A lonely voice in the desert is a rare experience.
Before I launched bariisa.com I had repeatedly looked at the available Oromo websites and blogs to see the degree of freedom of thinking and expression available in them so that I could freely subscribe to them. The result had been disappointing in many ways. Their herd-like subservience to the OLF factions that are such a drag on Oromo cause surprised me. So I decided to initiate a new website. Over years I have learned how to value informal conversation, egalitarianism, subjective points of view alongside rational thinking, in politics as in private life. Filtered ideas, dogmatic certainty and objectivity, central control of the media are the wholemark of elitist clubs that put their own self-interest above the societal communal responsibility. Vital organisational and political issues of immediate importance to us rarely appear in their radar screen.
I think that oppressed nations and nationalities of the empire-state of Ethiopia, suffering under a special form of Abyssinian fascism, supported by powerful international circles, need special media outlets that encourage participatory journalism, grassroots reporting, fresh commentary and fact-checking. People do not need to submit their stories in advance, to be edited or rejected before they are made public. They must be able to say what they want to say, and the good is sorted from the mediocre after that through free discussion. This is absolutely possible in this era of internet freedom. Bariisa.com stands for this. Yet most Oromos are still passive consumers of the news as everything else. Others have been and are still mired in rigid and deadly values promoting the feeble cult of their missionary political elite, their pretentious opportunist academics and their regionalism. They try to hide behind the rhetoric of the the gada system, dwelling most of the time on abstract issues of secondary importance. Their aims are self- advertisement, self- promotion, cheap popularity and immediate profits. Yet they want to impress us with the profundity of their knowledge. In fact their lack of commitment speaks much louder than their words. Needless to mention those who think journalism is still a mysterious profession run only by a select priesthood far above the ordinary masses. To them all, no wonder, bariisa.com is a stumbling-block and a thorn in their flesh. They would do everything to discredit or even silence it if they can. Typifying their subconscious Habasha leanings, they of course refuse to mention it in their list of blogs and websites, let alone directly answering the questions it raises. They do not realize that originally journalism means keeping account of day-to-day events.
For me the most important thing is just to be fair and tell the truth as much as one can. Moreover, what we really need is not a big-league slick publication, with lots of figures and data on the economic failures of the woyane regime or its corruption records. The question is how to encourage and organise oppressed peoples to resist the worst form of fascism in Africa.
I must admit that I am a lonely voice in the desert trying still to find the right people to work with. Yet I will not hesitate to run even a one-man satellite television if I can! To be a lonely voice in the desert is not a joke. I stand here in a tiny corner and look at the stars at night, breathing freely. I do embrace this marvellous universe unconditionally. At times its fragile beauty moves me to tears. We can instantly choose to wake up and turn our dreams for freedom into tangible reality within each of us. Only I would like to repeat: active self-energization is a must for us Oromos who can reflect creatively on our ordeals now.
At present I am updating bariisa.com with the indispensable help of my close friend Ulrich Kiwus and the invaluable assistance of Gabriel Heuser to whom I am extremely grateful. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you.