Wake Jio Garbi:- Theology of Hope in the Oromo Struggle for Freedom – Historicity and Creative Responsibility

By Wake Jio Garbi*

The concept of theology of hope has its origin in the 1980’s when it was formulated by Jurgen Moltmann, who believed that Christian hope was something that we would need to start to experience on earth; it is not only hope after death. Jurgen’s book, entitled “Theology of Hope,” was first written in German. The book was translated into English and published in 1976. Jurgen was very popular for reinstating the doctrine of Christian hope in academic discussions. The theme of his book was connected to the turmoil of the 1960’s with the introduction of Christian hope to post-war victims. He asserted that Christians’ hope would need to start on earth.

Historicity and creative responsibility in this article are used to illustrate that the Oromo people had consolidated their unity to protect their country from their enemies for centuries until the Abyssinian colonizers annexed Oromia in the 1890’s, and the bitter sacrifices the Oromo people have been paying to end the Abyssinian colonial power in Oromia. The ultimate sacrifices paid by Oromo heroes and heroines have resurrected the Oromo culture, language and history – which had been buried by the colonizer’s culture, language and history, respectively. Indeed, Oromo heroes and heroines have been igniting the fire of Oromummaa for decades.

Since the Oromo people have been experiencing political, economic and cultural exclusions under the Abyssinian colonialism, it is important to develop a theology that gives hope for the Oromo people. Therefore, I endeavor to contextualize the theology of hope to the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination. This theology aims to reconstruct the past and present history of the Oromo people national struggle for freedom and democracy, and connect it to the future hope of the people. It connects the people to the spirit of the times. It gears up on two ideas that have religious and political connotations.

First, I establish the concept of this theology of hope in the Oromo political context based on Bible in 1 Peter (1:3), which says, “Praise be to the God …! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope …” This verse starts with eschatology, not with creation. This verse also starts with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as we can see it in the previous verse. It demonstrates that the theology of hope focus on the Christian hope in the process right now, in the process of fulfillment. In this regard, the idea of hope in the process of fulfillment is a crucial point where theology of hope gets room in the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination. Waaqayyoo(God), who created and sustains the world, gives hope for His people.  This hope is not confined in the Church.

Waaqeffannaa and Islam give hope of freedom for the oppressed. Waaqeffattaa and Muslim accept that the Supreme Being holds the highest status. Waaqayyoo – who gives mercy and hope for the oppressed – is the central focus of Christianity, Waaqeffannaa and Islam. They accept that God is the Creator, all knowing, powerful, invisible and everlasting. These religions teach that God will set free the marginalized. God likes people to live in freedom, and He gives them hope.

Likewise, the statement of the first African theologians on a conference in 1966 indicates that God is for all people. He is the God who gives hope for the unprivileged. Mbiti (1989 b: 61) stated that the first African Theologians’ conference was held in Ibadan on the theme of “Biblical Revelation and African Belief.” A consensus was reached “that God whom African religion acknowledges is the same God as in the Bible.” The participants unanimously expressed this in the following statement:

We believe that God and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ … has been dealing with humankind at all times and in all parts of the world. It is with this conviction that we study the rich heritage of our African people and we have evidence that they know God [Waaqayyoo] and worship God. We recognize the radical quality of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ … This knowledge of God is not totally discontinuous with our people’s precious traditional knowledge of God.

Second, the sacrifices the Oromo people have been making in the fight against the Abyssinian colonialism and to reinvent their independent state – have given hope for the futurity of Oromia. The role which has been played by Oromo heroes and heroines can be seen as one of the backbones of the theology of hope in the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination. Undeniably, their contributions make the Oromo become attached to their past, present and future histories. It is important to remember that, today, because of the unforgettable sacrifices they paid to resuscitate Oromummaa from the trashcan of Ethiopianism, many Oromos are able to say boldly, ‘I am Oromo, and Oromia is my country.’ If the Oromo heroes and heroines had not played a role, this chapter would have been meaningless. The Oromo people should take this seriously, and stand firm to go forward together following the footsteps of those living and martyred heroes and heroines.

The legacies of our heroes and heroines teach the Oromo people to say, ‘NO!’ – to the TPLF-led Ethiopian government’s false ideologies that have fabricated a demand on the Oromo people to abandon the demand/struggle for statehood.

This chapter explains that the Oromo have a strong history. The Oromo themselves direct their destiny and shape their history. The chapter demonstrates that the theology of hope urges active and peaceful participation of every able-bodied Oromo in the Oromo national struggle for freedom and democracy in order to end colonial power, and bring peace and hope for all in Oromia. Considering the Oromo experiences of struggle for freedom, justice and peace in the past and present, I argue that liberation is not beyond the Oromo’s reach.

