I can’t believe that it is finally my last day. I didn’t set my alarm so that I could catch up on sleep before the arduous journey home, but of course I woke up at 6am worried about all the things that I need to do and that now seems like it was days ago.
Yesterday 23 protestors were killed in Addis Ababa and over 100 were injured. Today I did not hear any shots fired, but according to BBC 4 people were killed in a good neighbourhood where many expats live. My room on the top floor of the Hilton gave me a great view of the deserted city. At about 11:30am I saw a groups of about 50 armored police gather in Meskel square, but fortunately I did not see any protestors.
I am writing this from the airport as I wait for my flight. It was creepy driving here from the hotel. It was my first venture out of the Hilton in over 48 hours and I am glad I didn't go to the office today as I had considered doing. There were more miltary vehicles on the roads the civilian cars, but the streets were pretty much deserted. We even passed two Hummers bristling with machine guns - and very bravely, or stupidly, the shuttle driver honked at one of them because they were driving erratically! Over 40 protestors have died since Tuesday, and everyone is saying that tomorrow will be worse now that Ramadan is over.
I am feeling very sad leaving here. It is just tragic to think of what could happen to Ethiopia. It is really a desperately poor country, but it has such incredible potential and it is right on the cusp of a major change for the better. USAID just did a 180 on their approach to Ethiopia. Previosly they had a "band aid" relief approach, distributing food aid and destroying local food markets by flooding the market with free food, causing the price of locally grown agriculture produce plummet, and removing the incentive for farmers to grow (as they were losing money by planting crops). Hence Ethiopia has relied on food aid continuously for more than 7 years. But USAID just changed to a market oriented approach focused on increasing incomes of Ethiopians by producing goods and finding markets. This will all come to nothing though if things countinue down the path in which they are heading.
On top of the domestic clashes, Ethiopia and Eritrea are building up troops on the border. Someone told me that Menles (Ethiopian President) and the President of Eritrea are cousins so whenever one of them has a domestic problem and they need a distraction, they go to war. It is just too depressing. I wander what this country will look like the next time I am here.
I think when I get home it make take me a little while to relax. This has been an intense trip. Not only has the security situation been difficult, but work has been incredibly demanding of my time. I am looking forward to getting on the plane and catch up on sleep and on my movie watching. Listening to my travel playlist on my ipod is putting me in the right mood. (It starts with "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and ends with "Homeward Bound"). I’ll write again when I get home to let you all know that I arrived safely.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Tension
This morning I awoke to a very tense city. There is very little traffic on the roads, most shops are shut and people are just waiting to see what happens.
Last night the police arrested opposition leaders and the heads of all independent media. The government accuses them of organizing these illegal riots and inciting violence and says they can defend their cases while they are in custody. The government statement says, “The police contained the riot and violence before the damage incurred and the violence got worse”.
And it looks like they were not successful. As I sat in the Hilton conducting phone interviews for candidates for the project, I was listening to gunshots in the streets outside. I rushed to the window the first time, but the few people on the street were just walking along as if nothing was happening. (Don’t worry, the Hilton has large grounds and I am not in any danger. No one has any interest in the Hilton or foreigners).
One of my colleagues here called around 10am to say that he is sending the staff home. The violence has spread from the Merkato area to the area around the hotel to the other side of town near the airport. I will spend the rest of the day in the hotel working - and hopefully lying out by the pool if I have time. Although I must say it will feel a bit strange to be sunbathing while the city around me falls apart.
It’s now lunchtime and I have not heard shots in a while. Maybe things are calming down – or moving to another part of the city. One of the most frustrating things is not knowing what is going on. BBC runs at least 12 hours late, and there is no other source of real news in English.
Tomorrow will be the Eid holiday. That means all offices will be closed and once again I will have no reason to leave the hotel. At least I am having an opportunity to catch up on work which should make my homecoming easier.
Last night the police arrested opposition leaders and the heads of all independent media. The government accuses them of organizing these illegal riots and inciting violence and says they can defend their cases while they are in custody. The government statement says, “The police contained the riot and violence before the damage incurred and the violence got worse”.
