Empire of Grudge

By Dayib Atto

In the epic poem of the lLiad, Homer mentioned Ethiopia as the land where Zeus and an entourage of the entire pantheon of ancient Greece went for a vacation of sorts, to feast among the "...blameless Ethiopians for a period of twelve days.."
It was around 750 B.C. or nearly 3000 years ago when this poem was written, a testament even in those days to the existence in this part of  Africa an empire worthy of a visit by the reigning Gods of the day.

Then as time drifted, Christianity came to the horn, and after that, Islam.

The arrival of these two sister religions in the horn of Africa with a their built-in tendency for  a myriad of serious misinterpretations became the source of  conflict that made this region the perpetually strife ridden, and therefore as a direct consequence the backward place it has now become, despite being located in the crossroads of a region that has been one of the largest incubators of world civilizations.

So what went wrong? Why have the ageless "blameless Ethiopians", the favored hosts of Zeus and Poseidon, the just Ethiopians who were blessed by the Prophet Mohamed for giving a safe haven for the first migration "first Hijra" of Muslim refugees, have so fallen behind today from the rest of the world, dragging with them the entire Horn of Africa by the neck ?

Could it be that Ethiopia crossed a geopolitical tipping point the day in Berlin when the Europeans decided to slice up Africa, and instead of standing up for the neighborhood, as would have been expected from a big brother, the empire became an eager accomplice, a facilitator and a collaborator to the European colonization of Africa?

Was this the day when blinded by old grudges Ethiopia failed to see the obvious? The fact that these Europeans came from lands far away, and if and when their colonial adventures come to end, they will retreat back to the safety of their distant lands, while Ethiopia will have to stay here, in this molested hornet's nest of the Horn of Africa, and that it will have to deal forever with the aftermath of that grief and sting?

In short, it seems that Ethiopia has consistently chosen a pitiful short term gain in exchange for a very long time of pain for the entire Horn of Africa.

Whats even more appalling is that Ethiopia has yet to learn from the lessons of history, and because of her obsession on a paranoiac preoccupation with old grudges against her neighbors, it has practically neglected all instincts for a constructive leadership and foresight, and despite her long history, geographical location and vast population, it has absolutely failed to contribute to the world a single idea.

Having finished with the rant, now go ahead and ask me - as a Somali, who am I to criticize Ethiopia?

From the very first moment, as the newborn nation of Somalia hit the ground, the Ethiopian empire was there to harass,  and to the detriment of all concerned, turned the Horn of Africa into a never ending theatre of duelling grudges, famine and permanent armed conflicts.

By Dayib Atto