Courage in the Oromo History
The distinctively Oromo safuu (ethical and moral code) of responsibility means that we must never forget that historicity of the Oromo people’s struggle for freedom, peace and democracy is an essential dimension of the Oromo existence.

Like any society, the Oromo people’s experiences always mediate the passage from their past into their future. The current national movement for the right to national self-determination of the Oromo people truly indicates the increasing national-identity awareness of the people both in Oromia and in the Diaspora. It also proves that the strong desire of the people for freedom is galvanizing the Oromo from different walks of life. This movement, indeed, evidences that the double challenges: external and internal political crises they have been experiencing can bring creative direction to what the Oromo have learned from the past as their common heritage. Nevertheless, this is only possible if the Oromo, as the whole, and, particularly the political and religious leaders, are willing to accept the challenges of the present Oromo political trauma and the expectations of the future, and they act responsibly and creatively.

I would like to strongly express my view that, to stick to the status quo with its false security is to obstruct the history of the Oromo people. I dare to express this because there is no way to begin the Oromo ethical and religious existence outside of the Oromo people common past histories and their present histories. Reinhold, Niebur (1960: 112, 124) supports this argument. He states that human beings can get knowledge from history. This is true for the Oromo people. As moral beings, the Oromo can learn from their past and present histories, and this helps them to receive the capacity to reflect critically on the past and present situations, and to meet history consciously, gratefully and critically for the futurity of Oromia. It is very important to know and consider for the apolitical Oromo, and for some Oromo religious and political actors who deceive the Oromo people to ignore their past histories and remain under the Abyssinian colonial yoke. In addition, the entire Oromo people should also know that the propaganda of the Abyssinian either political or religious actors to preach the Oromo to forget their past history and start new life from now under the umbrella of Ethiopiansim is just delicacy and malicious. The Abyssinian colonizers do not want to recognize or ask apology for the wrong they have done against the Oromo people since the time they colonized Oromia, yet they preach the message to forget it and be passive when they are exploiting human and natural resources in Oromia; killing Oromo students and intellectuals; and evicting tens of thousands of the Oromo farmers from their ancestral farmlands and setting them up to foreign investors with cheap prices or give them to their members of cabinet. Accepting slavery is not the will of Waaqayyoo. It is godly to refuse oppression.

The Oromo people need religious actors who can nurture unity and tolerance, and who can make their voices be heard through a nonviolent struggle. Certainly, freedom from Abyssinian atrocities needs a creative response, that emanated from the Oromo’s past and present histories. The response should come from every Oromo individual. As far as Oromia is under Abyssinian colonialism, the Oromo people are automatically inserted into the history of colonization, and this makes the Oromo to consider their past, present and future histories – and put all their powers together to strengthen the nonviolent struggle for freedom of Oromia, in which everybody will enjoy equal rights and share equal responsibilities with indigenous people. The Oromo people will get nowhere without unity to destroy the century-lasting Abyssinian colonialism and to reinvent Oromia, in which all will live in peace. It is similar to what P. Tillich (1960: 32) said about Christian hope. He argues that there is no way that Christians reach eternity except through the precious gift of Jesus of history. Likewise, in openness to the present, the Oromo can come creatively in contact with the state they demand – which reaches the Oromo people out of the past and leads them into freed Oromia, in which the Oromo generation will live without fear of colonizers’ bullets. In no other way can the Oromo people reach out their destiny except through their past, present and future histories. Those who sing that the Oromo people should forget their past histories and start new life under the Ethiopian colonial Empire, which TPLF is attempting to reinvent by the name of fake federalism – in which political and economic power has fallen and suffered in the hands of Neo-Yohannesites, should know that the past is connected to the present, and the present is connected to the future. There is no society without past experiences. There is no society which predicts about its futurity without reflecting upon its present experiences.

The Oromo People Have Past and Present Colonial Memories
Naturally, human being’s experience is mediation of the past and into the future. It is not different with the Oromo people. The Oromo people’s achievements and failures of the past in their national struggle for the right to national self-determination come to them through their culture and through the whole formation of the Oromo collective memory. As individuals and as communities, the Oromo gain their creativity and freedom through their memory of the past. On top of that, the questions – how, why, when, where, whom and who – to interpret the past memory and relate it to the present struggle to end the Abyssinian colonialism, also play significant roles for the freedom of Oromia which has already begun. By this creativity and freedom, the Oromo can overcome obstacles that are set by the colonizers and their collaborators, and they can also inherit the achievements which creative liberty has invested in the past.

