Image-building campaigns will not unite Ethiopia
By Qeerransoo Biyyaa
January 10, 2008 — Since September 2007, the regime in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) has been engaging in huge positive-image-building campaigns in the eyes of the west. Positive-image-building campaigns make one of the components of the millennium goals. This campaign has involved music concerts, exhibitions, and bazaars.
Today I will focus on why these superficial image-building campaigns can not help unite Ethiopia. I will show how it deepens the divide amongst the peoples of the country who want to determine their own destiny. If you ask the regime or supporter of the regime why creating awareness in the west about Ethiopia is important, you will get misleading arguments like this: “The country badly needs foreign investment to grow. This will signal to the world Ethiopia is a better and stable place to put their money in”. This quote is from my reader who sent me an email following my previous article. At its very best this rhetoric is a propaganda which tries to conceal the fundamental questions of freedom and democracy, the lack of respect for human rights and the right to self determination up to secession of peoples. The oppressed people of the country are now focusing on trying to find answers to these fundamental questions in various forms of struggles. Examples are everywhere about the violation of human rights in Ethiopia and particularly Oromia and Ogadenia.
It is one thing to try to attract foreign investment for developing a country, but it is quite another to assure the safety and security of investors’ money. This is so because Ethiopia is not a stable country where sustainable investment can take place. What happened to Chinese Oil mining company in Ogaden and Gambella massacre related to oil are evidence that foreign awareness creating campaigns will not guarantee the well-being of foreign investment. Foreign investment is far from being safe. It is being attacked because of lack of stability in the country and even its neighborhood. In my view foreign investment is a vulnerable to threats in Ethiopia not because the local people and opposition do not like their country or region to proper. But because the locals who are represented more by opposition political organizations rightly perceive that the government with foreigners is exploiting their wealth. The government is alien to the people and such investments benefit a few elite from the minority ruling regime who helps its own group to control the economy of the country. Because locals associate the foreign investors with their oppressor, which is the state and its machinery, local people mistrust and attack the investment sites or its workers just as a fair act of protecting their wealth. This one reason the campaign to promote positive image of the country in the west does not work.
Investors are told Ethiopia is ‘green, its resources untapped, and that it is a united and free country’. It becomes chicken- and- egg question. Which comes first freedom and democracy in Ethiopia or trying to build positive image just by verbal campaigns? I will leave this for you to ponder.
The other reason this campaign will fail is that Ethiopia is not a country but an empire where peoples are held together by the barrel of the gun. Except the Tigrians and Amharas the rest of the tribes have not agreed to be called Ethiopians.
Yes, there are potential investment areas that can make the country a power house of Africa. This involves mining the oils in Ogaden and Gambella, advancing and mechanizing its agriculture, generating hydro-electric power and selling it to other neighboring African countries. No body is opposed to see his country develop. With the unpopularity of the regime in Addis, this attempt to create awareness about Ethiopia’s potentials only serves a propaganda purpose. It will be a fantasy to think of a successful investment and united country without first addressing deep-seated political standoff. Unless these are addressed, Ethiopia will ever be that the country known for its biting poverty, civil war, drought and environmental degradation.
The author is based in Ethiopia. He can be reached at [email protected]
Yaadasaa Dafaa
Image-building campaigns will not unite Ethiopia
I completely agree with you Obboo/Mr Qeerransoo. It appears that the priority of the Ethiopian ruling circle is just like building castle on the air. It does not take to be a rocket scientist to know that you need a solid ground where you lay a sustainable foundation, and then start building any form of dwelling, let alone a “castle”. The same scenario goes with building a sustainable economy of any Nation. On the other hand, I must admit that the venture of making the Country “an attractive one” to the foreign investors is a noble cause. But missing the appropriate analytic approach to the existing problems will only lead to constructing a wrong, unfit, unbalanced solution which only and visibly benefit the few who happen to be part of the deal on the expenses of the citizens of that Nation. Nothing different for Ethiopia.
