I have been itching to write a response to the often repeated Tigrean
complaint that Eritreans "feel superior" to Ethiopians in general
but
Tigreans in particular. In my opinion, this is an unfounded
accusation. This bogus charge is being raised now as one tool of
Ethiopia's misinformation campaign in order to divert the world's
attention from the border conflict that should be resolved through
demarcation. If they admit the problem is a border conflict then
they
will not have any excuse to continue the war after demarcation takes
place. But if they create these baseless side issues then they will
find enough excuses to delay the peace process and continue with their
war agenda.
Through the years Ethiopian leaders have sought excuses to wage war
on
Eritrea. In the 50s Haile SelassieÕs line was "mother wants
to reclaim
lost daughter". The world believed him and Eritrea was unjustly handed
to his brutal rule through US championed UN blessing. Eritrea survived
Haile Selassie failed. After Haile Selassie came the Communist
dictator, the devil incarnate, Mengistu; he too waged a destructive
war on Eritrea on the pretext of "unity and territorial integrity".
The world but especially the Soviet Block and African countries stood
by his side. Menghistu got defeated and Eritrea got liberated. Then
came the current leaders; those that are Marxists by night, but
capitalist by day, those who are aggressors by night, but parade
themselves as victims come morning, those who spent the night breaking
every international law and treaty, and on day light they swear to
God
that they are advocates of international law. These are the leaders
of
Tigray who are trying to wage, yet another war on Eritrea and this
time on the pretext of "regional stability" and "Eritrean mentality".
Unfortunately, and so far, part of the world is siding with them as
well. They have got some supporters in the US government in the
diplomats of Susan Rice and Gayle Smith; they have a key man in the
person of Salim Ahmed Salim at the OAU, and they have secured strong
advocates in the persons of Hassen Gouled Aptidon and Robert Mugabe
in
the High Level Delegation of the OAU. Will they succeed? Not even a
chance.
This being the case, why are the Tigreans crying "Eritrean super race
mentality"? It is a puzzle that only Tigreans can answer. From our
part all what we know are the facts. It is a fact that Eritreans
have
always rejected Ethiopian desire to dominate and have never bowed to
Tigrean or Amhara supremacy. In fact they fought Ethiopian domination
and through sweat and blood had won their independence. But their
rejection of Ethiopian rule had nothing to do with their feeling of
superiority over Ethiopians, it was rather a mark of their courage
to
reject Abyssinia's myth of "superiority". If every body who fights
for
independence and rejects colonial rule is accused of "feeling
superior" then we are in for a twisted logic. By these reasoning all
colonized people of Africa, Asia and Latin America will be accused
of
feeling superior to their European colonizers. Let it be known that
the Eritrean war of independence would have been waged even if
Ethiopia was ruled by angles. It had nothing to do who was south of
the border and ruling Ethiopia. The slogan was "Eritrea for
Eritreans". Be it the devil or an angle if he ain't Eritrean he ain't
welcome to rule Eritrea.
If it is lack of self-confidence that is making Tigrean leaders and
elite to accuse Eritreans of "feeling superior", then except for "Lord
have mercy" there is nothing that can be done.
If they are interpreting Eritrean determination, Eritrean desire to
be
self-sufficient, Eritrean will to survive, and Eritrean wish to live
according to its own means rather selling its body and soul as
"feeling superior", then tough luck for them. Yes Eritrea is trying
to
work rather than beg, struggle on its own rather than hire
mercenaries, and is confident on its true identity rather than
fabricating fake identity and mythical history. If they are
uncomfortable of the praises Eritrea is getting for its unparalleled
achievement in only 6 years of independence what they and several
others have failed to show in their decades of independence again
there is nothing that can be done except they should close their eyes
and plug their ears. Eritreans have no numbers or resources to
boast
of and thus they have to work hard like any people that want to
survive. If this is not sitting well with Ethiopians and our Tigrean
friends then that is none of Eritrea's responsibility; they too need
to work hard and put their house in order.
