“I make you happy, so make me happy”

By Getachew Yalew (ENA) 

The pyramids and the sphinx are the marvels of Giza, a historic site on the west bank of the River Nile, and Egypt, of course the intact world. Their architectural structure and the then technological put in are quite extraordinary and amazing. Everyone can realize why UNESCO makes out the pyramids and sphinx as world heritage and most wonders.

Located on the west bank of the Nile River 20 km southwest of central Cairo, Giza is famous for its impressive ancient monuments in the world, a complex of ancient royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples.

But what makes me so interested and take hold of my mind more than the stunning of the pyramids and the sphinx is the tour guides and camel lodgers at Giza. Their cordial welcoming and meek hospitality obligate everyone to feel at ease.

The way how they treat visitors besides their openhandedness is too different that remains fresh in the memory of visitors. Their distinctive photographing aptitude and skills undermine the confidence of even a professional cameraman. What a fabulous photos they took of visitors with the pyramids! Indeed, astounding.

Mahmoud and Osman Mustefa are brothers who worked as tour guides and camel lodgers in Giza. Apparently Egyptians attached to the River Nile but unlike most Egyptians, the livelihood of the two brothers is greatly based on the Pyramids and Sphinx.

They strived the whole day long to please every tourist in the land of Pharos, Giza. The Pyramids and Sphinx are everything to the brothers, life is impossible without these historical monumental structures and tourists. They told me “we make people happy and in return they make us happy. We excite tourists by delivering lovely service and they are the source of proceeds for our living. It’s a mutual benefit for all us.”

Yet Egyptian tour guides and camel lodgers, at the end of the day, are fast enough to remind you to pay back for their service they delivered by uttering “I make you happy and make me happy”. I liked their tempting approach in averring payment. The approach is, certainly, a win-win situation for both actors at Giza. Wow that’s really appealing.

The tour guides and camel lodgers have a sound lesson that can impart for the so called Nile Basin countries. The turning point for my piece of writing is the notion of Egyptian brothers “I make you happy and make me happy”.

Recently the Ethiopian Public Diplomacy delegation has paid a visit to Cairo so as to enhance and deepen people to people relation between Ethiopia and Egypt. This gave me a chance to visit the Pyramids and Sphinx of the Pharos. Particularly to be aware of what the River Nile meant to Egyptians and Egypt.

Everything is there on the river even the matchless ferry nightclubs hovering over the Nile which gave distinct feature to the city at night. The music blaring out of the clubs that gently floating along the right and left bank of the River, perfectly out class Addis Ababa’s pubs commonly found on the street of the so called “Chechnya”. Maxima Nile, where we stayed for hours is the most fascinating ferry I spotted.

The delegates had a chance to visit not only the historical sites of the country but also meeting with various group of the society and high-level government officials including Egyptian president Abdul Fetah Al Sisi and Prime Minister Ibrahim Ahlab. During the course of the meetings almost all have reflected the ‘historical’ right of Egypt on the Nile River. Likewise, Ethiopia’s right to use its natural resources for its development including the Blue Nile, as it is the largest contributor to the Nile River also reflected.

It’s evident that Ethiopians has been living in a state of precarious poverty and backwardness for centuries. But since recently Ethiopians have began to curtail this situation by developing and utilizing the natural resources. Even the Egyptians reckon that Ethiopians shall never continue to live in poverty in the 21st century and this state of affairs needs to change by any means. This was the fact that the president himself has conformed to the public diplomacy delegation of Ethiopia at the Al Ithad Palace in Cairo.

President Abdul Fetah Seid Hussen Kahlil Al Sisi has substantiated Ethiopia’s right to develop using its resources. But he underlined that there are millions of people who depend their livelihood on the River Nile. He insisted that Ethiopia’s development efforts must consider these people in the lower course of the River.

Cognizing the suspicion on the part of Egypt Abadula Gemeda who is leaders of the delegation and Speaker of the House of Peoples Representatives, has eloquently given assurance to the President and the Egyptian people on that Ethiopia will never harm Egypt and Egyptians. He explained that the reason behind the development of its resources is just to alleviate the abject poverty so as improved the living standards of the people.

He has clued-up the President on the need in the Ethiopian side to build more dams to supply electricity to the people. He explained to the President that due to lack of electric power, most Ethiopian mothers have to go more than 20 kilometers a day to fetch wood for fuel so as to cook for their families. Providing access to electricity means the change in the livelihoods of the women in particular and the public in general. That’s why Ethiopians are struggling to build more hydropower dams.

