ብቁ የሆኑትን መመደብ ቢችል ችግሮችን በቀላሉ መቅረፍ ይቻላል:: ይህ በክልል፣ ዞን፣ ወረዳ እንዲሁም ትምህርት ቤቶች ሳይቀር አንገብጋቢ ችግር ሆኖ ይስተዋላል:: የአመራር ብቃት ያላቸው መምህራን በርዕሰ መምህርነት ቢመደቡ፣ የተሻለ ብቃት ላስመዘገቡ ምስጋና ቢቸራቸው ውጤታማነቱን ማሳደግ ይቻላል:: ከላይ እንዳልኩት እነዚህ ነገሮችም በከፊል በከፈተኛ ት/ት ዘርፍም ይታያሉ:: ለምሳሌ የሃይል አቅርቦት፣ አመራርን በተመለከተ::

5) የተማሪዎች ቸልተኝነት

ይህ ችግር በየእርከኑ ባሉ በርካታ ተማሪዎች ላይ ይታያል:: ከጥቂት ተማሪዎች በስተቀር ቤተ መፅሃፍትን አዘውትሮ የመጠቀም፣ የትምህርት ግዜን በአግባቡ የመጠቀም ዝንባሌም ከግዜ ወደ ግዜ እየቀነሰ እንደመጣ ለመረዳት ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ት/ት ቤቶችን ወይም ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችን ማየት ይቻላል:: የከፍተኛ ት/ቱ እንዳለ ሆኖ በየእርከኑ የሚወጡ ተማሪዎችን በተመለከተ በት/ት ፖሊሲዉ ንዑስ አንቀፅ 3.2.8. ላይ እንደተመለከተው ከየሳይክሉ የሚወጡ ተማሪዎች አስፈላጊዉን የሙያ ስልጠና የሚወስዱባቸው ተቋማት እንዲኖሩ እንደሚደረግ ይገልፃል:: በየደረጃውም ከአንደኛ ደረጃ የሚወጡ ተማሪዎች እንደየእድሜያቸው ስልጠና ወስደው ወደ ግብርና፣ እደ-ጥበብና ኮንስትራክሽን በጀማሪ ባለሙያነት እንዲሰማሩ እንደሚደረግና የሌሎቹንም እርከኖች በተመሳሳይ ይገልፀዋል:: ነገር ግን የማሰልጠኛ ተቋማቱ ቁጥር አነስተኛ ከመሆናቸው በተጨማሪ ጥቂት የማይባሉ ተማሪዎች ወደ ተጠቀሱት የሙያ ዘርፎች ለመሰማራት ያላቸው ተነሳሽነት እጅግ አናሳ ነው::

እንግዲህ ከላይ ባሉት እና ሌሎች ተጨማሪ ችግሮች ውስጥ ያለፉት ተማሪዎች ወደ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ሲገቡ ሊኖራቸው የሚችለውም ተፎካካሪነት እጅግ አጠያያቂ ይሆናል:: አሁን አሁን እያስተዋልን እንዳለነው ይህ ችግር ስማቸውን እንኳ አስተካክሎ ለመፃፍ የሚቸገሩ ተማሪዎች እንዲኖሩን እያደረገ ይገኛል:: የዩኒቨርሲቲ ትምህርት የራሱ የሆነ ድርሻ ቢኖረውም ዋነኛ አላማው ግን ተማሪውን ቀጣይ ለሚሰማራበት የስራ መስክ ብቁ የማድረግ እንጂ ከታች መማር የሚገባዉን ትምህርት ማስተማር አይደለም:: ከስር ጀምሮ እየተበላሸ የመጣው ትውልድ ሲመረቅ ለሚያሳየው ድክመት ዩኒቨሪሲቲዎች ተጠያቂ ሲሆኑም እናስተዉላለን:: ነገር ግን ተጠያቂነቱ በከፊል እንዳለ ሆኖ ትልቁ ድርሻ ያለው ግን ከታች ባሉት የት/ት እርከኖች ላይ ነው:: የስምን አጻጻፍ ዩኒቨርሲቲ እንዲማር መጠበቅ የዋህነትም ነው::

• ተማሪው ሲመረቅ የት ይግባ?