If Eritrea desires to be like Singapore, why do Ethiopians have to
loose sleep over it? If Eritreans want to make their country like Hong
Kong what is Ethiopia's problem? Does Ethiopia want trade with
Eritrea? Well and good, if not they can take their goods elsewhere
and Eritrea can find its market some where else. Does Ethiopia want
to
use Eritrea's ports? If yes fine, if no, best of luck. Why do they
have to take Eritrea's desire to have an export oriented economy as
a
result of "a mentality of superior race"? Why don't they want to call
it a mentality of hard working and aiming high? For sure they don't
expect Eritrea to remain a poor country. We hope they don't want
Eritrea to be like those countries that squander hundreds of millions
for parties while their population is never relieved of the burden
of
waiting for food handouts from Canada, Australia and the U.S.?
For example, and unfortunately, who in the west remembers the people
of Ethiopia for the many other traits that they should be remembered
for? Practically no one. Instead Ethiopia is always remembered
for
being the land of mass starvation and its images of bone-thin children
dying of hunger. Should Eritrea join Ethiopia in this unfortunate
club? If possible, not at all! That is all what Eritrea wants; to
provide for its own children instead of begging day in day out for
handouts. If Eritrea says no to all the undesirable NGOs why should
Ethiopia cry about it. It can have them all for itself if it wants.
No one can deny the fact that there are some Eritreans who use certain
derogatory words, on some members of the Tigrean and Amhara societies,
but that can hardly be taken as a sign of Eritrean feeling of
superiority. It is not. Quite to the contrary, the Eritrean population
doesn't look down on Tigreans. It doesn't trust them is another issue,
but look down at them is far from the truth. If a use of one or two
derogatory words are a sign of "superiority" then the Abyssinians are
known for their use of worse words on Eritreans as well. At the same
time the different people within the Ethiopian empire are never
referred to by their names of choice. If the Tigrean elite see
the
use of the word "Agame" (which by the way is a name of a district in
Tigray), when used by Eritreans as a sign of superiority, then what
will they call themselves who like their Amhara cousins have been
calling the Oromo as Galla, the Wolaytas as Wolamo (wey-lamoch) [which
means animals] or the Afar by Taltal? What do also the Tigrean have
to
say to what their ancestors under the leadership of Emperor Yohannes
did to the thousands of Muslim Tigreans? In the middle of the last
century they deported them to Eritrea. At the same time how will they
explain the denial of the right of Tigrean Moslems to build their
house of worship (mosque) in Axum in this day and age?
In short I have no idea from where their accusations against Eritrea
are coming from. May be it is a result of projection. That is
projection of their own feelings on others.
It is safe to say that the majority of Eritreans have neither a
feeling of superiority nor that of inferiority. For sure Eritreans
love to speak, read and write in their own languages; for a fact
Eritreans are proud of their country, not in words but also in deeds;
as a matter of principle Eritreans are never ashamed of their
identity; for sure Eritreans never like to forget their heritage; and
as a result of appreciating who they are, they don't like to
abbreviate or change their names in order to look American, French
or
English. This commitment to Eritrea and Eritreaness have never been
compromised in the past and it will never be compromised in the
future. Should Eritreans be accused for standing for their own
identity?
On the other hand, there is so much to be desired on the behavior of
the Tigreans. First and foremost the majority of the Tigrean elite
love to show off their Amharic rather than their Tigrigna. It
is a
well known fact that the majority of educated Tigreans until yesterday
used to write letters to their family members in Amharic when in fact
their relatives understood no word of Amharic. One might blame Amhara
rule on this and it might be true but it equally speaks negatively
about the problems of Tigrean politicians and elite. At the same time
for many Tigrean elite marrying an Amhara woman used to be considered
a huge sign of prestige. Should Eritreans be blamed for these kind
of
behaviors of the Tigreans? Not at all!
Accusing Eritreans of "superiority complex" is what the majority of
the Tigrean elite have liked to harp about day in day out since the
beginning of this conflict. This has been the war cry for all of them,
from Ghebru Asrat to Abay Tsehaye, from Seyoum Mesfin, to Sebhat Nega,
the politicians, and from Dr. Solomon Inquai, to the other
academicians. What causes this complaint is a puzzle to this writer.
