Why Ethiopia Stayed Behind

By: Timothy Kalyegira, Kampala, Uganda
Email: timothy_kalyegira@yahoo.com

Abyssinian Chronicles by Timothy Kalyegira. Kalyegira is a Ugandan journalist founder and publisher of Africa Almanac.

Introduction - CAUTION!!!

Before I sent this article out for reading and publication, I showed it to an Ethiopian friend in Addis Ababa to have a read through. She cautioned me that, because of its somewhat frank and detailed tone, the article would not go down well with many Ethiopians. It first stunned her when she first read it. But after discussing it with her for several days, we decided that it might as well come out, since it echoes issues that many Ethiopians are concerned about these days. But I have had to add this cautionary note.

The first is to mention that I have written it with the best of intentions. I have developed an emotional connection with Ethiopia that makes it impossible for me to remain neutral of the country and its people. On my second visit to Addis Ababa, I was accorded more respect I think I deserved. I have made many friends in the country and many other Ethiopians abroad. This same respect I have got from the Ethiopian embassy in Kampala, and generally from the Ethiopian citizens resident in Uganda. I am grateful for all this Ethiopian friendship and I can’t do any less than return it. Or to use the joking word we like to use in Uganda, I will “revenge” for all this friendship from Ethiopians! However, there are certain things I also have been discussing in several newspapers in Addis Ababa and which I am developing further in this article, as part of my ongoing discussion of Ethiopia with many people in Addis Ababa and elsewhere.

Ethiopians love their country. But they more than even I feel that they there are difficulties in the country that they can no longer ignore. Because I am an outsider, yet in a certain way now also an insider, I have the benefit of neutrality.I bring with me a point of view that is based on my being a Ugandan, an African, and also one who is interested in the historic African country of Ethiopia.

Yet, as an African who has taken the time to try and understand Ethiopia, I can also talk about things from a more informed standpoint than that of just a tourist spending a few weeks in the country.

I have made a number of observations in the time between February 1 when I first went to Addis Ababa and now, September 2, when I write this note. Of course, I still cannot claim to have the total picture of Ethiopia yet. But, maybe through the eyes of this Ugandan foreigner, Ethiopians might see things that their history, upbringing, life experiences, ethnicity, and the simple fact of being part of the country might have caused them to overlook.

This is why I hope my comments in this article are taken in good faith. For those who wish to strongly disagree with me, or even to express their disgust and anger at me, please do so. You can think of me as a punching bag at your disposal! Please feel free to punch me as freely and hard as you wish!

Uganda is not very different from Ethiopia. At some stage in our history, we were in the same cycle of endless gridlock. One of the main ways in which Uganda managed to resolve its greatest national problems was that we talked about everything, got angry where we did, argued, agreed, reflected, discussed, and did research. But what mattered was that we laid it all out on the table as it was.

What therefore I hope the readers of this essay keep in mind is that I am writing as a Ugandan. Coming from a society where, because of our openness, we have reduced AIDS to a disease as risky as cancer. We have a news media that is even freer than that of the United States, and freedom is now our most distinct national trait.

I might, in this article, say things freely that are still taboo subjects in Ethiopia, without realizing that I am hurting, annoying, or scandalizing many people. If that should happen, I apologize sincerely.

It will always be my pride to see Ethiopia become once again the country of legend that it was hundreds of years ago.

I thank my secret proofreader and reviewer in Addis Ababa for her helpful comments, words of caution, and spell checking. She loves her country and I am grateful she took the time to wrestle with the pain of some of the things, the “hard facts” as she called them, which I mentioned in the first draft of this article, before it could come out. Have no doubt at all I will always love Ethiopia and its people.

I actually feel more affection for Ethiopians now that when I first visited in February, in spite of some of the uncomfortable issues I will discuss in this article.