ይህ በትምህርት ፖሊሲውም ላይ በግልፅ የተቀመጠ ሲሆን ሃገራችን አሁን ባላት አቅም ይህን ሁሉ ምሩቅ ወደ መንግስት ሰራተኝነት የመለወጥ አቅሙ የላትም:: እናም ትውልዱ በትምህርት መስክ ባገኘው እውቀት የራሱን የስራ እድል በራሱ እየፈጠረ መስራት ይጠበቅበታል:: ለዚህ ደግሞ ተማሪዎች የራሳቸውን ልዩ ችሎታ እና ዝንባሌ አውቀዉና ተረድተው እንዲማሩ ከሁለተኛ ደረጃ ጀምሮ እገዛ ማድረግ የሚገባቸው መምህራን ቢሆኑም ይህንን የሚያደርጉ ጥቂቶች ብቻ ናቸው:: ይህ ባለመደረጉም ተማሪዎች ሲመረቁ የት መቀጠር ወይም ምን መስራት እንዳለባቸው እንዳይረዱ እንቅፋት ሆኗል:: ዝንባሌያቸውንም ሳይረዱት ተመርቀው ስራ አጥ እንዲሆኑ አድርጓቸዋል:: ዘላለም ክብረት ያነሳትም ተማሪ የሙያ ዝንባሌዋን ባለማወቋ የተነሳም ነው እናቷን ለማስደሰት ብቻ መመረቅን እንደ አላማ አድርጋ የተማረችው:: እንዲህ አይነት ችግሮች የተከሰቱት ወደድንም ጠላንም በመምህራን የስራ ድርሻዎች በአግባቡ አለመፈፀም ነው:: ማስተማር ማለት ተዘጋጅቶ ክፍል መግባት ብቻ ሳይሆን ተማሪውን መንገድ ማሳየት፣ መምራት እና መቅረፅም ጭምር ነው::

• ኮብል ስቶን ስህተት ነው?

ይህ በበርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዘንድ የሚተች የስራ ዘርፍ ነው:: ሆኖም መንግስት የራሱን የስራ ድርሻና እቅድ ከማስፈፀም አኳያ ይህን የስራ እድል ፈጥሮ ስራ ያጣችሁ ተደራጁና ይህን ስሩ ሲል ይስተዋላል:: ይህ በምንም መልኩ ቢታይ ስህተት የለውም:: መንግስት የመሰረታዊ ልማት ዝርጋታን በተመለከተ ያስቀመጠውን ግብ ለማሟላት አሉኝ የሚላቸውን የስራ እድሎች በመፍጠር ሊያሰራ ይችላል:: በየአመቱ ለሚመረቁ በ 2 ወይም 3 አስር ሺህዎች ለሚቆጠሩ ምሩቃን ሃገራችን የስራ እድል ይኖራታል ወይም ትፈጥራለች ብሎ መጠበቅ የዋህነት ይመስለኛል:: ስህተቱ የሚፈጠረው ተማሪው ችሎታዉን እና ዝንባሌውን ሳያውቅ እንዲመረቅ ስለተደረገ "ህክምና ተምሬ ድንጋይ አልጠርብም" ወይም "አካውንቲንግ ተምሬ ድንጋይ አልጠርብም" ወይም "ኬሚስትሪ ተምሬ ኑሮ ዘዴ ሰፈር ለሰፈር እየዞርኩ አላስተምርም " ወደሚል እንዲገባ አድርጎታል:: ይህ የስራ መስክ እንደ አንድ የስራ ዘርፍነት ተከብሮ መያዝ ሲገባው ለፖለቲካ ፍጆታ ሲባል ብቻ ተማሪዎች ወደስራው እንዳይሰማሩ ማድረግ ለተፈጠረው ችግር መፍትሄ ሊሆን አይችልም:: "ድንጋይ ለመጥረብ ለምን ይህን ያህል መማር አስፈለገ?" ለሚለውም ጥያቄ በማህበር ከመደራጀት ጋር የሚያያይዘው ነገር ያለ አይመስለኝም:: ሃገራችን በዚህ ሰአት እያፈራች ያለችውን የሰው ሃይል ጥራቱ ቢጠበቅና ተማሪዎቹ ተነሳሽነትን እንዲሁም ዝንባሌን ያገናዘበ ትምህርት ቢማሩ ወደ ጎረቤት ሃገራትም ሄዶ ስራ የማግኘት እድሎችን ማግኘት ይችሉ ነበር:: ከዚህ በተጨማሪ ሃገራችን እየገነባቻቸው ባለችው ትላልቅ ግድቦች ላይ የተማሩ እና የተሻለ እውቀት ያላቸው ምሩቃን በተሻለ ገቢ ሁሉንም አይነት ስራ (የቀን ስራ እያልን የምንጠራውንም ጭምር) እንዲሰሩ ቢደረግ ከስራ ጥራት እና የስራ እድል ከመፍጠር አኳያ የራሱ ድርሻ ሊኖረው ይችላል:: በየአመቱ ከሚመረቀው የተማረ የሰው ሃይል አንፃር ሲታይ እንደድሮው አካውንቲንግ ተምሮ የቢሮ ስራ ብቻ ወይም የታሪክ ትምህርት ተምሮ አስተማሪነት መቀጠርን ብቻ መጠበቅም የዋህነት ነው::

