Think of “Ethiopia” and the word conjures up images of a country in poverty and deprivation, of a weather that is hot and harsh, and of a people who suffered from the famine of 1984 to 1985 (and might still be suffering). So I thought as I recently went there during another break from work. And was I surprised to see how relatively “developed” the country was, to feel the pleasant weather, and to know how normal the people were!
In comparison with the Philippines’ purchasing power parity-adjusted annual per capita Gross Domestic Product of $3,400 (as of 2007), Ethiopia’s is only $800 so it is considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. Yet this is on average as soon as I arrived at the Bole International Airport, I noticed how more modern and much bigger it was than our Ninoy Aquino. In the capital of Addis Ababa, I was surprised to see a lot of buildings – important ones – at that –such as the Africa Hall which forms the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the imposing Sheraton Addis Hotel on top of a hill that costs $200 a night for a single room (our Manila Hotel charges only $111).
I also assumed that the weather would be very warm and dry so I only packed shirts, walking shorts, and sandals before the trip. Little did I know that Addis Ababa is 2,400 meters above sea level so I was surprised to see how the weather there was much like the one in our Baguio City with the occasional showers. I ended up wearing the pair of jeans I arrived at the airport with everyday for the whole duration of my stay, had to put on socks whenever I wore my sandals, and crossed my shoulders all the time to feel warm.
As for the people, they were like any other in a developing country. In the morning, they were busy going to work. During the day, the vendors, the shoe-shine boys, and the rest of the informal sector were doing their jobs. Everybody was rushing to go back home in the evening. The cafés and restaurants, the hole-in-the-wall type and even the fancy ones, were filled with locals. In short, I was surprised not to see a lot of hungry, or make that starving, people as I had expected. Of course there were the usual beggars and mendicants who were not much different though from ours in Manila. Yet we do have a lot more homeless people and shanty towns than those in Addis Ababa.
I was also surprised not to see “kababayans” there. I assumed, or make that knew, that there were. But, for some reason, I just couldn’t come across them and it somehow made my trip quite incomplete. I stayed in the capital for a couple of days and did the usual tourist thing, but still no sight of Filipinos. Until I went to the town of Lalibela (where there are 13th to early 14th century rock-hewn churches) and heard of two. There I met a military officer from India working with UNMEE (United Nations Mission in Ethiopia/Eritrea). He is an observer/peacekeeper along the sensitive border between the two countries and was also on his break from work. When I mentioned to him that I am Filipino, he said that he was working with two other Filipinos – one responsible for administration and the other for logistics, and both are based in Ethiopia.
In Gondar (where there are medieval-like castles and palaces that date back hundreds of years ago), my taxi driver, after figuring out that I am Filipino, told me of an English teacher in the town’s university who is also Filipino. (As a side note, I make it a point to tell everyone, or sometimes let them guess, that I am from the Philippines). I didn’t have enough time to visit the campus but had I had, I would have definitely gone there to meet him (or her, I didn’t ask the gender as it didn’t really matter) and asked her (or him) to go sightseeing with me. Nothing beats a “local” tour guide especially if you are both from the same country!
And speaking of tour guides, in my final destination of Axum (where there are huge monolithic granite obelisks that date back even before Christ), my guide instantly knew that I am Filipino because he knows one from an international NGO who is assigned in the vicinity, and he said we both shared the same physical features. He also stated that he (or she) did capacity-building work in several villages in and around the area. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where this Filipino was currently at so we couldn’t give this “kababayan” a surprise visit. (Yup, I ironically had more time to spare then).
Back in the capital, I was kinda sad that I didn’t meet any Filipino as I usually do wherever I go. It just wasn’t enough that I heard of them. But on my last night in a popular restaurant, after having dinner and before heading out the main door, my “Pinoy-dar” registered someone with an Ethiopian at another table. Without hesitation, I approached him and asked if he is Filipino to which he answered, “I knew you are Filipino too!” We exchanged pleasantries and were excited at each other’s company that he didn’t finish his dinner because we were too busy talking.
To make an hour-long conversation short, he is one of a handful of Filipinos in Ethiopia responsible for planning, founding, and establishing the first-ever Catholic university in the country (with the grace, and funding, of the Holy See). He amiably invited me to the university grounds where I met two of his colleagues, one of whom is the priest leading the management team. Both, of course, are Filipino. They have been in the country for three to five years and they cannot wait to start classes and give Ethiopians an international education hopefully beginning this September.
Alas, this chance encounter made my first (and surely not the last) trip to this part of East Africa complete. I heard of Filipinos doing good things in a country officially poorer than ours and finally met three of them in action. It gives me such an overwhelming feeling to know that they are providing such a positive contribution to the Philippines with their remittances and, at the same time, to their place of work. They are making their family’s and the locals’ lives better than before. Next I am off to Somaliland and I might be surprised to see that the place is notas dangerous as everybody thinks. But I won’t be surprised to hear and hopefully meet Filipinos working there and making a big difference in the country and for its people as they are presently doing in Ethiopia.
Mabuhay ang Pilipino nasaan man kayo!
