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1

Aden, Mowlid. "The role of Ports and Free Zones in the Development of Africa: The “Djibouti Model”." Annales des Mines - Réalités industrielles Novembre 2019, no. 4 (2019): 105. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/rindu1.194.0105.

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Khudaykulova, Alexandra Victorovna. "China as an Emerging Actor in Conflict Management: from Non-Interference in Internal Affairs to “Constructive” Engagement." Vestnik RUDN. International Relations 19, no. 3 (2019): 420–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2313-0660-2019-19-3-420-431.

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The need to protect citizens and investments abroad is placing tremendous pressure on China’s traditional foreign policy strategy and noninterference principle. Instability in most of BRI countries form new security conditions, pushing China to be more flexible in engaging in missions it had previously opposed, including political engagement in intrastate conflicts in the developing world. Following the formula “politics is a big economy”, China starts rethinking its security interests. As a result, China has smoothly adopted the transition strategy from non-intervention into internal affairs to a more proactive non-indifference approach, that Chinese academics are describing as “creative” or “constructive” engagement. Many new elements contribute to this new constructive engagement - conceptual narrative, political support, geopolitical competition, growing capacities and new security conditions. The key point of the article is to analyze China’s strategy in defending national interests overseas, including the rescue and peacekeeping operations, mediation, political envoys, etc. The special focus is done on proactive peacekeeping policy of China and its new role in the security environment. Obviously, in future China will follow implementing the overseas missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, evacuation operations, defense of sea lanes, stabilization operations, peacekeeping and counterterrorism missions. After launching in 2017 its first overseas military base in Djibouti, there is little evidence to predict that in the near future China intends to construct more bases. But nevertheless the geopolitical rivalry with the United States might push China to convert three deep-water ports - Gwadar (Pakistan), Salalah (Oman), and Seychelles ports into naval bases. The degree of the China’s involvement in global security landscape will depend on the level of its responsibility, since Beijing is undergoing through a higher degree of international pressure in order to take more obligations. Responding to overseas security crises through military actions would be mostly shaped by events (case-by-case approach), inspired by political motivations and organized as small-scale and low-intensity missions.
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Barinov, A. K. "Transport Infrastructure in Ethiopia." Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law 11, no. 5 (2018): 105–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.23932/2542-0240-2018-11-5-105-118.

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The development of transport infrastructure is a priority objective for many African countries. This process has significant impact on the efficiency of continental and world trade corridors, and also influence on the costs of economic activity. In this case, the transformation in the transport sector of Ethiopia must be noted. The government of the country has taken a decision to create national railway network and develop aviation and road lines of communication. After The Eritrean War of Independence Eritrean separation was announced and Ethiopia lost its maritime infrastructure and became a landlocked country. This situation provides great difficulties in process of international trade and economic activity for the region. Now the development of transport corridors which connect economic centers with large ports of the region is a priority task for Ethiopian government. In this case Ethiopia is actively attracting foreign investors and world financial organizations to create stable, efficient and economically profitable ways of transport communication with the port infrastructure of neighboring countries. This year, Chinese companies finished to rebuilt the railway line Addis Ababa-Djibouti, in the coming years, governments of Kenya and Ethiopia, will launch new Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa motorway. This infrastructure projects are essential for enhancing Ethiopian competitiveness and economic activity and provide opportunity to reduce transport costs. Moreover, the Ethiopian authorities are making great progress in developing the internal transport infrastructure, first of all, in terms of increased paved road and development of railway infrastructure, which promotes more efficient use of natural,economic and human resources. Foreign companies are actively involved in realization of this transport projects and it can be a perspective area for cooperation between Russian Federation and Ethiopia. The article provides a detailed overview of Ethiopian transport sector and describes the key infrastructureprojects which can be interesting for Russian companies.
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Foch, Arthur. "Djibouti, une nouvelle porte de l'Afrique ?" Afrique contemporaine 234, no. 2 (2010): 73. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/afco.234.0073.

