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Update 2 - 10 July 2005

FUN FROM THE FIELD
Hallo friends,
I have been in Tigray for nearly two weeks. Shall I tell you some of my experiences? I hope by doing so you can share this journey with me.

After a rather grueling trip from Oz land to Addis Ababa (40 hours with stopovers) I was met at the airport (now a very modern airport) by a very trusty friend and colleague, Kiros with a vehicle to take me to the hotel. I must mention that it was 1.00 am in the morning.

Boy was I pleased to get into that hotel room. Crashed on the bed and thought I would sleep for hours but alas about 7.00 am there was the sound of hammering. Yuk. There was construction work going on nearby-it sounded next to my room. For the Cycle-Cambodia team I am sure this will bring back many painful memories!!! We could never get away from noise. However it was good to be able to at least relax for a few hours (but must remember to book rooms away from the construction end next time around). I had to book out of my room by 12md but was able to wait in the foyer until the hotel transport took me to the airport for a 3.00am flight to Mekelle. Fortunately I did not have to pay for excess baggage (I had 35 kilos-permissible 22 kilos) when I left Adelaide and had to talk hard to avoid paying about $140.00 excess - nice man behind the counter). However no probs here and I paid the internal airport tax 10 birr (US1.00 = 8.6.birr) and off to Tigray.

The plane was delayed (not an uncommon experience in Ethiopia). This time it was due to a huge, and I mean huge, deluge of rain-it really pours down. However after about a half an hour one could at least see the run-way although it was a little disconcerting to see our propeller driven aircraft with its wind-shield wipers trying valiantly to keep up with the rain. The flight from Addis Ababa takes about 1¼ hours during which time the passengers receive a piece of wrapped cake (quite different!!) and a cold drink.

Mekelle airport, like most airports is always incredibly windy (I always tell people in Tigray they should concentrate on wind power). Again Kiros was waiting for me with a car. He had caught an earlier flight to make preparations for my arrival. I was booked into a medium type hotel-about US$9.00 night including breakfast. Quite comfortable with a TV (that didn’t work) and a bathroom with a hot water system (that didn’t work) but adequate for my needs. My room overlooked a series of shanty dwellings –single type stone buildings with few amenities- a central water pump but little else. Apparently this area is the oldest part of Mekelle and it seems that many of these ‘old’ dwellings have been here for many, many years. So there is a rather ’modern’ hotel facing the road and the shanties behind the façade. It is, however, an ever changing scene as Mekelle is building ‘out’ into the surrounding countryside but of course not e everyone can afford a house.

Next morning off to meet my colleagues at the Office of Rehabilitation and Social Affairs (ORSA).
Zemichael, the Head, was away from the office in Addis Ababa and now in Tanzania (be back mid July). He had given strict instructions that "Helen had to be looked after and given every assistance”. He is an old colleague from way back. Well an office had been cleared for me to use (on my own!!) while I tried to say but I would prefer to share with my counterparts. However there are certain protocols etc that take time to change.

A view of Mekelle from the surrounding hills.

Negisti (a lady who is the head of the Department of Social Affairs) and Gebrekidane, a blind young man who is the head of the Disability Team (although he is the only member of the team!!! can’t find/fund more staff) are my direct counterparts. They are terrific and have been incredibly cooperative and supportive. It has been a very busy time for them as it is the end of the financial year and all accounts etc have to be settled, reports written etc etc. It looked like organized chaos so the limited number of vehicles were going in all directions. There seems to be a few problems with organization and planning!!!!! However more about that later.

At least for the first couple of days I had a vehicle that enabled me to contact people re renting a house, getting a mobile phone, checking where to send emails, where to buy food etc. Eventually found a small house in an area called Adi Hiwiati, about 4 kilometres from the centre of Mekelle. It is in an area close to large modern buildings housing the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Business and Administration.

The house is owned by a bank manager and the rent is US$200.00 a month. It is partly furnished which means there is a gas stove, a refrigerator, a double bed, a side table (with a reading lamp- a must for me) and a wardrobe. It is rather a ‘strangely’ designed building -u shaped - with a ‘salon’ with a huge sofa (for about six people) and four large armchairs very comfortable, a round table, a bookshelf, two small tables, a large dining table with eight chairs and a dining room cupboard. I think it was designed to have a ‘servant’ - the kitchen was quite separate from the salon and bedrooms (need to go outside to get to it) so I have moved the ‘fridge and the gas stove ‘inside’ to one of the spare ‘bedrooms’.

