Introduction
According to Anderson (2006, p 6), “a nation is imagined when each member does not know most of their fellow community members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion”. This also seems to have happened among the Ethiopian diaspora communities and their constituencies. The Ethiopian diaspora has been relentlessly involved in Ethiopian political activities in the last two decades. While the majority of diasporas (predominantly Amhara, Southern Nationalities, and transethnic heritage) used to be organized in civil political parties, some others have been organizing in their ethnic lines (e.g., Oromo and Tigray pollical elites).
The introduction of ethnic-based federalism in 1991 (following the overthrow of the Marxist regime) coupled with the presence of symbolic (regional flags and regional anthems) and regional constitutional legitimacy seems to proliferate several diaspora groups to prefer and organize along with their ethnic identity than focusing on the bigger national issues. With time, some Amhara diasporas have unprecedently awakened the ethnic consciousness of their people using conventional and mainstream media channels. There are a couple of reasons why the Amhara diaspora political elites started to establish ethnic-based political, economic, and civic associations. First, they have claimed that the political, constitutional, and regional arrangement of the country seems to organize against the interest of the Amhara people. Second, ethnic Amhara political elites insist that the people of Amhara continued to be targeted by different politically driven forces throughout the country. This piece discusses the influence of ethicized transborder nationalism in shaping the social discourses and the imagination of the ‘nation’.
The Genesis of Ethiopian transborder nationalism
The genealogy of the Ethiopian diasporic transnational political movement gets social and political leverage on the eve of the 2005 Ethiopian national election. This time was marked by the opposition parties being unprecedently supported and financed by the diaspora communities living in the western world. As a result, they won a number of parliamentary seats. Yet, the outcome was a complete fiasco because many who had won seats in parliament decided not to take their seats due to the failure of the government to acknowledge defeat in a democratic election (Kebede, 2012).
Consequently, the ruling party, the Ethiopian People Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPDRF) incarcerated key political leaders and shut down more than 10 magazines and newspapers. More than 28 journalists were forced into exile in Kenya. The remaining activists, bloggers, and journalists were threatened and tortured on the eve of the 2010 national election. Then, motivated by the vacuum of free media and strong contending parties, the ruling party won 99% in 2010 (Tronvoll, 2010) and 100% seats of the parliament in 2015 (Leonardo, Terrence, and Simegnish, 2016)national election respectively.
With time, exiled journalists, civil rights actors, and key political figures started to set up socio-political spaces abroad. In particular, the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) and religious ceremonies and gatherings (especially, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the USA) played a key role in uniting Ethiopian diasporas dispersed in different US counties. The USA-based Vision Ethiopia think tank and civic association initiated by Professor Getachew Begashaw has been consistently organizing scholarly, social, ideological, and political debates among the diasporic communities and invited opposition party leaders, human rights activists, scholars, and political leaders from Ethiopia. Using this and other transnational interactions, opinion leaders started to export political and social discourses back home using conventional and social media channels.
Of the other media channels, the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT)-a western-based TV channel has been exclusively organizing and broadcasting political debates and present different political analysts. It seems to have been designed to alienate the then-ruling regime from society. The media used to bring together different contending political groups, intellectuals, leaders of the armed groups (Arbegnoch Ginbot 7), civil rights activists, journalists, and other stakeholders. Due to strong censorship and strict control by the regime, such events have not yet been broadcasting among domestic-based media. As a result, citizens used to regularly watch and take for granted programs streaming on ESAT over domestic-based TV channels.
Domestic-based TV channels were mistrusted by the larger social groups because they were perceived as the mouthpiece of the ruling party. To this effect, the then regime used to consistently jam ESAT TV and used to accuse those who were caught watching the programs premiered by the media. In fact, the regime alleged ESAT TV a terrorist media, under the FDRE constitution antiterrorism proclamation NO. 652/2009. As such, any individual who appeared on ESAT TV used to be incarcerated upon they returned to Ethiopia. Some political figures who appeared on the media used to be incarcerated in the presumption of transgressing the constitution and constitutional system of the country.