As for me, what Ethiopia needs at the present moment is not deluding the country into unattainable hallucinatory goals. But by starting to construct the social remedies which will heal the existing suspicions and animosities with in the Nation as a foundation for any foreseeable co-existence in the future. It took Ethiopia no where just to continue claiming the past Historical mighty, but presently living in the back ward, autocratic, uncivilized, and undemocratic modes of lives. The changes need to start with every citizens brought together by the forces of the old emperors of the country. The Abyssinians need to challenge their colonial mentality in pursuit of inclusive social contracts. It is a well known fact that what ever happened in the past could be corrected if there is a will and courage to do so. Fake solutions and attempting to out smart other people will not solve any grievance, except exasperating it. I hope what is taking place in the regions of Oromia, and Somalia could hold a life testimony to these facts. So if we want to continue to live in this same mode of life, be my guest and we shall see the eventual out come. But if real solution is pursued, with an open mind to serve in the best interest of all, we need to make a genuine effort. Window dressing is not a real purchase, even though it can prepare you to straighten your financial priority to make you ready for the real deal.
Samuel
Dear Eritrean writer, You can’t full Ethiopians all the time. lol
Dear writer of this stupid article. we already know you are eritrean. please stop pretending like ethiopian eshi?? lol
don’t waste your time please and you live in asmara not ethiopia. worry about your country eritrea that is suffering under the only one-party state in africa. ethiopia is tired of sheltering more eritrean refugees, do something about your country instead of wasting your time pretending to be ethiopian.
Fonqolcha Nura
The Orange revolution comes for the oppressed nations to rise up.
The torchlight of orange revolution in Kenya is going to bring a tremendous pressure on minority ruler of African leaders and the day the marginalised majority say enough is enough is getting closer and closer while the brutality of minority dictator is getting worse and worse.
The greedy investors care only how to make money regardless of their host country political situation and they will always take risks to benefit from every opportunity even if it comes by the expense of the majority blood.
Senegal was once considered as the most stable country with flourishing economy in sub-sahara countries and today when the marginalised people wake up from hibernation that stability which gained by many decades became history within few months.
The Ethiopian empire has never been stable for more than 130 years. Rather it’s a military state with about half million troops which are committing genocide against unarmed Oromo, Somalis, Sidama, Anuk, Nuer, Benishangul etc. The chance that the empire collapses is much higher than any African country considering how the TPLF are treating the defenceless nationalities in the empire.
The whole situation is like cementing the hot magma with many layers with the help of super power and the misery promoter allies. For every crack layers after layers are put together to calm the volatility but the day the magma can’t stand no more pressure and starts erupting in 360 degree direction, those layers which put together for more than 130 years is going to be the wall between the Abyssinia and the South.
Only African leaders know how stable the country they rule is. They will never invest their blood money in Africa and they are too clever and the keep their savings in save heavens cause they knew that the orange revolution can erupt at anytime.
The popularity of TPLF regime has been witnessed in occupied peacefull Finfinnee during last election.
mohammed
Image-building campaigns will not unite Ethiopia
Qeerransoo Biyyaa,
I don’t believe you are from Ethiopia one because you are trying to accomplish a political gain at the cost of the economy,second because you write some things extremely false outrageouse.
I think image building is what evey country does for the sake of the countries revenue. America does it for example, whenever you watch something american, it is really shiny, but I’ve been to places in the US that you don’t expect to see. Image building is a way of exposing the interresting things, so that people get attracted to come.
Your said
“Except the Tigrians and Amharas the rest of the tribes have not agreed to be called Ethiopians.” This is ridiculous. Tigray and Amhara are only two tribes, although they have significant population. I never heard for example from a person coming from the South (which has probably more than 70 tribes)that hates Unity. Of course I’ve seen a pro separation Sidama website. I myself belong to the South, I support Unity, although I don’t believe in forcing people.
So, please use common sense and truth….