Every so often there are unsung-heroes who would contribute a lot for their community but receive little recognition in return. The roles of such heroes in improving the livelihood of their society are remarkable as their efforts usually resulted in good deeds, increased social harmony and real social change. As they contribute to changes in a meaningful way, they are usually community leaders who understand the benefits of exercising social responsibility.
Wondwosen F. Tefera (PhD) is among those who contributed significantly to their community. He has worked with the Ethiopian Diaspora community in the United States to support the national development and political change at the homeland in the last three years. As a member of the Ethiopian Public Diplomacy, he also played an enormous role in establishing a platform for good relations between the Ethiopian government and the Diaspora.
A letter from the Consulate General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Los Angeles California, United States of America to the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency (EDA), Addis Ababa presents Dr. Wondwosen’s major roles in mobilizing the members of the Diaspora community to participate in the national affairs like safeguarding national interests, supporting the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and nation’s effort in fighting against COVID-19.
The letter which has recently been written to EDA also states that Wondwosen chaired different committees that facilitated conferences, a wide range of expenses and good relations between the Ethiopian community and the Ethiopian government during the historic visit of the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to the USA in 2018. In short, the letter presents his praiseworthy contributions ranging from financial support to mobilizing the Diaspora community to cultivate good relations with the current Ethiopian government.
Wondwosen was born and raised here in Addis. He left for the United States in 2002 to pursue his education. Then, he studied his BA in Business Management at the University of Phoenix, his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at University of Portland, Oregon and Ph. D in Transformational and Organizational Leadership at Concordia University, Chicago. He is now a resident of Portland, Oregon, USA.
The Ethiopian Herald has recently made a short stay with Wondwosen during his visit to Ethiopia. He discusses his experiences with the Diaspora community in the USA as well as his views on current national affairs. Excerpts:
Herald: The letter that has recently been written to Ethiopian Diaspora Agency here in Addis Ababa describes your commendable contributions to support Ethiopians’ national interest in the last three years. Would you mention some of those praiseworthy accomplishments?
Wondwosen: Yes. We have seen worthy accomplishment because of the efforts of other members of the Diaspora, not only mine. I joined the Ethiopian Public Diplomacy Network (EPDN) with the aim to support national reform and development in the homeland. Since the introduction of the national reform led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, I have been working with the diaspora community in Washington and Portland and other parts of the United States.
Besides the government’s invitation for the Diaspora to participate in the current national affairs, we also believe diaspora mobilization is crucial to establish proper relations with their government. And as we believe the necessity of image building is fundamental for our country, coordinated participation of the Diaspora community is an imperative instrument of achieving the intended image. In the last three years, we, the Diaspora community, have significantly been working together to support national development.
Herald: Why only the last years? What about before that?
Wondwosen: The members of the Diaspora community started to strengthen their relations following the new political reform introduced three years ago. Before that the then political situation was not encouraging for us to come together and work for our country. Due to problems related to political situations, we could not have a common interest to work for our peoples. And there had been no vision or national interest among the Diaspora community to connect.
In the last three years, after the introduction of the reform, the vision Prime Minister Abiy and his team brought for the Diaspora community captured my interest. I said that is what we were looking for. Showing its interest to work with the people, the head of the government invited us to rebuild our country. We got something we lost from the previous system.
Herald: How do you describe the attitudes of the Diaspora towards their homeland these days?
Wondwosen: Unlike the previous days, I have observed that there is strong interest and connection among the diaspora community. The diaspora community is very optimistic; they have high interest to participate in the national development of their country. They want to support the homeland and they want to see the best in people. I do see that. Better communication is developing among the diaspora community in the United States. Though there are some inconveniences, you do see hope and change. People are very interested.
Unfortunately, there was a big disconnection between the community and the Ethiopian government. There was a big gap. There were no common interests that brought the diaspora community together. They were not involved to help but now there is the spirit of collaboration. Many people are engaging and contributing to their future; they are also supporting their homeland.
We have great assets. We have a very diverse knowledge, culture, skills and blessed nation. Whenever we get such types of leadership that captures my attention, we are interested to work together. I am not a politician and I do not want to be one. I am a public servant. But I try to help people and that was my initial interest to participate and engage myself in the Diaspora. I believe this is an opportunity to work with the community as it enables me to contribute and support national development.
Herald: Would you please mention some results you have seen as a result of working with the Diaspora?
Wondwosen: Sure. When Dr. Abiy came to the United States to meet the Diaspora community, everybody was very enthusiastic and captured by the excitement of the change. And during that time, I was coordinating a committee that was welcoming him. I was also encouraging Ethiopians in Oregon and Washington to travel to welcome Prime Minister Abiy and his team at Los Angeles. That was very successful.
Before that, there was no connection between the Diaspora community and Ethiopian Embassy. The relationship was very fragmented. At the same time, the Ethiopian community in the United States was not connecting and working together. Most of the community had been against the previous government structure.
When the PM decided to visit the US, most of the city, community and states leaders wanted me to take the responsibility of coordinating community participation. The outcome was interesting! Ambassadors started to meet and discuss matters with the community. The young people were interested; that also captured my interest. In the history of that community, everyone came together for the first time.
Your religious background, educational background or political view does not matter. That was a very memorable moment; even it has been an example for other parts of the United States. It was an exciting moment. We were bringing the community all together. That was very successful in my opinion. I was not the only one to do this; there were 17 leaders who were committee members working with me.
Besides these, our coming together has enabled us to stand against the inappropriate influence of some western organizations and individuals on the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. We continued communicating our rights to use our natural resources on the Nile River and Ethiopia’s decision not to enter unacceptable negotiation. Here, we fortunately have seen significant progress as a result.
Following the pandemic, COVID-19, we also continued supporting our peoples. I was leading the taskforce for fund raising. We were sending resources here to the homeland. Currently, I am involved in diplomacy continuously with other diaspora communities bringing the positive aspect of the nation. We have also been informing the other people what we need, what we are doing, where we are heading and about the current government and the people of Ethiopia.
Herald: At the outset, including the Diaspora community, all Ethiopians at home were so enthusiastic about the reform. Nevertheless, these days, it seems that enthusiasm has evaporated. Even recurrent conflicts have become common. What solution would you suggest here?
Wondwosen: I suggest that everybody ought to realize that what has been happening is the feature of any reform. As reforms take time, there would be gross misunderstandings, tension and conflicts between the government and the people even among peoples as well. When Emperor Haile Selassie I was removed from power, Dergue came and demolished all leadership structures. Similar situations followed when Dergue was removed. But when Dr. Abiy came to power, he wanted to maintain the prevailing structure. This takes time to flourish.
Conflicts are inevitable when changes are introduced. We cannot build a nation in zero conflict situations. I do not think even developed nations like the US promise their people that they will never have any conflict. They won’t say everything would be a honeymoon. We need to trust the process. There is a process between the output and the input. The output, I am optimistic by nature, hopefully we will see a better future. We will see greater results from the ongoing reform. I believe there is big progress ahead of us.
All I can say is time will tell us; we need to be patient. And we all need to do our part to see the progress of Ethiopia. Everything is exciting at the beginning. For instance, when you married to your spouse; you get excited. Everything is a honeymoon. But progressively you as you grow together, you will inevitably experience conflicts and disappointments. I experienced that in my own personal life. So the same in nation building; at the beginning everybody was so excited and rejoiced. When Dr.Abiy came, we were excited as he answered most of our questions. That sense happiness and joy was proper; and the current conflicts are also expected.
Herald: As a PhD in transformational and organizational leadership, what would you suggest for the political leaders who are leading the current reform?
Wondwosen: Well simple (Laughter); talk less, do more. In Ethiopia, leaders are accustomed to talk a lot. But that does not work in the 21st century. Nowadays, people want you to tell them little and do more to follow you. In position leadership, people respect your ranking. But that does not last for long; you need to produce. There is a permission leadership, where they allow you to see something in you. So that leaders must diligently serve the interest of their people.
BY WAKUMA KUDAMA
The Ethiopian Herald June 5/2021
