Asked about the significance of the citation, Professor Al Mariam of California State
University, San Bernardino, wrote: “While such citation in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion
may not mean a whole lot to those in the scientific community, those of us in the legal
community appreciate its significance in the outcome of one of the most important
constitutional cases of recent decades. It is a great honor to have one’s work cited by
the highest court in the U.S. on such an important issue. I am sure there were
thousands of other scientific studies on health care costs the Court could have cited, but
Dr. Berhanu’s article was selected because it made a special impression. We should all
be proud of Dr. Berhanu for his exemplary scientific work.”
It is common knowledge that most Ethiopians in the Diaspora have stellar records of
unparalleled sacrifice and unrelenting tenacity in their fight against tyranny and injustice
perpetrated by successive authoritarian regimes in their native land. It is therefore
befitting that the work of one such remarkable Ethiopian is used to support a landmark
decision that will positively impact the lives of millions in his adopted country.
It may be recalled that Ethiopian-Americans passionately supported Barrack Obama’s
presidential bid in 2008, and were optimistically inspired by his promise of support for
those fighting against tyranny and injustice all over the world. Unfortunately, the
misguided policies of his administration toward Zenawi and the continuing association of
the Pentagon with the dictator as an ally “against terror”, have caused many Ethiopian-
Americans to reevaluate their support and options in the coming presidential election.
Many observers now believe that Ethiopian-Americans have a unique opportunity to
assert their electoral potency in the upcoming elections in the various swing states. It is
important that all Ethiopian-Americans who stand for democracy, freedom and human
rights should demand of their congressional candidates and presidential contenders
before the November 2012 election to officially censure Meles Zenawi’s regime for its
continuing abuses of human rights and denial of the democratic rights of the people.
