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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

Chicago Defender, December 15 1923

“ABYSSINIA KING TOILS ON ROADS WITH SUBJECTS

American Missionary Saw Ras Tafari Lugging Stones for Mending of Roads.
His royal highness, Ras Tafari, king of Abyssinia, is not above going to a rock pile and carrying stones to mend a road, and doing so with the humblest of his subjects, according to Dr. Thomas Lambie, an Amerian medical missionary at Addis Ababa, Abyssinia. (…)
The king of Abyssinia has just given the site to erect the first modern hospital in his kingdom. (…) The medical missionary wrote that in his mind the stone carrying incident revealed ‘an unusual spirit on the part of an eastern king’. He said he thought this was a good illustration of the Bible command, ‘bear ye one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ’. (..)
‘When we got to the race track I noticed a big crowd of people coming along (…) Some very great man is riding out today, I thought to myself. (…) Yes, it most centrainly was his highness Ras Tafari himself, the ruler of Abyssinia. He saw me at the same time I saw him. We both raised our hats and I attempted to dismount from my horse that I might do him honor before his men. Over the heads of the crowd he smilinglu motioned me not to do so and passed on.
His Majesty Bears His Burden
(…) Everyone was carrying a stone on his shoulder. They had gone to Kugbana river and each had picked up a great stone and was carrying it back to mend the road in preparation for the rainy season which will soon be upon us. Yes, the ruler was with them: but surely he would not have to carry a stone. No, he would not have to, but nevertheless he was doing so. And as I saw him going out to do some menial work, as an example and to encourage his people, the words quoted above came to my mind. <<Bear ye one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ>>.
Dare anyone criticize and say, <<better to hire some one to do this work than to give his valuable time to such service>>. Abyssinia is not America or England. Our Lord in coming to earth might also have used different methods. He might have come as a ruler on an ivory throne, a place He was lifted to occupy as David’s greater son: instead, however, He washed His disciples feet. The servant should not be greater than his Lord.
And so I saw the ruler of Abyssinia, going to the rock pile and carrying stones to encourage his men, I felt he was doing a very great and kind service to them and to the country. He was teaching them not to be ashamed to work. I personally believe he is the hardest worked man in all this country. From morning until night he is engaged in seeing people, in giving judgment between disputants, and in a thousand and one duties that daily press upon him as the ruler of this great land, so that his friends tell me that he often has a tired and worried expression. In one sense he is the ruler of all, in another sense a servant of all.
An officer said that he did not ask anyone to do a work that he was not willing to do himself. (…) He has some who hinder and prevent him in his own country, and some of his greatest difficulties arise from the type of Europeans who come to this country, but I feel that a ruler who shows this spirit of willingness to help and willingness to serve will overcome all difficulties and will with patient effort place Abyssinia alongside of the great countries of the world.
Here is a lesson for each one of us. Do not set another to do something you think yourself too great to perform. Share their burden with them and thus you bear the burden for them.”
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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

The Modern is not above the Ancient

“Since the way of living of people at any period is closely tied up with the particular conditions prevailing at the time, we cannot look back to Ethiopia prior to the 20th Century and criticize the manner of administration of our forefathers. The reasons and difficulties that made the way of living then what it was can be accurately known.”
Don’t criticize I&I biblical fathers through your modern age mindset. Understand the different needs and opportunities of our Ancients through serious and original Ethiopian education.
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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

How can we Express without Education ?

 

“The extensive development of education should rank high in the list of your objecives. We have repeatedly stated in Our public utterances that ‘Knowledge is power and unity is strength’. If We had not developed education in our people, to whom could We have expressed this wish ? Praise be to Him, who has enabled Us to express it to the present as to future generations”. 

 

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

The Tribute of the Indian Community of Ethiopia

“This statue was erected by the Indian Community in Ethiopia in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of the Coronation of Haile Selassie I Emperor of Ethiopia, November 1955.”

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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

1st of March 1896 – Adwa Victory

“Just seventy years ago, Ethiopian armies formed almost as if by magic and hurled themselves upon a grasping invader to gain the immortal triumph of Adowa.
The victory of Adowa has long been hailed as one of the major events of the nineteenth century in Africa. Its effects upon Ethiopia and her relations with the colonial powers were far-reaching. Certainly it preserved the nation’s age-old independence from the greedy incursions then being made elsewhere against our brethren on this continent. Thus, although denied her rightful access to the sea and isolated from the influences of modern technological learning, Ethiopia nonetheless maintained her independence and stood as a source of inspiration and hope to her fellow Africans.”
H.I.M. Haile Selassie I, 5th of May 1966
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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

