A Troubled Land

Well, perhaps you have seen Ethiopia in the news this week … or perhaps not, but if it has been in the news then you will realise that about 36 people were killed by government forces in Addis Ababa during the week and about 150 or more injured. The background to this as far as we can gather from our Ethiopian friends and colleagues is this ..

In May general elections were held. Prior to the general elections the government feeling very confident in itself decided to engage in the democratic exercise of televising debates between the party leaders in the weeks prior to the elections. The Ethiopian people who had never experienced democracy in this way became very interested and very politically aware and for the first time ever they could discuss politics openly and honestly with friends and colleagues and they could openly criticise the government without fear of persecution. So in May the election took place and the EU and the USA sent observers, the USA reported that while things weren’t perfect – it was the fairest election to have taken place so far in Ethiopia. The EU – reported that the Government rigged the election. Everyone I have met whether they support the government or not says the election was rigged. Anyway the Government lost all their seats in Addis Ababa the capital and anywhere else where the ballot stations were monitored by NGOs and UN however in the country where there was no monitoring the Government won??
So naturally the Ethiopian people are annoyed because the Government who had first introduced them to democracy is now abusing it. The opposition refuse to take their seats until the Government admit what they did and the Government have declared they will take action without any regard to human rights if the opposition organise any protests.
And so in June lots of people were killed by the government. While we were in Addis there was a protest which luckily no one was killed in and now during the week there were more protests. The opposition and protesters are not using weapons just stones, the Government forces are shooting people in the head and chest. They have shot women, old men and young children, so Addis is deserted; people have stayed home afraid to go out.

In Dessie the Army arrived on Thursday and public transport ceased, we had two days which were tense but peaceful and then on Friday afternoon, trouble seemed to start with students, the army kept one school hostage overnight and killed someone in another part of the town and after they banned schools they then shot at any children who turned up for school. We could hear gun fire but it wasn’t close by and things around where we live were very quiet. On Saturday morning we were woken by gun shots right outside our house – someone had tried to set the Pepsi factory which is near our house on fire. Well for us that was as exciting as it became. We spent Saturday in the house all day – very boring and from Saturday lunch time we had no electricity or water. Just now on Sunday evening the electricity has returned but still no water. Last night we had to cook our dinner on a charcoal stove – very scout like. Today things seemed peaceful so we went to Steve – Kenyan Volunteers house for lunch and then to the hotel in the town for a drink. In the hotel the TV was on and on came the Ethiopian News and it reported about a Halloween party in Canada and someone getting a new necklace and other frivolous things and made no mention of any of the trouble!!

To add to matters the Ethiopian and Eritrean Armies are said to be advancing towards each other at the boarder … we had believed this to be a rumour but we live on the road to Eritrea and we have seen many trucks of soldiers heading north so it’s a troubled country in more ways than one. I could go on at length about all the checks and precautions, we, VSO and the college are taking to ensure we are and that we remain safe but it’s a bit boring suffice to say everyone is over cautious when it comes to our safety and I am not in the least bit worried for me.

However it does make you appreciate the things we take for granted, like freedom of speech, and safety. I mean I would certainly hope Irish Soldiers wouldn’t shoot at children if they accidentally arrived for school on a holiday!!

We began the workshops this week and we are really beginning to see that the people here have nothing … just nothing. We are running workshops for teachers, and these teachers come voluntarily in their spare time for the workshops. Many of them walk miles to attend the workshops. These teachers are teaching in mud huts, dilapidated rooms and something resembling sheds. There are not enough desks, books, paper etc. The children are orphans or sick or hungry. If they have parents the parents usually don’t care about school and so the teachers have very little support from parents, yet they are committed to improving the education system, they really believe that they are changing Ethiopian society and I hope they are.

Anyway after all that negative ranting, I can say this it is the most beautiful country in the world, with the friendliest people and the most admirable teachers. I am settling in well and constantly surprised by how many friends I have made, even walking today the postman stopped to say hello, then a taxi driver, then a teacher and then just a person we met on the bus one day, so you can’t help but feel a part of the community.

So I’ll leave it there and even if it isn’t in the news – you might spare a thought for the Ethiopians as they fight for what we take for granted – freedom.