እናም ዘላለም ክብረት ያነሳቸውን አሳሳቢ ጉዳዮች ለመፍታት እና ፈልጎ ያጣውን ምሁር ለማግኘት ቁልፉ ያለው ከታች ከሁለተኛ ደረጃ ላይ ያሉት መምህራን የተማሪዎቻቸውን የሙያ ዝንባሌ በማወቅ እና እንዲለዩት እገዛ በማድረግ ሃላፊነታቸውን ሲወጡ ወይም እንዲወጡ ሲደረግ ነው:: ከላይኛው እርከን ያሉትም መምህራን ለሰልጣኙ አስፈላጊውን እውቀት በመስጠት ረገድ ያለባቸውን ሃላፊነት በትክክል ሲወጡ ነው:: አመራሩም ፓለቲካን በተወሰነ መልኩም ቢሆን ከመንግስት ስራ ነጥሎ ማየት ችሎ ለትምህርቱ ልዩ ትኩረት ሲሰጥ ነው:: ምሁሩንም ጠመኔ ወይም ወረቀት ይዞ ብቻ ሳይሆን ድንጋይ እየጠረበ ወይም አካፋና ዶማ ይዞ ወንዞችን እየገደበም ያማረረውን የመብራት ሃይል ችግር ሲያቃልል ወይም ትራክተር እየነዳ ያማረረውን የምግብ እህል ውድነት ችግር ሲዋጋም ልታገኘው ትችላለህና እዛም ፈልገው:: ሳጠቃልል የትምህርት ጥራቱ ጉድለት የአፈጻፀም እንጂ አጠቃለይ የትምህርት ፖሊሲው አይደለም:: የተለየ እይታ ያለው ካለም (ነገር ግን ፖሊሲን ከአፈፃፀም ለይተን) በአንድ ወገንተኝነት ሳያነጣጥር ከነባራዊው ሁኔታ ጋራ እያገናዘብን መፍትሄ ጠቋሚ እንዲሆን እንወያይበት:: የዛሬ ሃያ ወይም ሰላሳ አመት በነበረው የህዝብ ብዛት እና የተማረ የሰው ሃይል ብዛት ጋር እያወዳደርን አዲሱን ትውልድ ለሙያ ፍቅር እንዳይኖረው ባናደርግ እንዲሁም ዝንባሌውን ለይቶ እንዳያውቅ መጋረጃ ባንፈጥርስ? አበቃሁ!!!

ይህ ፅሁፍ በ 09 July 2013 Zone9 ብሎግ ላይ ቀርቦ የነበረ ነው::

I Believe this is Exactly what had Happened

Zimmerman (if)                               Trayvon (if)

 

Since George Zimmerman was not wearing any security uniform, to the young black boy, all he could see in this heavy built white man was nothing but all the signs of a stalker. And for George Zimmerman to stalk him like that was simply to scare him so that the boy may not come to that neighborhood again. The case is about a fight that went out of control. It was not Zimmerman’s intention to kill the young boy simply because he was black. The killing was totally accidental.

The little black boy was scared for his life when this white man was stalking him. When the boy walked faster, the stalker walked faster and faster. The white boy was told to stop by the police. But, because he had confidence on his gun, he harassed him anyways. Then young boy became nervous, turned over and attacked the white man in self-defense. The white man fell to the ground and screamed for help. The black boy banged the head of the white boy against the ground. As his head was being banged against the ground, the white boy pulled out his gun to just scare the boy. But, instead, he shot him by accident.

