Food for Thought Thank you for this info. Great blog. The issues around food aid. When I was in Ethiopia in 2011 I heard of optimism that no further famines would cripple the country due to better farming practices and storing surplus for tougher times. The economy was booming. Road works everywhere...improving infrastructure. To lease out good land cheaply for overseas interests...doesn't make sense to me either.
“We must learn to sow and cultivate tourism like a sorghum field.” Really enjoyed this blog. Your observations and perceptions...tough but fair...possibly coloured by 5 birr for adults, 2 for kids (last year when I was there it was 2:1! Pity you were part of a tourist turnstile for the Mursi...lucky you scored a Hamar bulljumping. There are many issues...also affected by the Gibe dams and relocation of the tribes in that locale. I blogged some of these perspectives in my Mursi, Karo, Hamar & Nech Sar blogs...worth a look considering your observations. Thanks again for an excellent blog. Enjoyed Jason\'s comments too. To me the question is \"Tradition versus Progress?\".
Bravo! This is good…this is REALLY good! “The lower Omo valley is where the West comes to sate its thirst for the ‘primitive’. The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regional State is a confederation of dozens of tribes, and being a tourist here is wading into an ethical morass: the fine line between human interest and human zoo…the clay lip plates worn by Mursi women are the quintessential archetype of the exotic and draw tourists like flies to shit. And in truth, the experience is about as pleasant…Plate lips are hastily retrieved and fitted into distended lips, necklaces donned, and random feathers and bones stuck fetchingly into hair. Authentically ‘exotically’ attired, the charade commences…” The real question here, in my opinion, is who is being conned the most, the Mursi performing exotic savage for cash, the tourist dishing out the cash in order to perpetuate this narrative, or the vicarious tourist viewing this myth at home, who knows none of the above, and dreams of one day experiencing it... the hermeneutic circle is complete.
Discovery learning -- is it the bunk? I submit that "discovery learning" is an inappropriate pedagogical technique for most academic subjects & most academic settings. If you are teaching (or learning) mathematics, physics, geometry, English grammar .... there are hard facts to be communicated by teacher & learnt by student. When one gets to advanced scientific work (say, organic chemistry) one needs to do repeat the work done by one's predecessors, to understand technique, but the instructor nonetheless should guide you through the basics.
Discovery learning has a superficial resemblance to the Socratic method beloved of generations of faculty at Harvard Law School, but is not the same thing. Enough said.
Sounds like fun was had by all. Does this mean that you are not going to try and do this program again? I'm guessing they won't be happy if this is one of the higher Google hits on the program.
Next time you are in the U.S. a phone call may be in order.
no google I thought about that. No, I don't plan on going back even if asked, but it is probably better not to bite the hand that feeds you, especially if that hand belongs to Harvard. Luckily, I am unimportant enough that no amount of googling will ever fine me.
Bad experiences make great stories! As a traveling ESL teacher, I appreciate your warning against being tempted by Harvard on my CV. Really, though, you should teach a class on writing with humor--great stuff here!
Santa Wow! Sorry, it took me awhile to read this post - I was a little busy. I can tell it was awhile between posts for you though. You need a copy editor. Us skeptics pick on the little things - they distract us from more important issues even. Your observations truly strike a chord with me, but instead of agnosticism, I've leaned to the gnostic side - organized religion in any form lends itself to horrid abomination. Any attempt to physically quantify the supernatural reality we all feel but cannot define in any way leads to a path of corruption, dominance and absolute perversion of these peripheral, undefinable and undeniable realities. God, whatever form he takes is undeniable; religion in its many forms has failed us all for millennia. You and your classmate, my other favorite atheist are proof of the existence of God for me. This world is so miraculous in its very existence and the absolute perfection of it all in spite of such horrid imperfections and attempts to pervert it are such an oxymoron that any good reasoner must know there is more than can be seen or defined. God loves you and I love you too.
Yea. I think we should move there. I miss the culture you write about Colin- and it's not even mine to miss. Maybe it's because Santa and the Easter Bunny don't provide the depth of culture that Spain provides to their people. Yea. So you saw a big home that we could all live in and turn into a a hipster Casa Rural? I could cook. Maybe you could provide a nice herb garden? xo Lisa
See Nik, the cynic That is so frustrating! I know international aid can seem like trying to throw sand back into the ocean, one grain at a time. In my experience, there is one good practice that helps make a dent: sustainability. You mentioned it a few times, but it is really the responsibility and Duty of these international developers (whether they are for food programs or for agricultural development) to ensure that their projects are going to be able to support themselves in the future. Similar things happened in Kenya when I was there; a chief would grab the grain sacks sent in for relief, and sell them to his village. Sometimes these aid agencies do more harm than good. I've seen a hundred missionaries who meant well, but just perpetuated a helpless and dependent culture, rather than empowering and teaching. There has to be a delicate balance of resources, guidance, and monitoring and evaluation. And I do have to say that although it may be hard to see, there are peace corps volunteers working with agricultural programs in Ethiopia, it just takes a long time to change behavior. Great blog though, hope you're having some fun! Drink some Tej for us!
Silence is the cause I just feel like Lisa, and I wish to see what else happens in other parts of Ethiopia, too. But I just don't know what to say or do. Because this abuse/manipulation has begun since the start of the birtth of this country, now I know. And I so much regret that people who abuse this land have got nothing of theirs. So why does Meles do this to us? or is it "I didn't do it for you" shit?
seeds of revolution when it comes... and it will come, when Meles dies, when something changes, when shit hits the fan, then the Indians, Saudis and all their sharecroppers might be well out of a job anyway. I mean, maybe buying 2 dollar hectares was the only way they'd buy into this disastrous country. Injera for though. Good piece Mullins.
Really insightful Can you see any possible positive outcomes of this purchase of cheap land?
I mean, the country does need foreign exchange.
The government Must be aware of not over-exploiting the land or people?
In other words, it couldn't only be a heartless, cold-calculated economic decision.
No?
I ask because it's hard for me to absorb/believe that decisions could be so short-sighted.
The country is need of some economic leverage.
My eduction (in the U.S.), btw, is Sustainable Development for sub-Saharan Africa. Not economics.
this feels too big to deal with Hey. Just finished the whole blog. You're so smart Colin. I do believe that talking about the problem does help bring about awareness and therefore you are part of the solution. You are grassroots- I want your blog to inspire someone to action- not just greater awareness. And that person is not me- and so I feel guilt. Guilt being the awareness of what I do or don't do matters. Maybe I will ease the guilt with my new understanding and explain it all to Marco. There. Done. xo
You have to make this blog into a book! Hi Colin! Seriously, your writing is so captivating. Plus i'm learning more words than I thought I cared to know! Thanks for the pronuntiation lessons n sight seeing in Chile, we miss the good 'ol days of carelessly drinking a few bottles of wine. We hope to see you soon, send Carli a big fat kiss from me & the twins!
EdVallance
Edward Adrian-Vallance
Great
Somehow I've only just discovered you. This is some of the best writing on TravelBlog - thanks!