Sassy Sasit

Sassy Sasit

Draft

 Mezemir

As if I didn’t spend months without a significant task at hand, now I am getting busy either because class has resumed after the war or my own projects are demanding my attention. I scanned the staff lounge and sat at an unfamiliar spot to the right. Sipping bottled water, I started to check my smartphone for something new. Social media was showing me what it had for the day when two lecturers neared me.

“Shall we sit there or do you need some talk?” inquired the dark skinned one. He was pointing at another table. “As you like” I responded, and they joined me. With his colleague, who is rather quiet, they sat with me and my friend opened a chapter in the history of Sassy Sasit.

But before that Sassy Sasit chapter opened, a few small talk issues emerged. I know that they would emerge time and again as they are either jewels that embellish our talk or distractions to deter the flow of our chat. It was me who raised this first distraction as the other guy who sat with us studied with one of our country boys who had quit his studies at a tender age and remained a mentally affected person. This guy told us how they spent studying at university. I recounted how that bright-minded guy was a genius. Heaven knows what happened to his result at college. Their lunch comes. We would talk about my eating style, one meal a day and so on and so forth.

Now the chapter of Sassy Sasit opens. This is what he opens whenever he meets me. If he meets me for a millennia, he would each time repeat it. Would either of us get bored! Never! We would recount each childhood event anew. Isn’t it memory that constantly shapes humanity’s consciousness?

For you my esteemed reader I know I should build a ship of imagination. A ship that takes you from your seat now to Debre Birhan. That is not Sassy Sasit yet. You are left with 27 kilometres by air. If you choose by road, let me guide you through. You drive past the hills of Keyit, Gudoberet, and reach Tarmaber. At Tarmaber, you turn towards the west. Yes, you don’t go through the tunnel or above the tunnel to Menz. You dive deep into Tegulet proper. The gravel road takes you to Seladingay and then to Sassy Sasit. It is 90 Kiloemetres from Debre Birhan. It could take you three hours. Who is so lucky like me to live in my area, Debre Birhan being Tegulet too.     

The talk mentioned Wofa Legesse, a man who according to different people has different stories. This guy lived near his place, past Sassy Sasit and a 10 to 15 kilometer distance. I always say Legesse was a real father of the community. He did an unforgettable feat of transporting with his four vehicles the students’ provisions free of charge. Who among the community played such a role – none. Wofa is mainy remembered for his arbitration using a spirit that the church later used to tarnish his name. That seems to be why his name is now not remembered.

This guy never stops at one issue. He mentioned Yeshareg, a woman who was friendly to anyone. He remembers her deeds and words. Remembering as it happened just yesterday. Even the guy sitting with us was enjoying and smiling at the anecdotes.

Two men from that small but beautiful village as we are, we teach at the university. “Killings were commonplace.  I saw live killings. A man carried a gun when he was chased by stick-carrying brothers. He was cornered and decided to kill them. I saw when he shot them there. He then went away. Who can touch him, ma’an! I was in grade 7,” he narrated as he took morsel after morsel.

“And the Kidame gebeya,” he continues. Images of dead people I saw as a kid were circulating in my head as he said that. As a little boy who lived next to the police station and administrative compound, I saw many brutalities with my naked eyes. A kid who heard when a kindly neighbor commits suicide by shooting himself, a kid who almost every night hears people being flogged and hit to give information helpful to the new EPRDF government or to tell about the gun they might or might not hid. All this is done because of local informants.  As a kid who was befriended by the soldiers who camped next to our home, I have many memories. “The Kidame gebeya,” he continues to tell me about the Sunday market, “Sasit hosted something like a holiday every week man!” “He is telling me all what he said last time. When would this guy go and I finish my writing project?” Don’t expect me to say that. I like the memories even if they are related a thousand times.

I’m glad this guy is not speaking about my love and marriage preferences or indifferences. Today he seems calm and cheerful. Reminiscing his days, the days we were little country boys. He mentions which one of our friends died, graduated, dropped out, got rich and so on. He is still particularly mad at the boys who talked about the World cup of 1998. Since he came from a little village further south, he didn’t know about football or didn’t watch the first ever television set for our town bought for the World Cup itself. How those “city boys” drove him mad by mentioning Ronaldo or Dunga! The two teachers went away for the day and I resumed writing. I scribble to publish something. Yes it was my memoir.

JOHN LEGEND LYRICS የጆን ሌጀንድ የዘፈን ግጥሞች

 

JOHN LEGEND LYRICS የጆን ሌጀንድ የዘፈን ግጥሞች

"It Don't Have To Change" እንደ ዱሮው እንሁን
ጊዜ፣ ሥራ፣ ቦታ ወ.ዘ.ተ.ከቤተሰባችሁ ጋር ለነጣጠላችሁ መታሰቢያ ትሁንልኝ
Mezemir G. 

