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Eritrians Back to Ethiopia- Who is Responsible? By Y. Mesfin, October19, 2003 The private media in Ethiopia is telling us that Eritreans are entering Ethiopia through various means including by the smuggling activity of UNMEE people. Even the government’s news paper-Addis Zemen didn’t hide this fact, although it claims that those people may be running away from the Eritrean regime. But the question is what is the real motive of their return to Ethiopia and who is monitoring their activity? Apparently the Ethiopian border looks relatively easy for Eritreans who like to cross to Ethiopian territories. One can’t just conclude here that this is pure coincidence and a matter of few isolated cases. There seem to be a steady stream of people from that country to Ethiopia and it is hard not to believe that this is done without the tacit approval of the government in power. The present EPRDF government can’t be trusted when it comes to Eritrea and Eritrians. It has publicly apologized for the deportation of national security risk Eritreans, labeling it as a cruel act of the TPLF dissidents. If it becomes a matter of choice between Eritrea and Ethiopia this government is always there to hurt Ethiopia by default. For the most part the present government is dominated by peoples of Eritrian origin, including high decision makers and advisors of the prime minister (legal, economic, security etc). The prime minister has cleaned the house early by removing all Ethiopian Tigreans in TPLF who strongly oppose his pro-Eritrean policies. The so-called Eritrians broke away from Ethiopia believing that they are different from the rest of us-Ethiopians. We don’t know what they really want from us now. They were told by “Shabia” that Ethiopia has held them back from development and prosperity. They were told that they are “Tigrina speaking Europeans” different from the Ethiopian Tigreans in the province of Tigray. They may even have been told by “Shabia” that once upon a time they were Europeans with blue eyes, and their skin color has become brown gradually, while their hair texture became thick because of the African arid tropical climate. Who knows, it is in their nature not to question “shabia’s” myth and they might have believed this fiction too. But the fact of the matter is that Eritreans are Tigrians like any other Ethiopian Tigreans. If there is something different in their History it is the discomforting fact that they were subjugated to the Italian Colonial Slavery. They started being treated as fellow Human beings once they rejoined their motherland Ethiopia. They then shared everything Ethiopia can offer with their brothers and sisters in the country: education, trade, jobs and all opportunities to prosper. While History has recorded it that they were only allowed to go to grade 4th in the Italian colonial era, almost every Phd of Eritrean origin now has used Ethiopia’s generous hand to reach this highest level of educational standard. In return however these educated Eritreans are the first to belittle Ethiopia and its History. That is why many Ethiopians these days equate the word “Eritrean” with a “KEHADI”. The bottom line here is thus the so-called Eritreans have chosen their destiny and they have no business in Ethiopian affair any more. Parasitic relationship is a thing of the past, and those who opt to remain in Ethiopia while preferring to be called Eritreans (and not Ethiopians) should live as a foreign citizen in its strictest terms. Those people of Eritrean origin who call themselves Ethiopians are always proud citizens of Ethiopia and they remain Ethiopians with every right and opportunity as any Ethiopian. The government in power now may be lenient towards the citizenship matters in the Eritreans case for obvious reasons (because it is an Eritrian government itself). But the opposition and the coming Ethiopian governments should take note of this confusion and make sure that Ethiopia is only for Ethiopians and for those who love to be called Ethiopians. |