By Mulumebet Asfaw
Last year I went to the United Kingdom to do a comparative research on welfare benefits, its advantages and its adverse effects. That had given me a chance to closely scrutinize how some Ethiopians in the UK survive on benefits. You may wonder why anyone would want to write about the positive and negative effects of benefits on an immigrant community. The simple answer is the pervasive addiction of welfare benefits, also known as Dechasa, among able bodied Ethiopians who have every opportunity to succeed without being indefinitely dependent on welfare benefits.
The United Kingdom is a country where a generous welfare system helps those who cannot afford to cope with the cost of life. Those without jobs, anyone unable to earn a living due to other unfortunate circumstances like serious illnesses and disabilities get assistance from the tax payer’s coffers under various schemes. There are many kinds of benefits, like job seekers allowance, income support, disability allowance, housing benefit, child benefit, council tax benefit etc.
The benefit system in the UK has its own weaknesses and can easily be abused and manipulated by unscrupulous individuals with false claims. What I found striking is not the number of Ethiopians who are on benefits because they have legitimate grounds to get support to survive. Asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, which is another weakness of the system, senior citizens, children under 18, genuinely single mums, disabled and unemployed people have all legitimate grounds to claim welfare benefits for survival.
As the main objective of the benefit system is to help those who cannot afford to pay their bills because of joblessness, disabilities or any other legitimate grounds, one cannot criticise them for being dependent on welfare benefits because of their unfortunate circumstances as there are a number of Ethiopians in this category who have good reasons to seek assistance from public funds.
My critical views are directed towards Ethiopians in the UK who are deliberately trying to make every effort not to get stuck in the benefit system even if they have every chance to take advantage of the opportunities on offer to them. One of the undesirable effects of Dechesa is making some people to develop a culture of laziness and dependency syndrome abusing the benefit system at will, sometimes doing nothing except backbiting others. If anyone dares to advise these kinds of people why don’t they try to lead meaningful lives, they are likely to angrily retort “It is none of your business. That is envy!” In a civilised society though, there is however nothing off limit closer scrutiny especially when a malpractice is grossly wrong.
Let us put “Dechasa” addicts under different categories. However, caution must be taken that this is not an effort to expose the corrupt practise, as it is already an open secret, but to encourage Ethiopians to believe in hard work and to shun a system that can prevent them from leading productive and meaningful lives free from cheating, which is not a smart way of earning a living at the expense of hard working people who pay their taxes responsibly. Putting such a malfeasance under scrutiny can show Ethiopians, whether in the UK or other countries, that it is hard work, not welfare dependency and addiction, that should be construed as a source success, pride and confidence.
1. The job dodger: There are some who are able to work and earn their living. Some are well qualified but never want to get employed. Among the Ethiopian community in the UK, it is a taboo to ask why. But you hear constant moaning from the job dodgers that the Job Centre, a government agency that puts people into jobs, is harassing them to do training and offering work. Don’t get surprised if you hear the job dodgers saying: “These cruel people have found me a job. I will tell them I am too ill to work.” This may appear a joke but it is a reality of life for the job dodgers. They are too lazy to work or they have a preconceived idea that they can only be better off to be on benefits forever.
2. Married but separate: In order to take advantage of the loop holes in the system, these one get married with a lot of fanfare and big limos. The trouble with them is that even if they get married legally they declare divorce as soon as possible or they never declare their marriage. The extreme cases go as far as both claiming income support, job seekers allowance, housing and council tax benefits. It doesn’t end there. They rent out flats and houses that are registered under a housing benefit claimant. That means they live rent free and become landlords and landladies of properties that they spend not a single penny on. In some cases they even go out for extra income working in the black market.
3. Healthy but disabled: Under these categories fall those who are healthy but claim to be disabled. They claim the maximum amounts of welfare benefits but one may find them doing hard jobs in the underground. They never wish to have a decent job as they think they are too smart to squeeze the system.
4. Self-employed but no income: Cab drivers and business owners fall under this category. Some amongst this group declare their income so low that their income would appear not even enough to pay their rent. Assisted by dodgy accountants, they prefer to save their income and claim benefits for their basic expenses including housing rent.
5. The young pensioner: Cheating the benefit system has become so entrenched among Ethiopians in the UK that even young people prefer to live like old aged pensioners rather than getting qualifications and aspire to fulfill their dreams.
6. The landlord on welfare: As I have mentioned above, some become scrupulous landlords claiming all kinds of benefits. The majority of the dodgy dealers live with their partners, girl friends, boy friends, husbands and wives while claiming state benefits. This practically turns them into landlords on welfare which is an illegal way of making money that they have never toiled to earn. If anyone challenges these malfeasance affecting a significant number of individuals and families, they would be victims of smear campaigns as those who have a problem with the truth find it hard to handle it.
To my amazement, the majority benefit cheats I have come across think that this is a smart way of survival but what is at stake is honesty, integrity and morality. Some families who have children but live on benefits while earning enough teach their children a bad lesson. The community organisations that are supposed to show the right ways and means of survival to the Ethiopians community in the UK have their own weaknesses as they are too focused on fundraising and siphoning off funds to their own ends.
It is very healthy to aspire to prosper. But prosperity should come through hard work and real earning. Living in confidence is much better than playing hide and seek with welfare officers.
Those who have no choice but to survive on benefits are beyond reproach. They have little options. But those who are capable of supporting themselves and making positive contributions to their host country should accept the fact that hard work is the best way of survival with dignity. It should also be noted that there are so many Ethiopians who work and study hard to succeed in the United Kingdom in the right ways. Unnecessary dependency syndrome and addiction to Dechasa must be shunned and discouraged as it is not a smart way of survival for those who cheat. Where ever we go we must believe that we can make in in the right way of life.
