The video below shows a shocking story about 80,000 Ethiopians who survive on trash at the Addis Ababa city dump in an area called Korah. Many of the people who scavenge through the trash are children and women. These people are living under such horrible poverty not because Ethiopia is a poor country. Some of the reason is that Ethiopia’s treasure is being squandered and looted by Meles Zenawi’s ruling party, that educated people who can help develop the country are forced into exile, and that the country is being ruled by a government of idiots.
This video below will make any decent human being sick. The billions of dollars donation collected from around the world by the Meles regime in the name of these people is being used to keep them under such hellish poverty. This is done with the full knowledge and active collaboration of the poverty-mongers at the World Bank and IMF, as well as Western governments who are financing the parasite regime, and training its killers to keep it in power (see here). Ethiopians are smart, hard working people. With the right government, they can make a decent living. Ethiopians do not expect the West to give them their freedom. We are simply asking the U.S. and E.U. to stop giving weapons and money to the brutal, parasite regime that is sucking the life blood of Ethiopia.
And below are some horrifying pictures of how tens of thousands of children live in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. These people live under such obscene poverty partly because the so-called “government” is busy buying thanks and fighter jets, and building concentration camps, instead of schools. The other reason is that the Ethiopian elite that has the capacity to do some thing about it simply chose to be indifferent.
99 thoughts on “80,000 Addis Ababa residents eat trash to survive (video)”
Elias thank you for sharing the ground reality of life in Ethiopia where the idiotic elements of tplf and thier blind racist supporters are endlessly liying about a 12 or 15% fake growth that is only beleivable among few a naive and moron Ethiopians in Diaspora while the majority of Ethiopians know exactly that the tplf terrorist group the worst criminal and corrupted group that needs to be removed ASAP…it wont be long that tplf will be removed from Ethiopia as same as the Nazi of Gemany and Idiamin Dada of Uganda, and Mengistu of Derg, since there is a matter of time that dicatators will stay in power……but the racist and moron elements of tplf supporters assume they can stay in power for ever since they are stupid elements that thier mental are being stripped by meles of thier criminal leader….
Right after marching to Addis in one of his interviews to journalists, Melse promised for the Ethiopian people three meals a day. 20 years later the people of Ethiopia are eating three meals a day out of the city’s trash. He, his wife and the rest of Weyane Ganges loot Ethiopia to the bone at the same time.
please get the fact. right.I know this video.it has been on the internet for quit a while.These people are not collecting food.But they are collecting recyles such as bottles plastices etc… in order to make money.It is wise think to do.If I were there I would the same.So please report truth-not hate news.Thanks.
It is sad to see dignified people dehumanzed by an inferiority complex ridden government that has depended its existence on foreign aid.
teddy abebe, it is the same thing. Why do they have to come to dig the trash if they can eat ‘three times a day.’
(Teddy Abebe) if it was you, am sure you will not do the same thing!!!
I am so sad and disgusted by what I saw. Am left speechless and blank. What should we do? I dont know what we can do, everything seems complicated now a days?
#4 teiwdros stop this bull crap teddy, mimi, titi first of all in Ethiopia all the bottles has to be returned before even you get any new order. Why do you try to find execuse for the tegadalite. The urban dewlers are exposed to hunger which has never seen like it before. If you defend the tegadalite at all why do you say, “why not they don’t eat cake.” yoou f–u–s are built on fantacy any ways.
@ tesfayee what do you mean if they dot work how they get some thing to eat … three o2 2 or 5 they have to work hard ,,think 2 wise bro
yemanew begeta
what is wrong with tesfaye teddy is right here also north america people are collecting recycle toget many on it that means are they starving. think and see both side.
teddy abebe ,
You have no idia about life , but lie is your principle of life.
To all Tegaru, we rather have good hard working honest Ethiopiawi than LEBOCH SO CALLED TEGARU TO LEADE ETHIOPIA.
A Malaysian Petronas energy compay seeks sale Ethiopian oil rights locally people in Ethiopia. The individual buyers of the SouthWest energy compay are the followings:
1-Abay woldu
2-Azeb Mesfin
3-Meles zenawi
4-Tsadiqan Gabraegziabher
5-Mulugeta Alemseged
What is going on and where did the above individuals got the money to own Oil production Company???
