Given Ethiopia’s bountiful resources, its citizens’ and its Diasporas’ thirst for a rosy tomorrow and their conviction to hit the last nail on the coffin of poverty, there is no gainsaying that the thirst will be quenched by a turnaround if Ethiopians and Ethiopian origins, joining hands and hearts, beef up nation’s financial and technological muscle, boost diplomatic verves as well as put a halt to undue pressures and narrow down knowledge gaps.
However fervent the government’s commitment proves to be in letting the country stand on its feet and start jogging on the avenue of development, single alone, the government could not fast track its push towards affluence hacking ligatures that tied the country down to poverty and languor for long.
Therefore, Ethiopia’s thrust to the aforementioned end has to be bolstered by an all-out effort. Here, it suffices to mention the significant role the diaspora played in buttressing the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as well as slamming wrong narratives and underhand dealings.
Though Ethiopia has over 3 million Diasporas scattered across the globe mainly by push and pull factors, the country has not become beneficiary of this situation seen in light of other countries that benefited from such a scenario.
Also, the role of the diaspora in ensuring a sustainable peace and inviolable sovereignty here could hardly be denied. At this juncture it suffices to see the role the diaspora community played in foiling the disinformation and miss information campaign against Ethiopia. The campaign propped up by dishonest media outlets was about to spiral out of control. Especially during the course of the past couple of years they were voicing their complaint on the global arena so that Ethiopia withstands undue pressures from some interest groups. In so doing, they had played quite a role in maintaining the unity and ensuring the peace of the country.
To alleviate the economic situation of their families and relatives, the Diasporas work their fingers to the bone in foreign lands. Those whom fate greeted with a sunny face come back to their motherland to outlay their money on a spectrum of investment ventures opening job opportunities for many and helping the country stride a step ahead in the path of growth. Those on the other end of the scale, from afar, extend expertise and financial support parallel to knowledge transfer.
Above all, for the all-rounded development of the country they are working on Diaspora Agency. Last year the government had dispatched a multitude of diaspora diplomats in a bid they galvanize the diaspora community towards nation’s development and welfare. Yet a lot remains to be desired. Both have to tend each other. The government has to create a favorable condition for them to step up their contributions. Still the diaspora community doesn’t have a clear picture of the country as there is information gap. Thus, there is a call for bridging the gap.
Taking to the higher level the new beginning of recognizing and incentivizing the support and tapping on the back the diplomatic feats of the diaspora community is a must-do task. That is why the government, this week, recognized 52 Diasporas organization for their noble contributions for various activities including public diplomacy, image building and resource mobilization among others.
The new trend universities started to click with the knowledgeable diaspora community with a wealth of experience so as to fill knowledge chasm is worthy of appreciation. This honorable task has to ripple across all universities.
To augment the diasporas’ multifaceted development there is a call for working in close collaboration with them and exploiting the opportunity for nation’s take off in all spheres of endeavor.
The Ethiopian Herald 29 January 2023