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The writer can be reached at [email protected]
129 thoughts on “Dechesa addiction among Ethiopians in the U.K.”
As a recent migrator in to the USA this is a hot issue of mine. I am trying to settle in the USA. But trying to settle is not easy. With family of two children I have to see what ever welfare is availlavle to servive. Actualy i now found a job and is working but could not still cover all my expences. Of most of the expences in USA, I found medical expences to be the most expensive, hence I have applied and got medical assistance from my county. Rent is also not affordable. i currently live and share an appartment with a friend to share the expense while in Ethiopia I used to have a separate house for myself and my family. This is outragous for me. Hence I recently applied for subsidized houseing and is waiting.Pls tell me what is wrong on this things. The system was designed to help the streched families. I also think about how I will be worth of between woking more hours and losing my medical assistance. I should be better of by woking more than otherwise. To calculate these benifits is not stupid in my opinion. But I would like and wish that I do not recieve any benifits or subsidy in what ever form in the future and get a good income and decent job. But the isue is how? the writer, mulumebet, needs to have a close scrutiny on the cause and effects of thing as well. thanks for raising the issue anyway.
Firstly, I would like to thank Zenash for deciphering the term ‘Dechasa’ for all of us. I knew that ‘Dechasa’ was an Oromo name but couldn’t figure out why it was used to refer to the welfare system in the UK. This is one of the things that never ceases to amaze me about us Ethiopians, that is our genius to coin words and phrases that are short ,to the point and really funny. Once I heard Ethiopians here in the US referring to the nursing assistant jobs as ‘Mar Qoreta’ and when someone explained the root of the phrase, I thought I would die laughing.
Now getting back to Mulumbet’s article, it is really difficult to call it a research; I can’t understand all the animosity towards the writer. People are accusing her of being jealous of the ‘relaxed life styles of Londoners on the dole’ or label her as a scorned woman, jilted by a lover on the ‘Dechasa’, which is even more bizarre. She must have touched a raw nerve somewhere which I believe was her intention to get this conversation going. On that aspect her article is wildly successful.
Granted she could have done a more thorough job of her investigation and presented a well rounded and balanced article. Her article (research if you will) gives the impression that it was funded by a UK welfare agency to educate people on the evils of ‘Dechasa’, it is too one sided.
First of all, I never said that that my opinion piece is directly related to my academic research. However, my academic research has helped me to observe what is going on among benefit claimants in the UK. I have clearly used some to indicate that not all are dishonest. In any case, this is a culture that needs to be discouraged. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. As far as my opinion is concerned, what I said is a true reflection of the reality. I know that most of us are interested in hearing praise about Ethiopiawi Chwanet etc. Let us also face the truth even if it may be hurtful. I am only calling on an honest debate. It is up to each one of us to make adjustments based on the reality on the ground. I will come back on the root cause of the malaise with another piece.
Thank you.
Dear Mulu,
Your approach is perfectly right. I know a little about the UK. system as much as I know about the USA. In the USA, however, we Ehiopians have more complex and diversified problems. It requires a deeper analysis and critques. Gossip mongering, meddling with innocent family life, job related thieving are only the few. Mulu made a good start. Let us make analysis in these areas.
Ahun min Agebitoshe new yhenin yekebatereshiw ?? sile woyanne zerefa bitsife Ayeshalim neber ??? Ayee betam
yasazinal .
“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won’t succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.”
Get a life, don’t blame others. Next time write some thing meaningful, like global warming. I feel sorry for you. Even better I will pray for you.
dear zenash and mestawet
i have failed to understand why u have got pissed of her views of dechasa.all she wants to tell us is to be independent member in society. i don’t think that her intent is to hurt anyone,but to tell her observation basd on her own experience.
many ethiopians ,if not all,have refused to swallow truth about our passivness.her presentation is very admirable and we need to have open discussion regard to this issue.the more we know the less we don’t know.
Gemoraw !
Ante dedeb. Get a brain, who is exposing what? You think the welfare system give this people support with out investigating their needs. Do yourself a favor; following you’ve managed to get a brain, go look for some counseling. You sick bastard.
Dear Mulubet –
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
We’ve more ‘dechasa’ replicas here in usa too, and may be all over the world.
Let me start with this: ‘Habesha Chigir yichlal, Tigab gin aychilim’
So by telling them you/we are doing them a favor. I think we all should do that in the city/localty we live in.
Begging is NOT a pride and it’s an Ethiopian, and i dont know where ‘dechas’s’ came from.
I’m and many others are with you. Let’s keep your torch as a movement to get our real pride back. Thank you
She is right. We must have moral and dignity, beggar in our country, beggar here…not good at all. I am living in the UK and i know a lot of ethiopian immigrants who are living by selling thier moral. It is shame for some of u who are opposing the writer.
Dear Mulu
This is a chronic problem for the majority of Ethiopians in the UK. I don’t know how you dare to discuss this. The bulk of these Ethiopians who cheat the system don’t easily associates with the natives or even with the working fellow Ethiopians. They live a much closed social life. This give them security and an option to pass more benefit abusing information to each other. However this closed life also created a massive false confidence to each other. This closed and detached community has convinced themselves that benefit cheating is a way of life. Some even are proud and earn a respect among this community for their fraud and scam skill. Even worst is any new comer in the UK most likely first meets this Free Loaders and they will end up convinced that benefit scam is rosy. Mulu, you are right this chain of dishonourable behaviour and life style has to stop soon. I believe this message is not to the lost generation, it is for the new comers and to the younger generation. For those who are aged with it we don’t want to confront them … they picked an early retirement any way.
