PART I
Reviewing the Damaging Effects of Ethiopian Diaspora Politics on the
Wider Community and its Future Initiatives:
The Search for Alternative Mechanisms
27 February, 2009 | Maru Gubena
Before commencing with the thematic issues to be discussed, let me just express
my personal views, disappointments and embarrassments related, not just to the
untimely and sensational end of the working partnership among the imprisoned,
then released, opposition leaders and the sudden split of their political party, but
mainly to the appalling (and still persisting) war of words, with intolerable insults
against innocent Ethiopians from the unorganized interest groups who support the
now divided political leaders – leaders who became divided and hostile to each
other, not for reasons of Ethiopia’s short and long term interests, its territorial
integrity or the multiple tragedies plaguing our people at home, but for personal
reasons. This has been extremely sad and disappointing to see, and indeed beyond
the capacity of most of us to comprehend. Though time has elapsed and the
embarrassing war of words between the then Kinijit leaders and their followers in
late summer and early fall of 2007 may have become blurred in our minds, many
of us have remained in a state of shock, disappointment and complete disbelief.
The unexpected split among Kinijit leaders and the distasteful war of words have
undoubtedly been and are still a major reason for the sudden disappearance of a
large number of concerned political activists, participants and article contributors,
including myself, from the troubled Diaspora political stage. The shameful events
are also unequivocal evidence that the process of merging and constructing what
was to have been Kinijit’s house took place hastily and irresponsibly, without first
creating the necessary understandings, as well as mechanisms for working
together and guiding the organization.
As for some of my compatriots (and as can be read in my previous articles), I in
fact have never, from the very outset, anticipated that there would be a fertile
ground for Kinijit to exist and grow as a functioning political party in the land of
Ethiopia, as long as Ethiopians remain reluctant to rise up against a prolonged
economic impoverishment and persistent political repression. Bringing a new
political party into existence and having it function well is not just a question of
people at the top and a particular party platform. Fundamental changes in the
mindsets and perceptions of the people, and in the case of the Ethiopian people an
irreversible desire for freedom, equality and democracy, would be required. The
willingness of Ethiopians to remain divided and keep their heads buried in the sand,
while women and children are being shot to death on the streets of Ethiopian cities
and towns and opposition political leaders and artists are being endlessly harassed,
arrested and convicted, shows clearly that Ethiopians are most concerned with
their personal and family wellbeing, and that the winds carrying the torches for
collective wellbeing, freedom and democracy are far remote from the skies and
high mountains of Ethiopia (see: The May 2005 Ethiopian Election, part I; The
May 2005 Election and the Missing Ingredients, part II)
Even though, as can be remembered, I was one of a few staunch opponents of
the participation of Kinijit and other opposition political parities in the parliamentary
election held in May 2005, and criticized the formation and function of KIL (Kinijit
International Leadership), as well as the establishment of the carefully and
strategically named Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD), I nevertheless
did not realize how tragic, divisive and embarrassing the effects and repercussions
of the demise of Kinijit would be. I had always had believed – as I had been taught
– with great conviction, though perhaps foolishly, that Ethiopians were kind and
generous to one another and even to foreign visitors. I certainly never, even in my
wildest dreams, thought that Ethiopians could also be so hostile, so outrageously
cruel and so humiliating to one another. Yes, even though I was one who
occasionally accused Ethiopian political leaders and activists of recklessness and
of leading weakly organized and dysfunctional organizations housed in shaky
buildings constructed from cane and bamboo, with supporters who are lawless,
scary militants, blindly following in the footsteps of their political leaders and of
activists those who are not in peace with themselves and with each other, much to
my astonishment and naïveté, however, I never envisioned that the sudden waves
of optimism that existed between the spring of 2005 and the early months of 2006
might be replaced by additional shackles of hatred. I honestly did not know that
we Ethiopians could be so inhuman and so ready to obliterate those who refuse to
be blind followers, who disagree with our self-centred and hidden ends and our
feeble, vague organizations or political parties – political parties that have little or
none of the necessary fundamental political structures, strategies, political maps
and legal foundations. Nor did I know that we Ethiopians could be so terribly
stubborn and jealous - unashamed liars who appear determined to trash and
eliminate our own compatriots – not to maintain the territorial integrity of our
country, to realize carefully planned socio-political and economic transformation,
or to help educate Ethiopians about the terribly necessary modern political culture
(a political culture that is entirely absent in the land we call Ethiopia and among the
Ethiopian Diaspora community) or about the meaning and significance of
democracy and accountability. Instead we do this for the most hazardous and
frightening reasons – to support personal, family and group status and interests.