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Perelman, Rémi. "Djibouti, discrète porte d'entrée en Afrique aujourd'hui, hub majeur de demain." Outre-Terre 30, no. 4 (2011): 197. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/oute.030.0197.

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Faye, Bernard, M. Ratovonanahary, and Renaud Cherrier. "Effet d'un facteur alimentaire sur la pathologie néonatale : Résultats d'une enquête rétrospective sur la distribution de mangrove aux chamelons en République de Djibouti." Revue d’élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux 46, no. 3 (1993): 471–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.19182/remvt.9449.

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Une enquête rétrospective réalisée dans 23 campements de nomades afars de la région d'Obock (Djibouti) a porté sur les modes d'utilisation traditionnelle de la végétation lagunaire (mangrove à palétuviers) et leur relation avec la pathologie observée, notamment chez les chamelons. Quatre types d'exploitation de la mangrove peuvent être décrits : distribution de branches de palétuvier aux chamelons âgés de moins d'un an dans les campements et pâturage des adultes dans la mangrove; utilisation permanente de la mangrove associée à une complémentation; exploitation occasionnelle par émondage; utilisation permanente sans complémentation. Le risque d'observer des troubles sanitaires (pertes d'appétit, boiterie, paralysie, maladies de peau) est 4,28 fois plus élevé en l'absence de complémentation de la ration de base de mangrove.
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7

"Ports – Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 56, no. 3 (2019): 22516A. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2019.08861.x.

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8

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 50, no. 4 (2013): 19956B—19957B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2013.05143.x.

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9

"Ports and Shipping: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 43, no. 11 (2007): 17192A—17192C. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2007.00632.x.

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"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 44, no. 6 (2007): 17448C—17449C. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2007.01054.x.

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11

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 46, no. 2 (2009): 18172A—18173A. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2009.02229.x.

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12

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 46, no. 2 (2009): 18172B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2009.02230.x.

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13

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 54, no. 6 (2017): 21760C. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2017.07782.x.

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14

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 55, no. 6 (2018): 22190B—22191A. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2018.08419.x.

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15

"PORTS AND SHIPPING: Djibouti." Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series 55, no. 7 (2018): 22226C—22227B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2018.08470.x.

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16

"How Organizational and Trainee Characteristics Influence the Training Program of Employees in Djibouti Port." International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering 8, no. 9S2 (2019): 269–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.i1055.0789s219.

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The present paper aims to examine how the organizational and trainee characteristics influence the effectiveness of a training program in Djibouti Port. To prove this, quantitative analysis was carried out with the help of a questionnaire. The survey was given to port employees and gets their opinion about the effectiveness of the training program in their port. The survey was framed from the perspective of independent and dependent variables chosen from the literature. Further for collecting the sample the random sampling method was adopted. All aspects of training and organizational characteristic variables were utilized. Data analysis involved like correlation and regression, chi-square test with the help of SPSS 21 version. Confidentiality was maintained throughout the research. Study findings observed that there is a positive impact of organization and trainee related factors that impact the training effectiveness. Further, it is noticed that the current level of training and development programs in Djibouti Port Trust was effective. Overall from the study found it is concluded that the training and development need in the ports and explore whether the needs differ between the ports.
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17

Barton, Benjamin. "Agency and Autonomy in the Maritime Silk Road Initiative: An Examination of Djibouti’s Doraleh Container Terminal Disputes." Chinese Journal of International Politics, August 2, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cjip/poab006.

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Abstract Touted as the second coming of the Hambantota debt-for-equity swap deal, the ongoing legal dispute pitting Dubai Ports (DP) World (United Arab Emirates) and China Merchants Port (CMP) over the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) (Djibouti) in front of the Hong Kong High Courts has been hastily interpreted as yet another act of Chinese economic statecraft. Yet, when looking more closely at the specifics of this dispute, it would appear that the evidence does not lend itself favourably to those who advocate the power of Chinese political leverage in return for “debt traps”. This article debunks the myth of Chinese grand strategy as the driving force behind the legal dispute over the DCT, by instead placing the combination of Djiboutian elite agency and CMP’s entrepreneurial autonomy as the primary causal variables. It does so by predominantly drawing on unexplored publicly available data obtained from the various legal disputes pertaining to the DCT.
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18

Odhiambo, Paul. "China’s Geostrategic Interests in the Indian Ocean Region: Implications for Kenya." African Review, October 1, 2020, 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1821889x-12340024.

