II. this beautiful, lovable old country

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1 Book Review and Commentary Paul Henze, Ethiopia in Mengistu s Final Years: The Derg in Decline, Vol. I, Shama Books, Addis Ababa: Ethiopia, 2007; Ethiopia in Mengistu s Final Years: Until the Last Bullet, Vol. II, Shama Books, Addis Ababa: Ethiopia, By Tecola W. Hagos The Derg still has the cooperation of many intellectuals, not because most of them are silly enough to believe in the particular synthesis of Stalinism and Maoism that Mengistu and his cronies have retreated into, but because they are intrigued and inspired by the process of trying to modernize and develop this beautiful, lovable old country [Ethiopia] and want to participate. Paul Henze, Vol 1, 202 All together, the post-mengistu transition in Ethiopia was perhaps the most extraordinary experience I had had since the end of World War II in Germany in Paul Henze, Vol 2, 326 Part I. Land and People I. Introduction The brilliant scholar James Bryce was the first man of letter and learning to expose and to condemn the Armenian Genocide in I particularly admire his scholarship and courage not withstanding his mistaken stand on women rights. James Bryce is often quoted in books for numerous sagacious statements. However, I am quoting him here for neither of those outstanding attributes, but for his statement about books. Among all of his outstanding statements, the one that is always in the back of my mind is the one he stated about books: The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. Under such wise measurement, Henze s books are treasure troves for those who seek both factual matters and profound emotional involvement with a people and a country. It is no secret that I had been critiquing Henze s writings in the past, for some of his statements in articles and essays that he wrote in defense of Meles Zenawi s (EPRDF) disastrous policy on ethnic federalism and/or on the corrupted Ethiopian economy were repugnant to my thinking. It does not take much to assert that Meles Zenawi is a criminal and a traitor, in light of his repeated betrayal of Ethiopians and his undermining of the vital interest of Ethiopia, and the looting of the wealth of Ethiopia and the monopolization of the Ethiopian economy by TPLF s EFFORT in the guise of privatization. Now, the question is why a superbly trained and greatly experienced career public servant as Henze, would be defending a person like Meles Zenawi? The extremist reactions of several Ethiopians, especially those from the Ethiopian elite group, toward Henze are very unfair and embarrassing, to say the least. In most instances such criticisms are not justified and often crudely expressed. Some Ethiopian scholars have been extremely harsh to a point of being impertinent in discussing Henze and his writings. In one embarrassing confrontation at a conference, Henze had to walkout because of the rudeness and the vulgarity of the verbal shouting attack directed at Henze

2 2 not even sparing his wife. Most chat writings and a large number of essays and commentaries critiquing Henze are simply triggered by years of frustrations. It is such disrespectful, often naïve comments, and vulgar questions aimed at diminishing the person of Henze rather than dealing with his ideas that led me to reexamine my past judgments and assumptions on Henze. Of course, there are several reasons why Henze supports the Government of Meles Zenawi and why Henze seems to cast Meles Zenawi as a leader in very positive role in connection with the on going Ethiopian saga. Henze s rational for such positions is quite understandable if one is willing to dig through the layers of reasons that may not be clear from the surface of Henze s ultimate intentions. The most important rational is to avoid civil conflict/war in Ethiopia, and avert decent into Somali type chaos magnified ten fold. Henze s writings whether short essays or books are easy to follow, for he writes in simple narrative style. He states his ideas clearly. However, what is complex and much harder to understand is Henze himself. I am writing this to state the complexity of his ideas and his personality. It seems that sometimes in their expectations people forget that Henze is not an Ethiopian, even though he sounds at times more Ethiopian than a number of Diaspora Ethiopians. The fact of the matter is that Henze does not owe us Ethiopians any form of allegiance or commitment to our vital interest as we expect Ethiopians do. Henze s perspective is necessarily molded to serve the best interest of his country, the United States of America. In discharging his duty to his country, he exceeded all expectations. And yet he was humane in falling in love with a charming people and their ancient and lovable country. At times I am puzzled why many Ethiopians blame Henze for carrying out the best interest of the United States. Looked at from such perspective, Henze s approval of the coming into power of Meles Zenawi and the EPRDF after a prolonged armed struggle against a brutal and vicious military dictatorship that was also anti America and pro Soviet Union, makes sense. Such takeover was particularly timely taking into account the effort of Mengistu to turn Ethiopia into a Soviet Satellite State. The tens of thousands of murdered, tortured or, detained Ethiopians must be given their justice. People should not overlook the possibility of a civil war if EPRDF had not stepped in 1991 to take responsibility for the national security and the observance of law and order in Ethiopia. It is such considerations that seem to be the case why Henze was supportive of Meles Zenawi. I am not sure whether Henze s support of Meles Zenawi extends to supporting the EPRDF/TPLF as a political organization. I often wonder, taking into account Henze s demonstrated capacity and his service to his country, whether he was fairly treated and appreciated by the leaders (Government) of the United States. It simply does not commiserate or compute. After all Henze is a hero of the Second World War, wherein along with a handful of extraordinarily courageous young special unit soldiers he was one of the first courageous Americans to penetrate Nazi Germany in preparation for the D-Day launch. Those were the days of truly brave men, whom Tom Brokaw immortalized in a book as the Greatest Generation of men.