What is missing on the above little article is the successes of people who worked from shop-keeper to respected Director, from dish washing to a thriving business person etc.. Like “Americana Hisbosha” on VOA, we need “UKena HISBOSHA” .
Thank you MULU.
P.S. one has to be brave to discuss this issue; I have lost a lot of friends who has been snatched by the Free Loaders community.
Mulu
Yoy said that your opinion piece isn’t related to your academic research then why on earth you brought us “ye mender werie”. Be professinal and enjoy your gossip in USA not in UK.
Dear Mulu,
May be you have been pressed by your supervisor to make the uncompareable comparison.Hwat was the bases of your selection criteria.Which group belongs to what group.In the era of computer technology you put in garbages and put out garbages.I am extremely distressed with your generalization.How many Ethiopians have been displaced?committed suicide? and socially disconnected?
In fact,we are one of the most caring,loving,sharing and responsible people in this planet.However,there a few bad apples.Generalization of this gross magnitude is not tolerable!!
It is not a work that make you proud. Why did you choose this topic?? What was the rationale of your study?
Mind you, you you are putting every Ethiopian under the same basket???I am sorry to raise this questions,simply tomorrow our brothers and sisters will be denied to settle in UK…the creators of evils in the world!!
Please stop negative and debilitating ideas!!
Mulumebet,
The fakery in your so called research approach is not whether some disoplaced and wretched Ethiopians try to survive on the manipulations of petty handouts in the form of social benefits which is probabily being done to an insignificant levels by all immigrants and the brits themselves, but in your very decision of choosing the Ethiopian immigrant communities and among them those who are forced to live on social benefits because of circumstances.
This is not any valid and reliable original research itself but ecletic information and coffee house gossips lifted from anti immigrant documentation sources usually compiled by hidden racists feeding their junk to the public through some gullable disgruntled immigrant individuals themselves.
I am glad to hear that you are now talking about your opinion, but not about your truth being revealed through your valid and reliable research findings that is not there.
This is not to deny or confirm whether a poor hungry girl have stolen one cent from a man who have robbed and killed her parents and grand parents and let her to be a hopeless running orphan struggling to keep life go on. Well, the so called banal “Ethiopiawi Chewanet” phony propaganda cannot recommend the same behavioral standards for both the powerful robber as well as the powerless and victimized poor girl.
I have the basic defect of looking at the social phenomena both from the broader perspectives in terms of the past and the present.
One may say that the past British way of collecting wealth and global capital through planetary colonialism really benfited the contemporary rich British society because lots of slaves perhaps including some of Mulu’s ancestors have been captured from Africa and traded for billion and perahps even trillions for years.
The wealthes thus accumulated through human trading have been deposited in the various British banks as to trigger the growth of the current world economy and the industrial/information revolutions currently revolutionizing the planet and offering a place in the sun for peoples like the wretched refugees attempting to point fingers at each other. One need not defend either big or small thieferies but everything needs to have their relative proportions and realtive importance to say the least.Law is law and every one needs to respect and live within its prescriptions in any host country.
On the other hand why don’t you go to Addis Ababa and preach these bitter sweat Ethiopiawi chewanet to the thousands of completely impoverished homeless poor? These people are sleeping on the streets of the city are competeting with scavengers and eating from garbage depos. At the same time the hedonistic TPLF robber barons leaving in superb guarded dream houses and villas feed on prime quality beefs and getting sick from over eating and maldigestions.
When immigrants are being slandered by nasty self serving immigrants themselves it provides more credibilities as to the criminalities of the immigrants and strengthens the facist and racist anti immigrant elements in the society.
You are just a budding puppet of these disgraceful racists manipulating you from behind.
If hidden facist elements themselves state the same statements in public there will be some sort of anti racist public outcries and no one will believe and accept their statements as genuine and meant for some general common good objectives for all.
So, why do you play the musical melodies of the hidden racists and their appologetic blancos on the ground and close to the grass roots on Ethiopians, the refugees and the poor?
You have stated that not all Ethiopians are welfare beneficiaries and “welfare tourists” because they are Chewa Ethiopians(Ethiopiawi Chewanet). But make sure that you cannot scape the fact that your are labeling all Ethiopians, all blacks and perhaps even all the refugees due to the presence and effects stereotyping.This is to say that generalizations of alleged welfare abuse will be made to the entire immigrant population from a simple nominal or none existant cases you are currently eager to drum on.
How can the already suspicious public differentiate you the “Chewa Ethiopians” and your Chewa friends as a whole?
That is how prejudice and its advocates minds work and that is also why I like to condemn the phony assimetrical research.
Mulumebet Asfaw says:
First of all, I never said that that my opinion piece is directly related to my academic research. However, my academic research has helped me to observe what is going on among benefit claimants in the UK. I have clearly used some to indicate that not all are dishonest. In any case, this is a culture that needs to be discouraged. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. As far as my opinion is concerned, what I said is a true reflection of the reality. I know that most of us are interested in hearing praise about Ethiopiawi Chwanet etc. Let us also face the truth even if it may be hurtful. I am only calling on an honest debate. It is up to each one of us to make adjustments based on the reality on the ground. I will come back on the root cause of the malaise with another piece.
Thank you.
I hope Mulu reads all the comments she is very interesting because she reminds of white tourists go to *one place in Africa* and say Africans eat monkey;a lot of interesting questions arise from this 1.How old is she?/did she grow up in the U.S?/does she come from previlaged family(Woyanay)?