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Abstract China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean cannot be gainsaid as the East Asian economic powerhouse engages in a series of activities to secure maritime routes for energy supplies; to guarantee its trade routes; and to exercise increased maritime influence on the sea lines of communication (SLOCs). Since the beginning of the 21st century, Beijing has enhanced its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) through construction of ports, increased Chinese naval presence, participation in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, construction of a military base in Djibouti, One belt One road initiative and 21st century Maritime Silk Road. While China reassures of its peaceful development, critics contend that Beijing’s military-strategic intentions are aimed at dominance in the Indian Ocean. Countries of the IOR are a home to 2.5 billion people. About 80 percent of the world’s maritime oil trade flows through three chokepoints in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, Indian Ocean is emerging as a pivotal zone due to fast growing economies in the region. Due to its geostrategic significance, the Indian Ocean is expected to play a considerable role in the development of East African littoral states including Kenya. This paper analyzes the growing presence of China in IOR and how Nairobi’s engagement with Beijing could enable Kenya to realize its geostrategic interests in the Indian Ocean. The paper recommends that Kenya needs to have effective strategies to maximize the potential from its exclusive economic zone and secure its national interests as a littoral state.
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19

Jean, KOFFI Kouao. "THE PRESENT STATE OF BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE." Biodiversity Informatics 10, no. 2 (2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/bi.v10i2.5007.

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<p>The aim of this present study is to summarize the current state of research on the flora of the Côte d’Ivoire from the SIG IVOIRE database to better direct future collection efforts. Herbarium specimen data used for this study covered the period from 1894 to 2000, and were assembled by 226 collectors. This database comprises 15,228 samples, grouped in 3621 species, 1371 genera, and 198 families. A grid system was used to cover the Ivorian territory at spatial resolution of 0.75° x 0.75°. Indices of evenness and completeness were calculated to characterize sampling and identify floristically well-known regions. The exploration of the Ivorian territory is far from uniform, such that some areas were more densely surveyed, but others partially or not at all. The regions of Grands Ponts, Agnéby-Tiassa, Loh-Djiboua, part of Gbèkè, Boukani, San Pedro and Cavally were floristically well known; environmentally, the largest gaps in coverge were in the mountains in western Côte d'Ivoire.<strong></strong></p>
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20

Woldeyes, Yirga Gelaw. "“Holding Living Bodies in Graveyards”: The Violence of Keeping Ethiopian Manuscripts in Western Institutions." M/C Journal 23, no. 2 (2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/mcj.1621.