Should the Tigreans go to war because they suspect the Eritreans have
a superiority complex? So what if some Eritreans feel superior? If
some Eritreans feel superior for no apparent reason it is only a sign
of weakness and foolishness that should be laughed at not to go to
war
for.
As recently reported by the Indian Ocean Newsletter, Aboy Sebhat
(Sebhat Nega) had told Al Jazeera TV of Kuwait that the border
conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia is due to the "supreme race
mentality" of Eritreans. What is the world supposed to read of this?
Was it the Eritreans that tampered with colonial borders and drew a
new map of Greater Eritrea? No, it was not the Eritreans. It was the
Tigreans. Was it Eritrea that declared a war on Ethiopia and
boasted
to teach it a lesson? No, it was not Eritrea; it was Ethiopia through
its Tigrean leaders. Was it Eritrea that decided to expel people for
not liking the color of their eyes? No, it was not Eritrea; it
was
Ethiopia. Having a country with all these ugly track records and having
leaders who boast of their ethnic cleansing tactics, gives the
Tigreans no credibility, whatsoever, to talk about Eritrea. Let
them
first clean their own house and thinking.
Sebhat Nega further accused Eritreans of
"calling themselves the
'Jews of Africa' and the 'Black
Israelis'". They say
Tigrayans are inferior and that they are
a super race ... that
is the cause of this conflict. They say
they are a super race
and they believe it. Our enemy is this
attitude of the Eritrean
people."
May be we have to introduce aboy Sebhat to the writings of those who
believed in "Greater Ethiopia". We should let him read what famous
Ethiopiansist have been telling the world about the mentality of the
Tigrayan people and their cousins to the south, the Amharas.
Here
below are a few samples:
"Their [Amharan and Tigrean]
hierarchical society presents a
complete contrast to
that of the Negroid tribes who inhabit
the outlying parts of
the Ethiopian empire to the west and
south -- peoples they
formerly regarded as fit only for
enslavement. The Abyssinians
take immense pride in their long
history, their superior
culture, and their martial prowess.
Other African ( or indeed
non-African) races are generally
held to be inferior."
--Glyn Daniel, The Abyssinians, p. 58.
Is there a worse indictment than this? Who has the "super race
mentality"? Definitely not Eritreans.
If one wants to excuse aboy Sebhat, then here is what one of Tigray's
cream of the crop elite, Dr. Solomon Inquai wrote. This is from his
"
KEY DETERMINANTS OF THE ETHIO-ERITREAN CRISIS, 1998" an article that
is hosted at ( http://www.ethiospokes.net
) (Ms. Salome's propaganda
page). He said the following in order to elaborate on his thesis
of
"Eritrea's distorted self-image".
"Eritreans consider themselves
more civilized or enlightened
not only than the Ethiopians
but also than the rest of
Africans. They think
that life under colonial rule makes for
better people."
Wow, did the good doctor understand what he wrote? If this is his case
against Eritreans then what did he say when he read the following
words (I am certain he had read them when he was a student) of the
well known Ethiopianist, the author of "Greater Ethiopia", Professor
Donald Levin?
"The ethnic self-conception
of the Amhara is one which
stresses certain physical
and cultural characteristics, thanks
to which he regards himself
as superior to all non-Abyssinian
groups in Ethiopia as
well as to all non-Ethiopian nationals.
With regard to race,
the Amhara consider themselves
distinctly more handsome
than both the white man and the
Negro man, to both of
whom they apply derisive epithets. ...
And being an Ethiopian
Christian is to the Amhara a mark of
superiority in at least
two respects: it means belonging to a
chosen people, heirs
to the Jews and sole bearers of authentic
Christianity; ... Knowledge
of Amharic is considered another
index of superiority,
and the Amhara look down on Ethiopians
who do not speak Amharic
or who speak it with an accent. ...
The Amhara claim superiority
over other Ethiopian peoples in
connection with certain
other aspects of culture besides
religion and language,...