Oh do you remember (ooh) ኦ አስታወስሽ ወይ
When the family was everything? (ooh) ቤተሰብ ሁሉ ነገር እንደነበር?
Oh do you remember? (ooh) )ኦ አስታወስሽ ወይ?
It was so long ago and so much has changed (ooh) ከረጅም ጊዜ በፊት ነበር፤ ብዙም ተቀይሯል
I wanna go back (go back...ooh) መመለስ እፈልጋለሁ
Wanna go back to those simple days (ooh) ) መመለስ እፈልጋለሁ ወደነዚያ ቀላል ቃላት
I wanna go back (go back...ooh) መመለስ እፈልጋለሁ
But now we've grown and gone our separate ways አሁን አድገን በየአቅጣጫው ተበታተንን

(aah)
Times is hard (times is hard) ጊዜው ከፋ
And things are a changin' ግልብጥብጡ ወጣ
I pray to God እጸልያለሁ
That we can remain the same እንደ ዱሮው አንድንሆን
All I'm trying to say is our love don't have to change እያልኩ ያለሁት ፍቅራችን መለወጥ የለበትም ነው
No it don't have to change አይሆንም አይቀየርም

Do you remember (ooh) አስታወስሽ ወይ
Back at Grannie's house on Christmas Day? (ooh) በአያታችን ቤት የገና ዕለት?
Help me sing... እስኪ አብረሽኝ ዝፈኚ
Do you remember (ooh) አስታወስሽ ወይ
How we'd gather 'round and sing all day? (ooh) ተሰብስበን እንዴት ቀኑን ሙሉ እንዘፍን እንደነበር?
I wanna go back (go back...ooh) መመለስ እፈልጋለሁ (መመለስ … ኦ)
To playing basketball and football games ቅርጫት ኳስና እግር ኳስ መጫወት
I wanna go back (go back...ooh) መመለስ እፈልጋለሁ (መመለስ … ኦ)
To yesterday but it's not the same ወደ ትናንት ግን አንድ አይደለም

Times is hard (times is hard) ጊዜው ከፋ
And things are a changin' ሁኔታውም ተቀያየረ
I pray to God እጸልያለሁ
That we can remain the same እንደ ዱሮው አንድንሆን
All I'm trying to say is our love don't have to change እያልኩ ያለሁት ፍቅራችን መለወጥ የለበትም ነው
No it don't have to change አይሆንም አይቀየርም

Times is hard (times is hard) ጊዜው ከፋ
And things are a changin' ሁኔታውም ተቀያየረ
So I pray to God እናም እጸልያለሁ
That we can remain the same እንደ ዱሮው አንድንሆን
All I'm trying to say is our love don't have to change እያልኩ ያለሁት ፍቅራችን መለወጥ የለበትም ነው
No it don't have to change አይሆንም አይቀየርም

 

ይህ ዘፈን ተሻሽሎ በአማርኛ ቢዘፈን ደስ አይላችሁም?

 

ቁልፍ የሕይወት ክህሎቶች

ቁልፍ የሕይወት ክህሎቶች

በአሸናፊ ታደሰ

ዳሰሳ በመዘምር ግርማ

መጋቢት 2015 ዓ.ም

 

ስለ መጽሐፉ ያለኝን ግምገማ ከማቅረቤ በፊት መጽሐፉን ስላገኘሁበት አጋጣሚ ላንሣ፡፡ የሁለተኛ ደረጃ መምህሬ መምህር ጌቱ ተፈራ ትናንት ሰው ላስተዋውቅህ ብለው መምህር አሸናፊ ታደሰን ይዘዋቸው መጡ፡፡ መምህር አሸናፊን እንደማውቃቸው አላወቁም፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ የኃይለማርያም ማሞ አጠቃላይ ሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት የሥነልቦና አማካሪና መምህር ሆነው እንደማውቃቸው ነገርኳቸውና ተደሰቱ፡፡ አሁን የደብረብርሃን መምህራን ኮሌጅ መምህር ናቸው፡፡ ስለ መጽሐፍ የመጻፍ፣ የማሳተምና የማሰራጨት ጉዳይ ብዙ አወጋን፡፡ መጽሐፉን አንድ ቀን ባልሞላ ጊዜ ውስጥ አነባለሁ ባልኩት መሰረት እነሆ አነበብኩት፡፡ የተሰማኝንም ለመጻፍ ቻልኩ፡፡  ‹ቁልፍ የሕይወት ክህሎቶች› የተባለው ይህ መጽሐፍ መምህራችን እኛን በትምህርት እንድንተጋና ክህሎቶቻችን እንዲዳብሩ ይመክሩን የነበረው ነፀብራቅ ሆኖ አግኝቼዋለሁ፡፡ ይህን አስተዋጽኦም ከትምህርት ቤታችን በዘለለ ለአሁኑም ትውልድ ማቅረባቸው ያስመሰግናቸዋል፡፡ እነሆ ወደ መጽሐፉ፡፡ ለመሆኑ መጽሐፉ ምን ይዟል? በምንስ ዓይነት አቀራረብ?

‹‹ደስተኛ ሕይወትን ለመኖር የሚያገለግሉ የተፈጥሮና የትምህርት ውጤት የሆኑ ዕውቀትና ክህሎቶች ወይም ብቃቶች›› በሚል ደራሲው የገለጿቸው የሕይወት ክህሎቶች በአእምሯዊ፣ በስሜታዊና በማህበራዊ ዋና ዋና ምድቦች ተከፍለዋል፡፡ ክህሎቶቹን በንባብ ልናገኛቸው ብንችልም ለበለጠ ውጤታማነት ደራሲው የተግባር ሥልጠና ወደመስጠት ሊያሸጋግሩት የሚገባ ይመስለኛል፡፡ እርሳቸውም ጠቆም ያደረጉት ክህሎቶችን፣ ይዘቶችንና ስልቶችን በሚገባ አጣምሮ ያካተተ የተግባር ስልጠና ያስፈልጋል፡፡

