A 2008 Call to the Diaspora of the Horn of Africa!

Berhane Alazar
January 2, 2008

What was your resolution for 2008?

Now that many of us may have made our “New Year’s Resolutions” of some sort or the other, no doubt one of the favorite wish list is, or ought to be, for peace to be realized in the downtrodden neighborhood of ours known as the “Horn of Africa”. However, as the saying goes, “if wishes were horses, beggars would ride”. While doing nothing to change the Status Quo that prevails, just plain wishing that something happens does not amount to a hill of beans. We, the people of the Horn, have to (and must) take some courageous steps that could appreciably change the non-acceptable perennial poverty, conflicts and general political instability that have left its ugly marks all over the Horn.

Our Problems as I see them

While you may differ on some of the “solutions” envisioned by the writer, it is my hope that, at least, we would agree on some of the main “Causes” of the problems in our sub-region. It is with some notoriety that we would have easily scored very highly on some “Misery” index if there was such a thing. As serious and saddening the plight of our people have been in the not so distant past, it saddens me to see when some of the Ethiopian Diaspora continue to toot the old and tired slogan of “Dominating and subjugating” the entire neighborhoods. Some subjugation has long been advocated by various Ethiopian regimes including the current but confused Weyane thugs who are ruling the country by the barrel of a gun.

It is appropriate that we acknowledge that the biggest part of the long suffering of our people was strictly the “man-made” type which could have been minimized if not outright avoided if we had had the good will to speak our conscience instead of our emotions. It is no secret that our Ethiopian brothers and sisters in the Diaspora (people that have the freedom to speak their mind with no fear of getting persecuted) have failed to take that opportunity. There is no record of them speaking out against the atrocities that were committed by various Ethiopian rulers against the people of Eritrea in their long struggle for independence. Sadly, the same old pattern of denial seems to be the norm rather than exception when reacting to the war unleashed by the Meles regime in 1998.

However, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. It is reassuring that finally some Diaspora groups have been speaking out against the ruthless Weyane regime’s miscalculated adventurism unleashed against the sisterly Somali nation. It is also satisfying that some of them have realized that the atrocities that are being carried out by the MeQele boys against the Ogadeni, Oromo, Benshangul, Sidamas, Anuak and others is not conducive to peace. More importantly, some of them seem to have realized that the interest of our people could never be achieved by “Our leaders” serving the interest of foreign powers who have shown complete disregard “human values” with which they inundate us when it appears to them that their real or perceived “Interests” were in danger. We have recently seen it in Somalia, when some C130 bombers were used to bomb the Somali people and their camels into oblivion with no credible evidence of hitting their stated target unless of course the real target was the Somali herdsmen themselves.

What can and should we do to solve our existing problems?

To begin with, calling a spade a spade, we have to accept some undeniable facts that transpired in the last 50 or so years. For example, we have all heard of the need for “United” this and “United” that. More significantly, so many lives have been lost and many able bodies maimed in addition to some immeasurable properties destroyed all in the name of achieving unity. I do not have any reason to doubt the merits that some union could bring to its constituents if it is based on equality, upholding the rule of law and respect of human values. But, the question one needs to address properly is what kind of “Unity” are we talking about? Under what circumstances does “Unity” work? Who benefits? In other words, there must be unity of purpose above and beyond anything else. True unity can only be sustained and indeed achieved in the first place through the constituents’ free choice if and when they want it and accept it fully without any kind of pressure. Otherwise it is called expansion, annexation and plain old invasion.

We have to develop a habit of speaking up for justice and truth. We must not be complacent to some action that may be taken by our governments that clearly violates some legal perspective. What have Ethiopians in the Diaspora done, for example, to counteract when the Weyane unashamedly refused to abide by the internationally sanctioned Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission demarcation decision? Unfortunately, not only did they do nothing to register any protest, some of them went even further by accusing the Weyane of not “Marching on” to Asmara and reversing the hard won Eritrean independence. Some of them even lament the fact that the Weyane was unable to overthrow the Eritrean government violently! That is a total shame! It was one sore thing that history has recorded, at best, the nonchalant attitude that the Ethiopian Diaspora showed towards the crimes that were being perpetrated against their Eritrean brothers and sisters by Ethiopian regimes. To add insult to injury, they pretty much did the same thing during the current “Border” war unleashed by the hapless Weyane. The question is why? Moreover, how can they expect anybody to talk about “Unity” with such people who clearly were not there for Eritreans when it matters most?

The same types of chauvinism and “Ultra nationalism” were displayed and in some cases continue to be displayed against any and all who legitimately have taken the gun to assert their God given rights that were denied to them by Man. One can not claim to be more sensitive to their needs and requirements than the people who are directly affected by and who have been subject the of discrimination, marginalization and total abuse by some established structure. We have to respect the right of and allow such abused people to be the masters of their destiny. Then and only then can we perhaps feel free of any guilty feeling that we may have. We may also feel good about us by the lessening of any misunderstanding that may have ensued during the course of our long and arduous existence. We must be open-minded and entertain any and all suggestions that come from our fellow human beings and try to accommodate as many various opinions as possible all for the betterment of our peoples’ livelihood! There is no reason why we all could not succeed in what is generally perceived as “Good and worth doing” if we remain sensitive to the needs and requirements of our fellow human beings