By by el Vagabundo, TravelBlog
The following is a sad story. I enjoyed being back in Addis. People are amazing, and last year as a tourist I discovered the beauties of this culturally rich country. But there is a dark side, that not for being dark is less real.
Walking the streets of the old Addis Ababa, where I stay, is a humbling experience. Not only extreme poverty is evident, by the large numbers of beggars of all ages walking, laying, chasing you on the streets, but by the terrible conditions of many: polio, blindness, leper, amputated limbs, third degree burns, leave a sensation of impotence, of shame of how many times we complain for small things in life. Yes Lole, we are privileged.
The last night in Addis, Hilmer, the smuggler, and I went to check out the Piazza area nightlife. Hilmer asks what do I think of the girls in front of us, lying against the wall.
“They should go to bed.”
“Yeah, but with whom?”
I didn’t realize it until he said it so.
“…but they are thirteen, fourteen, no more than that…”
“But they know what they are doing.”
Hilmer approaches one of them. She seems shy, and can’t speak English, except for…’one-hundred birr’ (about eleven dollars). Two guys immediately approach, offering to translate. Later they would ask for a beer, of course.
Hilmer was able to drive down the rate to fifty birr. The he said goodbye and we continued walking…he was not going to do it, but wanted to seefor how little these little girls would go for. I was silent the whole time, ashamed of even being there.
We walk on, and a drunk guy is molesting a girl selling gum, cigarettes, candies…and condoms. Hilmer and I approach, and totally casual, I stand aside of the girl, while telling the smiling drunk that ‘she is my friend, she is with me’. The drunk desisted and left. The girl, called Salam (Peace), smiled.
When we got out of the next bar less than an hour later, Salam was outside waiting for me. She run and hugged me, and said something in Amharic. I thought she was just grateful. A twenty-something guy is with her.
“She is my sister,” he said. “She wants to go home with you.”
The guy, who turns out was not Salam’s brother, but an elementary school teacher, said that she had never been with a man, and that she would go with me for 200 birr ( about 22 bucks).
I took Salam’s hand between mine, and told her, slowly, that I was her friend, and I was not trying to help so I could sleep with her. I am not sure she got 100% of the message, but she let me go. A beer later, the German and I just left the area. I was angry and depressed.
10 thoughts on “Addis Ababa’s miseries, of body and soul”
This is Woyane’s legacy – this is what tyranny, corruption and bad governance does to descent human beings. The irony of it all is Woyane considers this corrupt poverty ridden life style as a tourist attraction. The adversity facing Ethiopian children is also exponentially multiplied by what Woyane is doing in the name of alleviating poverty of this children, Woyane markets the poverty to collect more foreign aid – It brings more money to Woyane. In the face of all this human misery, woyanes and their cohorts lie through their teeth, and tell us how much the economy is growing.
Thank you Elias for the continued exopose of this woyane lie and hypocricy.
I feel like crying when I read such heartbreaking stories about my country. May be this is why I would never go back since it is very hard to deal with all that. Child prostitution was a problem of Thiland and asia, not the people of Ethiopia. I hate the Government of Ethiopia
Namara,
As much as I hate the Weyanes, the Weyanes could care less about these poor girls and really they don’t care at all whatever happens to Ethiopia except in their little enclave called Tigrai. But, the irony is from what I hear and read, the people of Tigrai are not exactly blossoming flowers either. They are just as miserable, if not more, than any other Ethiopian people. But, what I do not understand is that how many Ethiopian intellectuals, especially those in the Diaspora (which they can do something about it) instead keep on talking trash like why we (Weyane army) should be in Somalia, Eritrea and what have you. To me, there is no more national emergence than to get rid of these criminal thugs from Adwa and Adi Grat! If we have to ally with the Devil himself, to expedite the demise of these blood suckers, then so be it. The problem though, there is no devil that we can put our hands on. We are earthly people, which means, we have to deal with fellow earthly people – not those heavenly ones. In practical terms, we have to stop demonizing the Eritreans and instead work with them. Why is that so hard to understand? Otherwise, please one of you explain to me why our opposition leaders and potential political leaders are going around the issue. I am a religious person, but, I do not believe that “Miracles” happen by sitting idle. I think we have to try to do the right thing and then hope for the best. But, just talking and, worse yet, talking stuff that does not make any sense will never bring us the change we are all looking or pretend to be looking!
There are shameless Ethiopians out there boasting how great Ethiopia and how “proud” they are and shamelessly they tell ferengis out here in North America but my compatriots will never tell the shame of our own poverty, hunger and famine that has long become our own trade mark.
we are the only people left in this planet far behind, and we are the only people who torment the rich white capitals of Europe and North America for more food and more money every six months.
