OPINION
By By Mulualem Denbegna
Recently, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn briefed members of the Parliament on current issues and developments in Ethiopia. One of the issues raised and discussed by the Premier was the involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the overall nation building process. Concerning this subject, the Prime Minister said the Ethiopian government is working hard to boost the participation of Ethiopians and foreigners of Ethiopian origin in the development activities of their country.
He noted that despite their significant role in the drive towards Ethiopia's renaissance, the country has not yet fully and effectively utilized the immense potential of the Diaspora.
Hence, he said, the government is doing its level best to enable the Ethiopian Diaspora to actively take part in building their nation and maximize their development contribution in the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II) period.
Indeed, as his Excellency Prime Minister Hailemariam rightly pointed out efforts should be intensified to create an enabling environment whereby the Ethiopian Diaspora could play a more robust and meaningful role in the multi-faceted endeavours geared towards beating poverty and ensuring the nation's renaissance. This issue should top the Diaspora Day, which is scheduled to be marked here in Ethiopia from 12-16 August, 2015.
In connection with the Ethiopian Diaspora Day and considering their huge technical and financial resources, the writer of this piece of article attempts to briefly highlight the measures that should be taken to further boost the involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in development.
According to available statistics, several millions of Ethiopians live outside of their country, particularly in North America, Europe and the Middle East. However, due to lack of systematic data collection and research in Ethiopia as well as in the countries of destination, accurate statistics on Ethiopians abroad are not available. The destination countries for Ethiopians include, among others, Sudan, the United States of America, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Italy, France, Greece, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, which means that countries in Africa, Western countries and the Middle East are among the top destination countries for Ethiopian emigrants.
Migration from Ethiopia to foreign countries can be linked to the 1974 Revolution that overthrew Emperor Haileselassie and installed a Marxist military regime, the Derg. Before 1974, the few Ethiopians who went abroad were elites who did so to study and then returned. The Derg's brutal tactics induced hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians to flee from forced resettlement, military recruitment, repression, persecution, torture, ethnic violence, and humanitarian disasters. The war between Ethiopia and Somalia, fueled by Cold War rivalries, displaced many more. Refugees who fled the Derg often first went to neighbouring countries before being resettled in the West. Soon, they brought their families as well. Since the fall of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopians in the Diaspora have been returning home thanks to the favorable socio-economic and political environment created in the country.
Frankly speaking, in the past the contribution of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the nation building process and in improving the living standards of our people had been limited and sometimes quite discouraging. But, things have tremendously changed now for the better.
Mindful of the considerable potential for development that Ethiopians in the Diaspora present, the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been busy facilitating enabling conditions whereby Ethiopians living abroad could contribute their share in the nation building process. To this end, various supportive policies and initiatives have been issued and put into effect with a view to attracting the Diaspora resources for Ethiopia's development.
To mention few of the practical measures taken by the government towards this end, the government established Diaspora Engagement Affairs General Directorate (formerly known as Ethiopian Expatriate Affairs General Directorate) under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In order to build a warm and constructive relationship between Ethiopians in Diaspora and their country, the General Directorate has been carrying out commendable activities. It has been serving as a liaison between different Ministries and Ethiopians in Diaspora; encouraging the active involvement of the Ethiopians in Diaspora in socio-economic activities of the country; safeguarding the rights and privileges of Ethiopian expatriates and mobilizing the Ethiopian community abroad for a sustained and organized image building.
The General Directorate has also been active in disseminating accurate information to the Ethiopian community abroad through various media outlets, conducting researches that help in identifying the problems of the Ethiopians Diaspora, ensuring the well being, safety and security as well as the rights and privileges of Ethiopians abroad, and keeping the Diaspora informed of issues relevant to them.
Since its establishment, the General Directorate has been strongly committed to strengthen its services to Ethiopian expatriates and improving the legal status of foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin back home. In this regard, the tax and customs free rights given for returnees, the issuance of urban land for the construction of residential buildings for those organized in housing cooperatives free of charge and with lease payments, and providing Foreign Nationals of Ethiopian origin a wide range of rights and benefits are important steps towards creating a favorable condition for mutually beneficial relationships.
In addition, the Ethiopian government approved the creation of domestic accounts in foreign currency for Ethiopians abroad although limits were placed on the balance such accounts could maintain. Furthermore, although the Ethiopian government does not grant dual citizenship, since 2002 it has offered Ethiopian Origin Identity cards to Ethiopians who hold foreign citizenship. The cards entitle the holder to all Ethiopian-citizen rights except for the right to vote.
The ever-rising remittance that Ethiopia is getting from its citizens abroad is yet another testimony to the favorable conditions that the Ethiopian government created with a view to enhancing the involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the nation's development efforts.
Not only in the socio-economic sector, but the Ethiopian Diaspora's involvement in the political spectrum is also significantly growing over the past few years. One may get curious to demystify the reasons for this remarkable change of attitude on the part of Ethiopians living abroad. The cause of this shift of politics displayed by the Ethiopian Diaspora is apparently clear. The present-day Ethiopia is very much different from the Ethiopia that we know before. The days of political repression, persecution, intimidation, torture and ethnic discrimination are gone once and for all. Internal conflicts, wars, instability and chaos are over. Today, Ethiopia is a stable and peaceful country that is marching fast towards building democracy, good governance and rapid economic development. Especially, the economic progress registered by the country over the last several consecutive years is so impressive, worth appreciation and mouth-watering let alone to Ethiopians abroad, whose souls are rooted here, but even to foes that never want to see the good of the country. This is the sort of progress that had, unfortunately, been lacking for several decades. There is now a robust national consensus on issues of peace, democracy, good governance and economic development. It should be no surprise if this growing national consensus should also be reflected in the Diaspora._
To conclude, bygone are the old days when the Ethiopian Diaspora were too aloof from the nation building efforts. They are now actively involving in the socio-economic as well as political affairs of their homeland. Their participation in the national affairs is growing by leaps and bounds. This consensus manifested by the Ethiopian Diaspora on Ethiopia's Renaissance should continue in the second Growth and Transformation Plan period with more vigor. Under the leadership of a government whose development agenda is clear to friends and foes, Ethiopians living abroad have to press ahead with rallying behind the government towards the transformation of the Ethiopian society. They need to extend support in everything they can. They must also be ready to face the challenges the country will face in fighting destabilizing agents from within and outside the country.
source: AllAfrica
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