By Mammo Muchie, Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES)
Ethiopia, Like Libya, Must Also Be Compensated for Colonial Crime Against It: Italy and Other Colonizers Must Pay!
It is not enough to apologize for slavery and colonial occupation by the enslavers and colonizers. The former colonial powers must pay compensation for the wreckage, debris and havoc they left behind which still influences the ability of the colonized to emerge with freedom to pursue structural transformation.
Like Libya, Ethiopia has been under the Italian pernicious colonial direct and indirect occupation since the 19th century European Scramble for Africa. It has fought back this colonial encounter with heavy sacrifice including the loss of current day Eritrea to Italian colonial control for 60 years. The colonial curse has continued to fester on today continuing very sadly to cost Ethiopia hugely now with continued loss of peoples lives, constant threat of war, closing Ethiopia’s outlets to the Sea and internally ethnic-based division and instability in the country. It is Italy that used first the ethno-linguistic scheme to divide and rearrange the then existing Ethiopian geography based internal political boundaries using such names as ‘governo’ Oromo, ‘governo’ Amhara, and so on. Sadly this same scheme has been used by those reared from our own Ethiopian soil and they tell us or blackmail all by saying the only way Ethiopia can survive is by such crude imitation from the Italian division that Italy at the time used to fit the purpose of its colonial design of divide and rule on Ethiopia!
All Colonial Powers must Apologise to Ethiopia and Mean It!
We believe that the violation of Ethiopia’s dignity is not commensurable with monetary compensation indeed. But a monetary offer might make the apology a bit more real than just an empty rhetorical one.
So we urge all colonial powers to make serious apologies to Ethiopia- all those that have fought Ethiopia since the 15th century from Portugal, the Turks, Anglo-Egyptians, Italy, The British, the French must make at least together over 100 billion dollars worth of apology to Ethiopia. Even that amount will not suffice as Ethiopia still suffers from current external disruptors using the current ethnic division to undermine Ethiopia as a united national entity.
We hope the precedent of others paying for their crime may deter future crimes. Compensating for colonial crime can serve as the power of example for others to refrain from intruding and violating the peace, stability and integrity of an ancient nation that is badly in need of rapid transformation to feed itself, and indeed, for its citizens, to live in dignity irrespective of race, gender, language, ethnic origin and any other differences.
Ethiopia: The Most Generous Nation on the Planet!
Ethiopia today is the most generous nation on this planet. Due to the Anglo-Egyptian unequal treaty on the control and use of the Nile River, it has been contributing nearly 86 % of the waters of the Blue Nile to Egypt. We believe Ethiopia should continue to let Egypt share the waters of the Nile. If Egypt is fair- minded, it should also be the first to refuse to take the water alone without venturing to offer some compensation to Ethiopia. That means Egypt should be humble enough to compensate, at least in some form, for the free water it has been allowed to enjoy with the unequal treaty on the Nile executed under the British power and oversight. This took place at the time when right was might and might was right. In the 21st century we should move from might and power to justice and fairness in the equitable distribution of scarce resources gained through unequal treaties.
Any person who has been to Egypt would realise how important the Nile River Water is to Egypt, and would thus not want Egypt not to use the water. But what would be fair is for Egypt to acknowledge the generosity of Ethiopia and others and create a scheme where some form of compensation is given to them. The fair and just settlement of the use of the Nile Waters will also restrain all the regimes to play destructive games against each other. It will make politics more open and transparent and as much as possible as intrigue-free as it should be amongst them. The longer there is no fair settlement, the more the regimes are tempted to play games to weaken their opponents by supporting armed agitation and other forms of disturbances amongst each other. That is a wrong direction when there is a better alternative. It would be a shame to go with business as usual when there can be an honest way of settling differences with fairness, justice and genuine fraternity. We would say Ethiopia as the generous should remain generous and those who take without compensation like Egypt today to stop being mean, refrain from undermining the generous, and start learning to give and offer what they can and negotiate and establish fair-dealing!.