Isn’t this extremely frightening and depressing? What is most disturbing is that
these cruel and shameless individuals call themselves “the gallant and true children
of Ethiopia,” and do everything to convince us that they behave the way they do –
engaging day in and day out in character assassination and false charges against
known and unknown innocent individuals – because, they argue, they love their
country, Ethiopia, enormously – more than anyone else. They also continue to
insist that they are the ones who are capable of scaring Meles Zenawi’s regime,
preventing them from handing over Ethiopia’s fertile land to Sudan and continuing
the repression of our people at home (see also: Sharing the Sources of my
Anxiety: A Critical Look at the Responses and Strategies of Ethiopians to Decades
of Political Repression, and The changing face of Kinijit.)
Although we will know little about the views and conclusions of Ethiopian and
other political historians before their books reach our bookshelves, it would
nevertheless not be an overstatement to say that the May 2005 parliamentary
election and the subsequent turmoil not only dashed the incalculable hopes and
expectations of Ethiopians for relative freedom and a smooth process of
democratization, but also added more heavy clouds above the skies of our
country. This prolonged any future process of democratization and contributed
greatly to an increasing suffocation of the already scarce freedom of speech and
movement for each and every individual Ethiopian, and the already scarce freedom
of the press encountered yet more widespread repression. More importantly and
depressingly, however, the political events of May 2005 have magnified the long
existing unhealed wounds and darkened the prospects for positive, relatively civil
and respectful communication within the Ethiopian Diaspora community and
Ethiopian society at large. Yes, even though most Ethiopian political activists and
the unorganized interest groups would prefer to tell us otherwise – saying that the
May 2005 election helped to expose the repressive nature of Meles Zenawi’s
regime and weakened its political and economic position, both nationally and
internationally – in fact in concrete terms, for the majority of Ethiopians both at
home and abroad, the direct and indirect repercussions of the May 2005 election
and the subsequent turmoil of the past four years have been costly, dreadful,
tragic and full of disappointment and embarrassment.
Outlining the Purpose of the Article
Having aired my disappointments, which continue to smoulder in the minds and
hearts of many Ethiopians, let me now try to give a brief rough outline of the
purposes of this paper. After a time of absence from the tragically wounded
Ethiopian Diaspora politics and debates, I am here again to share my views with
you regarding the damaging effects of Ethiopian Diaspora politics and media
outlets on future organizational hopes, aspirations and initiatives for socio-political
and economic changes in Ethiopian society, both at home and in the Diaspora.
Also I hope to briefly formulate and present some alternative mechanisms, which I
deem helpful in addressing and redressing the long-existing negative images of our
troubled Ethiopian Diaspora politics. The absence within Ethiopian Diaspora
politics and in the community in general of organizational culture and its most
valuable components, such as organizational norms, guidelines and organizational
expectations, will also receive its share of time and attention. Yes, I am here again,
at least for a while, and I hope to briefly and clearly review the historical
background of Ethiopian Diaspora politics and how it began. I will do my best to
explain, not just why Ethiopian Diaspora politics remained dysfunctional, but also
why many in the Ethiopian Diaspora community came to regard it as either a
leisure time activity or as a pastime of “Serafitoch/bozenewoch,” those who have
little or nothing else to do. This description has particularly often been used by a
good number of Ethiopian wives and girlfriends who loudly, confidently and
sometimes angrily accuse their husbands or boyfriends of spending too much time
in fruitless politics instead of doing something meaningful in the house – fulfilling
their properly expected household roles and responsibilities as loving husbands and
fathers.
community from becoming a collective, harmonious force with a single face, a
community that is both respected and proud of itself and its activities, and has
kept it from playing a meaningful role that contributes to mending bridges among
community members and to alleviating Ethiopia’s multiple, prolonged suffering.
