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The Federal Police and by extension the state that
controls them, have made it comfortable for us to
live under a constant state of marital law.
It has been some time since I made this observation,
although putting it down in black and white is
something that I have been mulling over for the last
couple of weeks.
At first glance, the statement could to some extent
be construed as provocative and malicious, given
that the term martial law is often applied to a dire
situation. But, I choose to use the loose definition
of the word, in the meaning of a military presence
within city limits. It would be dishonest of me not
to admit, that mentioning martial law does not
exactly make for pleasant conversation, either.
Regardless of the semantics, the statement holds
true to such extremes, that it has even reached the
point where we feel neglected if we do not clearly
see the odd blue ranger presence of the Federal
Police in major, if not all parts of the capital. I
for one do not have a comfortable day if I do not
come across them during the day, particularly in
areas where you know they have camps or offices.
This is not because I have a particular fondness for
large guns, dangling dangerously from the shoulders
of men that do not have a smile on their face.
Neither is it that I am uninformed that if they were
to use those guns, it would be highly unlikely that
they would miss their targets. Rather, I am fond of
the fear and respect for even the most mundane law
that it unwittingly instils in me and other
residents of the city.
People know, whether through the grapevine or from
first or second hand experience that when push comes
to shove, it is not the Federals that are likely to
be on the receiving end of anything. They have, over
time, established an ironclad reputation for
themselves, which has indirectly caused people to
act right, simply to avoid having to deal with them.
The presence of the Federal Police has become a
method to guarantee a feeling of safety, whether in
residential neighbourhoods or on the main streets of
the capital. Whether we admit it or not, when we
know that the Federals are around, we know for sure
that we will not be getting our phones snatched or
run the risk of being assaulted in dark and
questionable areas. There are less hoodlums in areas
that they frequent, youngsters that have the
potential to become harmful citizens often watch
themselves when they are endowed with the knowledge
of what could happen dealing with the nice men in
blue.
And this is a level of fear and order that only this
particular force has been able to enforce. They have
become the benchmark in Ethiopian security forces;
because prior to having them openly take over the
security of the city, local police, whether at the
municipal or kebele level, were having a hard time
maintaining the rule of law. They were disregarded
and deemed incompetent by members of society that
were engaged in the criminal lifestyle, mostly
because they showed none of the severity of the
Federals. I have heard stories on more than one
occasion of gangs of hoodlums beating up policemen
in their neighbourhoods. I know of one officer that
had his rifle and all his clips stolen from him by a
group of young men that lived in the neighbourhood
that he was assigned to patrol. It had even gotten
to the point where the police were leaving the
criminals alone, mostly for their own safety, rather
than anything else.
Thus, the presence of the Federal Police has become
our unmentioned and unconscious safety net; it is
like that teddy bear that you just cannot throw
away, or the baby blanket that keeps you warm, even
as an adult. You know that they should not still be
a part of life in any way shape or form, but there
is nothing that you can do to detach yourself from
them.
Despite the fact that this is not the way that
things are supposed to be, the presence of armed
forces in the capital have not increased discomfort
as would normally be the case in such an intrusion,
but have instead increased the sense of security of
the people that they have been assigned to protect.
I, for one, love seeing the men in blue ranger
patrolling dark streets all hours of the night; I
like the guarantee that I can leave my car unlocked
no matter where the area, if there are the men in
blue casually standing around. They are like our
very own superheroes, minus the superpowers, that
have instead been replaced with very long clubs or
very big guns. The important thing is, whether they
are a superpower or the threat of a bullet, one
thing is for sure, the Federals certainly have made
it all right to live in martial law.
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