And it looks like they were not successful. As I sat in the Hilton conducting phone interviews for candidates for the project, I was listening to gunshots in the streets outside. I rushed to the window the first time, but the few people on the street were just walking along as if nothing was happening. (Don’t worry, the Hilton has large grounds and I am not in any danger. No one has any interest in the Hilton or foreigners).
One of my colleagues here called around 10am to say that he is sending the staff home. The violence has spread from the Merkato area to the area around the hotel to the other side of town near the airport. I will spend the rest of the day in the hotel working - and hopefully lying out by the pool if I have time. Although I must say it will feel a bit strange to be sunbathing while the city around me falls apart.
It’s now lunchtime and I have not heard shots in a while. Maybe things are calming down – or moving to another part of the city. One of the most frustrating things is not knowing what is going on. BBC runs at least 12 hours late, and there is no other source of real news in English.
Tomorrow will be the Eid holiday. That means all offices will be closed and once again I will have no reason to leave the hotel. At least I am having an opportunity to catch up on work which should make my homecoming easier.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
African Democracy
I didn’t want to mention this before now, but the opposition party here in Ethiopia called for strikes and protests all of this week. The last time there were protests (in June) the government retaliated by opening fire and killing 37 people. Yesterday nothing happened. Today things are a little different.
I heard early this morning that people were protesting in Merkato, an area of town where there are a lot of small traders and where the shootings took place earlier in the year. At first there were just a few protestors. But the numbers grew.
While I was meeting with an Italian who works for UNIDO this morning he received a call from the Italian embassy to say that the police were shooting. Later I heard from a colleague that people were honking their horns to protest and some students threw stones. The police retaliated with arrests, confiscating drivers’ licenses, and gunfire. Five students were killed. A bullet for a stone. It is inexplicable, especially when I hear that the government does have less fatal options at their disposal including rubber bullets, water cannons, and of course batons.
The irony is that Ethiopia is the home of the African Union and is currently hosting several African heads of state for an AU conference. The AU is supposed to be an institution that encourages democracy and now we have the hosts shooting people who simply wish to voice a dissenting opinion.
The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fetir to celebrate the end of Ramadan is either tomorrow or the next day (it depends on the moon so will not be decided until tonight). It will be a public holiday in Ethiopia and all offices will be closed. As I said in an earlier posting, a large crowd will gather in the National Stadium to pray. I just hope that it remains peaceful. The rumor is that the opposition is waiting until after the holy month of Ramadan is over before the big protests start.
Leaving the office today the streets were empty. Shops are all closed, and even the taxis are not running, stranding many people in downtown Addis. I managed to switch hotels into the Hilton, which has much better security. (I am guessing that many faranji are leaving Ethiopia immediately). I am on the executive floor and feel quite spoiled given what is going on outside. I am leaving on Thursday and will stay in the hotel as long as things are not safe outside.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4395874.stm
I heard early this morning that people were protesting in Merkato, an area of town where there are a lot of small traders and where the shootings took place earlier in the year. At first there were just a few protestors. But the numbers grew.
While I was meeting with an Italian who works for UNIDO this morning he received a call from the Italian embassy to say that the police were shooting. Later I heard from a colleague that people were honking their horns to protest and some students threw stones. The police retaliated with arrests, confiscating drivers’ licenses, and gunfire. Five students were killed. A bullet for a stone. It is inexplicable, especially when I hear that the government does have less fatal options at their disposal including rubber bullets, water cannons, and of course batons.
The irony is that Ethiopia is the home of the African Union and is currently hosting several African heads of state for an AU conference. The AU is supposed to be an institution that encourages democracy and now we have the hosts shooting people who simply wish to voice a dissenting opinion.
The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fetir to celebrate the end of Ramadan is either tomorrow or the next day (it depends on the moon so will not be decided until tonight). It will be a public holiday in Ethiopia and all offices will be closed. As I said in an earlier posting, a large crowd will gather in the National Stadium to pray. I just hope that it remains peaceful. The rumor is that the opposition is waiting until after the holy month of Ramadan is over before the big protests start.
