They drag the Ethiopian girl by the hair in broad daylight in front of the Ethiopian embassy on a major street full of people, throw her in a car and take off. This is a great shame on us Ethiopians more so than on the Lebanese thugs. We should ask ourselves, once a proud people, what we have become to allow such indignity and brutality against our women and children. The incident happened in front of the Ethiopian embassy and no one from the embassy staff bothered to save the girl. Saudi agents Al Amoudi and Meles Zenawi are currently exporting 25,000 Ethiopian girls to Saudi Arabia, as reported here. Those girls are facing similar terror in the streets, neighborhoods and jails of Saudi Arabia cities.
Those of us who enjoy freedom from constant purges, harassment, intimidation and fear need to remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from poor and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger and malnourishment that is legendary, growing unemployment that drives thousands out of the country each month, glaring wealth and income inequality, pervasive corruption and illicit outflow of resources, dispossession and dislocation of hundreds of thousands from their homes and ancestral lands and massive transfer of the pillars of the Ethiopian economy to foreigners and a selected few ethnic elites. The dispossession of the Ethiopian people from sources of livelihood: urban and rural lands, waters, minerals and other critical assets, is the core issue of the day.
The thesis in this commentary is that TPLF Inc. has lost the trust and confidence of the Ethiopian people. There is very little evidence to show that it is ready or willing to reform itself. Nor is there any indication that the donor and diplomatic community appreciate the dangers the country faces in terms of its long-term stability and security and the welfare of its people. What could be more dangerous than the wholesale transfer of the pillars of the economy to foreigners and ethnic allies? What could be more telling than the continued purging and removal of patriotic and democratic leaning Ethiopians from their work? Accordingly, the task of supporting the Ethiopian people in their time of need is urgent; and rests with all who accept the dangers ahead and are ready, committed and willing to sacrifice time, resources and creativity. We cannot afford to wait until things fall apart completely and irreversibly. We need to move from talk to action. Action must be rooted in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian people who bear the brunt of repressive governance and economic mismanagement.
It is up to us
The outside world is unlikely to respond to us until we lead the effort. In commentary nine of this series, I showed how aid has done little to boost the capabilities of the Ethiopian people including smallholders. Close to 13 million Ethiopians depend on some form of international emergency food aid. A World Bank study last year showed that more than 5 million Ethiopians depend entirely on remittances. Thus, at minimum, 20 percent of 90 million Ethiopians depend entirely on some form of assistance from outside. Nationally, 21 percent are chronically unemployed. It means that growth has benefitted the few; but has not produced employment for most. At minimum 41 percent of the population is not part of the development process. With per capita income of $350 and with 46 percent wishing to immigrate, it is not hard to suggest that the mythical growth propagated by TPLF Inc. is not meaningful to most Ethiopians. It will not be until and unless Ethiopians enjoy a semblance of freedom to hold their government officials accountable.
I and many others who care deeply about the future of the country have provided analytical tools showing the dangers of the current system for all Ethiopians regardless of ethnic or religious or demographic affiliation. The mess affects each and every one of us, and future generations. A classified piece written from former Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Yamamoto, to his government, entitled “US knew but ignored abuses by Ethiopia’s Zenawi,” released by Wiki-leaks reinforces the depth of dispossession and disempowerment that defies the imagination on which I have written as have others. Although the leak refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where “hacks” of TPLF Inc. dominate policies and programs everywhere, the problem of purging and replacing those purged by ethnic and party loyalists has been standard practice for 21 years. It is part of systemic dispossession and dismantlement of anything and everything that is Ethiopian or national.
In February 2009, Ambassador Yamamoto confirmed and questioned the recruitment and staffing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—one of the most corruption-ridden institutions of the country—by “230 new trainees,” as part of TPLF Inc. capacity” building process. “Of the 230 new hires, all are party officials, and receive Ministry financed housing and salaries at levels double the prevailing rates of current Ministry of Foreign Affairs officers.” This practice is the norm and has been the norm for several years, especially in most sensitive institutions such as Defense, Intelligence and Police. How else would a general afford a mansion or luxury building that costs 45 to 90 million Birr in Bole?
The undermining of Ethiopia’s national cadre of competent and meritorious civil servants that Robert Calderisi identified in his book, “The Trouble with Africa,” 3 years ago is now complete. It is done systematically and deliberately to rob the country of public service oriented individuals and replace them with party hacks. TPLF Inc. does this through the Business Practices-Reengineering (BPR) process. It may as well be called a cleansing process, a system designed to purge those whose tribal and party loyalty is questionable. Its discriminatory nature is obvious not only to former Ambassador Yamamoto but also other foreigners who work in Ethiopia and with Ethiopians. BPR grades officers on the basis of ethnic and party loyalty, with “members of the ruling party and are fully loyal receiving an “A” automatically regardless of qualification, merit and competency. In contrast, “Those perceived to oppose the ruling party or its platform are given a “D” and terminated from their jobs.”
Dispossession and alienation from private assets such as homes, lands and other personal properties, and assessments (gimigema) that lead to purges from jobs amount to the same thing. Simply put, they erode Ethiopian citizenship. They lead to poverty and immigration. Donors and the diplomatic community observe these travesties; and occasionally critique TPLF Inc. But, they do not dare to challenge TPLF Inc. to change its ways. As explained in the previous commentary, donors and the diplomatic cannot change the policies or programs of the regime. Only Ethiopians can change the system; and they can if they pull their resources together.
What conclusion did Ambassador Yamamoto reach?
The former Ambassador concludes that, “While the US government may have had influence over the Ethiopian government to induce positive reform up until, and soon after, the 2005 elections, it has lost all such influence since then.” If this is the case, why continue to offer the repressive regime with close to $1 billion per year. The bottom line is this. Long-term, the US shoots itself in the foot by ignoring an unfolding human tragedy that may lead to civil conflict and instability if it does not take bold steps now and pressure TPLF Inc. to entertain a peaceful transition. We are thus left with the only viable option that will compel the US and others to stand firmly on the side of the Ethiopian people.
This option is to set aside minor and non-strategic differences and take collective and practical action on the diplomatic front while supporting those who struggle for justice, the rule of law and representative governance within the country. Both are essential. The more we do this, the more likely it is that we will win friends. It is fear of the alternative that compelled Ambassador Yamamoto to warn, “We must remain mindful to explain our common stability objectives (the premium donors and the diplomatic community use as rationale in support of dictators) clearly to the Government of Ethiopia and EPRDF and to avoid overreaching for too drastic of reforms lest the ruling party opt to choose survival over engagement.” It is the same reasoning the US and others deploy in Syria where close to 10,000 innocent people have been massacred by their own government.
