Actually that
statement might not be true. We do know our country is being sold but we
have no idea if the bidding has been open or closed. We have sold
almost all of Gambella, we have leased half of Afar and Oromia has been
parceled out bit by bit. Our Beer factories are under new owners, our
gold mines belong to the fake Ethiopian sheik, Telephone is under the
Chinese and our Airlines is looking for a suitor. Have we always looked
for outsiders to own us?
Not really when you consider that we celebrated the victory at the
battle of Adwa a few weeks back and that was the mother of all wars that
made it clear this African country is not for sale. We might not have
contributed much to the industrial revolution but we did manage to rely
on our own ingenuity to follow along and do things our own way. You
might not believe this but there was a time when Ethiopians actually
used to be involved in making stuff from scratch. You think I am making
things up don’t you? I don’t blame you because today you cannot even
come up with one name that stands out as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, go
getter or someone that shines like the north star based solely on his
own sweat and blood.
The things that were accomplished by earlier Ethiopians are all
around us but we don’t see them. All the things the current government
brags about have their roots in the yester years they so much condemn
and brush off. I don’t know where to start but here we go. Let us start
with hospitals. Bella Haile Selassie (Bella), Leelt Tshay (armed
Forces), Paulos, Haile Selassie Hospital (Yekati 12), Balcha, Ghandi,
Tikur Anbessa, Ras Desta, Minilik etc. The vast majority of the doctors
were Ethiopians, the hospitals were clean, well equipped and you don’t
even have to take your own sheets and blankets.