I write this article for my fellow Ethiopians but if you read carefully, you will realize that the words of advice I’m imparting for my community has relevance to most of humanity. That is because what is taking place within the Ethiopian-American community in Virginia and beyond is but a microcosm of a wider phenomenon where we are conditioned to fight over our differences instead of uniting to defend our common interests.
For twenty-seven years, Ethiopians have been protesting, marching and shouting against the barbaric TPLF government back in our homeland that oppressed all without bias, including Tigarus whom they pretended to liberate while impoverishing the vast majority. The list of abuses and human rights violations cannot be captured by a book let alone one article. They murdered indiscriminately while enriching themselves and their global corporatist masters.
It was this level of greed and malice that motivated Ethiopian-Americans in the DC metro area to protest unrelentingly at the Department of State and various landmarks in our nation’s capital. I remember it like it was yesterday as I marched with my fellow Ethiopians from the US Capitol to the White House demanding justice for Professor Asrat Woldeyes, whom the TPLF locked up in the mid-1990s because he dared to call out their malicious ethnic driven policies long before most realized that Apartheid was being imported to Ethiopia.
It was that protest at the White Hose that made me realize just how futile protesting was, especially the ones headed by Ethiopians. It might feel good to chant with people who look like you and agree with your outlook but if the end result zero change then the whole endeavor is pointless. Such is the case with one protest after another, we scream into echo chambers only to get snickers and mockery for our troubles. I recall the exact moment I bowed my head in shame realizing that we were protesting mightily only to be ignored by the very policy makers we were trying vainly to reach.
After trekking down Pennsylvania Ave and stopping at the White House, I got on the bullhorn right in front of the gate and said “Mr. President, can you hear us now!” as others with me joined in the chant. This scene played out for about a half hour only for me to take a break and stand off to the side. It was then a “white” guy approached me and said “hey buddy, Clinton can’t hear you, he is out of the country, you are screaming and nobody is paying attention”.
Taken aback, I shook my head once I realized that proper research was not done to find out if the president was in the country let alone the White House. Beyond the chants, there was no coherent message nor was there a vision for what we wanted to accomplish. There were no press releases, no website with a list of our grievances and no overarching narrative that would invite allies from different races and nations into a broader coalition.
I’ve been saying ever since that protesting is for a defeated people; this observation only gets affirmed every year that passes. Policy makers don’t care about protests, they laugh at people who walk in preapproved “protest zones” and dismiss anyone who does not have a purpose beyond reacting to the latest news cycle. I write this to my fellow Ethiopians, African-American and really anyone who feels marginalized throughout the world—that would be the blessed 99%.
It is time to put protesting aside and get organized so that we too have long term goals instead of playing checkers with politicians and policy makers who treat us like pawns. It’s for this reason that I started an initiative called “My Love for Virginia“; my aim is to leverage all the skills I have amassed over the years professionally and politically in order to flip the paradigm to politicians intensely courting us instead of our community being counted as a “reliable” voting bloc for any party.
In love, loyalty is a virtue; in politics, loyalty is slavery.
This is not to offend some who still glom on to one party or another as shepherds who will lead us out of the wilderness despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. After all, it was only 13 years ago that I, along with my friends Mike and Emebet, started an organization called “Ethiopian-Americans for Change” with the intention of turning Virginia into a reliable blue state.
No more! I will never tell people to vote for politicians based on their brand but to support people based on their ideas. Instead of checking off boxes based on labels, it’s time for us to ask hard questions, to demand policies that work for us and to disregard anyone who does not value us as a community. The days of being paid lip service before elections only to be left out in the cold the minute the last vote is counted must end; we must become free agents who can swing elections in one direction or another because only then will we be valued as voters.
To this end, the kickoff meeting for “My Love for Virginia” will be held on Thursday, January 13th from 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM at Monarch Ethiopian Restaurant which is located at 6669 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, Virginia. This will be a town hall style event where we will work on a strategy for the 2022 elections that will ensure our voices matter. I reached out to Mayor Justine Wilson, who is a Democrat, and a high level Republican official. The presence or absence of either party will be noted.
The time for protesting is over because protesting is for a defeated people, it is time for us to organize and demand from politicians instead of being 'reliable voters'. #MyLove4VA Click To TweetThis event is open to the public and I’ve already secured confirmation from one political party representative as she enthusiastically jumped at the chance to establish a connection with our community. That is because she knows something about our community that we have not realized for ourselves; there is power in our numbers and our reach transcends boundaries because the story of Ethiopia is profound and touches many.
Whether you are Ethiopian or not, I hope I see you on Thursday at Monarch Restaurant. You can RSVP by CLICKING HERE. If you are with the media and need a press pass or you need to get in touch with one of the organizers, you can email us at [email protected]. It is time to declare our independence from being a “reliable voting bloc” and instead make politicians rely on our votes only if they represent our interest.
- Futile Self: Protesting is for a Defeated People; We Must Organize to Become a Community to Be Reckoned With - January 11, 2022
- No More to More of the Same: Abiy Ahmed’s Feeble Bow to TPLF is Neo-Colonial Capitulation Disguised as Reconciliation - January 8, 2022
- The “Privatization” Scheme Behind the Hellish Virginia Snow Gridlock - January 5, 2022