3 3 ["As I came to know many of them, and their stories, I became more convinced of my judgment on that day marking the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day. This is the greatest generation any society has ever produced." Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation, Random House, 2004, Page xxxviii.] After the War, Henze attended Harvard Graduate School, and after graduation served in different capacities in the Government of the United States including service at the American Embassy in Addis Ababa as a political counsellor His last appointment was as staff (advising Brzezinski on Ethiopia and the Horn region) of the National Security Council in President Carter s Administration I would have supposed in case of Henze, a person of such caliber and heroic service to his country, not to mention charisma and good looks that he would have succeeded to climb to the highest echelon of power in this land of opportunity. His pedigree of fifth generation German-Irish stock is also the type of family background that had produced presidents and great political leaders, which is a great political asset. At the very least, he could easily have made a Secretary of State or an Ambassador to the United Nations. True Henze had very responsible posts, but they were not elected political offices or appointments that require confirmation hearings. It seems to be true that personal merit alone does not get you far in the hierarchy of the power structure in the United States, and it may as well be an illusion to think of the United States Government as a paragon of efficiency and fairness. It is also not far from the truth to think of the United States civil service as a place of wastefulness, arrogance, mediocrity et cetera both in high and low places. After all we all have witnessed the governments of Bill Clinton (ethical issues) and that of George W. Bush (statesmanship issues). Here are two good real-life examples from opposing political parties that adequately illustrate that the United States Government, just like other governments from all over the world, is no exception it had its share of leaders with questionable morality and leadership qualities. In its over two hundred years it has been run most times by ordinary frail men and women and not by giants like Lincoln or Roosevelt or Johnson. The great success of the United States is due to its Citizens, in large measure, more than the input of its political leaders. The narration and the types of questions and observations Henze mostly inscribed, contemporaneous with interesting and often crucial events, and the interviews he conducted with several high ranking knowledgeable men and leaders (including Mengistu Hailemariam and Meles Zenawi), as reported in his books, affirm to me a passionate and brilliant man with tremendous capacity. The reason why I am stating the obvious is the fact that if not seen in the right perspective and context, one will not be able to appreciate Henze for a number of truly positive things he had done and written about Ethiopia and Ethiopians. What seems to be unique in terms of writing techniques about these fascinating two volumes is the fact that Henze has structured his books in a very unorthodox manner (for the subject matters he dealt with) providing his readers with his serious and insightful political and economic analysis woven around what is essentially a travel-log recorded

4 4 contemporaneously over a period of twenty years. I believe this is an innovative approach presenting a serious work on political and economic issues as part of a travel narrative. That form of presentation has a holistic feel and as a result one is eager to tackle what comes around the corner both figuratively and literally. One will seek in vain to find some system in the structure and in the organization of the chapters of the books. There is none, the book is simply a chronological travel logs. It is also easy to follow Henze s narrative for it follows a chronology of well known milestones in recent and contemporary history of Ethiopia/Eritrea. Nevertheless, one can easily discern that both volumes are involved in the political game being played out, but punctuated with descriptions of the people and the beauty of the countryside of Ethiopia as well as the numerous Churches. It is very difficult to characterize either volume in terms of main themes. Nevertheless, Volume Two is most tuned in dealing with the last days of Mengistu and his effort to reform his failed system of the political and economic life of Ethiopia with special in depth analysis on the progress of the resistance movement against Mengistu s policies of pseudo-socialist programs such as villagization, collectivization, state farms, militarism et cetera. Even though the reading of the books is not difficult, reviewing and commenting on Henze s books is a complex and difficult undertaking in light of fast unfolding of the politics of the period and the vastness of subjects taken up by Henze. After reading Henze, for