It does not take much to conclude that the country is under more stress than ever before in its history. Dispossession is now universal. The Ethiopian people have less say and power compared to foreigners who own a large chunk of the pillars of the economy and ethnic elite that plunders the society each day. Equally unprecedented is gaping inequality, corruption and illicit outflow. All these and more are linked together and are indicators of repressive and corrupt-ridden governance that will let at our own peril.
Anchor the struggle in Ethiopia and embolden Ethiopians
It is the above reality that leads me to suggest again and again that the vast majority of the Ethiopian people reject TPLF Inc. It is also this that prompts me to argue that any struggle for a better future for the Ethiopian people must be anchored in and led by civil society and political groups within Ethiopia. Those of us who sit on the sidelines must be persuaded that we are losing a country and all that this implies. The purging of Ethiopians from their jobs is symbolically the purging of competent and meritorious persons from any segment of the society. In the area of land giveaway and transfers of wealth, no amount of wealth would recompense such a loss for generations to come. TPLF Inc. is now in the business of mortgaging the entire country in the name of development. Even the last forested and treed places in the country such as churches and monasteries are no longer sacrosanct.
It happens to Waldiba
What responsible government would allow or encourage the deforestation and desecration of lands around churches and monasteries such as Waldiba in the name of development and transfers lands and forests to investors? What is happening in Waldiba, Gambella, Ogaden, Afar and others erode trust and confidence in the regime. It does not seem to care. A recent example on corruption shows that confidence and trust in TPLF Inc. and its associates is practically zero.
I should like to remind the reader that graft, bribery, mispricing, embezzlement and illicit outflow are possible in the absence of oversight. Independent oversight is virtually impossible when there are no nationally-oriented opposition parties, independent civil society organizations, academics and journalists. For this reason, TPLF Inc. does anything it wishes and gets away with ‘murder.” Here is the truth. “In Ethiopia today, it is argued, all civil society organizations, opposition political parties, individuals and groups in private enterprise, and other groups are described as rent-seeking, while in contrast, EPDRDF (run by TPLF Inc.), the ruling party, is claimed to be the only one which has developmental credentials.”
This attribution of “rent-seeking” to all opponents is granted to deceive, and establish grounds for harassment, intimidation and fear; and to ensure that there is no competition. Here is part of the menu of evidence that says it all. In its seminal report last year, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lamented that “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit leakage.” The reader will recall that, in 2009 alone, Ethiopia lost “US$3.26 billion in illicit outflow, exceeding both the value of its total exports and the total development aid it received that year.” You will agree with me that it is not leaders or members of “civil society organizations, opposition political parties” academics, journalists or other persons who did this. Critics are in jail or have been forced out of the country. Opposition political parties do not have the freedom to operate in the country let alone own businesses and steal from the society.
Top leaders and supporters of TPLF Inc. do not like people with integrity. Anyone who speaks the truth against the system is an enemy of the party and state and goes to jail if not worse. Truth and patriotism, justice and freedom and other indicators of good governance are inimical to TPLF Inc. This is why competent people are purged from universities and ministries all the time. As a result, TPLF Inc. puts the argument upside down and accuses opponents of “rent-seeking.” The greatest “rent-seekers” are those who run the merged state—ethnicity, party and government. It is they who have perfected political capture and made it an instrument in the accumulation of incomes and wealth nationally. It is a business; and businesses will do anything and everything to thwart competition. At least, there is some form of regulation and ethic that guides and governs private businesses. In the case of TPLF Inc. there is nothing that contests it. Any contest or any telling of the truth will land you in jail unless you flee for your life. This cannot go on.
Fabricated growth data
In “A Climate of Corruption: Ethiopian edition,” Janice Winter of Investigative Journalism captured mistrust and lack of confidence in the Meles Government when she said this. “Conveniently for Meles, no independent institutions in Ethiopia exists, to check the veracity” of anything, including “of government high growth rates” or corruption or gross human rights violations including killings and rapes. She continues to suggest that, “Indeed, the average growth for Meles’ entire 20 year rule is less than 5 percent (below the African average of 6 percent.” Ordinary Ethiopians know this better than Diaspora tourists who see glitz and accept it as structural change in the economy. Each and every day, Ethiopians live with “hyperinflation, widespread unemployment, a stagnant private sector and corruption.”
Here is one critical point that I would like the reader to take. One of the casualties in Ethiopia today is the truth. Top officials of TPLF Inc. fabricate untruth like General Motors fabricates cars. The TPLF Inc. high growth phenomenon is part of the untruth factory; as is the fabrication that anyone who dissents is a terrorist. In 2005, the regime stole the election after it lost decisively and explained to the world that it had won. By any definition, fraudulent electoral outcomes are an outcome of corruption and lies.
Security, police and defense forces are deployed in parts of the country where there is potential dissent and threat with little or no differentiation. The Anuak killed or massacred in Gambella, Somali girls and women raped, indigenous people forced from their ancestral homes in the Lower Omo Valley, Tigreans kept numb and silent in Mekele and elsewhere, Amhara speaking residents in the Southern part of the country forced to leave their homes and property and Christian churches razed to the ground, Oromo students harassed, jailed and killed for seeking fair treatment and justice—these and more violations are justified by TPLF Inc. in the name of peace, security and the constitution. For almost 21 years, it has gone uncontested in pitying one group against another; in assaulting one group in isolation from the other and so on. The rest of us watch a dishonest and dishonorable group do this day after day. My question is simple. Don’t you find these as elements of justifiable cause for principled unity and action in unison? I do. They actions by TPLF Inc. erode public confidence and trust in their government and its officials at any level and in any region.
On Yekatit 1, 2004 Ethiopian calendar, Shiferaw Shigute, President of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), was accused of corruption and embezzlement. This is not surprising as such occurrences from urban and rural land sales and leases, permits and trade are routine. What is stunning is what he said. He admitted that he and Azeb, Meles Zenawi’s spouse and one of the wealthiest persons in Ethiopia today, colluded and stole millions of dollars in illegal trade of coffee, Ethiopia’s main export. Mispricing of coffee and illegal trafficking and trade in coffee and other commodities are among the major sources of illicit outflow. Meles Zenawi was forced to reverse the decision against Shiferaw. Family comes first; and not justice or the rule of law. The law and constitution are manipulated to serve an unjust and corrupt system.