Leaving the office today the streets were empty. Shops are all closed, and even the taxis are not running, stranding many people in downtown Addis. I managed to switch hotels into the Hilton, which has much better security. (I am guessing that many faranji are leaving Ethiopia immediately). I am on the executive floor and feel quite spoiled given what is going on outside. I am leaving on Thursday and will stay in the hotel as long as things are not safe outside.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4395874.stm
Monday, October 31, 2005
Road Trip?
Today a gentleman came into the office that I met when he was visiting DC a couple of months ago. He was visiting with Getu, the Chief of Party of one of our project out here, and he has invited me to go out to visit his farm, which is one of the most advanced farms in Ethiopia. Getu has set it all up, I think. The problem is that I just realized that it means leaving tomorrow afternoon and returning on Wednesday evening, and then leaving to go home on Thursday. That does not give me a lot of time to get done what I need to do before I go. I think that I am going to have to go into the office tomorrow morning and see if I can get out of the trip without offending anyone. It’s a shame because it would be really interesting, but probably not the responsible thing to do. But if I don’t post for a couple of days, it’s because I’m in boonies.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Lounging in Langano
This morning I realized that I was at Lake Langano exactly one year ago today. I was looking at the scraps of paper in my birdbook where I write my bird lists and came across one from Lake Langano dated October 30! This trip to Ethiopia must have been meant to be.
I woke up this morning with awful food poisoning. I had spaghetti with tomato sauce last night for dinner, which I would have thought was safe, but I have a feeling that the sauce was sitting out all day and was not heated properly. So my birdwatching this morning was a little less energetic than I had hoped. I did see a few new species and the highlight was definitely watching Black-winged Lovebirds (which are endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea) making out. They are spectacular bright green birds with a red patch over their beaks and like all parrots, they mate for life with one other bird. I had stumbled upon their nest and watched a pair preening each other and just rubbing cheeks. It made me a little jealous.
I am now back in Addis Ababa for the (hopefully) final four days of my trip. I checked back into the Queen of Sheba, and they gave me a different room which is complete luxury compared to my last room. It even has a balcony with a (distant) view of the Hilton – which is still fully booked for an African Union conference. This evening the streets of Addis Ababa were lined with machine gun toting military for protection of the dignitaries. I guess they tightened security ever since there was an assassinate attempt on Hosni Mubarak while he was visiting Addis 5 years ago. Hmmm, I wander if Mugabe is coming.
I woke up this morning with awful food poisoning. I had spaghetti with tomato sauce last night for dinner, which I would have thought was safe, but I have a feeling that the sauce was sitting out all day and was not heated properly. So my birdwatching this morning was a little less energetic than I had hoped. I did see a few new species and the highlight was definitely watching Black-winged Lovebirds (which are endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea) making out. They are spectacular bright green birds with a red patch over their beaks and like all parrots, they mate for life with one other bird. I had stumbled upon their nest and watched a pair preening each other and just rubbing cheeks. It made me a little jealous.
I am now back in Addis Ababa for the (hopefully) final four days of my trip. I checked back into the Queen of Sheba, and they gave me a different room which is complete luxury compared to my last room. It even has a balcony with a (distant) view of the Hilton – which is still fully booked for an African Union conference. This evening the streets of Addis Ababa were lined with machine gun toting military for protection of the dignitaries. I guess they tightened security ever since there was an assassinate attempt on Hosni Mubarak while he was visiting Addis 5 years ago. Hmmm, I wander if Mugabe is coming.
Lake Langano
When I told one of my colleagues yesterday that I would be staying in Ethiopia for another week, he immediately picked up the phone and planned a weekend away for me. So I am now at Lake Langano, an excellent bird watching spot. I hired a car (an SUV no less) and a driver and we leisurely made our way up here today, stopping off as I pleased to take photos, look at commercial floriculture ventures or look at birds.
We stopped off at Lake Koka in the town of Ziway to check out the birds (and the hippos). I saw quite a few birdies, but no new ones for my list. But don’t worry, the stop was hardly mundane. I watched a Pied Kingfisher catch a fish and then beat its head on a branch until it was dead before swallowing it. Right after that, I saw a Squacco Heron catch a fish that was bigger than its head and then take about 3 minutes to swallow the thing alive. Who says that bird watching is boring.
