The People
It's always about the
people.
Like
so much of Africa, Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state, somewhat blurred by
intermarriage. There are four main language groups and 200 dialects.
The Oromo woman at left is from a typical farm family from the north east.
Many people stopped and gaped openly whenever we stopped. A cry of
"YOU"! would usually get our attention if not to sell some corn, to ask
for a pen or pose for a photograph.
In
the north, we met mainly Oromo people tilling the soil with primitive ox-drawn
ploughs, growing teff (a local millet), barley, maize and sorghum. They spoke
the national language Amharic, which is related to Hebrew and Arabic and derived from the ancient ecclesiastical language of Ge'ez. People
were
friendly but shy. Yet, universally, we felt welcome.
Many
women wear their hair in dozens of plaits, tightly
braided to the head and billowing out at the shoulders. The latest
American women's hairstyles are quite similar if not a little behind their
African counterparts.
The
kids shown here at right could be poster children for a relief aid
organization and indeed they are part of one community of several being supported by
PLAN International and ChildReach, a humanitarian non-government organization.
PLAN helps to develop projects based
on the needs of a community. My
co-adventurer, Alan Bernstein sponsors a foster child in a community near
Lalibela and we attended the 7-year
old's school, met him and his parents and gave the children of one class a
lesson in geography.
These
micro-community 
projects
are exactly what these rural communities need. PLAN works with each
community to decide on their priorities for roads, potable water, healthcare,
education and assistance with agriculture. The community is an active
participant and provides most of the labor. When the projects are up and
running, they are handed over to the local government for ongoing funding.
This
media-savvy patriarch was selling salt in the 
market at Bati. Kibbitzing
away to his cronies, he told us that he is 91 and that his friend is 94.
His friend resolutely refused to have his picture taken but our friend here was
willing, except he insisted on knowing where it would be seen. Explaining
the Internet in Amharic was quite a challenge but we agreed on a modeling fee of 5 Birr
or 63 US cents.
We think he got a
bad deal.
The young lady at right was one
of several devout
students helping out at the local church in Gondar. They were
happy to pose for photographs so long as we promised to send them copies. (They
are on the way). A person's eyes truly mirror their souls and it is
particularly true of Ethiopians. Looking past the anguish of their hard lives
one senses a humanity, a gentleness and an acceptance of themselves and of us.
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Unusual Journeys
