[2019]
[2019]
OUR FAMILY HOLIDAYS
9166 OU37 - Ethiopia – With the Aid Agencies Part 2
The third day of our visits with the aid agencies, in Tigray province, was in the form of a drive all the way to Adigrat, almost on the edge of Eritrea. It was wonderful just travelling on the dirt roads through the countryside of Ethiopia and watching the farming, cattle herding and all the other activities as we went along.
It offered a comprehensive insight into subsistence agriculture. In particular, we could see the farmers, with their oxen pulling quite simple ploughs made out of a tree branch, just turning the earth in their fields. We stopped and looked in on several farms. As I have already said, they were marvels of stone and/or mud construction. Although very basic, the houses were quite comfortable and fulfilled their functions very well. We forget how little we really need to lead happy lives.
We also stopped at a school. There must have been something like 200 children in the school at the time, though this was just one shift during the day -- where they had two shifts of children to cater for. It was a luxury for the local population, but even so it only comprised a series of tin roofed buildings, which held three classrooms.
The classrooms had windows, but these had no glass in them though, of course, this was not a problem except in the short rainy season. The children themselves sat on the floor or on logs -- with something like thirty per class as in Britain. The teacher had the only great technological innovation; a blackboard and chalk, though the chalk was locked away as it was in such short supply. They had almost no books, and they depended totally upon the teacher telling them what they needed to learn. Even so, they were obviously learning rapidly. People in Ethiopia were desperate for education. I wish they were the same in the United Kingdom.
When we got there everyone rushed out of see us. I suspect we were the first Westerners they had ever met, and their excitement was palpable.
From there we went on to the town of Adigrat on the border of Eritrea, which was at the centre of the fighting in the later war. There we went to a centre for rehabilitating injured soldiers. As with everything else Ethiopia it was very much about handmade production.
The next day, we went up to the hills to see the bunkers where the President and Seeye had lived in the latter stages of the war. We were very privileged to see this, since it was in a very sensitive area where foreigners weren't allowed to go. When we arrived, we were pointed the path to it across some fields. However, even this rough trail suddenly came to an end, at the edge of a cliff which fell away a couple of thousand feet below us. When I asked where we were to go, to Pat's horror our guide pointed downwards. We scrambled down the face of the cliff, following narrow trails, for something like a thousand feet. It was hair-raising, getting down. The struggle back up was even worse.
Once we were there we found a cave hacked out of the rock; which was where Seeye and Meles had lived for several years. Cut into the cliff face there was a living area, which led to their two bedrooms. In addition there was the library, which is described elsewhere, and also the map room. The map room was most fascinating since, covered by a layer of dust, it had the map of Ethiopia with the movements from the battle of Teodras still marked on it. This was the battle between something like a million soldiers, which had been the deciding battle of the war.
On our way back we called at the local village, which had of course been a stronghold for the Tigray fighters. We stopped, to go in the local bar and have a Coca-Cola; which, of course, these days you can find in even the lowliest of establishments everywhere. Like everything else, the bar had mud walls and a tin roof, and windows with no glass. Inside we sat on upturned crates. The Coca-Cola was brought out to us and we quenched our thirst -- since the weather was very hot.
But the owner of the bar also insisted on undertaking the Ethiopia coffee ceremony for us.
This ceremony is, in many ways, very like the Japanese tea ceremony. Thus, the owner took raw coffee beans and cooked them over a charcoal fire until they were roasted to perfection. Then she pounded them to coffee grounds and put them a clay pot with some water; which was then boiled over the fire. To this was added a large amount of sugar, and the whole was boiled together until it was almost a syrup. Then it was poured into tiny cups. They have to be very small for this very strong mixture – it's perhaps a bit like Turkish coffee. It's a wonderful ceremony. Every movement was carefully rehearsed and ceremonial.
The special thing about it, from our point of view, was that you can't buy coffee made this way. You're traditionally not allowed to pay for the tea ceremony, it is a gift made in friendship. Needless to say we gave a large tip which more than covered this, but the essence was that it was a gesture of friendship.
While all this was going on, the whole village eventually crowded around the bar, and the windows were full of people looking in. First of all, though, all the children had to be taken away and put in their best party dresses. It was a wonderful occasion and it really showed the feelings of the Ethiopia people towards strangers such as ourselves. It was an very emotional party.
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