More essentially, this paper will make every possible effort to dissect and deal
with many of the complex, entangled issues and causes that have led to increasing
tensions and gaps among individuals and groups in the community, including the
conditions that have given the Ethiopian Diaspora political activists, along with
their apparatus and mottos, the reputation of being nothing more than “barking
dogs that are unable to bite.” It will also raise questions of why Ethiopian Diaspora
politics and media outlets have become and continue to be a force of division
among members of the wider Diaspora community, a damaging and in fact
paralyzing factor in contemporary Diaspora politics and social relations, freezing
out the possibility of new future organizational processes, hopes and aspirations,
including many types of potential initiatives.
An additional vitally important – and probably the most difficult – question, which
most of us prefer not to discuss, not even to hear about, will be incorporated and
examined: can democracy and its most essential components take root in a
country where modern political culture is entirely absent; whose people appear to
be historically and culturally family and group oriented, regionalist and
undemocratic, with little or no feeling or love for a nation state; and who,
paradoxically enough, choose remaining in conflict with each other above forging
bonds and working peacefully and harmoniously together with those across the
entire land of Ethiopia. Though painful, relevant questions such as why Ethiopians
seem to remain addicted to repeatedly splitting apart and prefer to “go it alone” in
Ethiopian politics, while each and every one of them knows perfectly well that
they cannot make or remake politics by associating only with family members and
personal friends – those with whom they can easily agree – and while they also
know that such disappointing and fruitless political activities are not just a waste
of time, but are also hurtful to themselves and to the community, and have divisive
and demoralizing effects on current and future political initiatives, will be included
and discussed. Also, to help me understand the repeated tragic debacles of
Ethiopian politics and their subsequent repercussions, and also to be able to get
some insight into the mindsets, behaviours and political cultures, outlooks and
political strategies of the present political activists, an attempt will be made to look
closely at the interrelated historical sources and causes that have shaped and
reshaped contemporary Ethiopian politics, Ethiopian political culture and our
society at large.
It is perhaps necessary to give a brief introductory note related to the text above.
It is quite possible that some of the questions raised and the major issues and
concerns stated here will seem sensitive or even a bit offensive to some or even
most of my Ethiopian compatriots. This is because, I imagine, we Ethiopians quite
often choose to think only about the positive side of our history and culture,
preferring to walk with a profound feeling of pride, leaning heavily but
irresponsibly upon the ceaselessly fascinating history of Ethiopia, proud of simply
being the children of those who fought gallantly and decisively against foreign
powers, despite their relatively modern, deadly firearms. For known or unknown
reasons, however, we are unaccustomed, perhaps even allergic to confronting
ourselves and engaging with the other, negative side of the coin – facing our own
historical and cultural processes, errors and realities and relating them to the
contemporary political challenges, personal and group acrimonies that are all
sources of the persistent tragedies that plague us in our never-ending attempts and
struggles to free ourselves from the shackles of longstanding impoverishment and
from successive repressive regimes. In our persistent endeavours to democratize
our country we attempt to imitate the systems, political and democratic models of
other nations, to implement them in our own land and incorporate them into our
minds, but we fail to first understand and deal with the cardinal foundations and
requirements of the many-sided components of democracy and democratic
patterns and principles, and to consider and study their appropriateness to our
situation, the openness of our culture and our socio-culturally molded attitudes and
mindsets.
It is therefore vitally important, especially given the infrequent nature of debates
and discussions involving such sensitive issues, to have an open mind and pay the
necessary attention, so as to comprehend both the primary and wider purposes of
this paper: not just to initiate new discourses and educate ourselves, but first of all
to stress the urgent need to think and look critically, either individually or
collectively, at the historical components that have shaped Ethiopian culture and
molded our uncompromising, irreconcilable and sometimes vindictive attitudes and
uncaring behaviours. Only then will we be able to meaningfully and effectively
address and redress the family socialization and group orientations we have had,
including our regionalist mentalities, and to envision and cultivate the new political
culture that is essential for the entire land of Ethiopia. This engagement with our
history and culture is, in my view, indispensable, and will be highly conducive to
redirecting our discourse into more mature, logical ways of looking at the sources
of the persistent feuds, infighting and divisions among us. Through such
engagement, after addressing the root causes of our inabilities to forge bonds, live
and work together and find the remedies we need, and after inculcating concepts
of respect, trust, confidence, accountability and shared responsibility for each
other – combined with a mindset among the members of our society that includes
a sense of belonging, a feeling of nationhood – we can achieve a basis for
democracy and democratic systems to gradually take root in the land of Ethiopia.