Being an Amhara is thus belonging to
a superior category of
human beings."
--Donald Levine, Wax & Gold, p. 82
Has Dr. Solomon confronted his cousins, the Amharas, on this feeling?
Has he written condemning them for their superior feelings? I don't
know but I don't think so.
How can he? He is one of them. He has the same feeling of superiority
over the Oromos and the Wolaytas and the others. If this was not the
case he wouldn't work hand and glove with a government that has
trampled the basic rights of the many oppressed people of Ethiopia,
telling them it knows what is good for them. In fact isn't what the
TPLF doing an act of "superior mentality"? If it believed in equality
of all ethnic groups how come then it is not working to create a
country where every Ethiopian lives in equality? Isn't the TPLF trying
to build greater Tigray at the expense of the other people of
Ethiopia? Is the Ethiopia of yesterday (at the time when Levine
observed it) any different than the Ethiopia of today? Is the feeling
of the Tigreans and Amharas towards the other Ethiopians of yesterday
any different than that of today? Not at all. In fact it
has gone
worse. As many of those who know the ins and outs of Ethiopia will
tell things have never improved in Ethiopia. The only difference is
that today the Amhara ruling elite have been replaced by Tigreans.
Other than that Ethiopia is still the prison of the non-Abyssinian
nationalities that it always was.
If the above quotation was that penned by a "white man", below is how
African-Americans felt about the Tigrayan and Amhara betrayal of the
black race after all what African-Americans did to help Ethiopia at
a
time when it faced the Fascists aggression in the 1930s.
"Ethiopian Loyalist in
the United States conceded, however,
that Abyssinian traditions
gave credence to all the anti-Negro
propaganda being spread
among African-Americans. Black
authorities on Ethiopia,
such as Joel Rogers, observed that,
although the Sabean strain
of early invaders from the Arabian
peninsula had become
increasingly African through the ages,
the Abyssinian highlanders
[Tigray + Amhara] held tenaciously
to claims that they were
an "Asiatic people." They insisted
not only that they were
distinct from the region's indigenous
and darker inhabitants,
but also that they were superior to
them."
-- William R. Scott, The Sons of Sheba's Race, p. 197
"African-Americans encountered
extraordinarily few experiences
in which Ethiopians so
boldly proclaimed their membership in
the Negro race. Throughout
the crisis [1935-1941], they
yearned for a definitive
statement on the racial question from
the Ethiopian government
itself."
--Ibid. p. 199
In fact I don't think our good Tigrean elite will even now admit that
they are blacks. Why do the elite of Tigray and Amhara try to deny
that
they are blacks? Read on:
"Ethiopian highlanders,
because of their physical
characteristics and mythic
origins, ... seem to have produced
... the perception that
they were neither white nor black;
that they were distinct
racial group, whose heritage and
history made them more
civilized than the so-called Negroes
and the cultural equals
of the world's Caucasian races."
--Ibid. p. 217
In fact it was this "superior race mentality" of the Tigreans and
Amharas in general, and that of Haile Selassie in particular that made
the famous Marcus Garvey withdraw his support for Ethiopia and made
him go all the way to the other side to condemn Haile Selassie in
1936. The later, after he fled Ethiopia and sought refugee in
London,
had refused to associate himself with the African-Americans who stood
with Ethiopia during the Italian invasion. He had ignored prominent
black leaders that had assembled to greet him at the airport in
London, had declined to attend a welcoming party that was prepared
by
the West Indian community in his honor, had hosted a party where he
had invited no black people at all .... Here are the words of Garvey:
"We hope the Emperor [Haile
Selassie] will forget he is from
Solomon and realize that
the world looks upon him as a Negro,
and it was because he
was a Negro why they treated him as they
did."
-- Marcus Garvey, "Italy's Conquest?" The Black Man,
Vol. 2, No. 2, (July-August 1936).
One can also read "The Sons of Sheba's Race" Chapter XVI for more
details on the issues Garvey was raising against Ethiopians.