The TPLF ruling elite’s propaganda message that the Oromo should forget their past history under the Ethiopian Empire, as if it had never happened, and start new life does not work. The Oromo people clearly know that their history did not start with the TPLF-led dictatorial regime that took political power in 1991. The Oromo have a history spanning centuries in Oromia, and they have at least a century of experience of the Abyssinian colonial rule. In addition, the Oromo also know that TPLF – which is exploiting human and natural resources in Oromia; and which is killing, torturing and imprisoning thousands of Oromo nationalists – is ruling over them by force.

In the Oromo culture, there is a moral principle of time which guides them to react or act against the past and the present where and when it is needed. The Oromo people are the subjects of their history under the Abyssinian colonial ruling elites. Their cosmic philosophy teaches that the past can affect the present and the future. The Bible (Isa 57:15; Heb 13: 8; 1 John 2:17) also teaches that Waaqayyoo is God of the past, present and future. Waaqayyoo is God of history. It is only human beings who are created in the image of Waaqayyooand have capacity to rethink, reconstruct and reinterpret history. Hence, I argue that the memory of the past and the balanced judgment together are the forces of creativity that conducts a constant battle against the influence of the past colonial atrocities and their present human rights violations in Oromia. Of course, the Oromo memory gives to many a new meaning and new direction to the current Oromo horrific political situation under the TPLF regime. To the extent that the colonizers exploit Oromia and to the extent the Oromo people continue to struggle for freedom, the Oromo will determine the way to create a free Oromia.

Future Oromia Has Already Begun
The Oromo cultural memory is a source of their present activity. The Oromo never celebrate the memory of their heroes and heroines without thinking about the reason why their heroes and heroines had sacrificed themselves in order to inspire a hopeful and creative response to the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination. The legacies of those who perished for the sake of Oromia can guide the Oromo people to realize the weight of the Abyssinian colonial yoke on the shoulders of the Oromo. This legacy challenges the present Oromo national struggle and the possibility to emancipate the Oromo. The idea of the kingdom of God can be used as a good illustration here. The reign of the kingdom of God has already begun, and it is in the historical process. It has both present and future relevance.

The past memory, which unites the living Oromo with the living memory of martyred Oromo heroes and heroines, supports the development of nationalism and recognition of their history. This spark ignites the Oromo people national struggle for the right to national self-determination. This kind of prophetic spiritual connection helps the Oromo to communicate with those who perished for the sake of freedom of their people, and to understand their feelings and loves for the nation. It helps them to reflect on them critically in relation to the current Oromo political situation. The Oromo people are struggling to end the Tigrayan-led Ethiopian brutal and oppressive government in Oromia. Indirectly, the Oromo people are in the battlefield against the tremendous domestic and international support which the TPLF receives to exploit the resources of Oromia. Oromia is under an unacceptable regime of systematic exploitation. Even though it has been suffering from external and internal problems, the talk about the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination is being heard from Oromo in almost all walks of life. Now, it seems that even a new born Oromo baby’s first cry is ‘Oromia,’ ‘Oromia’. The past memory connects them to the present and the future.

The determination of the Oromo heroes and heroines to fight against injustice in Oromia gives the Oromo people hope of freedom. This hope is not mere hope. It is hope of emancipation from colonialism – which can and should be an energizing attitude, the bringing of part of the joy about some future event into the present so that, by anticipation, the Oromo are more alive and more able to act in the present to reach their destiny, freedom from all these kinds of colonization. The colonizers still need Oromia, but they do not need the Oromo people. As a result of this, the Oromo are determined to join the life-or-death struggle for their Waaqayyoo-given freedom as I have mentioned above.

Aptitude of the Past Experience and Present Moment
The Oromo proverb says, “Namni kaleesa isaa hin beeknee fi borii isaa hin yaadnee, har’a isaas hin beeku.” This roughly translated as,“One who does not know his past and who does not think about his future, does not know his present.” This proverb illustrates that the past experience radiates an incredible amount of emotion on the present, and the future makes it all more challenging. In other words, hope for the future is hidden in the present opportunities. Future hope is formed and born of the present. The past and the future are precious things in the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination. Their past memories help the Oromo to recall their experiences under Abyssinian colonialism. These experiences lead to ask the question why the Oromo continue to live as a colony. It also helps to fix their eyes on that very clear goal of liberation of the Oromo people, and examine how they are working and learning from their failures and from others to reach their goal.

Therefore, the past and the future are valuable. They provoke the creativity of the Oromo people to overcome the political trauma, which the colonizers have placed on their shoulders. The past cast lights on the present, and the future makes it all the more challenging. Thus, the Oromo people should use the present opportunities that lead them to their independent state with their maximum effort, knowing that the future Oromia is formed and born of the present national movement. The Bible gives metaphorical or allegorical advice that relates to the discussion. It teaches us to sow the seed now hoping that it will give fruit (Ecclesiastes 11:6). Naturally, the farmer gets the multiplied seeds or fruits of the same type seed he sow. Likewise, the Oromo people’s struggle for freedom will never end up with remaining under the Abyssinian colonial reign, but it will be accomplished with the independent state, Oromia.