I believe, the whole fight took place within 10 seconds.

George Zimmerman said that Trayvon Martin was trying to take the gun away from him. But, that is a lie. May be he thought if he just pulls his gun out to scare the boy, the boy would fight for that gun. I believe, the boy would have been scared and stopped the fighting.

The Medical Examiner testified that “the bullet went from the front to the back of the teen’s chest, piercing his heart.” Zimmerman was right when he said that he was at the bottom and Travon was on the top. Zimerman shot him right on his chest, while the boy’s two hands were holding his shirt and banging Zimerman’s head against the ground.

Trayvon’s two hands were holding Zimerman’s neck as he banged him against the ground. He has to have a third hand to try to take the gun away from Zimmerman.

I believe, the reason Zemerman stalked a young black boy is because of his race. If he was white, he would not stalk him.

The outcome of the verdict would also be different if the victim was white and the shooter was black.

Customer Care or Spying?

Operator : Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. May I have your…

Customer : Hello, can I order..

Operator : Can I have your multi-purpose card number first, Sir?

Customer : It s eh…, hold………. on……889861356102049998-45-54610

Operator : OK… you’re Mr Singh and you’re calling from 17 Jalan Kayu. Your home number is 4094! 2366, your office 76452302 and your mobile is 0142662566. Which number are you calling from now Sir?

Customer : Home! How did you get all my phone numbers?

Operator : We are connected to the system Sir.

Customer : May I order your Seafood Pizza…

Operator : That’s not a good idea Sir.

Customer : How come?

Operator : According to your medical records, you have high blood pressure and even higher cholesterol level Sir

Customer : What?… What do you recommend then?

Operator : Try our Low Fat Hokkien Mee Pizza. You’ll like it.

Customer : How do you know for sure?

Operator : You borrowed a book entitled Popular Hokkien Dishes from the National Library last week Sir.

Customer : OK I give up… Give me three family size ones then, how much will that cost?

Operator : That should be enough for your family of 10, Sir. The total is $49.99!

Customer : Can I pay by! credit card?

Operator : I’m afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir. Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank $3,720.55 since October last year. That’s not including the late payment charges on your housing loan, Sir.

Customer : I guess I have to run to the neighborhood ATM and withdraw some cash before your guy arrives.

Operator : You can’t Sir. Based on the records, you’ve reached your daily limit on machine withdrawal today.

Customer : Never mind just send the pizzas, I’ll have the cash ready. How long is it gonna take anyway?

Operator : About 45 minutes Sir, but if you can t wait you can always come and collect it on your motorcycle…

Customer : What!

Operator : According to the details in system ,you own a Scooter,…registration number 1123…

Operator : Is there anything else Sir?

Customer : Nothing.! .. by the way… aren’t you giving me that 3 free bottles of cola as advertised?

Operator : We normally would Sir, but based on your records you’re also diabetic…….

Customer : #$$^%&$@$%^

Operator : Better watch your language Sir. Remember on 15th July 1987 you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman…?

Customer : Faints…..

የአርቲስት ሙላቱ አስታጥቄ ወንድም ዶ/ር ያዕቆብ አስታጥቄ የ2013 የአሜሪካ ምርጥ መምህር ተብሎ ተመረጠ::

 የአርቲስት ሙላቱ አስታጥቄ ወንድም ዶ/ር ያዕቆብ አስታጥቄ የ2013 ምርጥ መምህር ተብሎ ተመረጠ::
“2013 ASEE National Outstanding Teaching Award” Winner
“2012 ASEE Mid-Atlantic Distinguished Teacher Award” Winner
Short Biography

