Reject the Outdated Nile River Treaty

By Mezgebe Gebrekiristos (May 21/2010)

Once again, Egypt is acting like a bully—desperately trying to dictate a common grazing land. But Egypt has to know that the grazing land belongs to nine other tamed bulls that have God given right to a fair and equitable share of the lush area. Egypt needs to be reminded that the era of bullying is over for we are living in a 21^st century. A colonial treaty that still treats the countries that share the Nile River as colonies of England is obsolete for obvious reasons. Ethiopia, a country that has never been colonized, has never signed the treaty, and has consistently expressed its opposition to the inequitable share of the Nile River.

Ethiopia has not been able to tap into this huge resource, despite multiple attempts to do so, partly due to financial constraints. But that is about to change for ever. Under the current government, Ethiopia has embarked upon a remarkable journey aimed at eradicating the proverbial poverty once and for all. The government is making use of its water resources, and the Nile River is no exception in this regard. This direction of the government seems to be the driving factor for Egypt’s recent erratic behavior. Egypt is warning the Nile Riparian countries that signed the new treaty while dispatching its diplomatic corps to the United States, EU, and China. Egypt knows Ethiopia’s Achilles heel—lack of resources—and it is aggressively campaigning to block any international financial assistance to Ethiopia’s ambitious construction of dams on its rivers. Will it succeed in convincing donor countries? Only time will tell.

This writer, however, is not surprised by Egypt’s move to maintain its hegemony over the Nile River waters. It has been doing it for years. What is mind-boggling is the nearly deafening silence of the Ethiopian Diaspora as evidenced in the Ethiopian blogospheres. Where are the unsolicited writings of the self-proclaimed defenders of mama Ethiopia’s interest we used to reading on the opposition websites? What good is crying for democracy while turning a blind eye to the people suffering from hunger and disease? Where is the outrage of the Diaspora to Egypt’s intention to keep the Nile Riparian countries at its mercy when it comes to using the Nile River? Or is this, “C’est La Vie,” of the Diaspora Ethiopians that love to shed crocodile tears in the name of “Mama” Ethiopia? Real concern to one’s people and country requires genuine action and now is the time to show the solidarity to the Ethiopian government that is doing an outstanding job in all fronts.

Under these circumstances, one would anticipate an outpouring support for the Ethiopian government’s unprecedented efforts to improve the livelihood of its citizens by expanding the number of universities in the country, building hydroelectric dams, and implementing sound agricultural policies. This in a country that has been known for poverty that sent shivers through the spine of its historical enemy, Egypt, and has become a constant envy to Shaebia’s pariah land, Eritrea.

It is true that Ethiopia is passing through a lot of clouds, but beneath the thick clouds there is a glitter of hope. Every cloud has a silver-lining, as the saying goes. And, in Ethiopia that silver-lining is gaining momentum from time to time. We have to continue helping Ethiopia navigate through the clouds--in deeds--and not empty rhetoric that won’t lift a single soul out of poverty.

In closing, Egypt will not leave any stone unturned to undermine Ethiopia’s effort in building dams, but Ethiopia is determined to march forward—with or without the assistance of international organizations. To borrow BBC reporter Uduak Amimo’s sentence, “Ethiopia is under construction,” and the building blocks are the citizens of that country—not foreigners. Ethiopia’s future is bright, and we owe it to our children to bestow them a better and prosperous country where they could lead a happy and peaceful life.

For constructive comments, the author can be reached at emaa_go@yahoo.com