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The Diaspora as a teacher

By Yilma Bekele

There are a lot of Ethiopians outside of their homeland. I have not seen a reliable statistics to tell us the real number, but there is no hiding from the fact that we have become a Nation that looks to outside to solve many of our pressing needs. Coffee, hides and lately cereals have been touted as the main export of our country since time {www:immemorial}. I have a feeling that is not correct anymore. Today human beings are the chief export of our country.

Like any {www:commodity} there are several ways people are exported. Coffee is exported raw or washed, classified into different grades or packaged various ways. It is the same with people. Some have higher education while a few are illiterate. The fortunate fly out while others walk or swim. Then there are those young so-called orphans sold out to the highest bidder.

Is the export of people good or bad? At first glance the natural reaction is to say there is nothing good about uprooting people from their natural habitat. It robs society of its precious resources. Missing the young and energetic is not a small matter to society. They are the future building blocks. There is also the problem of ‘brain drain’. Those that are blessed with that illusive and much wanted ‘fertile brain’ are always the first plucked by the rich West.

When it comes to our country export of people is a double-edged sword. It robs us of the services of our educated experts while at the same time the income they generate outside is returned back as remittances. The Diaspora has become the premier generator of wealth. Without remittances from the Diaspora our country would be more destitute if such thing is at all possible.

Why is the Diaspora so resourceful and so committed to helping its homeland is a good question? That is what I want to explore in this piece. That we are a special people is not an idle question. It is true and verifiable. Go to any big city all over the planet and you will see what I mean. There is an Ethiopian enclave wherever you go. We create a country inside a country. That is due to factors rooted in our history. We are suspicious of outsiders and it has been inoculated in us that we are the best. Whether true or not is not the issue. That we believe it is a fact is reflected in our behavior. We make sure we live in close proximity; we dine on Injera and wot day in and day out while pretending we can’t stand each other is part of our psychological makeup.

We are new at this game of outside migration. Before the fall of the Emperor the number of Ethiopians outside of their homeland was not significant at all. Higher education was the main reason for leaving the homeland. The vast majority returned home. The emergence of the Derg opened the floodgates. The TPLF minority junta made it into a business. It does not show any sign of slowing down. My question is it possible to make the Diaspora experience into a teachable experience?

I believe so. The Diaspora experience is a rich lesson that can be transferred into a positive asset to help our country and people. The vast majority leave their country empty handed with a one-way ticket out. It is definitely a frightening experience not knowing what lies ahead around the corner. Our lesson in independent living starts the first day away from home. By now it is clear that we are resourceful people and no amount of hurdle is a hindrance to the Abesha spirit residing in our DNA.

Do you ever wonder why we are so successful as immigrants but can qualify as a poster child for dysfunctional behavior when at home? I am not hating but it is difficult to escape that fact of life. We shine like a neon light as a Diaspora anywhere on planet Earth. No question about that.

The most crucial thing we learn is how to prioritize our needs. The first thing we secure is food and shelter. Be it a refugee center, a Red Cross-camp or the bare floor of a cousins apartment any place is acceptable until the next day. It usually takes a few days to get our orientation back and absorb knowledge from the early settlers. Then, we are up and running.

Our existence as the Diaspora is a varied as our Ethiopia. There is no profession we are not familiar with. It all depends on age, level of education, sex, and pure whim. One thing for sure is that we learn fast to be masters of our universe. As I said we choose many roads but we maintain certain things in common. We learn to value privacy. We learn fast that Independent living is not free. Some work, a few work and go to school while others concentrate on education. There is nothing like free choice.

We find out about budgeting and what it means to live within your means. The rent or mortgage has to be paid, utility cannot be skipped, insurance is a must and grocery is not an option. We learn how to plan to buy a house, a car or take a vacation. It is hard work but the reward is beyond imagination. There is nothing like standing on your own. We don’t stop there. The moment we feel secure we move heaven and earth to help each other. Brothers, sisters long lost relatives and even neighbors line up asking for a hand. Abeshas are generous people.

Do you see my problem here? How come the same resourceful people that roam the planet and succeed beyond expectations stink to high heaven in that real estate called Ethiopia? Is it possible those thousands of years of isolated living high up on our mountains have fortified our individualism? Do we function better alone rather than in-group setting? Is that why we are good at distance running but never succeed in soccer? Individually we excel whether in education, sports or business but put us in a venture that requires cooperation and working together and you know we are inviting trouble.

The life as a Diaspora is proof that we are up to the task when challenged and survival depends on ingenuity, clear-cut goals and personal rewards for job well done. That is what we can teach our people. As a Diaspora we have learned dreams and reality are two different animals. We deal with facts. Here are the lessons that I think we can share with our people.