To whom Tegadelti serving now, if individuals are owning the country’s wealth what is the purpose Tigray mothers sons and daughters serving in the military???
What happen to EFFORT??? Why individual Tegaru own instead of EFFORT for the whole Tigray???
Now we know clearly one of the many factors Meles Zenawi installed FM and second man EPRDF leadership Hailemariam Desalegn to protect their holding of the south wealth for individual Tegaru in the name of Tigray. The blame by all Ethiopians goes to all Tegaru but the wealth goes to very few people who have the military backers in power. This is the most disturbing trend emerging slowly. Is this the reason we fought and died our families, relatives, neighbors, classmates in elementary, high school and college and we reined Tigray????
this actually mean nothing. those people are not eating trash. they are in a recycling business. just the fact that some ignorant white dude who doesn’t even know about his own country went to flm in a gato try to make it look like something else.my response, see how they do it in US and canada. it is exactly the same. i have Witnessed people recycle manualy here in tx.
THANK YOU ELIAS!
WHAT A NATIONAL TRAGEDY IS THIS? WITH THIS SAVAGE LEADERS DEVALUED THE BIRR AND EVERY BODY EXPECTING PRICES TO GO UP, LIEF IN ETHIOPIA HAS REACHED TO A POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE.
WHY NOT ALL CONCERNED ORGANIZE TO INITAITE A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TO TOPPLE THIS GOVERNMENT?
hiruy berhe,
I do not have enough words to describe what kind of heartless, cruel person you are.
did any one seen when people eat trash in this video. I need one person who saw that. what a news!!!! Get a life man. sometimes try to know what u can at least use as a title for ur news. i havent seen noone who eats trash in this video and it is so ugly to report something which satisfies ur own ego.
Man, I just cannot explain how my life has been affected by my visit to the community of Korah in Ethiopia, all I can really say is that my heart has truly been burdened for these people. While others long to help different persons and communities in Ethiopia, Korah weighs on my heart. So, I am attempting to raise awareness and support for the 80,000 people who make up this community of societal outcasts. Read http://michaelhalcomb.blogspot.com/2010/01/eating-ethiopian-trash-new-help-korah.html
tedy abebe
you won 99.6 percent of the last election also, right?
Why are these children eating trash at a city dump in Addis Ababa. Why are they at the city dump in the first place.
The Small Feet of Korah
A blog post by Chris van Allsburg
KORAH, ETHIOPIA — Small feet of a little child patter and splash out of the shack. They leave tracks in the mud. The child runs down an alley row by row of shelters just like his. Card board and rags tied on sticks…the endless maze of makeshift homes. The rags flap in the breeze like lonesome flags hoisted on abandoned ships. The little feet run in the direction of the dump. Perhaps there’s food there.
Child passes a crazed man, skinny, with one leg. A wild look in his eyes and an eerie, one-tooth smile. Lines on his face are thin and many from long years of malnutrition. He lost his leg to leprosy. The child keeps trotting along…
He passes a woman. She looks sick to the child. He knows that men visit her from time to time. She must have a lot of friends. But she looks very sick now. Maybe her man friends will help her.
The rain comes. It’s the season for it now. Giant drops as big as a bowl and pouring streams empty from the sky. The trail is thick, oozing mud. The child swamps his way toward the dump. Perhaps there’s clothing there.
Boys and girls from the chasm flitter out from the maze to follow the child. A mangy dog with wet hair in the shape of spikes side winds his way with tongue hanging low. His eyes are dim, too.
The child steps out of the swarming hoards of makeshift shelters to the edge of a hill. He slides down to the River. It is brown, and flows as slow as a lazy dream. There’s white foam puffs floating along, and pieces of stuff: the cliché is real—one man’s garbage is another’s treasure.
The child washes his feet and legs. He cups his hands and drinks dirty water from the river bank. He stands up, half bent, arms dangling straight down, and looks along the river. There’s a hill. He climbs it, slipping and falling his way to the top. At the edge there is a wasteland of refuse, as big as the shanty land where he lives. This is the dump. There are people walking about, bending over and picking things up, inspecting them. Is it good to keep?
A man in a bulldozer smooths out the rubbish. Someone grabs an old, dirty, wet blanket. It smells bad, you can tell by the look on her face.
