Labanon, the Chosen Role Model of Ethiopia?

Labanon,the Chosen Role Model of Ethiopia?

By negashi,on April 12th,2012

[Awoliya Online] This article is not about the plight of Ethiopian domestic workers enslaved in Lebanon,of which our sister Alem Dechesa is the last victim. It is about an apparent political decision of resorting to Lebanon for lessons. How would you react if Ethiopia would set Lebanon as a role model on how to treat domestic workers,and import some Lebanese ‘experts’to change the mindset of all Ethiopians?? Here,we got even a more surprising story.

How often you hear of Ethiopia heralding itself as a world role model of coexistence. If there is one thing that our poor country prides itself then it’s the peaceful neighborhood of its citizens of different religion. Rulers,politicians may have abused their power and systematically discriminated some Ethiopians just because of their belief or ethnic,but that hasn’t ruined the neighborhood relationship.

On the contrary,sectarianism is everything in Lebanon. It is about regional settlement,it is about neighborhood,and it is about politics. Almost every issue is settled based on sectarian parameters. In fact,the Lebanese civil war is brought to an end based on the so called Ta`if Agreement,which defined political power on sectarian basis. You got Nasrallah for Shiite,Walid Jumlat for Druze,Hariri for sunni,Michel Auon for Maronite Christians,and all have their sub branches…….You go to the south and you get certain sect,and you get another in the North . No newspaper,no news channel escapes from the sectarianism which has become,unfortunately,a core identity of the country.

How embarrassing ,then it is,to hear a government officials hailing an imported Lebanese `experts`,with apparent mission of lecturing Ethiopians on coexistence. This is not a joke,as we got some Lebanese `expert` who claim that they are giving lessons to Ethiopians on religious coexistence. It is just like inviting Hitler to teach how to love the Jews!!

We got the wrong lesson from the wrong place,and we are in an embarrassing situation!