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As you read this, I am already thousands of
kilometres away. I have left Ethiopia for good, or
at least for some long time. It is a hard thing to
say, let alone to write. This country has taught me
so much and given me so many things to think of and
digest. It has also been the single source of my
anxieties for as long as I have been known it.
As my final days were approaching, a number of
friends asked what I planned to write as my last
"goodbye". The very idea of my last column was an
impossible one to grasp. It is not before getting to
it that I realised what it meant. It means that I am
leaving a country that I have gotten attached to;
more than I could ever have imagined before.
A
few days ago, a reader sent me an e-mail and
commenting on my column. She agreed with what I was
saying, about Ethiopia's dark international image,
but also asked me to try to be more positive. As she
put it, Ethiopia needed its chance to shine for the
new Millennium. In her view, I was being too
pessimistic about developments in Ethiopia and the
Horn of Africa. She was right, and she was wrong.
Yes, I have been negative. This country has too many
problems and there are no excuses I can accept; none
at all. It would be best if this government focused
on its own problems and acknowledged the place of
citizens in determining the country's future;
instead of acting independently from its people, and
towards questionable ends. Economic policies need to
be reviewed, land rights remain the biggest obstacle
to livelihood improvements and military approaches
are used too readily.
The list of problems in Ethiopia is a very long one.
The stage is easily set for any columnist to pick
holes in contemporary policies. But that also
overlooks the great leaps forward that have occurred
in the last decade and beyond. However much I
disagree with the spending linked to a 'new
Millennium', I do agree that Ethiopia has things to
celebrate.
It has both the cause and the right to celebrate.
School attendance has never been higher, average
annual income is climbing steadily and roads are
extending to places never before accessed and
Ethiopians actually have a bright future to look
forward to. There is indeed much to celebrate.
Ethiopia is a beautiful country. It has some of the
warmest and most generous people on the planet. It
is home to so many wild, diverse and natural
environments. It has such tremendous diversity - in
culture, language, religion, climates and
experiences - that it should be a learning ground
for many of the world's negative, or "realist",
analysts. It is the source of the Nile and the water
tower of East Africa. It has history going back
millennia. All of these are facts to be celebrated.
So where is this country going? With all these
advantages, why is it so hard to be positive here?
It might be the begging culture, the lack of
incentives, or even the work culture I wrote of last
week. Again, it is not my place to judge, though my
opinion is as valid to express as that of my
neighbour.
In nearly a year spent filling this space in
Fortune I have seldom missed an opportunity to
criticise. It is easy for me to do so. The policy
errors are so numerous and often so obvious that it
has been hard to focus on anything other than
criticisms. In my view, people should always
question their leaders. They should question
everything about them, from their policies to the
way they conduct their personal affairs. Not only
should they, but it is also their responsibility.
It is too easy to sit back and wait for 'things to
change'. This implies waiting for your peers to take
responsibility while you watch. It is not
sufficient. Whether or not my opinions have been
right, it is good to know that I was free to express
them.
There is a great misconception today, in all of
Ethiopia, that no one is free to speak their mind.
Habesha or farenj, all here are
allowed to speak. A number of my readers attribute
my freedom of expression to my foreign status, or to
the language of my writing. They are wrong. I write
as I do because I choose to. Others can do the same.
There are no boundaries where constructive
expression is concerned. All opinions are valid, but
only when people agree to this. It is a social
contract of sorts. I can say all I want, as long as
I listen to my peers when they tell me their views.
The ultimate goal is to find a viable path forward.
I
will miss Ethiopia terribly. In fact, I hope I find
ways to come back soon. Some may be sad to see me
go; others will breathe a sigh of relief. But I
admit that my opinions are only superficial.
Everyone has a role to play in their country's
development. Everyone also has to take some blame
for the existing situation.
Celebrate the coming Millennium, rejoice and be
happy. But use this opportunity to see your role in
Ethiopia's future; not apart, but included in it.
The future is bright, if the right choices are made
. . . by everybody.
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