ON THE QUESTION OF THE SOUTH AND SOUTHERNERS:

By Tesfaye Habisso Haidebo





Dear Gantagaro,

I am deeply gratified by your brief but critical analysis on the vexing question of self-identification and on the allegation made by Tsehaye Debalqew, I suppose, regarding the Southerners' "lack of confidence to identify themselves with the South" and the attendant ills aggravating the problem for the Southerners and their children. Your analysis that the alleged identity crisis, inferiority complex and self-hate is the direct consequence of the brutal subjugation and dehumanization suffered in the past by the Southerners is quite correct and undeniable. You have exploded the crux of the matter and eloquently articulated and appropriately tackled the root causes of the identity crisis, the indelible psychological scars and trauma that have been afflicting the conquered peoples, including and especially the Southerners, for so long, and which, I am afraid, may linger and persist for many generations to come, unless a conscious effort is made by the target group(s) to undertake the necessary soul-searching and re-examination of the root causes of this problem and try to wipe out the psychological and mental scourge afflicting them. I advise every Southerner who believes in and struggles for his/her identity and place of origin to read and reflect upon your invaluable exposé on the problem, and also refer to Frantz Fanon's books for further reading and reflection as well, especially the following books:
· Black Skin White Masks
· The Wretched of the Earth
· Toward the African Revolution
Ultimately however, the onus lies on the concerned Southerners to liberate themselves from themselves, from their inferiority complexes and feelings of self-hate in view of the historical, political, social and cultural circumstances prevailing today in Ethiopia.
The loss of identity and dignity, the lack of self-confidence and courage to stand up for one's own rights, the psychological trauma of self-hate and inferiority complex is, as you rightly argued, the direct and indirect consequence of political domination and cultural imperialism suffered by all colonized peoples the world over, further exacerbated by the complete alienation of their lands by the conquerors, and land, as we know, is the only source of dignity in all traditional societies. The South witnessed and realized the first phase of its liberation in 1974, in a revolution that fundamentally changed the agelong status quo that was inimical to the dignity of the South. Let the details be left to the historians. The South and the Southerners have been liberated once and for all, more so I think, since the birth of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), and a federal state that has implemented a federal structure based on self-rule at the ethnic level and shared rule at the regional and central level since the demise of the military regime in 1991, though a lot remains to be desired regarding the quality and extent of fully implementing the right of self-determination of the hitherto oppressed peoples in Ethiopia. We the Southerners have to struggle peacefully and more energetically than ever to achieve it and do not have to expect any ruling regime to grant us on a silver platter. This must be our utmost duty and obligation to our peoples. By and large however, the Southerners have been and are now the masters of their own destiny and fate, their lands, their identity, their languages, their cultures, etc, and there is no political or moral justification, no credible reason on earth, for any Southerner to be ashamed of his/her ethnic and regional self-identification any more. The ugly past is buried once and for all. So, why now? It was our generation, yours and mine, who suffered the brunt of the ugly past and not this new generation? Then, why on earth now? I cannot understand it at all. Whatever the reason, I think, some people are like endangered species, like the dinosaurs; they are doomed to disappear without leaving a trace; they get assimilated into a dominant culture, leaving no traces of their particulars--their language, their artefacts, their culture, their history, etc. If that is what they desperately seek, and if it is their considered and informed choice, let them melt away; we have no problem with that. (We have more than 45 million Southerners in the present-day Oromia and Southern Region alone.) After all, voluntary assimilation into a dominant culture is bound to happen, whether one approves or disapproves, whether one likes it or not. This is also one aspect of self-determination and we cannot oppose or reject their conscious decision. As long as it is not imposed by force of policy or law as in the past, there is no legal, political or moral justification to condemn this phenomenon. It is a natural process in any society, whether it is democratic or not, but more so in a democratic society where freedom of choice is uncurtailed.