My driver, Getu, is an interesting guy. He started off the trip by telling me that Ethiopia will never get ahead until there is a change in government policy. And then he referred directly to the massacre a few months ago of 36 or more citizens who were protesting the latest election results, believing they were rigged by the governing party. Since the massacre - which the government says was a necessary response to a crazed mob - the government has banned all protests. A month ago was the Meskel holiday* a major Ethiopian Orthodox Christian holiday to celebrate the date that they believe the true cross - that on which Jesus Christ was crucified - was brought to Ethiopia. (I witnessed it when I was in Ethiopia last year.) Thousands of Ethiopians gather in the main square of Addis Ababa named Meskel Square to celebrate. This year the opportunity was used to gather people together to voice their dissent. According to Getu, they protested the President, the party, and even the Pope. This Thursday is Eid, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. Ethiopia is about half Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, and half Muslim. I was told that there will be a large crowd in the National Stadium on Thursday to pray and celebrate and that there is some concern that there could be violence. The joke going around Ethiopia is that the Government has decided to extend the fasting period of Ramadan in order to avoid Eid. Let's just hope that will be praying for peace in the stadium on Thursday. (Ethiopian and Eritrean relations have also taken a recent turn for the worse with ambassadors withdrawn and arms buildups on both sides – all over a border dispute over a small patch of wasteland. They previously fought for 5 years over the same issue with 70,000 lives lost).
On a lighter note, and sort of related, as we were driving down the road today, Getu interrupted a period of silence by stating, “We call those Al Quaida”. He was referring to a mid-sized industrial Isuzu truck. I had to ask him to repeat himself because I really was not sure if I had heard him correctly. He explained that they got the name because they killed so many innocent bystanders. Their drivers have a reputation of chewing too much Chat, a locally grown and consumed stimulant, which obviously is not conducive to good driving. The joke gave a little bit of insight into how the Ethiopians perceive their more radical Moslem brethren.
We stopped off at Lake Koka in the town of Ziway to check out the birds (and the hippos). I saw quite a few birdies, but no new ones for my list. But don’t worry, the stop was hardly mundane. I watched a Pied Kingfisher catch a fish and then beat its head on a branch until it was dead before swallowing it. Right after that, I saw a Squacco Heron catch a fish that was bigger than its head and then take about 3 minutes to swallow the thing alive. Who says that bird watching is boring.
My driver, Getu, is an interesting guy. He started off the trip by telling me that Ethiopia will never get ahead until there is a change in government policy. And then he referred directly to the massacre a few months ago of 36 or more citizens who were protesting the latest election results, believing they were rigged by the governing party. Since the massacre - which the government says was a necessary response to a crazed mob - the government has banned all protests. A month ago was the Meskel holiday* a major Ethiopian Orthodox Christian holiday to celebrate the date that they believe the true cross - that on which Jesus Christ was crucified - was brought to Ethiopia. (I witnessed it when I was in Ethiopia last year.) Thousands of Ethiopians gather in the main square of Addis Ababa named Meskel Square to celebrate. This year the opportunity was used to gather people together to voice their dissent. According to Getu, they protested the President, the party, and even the Pope. This Thursday is Eid, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. Ethiopia is about half Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, and half Muslim. I was told that there will be a large crowd in the National Stadium on Thursday to pray and celebrate and that there is some concern that there could be violence. The joke going around Ethiopia is that the Government has decided to extend the fasting period of Ramadan in order to avoid Eid. Let's just hope that will be praying for peace in the stadium on Thursday. (Ethiopian and Eritrean relations have also taken a recent turn for the worse with ambassadors withdrawn and arms buildups on both sides – all over a border dispute over a small patch of wasteland. They previously fought for 5 years over the same issue with 70,000 lives lost).
