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Sheltering refugees
Desta Hailu
Eastern Africa countries have all gone through a war. Some of them are still engrossed in pit of war. As a result, the people of these countries flee their homes and country. Eritrean people leave their country through land and sea due to lack of peace and democracy in their country. The people of the region are choosing Ethiopia for its stability and peace.
The reason for this has to do with the fact that not only Ethiopia has concern for the people of its neighboring countries, but also, the FDRE government follows a refugee policy that protects the peace and security of people. As a result, Ethiopia is currently sheltering more than 800 thousand refugees from neighboring countries. And, this brings an international approval and recognition to the country.
Of course, any policy that the FDRE government adheres makes the people its main concern and basis. First of all, the policies are concerned with and work for the peace and security of the people. Considering that, the Ethiopian government reached at this decision based on the feedback from the people and by passing through its self-correcting mechanism, it can be said that it is pro-people.
And this pro-people nature of the government means that, it looks at people that come from any country as its own and as equal. As a result of this, Ethiopia is now considered by the people of most of the region’s countries as their second home. Also, as Ethiopia is a country that has a government that understands the problems of its people, and the people are welcoming, it has become the shelter of the East Africa countries.
Any country that has pro-people attitude has nothing else to think about other than the peace and security of the people. Hence, the government is allowing the people that come from other countries the same benefits that its own people get. For this, I can mention the Eritrean people that live here as refugees as an example. Many Eritreans migrate to Ethiopia ‘in droves’ due to huge pressure the dictatorial Eritrean regime puts on them and because, they lost the security to live there. The migrants include youth, elderly, old woman, children and soldiers. Ethiopia’s government and people qualms is not with the brotherly people of Eritrea, but the Eritrean regime that is sheltering terrorists (that are destabilizing the region’s countries) and that follows a ‘kill to shoot’ policy on its people.
As a result, the brotherly people of Eritrea are allowed to take classes up to their third degree like any Ethiopian. In my belief, this act of Ethiopian people and government shows how much they understand other peoples’ pain and misery, how much they see the lack of peace their neighboring people face as their own, and how much they firmly believe that, it is possible to grow together with the region’s people if they are allowed to find peace here they lost in their own country.
It is not surprising that, Ethiopians are lauded by the international community for the fact that they are sharing the pain of other countries people whilst not having the strongest economy; especially at a time when western countries are closing their doors on people that are fleeing their homes from other lands.
In addition to having a balanced and people-centered thinking that believes refugees don’t leave their country if not facing difficulty, the people and the government is involving the refuges in various social interactions. As this type of pro-people attitude emanates from its innate behavior, I think the comprehensive support the Ethiopian government and people are giving to refugees should not only be commended but also, it should get the necessary and appropriate support.
As it is known, in just a few years, the FDRE government is doing many wide-ranging works to bring peace in the neighboring countries and strengthen economic ties and success is being gained from it. The effort the government puts to tie the region through electric power, land, railway and other infrastructures should be mentioned. The Ethiopian government believes the challenge the people of the region face will put a dent on the aspiration to link the region economically, which our country wants to see happen within the region. Thus, when the government works on this integration issue, it is by following two basic elements, as clearly put on the country’s foreign affairs policy – the internal and external situation. As it is known, out of its belief that it is through internal and external situation that it is possible to secure the country’s existence, the government has been working actively to that end.
Understanding that, ensuring economic development, democracy building process and peace are an existential issue to our country; which has been in a pit of poverty and backwardness, the government has been putting out directions and implementing them for the past 26 years. Especially in the last 15 years, there have been works to set up a suitable environment that would help bring lasting peace and a rapid and sustainable development whilst rooting democracy building process throughout the country.
The same way the FDRE government works tirelessly to bring peace and development to our country; it also believes that, mutually growing with neighboring countries should be a priority out of its firm belief that the peace and development of neighboring countries is important as well. This is because; as the peace and development of our country contributes to the prosperity of the region, the same can be said when it comes to peace and development of our region having a constructive role in hastening our country’s development.
Thus, the government should also think about the people of its neighboring countries. In the past 26 years, there have been huge efforts being waged to strengthen the country’s foreign affairs and standing of the country at the international level. With this, the country is not only contributing in resolving conflicts so that there is a stable political process within the region, but also in sheltering citizens of the region as refuges so that they can get temporary relief.
This cooperative and humanitarian framework our country follows has made most of its neighboring countries to look at Ethiopia as their own country. Ethiopia has become the country of their choosing when they face civil war and dictatorial rule in their country. We hear them often calling Ethiopia as their ‘second country’. They consider living in Ethiopia is the same as living in their own country. Many link their future to this hopeful country. Although it is not easy for Ethiopia to shelter more than 800 thousand refugees, the effort our government and people put to shelter them should be commended and must continue as human lives are precious. Thus, it is safe to say that Ethiopia is not only a shelter for its neighbor on their bad days, but also a country that they can work in and go to school and a bridge to a third country as well.
