EINEPS
Nonviolence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Nonviolence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.”
Cesar Chavez, American Activist and Labor Organizer
Alem Hailu
Dr. Alem Hailu is an associate professor and lecturer at Howard University. He
የዳግማዊ ምኒልክ የመጨረሻ ዓዋጅ
“አንዱ ባንዱ ምቀኝነት ይቅር። እኔ እስካሁን በፍቅር እንዳኖርዃችሁ: እናንተም ተስማምታችሁ በፍቅር እንድትኖሩ እለምናችኋለሁ። እናንተ አንድ ልብ ከሆናችሁ በምቀኝነት እርስ በርሳችሁ ተዋግታችሁ ካላለቃችሁ በቀር ኢትዮጲያን ለባዕድ አትሰጧትም። ክፉ ነገር አገራችንን አያገኛትም። ነፋስ እንዳይገባባችሁ አገራችሁን በያላችሁበት ጠብቁ። ወንድሜ ወንድሜም ተባባሉ።”
—ዳግማዊ ዐፄ ምኒልክ፡ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ዘኢትዮጵያ (የመጨረሻ ዓዋጅ)
"I have no intention at all of being an indifferent spectator, if the distant Powers hold the idea of dividing up Africa, Ethiopia having been for the past fourteen centuries, an island of Christianity in a sea of pagans..."
"Enemies have now come upon us to ruin our country and to change our religion. Our enemies have begun the affair by advancing and digging into the country like moles. With the help of God I will not deliver my country to them. Today, you who are strong, give me your strength, and you who are weak, help me by prayer."
A Gift to the Next Generation
It is believed, now more than ever, Ethiopians at home need to actively engage in nonviolent means of political participation to affect positive change in the country’s political landscape. As of recent, what has been debilitating is the way our political process have evolved. Indeed a new level of thinking is needed.
It was the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King that said, “let us not try to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness in history”. Adding to it “We must not let our creative militancy to degenerate into physical violence… we must fight physical force with soul force”. Thus was how the emancipation of African Americans was achieved; only 40 years ago in the world’s mightiest nation. Albert Einstein also observed, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them". Hence we need a new level, a profound level of thinking - a political paradigm based on the principles that accurately describe the territory of effective human interaction.
The nonviolent education and peace studies is therefore timely because what we seem to evidently lack in the Ethiopian political landscape today is “effective human interaction”.
As Emperor Haile Selassie correctly articulated “[t]hroughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” So, EINEPS pledges to fight evil and work towards a peaceful and harmonious Ethiopia.
