The Importance of Knowing Afaan Oromo

Today's blog goes out to all the tech-savvy teenagers, 20-somethings and Oromo youth in general living in the comfort of serene suburbia.  It doesn’t matter whether you are from the States, Europe or Australia, and even less that you carry their passports. I want to talk about the importance of learning the mother-tongue and this is from personal experience. I am not standing on any high pedestal or high horse. I am sure that most of you reading this are better off, compared to me, when it comes to our precious language. I will be the first to admit this: I AM OROMO, yet ashamed to say I do not know my own language as I should, have remained distant from my fellow Oromo brethren as far as I can remember and an outsider despite the Oromo name I carry. Unfortunately, I am not the only person who has been beset with this dilemma.

Some of you might be thinking, "What is the point of learning a language that serves us no good in the country we reside?" and from their perspective, they do make a point when you think about it. We have dispersed and diverged throughout the West, and the indigenous Westerner will not communicate in anything else but his mother-tongue. We, as a result, have succumbed to the pressures of adapting to this environment. But, as part of an immigrant populace, why should we conform to the ways of the Westerner? Yes, they might have welcomed us to their country and given us harbor from the suffering we fled, but respecting their rules and regulations, being contributing citizens, paying our taxes, etc. should be enough as a token of our appreciation. They speak their tongue among themselves, so why should we act any differently? It might seem too late, now, you all being adults leading demanding lives, but as long as you draw breath, be true to what you are.

The mother tongue is an integral part of our culture which comes in its own perfect package made up of our, shared, deep-rooted history, beloved traditions and rich literature. Remember that, centuries ago, our Oromo forefathers died to preserve our traditions, culture and way of life. Imagine the insult of this state that we the people of Ummata Oromo living in a free society of the 21^st Century do not pay homage to the fallen heroes with even the simple gesture of speaking Afaan Oromo? Still not convinced?

Then we are but ashamed of ourselves, not only our language. We are a disgrace to our brilliant ancestors, architects of the democratic Gaddaa System; we are a shame to a nation that is as old as Ancient Egypt, as civilized as Ancient Greece and as glorious as the Empire of Rome. We were worshipping the True God, while the human race was busy bowing down to idols and animal deities. We should be gracious that we are part of a bloodline with such honor and esteem, with a history unlike any other race to grace E. Africa, if not the mother continent as a whole, Mama Africa.  Show your pride in everything that says you are Oromo. Let not only your spirit be Oromo but also your speech…..Galatoomi!