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IntroductionThere are two types of Africa. The first is a place where people and cultures live. The second is the image of Africa that has been invented through colonial knowledge and power. The colonial image of Africa, as the Other of Europe, a land “enveloped in the dark mantle of night” was supported by western states as it justified their colonial practices (Hegel 91). Any evidence that challenged the myth of the Dark Continent was destroyed, removed or ignored. While the looting of African natural resources has been studied, the looting of African knowledges hasn’t received as much attention, partly based on the assumption that Africans did not produce knowledge that could be stolen. This article invalidates this myth by examining the legacy of Ethiopia’s indigenous Ge’ez literature, and its looting and abduction by powerful western agents. The article argues that this has resulted in epistemic violence, where students of the Ethiopian indigenous education system do not have access to their books, while European orientalists use them to interpret Ethiopian history and philosophy using a foreign lens. The analysis is based on interviews with teachers and students of ten Ge’ez schools in Ethiopia, and trips to the Ethiopian manuscript collections in The British Library, The Princeton Library, the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and The National Archives in Addis Ababa.The Context of Ethiopian Indigenous KnowledgesGe’ez is one of the ancient languages of Africa. According to Professor Ephraim Isaac, “about 10,000 years ago, one single nation or community of a single linguistic group existed in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Horn of Africa” (The Habesha). The language of this group is known as Proto-Afroasiatic or Afrasian languages. It is the ancestor of the Semitic, Cushitic, Nilotic, Omotic and other languages that are currently spoken in Ethiopia by its 80 ethnic groups, and the neighbouring countries (Diakonoff). Ethiopians developed the Ge’ez language as their lingua franca with its own writing system some 2000 years ago. Currently, Ge’ez is the language of academic scholarship, studied through the traditional education system (Isaac, The Ethiopian). Since the fourth century, an estimated 1 million Ge’ez manuscripts have been written, covering religious, historical, mathematical, medicinal, and philosophical texts.One of the most famous Ge’ez manuscripts is the Kebra Nagast, a foundational text that embodied the indigenous conception of nationhood in Ethiopia. The philosophical, political and religious themes in this book, which craft Ethiopia as God’s country and the home of the Ark of the Covenant, contributed to the country’s success in defending itself from European colonialism. The production of books like the Kebra Nagast went hand in hand with a robust indigenous education system that trained poets, scribes, judges, artists, administrators and priests. Achieving the highest stages of learning requires about 30 years after which the scholar would be given the rare title Arat-Ayina, which means “four eyed”, a person with the ability to see the past as well as the future. Today, there are around 50,000 Ge’ez schools across the country, most of which are in rural villages and churches.Ge’ez manuscripts are important textbooks and reference materials for students. They are carefully prepared from vellum “to make them last forever” (interview, 3 Oct. 2019). Some of the religious books are regarded as “holy persons who breathe wisdom that gives light and food to the human soul”. Other manuscripts, often prepared as scrolls are used for medicinal purposes. Each manuscript is uniquely prepared reflecting inherited wisdom on contemporary lives using the method called Tirguamme, the act of giving meaning to sacred texts. Preparation of books is costly. Smaller manuscript require the skins of 50-70 goats/sheep and large manuscript needed 100-120 goats/sheep (Tefera).The Loss of Ethiopian ManuscriptsSince the 18th century, a large quantity of these manuscripts have been stolen, looted, or smuggled out of the country by travellers who came to the country as explorers, diplomats and scientists. The total number of Ethiopian manuscripts taken is still unknown. Amsalu Tefera counted 6928 Ethiopian manuscripts currently held in foreign libraries and museums. This figure does not include privately held or unofficial collections (41).Looting and smuggling were sponsored by western governments, institutions, and notable individuals. For example, in 1868, The British Museum Acting Director Richard Holms joined the British army which was sent to ‘rescue’ British hostages at Maqdala, the capital of Emperor Tewodros. Holms’ mission was to bring treasures for the Museum. Before the battle, Tewodros had established the Medhanialem library with more than 1000 manuscripts as part of Ethiopia’s “industrial revolution”. When Tewodros lost the war and committed suicide, British soldiers looted the capital, including the treasury and the library. They needed 200 mules and 15 elephants to