2.Is she some kind of colonialist agent to destroy the Ethiopian immigrant community that is fighting for freedom and democracy back home… since it is not easy for her to bash Ethiopian/Americans in the U.S she may have choosen U.K forgetting that the diaspora has united or Is she really an Ethiopian or some ferenji using our anger for some political gain?
HI Mulu:
LOved your article but I wished you tackled it from the satnd point of the situation in our country. Our Educational system, where one is already crippled after his “BA”. The effects of those obsolet college books and dead ghost professors who are bent on getting thier walfare “Dechassas” from the govt and the outcome of bad politics which is a contributor of mass exodus of the future generation of that country…
I have nothing against those who are taking the walfare and support their starving and under previllaged parents who are victims of bad politics at home.
I consider myself a qualified individual who love to serve my people at home, but do not blame me if you find me in-line for Dechassa, as it would be my vengence against those who are supporting the tyrany at home. Keep up the good work!!
Joseph.
Mulu,
You a very couragous person to make public this Taboo,we all know it is very hard to get assimilated to the culture
but this should not be used as excuse to abuse the system
this eventually barr other emigrants getting in to UK.
but you will hear a lot of noise get use to it we ethiopains are very defensive
Mulu, Please let us know how many of the political actvists, the liberators of Ethiopia are compromised- are living on the sweat of others.
We thank you for your reports.
Many thanks.
Dear Mulumebet:
I am not afraid to say that you have not YET understood the reasons why your piece has not been welcome by many.
It is not because Ethiopians want always to be praised. Rather, it is because you never had a substantial evidence to support your case, and because of your PERVASIVE( the word taken from your research) attempt of EXAGGERATION .
For example: you stated that you went to the UK to do a comparative research on welfare benefits, its advantages and its adverse effects. Where can we find your comparative research? How many people did you study in your research or interview? How many were among those you attempted to describe? Did you go outside the disco bars and Ethiopian restaurants to do your RESEARCH? How did you gather your information?
Did you have A (meaning one) questionnaire…..
Whom did you closely scrutinize to come to your baseless conclusion on how some Ethiopians in the UK survive on benefits?
What do you mean when you say the pervasive addiction of welfare benefits? How is pervasive addiction of welfare benefits defined in your new dictionary?
Are you just trying to exaggerate? You need to be careful and factual when you speak about people or groups next time. If you continue to do the same thing again you may not even end up in becoming a tabloid researcher.
Did you compare Ethiopians (you are talking about) with others such as the British folks, or the people back home in the TPLF White House? How do they differ?
Just to gather information in the local bars and put a piece on the web does not make your effort worth.
For now, IfI were you I would have admitted my mistakes and stop the ridiculous PERVASIVE talk…than remain DEFENSIVE.lol
Take care,
Aida Kassa
Virginia
folks let us agree to disagree without calling names!!! mulue historical comparitive reliablity regard to dependency among us may be controversial,but her views and opinions shloud be considered as valuable as any other.
Dear Muluembet,
I am pretty late to comment on your “research”. I have read different views on this thread. I must agree with those questioning your line of inquiry which doesn’t hold water by any research standard.
Your gneralisation is a matter of concern to me both in its intent/motive and unwarranted assertion. You have proved to many of us that you are really naive at best or ignorant at worst about the social policy of Britain. You would have include in your introduction about the reasons and the background about the emergence of the welfare state in the UK. I am not expecting you to be an expert in the William Beveridge inquiry and report, but to briefly discuss why the current welfare state is deliberatley marginalised certain groups in the British society. You didn’t even mentioned the dynamics of the new EU membership and its phenomenal effect on the black community including my compatriotes. Unlike you I have a first hand experience as to a well meaned Ethiopians who are more than willing to work, but trapped by the vicious circle of racism and victimisation.
You would have consulted many hadrworking Ethiopians before you post your second rated “Alubalta”.
Regretabbly,
Abuko
Aida Kassa Ur 1 in a Million i Rest my case. May God be With U.
While, I admire your courage and interest to study the issue, I believe your research have many weakness in terms of validity and deep analysis of the problem.
First of all, in your research you talked about Ethiopians living in UK, but there is nothing to suggest that you went out to other parts of the UK apart from London to do your reseach.Second, you have not mentioned or explained why some of them are forced to go into benefits apart from blaming the laziness culture embedded on them. (Which I don’t accept). Finally your research doesn’t appear to show what percentage of the Ethiopian community lives on welfare in UK and what percentage does actually work.
I think your research pose a credibility problem along with a narrowed view of the issue. I wish your paper could cover all the facts and have a wider geographical coverage to come to a sensible conclusion along with some Official publication to indicate your findings are directly proportional to your background research.
With all those issues that your research lacks to explore, I am having difficulties to accept your paper as research let alone to accept your conclusions. Instead I think this is a deliberate act to name and shame those Ethiopians living in UK.
Take care
People, people, people,
Some people responded to the article as if the author was personally attacking them.
But I am even more perplexed by those individuals like Abuko (#71) who try to critque form rather than the essense of the article as if the author presented it as “the” result of her formal academic research. Abuko et al, if you read the first paragraph carefully, you would see that the author was only writing about what she observed while conducting her research on a different but related subject. Just accept the article as a result of mere observation and perhaps ask yourself whether it does apply to you!
Mulumebet…good job!