I argue that theology of hope in the context of the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination gives zero guarantees for the spiritual megalomania and nausea that blindly expect Waaqayyoo to directly come down from Heaven to punish the oppressors and reinvent Oromia. Rather, this theology urges the apolitical Oromo Christians, and the entire Oromo people, to continue the nonviolent struggle to fight against injustice to bring justice and peace for all.

History confirms that, since they annexed Oromia in the 1890’s, the Abyssinian ruling elites have been using violence to subdue the Oromo people (Markakis 1998; Lewis 1996; Baxter et al. 1996; Bulcha 2011 and 2005; Jalata 1993 and 2007; Senbeto et al. 1998/2005; Legesse 2005 and 2007).

The Abyssinians’ use of violence to exploit the resources in Oromia, and violations of human rights are challenges to the Oromo people as to choose between violence and nonviolence, between evil and good, or between lesser evil and greater evil. As I have discussed previously, if the aim of the struggle is to end injustice, to help the oppressed, to punish evil and to bring peace for all and indeed not to avenge, some violence is unavoidable. In this regard, it is vital to distinguish what violence is and is not. In fact, it is violence for the one who wants to exploit others’ interests to be confronted. On the other side, it is not violence for those who attempt to punish evil, and bring justice and peace for all. For instance, what Jesus accomplished on the cross is perfect and legitimate for me. Jesus mercilessly pushed His chief enemy, Satan, and He has given me spiritual freedom, which has social and political meaning and implication. Certainly, Jesus has not only given me spiritual freedom nor made me subject to colonialism. Rather, He has given me spiritual and political freedom that should be practiced in everyday life. It is my duty to exercise my rights to ensure that I am created to live in freedom, not to be enslaved. On the other side, for Satan, what Jesus has done on the cross is an unacceptable violence since he (Satan) lost his interest and power to rule over those who were under his influence (Matt 8). No matter how his interest is morally supported or not, no one remains passive when his interest seemed to be taken away or snatched from him.

Some scholars argued that Jesus was violent and aggressive. For instance, Ellens (2004) described Jesus as a violent and aggressive according the narrative about his cleansing the temple and chasing out those who had been selling and buying in the temple (Matt 21). Also, he argued that Jesus spoke aggressively to His mother Mary at the wedding in Cana (Luke 8). Moreover, Ellens contended that Jesus rebuked Peter violently (Mark 8).

Likewise, many Abyssinian colonial ruling elites and writers often consider the Oromo struggle for freedom and justice as violence and often attempt to defile the Oromo history. It is not surprising that one’s own freedom fighter is other’s enemy. Nonetheless, in reality, colonization is violence. On the contrary, liberation is a godly thing, and gives hope for the unprivileged and oppressed. The combination of these two terms: colonization and liberation – needs further dialogue with regard to the emancipation of the Oromo people from the Abyssinian oppression, which is must, by whatever means the Oromo deem necessary.

The Oromo people should continue an uninterrupted peaceful struggle against the Abyssinian colonial rule in Oromia. Oromia should be a country in which everybody enjoys equal rights. It is also important to know that our opponents have equally inviolable and unalienable dignity with us. This theology teaches the Oromo people that they and the colonizers have equal inviolable and unalienable dignity. Indeed, it depicts that the Oromo nation lacks freedom, and view of the futurity of Oromia. It is a theological prophetic voice that tenderly comforts the people that Oromia is in making. Bulcha (2011: 656) supports this argument and asserted that “The Oromo nation is a reality and the Oromo state is in making.” Moreover, it is not false comfort and hope. It awakes the apolitical Oromo not to allow themselves to be lulled into sleep by the sweet promises of the TPLF propaganda of bogus democracy, which is keeping the Oromo people in a situation of exploitation, injustice and poverty – and to await for Waaqayyoo to make all things anew. It urges the oppressed people to work on their God-given freedom everywhere and every time. The theology of hope encourages the Oromo people that they are the power of themselves who can emancipate them. It challenges the entire Oromo people to think critically and reflect on the past, present and the future so that the Oromo national struggle for the right to national self-determination will be achieved. And, this will bring the sorrow and agony of the colonized people to an end before our eyes. In short, the Democratic Republic of Oromia is already, but not yet.

Waaqayyoo bless Oromia!

* The author, Wake Jio Garbi, is currently studying a dual masters degree program in Theology (MA) and in Society and Global Issues in Europe, and can be reached at waktheophilaw@gmail.com.