From A Shepard to a Tenured Professor: Defying the Odds

By Dr. Yegin Habtes

This book will take my readers through four continents and several cultures and languages I have experienced. Some of these countries are very different from each other. I could say this book has something for different readers. My readers in the northern hemisphere will be introduced to the fascinating history of Eritrea and Ethiopia. For those who appreciate different cultures, there is enough material about the cultures and customs practiced in certain parts of Africa and the Caribbean. Yet for educators I trained in Africa, the United States of America, and the Caribbean, a section discusses how to train teachers. Above all, the message I want to leave with everyone who reads this book is to believe that anything is possible if you are with it and think there is more than one way to pursue life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798887318882

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Preface

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

About the Author

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From A Shepard to a Tenured Professor

Defying the Odds

Dr. Yegin Habtes

Copyright © 2023 Yegin Habtes Ph.D

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

ISBN 979-8-88731-887-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88731-888-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

I would like to express my love, admiration, respect, and unlimited thanks to my beloved mother, Tibereh Tesfamichael Kibrom, by dedicating this book to her honor. My mother was the source of my strength since my childhood. She taught me never to give up and to diligently pursue anything that I wanted to achieve. She told me often, Whatever you want to do might be a small task, but you must do it to the best of your ability. If I am living a successful life, it is because she laid the foundation. Another thing that my mother always told me was Listen, Michael [that's the way she called me], if you can do it yourself, do not ask anybody else to do it for you. That is how I became very independent early in my life. Above all, if I have any decency, my mother instilled it in me. I remember her telling me, If you do not have a good thing to say, do not say anything at all.

My mother might not have much to give materially, but she gave me plenty of her unconditional love, support, understanding, and encouragement throughout my years until she transitioned to the next life. Welt Geshmer (affectionately known as), your prayers brought me thus far. I am sure you are looking down from heaven and saying, Job well done, Michael.

Preface

In writing this book, I will take my readers through four continents and several cultures and languages that I have experienced. Some of these countries are very different from each other. Eritrea is the country of my origin. During my life, we went through three different colonizers. First, the Italians colonized it. Then they were pushed out by the British. It ended up under Ethiopia until it became independent in 1991. I remember my earlier years in Gheleb, living under one roof with my parents and eight siblings. We ate from one big plate called meadi (Tigrinya, መአዲ), and other times, we ate porridge together in a big bowl called tisho. Eating together made us very close to each other.

Once I left home at the age of ten years to attend Keren Middle School, I became a religious minority. My brother and I spent six hours a day in one classroom with all students who were Muslims. Additionally, all my teachers were Muslims, except our physical education teacher. This was the first time in my life I was treated differently because I was a Christian. How I was treated will be discussed later in the body of this book. It did not end when I moved to Asmara to attend a Christian school. There, I was treated differently because I was Tigre-speaking in a Tigrinya-speaking community. Although I was a Christian like them, the Tigrinya-speaking people saw me differently because I was speaking their language with an accent. In a short while, I was able to speak Tigrinya fairly well and practice their culture to near perfection, yet I was treated as a minority.

I went to the hinterland of Ethiopia to attend Haile Selassie I University, where the language and culture were completely different. There were different students from different cultures in Ethiopia. The funny thing is that those Tigrinya-speaking people from the highlands of Eritrea who treated me as a minority became a minority like me. We were grouped together and called Tigre. Again, this will be discussed in detail in the body of the book.

After working as a professional in Ethiopia, I was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Illinois. As a graduate student, most of my classmates were White males working as professionals and attending school part-time. Here, the discrimination was very subtle and was not coming from the Whites only. Even some of the African Americans saw me differently from them. When I applied to work as a graduate assistant in the College of Education, about twelve people applied for the administrative assistant for the associate dean of graduate programs. Out of these twelve candidates, I was selected to fill the position. Out of the twelve, one of the applicants, a Black graduate student, wrote a letter to the associate dean opposing my appointment. She protested giving the position to a student who came from Africa while she was here looking for a job. The associate dean brought her to his office and showed her the lineup of the applicants based on their application documents and interviews. According to the lineup of applicants, she was number 11. The associate dean told her, You see, based on your experiences and interview, you are standing at number 11 on the list. If Yegin did not get the position, there are nine people ahead of you.

I graduated and took a position in the Caribbean where some of my colleagues were practicing them and us. When they say us, they mean people from the Caribbean. And when they say them, they mean people like me who did not originate from the Caribbean. Before I opened my mouth, people were always puzzled as to where I was from. But once I opened my mouth, the first question was Where are you from?