Only then can the needs, desires and aspirations of the people be realized – to live
together, side by side and peacefully, as children of a single nation state under a
democratic system and under collaboratively achieved, agreed and accepted rules
and socio-cultural values and norms.
Let me now outline a few remaining primary intentions of this paper. One
important additional objective is to consider the composition of the Ethiopian
Diaspora, including the increasing differences within the community in terms of
educational background and the extent of involvement in Ethiopian Diaspora
politics. A more crucial element in relation to Diaspora politics, which I would like
to see taken under consideration by the Ethiopian Diaspora community – especially
if we are willing to make a serious attempt to forge bonds among ourselves,
become a socially and politically influential community and play a meaningful role
in helping ourselves and possibly also our country – is to again issue my previous
repeated calls underlining the urgent need for the establishment of a common,
single House for the Ethiopian Diaspora, a professional institution, free from any
direct or indirect influence from any political party, with visions and strategies,
systems and rules – systems and rules that reward and obligate its members to
serve, provide support and comply. This would be an institution within which we
can all educate ourselves; provide the means and the required material and
educational tools to help in the development and expansion of civil society in our
country; rebuild the badly needed trust, confidence and accountability among
ourselves; engage in positive and constructive discourse and research about the
many sided positive and negative cultural elements of our society; redress previous
wrongdoing; and fashion new and helpful tools and strategies that will help to heal
wounds, whether long existing or freshly inflicted, upon particular sections and
generations of Ethiopian society. Within such an institution we can produce
acceptable, maturely written policies relevant to our contemporary political
challenges and debates about the process of democratization, the development and
role of civil society and the future face and direction of our country and its people,
and we can rebuild the badly needed respect and love among ourselves. Such an
institution is also needed to help maintain and expand our long-established positive
cultural elements and use these to fashion a new political culture, extending our
cultural patterns to include habits of working and living together with
accountability and responsibility. This will allow us not only to influence the
forces and processes of future socio-economic and political changes in our
country, both directly and indirectly, but to play an indispensable part, with a
meaningful, positive, substantial role in helping and defending each member of our
community in times of personal or collective difficulty, no matter how severe (see
the last page of my article: Lessons for Ethiopians from the downfall of US-
supported dictators.)
For methodological purposes and to provide a clear, effective review of the
interlinked topical issues and questions raised above, two critically important
terms, functional and dysfunctional will be employed in relation to community or
society. In this paper the use of these terms will be strictly limited to the Ethiopia
Diaspora community and its involvement and role in areas of politics. All of the
issues and topics outlined above will be incorporated and highlighted within the
following four sub-themes:
My brief remarks, conclusions and alternative suggestions will be incorporated at
the end of the paper, together with the fourth sub-topic. This concluding remark
will include some concrete alternatives and helpful suggestions about what
precisely needs be done – a new path, including new socio-political mechanisms
conducive to freeing Ethiopians from family, group-oriented and regionalist
politics, helpful in forging bonds among ourselves
Finally, I must note that there are few helpful written materials or study guides
regarding the history of the Ethiopian Diaspora community and how its politics
began and developed. Therefore this paper will be based primarily on highly limited
personal participation and observations of three decades ago, making it extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to present a proper, relatively balanced overview. I am
nevertheless determined to confront myself, to refresh my memories, and to make
every effort to take a brief, close look at the historical processes and growth of
the Ethiopian Diaspora and its role in Ethiopian politics.
Maru Gubena
Readers who wish to contact the author can reach me at info@pada.nl
• The issues, questions and concerns raised above will be included and examined,
together with the remaining four sub-topics, when I return with chapters two and
three of this paper.
