October 22^nd , 2003

Beyond the ‘Puzzle’ of ‘Badme’

Economists assert half of the Eritrean population is dependent on foreign aid for its very survival, just as more than 15 million people in Ethiopia are on the verge of starvation. In both cases, cyclical drought (a result of adverse weather conditions and environmental degradation, coupled with huge population explosion) as well as protracted underdevelopment (caused by ill-advised policies, mal-administration of the limited resources of the countries for decades) can be cited as the major causes of such grim reality! And yet, the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments seem to be on the verge of another fratricidal war over ‘a piece of barren land’ that is of no immediate, practical use to any of them!

Some one should feel obliged to stop them, in the name of the millions who would inevitably be deprived of the basic provisions of existence, as attention would shift to the conflict strategy and implementation. Undoubtedly, no nation under similar conditions should be allowed to beat the drums of war, lest there be some sort of ‘hidden agenda’ behind it, such as sordidly scandalous returns for who knows who!

‘Badme’ is not an oil field, nor is it a golden quarry. Badme is not a port nor has any vital strategic significance! It is just a small, poor village on the border between two of the poorest nations on earth, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as there could be a hundred and one. And yet, to date, it has cost more than 2 billion dollars and around a 100,000 people as a ‘sacrifice’, to contend it! If this does not sound absolutely ridiculous/senseless, then no one can figure out what non-sense is. And all this in the name of old colonial treaties and arrangements! And all this in a world going into the third millennium, doing away with past misconceptions and philosophies!! The resources that would have been most vital for development endeavours have been almost entirely diverted by the leadership of the two nations, to iron out this ‘senseless’ dispute! In the face of the economic situation of the two peoples, no one would even dream of supporting any kind of conflict whatsoever. And the whole world is puzzled: ‘what has happened to Ethiopians and Eritreans?’

And yet, over the years, it has been the destiny of many an African nation, in many corners, to settle, even personal feuds of dictators, (let alone border issues) or claims of power of heartless generals, on the back of the voiceless poor, on the skin of the silent majority, instigated/manipulated under the guise of certain notions, loud-sounding as much as possible but of questionable relevance or practicability to the poorest of the poor, such as ‘sovereignty’, ‘territorial integrity’, ‘national pride’, ‘bravery’. These terms cannot bear any significance to the millions who are on the verge of death, on the verge of starvation, deprived of their elementary, human dignity!

Can we talk of ‘sovereignty’ when we don’t even have the means to feed our peoples!? In a world increasingly becoming ‘one big village’, in a world that boundaries are counting less and less, getting blurred, nationalisms are fading irrevocably, peoples’ movements are not arrested by borders or other restrictions, where even once arch rivals/arch enemies are hurrying to fix comprehensive peace deals, all-encompassing arrangements to trade and win a better livelihood for their citizens, how can we even think of wars, conflicts, destruction of one another, leaving aside a hundred and one other vital socio-economic priorities?!!! Europe is being united, leaving alone old and outmoded rivalries, enmities, whereas here in Africa, we continue to invest the lion’s share of our budgets and resources to arm ourselves and wage wars to settle fresh and old rivalries, incomprehensions, meaningless border disputes that would only lead us to mutual attrition. Wars often conceived and provoked by ‘smart’ dictators, capable of inciting poor peoples for unknown intangible ends, mobilizing them by appealing and capitalizing on their sensitivities, emotions! And you can be sure, as long as things continue with such tendency, Africans will always be a laughing stock of other peoples! The bottom line is :We beg food to survive, but we manage to cater for the expenses of wars and self-destruction!! We keep ourselves busy shooting at each other! Why?!

The problem is simple and clear. There is no worthwhile, valid leadership in any of these countries. There is no accountable, responsible leadership. There is no democracy! Because democracy would involve the informed choice of the majority of these peoples, and if consulted, our peoples would not need to be geniuses to be able to understand that they do not have any urge of being driven to absurd wars, for years, under any pretext. They realize that their wars should be against famine, against diseases, against ignorance, against drought! Not against neighbouring peoples, not against themselves, not against their brothers and sisters! Now, Africans should wake up and see in what sort of world they hope to live. Africans should wake up and select themselves ‘wiser’ leaders, more responsible statesmen. Here lie our basic problems, and currently, we see little light in front.

By the same token, Ethiopians and Eritreans should begin to wake up and see where the world is directing itself, and adopt the way that suits them best. They should wake up and see that they cannot go on shooting at each other while millions of their compatriots are risking death due to famine! The leadership of the two nations should be able to opt to lead their peoples to a reasonable memorandum of understanding that would give absolute priority to peace and development, to cooperation and mutual trust. Not to venturing in emotions that involve personal glorification or tendencies of trying to settle incomprehensions that risk to turn to feuds, agitate the banners of nationalism/chauvinism. Such scenario would only lead us all towards a deadly point of no return! Today, the Ethio-Eritrean relations are at a dangerous/explosive point. Attributing too much importance to a name whatever it might mean is putting a time bomb in the midst of the two nations. There should be some wise voice that urges towards de-dramatizing the case.

The leaders of the two nations should sit down and face each other, in the interests of the peoples they guide. Only through dialogue and exchange of views can there be a breakthrough to the current impasse. Short of this, they should be prepared to face condemnation by the international community, by friends and foes alike. But most of all, they should check with their conscience. Their delicate decisions could ‘change’ the face of the two countries, in the positive or negative. They are at crossroads. They need to inject a new sense of leadership and purpose beyond whatever differences they could entertain. Forgetting the past and projecting positive thinking for the future full of adversities is key. Their peoples await impatiently for a new vision that goes beyond the border incident and root out this discourse from the agenda of the two nations, once and for all.

Both nations have too many priorities before they can spare a single penny on the acquisition of bullets and tanks. What they need are crops, seeds, fertilizers, water, irrigation, plants and trees, agricultural equipment and knowhow. What they need are hospitals, doctors, medicines, schools with valid teachers, houses, roads, bridges etc, and not guns to shoot one another or jets to throw bombs from on others, on their own peoples. All the rest is a ‘non-affordable luxury’. Someone should say: Enough is enough!