My neighbour was in a drunken state when he proclaimed “miracles” about Ethiopia that bordered on the non-sensical.

“Ethiopia is the beginning and the end,” he repeated at the end of his ramblings, a sentiment that is as pervasive among the sober as it is with the intoxicated.

Ethiopia is in a state today that I would not have predicted years ago. Even my naivety would not allow me to claim that things were perfect, but I saw hope in the country. Nonetheless, as more than 35,000 students are driven from their campuses out of fear of violence and as churches and mosques are burned down to the ground, it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This impending sense of doom has become a regular feature of conversations. I try to be honest about how nervous I feel, especially after having invested all my savings in a dream project here in Addis Abeba.

“I know it might not be the right time, but how long can we wait to hold our breath,” I had told myself as I decided to set up a project at a time of deep political uncertainty.

Unlike me, a great many of my friends are far more pragmatic. They regularly share with me their plans to leave the country to persue better lives. It is their choice to make, and I completely respect that, but it is unfortunate that many with great potentials are intending to leave the country.

They are tired of it all. We have entered uncharted territory. Our country that has always been riddled with problems seems to be heading toward destruction, and they do not plan to disintegrate with it. Their's is a survival instinct.

And yet some of those who had lived through political upheavals claim that they do not see anything new. In fact, although there are differences, what we have on our hands is nothing close to what they had to endure.

“Every once in a while, something ignites only to fade away,” says my landlord.

There has been a cascading avalanche of bad news in the last year in Ethiopia. The sentiment of many people is negative. We had assumed that we would inherit a country from our fathers that was somewhat better than what their fathers left them. From where we are standing, this seems not to be true.