Lets stop talking how great Ethiopia was, lets talk how shameful Ethiopia has become in our generation and work to solve and fight to redeem her. We are worth nothing even to speak about the giants of Axum and Lalibela …
This prostitution problem is a chronic one that has to be dealt with effectively and properly. It is a problem that existed for centuries for our women and it is getting nothing but worse. The age is getting younger and younger. I hope this humiliation inflicted upon our beautiful women is the minds of all those striving to do away with this Dracula and his henchmen from Aduwa. This Attila A-la Dedebit will fall someday sooner or later but who ever is going to replace him should take this practice equally as hunger and destitution that has besieged our people for a long, long time. I call upon all those diasporas to pray at their churches, temples and mosques for the speedy downfall of this stumbling block who is ruling with Kalashnikovs, 108MM’s, MI-24’s and SU-29’s. Above all I urge Mr. Elias to use his good office on this website to organize a massive prayer at our churches, temples and mosques. This guy is ‘Erkus’ and ‘Nejas’.
I think we are attempting to see if there is an ounce of shame from the shameless dictator. The crimnal meles and his cohorts with utter disgust towards Ethiopians are vanalizing and slowly killing the moral integrity and ethical competence of our civilized people. Though prostituion is a problem in many countries and with benign consequences that amounts to nothing but to a neusense–like public intoxication, robery, local-ordinance violations e.t.c , the prostituion that we have in Ethiopia has reached a critical mass almost beyond control. All you hear from people who have visited Ethiopia is the rampant AIDS and the out of control yet legal prostituion that is almost imune to any legal deterence. Doesn’t the crimnal as he called the “prime minster” has the constitutional obligation to protect the teen and the young by just coming up with a decree baning any prostitution that involves minors? Yet Meles proudly introduces a law that diminshes the power and vibrance of NGOs from functioning to their fullest. Where is your priority man? I will be satisfied if we can find an ounce of Ethiopianism in this man’s blood. And he represents Ethiopia? Maferia. A country that was represented by the likes of Tewdros, Yohannes, Menlik and Hailesellasie? Take your 10% GDP (if there is one ofcourse) with you and I will be happy with a simple Ethiopian as my leader with a 1% GDP who lifts-up, celebrates, and protects the ideals of Ethiopiansm that stood against all odds.
Just an anecdote to the readers,
Part of the reason why Saddam Hussien invaded Quite in the early 1990’s was that, it was rumored that high level officials of the Quite goverment had made a deamining statment about the Iraqi woman– how one day the quitis would make Iraqi woman prostiutes in their own country. well you know the rest, the Quitis were run-over and mowed-down like anminals by Saddam’s army before he was pushed back by the Americans.
The notion that prostitution is widely spread throughout Ethiopia because of TPLF regime is bogus –yes the fact that TPLF rules buy means of totalitarism.yet, this ancient business had been for decodes .so what is the crying?
This is a heart breaking story. What makes me sick to the stomack is the ages of these poor kids. The reason for all these and all the hardship our people are facing is: we don’t have a government that works for the people. What we have instead is, a ruthless rebel force that came to town uninvited and recked havoc on the society. It is true that prostitution has been around for a long time, but in those days they were mature adults misled by some greedy pimps (delala) to divorce their spouses for a better life mostly in the cities and towns. But now we have under age kids out in the streets selling their precious bodies for a few Birr instead of being in the class rooms where they belong. This is a serious problem that needs a serious solution. It is unthinkable to expect weyane to have a change of heart and try to solve all the mess it created. It will never happen because it is not in its nature. That’s why we need to work hard to get rid off these bandits by all means possible.
According to the majority of people who left a comment, the problem is intimately related to the gang in power, the notorious TPLF. Hence if and when these people leave power, child prostitution will be history in our country.
We are preparing ourselves to yet another disillusion because we are leaving in a fantasy land. We refuse to face the stark reality and consider that the problem – and perhaps the solution – might be found deep into our soul. Child prostitution is related to misery and hence to the government policies which prevent the country from going forward. That’s half of the explanation. The other half has nothing to do with the regime in power: who is abusing these kids? Us the people! Who is tolerating this practice and doesn’t show any outrage? Us again.
Let’s face it, is it our culture and mentality that makes easy to mistreat, molest and sexually abuse women and children in our country.
And above all nobody cares about these children except the drunk guys(both locals and foreigners-am not reffering to th persom who write this article) who want to go to bed with them.
I don’t really know where we are heading as people and nation.
Egzer yirdan!