
Jan 31 , 2021
By Christian Tesfaye (
Christian Tesfaye (christian.tesfaye@addisfortune.net) is a researcher and Fortune's Deputy Editor-in-Chief whose interests run amok in the directions of political thought, markets, society and pop culture.
)
There is an unintended consequence to armed conflicts and wars - internationalised or not. They can serve as great lessons, especially of the cost of violence and the need for empathy. Sometimes, this lesson does not come as evident, but eventually, it becomes clear as daylight for those sensible enough.
Take World War I. It was a function of stunted diplomacy, fought out of European leaders' delusion that the "balance of power" order of the 19th century could be carried over into the 20th. They were direly mistaken. A prince's assassination led to enough dominos falling that a war in scale hitherto unseen was launched. Close to 22 million people died. There was also the massacre of Jews in Russia and Armenians in what was then the Ottoman Empire, according to historical sources.
What did the world learn from this?
Surprisingly, it was a racially insensitive Southerner from the United States that was the more clearheaded about it. Woodrow Wilson was a strong supporter of an international order underwritten by a multilateral institution known as the League of Nations. An idealist, if not naive, Wilson introduced his famous Fourteen Points speech, underlining that “mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike” should be the order of the world.
It was not to be. The victors moved to humiliate the loser, Germany; the United States, already the most powerful country at that point, shunned the League; and the multilateral institution belied its ineffectiveness after Japan invaded China’s Manchuria and Italy occupied Ethiopia.
By the 1930s, the economic devastation of the Great Depression and national resentment created an environment that served as a cesspool of populism, nationalism and fascism. From Germany, the cruelest of these gave itself the name Nazi, stole the swastika as its icon, declared the Aryan race superior, and established a totalitarian government. The National Socialists in Germany started a war that killed about 70 million people, including the extermination of two-thirds of Europe’s Jews.
This time, thankfully, the atrocity was too deep, too graphic and too global. More than that, it ended with the United States dropping atomic bombs in two cities of Imperial Japan - this was despite a bombing campaign that had burned most cities of Japan to the ground. As cynical as it sounds, it was the possibility of mutually assured destruction that was the main driving force in pushing the superpowers toward agreeing to international order. It was one where conflict-stricken countries are assisted in reconstruction; development was supported through multilateral institutions; and it was declared that “never again” would the world look on idly as atrocities of mass scale are committed.
It was only half successful. Its most tremendous success was avoiding any war between superpowers, which, had they occurred, may have ended human civilization as we know it.
But wars never went away, least of all in Ethiopia. During the Dergue years, civil war raged for 17 years. It stunted our economic growth, saw a genocidal urban campaign (a politicide) in the form of the Red Terror, and allowed one million people to perish from famine in the northern part of the country.
Did we learn a lesson? As we came out of the war in 1991, did we say “never again”? Never again should our people suffer, not just death, but the deprivations of the developmental repercussions as more resources went into buying bullets and tanks instead of food?
We did not. We took a respite for some seven years and fought with a country barely half a decade old, Eritrea. An estimated 70,000 to 100,000 died - the figure is debatable, because life in armed conflict becomes so valueless, it is often hard to account for all of the losses.
This should have taught us a lesson. War is terrible. Unfortunately, it did not. An armed conflict erupted last November between the forces of the federal and Tigray regional governments. Everyone throws around “thousands” as an estimate, but little is known. Atrocities were committed, most notably in Mai-Kadra, and according to refugee testimonials, cities like Adigrat and Axum as well. About 4.5 million people are estimated to need humanitarian aid. The government says it is catering to the need. Humanitarian agencies say that it is not enough.
Have cool heads finally prevailed, considering how vivid and recent this armed conflict has been?
It does not seem to be. Everyone is pointing hands. The political space is not being reconsidered as a culprit for the failures of the past three years. No one is assuming responsibility. Everyone believes that it is everyone else’s fault.
The victors believe that their victory is not decisive enough. The losers believe the problem was that they did not have sufficient arms. Few with voices audible enough are willing to acknowledge that the very use of violence as a means to advance a political agenda is what perpetuates this tragedy.
We have learned nothing.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 31,2021 [ VOL
21 , NO
1083]
Fortune News | Jul 18,2021
Fortune News | Jul 24,2021
Radar | Jul 03,2021
Commentaries | Feb 06,2021
Commentaries | Mar 23,2019
Fortune News | Feb 08,2020
Fortune News | Nov 04,2020
Radar | Apr 04,2020
Exclusive Interviews | Nov 06,2021
Fortune News | Dec 05,2020
Photo Gallery | 64369 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 56227 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fortune News | 51032 Views | Jul 18,2020
Fortune News | 50641 Views | Sep 01,2021
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
Jan 28 , 2023
It is not common to see an appointment for a senior federal government office stir de...
Jan 21 , 2023
Eyob Tekalign, state minister for Finance, took to social media platforms last week t...
Jan 14 , 2023
The longing for normalcy and a semblance of individual and collective security in Eth...
Jan 7 , 2023
The hallmark of Ethiopia's contemporary leaders could be a fascination with grandeur...
Jan 28 , 2023
In what has become common in the past four years, a new round of nominations was put before Parliament last week. These nominations by the P...
Jan 28 , 2023 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
Aklilu Wubet of Wegagen Bank and his executives had a lot to celebrate when they met rather anxious share...
The Oromia Public Enterprise is edging closer to bagging Ayka Addis Textile Factory for 1.82 billion Br....
Jan 28 , 2023 . By EMMANUEL JORGE
Last week saw an uncharacteristically polemical moment after parliamentarians questioned three nominees o...