In repressive Ethiopia, the BBC will get listeners

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced that it wants to launch news services to Ethiopia and Eritrea, most likely using these three indigenous languages: Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrigna. The aim, according to the corporation, is to promote democracy and press freedom in both countries. This is good news, but where has it been all these years? And what will it bring to the market that the American VOA isn’t already offering? The VOA has been very influential broadcasting in Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrigna languages for decades.

For the majority of Ethiopians, of the over 90 million population, Amharic is their common medium of communication. Ethiopia's current constitution explicitly declares it as the “working language of the federal government,” though stressing that “all languages shall enjoy equal state of recognition.” Aside the historical and political factors that made Amharic the lingua franca of the Ethiopian state, one can’t deny the incredible role it plays in connecting Ethiopians today, whether we live inside or outside the country.

Though the Amhara people of northern Ethiopia are acknowledged as native Amharic speakers, millions of mixed people (disenfranchised in the current political system) use Amharic as their primary language across Ethiopia. There are also people from homogenous ethnic backgrounds, often born in cities, whose first language is Amharic; they could be ethnic Sidama, Oromo, Tigrayan, Gurague, etc.

While Amharic is the bridge that connects Ethiopians, Afaan Oromo is the language of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, who make up 34.49% of the population (2007 census). There is a growing interest to make Afaan Oromo the working language of the federal government, which I support. Afaan Oromo is written in the Latin script, known locally as Qubee, a creative adaptation that meets the language's fundamental needs.

Tigrigna is the third major language in Ethiopia and the official language of Eritrea. Tigrigna and Amharic are written in the Ge'ez (Ethiopic) alphabet – an elegant, endemic writing system, the only one in Africa.

FOREIGN MEDIA INFLUENCE IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA

In addition to the VOA, the German DW radio targets Ethiopia's Amharic speakers. But the VOA has a wider audience base in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. These two stations have established themselves as better alternatives to the state news services that essentially broadcast propaganda. Although DW and the VOA have their own agenda (as any mass media organizations funded by governments or interest groups do), millions of listeners eagerly wait for their impartial programming.

Can the BBC deliver the same? I hope. To penetrate the less privileged rural population, the Ethiopian and Eritrean masses who don't speak English, and to capture their attention as the VOA does, the BBC will have to work extremely hard.

In conclusion, I would like to see thriving BBC programs in Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrigna. But I also know the BBC will prioritize the UK’s interests. Thus, it is up to Ethiopians and Eritreans to build our own impartial media that can empower us.

*Elyas Mulu Kiros is an Ethiopian blogger and digital content producer. Kweschn.WordPress.com

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