Living in these different cultures presented me with different puzzles. For example, while I was growing up in some of these countries, dating overtly was not common, while in some other countries, it was very much acceptable. As a result, the names of the many girls I loved during my early years in Eritrea and Ethiopia are changed to protect the identity of these women living married lives. To people with whom I worked or people whom I supervised or supervised me, their names are written as they are. Additionally, because I have been away from home for a long time, I am not sure if some of the people mentioned by name in this book are still alive or might have passed away. In that case, to those who passed away, I want to say, Rest in peace.

This book has something for different readers. My readers in the northern hemisphere will be interested in learning a little history of Eritrea and Ethiopia. There is enough material for those interested in languages and cultures. For the educators I trained in Africa, the United States of America, and the Caribbean, there is a section that discusses how to train teachers.

In conclusion, the message I want to leave with everyone who reads this book is to believe that anything is possible if you are with it. Another thing I would like every reader of this book to think of is the old American saying There is more than one way to skin a cat. I am saying that if you try one way and it does not work, do not give up. Try another way until you succeed. I sincerely hope this book will encourage as many young people as possible to pursue their desire in life.

Acknowledgment

First, I want to give my sincere thanks to my beloved wife, Dr. Lois Hassell Habtes. Throughout my adult and professional life, her unfailing support and unconditional love, patience, and encouragement were the foundation of my happiness and success. Nothing I write will leave the house before her quick and excellent editing.

I am very grateful to my beloved son, Dr. Sennai Yegin Habtes, who is the first person to assist me with various chores, whether academic or other related house maintenance. I heard him a million times, telling me, Listen, Dad, this is how you do it. Now go ahead and do it. Who blames him? That is the way I raised him.

My daughter, the princess of the house, Dr. Imnett Yegin Habtes, always tells me, If you need any assistance, just call me.

I call her and ask her, Do you have a minute? I need assistance with my computer.

Her response is always, Yes, Dad. I have all the time for you. Then she gives me only a few minutes. In most cases, that is all I needed. Her welcoming and loving approach always made a difference. She and her husband, Demond, also added to my happiness when they made me a grandfather three times over. Yes, my grandchildren—Zenn, Bryce, and Cruz—came at the right time when I retired to spend quality time with them.

Introduction

Many of my readers might not be familiar with Eritrea, its history, and its location. Before I go further with the history of my life, I want to introduce my readers to the country of my origin. The State of Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa, with its capital being Asmara. Eritrea is one of the youngest and smallest nations in Africa. The nation has a total area of approximately 46,842 miles (121,320 km) and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and some of the Hanish Islands (infoplease.com). No reliable census data is available. The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs publishes the best available estimates. Accordingly, Eritrea has an estimated population of 4,954,645 as of 2016. This young nation borders Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the Red Sea in the northeast and east, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. There are nine officially recognized ethnic groups in Eritrea—Afar, Bilien, Hidareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho, Tigre (to which I proudly belong), and Tigrinya (africa.com/beautiful-people-of-eritrea, Redie 2000).

Regarding religion in Eritrea, the population of Eritrea is equally divided between Christians and Muslims. The Christians are members of the Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic, and Evangelical Lutherans. The Muslims are adherent to the Sunni sect. Those who live in the highlands are predominantly Christian, whereas those of the lowlands and the coast are predominantly Muslim. The State of Eritrea is considered a secular state. This means there is no state religion. The state does not prescribe or support one faith over others. All religions are equally treated and independently operated by the state.

For years, these people with different religious beliefs managed to live together in harmony and in peace until the Haile Selassie government introduced religion to divide and conquer. In the following chapter, I will briefly discuss the history of Eritrea. The history of Eritrea affected my life directly and indirectly, be it the educational system where the medium of instruction was not my vernacular. The school culture was alien to me. From the time I left home, I was always a minority. First among the Arabic-speaking public school in Keren, later among the Tigrinya-speaking people in Asmara, and finally among the Amharic-speaking ethnic groups in Addis Ababa. I thought it would be very beneficial to the reader if I discuss the history of Eritrea a little further since Eritrea's history is an integral part of the history of Africa.

Chapter 1

Brief History of Eritrea

The history of Eritrea is tied to its strategic position on the Southern African side of the Red Sea, with a coastline that extends more than 1,000 km (United Nations Statistics Division 2013). Many scientists believe that it is from this area that, anatomically, modern humans first expanded out of Africa. Eritrea has been invaded by many nations and nationalities. Some came across the Red Sea from South Arabia and the present-day Yemen. Others include the Ottoman Turks (1557–1865), the Portuguese, the Egyptians (1865–1876), the British (1942–1952), and, in the nineteenth century, the Italians (UCL.ac.UK).