Dr. Yacob Astatke completed both his Doctor of Engineering and B.S.E.E. degrees from Morgan State University (MSU) and his M.S.E.E. from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a full time faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at MSU since August 1994 and currently serves as the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. Dr. Astatke is  the winner of the 2013  American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) “National Outstanding Teaching Award“. This award covers 340 engineering schools and close to 27,000 engineering faculty members (i.e. teachers) from all 50 states. Dr. Astatke is also the winner of the 2012  American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) “Mid-Atlantic Region Distinguished Teacher Award.” The Mid-Atlantic division includes engineering schools from 6 states :Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Dr. Astatke teaches courses in both analog and digital electronic circuit design and instrumentation, with a focus on wireless communication. He has more than 15 years experience in the development and delivery of synchronous and asynchronous web-based course supplements for electrical engineering courses. He has published over 40 papers and presented his research work at regional, national and international conferences. He also runs several exciting summer camps geared towards middle school, high school, and community college students to expose and increase their interested in pursuing Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Examples are the “Rube Goldberg Engineering Design” camp funded by Innovative STEM Solutions (ISTEMS) in collaboration with Arizona State and Purdue University, the “Balloon Satellite Payload Design” camp funded by the Maryland Space Grant Consortium and NASA in collaboration with University of Maryland at College Park, and the “Smart Lighting Engineering Research” camp funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Howard University and Boston University. He is also the founder (in 2000) and Director of the “Foundations of Mathematics” summer program, which is a 5 week online summer math course offered for FREE to all pre-freshman engineering students admitted to the university.
Dr. Astatke has been travelling to Ethiopia for the past 10 years to teach graduate
courses, or provide training and guest lectures. For the past four years, he has donated laboratory equipment, and has been providing training  related to the use of the Mobile Studio Technology and pedagogy in the ECE department of five universities in Ethiopia : Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT), Hawassa University, Debre Berhan University, Bahir Dar University and Jimma University (Read the report attached here for more information.) He is currently working with the Global Engineering Dean’s Council (GEDC), and the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) to expand his effort throughout Africa (Read the report attached here for more information).

ማንዴላ

click here for pdf

አንዳንዱ የሞተበት ቀን የድል ቀን ተብሎ ይከበርበታል፤ ሕዝብ የመሞቻውን ቀን የሚናፍቁለት ሰውም አለ፡፡ አንዳንዱ እንኳን ተወለደ ሳይባልለት እንኳን ሞተ ይባልለታል፡፡ አንዳንዱ እንዲሞት ይጸለይለታል፤ ሌላው እድሜው እንዲያጥር ይረገማል፡፡ ከዚህ የተለየ ነው ማንዴላ፡፡

ሚሊየኖች እንዳይሞት የሚጸልዩለት፤ ሚሊየኖች እንዲኖር የሚመኙለት፤ ሚሊየኖች ከእድሜያቸው ተቀንሶ ቢሰጠው የሚፈቅዱለት፤ ሚሊየኖች እነርሱ ሞተው ሊያኖሩት የሚሹት፤ ሚሊየኖች በየቀኑ የጤናውን ሁኔታ ከራሳቸው ጤና በላይ የሚከታተሉለት ሰው ነው ማንዴላ፡፡

አፍሪካ አያሌ መሪዎችን በቅርብ ዘመናችን አስተናግዳለች፡፡ አያሌ የነጻነት ታጋዮችን አይታለች፡፡ እንደማንዴላ ታሥረው የታገሉ ነበሩ፡፡ እንደ ማንዴላ ድርጅት አቋቁመው የተዋጉ ነበሩ፤ እንደ ማንዴላ ሕዝባቸውን ለነጻነት ያበቁ ነበሩ፤ እንደ ማንዴላም ከነጻነት በኋላ የመጀመሪያው የሀገሪቱ ፕሬዚዳንት የሆኑም ነበሩ፤ እንደ ማንዴላ ከሀገር ተሰደው የኖሩ ነበሩ፤ ታድያ ማንዴላን ምን ልዩ አደረገው?

ማንዴላ የታገለው ለፍትሐዊነት ነው፡፡ ደጋግሞ ይናገር እንደ ነበረው ‹‹እኛ የታገልነው የነጭ የበላይነትን በጥቁር የበላይነት ለመተካት አይደለም፤ የታገልነው ነጮች፣ ጥቁሮችና ሌሎች በእኩልነት የሚኖሩባትን ደቡብ አፍሪካ ለመመሥረት ነው›› ይል ነበር፡፡ በብዙ የአፍሪካ ሀገሮች ከነጻነት ትግል በኋላ ጭቆና አልቀረም፡፡ ነገር ግን ነጭ ጨቋኞች በጥቁር ጨቋኞች ተተክተዋል፡፡ በነጮች ተይዞ የነበረው የገዥነት ቦታ ለሥልጣን በበቁት ታጋዮች ፓርቲዎችና ጎሳዎች ተተካ፡፡ የነጻነት ተዋጊዎች የፍትሕና እኩልነት አስፋኞች ሳይሆኑ አዳዲሶቹ ገዥ መደቦች ሆነው ብቅ አሉ፡፡ በነጮች ተይዞ የነበረውን ሀብት ነጻ አውጭ ግንባሮችና ፓርቲዎች ወረሱት፡፡ ስለዚህም ሕዝቡ በትግሉ ጨቋኞችን በሌሎች ጨቋኞች ተካቸው እንጂ ፍትሕና እኩልነትን ለማግኘት አልታደለም፡፡