In a similar vein, Mr. Omet Obang, Regional President, Gambella, was accused of ‘murders and massacres’ of his own people. He said, “If I go to jail for crimes against humanity, Meles Zenawi should to. It is he who gave me weapons and orders.” Obang did not go to jail and Meles remains in power. This is how the system works; and how corrupt it is.
Reports of endemic corruption and recurring illicit outflow of funds and other resources by UNDP, Transparency International and most prominently, GFI prompted global outrage and concern among donors and diplomats in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government was forced to hire an outside firm to conduct investigations of corruption. The country’s so-called Anti-Corruption Commission that has absolutely no teeth hired a Tanzanian firm, Kilimanjaro International, to investigate corruption, a cancer that has infected the entire system. The firm was financed by the World Bank and cost almost half a million dollars. The firm interviewed and surveyed 6,500 persons and institutions. To the dismay of TPLF Inc. officials but not to Ethiopian society, the investigation concluded five of 27 government institutions are the most corrupt across the entire country.
I should like the reader to remember that all state institutions cannot be alike. They play different roles. Some possess authority and power that allow them access to resources; and others not. Some have direct effect on the day to day lives of people and others do not. The five most corrupt institutions of government identified are the following:
1. Courts. In a country bound by laws and not political allegiance, courts adjudicate matters fairly, justly, impartially and with the highest level of integrity. The institutions that adjudicate the law and regulatory system are, themselves, soiled in corrupt practices. Officials have been reduced to rationalizing and defending a tainted system that cannot be saved without radical reform. Impartiality and justice are only dreams in Ethiopia today.
2. Police. In countries where institutions are de-politicized and de-ethnicized, public service and security are fundamental and observed by police. This is not the case in Ethiopia today. The police serve as instruments of harassment, intimidation and fear. They do what they are told regardless of innocence.
3. Customs. Licenses, import and export permits duties, trade transactions, fees and so on depend on ethnic and party affiliation. Thus, customs officials and their allies at the top have unlimited opportunities to game the system. It is who you know and who you ally with that matters most. No wonder that customs is one the most corrupt institutions in Ethiopia today.
4. Local and Regional Administration. Urban and rural lands, commodity marketing, the provision of services such as seeds and fertilizers are among the major sources of corruption and abuse of public trust. The SNNP and Gambella offer examples of massive collusion. Nothing worthwhile occurs without some insider deals in local and regional administration in Ethiopia today.
5. Municipalities. Does anyone know any urban place in the country where permits to acquire a piece of land, build something of value and licenses to operate something, to initiate a business and so does not require some form of bribe. This is why Freedom House and the Wall Street Journal concluded last year that the cost of doing business in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world today.
Are there institutions that are relatively free of corruption? Yes; they include Ethiopian Airlines, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the National Bank of Ethiopia and the Postal service. I should caution that it is not easy to steal from an airline. Is it? It is not easy to steal from a commercial bank at least directly unless you rob it. By the way, the government robs banks by forcing them to lend to it. The National Bank has become a piggy bank that prints money and contributes to hyperinflation and the erosion of the Birr everywhere in the country. These relatively corruption-free institutions are not the real service interface between the government and its citizens. The five are. So, it really does not make sense to compare apples and oranges.
Given the mix of the survey, the Tanzanian outfit concludes wrongly that corruption is 78th in the hierarchy of national crisis. In my assessment, corruption that leads directly to illicit outflow is at the top of national crisis. Further, it is not sufficient to confine investigation on corruption to money and related concerns. Equally important is political corruption that has led and continues to lead to the rigging of elections. TPLF Inc. ‘won 99.6 percent’ of the votes in 2010 by barring others from competition; and purges. The ‘silent violence’ against dissidents, opposition political parties, civic organizations, teachers, students and others is a form of corruption.
The forced relocation of 1.5 million Ethiopians from their ancestral lands by 2015 is an abusive of authority and therefore a form of corruption. TPLF Inc. does not allow opponents to offer viable options; affected citizens have no say in the matter. Continued exodus of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from their country in search of alternatives abroad emanates from a corrupt and repressive system that does not allow them to prosper within their own homeland. More directly, corruption and illicit outflow of massive amounts of resources out of the country deprives communities, the society and the country the investment capital they need to expand productive capacity and capabilities: build quality schools, health facilities, safe drinking water, and access roads to rural communities, factories that produce fertilizers, basic consumer goods and so on. It is when the structure of the economy changes dramatically that hyperinflation can be contained Corruption and illicit outflow is therefore a tax on this and the coming generation. It is principally the system that produces and tolerates it.
Given the above, how and why would people trust the TPLF Inc. government, its officials and institutions that are corrupt and tolerate corruption; that lie to them that they are better off today than before it took power 21 years ago while compelling them to accept lies as truths; and that repress them while telling the world that these are done in the name of peace, national security, anti-terrorism and development? I am convinced that lies are an integral part of the ethos of TPLF Inc. and will not change until the entire system changes.
Governments with moral and ethical leadership change when they lose the confidence and trust of their citizens. TPLF Inc. and its civil servants seem to be both arrogant and oblivious or are in complete denial that they are unloved and unwanted. Berhanu Kifetew, the head of the Anti-corruption Commission confirmed this when he dismissed the modest findings and conclusions by the firm he helped hire. He said the study lacked “analytical and statistical depth.” This is a pattern. TPLF Inc. reached the same conclusion on killings and massacres following the 2005 elections; the same conclusions following the massacres in Gambella and the Ogaden.
The reader should never doubt that Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people are hurting big time from corruption and recurring illicit outflow of resources. The reader should not doubt that the beneficiaries of the system cannot possibly change the corrupt and repressive system that keeps them employed. The reader should not doubt for a second that corruption and illicit outflow undermine public trust and confidence in the government, its institutions and officials.
It is up to those—within and outside the country–who love the country and respect the hopes and aspirations of all of the Ethiopian people, to work in unison and to leave a legacy of peaceful transformation anchored in Ethiopia and owned by the Ethiopian people that future generations would recite and the world would admire.
Al-Amoudi targets expansion of his companies’ presence in agricultural, mining sectors
By Elleni Araya | Addis Fortune
Companies under the umbrella of Mohammed International Development Research and Organisation Companies (MIDROC) Ethiopia and its affiliates appear to have thrived at the opening of a public tender to privatise close to eight state-owned firms, after they made offers to acquire more than half of the firms up for a sale.
The Privatisation & Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) had offered Ethiopian Marble Enterprise; Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise; Kality Metal Products Factory; Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise; Awash Winery SC; and Gojeb, Abobo, & Bilito Siraro farms up for privatisation through a public tender issued on January 9, 2012.
