After over four years of working for the International NGO community, I was eventually heading to Ethiopia. I had somehow managed to miss visiting our biggest country office (both at Save the Children UK and Save the Children US) and the fifth worst country in terms of the Human Development Index. In some ways I can see how the HDI “award” has been awarded, but after my first day in Addis Ababa, the capital, I soon changed my mind.
Day 1
Arriving into Bole International Airport was easy enough. Tourist visa on arrival was easily and quickly obtained (no questions asked), despite the scare stories of strict immigration requirements and long queues. Then again, I did arrive at 130am on a Saturday morning, in the dark and cold. Yes, the cold! Addis Ababa is Ethiopia’s (latest) capital and the 3rd highest capital in the world. Not exactly fitting with the images of famine and drought broadcast round the world by Live Aid! For once, no-one was there with a Save the Children placard with my name on it. Cold, dark, tired, middle of the night, Ethiopia! I managed to make my way to the Dagem Milennium Hotel, where an Ambien and melatonin sent me off to la-la land at 3am.
Day 2
After an early rise (8am) and a quiet and pleasant Saturday in “the office”, or the Ethiopian equivalent of a rondavel / hut, we headed out to a traditional dinner accompanied with a range of regional dancing at a local Ethiopian restaurant. A number of things struck me from the outset: this was no normal tacky touristy affair – but a genuinely atmospheric place crammed with locals who were enjoying the local food and dancing just as much as the dancers on stage. Injeera (the local bread-style staple food) here is recommended, as is the tej (honey wine) after a few, and the coffee, popcorn and incense at the end is a must. Music and entertainment was almost hypnotic, and the “up-for-it” crowd made it an experience never to forget. One thing that I didn’t expect, however, was the style of music…. Not “out of Africa” as much as Arabian nights. Nevertheless, a genuinely and traditionally entertaining night to remember.
Day 3
After breakfast, first stop was the Pharmacy. Previous trips in Sub-Saharan Africa were more than successful for stockpiling controlled substances J. However after some negotiation, it became apparent there was some level of control in place in Ethiopia – or Addis, at least. I left empty handed. Nothing but antibiotics. My hopes and future “state of mind” dashed. L
The menu for the day included the Ethnological Museum, an over-hyped museum in Addis (albeit set in beautiful grounds) and the National Museum – home of Lucy, a fossilized hominid midget and at one time our oldest ancestor, proving Africa and Ethiopia was the new ‘cradle of civilization”. After an exciting and beautiful drive up to the Holy trinity Cathedral, as gentle, religious Ethiopian Orthodox (fellow) Christians of all shapes and sizes flocked towards the grand and ornate gates at the entrance to the well-kept grounds inside, our entry was “interrupted” by an overactive “jobsworth” security guard who was asking us for money. Money?! In a Church!? But I am a Christian, I protested. Nevertheless, I was a foreigner first and foremost and I couldn’t enter the Church! Not without paying. After numerous renditions (in front of a gathering crowd) of “I’m a Christian – This is the house of my God – This is not Christian behavior – I want to speak to the priest – Even….That’s not nice” – my efforts proved fruitless… even after a discussion with the guard’s “master” and the Church administration! Disappointed (but calmed by a gentle Christian soul who engaged us” we left. Sunset in Addis Ababa is worth seeing from the Top View – however have drinks in the restaurant side, which is more comfortable and cozy.
Home of coffee. Chat, injeera (socks)
Day 5
Highlight of the day was, in order of importance – the Sheraton Hotel, and dinner at the Hilton! If anyone wants to live in the lap of luxury, the Sheraton Addis Ababa is the place to be. In all my travels in all the countries in the world, I would have to say this hotel was up there in the top 3. Ornate fountains, manicured gardens, professional and good looking staff and clients, 24 hour bank, travel agent and shops on-site - a genuinely global buzz. The bar at the Hilton has a great buzz for a drink, but it’s nothing compared to the Sheraton. Money is available form the ATM in both. And your best bet in Addis!
Day 6
Driving south from Addis towards Awasa is a journey – normally a 3-hour journey on a good day (and although great, we took 5). The landscape gets progressively greener as you pass into the Great Rift Valley (one of nature’s naturally stunning wonders) and towards the lakes. Lake Langano appeals to the Brits, they (Lonely Planet) say, as they can swim in the biggest cup of tea in the world – that’s a great big ol’ murky brown lake to you and I. Along the way, everyone must stop at the XX hotel, in XXX. It’s the African equivalent of a roadside diner in middle America – except this one is cool with a very art-deco interior and art-deco coffee machine. Get the fried beef, and the obligatory Macchiato. This is Ethiopia after all!