የሕይወት ክህሎቶቹን ከአሁን በፊት ከሥልጠና ሠነድ ባገኘኋቸው ጊዜ በጣም ተሰምቶኝ የአብዛኛው ኢትዮጵያዊ በተለይም ገጠር ያደግን ህብረተሰብ ክፍሎች ችግር አድርጌ አይቼዋለሁ፡፡ እኔም በግሌ ክህሎቶቹን ከማጣቴ አንጻር ብዙ ችግር ገጥሞኛል፡፡ እስኪ እርስዎም ገጥሞዎት ከሆነ የራስዎን ሁኔታ እያሰላሰሉ ይከተሉኝ፡፡ በመጽሐፉ ‹የንጥል ኩነት ትንተና› የሚሉ ምሳሌዎች ለእያንዳንዱ ክህሎት የቀረቡ ሲሆን፤ እነሱም ሃሳቡን ከአገራዊ ተጨባጭ ምሳሌ ጋር ለመረዳት ይጠቅማሉ፡፡

ራስን ማወቅ በሚለው ክፍል አእምሯዊና አካላዊ ጥንካሬን፣ ጠባይን፣ ፍላጎትን፣ ምኞትን፣ የምንወድና የምንጠላውን ማወቅ ያለውን ጠቀሜታና አለማወቅ ያለውን ጉዳት እንረዳለን፡፡ ያላወቀ ሰው የሚገጥመውን ጉዳት ለመረዳት በሰዎች ግፊት ወደ ጎንደር ዩኒቨርሲቲ የህክምና ትምህርት ቤት ገብቶ ስላልተሳካለት ግንበኛ የሆነውን ዘርጋው አውሌን ታሪክ ማንበብ በቂ ነው፡፡ ራስን ከማወቅ ጋር የሚያያዘው የራስ ግምት ደግሞ ስለራሳችን ያዳበርነው ግምት ከየት እንደመጣና እንዴት እንደሚሻሻል ያስተምራል፡፡ ከትምህርት፣ ከእርስበርስ ግንኙነትና ከአካላዊ ብቃትዎ አንጻር ለራስዎ የሰጡት ግምት ከፍተኛ ይሁን ዝቅተኛ ለመገምገምና ለማሻሻል ይህን ክፍል ይመልከቱት፡፡

ተቆርቋሪነት ስሜት ክህሎት ሕይወት በሌሎች ሰዎች ዘንድ ምን እንደምትመስል ገምተን መረዳትን ይመለከታል፡፡  በብዙ መልኩ የሚንጸባረቀው ይህ ክህሎት ከጎለበተ ለማህበራዊ ሕይወት፣ ለአገር ብሎም ለሁለንተናዊ የእርስበርስ ግንኙነት እርሾና ለእኔ ብቻ የሚልን አስተሳሰብ የሚያስቀር ነው፡፡ በአገራችን በአሁኑ ጊዜ እኔና ለእኔ የሚል አስተሳሰብ በመግነኑ ይመስለኛል ምስቅልቅል ውስጥ የገባነው፡፡ የዚህ ክህሎት አለመኖር ይህን ያህል ከጎዳን መኖሩ ምን ያህል ይጠቅመናል?        

አስተዋይነትና አመዛዛኝነት ያለው አስተሳሰብ ደግሞ ‹‹መረጃና ልምድን በተጨባጭና ከስሜት ነጻ በሆነ መንገድ የመተንተን ችሎታ›› ተብሎ ተገልጿል፡፡ በአእምሮ ሳያወጡና ሳያወርዱ፣ ሰውን ያስቀይማል አስቀይምም ሳይሉ እንደደቦጭ ሁሉ ከሰዎች ጋር ንግግርና ምልልስ ውስጥ መግባት ግጭት ላይ እንደሚጥልና ያልተፈለገ ነገርን እንደሚያስከትል ከመጽሐፉ ስናነብ ራሳችንንና ሌሎችን ወዳጆቻችንን በአእምሯችን ብንስል መልካም ነው፡፡ ይህ ክህሎት የፍቅር ጓደኛን ከመምረጥና ከሌሎች ወሳኝ የሕይወት ምዕራፎችም ጋር ይያያዛል፡፡ ከአስተዳደግና ከትምህርት ጭምር ያጣናቸው የዚህ ክህሎት ንዑሳን ክፍሎች ስለሚኖሩ ከራሳችን ጋር መነጋገሩ መልካም ነው፡፡

የፈጠራ ችሎታ የሚንፀባረቅበት አስተሳሰብ ሁኔታዎችንና ሃሳቦችን ለየት ባሉ ስልቶች ለመተርጎምና አዳዲስ ሃሳቦችንና ንድፎችን ለማፍለቅ የሚጠቅም ሲሆን በዘመናችን ተፈላጊውን የሃሳብ ተለማጭነትና በነባር አሰራሮች ላይ ለውጥ ማምጣትን ያመጣል፡፡ በአገራችን ካሉ የፈጠራ ሰዎች እስከ ዓለም አቀፎቹ የተጠቀሙቸውን ስልቶች እኛም በዕለትከዕለት ሕይወታችን መጠቀም እንደምንችል መገንዘብና መሞከር ያስፈልጋል፡፡

