To those with no Shame...

Commentary on malnutrition and economic hardship in Ethiopia as reported by Diaspora Ethiopia extremist.

Ethiopia during EPRDF’s time has come a long way. Although you may not have known this if your only source of news is the scavengers of bad news, Ethiopia is one of the few African countries that are ahead of the curve in building democracy and a vibrant economy. The country’s transformation is so obvious foreigners and even opponents of the regime have come to appreciate the tenacity and farsightedness of the EPRDF regime to have pulled such miraculous achievement given Ethiopia’s population growth and given the country is non oil producing country.

 Unlike the old days though they have been pressuring the country to change its course in some of its economic policy, the IMF and World Bank have admired the change the country has achieved so far and  have decided to give the necessary lending hand to the government of PM Meles Zenawi. This being the fact about Ethiopia some characters of the Diaspora Ethiopians who have no shame have started to play politics with the current world wide economic upheaval in part induced by high oil prices.

 I said no shame because these same characters have been jumping like a butterfly from one issue to another to attack the government of PM Meles Zenawi. Their latest foray has been border demarcation with Sudan but with time passing and PM Meles’s explanation on the border demarcation this issue has become mute. The buzz word now is malnutrition and drought.

If these characters have a character worth protecting they would not have blamed the EPRDF government on its handling of the recurrent drought and the current drought if one can call it drought at all. Unlike the old days where even a simple drought causes thousands if not millions of Ethiopian’s life, today thanks to EPRDF, Ethiopia is well prepared to overcome the effect of a drought. This has been the case in every drought year since 1992! It is a fact no one can hide.

The current news about children not being fed well in pockets of Ethiopia would have been big news in the well developed world but why it is a news at all in Ethiopia, I do not know. If these characters have a character worth protecting they would not jump on the band wagon and join the chorus of western journalist and play dumb to dumb news. Ethiopia is home close to 80 million people and it is open secret most of its people are poor.  Had these characters have an ear to listen and a brain to contemplate they should have heard long before foreigners told them about Ethiopia’s poverty from the prime minister himself and they should not be surprised however limited, there is malnutrition in Ethiopia! How many times Meles did tell the nation there is no enemy worst than poverty for God sake! What poverty do these people think he was talking other than malnutrition among our poor farmers and citizens?

EPRDF long before the dysfunction opposition came in to being upraised itself and declared poverty as number one enemy and declared to do everything in its power to extricate the country fast from the economic malaise it was in. That was some six years ago and it did not come at a cheap price to the organization to conclude poverty as number one enemy. It caused the split in the TPLF leadership and a renewal movement in all other EPRDF member organizations. The economic progress we see today in the country is partially the result of the renewal movement. With out that critical moment the drought we see today in pockets of Ethiopia would have resulted in massive death. Instead today we see farmer being rewarded for being productive and being self sufficient all over the country.

Now I understand opposition forces will use anything to undermine the government but what I do not understand is why they are in denial about the country’s progress and why they want to dwell on false news! Do they think we the silent majority Diaspora Ethiopians have a memory loss problem? Were not they who were demanding the Eurpoean Union and World Bank officials not to loan and aid the Ethiopian government to build infrastructures and long term irrigation projects to fend off future drought?  Why now the crocodile tear of drought induced malnutrition? Do they know shame at all?

Ethiopia by design or hard work is moving ahead. I say design to comfort our religious public who believe in the adage’ Ethiopia stretches her hand unto God”. On earthly matter Ethiopia is blessed to have EPRDF. The government of PM Meles Zenawi unlike prior government clearly knows shame. There is no big shame worst than to see your country man and woman unable to feed him/her.  EPRDF knows this and is doing everything possible to defeat poverty once for all ignoring all other destruction and public sentiments…like when it comes to Shaibia!

Zeru Hagos

May 09, 2008