On a lighter note, and sort of related, as we were driving down the road today, Getu interrupted a period of silence by stating, “We call those Al Quaida”. He was referring to a mid-sized industrial Isuzu truck. I had to ask him to repeat himself because I really was not sure if I had heard him correctly. He explained that they got the name because they killed so many innocent bystanders. Their drivers have a reputation of chewing too much Chat, a locally grown and consumed stimulant, which obviously is not conducive to good driving. The joke gave a little bit of insight into how the Ethiopians perceive their more radical Moslem brethren.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Extended stay
I left work at 3pm yesterday and went home to sleep. I was starting to go a little nuts from the lack of sleep. So when I got into the office this morning, I received an email asking me to extend my stay by a week. It was not at all what I wanted to do, but at the same time I have been frantic trying to get everything done that I needed to do and now I don't have to be so frantic. I did compromise and I am now flying out on Thursday - don't worry all you DC readers, the post Halloween costume party is still on.
So instead of spending my day running around conducting interviews, meeting potential partners and collecting CV's, I spent the day running around changing my ticket, changing more money and making plans for the weekend. I’m off to Langano – one of the good birdwatching sites in Ethiopia where I went last time I was here. I’ll report in on Monday.
This evening while I was on my way to the Hilton for a massage my taxi was pulled over for going straight in a turn only lane. Not that the lane was demarcated (neither the lane itself nor the fact that it was a right turn only). This is a city with chaotic traffic and where earlier today I saw three traffic police standing yakking on the side of the road while cars literally pushed their way through hoards of school children who had just been released from school. Amazingly, the taxi driver said he did not get a ticket. I did not have a clear view peeking in the rearview mirror, but I would be surprise if money did not change hands!
I had an average massage, but for ten bucks you really can't complain. Then I moved over to the Jacuzzi - new since my last stay at the Hilton. I was reveling in the relaxation after a crazy week. Then an Ethiopian woman came and joined me. At first she sat on the top step and seemed a little apprehensive. I assumed she was uncomfortable with a fanaji around. But after a short while she climbed down into the tub and immediately started giggling. She just couldn't stop. It turned out that this was her first time in a Jacuzzi. Needless to say, she loved it and so did I. Her giggles made me enjoy it that little bit more.
So instead of spending my day running around conducting interviews, meeting potential partners and collecting CV's, I spent the day running around changing my ticket, changing more money and making plans for the weekend. I’m off to Langano – one of the good birdwatching sites in Ethiopia where I went last time I was here. I’ll report in on Monday.
This evening while I was on my way to the Hilton for a massage my taxi was pulled over for going straight in a turn only lane. Not that the lane was demarcated (neither the lane itself nor the fact that it was a right turn only). This is a city with chaotic traffic and where earlier today I saw three traffic police standing yakking on the side of the road while cars literally pushed their way through hoards of school children who had just been released from school. Amazingly, the taxi driver said he did not get a ticket. I did not have a clear view peeking in the rearview mirror, but I would be surprise if money did not change hands!
I had an average massage, but for ten bucks you really can't complain. Then I moved over to the Jacuzzi - new since my last stay at the Hilton. I was reveling in the relaxation after a crazy week. Then an Ethiopian woman came and joined me. At first she sat on the top step and seemed a little apprehensive. I assumed she was uncomfortable with a fanaji around. But after a short while she climbed down into the tub and immediately started giggling. She just couldn't stop. It turned out that this was her first time in a Jacuzzi. Needless to say, she loved it and so did I. Her giggles made me enjoy it that little bit more.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Fiteness
This morning I got up early for a meeting. As I left the hotel the most incredible scene lay before me. There must have been 100's of Ethiopians all dressed in shorts, tank tops and t-shirt and running up the main drag of Addis Ababa. There were groups running in unison and others sprinting up the hills on their own. As I drove past Meskel square I saw troops racing up and down the stairs round and round the square. Ever since Ethiopians started racking up the wins and the prize money, Ethiopians - who have a natural running ability - see it as a way out of poverty. I cannot think of any other developing country where people place such high value on fitness.