Why Ethiopia stayed behind  
what must be done for the future

 As, I had promised, I made my second visit to Ethiopia for three weeks between July 18 and August 7. I suffered as I have never suffered in all my life because of the cold. Cold bed sheets, cold blanket, cold floor, rain, rain, rain, rain. Whoever came up with this slogan about 13 months of sunshine, should be arrested and put in jail! I am surprised there was no snow on the streets of Addis Ababa! On a good day, I would experience 13 minutes of sunshine, followed by 13 hours of rain. But otherwise, I really, truly enjoyed myself in Ethiopia. I am so glad I came to visit once again. Those three weeks in Ethiopia were the longest time I had ever been outside Uganda since I was born. I also got a taste of that Ethiopian hospitality which can at t even suffocate! Strangers, my friends, government officials, the staff of the National Hotel, all made me feel like a VIP, they treated me like royalty, it was flattering, really nice. I give Ethiopia a 21-gun salute for that unforgettable hospitality. But also, a red card for the rainy season cold in Addis Ababa! (Oooh, that cold!)This time on my visit, I had the time to see the inside and out of this historic African country, as close-up as through zoom lenses, unlike the nine days I spent there in February. Of course, even three weeks is still too short a time to understand everything about a country and its complex history, but I can say I have come close this time to a much more accurate understanding of the dynamics that make Ethiopia. 

Comparing Ethiopia with Uganda Freedom 

When the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 flight touched down at Entebbe International Airport on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 7, I got off the plane and right away began taking photographs of the airport building. About five minutes after we landed, the new presidential Gulf stream jet landed and parked about 60 metres to the left of the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. I also took photos of the presidential jet, although President Yoweri Museveni was not in his plane at the time. Watching me were the intelligence agents who maintain security at the airport. None of them stopped me from taking photos of the presidential jet, or wondered who I was. What kept going through my mind on the tarmac at the airport was, “This is freedom! No wonder people always comment on how free Uganda is!”. In Uganda, taking photographs at the airport is as normal as taking photos with your family at home.

When I was in Ethiopia, I kept telling my many Ethiopian friends that Uganda is a much freer country than even America, but not all found it easy to believe me. This is what one misses most when one ---- or at least when I am in Addis Ababa. Total freedom. Of course I cannot assume that conditions in Uganda should be exactly the same in all other countries, with their different histories. Each country knows the specific conditions that influence its policies. But this is the most important difference between Uganda and Ethiopia. Freedom of the most abundant type imaginable can be felt all over Uganda. It is a freedom that goes beyond politics and government. It is freedom of the society. Perhaps it might even be reckless freedom. When you mention this idea of freedom to Ethiopians, they are quick to point a finger at the government, as the main reason why Ethiopia is not such a free place to live in. But by the time I visited the country again in July, I had already understood that there is more to Ethiopia than the government. I tried to make my friends see that Ethiopian society in general is not very free and therefore it is not fully accurate to blame the EPLF/ERDF government exclusively. Not that the government is perfect. But it largely reflects the culture and society. I would argue that even if Ethiopia had the most democratic government in the world, the society would still not be free, because of traits woven into the culture.

It is, in my opinion, vital to understand and come to terms with this, especially when it comes to how to deal with political differences. Ethiopians could spend decades resorting to armed conflict, only to replace one government with another, with the exact same way of running the country, because of their cultural background. We cannot simply write articles, hold debates in parliament, and speak about democracy, without asking what conditions in the first place nurture democracy. In Russia, the population has been demanding for more “democracy.” But this same population, on other issues, shows that it is not prepared to tolerate “democracy” in the full sense in which it is understood in the western countries. I mentioned this point in a long article in June and I confirmed it by my second visit. If you are attentive, you can feel the tension in Addis Ababa. People are generally not relaxed. Or even if they seem relaxed on the outside, it is not difficult to sense a degree of unease in the air, in their eyes.

Even when you discuss matters that have nothing to do with politics or the government, people often don’t want to be quoted and they are generally hesitant about expressing strong opinions. It is almost as if people are scared of being controversial, of being known to hold strong views about anything. One of the proofs of my argument about cultural freedom is drawn from my observation of the Ethiopian community living in Uganda. These people are exposed to one of the freest countries on earth, Uganda, where anything can be said by anyone, about anyone, on any topic, at any time of day or night, anywhere, be it in a bar, or school, government department, or on the street. If you want to be racist, foolish, sensible, intelligent, silly, or nice, you are free in Uganda. You are free to write or utter sense or nonsense on radio, television, or the newspapers. You can get away with any opinion on any subject. But I notice that, even in this free atmosphere in Uganda, most Ethiopians living in Uganda even after several years are more or less exactly like the Ethiopians in Addis Ababa. They are still as reserved, cautious, and private.

