Dwarfed by high-rise buildings and ultramodern villas, there are still dwellings under rusting roofs, the days of which seem to be numbered.
The metropolis has lately begun showing off what it is capable of, living up to its name Addis Abeba, meaning new flower, albeit with some strange contrasts. Dwarfed by high-rise buildings and ultramodern villas, there are still dwellings under rusting roofs, the days of which seem to be numbered.
Wide lane roads and newly constructed bridges are cutting across the length and breadth of the capital. They provide a sort of rolling ground for the latest models of vehicles that are forced to pass galloping donkeys heavily burdened, not to speak of women carrying fuel wood.
Even among the thousands of vehicles rolling on the newly paved tarmac roads, contrasts in age, model, and country of origin, never mind colour, are visible.
Speaking of colour, the white-and-blues have no equal in dominance. They range from tricycles, locally called Bajajes after the dominant Indian brand Bajaj, to minibuses of the latest oriental make.
Some roads are lined up with different shops, including butcheries, in front of which herds of sheep or goats are seen. Mysteriously, none of these shops display price tags.
Shoe shops display their products on shelves inside glass windows for safekeeping in contrast to the supermarkets in Europe, where shoes are stacked inside big boxes right outside.
Shoeshine boys sit idle on their small boxes waiting for customers in front of these shops, as if the new shoes need another round of dusting before they are worn.
The sidewalks on the sides of the newly built roads are embossed with different designs. Many traders run their vending businesses at main junctions and squares like the epicentre of Piazza or in front of popular music shops playing the latest albums. Should they lack customers, they still have the music to enjoy.
Merkato, the largest open-air market in the country, is another centre of wonders. Traders and consumers converge there from all sides of the city. Many go there for the want of having anything else to do, looking for something that fetches money.
One such itinerant is Getu Belaineh, 24, who arrived from Gojam. He was penniless when he first came to the metropolis and had to find a way to get some food.
As if by some instinct, he thought he would find something if he went to church and joined the begging community. His destination was Saint Raguel Church in the heart of Merkato.
On his way to the church, he bumped shoulders with a man who was about to load a pickup truck with some goods that he was drawing from the stores of a textile shop. The man looked at Getu and ordered him to get inside and carry a few bundles.
Almost stunned by the unexpected encounter, Getu had no choice but to obey. After a few rounds, the man threw him a few notes and drove away.
That evening, Getu had enough money in his pocket to cover his meal and lodging. One cannot go to bed without eating food, even if one has to sit idle in the churchyard.
But, life is not a bed of roses, as the saying goes. Some beggars have to do a lot of jingling of coins and yelling or singing the names of the 44 saints before they can draw any attention or sympathy of the pious.
There are others who are lucky to get employed, if only temporarily, while there are also those who indulge in picking pockets or running rough on the haves to get money the easy way. They often ignore the risks attached to the art of stealing until their crimes are proven.
Delinquents, standby job seekers, as well as paupers are other reflections of the level of poverty and its consequential misery.
Then, there is the nocturnal life of the capital. In the late 1940s, returnees from the graduate schools of Europe and America used to dance to the tunes of the imported rock-and-roll music at what was locally dubbed Dejach Wube Sefer. Music bands used to play live music overnight.
In due course, the epicentre of the dancing activity shifted towards Casanchise. These days, Africa Avenue hosts haunts where tourists and returnees from the Diaspora enjoy local music throughout the night.
There, it is quite a different world.
With both the rich and the poor enjoying the fates of their days, life goes on in this city of contrasts.
source: addisfortune.com