By Ahmed Mohammed
“I am blown away by this earthly paradise! ’’ said Daniel while enjoying his strong cup of coffee. "Nature here always behaves this way” I replied, gazing at the thick forest and the Grand Dam Ethiopians planted. I felt the carbon sucked by each matured tree, making the coastal land comfortable to live in and help the soil retain moisture. Across the hostel, the manmade grey -sand beach was packed with diverse tourists, young and old, black and white, as usual. “Your forefathers have really re-engineered nature transforming the gray into greenery" he came again with thumbs up .He then had another cup of coffee followed by a rainbow colored juice, all harvested from the offshore. ‘I’m done, 'he said as the host brought him the freshly sliced fish he had ordered for breakfast .Soulfully feasted! I realized this newly made friend of mine was the perfect fit for me to talk about climate change and solutions that mankind should craft from this climate friendly project, a project which is now home to honeymooners ,preferred by dignitaries ,media modules ,tycoons and even by angels for something casual .
"But how did it happen, who alerted Ethiopians then to act before climate change shaved this all at once?” I asked myself. ‘’How righteous Ethiopians were to be picked by God, the same way He directed Noah to spare lives from the great flood, threats of climate change in our today's terminology .” Prophesy does mean to foresee threats of humanity too , and what Ethiopians back then did is now sparing East Africa from storm water runoff .This smiling hills of Africa have happened because of the Fifty Billion tree seedlings Ethiopians planted in the rally against climate change . What an aura theirs were to foresee the threats of climate change!’’ “Hats off!”
I saluted the architects of this beautifully nurtured nature. I felt Eve and Adam will make a comeback soon to spend weekends under the Oak trees, enjoying the rhythmic waves of the lake, accompanied by its lilies. “Did GOD Alerted you the potential threat Africa might encounter?’’ Daniel interrupted me as we hurried to the late night shuttle which we booked earlier on our way to Asosa, a city where guardians of the planet are set to meet the next morning, on their final push in the fight against threats of climate change. “We are close to GOD, and we face no difficulty communicating Him” I boasted about our proximity to GOD. Because he was a bit busy making a record of everything he noticed he failed to catch my boastful responses, or else he might have envied the man-made lake and its vibrant lives. He was salivated by everything we saw and even at one point he dared to exchange kisses with the ever green lips of the coast. We eventually boarded the waterway which was decorated with African touches. The captain turned the engine, and then played an African song of my favorite from Mali.
The moving song in harmony with the humming sound of the boat began its ritual, a ritual of offering comforts to life. Everybody became euphoric as the blue painted water vehicle kept floating over the manmade lake which is now bed and bread not only to Ethiopians but also the entire Nile Basin countries of over seven hundred million Africans, and even beyond. The water is clear crystal, and transparent enough for us to see schools of fish dance, life underneath. “I know, it’s heavily raining here in Ethiopia right now, but no storm water runoff here in the reservoir surrounded by cliffs and hills “he wondered what the mystery was behind.
“No flood has the right to make its way down to the lake, haven’t you heard of Billions of plants Ethiopians have planted half a century ago, a campaign the then PM of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed initiated ?” The evergreen trees you have enjoyed off shore are both beautiful and shields as well, to retain storm water runoff from joining the lake.” Because he was lost in his thoughts, no more details, I quited chatting with him and collected thoughts of. Think of clean water running down to riparian countries while leaving fertile soil of Ethiopia behind. No matter how Egyptian officials ventilate it to ease their domestic politics having GERD as an agenda, Ethiopians are committed off materializing their Vision after 25 years, i.e. Ethiopia by 2050.
Unlike many dams constructed by downstream countries on the same river, this Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is free of floods and scientifically proven for its resilience and climate friendly feature, which Egypt refused the project for no reason unclear even today. “When nature is nurtured, it behaves this way’’ the aura of mine whispered in my ears, the poetic and rhythmic waves of the water accompanying me in chorus. “This is the lung of Africa, even the planet; ’I dictated to him as he showed me his appetite to listen. “Perfect!’’ he approved my stance, quitting his busy hands from capturing as many smiling faces of the night. Every time yachts passed against nightly cruises, the lake turned into heavenly lights of heavenly colors.
Still lost in my deep euphoric thought, I continued thinking of old days of architects behind such a climate friendly aquatic monument, until the captain of the nightly water vehicle waked me up with a newly come out African song , the hit of the day. “Your forefathers were great, smarter than ours “he lit another exchange. “You know why, our governments have been in a hurry to Mars, not because Mars is comfortable to mankind, but mainly for their poor understanding to easily nurture what is at hand here on earth. “I’m saying yours were smarter than ours because yours ended up finding solutions of their own here on earth.’’ he kept accusing his nation of spoiling Mother Nature. “You contributed almost nothing to climate change, but have not been free from its threats. Fortunately, disadvantages always do have advantages to offer to victims.
You had time to look for a cure for it’’ he said. Then he asked me how I became a friend. “And this was how an incident has brought me to what I am today. I was late to school one early morning when I was stopped by a call, which I later understood was made by a tree which I discovered it later fell. “Help, help, and help!” it echoed in my ears. ‘I felt someone was at risk. Nobody was in sight. A while later, it cried out multiple times, how much closer to my ears .As I went back to cross check what it was, I saw a tree fall. ” I kept telling him from memory. “Back home, I asked my mother if trees could call for help, and her response impacted me forever, and later forestry became my field of study .The more mature I got, the more sympathetic I became towards plants and learned how to communicate with plants.” Daniel was busy making a record of what I was talking about for his travel stories back to London. ‘Plants too talk, you young man, approach them the way you approached to win the heart of the girl you have been once in love with.
I told you that I have a son, but I’m not his biological father. I’m happily married old man, but with millions of trees to take care of ,and fishing is my passion ,just like the character in the ‘The old Man and the Sea’ by Papa Hemingway .’’ He interrupted me after my lengthy story. “What happened to that hill then? " he smiled just the way that smiling hill of mine. ‘The hill is now smiling “I boasted of my bravery in transforming the over- grazed gray hill to greenery hill. “To your surprise, I once won a cli-fic literary award for which I earned accolades from many well-established magazines, including the Economist.
Half an hour later, we ended up finding ourselves there. We exchanged goodbyes before we took our respective rides. He headed to Resort Guba, my final point was Pub Mombasa, which is packed with birdwatchers. I unlocked the door, then my phone and skimmed through for my latest news feed. ‘Smiling faces of Africa’ begins the Washington Post on its travel page. What was left in my mind was this one. ‘Africa threatens to impose visa restriction against US officials unless it respects the Assosa climate deal,’ Swahili Daily of Kenya has its front page. And when I called for the bill next morning, I happened to meet a white waiter. I sensed from his eyes that he was still feeling homesickness, and couldn't even learn a single word of the local language. ‘Is this meant the first shall be the last,’ my soul reminded me of the word. ‘Amen! ‘I said as I left my room to meet Greta Thunberg, the respected climate activist.