Najat Hamza
February 19, 20018
What is Freedom?
Freedom is defined as “the power or right to act, speak, or thing as one wants without hindrance or restraints. It is also explained as “absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government” or “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. It goes on to say, “The power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity.” (Dictionary)
I used the dictionary definition of what freedom means in words, but what does freedom mean to those who had to fight, die, be imprisoned, beaten, raped, or uprooted from their homes? Those who have paid for the price of freedom, freedom means much more than any dictionary could ever put in words. It means a father or a mother who would never come home to their families. It means a broken body rapped and ravaged by the enemy. It means losing years of your life in the darkness of prison and not being able to live out your life and desire. It means a youth who would never live his/her potential, have families or even live to see the change they paid for. It means a young couple would never being able to experience the joy of having a family and love they had for one another.
What does Freedom mean to me? My people? And My land?
We fought for freedom for many generations, with set backs and minor failures and moments of triumphs, we are here now. We are here in a crossroad where it is time to materialize what we have dreamed of for generations. What we have paid for as people collectively. Then I ask you, when did we accept the washed down version of freedom? The kind of freedom that the enemy can still sit on their chairs and speak of reform? There is nothing wrong with reform, if the enemy is gone, if the structure of power is completely dismantled. If we are the sole decision makers of our own destiny? But, we are not.
We have sea of people ready to take over that power structure, we have the youth being the fuel of resistance in Oromia. Where did we go wrong that we are still bargaining with the enemy about who is going to lead us? Who should be free from jail? How can a defeated enemy of the people, jailing, killing, uprooting and rapping our people be still at the negotiating table?
I do not care about who holds what political ideology nor do I endorse one over the other. I am just baffled as to what happened to the demands of the Oromo people? Who is responsible for the Irrecha Massacre? Calanqo massacre? Incarceration of over 30,000 Oromos who protested? 700,000 uprooted from their homes? What about the man created famine that claimed unknown number of lives? What about thousands upon thousands of lives we have lost? Did anyone answer for any of these atrocities? Or are our lives and suffering at all level forgivable offense anytime an entity can wave an item we want us? Most importantly, what happened to the right to freedom, the right to self-rule and the right to our own resources? What does freedom mean to us as people? as a Nation?
Why did we lose these precious lives? Why did we die and still dying? Did many take it to the street of Oromia putting their lives and the lives of their families, so we can have power brokers negotiate left, and right? What is freedom? What does freedom look like?
This is my humble opinion as an Oromo lady. I believe and know freedom is the ability for one to choose freely, whether that is a leader, a way of life or anything else. I understand some will say, we must take what we can to get to where we need to be. However, one must proceed with caution because there might be issues with this line of thinking. We fought for the right to choose and the right to be free, we should not water it down because 11th hour is hard and dark. We can, and We will. Freedom is our way out of the darkness and the clutches of our enemies in all forms.
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