The Italian occupation was very gradual and systematic. First, with the help of a camouflaged private company, the Rubattino Navigation Company, they purchased rights over a six-kilometer stretch of land at the Red Sea port of Asseb from the local Afar Sultan. Later, in 1981, this company transferred its acquisitions to the Italian state. The Italians used this land acquisition as their base, and Italian troops landed at Asseb, Massawa, and other locations in Eritrea. Soon, Eritrea was officially declared a colony of Italy. The Egyptians and the Turks who were in Massawa and other parts of Eritrea did not object to the annexation of Eritrea because they were there illegally. Furthermore, they were afraid of mighty Italy. The Ethiopians, who had the right to reject the Italian occupation of their land, could only oppose it in writing, which the Italians ignored. This caused the Italian forces to spread from the Eritrean coastlines toward the Eritrean highlands.

Again, the Ethiopian kingdom opposed this expansion into the Eritrean highland. First, Emperor Yohannes IV vigorously opposed the illegal expansion into a sovereign nation. This is around the era called the partition of Africa, where European colonization was dividing Africa among themselves. Consequently, Italy occupied vast territories of Eritrea and Somalia. Italy was not satisfied with the occupation of the Eritrean highlands and Somalia and desired to use its Eritrean highlands and Somalia as a platform to expand its territories by colonizing Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia was highly resistant to this and, to save Ethiopia, agreed to establish a treaty instead. In the treaty, he yielded some territories of Ethiopia to Italy in return for the assurance of Ethiopia's independence and financial and military assistance from Italy.

The Treaty of Wuchale, spelled in Italian (Trattato di Uccialli, Geez Amharic, የውጫሌ ውል።), was a treaty signed between the Empire of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Italy by King Menelik II, the emperor of Ethiopia, and Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy, on May 2, 1889. The treaty included twenty articles written in two languages: Amharic and Italian. It was signed in the small Ethiopian town of Wuchale, from which the treaty got its name (Marcus 1994). As clearly indicated in Article 1, the treaty's purpose was to promote friendship and trade between the two countries. Article 1 focuses on establishing a peaceful relationship between the two countries. It states that there shall be peace between the King of Ethiopia and the King of Italy and their successors and their peoples (Ayele and Negussie 1997). Article 3 creates permanent boundary lines between Eritrean regions under Italy's control and regions of Ethiopia. It states which regions are under the control of which nation and marks the territory limit of each empire. According to this article, Menilek II accepted the Red Sea and its environs, which extended up to the Mereb River, as Italian possessions.

On January 1, 1890, the Italian colony of Eritrea was officially proclaimed. Emperor Menelik II might have thought the treaty was to maintain a positive and long-lasting relationship between the two empires. Unfortunately, Italy had a different agenda, and Article 17 might reveal their sinister intentions. If we look at Article 17 closely, there is a major difference between the Italian and the Amharic version. Article 17 states, His Majesty the King of Kings of Ethiopia can use the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy for all treatments that did business with other powers or governments. The Ethiopians understood this version as saying that the emperor of Ethiopia is granted a choice and is not mandated to use the Italian government to conduct foreign relations (Perham 1969).

On the contrary, either by design or accident, the Italian version read differently. It stated that Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities, making Ethiopia an Italian protectorate. Menelik II was not in favor of accepting protection from Italy. He even appealed to King Umberto I to rectify the treaty error. Unable to resolve this disagreement, he denounced the treaty. When Menelik II denounced the treaty, Italy attempted to forcefully impose protectorate status over Ethiopia. This difference became the source of miscommunications that led to the first war between the two countries, known as the Battle of Adua (Chisholm ed. 1911).

Emperor Menelik II declared a total mobilization of war against Italy. He called on all Ethiopians to defend their country, family, and religion. Before he marched to fight, he prayed at Saint Michael's Church and ordered every capable person to fight and those incapable to pray for Ethiopia's victory. He led a disorganized group of fighters made up of farmers, pastoralists, women and rural people, workers, and a small number of regular soldiers. Fortunately, on his side was his wife, Etege Taytu Betul, who is not very much discussed as a contributor to the win. I would like to say a few words about this remarkable queen. She was raised in a bureaucratic family. She was church educated and is said to have excelled to the heights of composing traditional oral Qene poetry. After four failed marriages to important persons, she married Menelik II when he was the ruler of Shewa. When Menelik II became the emperor of Ethiopia in 1889, she became the empress of Ethiopia with the regal title of EtegeTaytu Betul, Light of Ethiopia. She was barren but a good stepmother to Zewditu, the daughter of Menelik II, begotten from his first wife.