When the bid was opened on Thursday, February 23, 2012, MIDROC and its affiliates made an aggregate of 1.3 billion Br in offers to acquire five of the eight enterprises. MIDROC Ethiopia extended the highest offer of 860 million Br for Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise. It was the only offer that came for the enterprise.
The Enterprise is involved in the production and export of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables from its four farms located in Oromia and Afar regional states. Originally developed by a joint venture of domestic and foreign investors during the Emperor’s time, these farms lie on an aggregate land area of 7,049ht. It was nationalised in the late 1970s by the military regime.
Another subsidiary company of MIDROC that stood tall at the bid opening last week was National Mining Corporation (NMiC), managed since its foundation by Melaku Beza, a Russian-trained mining engineer. It offered 110 million Br, and an upfront payment settlement to acquire the Ethiopian Marble Enterprise (EME).
NMiC is not new to dealing with the Agency. It launched its operations in 1993, with a registered capital of 43 million Br, after acquiring Awash Marble Factory from the Agency for 45 million Br. The Factory had the capacity to produce 300,000tn of marble, limestone, and granite for export to the Middle East and Europe.
NMiC’s biggest prize came four years later, when it triumphed over a bidder from South Africa in acquiring the nation’s lone goldmine, Lega Dembi, in Shakiso Wereda, Borena Zone, Oromia Regional State, for 172 million dollars. With the government retaining a two per cent share, the goldmine was granted to NMiC as a concession for 20 years.
The concession coming to an end in five years, NMiC has positive prospects after its geologists discovered the largest gold reserves ever found in the country, in Tigray and Oromia regional states, two months ago. Managers of NMiC announced their plans to start production in three years, in hopes of raising total revenues of four billion dollars within 20 years of exploitation.
Its latest bid to acquire the Ethiopian Marble Enterprise, established by Italian investors in 1963 and nationalised in the late 1970s by the military regime, will bring it additional quarries located in Benishangul Gumuz and Harari regional states. The Enterprise has three branches in Nifas Silk, Bole, and Gulelle districts and made a gross profit of 3.3 million Br from its operations last year.
“There is a big gap between the demand and supply of marble in the country. We are trying to narrow this gap by further expanding our company,” Melaku Beza CEO of the corporation told Fortune. “Ethiopian Marble has a lot of resources that we can use,” Melaku Beza CEO of the corporation told Fortune.
Melaku also affirms that MIDROC is undergoing expansion plans, which explains its numerous bids that it had placed on Thursday.
“MIDROC is always on the move,” says Melaku, explaining that all its subsidiaries are undergoing expansion plans.
National Mining for example is considering opening a large marble factory, once it has finished conducting a feasibility study.
Two MIDROC-affiliated companies, largely owned by the Saudi tycoon Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, are Saudi Star Agricultural Plc and Horizon Plantations Plc. Both offered tens of millions of Birr to acquire state-owned plantations, last week, as well.
Saudi Star, incorporated in 2009 with a capital of 500 million Br, offered 90 million Br to acquire Abebo Farms, located in Gambella Regional State, with 3,000ht of land and a cotton processing plant with a 65,000sqm premises.
If it succeeds in its bid, it will add to Saudi Star’s already vast holdings in the regional state, where it currently holds 10,000ht of land in Alwero area, for growing rice. Saudi Star, now managed by Fikru Desalegn, former state minister of Capacity Building, has pledged to pay 45pc of the payment upfront and settle the balance within four years.
Horizon Plantations Ethiopia Plc, run by Jemal Ahmed, as a deputy to Al-Amoudi, was the lone bidder for two of the other enterprises that the Agency offered for sale.
Horizon Plantations, owned by Al-Amoudi and Jemal, also a prominent edible oil importer, was established in 2008, with a registered capital of 190 million Br. It is not new in acquiring properties from the state, as it bought Bebeka Rubber Plantation, located in Southern and Gambella regional states. Its main farm stretches from Addis Abeba to Dukem and employees 5,000 with a resident population of 28,000. It also acquired a 60pc share in a tyre factory, Addis Matador, and has been granted 85,000ht of land in Bench Maji Zone for a, Southern regional state in February of 2011.
Horizon offered 35.1 million Br, last week, to buy Gojeb Agricultural Development, a private farm during the Emperor’s time, which grows maize, banana, and pineapple on 1,400ht of the 1,800ht of land it owns near the border between Oromia and Southern regional states.
Horizon Plantations is also interested in acquiring the Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise from Agency, offering to pay 228.2 million Br, out of which half is pledged to be paid upfront and the balance to be settled within two years.
The deal, if successful, could put Horizon in a better position than the other bidder, Ambassel Trade Works Enterprise, which has made an offer of 135 million Br, proposing to pay the amount in five years.
However, the bids will have to go through a review process before winners are selected, according to Brehane Gebremadhin, the agency’s director and bid committee chairman.
“The bid committee will review both the technical and financial proposals, which all bidders have submitted, and shortlist winners to the board of directors,” said Brehane.
The Agency’s board is chaired by Tadelech Dalecho, former sate minister of Culture and Tourism (MoCT).
“It is true that MIDROC is undergoing an expansion plan, as it explained during the inauguration of Derba MIDROC Cement Factory,” Jemal told Fortune.
This is part of Al-Amoudi’s commitment to help achieve the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) in the shortest possible time, according to Jemal.
“We bid on the Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise from the Agency so that we could have our own sorting, preening, and polishing facility to produce export-standard coffee.”
The company has pledged to invest an additional half billion Br in Upper Awash, according to its technical proposal, Jemal revealed, speaking for MIDROC.
“We plan to use the farms to grow cash crops through irrigation,” he said.
It is a good expansion strategy that MIDROC is following if they manage to win the bids, according to Henock Assefa, consulting expert and managing director at Precise Consult International.
“Mining and agriculture are very profitable investments,” according to the expert. “You cannot go wrong with such investments, even if you have your eyes closed.”
Other bidders who appeared at the floor of the Agency, located on African Avenue, last week, were Ques Industrial SC, Morel Agro Industry Plc, and individual bidders, such as Mulugeta Tesfakiros and Tigist Deneke. They submitted offers for the acquisition of Kaliti Metal Factory, Bilito Siraro Farm Development, and Awash Winery SC, respectively.
Morell Agro Industry, a foreign company established in 2008, made an offer of six million Birr to buy Billito Siraro Farm in Oromia Regional State. The Farm harvests maize, haricot beans, and sunflower seeds on 3,270ht of land. The company has 10,000ht of land around the border of Somalia.