Day 7
Driving through the Great Rift Valley from Awasa to Addis….
Our objective for the night was to get some good Ethiopian Jazz music. Club Alise was recommended by the trendy, local girl in the hotel shop. The club is above the Red Bean café, which is Ethiopia’s answer to Starbucks. Music started a bit strange. Nice, but mellow. A ful Jazz band, Double Bass player, guitarist, 2 drummers – 1 conventional and 1 African, Clarinetist and a old guy who looked more like a kingpin in the Chinese mafia playing what could only be described (by me, anyway) as a Yukelele. Tempo picked up, the place became rammed with an assortment of characters, all cool, funky or eccentric looking. The highlight of the night, however (and maybe the week) was what a guy got up and started doing some, at first weird, dancing in front of the stage. I thought, “this geezer is really goint to make a fool of himself”, but just as I was about to give up hope it got more creative and turned into the funkiest and most entertaining form of Ethiopian dancing I’d see to date! It was, dare it say it, COOL, and really brought everyone up. A girl got up and joined him and it was like a routine. The staple shoulder-dancing, some spinning, head shaking and body popping, Ethiopian style, had everyone mesmerized. This free-styling hands down sh*t on the traditional yet impressive dancing from Yod Abbisynia the weekend before. I wanted to sign up for Ethiopian dance classes there and then. And have these funky people as my mates. I wish I had my camera!
Day 8 – Moving hotel and a night out on the tiles in Addis!
When staying in Ethiopia, one should consider the location of the hotel, as well as the facilities, of course. Despite having incredibly hospitable staff, the Dagem Milennium, in “Old Airport” part of town, is a 20-30 minute taxi ride away from Bole – Addis’ hip stretch of bars and restaurants. You may pay an extra $10-20 a night, however rooms are generally nicer, you will be saving both money and the hassle of haggling with taxi drivers each night back and forward, and you will avoid the exciting yet often white-knuckle experience of taking one of the old blue Ladas that call themselves taxis. At the time of leaving Addis, I was yet to confirm how all these rust-buckets (the Ladas) got themselves there from Russia. One piece of advice if you find yourself having to travel in one – try to find one with all of its rusty doors intact and able to close - Yes, I had a very close shave with death one night! Whilst turning round to speak to some colleagues in the back of the moving skip (an old school joke springs to mind: “What do you call a Lada with a sunroof?”), I leaned on the door and it sprung open as we were cruising down the busy street. Of course there are no seatbelts – so I said a quiet prayer to God that night for blessing me with quick reflexes.
Continuing the theme from the night before, we returned to Club Alise – Friday night plays host to live singers and a band, and the theme is 60s and 70s soul. Visiting Alise is a must, with its mixed and sophisticated crowd, New-Orleans-esque Jazz lounge feel and most importantly incredibly talented singers (the regular guy in his trilby hat belts out numbers by Otis Redding and the like, while being backed up by girls who look like they could have been one of the Pipettes or Supremes). The Harlem Jazz, nearby, is also a favourite for locals and foreigners alike. The night we went, there was a live male singer – again, incredibly talented – however be aware of the rife prostitution. That sweet girl dancing with you on the dance-floor may just have a pimp-mamma waiting to negotiate some sort of deal for something more than you bargained for. Mimo is the after hours place to go, which is more akin to the late night clubs you’d find in Europe or the States, and kicks off around 1am with dancing until six.
Day 9 – The Hash House Harriers
The excesses and madness of the night before ensured I slept through my alarm and missed flight to wonderful places on the Historical Circuit in the north that I had planned for 2 weeks to visit - Lalibela (with its rock-hewn churches) and Gonder (Africa’s answer to Camelot – with its dreamy castles). Waking up startled and drunk at 7am, after getting to bed at 530am, when your flight is scheduled to depart at 730am – is not the best way to start the day! That said, however, the adrenaline replaced the need for coffee to kick-start my day. My driver had been waiting downstairs since 6am, so at 710, I was in the car and on my way to the airport. God knows why: I had clearly missed my flight. A little disappointed, fragile and drunk, I arrived at the Hilton Hotel Ethiopian Airlines office to see what I could do with the rest of my weekend. It was still before 8am. Lalibela and Gonder were out of the question, and Bahir Dar (which I remembered was close to Lake Tana, the Blue Nile, countless island monasteries and only a 5-hour ride from the Simien Mountains) was not. Ethiopian Airlines were great and gave me a full refund (minus 100 birrh or about $8) and booked me on another flight that night at 830am to Bahir Dar. I had even called ahead and booked my accommodation. I was going on an adventure somewhere in the remoter parts of Ethiopia, and on my own. As excited as I was, I had to go back to bed, so the driver dropped me at the Jupiter International Hotel in Bole (recommended at $90 / night) at 9am and I slept until noon.
