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Don’t Worry About Eritrea, Be Concerned About Ethiopia


Eri-TV anchorman Raphael Giuseppe (R) with staff members in Asmara. These men dedicate their lives to informing the public and fighting disinformation against Eritrea - Credit: Afshin  Rattansi

Don’t Worry About Eritrea, Be Concerned About Ethiopia

Written by Aron Abraham,

Over the years, Eritreans have witnessed an increased number of, for lack of a better term, cyber commentators, who made taking cheap and illogical shots at Eritrea and its people their hobby. Basically there are two groups who seem to be engaged in this activity more than any. Discerning their thin facade reveals their true identity and motives which, although it might not come as a surprise, as all are well known in the community and people whom they are trying to prey upon, it’s not to be ignored and should be addressed.

For starters when analyzing such intense obsession, it’s prudent to look up the word “obsession” itself, which both groups have displayed they have in common regarding Eritrea. This obsession, which is medically termed as “mania”, will definitely make an interesting study into the human psychology in the near future about what drives one to ultimately grab onto the success (be it a person, an object or even a race or a nation) either in a positive way (feeling and claiming allegiance) or in a negative way (lashing out and bad mouthing). Sharing or voicing one's opinion or thoughts is not a problem, rather a sign of civilization and maturity but a targeted, pointed and constant negation and instigation in one direction has lifted those individuals from that sphere of doubt and cast them into an absolute, doubt free zone where souls that can’t be condoned exist.

The first group with the likes of Leonardo Vincent, Dan Connell and Martin Plaut have been discussed and discarded quite often so I will not dwell upon those individuals. The other interesting group of experts, commentators and analysts regarding Eritrea are the Ethiopians. Mostly compromising of ethnic Tigrai scholars who seem to be on a mission to lecture Eritreans about Eritrea.

Looking back on how most came about, its easy to see even though given a wide range of platforms in the internal Ethiopia Media from 1998-2002, they were driven out of this as their readership and influence dwindled. The Ethiopian public became more informed about actual events and started to discern this false information being fed to it. But with the active help of the TPLF regime  those same people began using other external platforms.

Including the Ethiopian Government sponsored websites of Eritrea, they found sympathizers who are simply following the general anti Eritrea direction given and encouraged by the misguided west by such media outlets as Aljazeera (English), AllAfrica.com and Sudan Tribune.com .Those news agencies, happen to be owned by foreign entities and provide news as they see fit, not as is or not even attempting to provide a balanced outlook.

As an example, view the content of these articles:
  1. This article published on AllAfrica.com was written by Berouk Mesfin, who has the title of Senior Researcher and works at the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division (CPRA) in Addis Ababa. CPRA is  part of a “think-tank organization ” called Institute for Security Studies. Staffers at ISS, despite the institutes claim to be a regional and continental  organization, appear to be ignoring the plights and inhuman conditions the Ethiopian population are suffering while wasting no time in criticizing any Eritrean mishap or situation.

  2.  Sudan Tribune; picks and chooses what to publish from only pro Ethiopia and/ or anti Eritrean sites, and on the occasions it does publish its own articles usually appearing under a nameless byline. Check this article as an example of a news report which was made to appear it was reported from Shire, Ethiopia. Does it make any sense that Sudan Tribune would have a reporter in Shire, Tigrai, Ethiopia? How large and well-funded must it be to have a reporter in such a small village such as Shire? A reasonable explanation would be it was reported by its regular contributors such as Tesfa-Alem Tekle and others who are reporters in Mekele?

  3. Aljazeera, certainly not to be left out, publishes articles written by such individuals as Goitom Gebreluel an academic hailing from Mekelle University. 

Now as a normal, logical train of thought one would have to ask why is this intense attention given to Eritrea? Have those people who are spending valuable time worrying about Eritrea? Have they uplifted their own country from its problems? Have they cleaned their homes enough to feel obligated to such attention to their neighbors’ house?

Let considering the following articles of events happening in Ethiopia at the same time most are writing about Eritrea:

1) Internal Displacement due to land being sold to highest bidder and forcing the indigenous people out of their ancestral land has and is creating a mass exodus to neighboring Kenya which is currently hosting over 100,00 Ethiopian Refugees from Southern and Western Ethiopia.