Concluding Remark
Most of us have lost loved ones, grandfathers, uncles and sisters in the Second World War. I grew up hearing stories of how heroically my grandfather died fighting Italian fascist aggression. I hope the current generation of Ethiopians will unite on getting Ethiopia compensated and not turn it into a political issue to divide across the existing internal rifts and fault lines of our current not so productive politics. And should Ethiopia be compensated through our combined efforts, let the resources be used to modernise agriculture, revamp education and health so that all Ethiopians starting from the bottom benefit through the resources that our forefathers sacrificed for with courage and selflessness.
As our national Olympic hero Abebe Bikila put it so well, Ethiopia made it through determination and heroic courage, united not divided, to defeat colonialism. It snatched its agency of colonial freedom through its united efforts from Adwa to the Second World War. It needs to confront the historic challenge of winning its agency back from receiving charity from donors to fighting to get the compensation it deserves to accelerate its development and transformation now! United we should all stand up for Ethiopia!
Mammo Muchie, Dphil, Professor,Coordinator of DIIPER
Research Centre on Development Innovation and IPER and
NRF/DST SARCHI chair holder, TUT, South Africa
Aalborg University
Fibigertraede 2, 9220-Aalborg East, Aalborg, Denmark
Tel. 00-45 9940 9813; fax 00-45 9815 3298
12 thoughts on “Italy must compensate Ethiopia, too”
Profesor? Where wer u when Italia payed money to built KoKa.
You dont know that? To fallow Libiya is not called an intelectual and learned men. Come up with another question, please
I thought Ethiopia was the only country that was not colonized?
My Ethiopian brothers and sisters, the main reason Italy agreed to compensate Libya is not because they felt bad about the colonial period and how they treated them, it is because Libya has OIL, Italian companies will get in and make a killing developing oil fields so they will recoup whatever “compensation” they gave out. Colonialism has hurt every African country but worse than colonialism Africans have been hurt by puppet governments after they managed to fly their flags, stop blaming the colonial powers for all your ills, it is high time that African leaders marshall their populations and start improving the standard of living of their citizens, once the country is developed everyone will want to trade with us, heck they might even volunteer to “compensate” us for the grievances we feel were commited against us. In the end though WE have to be masters of our destiny not some developed western country who will develop us while we look up on them, this is slave mentality and should be defeated by us, anyone who thinks that our past colonial masters have the obligation to develop our societies is nothing but defeatists who doesn’t believe in our peoples ability to develop themselves. Our worst enemy is not colonialism, it is the backward thinking that we are not capable of taking charge of our affairs and develop ourselves. Our former colonial masters will keep doing what they are doing as long we beg them to give us something when we perfectly know the solution lies within us not in the hand of the so called developed world. Mental slavery is our main problem, not others, this is the 21st century, time to own up our problems, tighten our belts and take charge of our affairs!!!
Mammo Muchie:
If there’s anyone Italy needs to apologize to it is the Eritrean people. Under Italian occupation, Eritreans were treated as second class citizens in their own land. They were living in a substandard condition while the white colonizers and their families were having great times. As you might know Gorgusuum, a beach on the outskirt of Massawa was reserved for Whites only.
Honestly, when I read just the subtitle of your article I didn’t bother to read them all for I immediately observed major contradiction to how most Ethiopians want the world to perceive their country’s geopolitical history: THAT IT IS THE ONLY AFRICAN COUNTRY THAT WAS NEVER COLONIZED. Mr. Muchie, how’s is it possible that you’d expect a compensation and/or apology from a european country that attempted, but never colonized Ethiopia? Or, are you one of those advocates of a fabricated history designed to annex a sovereign country? Are you attempting to scratch the wound that was inflicted on both the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia out of ignorance and selfishness just when some good citizens of both nations are in the process of healing them?
As always, I thank the Ethiopian Review for allowing me to have my 2 cents on such matter.