the first time in my life I saw Ethiopia from a trajectory point outside of Ethiopia. I must admit the fact that it is both frightening and exhilarating having a fresh outlook about Ethiopia and the people of Ethiopia in a more clinical way than I have ever done before. What I discovered is the vitality of Ethiopians and the incredible beauty of a country with tremendous potential for growth and development. Henze s books are empowering and very positive about Ethiopia and its citizens. This book ought to be read by everyone in Ethiopia who can read and understand the English language. I insist that the book should be translated into Amharic and several other Ethiopian languages, such as Afan Oromo, Tigrigna, Afari, et cetera and be available to the general public. It should be placed in school and college libraries around the nation and ought to be included as required reading text in several courses. II. this beautiful, lovable old country At one poignant moment, Henze wrote this beautiful, lovable old country referring to Ethiopia, a description I have never read or heard anyone else ever writing or orally stating in all my years as an adult. Just for that wonderful phrase of great devotion and love, I would give my right arm for Henze fighting his battles. In reading such phrase, I can hear him sighing and raising his hand in exasperation that comes from great concern when things did not go as greatly wished for, for Ethiopia. It is precisely under such considerations, realizing the limited options educated Ethiopians would have to effect change under a military dictatorship of Mengistu Hailemariam and his socialist program that Henze expressed both his concern for and love of a country that is not even remotely related to him. It is worth quoting the entire paragraph to appreciate fully how this graying red headed tall foreigner felt the depth of the anguish and suffering of Ethiopians The Derg still has the cooperation of many intellectuals, not because most of

5 5 them are silly enough to believe in the particular synthesis of Stalinism and Maoism that Mengistu and his cronies have retreated into, but because they are intrigued and inspired by the process of trying to modernize and develop this beautiful, lovable old country [Ethiopia] and want to participate. This situation contains many elements of potential tragedy, for these intellectuals could end up being betrayed in far more profound a fashion than intellectuals were by Haile Selassie. The present leadership is doing damage to the country which is going to be much more difficult to repair than that which the old Lion of Judah allegedly did. [Henze, Vol 1, 202] [Emphasis mine] As an Ethiopian, I feel first the plight of Ethiopia in my very soul, and then I rationalize pushing away anything that points to failed responsibilities on my part. It is in the second phase that most of my foggy opinions are born about the only country that could take me back no matter what I have done with my life. Some Ethiopians at times seem to me very bizarre people in that they love the country, but hate one another in very destructive ways. I am in that predicament too, and it bothers me immensely why, for example, I am anxious or uncomfortable finding myself in the middle of a group of Ethiopians I do not know compared to similar situation where I am among strangers from other parts of the World. Why am I much concerned to be judged by Ethiopians as opposed to strangers that I would not care that much? On the other hand, why are very many Ethiopians respectful of Caucasians, but will not give a hoot to their own kind? In addition to such disconcerting feelings of anxiety and frustration by just being identified with a poor and starving nation, traveling through out Ethiopia can be very painful, for one has to confront the stark reality of devastating poverty and extremely difficult life in most rural and urban Ethiopia. I have read several books and articles that describe or depict Ethiopia in very many flattering terms and images. However, I have never read a foreign writer that equals Henze in the type of emotional attachment he has for Ethiopia which is openly stated that is so easily discernable from such written accounts. I could think of one other individual, the 16 th Century visitor of Ethiopia, Francisco Alvarez, whose description of Ethiopia may approximate the intensity of such emotion as that of Henze. Not even Richard Pankhurst, the great historian and Ethiopianist, who has lived all of his adult life in Ethiopia, could match such intensity of emotion that of Henze. Henze writes about Ethiopia i.e., places in Ethiopia he visited repeatedly throughout his two volume books, in deeply felt colorful phrases and idiomatic expressions. At times his statements sound more like love notes to a woman called Ethiopia. It does not take much effort to see that there is an unadulterated admiration and fascination with the fauna and the history of particular places in Ethiopia that Henze recorded in his travel-log. Reading his books is like reading someone s love letters written by awestruck admirer. This great feeling is apparent in almost all of his books and several articles he wrote on Ethiopian history, economy, and social reality. One other striking description of an Ethiopian place among several others is that of Wendo Genet where Henze and guests spent time staying at a former retreat of the Royal