transport the loot and “set fire to all buildings so that no trace was left of the edifices which once housed the manuscripts” (Rita Pankhurst 224). Richard Holmes collected 356 manuscripts for the Museum. A wealthy British woman called Lady Meux acquired some of the most illuminated manuscripts. In her will, she bequeathed them to be returned to Ethiopia. However, her will was reversed by court due to a campaign from the British press (Richard Pankhurst). In 2018, the V&A Museum in London displayed some of the treasures by incorporating Maqdala into the imperial narrative of Britain (Woldeyes, Reflections).Britain is by no means the only country to seek Ethiopian manuscripts for their collections. Smuggling occurred in the name of science, an act of collecting manuscripts for study. Looting involved local collaborators and powerful foreign sponsors from places like France, Germany and the Vatican. Like Maqdala, this was often sponsored by governments or powerful financers. For example, the French government sponsored the Dakar-Djibouti Mission led by Marcel Griaule, which “brought back about 350 manuscripts and scrolls from Gondar” (Wion 2). It was often claimed that these manuscripts were purchased, rather than looted. Johannes Flemming of Germany was said to have purchased 70 manuscripts and ten scrolls for the Royal Library of Berlin in 1905. However, there was no local market for buying manuscripts. Ge’ez manuscripts were, and still are, written to serve spiritual and secular life in Ethiopia, not for buying and selling. There are countless other examples, but space limits how many can be provided in this article. What is important to note is that museums and libraries have accrued impressive collections without emphasising how those collections were first obtained. The loss of the intellectual heritage of Ethiopians to western collectors has had an enormous impact on the country.Knowledge Grabbing: The Denial of Access to KnowledgeWith so many manuscripts lost, European collectors became the narrators of Ethiopian knowledge and history. Edward Ullendorff, a known orientalist in Ethiopian studies, refers to James Bruce as “the explorer of Abyssinia” (114). Ullendorff commented on the significance of Bruce’s travel to Ethiopia asperhaps the most important aspect of Bruce’s travels was the collection of Ethiopic manuscripts… . They opened up entirely new vistas for the study of Ethiopian languages and placed this branch of Oriental scholarship on a much more secure basis. It is not known how many MSS. reached Europe through his endeavours, but the present writer is aware of at least twenty-seven, all of which are exquisite examples of Ethiopian manuscript art. (133)This quote encompasses three major ways in which epistemic violence occurs: denial of access to knowledge, Eurocentric interpretation of Ethiopian manuscripts, and the handling of Ge’ez manuscripts as artefacts from the past. These will be discussed below.Western ‘travellers’, such as Bruce, did not fully disclose how many manuscripts they took or how they acquired them. The abundance of Ethiopian manuscripts in western institutions can be compared to the scarcity of such materials among traditional schools in Ethiopia. In this research, I have visited ten indigenous schools in Wollo (Lalibela, Neakutoleab, Asheten, Wadla), in Gondar (Bahita, Kuskwam, Menbere Mengist), and Gojam (Bahirdar, Selam Argiew Maryam, Giorgis). In all of the schools, there is lack of Ge’ez manuscripts. Students often come from rural villages and do not receive any government support. The scarcity of Ge’ez manuscripts, and the lack of funding which might allow for the purchasing of books, means the students depend mainly on memorising Ge’ez texts told to them from the mouth of their teacher. Although this method of learning is not new, it currently is the only way for passing indigenous knowledges across generations.The absence of manuscripts is most strongly felt in the advanced schools. For instance, in the school of Qene, poetic literature is created through an in-depth study of the vocabulary and grammar of Ge’ez. A Qene student is required to develop a deep knowledge of Ge’ez in order to understand ancient and medieval Ge’ez texts which are used to produce poetry with multiple meanings. Without Ge’ez manuscripts, students cannot draw their creative works from the broad intellectual tradition of their ancestors. When asked how students gain access to textbooks, one student commented:we don’t have access to Birana books (Ge’ez manuscripts written on vellum). We cannot learn the ancient wisdom of painting, writing, and computing developed by our ancestors. We simply buy paper books such as Dawit (Psalms), Sewasew (grammar) or Degwa (book of songs with notations) and depend on our teachers to teach us the rest. We also lend these books to each other as many students cannot afford to buy them. Without textbooks, we expect to spend double the amount of time it would take if we had textbooks. (Interview, 3 Sep. 2019)Many students interrupt their studies and work as labourers to save up and buy paper textbooks, but they still