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Ethiopia, an Unfolding Story of Africa’s Renaissance

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in Issue 7

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By Samuel Muwanguzi

Ethiopian Flag, adopted on August 28, 2009, is a horizontal tricolor of green, yellow, and red from top to bottom. Centered on the flag is a blue circle with a yellow five-pointed star.

In Summary: Ethiopia is on the mend. The Horn of Africa country is undergoing a renaissance, a poster child defying negative stereotypes, and showcasing Africa’s resilience and gradual transformation of its economic and social fortunes. The only country in Africa that was never colonized, Ethiopia is immortalizing its ancient history as an irresistible area for closer examination and its ancient religion that pre-dates Jesus Christ as a civilization to re-appraise and acknowledge. The country is also touting its unrivaled number of UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites as the ultimate tourist destination not only on the continent but also around the globe. Buoyed by an economy growing at an average rate of 11 percent annually with modern infrastructure under construction, the hub of Africa’s diplomacy is confidently marching forward. With a population of 90 million, the second most populous nation after Nigeria, Ethiopia is, evidently, the epitome of an African success story, a burgeoning destination for direct foreign investment. These and many other considerations inspired the school of business at the University of Texas at Dallas to select Ethiopia for a faculty-led study trip by 19 students of the Global Business Organization (GBO) last March. The outcomes of their trip were presented during the Year of Ethiopia Celebration event at the UTD campus on Saturday April 2.

A cross-section of the guests at the Year of Ethiopia Celebration at the UT Dallas last month.

Richardson, Texas--The Year of Ethiopia Celebration, a high-profile event, presided over by the Minister of Political Affairs at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega and attended by over 300 guests, was by all accounts, a captivating market stunt for Ethiopia’s evolving renaissance. Mr. Reta Alemu Nega, who represented Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr.  Girma Birru acquiesced as much. The event was held in the staff cafeteria in the Student Union at the UTD campus on Saturday April 2, 2016.  

  
Minister Reta Alemu Nega at the Year of Ethiopia Celebration at the UT Dallas

Prof. Habte Woldu, the chief host of the Year of Ethiopia Celebration, is the advisor to the Global Business Organization (GBO) student honor society and serves as the program Director for the Master in International Management Studies degree in the Business School at UT Dallas. Originally from Ethiopia, Prof. Habte Woldu, a long-time ally of the East African Chamber of Commerce (EACC), led the students on the 7-day trip to the horn of African country.

Prof. Habte Woldu, chief host of the event.

Mr. Reta Alemu Nega, impressed by the turn-up and the positive portrayal of Ethiopia by the students, expressed happiness that he was meeting an academic community, eating Ethiopian food in Dallas, Texas, and interacting with fellow Ethiopians, Africans, and other people from across the globe  at a campus in Texas. “Ethiopia, a land of Olives as described in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 2, I am here to tell you, is endowed with a wealth of history; both ancient and modern, a beacon of both anthropology and archeology you should all come and visit,” the upbeat diplomat delightfully said.

He told the audience that Ethiopia boasts of multiple religious denominations with ancient tombs, temples and contemporary churches, and relics of a civilization whose Queens and Emperors had a phenomenal impact on world history. “Since Ethiopians were “Christians before Christ,” he went on, “we are a home to the most ancient civilization in Africa where you find temples and tombs of amazing and fine architecture; tourist attractions of religious and historical significance,” he said.  Particularly, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega amplified the religious, historical, and political significance of the Aksumite Empire, the foundation of Ethiopian civilization which emerged from the ruins of the former Yeha settlement believed to have been built around 800 BC.  

Local Ethiopia legend claims the Queen of Sheba lived in the town of Akxum, established in 500 BC, an ancient city and a powerful kingdom situated in the Mehakelegnaw Zone of the Tigray Province near the base of the Adwa Mountains, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega disclosed.

“The Ethiopian Orthodox Church believes that the ancient St Mary of Zion church, in Akxum, built in 1665 BC, houses the Biblical Ark of the Covenant in which lies the Tablets of Law upon which the biblical Ten Commandments are inscribed,” he said with discernable conviction and awe in his voice. “Akxum is considered to be the holiest city in Ethiopia and an important destination of pilgrimages, the soft-spoken diplomat said.

Mr. Reta Alemu Nega told his listeners that the most critical segment of Ethiopian history revolves around the legend of the Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia who made her famous journey to Jerusalem and believed to have been impregnated by King Solomon and bore him a son named Menelik, which means ‘the son of the wise man’, who founded the Solomonic Dynasty in Aksum and later travelled to Jerusalem and stole the Ark of the Covenant. “In Akxum, an ancient town where our treasures, and indeed those of world civilization are found, you will see ancient temples and tombs, learn about the Queen of Sheba and her relationship with King Solomon of Israel, and also see unique caves built for religious purposes,” Mr. Reta Alemu Nega courted his audience.

