Truth be told and Ethiopians have never been indifferent to the needs of others, let alone Egypt. Had that been the case the picture would have been a lot more different than it is now. Never did the people of this country chant that greedy and insanely selfcentered tune of “Everything for us, nothing for the others.”
For decades, we seem to have remained almost timid when it comes to establishing. our rights to equitable use of the Nile waters. Look, the Nile might have helped in boosting our literary and musical creativity; some of our best epic poetry and songs have been about the Nile. Over centuries we have been eulogizing the Nile waters. But other than washing away millions of tons of fertile soil little did it do to come to our aid during hard times, through a lot of which we had to pass through. It sounds like the mother of all ironies that in a country where about 85% of the Nile waters originate many have perished for lack of a drop or two! Maybe we didn’t try hard enough to tame it.
This country has suffered multiple droughts and famines. Over and again the fields run dry as did the throats of millions as the waters of the Nile rushed out and away as we sat on the banks and sang its praise.
It is indeed a paradox that people lose their lives because the rains refused to keep the natural cycles while the waters of the Blue Nile gushed under our feet. The numbers are heartbreaking even in the present age more than fifty million Ethiopians lack adequate drinking water. Children and even adults fall by their thousands due to waterborne diseases.
The fact is that tens of millions still spend biblical nights of kerosene lamps and candle lights for lack of power. Industries couldn’t operate with their full capacity because the country of the source of the Nile failed to tame the waters for ages. This is not about ifs and buts. Simply such a state of affairs is unacceptable and couldn’t be allowed to continue. Any sane mind, any civilized mind couldn’t miss such facts, because they aren’t about privileges or special favors; they are existential issues.
It is a pity that some sections of the global village see things connected to the equitable and sane use if the Nile waters through tainted glasses. Some, due to political prejudices and others because of falling into the trap of misinformation. Maybe, just maybe, we haven’t been shouting loud enough. Maybe our timidity has played against us. But still in all fairness there was no reason to shout any louder than the normal pitch while the facts are there for all to see.
“Everything for us, nothing for them!” Could there be any nastier and inhuman thought! Not that everyone embraces such destructive beliefs. But now and then comments you hear under the camouflage of ‘expert opinion’ are so inconsiderate and irrational you wonder what kind of minds process them. It’s like, “Every drop for us, nothing for them!” So coldhearted! So, inhumane!
Not that we expect Einstein minds from people whose cells of rational reasoning have been entirely wiped out by political tsunamis. Actually one doesn’t need much of those cells for the nonsense we hear. One can be as dumb as the stray cat and still fill the air with ‘expert opinions’ based neither on facts nor on the simplest of logics!
It is nice that negotiations have resumed. We hope reason would prevail; we hope the intelligent, all-encompassing exchange of the hard facts will lead to civilized and humane agreements. What’s more, this time around we expect observers to be just that… OBSERVERS! Is that loud enough! Any extracurricular activities would not only be unacceptable, but breach of trust, too.
True there are elements which would love to see everything going down south. There are those who are so desperate to see Ethiopia denied its rightful right to the use of the Nile waters that they would give an arm and leg. This is not a new storyline. It is decades and even centuries old. This is not about pulling the ‘us-the-victims’ playing card. It is the reality. Though we don’t want to be trapped in searching for the skeletons in the closets of yesteryears, the facts should be told. True there would be those hidden, but mostly not mysterious, hands trying to punch the buttons in matters which are not immediate concern to them, like the Nile issue.
It’s unfortunate that sections of that country’s media are busy calling for some sort of ‘Big Bang;’ you know the rolling tanks, the pounding big guns, the flying missiles. In case they are still stuck with the wrong calendars on their walls, this is the twentyfirst century! In an age when humanity should be renouncing wear flexing military muscle is not about brilliance. It wouldn’t help.
It would be like throwing dust in the face of history. Hey, wake up! This is supposed to be the century of the aroma of the roses and not the stench of gunpowder. Bragging wouldn’t take any one across many rivers. So, for those with itching trigger fingers, it is time to act lie grownups! It is shameful on the part of those who are trying to push things to the edge.
Universality; that is supposed to be the catch word of our times. Don’t do unto others what you wouldn’t want others to do to you. So the negotiations are not only about those sitting around the table; it’s about many things and many interests by those who don’t have direct interests on the Nile waters.
The Ethiopian herald June 12,2020
