Montag, 23. September 2013

Speech of The Day (329): AIRMEN CONTRIBUTE TO COUNTRY’S SELF-DEFENCE





AIRMEN CONTRIBUTE TO COUNTRY’S
SELF-DEFENCE


….. We feel happy because we believe that the knowledge you have acquired will be put to the advantage of the country’s progress and that your service will greatly strengthen the country’s ability for self-defence, and so help it in attaining the stage of progress. We also feel that the service you will render will bring Our efforts to fruition.
Having personally witnessed the knowledge and flying ability you have acquired in the course of your studies, We can say that you have reached a stage worthy of praise. However, the knowledge you have so far acquired can only serve you as a basis for further endeavours and you will be considered as experts and be of real service to your country only if you faithfully maintain the good name earned by your outfit and strive to bring a good reputation to your country and people.
As you may judge for yourselves, the airplanes that will be here in the future are very much different from those that have been used so far, and will therefore require greater imagination and ability to handle them. Those people who will be entrusted with their use will bear heavy responsibilities and will, therefore, be recruited very carefully. We feel that you also realize the need for attaching special importance to this aspect. However, and as much as you have been given sound education and a good start, you can fulfill your obligations only if you strive for higher and better endeavours. This must be your aim and goal in life.
Earlier we made reference to the good name you have earned. Your reputation is not only known to us but also to all Africa. To name but a few, carrier planes have been used to transport the Ethiopian contingent to the Congo, and since a year jet planes have also been made available for UN service in that Republic. Our planes have also been used at the time when our neighboring and brotherly people of Somalia were affected by flood. All these have helped in making Ethiopia better known in Africa. It can also be said that African countries sent their youth for training here with you because they were aware of the good name you have earned in the past.
We shall always strive to render you better facilities for education and also better quality equipment. Our thanks are due to all those whose help and support have been indispensable for crowning your efforts with success.
Sept. 23, 1962.


Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 34 –     




Speech of The Day (328): CORNERSTONE: ARTS BUILDING



CORNERSTONE: ARTS BUILDING



…. Man cannot live by bread alone. Man, after all, is also composed of intellect and soul ….. 



Education develops the intellect; and the intellect distinguishes man from other creatures. It is education that enables man to harness nature and utilize her resources for the well-being and improvement of his life. The key for the betterment and completeness of modern living is education.
But, “Man cannot live by bread alone.” Man, after all, is also composed of intellect and soul. Therefore, education in general, and higher education in particular, must aim to provide, beyond the physical, food for the intellect and soul. That education which ignores man’s intrinsic nature, and neglects his intellect and reasoning power cannot be considered true education.
A well organized education should not be one which prepares students for a good remuneration alone. It should be one that can help and guide them towards acquiring clear thinking, a fruitful mind, and an elevated spirit.
The educated person that Ethiopia and countries of her level needs is not one who had stuffed bits of knowledge into his mind. The needed educated individual is one who uses the ideas he obtained from his lectures, books, and discussions to the best advantage of his own country and his own people. It is he who disseminates new ideas in harmony with the economic and social aspects of his own community so that fruitful results would be realized. This is the educated person who can show segments of knowledge he accumulated in his learning, inventiveness in a new situation.
Ethiopia is a country with her own cultures and mores. These, our cultures and customs, more than being the legacy of our historical past, are characteristics of our Ethiopianness. We do not want our legacies and traditions to be lost. Our wish and desire is that education develop, enrich, and modify them.
You all know the continuous effort that Ethiopia is exerting for the development of a profound and high standard education. We need educated and trained persons for research, for the study and development of our country’s resources, for technology, for medicine, for the law, and the administration for our people according to their custom. These are the needs that constrain Us to provide, at all levels, education free of charge. And students, ever mindful of this privilege, should endeavour to recompense their country and nation.
The opportunity for education, afforded to the few in our country, is not given to them for a fashion or a mode. It is given for a purpose, for a task, for a high responsibility, for full and exhaustive use, for the benefit of our country, and the coming generation.
We have just explained to you the type of result, and responsibility that We expect from you students. It is on you, the members of the faculty that We must rely for this result. We realize the heavy responsibility We have entrusted to you. We hope that you too, while believing and accepting your responsibilities as your sacred duties, will produce for Ethiopia persons who take pride in you and their education and are ready for the call of service.
It is you who must mould the minds of your students – that they may be wise, farsighted, intelligent, profound in their thinking, devoted to their country and government and fruitful in their work. It is you who must serve as the example. On their part also, they will have to learn not only formal education but also self-discipline that should be worthy to be inherited. May the Almighty God be with you in the fulfillment of your duties.
Sep. 23, 1963.


Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 34 –     





Samstag, 21. September 2013

Speech of The Day (327): TO U. S. ASTRONAUTS



TO U. S. ASTRONAUTS


We wish to express our sincere thanks for the message that has been sent by His Excellency President Johnson. We thank you also for the kind words you have said about our country. We are happy to receive you for many reasons: happy because human knowledge, at the present time, is being extended with the hope that mankind would benefit.
We are confident and sure that the world realizes today that as a result of the investigations and as a result of the courage you have shown, all humanity is going to benefit. Of course, it is one thing for us to be sitting at home and to follow events that are transpiring outside, while with extreme personal courage and at great personal risk, on behalf of humanity, you were undertaking a feat that has given you personal satisfaction and brought great honour to the country that you represent. As we said, your undertaking for advancement of science and on behalf of human good can only result in great collaboration of mankind, and as a result of this marvellous feat and achievement, there should be greater benefit to humanity in general.
It is through men that have dedicated themselves to scientific efforts that the human being has made so much progress. And it is because men like you have shown extreme personal courage for the future good of mankind that mankind has accomplished so much in scientific investigations. There is no doubt that through these scientific achievements mankind can advance. We are sure the pleasure accruing from what you have accomplished is not solely confined to ourselves. The pleasure must naturally go to the people of your country and to Us too. The result of your adventurous experiments and works is an admirable contribution from the point of view of all men who are interested in the advancement and progress of human society. Your space flight and subsequent flights that are to be undertaken by men like you give us confidence in the bright future of mankind.
We thank you very much for the presents, and please convey our heartfelt congratulations to President Johnson and all those people who are responsible for this. Again we would like to take particular note of your heroism and dedication to the cause of science.

Sept. 21, 1965.



Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 104 –   






Freitag, 20. September 2013

Speech of The Day (326): U.N. AND WAR SETTLEMENT





U.N. AND WAR SETTLEMENT


….. The League of Nations failed and failed basically because of its inability to prevent aggression against my country. But, neither the depth of that failure nor the intervening catastrophes could dull the perception of the need and the search for peace through Collective Security. So it is that here in the United Nations we have dedicated ourselves anew to those high and indeed essential ideals, essential if the world is to continue on the path of peace …..


On the occasion of the opening of the fourth regular session of the General Assembly, We desire to convey to you Our earnest wishes for success in your important deliberations. We have no doubt that for these vital issues, on which depend the destiny of millions of human beings, you will endeavour to find just and equitable solutions. Among these and still long outstanding, is the settlement of the former Italian colonies. Needless to say that further delay to settle the question of the return of Eritrea and Somaliland to Ethiopia will not enhance the confidence of the peoples of the world and of these territories in particular. Time and again, it has been clearly demonstrated that these provinces formed an integral part of Ethiopia but were torn away from her by forces of aggression. The fact that these provinces once cut off from their Motherland could not lead an independent existence is unquestionable. Consequently, further delay will be of no help but will contribute to the deterioration of situations that have long been in great need of assistance. We trust that you will not fail to reach a just solution to enable the people of these provinces to rejoin the Motherland, Ethiopia, in the light of the long delayed fulfilment of the aspirations that have remained unchanged throughout sixty long years of enemy occupation and also in justification of the great sacrifices during the last World War by the Ethiopian and Allied forces for their liberation and well-being which otherwise would have been made in vain. We pray that the Almighty God enlightens you in this important decision.

Sept. 20, 1949.


Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 354 –