Ethiopia is often celebrated as an ancient, unconquered African empire with a rich history that many in the diaspora admire. And it's undeniable that Ethiopia's history is legendary. But have you ever questioned why it's often portrayed as different from the rest of Africa? This isn't a coincidence. What most people don't know is that Ethiopia's global image wasn't shaped solely by history.
but was heavily influenced by Western institutions like UNESCO and its Eurocentric agenda. Welcome to Plan B Back to Africa. My name is Weyni and on this channel I share my journey of leaving behind Europe and settling here in Nairobi, Kenya and traveling the African continent together with my two children. And I also share my knowledge and experience of investment opportunities here on the African continent, as well as the socio-political realities on the ground.
I have studied cultural anthropology and African studies, and I always love to share my knowledge with my audience. And today, we'll uncover how UNESCO helped alienate Ethiopia from the African continent. from the rest of Africa reinforced a false sense of superiority, especially among the Christian Semitic speaking Highlanders in Ethiopia and how these attitudes continue to shape Ethiopian identity today.
Now without any delay let's dive straight into today's topic. Now let's start by talking about UNESCO and its Eurocentric heritage framework. To understand Ethiopia's supposed exceptionalism we need to go back to the 1960s when UNESCO began recognizing world heritage sites. After World War II, UNESCO emerged as a global authority on culture and education. Its mission?
To identify and protect heritage sites of outstanding universal value. Sounds noble, right? But here's the thing.
UNESCO's definition of heritage was deeply rooted in European ideas about culture, history and conservation. This meant that when it looked at Africa it often prioritized sites that fit Western narratives, like Ethiopia's ancient Christian sites, for instance, over other cultural traditions. For Ethiopia this was both a blessing and a curse.
On one hand sites like Lalibela with its 12th century rock-hewn churches and Aksum The ancient capital with its towering obelisks were placed on a pedestal. They were framed as exceptional and timeless, aligning with western biblical and classical imaginations. They were hailed as a proof of an ancient, continuous civilization rooted in Christianity and ties to the biblical world.
Ethiopia was and is still today often times referred to as a Christian island in a Muslim sea. In the 1960s UNESCO prominently featured Ethiopia in its publications describing it as a non-African civilization with affinities to ancient Egypt, Syria and Arabia, portraying it as an isolated bastion of civilization rather than part of a shared African heritage. Articles in the UNESCO Courier praised Ethiopia's unbroken Christian heritage and claimed its mountains resembled Europe more than Africa.
These narratives not only celebrated Ethiopia's history, but subtly reinforced Ethiopia's separation from the rest of the continent, ignoring Ethiopia's connections to broader African cultures and histories. Heritage became a very powerful political asset. It provided Ethiopia and its imperial ruling elite with cultural and social capital, bolstering its claim to international admiration and positioning it as Africa's most civilized nation. Today I'm not going to talk about how UNESCO's conservation projects often sidelined local Ethiopian knowledge, local priests and artisans who have maintained these heritage sites, these ancient churches for centuries or how they brought the international experts mainly from the US and Europe who took charge, brought their own methods while traditional Ethiopian ways of preserving monuments were marginalized.
Today I want to focus on the political power of heritage and no one understood the power of heritage better than emperor Haile Selassie. You know UNESCO wasn't the only player here. The Ethiopian elite happily embraced these western narratives about Ethiopia and western historiographies that connected Ethiopia's origin to the Middle East and Christianity rather than Africa. Why? Simply because it served their own political agenda.
In fact, the Ethiopian imperial ruling elite played a central role in shaping these narratives. For centuries they have cultivated an image of Ethiopia as an isolated bastion of civilization surrounded by a continent they deemed less advanced. As a strong unbroken empire, a story tied to the Solomonic dynasty, the Ark of the Covenant, and resistance to Islam. This great tradition became the cornerstone of Ethiopian identity.
This mindset wasn't accidental, it was deliberate. Ethiopia's imperial ruling elite, predominantly of Amhara descent, used this narrative to assert their dominance over other ethnic groups within Ethiopia, like the Oromo, Somali, Afar, Sidama, you name it. and to portray Ethiopia as fundamentally different and superior to the rest of Africa.
Here is the problem. This narrative was not just for domestic consumption. It also shaped how the Ethiopian imperial ruling elite presented Ethiopia to the world.
By highlighting its unique and, as they perceived, exceptional history and by downplaying the African identity, the Ethiopian elites positioned the country as a bridge between Africa and Europe rather than a member, a full-fledged member of the African family. Now the following clip will show you how deeply embedded this sense of entitlement is among certain societies in Ethiopia up to this day. You say that your people came down from the Middle East. You are not native African.
No, not at all. Ethiopian. As a matter of fact, we don't have the Negro blood at all.
And we migrated from the Semitic type of the Saudi Arabia. and Yemen and the countries just away from the Red Sea and the I mean the origin could be said that some people drafted and came to the northern part of Ethiopia and then they migrated inwards and time went on, they stayed and stayed and then the Hamas decreases from the bordering from the south and from Sudan and things like that from the countries in Africa. But if you don't have Negro blood then this is news to me the Ethiopians I would think wouldn't have any particular feeling about race relations in other parts of Africa. We don't at all feel any relationship it's none of our concern I mean we just don't care about it as we don't have the negro blood we shouldn't have to worry ourselves I mean the color you might the color of my face it's just dark because it's due to the exposure of the Sun and my country is a mountainous country it's 800 feet above sea level and it's more or less near to the sun than the other countries that lay near the equator you're not white and not black not black what are you it's just in between And I would like to know, are you, for instance, very much interested in the South African race policy? Or do you stand more or less objective towards that?
