WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

 I am writing this after I heard that the Ethiopian government and TPLF signed an agreement. The war broke out almost two years back. After many months of provocations from both sides, they inevitably went into full-blown war. There has not been a war that has resulted in a great calamity as this one. It drained our country into turmoil; many have died, for some whereabouts yet unknown, and the majority left disabled.

The physical, social, and psychological damage a war results on society are unimaginable, let alone the economy. The trauma is for ages to come, and to heal takes years, if not decades. The young generation has been a casualty of this disastrous war and the consequences of which we are yet to see.  

Fathers are bearing their sons while mothers are crying for their lost children. The natural flow of life has been disrupted. The old have survived with despair, with no child to look after them. The young ones who have returned are handicapped, not even fit to run their own lives. Men turned disabled, bitter, and mean. Schools turned to ashes, shops demolished, streets abandoned, and homes left empty, which is disastrous to a nation.

The hate spread to fulfill war propaganda has roughened our social relations. A society once known for social harmony and love has become a tray of hatred and war. A turf we once lived together on has now been washed with blood and filled with bodies, bullets, and guns.

The brother we once hugged has now been hung up for target practice. We pulled out our swords on the loving neighbor we once sat across. The children that once played together are now threatened by each other. The sorrow that has swept across our country is in lack of words of expression.

We concluded a war in the north while neglecting the wars in the central regions. We put out one fire while lighting up another. A continuous cycle of guns and violence is roaming across our nation. The graves of the innocent are raised above the grounds, and the earth can’t cover up all the deceased. The leaders enjoy their privileges while the innocents are deprived of their living rights.

I am happy about the good news, but my heart still aches. Aches for the innocents forced into war, cries for the young ones missing limbs, throbs for the mother covered in tears and hurts for the father who lost his home to ruins, and anguishes for the children turned orphans.

Edwin Starr sang it well, “war…huh…yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” Yes, war is good for nothing. Absolutely nothing. “War, it ain’t nothing but a heartbreaker. War, a friend only to the undertaker.” There is no winner in a war, only the leaders who satisfy their thrust with the drink of pride and lust.

We, as a people, are only left with faith. The old ways of life we once enjoyed, where we lived in harmony, love, and trust, are not too far away. Although covered with dirt, bodies, guns, and dust, we shall rise above them and run toward hope. We can only dust off our past mistakes and live to see better days. Teach our children to love our neighbors and turn from our wicked ways. To live in the most honorable way and rise in good faith.

To have faith in better days, the restoration of the ruins, the helping of the disabled, and the remembrance of the deceased. To return to the days when children ran out to play on the field and didn’t see the dead. To return to the days when the young go out to carry out their visions and not carry ammunition.  To return to the days when elders enjoyed being cared for by the ones they raised and not taking care of the dead bodies of the ones they raised.

I believe the days of redemption are sure to come forth into revelation though they may linger, where all our sorrows will be replaced with joy, all our cries will be turned to smiles and all our wars to peace. I long and pray to God to help me see these days.

       Be all you can be.✌

Let me know your comments below.👇