An Ethiopian in Kampala, who is a diehard Ethiopian patriot, one evening after I returned from Addis Ababa, freely admitted this to me. He casually observed to me that, even if Ethiopia got another government, the people would continue to be suspicious, particularly of foreigners, and of those foreigners, the White people above all. I was surprised by his confession, since he is one of those Ethiopians who think Ethiopia is the center of the universe and that everything about Ethiopia is perfect. The same sober, reserved, and quiet air that I felt so strongly when I would sit in mini buses with Ethiopian passengers in Addis Ababa or Debre Zeit, you feel around most Ethiopians in Uganda. When I would visit churches in Addis, be it St Mariam’s up in Entotoor St. Stefanos just opposite National Hotel where I was staying, I would look at people’s faces and feel like saying, “Hey, can’t you smile? This is a church!”

People sit silently in taxis in Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit, and Nazareth, with sad, strained expressions on their faces. That is why I will never forget the evening I went to Debre Zeit by mini bus. Along the way, the boy who collects the taxi fare asked me in Amharic for my money. I signaled to him that I didn’t understand Amharic but in English I asked how much it was. He seemed to get stuck over expressing himself in English. A tall, attractive girl, maybe about 24 was seated next to me told me the fare. As I paid the taxi boy, this girl burst out into a long bout of laughter. For about 10 kilometres, she laughed and laughed as the boy looked at her and me sheepishly. She was laughing at him and saying “You people always think everybody in the world speaks Amharic. You thought everyone who looks like an Ethiopian is an Ethiopian!” She then went on to point out the landscape to me through the mini van’s windows like a typical Ethiopian: “See! So green. Its very nice!” She kept looking at the taxi boy and laughing, while the other passengers were all seated in silence. I had never seen an Ethiopian laugh so hard and for so long. She laughed until tears filled her eyes. That amused me. I never forgot it because it was so rare to see this sort of easy, heartfelt laughter in an Ethiopian.

Ethiopians in Addis Ababa complain about the lack of press freedom. 

But it is almost impossible to hear an Ethiopian in Uganda pick up a phone and take part in any of the many talk shows on Kampala’s 20 private radio stations. You rarely, if ever see, an Ethiopian write an article expressing any opinion in Ugandan newspapers. A number of Ethiopian journalists have come and taken diploma courses in Uganda, or visited for brief courses. But despite studying and living in this free environment, I never heard any of them write articles in the Ugandan newspapers, or take part in radio discussion shows as studio guests. There are many educated Ethiopians in Kampala, but you almost never feel their presence. They live in their private world, socializing mainly with their fellow Ethiopians. You rarely meet an Ethiopian at a private party hosted by Ugandans or meet Ugandans at Ethiopian parties. Every time the national newspapers publish picture pages of parties, , and other social events in Kampala, the people you see having a good time with Ugandans are Americans, British, Canadians, Kenyans, White South Africans, Congolese, Italians, Nigerians, or French. You rarely see Ethiopians at these parties.

I think the greatest surprise that hit me on this longer visit to Ethiopia was the country’s news media. I visited the editorial offices of four private newspapers and the government Walta Information Centre. Some of these newspapers have been publishing my articles sent from Kampala. Yet when I visited the offices, there was such a reserved, mild atmosphere, it was so surprising. I was introduced to reporters, editors, sales executives, and production people. I am used to newspapers and radio stations in Uganda where the newsrooms are filled with laughter and humour, heated, loud debates about politics, social life, last weekend’s party, and people, and so much energy. I had to come to terms with that aspect of Ethiopia, (and something else I will write about later in this article.)

