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»Why there is No ‘Millennium’ Celebrations in the Ogaden. BY Saafi Labafidhin
Why there is No ‘Millennium’ Celebrations in the Ogaden.
By: Saafi Labafidhin

After seeing the title of this essay you may think you know the reasons why Ogadenis don’t have to celebrate the ‘Ethiopian Millennium’; you may probably guess dozen of long time tragedies such as War, Poverty, Underdevelopment, Remoteness and Poor infrastructure, and the latest TPLF crackdown on one of the least developed poor pastoralists. For example, Poverty (the overriding factor) is everywhere in Ethiopia, even in the birth place of Legesse Zenawi and once proud town of Adwa is dominated by poor people who travel as long as 1200 Kilometres to beg in the streets of Addis Ababa only to get obsolete insults by the better-off Tigrayans in Addis Ababa. So are the majority of the Ethiopia’s nearly 80 Million population 85% of which live on subsistence farming.

However, in the Ogaden there are other unique and underlining reasons for Somalis not to celebrate. Among others, these are reasons that explain why we are not, have not been and will not be part of the present day Ethiopia nor the old Abyssinia.

Coptic Millennium
The Somali people in the Ogaden are 100% Sunni Muslims and have been
using the Islamic Hijra Calendar with Hijra months slightly modified by Somali Names (such as Soon, Soonfur, Sidataal, Arafo etc). Besides, the land has been under long and successive brutal colonial powers, Namely the British, Italians and present day Ethiopia, and as a result there is hardly progress in life throughout the past century. Consequently, our proud and lofty nomadic pastoralists make the bulk of the population.

For them there is only two times to celebrate in the year namely:
Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha. And for the minority of us who were somehow able to live in bigger towns with other highlanders, we could not swallow the ‘Amete Mihret’ ceteris paribus. If we were to behave like Ethiopians (again other things being equal), we see that the Ethiopian calendar has two abbreviated Amharic words A.M (also official). which means ‘the year of forgiving’ according to the Christian belief. Now you see why as a Muslim People the Ogaden Somalis don’t need to solemnize the Church based Coptic Millennium!

Gregorian Calendar more Popular among Somalis in the Ogaden.
Though similar to the above in some aspects, the Gregorian Calendar
enjoys much eminence throughout the world and is adopted by many Islamic nations as a second (or first) calendar. On the eve of 2000, seven years ago, I remember when a group of Somali youth (both girls and boys)
gathered in a remote village in the Ogaden to welcome the new Gregorian Millennium by discussing the fate and future of our disregarded pastoralists. Even illiterate camelboys (geeljire) were familiar with the event and were eager to share their Camel Milk with us to welcome the commencement of the new millennia. One of the girls jested if a camelman among us knew Ethiopian calendar to which he replied ‘the only thing I know about Ethiopia is their hostile soldiers!!’ others questioned if Ethiopia had its own calendar. Generally almost all Ogadenis know Gregorian year and use it alongside with the Traditional Islamic calendar while most of them are not acquainted with the Ethiopian year and months let alone use it. It boils down to the fact that we have already celebrated the Mellinneum with the rest of the world and don’t need to imitate now.

‘African Millennium!!’
The TPLF claims that this is not only Ethiopians millennium but also
must be celebrated as Africa’s 2000 millenary celebrations. Ironically, many AU members, majority of which include pro-Rastafarian groups, are misled by the Ethiopia’s claim and unfortunately see the ‘Millennium’ as ‘Unique African Occasion!’ A Nigeria based newspaper writes the following:

Ethiopia is being the only African country having its own calendar and the African Union (AU) in its ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and government through declaration AU/ December 6 (Vii) adopted Ethiopian millennium as an historic African occasion.

One needs to critically ask why Ethiopia is comparable to African pride and reputation when it is notorious of being the only African
‘country’ that participated the Berlin Conference and the so called
Scramble for Africa. According to Gann and Duignan (1981) the modern Ethiopian empire state was created by the conquest of emperor Menelik II of the Shewa Amhara dynasty (1889-1913). They continue to say ‘’Menelik was the only successful black African partner in the ‘scramble for Africa’ designed by the European powers in the Berlin Conference of 1884-5.’’

It is well known the only reason Menelik was allowed to rule Abyssinia land was to check the advancement of the Dervishes led by Sayyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan who was waging harsh war against the British and Italian Colonizers. Menilik was pleased to accept the colonial condition which was that He would not be colonized provided that he accepts the result of Berlin Conference and at the same time engages himself the war against what the British conquerors termed the ‘Mad Mullah’ Movement.

Since we are the victims of that conference and its aftermath and have long suffered under oppressive black (Ethiopian) colonialization, we can’t be enticed by TPLF’s Pan African ‘Mellenium’ allurement.

Last but not least, our people are undergoing a great burden as we
write this article. Extrajudicial killings continue, the number of villages burned every day is increasing, many are fleeing to neighbouring countries across the border, and more recently the elite and well-off section of Ogaden people living in bigger towns such as Dire Dawa, Harar and Addis Ababa are apprehended and encounter indescribable atrocities. All in all, the ‘Mellennium’ is another Minim Yelem (There is nothing) for our people and there is nothing to celebrate before we are free from Oppression.

References:

The Tide (http://www.thetidenews.com): Rastafarians celebrate Ethiopian
millennium in Rivers, Tuesday Saturday, Sep 8, 2007
L.H Gann and Peter Duignan (1981) Why South Africa Will Survive: A
Historical Analysis.


Saafi (Hoodo) Labafidhin
labafidhin@yahoo.com
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