Mulugeta, who bought Langano Bekele Molla Hotel from the state for 80 million Br, in June 2011, after the original owners defaulted on a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) loan, was seen last week bidding jointly with Tigist Deneke to acquire Awash Winery SC, offering 202 million Br.
The Winery, up for auction for the second time, has been in business since 1943, with brands such as Axumite, Guder, and Awash. It had been the lone operator in the domestic market up until competition knocked on its door, in the form of Castel Winery, a sister company of BGI Ethiopia, brewer of St George, Bati, and Castel beers.
The results of the current bid will be announced in less than a month’s time, according to Berhane.
The embattled former tyrant president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh is going to settle in Ethiopia. Ethiopia will be his home in exile. Ethiopia was not his first choice. He wanted to settle in Oman his neighbor on the West. The Sultan of Oman was not receptive to the idea. Ethiopia is a refuge of last resort. We are being used as a dump. I am certainly familiar with that practice of getting rid of waste. Upon finishing a project we always have left over debris. We normally haul it to a public dump where they charge by the pound. The City makes extra effort to recycle our garbage.
That is what came to mind when I heard about good old Saleh being run out of Sanna, Yemen. They are dumping their debris and I was wondering how much The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was charging for this waste. It is a container full I am told. Considering all the wives and the children and the nephews and the cousins and fellow partners in crime it is quiet a heavy load. It is raining dollars for EFFORT and junior associates.
You might think I am being too harsh. I am being hateful and it is wrong to vent in such a way. How rude of me to call a former President such a name you must be saying. I very much doubt you would judge me harshly after I tell you who Mr. Saleh is. I assure you he is not an ordinary refugee like most of us. None of us left on a chartered plane did we? I present you fellow refugee Ali Saleh.
Ali Saleh has less than elementary education. In 1960 he graduated from the North Yemen Military Academy with a rank of Corporal. In 1978 as a Second lieutenant he was appointed military governor of a province. Upon the assassination of the President Second lieutenant Saleh was appointed a member of the four-man Provisional Presidency Council. The date was June 24th of 1978. On July 17, 1978 Second lieutenant Saleh was ‘elected’ by the parliament to be the President of North Yemen and Chief of staff and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
His first act as president was execute thirty officers after charging them with conspiracy. That took place on August 10th. Of 1978. In 1979 he fought with the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen his southern neighbor. In 1990 the two counties merged as Republic of Yemen and the newly minted colonel Saleh became the first president. In 1994 he declared state of emergency and dismissed his Southern partners from office. Fighting ensued between the two Yemen’s. There has been no respite from civil war and civil unrest ever since he came to power. It did not matter the North or the South it was always war and conflict. In his own words he survived ‘by dancing on the heads of snakes.’ He is able to do so by manipulating tribal alliances, political intrigues and iron fisted approach to deal with real and perceived enemies. He created the situation and benefited himself and his family and other criminal friends. He lived in a palace that even got ‘gold-crested armchairs.’
By 2006 Yemen was averaging income of $5.5 billion from oil exports. In 2006 Yemen received $4.7 billion from Europeans and their rich Gulf neighbors. Yemen was not hurting for money. The problem was management of all that was pouring in from oil, donors and remittances from poor Yemenis scattered all over the Middle East.
That is what happens when one is cursed with a sick leader in charge. His political and economic policies are designed to satisfy his and his clan’s parasitic existence not the needs of the country. Coffee used to be Yemen’s main export and principal form of foreign exchange until it was replaced by the non-sustainable (qat). Instead of developing domestic industry thru better education and incentives to entrepreneurs Saleh’s policy made Yemen dependent on outsiders and forced his youngest and brightest citizens to migrate out to send him remittances that he squandered. Yemen became what is known as a ‘failed state.’
As his domestic policy revolved around the survival of his family and friends his foreign policy showed the erratic nature of his regime. Saleh’s support of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait was so disastrous it caused the relocation of over 850,000 Yemenis. They were unceremoniously deported, kicked out, pushed away from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. His clueless dance with Tehran isolated Yemen from its Arab neighbors.
Tyrants are peculiar animals. The same Saleh who was a friend of Saddam and ally of Iran was not shy visiting Washington in 2001 and declaring himself to be the number one fighter against ‘Islamic terrorism.’ It gave him new ammunition against domestic opponents and millions of dollars in US aid to his private army. Did I tell you that his oldest son Ahmed is the commander of the US funded Republican Guard and his nephew Amar is in charge of National Security; his other nephew Tariq is the head of the Presidential Guard while another nephew Yahya controls the Counter-terrorism unit. It is all in the family. He is still dancing on the head of snakes.
Poor Yemen that has been limping from one crisis to another saw an opening with the arrival of
‘Arab Spring’ all the way from Tunisia. January 27, 2011 is a blessed day. That was the day Yemenis got rid of fear and went out in mass demanding the ouster of Saleh and family. A cancerous tumor that has taken over thirty years to attach itself to the host cannot be excised so easy. It took exactly a year to drive this varmint out of Yemen. Human Rights Watch has documented the deaths of 270 protesters and bystanders during last year’s protests. Thousands more protesters were injured by live ammunition. The country was turning or stands a good chance of becoming another Somalia. Saleh is the owner of this debacle.
This is the toxic garbage dumped on our country. The Yemeni people will demand justice. They will hunt this criminal and his family to the end of the earth to bring him to justice. No one can blame them. Ethiopia will be exposed to their righteous anger and be caught in this family affair. Our country that has prided itself protecting freedom fighters and is the seat of African Union is fast becoming a refugee to criminals and misfits running away from their sins and International Justice. Today Saleh may be tomorrow Sudan’s Al Bashir and who is to stop Assad from pitching his tent in the rift valley.
International treaties and conventions are nothing to sneer at. It is true they serve the interest of the big powers in more ways than one. It is also the best tool at hand that usually serves the interest of the weak. Go to International Criminal Court of Justice Web site and look under ‘situation and cases’ and you will see what I mean. (http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Home) That is one scary bunch you see there. The ICCJ is a last resort of the weak and voiceless. Our country has appealed to the League of Nations and the UN when invaded. Turning against international rules and convention is not the way to garner respect or legitimacy.
What is troubling to the rest of us is the role played by the Western powers in this tragic affair. They were perfectly aware that Saleh is not a pleasant human being to be associated with. They encouraged him because he served their purpose. Wikileaks was kind enough to expose their duplicity in this criminal enterprise. In 2009 the US gave $150 million including $45 million to equip and train an aviation regiment for Yemeni Special Forces. It is sad that in order to safeguard their own security that they turn a blind eye when their gun is used against unarmed civilians.
