Ghirmai Zemichael
When Mezeker’s name came up in a coffee shop discussion between friends, the youngest amongst us asserted that the social media influencer reminded him of Tilahun Gizaw – “an Ethiopian student leader who – despite belonging to a royal family – played a significant role in the Ethiopian student movement”.
Another similarly evoked Fredrick Engels’ name with relation to Mezeker. Engels was “a staunch critic of capitalism despite his bourgeois background”.
Then, as someone who is not keen on leftist politics or communist ideology, I pointed out that it’s the biblical Moses that comes to mind every time I see Mezeker’s one-man fight for transparency and good governance. The book of Hebrews 11: 24-25 states:
“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin”.
Mezeker, I’d imagine, wouldn’t deny that he’s born to privilege the TPLF establishment could offer. As such, it’s obvious in which camp he’d personally have been profitable had he bowed to the altar of the powers that be. Sure enough, Mezeker could obtain as many hectares of land as he wished around Mekelle and all over Tigrai. He could get involved in the illicit gold trade that would grant him hundreds of millions, and likely make him a billionaire. He could live in such lavish places as Dubai, Seychelles, Singapore, Europe the U.S., Canada, Australia, etc.
Instead, similar to Moses, Mezeker chose to side with those who have been on the receiving end of TPLF’s oppression, maladministration as well as with victims of war. Young men & women who have become physically and/or mentally disabled. Elderly parents, who have lost their children to war, hence have no one to care for them. Women & young girls who are forced to a life of prostitution. Children and youth who are living on the streets of Mekelle and as far as Addis Ababa, Adama, Hawassa and Dredawa living off of selling “soft” / tissue paper; feeding on restaurant leftovers or, worse, sniffing glue and benzene.
Time & Energy: As someone who gives writing a try, it never ceases to amaze me how Mezeker finds the time to prepare so many short and long news and analysis day in day out. His energy and stamina are simply remarkable.
Information literacy is defined: “Recognizing when information is needed; locating and accessing information efficiently; evaluating information and its sources critically; using the information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose”. To that end, not only does Mezeker have tremendous access to information, but also he knows how, when and for what purpose he needs to use it.
Creativity: Exploiting art, design and technology, Mezeker has indeed been conveying his message effectively.
Participatory: Mezeker clearly doesn’t want to be a one-man show. Hence, he encourages artists, technophiles, facebookers and tik-tokers to join hands, and become agents of change.
Sharing: Mezeker is not all talk. Time and again, he has demonstrated his generosity to share what he has with victims of war and the least fortunate.
Nicknames: Mezeker comes up with creative nicknames for the target political actors. Debretsion is ባቢተይ (which is like saying “my old man” in English hence calls for retirement); Fetlework is ትብለፅ (which has an opportunist or exploiter / በለፀኛ tone to it); Megbey is ወርቅአዝማች (the man’s association with illicit gold trade); ማይክሮጆን (to indicate John Medid’s love for the microphone); Haile Dedebit is Rambo (meaning “musclehead”), etc.
(If I may add my two-cent to this: As ዓዴት doesn’t deserve to be associated with “ኽሳድ ሓዙ”, how about calling him ገብረኢድየት / Gebreidiot?)
In all that, one can imagine how difficult this is for Mezeker. His parents live in Tigrai where there is a backward political culture that attempts to tie real or perceived transgressions of someone (in the case at hand the latter, of course) to his/her family. In fact, what’s consoling in this particular saga is that TPLF is no longer in a position to unleash its wrath as it used to. Still, the burden on his family is inconceivable.
Furthermore, Mezeker is a married man & a father, and one can imagine the heavy responsibility and the time constraint that comes with it. Yet, he sacrifices his time for the cause he strongly believes in, and the change he aspires to see in Tigrai.
Not everyone agrees with Mezeker of course; nor is that expected. Yet, one thing no one with good conscience can deny is his commitment and hard work for the people of Tigrai and their future.
To sum up, kudos to the one-man transparency & rights powerhouse Mezeker Abadi, and hope many more young people emerge to follow in his footsteps.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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