ማንዴላ ይህንን ነበር የተዋጋው፡፡ እንደተመረጠ ብዙዎች የነጮች መሬት ተቀምቶ ለጥቁሮች እንዲሰጥ፣ ነጮች ከሀገሪቱ እንዲባረሩ ይፈልጉ ነበር፡፡ እርሱ ግን አላደረገም፡፡ ‹መሬቱ ፍትሐዊ በሆነ መልኩ እንዲዳረስ እንጂ መሬት አልባ ነጮች የመፍጠር ዕቅድ የለንም› አለ፡፡ ጥቁሮች ይበልጥ ነጻ የሚወጡት የበለጸገች ደቡብ አፍሪካ ስትኖር እንጂ በደኸየች ደቡብ አፍሪካ ውስጥ አይደለም ብሎ አመነ፡፡ ለዚህ ደግሞ የብዙ ዘመን ሀብትና ልምድ ያላቸው ነጮች ወሳኞች መሆናቸውን ተገነዘበ፡፡ ለዚህም ነበር በሌሎች የአፍሪካ ሀገሮች ያየነው ምስቅልቅል በደቡብ አፍሪካ ያልተከሰተው፡፡

ማንዴላ የዕርቅና የፍቅር ሰው ነበር፡፡ በነጮችና በጥቁሮች መካከል ለዘመናት በአፓርታይድ የተፈጠረውን መከፋፈል፣ መጠላላትና መገፋፋት በዕርቅና በይቅር ባይነት እንጂ በመሣሪያና በበቀል ሊጠፋ እንደማይችል የተረዳ መሪ ነው፡፡ አፓርታይድ ሲገረሰስ የይቅርታ ኮሚሽን ተቋቁሞ፣ ነባር የሕዝብ ለሕዝብ ችግሮች በተቻለ መጠን በይቅርታና በዕርቅ እንዲወገዱ ሠርቷል፡፡ በአንዳንድ የአፍሪካ ሀገሮች ከነጻነት በፊት የነበሩ ገዥዎችና አበሮቻቸው ወደ እሥር ቤት ሲወረወሩና ወደ ውጭ ሲሰደዱ፤ በደቡብ አፍሪካ ግን የከፋ ወንጀል ካልፈጸሙና ይቅርታ ለመጠየቅም ከፈቀዱ ችግሩን በዕርቅና በይቅርታ ለመፍታት ተችሏል፡፡ በዚህም ደቡብ አፍሪካን ከአፓርታይድ ብቻ ሳይሆን ሀገርን አፍርሶ ከመሥራት አባዜ ነጻ እንድትወጣ አድርጓታል፡፡

ማንዴላ ለሰዎች ልጆች ሁሉ የቆመ መሪ ነበረ፡፡ ከዊኒ ማንዴላ ጋር ያፋታቸው ዋነኛው ምክንያት ዊኒ ማንዴላ በነጻነት ትግሉ ወቅት ‹ለነጻነት ትግሉ› ሲባል ፈጽመውታል የተባለው ኢ ሰብኣዊ ድርጊት በእርቅና ይቅርታ ኮሚሽኑ መጋለጡ ነበር፡፡ ምንም እንኳን ለነጻነት ትግሉ ሲባል ቢደረግም፣ ምን እንኳን ዊኒ ማንዴላ ቢሆኑም ማንዴላ ግን ሊታገሡት አልቻሉም፡፡ የነጻነት ታጋይ ድርጅቱ ኤ ኤን ሲ በትጥቅ ትግሉ ጊዜ የፈጸማቸው ኢሰብአዊ ድርጊቶች ካሉ ይቅርታ የመጠየቅ ግዴታ አለበት ብለው የሚያምኑት ማንዴላ በዚህ ምክንያት ከዊኒ ጋር ተለያይተዋል፡፡ ከነጻነት በኋላ አያሌ የነጻነት ታጋይ ድርጅቶች በትጥቅ ትግላቸው ወቅት የፈጸሙት ኢሰብአዊ ድርጊት፣ ወንጀልና ግፍ ተሠውሮ እንዲቀር ሲደረግ ማንዴላ ግን ኤ ኤን ሲ ይቅርታ እንዲጠይቅ አድርገዋል፡፡

