Tedla Asfaw
I appreciate the contribution Professor Minga Negash and Professor Seid Hassan made on the 3rd conference of the Center for Rights of Ethiopian Women (CREW) in Silver Spring, MD last week. They shared with us their study why Ethiopians both educated and uneducated old and young have left Ethiopia in the last two decades in large umbers. The analysis is good for policy makers and politicians.
As you all know very well the regime in power in Ethiopia for more than two decades is calling itself “YeLemate Mengiste” and “You are free to go out of Ethiopia”. “Freedom” to go out of Ethiopia for our young sisters turned out to be sweating as house slaves in Gulf Nations. Death, beating, rape, jailing and deportation has become common.
The third CREW gathering last week focused on the suffering of our women and I wonder if Professor Minga Negashe and Seid Hassan’s work have contributed to that burning issue of our sisters. Someone has to do the translation and share it with our sisters suffering as housemaids in the Gulf Nations at this very moment.
Yes Ethiopians young both men and women are running away for better life or for freedom. Middle Eastern airlines and houses are filled by skilled and unskilled Ethiopians respectively. Our famous athletes make huge money on Arabian lands.
However, we have not seen the well established Ethiopians in these countries and our top athletes saying a word about the suffering of our sisters they witnessed closely. The Arab medias attack of Ethiopians as dangerous people never was challenged by capable Ethiopians out of fear of loosing their jobs and big pay.
Most of our “educated” out of Ethiopia live in fear too. I have not seen from your piece the urgency of our sisters situations in Gulf Nations. Diaspora Ethiopians took it as urgent issue and mobilized to save lives. We know Diaspora is divided. But we have proven to anti Ethiopians that we will not take too much humiliations. Zeraye Deresse did not take it neither Moges Asgedom nor Abraha Deboche.
Leaving our homeland in search of freedom or better life have not taken our connection with Ethiopia and Ethiopians. The reaction in Saudi Arabia to the barbarism against Ethiopians by Ethiopians there, “Oromo, Tigre, Amhara, Gurage, etc, Christian or Muslims, we are one cry” and the hundreds thousands rally in support of our people in major cities of the world make me proud to be an Ethiopian.
I am very certain that Ethiopia will attract her children back home when the “Federal” bantustaization wall is dissolved and we all use Ethiopia’s land and resources for the benefit our people equally. The bottom line is establishing government for the people by the people.