Samuel Gebru
December 10, 2009
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Samuel Assefa, has completed his term after serving a turbulent three and a half years in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Samuel, a former professor and son of a politically active family, was sent to United States to persuade U.S. lawmakers not to pass legislation that his government viewed as meddling in the nation’s internal affairs and potentially harming Ethiopia-U.S. relations.
Ambassador Samuel came at a time when the Embassy of Ethiopia was facing severe staff shortages. His predecessor, Ambassador Kassahun Ayele, who now completed his term as Ethiopian Ambassador to Germany, enjoyed functioning political and community departments staffed with experienced diplomats. After presenting his credentials in a May 17, 2006 White House ceremony to former U.S. President George W. Bush, Samuel Assefa was faced with tough challenges.
Not only was Ethiopia’s diplomatic mission to the United States understaffed and underrepresented, but Samuel and his team also had to weather two potentially harmful bills that certain U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives were eager to pass. The bills, H.R. 5680: Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006 and H.R. 2003: Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, were introduced by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ4) and Donald Payne (D-NJ10), respectively. The former university professor was challenged with a big test: can he successfully convince American lawmakers that both pieces of legislation should not become law? In the end, the outcomes worked in favor of the Ethiopian Government. H.R. 5680 never was introduced for a vote in the House and while the House passed H.R. 2003, it never was introduced into the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Continuous protests at the White House, State Department and Ethiopian Embassy by members of the Ethiopian Community in America soured the Ethiopian Government’s reputation in Washington, D.C., particularly after the infamous 2005 parliamentary elections. The cyber campaigns against Ethiopia’s Government were carefully orchestrated to pass the bills H.R. 5680 and H.R. 2003. California-based law professor Alemayehu Gebremariam, known as Al Mariam, emerged as a spokesman for the movement against Ethiopia’s Government, one that he fondly termed “Zenawi’s tyrannical regime;” Zenawi being Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister.
The first-time diplomat took quick action. In his first few months, Samuel Assefa met with over 40 Senators and Representatives in an attempt to persuade them against the bills filed by Representatives Smith and Payne. Public relations and lobbying firm DLA Piper was brought in to assist the Ethiopian Government’s efforts against the bill. A massive cyber smear campaign ensued where supporters and opponents of the bills began to fiercely attack each other. Certain Ethiopian Americans went as far as to forget their cultural traditions of respect for elders and directly attacked and insulted prominent Ethiopian elder Professor Ephraim Isaac, who voiced strong concern over the bill.
Then there are the pro-Ethiopia initiatives. Samuel Assefa worked diligently to bridge links between Ethiopia and Americans, particularly African Americans. He assisted the efforts in coordinating the Abyssinian Baptist Church’s two week delegation to Ethiopia which operated under the banner “True to our God, True to our Native Land,” from James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black Anthem. The Ambassador also attended the October 2007 conference of the National Black Caucus of Locally Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) in an attempt to reach out to the organization to improve relations with Africa. He particularly stressed the need for all members of the African diaspora to solidify political and socioeconomic relations.
Samuel Assefa was cognizant of his government’s poor image in the United States. At times he did struggle to answer to serious allegations of human rights abuses in Ethiopia. The enterprising diplomat came with drawbacks. Ambassador Samuel Assefa did not fully engage with the Ethiopian Community, either in his immediate Washington, D.C. area or throughout the nation. For instance, at embassy-hosted events, the “usual suspects” were the only people in attendance despite his declaration that the embassy “is home to all Ethiopians.” The Ambassador did not reach out to various sectors of the Ethiopian Community in the United States in a manner that was publicly engaging, promoting dialogue and discourse.
While it is understandable that the Ambassador worked with an understaffed embassy, he seemed too preoccupied with his government’s “Kill Bill” plan that he did little to bridge gaps within the fragmented Ethiopian Community in the United States. As the chief articulator of a government’s policies and actions, an Ambassador works to promote the interests of the sending country to the host country. These interests include the political, social, economic, and cultural sectors, and they must be left unabridged.
For Ambassador Samuel Assefa, the mission was to provide a counteroffensive towards H.R. 5680 and H.R. 2003 as well as to promote economic and social exchange between the United States and Ethiopia. The next Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States will fortunately not have to deal with a robustly crafted campaign against the Ethiopian Government. The incoming Ambassador should focus on ensuring the welfare and togetherness of Ethiopians in the United States while not loosing sight of the importance of continuously building upon the political and economic connections that Samuel Assefa worked to foster. In a democratic system, leaders build upon the successes and improve the shortcomings of their predecessors. Let this stick true to the Ethiopian Embassy in the United States.
