Ethiopian nationals wherever they may be always say they have their hearts back home with their compatriots, families, relatives and friends even if they had to change their place of residence or work. For a number of reasons, people migrate from their original residence or country to move elsewhere. History has shown us that millions of people had to change from their original habitat and move elsewhere in search of generally a better and safer life. They may be forced to flee exposure to dangers in their original country for a number of reasons. It could be due to their religious belief, or their political orientation or views, or due to any other motive that may not go with the establishment’s preferences. Surely conflicts are a prime motive to abandon one’s native land and seek refuge elsewhere. People are seen forced to flee civil strife and violence. Terrorism is another motive that discourages people from sticking to their native land. Adverse natural phenomena such as climatic catastrophes, floods, drought and consequent famine are also among factors that contribute to people immigrating to places where they might fancy new horizons of hope. .
The current world has been shaped by various movements of people in millions. Records show most of the people in America are composed of immigrants or people who moved from Europe and Africa in search of safer habitats but there were also those who were passionate about new discoveries or conquests or even entrepreneurial advances. So we find that the Americas have been flooded by these new comers. For hundreds of years these new comers inundated the Americas and even if they did not mix immediately with the natives and continued to live in their own communities, later on however there were gradual intermarriages and mixtures and new breeds of people were formed. They established new communities and spread their language and cultures to these receiving communities. The population increased by leaps and bounds and the major countries of the current world were formed such as the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and others. Countries such as the US have been among the major favourite destinations of these immigrants and millions from Europe were stimulated to move to the Americas in search of new opportunities.
This trend of immigrating to the so called New World has continued to this day and among those who have been part of this phenomenon are Ethiopians. Over the past six decades or so, thousands of Ethiopians have chosen the US for various reasons including university studies and opportunities of safety and comfortable life. Students who finished their studies stayed behind, and later on made up their own families there choosing to settle there for good. Moreover, later on when the country fell under the military dictatorship, many Ethiopians fled political persecution and joined those who had already immigrated earlier.
In the past decades the flow of Ethiopian citizens moving to the US and other countries has increased exponentially and today the estimated number of people of Ethiopian origin living outside Ethiopia is about three million! This is a sizeable number and if we consider that most of them are better educated than those living at home and enjoy better economic prospects their influence on matters back at home cannot be underestimated. It is well known that billions of dollars are sent back home as remittance to families and relatives and this has been crucial to supplement the economy at home. Most are well adapted to their new environment and we know that they have become one of the most influential and prosperous foreign communities living in the US.
However, the power of the Ethiopian diaspora is even more significant when it comes to be implemented to pressure countries to follow or not to follow a certain policy against Ethiopia. Even if these natives cherish their new citizenship at the same time however, they have never broken the bridge with their native Ethiopia. In fact, most of them still have close family members living in Ethiopia, most of their attachment has always been renewed and refreshed with their frequent visits back home.
Today seeing that their native land is being challenged by the terrorist TPLF and its allies and partners, these Ethiopian diaspora are enraged and have taken centre stage in the campaign of solidarity with their motherland. The situation has particularly enraged them when they saw that there is an orchestrated campaign against a legitimately elected government of Ethiopia by not only the major western media disseminating politically motivated and one sided stories, most of which have been debunked by the authentic impartial media. The Ethiopian diaspora have meanwhile gathered to voice their protests against these media outlets shamelessly engaged in advancing the terrorist TPLF narratives.
The Ethiopian diaspora have also been rallying in thousands in multiple cities throughout the world particularly in the western hemisphere, voicing earnestly against the kind of manipulation and propaganda being disseminated on their native Ethiopia. They have continued to make their voices heard, chanting slogans against the undue pressure the Ethiopian government has been subjected to. They have voiced their opposition to the kind of economic sanctions that are being threatened or already imposed by western powers. They have opposed loudly the psychological war conducted against their country to pressure all foreign nationals to leave the country alleging security risks etc. They have also initiated and launched a huge mainstream and social media campaign of #NoMore referring to all sorts of attacks and interferences against a legitimately elected government with the pretext of humanitarian intervention and assistance.
