BY TEWODROS KASSA
Ethiopia had gone through various challenges at different times and different situations. It faced severe drought, war, hunger and the like challenges. However, the Ethiopian Diasporas and friends of Ethiopia across the globe in general and Africans in particular have been exerting utmost effort and playing a crucial role in reversing the challenges the country encountered. The active participation of Ethiopians residing at home and abroad helped to ease the challenges and sustain the socio-economic development of the country in the past. Especially, over the past few years, the Diaspora community and friends of Ethiopia have carried out a lot of activities to promote Ethiopia at the global arena and advance its economic growth.
Recently, the Ethiopian Government has recognized various Diasporas organizations that have been actively supporting the government’s efforts of building a peaceful and prosperous country. The recognitions were given to some 52 Ethiopian Diaspora organizations drawn from 25 countries and members of the Diaspora who actively participated in support of their country on various occasions.
After recognizing the Diasporas organizations, President Sahle-Work Zewde said that the Diaspora organizations deserve recognition as they have been contributing a lot in the nation’s development efforts and in remittances, among others.
According to her, the recognition is for all members of the Diaspora all over the world for doing good job for their country. The Diaspora organizations worldwide have been contributing significantly towards safeguarding the national interest as well as its economic and social development.
The Diaspora organizations also expressed their commitment to working committedly to increase the role of the Diasporas in national development.
Accordingly, the Diasporas organizations were awarded for their extraordinary involvement in various activities, including public diplomacy, image building and resource mobilization, among others. The Diasporas have also exerted noble contributions in fending off the unwarranted pressure of some interest groups and promoting Ethiopia’s reality among global actors.
Over the past two years, the participation of the Ethiopian Diasporas on different national issues has been significantly improved and they have played a unique role in making the voice of their home country be heard at the international level. They have also served Ethiopia as a bridge to connect it with the outside world.
Ethiopians in the Diaspora have staged numerous public rallies in major cities across the globe and denounced the undue pressure some interest groups exerted in their home country. Accordingly, over 70 public rallies were held in 40 global cities in which hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian Diasporas participated.
Besides, the Diaspora community from all walks of life actively participated in discussions held with political representatives in their respective countries of residence; sent petition letters to concerned bodies and organized and carried out campaigns.
Defend Ethiopia Taskforce and Diaspora Belgium Community Coordinator Ephrem Zewdu told local media that the Ethiopian Diasporas have to play constructive role for the full implementation of the peace deal and continue to mobilize resources to support the government’s effort to restore infrastructures in the conflict affected areas.
According to him, the Ethiopian Diaspora community has to continue supporting the full implementation of peace agreement in advocacy, digital diplomacy and in defending anything that comes to sabotage and undermine it. The Diasporas also need to continue their constructive role for the full implementation of the agreement. Mobilizing resources to support those who have been affected by conflict in Afar, Tigray and Amhara states as well as victims of natural disasters in other parts of the country is expected to be the other areas of engagements of the Diaspora community.
Currently, there are many Ethiopians who need emergency humanitarian assistance due to either the conflict or natural disaster. Thus, the Diasporas have to mobilize resources to backing the efforts of the government in delivering humanitarian assistance.
Moreover, the Diaspora has to play a long term role for the development of Ethiopia, which is the most important thing that the government needs to emphasize on. The Diaspora also has to participate in investment, technology transfer and mobilizing resources, which would be done in the long term; and the most important part that the Diaspora has to play, and the government needs to the Diasporas to continue their participation, he underscored.
The other Diaspora, Emebet Mengistie living in the U.S. told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that the Diaspora community has been contributing a lot to the efforts exerted towards safeguarding national security and interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity, particularly over the past four years.
As to her, the Diaspora community has been playing an indispensable role in supporting the county’s construction process such as the Abay Dam; restoring conflict affected areas, in peace building, reducing foreign exchange crunch, avoiding the foreign pressures, providing different provisions to people in need of support, canceling the draft laws that were to impose on Ethiopia, collecting petition, and submitting the letter for the right body in a bid to ensure the national interests of the country thereby enforcing the external bodies to rethink their biased approach on Ethiopia.
Diaspora Abinet Alemayehu, resident of Toronto in Canada, said that as the country has been affected highly by the conflict, it deserves mass supports from Diasporas and international communities.
In sum, the Diaspora communities have done a lot and have been supporting Ethiopia through their resources, expertise, time, and energy, among others. The Ethiopian Diaspora Service (EDS) announced recently that among the various significances that the country gained from the Diaspora includes over four billion USD as remittance. Apart from this, the Diaspora community has been playing a crucial role in transferring technology, knowledge, experience, involving in investment, and the likes.
The Ethiopian Herald 28 January 2023