Helina Yinuren,
As your arguments and comments are wrong, one cannot agree with you. This is specially because Mulu did not indicate her target group or groups and also about what she is comparing with what. Additionally Mulu has never suggested that her research has little or nothing to do with the Ethiopian community residing in the United Kingdom. She in fact has stated that her research created the opportunity in providing her a wide-ranging opportunity “to closely scrutinize how some Ethiopians in the UK survive.” It should therefore be clear that one cannot, what is so ever, closely or intimately look and scrutinize and comprehend the living conditions, income generating sources, family compositions and the nature and extent of dependence of individuals or groups upon a given socio-economic institution(s) or a nation state without having a questioner in your bag or hand, without going from place to place and without asking different individuals from different locations and different age groups. This is in fact the so called “primary research.” Even though Mulu is now denying it, the fact is that any sensible person who reads Mulu’s brief article gets automatically the impression that she actually went to carry out a primary research.
Take care and thank you!
Tamralech Akalework
This is rather a direct response to Abuko no.71, I think you are completely wrong. I am yet to meet a single Ethiopian who tells me that they are trapped in the benefit system because they can’t find a job!!!!
They rather complain that the system is chasing them to find a job and they think they are better of to stay on benefit and do the odd job in the black market to top up their benefit!!! This is my experience. I personally helped some friends to start job but after a couple of weeks they started blaming me on advising them to leave the benefit and build their future. Don’t be naive, all those on benefits do some sort of jobs in the black market to top up their benefit and that is the reason they think they are better of on benefit. What they don’t understand is they live in fear watching over their shoulder, and no pride to pass to their children who will probably end up on the same trap as their family. I feel sorry for them!!!! Get out and start from the bottom and build your life and pride and live freely!!!
I think this is the most interesting article with originality. People who are in Dechassa adiction have to plan how to get out because they are distroying the reputation of other fellow ethiopians. Moreover, hard work is a source of happiness.
Thank you mulu.
Helina Yihunen(#74)
How can a petty often faulse “richmen/women” pretend to be a make believe righteous individuals unless he/she compares and contrasts self to some miserable poor and sinful wretched people?
It is like picnic driving your clean washed second hand car in a mady Marcato Addis Ababa market place among beggars and poverty striken shaby Ethiopian people and gleefully congratulating yourself for being a better human being both by definition and by contrasts alone.
The real rich, honest, respected and the self made big hearted never go out of their way as to kick on the head of those at the bottom of the social, political and economic hierarchies of not their own making.
Have you ever heard of multibillionnaire Bill gates crying about his tax money going to wefare beneficiaries while miserable Ethiopian? Mulu seems to be crying faul over some imaginary tax money being wrongly distributed to some Ethiopian immigrant wefare beneficiaries? Can we that little knowledge, little money and no empathy may be some times dangerous for some people?
No where in the world an economy is able to employ all of its citizens because some segment of the population will always remain as labour reseves for some reason.
The welfare sytem is meant to take care of thos who are not able to work for some or another reasons as well as for the prortection of human degnities so that moden day brutal slave lords may not be able to impose forced slave labour on those vulnerable and weaker segment of the population like those Asian and African forced Children, women and the poor slave laboureres toiling under their inhuman slave masters.
My post here is triggered due to the fact that while more than 10 or peraphs 20 millions of british and other immigrants live under some sort of benefit, why mulumebet chose to attack 10 or may be 15 thousand of Ethiopians living in the greater London area and chose to be in benefit. I want to ask her, why she chose only Ethiopians as a sample for fraud while tens of millions in Britain are doing the same thing. In my belief the motive is insult Ethiopians in general and I doubt this can come from a fellow Ethiopian
As a Londoner, I will tell you this fact. The British, after the devastating 2nd world war, needed a huge number of work forces from abroad as laborers in building and digging grounds. For that, they brought millions of blacks from Jamaica and Caribbean islands and millions of Pakistani/Indian decent. They have also imported hundreds of thousands of immigrants from their colonies in Africa and other parts of the world. The purpose of all this was to use them as laborers. Those migrants have now British born children who are angry at the British of their racism and bad treatment and went to the extreme and chose to sit and stay on benefit.
The majority of Indian and Pakistani business owners were encouraged in the late seventies to open shops, gas stations, convenience stores and many economic incentives the British despise. This immigrant groups found their way this way or another, become very successful in their business and their children now live much better than the native British. The Indians and Pakistanis manage to go to the top enclave of life standard due to their knowledge of the British Benefit and Grant systems and used it for their own purposes to finally become economic elites of that country. But they didn’t have people like Mulumebet, individuals who are engulfed by hate and jealousy. They quietly lived their life and become who they are now.
In my belief, most of the Ethiopians wouldn’t waste their hard earned money for stupid reasons, they benefit their family members back home, they send money to Ethiopia which is currently a big source of income for many businesses in Ethiopia and they contribute to churches and their religious affiliations building their community. It is up to the British to sort of this mess. It is not for mulumebet to be sleepless in issues like this. What was hard for the brits was to enable their lazy benefit addicts to the working mood. If they do that, they can do to the immigrants since their number is insignificant compared to the native benefit addicts
Dear Mulumebet!
First of all i want to comment only your idea not you as A person. I do not agree with your incomplete theory. it seems a simple bias idea of you without evidence. Remember, pure capitalism is a dirty game without state intervention through law and policy. For your information even the richest people, managers, etc. in the world request welfare benefits in the form of tax holiday, tax reduction and tax exemption to the state. In other words tax system and welfare system are means of distributing the wealth of one nation to its citizen. Therefore your simple stereotyping the low income people as lazy is unjustified. Please explore first the necessity of tax system and social system(welfare) in the state organization.
Enjoy life!
