መዘምር The Citizen Journalist from Ethiopia: ጁን 2015

The Road to Literacy On the afternoon of Friday, 19 June 2015, the head of the Department of English Language and Literature of Debre Birhan University informed me that I was one of the people invited to attend an NGO- meeting the following day. I was surprised to hear that because these days meetings and such educational opportunities have become the gathering places of the officials and their friends. I am a friend of none. The right person on the right occasion! I was told that I would brief the participants about the book club I co - founded and run and the benefit we got from the books Code Ethiopia, the organizer of the event, donated to the university. The department head, as he promised, phoned me in the evening and told me the place and time of the speaking event - Hiwot Hotel, at 8:30 AM, on Saturday. I went there the next morning just in time and found the place ready. “Punctuality is not always the pride of the princes if the world has to drag this country called Ethiopia along,” I thought at the meeting place just a few yards from the former Debre Birhan Palace, where the royal family stayed at when they visited Tegulet. The participants of the day’s event were late to arrive at this place. This is very Ethiopian as some three generations of guests were arriving late. Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE Ethiopia) Anyhow, outside a small hall on the fourth floor, posters describing Code Ethiopia’s activities and their outcomes were posted for early comers to devour till the other participants come. “Who we are CODE Ethiopia (CE) is a non-governmental and non-profit making organization working on the establishment of a ‘Literate Environment’ in Ethiopia through development of reading culture. Since its inception in 1994 it has established 97 community libraries in rural districts and trained librarians, library management committee members, supplementary book writers in local languages [and English],editors and local educational newsletter producers.” This NGO that supplied close to three million books to schools in this country for free believes, “If you can learn to read and write, you can learn to do, and be anything. That is the idea behind CODE.” http://www.codecan.org When the program started at 9:30 AM, 30 minutes after the actual schedule, it was Mr. Nema who opened the day’s speaking event by stating its objectives. He said that the generous Canadian philanthropist, Mr. William Bill Burt, visited Ethiopia in 2007 and promised to sponsor an award for a literary contest in Africa. He was motivated to start this after he noticed high school students spoke or understood no English. As a result, through CE he sponsors novels in English written by Ethiopians about Ethiopian life. Mr. Nema stated that CODE had to organize such speaking events in Debre Markos and Debre Birhan towns of the Amhara Regional State to get new writers as there were none involved in the contest from this vast region so far. I say to you, please let us publish Amhara Region! After him, an official from the North Shewa Zone gave a key note address, and afterwards two community librarians from the Oromia Regional State shared their rich experiences about their libraries supported by CE. In Sheno and Fiche towns they have reading weeks, girls’ clubs, paying readers and much more that promote reading and literacy. I wished this was realized at all corners of the nation. The Burt Award for African Literature (BAAL) Next was the time for the Burt Award Winning writers to share their experiences with reading, writing and publishing. In each round CE has been awarding winners and runners-up with modest prizes. The 6th round will be launched in September 2015 and any Ethiopian can involve. The novels that you write should target Ethiopian young adult readers in the age group 12 – 18. Daniel G, one of the winners and a lecturer in Electrical Engineering at Wollo University, had the following to say: Readers are benevolent. People become cruel because they don’t read. Today’s youth has no good understanding. They just discuss European football. This is because they don’t read. Regarding my writing experience, I used to hide, tear or burn what I wrote fearing that people find it. Now I have published thanks to the award. I include in my writing the stories I heard from people in my locality including the story of the shepherd who plays the flute and towards whom a leopard comes to enjoy the music. I had a shortage of books as a child. Kibrom the author of The Revelatoin and a PR practitioner said this: A generation that doesn’t read is a lost one. Reading shaped me. In lower grades, my father pledged to buy me a bike and I stood first. However, when he failed to fulfill that, I stood last. After that, I forgot learning and it was at another time I started to read. Knowledge and wisdom are found in books. WE PRAY TO GOD TO GIVE US FOOD. WE SHOULD ALSO PRAY TO HIM TO LET US READ. I have published 27 children’s books most of which are translations from Amharic into Tigrinya. Code opened my eyes to reading. It has brought readers and writers together. Both authors were asked questions including one that says what they would do with the manuscripts if they were not selected for the prize. They had a very good discussion with us. THE DIAMOND TEACHER When I checked the schedule for the day I found this: Orientation to students and teachers on inspiring students to read literature, 12:00 – 1:10 PM, Ato Messeret. I suspected that the presenter probably must be my former African Literature instructor at Addis Ababa University (AAU). Mr. Nema invited whom he called a diamond teacher at AAU to the stage. Mr. Messeret deserrves this as he inspired thousands of his students and members of the public to read and live a literate life. He never harasses you as most of the others there do. Many an AAU instructor wasted our golden time and planted a hatered towards knowledge and research in most of us. Messeret, on the contrary, is always interesting to be with. He started by telling the audience about his upbringing. He told us that he was a ‘lazy’ student and his lower grade teachers learned to play soccer with his ass. Reading motivations including his non-literate mother who counted the right marks he scored in his notebook were mentioned and acnowledged. Later, she would send him to a local gas seller as an apprentice witnessing that he was weak at numerical skills. I think Messeret has always been the teacher I wanted to come to the class. He said that avid readers from our country contributed to the world through their reading experiences. For instance, demining or mine clearance, according to him, is Haddis Alemayehu’s idea. This renowned author didn’t attend above fourth grade. This sociable lecturer added this: Reading is a university by itself, so everyone should keep reading. We should not beg people to read in a country that has more than 2000 years of writing history. It is a paradox when we hear the other world call us uneducated taking part of their knowledge from our Geez books they looted. We should not be ridiculed as people from whom money should be hid in a book. When we move elsewhere in the world, space exploration is a French writer’s idea. This man of letters wrote that man could move to the moon using a machine he would build. Science has been taking such ideas from literature in this interdisciplinary world. Our mind can process 500 words per minute, so we should give it that much while we read. If we do not give it, it would wander here and there as we are reading. There should be a flow in your reading - you start an idea and shouldn’t move out of it. Then, you will be taken by the idea. True reading is like meditation. Feel the feelings of the characters, and move across the other world through reading. Don’t measure a book in its volume; rather worry how much it appeals to your mind. Teaching English skills would be sentences, yet literature, which promotes critical thinking, is language in context, and it helps you be aware of the culture and language in a wider context. Concerning his reading experience, Messeret says he understood English well after he read fiction at university. They were difficult to him at the beginning. He taught at AAU for 26 years. He told us that literature, which is a liberal subject, is fun to teach and learn. He doesn’t agree on blaming the youth which is taken as a trend from Socrates’ time on. Blaming and denouncing is simple, but building is difficult. I met Mr. Messeret during the tea- break and he shared his various ideas with me and my former classmate, Gebresillase. Our teacher said, “I make myself happy through teaching”. What shocked me is what he said on his suspension from his teaching position. He said he was asked to sign that the department of literature at AAU gets closed. “No I struggled throughout my life for its opening and wouldn’t sign for the closure. The other lecturers as well opposed the query and the administration said I was behind this” he narrates sadly. Let us try for the realization of what Mr Nema said, “We are trying to create the Ethiopian Bill Burt. In additon, our universities should criticize the books we published.” I expressed my gratitude to CODE for the English novels donated to our university. They have been very helpful in our literature class for their familiarity and simplicity. I also suggested that English novels written by Ethiopians including Ashenafi Kebede, Abe Gubegna, Sahlesilase Berhane Mariam and Daniachew worku be published since it is hard to find them in the market nowadays.

