(Adem Husien)
The second diaspora day was successfully celebrated in Bahirdar city in the past two days. Indeed, it is a fruit of the government's intensive effort to firmly establish involvement of the Diaspora community in the country’s affairs, ranging from keeping the Diaspora community abroad properly informed on developments in the country’s economic, social and political environment, to working proactively to make the Diaspora active stakeholders in the country’s renaissance.
Researches indicate that the migration of Ethiopians peaked during the period between 1978 and 1995.
The overthrow of the Ethiopian Imperial Government in 1974, the independence struggle of Eritrea, the war between Ethiopia and Somalia between 1977 and 1978, and the civil conflict in Sudan and Somalia in the 1980s have all been mentioned as major catalysts of large-scale migration.
Moreover, Ethiopians who were abroad in 1970s, mostly for education, before the advent of the military regime, chose to remain in their respective countries.
Due to the dictatorial behavior of the regime, educated people in the country and farmers who reside near borders of neighboring countries lost their hope and were obliged to leave the country. Without considering citizens who left to other destinations, this made Ethiopia the top ten sources of migration in North America.
An academic paper published by Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) indicates that:
"Until the early 1990s, Ethiopia was one of the largest producers of migrants in Africa…the number of refugees from Ethiopia increased from 55,000 in 1972 to over a million in 1992. Even though Ethiopia has experienced migratory flows throughout its history, the movement of Ethiopian civilians became substantially greater in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Especially after the 1974 revolution, large migration flows started to arise. Most of the migrants from Ethiopia were refugees, escaping political conflict, famine, and persecution, often by their own government.
The refugees from Ethiopia are depicted as “a mass of fleeing individuals primarily interested in safely and quickly reaching neighboring countries”.
Indeed, migration has not been halted after the introduction of democracy and restoration of peace in the country in the 1990s. With the Constitutional recognition of the right to free movement and the unprecedented access to global information, Ethiopians citizens continued to travel to other countries to get higher education opportunities, get jobs and other opportunities in foreign countries opportunities.
However, in the past two decades, the reason for migration has become seeking job opportunities and the perception of a conducive atmosphere and opportunities in the developed world.
Therefore, even if migration results in brain drain on our country, it is undeniable that there are legitimate reasons for migration and it benefits the migrant in some circumstances. As a result, the prudent approach is to the matter is to create an arrangement that to engage Ethiopian Diaspora communities' in technological and knowledge transfer, institutional and human development and technical assistance and investment.
The government has been consistently working to create an inviting environment for an active participation of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the national development process such as, in human capital, transfer of knowledge, technology, skills and expertise as well as other benefits that can be generated from cooperation between government and the Diaspora in financial, cultural, and political areas.
It had also formulated a Diaspora policy and particular mechanisms for engaging the Diaspora in these processes, with a clear objective of:
The First Ethiopian Diaspora Funded Grand Mall to be built in Addis Ababa is a showcase of the progress made so far. A group of Ethiopian Diaspora members have come up with “Ethio-Diaspora Grand Mall” project unique in its nature and fully funded by the Ethiopian Diaspora.
With its first-rate attributes, the 2.6 billion birr multipurpose mall meets the development needs of Ethiopia and generates substantial profit to the investors, according to Ambassador Tekleab Kebede, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ethio-Diaspora Grand Mall S.C.
The grand project the mall to be erected on 19.7 hectares of land in Addis Ababa will create jobs for 45 thousand citizens and is expected that it will further turn on trade, investment and tourism opportunities in the country, the chairman claimed.
The mall will have five main components including grand mall, multiplex, office complex, parking garage and landscape. It will take six years to finalize the project.
Indeed, the “Ethio-Diaspora Grand Moll” project is just a showcase and an opening door to the endless opportunities in which members of the Ethiopian diaspora members could invest in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Diaspora should heed the call of the motherland and engage in the country’s developmental and image building activities.