Be this as it may, it is quite dangerous to lump all the Southerners in this discourse for obvious reasons. Above all, let us not also forget that the problem is not something that may be attributable to the Southerners only. You and I know, for example, a number of the TPLF ideologues such as Tewolde Wolde Mariam, Gebru Asrat, and Ainalem Kebede (later, Wondwossen Kebede) and many others who were more Tigrean than the Tigreans themselves, 'more Catholic than the Pope', so to speak, who were in fact originally from the Amhara ethnic group; their paternal fathers were Amharas. Accordingly, Tewolde was a Yejju Wolloye, Gebru Asrat was a Gojjame and Ainalem Kebede was also a Gojjame, as some of our friends in the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991-1994) confided to us. There were many Tigreans I knew who used to identity themselves as Gondare and Wolloye in the past but then abruptly changed their Amhara masks into Tigrean masks as soon as the TPLF came to the helm of political power in Addis Ababa. There were also a number of Tigreans who used to identify themselves as Eritreans when the EPLF was running the show in Ethiopia up until a war was unleashed between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 1998 and who later faced immense difficulties to prove that they were in fact Tigreans when the expulsion of some Eritreans as a security threat began during and after the Ethio-Eritrean war. Don't go any further, just look at Bereket Simon, originally an Eritrean, not only identifying himself with the Amhara but representing them at the topmost level and position. I think, he was born and raised in Gondar and today he is a full-fledged Amhara. There are a large number of Oromos, Sidamas, Wolaitas, Kembattas, Gamos, Hadiyas, Gurages, etc. who still wear Amhara masks. Sometimes the issue is not as simplistic as we may think and label it as identity crisis, self-hate or inferiority complex. It is also a free choice, considered or imposed by circumstances. It is self-determination at the individual level. There are many factors that affect this process. The Americans say, " Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan." It is natural to identify oneself with the successful ones, the victors. This is true even at the family level and at the level of friends; if you are successful every family member as well as distant relatives do not hesitate to claim you as their dearest son/daughter. If you are successful you will achieve the admiration of many people; many rush to become your friends. But when the chips are down, and when everybody thinks you are a failure, then is when you become lonely, hopeless and helpless. You will have few left on your side. This is human nature; the frailty of human beings, so to say.
Whatever the case, what amazes me most now is that the subject of the " Southerner and Self-confidence" is presently generating a lively debate among the Disaspora after so much and so long mystification and hesitation by the Southerners themselves to raise and discuss the issue openly, to unpack and demystify the illusions and fears, to identify the root causes of the "inferiority complex, lack of confidence to identify ourselves with the South, self-hate" and so on suffered by the Southerners in the past and even today. Anyway, "Better Late Than Never"! is, I think, a well-said adage. I remember the day when you, Beyene Petros and a few others from the South expressed your anger at me during the transitional conference in 1991 when I vocally condemned the 'neftegna' system and the brutal rule of the Shoan Amhara ruling class (mind you, I was not at all targeting the Amharas in general or the poor northern peasants with guns dubbed 'neftegna' in particular but the rapacious 'neftegna system' as a system and its sponsors the Shoan Amhara ruling class) who were responsible for the atrocities suffered by the Southerners in the past and whose legacy remains as the major debilitating root cause of all the trauma and inferiority complex the Southerners are still suffering today. I remember, I was accused of and rebuked by you guys for antagonizing the 'negtegnas' (who were no more, thanks to the 1974 Ethiopian revolution which effectively wiped out the 'neftegna' system once and for all but whose ghosts still frightened you), though I never accepted your limp views and never regretted (and will never regret even today) for saying what I had to say as a free man. You even mentioned about this issue some two or three weeks ago via your e-mail message. This was indeed sad because it showed nothing else but the Southerners' illusions and fears to even raise the issue openly and confront it head-on and to condemn it in public; to "call a spade a spade", as they say. The timidity demonstrated by you all reminds me of the "Zoo Effect" that I mentioned to you earlier-- that is, when a zoo is opened after so many years under lock and key, it is the predators