David
I just don’ get why people lash out at Mulu. She made her points. Maybe she has not sufficiently explained the “why” question. Criticizing her message is onething but cursing her for telling the truth is another. It’s true a lot of our fellow Ethiopians in UK depend on Dechassa for years. Of course, Ethiopians are not alone in this. Other immigrants also abuse the system. Native people do same. But that does not make it right. Healthy men/women living on Dechassa handouts for long-term is not healthy. Although some jobs may not be first rate, they can work and get same, if not more, money. Ethiopians there try to avoid working in “unrewarding” dead-end jobs since they don’t pay much more than the free Dechassa. It sounds like some account the comparison between Dechassa and low-paying jobs in terms of relative amount money to be collected. Thus they choose to live on free Dechassa, without much sweating to earn at most a couple of hundred pounds more.
the article is good enough for any one who has moral to react and change the habit. But what about individuals who are living on poletical walfare?
Melaku Dagna amazes me with his wild diatribe. Why insulting me personally? I did not insult you. Why get angry with me and with such factful article? I am not coming down to your level. Because I am comfortable about your ability to grasp what is being said and preached in Mulu’s article. Lets give a few more kudos to Mulumebet!!!!
sister mestawet
atleast in my judgement ,your intellectual curiosity seem to have been wasted on wrong side.u keep saying the same thing without having any compromising postion on the other side.mulue views are not a perception,but facts.even if it’s a perception ,you should be more objective and tolerant to her views because in many cases, diverse ideas are good for society grouth.
if u have disagreement about her ideas, then u should present the best and elaborated argument aginst her.this is the only way that we can avoid violant reaction.
I agree with you gomaw!
We absolutely need a thorough study and cost benefit analysis of individuals and groups on ‘political welfare’. We have the TPLF in Ethiopia that has been begging for over seventeen years on behalf of 80 million Ethiopians, and receiving billions in benefits from the EU, World Bank, UK, US and UN. Of course the catch here is, Meles has been cashing all the checks on our behalf and distributing the benefits to his families, cronies, supporters and ethnic group, in that order.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a comparative study of the advantages and disadvantages of having an economic superman like Meles for a leader, who constantly achieves a double digit growth in poverty and the economy all at the same time? Ethiopians would love to know the advantages and disadvantages of having an economic wonder man for a leader, who meets and exceeds the MG (millennium goal) the day after it was announced.
It will be interesting to see the adverse effects of the political welfare system on the mega zillioners of Addis, who were able to transform themselves from rags to riches overnight, thanks to the wise and targeted redistribution of the country’s wealth by the wise and all knowing ruling class, based on ethnicity and political loyalty. Their fellow Ethiopians would love to know whether these souls are happy and relaxed or leave in constant fear of an uprising and insurrection.
It is an open secret that Ethiopia is rich with natural resources and has the potential to feed the whole of Africa. It will be interesting to find out whether it is our inherent laziness, or Meles’ policy of keeping Ethiopians poor so that he could beg and fill his bottomless coffer on our behalf, that is keeping our people perpetually poor and hungry. We also would like to know the symbiotic relationship between the parasites of the elite political welfare system and the elites themselves. We are talking here about the thousands of westerners that are living in Addis, attached to one NGO or another, that are backing Meles and his policies to the hilt, with the attitude of ‘see no evil and hear no evil!’ because it is in their best personal and economical interest.
Now that we have a resident expert on the issue of the welfare, though with a false start, maybe Mulumebet will be bold enough to take this challenge and see what she comes up with.
There is a couple of problems with your writings:
the first is that you said went to London to do a comparative research on the welfare benefits, its advantages and its adverse effects. This being your research topic, you quickly abandon it to claim that it gave you ” the chance to closely scrutinize how some Ethiopians in the UK survive on benefits.” Right about here, you don’t have a research topic.
#2 the key word here is comparative but the way you set it in your first sentence and the way you completely abandoned it leads me to believe you didn’t know what to do with it the moment you wrote it.
#3 Next time be sure about your topic and stay away to indih ale indih alech stuff. A good teacher would tell you this is not research this is yegil simet that does wholesale hamet.
#4 conclusion: go back to your drawing board and start anew. Fire your research advisor and demand to get your tuition fee back
I came accross a lot of comments some of them are well structured and persualsive and others are insults,labeling and attacking your personality to silence you up. As far as we agree on freedom of speach let us focus on the subject matter and put forward our argument pro or against what she found in her study.
What you have written are what we experience in a day to day life. Ofcourse i know a lot of Ethiopians, natives and other immigrants abusing the system. But when we come to research, your research should be regorous enough and your findings are well substantiated with adequate evidence.
In the first place the use of the word ‘addiction’ for the title you study looks a news on the fron page of a tabloid news papers. It doesn’t sound a professional research title.
I find ‘Dechasa’funny enough to discredit the title. The welfare sytem has its own proper name and i think it should have been used.
I am also baffled by ‘comparative’. Have really understood the word comparative? What country to what country welfare system have you compared? If i was your research adviser, i would suggest the ‘How Ethiopians are using the benefit system in Uk?’.
From technical point of any reseach paper has strong and well structured approach and its findings are consulted with other written matterials. I presume you know how to write research title, litrature review, data collection methedeology and anlysis and interpretation of findings. If the research is not properly approached, it will be locked in drawer of your adviser let alone for publication.
Still i am on technical issues. I would like to ask you few pretty good questions. How many Ethiopians are living in UK? How many of them are on benefit? How many Ethiopians have you interviewed or how many questioners did you distribute? And how many response have you got? Haw many Ethiopians your findings represent? How many of them have valid reasons to claim the benefit?.