St. Mary of Zion Church in Axum believed to house the Biblical Ark of the Covenant in which lies the Tablets of Law upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed.

“To further appraise and acknowledge the centrality of Ethiopia in the evolutionary history of Christianity before Christ, I recommend that you visit the ancient town of Lalibela, originally known as Roha, built to replicate the holy City of Jerusalem,” Mr. Reta Alemu Nega cajoled his audience yet again. Lalibela is home to one of the world's most astounding sacred sites; eleven rock-hewn churches, excavated and not constructed; each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at ground level. Records on this ancient town, renamed after the 12th-century King Lalibela who commissioned the construction of the astonishing rock churches, suggest that over 1000 of the nearly 10,000 town residents are priests.

Mr. Reta Alemu Nega disclosed that the astounding architecture of the rock churches, the centrality of religious rituals in the life of the residents, regular processions of peaceful crowds of singing and dancing priests, who also observe extensive periods of fasting,  lend a distinctively timeless, almost biblical atmosphere  to the town of Lalibela  ,” he noted. Local Ethiopia legend suggest that  King Lalibela purposely built the rock churches to establish a New Jerusalem for those who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to also create a sacred city to rival the powerful Akxum, which housed the biblical Ark of the Covenant.

One of the rock churches of Lalibela

According to Mr. Reta Alemu Nega, Ethiopia has its own calendar which is followed to carry out  some of the most significant religious celebrations starting with the Festival of Maryam Zion in late November, others in December, and the T'imk'et Festival, the country’s version of Epiphany in western Christianity, on January 7. Based on the pre- 1582 old Julian calendar, Ethiopia observes a 13-month calendar year with 12 months of 30 days each and one month of five days or six in a leap year. “Ethiopia is endowed with 13 months of sunshine, allowing us wot worship round the clock, a rare feature in most countries,” Mr. Reta Alemu Nega further pitched for his country.

St George Cathedral & Museum, an outstanding landmark in the capital Addis Ababa (Source: Lonely Planet)

“I therefore want to invite you to come and visit Ethiopia, study at the more than 20 universities, understand the ancient history, the people, the rich culture, the country’s landscape,  and witness the unfolding Renaissance in Africa,” Mr. Reta Alemu Nega wooed the guests.   After appreciating the country, I encourage you to promote Ethiopia; the hospitality of the people, its mosaic of cultures, the traditions, and dances that are unique to the country,” he again rallied.

Addressing himself to the unfolding Ethiopian Renaissance, Reta Alemu Nega invited scholars, visitors, and investors from all over the world to go to Ethiopia and see first-hand how the country is rapidly transforming its wealth of resources and steadily marching toward the goal of becoming a middle-income country in a few years. “We are optimizing our energetic and innovative population, tourism potential, water resources and arable land, the large market for local and foreign products, and harnessing our huge source of both high and low skilled labor forces,” he said.

A new $ 35 Million shoe and leather factory in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia which employs over 2000 workers. (Source: All Africa.com)

Ethiopia, formerly Abyssinia, with a population of 90 million, the second most populous nation after Nigeria, and the country is, evidently, the epitome of an African success story, a burgeoning destination for direct foreign investment. Ethiopia is the only one of the 54 countries in Africa that was never colonized.  The country is governed through a federal structure with 9 regional states or provinces—2 charter cities, 2 chambers of Parliament—the federal & people’s chambers. Mr. Reta Alemu Nega said that Ethiopia, a multi-lingual country with more than 80 languages including Amharic, has its own alphabet although English is also widely spoken. A land-locked country, Ethiopia neighbors Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, Eritria, and Somalia. Addis Ababa, the capital, is the Diplomatic hub for the continent where the headquarter of the African Union (AU) is located. With the first light railway service on the African continent now plying the streets of Addis Ababa, it rightly earned the label, the ‘capital for Africa’, and is worth visiting, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega tipped.

Built at a cost of $220 million, the headquarters of the African Union was donated to the continent by China.

The city is also host to the Africa Union Peace and Security Commission which maintains peace and security throughout the African continent through an early warning system that enables the Union to monitor critical information on ongoing crises, and help it manage its civil and military operations. The building, donated by the German government, is a specialized, state-of-the-art facility with a garden for the AU's Peace and Security Department.

The Peace and Security building constructed and donated to the African Union by the German government.

According to Mr. Reta Alemu Nega, Ethiopia enjoys cordial international relations with countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, USA, and, particularly, the Middle East dating back to ancient times. United States President Barack Obama was the first sitting USA president to visit Ethiopia in 2015 and addressed African heads of State and pronounced himself on policies of developing democracy, trade, & education in Ethiopia and Africa in general, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega said.