· Life is about setting priority.
· We secure food and shelter first.
· We learn how to live within our means.
· We decide between education, work or both and don’t look back.
· We learn respect for others so they respect us back.
· We celebrate diversity and learn how to coexist with others.
· We learn not to shift responsibility or play the blame game.
· We discover how being an Ethiopian is a big deal and observe how much it is ingrained into us.
· We learn not to insult, demean or hate others.
· We learn the value of success and the meaning of sharing.

Don’t they all look so simple and easy? Apparently that is not the case. Our country is a perfect example of how to learn from negative experience. Don’t you wish our leaders had gone thru this growing process? They will learn to secure food and shelter first. They will not rent a house for five hundred dollars and install a thousand dollars security system. They will not buy an SUV while a little Toyota is what their budget allows. They will not marginalize a section of their population instead of inviting all to live under one big tent. They will learn how to save for a rainy day instead of scrambling to plug the leak as it pours. Most important of all they will learn not to look down at others because of some perceived inadequacy. They will learn to value and respect others not based their lineage, education, wealth or power but simply because they are human beings like us. When we start from that premise everything fits in place.

At a time when millions of our Somali brothers and sisters are facing hell on earth, millions of Ethiopians are surviving with less than one hundred calories a day don’t you think it is about time we reevaluate our current dysfunctional behavior? There is nothing wrong at reassessing our philosophy and outlook on life. It is never too late to change. We can start by being nice to each other, by listening to each other and looking at situations in a positive manner. This game of cultivating hate and magnifying differences is a dead end street. The lessons we are learning as a Diaspora has made us a better Ethiopian and decent human being. We never choose to settle away from our precious home but the experience has only enriched us and made us into a more tolerant and well-rounded person. Although we miss our home and people we have managed to contribute the lions share of helping our country.

Now if only those in charge will use the billions we send home to prioritize and spend the bounty in a meaningful manner. Now if only they will allocate resources to feed, shelter and educate our people in a rational manner. Now if only they spend our remittances on agriculture, technology and sustainable development. Now if only they will learn to respect us, bring us together and involve us in our affairs. The bottom line is we are not responsible for the behaviors of others but surely we can start by changing our selves and showing others how much cooperation is much superior than celebrating conflict. Remember Ezana, Tewodros, Abba Jifar, Tona, Ali Mirah, Worawo, Ginocho and other honorable ancestors are looking down at us, what do we tell them?

6 thoughts on “The Diaspora as a teacher

  1. Ethiopia will be a better country when the generation that has created all her troubles will die out. It included Meles and all his cronies, the so called opposition politicians and pretend politicians in Washington DC.

  2. “Now if only those in charge will use the billions we send home to prioritize and spend the bounty in a meaningful manner. Now if only they will allocate resources to feed, shelter and educate our people in a rational manner. Now if only they spend our remittances on agriculture, technology and sustainable development. Now if only they will learn to respect us, bring us together and involve us in our affairs. The bottom line is we are not responsible for the behaviors of others but surely we can start by changing our selves and showing others how much cooperation is much superior than celebrating conflict. Remember Ezana, Tewodros, Abba Jifar, Tona, Ali Mirah, Worawo, Ginocho and other honorable ancestors are looking down at us, what do we tell them?” you wrote

    If our leaders, if our leaders, if our leaders, if, if , if and endless ifs.

    With out meaning to be disrespectful I just wish to ask to who are our leaders if we mean Ethiopian leaders?

    The same dictators who have been systematically gunning down poor Ethiopian civilians, jailing and displacing poor Ethiopian civilians, went to war with Eritrea massacring hundreds and thousands of young and bright Ethiopians as well as squandering billions in cash and kind scarce resources, again went to war by invading Somalia where billions of cash and kind scarce sources and human lives have been thrown in to the desert sands while Ethiopians were slowly bur surely being prepared for constant starvation and wretchedness while Wayanes were making sky high wealth’s from war economy, war aids, war procurements, and distribution lucrative business activities as well as super commissions from the military industrial complex.

    Nature only plays nominal and partial role but starvation is essentially a deliberate man made policy. There are/were occasional environmental problems here and there all over the world but people are not starving endlessly in countries and regions where enabling, empowering pluralistic democratic good government and good govern aces are fully functioning.

    In reality and as a matter of fact constantly helping and aiding starving population under tyrannically corrupt bad government is NOT helping those who are starving but those who are using starvation and the starving people as hostages for collecting huge amounts of wealth for tyrants and the corrupt bad governance it is up keeping. If it were not for external help and external dependency the suffering population should have decided to rise up and bring about democratic and empowering good government that would have been accountable and brought and end to this absolutely shameful repeat beggar manship and complete aid dependency with NO light at the end of the tunnel.

