At the end of March (3 / 29 / 00, page A16) The Washington Post ran a story about the problems East Timor is facing because its people had not prepared themselves for independence. (As most of you must know, the people of East Timor, after a long struggle, voted to become independent of Indonesia in August, 1999.) Unfortunately, I had not followed the story of their independence struggle closely while it was unfolding. I was aware, however, that the resistance movement in East Timor had pinned some of its hopes for an independent future on the development of strains of excellent organically-grown coffee, for which there were expanding international markets. 17course, I thought of Oromia, home to the best coffee-growing regions of East Africa, and its people's aspiration for independence from Ethiopia.
Then in August of 1999, when I read that in the face of crippling opposition from Indonesia the population of East Timor voted overwhelmingly to be free from Indonesia, of course I thought of Oromia again, since such an action is the dream of most Oromo nationalists. There should be no doubt about it-, if East Timor is able to get its independence, Oromia will get it also. I decided to watch how the East Timorese would proceed. Then, along with the rest of the world, I was horrified and saddened to witness the violent destruction of East Timor by Indonesian troops and their hired militia determined to halt the march toward independence. Again I thought of Oromia. The virulence of Ethiopia's determination to destroy Oromia's chances for independence is at least as strong as Indonesia's determination to cripple East Timor. (Look at what Ethiopia is doing to post-independent Eritrea -- Eritrea was a friend; Oromia never has been.)
The international community eventually sent troops to assist in expelling Indonesia's destructive militia forces from East Timor. After that I would see an occasional article on relief and rebuilding until the interesting piece ran last March. It is titled, "Square One: Untrained East Timorese Must Build a Nation from Scratch." The story reports that the East Timorese approached independence empty-handed, not at all ready to conduct their own affairs in their own country once the Indonesians were gone. Now I am thinking of Oromia with real alarm.
First, I should say that there is no doubt in my mind that the Oromo desire independence as much as the East Timorese did. Untold thousands of Oromo have given up their lives for that desire. I believe that many more, including those who appear to sit comfortably abroad, would willingly lay down their lives for the cause of Oromo independence, if they knew that the gesture would make Oromia free. The desire, the will, and the courage to achieve freedom are definitely present among the Oromo. But, despite all this desire, will and courage ow much are we doing to make ourselves ready? Very little.
Something is missing What is it? East Timor's current dilemma has forced me to think seriously about the missing dimension in the Oromo case and has suggested to me what it might be.
According to the story, the East Timorese had not designed the means to conduct affairs in their country once it was formally theirs. When I took at the Oromo who are shouting their slogans and carrying on discussions about freedom, independence and self-determination, I realize that none of them mentions what a free Oromia will look like, how it might function and what Oromo are doing to prepare for that specific future. Everybody likes to say, "Oromia shall be free!" but that phrase does not carry with it any vision or delineation of how that freedom would actually be implemented and maintained once achieved. No one addresses what Oromos need to be doing now to prepare for the independent future that they so much desire.
It is clear that if the Oromo do not prepare for self-Management in every dimension, the same dilemma will face them that is now facing East Timor. For example, the first scene in the newspaper story on East Timor's crisis depicts the problems in the court system. It describes a room full of East Timorese being trained in a crash course in Indonesian (not East Timorese) law. Urgent cases are waiting to be heard in the courts. There is strong pressure to do something Doing nothing is not an option. But all the judges and personnek1ho held these positions in the courts prior to independence were Indonesians. They left at independence. The article reports,
AWe have a courthouse, but there's not a lot inside. Most of our judges and lawyers have no practical experience with the law whatsoever." East Timor faces a similar dearth of skilled labor in every other civil institution and every part of its infrastructure. The water and power services lack engineers. Schools lack teachers. Hospitals lack doctors.
East Timorese who were interviewed for the news article said "[we] don't want to create a system that is as repressive as it was in Indonesian times." But A[b]ecause it would take too long and be too complicated to draft new laws, the country plans to use Indonesian laws." In other words, they have no new laws ready which would implement a new set of values. in the short term, the United Nations and several Western humanitarian agencies are helping to run things and to train people. If you read the story carefully, you see that these international agencies are impatient to bring back the Indonesian officials who left. Why? Because those are the only people who have the needed skills to run the technical and logistical affairs of the government, the services and the abandoned businesses. There is little doubt that if they return, the old bureaucrats and administrators will bring with them a map firmly in mind for how the old system worked. The old map will certainly guide them as they "help" make the decisions about how East Timor develops from now on. if they return, then old patterns will most likely re-emerge in East Timor.
