- The Silence of Amhara (Ethiopian) Intellectuals: A Call for Moral and Scholarly Responsibility
Girma Berhanu (Professor)
Abstract
Despite ongoing atrocities and systemic persecution targeting the Amhara people in Ethiopia, the intellectual response from Amhara scholars—both domestic and in the diaspora—remains notably subdued. This article examines the social, psychological, and political factors underlying this silence, contrasting it with the mobilization of intellectual networks within other ethnonational movements. It argues that the reluctance of Amhara intellectuals to engage publicly represents not only a missed opportunity for advocacy but also a moral and epistemic crisis that undermines the broader pursuit of justice and national reconciliation.
Keywords: Amhara intellectuals, Ethiopia, diaspora politics, political silence, moral responsibility, Abiy Ahmed, ethnonationalism
1. Introduction
In periods of national crisis, intellectuals play a crucial role in articulating collective grievances, shaping moral discourse, and influencing both domestic and international policy debates. Ethiopia’s recent political turmoil—marked by civil conflict, human rights violations, and ethnically targeted violence—has tested the ethical and civic responsibility of its scholarly communities. Among these, the conspicuous silence of Amhara intellectuals stands out as a deeply troubling phenomenon.
While Amhara communities have suffered large-scale displacement, massacres, and systematic marginalization, many intellectuals within this group have refrained from vocal engagement. Some justify their reticence by arguing that publicizing Amhara suffering may weaken Ethiopia’s national unity or appear ethnocentric. However, such reasoning conflates intellectual integrity with political conformity and fails to recognize that silence in the face of injustice perpetuates harm rather than preventing it.
2. Intellectual Passivity and Historical Context
Historically, Ethiopian intellectual traditions have oscillated between nationalism and dissent, with Amhara elites often associated with the defense of a unified state. This legacy may partly explain the hesitation of Amhara intellectuals to frame their community’s suffering in explicitly ethnic terms. Nonetheless, contemporary realities—marked by targeted killings, state repression, and exclusion from political power—demand a re-evaluation of this stance.
In contrast, Tigrayan and Oromo intellectual circles have effectively mobilized scholarship, media, and advocacy to construct consistent fake narratives of collective victimhood and political aspiration. While some of these narratives have been criticized for exaggeration or selective historical (mis)interpretation, their success underscores the power of intellectual engagement in shaping national and international perceptions. The relative absence of Amhara voices from similar discursive arenas has contributed to a dangerous asymmetry in Ethiopia’s political and moral discourse.
3. The Diaspora and the Ethics of Detachment
The Amhara diaspora, particularly in Western countries, occupies a unique position of freedom, education, and access to global platforms. Yet this potential remains largely untapped. Many highly educated Amhara professionals—academics, scientists, and policy experts—avoid public commentary on the crisis, often citing fear of reputational risk, professional constraints, or political backlash.
This detachment, however, raises profound ethical questions. To remain silent while possessing the means and knowledge to expose injustice is to become complicit in its perpetuation. Diaspora intellectuals have both the moral and scholarly responsibility to document violations, engage in rigorous analysis, and amplify the voices of those silenced by repression.
4. Toward a Renewed Intellectual Ethic
A revitalized Amhara intellectual movement must ground itself in evidence-based inquiry, historical honesty, and moral clarity. This involves moving beyond emotional rhetoric toward disciplined research that documents violence, displacement, and structural exclusion. It also requires the courage to challenge the false dichotomy between ethnic advocacy and national unity. Defending the rights of one community does not undermine Ethiopia’s cohesion; rather, it reinforces the principle of justice upon which any durable unity must rest.
Moreover, collective action among scholars—through networks, conferences, and publications—can transform isolated concerns into sustained academic and policy engagement. The establishment of research centers, human rights observatories, and diaspora think tanks dedicated to Amhara issues would represent a crucial step toward reclaiming intellectual agency.
In our country, intelligence has learned to kneel. The thinkers who were meant to see have turned blind — not out of ignorance, but out of convenience. Before I conclude this brief reflection, I must emphasize that these words apply to all Ethiopian intellectuals, whether they come from the Gurage, Wolayta, Somali, Sidama, or any of the more than eighty ethnic groups that make up our nation. Look around the world, and the contrast is impossible to ignore. In Palestine, Ukraine, and across the Middle East, intellectuals rise with courage and conviction, standing shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed, challenging injustice, and refusing to stay silent. They risk their lives, their safety, and their comfort to fight for what is right. And yet, in Ethiopia, too many of our thinkers remain distant spectators, watching their nation’s struggles from the sidelines while silence becomes complicity. Namibians, even when abroad, return home to vote, demonstrating loyalty and responsibility. In Botswana and Ghana, intellectuals care deeply, engage actively, and shape the course of their countries. Meanwhile, Ethiopia waits—for voices that dare to speak, hands that dare to act, and minds that dare to lead. The nation is calling, and history will not forgive those who stay silent (Major Dawit Woldegiorgis Personal Communication, 2025-10-19).
5. Conclusion
The failure of Amhara intellectuals to publicly address the suffering of their people reflects a broader crisis of moral responsibility within Ethiopia’s intellectual landscape. At stake is not merely political advocacy but the very integrity of knowledge production in times of moral urgency. If intellectuals abandon their duty to truth and justice, the space for propaganda, revisionism, and authoritarianism expands unchecked.
The Amhara diaspora must therefore embrace its historical role as both witness and advocate. Silence is no longer a neutral stance—it is a form of complicity. The path forward demands a deliberate awakening: transforming silence into scholarship, passivity into principle, and private awareness into public action. Only through such transformation can intellectuals contribute meaningfully to justice, peace, and the preservation of Ethiopia’s moral and historical conscience.