Reviewing the Damaging Effects of Ethiopian Diaspora Politics on the
Wider Community and its Future Initiatives:
The Search for Alternative Mechanisms
27 February, 2009 | Maru Gubena
Before commencing with the thematic issues to be discussed, let me just express
my personal views, disappointments and embarrassments related, not just to the
untimely and sensational end of the working partnership among the imprisoned,
then released, opposition leaders and the sudden split of their political party, but
mainly to the appalling (and still persisting) war of words, with intolerable insults
against innocent Ethiopians from the unorganized interest groups who support the
now divided political leaders – leaders who became divided and hostile to each
other, not for reasons of Ethiopia’s short and long term interests, its territorial
integrity or the multiple tragedies plaguing our people at home, but for personal
reasons. This has been extremely sad and disappointing to see, and indeed beyond
the capacity of most of us to comprehend. Though time has elapsed and the
embarrassing war of words between the then Kinijit leaders and their followers in
late summer and early fall of 2007 may have become blurred in our minds, many
of us have remained in a state of shock, disappointment and complete disbelief.
The unexpected split among Kinijit leaders and the distasteful war of words have
undoubtedly been and are still a major reason for the sudden disappearance of a
large number of concerned political activists, participants and article contributors,
including myself, from the troubled Diaspora political stage. The shameful events
are also unequivocal evidence that the process of merging and constructing what
was to have been Kinijit’s house took place hastily and irresponsibly, without first
creating the necessary understandings, as well as mechanisms for working
together and guiding the organization.
As for some of my compatriots (and as can be read in my previous articles), I in
fact have never, from the very outset, anticipated that there would be a fertile
ground for Kinijit to exist and grow as a functioning political party in the land of
Ethiopia, as long as Ethiopians remain reluctant to rise up against a prolonged
economic impoverishment and persistent political repression. Bringing a new
political party into existence and having it function well is not just a question of
people at the top and a particular party platform. Fundamental changes in the
mindsets and perceptions of the people, and in the case of the Ethiopian people an
irreversible desire for freedom, equality and democracy, would be required. The
willingness of Ethiopians to remain divided and keep their heads buried in the sand,
while women and children are being shot to death on the streets of Ethiopian cities
and towns and opposition political leaders and artists are being endlessly harassed,
arrested and convicted, shows clearly that Ethiopians are most concerned with
their personal and family wellbeing, and that the winds carrying the torches for
collective wellbeing, freedom and democracy are far remote from the skies and
high mountains of Ethiopia (see: The May 2005 Ethiopian Election, part I; The
May 2005 Election and the Missing Ingredients, part II)
Even though, as can be remembered, I was one of a few staunch opponents of
the participation of Kinijit and other opposition political parities in the parliamentary
election held in May 2005, and criticized the formation and function of KIL (Kinijit
International Leadership), as well as the establishment of the carefully and
strategically named Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD), I nevertheless
did not realize how tragic, divisive and embarrassing the effects and repercussions
of the demise of Kinijit would be. I had always had believed – as I had been taught
– with great conviction, though perhaps foolishly, that Ethiopians were kind and
generous to one another and even to foreign visitors. I certainly never, even in my
wildest dreams, thought that Ethiopians could also be so hostile, so outrageously
cruel and so humiliating to one another. Yes, even though I was one who
occasionally accused Ethiopian political leaders and activists of recklessness and
of leading weakly organized and dysfunctional organizations housed in shaky
buildings constructed from cane and bamboo, with supporters who are lawless,
scary militants, blindly following in the footsteps of their political leaders and of
activists those who are not in peace with themselves and with each other, much to
my astonishment and naïveté, however, I never envisioned that the sudden waves
of optimism that existed between the spring of 2005 and the early months of 2006
might be replaced by additional shackles of hatred. I honestly did not know that
we Ethiopians could be so inhuman and so ready to obliterate those who refuse to
be blind followers, who disagree with our self-centred and hidden ends and our
feeble, vague organizations or political parties – political parties that have little or
none of the necessary fundamental political structures, strategies, political maps
and legal foundations. Nor did I know that we Ethiopians could be so terribly
stubborn and jealous - unashamed liars who appear determined to trash and
eliminate our own compatriots – not to maintain the territorial integrity of our
country, to realize carefully planned socio-political and economic transformation,
or to help educate Ethiopians about the terribly necessary modern political culture
(a political culture that is entirely absent in the land we call Ethiopia and among the
Ethiopian Diaspora community) or about the meaning and significance of
democracy and accountability. Instead we do this for the most hazardous and
frightening reasons – to support personal, family and group status and interests.
