While surfing the Internet recently, I came across a virtual interview that Tibor Nagy, the former US ambassador to Ethiopia, gave to a local TV station. Mr. Nagy may no longer be a diplomat, but he still talks like a diplomat, with carefully measured and deliberately obscured words. The content of the interview is neither interesting nor new, with the exception of two points. One of the two points is relevant to the topic we are dealing with here, while the other is saved for another occasion.
The former ambassador, who described himself as a friend of Ethiopia and spoke as a private citizen, said, “Ethiopia is an empire.” He even dared to equate Ethiopia with the long-defunct Austro- Hungarian Empire, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of sovereign states and later disintegrated as a result of the First World War.
It is quite perplexing to hear such kind of comparison from a former diplomat who describes himself as a friend of Ethiopia. What is shocking is that Mr Nagy had been living here in Ethiopia for several years, and had a chance to learn with first-hand experience what Ethiopia really is. What is worrying is the gentleman is a university professor who is in a position to influence the next generation of scholars with his erroneous lectures and academic publications.
Nagy’s interpretation of Ethiopia begs at least one question. How many of the foreigners who label themselves “friends” or “specialists” in Ethiopian affairs share this dangerous thought of the former ambassador? From which history book does he derivate this narrative?
This narrative is shared by ethnic and religious extremists that have posed an existential threat to the Ethiopian state from the past until now. As infuriating experience as it was listening to that interview as an Ethiopian, it was also funny in that the interviewer was praising and thanking Mr Nagy for his analysis repeatedly.
The truth is that Ethiopia is not an Empire. Rather it is a country that immediately brings into mind the phrase “A rainbow nation”. It is a country where peoples of different cultures, languages, and beliefs have been living together for millennia sharing both times of sadness and happiness as well as miseries and victories.
Despite their differences, thousands of years of interaction and coexistence have enabled them to cement their bond with blood, cultural, religious, and language ties. Many Ethiopians speak at least two local languages, interracial marriage is quite common. All in all, Ethiopians of different ethnic origins share common beliefs, outlooks, and identities that entitle them to live in unity as citizens of a country.
So Ethiopia is a united country that respects diversity. Fortunately, this week is a time for people with confused interpretations of Ethiopia and ethiopianess to visit the country. It is the week Ethiopians celebrate their diversity and honor their shared identity as Ethiopians.
This week, the second-largest city in the Far East corner of the country, Jigjiga, has become a microcosm of Ethiopian celebration. Representatives of nationalities and nations from every corner are converging in that city to celebrate this year’s Nations and Nationalities Day with a theme: diversity and equality for National unity.
The national event coordinated by the federal House of Federation provides colorful scenery of the ethnographic riches of the country. One could see various traditional costumes, dancing, and their interpretation of life. The event is also a time for the Ethiopian youth to learn the exciting new things about the culture and way of life of various communities. It is the event that tells us Ethiopia is like a colorful fabric made by the interlaced warp and weft of nations/ nationalities.
One participant of the event explains Ethiopia with a metaphor “when a single wood stands alone, it makes any difference but when the woods are joined together in a balanced and harmonious way. They stand strong making a house that does not let in the wind, the rain, or any of the elements.”
Another participant said. “Ethiopia is a nation of several problems, at the same time it has also several solutions too. We have joined hands and sit together like this, to share our wisdom and shape our common destiny as a nation. We all wish to build and develop, a united, prosperous Ethiopia whose people live in peace and harmony.”
One of the events in the five-day celebration of Nations and Nationalities Day is a symposium where Ethiopians exchange views and share facts about the present status and the prospect of the implementation of the rights of nations and nationalities as stipulated in the constitution. Representatives of the nations and nationalities also celebrate their common identity, their Ethiopianess.
The last, the fifth day of the event is named Ethiopia Day. They discuss the current situation of their country as a whole and exchange views on ways to circumvent challenges of ethnic extremism and ensure the peaceful coexistence of Ethiopians with moto unity with diversity.
Speaker of the House of Federation, Agegnehu Teshager, attached great importance to the events held in Jigjiga and expected huge outcomes that would facilitate the implementation of the hottest current topic of Ethiopian politics—the national dialogue. “The august gathering of nations and nationalities day in Jigjiga is expected to generate a possible agenda for the national dialogue,” he said in a comment he made a day before the event kicked off.
Indeed, Ethiopia is at a historical crossroads that could lead to endless cycle of violence or sustainable peace and prosperity. The choice fully rests on the hands of its nations, and nationalities. The Premier, Abiy Ahmed once said that the upcoming national dialogue is a golden opportunity for Ethiopians not to be missed.
It is an opportunity for nations and nationalities to set agendas that would lead to them resolving the bottlenecks to their effort to build a unified, strong Ethiopia where all of them live in peace, prosperity, and harmony. It is also an opportunity for Ethiopian nations and nationalities to establish shared history based on facts, not on distorted fictitious narratives that are created to promote the politics of ethnic extremists.
If they agree that it is necessary, Ethiopians have the full right to recommend reform and revision of the constitution, the controversial document introduced about three decades ago but which guarantees the exercise of democratic and human rights of nations and nationalities. The Ethiopian government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Ethiopian people.
The Ethiopian nations and nationalities have been living in coexistence for thousands of years, preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia by sticking together against all odds. The elders of the nationalities have made their communities live in peace and harmony among themselves and with their neighbors long before the idea of democracy and words like constitution, or Parliament emerged.
They have succeeded because of their unwritten and unpublished, time-tested traditional wisdom. We hope that at the national dialogue, they will bring their respective wisdoms, mix, shake and homogenize them to address the set agenda items and subsequently come up with a home-grown panacea for the current situation in their country, Ethiopia.
BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 10 DECEMBER 2023
