Call for Action to Stop Ethnic Violence in Ethiopia

Appeal to the Government of Ethiopia and all peace loving Ethiopians around the world

I. Background

The Ethiopian Scientific and Academic Network (ESAN) along with the sister organizations that include the Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES), ESAN Medical and Allied Health, Ethiopian Network of Civil Societies, Ethiopian Physical Society, Physics in Ethiopia, the African Post Graduate Academy (APGA) collectively called Educators Without Borders (EWB) participate in advancing the cause of education in Ethiopia at all levels. We believe that the  Ethiopian learning and education system has to move fast by including all Ethiopian learners from kindergarten to tertiary level.  All Ethiopians have to become life-long learners, thinkers, doers, explorers, discoveries, problem solvers and not problem creators.

All Ethiopians have to be motivated and inspired to have a sense of wonder, curiosity, exploration, learning to work by doing and undertaking evidence based research and exploration by applying modes of discoveries based on scientific experiments and data collections. What we witness currently is many of the young people making blatantly wrong generalizations with outrageous emotions soiled and awash with prejudice, hate, attacks, hubris and ethnic violence. A robust education system is much needed to change and engage  the youth from the current ethnic distraction  to a new trajectory to make all the youth innovative change makers and game changers.

EWB would like to bring all Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia globally to contribute in transforming and making sure the 110 million Ethiopians are all learners, doers, performers, reformers and transformers by making all to lead their lives with powerful imagination and knowledge. The educators are Ethiopian professionals, students, academics and all the families of the children both inside Ethiopia and Ethiopians living in other parts of the world. Educator friends of Ethiopians are also part of the Educators Without Borders. All are expected to work very hard with joy and commitment to re-shape the mindset of the youth to make them productive, inventive, innovative and creative by applying moral, intellectual and emotional intelligence applying values of integrity, sincerity, humility and honesty to become productive citizens building the competence, innovation, learning and the capacity to contribute to  all the communities through the breadth and depth of Ethiopia.

II: Our work

EWB is a network followed by thousands of young people who have committed themselves to advance their education. EWB is directly involved in supporting Ethiopian schools, colleges and universities by establishing workable and productive collaboration by the members doing periodic formal visits to improve the quality of the course content, the enhancement of the education infrastructure and contributing to build strongly the resources of the educational units and libraries.

III. Education in Ethiopia, Achievements and Needs

Ethiopia is a very blessed country with its human and natural resources. Its citizens and friends can make a big difference by making Ethiopia to become a model by working to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality by including all the people to engage in productive life free from seeking aid, loan and debt.

1. The towering achievements of Ethiopia are many. It just launched its first space satellite. Ethiopian educational and technological achievements are improving. There is varied work ranging on scale fundamental research  from  land, sea to the cosmos.

2. Ethiopia and its citizens funded and  are building the  Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) which is poised to become the  radiant  meg gam lighthouse Africa.

4. Ethiopia is expanding education to reach many millions of young people. It has  recorded stellar achievement in girls’ education.
5. Ethiopia is developing higher education to reach all parts of the country with universities in every part of the country with hundreds of thousands  students.
6. There is a need to highlight Ethiopian innovators by making the education system to produce job creating graduates rather than job seeking graduates that may not find the employment they seek. 
7. The education system has to promote problem, project and work integrated action learning by promoting the unity of STEM knowledge.
8. There is a need to create the Ethiopian innovation week by including the education sector with industry and other sectors. Many inventions were show- cased and demonstrated in Africa Innovation Week supported by the Ethiopian Innovation and Technology Ministry and the African Union.
9. The education all Ethiopians must learn above all else first and foremost is Ethiopianism and morality. The history lessons that spread ethnic hatred that we sadly witnessed with demolishing statues and killing people have to be removed. 
10. Moral education to value humanity above all else should be in the curriculum in all schools in the country without fail. The Ethiopianism philosophy curriculum must be developed and all Ethiopians must learn it.
11. The rich Ethiopian  indigenous knowledge  must also systematically be integrated in the education system. EWB is happy to join to work on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the entire Ethiopian  education system.

