|
I spoke on the subject of restoration architecture
last week, although I am neither a connoisseur nor a
practitioner in the field. As I reflected on the
piece, I realized that although it was something
that rang quite true, it focused on a single aspect
of what seems to be a malignant disease that has
infected the country for so long.
Still, as much as it identified a crucial aspect of
the problem, it did not get to the heart of it. The
issue is not the destruction of structures that have
been here for more years than many of us have been
alive. The truth is something even larger and
uglier.
The crux of the matter here is our unwillingness to
preserve history. The present government has failed
in this respect, just like its predecessors did. It
has almost become an Ethiopian tradition to
eliminate what existed before in an attempt to build
what we feel is a better society or reality. This
was the case when the Derg took over power
from the Imperial regime, just as it was when the
Revolutionary Democrats took over from them.
The infamous killings of the 60 top officials under
Emperor Haile Sellasie’s rule was perhaps one of the
most crippling to modern Ethiopian history. Imagine
the information that could have been gleaned from
them and the amount of literature that could have
possibly have been produced using the knowledge that
they possessed. They may not have been suitable for
a Socialist system, but they certainly did not
deserve their end.
The same can be said of the members of the Derg who
are rotting away in prison. I certainly would buy a
book authored by them or use them closely as
historical sources. These people decided the fate of
my family and the children and fathers of many other
families as well, knowing them would be a case for
more than just historical curiosity.
But none of this has been considered. Send an author
to jail, have them write their own memoirs, do
anything that would at least help us to have some
idea of things that we would not be able to find out
from other sources.
In the haste to get rid of a system or form of rule
that was repressive and sub-par in the eyes of many,
the manner in which it was done was harsh. Forget
the fact that the people who were overthrown had led
and decided the fate of this country for decades, it
was simply the need to annihilate that seemed to
take over. Whether we liked or hated the regimes
that were overthrown, the fact remains that they are
undeniably a part and parcel of the history of this
nation.
With that blinding lust to destroy and annihilate
also comes the inevitable after-effect of losing
considerable amounts of history while trying to
build that new system to get us out of whatever rut
we were in at the time. A prime example of this is
the statue of Lenin that used to stand in what is
now Africa Park, in front of the Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA).
Yes, it is not ideal that it should remain in one of
the most prominent sites in town, but is should also
not be languishing in some obscure government
parking lot until it disintergrates. It is, after
all, the largest statue of Lenin in the world. Those
of my generation grew up with it as one of the
artistic centrepieces of our lives. You cannot
simply hide away this piece of history and hope that
it will cease to exist. This is why museums have
been invented.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to
speak.
Urban populations have stopped handing down cooking
secrets, the church has lost much of its
credibility, foreign faiths are growing
considerably, urban children are no longer speaking
their native tongues and rural ones have no
significant grasp of the national language.
All the observations that can be made about the
modernization of this country are also the same
signs that point to the gradual loss of our
identities, our willingness to discard them, and the
lack of effort there seems to be to at least try and
preserve the fundamentals. Everything is modern,
shiny, plastic and Chinese. Traditional ways take
too much time, too much money, and too much effort.
They involve more than any one of us are willing to
put out. And this is the cause of this contagious
disease!
We have forgotten the ways of the past and the
stories of old, because it is simply more convenient
to do so, and it does not ruffle the feathers of our
modern lives. It is easier for the museums to
maintain their old exhibits rather than actually
come up with some money and to improve them. It is
easier to disregard the way things used to be,
because after all, you cannot go back to the past,
can you?
Remember though, that the easiest way is more often
than not the wrong way. The narrow route has since
biblical times been travelled only by a few.
|