They are the ones that forced the Yemeni people to swallow this poisonous pill of ‘immunity’. The so-called agreement brokered by the US and the Gulf states is supposed to shielded Saleh, his friends and family from all criminal act against their own people. Thus the Yemenis are expected to pretend thirty-four years of crime and destruction did not happen.
It is supposed to be civilized to forgive and let go. Civility as a principle is understandable but the danger I see is when it is practiced to mask issues such as accountability, justice and the rule of law. What the Western powers did was push international law, international treaties under the rug so some still surviving tyrants will not be unduly alarmed. The about-face action by dear allies and friends of Mubarak and Gaddafi has been duly noted by a few in the neighborhood. As recently as January 6, 2012 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reasserted that an amnesty cannot be granted for serious crimes under international law. Who is listening?
I was contemplating issues such as this when I heard a report regarding Gambella, Ethiopia – on public radio. Mr. Saleh is being welcomed to settle in our country and Ato Okok Ojulu is displaced from his ancestral land to roam the planet as a refugee.
Ato Ojulu’s Gambella is in Western Ethiopia. It is sparsely populated. They are settled farmers. They are blessed with a beautiful land that has sustained them for generations. Our leader has determined since he is the owner of the land he felt he is better of leasing it to outsiders. The plan consisted of moving Ato Ojulu and his village to a new area. They did not even have time to harvest when they were forcefully moved.
A peaceful villager is now a refugee in Kenya. He is not equipped to live outside of his village. His land is his identity. He was content where he was. Today his beautiful Gambella is becoming one big commercial farm. They are talking about investing billions and growing rice. They are going to use the mighty river for irrigation and dump their fertilizer waste into the water. The fishes and wild animals are going the way of Ato Ojulu. Gambella will be no more. The Anuk way of life will soon be memory.
I sat in my car. I am responsible for my brother’s plight. I let his village down. Ojulu my brother is telling his story all the way from Kenya. He was keeping the spirit of his ancestors alive. He has no control over the action of the Ethiopian Government that looked at him as insignificant. There is nothing he can do about the Saudi/Indian/Chinese investors. My brother Ojulu has control over his own response. He is fighting back the way he knows how. It was a single voice from across the planet but we heard it loud. My friend Solomon heard it and called me. I am sure lots of people heard it and felt moved. How we respond is up to each of us. I also know Ojulu is not asking for pity.
As he remembered his displaced people he is asking us to do what is in our power to help him save a way of life and a proud people. There is a lot we can do. Get involved and make a difference. All our independent sites are filled with programs to help us get informed and be intelligent citizens. Our love and can do spirit will defiantly neutralize all the negatives emanating from the palace. As my brother Ojulu did let us be in control of our response. (http://www.solidaritymovement.net/signPetion.cfm )
Now I hope you will not judge me harshly regarding my indignation about the individual Ali Saleh. He has caused pain and agony to a lot of people. Why will never explain how his criminal activity has impacted real people. Due to his madness and delusion he felt that he was the only one fit to govern. He felt others lack his superior intellect and are very lucky to have him at the helm. All those that oppose him are nothing but enemy of the state to be eliminated and wiped out. This is the person parking his criminal behind on our precious land. I see a doormat.
‘Prime Minster Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday Ethiopia could pardon politicians and journalists arrested under a 2009 anti-terrorism law.’ That news was reported widely including inside Ethiopia. Normally what we hear outside and what the people are told is two different things. This time the message was meant for the Ethiopian people. It reinforces the idea of the benevolent Land Lord.
What the Ethiopian minority based regime is doing is bullying it’s own people. According to Wiki ‘Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior manifested by the use of force or coercion to affect others, particularly when the behavior is habitual and involves an imbalance of power.’ Gadaffi was a serial bully so was Mubarak or Saleh. Meles Zenawi is a habitual bully. He uses lethal force as well as verbal aggression on a daily basis. His regime terrorizes our people both inside and outside the country.
No one speaks openly in the so-called developmental state of Ethiopia. Every body is spying on everybody else. It doesn’t have to be true but they all believe it is so. That is what matters. This is a form of mental terror. Those outside are not immune to this. In most meetings Pictures are shot from the back of the room careful not to alarm people. Most prefer ‘pen’ names or aliases when they write to hide their identity. That is true even on social media. It is not to belittle or make fun our behavior but it is true and it is so due to fear. Real or imagined is not important but it affects how we think and act. It affects our inner soul.
That is what a bully does to you. Bullies instill fear. Remember agriculture (peasant farming) is the vocation of 85% of the population and accounts for 45% of GDP. We are the product of a pre industrial society. It really don’t matter where one resides that trait is wired into our behavior. Sometimes in haste we seem to forget that. The truth is that we accept authority with out much fanfare due to old culture and ignorance. We accept the importance of hierarchy and the virtue of keeping quiet and suffering silently.
This drama of “pardon” is nothing more than another ponzi scheme to play with our fears. The current drama started with the ferenji reporters. The regime had a hot potato issue in its hands. The Swedish reporters were caught in the Ogaden during a firefight between the TPLF Army and ONLF freedom fighters. Once they were caught alive they were never in danger. They cannot be made to disappear. You just don’t go around killing white people like you do with Africans. The moment their capture became public their own government and every European Embassy made it clear that the Ethiopian Junta is responsible for every single hair on their body of their unwelcome guests.
The idea of using the reporters to bully the Ethiopian people seemed like a winning idea. It has its risk but one can only deal with the cards on the table. The regime decided to use the occasion to send its own message to the Ethiopian people. The ‘anti-terrorism law was a perfect vehicle to widen the net. Ethiopian Journalists and opposition leaders were bundled with the fernjis. The West was consumed by their own kind and did not pay that much attention to the natives. I am talking about the Western Governments here and their big Media. There were plenty of organizations and individuals protesting loudly regarding all prisoners in Ethiopia.
We are always thankful to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters without Boarders (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Doctors without Boarders (MSF), and plenty others that are friends of all those that suffer under all kinds of Dictators. Using the anti-terrorism Law the TPLF regime has arrested god knows how many Ethiopians. We have the names of all the prominent ones but to their friends and family all arrested are prominent and dear. We publicize the names of the ones we know but they speak for all the other thousands. Eskinder was picked up on his way to pick up his son from school, Andualem was arrested at his office, Reeyot, Wubshet and Zerihune were hauled away from their place of work. None were caught with any kind weapon other than their free will and their pen.