IV: Our Concerns

The Ethiopian Educators without borders expresses the deep concern in the recent wave of attacks against civilians, women, children and the elderly purely based on their ethnic makeup. The violence occurred in small towns and cities located in Arsi Zone Arsi Negele, Zeway, Zeway-Dugda,Kersa, Munesa, Etaya, Dera, in Bale Zone, in Adama, in Shashemene , In Diredawa, in Harar and many areas of the country. At this time thousands of school children, parents, teachers and members of the minority ethnic groups are homeless and live under constant threat of violence.   The narrative from the leadership of all sides is ethnically charged creating a sense of fear and uncertainty in the lives of the young people and their families. The ethnic based education has been put in place for at least the last thirty years. It advocates and emphasizes only the ethnic and language identities where children are more or less programed to be insecure and to see themselves as distinct and different from their neighbors.   It is very clear that the basic elements of moral imperative and the entire education enterprise failed to shape the young people to value each other  more as sisters and brothers rather than fight each other  based on their divisive ethnic differences.  The type of violence, the method of killing and erasing property  have never been seen in the entire history of conflicts in Ethiopia. It appears the perpetrators are using the playbook from the Rwandan genocide. They are supported by the intellectual machinery and modern media to justify the inhuman actions as a direct consequence of events in history.

The intellectual justifications are promoted by individuals who have achieved the highest education and very well read in their professions. These intellectuals created ghost enemies by instructing their followers to go after such enemies that happen to be ethnic minorities. The consequences of such intellectual corruption led to huge losses of life and property.  At this very moment thousands are homeless and out of schools.

As educators we ask ourselves many questions. For example, where did we fail in educating the young people? How do individuals grow to such intellectual prominence and become advocates to what amounts to ethnic cleansing? What is wrong with the social, intellectual and moral upbringing of the young people   where education allows them to say I live in you therefore I am you? How did Ethiopians with their unity have created independent Ethiopia ? Why  are they subjected to this disunity when the must unite to eradicate poverty by making sure education reaches all the people from children  to the elders ?

V: Our Appeal

EWB wishes to participate in mitigating these conflicts among young people particularly students, teachers, parents, the general academic and educator communities.  The psychological trauma experienced by young people not withstanding , the delay in their life experiences will be devastating.  The young people must not miss out their youthful lives , if the prolonged delay in their education continues with  the absence of a school environment and their play ground.

EWB appeals to the government of Ethiopia and stakeholders in education to involve EWB network in mitigating conflicts to participate both informally and formally to undertake engagement with the young people to teach them how to deal with adversity and how they can learn to resolve their difference without creating conflicts even if when they disagree  expressing different  opinions. EWB wishes to support the schools, the colleges and universities in their work to recover from their losses and bring normalcy to the lives of the young people. In order to do EWB work efficiently and consistently, we request the government of Ethiopia to establish

1. The environment for frank discussion among young people of all ethnic backgrounds on issues that they deem appropriate and necessary
2. Create a platform for the network of Ethiopian Civil Societies where the societies and their member share information and experiences to mitigate ethnic confrontations
3. Provide the initial investments to settle displaced students, teachers, educators and parents to their neighborhoods
4. Support to EWB to open an on-line regular webinar  teaching by mobilising the Ethiopian  talent   from different parts of the world  to reach all Ethiopians by  making sure internet  wi-fi  is arranged , available and managed well.
5. Support EBW to share how with unity Ethiopia has achieved so much and the knowledge created by Ethiopians on astronomy, medicine, binary logic mathematics and all the sciences  must be widely diffused with the education system.
6. Support all Ethiopians to join both in Ethiopia and across the world to  celebrate the  coming 125 Adwa Great African Victory  to end the current conflict and division and bring lasting unity among all Ethiopians regardless of any  differences.( https://nesglobal.org/adwa124/)

VII: Concluding Remarks

EWB will provide the network platform for all students, teachers, parents, and Ethiopians who dedicate themselves in the advancement of young people through education and volunteer programs.  The young people should graduate in large numbers and their record achievements can be published, and post-graduates should increase year after year systematically. Ethiopia can make stellar achievements and all stakeholders must join to control the current conflict and work together to create innovative Ethiopia to make all the people have  decent lives freed entirely  from poverty, disease and unemployment. Ethiopia united with comprehensive strong education with peace , law and order and stability will create  a bright future for all the people.

God bless Ethiopia