No doubt that Ethiopians in a foreign land, all over the world, are succeeding individually and to some degree collectively. Yes, the individual left alone to his own will and determination will thrive or fail depending on the person. However, building a nation from the bottom up is not quite the same. Keep in mind that the “dectators” of the past and the present are our own…they are “us”. So, my question for all of my ethiopian friends who are quick to bask in your national pride is that, Do you think building a nation of over eighty million people with its most complex ethnic diversity and economic inequalities is as simple as turning a block of street in DC into an economic wonder? As I said, I appreciate the successful endeavor of every single Ethiopian in America. I might mention in a country in which the principles and rules of the game have been edged in stone a couple of centuries ago. The problem in turning Ethiopia into ” an economic powerhouse” in Africa is rooted in our traditional incapacity to agree to disagree on matters of principles of personal as well as societal. In addition, though we won’t admit it publicly, we seem to suffer greatly from a culture of willingness to sabotage any potential or real “outside the box” thinking and or the ideals of creativity that might potentially benefit the individual as well as the collective. It feels good to point fingers because, to some degree, it absolves us of individual responsibility but we must all be accountable to our own internal voice that is negative and work hard to change it.

So, let us not over simplify. Doing so will only hinder us from achieving real and progressive growth that comes from introspection; moreover, it gives us a falls sense of confidence and pride that is damaging to our social psych. For Ethiopia to grow, we must always insist on evaluating the condition of our reality with sincerity and appropriate relevance.

This is indeed an incredible prove that if left alone, Ethiopians are capable of amazing success. One of the greatest American philosophers, Henry David Thoreau said “That government is best which governs least”. I think the DC Ethiopians prove Thoreau’s assertion very well. Left alone in a foreign country, living in a city with minimal intrusion and intervention, the Ethiopians essentially transformed untouchable neighborhoods into real estate gems, one at a time. I wonder where we would have been if not marginalized, intimidated, arrested, tortured, banished, and killed in our own country by successive governments. What a waste!

Wow a very impressive article, Thank you for posting such true Ethiopian testament. The premises of the article is tantamount to the making of the state of our great nation Ethiopia. Indeed the ingenuity and caliber of Etiopians at work; turning a run-down American ghetto town into a promising, full of life and prosporous community. The thing that struck me the most was that the fact that, the Ethiopian buisness community is welcoming the change, the change that was possible because of their hard work and deligience. If it was not for them, these shining towns might as well have been the same shaby, dangerous ghettos and a far fetched dream for these so-called developers to even consider rehabilitating these towns. Indeed, I agree with your editorial note, all we Ethiopians are asking is leave us alone, just leave us alone we can turn Ethiopia into the greatest nation in Africa possibly in the world. Dictator Mengistu’s regime chocked the genious blood out of us and the regime of dictator Meles is doing the same thing all over again. Don’t we deserve just to be left alone? Ethiopians would not have needed aid if they were not been made a proxy for world powers; We could feed Africa easily. Just leave us alone!

May God free us from foreign and internal bondage