Isn’t this extremely frightening and depressing? What is most disturbing is that
these cruel and shameless individuals call themselves “the gallant and true children
of Ethiopia,” and do everything to convince us that they behave the way they do –
engaging day in and day out in character assassination and false charges against
known and unknown innocent individuals – because, they argue, they love their
country, Ethiopia, enormously – more than anyone else. They also continue to
insist that they are the ones who are capable of scaring Meles Zenawi’s regime,
preventing them from handing over Ethiopia’s fertile land to Sudan and continuing
the repression of our people at home (see also: Sharing the Sources of my
Anxiety: A Critical Look at the Responses and Strategies of Ethiopians to Decades
of Political Repression, and The changing face of Kinijit.)
Although we will know little about the views and conclusions of Ethiopian and
other political historians before their books reach our bookshelves, it would
nevertheless not be an overstatement to say that the May 2005 parliamentary
election and the subsequent turmoil not only dashed the incalculable hopes and
expectations of Ethiopians for relative freedom and a smooth process of
democratization, but also added more heavy clouds above the skies of our
country. This prolonged any future process of democratization and contributed
greatly to an increasing suffocation of the already scarce freedom of speech and
movement for each and every individual Ethiopian, and the already scarce freedom
of the press encountered yet more widespread repression. More importantly and
depressingly, however, the political events of May 2005 have magnified the long
existing unhealed wounds and darkened the prospects for positive, relatively civil
and respectful communication within the Ethiopian Diaspora community and
Ethiopian society at large. Yes, even though most Ethiopian political activists and
the unorganized interest groups would prefer to tell us otherwise – saying that the
May 2005 election helped to expose the repressive nature of Meles Zenawi’s
regime and weakened its political and economic position, both nationally and
internationally – in fact in concrete terms, for the majority of Ethiopians both at
home and abroad, the direct and indirect repercussions of the May 2005 election
and the subsequent turmoil of the past four years have been costly, dreadful,
tragic and full of disappointment and embarrassment.
Outlining the Purpose of the Article
Having aired my disappointments, which continue to smoulder in the minds and
hearts of many Ethiopians, let me now try to give a brief rough outline of the
purposes of this paper. After a time of absence from the tragically wounded
Ethiopian Diaspora politics and debates, I am here again to share my views with
you regarding the damaging effects of Ethiopian Diaspora politics and media
outlets on future organizational hopes, aspirations and initiatives for socio-political
and economic changes in Ethiopian society, both at home and in the Diaspora.
Also I hope to briefly formulate and present some alternative mechanisms, which I
deem helpful in addressing and redressing the long-existing negative images of our
troubled Ethiopian Diaspora politics. The absence within Ethiopian Diaspora
politics and in the community in general of organizational culture and its most
valuable components, such as organizational norms, guidelines and organizational
expectations, will also receive its share of time and attention. Yes, I am here again,
at least for a while, and I hope to briefly and clearly review the historical
background of Ethiopian Diaspora politics and how it began. I will do my best to
explain, not just why Ethiopian Diaspora politics remained dysfunctional, but also
why many in the Ethiopian Diaspora community came to regard it as either a
leisure time activity or as a pastime of “Serafitoch/bozenewoch,” those who have
little or nothing else to do. This description has particularly often been used by a
good number of Ethiopian wives and girlfriends who loudly, confidently and
sometimes angrily accuse their husbands or boyfriends of spending too much time
in fruitless politics instead of doing something meaningful in the house – fulfilling
their properly expected household roles and responsibilities as loving husbands and
fathers.
- In addition to outlining
alternative policy
strategies and new
directions that might help
to redress and redirect the
exceptionally chaotic and
negative images that have
affected Ethiopian
Diaspora politics for
many years, my
unexpected appearance
towards the end of a
fading political era is also
intended to provide a
review of the most
important factors and
actors that have
community from becoming a collective, harmonious force with a single face, a
community that is both respected and proud of itself and its activities, and has
kept it from playing a meaningful role that contributes to mending bridges among
community members and to alleviating Ethiopia’s multiple, prolonged suffering.