6 6 Family turned to a guest house. We drove through and on to the paradise of Wendo Genet. Nestled among forested hills that offer shelter to thousands of birds, it is not surprising that the last royal family chose it as a restful weekend retreat. We breakfasted on the terrace amid bougainvillea and roses, and then walked past mango and avocado trees thick with fruit to the hot springs, and from there up a valley with small farmsteads and monkeys playing in the trees. Truly a paradise the place is rightly named. [Henze, Vol 2, 68] A place without people is not much of interest to me. When I think of any beautiful area I had visited, it turns out that it is the local population thereby that I remember the most. In this regard, Henze and I share a common attitude, for Henze too the people who reside in places he describes play important roles and figure prominently in his narratives. Henze repeatedly describes the many Ethiopians he met throughout his travels as good looking, well fed, friendly, intelligent et cetera. The pictures he had included in the books clearly display the sheer happiness on his face in being in the company of Ethiopians even though at times such people may be very poorly dressed. Henze is a very cultured and decent man. I admire his restraint from depicting Ethiopians in negative terms, which he could have legitimately described in unflattering manner. For example, in one of his visits to the South (Ethiopia), he wrote about a number of people he saw wearing T-shirts with names of American geographic areas, brand names of products et cetera. We all know such clothing items were donated by NGOs, hand-me-downs et cetera. Not once did he mention such facts. I have read other writers zooming on such signs of poverty rather than concentrating on the more important issues of the human condition. Not only that, Henze is respectful of the human person in a very touching manner, not once did he mention the poor quality of personal hygiene one is easily confronted with all over Ethiopia. I have written in several essays focusing on such endemic problem without regard to the sensitivity of the subject matter. Here is a person from a great culture that puts premium on personal hygiene, and yet willing to go beyond the obvious lack of it in Ethiopia to appreciate fellow human beings in their great struggle to survive in a harsh environment and outlive a series of destructive government systems. This is what is quintessential a humanist philosophy of the great Renaissance revival. It is a great lesson in humility and fellowship. III. History and Religion Because of his deep respect of the religious institutions of Ethiopia, reading Henze often puts me in agonizing process of self-examination. As an Ethiopian and raised in the very heart as an Orthodox Christian, I have an on going love-hate relationship with that great Church. I have hardly visited a fraction of the many historically significant Churches Henze doggedly visited. It is always Churches first before he visited other historical cites. So much so because of his endless visits to Ethiopian Churches, I hear church-bells ringing in the background in my head as I read his two volumes. It is obvious that Henze is deeply spiritual whether he admits it or not. I do not think of his devotion to the Churches he visited to be a matter of simple touristic curiosity, for I question whether

7 7 simple curiosity would make anyone to travel to that many remote Churches that are extremely difficult to reach often times. Henze seems to relate genuinely to the rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church much more like a devotee than a curious tourist or an academic researcher. Henze s writings on the many Churches he visited show a man who is deeply involved in the culture of Christian Ethiopians throughout the country. One could even say he might be the only individual who had an on going knowledge of the life of very many important medieval Churches spread out all over the Great Rift Valley, the Ethiopian highland plateaus, and the many Islands in lakes all over Ethiopia, including the island Churches of Lake Tana. The Rift Valley lakes especially Lake Ziway is of particular fascination to Henze. Lake Ziway should have been of great interest to Ethiopians interested in the great history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is the southernmost frontier of the early Christian Emperors of Ethiopia predating the Oromo expansion after Gragn s devastation of Highland Ethiopia in the 16 th Century. Of particular interest to Henze are the descendants of those sturdy courageous highlanders who settled on