The proliferation of transborder Ethnic Nationalism
Ethnic-based political organizations have taken political leverage over civil political organizations and parties due to several factors. First, given the Ethiopian political arrangement is organized across ethnic lines, those who preferred ethnic politics seem to have strong solidarity over civil political parties. Second, ethnic-based political organizations also have been given strong social trust and acceptance over civil political parties. Once such compartmented sorts of thinking have prevailed among the diasporas and their respective polity, political and social actors relentlessly exported their opinion using conventional and social media channels. In relation to this, a prominent political activist who preferred ethnic politics shared his argument as follows.
… In 2018, we used to plan different peaceful struggles such as homestay strikes, blocking roads, fearless demonstrations, school and driving strikes using different media platforms.
Abèlès (2006, p. 487) argues that the proliferation of de-territorialized diasporic solidarity has the effect of creating new, translocal solidarities. Such identity constructions emerging go beyond the national framework. The same strategy was also implemented by Ethiopian diasporic groups on the eve of the Ethiopian political reform. For instance, some social disobediences used to be implemented in different major cities of the country as soon as ethnic political activists announced on social media in 2017/18. Despite this strategy found to be threatened and weakened the political leverage of the state, it recurrently erupted inter-ethnic conflicts as well. Appadurai (1990, p. 302) also indicated that the de-territorialized groups which constitute the media can often become sufficiently fantastic and one-sided that they provide the material for the new idio-scape in which ethnic conflicts can begin to erupt.
It is also possible to argue that the Ethiopian diasporic involvement in Ethiopian politics seems to have been triggered by the 2012 Arab spring revolution (Mohamed Bouazizi revolution) that started in Tunisia and stretched out to Saharan Africa and Arabian countries. Some also supported this claim that the deterritorialized Arab spring signified the political consciousness of most Ethiopian citizens. The interviewee who has been an important figure in Ethiopian political activism corroborated his argument as follows:
The social media platform helped to effectively report the fearless and triumphant Arab Spring to Ethiopia. For example, when I write short and succinct eruptive information, quite a significant number of Facebook followers shared it in minutes. Some applications like hashtags showed me that thousands of individuals used to read a single blog, especially between 2016 up to 2018. Consequently, the civil disobedience turned to fearless resistance which again galvanizes the transformation of the social discourses
The Emergence of Amhara Ethnic Nationalism
One of the special features of Ethiopian transnational political activism is the emergence of Amhara ethnic consciousness. For so long, it was quite difficult to imagine that the Amhara people would identify their ethnic identity over their Ethiopian identity. The Amhara people have a long and fascinating history about Ethiopia and Ethiopianism (Meckonen, 2008). However, because of different factors, there are changes now and many more people are identifying themselves as an Amhara. In relation, the interviewee forwarded the following reason how the Amhara ethnic consciousness is being elevated.
It is quite natural for human beings to stick to and magnify the identity that is the source of their oppression. He quoted the saying, “when you are targeted as a Jew, you have to respond as a Jew and as a human being, as a world citizen”. It is also no wonder that the people are targeted as an Amhara and started to respond as an Amhara. There is nothing wrong with that and we have seen it in many communities as well.
Amhara nationalism became a norm and a dominant social discourse in Ethiopia even influencing the narratives of other ethnic groups. Downplaying the national identity over their ethnic identity seems to be a strategic move. Because, for so long, the Amhara have been accused of masking their Amhara identity under Ethiopian identity. So, they are sending the message that we are no longer caring about Ethiopia. Many more Amhara is unprecedently elevating their Amhara ethnic identity alongside with the Ethiopian identity-there are even some categories of social organizations on the social media who seems to work Amhara nationhood though they are insignificant in number and influence.
Mastewal Bitew is currently studying Joint Master program in ‘Transnational Migration’ in the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program in three European Universities since September 2019. He studied ‘migration and cultural diversity at Free Brussels University from the beginning of September 2019 to the end of January 2020. Given also that it is a joint master’s degree, He moved to the University of Wroclaw, Poland to specialize in ‘intercultural communication and mediation’ from mid of February 2020 to the end of June 2020. He also studied ‘International relations’ at the University of Szeged, Hungary beginning of September 2020 to the 20th January 2021. He is currently back in the University of Brussels to finish his internship obligation and writing thesis work. Twitter ID: @mastiman1abawa