July 1, 2008

Today I am packing up the things in our room as we leave tomorrow for
Gambella, west of here. It is one of the towns where Ron is working.
Initially we thought I would not travel with him because of the expense
and because Antonio advised against it, mainly because 'there is nothing
to do there'. We changed our minds and I will travel with Ron as there
isn't a lot to do in Addis either and we came this far to see as much as
we can of Ethiopia. It is expensive because we will fly there and back.
Flying for Americans is expensive whereas it isn't so expensive for
Ethiopians: there are two prices. Seems fair to me.

I find that some days I don't want to leave the hotel knowing that I will
be approached by so many beggars and it wears on me. But to put that in
perspective it isn't nearly as wearing on me as it is on them. There are
so many hunger people here. So I leave and continue to give money and meal
tickets. Lonely Planet advises to give the same as Ethiopians do. The
currency here is birr. One birr is about nine cents. The smallest note is
one birr and the largest is 100 birr, about nine dollars. A birr is broken
into 100 cents in coins of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50. So when I give money I am
giving a portion of a dime, the most being a nickel US. Beggars are almost
always grateful. Some do not want the meal tickets whereas I had now had
two people snatch an extra one from my hand, refusing to give the extra
back. I must remember I have no idea what it is like to be hungry everyday
and never judge those who are. Sri Lanka was not this poor although it was
much less developed.

I don't think I have done a very good job in the blog of telling you about
Ethiopia so will try to do more of that. The following is from Wikipedia.
Ethiopia (IPA: /ˌiːθiːˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez:
ኢትዮጵያ
ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the
Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the
west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the
north-east.
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world[1] and Africa's
second-most populous nation.[2] Ethiopia has yielded some of humanity's
oldest traces,[3] making the area important in the history of human
evolution. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis
Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the
world.[4][5][6] Ethiopian dynastic history traditionally began with the
reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC.[7][8] The roots of the Ethiopian
state are similarly deep, dating with unbroken continuity to at least the
Aksumite Empire (which adopted the name "Ethiopia" in the 4th century) and
its predecessor state, D`mt (with early 1st millennium BC roots).[9][10]
After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries
known as the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Judges/Princes"), the country
was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II,
beginning Ethiopia's modern history.[11][12][13][14] Ethiopia's borders
underwent significant territorial expansion to its modern borders for the
rest of the century,[15][16][17] especially by Emperor Menelik II and Ras
Gobena, culminating in its victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa
in 1896 with the military leadership of Ras Makonnen, and ensuring its
sovereignty and freedom from colonization.[18][19] It was brutally
occupied by Mussolini's Italy from 1936 to 1941,[20] ending with its
liberation by British Empire and Ethiopian Patriot forces.
Having converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the
second-oldest country to become officially Christian, after Armenia.[21]
Since 1974, it has been secular and has also had a considerable Muslim
community since the earliest days of Islam.[22] Historically a relatively
isolated mountain country, Ethiopia by the mid 20th century became a
crossroads of global international cooperation. It became a member of the
League of Nations in 1923, signed the Declaration by United Nations in
1942, and was one of the fifty-one original members of the United Nations
(UN). The headquarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) is in Addis Ababa, as is the headquarters of the African Union
(formerly the Organisation of African Unity), of which Ethiopia was the
principal founder. There are about forty-five Ethiopian embassies and
consulates around the world.
It is about twice the size of Kenya or the state of Texas. It has a
population of 75.1 million as of 2006. It is one of the world's poorest
nations. In the 1980's the per capita income was $120 per year and it
hasn't changed much since then. Life expectancy is 52 for men and 54 for
women. The economy suffers from two major and persistent weaknesses: food
insecurity and a near total dependency on coffee for foreign exchange
earnings. Agriculture provides the livelihood for 85% of Ethiopians but
drought and pests and severe soil erosion due to deforestation continue to
keep agriculture yields erratic and low. More from Wikipedia below.
[edit] Exports
Ethiopia was the original source of the coffee bean, and coffee beans are
the country's largest export commodity.[113]
Ethiopia is also the 10th largest producer of livestock in the world.
Other main export commodities are khat, gold, leather products, and
oilseeds. Recent development of the floriculture sector means Ethiopia is
poised to become one of the top flower and plant exporters in the
world.[114]
With the private sector growing slowly, designer leather products like
bags are becoming a big export business, with Taytu becoming the first
luxury designer label in the country.[115] Additional small-scale export
products include cereals, pulses, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes and hides.
With the construction of various new dams and growing hydroelectric power
projects around the country, it has also begun exporting electric power to
its neighbors.[116][117][118] However, coffee remains its most important
export product and with new trademark deals around the world, including
recent deals with Starbucks, the country plans to increase its revenue
from coffee.[119] Most regard Ethiopia's large water resources and
potential as its "white oil" and its coffee resources as "black
gold".[120][121]
The country also has large mineral resources and oil potential in some the
less inhabited regions; however, political instability in those regions
has harmed progress. Ethiopian geologists were implicated in a major gold
swindle in 2008. Four chemists and geologists from the Ethiopian
Geological Survey were arrested in connection with a fake gold scandal,
following complaints from buyers in South Africa. Gold bars from the
National Bank of Ethiopia were found to be gilded metal by police, costing
the state around US $17 million, according to the Science and Development
Network website. [2]
Leather goods are relatively inexpensive. Taytu, the luxury designer
mentioned above has one shop here. I have visited it twice. Their handbags
are unique in design and color. Apparently they sell to a store in New
York. The bags here run about $130-$250. I can't imagine what they would
cost in the US.
The literacy rate is 42%, meaning the person is 15 years old or over and
can read and write. It is about 50 % for men and 35% for women. Because
most of the population is rural, young children are needed to help with
livestock. When we were in Lalibela, we saw numerous young children, I
would guess under 10 years of age, tending to small herds of goats and
sheep.
That's it for today. I need to finish packing up the room. The hotel will
store our luggage until we return on Friday. I may not have Internet
access in Gambella so it may be a few days before I post again.