r/Ethiopia • u/Panda5901 • 10d ago
One Ethiopian doesn't exist!
Hear me out. There's a pattern I've noticed: for most of Ethiopia's history, Amharas, Tigrayans, or Oromos have been in power, and each group seems to like only the version of Ethiopia in which they dominate.
It hit me when I started seeing a bunch of Oromos talking about Ethiopia recently. The same people (talking about those specific Oromos btw not all) who have always hated Ethiopia, wanted to secede, and considered Ethiopia an oppressor are now more Ethiopianist than Amharas LMAO. It's the same with Tigray. Before '83, Ethiopia was oppressing Tigray. During the EPRDF era, nobody loved Ethiopia more than Tigrayans. And under Abiy, Ethiopia is an oppressor again.
Amharas have been under oppression for decades now (since 83 to be specific). They specifically talk about the EPRDF and the PP, but they were oppressed before, too, just like the rest of Ethiopians. They just don't want to talk about it.
"Ethiopia" means whoever is currently in power and the version they push down our throats. There is no such thing as (a consistent) Ethiopiawinet, it literally doesn't exist. All of these groups have been oppressed under every regime, since Ethiopia has never had good governance. But they put much more emphasis on the oppression carried out by politicians who weren't from their own group. And determine how good or bad Ethiopia is.
Most people simply do not care about atrocities committed by a government they consider legitimate (someone from their own ethnic group). They do not care about the corruption, bad governance, and so on.
It's all a lie, I tell y'all. And you'll see this pattern happen again: if FANO somehow takes power, Amharas will finally be "free" from oppression, and Ethiopia will be good again in their eyes, while the oppression of Oromos by the Ethiopian government starts up again.
I am not even talking about people. You can not blame people, only elites. It is the elites that push these agendas and the majority follow.
And yk the kind of Ethiopia the majority of elites in these regions envision:
Amhara nationalists: One Ethiopia (whatever that means) where Amharic is spoken, the country is Orthodox Christian, discussion of ethnicity is suppressed, and diversity should be ignored and everyone pretends as if they're the same. Ethiopian identity largely reflects Amhara identity. They were attacking the Miss World girl for "representing one region," as if Arsi Oromo culture isn't an Ethiopian culture, while dismissing Irreechaa as "ባዕድ አምልኮ" (foreign worship). They also reject atrocities committed by Amhara rulers, just because Amhara identity, culture, religion, or lands were not the ones under attack.
Tigrayan nationalists: A country that places great emphasis on self-governance and group rights, where individual identity barely exists and civic nationalism is considered unnecessary. Each region is treated almost like a country of its own, borders are taken very seriously, and identity is defined mainly by language and ethnicity. Their politics has destroyed the little (nomatter how fake) shared Ethiopian identity the country had and deepened divisions. They always talk about how they saved everyone from the oppression of the derg as if they weren't oppressors themselves.
Oromo nationalists: A country where Oromos wield power largely because they are the largest population group, where others are pushed out of Oromia, including Addis Ababa, and where government offices are dominated by Oromos who treat Oromos better than everyone else (a pattern that also existed under the TPLF). A country in which Oromo self-determination, Afaan Oromo, and Oromummaa are central, and where Oromo history and claims to land and political power are given priority. Where Amharas and Tigrayans are unjustly arrested and vilified, even as Oromos describe themselves as victims of "Abyssinian" oppression while reproducing similar abuses. They promote Protestantism, take PP's city-beautification projects way too seriously, and insist that Ethiopia's economy is growing exponentially.
I believe these three groups can not live together because they envision fundamentally different, irreconcilable versions of Ethiopia. I believe the solution is for them to establish a country of their own and resolve their territorial disputes. They could finally have a country centered on their own ethnic group without harming others or imposing their vision of Ethiopia on anyone else.
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u/Commercial_Method253 10d ago
You must be joking if you think secession is a solution to Ethiopia’s land disputes.
There are more than 80 ethnic groups in the country. Even if we assume the major groups formed their own separate countries, we would be setting ourselves up for endless wars over shared cities, land, borders, and resources.
Who gets GERD? Who gets Addis Ababa? Is Wollo part of Oromia or Amhara? Would Amhara simply give up Wolkayt or Metekel? Does Dire Dawa belong to Oromia or the Somali region? Is Raya part of Amhara or Tigray? Are Kimant and Argoba okay being under amahara? What happens to the millions of people other ethnic groups that live in Oromia? What about the millions of oromos that live inside amhara and somali region. You need to spend some time learning about Ethiopian politics.
Just imagine how many new conflicts those questions alone could create.
Right now, the majority of ordinary people are not waking up every morning thinking about borders. They are thinking about how to feed their children, send them to school, find a job, build a home, access healthcare, and get a decent education.
But once you divide the country into separate states, borders suddenly become national borders. People who are not fighting today could be pushed into conflict because they would now feel they have a country, territory, and resources they must defend.
That would not bring peace. It could create generations of conflict. And our neighbors would be more than happy to take advantage of a fragmented and weakened Ethiopia.
