𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲!

First posted on X (Twitter) on August 11, 2024
https://x.com/AlMariam1/status/1822495516216729798

𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 A𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲!

I like and appreciate Ambassador Massinga’s message on the progress of Koysha Dam construction for several reasons. 1. Ambassador Massinga’s message gives credit to one of the magnificent achievements of the Ethiopian government over the past six years. Koysha Dam, when completed, will be the third largest dam in Africa! The civil work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Hydroelectric Dam, the largest in Africa, is 100% completed. Installation of the remaining hydroelectric turbines should be completed in less than a year.

Koysha Dam, no doubt, will be completed in the foreseeable future. For the record, I have personally visited the Koysha Hydroelectric Power Project on the Omo River in Southwest Ethiopia at least 5 times (if not more) over the past 6 years. I remember Koysha Dam when it was nothing more than rusted reinforcement bars (rebar) sticking out from concrete foundation slab and littered with all sorts of construction debris. I have walked the dam grounds in the heat, rain and mud. I have marveled at the sight of the young workers building the dam piece by piece. I have spent time with the engineers learning about challenges and potentials of the dam. I have spent time in the Chebera Churchura National Park (an ecotourism haven) where Koysha Dam stands in majesty. I am overjoyed and super proud to see Koysha heading towards a speedy completion.

Just like the GERD, Koysha’s speedy construction is the result of the unflagging leadership, relentless monitoring, meticulous inspection and determined pursuit of resources for the dam by PM Abiy Ahmed, the only leader in African history to soon become the completer of two of the largest dams on the continent. I thank PM Abiy profusely for his extraordinary commitment and completion of all infrastructure and megaprojects in Ethiopia.

2. Ambassador Massinga’s message is thoroughly positive. It conveys hope and optimism about Ethiopia’s future and march out of poverty into the promised land of prosperity. When a country becomes self-sufficient in energy – energy independent – its economy will flourish. Ethiopia with two giant hydroelectric dams and many other smaller ones will become a leader in the production of clean renewable energy in Africa, invulnerable to global oil price shocks.

In 2022, only 55% of the Ethiopian population had access to electricity. With GERD and Koysha coming online in the next couple of years, rural electrification in Ethiopia will accelerate at a faster pace improving the quality of life of more than one-half of the Ethiopian population. Ethiopia is a nation of youth. In 2023, the median age in Ethiopia was 19 years; that is one-half of the Ethiopian population is under 19 and the other half over 19. Rural electrification will improve agricultural production, provide increased study time for school children and extended hours for small businesses and result in many other benefits including infrastructure improvements, widespread availability of water pumps, better security and broad access to world word wide web.

3. Ambassador Massinga’s message implicitly acknowledges Ethiopia’s leading role in climate change mitigation by investing in renewable energy and planting billions of trees over the past 5 years or so. Ethiopia has formulated a Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy and mainstreamed it into the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII). Ethiopia shall be a leader in climate change mitigation in Africa.

4. Ambassador Massinga’s message shows respect to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people and the Ethiopian government by expressing confidence in the completion of Koysha Dam as a significant infrastructure accomplishment. Ambassador Massinga’s message and the tone in his tweet is not accusatory, condemnatory, inflammatory, calumniatory or derogatory. It is the opposite. It is congratulatory, commendatory, acclamatory and conciliatory.

𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Ambassador Massinga and I can agree to disagree respectfully and civilly. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

I do not mind Ambassador Massinga’s comments on human rights deficits in Ethiopia because there are human rights violations everywhere, including in Ethiopia and in the United States. But remedies for such violations must never be sought through paternalistic, patronizing, condescending, disrespectful, inflammatory and dismissive tweets and other public statements.

I would encourage Ambassador Massinga to express his views on human rights or any other issues by constructively engaging the relevant Ethiopian government officials first and foremost and sharing his views with them in good will and in good faith. No government wants to be lectured by the ambassador of another country on its handling of its internal matters.

The Ethiopian government has NEVER officially commented on violations or non-violations of civil or human rights in America. That is because the Ethiopian government respects the sovereignty of the US government. There should be mutually understood reciprocity on internal matters between the Ethiopian and the US Governments based on principles of sovereignty Ambassador Massinga came to Ethiopia and promised to make human rights his priority. That is what he said during his Senate confirmation hearing. I have no problems with that given my own long record of defending American civil rights and civil liberties and Ethiopian human rights. In my view, it is best for Ambassador Massinga to raise his concerns about human rights or other issues with the Ethiopian government first and work together bilaterally to address them.

𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

I have been extremely harsh on Ambassador Massinga in a “twitter war of words” because I have long felt and believed his intention in his social media messages and public statements is to dishonor Ethiopia, demean the Ethiopian people and denigrate and vilify the Ethiopian government.

There is no need for me to fight in public with the ambassador of my country in a bellicose, cantankerous, discourteous and uncivil manner when we can work together to make things better for Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people in the area of human rights and so many other areas. In the last sentence of his Senate confirmation statement Ambassador Massinga said, “I am proud to make it my mission to ensure U.S. citizens in Ethiopia can expect the high level of attention and service that they deserve.” I believe “high level of attention” could be translated as high level of engagement of Americans of Ethiopian ancestry living in Ethiopia. In Isaiah 2:4 is written “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

A nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation, and they shall not learn war again.” The message of Isaiah applies not only to nations but also to individuals, especially to those who maintain a high public profile. There is no need for me to engage in a war of words with Ambassador Massinga. As a lawyer, I know the healing and destructive power of words. Words have the power to build up nations and people and tear up and destroy them as well. Words can uplift and enlighten; words can destroy or create. Words can start wars and bring peace to nations and individuals.

𝐒𝐨, 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡: 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 (𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬) 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 -𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚! 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲!

Paraphrasing the lyrics of the great Bob Marley: “Say you just can’t live that negative way If you know what I mean Make way for the positive day Because it’s a New Day in Ethiopia It’s a New Time in Ethiopia It’s a New Feeling in Ethiopia. It’s a New Sign in Ethiopia It is the time of the NEW ETHIOPIA RISING.”