Thousands of Ethiopians huddle at Cafés witnessing the birth of the people’s power in Egypt; a group of elders speak in whispers about regime change; mothers are subtly monitoring what their children are watching after midnight hours; the young, the old, men and women, are busily surveying the internet wherever they can; ten and more Ethiopians are sharing newspapers and informing themselves.

The Ethiopian imagination is planning an uprising. The question is how, when and where.

Tyranny is watching. It has already begun silencing writers. Writers are already indicted for inciting violence. A few have been accused of inflammatory activities. This is the language of despair. The voice of the voiceless cannot be silenced.

The Ethiopian soul is crying for Justice, exactly as its Egyptian counter parts; the Ethiopian imagination is constructing the lineaments of radical democracy; and the upcoming protestors promise non-violence and moral intelligence to guide their paths; religious Ethiopians are praying to God to protect them from the forces of those who are ready to kill them.

Change, change now, is on every Ethiopians’ quavering lips. The people are remembering the marches of 2005. Some remember the Eros Effect fondly. A few remember the young who were massacred on daylight. Mothers are still mourning.

This is remembrance of things past. No condition is permanent is written on people’s faces. We shall rise again, peacefully and collectively.

They sing in unison:

The people united
Will never be defeated.
The imagination stimulated
Cannot be truncated.
We are peaceful
Our souls are crying for change.
We march on the green grass of peace
Our hearts are impregnated with hope
Listen to us the God of mercy
Open the hearts of our rulers
Make them let your people go.

What they want now are marches with a program, with a vision for change. For that they await the service of the Ethiopian imaginary, the imaginary of Adwa, the revolutionary marches of 2005.