Compassion is at the core of real togetherness. If I can’t express my grief for your pain, then claiming your victory as my own is heartless pride
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I celebrate the remarkable performance of Ethiopian runners at the 18th World Athletics Championships in Oregon. They exhibited extraordinary athleticism and exemplary teamwork. They are rightly praised for their triumph.
But it’s worth noting that three of Ethiopia’s four gold medalists — Letesenbet Gidey (10K), Gotytom Gebreslase (Marathon), and Gudaf Tsegay (5K) — come from Tigray. Due to the Ethiopian government’s brutal siege on Tigray, these extraordinary women are not even able to call their families back home, much less visit them and share their joy.
Many Tigrayans still don’t know if their family members are dead or alive due to the communication blackout. More and more footage of starvation continues to emerge from Tigray despite the federal government’s attempt to silence and erase this evidence.
When these three women won gold, I saw my Ethiopian friends euphorically celebrating Ethiopia’s greatness. Everyone was posting with ecstatic pride. But many of these same people loudly cheered for the war that devastated Tigray or remained totally silent about Tigrayans’ suffering. In fact, some bitterly attacked and ridiculed simple expressions of compassion.
Sadly, these Ethiopian nationalists’ celebration has struck me as cynical insult to injury. Their triumphant posts send a heartless message: “When you succeed, you’re ours; when you suffer, you don’t exist for us.” This is why I oppose nationalism: it idolizes places over the people who actually live there.
Celebration cut off from compassion is cynicism. Let us learn from these courageous, resilient women: togetherness in teamwork is the only way to truly win. And that togetherness requires not only sharing success but also sharing sorrow.
Compassion is our only true triumph.
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