Meskel celebration in Arba Minch by Obang Metho

 Meskel celebration in Arba Minch by Obang Metho. In the last few days I had the privilege of traveling to the beautiful city of Arbaminch and friendly towns of Dorze, Chencha, Balta and Bonke in the Gamo Zone of Southern Ethiopia.

I've had the privilege of meeting with peace loving Gamo elders and witnessed the unforgettable Gamo Meskel celebration and the Dubusha ceremony, (Gamo’s justice, peace, reconciliation and forgiveness ceremony.

What a joy to be a part of the celebration of amazing culture. It was a celebration of love, justice, freedom, peace, forgiveness, equality, unity and togetherness!

It was a fantastic event and I felt privileged to have been involved in another rich culture of our precious people of Ethiopia.

Thanks to Mr. Eyassu Wossen, CEO of Omotic Groups and owner of Paradise Lodge in Arbaminch for invited me to this wonderful event.

I had the privilege of meeting and spending time with amazing Ethiopians to name a few Dr. Mehert Debebe a well-known practicing psychiatrist, Ambassador Gebeyehu Ganga Gayito, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations, Mr. Gizachew Ayka, Chairperson of Bright Star, Ms. Edna Alemayehu, SMNE County Director and many more.

We have to learn how to accept each other, work together and be an ally of peace and harmony. It is our responsibility to learn about other cultures in Ethiopia and what makes them unique.

This celebration is an opportunity, in itself, to appraise our successes, but also to explore the complex causes that are impeding full access to human rights, justice, freedom and peace.

It is also an opportunity to reaffirm our steady commitment to work together as one Ethiopian family, not only within our communities, ethnicities but also across our country, so- as to consider innovative strategies for the future.

We the people must endeavour, further, to nurture and strengthen our commitment to a rights-based approach, which can give us the tools, to effectively tackle tribalism and the ongoing challenges of today’s Ethiopia.

Human rights, justice, freedom, peace,unity and equality must be at the centre of all our efforts to improve the lives of our citizens.

Some people tell me that the movement for genuine national reconciliation, justice and lasting peace in Ethiopia has died because we do not have the leaders who can give us a vision for a more united Ethiopia and who can demonstrate it by their actions.

My reply to those people is: “I disagreed, we have some of the best national leaders (NOT tribal leaders) among us that we could ever ask for—qualified, capable and full of personal integrity and character. Our problem is we are not organized and don’t have a strong institution that can strive for the rights of all, lasting peace and Ethiopia national interest.

Can Ethiopians come together in solidarity to build a bridge to a new Ethiopia and harmonious society or are we doomed to suffering, ethnic division and eternal failure? It all depends on how we build it.

May God guide, enable and empower us, giving us soft hearts towards each other regardless of ethnicity and strong hearts for truth and justice as we carry out this task that is beyond our ability and resources to accomplish it without respecting our common humanity.