Voting for Africa: Exercising our Influence in the Upcoming Elections in Canada and in the United States
September 10, 2008
This is a golden moment of opportunity for Ethiopians
and Africans! Both Canada and the United States will
have national elections within the next two months.
Canada will hold theirs on Tuesday, October 14 and the
United States will do the same on Tuesday, November
4.
If Ethiopians mobilize and work together, we can press
candidates running for elections both in Canada and
in the United States to better represent our interests
both here and in Ethiopia and Africa. This time leading
up to the elections is critical. It is the time when
candidates are most likely to listen to voters, especially
if we come in solidarity with a shared agenda.
In the past, we Ethiopians have undeniably confused
policymakers in our international capitals, such as
in Ottawa and Washington D.C., with our opposing political
factions’ proposals of opposing political agendas
representing opposing ethnic groups. This must now all
be put aside for the greater cause of freedom, justice,
peace and opportunity in Ethiopia, something that cannot
be achieved without solidarity among Ethiopians that
is based on higher values—the kind of solidarity
that can create a political environment conducive to
good governance, to respecting human rights, to upholding
the equal and fair application of the rule of law, to
transparency and to a “no tolerance” policy
towards corruption and “tribal politics.”
We Ethiopians should not let this opportunity slide
by without exerting pressure on candidates to address
issues affecting Ethiopians back home where changes
in Canadian or US national policy could help relieve
the suffering, oppression and difficulties of everyday
life they are now facing.
There is no doubt that the direction of international
foreign policy taken by both Canada and the United States
in the next years could be catalysts for positive change
or for the status quo—or even worsening the situation.
It is a critical and urgent time for us to become involved.
The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia is now organizing
a campaign with two main goals: 1) a “get out
and vote” campaign and 2) a campaign to bring
the concerns of the Ethiopian people to the candidates
and into the public debate. Let us ask our candidates
to define their plans for Ethiopia and for Africa should
they be elected!
We on the committee for Solidarity are attempting to
reach the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians in these
two countries to form a strong voting block who can
get behind the candidate(s) who best reflect(s) our
interests. This is what it means to live in a free,
democratic society!
The committee for the Solidarity Movement has identified
individuals in Canada, in the provinces of Ontario,
British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba where most Ethiopians
live, to mobilize them to organize regional and city-based
efforts. We are making plans to call meetings in the
following cities: Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor, Waterloo,
Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Edmonton. The Canadian
election is coming up within three weeks so we must
move ahead quickly!
In the United States, the Solidarity committee has
identified people willing to organize this effort within
the following states or cities: Minnesota, Boston, Washington
DC, Virginia, Atlanta, Dallas, Mississippi, California,
New York and New Jersey. We have only fifty days left
before the election and to make this effective, you,
the reader has to offer what you can do to contribute,
if you agree with the idea, by contacting the Solidarity
committee or by starting to organize in your area.
The committee for the Solidarity Movement for a New
Ethiopia will be organizing teleconferences, like what
was done during the Worldwide March in May, to assist
groups with strategies and resources.
Every eligible Ethiopian should be registered
to vote!
For our voice to be heard, we must have some “voting
clout!” To have voting clout, we must be registered
to vote. It is so simple. Ethiopians within communities,
faith organizations and civic organizations should make
sure that their people are registered to vote, reminding
groups that are prohibited from endorsing one particular
candidate (like faith organizations) to be careful not
to do so.
In America, the group, Ethiopians for Obama, has done
a remarkable job already to get people registered to
vote and committed to their candidate. The Solidarity
committee is working together with this group and we
can all learn from them. Groups that are limited by
law from endorsing one candidate over another, can discuss
issues and educate the public regarding the candidate’s
platforms so that the voter is able to decide which
candidate best reflects their values, aims and goals.
However, remember, that as Ethiopians collectively
become involved in working together regardless of ethnic,
regional, political and religious differences, we are
all the more effective in pressing all of the candidates
to more closely consider our concerns. Additionally,
these “collective efforts” should also be
directed towards others running for office in the regional
and local elections as well.
Our first major goal is to get people registered and
to the polling booths on Election Day. Task groups can
be organized to go from door to door, to call on people
by phone or to send mailings or emails in order to encourage
Ethiopian Canadian and Ethiopian American citizens to
register. As Election Day draws closer, it will help
to remind them again and to find out if they might need
assistance, such as transportation, to get to the polling
booths. Our motivation is to bring hope, life and change
to Ethiopia and to the African continent.