I was puzzled most by the reaction in the newspapers that had published my articles. In my first article, I made a few errors in my assessment of Ethiopian women, thinking they were proud when in fact they are the complete opposite. I had mistaken their reserve and shyness for pride. I thought at least someone in the newsrooms would say, “Aha, since you are here, let me ask you what you meant by this or that statement in your article!” But I came and went, without hearing my Ethiopian sisters come out and discuss or challenge some of my earlier misconceptions with me. Later, I began realizing that this was not just limited to the government and private media. All over Addis Ababa’s professional community, in private offices and businesses and government departments, you encounter this mild, reserved, often shy, quiet attitude. You meet people who hold powerful offices or who ran successful businesses. But they are so humble, it is hard to link the office with its holder. People sit quietly behind their computers doing their work, speaking in low modest tones and rarely do you hear the laughter, jokes, and debates that tend to fill Ugandan offices.

When I would enter offices and be introduced to women or girls, many would politely rise up from their seats or extend their hands in greeting, then seem to be glad to go back behind their computer screens, which provided a convenient curtain to shield them from eye contact with this Ugandan stranger. This humility and modesty is something that I, personally, admire a great deal in Ethiopians. I actually admire it even more than the fact that Ethiopia was never colonized. But it is a trait that has its other side. It makes Ethiopians seem somewhat passive. There are some professions like the airline, hotel, foreign policy, and tourism industries which require a much more outgoing attitude than others. This is why I feel that Ethiopian society is partly where it is, because of what it is. The various governments past and present might have had their part in holding back the country. But I don’t think you can ignore the impact of the wider society and culture. A number of Ethiopians admitted to me that the general mildness of the Ethiopians and thus the low-key tone of the news media, is largely cultural. If what they say is true, then at least it takes us to the first step. We stop regarding our national crisis as primarily political.

We come to recognize that the politics of Ethiopia is a reflection of the wider societal current. It is important for Ethiopians to face up to this reality, if they are to avoid tearing their country apart with all sorts of liberation and guerrilla groups, each one claiming to liberate Ethiopia from a bondage that is, in truth, within the society, no matter which government is in power and however democratic it is. For example, for three weeks in Addis Ababa, I had to get used to the fact that there are so many places where you cannot take photographs. Even at churches and church museums, of all places!

In Uganda, you enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with no one checking you. Almost all government ministries are as free to enter as restaurants. Not only do you enter Uganda Television and state-owned radio as freely as entering a market, you are even free to take photographs in the TV studios. Another dominant feature of Ethiopian society is the almost paranoid fear of cameras and being photographed. Just the sight of a camera would cause tension in many people I met. Freedom, a relaxed atmosphere, and relaxed, playful, easygoing people, is one of the major differences between Uganda and Ethiopia. I would have to add that Ugandans were like that even under the most difficult years of Idi Amin’s regime. When Ugandans were refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, having fled from Amin’s brutality, they became a favourite in bars. They would buy up crates of beer, invite any Kenyan around who was interested, and have long, cheerful hours of partying.

There are many things Uganda has done right and thus we deserve the freedom and growing economy, and international favouritism that we enjoy. Our freedom is astonishing, our friendship with foreigners real. It is not by accident that people as diverse as former U.S President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary were so taken up by Uganda. Or Libya’s controversial leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has made two state visits to Uganda this year and is to make a third one next month. Or the South African singers Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Lucky Dube, who have each visited Uganda for concerts at least three t. Or African hero Nelson Mandela, who visited Uganda twice or thrice. And so many western leaders and diplomats.

For a foreigner to invest in Ethiopia, that investor would need to bring in a minimum of 250,000 dollars. Uganda is a foreigner’s paradise. As I keep telling my Ethiopian friends, an Ethiopian can come from Addis Ababa with only 3,000 dollars, set up a hair salon in Kampala, and make money. No one will disturb that Ethiopian. Uganda is the true heartbeat of Africa. When we say Africa is every African’s home, this is not just political talk. You are free to come in from anywhere in Africa and start up a business, however small. Uganda is like a discotheque --- anybody from any country is welcome to dance, as long as you don’t step on other people’s feet. 

Most Ethiopians in Uganda think we are crazy because of this open door policy. My opinion is that Uganda is the real character of Africa --- open, welcoming of all Africans, and not just to visit, but to take refuge and even set up small, 2,000-dollar businesses. Maybe God has blessed us with this abundant freedom because we have made His children ---- Ethiopians, Russians, Indians, Eritreans, Britons, Chinese, Iranians, French, Americans, Italians, Lebanese, Congolese, Somalis, South Africans, Swedes, Arabs, Swiss, Rwandese, Irish, Canadians, Sudanese, Japanese ---- feel truly at home! Maybe more at home in Uganda than even in their own countries. 