Jamaica provides an interesting comparison. Earlier this year while I was on vacation in Jamaica, I met one of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team. He said that when he in the Olympic village, all the other Olympic athletes were lining up to get their autographs, but when they are home Jamaicans don't even realized that they have a bobsled team, never mind recognizing the team members. Maybe if there were more money in bobsledding ...
Jamaica provides an interesting comparison. Earlier this year while I was on vacation in Jamaica, I met one of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team. He said that when he in the Olympic village, all the other Olympic athletes were lining up to get their autographs, but when they are home Jamaicans don't even realized that they have a bobsled team, never mind recognizing the team members. Maybe if there were more money in bobsledding ...
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Lag
So much for no jet lag. I am now shaking continuously and I feel nauseous simply from lack of sleep. I have been awake until at least 1 am every night since I arrived. This means that I skipped one whole night of sleep and have been getting an average of 6 hours a night since then.
I just figure that it's not worth trying to adjust as I will be back on my own clock again on Sunday.
Fran from Australia thought it was funny that John Cusack came up in a post from Ethiopia, well, here's another strange one. I went salsa dancing tonight. Yes, in Ethiopia. I went with the group from DFID that I met on Sunday. It was a fun evening out. This is turning out to be a much more social trip that usual!
I just figure that it's not worth trying to adjust as I will be back on my own clock again on Sunday.
Fran from Australia thought it was funny that John Cusack came up in a post from Ethiopia, well, here's another strange one. I went salsa dancing tonight. Yes, in Ethiopia. I went with the group from DFID that I met on Sunday. It was a fun evening out. This is turning out to be a much more social trip that usual!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
9 to 5 (or is it 11)
I working until 11pm last night, but somehow I am not exhausted. I am sure that it will hit me at some point, but hopefully not until I am on the plane on my way home when I can sleep. It’s sort of sad that nowadays I look forward to the long flights so that I can catch up on some sleep.
It was another hectic day of meetings that was altogether uneventful. It's amazing how I can be in what I consider to be the most fascinating place in the world, but just have a normal day at the office. The highlight of the day was receiving a call from the DFID folks I met on Sunday (as I was sitting on the couch watching Gross Point Blank while eating dried out pizza) to invite me to dinner tomorrow night.
It was another hectic day of meetings that was altogether uneventful. It's amazing how I can be in what I consider to be the most fascinating place in the world, but just have a normal day at the office. The highlight of the day was receiving a call from the DFID folks I met on Sunday (as I was sitting on the couch watching Gross Point Blank while eating dried out pizza) to invite me to dinner tomorrow night.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Endangered species
I started off my day with a breakfast of bland tiny pineapples (and stale but uncooked French toast – or is patriot toast), which is poignant because I am here to work on developing a proposal for the agricultural sector. I spoke to the manager of an Ethiopian agribusiness who told me that a farmer here wants to plant 50 hectares of pineapples here but he can't get the plant material to do so. I just wander where he would find a market if this is the standard Ethiopian pineapple!
I had my first day in the office. I was a bit nervous heading in as there are lots of sorts of about the Chief of Party floating around. Fortunately, I found that most of them were untrue. Well, at the very least, we get along very well and he was very helpful. I spent a busy day setting up meetings and going to meetings.
I ended the day on a high note. One of the hardest things to find in Africa is data. Real live spreadsheets that are filled with accurate numbers are an endangered species. Today I had a sighting…in fact, I caught a big one. By a stroke of luck, the project here put me in touch with someone in the statistics office who not only provided me with all the data that I needed, but he had it ready to load on my memory stick when I arrived! Truly a unique experience.
I had my first day in the office. I was a bit nervous heading in as there are lots of sorts of about the Chief of Party floating around. Fortunately, I found that most of them were untrue. Well, at the very least, we get along very well and he was very helpful. I spent a busy day setting up meetings and going to meetings.
I ended the day on a high note. One of the hardest things to find in Africa is data. Real live spreadsheets that are filled with accurate numbers are an endangered species. Today I had a sighting…in fact, I caught a big one. By a stroke of luck, the project here put me in touch with someone in the statistics office who not only provided me with all the data that I needed, but he had it ready to load on my memory stick when I arrived! Truly a unique experience.
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