የችግር አፈታት ክህሎት ልዩልዩና ውስብስብ ችግሮችን ለመፍታትና በአግባቡ ለማስተናገድ የሚያስፈልገው በጥልቀት ማሰብና ማሰላሰል ነው፡፡ ከግል ችግሮቻችን ዓለምን በቅርቡ እስካናወጠው የኮሮና ወረረሽኝ ድረስ ምን ያህል ሳይንሳዊ መንገዶችን ተከትለን መፍትሔ ፈለግን ሲል የሚሞግተን መጽሐፍ መፍትሔውን ያስቀምጣል፡፡     

የውሳኔ አሳጣጥ ክህሎት ሌላው ወሳኝ የሆነ ክህሎት ነው፡፡ እርስዎ እስኪ በሕይወትዎ የወሰኑትን አንድ ጉልህ ነገር ያስቡ፡፡ ምን ጠንካራና ደካማ ጎን አለው? ለወደፊቱስ ውሳኔ ከመወሰንዎት በፊት አስፈላጊውን ሳይንሳዊ ሂደት መከተል ያለብዎት አይመስልዎትም?  ከውስጣዊ ማንነታችን ጋር የሚጣጣሙ ውሳኔዎችን ለመወሰንና ሕይወታችን እንዳይበላሽ ለማድረግ የውሳኔ አሰጣጥ ክህሎን ማወቅና መተግበር አለብን፡፡

ስሜትን በአግባቡ የማስተናገድ ወይም የመቆጣጠር ክህሎት ሳይንሳዊ መሰረትና ማብራሪያ ያለው ሲሆን፤ ስሜታችንን በአግባቡ መግለጽን ካልተማርን ጤናማ ስሜትንና ሥነምግባርን ማዳበር ላንችል እንችላለን፡፡ ስሜትን መቆጣጠርም ሆነ ውጥረትን መቋቋም ሕይወትን የሚያሰምርና ከበሽታና ከችግሮች የሚያድን ነው፡፡ ስሜታችንን ለይተን መቆጣጠር ስንችል፣ ውጥረትን የመቋቋም ክህሎትን ስናዳብርና የውጥረትን ምልክቶች ለይተን ስናውቅ ስሜትን በአግባቡ ማስተናገድም ሆነ መቆጣጠር እንችላለን፡፡ ዝርዝሩ ብዙ ሲሆን፤ መጽሐፉም መነሻ ይሆነናል፡፡

መግባባት ምን ያህል አስፈላጊ እንደሆነ ብንገነዘብም ከግል እስከ አገር መግባባት ሲያቅተን ይስተዋላል፡፡ የመግባባት ክህሎት እንዴት ያለ መሆኑን ከመጽሐፉ ስንረዳ እንደ ጎንጥ ችግሮቻችንን በጠብና በማስፈራራት ከመፍታት ይልቅ የተሻለ አማራጭ እንወስዳለን፡፡ በልዩ ልዩ መንገዶች ተግባቦትን ለማሳካት  ስናስብ መልዕክቱ፣ የመልዕክቱ ማስተላለፊያ መንገድ፣ የተግባቦቱ ማዕቀፍ፣ መልዕክት አደናቃፊዎችና የተቀባይ ግብረመልስ በሚለው መንገድ የምንጠቀም ሲሆን ይህም ሂደት በልዩ ልዩ ሁኔታዎች ሊሳካ ወይም ሊስተጓጎል ይችላል፡፡

የእርስበርስ ግንኙነት ክህሎት በተለያዩ አውዶችና ዓላማዎች ከሰዎች ጋር የሚኖሩንን ግንኙነቶች የተመለከተ ሲሆን የዚህም ስኬትና ውድቀት ግንኙነታችን የተሳካ እንዲሆን ወይም እንዲቋረጥ እስከማድረግ የራሱ የሆነ ሚና አለው፡፡  ልዩ ልዩ ጥቅሞች ያሉት የእርስበርስ ግንኙነት ደረጃዎችም አሉት፡፡ ትውውቅ፣ ማጎልበት፣ መቀጠል፣ መበላሸትና ማቋረጥ ሲሆኑ፤ በተለያዩ የግንኙነት ዓይነቶች ውስጥ የሚሰሩና ከግል ሥነምግባር ጋርም ትስስር ያላቸው ናቸው፡፡  

የአቻ ግፊትን የመቋቋምና የራስን አቋምና ስሜት ፊት ለፊት የመናገር ብቃት በሚል ከቀረበው ምዕራፍ የአቻ ግፊትን በቀላሉ ሊገጥመን በሚችል ሁኔታ ይጀምራል፡፡ ተማሪ ሆነህ ጓደኞችህ ደብሮናልና ሻይ ጠጥተን እንምጣ ያሉትን ሃሳብ ተቀብለህ ሄደህ ግብዣው ወደ ምግብና አልኮል እንዲድግ የተደረገበትን ሁኔታ ተጠቅሷል፡፡ ይህ መጥፎ ግፊት በሚለው ሊመደብ ይችላል፡፡ የዚህን ዓይነቱን ግፊት እንዴት ልንመረምርና ምላሽ ልንሰጠው እንችላለን? ይህ ቀጥተኛ ሲሆን በተዘዋዋሪ የሚመጣብን በማየታችን ብቻ ለማድረግ የሚገፋፋ ቀጥተኛ ያልሆነም ግፊት አለ፡፡ በይሉኝታም ይሁን ውጤቱን ባለማመዛዘን ከመግባት የራስን አቋምና ስሜት በግልጽ ስለመናገርና ስለአፈጻጸም ሂደቱ በመጽሐፉ የተጠቀሱትን ነጥቦች መጠቀም አስፈላጊ ነው፡፡