don’t have access to the finest works taken to Europe. Most Ge’ez manuscripts remaining in Ethiopia are locked away in monasteries, church stores or other places to prevent further looting. The manuscripts in Addis Ababa University and the National Archives are available for researchers but not to the students of the indigenous system, creating a condition of internal knowledge grabbing.While the absence of Ge’ez manuscripts denied, and continues to deny, Ethiopians the chance to enrich their indigenous education, it benefited western orientalists to garner intellectual authority on the field of Ethiopian studies. In 1981, British Museum Director John Wilson said, “our Abyssinian holdings are more important than our Indian collection” (Bell 231). In reaction, Richard Pankhurst, the Director of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, responded that the collection was acquired through plunder. Defending the retaining of Maqdala manuscripts in Europe, Ullendorff wrote:neither Dr. Pankhurst nor the Ethiopian and western scholars who have worked on this collection (and indeed on others in Europe) could have contributed so significantly to the elucidation of Ethiopian history without the rich resources available in this country. Had they remained insitu, none of this would have been possible. (Qtd. in Bell 234)The manuscripts are therefore valued based on their contribution to western scholarship only. This is a continuation of epistemic violence whereby local knowledges are used as raw materials to produce Eurocentric knowledge, which in turn is used to teach Africans as though they had no prior knowledge. Scholars are defined as those western educated persons who can speak European languages and can travel to modern institutions to access the manuscripts. Knowledge grabbing regards previous owners as inexistent or irrelevant for the use of the grabbed knowledges.Knowledge grabbing also means indigenous scholars are deprived of critical resources to produce new knowledge based on their intellectual heritage. A Qene teacher commented: our students could not devote their time and energy to produce new knowledges in the same way our ancestors did. We have the tradition of Madeladel, Kimera, Kuteta, Mielad, Qene and tirguamme where students develop their own system of remembering, reinterpreting, practicing, and rewriting previous manuscripts and current ones. Without access to older manuscripts, we increasingly depend on preserving what is being taught orally by elders. (Interview, 4 Sep. 2019)This point is important as it relates to the common myth that indigenous knowledges are artefacts belonging to the past, not the present. There are millions of people who still use these knowledges, but the conditions necessary for their reproduction and improvement is denied through knowledge grabbing. The view of Ge’ez manuscripts as artefacts dismisses the Ethiopian view that Birana manuscripts are living persons. As a scholar told me in Gondar, “they are creations of Egziabher (God), like all of us. Keeping them in institutions is like keeping living bodies in graveyards” (interview, 5 Oct. 2019).Recently, the collection of Ethiopian manuscripts by western institutions has also been conducted digitally. Thousands of manuscripts have been microfilmed or digitised. For example, the EU funded Ethio-SPaRe project resulted in the digital collection of 2000 Ethiopian manuscripts (Nosnitsin). While digitisation promises better access for people who may not be able to visit institutions to see physical copies, online manuscripts are not accessible to indigenous school students in Ethiopia. They simply do not have computer or internet access and the manuscripts are catalogued in European languages. Both physical and digital knowledge grabbing results in the robbing of Ethiopian intellectual heritage, and denies the possibility of such manuscripts being used to inform local scholarship. Epistemic Violence: The European as ExpertWhen considered in relation to stolen or appropriated manuscripts, epistemic violence is the way in which local knowledge is interpreted using a foreign epistemology and gained dominance over indigenous worldviews. European scholars have monopolised the field of Ethiopian Studies by producing books, encyclopaedias and digital archives based on Ethiopian manuscripts, almost exclusively in European languages. The contributions of their work for western scholarship is undeniable. However, Kebede argues that one of the detrimental effects of this orientalist literature is the thesis of Semiticisation, the designation of the origin of Ethiopian civilisation to the arrival of Middle Eastern colonisers rather than indigenous sources.The thesis is invented to make the history of Ethiopia consistent with the Hegelian western view that Africa is a Dark Continent devoid of a civilisation of its own. “In light of the dominant belief that black peoples are incapable of great achievements, the existence of an early and highly advanced civilization constitutes a serious anomaly in the Eurocentric construction of the world” (Kebede 4). To address this anomaly, orientalists