The Importance of Ethiopian Dams

“Almighty God in His infinite wisdom and bounty has blessed our Empire with various incomparable riches, not the least of which is the wealth of our country’s water resources. The development of these resources has been our constant preoccupation and we are today taking the first step in our programme for the fullest utilization of this God-given gift for the benefit of our people, marking thereby the high place which we have ascribed to the matter of water resources in our overall planning. Unlike so many lands around her, Ethiopia has been especially blessed with an abundance of natural resources, and the prolific amount of her annual rainfall makes her fitly to be called: ‘The Water Tower of the Horn of Africa’. Millions of square miles of territory, together with millions of human beings and their livestock depend on the water that flows from Ethiopia’s mountains, and from her comes more than two-thirds of the waters of the Nile.
It is the duty and privilege of this generation and of posterity to conserve and develop these precious resources. To fail to do so will be to fail in our God-given responsibility. In building dams for impounding these waters and utilising the hydro-electric power to be secured from them, we are giving a powerful impetus to all the programmes we have laid out for the economic development of our country. We are thereby protecting from erosion the rich and precious soil of our Empire, and are storing up waters for the irrigation of lands not as yet under cultivation, for increasing our agricultural and plantation potential. We are thus providing the sinews of industry through the generation of electric power, and finally, we are aiding the development of transportation in securing the means for its eventual electrification.” (…)
“Today is a day of deep historic significance, for in laying this foundation stone, we are establishing for our beloved people a source of wealth. This project constitutes the initial step both in the development and utilisation of the water resources of our Empire, and in the programme designed by us for enhancing the progress and expansion of all fields of economic endeavour of our country – agriculture, industry, transportation and communications. And we shall never cease to strive, as we have done in the case of the resources of these Awash waters, to exploit to the maximum each individual source of wealth which God Almighty in His mercy has bestowed upon us. It is our duty to see that yet other barrages are build in order to ensure that this bounty of Providence does not go to waste and is utilised to the greater glory of His handiwork.
This project is but the first step in a similar programme we have in mind for the other water courses of our Empire, such as the Nile with its volume and potentialities so vastly greater, as well as the Baro, the Atbara, the Sobot, the Akobo and the Webi Shebeli.”
H.I.M. Haile Selassie I
Laying the Foundation of the Koka Dam, 1958
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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

Don’t Listen The Propaganda News Media

“We remind you, finally, that all of you are by race, colour, blood, and custom, members of the great Ethiopian family. Although there may be local dialects, we must always strive to preserve our unity and our freedom. We can achieve this only by close co-operation and unified effort, and by struggling firmly against all propaganda trying to break Ethiopian unity and violate her freedom. It is inimical but easy to spread irresponsible news, trying to induce people to betray their country and step outside the path of truth and love of their country. It is to assume a great responsibility to give useful and sound advice and guidance to any intelligent observer who is willing to listen and profit. Such advice and guidance constitute a real source of life, because they reveal the path of truth and preserve the hearer on earth and in heaven. Even as every individual has the duty to sacrifice his life for his country, so also he must defend himself against subversive news and propaganda. You must not believe those who, being unable to think clearly or to achieve their ambitions, try to break the unity of the country with malicious news, in order to obtain temporary personal benefits.”
H.I.M. Haile Selassie I – Ogaden Speech, August 25 1956
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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

Learn Languages

“Difference in language often creates misunderstanding, and can seriously affect the responsibilities that are being bestowed on you. Lack of knowledge of the national language will be a barrier for the education we have in mind for you. In addition to your national language, it is necessary for you to acquire knowledge of a foreign language, for in this way you will not only acquire the basic education, but also will be able to attain the University standard. It is imperative that you encourage your children in the acquisition of education. It is exceedingly difficult for you to fulfill your duties as members of Parliament through interpreters. We have opened the door to education, and it is your duty to use that education. If, through idleness, you do not avail yourselves of this opportunity, you will have condemned yourselves to ignorance.”

–  H.I.M. Haile Selassie I – Ogaden Speech, August 25 1956

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Haile Selassie I - Teachings

Fear Egziabhier only

ETHIOPIA DEFIANT AS ITALY PLANS TO GRAB AFRICA
‘Ethiopia is not afraid of Italy. We are not looking for war, but if Italy invades our country, we are willing to die to the last man’.
Thus did Emperor Haile Selassie, ruler of the only absolute monarchy in the world today, and a descendant of King Solomon, answer Mussolini’s ultimatum.
Following this declaration, the Emperor instructed his envoy at Rome, Negradas Yesus, to say that Ethiopia would not pay one cent of the $44.900 indemnity demanded by Italy for the death of Italian colonials, nor meet the harsh demands of Italy.”
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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

The Kansak City Star, January 13 1963

‘KING OF KINGS’ LEADS TOWARD DEMOCRACY.”
The first faint stirrings of modern democracy are coming to Ethiopia. In the strange highlands of the African horn, it is no longer quite true to call his imperial majesty Haile Selassie I one of the last of the absolute monarchs.
The constitutional government he created in name 32 years ago is emerging at last as an infant fact. Recently the Ethiopian lower house of 251 members debated for two days a change in the penal code. The soil is fertile, its tradition proud, its people quick and its climate fine. Sitting on a plateau 8,000 feet above the torrid Red sea coast, Addis lives in continual springtime. (…)
Faced with these handicaps, the emperor in years past has run Ethiopia alone. He has worked day and night, looking personally into almost every plan and contract, appointing the most minor officials, receiving humble petitioners. (…)
Whatever happens, even the restless young men of Addis admit that Haile Selassie I, the king of kings, the conquering lion of Judah, by a superb personal effort has pulled his country into the modern age. There could hardly be another like him.