Your unsubstantiated study and hasty generalization also gets you in to a nasty and messy argument from all corners.For your information there a lot Ethiopians of who broke the bar of the benefit system and became successful.
Your findings would be meaningfull and balanced, if it did include the unerlining reasons that pushed a lot hard working Ethiopians to this ugly corner of life. In principle a man of conscies would never like to be lazy and paracite on hard working people. But practically there are people who don’t like to work. I don’t want to blame all of the people who are getting government’s support because there are a lot that have valid reasons to do that.
The welfare system ethier in UK or other European countries has reasons behind it. Single mums, unemployed, employed with law income, aged etc should be supported. Those that are capable of working and get income suffient enough for their cost of living but abusing the system becouse of their lazyness are silly fraudsers. And should be called in their right name ‘Akafan Akafa’. That is fact. Alas.
‘Among able bodied ethiopians who have every opportunity to succeed with our being indefinitely on welfare benefit’ as you mentioned. This remark struck me my mind so much. Can i ask you a quite simple question? Did you go for professional job hunt? It would be a very good research topic for your further studies and you would experience how the racial discremination is deep rooted. I would like to recommend you a simple approach. Design a professional CV and apply for 100 jobs. Don’t forget to put your proper Ethiopian name. Then analyse how how many agents call you and how many of them send you to employers. I am sure you will get a puzzling answer. I could write a lot of my experience. I am well qualified and i know how much frustrating and painstackig to get a professional job.I did it and i know the pain i passed through. Even if you get the job, there is a limit how far you can go up.
When some of the agents call and know your accent, you understand they will not get back to you from their voice. Do you know agents select CVs based on name?. It is not easy to succeed as you said. I am not saying impossible to be successful and guarentee benefit claim. Living on by own means is sacred and encouraged.Hard workers and achievers should be championed. Abusers should be condemned.
To conclude your paper is anectodal experience not a research paper.
Can mulumbete go to ethiopia and does her reasrch what have more 300 NGO done to our poor instead of living their best life in the name of our ppl? The british Governement gives to weyane every year more 90,000,000 pounds in the form of state buget to kill , imprison and displace our poor people at home. over thousand s of british land lords are living in africa still holding the largest fertile area in africa. It is really shame to compare poor ethiopians who are trying to help their parents at home with british land lords who are living in africa.Really I do not under stand why we ethiopians are hatting each other? Why did mullumebete decide to do such a reasrch around ethiopians? why not around all dechesaers from all communities? Let alone them in the system. it is the system which so many people including the native britons are living on. Such a reasrch can hurt ethiopians, but will never initate them for better opption.we should not forget millions of ethiopians are getting support from diaspora.
Surely it is the TPLF and the individuals in there who are living on generous foreign donations and welfare benfits year in and year out and accumulation billions in cashes and kinds.
At the same time 80 million wretched Ethiopians in whose name the welfare charty is being collected for free are being starved to death, displacements, prison camps,refugee lives and livings and fighting over meatless dirty bones like hungry DOGS as is being exemplified by the current controversial topic here in.
May be local racists and TPLF racists are joining hands and enjoying when immigrant and refugees are displaying their teeths and shamefully barking at each other on immaginary tokens just like hungry dogs and diverting attention from the main isues.
Things or problems need to be solved within the immigrant and refugee communities and leaders of such communities powerless communities are supposed to be advocates and defenders of their members, solving problems with low profile.
May be dictator and desperate TPLF living on charities and wefare benefits might be competing with those miserable Ethiopian refugees it has displace and forced in to exile and ordered the phony “reseach.” Hmmm…!
After all both may be competing for the same source of funding and income that are being writen in to the UK national budget and being distributed after parliamentary approval.
Hence, I suggest that Madamme Mulu undertakes from the start a comparative research design in social sciences and conduct a good research as to the similarities, differnces, significanes, benfits, usabilities,etc, in a research method that scientifically compares and contrasts TPLF welfare and charity abuses as compared to Ethiopian refugee’s welfare abuse in London.
the question is what could be done to make our society independent from begging ,hostile and dictator government and passiveness or lack of motivation .these are the questions that we must ask and need to be solved.in my judgement,reasonable does of competition among us is good for grouth. sister meseret what is ur suggestion about these issues?
don’t we have any sense of shame that we ethiopian always beg for our breads!!
I wonder how some individuals expect sister Mulu to post all her research paper on ER. She can only post the conclusions and highlights of her core results, not the whole maybe over 100 pages of research, including the whole process of research. The rational question is, “Are her conclusions correct?” There lies the sensible argument.
She, as a student of her field, knows the required process to carry out her research accordingly. Of course, “Dechassa-eating” is a sensitive issue, for some even a taboo. We know some do not want to admit they live on it. Met them on them on the road Dechassa pay-day, they flatly deny they are even coming from collecting Dechassa. Thus, some of the critics of Mulu are very extended and out of order.
can mulumebete has any beneficial realtionship with weyanes at home and in diaspora? has she biult one chika bete in ethiopia by displacing poor ethiopians from their house? In one way or another, her research hurts ethiopians, even if i am not pro dechesa . I know how close other immigrants rom othere countries are living ,like 350,000,000 turkish people in germany and others are living in the same way in the same system.No one can do against his or her own people in favour of others as mulumebte has done against her own poor people. she wrote also in english not in amharic. that exposes more ethiopian’s life in the future. some jelaious people supported her research, but i am totally against her narrow minded move. I used to talk dechesa for one year untill i have arranged my way to join the working class . For me dechesa is un acceptable. but I support those ethiipians who are taking dechesa and working an illegal work to support their families at home, but those are taking, eating and sitting at home should know that they must stand on their feet instead of be parasit on other ppl.