Not at all. We wish you would do things fairly. I mean, we wish you don't treat the native South Africans as you do right now. But as a matter of fact, we don't care.
We just listen to your policies and things that go on in South Africa. but I'd like to ask you one question would it become more I mean would it be as would you think it would be a little would the matter be worse or better I mean using these few years or how what is the stand right now for this South African problem could I just ask you another question before I answer yours is there any discrimination for instance between the the separate tribes in your country how do you for instance I'm very happy you brought that point the matter of fact we the Amhara tribes consider ourselves superior to the the other tribes, the adjacent tribes that live in the same community. And we just consider them inferior and consider ourselves superior. And that could be something of segregation, but it's not actually in the sense that you take it and the Americans in Little Rock take it. I mean, it's just very unprominent.
I mean, do you, I'm sorry, do you mean that you think that the other tribes are perhaps a little too primitive? matter for instance not a matter of primitiveness or so it's just a matter Ignorance I shall say. I mean the Amhara tribes are more cute and clever and that's why you know they are just...
That's your tribe? Yeah, that's my tribe. That's very modest, yeah.
And Yuma, do you have whites in Ethiopia? White people? Foreigners? White people, yes. Yeah, lots of them.
We have the Americans as a matter of fact. They're working in different departments. And I'd like to say one point on that. They seem to be more...
They are more cooperative. They look as though they are cooperative in my country. And I thought it was because they were in a foreign country that they should cooperate.
But no, I proved it right here. They come in, they have assemblies in communities and things like that. I mean, they are more cooperative than I actually saw it in my country.
Yoma, just to get back to another point. Do you then think, for instance, it's fair that if there is discrimination in Ethiopia... even between, well, the same race and the same nation not the same race, of course the same nation the same nation, but do you think then it's fair to judge South Africans as white towards black? if you don't, for instance, acknowledge the less good Ethiopians, well... we do acknowledge them, I don't mean, we don't actually consider our discrimination Discrimination, what you call it, is not as prominent and worldwide known as it is in South Africa.
Statements like this aren't rare. They are the legacy of decades of elite-driven heritage-making in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, these ideas reflect a broader brainwashing that has left many Ethiopians and also Eritreans believing that they are separate, even superior, over other black people.
And this may imagine. While he was a teenager when he made these statements, he has never revoked them and this is highly problematic, especially since he has served as Ethiopia's ambassador to the African Union for so many years. Let that sink in. Now during the 1960s, Ethiopia was a hot spot for international attention and Emperor Haile Selassie leveraged UNESCO's focus on Ethiopia's heritage to bolster his own political goals.
He promoted the image of Ethiopia as the cradle of civilization, emphasizing its ties to the ancient world and its biblical lineage. This wasn't just about history, it was about positioning Ethiopia as a leader in Africa and on the global stage. One of Haile Selassie's biggest victories was securing the headquarters of the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union, in Addis Ababa, a move that cemented Ethiopia's political dominance in Africa.
Now, how did he do it? Simply by playing into Ethiopia's reputation as a symbol of African sovereignty and resilience. Ethiopia had never been colonized, and its rich heritage provided a powerful narrative that resonated across the African continent. The irony, of course, is that this exceptionalism narrative, shaped by UNESCO's Eurocentric framework, often alienated Ethiopia from the very African unity it championed. However, Emperor Haile Selassie strategically engaged in this role of African leader and hosted African independence leaders as state guests and provided crucial support to their liberation struggles and to political refugees.
But the legacy of these narratives are still evident today. Unfortunately, many Ethiopians continue to see their country and themselves as exceptional and separate from Africa. And unfortunately, this mindset that is rooted in the narratives of the great tradition has created a sense of entitlement that fuels both internal and external divisions. For example, within Ethiopia, marginalized groups like Dioromo, Somali, and other societies mainly located in the western part and the southern part of the countries have pushed back against this. elitist, Amhara-dominated version of Ethiopian history.
And on the global stage, Ethiopia's reluctance to fully embrace its African identity has hindered its role in pan-African unity. However, the good news is there is a growing movement to challenge these narratives. Many Ethiopians are reclaiming their African and black identity. At the same time, global debates over racism and the restitution of African artifacts are forcing a reckoning with the colonial and Eurocentric frameworks that shaped Ethiopia's heritage. To me personally, Ethiopia is a very fascinating case of how heritage can be both empowering and divisive.
On one hand, UNESCO's recognition of Ethiopia's heritage elevated the country on the global stage. But on the other hand, it entrenched a narrative of superiority that continues to shape Ethiopian identity. and its relationship with the rest of Africa.
So what's the lesson here? To me the lesson is that heritage isn't just about preserving the past, it's about shaping the present and the future. And as Africans we must be very mindful of who controls our narratives and whose interests they serve.
And we must ensure that these narratives unite us rather than divide us. I'm curious to hear about your opinion. Let me know in the comments. Do you believe that organizations like UNESCO should still play a role in African heritage?
Or is it time for a completely new approach? And how can we decolonize heritage in a way that unites us rather than divides us? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I look forward to see you next time. Bye!