Thus our suggestion to aboy Sebhat and Dr. Solomon Inquai is that may
be they need to abandon memorizing their "Tigray Manifesto" and have
to start memorizing Ethiopian history and what is written about their
fellow Tigrayans and Amharas. They ought to know how their brothers
and sisters felt about their link to Israel and Jews before opening
their mouth to accuse Eritrea. As for Eritrea even if they accuse it
of wanting to be "black Israel" the analogy wouldn't fit. First
Eritrea is not the one that has tried to take some one's land, second
Eritrea is not the one that had tried to claim thousands of years of
"history" to claim others' land; third Eritrea is not the one that
is
trying to get its legitimacy by citing lineage to Solomon or David.
One need not go further than Axum to find out the true color of
Tigray. How should the children of Tigray explain to the world what,
not Axum's real obelisk, but Axum's "mythical" ark stands for.
Isn't
through this ark that the TPLF tries to cash into tourism money? Let
them tell the world what sort of information they were feeding Graham
Hancock for his book and then the world would tell who is the one who
wants to be "black Jews". Eritrea has nothing that makes it envy
or
makes it desire to imitate Israel. It never has and I hope will never
have to. Thus aboy Sebhat and Dr. Solomon may want to throw any mud
they want but it won't stick.
Furthermore Dr. Solomon Inquai misquotes President Isaias in the
following:
"They feel superior to
their Ethiopian cousins. Here is how
Isaias puts it. 'We do
not suffer from a superiority complex.
It is rather the Ethiopians
who suffer from [an] inferiority
complex. It is the Tigrayans
who have [an] inferiority
complex. It is not us
who feel superior, it is the Ethiopians
who suffer from [an]
inferiority complex. We have lived with
Europeans. We have seen
much of the civilized world. There are
many things we have learned
from them. The Ethiopians on the
contrary have just come
out of the forest. They are not
civilized. They feel
inferior because they have come out of
the bush."
This looks a total fabrication. By the way no real explanation is
given to where the true source of this quotation comes from. Dr.
Solomon doesn't quote any credible source, but the Reporter, a TPLF
news paper, for this unfounded quotation. Mind you this is how low
Ethiopian professionalism have sank. To quote Isaias one has to cite
a
TPLF mouth piece. Where is the credibility here? Where is the
professionalism? Unless I am mistaken the quotation seems to be the
distortion of Hwyet's interview with the President, but I have no
evidence if that was the source. If that was the case however, the
good doctor of philosophy, had Hwyet in his hands; he had quoted it
for other things in his article he should have used what he read
there. We can not say he didn't understand Tigrigna, if my sources
are correct Dr. Solomon grew up in Asmara and he is more Asmarino than
the majority of Eritreans. Yet having the President's clear stand
on
his hand, he chose to distort his words and misquot him. He sure is
more MLLT than the hard-core cadres.
For those who didn't read it in Arabic or Tigrigna here is what
President Isaias had said in his Hwyet Interview when he was asked
"why do they [the TPLF] leaders complain of Eritreans looking down
upon
them?":
"I think, for some reason
they[the TPLF] want to mislead
people. As I have explained
on several occasions, there's
nothing we haven't heard
before. What is it that they don't
say? They say we look
down on them. They say we want them to
remain as servants and
maids. They say we call them Agame.
This is nothing new.
In the struggle we had washed away (such
ideas) and have made
many improvements."
The origin of such words
can be traced to the past. ...
During Italian colonial
rule, people from all over Tigray, but
especially from the Adi
Grat area, were coming to work in
Eritrea. Most of the low-skilled
workers were coming from this
area. It was easier to come
here [to Eritrea] than go to Addis
Ababa, even if it meant
crossing the border. The Italians
were deporting many of these
people [back to Tigray]. This
practice may have left its
psychological imprint. Even during
the struggle, when we were
fighting from the same trenches,
there were incidents of
some unpleasant words. But, I believe
this tendency has been cured.
We cannot be one hundred percent
sure, because time is needed
to wipe it (such feelings) out
completely from society.
