Somalilandsun - The Ethiopian and Somaliland people are among the
Cushites that inhabit in the Horn of Africa . Both countries share
boundary and similar culture . Thousands of Somalilnders live and have
business in Ethiopia while more number of Ethiopians work in Somaliland
mainly in the fields of agriculture and domestic services.
The people of Somaliland have special regard for Ethiopia for the
support that the Ethiopians gave to the people of Somaliland during the
Siyad Bare dictatorship in Somalia .
In the early 80s till 1991 the Ethiopian government supported the SNM
struggle against the Siyad Barre regime by allowing the SNM to wage
guerilla war against the dictatorship from Ethiopia soil .
The struggle caused an exodus of refugees from Somaliland to Ethiopia
at its peak in 1988. Dul'ad camp immediately became the largest refugee
camp in East Africa in the late 80s and 90 s and almost all of those
refugees were the people of Somaliland fleeing the genocide of the
government of the late socialist dictator, Siyad Barre .
In 1988 the airplanes that flew from Hargeisa airport were bombing
the masses of Somalilanders fleeing Hargeisa . Among the main target
areas was Geed Deeble where people had to congregate and then start
their long trek to Ethiopia through the Maqaahida Inanta and all the way
to Dul'ad refugee camp.
Egypt has been threatening the upper stream Nile countries since the
signing of the 1929 Nile water treaty which gave it more than 90 percent
of the Nile waters mainly because the British wanted to protect the
water supply for its cotton plantations in Sudan and Egypt .
Now that the Ethiopia has come off the feudal system of the Menelik
family and suppressive socialist government that followed in 1974 , the
people and the leadership of Ethiopia have decided to stand up for their
rights to utilize the Blue Nile waters. The construction of Grand
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has provoked the Egyptians who again started
the rhetoric of war against Ethiopia.
The people of Somaliland will pay back the favor to the Ethiopians
by standing with them on any Egyptian aggression . This could include
the free follow of weapons to Ethiopia through Berbera port or the use
of Berbers airport ( which is the largest in Africa ) by the Ethiopian
war-planes. Somaliland could also supply plenty of meat to Ethiopia
keeping in mind that Somaliland has tens of millions of livestock with
millions exported to the Gulf States.
Both Ethiopia and Egypt may not start war over the Nile waters but if
it happens , then the people of Somaliland will side with the
Ethiopians.
The writer Mo Ali is the editor of Medeshivalley
http://somalilandsun.com
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