የመደራደር ክህሎት የመነጋገርና የመተማመን ብቃትን የሚጠይቅ ሲሆን ስኬቱ ክህሎቱን በማወቅ፣ በመለማመድና በመተግበር ይጎለብታል፡፡ የክህሎቱ አለመኖር የሚያመጣውን ቀውስ አስቡት፡፡ ሁለታችንም ተደስተንና ረክተን ጉዳያችንን ለመፈጸም  የሚጠቅመው ክህሎቱ የራሱ ደረጃዎች ያሉትና ያለመሰልቸት መተግበር ያለበት ነው፡፡

የማዳመጥና የጥናት ክህሎቶችን ስታስቡ በእናንተ የትምህርት ሕይወት እንዴት ይገለጻሉ? መጽሐፉ የውጤታማ አድማጭነት መመሪያዎችን ሲያቀርብ ትምህርት በሚሰጥበት ጊዜ ያለ የማዳመጥ ሂደትን በልዩ ሁኔታ ያቀርብልናል፡፡ ከማስታወሻ አያያዝም ጋር አስተሳስሮ ያቀርባል፡፡ መደበኛ የጥናት ፕሮግራም መኖር፣ በንባብ ወቅት መከተል ያለብን ተግባራት፣ የንባብ ስልቶችና ዓይነቶችን ያቀርባል፡፡  

የጊዜ አጠቃቀም ክህሎት ለውጤታማነትም ሆነ ለሕይወት ትልቅ ግብዓት መሆኑ አሌ አይባልም፡፡ የጊዜ ብክነትን የሚያመጡ በርካታ ምክንያቶች የተጠቀሱ ሲሆን በእኔ በኩል በጣም የሚያጋጥመኝና በመጽሐፉ የተጠቀሰውን አላስፈላጊ ከሰላምታ የሚከተሉ ጨዋታዎች መኖርን እንደምሳሌ መጠቀም ይቻላል፡፡ የቀረበውን የጊዜ አጠቃቀም መመዘኛ ሰንጠረዥ ተጠቅመን አጠቃቀማችንን ነጥብ እንድንሰጥ የሚጋብዘው ይህ ክፍል  ስለ ውጤታማ የጊዜ አጠቃቀም ጠባያት ያስተምረናል፡፡

ገንዘብን በአግባቡ የመቆጠብ ችሎታ ወይም ልምድ በትምህርት ቤት ያልተማርነው ወይም የትም ያልሰለጠነው ሳይሆን አይቀርም፡፡ ገንዘብን ለአስፈላጊው ጉዳይና በተገቢ መንገድ ማዋል፣ መቆጠብ፣ ብድርን በትክክል መጠቀምና ከዕቅድ ጋር ማስኬድ የተገባ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ዝርዝር ነጥቦች ተቀምጠዋል፡፡

ራስን ከአደጋ የመጠበቅ ብቃት በጣም አስፈላጊ ሆኖ የቀረበ ሲሆን በአሜሪካ በተለያዩ የዕድሜ ደረጃዎች ያሉ ሰዎች ለአደጋ የሚጋለጡባቸውን ምክንያቶች በማቅረብ ይጀምራል፡፡ የመኪና አደጋን አስመልቶ ኢትዮጵያ ከአሜሪካ 30 እጥፍ አደጋ እንዳለ ሲገልጽ ለልዩ ልዩ አደጋዎች ማድረግ ያለብንን ጥንቃቄ ያስገነዝባል፡፡ ለመሆኑ እርስዎ ለየትኛው አደጋ መከላከል ክህሎቱ አለዎት? መጽሐፉ መነሻ ክህሎቶችን አስቀምጧል፡፡

የግልና አካባቢ ንጽህናን የመጠበቅ ዕውቀትና ክህሎት እንዲሁም የደን ደህንነትን የመጠበቅ፣ የመተካትና የመጠቀም ዕውቀትና ክህሎት ቀጣዮቹ ናቸው፡፡ በመጽሐፉ ውስጥ ለጥቅም የዋሉትን ቃላት በሙዳዬ ቃላት በይነዋል፡፡ የማጣቀሻ ጽሑፍ ዝርዝርም ተካቷል፡፡ ትክክለኛው መጽሐፍ በትክክለኛው ጊዜ!

ልቼ፣ የአፄ ምኒልክ መናገሻ ከተማ ወድማለች

 

ልቼ፣ የአፄ ምኒልክ መናገሻ ከተማ ወድማለች

የጉዞ ማስታወሻ

በመዘምር ግርማ

መጋቢት 3፣ 2015 ዓ.ም.