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9777

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/07/20127315318992592.html

http://www.voanews.com/content/thirty_thousand_enter_kenya_to_escape_ethiopian_ethnic_clash/1449052.html

A recent move by the US Congress regarding this landgrab is a late but positive reflection of what has been a tragic end to a traditional way of life for many.

2) The disturbing genocide being conducted in the Ogaden Region, which has and still is claming the lives of thousands as we speak.

http://www.genocidewatch.org/ethiopia.html

http://humanrightsinethiopia.wordpress.com/

Presently this is being investigated by Swedish military court and soon possibly by ICC as its first genocide case.

http://www.goolgule.com/meeting-to-take-eprdf-to-international-court/


While these are the major situations which require immediate media, analysts, conflict prevention and academics’ attention, why are they focused on Eritrea? Other issues the current minority government of Ethiopia and its mouthpieces need to deal with and solve include education, water and electricity, migration and the effort to attain that taboo word of being aid and reliance free from donations and the sympathy of the world. Ironically, there is always this underlying effort to compare Eritrea with Ethiopia. But truth of the matter is, Eritrea which is well under way to sturdy and unshakable self sufficiency and infrastructure development in most sectors, while their nation which is rich, fertile and much more older is still at the top of the list of aid supported and donation receiving nations in the world year after year.

Looking at some outstanding facts certainly gets one thinking a lot regarding criticizing others while your laundry is full of dirt. As simple examples let’s see the following:

Fact #1: 2013 alone has seen the migration of 160,000 legal and tens of thousands illegal’s to nearby Middle Eastern countries. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-24/saudis-turn-to-ethiopian-maids-after-beheading-limits-supplies.html

Fact #2: After decades of being the poster nation for aid, drought and famine, still more than 13 million are expected to be kept alive by UN WFP aid. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/to-survive-famine-will-work-for-insurance/?_r=0

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/horn-of-africa-food-crisis-latest-updates

Fact # 3: The Governments corruption which is eating away the economy from its core is estimated to exceed 16 Billion.

http://www.tadias.com/05/13/2013/how-big-is-corruption-in-ethiopia-16-5-billion-lost-to-illegal-smuggling-of-cash/

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2011-12-13-a-climate-of-corruption-ethiopian-edition/#.UmrMDXAp_44

Fact #4: Ethiopian youth illiteracy rate is at its lowest since it began getting recorded with less than 39% getting education: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_statistics.html

http://country-facts.findthedata.org/q/84/2395/What-is-the-literacy-rate-in-Ethiopia-a-country-in-the-continent-of-Africa

Fact #5: 61.5% of Ethiopia’s population is deprived of adequate schooling http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Global-Multidimensional-Poverty-Index-2013-8-pager.pdf?18be84

Fact #6: 50 % Unemployment rate has led the youth to seek migration.

http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/centre-for-the-study-of-african-economies-series/the-nature-of-unemployment-in-urban-ethiopia

Fact #7: As for much spoken double-digit economic growth, the Economist Magazine casts doubt on such an assertion by noting: “….the Ethiopian inflation figures is fiddled with even more than those in Argentina” and “the double-digit growth rates predicted by the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi look fanciful.

http://www.ethiomedia.com/14store/5375.html

Fact #8: Even though most of those commentators enjoy labeling Eritrea a “failed state”, a recent study has put Ethiopia at the top spot for a Failed State Prize.

http://ffp.statesindex.org/rankings-2013-sortable

Fact #9: Religious, political, and ethnic tensions are on the rise in Ethiopia, making it more vulnerable to a coup.

http://dartthrowingchimp.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/coup-risk-in-2013-mapped-my-way/

So with all the issues plaguing Ethiopia, why do these cyber Ethopian commentators worry so much about Eritrean issues? I, for one do not wish to overburden my neighbors south of the border with a task that does not require their attention or expertise but might be better for them to pay attention to their own issues at hand.

The other main issue at hand is why are those media organizations mentioned above giving these individuals space and opportunity to publish? Why not allow a response or a second opinion (rebuttal) to be published? Quite frankly those individuals who, without a doubt represent the desperate regime in Addis Ababa, can write what they wish on their blogs or government sites, but to be given access to outside source is nothing but a concerted effort to derail the slowly but surly gaining momentum train that is Eritrea while they might be better off salvaging their own conundrum, if it can ever be solved.