In the afternon of Friday, June the 5th 2015, I headed to Adarash Arake, a famous liquor house, in Kebele two of Debre Birhan. Two liters of strong arake, a liquor from Ethiopia, I bought there and headed to the capital, Addis Ababa. On my way, I remembered my grandparents who walked for days all the way from Tegulet to Addis to attend the weddings of their land owner's children. These landowners included Leul Ras Imru and his sisters. After I finished the 130 kilometer journey, I went to Addis Gursha, a restaurant located next to Harmony hotel. The city I knew for the last 12 or so years looks different. I was just unable to find the places I had know easily. Most of the marks I knew were not there, so I had to ask the passers-by for help. Since I was an hour early, I had to wait for the guests and the couple to be wed there at the restaurant drinking soft drink. I had to pay 17 Birr for what cost me 1.50 in 2005 in the same town. In the mean time, guests started to come and chat about the wedding and personal business. As we were sitting in the veranda of Addis Gursha, both Amharic and English music kept flowing to our ears alternately. From PSI Ethiopia’s office located opposite where we were, in wedding dress emerge Erica and Shrunas with their bridesmaids and best men. It was me who saw them first and told the crowd with me about their coming. Soon, we started singing Amharic wedding songs. We got together with them at the main room and then headed to the veranda. The Rasta Addis Gursha owner congratulated the couple and welcomed us all. Erica’s and Shrunas’s coworkers, peace corps volunteers and other invited guests were there at the wedding. In my culture, Friday and June are not believed to be good for weddings to take place. That was why some of my friends did not believe me when I told them that I was going to a wedding. It is believed that the couple would not enjoy a happy life. However, I wish that these two enjoy life to the brim and accomplish their hearts’ wishes. The people drank what was provided and even some of them tasted my Debre Birhan liqor. I didn’t reserve a room, so I had to leave early. I left after a few hours to look for a room. A young man I met on the road showed me where to find and I found one. Again, I wish Erica and Shrunas a happy time together!

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