The Road to Weldiya

We woke pretty early to get on the road. Sam was concerned to get our traveling done before nightfall as the roads would be fairly rough and he didn't relish navigating them after dark. So we gathered in the lobby at 6:30 am and met the last two additions to our party. Kebede Lule is an independent Ethiopian filmmaker who Sam hired to accompany us as guide, translator and cultural consultant. Kebede has produced numerous informational films for various Christian development/aid organizations like World Vision, Compassion etc. His story is incredible, having been imprisoned and tortured in the 80s for his resistance to the communist party and as a consequence of his faith. His spirit is gentle, almost shy, and he has a heart of a servant - I mean this in the most flattering sense.

Mesfin was hired as a driver for the extra vehicle we would need to make our journey. Mesfin spoke very little English and so we didn't get to know him well. But he seemed like a nice enough fellow with a ready smile.

I don't remember much detail of the first few hours - the highway was initially paved as we wound through the mountains, north-east toward the city of Weldia where we would spend the night. There were people everywhere with goats aplenty as well as cattle. At first I thought the amount of folks on the road was due to our proximity to Addis, but I soon realized that in a country of 70 million people in an area roughly twice the size of Manitoba, it was unlikely we would experience many uninhabited areas. I was surprised at how mountainous it was. Largely due to media coverage of the famine in the 80s, my image of Ethiopia was of barren flat-lands with little or no vegetation. I had no expectation of the numerous spectacular vistas we would encounter over the next week.

We stopped for breakfast in Debre Berhan, one of the oldest towns in Ethiopia - scrambled eggs with peppers and the finest cup of coffee I've ever had. Although Ethiopia is the only African country that has never been colonized, they were briefly occupied by the Italians in the early 20th century. The happy result being that no matter where you are in the country, no matter how remote and cut off from the rest of the world, you can always find a restaurant of sorts with an industrial barista machine with some of the best coffee or Cafe Macchiato you'll get anywhere. The bathrooms however, would be consistently less impressive.

Camels! I wasn't expecting camels! This fellow stopped to talk to us while his camels continued to run down the mountainside. He was hoping we'd help him out with a few bir (Ethiopian dollars) but none of us thought to exchange for modest denominations of money so we convinced him to accept a few cookies instead. Once he accepted the cookies, he suddenly startled to see his camels trotting gingerly a kilometer or two down the road and he bolted off in a panic.

One of the highlights of the whole trip was the thousands of gorgeous children who everywhere waved and smiled eagerly at us. To stop the vehicle even for a few minutes was to get swamped by kids. They all wanted their pictures taken - some would ask for a bir or two but most asked for a pen. "Pen sir? I go to school. I have exams. Pen please." We must have heard that a thousand times.

The kids loved to tell us (in English) their names. Nanci asked some to write their names in her journal - for some reason I find this very moving. My name is Tew! My name is Kasu! My name is Mitu! My name is... I am here! I exist! I am not one of 70 million, I am Deribe! Don't forget me. I can imagine it delights God to hear someone proudly say their name. And I can hear God respond fondly, "Yes indeed. You are Abebe. I remember you well."

The poverty here is astounding. Most of Ethiopia's population are farmers. And most farm families are surviving on the harvest of a meager acre or two of land. Here in the highlands there is not much possibility of irrigation and so survival is dependent on the good will of nature. The last few years here have had good rains and so we didn't get a sense of current destitution, but it is not hard to understand how perennially vulnerable these folks are. With the population density such as it is, and the need for building materials and firewood, the mountains have already been stripped of trees and the resulting problems of erosion are evident everywhere. The population of Ethiopia is expected to double in the next twenty years and I can't help but shudder at the inevitable catastrophe that lies ahead in the not too distant future.

Thatched huts and extended-family hamlets are everywhere (average family size - 6). Most of the country lives with absolutely no modern conveniences in the home or in the field. Cooking is done on open fire, water is hauled or harvested, and fields are cultivated by the simplest, labour intensive means. Ethiopians work very, very hard.

By noon, the paved roads gave way to gravel roads which became our reality for the rest of the trip. Often, their condition slowed us to a walking crawl and our bodies were soon bruised and sore from bouncing around like "dice in a cup." A fine dust filled the air and covered everything. Following close behind evil smelling, black-smoke billowing vehicles kept one in a mile state of nausea. Narrow roads, crumbling away to sharp escarpments and more than one vehicle overturned or over the edge kept one somewhat uneasy about our safety despite the obvious skill of our drivers.

Reminders of past conflicts were plentiful. Wars here have been many - conflict internally as well as with others, especially with Eritrea to the north. Sam opined that if Ethiopia would determine, for one generation, to solve her disputes with dialogue instead of guns, she could overcome her primary difficulties with the money and resources currently sustaining the apparatus of war. I wonder what good could be accomplished if in North America we did the same? What would it take for us to repent of our trust in "horses and chariots" to ensure our covetous self-security?

We eventually arrived in Weldiya at Lal Hotel (a solid 1.5 stars) after driving fourteen and a half hours to cover 450 kilometers. We had a quick supper and crawled under our mosquito nets only to lie awake most of the night as a result of jet-lag and over-tiredness. Tomorrow we will come to the Support for Sustainable Development base camp in the Afar dessert - another long day - 6:30am departure.