ማንዴላ ሰላማዊ መንገድን ብቻ ይመርጥ የነበረ መሪ ነበር፡፡ ኔልሰን ማንዴላ ምንም እንኳን የትጥቅ ትግል ሲያካሂድ የነበረውን ኤ ኤን ሲ የመራ ቢሆንም ሰላማዊ የትግል መንገድ ከማንኛውም የትግል መንገድ ሁሉ ቅድሚያ እንዲያገኝ ሲታገል የኖረ ሰው ነው፡፡ ይህ ትግሉ ከአፓርታይድ መሪዎች ጋር ብቻ ሳይሆን በኤ ኤን ሲ ውስጥ ከነበሩ ሌሎች አመራሮች ጋርም ጭምር ነበር፡፡ የጠመንጃ ትግል ለሰላማዊ ትግል፣ ለድርድርና ለውይይት የተዘጋውን በር ማስከፈቻ እንጂ ሰላማዊ መንግሥት የመመሥረቻ መንገድ አይደለም ብሎ ያምን ነበር፡፡ በአፓርታይድ የመጨረሻዎቹ ዘመናት እነ ፒተር ቦታ ከኤ ኤን ሲ መሪዎች ጋር ለመደራደር ያቀረቡትን ጥያቄ አንዳንድ የድርጅቱ አመራሮች አልቀበል ሲሉ ‹እኔ ብቻዬንም ቢሆን እደራደራለሁ› እስከ ማለት አቋም ወስዶ  ነበር፡፡ ከአፓርታይድ ጋር የሚደረገው ትግል በጠመንጃ አሸናፊነት ሳይሆን በሃሳብ አሸናፊነት መጠናቀቅ አለበት የሚል አቋም ነበረው፡፡ 

በደቡብ አፍሪካ ሁሉንም ያሳተፈ የመጀመሪያ ምርጫ በተደረገ ጊዜ የአፍሪካ ብሔራዊ ኮንግረስ ሕገ መንግሥቱን ብቻውን ለማጽደቅ የሚያስችለውን ድምጽ አላገኘም ነበር፡፡ ይሄንን አጋጣሚ ማንዴላ በደስታ ነበር የገለጠው ‹‹ሁሉንም ሕዝብ የሚመራ ሕገ መንግሥት ብቻችንን ማጽደቅ የለብንም፤ ይህ አጋጣሚ መልካም ነው፤ ከሌሎቹ ጋር ተማክረን፣ ተደራድረንና ተስማምተን እንድናጸድቅ ያደርገናል› ብሎ ነበር፡፡

ማንዴላ ሥልጣን መያዝን ብቻ ሳይሆን መልቀቅንም ያስተማረ ሰው ነው፡፡ ማንዴላ ደቡብ አፍሪካን ለአንድ ዙር ብቻ ነው የመራው፡፡ በቀጣዩ ምርጫ ብቻ ሳይሆን ለብዙ ዘመናት በሚደረጉ ምርጫዎችም የማሸነፍ ዕድል ነበረው፡፡ ነገር ግን በቃኝ አለ፡፡ እየተወደደ፤ እየተመሰገነና እየተከበረ በቃኝ አለ፡፡ በደቡብ አፍሪካውያን ብቻ ሳይሆን በመላው አፍሪካ ብሎም በመላው ዓለም ‹አይከን› የመሆንን ጸጋ ተጎናጸፈ፡፡ የነጻነት፣ የጽናትና የትዕግሥት፣ የሰላምና የዕርቅ፣ የይቅር ባይነትና ከጥላቻ ውጭ የሆነ ፖለቲካ ‹አየከን› ሆነ ማንዴላ፡፡ በመላው ዓለም ሕዝብ ልብ ውስጥ ማንም ሊነቅለው የማይችል ዛፍ፣ ማንም ሊያፈርሰው የማይችል ሐውልት ሆነ ማንዴላ፡፡