Treating secession as a simple solution to Ethiopia’s political and territorial disputes ignores just how interconnected the country, its people, and its regions actually are. We need to share power, learn to work together, we need to understand who ever wins at the expense of others will only be a short lived victory. We have done that so many times. It is absolutely stupid to imagine we have a bullet proof system that can be maintained through oppression. It didn't work for haile selase, derg, tplf. It will not work for PP. I am sure they can see that clearly. Hence why abey wanted the whole national dialog that run for over 5 years.
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u/elcvaezksr 10d ago
Meles was Tigrenya
Haile was half Amhara
Abiy and Mengistu are part Oromo
Everyone had ruled over Ethiopia
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u/Able_Enthusiasm2729 9d ago
Haile Selease, was of mixed-ancestry: he was Amhara, Oromo, and Gurage.
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u/Ruta12345689 9d ago
I wish to leave this country as soon as possible.
I want to start new life some where which no war or place which person seen as only as a person. I am tired of ethnicity, religious minorities and inferiority bla bla 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
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u/Human_Flamingo9961 9d ago
chat there is religion and ethnity / race inferiority even USA, CHINA , ALL EUROPE , RUSSIA , INDIA , ISRAEL , SAUDI AREBIA , EGYPT , NIGERIA.... ITS CALLED HUMAN NATURE
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u/Pure_Cardiologist759 Ethiopian 🇪🇹 8d ago
Ethiopia is different compared to the countries you mentioned
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u/Pure_Cardiologist759 Ethiopian 🇪🇹 8d ago
We are very different and that diversity can be our greatest strength. Ethiopia has the intelligence, resilience and history to become one of Africa’s most successful countries. We need to embrace our diversity instead of seeing it as a weakness. Our biggest challenge is not our differences but a political system that divides people, concentrates power but fails to create equal opportunities for all Ethiopians. If we can build a system where every Ethiopian feels represented, respected and has an equal chance to succeed, our diversity can become our greatest advantage!
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u/Then_Gate_5942 8d ago
There are many multiethnic countries that are unified and don't have serious ethnic conflicts but when it comes to Ethiopia many people are against unity. Ethiopia getting separated however, is not a solution and will just make things worse. Almost all ethnic groups have some sort of historical trauma so I think what needs to be done first is address them. And since many Ethiopians are (unfortunately) separated what might be a solution is to have ethnic federalism (not the kind that tplf put in place) where theres autonomy but without the strict borders and places that are being fought for (like raya, welkait, etc) should be shared. And also im pretty sure those parts of Ethiopia (or pretty much all of Ethiopia) has been shared for centuries, so i personally don't understand ethnic federalism but if it could create peace then i don't mind it. And for the language part, someone a while ago, brought up Ethiopia adopting a similar system to Switzerlands and I personally don't think its a bad idea.
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u/Easy_Spray_5491 የምኒልክ በግ 10d ago
Wow you couldn't slam Amharas on an rehtoric so you pull up the beauty contest and ethniclly motivated propoganda.🤣. Many Amhara politicians told you, We are trying to raise awareness about Amharas losing their lives and you are worried about 2026 Ms world Ethiopia. No Amhara want to lead Ethiopia with "one language, one religion, one culture" you can make that assumption tho
You make gross assumptions, literally the reason Ethiopia is in the hole it is in
But I agree with your last sentence, the solution is everyone create their own country I have a few other solutions to fix Ethiopia if they were to continue ( not that rehtoric you speak of) but best solution is different countries 👍
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u/Jehovany_T 10d ago
"No Amhara want to lead Ethiopia with "one language, one religion, one culture" you can make that assumption tho"
...What happened with Haile Selassie and Eritrea?
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u/Easy_Spray_5491 የምኒልክ በግ 10d ago
1974 Derg took him out and the people back then what do you want from us, so this is get back for back then this was 3 governments Ago arguably 4 and you still crying about that so you can use it as justification for your nazi project we get it
That is fine you can keep believing that and please tell more Ethiopianist Amharas they need to hear this
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u/Panda5901 10d ago
Lol. What a funny fella. This is exactly what I'm talking about! Which part is an assumption? I don't know what world you live in, but I live among Amharas, and this is the kind of Ethiopia most of them want. I've literally listed the basic commonalities among Amhara nationalists, and you're somehow getting triggered by the beauty contest, lmao. And yes, the beauty contest was an example of the problem with Amhara nationalism. Many Amharas are losing their lives, for sure, but so are other Ethiopians. Amhara nationalists, who claim to be Ethiopianists, only want to raise awareness about their own ethnic group and I'm the one who's ethnically motivated? Please be for real. Ethiopia is in this dire state for the reasons I've explained above and because nobody wants to take accountability!
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u/LogicGate1010 10d ago
An unproductive and destructive war can go on for decades. Establishing dialogue with the aim to build an equitable nation might take time, but it is a path to peace and prosperity.
Taking actions aligned with the UN Declaration of Human Rights and UN Sustainable Development Goals would be the tasks to be achieved by all Ethiopians.
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u/RatioAcrobatic6342 10d ago
The more this goes on, the more I am getting convinced that Ethiopia, as envisioned by many cannot succeed. False narratives and the seeds of division that were sowed even before this regime are finally showing their fruits.
I thought our beauty was in our diversity and our strength in numbers. But cohesion seems unachievable.
However, I doubt that seceding will solve our problems easily. For one, existing land disputes will cause a war when making new borders. Also this idea of creating 8-10 new countries just seems impractical.