Ethiopia is Not Egypt

Ethiopia is Not Egypt

By Yared Ayicheh
 
President Hosni Mubarak has finally stepped down. Congratulations to Egyptians and glory to the hundreds of martyrs who paid with their lives to bring the 30 year old dictator to his knees. Egyptian military’s restraint to use force and not to undermine the voice of the people it serve’s has been superb, much respect to the Egyptian military – well done! As an Ethiopian, I must say, I feel jealous, very jealous of Egyptians. First they use the Nile River, while we sing about it. Second, they have a much better economy than Ethiopia – they don’t have food shortage or famine. And now, third, they have challenged and pressured their dictator to step down. I am very jealous—but in a good way.
It’s a fact that the initiating causes for the Egyptian uprising are also all present in Ethiopia. But Ethiopia is not Egypt. Egypt has its own history, geo-political importance, economic dynamics, and political background. It is simply irrational for Ethiopia to be like Egypt. Ethiopia needs its own custom tailored solution to its challenges.
History: Historically Egypt is seen as one of the oldest civilizations in the world—some estimate Ancient Egyptian history to be 5000 years old [1]. The Ancient Egyptians are in no way to be compared with the Ancient Ethiopians – the evidence for the Egyptian civilization is just insurmountable when compared with Ancient Ethiopian civilizations. We Ethiopians claim to be ‘civilized’, and yet the reality is we are anything but civilized. We are backward and uncivilized! Any Ethiopian that fails to accept this reality, I am willing to label, is brainwashed by propaganda or is delusional.