More essentially, this paper will make every possible effort to dissect and deal
with many of the complex, entangled issues and causes that have led to increasing
tensions and gaps among individuals and groups in the community, including the
conditions that have given the Ethiopian Diaspora political activists, along with
their apparatus and mottos, the reputation of being nothing more than “barking
dogs that are unable to bite.” It will also raise questions of why Ethiopian Diaspora
politics and media outlets have become and continue to be a force of division
among members of the wider Diaspora community, a damaging and in fact
paralyzing factor in contemporary Diaspora politics and social relations, freezing
out the possibility of new future organizational processes, hopes and aspirations,
including many types of potential initiatives.
An additional vitally important – and probably the most difficult – question, which
most of us prefer not to discuss, not even to hear about, will be incorporated and
examined: can democracy and its most essential components take root in a
country where modern political culture is entirely absent; whose people appear to
be historically and culturally family and group oriented, regionalist and
undemocratic, with little or no feeling or love for a nation state; and who,
paradoxically enough, choose remaining in conflict with each other above forging
bonds and working peacefully and harmoniously together with those across the
entire land of Ethiopia. Though painful, relevant questions such as why Ethiopians
seem to remain addicted to repeatedly splitting apart and prefer to “go it alone” in
Ethiopian politics, while each and every one of them knows perfectly well that
they cannot make or remake politics by associating only with family members and
personal friends – those with whom they can easily agree – and while they also
know that such disappointing and fruitless political activities are not just a waste
of time, but are also hurtful to themselves and to the community, and have divisive
and demoralizing effects on current and future political initiatives, will be included
and discussed. Also, to help me understand the repeated tragic debacles of
Ethiopian politics and their subsequent repercussions, and also to be able to get
some insight into the mindsets, behaviours and political cultures, outlooks and
political strategies of the present political activists, an attempt will be made to look
closely at the interrelated historical sources and causes that have shaped and
reshaped contemporary Ethiopian politics, Ethiopian political culture and our
society at large.
It is perhaps necessary to give a brief introductory note related to the text above.
It is quite possible that some of the questions raised and the major issues and
concerns stated here will seem sensitive or even a bit offensive to some or even
most of my Ethiopian compatriots. This is because, I imagine, we Ethiopians quite
often choose to think only about the positive side of our history and culture,
preferring to walk with a profound feeling of pride, leaning heavily but
irresponsibly upon the ceaselessly fascinating history of Ethiopia, proud of simply
being the children of those who fought gallantly and decisively against foreign
powers, despite their relatively modern, deadly firearms. For known or unknown
reasons, however, we are unaccustomed, perhaps even allergic to confronting
ourselves and engaging with the other, negative side of the coin – facing our own
historical and cultural processes, errors and realities and relating them to the
contemporary political challenges, personal and group acrimonies that are all
sources of the persistent tragedies that plague us in our never-ending attempts and
struggles to free ourselves from the shackles of longstanding impoverishment and
from successive repressive regimes. In our persistent endeavours to democratize
our country we attempt to imitate the systems, political and democratic models of
other nations, to implement them in our own land and incorporate them into our
minds, but we fail to first understand and deal with the cardinal foundations and
requirements of the many-sided components of democracy and democratic
patterns and principles, and to consider and study their appropriateness to our
situation, the openness of our culture and our socio-culturally molded attitudes and
mindsets.
It is therefore vitally important, especially given the infrequent nature of debates
and discussions involving such sensitive issues, to have an open mind and pay the
necessary attention, so as to comprehend both the primary and wider purposes of
this paper: not just to initiate new discourses and educate ourselves, but first of all
to stress the urgent need to think and look critically, either individually or
collectively, at the historical components that have shaped Ethiopian culture and
molded our uncompromising, irreconcilable and sometimes vindictive attitudes and
uncaring behaviours. Only then will we be able to meaningfully and effectively
address and redress the family socialization and group orientations we have had,
including our regionalist mentalities, and to envision and cultivate the new political
culture that is essential for the entire land of Ethiopia. This engagement with our
history and culture is, in my view, indispensable, and will be highly conducive to
redirecting our discourse into more mature, logical ways of looking at the sources
of the persistent feuds, infighting and divisions among us. Through such
engagement, after addressing the root causes of our inabilities to forge bonds, live
and work together and find the remedies we need, and after inculcating concepts
of respect, trust, confidence, accountability and shared responsibility for each
other – combined with a mindset among the members of our society that includes
a sense of belonging, a feeling of nationhood – we can achieve a basis for
democracy and democratic systems to gradually take root in the land of Ethiopia.