like Ludolph attributed the origin of Ethiopia’s writing system, agriculture, literature, and civilisation to the arrival of South Arabian settlers. For example, in his translation of the Kebra Nagast, Budge wrote: “the SEMITES found them [indigenous Ethiopians] negro savages, and taught them civilization and culture and the whole scriptures on which their whole literature is based” (x).In line with the above thesis, Dillman wrote that “the Abyssinians borrowed their Numerical Signs from the Greeks” (33). The views of these orientalist scholars have been challenged. For instance, leading scholar of Semitic languages Professor Ephraim Isaac considers the thesis of the Arabian origin of Ethiopian civilization “a Hegelian Eurocentric philosophical perspective of history” (2). Isaac shows that there is historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence that suggest Ethiopia to be more advanced than South Arabia from pre-historic times. Various Ethiopian sources including the Kebra Nagast, the works of historian Asres Yenesew, and Ethiopian linguist Girma Demeke provide evidence for the indigenous origin of Ethiopian civilisation and languages.The epistemic violence of the Semeticisation thesis lies in how this Eurocentric ideological construction is the dominant narrative in the field of Ethiopian history and the education system. Unlike the indigenous view, the orientalist view is backed by strong institutional power both in Ethiopia and abroad. The orientalists control the field of Ethiopian studies and have access to Ge’ez manuscripts. Their publications are the only references for Ethiopian students. Due to Native Colonialism, a system of power run by native elites through the use of colonial ideas and practices (Woldeyes), the education system is the imitation of western curricula, including English as a medium of instruction from high school onwards. Students study the west more than Ethiopia. Indigenous sources are generally excluded as unscientific. Only the Eurocentric interpretation of Ethiopian manuscripts is regarded as scientific and objective.ConclusionEthiopia is the only African country never to be colonised. In its history it produced a large quantity of manuscripts in the Ge’ez language through an indigenous education system that involves the study of these manuscripts. Since the 19th century, there has been an ongoing loss of these manuscripts. European travellers who came to Ethiopia as discoverers, missionaries and scholars took a large number of manuscripts. The Battle of Maqdala involved the looting of the intellectual products of Ethiopia that were collected at the capital. With the introduction of western education and use of English as a medium of instruction, the state disregarded indigenous schools whose students have little access to the manuscripts. This article brings the issue of knowledge grapping, a situation whereby European institutions and scholars accumulate Ethiopia manuscripts without providing the students in Ethiopia to have access to those collections.Items such as manuscripts that are held in western institutions are not dead artefacts of the past to be preserved for prosperity. They are living sources of knowledge that should be put to use in their intended contexts. Local Ethiopian scholars cannot study ancient and medieval Ethiopia without travelling and gaining access to western institutions. This lack of access and resources has made European Ethiopianists almost the sole producers of knowledge about Ethiopian history and culture. For example, indigenous sources and critical research that challenge the Semeticisation thesis are rarely available to Ethiopian students. Here we see epistemic violence in action. Western control over knowledge production has the detrimental effect of inventing new identities, subjectivities and histories that translate into material effects in the lives of African people. In this way, Ethiopians and people all over Africa internalise western understandings of themselves and their history as primitive and in need of development or outside intervention. African’s intellectual and cultural heritage, these living bodies locked away in graveyards, must be put back into the hands of Africans.AcknowledgementThe author acknowledges the support of the Australian Academy of the Humanities' 2019 Humanities Travelling Fellowship Award in conducting this research.ReferencesBell, Stephen. “Cultural Treasures Looted from Maqdala: A Summary of Correspondence in British National Newspapers since 1981.” Kasa and Kasa. Eds. Tadesse Beyene, Richard Pankhurst, and Shifereraw Bekele. Addis Ababa: Ababa University Book Centre, 1990. 231-246.Budge, Wallis. 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Trenton: Red Sea Press, 2017.———. “Reflections on Ethiopia’s Stolen Treasures on Display in a London Museum.” The Conversation. 2018. 5 June 2018 <https://theconversation.com/reflections-on-ethiopias-stolen-treasures-on-display-in-a-london-museum-97346>.Yenesew, Asres. ትቤ፡አክሱም፡መኑ፡ አንተ? Addis Ababa: Nigid Printing House, 1959 [1951 EC].
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