Dr. Araia is a bombastic individual who often stirs controversy in Ethiopian history, specifically in the relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is easier to call him a propagandist than a historian or an expert in international relations. He claims to be a Tigrean who, at some point in time, lived in Eritrea. He often advocates for creating a new Tigray-Tigrini country in the Horn of Africa that includes the Tigray region of Ethiopia and the highlands of Eritrea. He recruits disgruntled individuals and works hard towards that end. He seems to have difficulty reconciling himself with the fact that even if he lived in Eritrea, he is a Tigrayan or Ethiopian. Eritrea and Ethiopia are two internationally recognized countries in the Horn of Africa.
Education
Dr. Araia’s formal training is in education. His official biography indicates that he received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a master’s degree in education, and then a doctorate in international studies with a specialization in comparative and international education[^1]. Then how did he end up being a historian? All his presentations and video interviews are about Ethiopian history with a specific emphasis on his birthplace, the Northern Ethiopian region, Tigray. His comments are about international boundaries, kings, and warlords who existed in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is true that with some additional training, scholars can gravitate to a different field. For instance, because Dr. Araia’s training is in education, he can team up with someone who specializes in history to study the history of education. But Dr. Araia, through training, cannot be a historian. I believe the confusion that Dr. Araia is creating in the Horn of Africa comes from this weakness. It would be better for him and his audience to stay within his field of training, which is education.
Academic Work History
Dr. Araia is an adjunct. To understand what this means, we need to dig a little deeper. The U.S. higher education academic faculty ranks range from highest to lowest: full professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, lecturer, and then adjunct. Adjuncts are hired to teach one or more courses for a quarter (3 months) or a semester (6 months), and they are paid on a per-course basis and often at a lower rate than the full-time faculty. Adjuncts are temporary jobs and are ineligible for tenure or other job-related benefits. Regarding Dr. Araia’s salary, we find the following information from Lehman College, where he claims to work:
“Lehman College records show Ghelawdewos Araia held one job between 2015 and 2023. One of the most recent records in 2023 lists a job of Adjunct Associate Professor and a pay of $21,321. This is 62.3 percent lower than the average pay for co-workers and 70.3 percent lower than the national average for government employees.”[^2]
Besides Lehman College, Dr. Araia also taught courses in other colleges, all as an adjunct. So, from the above information, we can verify that Dr. Araia’s academic work history has been part-time, and he rarely had a full-time academic position. He is at the bottom of the academic hierarchy. If Dr. Araia were as smart as he claims to be, he could have at least held a lecturer, senior lecturer, or assistant professor position, which are all full-time entry-level positions. In fact, given his tenure in the academic field, he could have reached full professor. He has achieved none of that.
He is a Mythologist
“A mythologist is a scholar who studies myths, folklore, legends, and religious stories from various cultures, analyzing their cultural significance, historical context, symbolism, and impact on societies.”[^3]
Dr. Araia’s interviews and presentations are often based on mythology or hearsay. Although he graduated in international studies, he does not respect international law and the internationally recognized sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries. Dr. Araia hails from the Northern Ethiopian region called Tigray. Because of his origin, he falsely advocates for the annexation of an internationally recognized neighboring country, Eritrea, by Ethiopia. Although the international boundaries of Eritrea were clearly defined by agreements between Ethiopia and Italy, he never mentions this fact in his arguments.
“The Eritrea-Ethiopia border was established through a series of colonial-era treaties, primarily the 1900 Treaty (Mareb-Belesa-Muna line), the 1902 Treaty (western sector), and the 1908 Treaty, with the Algiers Agreement of 2000 establishing a Boundary Commission to delimit and demarcate the border based on these treaties.”[^4]
Dr. Araia often skips the above fact and covers his propaganda using the mythology of what previous emperors and kings from the Tigray region of Ethiopia are rumored to have said. For instance, Dr. Araia’s evidence to claim the Red Sea is a mythology that a Tigrean king called Sebagades asked his people to bury him with his head pointing toward the Red Sea. He also mentions another Tigrean warlord called Alula Abanega, whose horse is said to have drunk salty water from the Red Sea. Before the Italian colonization, the Red Sea coastal region of Eritrea, including Massawa, was under Ottoman control (16th century), which was later replaced by Egyptian rule in 1872. Thus, there is no evidence that Sibagades or Alula were even close to the Red Sea. But for Dr. Araia, it is enough evidence to put a claim on the Red Sea, which is internationally recognized Eritrean territory. The question is: how can a person who claims to be a modern academician put a claim on an internationally recognized land of a neighboring country based on mythology?
Complaint Against Dr. Araia’s Misinterpretations of History
Dr. Araia is not new to accusations of misinterpretation. In a complaint petition titled “Complaint Against Dr. Ghelawdewos Araia’s Interview on 24 March 2016 with the Voice of America Tigrigna Program”[^5] signed by 662 people, he was accused of falsely citing a book originally written in the Portuguese language by Manoel Barradas and translated to English by Elizabel Filleul. In the interview, he falsely said that the Tigray province of Ethiopia, where he hails from, in the 17th century was large enough to include the Wolkite Tsegede area. Dr. Araia was accused of favoring his ethnic group.
Conclusion
Dr. Araia is teaching somebody’s children in an American college. He needs to be careful about what he teaches in a classroom and says in public YouTube interviews. Academia is about facts and logic. You cannot put yourself in an academic position and work hard to develop facts out of mythology. Above all, Dr. Araia needs to base his arguments on international treaties and applicable laws. Specifically, his propaganda-like presentations about the historical relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea are too false to merit academic ethics and integrity investigations.
References
- https://www.africanidea.org/Araia%20Book%20Talk.pdf
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https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/complaint-against-dr-ghelawdewos-araias
