African Diaspora for Development

Brain drain designates the international transfer of human capital from developing to developed countries due to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. In Africa, where starvation is pervasive, the economy is staggeringly poor, and development is at its inception, the flight of its limited human capital is even much more worrisome. Since 1990, the continent loses 20,000 professionals annually and currently, over 40,000 of its PhD holders are living overseas. Moreover, 50% of all medical doctors trained in Africa leave the continent. This has serious socio-economic ramifications. For instance, Africa spends over $4 billion USD a year to employ expatriates to fill vacant positions.

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The EOTC Synod in Exile: Issues and Challenges

                                               The exile synod, picture taken from their website

Introduction

The reconciliation efforts underway between the EOTC home and exile synods seem to come to an abrupt halt. Technically speaking, it is the home synod who takes it to the limit. The ratification of a law that governs patriarch choice, the selection of patriarch nominating committee, the crystal clear decision not to allow Abune Merkorios to reassume his position, and the firm decision to proceed with election of patriarch are four of the many ‘hurdles’ put forward by the home synod that freeze the unity negotiations. Putting God’s will at a constant, one could reasonably conclude that the peace talks reached at a point of no return ‘thanks’ to the home synod.

A More Peaceful World in the Future but Ethiopia

I have read a couple of papers/reports that conclude that Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world that would experience conflict in the future. While I was thinking about the reports, I got another one that speculates that the world would be a more peaceful place to live (with limited conflict) in the next decades. This study is  conducted by Professor Håvard Hegre of the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo in cooperation with the Oslo Peace Research Institute. 

EOTC Synod Relived its Failure

Millions of Ethiopians have been closely following the peace and unity talks underway between the two competing synods. There was a general understanding and optimism that the synods would make sacrifices of all sorts to ensure reconciliation. The optimism seems to be effectively dashed out as of yesterday. In their general assembly, the EOTC synod in Addis passed several decisions that successfully put aside the peace and unity initiatives. They decided, among others, that Abune Merkorios would not be allowed to head the patriarchate; election for the sixth patriarch should proceed as planned; members of the synod abroad could participate in the election should they agree; and the peace talks should continue. These decisions are planned to sustain the leadership crisis the church has been suffering from for years.

Spying the Spy

Spying or espionage is a clandestine act of collecting, transferring and/or communicating sensitive information to a third party without the consent of the information holder. Information is collected about an actual, perceived, or potential enemy or competitor. The final goal of spying is to make informed decisions, which would ensure the safety and security of state apparatus, citizens, and/or organizations and institutions. The witty thing is that espionage is illegal in many countries around the world. What is publicly known and legally and ethically sound is intelligence gathering, which usually collects information from public, open sources.

Ethiopians in the Middle East

Introduction

Twenty years ago, my cousin returned from the Middle East totally incapacitated, physically as well as psychologically. I recall that people were talking about her doomsday, that she threw herself down from her employer’s many-storey building. She was paralyzed from her neck all the way down to her feet. Even more, she got a rumbling mind that she kept crying and insulting all day. I recall how her parents were devastated by her condition, as they expected her to win her life and then to be a role model to her siblings. After battling with all sorts of complications and excruciating pains for months, she finally passed away, leaving behind a psychological scar to the family. The scar was the result of their guilt for allowing her to leave for the Middle East while they were and still are the richest persons in their town.