By Keffyalew Gebremedhin A former colleague from my previous life, who still runs strong, recently called me to share nail-biting occurrence that he learned about in his office. It was regarding an invitation extended to a renowned Ethiopian expert in Addis Abeba to participate in an international forum on video/Skype, in tandem with other experts from other regions of the world. The organization was inviting the Ethiopian because of his expertise so that he could share his insight in the light of Ethiopia’s experiences in poverty reduction and growth and development; it boils down whether, after all, poverty is defeated or still remains daunting and, if so, the problem has its origin in vision, policies, institutions or politics. The expert’s brief response, I was told, was “heartrending.” His letter thanked the inviting agency for the honor it has bestowed on him. But he simply said he could not be a part of that important undertaking for three reasons: a. Where he li