The Ethiopian diaspora have also condemned the open interference of certain countries in the internal affairs of Ethiopia subscribing to the baseless narratives of the TPLF terrorists. They shouted loud ‘no to hybrid war’, ‘no to economic pressure’ and ‘no to any form of threats and intimidations’! Ethiopia won’t bow to neo-imperialist moves and polices, the Ethiopian diaspora were heard yelling and shouting. This has become a huge force for citizens and the government in Addis Ababa.
Today this force is considered a huge asset for Ethiopia because it is not only a political instrument but also an economic one if we consider the kind of contribution they make to the economy. Since the start of the conflict the diaspora have been sending millions of dollars to the country to help the campaign and those who have been affected by the crisis. The idea of solidarity with the Ethiopian people is crucial because it builds up the morale of the people and those directly involved in the thwarting of the existential threat of the country. .
The Ethiopian diaspora have been a very lively and vigorous voice for Ethiopians. They have for instance organized themselves well and made their voices count in a recent regional election outcome in the US local politics. A democratic governor was unseated by a republican one with the active input of the Ethiopian diaspora. This group has also promised to continue to campaign until the US and certain western countries rectify their misguided policies against Ethiopia and accord it its status as a sovereign country.
In a recent statement the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson disclosed that never in the history of Ethiopia have the diaspora been such a huge influence on Ethiopia’s destiny and that their participation has been unprecedented in its unity, size, intensity, emotion and resolution. They have been campaigning persistently in every corner of the world even inviting and involving neutrals and other friends of Ethiopia, particularly Africans, to join the struggle to thwart the attacks and interferences of these foreign powers against Ethiopia.
As the military operations continue to intensify and gather momentum with the direct participation of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, more military successes will be recorded, more diplomatic wins will be achieved as the danger of the terrorist TPLF and its allies is in the process of being eliminated with their troops being routed on the ground in multiple fronts.
It is well known that even those who have been supporting the TPLF and their allies would not take long to shift their focus elsewhere when they realize that it is a lost case to go against an entire population committed to conserve their sovereignty and integrity. The principle they usually follow is ‘there is nothing called permanent friend or permanent foe but permanent interest’. And where their interest leads them, where they think their interest is better pursued, they follow that path.
Ethiopia has the chance to reassert its unity, resolve and determination to wipe out every source of terrorism and rebellion beyond apparent victories so that every doubt of its legitimacy and acceptance by the public is firmly and reliably established or reaffirmed. Thus any foreign power that wants to have its interests safeguarded will have to deal with the government in power and not with hopeless rebels scattered here and there and live only on the propaganda airwaves. This has been the trend with international politics particularly when it comes to western countries and there is no reason why things will change today.
It should not be forgotten that the West and Ethiopia have had more than a century of cordial relations and it would not be very difficult to re-establish better relations forgetting misunderstandings and ironing out recent differences. History will remember the events of the past year as one of the saddest in the history of Ethiopia and its relations with the West. It will particularly be remembered in the history of internal politics of Ethiopia as the most shameful given what the terrorists did to Ethiopian National Defense Forces stationed in the Northern Command and what sort of atrocities they committed in the regions of Amhara and Afar!
The events of the past year are very difficult to explain and still less to justify except as a moment of madness experienced by leaders of the TPLF who tried to impose their extremist dogmas first on Tigrayan people to then expand it to the entire country and possibly to the Horn of Africa! Clearly the warlike mentality of those few arrogant and psychotic leaders of TPLF was viewed in the way they tried to handle their political disagreements with the Federal government.
In the end, following the blind mobilization of an entire region either forced through blackmail or inculcated with the false narratives of the TPLF dogma, Ethiopians had to stand up to the challenge, leaving aside their other programs and priorities related to development and growth. The danger was existential and the resolve of the terrorists was apparently firm. But it was clear that in the long run, especially without the consistent and robust help of foreign troops and armaments, the TPLF forces could not have been a match to the Ethiopian people! A united Ethiopia had to prove itself again as invincible by any internal or external foe and in this context one of the armaments of such force is of course the diaspora! The Ethiopian diaspora are continuing with their campaign resulting to be not only a diplomatic and political force but also an economic and moral one!
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD DECEMBER 9/2021