Not sure of what to do until my 830pm flight that evening, my colleague and I decided to go to the convening of the infamous Hash House Harriers at the Addis Hilton. For those of you who don’t know who the HHH are, visit this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers). In summary, they started as a group of ex-pats in Kuala Lumpur, who would meet on a Monday night to go running and sweat out the weekend’s excesses. This “detox” was generally followed by beer and mutual “piss-taking” and humiliation and turned into a social event for the expatriate community. Now there are hashes in hundreds of cities around the world, each subscribing to standard rules and procedures (mainly for entertainment) which is explained on the aforementioned link. In essence, however, people are nominates as “hares” every week and they go beforehand to leave the trail using white flour (or in this case, paper – since food is scarce in Ethiopia – wouldn’t be right really if we were wasting food for fun!), the group set out on the run, following the trail, however at certain points it (and the group) splits up and there are false trails and it’s all matter of trial and error to find the right one. This hash, at the rest points, there were condoms laid / hidden, which were to be found and collected along the trail. The winner was the one with the most condoms at the end. At the end of the run, there was beer, nominations for and humiliation of dunce of the week, introduction of new people, returning people, inappropriate jokes etc. and all involving drinking or downing beer.
Every week after convening at the Hilton hotel, this hash (group of around 40-50 locals and expats) bundle into their many cars and mini bus and drive to a different location. This week it was the Entoto Mountains in Addis. Along the way you are greeted with the sites of local villagers, tired donkeys, tired women carrying massive bales of sticks and no men, really.
Joining for the hash was a great way to meet people, and we ended up with a really good group of guys – Miriam, a girl who just moved to Addis to work for the Canadian Embassy; Bart, the Dutch renewable energy specialist working for the German Government Development wing; Robel, Ethiopian guy working for US consulate.
The people were typically an English lot, some Italians, mix of Ethiopians and expatriates. I’d recommend the hash, not just for the people but for the stunning / spectacular / breathtaking vistas and scenery that’s normally involved in running in different countries. This one involved running through woods, up hills and mountains, and across fields and dirt tracks.
The 5 star Intercontinental Hotel was holding a “get-together” on their roof-top bar and pool – free food and drink. Never think you were in Addis. Glass lift, Lobby – pretty but not most atmospheric – awful music, coffee lady with smoke. Che bar – only thing “Che’ about it was the poster – African music, dark and dingy, awful toilets.
Champions – great place, random name, given the Arabian lounge-like feel, shisha, posters of veiled women and Arabic writing / signage. Great funky music and moody lighting and pretty cool crowd. Mimos again!
Missed flight to Bahir Dar! Oops! Well worth it though.
Day 10
Drugs controlled.
Housewarming. One of the Scandinavian country’s ambassador (wont say). Chat, shisha, beers. Expand on Chat – second biggest export after coffee (unofficially it’s the 1st). Legal tho some sectors and regions – like drugs. Somalia – stories.
Ling the two with – other “less fantastic” parts of Ethiopian society. Intolerable / backwards in terms of acceptance of liberal social values – attitude to women, children homosexuality etc. still in dark ages.
This was somewhat highlighted at the same housewarming party - Jokes / soh – different – lots of jokes derogatory to women, and rape jokes – I was uncomfortable, so no wonder my poor (female) Canadian friend from the embassy left.
Day 12 - 14 – Mekele, Tigray.
Be warned, if you catch the daily flight from Addis to Mekele in Tigray, you will likely have to awake at the ungodly hour of 4am. The flight itself takes about an hour, and is quite pleasant. And Ethiopian Airlines domestic service is somewhat better than Turkish Airlines’ international service from Istanbul.
Mekele, to the north, is the capital of Tigray – home to Ethiopia’s “ruling class”. The week before my trip, I had heard a number of stories, e.g. “they account for 5-6% of the population and control the whole government” which is largely true, however for a truer and more recent picture, I’d advise….. Wikipedia or Google! As well as being the home of former kings and the ruling classes, Mekele is also a great base from which to explore the historical circuit. It’s home to some pretty amazing rock-hewn churches which probably pre-date the ones at Lalibella and, given the effort (either the long drive from town or the arduous climb up a mountain face to reach them), are more wondrous. Get a guide, is my advice. If not to find the churches, then to find the elusive priests who work the field but hold the keys.
Aksum, to the north of Mekele – was once the capital of Ethiopia - home to Ark of the Covenant – Queen of Sheba. Etc.
The Aksum Hotel in Mekele is the place to stay (although at 845 Birrh, it’s a bit of a rip-off. Hill View is owned by a Sheik, and the 45th richest man in the world, and offers better views. One saving grace, however is that imported wine is good, and cheaper than anywhere else in this class of hotel.
Cement factory – middle of nowhere – Limestone – destroying mountain.
Boy at school – telephone operator.
Construction. Cty involvement – quarry the stone – ferried thro mountains from quarry by us, then shaped into bricks by contractor. Shortage of timber, poorly mixed cement, late handover of pastoral lands. Kids learning in half built schools. PPL MUCH friendlier than the south.
Crazy lady. No safety net / care.
Ethiopian Calendar – 6 hours 7 years.
Camels – going to Denaki depression - …………. Rock salt!
FX rates fixed.
Visit to schools, water pumps, natural combine harvester, tef – carpet / socks / injeera, church etc. (see notebook)
Met lawyer – New NGO bill – Ngos called charities and societies – For national NGOs (even churches) if > 10 % funding comes from overseas, they are considered “international” and subject to these new provisions. Given that the Ethiopian government (or people) doesn’t exactly donate funds to charities for development work in their own country, that basically relegates them all to “international” status. The new law prohibits any advocacy or human rights work – which will have a massive impact on our programming. One might ask “Why”? Well, an election is coming up in May 2010 and given that the last election results were dubious at best and the resulting human rights abuses as the government tried to cling onto power and suppress opposition parties, they are doing everything in their power to ensure foreign forces / interests don’t interfere in their agenda of clinging to power. What that means, in reality, is that we cannot raise the population’s awareness of their basic human rights and minimum things to expect in a democratic election. Keeping people ignorant – keeps them powerless. Only thing we can do is wait and see. However one thing is certain - the future of Ethiopia in terms of
Driving through the Great Rift Valley from Awasa to Addis….
Our objective for the night was to get some good Ethiopian Jazz music. Club Alise was recommended by the trendy, local girl in the hotel shop. The club is above the Red Bean café, which is Ethiopia’s answer to Starbucks. Music started a bit strange. Nice, but mellow. A ful Jazz band, Double Bass player, guitarist, 2 drummers – 1 conventional and 1 African, Clarinetist and a old guy who looked more like a kingpin in the Chinese mafia playing what could only be described (by me, anyway) as a Yukelele. Tempo picked up, the place became rammed with an assortment of characters, all cool, funky or eccentric looking. The highlight of the night, however (and maybe the week) was what a guy got up and started doing some, at first weird, dancing in front of the stage. I thought, “this geezer is really goint to make a fool of himself”, but just as I was about to give up hope it got more creative and turned into the funkiest and most entertaining form of Ethiopian dancing I’d see to date! It was, dare it say it, COOL, and really brought everyone up. A girl got up and joined him and it was like a routine. The staple shoulder-dancing, some spinning, head shaking and body popping, Ethiopian style, had everyone mesmerized. This free-styling hands down sh*t on the traditional yet impressive dancing from Yod Abbisynia the weekend before. I wanted to sign up for Ethiopian dance classes there and then. And have these funky people as my mates. I wish I had my camera!
Day 8 – Moving hotel and a night out on the tiles in Addis!
When staying in Ethiopia, one should consider the location of the hotel, as well as the facilities, of course. Despite having incredibly hospitable staff, the Dagem Milennium, in “Old Airport” part of town, is a 20-30 minute taxi ride away from Bole – Addis’ hip stretch of bars and restaurants. You may pay an extra $10-20 a night, however rooms are generally nicer, you will be saving both money and the hassle of haggling with taxi drivers each night back and forward, and you will avoid the exciting yet often white-knuckle experience of taking one of the old blue Ladas that call themselves taxis. At the time of leaving Addis, I was yet to confirm how all these rust-buckets (the Ladas) got themselves there from Russia. One piece of advice if you find yourself having to travel in one – try to find one with all of its rusty doors intact and able to close - Yes, I had a very close shave with death one night! Whilst turning round to speak to some colleagues in the back of the moving skip (an old school joke springs to mind: “What do you call a Lada with a sunroof?”), I leaned on the door and it sprung open as we were cruising down the busy street. Of course there are no seatbelts – so I said a quiet prayer to God that night for blessing me with quick reflexes.
