Times Are Changing

There does not seem to be an interesting region as the Horn of Africa at this point in time, simply because it is one of the less advanced regions in the world. It does not mean there are not similar regions in the world, there are. We do not even have to go far as most of Sub-Sahara and the northern part of the continent could be labeled as less advanced. What makes the Horn peculiar is there is a serious human problem there than anywhere else. If there is a region that has similar traits to the Horn it is the Middle East, but their case is different simply because they are the same people. They are all Arabs, at least the big majority of them are. They might have differences in religion similar to what exists in Iraq, but in most cases, it is the majority sect that is in charge.

Since the majority of the inhabitants of these countries are Arabs whatever they do to each other might be the outcome of being not advanced. Since people have to live and tend for their needs, there has to be some kind of an arrangement. If some group comes forward, is willing to assume the responsibility, and shows result, as long as it is made up of the indigenous Arabs of the particular countries, it does not matter what kind of oppression and exploitation take place. The understanding is since they are the same people it is up to them to solve their problem, live and work together, although in the future they will have to join the rest of the world.

In the Horn there are a few countries where this is not applicable to and Ethiopia is at the top of the list, simply because the number of ethnic groups that are under the flag-name of Ethiopia is a bit too many. The number of languages spoken in the country could serve as indicative of how many ethnic groups there are and the language spoken is around 80. If we go to Eritrea there is a similar problem, but it might not be as sever as it is in Ethiopia as the majority of the people could be of the same stock, albeit religion differences. In the Sudan there is a major division between the southern part and the northern part of the country that are occupied by different people, although they still have some common denominators that no one tries to give consideration to. The dwellers of the northern part of the country are very much aware of their Arab origin, while the dwellers at the southern region are very much aware of their African ancestry. The Somalis at least do not have this kind of problem, but the clan system they were using there had been found more devastating than what is taking place in the other regions and it has left the nation in shambles.

What this means is people who have unique and different ethnic background are trying to live together whenever it is possible on one hand, while on the other there are groups that could be working hard to control others that are not of their own ethnic group. This is applicable in Ethiopia at a much higher degree, while what is taking place in the Sudan could come second and Eritrea is the third in line. In Djibouti, there is no such serious people’s problem since the two ethnic groups that are inhabitant of the small country are sharing power. That makes it the only democracy that is functional in the region and no one hears similar problems that are common in the other countries from them, except that it might not be an advanced nation.

From what is taking place in Ethiopia, even if the new regime is very much aware of how the world around it works and is maneuvering well not to show its bad teeth, in reality the members might not be different from their dreaded predecessors. That is why the dwellers of the Horn region will have to wake up and smell the coffee, so to speak, simply because they could be a little bit out of touch. In Eritrea, a small group of people who fought to liberate the country are in charge of everything and the news that is circulating is the people are not having it good. The leaders are not only dictatorial but they are tyrannical, in a sense that they could be hardliner communists who shield the citizens from outside influence as much as possible, simply because they do want them to exercise their freedom or become aware of what they could be lacking. The pretext for that could be to protect the public from outside influence, but in reality, the leaders themselves could be very insecure and if the people start exercising their freedom things could get out of their control. Because of that it is much better, as far as they are concerned, to ration whatever is available even if they know people are going lacking.

That is what is happening in other communist countries such as Cuba for example and that was happening in China, in Russia and Eastern Europe before the old guards lost their ground and now things are changing, yet there is still some control, which is understandable. In the Horn region, the Eritrean case could become enviable if they manage to get rid of the patriots in office and send them packing to some safe haven. After that, the people could slowly take charge and turn around their situation. What is going to save the nation and the people is their hard work coupled with what kind of relationship they can strike with their neighbors and the international community that is eager to help. But until then, everything has to be done by the whim of a few individuals that should change in due course.

If we go to the Sudan those who are dwelling in the north are claiming to have an unwavering right to the wealth of the southern part of the country that is oil rich, to the point where they would have committed a gross genocide if the world did not intervene, and the problem there is not still settled. The lesson we can learn from them is they are very much ignorant that times are changing. What that means is it does not matter when, there will come a time that they cannot continue doing what they are doing unless they do it democratically.

One interesting common trait is there is ungrounded dread toward democracy that could simply be so due to the naivety of the people. What that means is their exposure to modern way of seeing and doing things is hampered simply because they choose to cling unnecessarily to traditional way of doing things that have their roots in exploiting others. That outlook had gone into a laboratory hundreds years ago and had come out and had been put to use after all its problems were corrected. What this means is living in democracy would mean to give the other fellow human beings the right to lead a productive live. When that is the arrangement if there is anyone who will be in trouble, it is those who do not want to be productive. Because when the whole nation is productive, it does not matter how things are backward, situations will start to get better than before. This might sound easier said than done, but that is the reality and the only way out is it had to be tried repeatedly even if it is possible to encounter failure at the beginning.

The same applies when we come back to Ethiopia because if there are people or ethnic groups highly focused in taking advantage of others or have a desire to infringe upon others’ rights, they too will have to realize that times are changing. No matter how difficult it would be they have to cast away traditional outlooks. It is important to realize that there will be a point in time those outlooks cannot continue and such times are here and are gazing at all Ethiopians, where some of them could still be immersed into their wrong outlook. That is what the American Congress is talking about and that is what learned foreigners are writing about as a recent article written by Professor Lavine has clearly depicted what is taking place in the southern part of the country. That is without mentioning what the report released by the State Department is saying about the human rights issue in Ethiopia. Even if it is not possible to deny that there is a dilemma, taking advantage of a situation and committing any kind of crime and atrocity could backfire.

The best way out from such a standoff is to do things properly. Every nation needs democracy simply because that is the only way everyone could bring their resources together and tackle the living problem that is affecting many individuals. It does not mean Ethiopia is not doing well, but if they are committing atrocities these foreign observers are claiming to be too heinous what it means is they are doing themselves a disservice, because it could backfire on them. A nation that is made up of many unique ethnic groups needs a very special way of doing things and of course, democracy would make that a possibility if it is given a chance or if there is not someone that is trying to hijack it and engage in acts that have become outdated to the point where it makes many people uncomfortable.