I see a vital lesson for Oromos in this turn of events. As much as Oromos desire independence from Ethiopia in order to achieve self-governance and self-management, they could lose it in the same fashion (overnight) if they do not prepare as a people to introduce a vision and a blueprint di rent from the Ethiopian model that now troubles them so. This means that Oromos have to plan, to implement and to defend a design for Oromia that the Oromo people have constructed together. Designing Oromia sounds like a great idea. Few Oromos would oppose it But are the Oromo doing that now? Are they designing a plan and preparing the nation to put it into effect? No. They are not Why the hell not? What is the matter? Isn't preparing for the future the most urgent thing to be doing? Why are people who are literally willing to die to bring a free Oromia failing to make ready everything that is needed to construct such an Oromia?
I think that the problem, the missing ingredient in the Ororno struggle, is consciousness. The Ororno people are not yet conscious. Without consciousness wv can never achieve liberation.
What then does it mean to be 'conscious?' To be 'conscious' is to have a dear view of one's place among others in the world. it is also to know how one's actions will affect that position. It is not possible to make or implement a plan for national liberation without a shared consciousness. I think that the reason the Oromo are not uniting to build this shared vision of Oromia is a puzzling lack of ability to see the place of their nation in the world. This lack consciousness applies even to, people who are painfully aware of their Oromo identity, of Oromia s subjugation by Ethiopia and of the need for freedom. Doesn't this "awareness bring consciousness? Yes, but more work is needed. The Oromo are stuck They are aware but not conscious.
This distinction between being aware and being conscious is not an easy one to make. The issue came up with friends of mine during a late-night discussion I had while traveling for business not too long ago. (As a family man, I do 't get the opportunity to talk into the night with friends as I used to in the old days.) While I was in the Midwest, I was hosted by a childhood friend. She called several other old friends together in honor of my coming to town. After dinner we sat around her living room to catch up with each other's news. One person asked about my trip to Finfinnee. I told them that while I was in Oromia for my father's illness, I encountered several groups. First, there were my father's friends, who now expect our generation to take charge of the struggle. Then there were my own friends, who seemed to think that the Oromo, abroad were free and therefore able to come with some kind of solution to the Oromo crisis. Finally, there was the younger generation who also expects us to lead the way to freedom. I turned to the people relaxing after a big meal and said,
A We are here pretending that we can provide the leadership they are looking for. We are unwilling to admit that we rarely see each other, don't agree on what we want, we don't know what to do or how to proceed. We think that from our education we must know something. Right? Well, we may be aware of the Oromo problem, but we are not conscious enough to tackle that problem and solve it"
"Are you saying that being 'aware' and being 'conscious' are different?" my hostess asked.
Yes, I say that there is an important difference. Let me try to explain. You were in student politics," I said to her. "'We always used those terms and concepts interchangeably, but they are not equivalent To become politically 'aware' is to wake up to new dimensions of the world that you did not have a perspective on before. Awareness brings a changed outlook or a new identity. In the Oromo case, for example, political 'awareness' usually refers to seeing the Oromo nation in a new light, giving up an old Abyssinian identity and Abyssinian notions that about the Oromo people, such as the Abyssinian version of the history of the Oromo &at was taught in school, the idea that Oromo culture is inferior, not suited to the modern era, etc., and then embracing an Oromo identity. It is a step in the direction of . consciousness,' but it's not enough to move people to act. Awareness is a necessary state of mind to take action. But it is not empowering."
One man sat quietly in the corner of the room, smoking a cigarette. I had known him when he was a barefoot kid in the countryside decades ago. He was now a philosopher at the university. He spoke up. " So are you saying that to be aware or awake is necessary but not sufficient to rouse people to action?"
"Yes, thank you, my friend, that is exactly what I am trying to say, AI responded gratefully. I was glad to know that he was with me. "Look at us for example. All of us who realize the need for the Oromo to be free are aware of the Oromo dilemma. We would probably all call ourselves nationalists, right?"
Most of them nodded in agreement, so I continued. "We all took that first step a long time a But took at us now. Our 'awareness' hasn't gotten our nation independence in twenty or more years. It hasn't equipped us with a game plan or even a consistent nationalist ideology. We don't have clearly in mind who out there in the wider world are our friends and who works against us and why. 'Awareness' does change a person's thinking, but it is only passive. I am convinced that in order to act and be effective, you have to move beyond 'awareness' to consciousness.' An individual can be 'aware,' but consciousness' is a joint achievement with others. Do you see what I am saying? You must be able to lift your eyes to include in your sight the others who are with you in the same predicament. Then together you have a basis for assessing the potential for change according to the combined abilities of everyone affected. Once you can see others and the surroundings that you are operating in, you have a tool for making a distinction between who can assist (friends) and who can harm you (enemies) in the quest for freedom. Somehow consciousness shifts you beyond waking up to getting up and taking care of business."
