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Plato, the great scholar of Ancient Greece, said that the differences between rich and poor should not exceed a ratio of one to four. In the eighteenth century the influential writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who gave birth to the notion of the “Social Contract”, argued that the invention of private property and immoderate accumulation are the origins of great discord among peoples. He also was one of the first to advocate a return to democracy, a system of government that had got lost once the Greek empire declined. He saw the modest reforms of his era as “garlands of flowers along the chains of iron”. He died a decade before the French Revolution but was celebrated by its leaders.

Despite his age, the man was a dandy. Dressed in fabrics made entirely of palm leaves. His name is Michael Santos. Santos lives in Jinja Camp, which is a suburb of Lira City in Northern Uganda 

Every item of clothing he wore, was made of dried palm leaves. The round safari hat. His short-sleeve jacket. His wide pair of shorts with crisp trendy lines. As though freshly laundered, pressed, and all that. His flat footwear. All of them, are made of palm leaves. Palm leaves as everyone knows, are the material used primarily for making mats and baskets. Santos puts it to good use to create his amazing wardrobe.

Even the most unobservant person will notice inequality in society regardless of gender, organization, geography, or nationality. Often, inequality has been around us from childhood that many people consider it natural. Worst of all, they think it is written in stone, unchangeable to the extent that some Church leaders feel that they are entitled to be driven in Mercedes Benz cars and to live in palaces; a president can shamelessly proclaim that he works for nobody but himself and his family etc.

On April 26, 2022, unknown terrorists or some anti-Ethiopia entity bombed and killed at least 20 people in the ancient city of Gondar and caused outrage. This is a city I love. This is the city where I attended high school. I remember this ancient city as a hub of diversity. Jews, Christians, and Muslims respected, acknowledged one another, and lived side by side peacefully for centuries. Most modern enterprises were owned by non-Gondaries.