A team of experts is needed to communicate “Ethiopian
positions” to the candidates.
The committee for the Solidarity Movement is also organizing
a team of spokespeople who can make sure these candidates
understand the facts about Ethiopia and how Canadian
or US foreign policy can positively enhance freedom,
justice, peace and opportunity in Ethiopia—the
same benefits we enjoy here. Such a team of spokespeople
can press the candidates to better define and refine—based
on new information—their positions regarding Ethiopia
and Africa should they be elected.
That team will be made up of policy experts, both Ethiopian
and non-Ethiopian, who already know what is right and
wrong with current Canadian and US policy towards Ethiopia,
what changes in policy will better accomplish what is
needed in Ethiopia and what could enhance our working
relationships. The only way we can effectively influence
these candidates is if we can present our case with
solidarity.
We cannot ignore what is happening back home. It is
our responsibility to get our information and our questions
to the discussion table and to work together to do so.
They need to become part of the public debate.
In Canada, let’s hear from the three
major political parties—the Conservatives, the
Liberals and the National Democratic Party (NDP)!
In Canada, the two parties most likely to win and create
the government is either the Conservative Party or the
Liberal Party. In order to become a majority government,
they will have to claim a number of seats in the Parliament,
especially from the province of Ontario where most Ethiopian-Canadians
live.
In other words, the Ethiopian-Canadian can play a significant
role in this election if they can show these parties
that they represent a strong voting bloc. Some say that
between 60,000 to 80,000 Ethiopians live in Ontario.
This is a lot of voters if they all exercised their
right to vote and because of that, the candidates from
the major parties will not ignore them if they speak
out with one voice. It could lead to changing Canadian
government policy towards Ethiopia. This is something
Ethiopian Canadians should not take for granted.
In the US, let’s hear from both Obama
and McCain camps!
In the United States, some Ethiopians have already formed
the group already mentioned, “Ethiopians for Obama,”
but we should also have a group, “Ethiopians for
McCain” or at least present our concerns to both
candidates to see what their plans are for Ethiopia,
the Horn of Africa and for Africa in general.
The debate between the two candidates will only enhance
the importance of the discussion. If you are for Obama,
he might increase his commitment towards Ethiopia if
he learns more from us or if McCain’s position
is equally or even more significantly, shows more openness
to listening to our concerns.
The reverse is true as well. If McCain believes it
is an important issue, backed by citizens who care about
this region of the world, he may become more responsive
to our concerns regarding the issues affecting Ethiopia
as well as Africa. If he ends up being elected, we are
in a much better position to continue to influence policy
in this arena if we engage him early on in this matter.
Many Ethiopians and Africans are unified over Obama,
but few are capitalizing on it in a strategic way. Right
now, he probably believes he has most of the African
votes, but let us not sit back and assume he will take
the actions we want without our taking responsibility
to press him for commitment to those things most important
to us. Also, there are Ethiopians and Africans who will
recognize that McCain has taken a stand for human rights
and African issues in the past and yet will want to
know what he will do if he is elected.
In summary, the goal of the Solidarity Committee is
to present the questions related to Canadian and US
policies effecting Ethiopia, the Horn and Africa to
the candidates to better understand and influence their
positions. If one or the other of the candidates takes
a stronger and better stand than the other, it will
only put more pressure on the other to improve their
position.
Ethiopian citizens in Canada and in the US
should encourage African-Canadians and African-Americans
to do the same!
Let’s invite other Africans and see if together,
we can even create a larger voting bloc to press the
Canadian parties and American parties to improve their
policies towards Ethiopia. To do so effectively, we
should come, not as one country, one ethnic group, one
religious group or any other sub-group, but as one who
has interests in advancing the freedom, justice, equality,
transparency and opportunity of Africans. Many new citizens
from Africa do not understand the potential political
power they possess as a group if only they organized.
Imagine if Ethiopians could take the initiative in
bringing together other Africans who could vote in order
to press for the protection of the rights of Africans,
not by favoring dictators over the people or by suppressing
democratic movements within the continent when it conflicts
with their interests, but instead, to form genuine dialogue
and honest partnerships where the people of both Canada,
the US and in Africa, all benefit. If this could be
done, it could greatly impact Africans. If Africans
were mobilized, it could be a powerful force to address
the chronic corruption, exploitation, conflicts, human
rights abuses, poverty and misery faced by the people
of Africa.
