By Magn Nyang
Three weeks ago I got a call from a friend of mine whom I grew up with. The reason for his call was to talk to me about two things. He said to me “have you gotten a call from your cousin?” I asked, which one? He told me the name of my cousin he was talking about. I asked, what about him? He said “I lobbied the Gambella government to lobby the Ethiopian government to send at least one Gambellian to Washington, DC. to work as a diplomat. What that got to do with me? I asked. Your own cousin was chosen and he is coming to Washington, DC. to work as Ethiopian diplomat, he said. I congratulated him on his lobbying skills and said to him that my cousin knows where I am and knows how to contact me and he will contact me if he wishes to.
What is the second thing you wanted to talk to me about? I asked. He said “on April 17, 2010, at 2:00pm, a delegation from Ethiopian Government is coming to town for a big meeting with the Diasporas, I want you to come.” On April 17th, I put on my suit and showed up at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, MN, where the meeting was being held. At the entrance, there were four men with a list of names. They said to me “are you registered? Is your name on the list?” I said, no. They told me “you are not invited.” Not invited? Why?
I was born in a village located in the far corner of Gambella region in the 1970s. And by virtue of that birth, I became an Ethiopian. Therefore, I see it as my birthright to go to any meeting that is meant for Ethiopians. I take my Ethiopian citizenship very seriously. I allow no one to temper with. On April 17th, 2010, the Meles led Ethiopian government and its supporters tempered with my Ethiopian citizenship by stopping me from entering a meeting that was supposedly meant for Ethiopians. And that did not go well with me. I have never seen or heard about a government that calls a meeting for the people that it clams to represent and then turn around and picks and chooses who should be at the meeting. This is what happened last Saturday. The Meles led Ethiopians’ government handpicked and chose which Ethiopian was allowed to be at the meeting.
There are two kinds of opposition groups among Ethiopian in Diasporas. Some opposition groups do not attend any meeting called by current government of Ethiopia. Some do. I belong to those who attend meetings whenever possible. Though I do not see the merits of not attending and confronting the delegates sent by government that one opposes, I do not judge those who refrain themselves from attending. My Anyuak upbringing had taught me to confront those I oppose face to face. My people always say “if you have something to say to someone go and say it to him/her face to face. Do not spread rumors about others.” Therefore, it is in my nature to confront and challenge all those I oppose and tell them my mind. I fear no one. On April 17th, after being refused entrance, I stood there and started to contemplate my next move. However, a friend of mine who was allowed to enter right in front of me, went and enlisted the assistance of an Anyuak man (a supporter of the government and one of the organizers of the meeting) who came out to the entrance and told the four stooges to allow me in.
I got inside and the meeting had already started. The delegate representing the foreign ministry of Ethiopia was talking about investment when I got in. He was inviting Ethiopians to come home and invest in their motherland. He invited Ph.Ds to come and teach in any of the twenty- two Universities. An Ethiopian man who have tried to invest in Oromiya region since 2004 and was let down, asked the delegates to explain why he was given the run around for the past six years if they seriously want Ethiopians to invest in their mother land. In response to his question, the vice president of Oromiya region (he was among the delegates) praised the man’s effort and promised to look into this let down when he goes back to Ethiopia. Another Ethiopian asked what happened of the money that some Ethiopians raised from all over the United States after they were told by the government to come home and invest in building condominiums. He said “why do you come here and invite people to come home to invest when those who previously tried to invest were let down by the same government you are representing?” The delegates looked unprepared and did not give an explanation to this question.
A Ph.D holder sitting next to me asked the delegates to tell him what the Ethiopians’ government has so far done to recruit and retain Ethiopian scholars in Diaspora. The delegate representing the foreign ministry answered this question by saying “so far, we have not done anything.” This is a government who has built more than 20 universities (with poor educational quality, of course) in the past eight years and is now preparing to built 10 more universities in the next three years and has not yet done anything to recruit Ethiopian scholars in Diaspora? It is embarrassing.
My turn to ask arrived and I wanted to know why my ancestral land is being given away to foreign investors. I asked: why the Gambellians’ land is being given to foreigners? What is the benefit for the natives? Who will be the consumers of the produce from these big farms? The answers to my questions came from the Oromiya region vice president. He was rather rude when answering my questions. He challenged me to produce a data that shows the displacement of native farmers. He said “the land we gave to investors were lands that natives do not use for farming. These pieces of lands were idly sitting there and there seems to be confusion among the Diasporas about these lands. For the first time in Ethiopia’s history, we managed to lease these idle lands to investors to be developed for the benefit of the natives and the Federal Government, and instead of getting praises for job well done from you, the Diasporas, so far what you people did is blame us.” This man wants us, the Diasporas, to cheer them up and to give high-five to the government for given away lands to foreigners. I thought he was out of his mind if that was what he really expected from us.
This article was written to show to Ethiopians in Diaspora and as well as to those in Ethiopia what kind of incompetent government is in power in Ethiopia. The delegates’ answers to the questions were not forthcoming. And by picking and choosing who should come to the meeting, the current Ethiopians’ government showed that it represents only those Ethiopians who support its policies. It showed that this government is not inclusive. It does not represents all Ethiopians.
(Dr Magn Nyang can be contacted at [email protected])