the islands of Lake Ziway and maintained the Churches there even during the devastation caused in the area by the expanding Oromos from the south eastern region of Ethiopia. [See Henze, Vol 1, ; n68, 157] Henze s interest is not limited to Christian Churches, for there are equally respectful accounts by Henze of Moslem religious rituals as he did with Christian ones. He wrote often about the type of peaceful coexistence of Christians and Moslems that has persisted through the centuries. In one of his visits to Harar, he recorded his participation in a celebration of the anniversary celebration of Mawlid the birth of Mohammed. His description of the occasion is both beautiful and poignant. We were among the early arrivals for the festivities. It was the most joyous Islamic festival I had ever attended. Sheikh Gatu arrived on horseback, dressed in robes of dark green and burgundy brandishing a sword. He was accompanied by many brightly dressed escorts as well as two Christian priests. They all took seats in a central shaded dignitaries section. Muslim clergymen are present at Christian ceremonies in Harar and Christian priests at Muslim celebrations. [Henze, Vol I, 87] In the connection between spirituality and religious dogma, the one element that is distinguishable is the manner that individuals react to real life situation. Sometimes, when Henze is faced with devastation and throngs of starving people, his concern and response is directed at the suffering people, rather than looking for someone to blame. I personally know how he fed Ethiopian soldiers who found their way from their stations in Eritrea, with United States Army surplus MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) thousands of tons of packages hauled from United States Army depot in Saudi Arabia, in the corridor of time. [See Henze, Vol 2, 336] In the transition periods, Henze understood that the newly installed Government of Meles Zenawi will not try to help in any way the soldiers of a defeated regime and he understood also on the EPLF side that there was internment and violence against such Ethiopian soldiers. Henze saw the problem in human terms and arranged with the United

8 8 States Government for massive food delivery to tens of thousands of ex-soldiers pouring into Tigray from Eritrea. Such response comes from deep understanding of the human condition in whatever state one finds a particular group of people. Some people may argue that Henze had a hand to begin with in that crises, thus his later effort to help soldiers from starvation is like crocodile tears. I disagree with such cynical argument, for he was not in any obligation to help those Ethiopian soldiers. I would like to point also reports I have heard about simple folks on the Eritrean side who tried to provide water and whatever food they had to those Ethiopian soldiers, an act of decency one finds throughout Ethiopia as well. As the main causes for mach of our disfranchisement and insensitivity to the needs of fellow Ethiopians, I accuse our past leaders of failure and lack of vision to reinforce our national pride, and for failure to build on what was positive in our culture, especially Emperor Haile Selassie. More than any one else, Emperor Haile Selassie had unique opportunity and long reign to have guided Ethiopia wisely into a strong, rich, and democratic state. In contradicting many of my countrymen who hold otherwise, I believe that Emperor Haile Selassie did not do us a favor by establishing so called modern government school system with the Ministry of Education to carry out that mission. I often felt we were some how cheated of our heritage confined in a cocoon away from society in an artificial environment. Ethiopian students in those modern government run schools were made to feel that their tradition and clothing were to be discarded, their history minimally appreciated. By contrast we find around the world very many countries that did advance well without scorning their tradition and cultures. I believe that the true ethical and moral standards of a people are best displayed in situations of great suffering of such a people. How a society keeps itself intact, and how it does not degenerate into a lawless state shows how that society s inner connective strength more than anything else. By using such criteria, I always marvel how Ethiopians (in any community) remain orderly in times of their greatest needs. I hardly ever read reports of relief organizations of rioting at distribution or feeding centers. Despite the fact that successive Ethiopian Governments presence is felt through their coercive activities of violence and tax collections, ordinary Ethiopians value the presence of a structured administrative process than the chaos and anarchy in a free-for-all form of localized existence. Most often Ethiopia s government leaders seem to be least interested in the lives of Ethiopian Citizens and seem to have no interest to improve the lives of Ethiopians. It seems Ethiopians have been abandoned by irresponsible successions of governments, with resulting downward spiral of increasing poverty and moral deteriorations. In Henze books we learn about villagiztions and resettlements, and later we learn also about the establishment of government run state farms. Such subject mater, I shall deal with in Part Two of this review. Now, the question that keeps recurring in my mind is how such a traditional society could become a docile participant in a social experiment that was on the surface totally alien to the indigenous culture or social relationships. I raise the question here as an issue of history. Speaking of history, a very important representation is Henze s view on the historical connection of Ethiopia and Eritrea that