Canadians and Americans are giving millions to Ethiopia
and to other countries on the continent. Yet, Africans
are not achieving even close to the same kind of freedom,
stability, democracy, rule of law, development, property
rights, protective economic laws directed against corruption
as we have in North America.
We Ethiopian and African citizens in North America
desire that what we treasure here, be brought back to
Africa to be enjoyed by our families and by future generations—something
that would dramatically stop the “drain brain”
of those wanting to leave their countries for the freedom
and opportunity of the west. Instead, as citizens here,
some of our tax money is being used by dictators to
kill and oppress our people, to block the media and
to exploit the people and their natural resources. These
are the questions we want to ask these candidates: how
will they fundamentally alter foreign policy in Africa
in a way that it would enhance the freedom and democracy
on the continent—not merely band-aid solutions?
Once the election is over, a unified effort to address
international policies in Africa should continue being
driven and energized by those who have a stake—citizens
of free countries who still have family, interests and
compassion for these countries. This collective effort
should not disintegrate once the election is over, but
instead should be carried on through a foundation, based
on these principles, that can build a more powerful
voice that is not only under one African nation’s
name. It cannot only have the name of Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, Senegal, Uganda,
Burundi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Ghana,
Eritrea, Algeria, Togo, Nigeria or the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. It must represent African interests more
than the African Union, a union of dictators for life,
an organization that should be replaced with those who
uphold one people and the respect of human rights for
all.
Change in Africa cannot be achieved without
our involvement and commitment!
Change cannot come without us Ethiopians and the rest
of us Africans. In the next weeks, we call on community
leaders to set up a committee in your areas that can
take immediate action. Anyone who reads this and agrees
with it, you are a leader and there is a job for you
to do. If you are outraged by what is going on in Ethiopia,
we are calling on you. If you are heartbroken because
of stories coming out of Ethiopia, we are calling on
you.
The Solidarity Committee will help, but the local people
must take the action. We will organize a teleconference
on this very soon, but before that, we are attempting
to contact individuals known to us who might initiate
action. We welcome calls from interested persons as
well so that you can be included if we do not know you
or call you ourselves. Please reach out to us so we
can reach back to you.
Do not let us be held back by differences or lack of
previous communication with each other. Let us be focused
on our goals and keep in mind those attitudes and values
that will free us as a nation and as a continent: “Humanity
before Ethnicity” and “No One can be Free
Until We All are Free!” This can apply to all
of Africa.
The African people have been exploited by our dictators
as well as by their collusion with outsiders who end
up both trampling on the rights of the people. From
country to country and from region to region in Africa,
we have much in common. It is time for us to come together.
Think of what it would mean if Africans combined forces
and together would say, “Africans deserve much
better than what they have been getting. It is time
for Africans to rediscover their God-given destiny and
to call to halt these corrupt, exploitive and oppressive
practices in Africa!”
This opportunity is for all Canadian and American citizens
of African background or those non-Africans who are
sympathetic to the African, to develop policies that
hold African leaders accountable and which do not align
with dictators at the expense of the people. This is
the way to eradicate tribal thinking and to send a loud
message to African leaders belonging to the gang of
dictators for life in the African Union that “enough
is enough!”
At the end of the day, it comes back to us individual
Africans and Ethiopians. It is our God-given moral responsibility
to organize and act for justice, freedom, equality,
peace and prosperity so deeply yearned for on the continent
of Africa. No one else will do it for us.
Remember, there is much to be done and many are needed
to complete the tasks. A leader is someone who sees
the job to be done and does it. Be that person. If the
Solidarity Movement can empower you to do what needs
to be done, please contact us. We believe that in solidarity
we can thrive and exponentially multiply the results
of our joint efforts.
Let us work together for a New Ethiopia and for a New
Africa where humanity comes before ethnicity and where
we all work to free our brother and sister Africans
since “No one is free until we all are free!”
May God open up opportunities and guide us as we seek
to organize this election campaign and to influence
candidates to accomplish God’s purposes through
this election in North America for His purposes in Ethiopia
and in Africa.
May you, Almighty God, hear the cries of your people
and free us from whatever hinders us from within ourselves
or from what hinders us from outside of ourselves so
that we might become your instruments of peace, justice
and righteousness in the world both far and near.
==============================================
For more information contact the committee
for the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia
by E-mail at: ethiopiansmarchforfreedom@yahoo.ca
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