U.S. President Barack Obama arriving at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa on Sunday, July 26th, 2015 becoming the first-ever sitting President of the United States to visit Ethiopia. (Getty Images, Tadias Magazine)

Ethiopia, by all accounts, is on the mend. The Horn of Africa country is undergoing a renaissance, a poster child defying negative stereotypes, and showcasing Africa’s resilience and gradual transformation of its economic and social fortunes. Ethiopia is immortalizing its ancient history as an irresistible area for closer examination and its ancient religion that pre-dates Jesus Christ as a civilization to re-appraise and acknowledge. The country is also touting its unrivaled number of UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites as the ultimate tourist destination not only on the continent but also around the globe.

Buoyed by an economy growing at an average rate of 11 percent with modern infrastructure under construction, the hub of Africa’s diplomacy is confidently marching forward. These and many other considerations inspired the school of business at the University of Texas at Dallas to select Ethiopia for a faculty-led study trip by 19 students of the Global Business Organization (GBO) last March.


A cross-section of the GBO students at the Year of Ethiopia Celebration at UT Dallas

Mr. Reta Alemu Nega told the guests that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance   Dam (GERD) in Guba, whose construction started in 2011,   is now 50 percent complete and will be commissioned in 2021. The 6000 MW-new hydro-power plant, along the Blue Nile, the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, is funded by resources generated by Ethiopians, both at home and in the Diaspora, the diplomat disclosed.  The renaissance dam is touted as a beacon of consciousness and a tool in the transformation of the country from poverty to a middle income state.  On April 2, 2016, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn described the construction of the GERD Dam as a result of the nation's own capacity and fruitful diplomacy dedicated at exploiting its resources for reducing poverty. In addition to the construction of New Wind turbines, the generation of power for the transformation of Ethiopia into a middle income country is set on a clear path, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega assured.

Grand Renaissance Dam, GERD in Ethiopia

With respect to tourism, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega said that “Our Mountains are unique to Ethiopia and were strategic in helping Ethiopia to fight and defeat the Italians who wanted to colonize us.” With wildlife, Ethiopia is home to rare black lions, endemic baboons, monkeys, and foxes, all dwelling in forests and mountains including the third highest mountain in Africa.

A group of gelada monkeys keep a close eye on a BBC reporter James Jeffrey in Ethiopia's Simien Mountains (Photo source: BBC News).

Mr. Reta Alemu Nega disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and most profitable carrier in Africa, now flies from Washington DC & Los Angeles to Addis Ababa 7 days a week. Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s first Dreamliner customer, ordered 15 of these new fuel-efficient, long-range, passenger-friendly aircraft in a transaction valued at $2.04 billion, Boeing announced after the deal was clinched. Six  of the Dreamliners, delivered in 2011, have since  complemented the airline’s existing 13 787s currently operating in a fleet of about 80 passenger aircrafts, part of Ethiopian’s long-term strategy to increase capacity and provide greater route flexibility to and from its hub in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner, Boeing 787, the first to land on African soil at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa in 2011.

A modern railway connecting the land-locked country to ports in Djibouti and the Indian Ocean has been constructed to transport products to global markets, Mr. Reta Alemu Nega disclosed. The Ethiopian diplomat touted the favorable climate as a magnet that should attract visitors and investors to the horn of Africa country, adding that a sizeable part of the arable land is fertile enough to grow a variety of food and cash crops using mechanized and subsistence farming methods. Dispelling negative stereotypes and speculations that the country is endemic to drought, famine, and cannot feed a sizeable portion of its population which faces perennial starvation, he said that while 10.8 million people previously experienced famine; lacked food and water, the government is now able to buy food for them from areas which have surpluses and the USAID is also helping in this effort.  

Ethiopians are no longer starving as the government and USAID are joining hands to buy them food, especially grain, to make Injera, the country’s staple food. 

During the event, traditional Ethiopian food was served to the guests. Mouthwatering but viciously spicy, the distinctive cuisine included the typical Injera, a flat pancake-style bread made from grain or “a plate one had to tear in chunks”, dipped in stew or sauce and ate with hands. With chicken and beans on the side, the guests did exactly that. 

Some of the guests eating Injera at the Year of Ethiopia Celebration at UT Dallas.

The taste of the spicy food was washed down with the Ethiopian traditional coffee served to the guests.

Some of the guests drinking the Ethiopian coffee served at the event

To Ethiopians, the celebration would have been incomplete without serving coffee to the guests as a way of demonstrating the traditional hospitality of the Ethiopian people. Roasting coffee beans, boiling and serving coffee to guests is a central tradition and ritual in the legendary Ethiopian culture. With such clearly visible developments, a suggestion that Ethiopia is a Renaissance unfolding in Africa is not an overstatement