ለዚህ ይመስለኛል ማንዴላን ዓለም በሙሉ የሳሳለት፤ ለጤናውም ሆነ ለእድሜው የጸለየለት፤ የተጨነቀለትና ልቡን ከልቡ ጋር ያስተባበረለት፡፡ እንደ እርሱ ዓይነት ሰዎች እንደ ሄሊኮሜት በዘመናት አንድ ጊዜ ብቅ የሚሉ ናቸው፡፡ ተወደው ሥልጣን ላይ የሚቀመጡ፣ ተወደውም ከሥልጣን የሚወርዱ፤ ተወደውም ያለ ሥልጣን የሚኖሩ፡፡ እንደ ማንዴላ ዓይነት ሰው እንኳን ሌላው የአፍሪካ ሀገር ራሱ ኤ ኤን ሲም ዳግም ሊያገኝ አልቻለም፡፡ መከፋፈል ዕጣ ፈንታ የሆነውም በዚህ ምክንያት ነው፡፡

መሪነትና ባለ ሥልጣንነት ምን ያህል እንደሚለያዩ ማንዴላ አንድ ማሳያ ናቸው፡፡ ማንዴላ ባለ ሥልጣን አልነበሩም፤ መሪ እንጂ፡፡ ባለ ሥልጣን በሰው ገንዘብ ውስጥ እንጂ በሰው ልብ ውስጥ ቦታ የለውም፡፡ ባለ ሥልጣን ይፈራል እንጂ አይከበርም፤ ባለ ሥልጣን ቢሮ አለው እንጂ ሀገር የለውም፤ ባለ ሥልጣን የሚላላኩት ሠራተኞች እንጂ የሚጸልዩለት ወገኖች የሉትም፡፡ ባለ ሥልጣን የሚያዘው ሰው እንጂ የሚያፈቅረው ሰው አያገኝም፤ ባለ ሥልጣን ፊርማውን የሚፈልግ እንጂ እድሜውን የሚፈልግ የለም፤ ባለ ሥልጣን ብዙ ገንዘብ እንጂ ብዙ ልቦች አያገኝም፤ ባለ ሥልጣን ከሥልጣን ወዲህ እንጂ ከሞት ወዲያ ተዝካር የለውም፡፡ 

ማንዴላ ከሞት በኋላም ይኖራል፡፡ በብዙ ልቦች ውስጥ ይኖራል፡፡ መቃብር እርሱን ሊያስረሳ አይቻለውም፡፡ እርሱ ከመቃብር በላይ የሆነ ተግባር አለውና፡፡ ማንዴላ የአንድ ሀገር መሆኑ ቀርቶ የዓለም ሆኗል፡፡ መሬት ላይ የሚቆም ሐውልት አያስፈልገውም፤ እርሱ በሕዝቦች ልብ ውስጥ የማይፈርስ ሐውልት በሕይወት እያለ ሠርቷልና፡፡ ብዙ ባለ ሥልጣናት በሕይወት እያሉ በሰው ልብ ውስጥ ሐውልት መሥራት ስለማይችሉ፣ ከሞቱ በኋላ የድንጋይ ሐውልት ይሠራላቸዋል፡፡ ነገር ግን ሐውልታቸው መልእክት አልባ ሐውልት ይሆናል፡፡ እንደ ማንዴላ ያሉ መሪዎች በመሬት ላይ ሐውልት ሲተከልላቸው ደረቅ ሐውልት አይሆንም፤ መልእክት ያለው ሐውልት እንጂ፡፡

ማንዴላ አይሞትም፤ ጀግና አይሞትምና፤ የማንዴላ አይረሳም፤ ሕዝብ ልብ ውስጥ የገባ ሰው አይረሳምና፤ ማንዴላ አያልፍም፣ በጎ ሥራ አያልፍምና፡፡   

ይህ ፅሁፍ የዳንኤል ክብረት ሲሆን እዚህም ይገኛል:-http://www.danielkibret.com/2013/06/blog-post_28.html?spref=fb