I reckon if you're a country as poor as Ethiopia, you can't afford to hold a grudge. When it comes to major infrastructure projects like the G E R Dam, they had to take the best bid—the company that offered the highest quality at the lowest price.
The first time the Italians invaded Ethiopia, they were humiliated. The Ethiopian army decisively defeated them, and one of their greatest assets was the repeating rifles—some of which may have been supplied by the boy genius Arthur Rimbaud. By that time in his life, Rimbaud had abandoned poetry and moved to Ethiopia to work as a coffee merchant. While it's uncertain how essential his weapons were, they may have played a role in strengthening Ethiopia’s defenses.
Regardless, the Ethiopians took full advantage of the terrain they knew intimately and outnumbered the Italians nearly four to one. Even without the rifles, they might have won—but with them, they annihilated the Italian forces and forced a humiliating retreat. That defeat set the stage for Italy’s later invasion in the 20th century, when they returned with far more aggression and fewer scruples. The Italians used everything at their disposal, including poison gas, but it didn’t do much good. They didn’t stay very long.
