by Befikadu Eba (befekeb@gmail.com)

I was in a post lunch rush to have the day’s dose of machiato from my favorite place along the Namibia street here in Addis. The place was crowded and I feared for myself as I had to take off my facemask to sip in. Confused and looking for a less crowded corner inside the coffee house, I spotted a lone foreigner who was passionately looking at the people, the wall arts and his surrounding. I went there and asked if he was expecting someone. He said “salam” in what I guessed was an African accent. “oh so you must have stayed here for long…you already speak our language” I said. “not really. I was here only for three days and Salamu is a swahilli for greetings” he replied. I felt the connection and was excited that we mean the same in a different language. I assume he read my expression when he said “ most of the people I met in my short stay have that patriotic feeling… that feeling of pride in belonging here”. Well, that was bold.

He told me he was a marketing professional and wondered how companies in Ethiopia could not capitalize on this feeling for product-patriotism. “It could save millions of foreign currency that would otherwise have been spent for imports. It could even create more jobs and hence better living standards.” He gave me his card and we left the coffee house. Walking back to my office, I thought my soul was still in the coffee house conversation. His very definition of patriotism and the way he mentioned pride stroke many questions on my mind. I have pondered what patriotism is for me. True, there is an awe-inspiring feeling that my ancestors have fought to protect this country in every war since the country's beginning. It is the feeling I have when our flag is raised — loyalty and love of my country. A look at a taking off Ethiopian aircraft and the flag it carries is something else – pride and patriotism combined.

I had the opportunity to read the first book of Chinua Achebe – Africa’s beloved novelist, poet, professor, and critic. The book “things fall apart” is famous and well known for the strength of its messages. Though a fiction, it narrates the arrival of colonialists and how they destructed traditions and resources. His symbolic representation of the invaders as locusts is still famously interpreted. After the first swarm of locusts arrives (the missionaries), larger swarms follow, covering the skies like a cloud. Soon, when the locusts descended, every square inch of the village and surrounding land becomes covered with the unstoppable. The locusts’ destruction of the land symbolizes and foreshadows the way the colonizers will exploit the land and resources later in the novel.

It is now only 25 years shy of a century since Ethiopian airlines started conquering African skies and descended to land to places - and opened up the continent to connect with the rest of the world. As much destructive as the locusts were pictured in the novel when they landed, the flag carrier spread out the pride in being African. Years before many African countries won their independence, there was that symbol of independence in their skies – seen like a Newyorker’s feeling of seeing Lady Liberty standing watching over as a symbol of hope, freedom and optimism. I personally don’t think many Africans’ love for Ethiopian is just a coincidence. It is embedded deep in the message it carried that ultimately inspired most. A cabin crew in traditional clothes narrates the message – that Africa has every good reason to smile in its skies. 

Fast forward the years, current day Africa, when hit with the dangers of Covid19 pandemic, Ethiopian stepped up to execute its historical mission and delivered test kits and more to quite many African destinations. When more airlines were laying off employees and downsizing operations, Ethiopian managed to hold on to thousands of employees and all but made a reflexive move to operate cargo amid passenger absences. If it was just an airline, it could be right to follow suit and freeze. For a country like ours where dependency ratio is among the biggest in the world, laying off an employee is as good as starving a family. Not only did it retain employees at difficult times, it played safe to ensure operation at a time when the sky was left to the birds!

The Kenyan I met at the coffee house had a point when he said of product patriotism. Truly a symbol of internal success and international acclaim, no initiative is made (to my knowledge) to integrate the carrier as a national product. All of us have at least two reasons to fly/recommend flying in Ethiopian. In addition to the offbeat service quality embodied in its 4-star offering, it is our duty to promote this national pride in the sky and all over. It should be another good reason where we work together for the greater good and put aside our partisan differences for the good of the nation at large. This is why I assume escalating ET to the status of ‘national treasure’ is a deserved ascension when it celebrates its Diamond Jubilee. It shouldn’t just be taken as an airline. After all, it is one of Ethiopia’s gifts to Africa and the rest of the world.

Heri Ya Kuzaliwa, Ethiopian!