    Following tradition, it is OK to respect the dead and the ancestors, recite their names but absolutely I cannot understand as to why the 21st century educated Ethiopians who are well versed in local and international politics as well as all the multitudes of knowledge and wisdom turn around like fools, dependently yearning to learn from completely uneducated and unenlightened 19th century dead ignorant tyrannical rulers and traditional intuitive administrators rather than mining their own minds just like the bottomless diamond and gold mines and then from there form viable unity within diversity as to bring SUSTAINABLE END TO THE ENDLESS SUFFERINGS OF THE POOR ETHIOPIANS.

  3. Elias, try to read this piece line by line so that you can understand what this fellow countryman is telling us. It is good to see such self-assessment and analysis of our societies believes and practices (good or bad) and suggestions of possible ways to overcome our shortcomings. It is appreciated that he tried his best to be open-up and talk about ourselves. Now what Elias Kifle need to learn from this is…

  4. #1.Anonymous,

    “Ethiopia will be a better country when the generation that has created all her troubles will die out. It included Meles and all his cronies, the so called opposition politicians and pretend politicians in Washington DC.” you wrote

    Please excuse my unusual frankness but may I (Queen) politely I say that you are absolutely wrong if you don’t mind.

    We must stand up in unity within diversity and fight for freedom, democracy, empowerment and justice for all and consciously convert that beautiful country and beautiful people as well as the whole Horn in to an island of peace and the prosperous Garden of EDEN. Doomsday predictions have never been a solution and they have never come to prevail any way.

    I am also absolutely sure that the mixed and diverse current and future generations, part whom are part of the problems, part of whom are neutral bystanders and part of whom are eager transformers will slowly but surely come to emerge building up sufficiently enough critical mass at one point in time and place as to transform the beautiful country in the direction of the desired democratic society just like the Tunisians, Egyptians and the others are doing currently with the utmost determination and willing sacrifices for the bright and positive exemplary world. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING! If the Tunisians, the Egyptians as well as the currently struggling populations just like you embraced pessimism, saying, “Our country will be a better country when the generation that has created all her troubles will die out.” they should have been still under the brutal crushing mighty powers of their chest pumping tyrannical dictators, with no human rights and human dignities.

    When you are at your most pessimistic and weak moments, please relax by doing only what you like to do most and or go to sleep enough just to collect and store lots of energy and optimism. After that, start networking with good people and good organizations and fight in unity within diversity for democratic changes and empowerment. Consider it as your life style and a positive pass time. IF YOU CAN’T YOUR CHILDREN CAN; IF YOUR CHILDREN CAN’T YOUR GRAND CHILDREN CAN! People may die but their ideas will live for ever. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING again! And you will surely win in the end!

