BOLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CORNERSTONE
No
development in the modem world has been so startling or has produced such
far-reaching results in so short a time as has the revolution in the field of
communications which the 20th century has witnessed. Only a few decades ago,
travel from one quarter of the globe to another was a month-long process.
Battles continued in wars, when peace had already been declared between the
combattant nations.
How
different is the situation in 1962. Today, man’s voice flashes around the earth
in split seconds. Distance and time have been annihilated. The most recent
events in any part of the world are immediately known thousands of miles away.
Moreover, times in which we live have witnessed man’s success in his endeavour
to reach the moon and the stars.
Few
nations have been as deeply affected by the revolution in communications and
transport as Ethiopia. Our high mountain fortress, which for so many years
stood as a bulwark between Ethiopia and the outside world, has only been
breached within the memory of men who live today, but the changes wrought are deep
and their impact far-reaching. The technology of the modern world has become
more speedily available to us as modern facilities for the communication of
ideas and the transport of men and material have reached into Ethiopia.
The ceremony in which We participate today
stands as testimony to the vitally important role which air transport has
played in Ethiopia in the past 15 years and as a promise for the
ever-increasing contribution which this mode of transportation will contribute
to the well-being of Ethiopia and Our beloved people in the future. It has also
been gratifying to us to note that Our young men who were given training in
aviation here since the past 15 years have been very promising. Thanks to air
transportation, the agricultural produce of our nation has moved into the
export market from areas hitherto inaccessible except over remote and hazardous
mountain trails. Thanks to air transportation, goods and materials have moved
into outlying regions of Our Empire, thus providing Our people with the basis
for an ever-increasing standard of living, exciting their imagination and
encouraging them to seek yet further means of improving their way of life.
Air transportation has enabled Ethiopia to
become better acquainted not only with her neighbours, but with the peoples of
other continents, and We are proud that Ethiopian Airlines has been the first
African carrier to span the broad expanse between Eastern and Western Africa.
We have signed agreements with various African and European countries providing
the widest measure of rights to the Ethiopian Air Lines.
Most Modern Facilities
Owing so much to air transport, and expecting such significant rewards
from its further expansion, it is only fitting that Our nation should possess
the most modern air facilities. The installations which are under construction
and for which We today dedicate the commemoration stone will permit and
encourage the further development of air travel and transport both within
Ethiopia and abroad. Although We are physically present only in Addis Ababa Our
action today should be regarded as symbolically touching the new air
installations being constructed at Asmara, at Dire Dawa, at Jimma and Bahr Dar
as well.
These facilities are being financed by
loans negotiated with the Development Loan Fund of the Government of the United
States of America, and We are grateful for this assistance. We must, however,
also recognize that the indebtedness thus incurred constitutes a heavy burden
for our Government and people, and we must be assiduous to insure that the
moneys We are investing will earn a proper return. Exports must be increased,
tourists and other visitors must be encouraged to come to Ethiopia and their
stay here made pleasant and fruitful. Ethiopian Airlines services must be
expanded, and all measures required to ensure that its operations continue to
be safe and efficient must be taken. In short, a co-ordinated effort calculated
to accelerate the growth of air transport within Ethiopia as well as between
Ethiopia and her neighbours in Africa, Asia and Europe must be undertaken and
pressed to completion. We call upon all whoso responsibilities lie in this
field to redouble their efforts.
We express thanks to the Minister of
Public Works and Communications, to the Department of Civil Aviation, to
Ethiopian Airlines, to the firms engaged in the construction of these
installations, and to all those others whose efforts have contributed to the
work which We see in progress before Us. We look forward to the day when these
works will be completed and when Ethiopia’s commercial aviation arm will have
truly entered the modern jet age.
July 17, 1962
Selected
Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 566 –
 | ||||||
| Ethiopian Airlines Cabin Crew pose for a photograph with HIM QHS |
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen