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Monday, March 3, 2008
Ethiopia, I hardly knew ye
Michelle Halpin
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View of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as seen from the Sheraton Addis Hotel, Jan. 20. |
Since my last entry, I spent a week in Ethiopia covering the dedication of a school built by U.S. Navy Seabees, and nearly two weeks in Kenya covering the VETCAP I missed out on in January, which was spearheaded by a U.S. Army civil affairs team, though three Army civil affairs teams were represented (made up of Reserve and active duty Army, Navy and Air Force personnel).
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Posing with a copy of Solano Magazine on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 19 |
The school dedication was in a pretty remote area, so it took an entire day to convoy there from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia's capital city, home of the African Union, and the economic capital of Africa). You'd think that the entire day would consist of bumpy, unpaved roads and other such typical fare for a Third World country. NOT. The highway might have only been two lanes, or one big lane depending on your viewpoint, but it was beautifully paved for all but the last hour or two on the way there.
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A truck makes its way down the roadway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 16 A United Nations vehicle gets ready to pass our convoy on a well-paved Ethiopian highway, Jan. 16 |
People were everywhere along the entire route. Many walked along the side of the road in everything from business clothes to t-shirts and manskirts to robes. Others tended to herds grazing semi-green pastures, others rode bicycles to and from unseen places, still more pulled or rode atop donkey carts with loads the sizes of houses. Okay, not the size of houses, maybe small mobile homes. (I didn't know a single donkey could bear such a massive load.) As I was observing all this from my vehicle, I kept thinking about how much activity there was––everybody seemed to be moving from one place to another with such purpose. And boy were there a lot of people riding bicycles! Compared to what I have typically observed in Djibouti's capital, wh
ere I've spent most of my time in Africa, Ethiopia was a visual cornicopia of furious activity, drive and motivation. It was all so surprising––until I found out that Ethiopia is a communist country.
ere I've spent most of my time in Africa, Ethiopia was a visual cornicopia of furious activity, drive and motivation. It was all so surprising––until I found out that Ethiopia is a communist country. |
Farmland along the highway, about an hour or two outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 16 |
More on my Ethiopian and Kenyan missions and observations soon.
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