How the West can Help Best.
Temam Ahmed.

The west can not and will not be responsive to all the ills we suffer from in Ethiopia. The cold war and post cold war periods have amply demonstrated to us that the west is not a credible partner in alleviating or solving the multitude of problems we are burdened with.

The main responsibility lies in ourselves and we should be the ones tackling the issues of good
governance, poverty or underdevelopment. The materially rich west is in pursuit of its own selfish interest and the handouts we receive from them either in the form of loans or aid, have not gotten us a step ahead. A look at the situation in Ethiopia in the past 14 years when, the west has been generous in opening up their purses, shows that poverty and famine have only increased to the contrary. In fact the west would not spend a coin in a given country if they do not like the politicians in power. The development needs of a country do not play a role in the allocation and disbursement of development aid. The west have their own criteria among which client ship and being a potential ally, stand high. The cold war mentality is still wholly or partly there in the minds of western policy makers (the search and maintenance of reliable
allies in the third world).

This is the pillar of their foreign policy and they will continue to implement it as long as they have the upper hand in the world. Leaders who embrace their policies are rewarded in the form of development aid and diplomatic (political) support while those who follow the wishes
and national interests of their respective countries are excluded from the club of good guys of the west and get ostracized. The TPLF Meles regime in Ethiopia is an outstanding example of
the one working with the soul of the west deriving all its legitimacy from the support it enjoys from them. Although rejected by the big majority of Ethiopians, it is still the favorite of the west for reasons mentioned above. The post election developments in Ethiopia are not viewed
with optimism by the west since their good guy has lost the trust of the people. One should not
be surprised if Tony Blair retains the brutal murderer Meles on his so called Africa Commission
and goes ahead with his policy of lambasting Robert Mugabe for saying �you keep your England and I keep my Zimbabwe�.

I will be among the first to sign the book of condolence in the EU or US embassies after Meles is gone peacefully or by force. If you offer the west a red carpet
treatment, then they will promote you as a political engine. TPLF Meles does so by throwing
out big and lavish parties to the residents and diplomats of the western community. These same
communities provide a positive assessment and picture of TPLF Meles since they enjoy such a good hospitality financed by aid money. After observing this communities (diplomatic or otherwise), I came to understand how the west has been gripped by greed and moral decadence. It also reaffirms what one respected veteran professor said once `The west was able to see a needle in darkness in the palaces of Mengistu and can not see a camel in the open streets under Meles�.

The west can best help us in the following ways.

1. Spot and repatriate all ill gotten money by the tyrants to the legal owners (Ethiopians). Most of the stolen money is deposited possibly in the offshore banks in the west or their affiliates. The west can do us a great service by collaborating in this endeavor if they are really concerned with our well being which I doubt given their records in Ethiopia.

2. Help us in our struggle to abolish tyranny which has been a major obstacle on the path to development. Tyranny has been associated with robbery, nepotism and corruption as we have been witnessing in Ethiopia. Tyranny only perpetuates poverty and dependence and it deserves priority in mitigating our ills

3. Forge partnerships with the people or their democratically elected representatives. People are the engines of development and their active participation is ensured through freedom of all kinds. Our sufficient experience with a series of tyrannical regimes should be consulted when charting out bilateral or multilateral agreements that aim to combat poverty. Only the poor can work to extricate themselves from poverty and a partnership that does not involve them is doomed to fail. The poor do not want their names too be misused in a venture to solicit foreign aid that is siphoned off by tyrants and ends up in offshore banks.

Temam Ahmed.
Researcher, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.