Only then can the needs, desires and aspirations of the people be realized – to live
together, side by side and peacefully, as children of a single nation state under a
democratic system and under collaboratively achieved, agreed and accepted rules
and socio-cultural values and norms.
Let me now outline a few remaining primary intentions of this paper. One
important additional objective is to consider the composition of the Ethiopian
Diaspora, including the increasing differences within the community in terms of
educational background and the extent of involvement in Ethiopian Diaspora
politics. A more crucial element in relation to Diaspora politics, which I would like
to see taken under consideration by the Ethiopian Diaspora community – especially
if we are willing to make a serious attempt to forge bonds among ourselves,
become a socially and politically influential community and play a meaningful role
in helping ourselves and possibly also our country – is to again issue my previous
repeated calls underlining the urgent need for the establishment of a common,
single House for the Ethiopian Diaspora, a professional institution, free from any
direct or indirect influence from any political party, with visions and strategies,
systems and rules – systems and rules that reward and obligate its members to
serve, provide support and comply. This would be an institution within which we
can all educate ourselves; provide the means and the required material and
educational tools to help in the development and expansion of civil society in our
country; rebuild the badly needed trust, confidence and accountability among
ourselves; engage in positive and constructive discourse and research about the
many sided positive and negative cultural elements of our society; redress previous
wrongdoing; and fashion new and helpful tools and strategies that will help to heal
wounds, whether long existing or freshly inflicted, upon particular sections and
generations of Ethiopian society. Within such an institution we can produce
acceptable, maturely written policies relevant to our contemporary political
challenges and debates about the process of democratization, the development and
role of civil society and the future face and direction of our country and its people,
and we can rebuild the badly needed respect and love among ourselves. Such an
institution is also needed to help maintain and expand our long-established positive
cultural elements and use these to fashion a new political culture, extending our
cultural patterns to include habits of working and living together with
accountability and responsibility. This will allow us not only to influence the
forces and processes of future socio-economic and political changes in our
country, both directly and indirectly, but to play an indispensable part, with a
meaningful, positive, substantial role in helping and defending each member of our
community in times of personal or collective difficulty, no matter how severe (see
the last page of my article: Lessons for Ethiopians from the downfall of US-
supported dictators.)
For methodological purposes and to provide a clear, effective review of the
interlinked topical issues and questions raised above, two critically important
terms, functional and dysfunctional will be employed in relation to community or
society. In this paper the use of these terms will be strictly limited to the Ethiopia
Diaspora community and its involvement and role in areas of politics. All of the
issues and topics outlined above will be incorporated and highlighted within the
following four sub-themes:
- • Contemporary Ethiopian Diaspora Politics in Historical Perspective
• The Changing Face of the Ethiopian Diaspora and its Impact on Politics,
the Wider Community and Future Organizational Hopes and Initiatives
• Revisiting the May 2005 Ethiopian Parliamentary Election and its Role in
Generating a Spontaneous Mood of Unity Among the Diaspora Community
• Can Democracy take Root in a Country where Family, Group Orientation
and Regionalism are entrenched and Political Culture is lacking?
My brief remarks, conclusions and alternative suggestions will be incorporated at
the end of the paper, together with the fourth sub-topic. This concluding remark
will include some concrete alternatives and helpful suggestions about what
precisely needs be done – a new path, including new socio-political mechanisms
conducive to freeing Ethiopians from family, group-oriented and regionalist
politics, helpful in forging bonds among ourselves
Finally, I must note that there are few helpful written materials or study guides
regarding the history of the Ethiopian Diaspora community and how its politics
began and developed. Therefore this paper will be based primarily on highly limited
personal participation and observations of three decades ago, making it extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to present a proper, relatively balanced overview. I am
nevertheless determined to confront myself, to refresh my memories, and to make
every effort to take a brief, close look at the historical processes and growth of
the Ethiopian Diaspora and its role in Ethiopian politics.
Maru Gubena
Readers who wish to contact the author can reach me at info@pada.nl
• The issues, questions and concerns raised above will be included and examined,
together with the remaining four sub-topics, when I return with chapters two and
three of this paper.
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