"It is consciousness that shifts your focus, letting you see others and opportunities that were there unnoticed all along." I turned to address the entire room, asking, "Have any of you ever seen those books filled with pages of blurry colored dots called 'stereograms'?" Most people shook their heads and gave me blank stares. "If you hold a type of image in front of your eyes and shift your focus, an entirely new picture emerges out of the old one, an image you do not see by Just glancing at the surface. If you tried it, you would know what I mean by seeing something fascinating in what you might have missed."
My hostess jumped up saying, "My son has one of those books. I'll get it." She soon walked into the room proudly displaying the volume. Several people attempted to hold the pages in front of their faces, focusing their eyes and slowly pulling the book away. Suddenly someone would say, "Yes! I see a rabbit" or "There is a Volkswagen in the center of the picture. You can even see the side-view mirror on it"
I had lost my audience to this game because everybody was eager to try it I tried to get their attention. "I only mentioned these stereograms because, as far as I can figure it out, consciousness involves a similar kind of shift which allows a person to visualize the world differently. When you see the world aligned in a new way, you suddenly understand how your actions will make an impact. Karl Marx influenced the world by enabling people to see social and political dynamics differently from how they had seen them before. They began to see 'labor' and 'capital,' and then saw that existing groups in society were aligned very differently around capital. They realized how labor needed to change its position worldwide."
"Oh, great, are you going to start preaching Marxism to us now?" asked a person who had worked in the Dergue's government
"I had not planned on it, though I never saw a person who understood Marx less than you do, and you officially declared yourself a Marxist, if my memory is correct," I retorted. "Marx's ideas inspired laborers to see each other and to take action together to chan e their circumstances. He changed their consciousness. He changed 31at they saw as possibilities. The world is now an extremely exaggerated version of what Marx saw and his formula for change does not apply as written. But the general point I am making is not about Marxism, but about the power of consciousness. If you are able to see yourself dearly as part of a force, then you are motivated to make changes, by doing something which leads to a remedy. The logical conclusion is, if you gave done nothing about a problem, you are not conscious."
"So you are saying that none of us here in this room is conscious?" my philosopher friend asked me from his corner.
"Have you ever heard of false consciousness?" I asked him back. He merely smiled, so I assumed that he knew what I was talking about I continued by addressing the others, "False consciousness is a dangerous thing. It is the false idea that we know something when we do not know or that we have an answer when we do not. It deactivates people by stopping the search for a solution. It is a powerful form of blindness, if you ask me. False consciousness has paralyzed Oromo who are educated by causing us to think that we know and do not need to look further for answers. As a result, we don't even see each other.
"Most Oromo who claim that they are 'politically conscious' are not. At most they are aware of the Oromo condition but they are victims of false consciousness. They do not have a plan of action; they have stopped working on finding a solution. They are also some of the dullest, mentally-castrated people have met. Of course I am not talking about the good people in this room." (To be honest, however, there were two guys there who fit this description perfectly, but out of consideration for my hostess, I did not point them out by name.)
"Such people do nothing. They adopt an air of superiority, but the only difference between them and an ordinary person who does nothing is that these people do nothing inside political organizations and other people do nothing outside of political organizations."
When I raised this issue, the dinner guests were uncomfortable at first because some were members of those Oromo organizations. Finally one man cleared his throat and said, 'You are right but it is worse than you say. Even those Oromo who are on the inside of different political organizations are not talking to each other. They are isolated from each other in separate camps. The camps are so separate that members do not cross each other's territory. I made the mistake of going to the meetings of both last year, and I was viewed as a traitor. When they meet within their own camps, the main agenda is to discuss what the devils in the other camp did or did not do, sometimes even what they might do. They spend a lot of energy on ways of keeping one's own organization free from contamination of the other camp s position. on one side the members spent the whole night talking about the merits of seeking 'independence,' which they considered to be the only principled position. On the other side they talked about 'self-determination,' which they are convinced is the only realistic position to take if you want results in your lifetime and you need allies for your effort Each calculates how the 'enemies of the struggle' work through the other to prevent their success. I am an Oromo nationalist, but their attitudes drove me away from politics."
Many people then entered the discussion to give their opinions about Oromo political organizations. One person remarked, "Even though I refuse to be apart of those squabbles, I do feel that somehow Oromos in America should take a lead in building solutions now."
He was challenged by a very well-dressed man I had known in high school, who said, "Do you really think that we, here abroad, should lead in this process? I believe that the solution should come from the home only. We cannot lead a revolution by remote control. It is arrogant to think that we can do it from here." Then I jumped in by turning to him "My friend, thank you for providing a perfect example of the kind of sophisticated excuse used by people abroad to escape responsibility for the struggle. These excuses keep people immobilized." I looked directly at him. What do you really mean by "home front?" What is the model you have in mind when you visualize the "home front?"
AWell," he said, "we have to fight a war of independence, don't we? If so, how do we do the fighting if we are not physically there?"