I keep Eskinder in my heart all the time. I have conflicting feelings about him. His stubbornness irritates me. His strength threatens my docility. I harbor a certain amount of anger towards him. That is the Ethiopian in me, blaming the victim. There aren’t many Eskinders on this planet. That is why we treasure them when they show up like the morning Sun, bright and warm. His determination against all odds fills all of us his brothers and sisters with so much strength while his jailers recoil with shame. Using the might of the State to bully one citizen is such an abuse of power and authority it makes the jailers look so small and uncivilized. He has been in jail since September 14. It has been over one hundred twenty days or over six months my brother has been kidnapped for no other crime other than wanting to be free to think, write and raise a family. His wife Serkalem and his miracle son Nafkot live in agony. We cannot imagine their sorrow. How do you miss someone you haven’t met but I miss him and wish him all the strength to live another day.
I can’t imagine solitary confinement. I assume the cycle of the days becomes meaningless. They use silence as a weapon. All their punishment is meant to hurt. It is designed to harm and injure. It is cruel mental torture. The brain plays games on you they say. Does he have a window in his cell or is he in a dungeon. Is it cold and wet? Keeping a ‘prisoner’ inside wells, caves or a dark dungeon is a common TPLF practice. Are they doing that to my brother? It is not my imagination. Their style of work is well documented. The testimony given by old party members that have defected is very alarming and scary. My friend Eskinder is on the other end of this sadistic system.
The regime used the their ferenji prisoners to talk to us. Bullying is the language of preference the minority-based regime employs to telegraph its likes and dislikes. Jailing our best and brightest is meant to teach the rest of us the futility of defiance. Meles and company used the ferenjis to show their subjects that they are not afraid. They can even jail a ferenji and impose their will is what they were telling us. Observe and behave is the message. It is a government gone rogue.
No words describe the satisfaction when we witness the plan boomerang. It backfired big time. It is not a game changer but it has managed to expose the workings of the Ethiopian Junta in power to a bigger audience. It counts a lot. We the vocal Diaspora, the talkers and non-doers are very happy of this outcome. We take complete credit for the debacle. The exposure of the regime’s method of waging war on the Ethiopian people has become a public relations nightmare to their public relations firm. They are attempting damage control. They are trying to put lipstick on a pig.
Ato Meles and his minority-based dictatorship are feeling the heat from their enablers. The spring of TPLF style ‘Pardon’ is upon us again. Kinijit Pardon Judge Bertukan pardons are in the history books. I have to refer to Pardonoligists to determine if Judge Bertukan’s pardon is given one or two credit. Our two guests are leaving us soon. They will be pardoned and let go in the next few weeks. The regime using its monopoly media will tell its subjects that the Swedes accepted responsibility and asked for forgiveness while showing remorse and they were deported. But the damage was done. Even the New York Times noticed. What we have been saying is sort of noticed by foreigners that matter. As I said it is a step forward but not a game changer.
Arab Spring’ has made a few things clear. The people themselves have to conquer their fear and demand their rights. There is no other formula or recipe. What we saw was when the people slowly realize their power there is nothing to stop them from snatching it away from the usurper. How it is snatched is a whole story by itself. Think of Mubarak, Gadaffi, Saleh and think of Ben Ali. Three selfish bastards with three different responses to the same demand. Go figure who today is able to pray facing Mecca.
What is clear is that we are contributing our share. Make no mistake about our role. No one will pay attention to Meles’s crimes if it was not for us in the outside. Our activates on the Internet and on Facebook is bearing fruits. ESAT is proving how balanced, informative and educational we could be given the chance. ESAT is 100% made in Ethiopia. The independent Web sites are flourishing. Arab Spring was all about using every available means to create one big family focused and willing to act as a bridge to tomorrow land. I am sure an opinion maker like Mr. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times Googling us will see the kind of people we are. We are passionate but we are not haters. We are probing for a solution that is acceptable to the many. We celebrate diversity. Our Free Web sites reflect that. The Ethiopian regime cannot say that. They block ideas they do not agree with. They are afraid of airing an opinion different from theirs. They win by silencing not by the power of their argument. A dammed down population is easy too bully. They keep our people in the dark by design. That is why some of us shout and scream. Looks like we are getting heard.
What we do with this knowledge is something to think about. Surely we think about the prisoners of conscience that are paying for doing what was allowed in the regimes own constitution. Do we double our efforts so the Eskinders, the Andualems, the Reeyots the Zerhunes, the Wubshets will be free and enjoy life to its fullest? Do we dare to conquer fear and unite in a positive manner to do good? Do we allow the regime to bully us into submission or rise up in righteous indignation and say hell no! Our individual tiny contribution in consort with other minuscule offerings becomes a tsunami when put together. That is what we learnt from Egypt. Do not let the bully get away with his rude and crude method of dismissing us but make him pay attention and watch him flail to explain the unexplainable.
Listen to Communication Minster Bereket Semeon trip over his words trying to explain who and how in the world he thinks he is entitled to regulate what we write and say. Watch the Junta leader confess that he copied the Law from the West so it must be correct. It is pathetic and so void of commonsense it makes you wonder how they view us. When you see the Kangaroo Parliament laughing at his tasteless jokes and moronic explanations you can see it is the blind leading the blind and our current situation of jumping from one crisis to another makes perfect sense. Well Ato Meles if you are in the habit of copying how about copying the ‘Bill of Rights’ from the US Constitution. Sorry my mistake it looks like you have already copied a few things but my dear friend the devil is in the implementation.
There are a few fighting evil. We are not all docile. We are not all self centered. On the other hand it is true most of us are afraid. We try to cover that by being belligerent towards each other. Afraid of Meles and his killing machine we turn our ire against each other. That has to stop. It is not cute and it makes us so cheap and laughable. Being afraid to confront Meles and his people does not justify dumping ones anger against those that are resisting his crimes. Do you see yourself my friend? You lie down dead and blame those that fight back? Does that make sense? What are you going to do when the Ethiopian people rise up like Egyptians or Libyans or Syrians? Blame the victims and blame us for inciting? Some say why don’t you go back and fight? Really is that the best you can come up with? From where I sit most of us have three choices to make. We can help our people resist, we can sit on the side and pretend dead or join the TPLF as junior partners. Choose and act.
‘…. he was feared far beyond his might and respected far beyond his support, both which in the end proved meager. … would play one official off of another, promoting sons above their fathers, pitting the members of too-powerful families or clans or unions against one another for resources, splitting so many allies and creating so many feuds and petty rivalries that it was nearly impossible that any two ……. could come together to ask one another if there might be another way.’
Max Fisher, associate editor – The Atlantic.