Continuing the theme from the night before, we returned to Club Alise – Friday night plays host to live singers and a band, and the theme is 60s and 70s soul. Visiting Alise is a must, with its mixed and sophisticated crowd, New-Orleans-esque Jazz lounge feel and most importantly incredibly talented singers (the regular guy in his trilby hat belts out numbers by Otis Redding and the like, while being backed up by girls who look like they could have been one of the Pipettes or Supremes). The Harlem Jazz, nearby, is also a favourite for locals and foreigners alike. The night we went, there was a live male singer – again, incredibly talented – however be aware of the rife prostitution. That sweet girl dancing with you on the dance-floor may just have a pimp-mamma waiting to negotiate some sort of deal for something more than you bargained for. Mimo is the after hours place to go, which is more akin to the late night clubs you’d find in Europe or the States, and kicks off around 1am with dancing until six.
Day 9 – The Hash House Harriers
The excesses and madness of the night before ensured I slept through my alarm and missed flight to wonderful places on the Historical Circuit in the north that I had planned for 2 weeks to visit - Lalibela (with its rock-hewn churches) and Gonder (Africa’s answer to Camelot – with its dreamy castles). Waking up startled and drunk at 7am, after getting to bed at 530am, when your flight is scheduled to depart at 730am – is not the best way to start the day! That said, however, the adrenaline replaced the need for coffee to kick-start my day. My driver had been waiting downstairs since 6am, so at 710, I was in the car and on my way to the airport. God knows why: I had clearly missed my flight. A little disappointed, fragile and drunk, I arrived at the Hilton Hotel Ethiopian Airlines office to see what I could do with the rest of my weekend. It was still before 8am. Lalibela and Gonder were out of the question, and Bahir Dar (which I remembered was close to Lake Tana, the Blue Nile, countless island monasteries and only a 5-hour ride from the Simien Mountains) was not. Ethiopian Airlines were great and gave me a full refund (minus 100 birrh or about $8) and booked me on another flight that night at 830am to Bahir Dar. I had even called ahead and booked my accommodation. I was going on an adventure somewhere in the remoter parts of Ethiopia, and on my own. As excited as I was, I had to go back to bed, so the driver dropped me at the Jupiter International Hotel in Bole (recommended at $90 / night) at 9am and I slept until noon.
Not sure of what to do until my 830pm flight that evening, my colleague and I decided to go to the convening of the infamous Hash House Harriers at the Addis Hilton. For those of you who don’t know who the HHH are, visit this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers). In summary, they started as a group of ex-pats in Kuala Lumpur, who would meet on a Monday night to go running and sweat out the weekend’s excesses. This “detox” was generally followed by beer and mutual “piss-taking” and humiliation and turned into a social event for the expatriate community. Now there are hashes in hundreds of cities around the world, each subscribing to standard rules and procedures (mainly for entertainment) which is explained on the aforementioned link. In essence, however, people are nominates as “hares” every week and they go beforehand to leave the trail using white flour (or in this case, paper – since food is scarce in Ethiopia – wouldn’t be right really if we were wasting food for fun!), the group set out on the run, following the trail, however at certain points it (and the group) splits up and there are false trails and it’s all matter of trial and error to find the right one. This hash, at the rest points, there were condoms laid / hidden, which were to be found and collected along the trail. The winner was the one with the most condoms at the end. At the end of the run, there was beer, nominations for and humiliation of dunce of the week, introduction of new people, returning people, inappropriate jokes etc. and all involving drinking or downing beer.
Every week after convening at the Hilton hotel, this hash (group of around 40-50 locals and expats) bundle into their many cars and mini bus and drive to a different location. This week it was the Entoto Mountains in Addis. Along the way you are greeted with the sites of local villagers, tired donkeys, tired women carrying massive bales of sticks and no men, really.
Joining for the hash was a great way to meet people, and we ended up with a really good group of guys – Miriam, a girl who just moved to Addis to work for the Canadian Embassy; Bart, the Dutch renewable energy specialist working for the German Government Development wing; Robel, Ethiopian guy working for US consulate.
