I wrote this piece just to add my voice to the discussion regarding the future of Ethiopian communities in North America and their engagement in national issues. I agree with many of my compatriots who share the idea that the time has come to seriously look at the issue and come up with solutions.
The first and fundamental issue, which will ultimately decide our communal fate, is finding a valuable, realistic, and fairly unified “mission” of the Ethiopian Diaspora as a whole. The lack of real sense in such a “mission” in almost all of our mainstream organizations is to a large degree, responsible for the virtual loss of the younger generation especially that of the community of young aspiring professionals. The same applies to recent immigrants from Ethiopia to whom the Diaspora offers little with which they can relate to or identify with.
It may seem utopian to presume that a sense of “mission” that is acceptable to the older generation and young professionals, recent immigrants and second-and third-generation Ethiopian North Americans, academicians as well as to the uneducated can ever be found. And yet, perhaps it is not as impossible as it seems.
We can learn a lesson or two from the Jewish communities in North America who, despite their overall linguistic assimilation, have been remarkably successful in running lively community centres, attracting young people to their ranks, and organizing highly effective local, national, and international campaigns and events.
We may not yet boast of such achievements, but nothing stops us from striving to build and improve the image of our nation and our community and from making this, one of the cornerstones of our communal “mission.” Not only that, but perhaps for the first time in our history, we have an opportunity to do this not for some semi-mythical “cause of our forefathers” (thank God, Ethiopia has always been free), but directly for us, our children, and our national and communal sense of pride.
During the Derg’s era, it was not the government but the Diaspora that represented Ethiopian interests in the world. Ethiopian academics, journalists, writers, philanthropists, community activists etc. all contributed to their country’s interest. And it is a paradox that now, when possibilities to continue this work are greater than ever, this same community is on the verge of losing its sense of place and mission.
More than ever, now we have better possibilities and resources to help the country get out of poverty and embark on development, to support our politicians in international arenas, or to help Ethiopian scholars, scientists, writers, and artists achieve international prominence. By doing so, we would not only help these particular individuals, but we would improve the image of all Ethiopians and make Ethiopian causes more prestigious and sought after in the world, just like our athletes.
To me this idea is so simple and straightforward that I cannot understand why so little, relatively speaking, is being done in this area, especially by the mainstream Ethiopian organizations [in the Diaspora].
Not only are such actions rare, but they tend to be poorly organized and ineffective. This brings me to my next point: the professionalism and efficiency of our organizations. In the context of a continually decreasing membership in our organizations, we have no choice but to be more professional and cost-effective. Otherwise, our organizations will simply not survive. Many organizations also have to win back the trust of our community as to their abilities to get things done.
Too many times in the past, funds raised from our community for the liberation of Ethiopia from Derg’s rule, aid, or other nebulously described projects were spent without producing any real effects. In some cases, they were spent on unrelated activities/projects.
This brings me to my third point: interaction. Our new sense of mission, our priorities and more efficient work methods can be developed and improved through interaction and cooperation. In the process of an active dialogue, we need to develop new ideas and dispel old prejudices. In particular, people working in similar fields and sharing similar work ethics should get in touch and try to find areas of cooperation.
The mission of uniting our efforts and resources in order to build a better image of Ethiopia and Ethiopians (ourselves!) in the world and supporting our best and brightest on an international level would not preclude or diminish the value of the work of the community activists working in fraternal organizations, parishes or credit unions.
On the contrary, such grass roots organizations are the basis on which our community can build its national and international programmes. These programmes, in turn, by promoting the image of Ethiopians in education, politics, journalism, arts, etc., would bring back a sense of pride and accomplishment at the grass roots level for work that will produce real and lasting fruits.