Every Thuesday night I watched the sports news on TV. The sport program started with some clips including Abebe Bikila’s. Everybody knew Abebe Bikila and ofcourse was very proud of him. There was also a song for Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde. I never had the opporunity to see him live and can’t remeber seeing him or his funeral on TV either although I was born before he passed away.

I saw a whole film borrowed from Japanese Embassy at the basement of Medhaniyalem Church at Churchil Road and Abebe was long dead by then. I remeber there were about two hundred kids who usually make lots of noise in the dark when there is a film but that day Abba didn’t need to raise his voice. All was quiet from the start to end except for the cheering at the finish lines in Rome and Tokyo. Even after the film we were still quiet and Abba commented on that with deep emotional voice. My wife now was about six and her eyes were red and I tried to make fun of her when her father picked her up but I couldn’t say a word because my throat was hurting from trying to hold off my own tears. Half of the kids who watched the film were girls and almost all of them have cried and half the boys too. Abebe Bikila still has that thing which brings out emotion out of Ethiopians regardless of age and gender that no other can.

It truly sadness me that such an extraordinary person and a gift to Ethiopia and the world is not respected in a way that he deserves to be honored. It is a national shame and disgrace for Ethiopia. And it is not the fault of one government or another, it is the fault of the Ethiopian people in general.

I am sorry to say, but if this amazing man had been born in America, Europe, Asia, instead of Ethiopia, you can rest assured that his people will make sure that there are a gazillion of books, movies, exhibitions made about him. We don’t even have a foundation in his name.

That’s a shame.

Gosh, he was so handsome too.