Famine is back in Ethiopia. Famine and Ethiopia have become so interchangeable western comedians don’t feel shame making famine jokes using us as a punch line. How is our first 21st Century famine being welcomed in our precious homeland? I am afraid our response has not changed. Denial, surprise, blame and righteous indignation have been brought out of the closet. The response by the Emperor, the Junta and the ethnically challenged mafia group are typical Ethiopian. ‘Shit happens but this time around it is not as bad as before so give us credit please!’
Ethiopians as whole are not talking about the famine yet. A few thousands dying is not something that worries an Ethiopian. Death due to hunger, death from curable disease, death due to internal displacement (Get out of my kilil philosophy), death on the way to South Africa, death from being set on fire in South Africa, death in Yemen, death in the Sinai, death in Libya, death by hanging in Beirut, Abu Dhabi, death for ‘security reason’ at home – death has lost its meaning in Ethiopia. That is exactly why we have developed this habit of assigning a very low value on the life of a human being. That is the reason the government is debating the number of people starving as if thousands is understandable whereas if one mentions millions it is considered a ‘terrorist act’. Please read more from the link Famine in Ethiopia again