 

የአድዋን ድልና የጥቁሮች የታሪክ ወር የሆነውን የካቲትን በማሰብ በ2007 ዓ.ም. እንጎበኛቸዋለን ካልናቸው ሦስት ታሪካዊ ከተሞች ማለትም አንኮበር፣ አንጎለላና ልቼ አንዷ የሆነችው ልቼ በወቅቱ ሳትጎበኝ ቀረች፡፡ ሌሎቹን ጎብኝተን በጉዞ ማስታወሻ ያስተዋወቅነውና ሌሎች ጎብኝዎችን ለመሳብ የቻልንበት ወግ ሳይደርሳት ቀረ፡፡ ቀኑ ደርሶ የራስ አበበ አረጋይ ቤተመጻሕፍት የጉዞ ማህበር አባላት ለዚህች ቀን ተቀጣጠርን፡፡ ዘንድሮ ከዘጠነኛው የአንጎለላ የእግር ደርሶ መልስ ጉዞና የአንኮበር ጉዞ በኋላ ልናያት ቆርጠናል፡፡ 

እሁድ ጠዋት በአጋጣሚ የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌደሬሽን 16ኛው የግማሽ ማራቶን ውድድር ከጫጫ እስከ ደብረብርሃን ይካሄድ ኖሮ መንገድ ለትራንስፖርት ተዘጋ፡፡ ይህን ያላወቁና ቀድመው ያለተነሡ አባላት በከተማው መካከል የተቀጣጠረው ቡድናችን ስላመለጣቸው ቀሩ፡፡ እነሱን ሌላ ቀን ትጎበኛላችሁ ብለን 15 አባላት በእግራችን ወደ ልቼ አቀናን፡፡ ስንጓዝ እንደወትሮው የታሪክ ርዕሶችን እያነሣን ለመወያየት ያመቸን ዘንድ በአራት ቡድኖች ተከፍለናል፡፡ በውይይትም ጥሩ መንገድ አሳለፍን፡፡

አንድ ሰዓት ባልሞላ ጊዜ ውስጥ በግምት አራት ኪሎሜትር የሚሆነውን መንገድ አገባደን ልቼ ደረስን፡፡ ለታዕካ ነገሥት ልቼ ኢየሱስን ቤተክርስቲያን ካህናት ስለ ጉብኝት ፍላጎታችን አስረድተን እገዛቸውን ጠየቅን፡፡ አንድ ቄስም ባማረ ሁኔታ ያስጎበኙን ጀመር፡፡

ቤተመንግሥቱ በነበረበት ቦታ ላይ የተገነባው ዘመናዊ የቤተክርስቲያን ሕንፃ ተጠናቋል፡፡ በስተደቡብ አቅጣጫ በግቢ ውስጥ አፄ ምኒልክና አፄ ዮሐንስ ስምምነት የፈጸሙበት ቦታ ላይ የነበሩት ድንጋዮች ቤተክርስቲያኑ ሲታነጽ በስህተት መነሳታቸውን ነገሩን፡፡ በስተሰሜን የቤተመንግሥት ፍርስራሽ ይገኛል፡፡ በስተምስራቅ ደግሞ የበፊቱ ሰገነት በነበረበት ዲብ እንዳለ ሆኖ የቤተክርስቲያኑ መቃኞ ተሰርቶበታል፡፡

አስጎብኛችን እንዳሉን የአንኮበሩ ቤተመንግሥት የአፄ ምኒልክ አያቶች ሲሆን ይህኛው ግን የእርሳቸው ነው፡፡ እኛም ከታሪክ ንባባችን ይህ ቦታ ቤተመንግሥታቸው የነበረበት መሆኑን አንብበናል፡፡ ጳውሎስ ኞኞ አጤ ምኒልክ በሚለው መጽሐፋቸው ገጽ 49-50 የጻፉትን እንመልከት ‹‹በዋና ከተማቸው በልቼም ሦስት ቀን የቆየ ግብር አብልተው ሕዝቡን አስደሰቱት፡፡ ስለዚያ ግብር ሁኔታ ማሳዣ ሲጽፉ ‹… የተሠራው አዳራሽ ትልቅ ነበር፡፡ በአዳራሹም ለምግብ ማቅረቢያ 150 ረጃጅም ገበታ ተዘርግቶ ነበር፡፡ ወታደር፣ ሲቢል፣ መኳንንት፣ ቄስ፣ የልቼና ያካባቢዋ ታላላቅ ሰዎች ሁሉ ተጠርተው ነበር፡፡ ከጎጃም፣ ከጎንደር፣ ከትግራይና ከመላው ኢትዮጵያ ታላላቅ ሰዎች መጥተው ነበር፡፡› … በግብሩ ጊዜ በአዳራሹ ውስጥ ንጉሥ ምኒሊክና መሐመድ አሊ በአንድነት ተቀምጠው ታዩ፡፡››

ከዚህ ላይ በአእምሯችን ሊመጣ የሚችለው ጥያቄ ያ የቤተመንግሥት ግቢና አዳራሽ አሁን የት ገባ የሚል ነው፡፡ ያ ግብር ያበሉበት፣ የኖሩበት፣ ክፉና ደጉን ያዩበትና ያስተዳደሩበት ቤተመንግሥት ምልክቱም የለም፡፡ በቀዳማዊ ኃይለሥላሴ ጊዜ ቦታው ጥቅም ይሰጥ እንደነበር አስጎብኛችን ነግረውናል፡፡ የተከበረውን ቦታ ያጠፋው ስፍራውን በመሬት ላራሹ ለገበሬዎች ያከፋፈለው ደርግ መሆኑን አውስተው በ1989 ዓ.ም. የመሬት ድልድል በኢህአዴግ መንግስት ገበሬዎቹ እንዲነሡና ለቤተክርስቲያን ቦታውን እንዲሰጡ ተደርጎ በአሁኑ ጊዜ 12 ሄክታር ቦታ በቤተከርስቲያኑ ይዞታነት እንዳለ አስረድተውናል፡፡ ይህም ቦታ ሦስት ዙር የጥንቱን የቤተመንግሥት የካብ አጥር የያዘ ሲሆን ያንንም አጥር አይተናል፡፡ በግሌ የገረመኝ ነገር ገና ሥልጣን እንደተቆጣጠረ የአፄ ዘርዓያዕቆብን የመካከለኛው ዘመን እውቅ የደብረብርሃን ቤተመንግሥት ፍርስራሽ በትራክተር ጠራርጎ ያጠፋው የኢህአዴግ መንግሥት ይህን ስፍራ ለቤተክርስቲያንም አልሰጥም ብሎ በመኖሪያ መንደርነት እንዴት እንዳላጸናው ወይም በሌላ መንገድ አሻራውን እንዳላጠፋው ነው፡፡ ከቤተክርስቲያኑ ቅጽርግቢ ውጪ ወጥተን የአፄ ምኒልክ ጊዜ ጥቅም ትሰጥ የነበረችውን ያን ጊዜ በልዩ ሁኔታ የተገነባች ምንጭ አይተናል፡፡ ውኃም እየቀዱ የነበሩ የአካባቢው አርሶአደሮች ቀድተው ሰጡንና ጠጣን፡፡