The child roams around and spots something. He cups his hands and brings them to his mouth. This time not to drink, but to eat.
He turns and runs, his feet leaving tracks in the mud. He returns to his shanty. His mother is sick. She used to have a lot of man friends. But now they don’t come around anymore. (http://vanallsblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/small-feet-of-korah.html)
Can you let us know where you get the 80,000 figure. The video has nothing that suggest such numbers.
Just wandering!
http://www.gvnet.com/streetchildren/Ethiopia.htm
There are twice as many Ethiopians hungry today as there were during the 1984 famine when one million people starved. This uneasy truth means that, every year, up to eight million people, twice the population of Ireland, are starving or die of hunger.
Ethiopia receives the most relief aid but the least development aid in the world. More than 80,000 children die from malaria each year. Untreated mosquito nets cost just €2 and treated mosquito nets cost only €5. Average life expectancy is 44 years, infant mortality is at 20 per cent and unemployment rests around 80 per cent. Most of the 75 million people who live in Ethiopia survive on less than 50 cents a day.
There are over seven million orphans and close to half a million street children
Those of you who said that these people are collecting plastic to recycle like the Americans do, know that you are insulting and spitting on these poor Ethiopians.
Americans dont go to the trash mountains to collect plastics, they dont wear clothes like those people are wearing, they dont have that hungry face. I am truly ashemed.
We dont have to see them eat from the trash to prove what they were doing; like one of the commentors said “what are they doing there in the first place?” … “why are they dressed up like that?” … I think it is obvious this poeple are really really poor and their face shows that … and I am 100% sure every Ethiopian knows what a hungry face looks like (I Know!:D)
except if …
hi elias,
To be honest, i think you have nothing to report. These people are working (not eating). Have you not been seen people in MD working in Waste Mangement. It is the same thing. My freindly reminder is that you need to report something make sense. We do not expect you to see this kind of report from you. Be a jouneralist,
Thanks
Tolosa
This wouldn’t happen in a democracy. The people voted for an accountable leadership. Then the ruling junta put their mayor in prison along with the other electees. These are people under siege. And for the guy taking the pictures, may I remind you that U.S. government policy is in part responsible for keeping such people under such tribal rulers by arming the government and funding their brutal inefficient ethnic governance. What happens to the billions of dollars they get in aid every year to alleviate poverty? Why aren’t the kids in compulsory boarding schools? It is not a difficult thing to do! A fraction of the cost of buying one military tank will certainly feed, educate and raise all these kids. What about ‘our very own’ Ethiopia-loving tycoon? 2 million dollars for beyonce for one night or building a boarding school for these kids. Why don’t you take your Sheraton hotel back to Saudi Arabia and we want to build schools for these kids with our hands on that land. All we need is our freedom – not anyone’s money. So keep your money and do not tamper with our freedom.
These kids are our futures – not your fancy hotels. Who cursed this nation? What have we done really?
And by the way, for the white guy trying to help these people. Thank you. But please do not impose your religion on vulnerable poor people. They are not new to the gospel. Christianity has been in this country for years. Let them keep their heritage and their religion.
Tolosa,
I understand your pain but let us face it. This people thrive eathing garbage. Period. Some call them human scavengers. You would argue instead on the numbers. It is very difficult to put exact figure becasue they are not well docomented. Many perish due to disease and the elements at young age and thus the turn over rate is as rapid as the waste production itself.
By the way, they will not allow visitors to take pictures of them and I guess this video might have been taken through negotiation. One more point to be noted. The waste is divided between them depending on its source and group hierarchy. Wastes generated from Sheraton, for instance, is reserved to the dominant and powerful group.
It is painful. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge it exists.
What a shame!!! I don’t know what people like tolsa Beyene and those like him here see and comprehend from this blog report. It is not that old. It was first blogged this last July, 2010. I can not get a grab of their thinking process about these repulsive individuals who claim the people are only working. Did the society we left behind start having the audacity of producing such shameless coteries? Brother Elias, please keeping smacking such unconscionable and damning facts on these ‘hodams’ faces again and again. May Allah(God) sniff the life out of this Caligula so freedom and equality along with the rule of law minded people get the chance of leading this sacred place called Ethiopia with Afar, Oromia, Tigray, Somals, Amharas and millions others in it!!!! With good the ever willing Allah (God) and the help of other freedom loving countries and nations I have no doubt that it will come to bear. Just look at Chile and how it was ruled before. And look at what they did today. Now I become emotional!!! Insha Allah!!!!!
tolosa if you are jocking, it is not funny. A country with poorest of the poor people working in waste management? you are a wasted bafoon.
