We live in a country where the terms national pride, patriotism and sacrifice for country have taken a back seat to personal gain at any cost.
Few would admit it but the fact is that we are becoming a nation of nation haters. The thousands of songs, poems and other odes to love of country are merely a smoke screen to hide the Ethiopian who will steal, lie, forge documents, change religion or commit nearly any thing to leave the country. The prospect of even marginally improved living conditions and better pay it is feared, are no match for good old-fashioned patriotism.
What is it going to take to stop the hemorrhaging of Ethiopia’s young educated? Why should we be subjected to for example, reports such as that which revealed there are more Ethiopian doctors in Washington DC than remain in Ethiopia?
Loving Ethiopia – being Abesha, demands more than superficial acts of “Patriotism” such as celebrating holidays and obsessing over uncooked beef.
Ethiopia more than ever before, desperately needs all the skilled human resource it can produce. We are the last people to afford to lose our educated few. Freedom to choose one’s destiny is an inalienable human right. Neither the state nor any other authority can forcibly deter a citizen from seeking greener pastures abroad. The only conceivable restraint is the moral argument. It is only when we have a committed population that realizes running away is simply an act that condemns Ethiopia to yet another generation of poverty that national betrayal will be history.
The alarming and even frightening scenario unfolding before our very eyes is of hospitals bereft of doctors and nurses. Lecturers, researchers and scientists abandoning domestic institutions of learning. Ditto for almost all professions.
A cruel pattern of experience has been set… the youth already decide before completing school that come what may, they will not live in their country.
Our country needs a grass roots movement that will campaign to re-introduce national pride nationwide. Schools especially at primary level, must focus on building up the flagging national enthusiasm for growing up to live and work in one’s country.
The cycle of emigration must be dented in this generation if our nation is to have even the faintest chance of developmental success.
The state and society hold a unique historical responsibility in working towards creating a nation that is worth living in. A country that is comfortable in its own skin and does not salivate for menial jobs overseas at the expense of ensuring national poverty for posterity.
It will take more than just newspaper editorials and for that matter, symposiums on the phenomenon of brain drain. A first step would be to examine what makes other countries tick. How is that even other developing nations hold on better to their educated citizens…?
The answer is hope and love. A persuasive hope and belief that by staying in their country, they ensure a better tomorrow for their children. This is a trait we should aspire to
It used to be mandatory that young students were taught the physical as well as subjective values of their nation.
The names, location, capital cities and geographic details of the then 14 provinces were inscribed to memory. Lyrics of the national anthem and flag song were learned by heart. One fears to ask today’s youth to list the nation’s regions and other vital facts.
To expunge even rudimentary knowledge of one’s country displays a profound crises of identity. Who are we really, if we do not care to even learn about ourselves? Please bring patriotism back into the game. We are lost with out it.
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