(The Horn Magazine) — On October 5th, 2016, hundreds of people gathered at Pershing Square in Los Angeles to see the woman who is fighting for peace, universal healthcare, and the rights of marginalized groups in America. The crowd roared for Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, as she talked about bringing down the two-party system and putting an end to the country’s history of committing and supporting discrimination. Before she went on stage, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Stein and get her thoughts on the Ethiopian government.
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YahNe Ndge (L), Kor Element (R)) ©2016 by R. Hull andjusticegazette.org
As a reporter for the PawPrint, Bonita High School’s newspaper, I attended the rally in hopes of hearing about Dr. Stein’s policy towards countries that disregard human rights. Pershing Square, which seemed to be deserted, was soon packed at the sight of Jill Stein. What was a night filled with speakers and poets demanding Native American soverignty, clean energy, immigrant rights, and an end to crippling student loan debt and mass incarceration, became even more remarkable, when Jill Stein did what no other U.S. presidential candidate has been able to do- condemn the killings of innocent Oromos by the Ethiopian government.
Early October, hundreds of Oromos (a tribe in Ethiopia) were killed in a celebration when they started chanting about the current regime stepping down. This is the same regime that has senselessly killed and tortured thousands of Oromos for decades. I asked Dr. Stein to respond to the actions of the Government of Ethiopia and she choose to condemn the killings of Oromos.
Dr. Stein said, “The fact that the Ethiopian government was terrorizing people who were asserting their basic rights of democracy is a very terrible thing.”
While I was ecstatic to hear Dr. Stein’s remarks, her statements were predictable. Jill Stein represents the Green Party, which has always been known for promoting peace worldwide and condemning decisions by the United States to support dictatorial governments. In fact, no other U.S. presidential candidate has criticized Israel and Saudi Arabia, U.S. allies and known human rights abusers, like Dr. Stein has.
Jill Stein & Pershing Square crowd ©2016 by R. Hull andjusticegazette.org
However, if Dr. Stein and the Green Party have been consistent on denouncing abuse abroad, why did she require a question from me to acknowledge what is happening in Ethiopia?
The answer is that death and torture is not as meaningful if it is coming from Ethiopia. While the death toll may continue to rise everyday, even well-meaning liberals and peace activists will not take notice unless we force them to.
Every soul in Ethiopia could be terminated by the Ethiopian government and not one media station would cover it. People on all sides of the political spectrum that are not living in Ethiopia will never take notice of what is happening on their own fruition. Instead, Ethiopians all across the world must be the ones to demand actions and statements from political leaders and news organizations. We must be the ones that shout at the top of our lungs until the cries of Oromos are heard, because the lives of our brothers and sisters depend on it.
Makaria Yami, Jill Stein, and Miles Nolte at Pershing Square.