Disgusting is quite an understatement…
I feel pain for the children tho. They don’t deserve this.
Hey teddy abebe……in a country where 10 million are in the verge of dying because famine starvation, you are telling us that this people are recycling bottle and stuffs. Fact is that your guy melese and his gangs are stashing away billions of Euros and dollar skimming from the very money they begged from a donor countries in the name of the very people, who relegated to die of starvation, I am sure your kind of melese’s stooges will lie no matter what. Shame on you
Sambusa
What I don’t understand is, what are we hoping to get by showing such humilating pictures of ones own country.The government allows forigners to come and document what is happening in a dumpester they do not have other reason other than to huimlate Ethiopia and others too knowningly or un knowningly tries to do the same thing. This is shame. I never saw people who humilate their own country. A country with such beautiful peple should not deserve this. What a stupid Idea. Any way God knows what is behind it.
I don’t know the purpose of the video or your title saying 80,000 addis residents eat trash.I don’t know where to begin but you are always adding salt to the wound. Of course the majority of addis resident is poor but no one eats trash and you know it. But you dont care about the fact do you? just looking after your poletical gains(if we can call it that). Its understandable if you have beef with woyanne or who ever is in charge but PLEASE DON’T INSULT US!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me so sad there are MAD people like you who encourage what you do. THIS is again a new low for your standard!!!!!
May be you should ask yourself what you have done so far to minimize this problem.
Unless some of you are blind, the video, the second one, clearly shows children eating trash. Elias is doing a great service by exposing such a crime against children. As a matter fact, this is a crime against humanity and those responsible should face justice.
u r all liars including the moron Elias and bunch of stupid eritreans
This was unheard of under Mengistu’s regime! Well let us see the Western’s support Stiglitz and Sachs, what they have to say when they see this. Meles regime’s hate on Ethiopian people will continue this will be perpetuated by outsiders. Pro Weyane’s will lie anything to prove that current regime is great. Great because he supports one ethnic group, and supports very few elite and his party THAT IS ALL. The funny thing is that, Meles regime is still haunted by Mengistu and talks about Mengistu instead of what change he has made in Ethiopia. Well we have seen now how children are going or ship them quick to over seas by adoption parents to make money.
The Tolosas, Teddy’s are sitting on bucks so why should they feel the compassion. They will tell you, this is normal so that such poverty will be accepted. The Weyane’s are not allowing other Ethiopians to develop their country. They are forcing them out of the country, imprison them or kill them when they want to bring change in their country.
It is time to stop complaining and do something.
Thanks man for sharing this info.
To all those who are saying that they are not looking for food…WATCH THE VIDEO! They say they are looking for food and they were eating from the trash. This is sickening. Especially since a few hundred miles away Saudis, Indians, etc are growing food on ETHIOPIAN LAND to take to Saudi Arabia, India. This is Meles “the genius” in action.
The point is… this is not about eating or not. Or Elias caring about the poor or exposing whatever. I am just disturbed by such video from a website that calls itself as “Ethiopian”. Whatever the case is these are our people and we should respect them.I really hate the way this is portrayed and I believe any ethiopian that likes his country and its people regardless will not participate in dissiminaing this. what a trash!
Just roll the video to around 2:00 and you WILL SEE CHILDREN EATING FROM THE TRASH….. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN THAT?
Tolsa Beyene,
Taking the last picture:
What do you mean that this kids are working? Who hired them? How much do you believe their wage is? Unless forced (by family or their standard of living) no body should hire them. They are kids. Your objective is clear: defending the undefendable-Master (king) Meles. How many in Ethiopia throw out something of value in their trash? Firfari is saved for dogs or sold out as gursha (left over from hotels)for human beings. Don’t try to compare the contents of the trash in the west with that of Ethiopia. There is a huge difference in the standard of living and, thereby, the value of the contents in the trash from the rich and poor nation’s citizens.
