Remembering the November Martyrs

November 7 2010
(Press Release)

The over three thousand years long history of Ethiopia is a history of struggle and sacrifice. As in any society, we Ethiopians have certain days set aside to look back and reflect on the life and sacrifice of our heroes who died so that we can live. November 7 is one of these days, and November 7, 2010 is the 5th anniversary of the brutal November Massacre, a massacre that claimed the lives of our fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers.

On Novembers 7, 2005 200 innocent Ethiopians were brutally killed and thousands more were wounded by a monstrous brute force that values personal power far more than human beings and their freedom. Ginbot 7 takes this opportunity to remind every Ethiopian that, as we remember the November Massacre, we must re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of freedom, roll up our sleeves, and complete the journey of liberty our beloved ones sacrificed their precious life for us in November 2005.

The martyrs of June and November 2005 lived to show us what unselfish giving is and they died setting an example of what one should do to accomplish an end that is greater than oneself. If there is one great lesson that we must learn from these self-less heroes, it should be the lesson that freedom, justice, and democracy are always born of great sacrifice, and they are never the result of tameness, indecisiveness, and selfishness.

Today, as we remember the November Massacre, we are being sternly reminded that those brave men and women died knowing that it is not what they took from the nation that made them eternally rich, but what they gave up. Therefore, let’s stand up straight, salute their life and sacrifice, and feel that bracing sense of freedom they bought for us in blood. Let’s memorize the November heroes by committing ourselves to finish the job they started. But, lets remember that memory is much more than simply remembering our fallen heroes; it is about ceasing the oppourtunity to generate positive energy for change.

Today, we recall and appreciate the martyrs of the 2005 post election crisis. However, even though it is a very important part of the struggle, our focus should not be on the sacrifice of life alone; but on the everyday heroism of our political leaders, teachers, peasants, entrepreneurs, workers, and students who courageously position themsleves at the forefront of the struggle against the most brute and deceitful force that our nation has ever seen. Ginbot 7 reminds every Ethiopian that the destiny of freedom in our nation and the destiny of the nation itself depends on the unstinting willingness of every freedom seeking Ethiopian to step up to those personal and national commitments and honoring the sacrifice of the November heroes by living a life worthy of the price that was paid for us on November 7, 2005.