which make maximum use of their newly acquired freedom; the timid ones fear freedom itself, preferring their confinement inside the zoo to escaping from it. There is also an old Amharic adage, which says: "deha tebedilo, marugn yilal tolo" (literally, it means, " a poor person when wronged by his master, hastens to apologise to him for fear of losing the latter's favours). Short of demanding war reparations and public apology from whoever represents the Shoan Amhara ruling class and the 'negtegna' system today (may be the Hailu Shawel and Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam's CUD coalition), we should have had the moral courage to unpack the mystifications and the illusions surrounding the issue and condemned that evil system which was nothing less than internal colonialism, to say the least. (Even Italian colonialism dismantled the 'gebar' system and slavery in Ethiopia during its brief sojourn-1936-1941). By this sin of ommission, I think, we failed our own people, the Southerners, and now with the benefit of hindsight we now see where we went wrong. We are responsible for the sufferings endured by the youth of the South today. But as far as I am concerned, let this be known to you: I shall never capitulate until my death and my sons and daughters will carry on the torch and continue with the struggle up until the South is indeed liberated and its dignity once again restored fully and unambiguously. This was what was bequeathed to me by our great warrior forbears of the South. These were those who gallantly fought the invading forces of Emperor Menelik II in 1894-1895 and died on the battlefield rather than surrendering and languishing under alien rule and slavery. They were defeated because of the military superiority of the Abyssinians, as they were armed by the Europeans. For further reference, read THE POLITICS OF BLACK NATIONALISM and also ETHIOPIA FROM EMPIRE TO FEDERATION by Professor Kinfe Abraham where he mentions about their indomitable spirit and defiance, which I indeed cherish most. He notes:
"Wello's Ras Mikael, Jimma's Sultan Abba Jiffar,
Lekempt's Dejach Moroda, Quelem's Dejach Jottie,
, Beni Shangul's Sheikh Hojjale, Gumuz Gubba's
Sheikh Banjaw and Danakil's Sultan Hanfare--
all submitted peacefully to Menelik with little
persuasion. The few who refused and posed a
military challenge to Menelik left him with no
choice but to make him feel the brunt of his
"big stick". These were Abdullahi of Harar, Baksa
of Gurage, Enjamo of Hadiya, Diguye[Dilbato
Degoye] of Kambatta, Tonna of Wolamo[Wolayta]
and Shennacho of Kaffa"[pp.111-112]
And for your information Dilbato Degoye, the then king of Kambatta happens to be my own great-great grandfather. It is his spirit that still guides me never to kneel down and prostrate before any alien domination. This is in fact what makes the sons and daughters of the former "neftegnas" uneasy and jittery whenever one raises about righting the wrongs of the past. For instance, let us refer to what Dr. Getachew Mekasha has to lament in this regard:
"As for the critics, with their newly acquired
"awareness" and "insight" mostly borrowed from
malevolent foreigners, it seems it is only a
handful of the present day self-appointed
"descendants" of the likes of Tonna, Diguye
[sic], and Baksa, who are now at this late
hour taking up the cadgels by voicing bitter
complaints about Menelik's methods and
policies...."[Getachew Mekasha, cited in The
State of the Horn, EYE YEARBOOK, 1997].



I don't think it would be wise discussing the merits and demerits of Dr Getachew Mekasha's outrages at this juncture. Whatever the case, it was not, and still is not, my purpose to instill feelings of hostility in others towards the Amhara or Tigrai or any other ethnic group for that matter, which would tantamount to utter racism. Besides, there already were and still are, some mad men and women, some racist individuals and groups just doing that. My purpose was, and still is, to put the record straight and to unravel every aspect of our past history and place it in its proper perspective so that we may not forget them and be able to right the wrongs of the past, to leave the past where it belongs and to move on to shape a better future for all ethnic, religious and linguistic-cultural communities based on equality and justice, making sure that the injustices of the past will never resurface in our country in the future. After all, we all live in our time and for our time, and we will all be judged by our time. There is no wisdom in lamenting about the ugly past, though we cannot forget it, once we have put in place all institutions necessary to safeguard our hardwon rights and liberties. This is what would guarantee a better livable Ethiopia for all of its peoples--a morally just, democratic, peaceful and stable order and a meaningful unity in diversity, nothing else. We have to struggle hard to realize it, we need not expect Menna from heaven.
Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned, the source and root cause for the lack of confidence for self- identification, inferiority complex, self-hate, etc. suffered by the southerners even today goes as far back to the 19th century and it is due to the brutal legacy of subjugation and dehumanization suffered by the southerners in the process of the invention of the Ethiopian empire-state. As history clearly witnesses the conquered peoples were treated as pagans, barbarians and uncivilized savages. All resistance from them was harshly suppressed with impunity. Their languages were not considered as the languages of human beings but of birds (ye wof quanqua); their cultures barbaric, their religions, and their political and judicial systems were considered as backward and uncivilized; their lands which were their only source of dignity were dispossesed by the conquerors and their followers (the 'neftegnas'), reducing the once proud peoples to the level of serfs and slaves; even their names were despised and they had to be forcefully baptised; they had to carry Amharic or Christian names ( Yohannis, Markos, Gebre Medhin, Gebre Kristos, Gebre Wold, etc) to be trustworthy of being a faithful serf or servant or slave. Peasants--men, women and their children-- were obliged to render services to the governors and the 'neftegnas' every day of the week; the serfs had to till, sow, harvest, and store on the farms of their alien masters; they had to give away 75% of their own farm produce of their own land as tenants to the latter; they had to pay innumerable taxes throughout a year (even to give bribe so that the clerks at the treasury would receive the taxes on time: 'Yeterepesa gibir'). Failure to fulfill these obligations entailed harsh punishments. The conquered peoples were categorically dubbed Gallas; and 'Gallas' according to the ideologues of the ruling class during those days, such as Aleka Kidanewold Kifle and Desta Teklewold (Refer to their Amharic dictionaries of the day) comprised all the non-Amhara/Tigrai groups inside the empire-state and were considered "uncouth, uncivilized," and 'the blood enemies of the Amhara' ('Yalseletene' ,'Aremene' , 'Yeamara demegna telat') and were to be mercilessly killed on petty offences and pretexts. All virtues belonged to the Amhara, and all the bad and ugly things belonged to the Gallas, so to speak. From the conquerors' point of view all these denigrating and dehumanizing actions and atrocities were understandable__unless the conquered peoples were utterly subjugated and dehumanized and reduced to the level of beasts of burden, it would have been very difficult for the conquerors to rule over them. All rulers prefer it that way, as dehumanized, fearful people are easier to rule than assertive, courageous ones. It is a timeless truth. This was in fact the glaring feature of European colonialism as well during the 19th century scramble for Africa, and, for that matter, all colonialism whether it was directed against Asia, Latin America, Australia or Oceania.
When we come back to the Ethiopian situation of the beginning of the 20th century, all the conquered peoples were ruled by governors sent from the north or from the center, whether at the Woreda, Awraja or Province levels, there were no indigenous government officials, neither police officers nor school directors (if there were any government schools in the first place), etc. Even there were no indigenous orthodox priests. Such was the bestiality of the whole system in place. It was utterly dehumanizing and barbaric. When the elite of the South, those half-baked and missionary-educated elites, came face to face with these ugly realities, they felt ashamed of themselves; ashamed of their landless fathers and mothers; they hated everything that was theirs__their own languages, cultures, history, even their own names, etc. It was utterly devastating for them. So, they hastened to look for escape routes, and they discovered that their only salvation lay in Amharanization__adopting Amharic names (sometimes even changing their fathers' and grandfathers' names into Amharic), Amharic language, Amharic culture, Amharic identity; in short, assimilation into the dominant Amhara culture. This was, and is, the root cause for the so-called inferiority complex, self-hate and identity crisis suffered by the Southerners that you quite eloquently analysed in your expose on this topical issue. The reverse psychological inflation of many an Amhara elite, whom some call chauvinists, is also the direct outcome of this agelong subjugation of the South by their ancestors. (It is indeed very strange how any healthy minds would fail to appreciate the bestiality of this past but instead feel arrogant and boastful of subjugating others and still struggle to perpetuate that evil system in Ethiopia even today). Let this be acknowledged as the undeniable truth, instead of running around the bush, so that we can all be able to build a better Ethiopia based on equality and justice for all. Otherwise, let us not forget that even Papau New Guinea with a population of less than 20,000 is a full-fledged state and a member of the UN.