Mr. Fisher’s description fits most successful dictators. Admit it you thought he was talking about ours, didn’t’ you? It is all right, no need to worry; he was actually talking about the late Colonel Gaddafi. The Leader got away with just doing that for over forty years. Libya lost a generation. That is what failed leaders do to a country. After they are gone they leave a mess behind.
The drawing above is by cartoonist Ali Ferzat of Syria. Mr. Assad and his associates did not look kindly at his work. According to Mr. Fisher “On August 25, the 60-year-old Syrian political cartoonist Ali Ferzat was driving home from his office in Damascus when a car with tinted windows blocked the road. Men dragged Ferzat from his car, stuffed him in a van, beat him severely and broke both his hands in what they called “a warning” and dumped him on the side of the road.” Mr. Assad and his goons would like to kill Mr. Ferzat, thereby digging their grave. That is the logic of dictators.
Mr. Ferzat drew the above cartoon after his hands healed. What is going on in Syria is insanity, and that is putting it mildly. President Assad has witnessed the demise of Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Saleh but he is following the path that leads to the same dead end street. Why do you think? He is not stupid, and I doubt he is insane. May be a little insane ok? He probably thinks things are different in Syria. May be he believes he is more cunning and smarter than those buffoons. No matter what, he cannot stop this runaway train. He has no choice. It is a do or die situation. He is a prisoner of his own doing and the Syrian people are prisoners of their tolerance of evil for so long.
We Ethiopians are familiar with that state of affairs. We have been prisoners for a long time. It is true we have not been lucky with the leaders we seem to attract. Misfits and delusional describes them better. It is a good enough explanation for the debacle in our homeland. My question is how come the same dysfunctional behavior is replicated away from home?
It is fair to ask if we are running our affairs any better where ever we have settled. If our claim is that we have been cursed with bad leaders can we show any evidence that we are capable of building a harmonious society with out the interference of those we hold responsible for our failure? I believe it is a legitimate question that begs for answers from each one of us. I am interested in an answer not an excuse. Excuse is for losers. My interest is in looking for an explanation so we can search for a solution to fix the problem not to go on a fishing expedition to avoid responsibility or share the blame.
Look around you. We are in the hundreds of thousands that have left their home to construct a new reality. There is no denying that we are good at survival no matter how dire the circumstances. From the Jungles of Uganda all the way to Southern Africa, from Beirut to the Gulf, From Tuscany Coast to the frigid waters of Scandinavia and the mighty Continent of North America we Ethiopians are thriving in our new environment. Any mother would be proud of us! Please don’t get a big head now there is more.
That speaks about our individual achievements. My profound question to you my Diaspora cousin is how come we shine as individuals but fail as a community? Can you answer that for me? If you don’t mind I said answer not make up an excuse that will remove ‘you’ from the equation and dump the sins onto others. That is not good enough. That is what is called avoidance. It is a little difficult to imagine how each one of you is a perfect saint while all those ‘others’ are the ones causing the problem. It does not work like that. Believe me it is not that way.
If we are going to share the glory I believe we should be willing to share the blame too. The problem with our country is that there are so many that take credit for the past while screwing the present. I don’t mean to belittle the many achievements of the few. I am looking at the bigger picture. Voltaire wrote ‘No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.’ You see what I mean. There wouldn’t be an avalanche without the individual snowflake.
Our anti social behavior is manifested in most aspects of our interactions. Be it Political, religious or simple Eder the slash and burn formula is our choice of resolving simple misunderstandings. Just check out your community if you are lucky or unlucky enough to live in a large size abesha population. There is a high possibility that the effort of individuals is spent in conflict and drama instead of cooperation and harmony. We are becoming very good in this use and discard philosophy. It used to be like that in the West before they became aware of the limitations of resources. Everything was manufactured to be used and thrown away.
You know how good we are at copying. Unfortunately we are not discriminating. Thus we picked up that concept and applied it to our country. Circumstances forced us to leave. Returning was not a safe option. That fact made the act of leaving something you love behind a normal situation. Now we have enhanced that to include organizations and associations. If we disagree we just create a small faction and leave. After spending so much time and resources in building a beautiful organization, Church etc. we have no qualms in leaving it behind hoping it would disintegrate and disappear. I have seen situations where the wreckers have no plans with what to replace it with. All available force goes into making sure nothing survives.
Why do you think that is so? I am not imaging this. I am sure we all love our country. We love each other. I know that because we seem to spend inordinate amount of time worrying about each other and our homeland. We have our own Churches and Mosques; we have our own restaurants, quick stores, coffee shops, our own on line community etc. For people that can’t live without each other we definitely exhibit a strange way to show our love and concern.
This formidable force commonly called the Diaspora is a paper tiger. The Diaspora is all bark no bite. In fact the Diaspora is such a negative and destructive force it needs to be overhauled. Such talk might offend you. You might be forced to get your guards up. That is the snowflake talking. It is like saying I see all this dysfunction around me but I am not responsible. Who me? I am the picture of love and tolerance. It is all those others that are the cause of all evil. Stop that now.
That is what Gaddafi said. Look what it got him. Denial is not a winning strategy. Self-reflection is what the situation demands. Admitting there is a problem is show of maturity. Holding oneself responsible and willing to change is one giant step forward. This total dysfunction is the sum total of the little things we do in our everyday interaction.
I believe we can start with respect for each other. Respect based not because of education, wealth or gosa but respect because we are each other’s keepers. There is no need to demonize others, no value in demeaning fellow country people, not a good idea searching for motive in every utterance and no winner in war. If we take care of the little things, the big things will fall into place.
This habit of screaming bloody murderer about the hapless Woyane is not taking us anywhere. The crimes of our tyrannical leaders will be the cause of their downfall. The Ethiopian people will take care of that. They are working on it everyday. It is us I worry about. If we are not capable of forming a harmonious society out here where we really do not have conflicting interest what makes you think we could succeed over there? Shouldn’t out here be the place where we learn this new concept of respect, tolerance, kindness and all other winning behavior?
That is the advantage of living in a free society. It gives individuals a choice. No one compels us to do this or that. We are free to choose. Thus when we split our Church, when we disrespect our leaders be it Community or Party we are making a choice. When we speak ill of each other and when we hurt each other with venomous language it is a choice we each make. When we invest in Woyane land, buy stolen property, turn our faces away when we see our people being abused we are making a choice. No need to look at your neighbor. You ladies and gentlemen have to answer for your own actions. What would it be soaring high like the eagle or scavenging like the vulture. The choice is yours but you must take full responsibility for it!