9 9 clearly follows what ancient and medieval travelers, and modern historians had recorded that the people and the territories now an independent Eritrea were both extensions of the Ethiopian Empire for centuries until the intrusion of foreign forces in the 19 th Century where a portion of that border and coastal territory was occupied by colonizers. Unlike Tigray and most of the rest of Ethiopia s traditional provinces, Eritrea has neither historical nor geographical unity. In both geographic and political terms it is a classic border region Parts of the province were Ethiopian from ancient times, but the name Eritrea only came onto the map in the late 19 th century when Italy wrested the area north of Mereb from Ethiopian control and termed it Colonia Eritrea, i.e., Red Sea Colony. Menelik did not demand it back after Italy s defeat at Adowa. [Henze, Vol 1, 39] Henze is not a jaded simplistic or naïve admirer of Ethiopia. He had studied the history and culture of Ethiopia first as a diplomat while promoting the hegemonic game of dominance played out between the two Superpowers, and later as a committed scholar devoting his life s work on Ethiopia. It is that latter part of his life that exceedingly interests me the most. In short, he has written extensively books and articles on Ethiopia, and in the process has acquired intimate knowledge of Ethiopia far deeper than most Ethiopianists. Thus, I read his books and articles with great respect and eagerness to learn more about Ethiopia as seen from a point of view drastically different than mine. What is tragic is the fact that elite Ethiopians dig-up every excuse they cam muster to establish structural division by ethnicity, language, religion et cetera, while foreigners, such as Henze see Ethiopia as a cohesive vibrant original human communal and unitary entity. I do not agree with everything that Henze wrote, rather to the contrary there are several important points that I disagree with Henze. But that does not diminish my appreciation of the tremendous scholarship and insights of Henze throughout his books that I am reviewing. I will focus on a number issues and points that I disagree with Henze in the second part of my review and commentary. There was this great dimension of enduring nobility of spirit in Ethiopians to be found in all Ethiopians that I embarrassingly overlooked in my own books and articles while aspiring to be objective, whereas reading Henze resulted in my renewed zeal to recognize and to build on such positive attributes. It is Henze that opened my eyes to see the greatness of Ethiopians that one finds in the most humble of abodes beyond the harsh reality of the obvious needs of very many Ethiopians. Yes, life is exceedingly difficult in Ethiopia. No other people in the world could get by with so little as Ethiopians do. It is unfathomable how a people could be reduced to such degree of deprivation in the middle of a beautiful country with fresh water lakes and immense rivers crisscrossing the land that is both fertile and accessible in most areas. One may conclude that I am already biased in favor of Henze in this First Part of my review of his books. Because of a common love for Ethiopia that Henze and I have, it is natural for me to overlook what some may think of as shortcomings or limitations of Henze s work. If readers feel that my judgment is suspect, all I say is that there is more to my commentary than mere appreciation and applause. Bear with me, for my review and commentary in a way is a form of tribute to a man who devoted decades of his life in

10 10 discovering and sharing our great Ethiopia with all of us and the world at large. With deep respect and admiration, I appreciate foremost Paul Henze for his humane commitments. Henze is a truly decent man, and a man who has unabashedly declared, in over six hundred pages, his great love and hope for Ethiopia warts and all. What more is there for me to critique him on that level? Ω Tecola W. Hagos September 4, 2009 To be continued Part II. Politics, Economics, and the Demise of Mengistu IV. Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity V. Villagization, settlements, and Socialism VI. The role of international organizations and foreign governments VII. Liberation Fronts and Marxist Mengistu and the New Era Conclusion