Concluding Observations about Ethiopia

From Rob

One difficult part of life is the power failures that occur frequently.  Most of Ethiopia’s power is hydroelectric, but the breakdown occurs in the distribution system. We had numerous periods of no power – one lasting 10 hours. 

During our stay, the weather was dry and sunny. Their rainy season is generally from May to September. The altitude made many of our long walks more challenging, but good for the cardiovascular system.

From Joän

During our stay in Addis, Joän made several shopping forays to explore indigenous crafts – mainly weaving, basketry, silver/gold jewelry, pottery.  At the Sabahar silk farm started by a Canadian woman and employing about 80 Ethiopians, silk moths are cultivated and their silk is spun, dyed and woven into incredibly beautiful scarves, shawls, pillow covers, etc. Interestingly only men are allowed to do the weaving and only women do the spinning. At the Berhan Taye Leprosy Hospital, there is a small craft cooperative where embroidery and small clay articles are for sale.  Salem’s craft store is again, a cooperative for women who work on site. In the jewelry shops, it is the custom to have long dried grasses on the floor (although we never learned what this symbolizes – maybe the plentiful savannahs in Ethiopia).

During my “sick period,” I thought a lot about the health of Ethiopian people and their access to medical care.  I was fortunate to have ready access to good medical care (a Swedish doctor with lab technicians to diagnose a tropical disease). I got medicine immediately (even though the Clinic had run out of one of the drugs I needed to kill the amoebic cysts).  James and Shirley called around and were able to find this drug at a pharmacy.  I was well aware that most Ethiopians do not have access to this kind of care.  Indeed, amoebic dysentery is the most common infection among Ethiopians (in fact Chakiso also came down with it on our last day there). As I watched the very thin people everywhere, I kept thinking how prevalent and untreated this sort of infection must be.  It renders you very tired and yet everyone – young children to the elderly – seemed to be engaged in productive work.  I am also aware that child mortality is high (123 per 1,000 for children < 5 years) even though this represents a 40% decline over the last 15 years.  The major causes of under-5 mortality are neonatal complications, followed by pneumonia and diarrhea.  Reducing malnutrition, improving water and sanitation, and increasing the number of health workers in rural areas are the major reasons for the improvement.

It is also noteworthy that there are virtually no obese people in Ethiopia.  Nearly everyone is lean and in some cases, nearly skeletal.  Once we arrived in Cape Town, the contrast between body shape here and in Ethiopia was remarkable.  Cape Town is like developed  U.S. cities.  (More on Cape Town in subsequent posts.)

It is dirty and dusty everywhere in Ethiopia.  In James’ home, floors are swept and washed every day and furniture dusted.  Again, this is a luxury for only a few, including ex-pats. Traffic is beyond belief.  There appear to be no rules of the road, with cars swerving around each other in either direction at will.  Cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys crowd the roadway everywhere, including in Addis.  These animals clearly have the right of way and it is amazing that more of them are not hit by vehicles. Apparently, if a driver does kill an animal, the driver is liable to replace the animal.

It is clear that, in the parts of Ethiopia we visited, religiosity is very prevalent. What we observed was daily devotion by the Ethiopian Orthodox believers – we awoke to chanting every morning, saw the faithful at the churches during many times of the day, as well as women frequently dressed in white scarves and shawls as part of their religious observance.  It should be noted that we did not visit the southern regions where Islam is more prevalent.  On Ethiopian Christmas – January 7^th – only Muslim shops were open in Addis and the roads were nearly deserted as most people were at home celebrating their Christmas holiday. 

Our final celebration in Addis was Chakiso’s 4^th birthday.  And what a party he had! It was a pirate theme with a pirate cake that James baked and decorated, pirate hats made by Shirley and an incredible Captain Hook piñata that Shirley also made.  They rented a “bouncy castle” which filled a quarter of their backyard/garden.  The 15 kids and their parents had a wonderful time.  Rob and I kept wondering what they could do to “up-the-ante” for his 5^th birthday.  It seems that ex-pats invest a lot in creating special opportunities for their children and social gatherings for the adults.  There is a special quality to the lifestyle they share in a country that offers many challenges – which they seem to adapt to quite well.

Captain Hook pinata for Chakiso's birthday party