Etege Taytu tried very hard to make her ascend the throne in her last days. The empress seemed to be the main architect of the battle as she had her own contingent of close to five thousand troops and many known women, including Princess Zewditu Menelik. She took command of provisional and medical operations during the battle and positioned herself as a powerful moral force. Most importantly, she commanded operations against Italian military access to all sources of potable water. The battle occurred in a historical city called Adwa in the Tigre province. The battle lasted for two days. The casualty was very high on both sides. The number of the Italian army killed is estimated to have been more than six thousand, of whom slightly more than half were Italians. The remainder were Askari forces (African troops hired and trained by the Italians). Additionally, between three thousand and four thousand of those fighting under Italian command were taken prisoner by the Ethiopians. Perhaps as many as 70 percent of Italy's soldiers were thus killed or captured. More than five thousand Ethiopian troops were killed and eight thousand wounded in the battle—a number greater than Italy's losses but a small percentage of all Ethiopian forces (Commey 2014).

After the Italians lost the war, they signed the Addis Ababa treaty in October of 1896. This treaty abrogated the Treaty of Wuchale and reestablished peace. The Italians' claim to a protectorate over all of Ethiopia was thereafter abandoned, and the Italian colony of Eritrea was finally delimited as an Italian colony. Emperor Menelik II could have pushed the Italians through the Red Sea out of Eritrea the way they came. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he did not pursue the defeated enemy across the Mereb River. Rather, he retired southward into Ethiopia, leaving Eritrea for Rome (Marcus 1994). Menilek's victory over the Italians gave him significant credibility with the European powers, bolstered his mandate at home, and provided the Ethiopian kingdom with a period of peace. During this period, he expanded his boundaries within Ethiopia and flourished, in contrast to most of the African continent, which was embroiled in colonial conflicts. Various treaties were signed with Italy, France, and Great Britain in the years up to 1908, which fixed the borders of Ethiopia with the neighboring territories ruled by the European powers. Once he signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa in September of 1890, obtaining Italian recognition of Ethiopia's sovereignty, in return, he willingly accepted the recognition of Italian rule over Eritrea. This is important since it marks Eritrea as a separate entity from Ethiopia. There is one thing that history never recorded adequately in this incident.

Eritreans made important, though little-acknowledged, contributions to the Ethiopian victory over the Italian colonizers by gathering crucial intelligence. Emperor Menelik II returned the favor by savagely amputating the arms and legs of Eritrean war prisoners. Never mind that these poor Eritrean peasants were violently forced to fight under Italy, just as other European colonialists used Africans, Indians, and other colonial subjects as cannon fodder for their wars of conquest everywhere. Nevertheless, Menelik II, the so-called champion of a Black victory, decided to set free his Italian and Libyan war prisoners, while about eight hundred captured Askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet amputated (Wylde 1901). This was during the European colonialist scramble for Africa, where Eritrea, Somalia, and Libya were declared Italian colonies.

The Italian colonial policy was different from that of the British and the French. There is also a general talk that describes Italians as compulsive and sentimental people. If given the opportunity, they prefer to stay in their home country until death. If not, they would emulate everything they know where they go. This became a reality in Eritrea. As soon as the colony was established, many civilian Italians—some volunteering, some adventurous, and some who were forced because of crimes that had been committed—came to Eritrea. All these civilians had some kind of skill they brought with them and were immediately offered work in their field of expertise. That was exactly what they did with Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea. As soon as they declared Eritrea their colony, the Italians started transforming the landscape, emulating their homeland. They poured their skills and hearts with no reservation because they thought their stay was forever. They built villas, roads, railways, bridges, and tunnels not only artistically, aesthetically, and architecturally beautiful but also durable that still stands today. The Italians did this by using their renowned architectural engineering acumen and using the best ingredients like granite stone, which abound in the Eritrean highlands.

Unfortunately, the Italians established an apartheid system of segregation and arrogantly believed that Eritrea was another Italy abroad. They built first-class infrastructures and established a modern irrigation system for agriculture and manufacturing industries for themselves. The Italians called Asmara, the capital city, Picola Roma (Little Rome). This beautiful city has one of the biggest concentrations of art deco buildings of the 1930s, such as the neoclassical Governor's Palace (see figure 2), and yes, the Catholic Cathedral was completed in 1923 in the Lombardi style (figure 3). Additional buildings that charm the city include Cinema Impero, built in 1937 (see figure 4), and the aircraft-inspired Fiat Tagliero gas station, a freestanding concrete cantilever roof built between 1935 and 1941 (see figure 5). The Italians built the city of Asmara to resemble the real Roma. Many of these colonial villas and mansions are still standing and in use.

Figure 1. Eritrean victims of the Battle of Adua

Figure 2. The old Governor's Palace

Figure 3. The Catholic Cathedral, completed in 1923