Common sense, flexibility

However, while freedom is a major difference between Uganda and Ethiopia, the single biggest difference is in the mentality, the atmosphere of common sense and a flexible attitude toward crucial national matters that is so clearly seen in Ugandans.

Ethiopians take too many things too seriously. 

What is most unfortunate is that Ethiopians tend to get worked up and serious for the wrong reasons, yet where energy and determination are required for the right things, Ethiopians seem so mild. 

This is the contradiction that puzzles me. If a country were to invade Ethiopia, thousands of young people would scream in anger and rush to go to the battlefront to “fight for my country.” Few would stop to ask the reasons for the war in the first place, who is involved, and what the consequences will be. But you ask a young person to roll up his sleeves and give a hand to cleaning up the streets of Addis Ababa, or do some manual work, rather than embarrass the country by begging visitors and tourists, and he will feel insulted about being told to do manual work. You wonder: if he is willing to take enormous risks like facing artillery fire and land mines on the battlefield for his country, why is he unwilling to work to keep Addis Ababa’s streets clean?

In May 2000, Ethiopia went to war with Eritrea. Many months later, most Ethiopians and Eritreans in Kampala would tell me: “That war was between Meles and Issias. The Ethiopian and Eritrean people have no problem with each other.” I asked that if this was so, why were so many young people, boys and girls, struggling to go to the war front? “Because they love their country!”, would come the reply. See a contrasting situation. In June 2000, just a few weeks into the Ethiopian-Eritrean war, Uganda and Rwanda ---- which like Ethiopia and Eritrea are neighbors and former close allies in the guerilla struggles ---- fought in the Congolese city of Kisangani. Most Ugandans calmly went about their everyday business, saying, “That is a quarrel between President Museveni and Major General Paul Kagame [leader of Rwanda]. When they are tired of fighting, they will come back and talk.” No single Ugandan civilian went to the battlefront or volunteered to fight in a conflict that they felt was between two leaders. That’s where we are different. When the Israeli air force attacked Entebbe airport in that famous commando raid in July 1976, very few Ugandans came forward to volunteer to fight for President Idi Amin. We reasoned that it was he who had provoked the Israelis. And anyway, he was a dictator and deserved that beating. When Tanzania invaded Uganda after Amin first attacked Tanzania in October 1978, again no Ugandans except for the army and air force bothered to come out to “fight for my country” We supported the Tanzanians all the way, until they removed Amin from power. Even though another country (Israel, Tanzania) invaded Uganda, Ugandans were able to separate their love for their country, from the fact that it was Uganda’s leader who had provoked that country and therefore deserved what he got. 

Since most Ethiopians find it hard to separate their emotions from their country, it is easy to lead Ethiopians into expensive and pointless wars and conflicts , when the fight might really be a personal quarrel between Ethiopia’s Colonel Mengistu and Somalia’s President, General Mohammed Siad Barre. Things that Uganda would laugh off and let pass without any problem, will get Ethiopians so worked up and angry. You can meet a Ugandan and tell them you think Uganda is the greatest country in the world, and they will reply, “Well, thanks.”

Then later you can tell the same Ugandan that you now think that Uganda is the most foolish and backward country in the world. To this, the Ugandan will calmly reply, “What makes you say that?” None of the two statements will cause the Ugandan to get over excited or angry. While I was in Addis Ababa, a Rwandese living in Europe who had visited Uganda, wrote an article dismissing Uganda as one of the worst countries he has ever seen. He criticized the restaurants, nightclubs, taxis, roads, and the whole country. The article was one of the most popular that week, I am told. People laughed about it and it was the topic in bars and offices. No matter how much you insult Uganda, you can’t get any one annoyed over that. To begin with, Ugandans spend much of their time laughing at their country’s silly mistakes and confused leaders. This balanced thinking, this control of one’s emotions cuts across almost every area of Ugandan society, from the leaders to the poorest of the poor.

Go to next page!

Back to main page!