Education and Reading in a War Zone
Mezemir Girma
Debre Birhan, Ethiopia
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
The History of Conflicts
History books and books on political history conclusively call Ethiopian history a history of wars and conquests. In fact, instability and unrest are endemic to most of third world countries, so that their peoples live miserably. Ethiopia suffers from multiple burdens as a country which is an embodiment of poverty, famine and ignorance. Its vulnerability to these ills leaves the issue of education in a jeopardy.
Be the remote past as it is, the revolution that ousted the monarchy in 1974 seems a suicide for the nation as it abolished her own age-old system of leadership and kept importing systems that have not worked for her to date. The junta that took over power had to deal with intraparty power struggle and opposition from Socialist political parties. A war with Somalia’s invading army devastated the nation. Moreover, the civil war in the then northern provinces of Eritrea and Tigray was world news headline along with the recurrent famine that killed millions. A few years after the succession of Eritrea follows a border war that cost almost a hundred thousand lives.
The Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) mocked at democracy by staging elections every five years among others. Political instability followed elections. It was the post-2005 election time that saw the most violent crackdown on the opposition and their supporters. Ethiopia’s U.S. backed interference in Somalia in the name of fight against Islamic insurgency or terrorism cost the country many lives. Ethiopia’s longtime dictator Meles Zenawi died in 2012 and his death left a bigger rift in his one man party.
Public uprising in Amhara and Oromia regions in 2016 shook the foundations of EPRDF’s dictatorship. The man who succeeded Meles Zenawi, Haile-Mariam Desalegn, resigned peacefully. That uprising brought the most promised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who won the Nobel Peace prize for brokering peace with Eritrea, a long time enemy. Abiy promised a number of reforms and he tried to answer almost all of Ethiopia’s political problems and questions. That was like opening Ethiopia’s Pandora’s Box. For example, armed political parties that were founded half a century ago were let into the nation without demobilization.
Everyone thought peace would prevail, but unrest and ethnically-motivated killings became common throughout the nation. It is said that they were more than a hundred of them in a three-year time. Finally, the TPLF instigated a war and the nation is fighting that for more than a year now. This costs lives, damages property and billions of Dollars are lost for arms purchase and military mobilization.
Education in War
Education needs a thorough planning, stability, preparedness and adequate funds. In our country it is with limited resources that we undertake educational development. As everything is as it is, things may go right. However such crisis as war and political instability cause a number of challenges. That educational development which may come through time and via the hard-work of Ethiopians keeps going to square one.
Since it is my own experience that I base my piece on, let me start with my student life. In 2003, when I was in grade 9, there was unrest in Addis and also at schools across the nation following a protest after the TPLF split. That pass as it may, in 2005 I witnessed the unrest and political strife following the rigged elections. University-wide student clashes were common. Police arrested students who staged demonstrations. Clashes could be caused by political elements or the government spies that are infiltrated in the dormitories.
After I became a teacher, I saw similar unrests.
In 2016 schools in Gondar and Oromia were being closed due to the unrest and that left a gap in the students’ academic career. It is known that government, NGOs and people concerned study the depth of the problem. But various factors affect studies, interventions measures and future developments.
Even recently the COVID-19 pandemic left an unexpected and indelible mark in the education sector that is not well supported with e-learning and educational technologies. Recently the war with the TPLF has replaced COVID-19 as a disruptor of learning. The unrest was exaggerated by the international actors who supported the terrorists. International schools in Addis closed due to the warnings from Western embassies and agencies. Embassies warned their citizens to go back home. All this was to put pressure on the government to accept unjust negotiations with the terrorists who ruled the country with ethnocentrism and iron-grip for close to three decades.
In Amhara and Afar regions it is said that 7000 schools were ruined by the TPLF terrorists. Three universities, a number of colleges and 40 hospitals have also been damaged. Political leaders and those in the education sector, the public and all stakeholders could seek immediate solutions for all the crisis. If not, students could be unable to learn without the adequate infrastructure being renovated and rebuilt. Even they are likely to suffer due to family problems and emotional instability caused by the racist actors. If all the material conditions to learn are fulfilled in the coming few years by the help of donors and local sources, things may go for the better. But for any solution to come how all the trouble happened and how it could be curbed if future attempts come should be well thought of. The plans that are set for this time of conflict should also be revised and executed properly.
Investment in education seems a later introduction as policy and stratey in the area seems slow to be introduced. We can’s suggest private solutions to the problem as elsewhere in the world. Charitable organizations also strived to help in the area of education. They can be key actors now if they are not influenced by the political intention of the West. The educational policy affects all the development in the area. The escalation of conflicts for power and resources hampered development in the sector. Who knows the direction in this sector? Are we like other developed nations in the efforts we are making? National integration and nation building seems how we lagged on. My student ask me to write them a letter of recommendation.
Publishing, Distribution and library
When you write about educational initiatives people consider it as a useless joke. They rather want you to focus only on the disaster. It is like a luxury that they see your effort. I have been taking part in three Africa level initiatives so far. I still keep quiet most often most often about the ASb, ALVA and GCRF projects.If it were not for the discouragement from people who focused on conflict only, I could get support from the public for the projects.
I also saw how the situation seems difficult after I got involved in my own initiatives. It was in 2016 that I published a book entitled Hututsi, a translation of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. My library opened after that. The library management work has been hard at the time of conflict. It needs my supervision and support. On the ground in Addis Ababa and Debre Birhan I publish, distribute and also take part in helping people read. This is a task I am involved in in addition to my fulltime teaching job.
Currently people are not interested to read. Bookstores in Addis have millions of Birr tied-up in books that don’t seem to be sold in the years to come. The conflict and worry takes away those few thousands of readers that existed. Publishers face the same problem since the selling is low. Libraries be they private or public also have the same problem. Readers focus on their textbooks than reference at the library. Reading for pleasure seems also dwindling.
The solution of short term crash programme seems not working. At our university four-month’s semester lessons are being given in only two months. Long term hopelessness comes from uncovered courses. The days of threat should be given special priority.
Amid all this, Ras Abebe Aregay Library has been giving service. The library service has also extended to few visitors who are among the internally displaced people from the four zones of Amhara region. However, the number of readers and the library’s growth seems slowing down because of the insecurity.
As the problem is as it is in this article I treat the issue of education and particularly the publishing, distribution and library sector I am involved in. This draft has been released just to begin with and to remind me of the task.
mezemirgirma@gmail.com
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