The assertion "They despise
us; they want us to remain
inferior to them; they
don't want our economy to develop" is
simply a projection of what
is in their mind. They accuse us
of being envious of a pharmaceutical
plant in Adi Grat, a
textile factory in Adwa.
To keep on thinking people are
envious of you is a sign
of serious psychological problem.
"We were all offended
when the government [Derg] said that all
they [Tigreans] had was
just one flourmill. However, to
develop one's mentality
as a reaction to such statements is
not healthy. If Tigray
becomes the greatest industrial giant,
so much the better for
us. It is so close to us, we may
benefit from it. We were
cooperating in building roads to
facilitate trade, not
only between our two countries, but with
the other countries of
the Horn and the rest of the world. The
world market is so vast
that we are hardly visible there. That
is why it does not make
sense to talk about we trying to
dominate them [the Tigreans].
This talk is irresponsible,
myopic, and emanates
from the very leaders that say "we have
been despised, now is
our time to make it to the finishing
line". Such thinking
makes people hostage to their
deviousness. We have
a clean record of tolerance and dealing
with things openly and
in good faith, be it at the time of the
struggle or afterwards.
It is basically wrong to make such
allegations."
--Hwyet # 14,
p.19-20 (translations by Tekie F. and Berhe H.)
Dr. Solomon Inquai further states:
"Another complicating
factor is mistaken self-image portrayed
by some Eritreans. They
tend to look down on the rest of
Africa and African institutions.
They try to compensate their
status as the smallest
and the poorest country in Africa by
projecting an image of
the most civilised nation. The language
Isaias used to address
the OAU and the UN as the most
ineffective organizations
was a language devoid of any
diplomatic nuance."
I have tried to answer above on who really looks down on other
Africans. As to the issue about the UN and the OAU, I don't know if
there is any better word than "ineffective" to use on the UN and the
OAU?
Isn't "ineffectiveness" from the OAU's side that had made the
continent to be a continent of disasters? Where and when has the OAU
acted "effectively" to solve African problems? Take for example the
Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict: as if the OAU was not talking day and
night about its peace plan, now when the two countries claim to have
accepted it but have differing interpretations of the plan, the OAU
found no spine to come out and let the letter of its agreement be
known.
What effective organization will behave this way? Will conflicts in
the Congo, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola, the Sudan
and
Somalia exist if the OAU was effective? Will nearly a million Watusi
be killed in the hands of the Wahutu if the OAU was an effective
organization? Will nearly 55,000 Eritreans be expelled from Ethiopia
while the OAU watched if it was a credible and effective organization?
Going back in history, will Apartheid stay that long if it was not
for
the ineffectiveness of the OAU? Would the people of Zimbabwe, Eritrea,
Western Sahara, Namibia, and the different Portuguese colonies
(Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, É) had to pass
through
a long and bitter struggle if it was not for the ineffectiveness of
the OAU?
The same can be said about the UN. If the UN was an effective
organization will the people of Serbia be suffering in the hands of
the US lead aggression by NATO? Where is the Security Council during
the on going Kosovo crisis? Is it the sign of effectiveness to let
a
regional organization like NATO to do whatever it wants in the world
arena? If the UN was effective how come Israel ignores UN resolutions,
gets away with it and still enjoys the support of the west? If the
UN
was effective how come it has not acted on the resolutions it had
passed on East Timor, Western Sahara or even the Ethio-Eritrean
conflict?
If the actions of these two organizations can not make them to be
called "ineffective" then what should be said of them? I personally
don't know what Prime Minister Melles, Foreign Minister Seyoum, and
Dr. Solomon Inquai wanted President Isaias to tell the OAU or the UN.
All three of them love to go back to June and September of 1993, to
the time when the Eritrean President addressed the OAU and the UN in
that order, and want to condemn the president for his Undiplomatic
speech, a speech that shows, they claim, that Eritrea has no respect
for the two organizations. I just searched Dehai archives and have
attached these two speeches (www.denden.com/Conflict)
in their entirety for readers to read and judge.
I hope you forgive me for this long post.
Ghidewon