As a conclusion, I would like to stress that no matter what’s being written or published the nation of Eritrea will continue on its path. I would also like to leave you with this timeless message from a recent interview with EDF Minister Gen. Sebaht Eferem:

"We cannot make drama and hysteria like the Weyanes, so there's no reason to try. We are not liars and we don't have access to international news agents, because our cause does not interest international news agencies. So when they make noise by ringing the church bell we can just look at it knowing that the movement of the bell going back in forth will stop sooner or later and when it does, we will either talk if it benefits us and if its irrelevant we will just watch the issue die."



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Don’t Worry About Eritrea, Be Concerned About Ethiopia Reviewed by Admin on 3:29 PM Rating: 5

15 comments:

  1. Fact #1 is completely wrong.
    Almost 1 million Ethiopian "women" were shipped to the middle east last year.
    Since 2012, 1.6 million Ethiopians have illegally entered Saudi Arabia, thats more than 2,000 refugees a day in just 1 destination country

    "Ethiopia is facilitating procedures to send 45,000[540,000/year] maids to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia every month."
    http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20120315119698

    "In May, 40,633 Ethiopians arrived [in the Oman Sultanate] while their numbers in April and March was 38,915 and 37,394, respectively. Of the 40,633 Ethiopians who arrived in May, 40,170 were women employees while of the 38,915 arriving in April, 38,474[455,000/year] were women.
    http://www.timesofoman.com/news/Article-20113.aspx

    "Coming and going from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this past week, young Ethiopian women who work in the Gulf region formed parenthesis around my trip, as all of my flights on Gulf Air were filled almost entirely with these workers."
    http://mpom.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/ethiopia-traveling-with-her-finest-resources/

    "1.6 Million Ethiopian Refugees Have Illegally Entered Saudi Arabia over the last couple of years, according to the Chinese state-owned international news agency CCTV."
    http://youtu.be/CDQRH80P7ys
    start@1:55

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great analysis and a good expose.
    I wish this article is posted at aiga,Ethiopian review and ethiomedia and nazreth.com.
    One fact though is,we Eritreans do no try to challenge the "obsession" you just listed.It is so easy to challenge everything they say in those media outlets .May I ask why we cannot hit back and/or do the same thing against them?Silence may mean to them accepting their false allegations and accusations.They know exactly what they are doing but not sure we know what we are supposed to know and to do.
    The old EPLF style of "Suk mibal meritsna:" is not an option at this stage.
    Let us hit them back hard as you did.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks! Aron
    It is really an articulated and informative article.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cursed hommmosssenay stop deleting my post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ata derbaye agame entay eiu werdieka. Zeytgdfuna eikum atum lementie hasswetie agame. Atum begakum yirdakum ayerdeomne eiom eziom gele sherufe ente alekum feye abelolome.

      Delete
  5. Stop insulting people, gual contromuro and U won´t be deleted.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Please delete this comment aswell,

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are right , she is a street child.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are right , but the main anti -Eritrean sites will never publish anything like this . In fact they even delete any comment pointing out their errors . Try going to Martin Plaute webpage and post any +ve comment about Eritrea . It won't last 30 min before getting deleted.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wish if could see ethiopians fight eachother. I want to see ethiopians slaughtering eachother. If I see agames, adgis and gallas killing eachother, I would be very happy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. U R Z ONLY ONE WITH AN IDEA OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN ERITREA. SO, PLS BE PESIONT TO EXPLAIN UR SELF TO THE CLUE LESS. let me say some thing as well... we eritreans shouldn't care about ethiopia...let's gust talk about our country. our revolution has been stolen by a man who has played with our right to have a constitution for ALMOST A QUARTER OF A CENTURY. let's talk about that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. steak to the point son.

    ReplyDelete
  12. steak to the point son.don't let them get u.

    ReplyDelete
  13. why would an Eritrean care about this son? let me say some thing... we Eritreans shouldn't care about
    ethiopia...let's gust talk about our country. our revolution has been
    stolen by a man who has played with our right to have a constitution for
    ALMOST A QUARTER OF A CENTURY. let's talk about that.

    ReplyDelete
  14. You guys are worthless to talk with and back wards than any people in the planet because you don't know the value of free opinion and for you every thing you said is not only right but perfect while any one who opposes your ideas are your enemy or Woyanes which is un civilized and deleted by this site.

    ReplyDelete

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