Ethiopia: Accept criticism where due - Ugandan writer points out some of our problems Posted by Daniel on June 25, 2013 at 4:30am View Blog By Muhsin Nsubuga As a foreigner, I compare and contrast things where I come from to where I am now. Whenever I am with my Ethiopian friends, I try to relate as much as I can things to where I come from. I do this to try and expose them to alternatives that they may be missing or not used to. Most of my friends like it and some really hate it. To them it’s me attacking their motherland. Well, I understand you, but learning to listen is one thing that some of you need to learn. I admire Ethiopian Airlines as an organization and coincidentally it was the first airliner that I used, although I wasn’t traveling to Addis but somewhere far away in Asia. I like the way they represent Ethiopia, out of Ethiopia. And with that they have expanded in even more countries. I see them as a great Ethiopian export. Now I wish Ethiopia could emulate that and let in a few international businesses. This will not only spur growth in competition but also promote good service delivery. It will lead to employment thus improving on revenues in the long run. Many see this as a threat to locally grown businesses, but in life you should learn to compete as it only makes you smarter. Ethiopian Airlines is raking in profits because it is fairly competing in other markets, and their service and prices are what keep pulling in the international audience. Ethiopia should learn to share its cake with others,rather than wanting to have it alone. If other countries welcome Ethiopian businesses with open arms, why can’t we get the same free open arm treatment here? I don’t see any strides being taken by the government to join regional unions like the East African Community (EAC). With it come great opportunities like free movement of labor, goods and services. This I believe will surely solve your ‘foreign currency shortage’ in the long run. But, as usual, everything tends to flow inwards, with a blind eye on the flow outwards which is deemed to be ‘taking away our money’.Yet many Ethiopians abroad send in a lot of money to Ethiopia, and the countries where they are never complain of these Ethiopians taking away their money. Ethiopia is a country built on its culture and traditions. This is very good because the culture and the roots have been preserved for many generations. But on the other hand, it has affected the way many Ethiopians interact with foreigners. Ethiopia has one of the highest numbers of foreigners in Africa. This is because of the many embassies, international NGOs, AU, and UN to mention but a few. But it is so saddening that most ‘habeshas’ still have problems mingling with the foreigners. I see this a lot when I attend parties. The ‘habesha’ people will be in their own group enjoying their conversations in local languages,and the foreigners will also be in their isolated groups. Where I come from, we call this rude. We are here to mingle with you. Please use us because we have quite a lot to share with you and a lot to learn from you. Most blame it on the language, but I believe you can improve that by interacting with the people who speak it. Value for money is something that I have been craving ever since I came here. I don’t mind how much money I spend on something as long as I get value for money. You walk into a restaurant, your order is taken almost instantly but food comes to you at a time when you have already given up. To many foreigners this is something that irritates, and where we come from you can walk out if food ever got to you late. But unfortunately here, if you mention it then some say you’re impatient. When I first came into Ethiopia, I came with my hard-earned dollars to spend. I remember the smile I got from the man at the bank where I exchanged them for local currency. He was sweet talking me with all the beautiful words. Moving on to the day I first needed to leave Ethiopia; I wanted to get just $200 for my travels. I went to the same gentleman and he still remembered me. As usual he gave me the sweet talk and smiles,but this turned to a gloomy face when I told him that I wanted to buy dollars. I was presented with over a million reasons why I can’t buy dollars, like the country being so low on foreign currency that the bank didn’t have even a single USD 100 at their disposal. Call me stubborn, but I cannot believe that. See when I changed my USD 1000 nobody told me about this, but getting back just USD 200 was met with a lot of resistance even when I justified my source of income here. That really annoys me and something has to be done about it by the authorities. Another thing that really irritates me here is the sentence “Bring a letter from your employer.” One time I walked into an airline office to buy a ticket. The beautiful woman was more than willing to help as she guided me through the process, and I was quite impressed since I had never seen this kind of customer service here. After doing all my reservations, the time came to pay. She asked me if I would pay in dollars or birr, which I answered by telling her birr. As I took out my stash of birr, she asked me what I did in Ethiopia. I calmly answered giving her all the details she wanted. Now the tone changed, “My brother, I cannot sell you the ticket in birr since I have to see a letter from your employer stating that you’re paid in birr, otherwise I will need your credit card to proceed with the payment.” This really infuriated me since it was about the fourth time I had been asked to present a letter from my employer over something that wasn’t worth presenting one. But still I agreed and brought the letter, and I was furious when she just looked through it then sold me the ticket. I wish that lady knew the time I wasted to get the letter to her, by just looking through it was a very big insult to me. I actually got to keep the letter, since after a brief look it was rendered useless to them. I am not a disgruntled guest but rather a concerned African who wants to see the wings of Ethiopia spread even higher because I see a lot of potential here. More can be done to help spread these wings, and we are not far away from that. Just one simple decision may make that a reality. Ed note: The writer is an ICT Media Professional fellow from RUDMEC Uganda attached to EEJA Ethiopia in the FK Norway Exchange program and is currently based at The Reporter
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:30:39 +0000
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