ከምንጯ አለፍ ብሎ የበዛብህ መቃብር አለ፡፡ እሱንም ባሻገር አይተናል፡፡

‹‹አንተም ጨካኝ ነበርክ ጨካኝ አዘዘብህ፣

እንደ ገና ዳቦ እሳት ነደደብህ››

የተባለው በዛብህ በስልጣን ሽኩቻ ምክንያት ተደጋጋሚ የአመጽ ሙከራ በማድረጉና በምህረትም ባለመመለሱ በኋላ ሞት ተፈርዶበት የነበረ ሰው ነው፡፡

አስጎብኛችን ‹‹ለስፍራው ለወደፊቱ ምን ይደረግ›› ብለን ላቀረብንላቸው ጥያቄ ምላሽ ሲሰጡ ቦታው መልማት እንዳለበት ገልጸው የእምዬ ምኒልክን ውለታ መመለስ እንዳብን አሳስበዋል፡፡ ስለአጼ ምኒልክ ደግነት ነገሩን፡፡ ፈጣሪ ባስመለከታቸው ሁሉ በዘመኑ የማይታመን ድንቅና መልካም ሥራ መሥራታቸውን ነገሩን፡፡

በመቀጠል በስፍራው ሎጅና ሙዚየም ለመስራት በደብረብርሃን ከተማ አስተዳደር ባህልና ቱሪዝም መምሪያ ባለፈው ዓመት የተጣለ የመሰረት ድንጋይ አየን፡፡ ስራው እንደሚጀመር ተስፋ አደረግን፡፡ በስፍራው ያለውን ታሪክ በቃል ከመገንዘባችን በዘለለ ለምልክት የሚሆን ቅርስ ባለመኖሩ ቅር እያለንንና የቤት ስራ እንዳለብን በመገንዘብ ወደ ደብረብርሃን በእግራችን ጉዞ ጀመርን፡፡ ውይይታችንንም አባላትን በመቀያየር ቀጠልን፡፡ ደብረብርሃንም ከቀኑ 6፡00 ላይ በሰላም ደረስን፡፡ 

 

 

My Jobseeking Story under a Repressive Regime in Ethiopia From 16 Years Ago

About this article

This story from 2013 by itself has its own story which is a story of self-censorship. I am now writing in 2023. Self-censorship could have various forms. Mine is of a different breed. This is reflected in a task I have been doing this week. I have been checking all my hard and soft copy documents from my entire life. I grabbed an old notebook from a 2015 British council and Ministry of Education training. The training concentrated on all the skills of English. I found the draft essays I wrote for the writing part. One of them was of my job-seeking one. The story of that essay I wrote is very appealing. In one of the evenings I wrote it following the steps, revised and proofread it to finally fall in love with it. Afterwards, I printed it the next morning and headed to the training venue. I handed it to my writing trainer who was preparing herself for the day’s session before anyone came in early morning in one of the training halls of Ras Amba Hotel in Addis. I had the courage to give her because she was non-Ethiopian. Could she be a government sympathizer?       

Ten years after that, I still remember the feeling that Brit exhibited in her face. She clinched her fists and munched her lower lip. She told me that mine was an excellent one. However, I think afterwards I discarded the paper that I loved. Even if I valued it because it was my own story of being subjected to injustice, I destroyed it for fear of being discovered by the government. And I removed its soft copy from my computer too. This was for fear of being attacked if the government by any means searches my house or computer. I was censoring myself. After I wrote this new note, something struck my mind and I went to my yahoo account and searched using its title. I got it! I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have been looking for it everywhere regretting my decision. I even thought it was time to publish it on my blog when the TPLF government fell five years ago. Now I got it from the sent items list. I couldn’t believe that even I had a friend to send the article to. Could anyone be trusted with this piece which criticized the employment and political system of the government that is no more on power now?

Reading it reminded me of my student days which were not simple ones for financial difficulties. How I was not an easy going guy then! How I had a solitary lifestyle and a rigid mindset! I had a fear deep in my heart what my future would look like. Sixteen years after graduation, there seems to be no significant change if not for a few of my contributions in my field. These include three books published, a private library opened and a few other issues.  I invite you to read it below.

Mezemir Girma,

Debre Birhan

 

 

Once Pushed Out, Victor At Last! 

