The attempt by the government to draw the Ethiopian diaspora into investing in Ethiopia puzzles many, particularly those who some fifty years ago scattered into exile across Europe and America. How should the Ethiopian diaspora, the first influx of refugees that fled the approaching storm of revolution and military dictatorship of the Dergue, take this call for investment in Ethiopia?

When the nation starts to tear itself apart in the revolution, not everyone in the diaspora, only a tight circle of Ethiopians, really could comprehend what has happened. They watch, listen and observe from a safe distance as the Emperor is dethroned, private land and property ownership are abolished, industries and enterprises nationalised, the civil service disbanded, the army dismantled, the constitution withdrawn, the provincial administrations scratched and a new order established.

At that time, many of the Ethiopian émigrés, refugees from the atrocities of the Dergue, were drawn from the rich merchants, nobility, princes, generals and high officials but found themselves working as bank tellers, cab drivers, waiters and janitors. They play very little part in Ethiopian politics, unlike the intelligentsia, a huffy group of students and revolutionaries that gather in weekly meetings and conspire on how to destroy the imperial regime.

The intelligentsia and the revolutionaries quickly crumple like a house of cards with the first blow of military men that struck at the Ethiopian Empire. True enough, many would return to join the military junta and perish in the conflagration that overtakes the country. Those left behind, penniless and homeless, languish in exile and never manage to pull it together and create a cultural and political centre in the diaspora. They are unlike the Russian émigrés in Europe who established newspapers, literary scenes, theatres, schools and political lobbying groups. The Ethiopian diaspora instead settles for opening up restaurants and churches.

But they become popular employees in the parking lots, taxi cab companies and retail stores of Los Angeles and Washington D.C., sought after for their loyalty and industriousness. Hired as doormen and waiters, they engage their customers with unverifiable stories of princely lineages and noble pedigree to while away the time and to feed their egos. None wanted to accept their fate of diminishment and permanent exile - they all looked back to Ethiopia as their home.

As time passes and the homeland slowly fades into memory; as they age, enter careers, marry and have children; they attempt to depart a piece of Ethiopia to their progeny. Unfortunately, they quickly find out that they have nothing to grasp - no literature, no philosophy or practical heritage to pass on to the next generation. Although the restaurants and cafes ring with nostalgic songs; the Sunday churches echo with the ancient liturgies of St. Yared; funerals, christenings and Easter celebrations are held regularly, Ethiopia proves elusive, lingering only in fragmented and ephemeral remembrances.

This sense of loss and helplessness festers a hatred for the Dergue, exerting a pull to do something about it. But the temptation to act provides no safe harbour to land safely on. Soon, relief comes in the form of local rebel groups that overwhelm the Dergue, who organise themselves into a ruling party and attempt to dowse the rage of the diaspora by appeasement. Gradually restructuring itself, the ruling party permeates the diaspora and aligns itself with every aspect of life in exile. The diaspora, split by suspicion and fear, finds itself unable to distinguish between political cadres that toe the government line and those who are opposed. So, it recoils from it all.

By the middle 2000s, newcomers into the diaspora arrive without the contradictions and doubt about their alliance to Ethiopia and nationhood, driven mostly by self-preservation and personal advancement. The new reality in Ethiopia is no longer what the émigrés have in their nostalgic memory. It is replaced by an emphasis on regionalism and provincial idealism.