Looking forward to two days off in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I asked the Captain if he was going siteseeing. When he said yes, I quickly said I'd like to go with him and he said we'd all go exploring, buy some coffee and look around.
We left the hotel at 10 AM and as I left the compound and walked across the street, I saw a military guard carrying an AK-47 assault rifle. Great.
The first thing we saw was a real eye-opener to me. These people lived in abject poverty. I asked the guys if the whole town was like this and was this just a "bad neighborhood." They told me it was representative of most everything they had seen in Addis.
As we started walking thru the neighborhood, which was located next to another modern hotel. Most of the houses we saw were nothing more than shacks, with lots of debris for a yard and tin metal for a roof.
As we walked across a street, this young man saw the Captain and came running over and gave him a hug. Turns out the Captain had known him for years, met him on previous visits to Addis. His name is Bengm Thomas. His mom is dead, his father working in another country and he lives in an 8' X 8' shack with a friend, follows soccer and has an infectious smile.
Here I am with Bengm and his friend Honeck, who we hired to be our guide so we didn't go somewhere unsafe.
A fast-food restaurant in Addis.
Walking around, I saw these two young girls that had a dress shop. I pointed to the camera and smiled and Honeck told them I'd like to take their photo and they agreed, laughing all the time. Their names are ShuShu and Ferahutt.
An old abandoned Foosball table left on a sidewalk.
Honeck and Bengm pose besides the latter's home.
We walked around the area for about 3 hours, stopping for a Coke at a place that Honeck recommended and at a coffee shop where a couple of the guys bought some coffee beans. (Ethiopian coffee is great btw, not acidic like here in America.)
Then we headed back to the hotel and Bengm took us off the alleyway (?) to show us his "house." Really a shack made up of wood, sticks and mud with a tin roof overhead to provide protection against the sun and soon the rain.
We paid them well for our "tour" and wished them the best but I couldn't help but think as I walked back into the hotel compound that though I was able to leave, this was all they knew, it was their home. I felt guilty for all I had and that I should have given them more.
I did get Honeck's email address and hope I go back to I can do some more for the two young men.