Reta,
Unless you are a supporter of the ruling class that is keeping these people under such condition, you would not want it kept secret. I have never heard such kind of nonsense.
Whenever “they” are asked about the dire situation in the country their response is always “you do not know the facts on the ground”…”the fact on the ground is different….” well!!!! here is one “fact on the ground”.
Hello Agazians what is your next mantra…Oh let me guess… “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”
What a shame to those people who are trying to defend this heartbreaking reality. We say to them you are Hodam, Agases, Asamas! Sure like hell your days are numbered… Tanx Elias!
Thank you Elias. As usual, typical Woyanes are in denial and want it hidden from the public eyes. Please distribute this heartbreaking video and the video that shows where the Addis Ababa university students being loaded on trucks to their torture chamber in 2005 while begging “please save us, please save us” Please send copies to the president of Columbia University and Columbia Student Paper to remind them one of many, many reasons why Ethiopians protested against Meles at their university. These videos should be sent to Obama’s Foreign-Affair Office, Michelle Obama’s office, US senators, major news medias, NY times, Time Magazine, News Week, etc. May be their conscience will bother them to act on these human tragedy.
If Elias didn’t post videos and photos, those fandya Woyannes would have called him liar. When he smacks them with videos, they ask him to remove it. Under Woyanne rule there are much more sufferings that are not being reported.
Very sad but the truth of the matter is, this utterly corrupt ethnocentric government is treating the country and the people of Ethiopia except Ti-gray, as occupied enemy territory and captured enemy combatants. The west choose to ignore the plight of the Ethiopian people for the sake of temporary geopolitical advantages or maybe just to share the loot of Ethiopians precious natural resources ahead of the Asians and some middle eastern countries. At least the Asians are not trying to deceive us in the name of democracy, rule of law, and all the other bull shits….
Appropriate, timely and touching message from a just released መዝሙር on the very subject:
በሰው ፊት ቢሟጠጥ ተስፋና ደስታ:
ለኛ ፈጣሪ አለን ሁሉን የሚረታ:
ተስፋ እንደሌላቸው አንሆንም ከቶ:
ክርስቶስ አለልን የሚያሳይ አብርቶ::
ያለቀሱ ሁሉ ይስቃሉ አይቀርም:
ይለዋውጠዋል ጌታ መድሓኔአለም:
ማንም ያላሰበውን ያልጠበቀውን ድል:
ለኛ ለምስኪኖች ጌታ ይሰጠናል:
ሰዎች ቢጠበቡ ገንዘብ ለመስብሰብ:
ይጠላለፋሉ ባልጠበቁት መረብ:
እግዚሓብኤርን ይዘው በቅን ካልተጓዙ:
ክፋትና ተንኮል ብዙ ነው መዘዙ::
ድሆችን አስለቅሶ ግፍን የሚሰበስብ:
ምን ይመልስ ይሆን በጌታ ፊት ሲቀርብ:
ለዝች አጭር ዘመን የሚስገበገቡ:
አይረኩም አይጠግቡም ድሆች እያስራቡ:
የህል ሽታ ጠፍቶ መሶቡም ቢራቆት:
ተስፋችን ሙሉ ነው እኛስ በጌታ ፊት:
ይህን ክፉ ዘመን ያሻግራል ጌታ:
ከሰራን በኋላ በፀሎት እንበርታ::
-ይልማ ኃይሉ ቁጥር ፲ 2010
bullshit..in addis people share. nobody let anybody to eat trash! people are carrying there. do not belive you post this. i know there are a lot of poor people. but do not belive they eat trash.eth.people are disgusted to eat the food they do not know leave alone to eat trash
It’s dispicable & not surprising to see the weyane degrading the poor Ethiopians to such a low point. It can be remembered about 8 years ago, when weyane loaded hundreds of street children and dumped them in a far hyena infested forest in the middle of the night. Survivors revealed that horrific acts. Weyane’s was trying to get rid of these children from the sight of foreigners. It’s an easier option for evils who are busy lining up their pockets, instead of doing something to help these children.
It is a true report, Thank You Elias! not only eating the trash, The smell by itself affect,kids and all the resident more than the mentioned figure, currently most peoples develop lung diseases, the government is not wiling to solve a problem and take action to save lives.