I could not hold my tongue, "It may surprise you to learn that the world has changed around you since you were in the student movement in the 1970sl Then people showed their loyalty to the cause (and also showed how macho they were) by posting photographs of armed liberation fighters on their walls and saying that our fate was in their hands. That gun was the only kind of strength we recognized. Don't try to deny that you had such posters on your walls. I have been to your place. I have seen them! Listen to yourself now. You are still thinking that way. What you just said reveals how you picture the . struggle for Oromo liberation' in your head. (You are not alone in thinking this way, either.) You see that the primary actors are armed soldiers on a battlefield or across a plain in Oromia brandishing automatic rifles. It is clear from what you say that you are not sure what your part is. The struggle is going on far from you and you have no direct communication; therefore you say the you cannot presume to take a leading role in that process. It would feel like remote control."
AWake up, man!" I told him. "The revolution we are engaged in is not primarily a military enterprise as you see it (although the armed dimension is indispensab7e.) It is a process of repositioning the Ororno among the forces of the world. This effort can take many forms in the 21st century. It is a multi-dimensional work with many 'home fronts. Such a war is fought from several angles on several fronts with entirely new types of ammunition. In these days a computer is as powerful a weapon as an automatic rifle -- though the posters probably won't sell as well. To be successful in a worldwide effort; a movement has to be highly conscious, not only of themselves, but also of all the locations in which the battles are taking place, how they are connected and, most of all, the desired outcome. As I see it this type of struggle involves bringing the! full society into view and recasting the energies of all its people and allies. I think that eve Oromo, and many non-Oromos, out there would be happy to see and 7nd a positive connection with a free Oromia, regardless whether they are political or not today."
Predictably the discussion concluded with a debate over the pros and cons of armed struggle, as many political exchanges do.
Since I had begun to feel emotional, I knew it was best to bite my tongue. It is probably better for me to write my views rather than to blurt them out to my surprised friends in politically mixed company, anyway. My real view is this: At this juncture I think it makes no difference at all whether Oromos seek self-determination through federation or through independence! Without a new design for Oromia's future, both will fail. Those who would go without an inclusive master plan to a table to negotiate with Ethiopia and with international forces for Oromia's seif-determination are inviting these same Abyssinians and international forces into Oromia through the front door to determine Oromia's future. And likewise, those who would go without an inclusive master plan to the battlefield to seek a brave and bloody military victory for independence are inviting the same Abyssinians and international forces into Oromia through the back door to determine Oromia's future after independence.
Of course as I make this observation, I have fresh in mind the newspaper and radio reports from East Timor. What I have learned from those accounts is that a free and independent sociopolitical system for Oromia would have to be well negotiated and well planned among the Oromo long before the colonists pulled out of Oromia. This applies whether they pulled out as a result of a negotiated settlement or a military victory. It will probably end up being a combination.
Right now both of the two major Oromo political camps, and the others, too, are stuck in a false consciousness. They have no results but they see nothing wrong with their current positions. That is why they cannot even find a way to each other for discussions on any subject, let alone the future of the nation. Neither camp has admitted that they are empty-handed and that there is no master plan. The reality is that w e have to start from scratch now to design one. So what? Is it so terrible to admit this now? It is definitely better than starting from scratch after independence, when our failure would force us to give up our freedom before tasting the sweetness of it
Unfortunately, the Oromo have not yet realized that we have to build Orornia as a shared enterprise, recognizing that Oromia, like any large society, is made up of diverse peoples. The political groups who say they seek self-determination have not declared an intent or taken steps to adopt a joint vision or a joint venture. That is why I say that the Oromo people are not yet conscious. They do not yet realize that they need everybody to get where they want to go. A single group cannot develop consciousness by itself let alone produce a design that will effectively guide the nation.. Why do I say this? It is because consciousness grows out of a shared vision and a knowledge derived from the possibilities that are open to an entire nation that is vital for learning the range of possibilities available to a nation that is ready to act in concert. Each participant's experience and abilities expands the prospects and increases the nation's means of survival.
Oromos need to bring one another into their sights and to plan. Attempting to get people to open up to talk is probably more difficult than starting a new political party. I have seen a couple of efforts initiated by Oromo to bring diverse groups together. Nothing succeeded yet. There was an accord floating around and more than one call for unity and co-operation, in addition to many statements issued on all sides. But Oromos have not yet hit on a way to include everybody who has an interest in seeing Oromia succeed. There are hundreds of people out there who have never spoken up or been heard.
When Oromo begin to see each other as friends rather than as enemies, begin to visualize their prospects together as a modern nation and begin to take steps to link up with one another to prepare for a functional future Oromia, then we will we will finally have proof that an Oromo national consciousness is beginning to bloom. That will be an important beginning indeed.
By H. Q. Loltu
P.O. Box 10192
Rockville, MD 20849
U.S.A
P. S. Please note the new Post Office box number. Mail sent to the old
address will not be forwarded to me, but will be returned to the sender.