Among the multifaceted endeavors under implementation to electrify the nation is the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. “We Ethiopians have no intention to harm the brother of Egyptian people, but to get rid of the stern poverty that posed a misery on our people” he remarked. “So, we insist on the people of Egypt that no harm will prevail on the interest of Egyptians on the Nile River” he confirmed.

Previously, of course, Ethiopia has not been able to use its natural resources with which the country is endowed. For obvious reasons, the vast resources have remained untapped in spite of the great need to develop them so as to change the living standards of the people. With a decade of fast economic growth, the country is ultimately in a position to begin to exploit these resources properly, in the best interests of the national development. It’s, indeed, the right of Ethiopia to do so in a manner that is acceptable to the international norms and standards.

Ethiopia is fully aware of that its future is very much attached with the safety and prosperity of its neighbors, with which it has long standing links in language, culture, history and natural resources. That is why Ethiopia has made a strategic and mindful decision to deliberate on constructive relationships. The foreign policy of the country is drawn up on the basis of enlightened self-interest and peaceful coexistence, based on mutual respect and mutual benefit for all. It is in this respect that the GERD is constructed without posing any harm to the downstream countries.

Ethiopia wants to benefit from its sovereign and shared resources in a responsible and sustainable way; its aspirations do not in any way disregard the needs of other riparian states or its development goals. The late Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi again and again emphasized the regional dimensions of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, detailing how it would benefit and help transform the entire region through regional infrastructural and economic integration and with the promise of shared prosperity for all stakeholders. Ethiopia and Egypt, he argued, remained linked insolubly by the Nile River.

In the era of globalization shared and mutual benefit is the sole principle of development. Consequently, cross boarder resources should be exploited on equity and shared principles. To make this state of fact genuine all riparian countries have come together for a sound cooperation. The fundamental principle underlying in Ethiopia’s Nile policy is very clear-total commitment to cooperation in the Nile Basin on the basis of Nile Basin Initiative and the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), and for this to provide equitable and reasonable utilization of water resource and sustainable and mutual benefits for all the riparian states.

Ethiopia, in fact, has been and is working to strengthen regional cooperation as much to serve the interests of Sudan and Egypt as towards the interests of all the upper riparian states. Indeed, Ethiopia has continually gone above and beyond “the call of duty” in trying to alleviate Egyptian concerns and to reach an accord over a more equitable portion on the use of the Nile waters.

The rationale behind sending a Public Diplomacy team to Cairo is to develop trust so that to creating fertile ground for more cooperation with Egypt.

While laying the foundation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s construction years before, the late Primer Meles Zenawi stressed that Ethiopia’s intention behind development of its resource is to fight poverty saying “…the intention to exercise our rights to use our own rivers is in order to fight poverty.” He pointed out that among the concerns factored into the project was avoidance “of any negative consequences for our neighbors”.

The objective of the project was rather to “offer positive benefits for all of them.” Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has reiterated the same approach: Ethiopia is “ready for negotiations and cooperation at the highest and technical levels.” It has, in fact, consistently maintained its readiness to engage with downstream riparian states on any and all of its Nile Basin hydrological development projects.

Consequently, though under no legal obligation to do so, Ethiopia proposed, on her own initiative, the establishment of the Tripartite Committee, the International Panel of Experts (IPOE), composed of equal numbers of Ethiopian, Egyptian and Sudanese experts, supplemented by international specialists, to assess the impact, if any, of the dam on Egypt and Sudan.

The panel concluded that the dam would have no untoward impact on the lower riparian states. After the International Panel of Experts produced its report, immediately agreed to initiate political and technical consultations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, and hold further discussions on implementing the report and its recommendations.

Uganda’s President Yuweri Kaguta Museveni has articulated that cooperation for Nile Basin countries is not an option rather a necessity for mutual development during his last week visit to Ethiopia. After a visit to Gibe III hydropower dam, he recognized Ethiopia’s struggle to overcome poverty and backwardness. He uttered that Ethiopia is on the right track regarding development and its effort is ideal for other African countries. He stressed the need for cooperation among African countries.

Minimally, Ethiopia is fully aware that cooperation and collaboration over the valuable resource of the Nile River offers a win-win scenario including the lower riparian countries of Egypt and Sudan as well as for the entire Nile Basin countries. The inference is unavoidable: there is a very clear necessity for cooperation and collaboration. The cooperation envisages the Egyptian notion of “I make you happy and make me happy”, which is a win-win approach that the Nile Basin countries have to take a lesson.