As we all remember, in 1991, the Ethiopian empire-state was on the brink of disintegration into its component parts. The elites who represented the Southerners and many others coming from the conquered and the hitherto oppressed nationalities made a conscious effort to avert or prevent the then hovering possibility of disintegration of the empire-state into its component parts by rallying around the Transitional Charter and effecting a radical transformation of the empire-state. There were about 17 national liberation movements at the time. Let us not try to belittle or denigrate that conscious effort. It is indeed puzzling when some of the best sons and daughters of the South such as Dr. Erango Kelbisow do not bother to think twice before accusing the current regime of " open advocacy of tribal or ethnic fragmentation of our people and society" and suggesting that the government "--is supposed to strengthen and promote national unity by all means necessary" (emphasis is mine) even if these means for achieving unity entailed the absolute centralization of the state and the imposition of forced assimilation and homogenization, through a dominant language and culture, as was tried during Emperor Haile Sellassie's reign but which was proved to be futile, bankrupt, and self-defeating. No ethnic group, I repeat, no ethnic group or nationality, in today's Ethiopia is prepared and willing to pay the price of assimilation into a dominant culture, be it Amhara, or Oromo, or Tigrai, in order to become an Ethiopian citizen. Let us not entertain any illusions in this regard. The ugly past will never resuscitate or resurrect in Ethiopia. Never again! The FDRE government does not at all promote tribal or ethnic fragmentation, as alleged by Dr. Erango Kelibisow ["Declaring War against Tribalism Diseases, Hunger, Poverty, and Corruption: Mankind's Foremost Enemies," Part II, Addis Tribune 14/01/05. On the contrary, it respects and struggles for ethnic harmony based on equality and ethnic self-rule and self-determination under a federal state that upholds and safeguards self-rule at the nationality level and shared rule at the regional and federal/central level. That, at least, has been proclaimed and entrenched formally in the FDRE constitution thanks to the bitter struggles of the hitherto oppressed peoples. This arrangement is akin to the arrangement implemented in many multi-ethnic states such as Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and many others that cater for peaceful ethnic co-existence under a federal structure. Self-rule or self-determination, however, does not and cannot mean ethnic fractionalization, fragmentation or exclusiveness; neither does it mean the balkanization of countries nor the dismemberment of their nations, nationalities and peoples into mini-states. Self-determination does not at all mean "other extermination" as witnessed in Rwanda, Burundi, Yugoslavia, the former USSR and elsewhere. Further, it does not at all mean tribalism and looking after one's own tribal members first in national life and becoming tribal chiefs instead of national statesmen. It does not in any way entertain nepotism, patronage and corruption. It is simply arranging a democratic way of life for peaceful coexistence in a multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-cultural society, based on interdependence, equality and justice for all. Most often, it is only when ethnic self-determination is denied that ethnic conflicts flare up, though such conflicts also occur due to conflicts over scarce resources, power-sharing and the like reasons.
Here, it must be made clear that any process which sees itself as "purely" ethnic or national can hold catastrophic contradictions. No people can be entirely self-sufficient. Contemporary society resembles a woven fabric and this is a characteristic common to different peoples and ethnic groups, with different languages, customs and beliefs. National interests must go hand in hand with social and economic rights and with democracy. Otherwise they are hollow and shallow. Nationalism and religion must be made as tolerant as possible for peaceful coexistence. Blind nationalism and blind religious fanaticism would undoubtedly blind our intelligence. We have no choice but to live together in peace, and this naked truth must guide us towards a form of integration which will at the same time, allow for the full development of each constituent ethnic group, nationality and language community based on mutual benefits and interdepence. We have to emphasize our common bondage and destiny and not our differences; we have to manage the latter properly, not try to obliterate them. It is self-defeating and futile. Finally, let us not scratch where it does not itch, as they say. Our prime enemies today are: not implementing fully the right of national self-determination of all ethnic nationalities, poverty and lack of good governance, absence of well-functioning democracy and the rule of law, and not tribal or ethnic fragmentation. Let us positively contribute toward the realization of a democratic, prosperous and united Ethiopia. This is all I have to say for the time-being. Bye.