That is nonsense Prof
First of all I do not believe colonialists did as much damage as we Africans did and keep on doing to ourselves. If it were not for them most of us would have been still swinging on the trees. Through out the years Africa keep on loosing everything built by the so called colonialists who are considered to be monsters in your sight. I am sure as a Profesor you know Ghana and Malaysia gained their independence on the same day. By then Ghana was the largest gold producer in the world and Malaysia was a slave society. Can you compare them? I do not think it is a compensation that catapulted Malaysias growth. I would rather that money you earmarked for compesation stay there so that our brothers and sisters who are in those countries may benefit from it rather than it be used for the fat cats in power. As to Abay as a scholar you should have known there are multitudes of options we could have used with out disapointing and hurting anyone.
The compensation was paid during Emperor Haile Selassie’s regime to the tune of 49 million American dollars.Th Koka Hydro-electrical plant is a result of that.
Thanks for the concern.
Mulualem
are going to make them pay for kicking their ASS out of our country. Hey, if they agree to pay for losing the war.. then we are all up to that idea. However, i do not think that will ever happen because they are the losers when it comes to invading Ethiopia.
Is there any one who deny that Italy had used leathl gas bomb on ethiopian patriots? the issue is not about colonizing, but about the harm done by Italian fsacists. therefore, I do not know why eritrean specially the tigrian speakers are complaining about the issue of compensation for ethiopia. I think and as i have read it, eritrean were very delighted for being colonized by Italia and still they are proud for being colonized. since you have accepted colonization in open hand, then you have no case to complain.
Ato Mamo Muchie,
” Beggars remain Beggars”. We Ethiopians couldn’t use our rich resources to bring our country out of poverty because we have used to look at others hands or pockets. Come on, stop this childish notion of getting conpensation from Italy or Egypt and commit yourself to the present crisis of our country ( politically and economically). Today the urgent action which we need is the political settlement for our country and then we will start to build it. If we are commited to work for motherland, even we can feed other countries. It is the greedy bellies which have undermined the country and exposed its peoples to hunger and agony. Surprisingly, Egypt has no any river or rainy season than a Nile river. But we have never heared hunger in Egypt, when Ethiopia has tausends of rivers and a heavy and long rainy season and a home to the series of chronic hungers history. So, let us destroy a culture of begging and develop our country .
The dogs which fight each others to get a piece of bone from hynas will fall victim to hynas by themselves. As Ato Alemu Ashana said,( Guest No.9 )even if we get billions of compensation it doen’t bring solution for our country. We have to learn how to stand on own foot and take our own affairs into our hands. Every Ethiopians must understand this, especially our intelecuals. We must stop the dream of getting helps from others.
Prof mammo muchie, i do agree with your article that Ethiopia deserves both material compensation and morale apology from the colonial power like britian, france , usa,bermany Italia[ even leage of nation] for their supprot to italia’s invasion ethiopia and for their giving of recongnation ethiopia as if italia’s colony. Even if ethiopia was not under any bloody colonizers rule, It paid the high prices in their children ‘;s life in adwa, five years war against italia. So to all ethiopia’s intellectuals all over the world,it is the right time ask both material and morale compensation from colonial powers and dismatle the agreement between britian, sudan and egypt over ethiopia’s river.
Italian Fascists knew it; and the rest of the world too. Ethiopia has never, ever been colonized. Period. Yes, it is true, and has been a fact that Itlian Fascist had attempted to colonize Ethiopia during those bitter fight, nevertheless, the Fascists failed disgustingly and shabefully, this is and has been the greatest fact about what had happened during the struggle against fascists.
Soon or later or now or in the future, Italian Fascists must pay the compensation as they had paid a terrible price for attempting to colonize Ethiopia. It is also a fact that Italian Fascist had admitted that they were mislead and misinformed about the commandable patriots of the sons and daughters of Ethiopia as to how had been unbeatable and undefeatable they were that no foreign invaders had succeeded in invading and colonizing Ethiopia.
As to about the compensation, well, when the right government comes to power to represent Ethiopia and Ethiopians, they Italians shall be firs, advised to come up with their own initiation to do the right thing and do things right;if they fail to do so, well and again, Ethiopians shall have to force the government of Italy to monitory price for the crime they committed against Ethiopians.