  5. The Syrian Problem
    by Steve Coll May 30, 2011

    The Damascus Spring of 2001 was so called because Syrian democrats hoped that President Bashar al-Assad, a mild-mannered doctor trained in London, who had been installed as the successor to his ruthless father, Hafez, might forswear tyranny. That Spring ended, and some of the hopeful landed in torture rooms. Four years later, activists issued the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, which called on Assad to hold free parliamentary elections, “launch public freedoms,” and “abolish all forms of exclusion in public life.” Instead, he imprisoned the document’s leading signatories. Last Thursday morning, Radwan Ziadeh, a signer of the Damascus Declaration, went to the State Department, in Washington, D.C., to hear President Obama assess the current Arab Spring, which has brought forth popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt as well as mass protests elsewhere, including in Syria, where Assad has responded by shooting demonstrators. Obama arrived late, after doing last-minute rewrites at the White House. On Syria, the President offered just eight parsed sentences. He accused Assad’s regime of murder but did not call forthrightly for the President’s departure, as he had when Libya’s dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, ordered that protesters be shot. Syria’s ruler “has a choice,” Obama said. He can lead “a transition to democracy . . . or get out of the way.” But Ziadeh was pleased, he said, because Assad now “has to understand that he has to step down.” A Syrian spring that rewarded its hopeful citizens would signal a major change. The country, though not as influential as Egypt, has modernized in certain respects; it has a sophisticated middle class. Moreover, because of its geographic centrality, Syria has been a fulcrum of regional politics, and it is pivotal to the futures of Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinians. In the meantime, the regime is making it difficult to provide a full accounting of the cruelties its security forces have inflicted: almost all foreign journalists have been barred from the country. Human Rights Watch estimates that about eight hundred people have died and many thousands have been arrested. The uprising started, in March, in Dar’a, a southern city of smoky streets and eucalyptus trees. Schoolboys scrawled anti-government graffiti on walls, and were jailed. Protests erupted and the police opened fire, igniting an escalating cycle of demonstrations and violence. In late April, Assad’s forces laid siege to Dar’a, shutting off the electricity, water, and telephones. They arrested scores of young men simply because of their age and where they lived. The tactics seemed derived from those of Hafez al-Assad: his forces killed some twenty thousand people while putting down an uprising in Hama, in 1982. Brutality sometimes works. The numbers of people willing to die or to face imprisonment by taking to Syria’s streets have so far proved less overpowering than those in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen. Syria is a mosaic of religions, sects, and ethnicities, and the Assad family, from the Alawite minority, is well practiced in the art of divide-and-conquer. Large sections of the urban middle classes and the Christian minority have so far stayed at home. Nonetheless, the revolt is far from expiring. On “The Syrian Revolution 2011,” a Facebook page that has played a part in the unrest, users issue polemics and post fresh video clips about every ten minutes. Pop political art and photographs of bloodied young men scroll by—part media installation, part war-crimes documentary. The day after Obama’s speech, thousands of Syrians took to the streets; the police reportedly shot and killed at least twenty people. American policy toward Syria presents mainly a record of failure. One strain of that policy has sought unsuccessfully, through diplomatic engagement, to coax Assad to instigate internal reforms; weaken Syria’s alliances with Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas; and broker a peace with Israel. As recently as 2008, Assad told an American diplomat that he was “a few words away” from an agreement with Israel. He never delivered. Washington has also sought to pressure Assad through sanctions imposed by the Syria Accountability Act of 2003, and by covertly funding democratic campaigners, in a program that was initiated under George W. Bush. That didn’t work, either. The Damascus Declaration activists publicly rejected American support, and the covert program, recently exposed by WikiLeaks, endangered some of the people it was designed to help. Any foreign power hoping to promote peace, stability, and democratic inclusion in the Middle East must account for the Israeli-Palestinian divide, the Sunni-Shia divide, the Muslim-Christian divide, widespread anti-Semitism, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the security of oil supplies pumped by weak regimes, Al Qaeda and related radicals, tribalism, corruption, and a picturesque lineup of despots. For half a century, the region has made outside idealists look like fools, turned realists into complicit cynics, and consigned local heroes—Yitzhak Rabin, Anwar Sadat—to martyrdom. The Arab Spring can be understood as just another fault line: it represents the destabilizing rise of a large, underemployed generation of angry youth lacking clear leaders. Yet it rightly inspires optimism, too. Millions have risked their lives to seek self-determination in countries with some of the world’s largest civil-rights deficits. However, as President Obama observed last week, the new politics imagined by this generation will be difficult without a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel. Obama said that “endless delay” will not “make the problem go away.” He endorsed Israel’s 1967 borders as a basis for a negotiated peace, an incremental change that nevertheless provoked immediate anger from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, Obama disappointed some of his aides by not going further. A peace built on the 1967 borders is a common-sense proposition and not a new one; it remains imperative, even if it looks harder and harder to achieve. In the Arab world, the reaction to the President’s words was mostly tepid. In the eloquent and more enthusiastically received speech that Obama delivered two years ago in Cairo, he pledged “to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world.” The better parts of last week’s address connected that pledge to new pragmatic, if limited, commitments to the Arab world, such as economic aid to democratic Tunisia and Egypt. The President also seemed to say that the United States is not the world’s policeman but it can still inspire respect for universal rights. That is its truest claim on the Arab Spring. The rights that Obama listed include “free speech; the freedom of peaceful assembly; the freedom of religion; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right to choose your own leaders.” Implicit in that list is freedom from government death squads. Last week, following an investigation authorized by the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court requested an arrest warrant for Qaddafi, for crimes against humanity in Libya. The Obama Administration should press hard, by the same mechanisms, to hold Syria’s regime accountable. Syria’s future is pivotal to the future of the region, and the country requires credible leadership. The time for hopeful bargaining with Assad has passed. ♦

  6. Dear Yilma,

    You have rightly shown how the migration trend affected and benefited Ethiopia!
    In one hand, those of us who reside abroad send remittance in billions on yearly bases – which can be seen as a benefit, as you have stated if it is properly utilized for the betterment of Ethiopians and Ethiopia.

    On the other hand, the loss of highly trained manpower has a devastating effect in every walk of life, call it economical, political and social sphere. One might argue that Ethiopians universities and colleges have a graduation power in hundred thousand a year, which would quench the severe trained manpower thirst. However, the quality of teaching and learning is still in the dire state, as the teaching staffs lacks the rigor of quality that is required to teach at such level – appropriate qualifications, researches, industrial experiences. In addition to this, a significant majority of these lecturers do not return to Ethiopia after completion of their scholarships. This in turn exasperated the situation and when it coupled with the main criteria to be qualified is being a member of EPDRF.

    The migration of Ethiopian is facilitated by Ethiopian government – Ethiopian House Maids to the Arab employers. The treatment of our sisters in the hands of their Arab employers is not something that the EPDRF government concern with; its paramount concern is the insatiable appetite to foreign currency.

    Hope there will be a conducive environment in Ethiopia for the capable Ethiopians to share their acquired knowledge, experiences and expertise to their fellow Ethiopians in Ethiopia!!

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