The people were typically an English lot, some Italians, mix of Ethiopians and expatriates. I’d recommend the hash, not just for the people but for the stunning / spectacular / breathtaking vistas and scenery that’s normally involved in running in different countries. This one involved running through woods, up hills and mountains, and across fields and dirt tracks.
The 5 star Intercontinental Hotel was holding a “get-together” on their roof-top bar and pool – free food and drink. Never think you were in Addis. Glass lift, Lobby – pretty but not most atmospheric – awful music, coffee lady with smoke. Che bar – only thing “Che’ about it was the poster – African music, dark and dingy, awful toilets.
Champions – great place, random name, given the Arabian lounge-like feel, shisha, posters of veiled women and Arabic writing / signage. Great funky music and moody lighting and pretty cool crowd. Mimos again!
Missed flight to Bahir Dar! Oops! Well worth it though.
Day 10
Drugs controlled.
Housewarming. One of the Scandinavian country’s ambassador (wont say). Chat, shisha, beers. Expand on Chat – second biggest export after coffee (unofficially it’s the 1st). Legal tho some sectors and regions – like drugs. Somalia – stories.
Ling the two with – other “less fantastic” parts of Ethiopian society. Intolerable / backwards in terms of acceptance of liberal social values – attitude to women, children homosexuality etc. still in dark ages.
This was somewhat highlighted at the same housewarming party - Jokes / soh – different – lots of jokes derogatory to women, and rape jokes – I was uncomfortable, so no wonder my poor (female) Canadian friend from the embassy left.
Day 12 - 14 – Mekele, Tigray.
Be warned, if you catch the daily flight from Addis to Mekele in Tigray, you will likely have to awake at the ungodly hour of 4am. The flight itself takes about an hour, and is quite pleasant. And Ethiopian Airlines domestic service is somewhat better than Turkish Airlines’ international service from Istanbul.
Mekele, to the north, is the capital of Tigray – home to Ethiopia’s “ruling class”. The week before my trip, I had heard a number of stories, e.g. “they account for 5-6% of the population and control the whole government” which is largely true, however for a truer and more recent picture, I’d advise….. Wikipedia or Google! As well as being the home of former kings and the ruling classes, Mekele is also a great base from which to explore the historical circuit. It’s home to some pretty amazing rock-hewn churches which probably pre-date the ones at Lalibella and, given the effort (either the long drive from town or the arduous climb up a mountain face to reach them), are more wondrous. Get a guide, is my advice. If not to find the churches, then to find the elusive priests who work the field but hold the keys.
Aksum, to the north of Mekele – was once the capital of Ethiopia - home to Ark of the Covenant – Queen of Sheba. Etc.
The Aksum Hotel in Mekele is the place to stay (although at 845 Birrh, it’s a bit of a rip-off. Hill View is owned by a Sheik, and the 45th richest man in the world, and offers better views. One saving grace, however is that imported wine is good, and cheaper than anywhere else in this class of hotel.
Cement factory – middle of nowhere – Limestone – destroying mountain.
Boy at school – telephone operator.
Construction. Cty involvement – quarry the stone – ferried thro mountains from quarry by us, then shaped into bricks by contractor. Shortage of timber, poorly mixed cement, late handover of pastoral lands. Kids learning in half built schools. PPL MUCH friendlier than the south.
Crazy lady. No safety net / care.
Ethiopian Calendar – 6 hours 7 years.
Camels – going to Denaki depression - …………. Rock salt!
FX rates fixed.
Visit to schools, water pumps, natural combine harvester, tef – carpet / socks / injeera, church etc. (see notebook)
Met lawyer – New NGO bill – Ngos called charities and societies – For national NGOs (even churches) if > 10 % funding comes from overseas, they are considered “international” and subject to these new provisions. Given that the Ethiopian government (or people) doesn’t exactly donate funds to charities for development work in their own country, that basically relegates them all to “international” status. The new law prohibits any advocacy or human rights work – which will have a massive impact on our programming. One might ask “Why”? Well, an election is coming up in May 2010 and given that the last election results were dubious at best and the resulting human rights abuses as the government tried to cling onto power and suppress opposition parties, they are doing everything in their power to ensure foreign forces / interests don’t interfere in their agenda of clinging to power. What that means, in reality, is that we cannot raise the population’s awareness of their basic human rights and minimum things to expect in a democratic election. Keeping people ignorant – keeps them powerless. Only thing we can do is wait and see. However one thing is certain - the future of Ethiopia in terms of
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