Mezemir Girma   

2013

Addis Ababa

My university days were not as frightening as my job seeking ones because my time at university, though challenging, was productive and rather enjoyable. I graduated with a bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature (non-teaching) from Addis Ababa University in August 2007. When I finished I didn’t think that I would face a considerable challenge tougher than getting a degree – securing my bread. Nevertheless, I had to face the challenge of seeking a job which has become even more challenging for most of the graduates now after five years. What was my dream job first of all? I was aspiring to be employed as a journalist, a public relations officer, or an expert in one of the public offices as I studied courses which prepared me for these positions. But all what happened then was that graduates were recruited as early as they were still in their university dormitories, based on a non-academic criterion, which I wouldn’t qualify for. Those classmates of mine who had the least grades were assigned at nice positions. I was not considered even if I had one of the best grade point averages (GPAs).

By the way, I was one of the graduates with the best GPAs whose names had been sent to the Ministry of Education which requested a list be sent to it for Assistant Graduate positions in the 13 newly opened universities in the regions. I and my friends even filled in forms and ranked universities where we wanted to work. But the ministry officials did not post the names of mine and most of my friends in the state Amharic daily newspaper, Addis Zemen (literally meaning New Era). It was all the names of the graduates from the regional universities that they were posting as it was with GPAs that they selected. Normally Addis Ababa University (AAU) graduates had no better grades than their regional universities’ counterparts because of the strict grading trend at AAU.   

No option did I have. The vacant posts left for me were in the private organizations in Addis Ababa. Non-Governmental Organizations, which had the most coveted jobs in town, were unthinkable, since they were in most cases said to be employing people based on recommendations and a rich work experience. So, where did I go to apply? It was to private schools, private media and tourist organizations which were all not well paying ones. Do you want to know if I succeeded? If so, okay, please keep reading.  

An employee was not to be proud of having a job in the private schools, after all. You know why? Their jobs were not as secure as the public ones since they would fire you based on any pretext including the compliant of a student or a student’s parent since they were their sources of income they didn’t want to lose. They would not pay you salary during the two summer months in which there is no school as if you were not eating and living during that season. In the beginning, if you pass their interviews and get employed amid all the partiality you experience, be it ethnic, religious, or linguistic, you will definitely start your suffering. Is there any happy private school teacher in Addis Ababa? The answer is, NO, in most cases! The employers’ boastful act, the huge work load and the meager salary, the 6, 7 or 8 square meter narrow old rented room he/she is living in paying at least one third of his/her monthly income make life miserable. There is a usual saying among the Addis Ababans- “We the lower class people are not living true life here, but witnessing the rich live it to the brim”. If the rich, in most cases, were better than me academically or if they learnt throughout their ages, my senses wouldn’t boil. I think most of them have not even read at least the classic Ethiopian novel “Fikir Eske Meqabir”, or a book of the Holy Qoran or Bible. They cannot tell you what this week’s newspapers in Addis Ababa wrote about. They would even say that reading is boring after all. However, the money is unfairly made go to them.

What did my job seeking days look like? My daily routine was as follows: In the morning hours I used to go to Arat Kilo square which is some half an hour walk from the room I rented and read vacancies posted on the commercial noticeboards there. With a public phone, I phone to the employers who are advertising a vacancy and check where their offices are found if they have not indicated in their notices. If it is a job that suits me, I go to their offices asking people I meet on the roads where the particular place is. Then I submit a copy of my application letter, curriculum vitae and credentials to the organizations. Then I seek other notices in newspapers. I had to pay 25 cents to read a single newspaper and check if there is a vacancy I need posted. I always ate lunch outside and went home back in the evening tired and hopeless.            

It was via the phones of my relatives and friends that employers reached me. Most schools had both written exams and interviews. If you pass the written exams, you will be among those who go for interviews. You then agree or disagree on the salary, workload, working environment or other imposition if you only pass. You don’t know sir! All this up and down you underwent may be for the employers’ mere convenience. It is said that they use the written exam sheets and the copies of credentials of you and of the many applicants as a proof of accountability when government supervisors visit them. So they employ the already known nominee who is their close relation or whatever. In some case, there are good and impartial employers, though. I don’t need to conduct a formal survey to say that most are not good ones as I experienced many unethical school owners and administrators. It is to 47 organizations that I applied in the three months immediately after my graduation, most of them being schools. People consoled me saying that it is a common practice in Europe to apply to not less than 100 companies to get a job. This helped me a lot. 

One afternoon in November 2007, two young men and a young woman interviewed me in their school found in southern Addis Ababa, my home being in the northern tip. They were satisfied and hired me. I was elated too. I worked in this English medium elementary school as a grade one and two science and social science teacher. This is the place where I enjoyed working for three and a half months not mentioning another where I worked as an English teacher for two weeks. I used to commute the long distance in the Lion Buses of Addis Ababa. It was in this bus that I heard one day a singer ‘newsreader’ beggar say “Lion Bus- the poor’s shoes”. Not long after I was told that I passed the three month probation period, I got an opportunity to go for a better job outside Addis Ababa as a lecturer in one of the state universities. Look! It is for six months that I was waiting for this seemingly nice job.  

There in the universities you would have the chance to study your master’s degree and to grow financially. Recently a year after I was graduated in a Master’s Degree my former non-Ethiopian university friend who is a diplomat of one African State told me that he rather wanted to be a university lecturer than a diplomat. Is it such a coveted work that I am doing? I was once pushed out and now I am in such a work which satisfies me and in which I serve my country happily.