Folks !
We were all heavy handed in criticizing the siste’s work. But do we have any suggestions. Any ideas?
What should she have done in concrete terms? How would you have done it youselves? yaw medaw yaw feresu !
Welfare money is useless. It keeps you above the dead and below the living. No body wants to survive on welfare. May be one may get 250 Pounds, which is about 3000 Birr. This is too much in Ethiopia but in London with this money it is difficult to cover ones bills. I do not think Ethiopians are addicted to it, in fact most would like to return to their mother land.
Unless one changes his religion, sex or nationality it is difficult to find a job. People are obliged to go for cheaper, where social problems drugs family abuses are common in ghetto .Most of the Ethiopians see only their children speak English, that is not enough, the schools where the poor children go is about drug, crime fighting. Not all things on this planet are invented by English.
It is difficult to reach the UK one spends a lot of money including bribe at the British embassy in Addis Ababa. After one lost his job, his social affiliation. To get welfare it takes 2-3 years, how can one return bare hand after spending all this time. It is not easy to get it. The welfare money is obtained through unfair trade from developing countries. Instead helping these poor countries they are looting their human resource
The British colonizers are well known for divide and rule and incapacitation. They have cut the cable car line and float that was built by Italians they sold it to Pakistan so that we do not have a spring technology!!! Also by attracting Ethiopian intellectuals. Such as transfer of Ethiopian Airlines technicians to Middle East, Medical doctors to South Africa and North America. Eroding our capacity.
Once one left his mother land it is difficult to return, the British know if one earns enough he is going to send remittance money hence they do not give them jobs. They only give the three Ds Dirty, Difficult, and Dangerous Jobs. With little pay one is obliged to work longer hours, hence he does not have time to advise his children, he has to send them to poor day care where they learn the psychology of British poor class behaviors.
If the family is strong and children outsmart the British, the KKK stabs or threatens them.
First they kill you with welfare money, then your children. If the father or mother is a toilet cleaner, the child also becomes or it is his fate.
EPRDF dollar lust never advises Ethiopians about the bad thing of immigration. Instead they advise and preach on TV about migration and successful people. So that they collect the remittance money in black market. Even they sell orphaned children
With longer working hours and dark and cold climate one is easily depressed and they prescribe them as experimental animal narcotics. It is crime. So the system kills you. And if any one abuses it is his share that was stolen during colonialism from Africa.
The British also occupied America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Now they want to recolonize Africa. That is why they are attracting many Zimbabweans, Ethiopians they have already started to make sandwich from north and South Africa. The home land security is interested in High profile people, influential or activists. This is to stripe the country of its human resource..
I have never seen an Ethiopian born in the UK who is known scientist. Even if he is a doctor he is forced to treat only black people. They may show you one or two who has changed their Nationality , religion or became their spies in high postion in order to attract more innocent.
The British Crime
Take care
Gonder MED I think you need to see a doctor, which is free for you anyway, I am very concerned for your mental status!
You are one of the bad examples for my fellow Ethiopians who are advising my society like this. I tell you what I am a proud Ethiopian who works hard and my children go to the best state school in the country and have the best future ahead of them. So, get out and be fruitful by contributing to the society and be good example. I hope you don’t have any children!!!!
Dear HRMC,
I am confident and I am sur I can do brain surgery on you. and sure you are brain washed a Banda.
This is about “English Tea”
I know you you have contributed nothing to Africa or Ethiopia. Welfare is not a free lunch. You are a slave who sold himself.You are proud because Obama is competing. Foolish.
Bye!
Dear HRMC,
Is this genetics, economics or Justice?
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Three out of 10 US public school students do not graduate from high school, and major city school districts only graduate one out of two students, according to a study released Tuesday.
In a report on graduation rates around the country, the EPE Research Center and the America Promise Alliance also showed that the high school graduation rate — finishing 12 grades of school — in big cities falls to as low as just 34.6 percent in Baltimore, Maryland, and barely over 40 percent for the troubled Ohio cities of Columbus and Cleveland.
And it said that black and native American student’s have effectively a one-in-two chance of getting a high school diploma.
Yahoo news
Dear Gonder MED,
Forget doing brain surgery; you can’t even read the written words properly.. calling me HRMC!! And what makes you to think the writer is a man… there is nothing that indicates the writer is a man?
Coming back to your reference to the state school… your quote is about US not UK and in case you forgot I live in the UK and I choose to send my children to state school. I had equal option & opportunity to send my children to independent school but I choose (my free will) to send them to the best state school.
Just get out and explore the opportunity to improve your life instead of sitting and acting as a victim!!
Hi Gonder MED
You seem to believe your little article. I wonder who wrote it, it must be the one who have the courage to change the world. It must be someone who wakes up every day to fetch for a living. You “the brain surgery man” can’t even feed yourself. It must be the CHAT YOU chew or may be your genetics is wrong, as you put it. You are just proving to those who doubt us. You are one of those lazy work shay Freeloader. You are Habsha’s weakest link. As one of the reader recommended can you go yourself (dot call social workers) to your local GP and tell them honestly abut your misunderstandings of the world. They might fix some of you GENETICS, ECONOMICS OR JUSTICE problem. You will not pull us down we will be there “YES WE CAN” (Obama).
Shalom!
Dear HMRC,
For the benefit of those who don’t have the good fortune to live and educate their children in the UK, could you please elaborate the differences between a state school and an independent school? When you say an independent school, are we talking private schools here?