There is a bathroom with a toilet, bath, hand basin and bidet plus a hot water system (not working properly as yet). The bathroom is off the main bedroom and one has to go through other rooms to get to the bathroom-communal living!!! Although there is an outside door between bedrooms - rather odd but it is ‘home’. Very secure and I don’t need a guard. A rather old man patrols the local area armed with a rather decrepit looking weapon and always gives me a friendly wave.

Back to the house and deciding what one needs for survival-good exercise. So I proceeded to go to markets/shops to get the essentials; sheets, blanket, four dinner plates, six cups and saucers, two glasses (expensive), two small bowls, one large bowl, two forks, two small spoons, two larger spoons, kettle, and two saucepans, a broom and hand-broom and two sharp knives (difficult to find ordinary knives - most families don’t need knives and forks because they eat the local food with their fingers-great idea.).

Everybody expects me to get a person to clean - I always have a dilemma about this. I like to do for myself and housework keeps me active but having a person do it does provide employment for someone - still to be resolved. Not sure yet how I am going to cope with cleaning the carpet in the salon - the remainder of the rooms have tiles so no problems. I have never seen carpet in a private house in Tigray before or a vacuum cleaner!!! It is a very ‘modest’ house by the standards usually expected of most foreigners (and wealthy Ethiopians) but of course quite ‘elaborate’ when compared to the average Tigrayan. It is a matter of compromising and creating an environment that provides the best opportunities to get the maximum work done while ensuring ones own health and welfare. Rather different for me in comparison to the days of living under rather unusual, unorthodox places in Tigray during the years of conflict!!!

So back to everyday living. Once equipped with the necessary utensils the next issue was food. Fortunately I had brought a packet of muesli with me plus milk powder so breakfast (to date) has been OK. It is necessary (or safer) to buy water which is readily available - 5 birr for a 1.5 litre bottle. (For a couple of days I was without normal water at the house until I found out how to fill the water tank on the roof!!!!) There are now many small shops and mini-markets selling food, local and ‘western’- the western of course being more expensive - things like quaker oats, custard powder, milk powder, tin peas, tomatoes etc. Bought some tins of tomato paste to make pasta (all type of pasta available) but forgot the tin opener - next on the shopping list - bought one (doesn’t work very well so I have a fight with it every time I try and open a tin-don’t buy many tins now except tuna with a self-opening lid. BUT I did find a good wine bottle opener so celebrated by buying a bottle of gouda wine - well - tastes about the same as some of our slightly “off” FoiP wine. But let me assure you I have tasted better here before. Will just have to keep trying until I find the right one!!!!

I have also purchased some plastic containers and have found a great restaurant that I negotiated with to let me have ‘take-a-ways’ in my own containers. So for about 1-2 dollars I can have many different types of food - rice and vegetables, shiro, chicken etc. So between my own cooking and take-a-ways I am eating OK. Lots of tomatoes, bananas, potatoes available and great mango drinks. The first few days of getting settled I must admit that the large chocolate that Tania gave me at the airport was a life-saver. Never thought I would be an addict to choccy!!!

Now to personal transport. It is a little too far to walk to the centre of town all the time so I have a choice of taxis (ordinary cars), mini-buses seating about (officially 20) unofficially ??? or a type of covered motor-bike with a trailer (pedi-cab) attached or a donkey (yet to try). I have ridden in the pedi-cab - never again - the roads are really bad and I thought I would break every bone in my body (10 Birr to my house), a taxi (driver always asks about double until I speak my couple of words of Tigrinya and throw up my hands) 20 birr and the mini-bus 1 birr. As there is a ‘bus stop’ about 200 metres from the house I catch a mini-bus to the town - much to everybody’s amazement!! A ‘forengi’ (local name for a foreigner) catching a local bus. They all think it's great fun and laugh with me when I say kemiliha (male greeting) or kemilihi (female). I caused uproar the other day when I clambered on board with two big plastic washing bowls, a kettle, groceries etc plus my handbag and brief case. Fortunately when I got off the bus there was my little carrier boy to help me with parcels to the house. There is a little shop by the bus stop where I purchase my regular supplies of water, bani (bread) etc and he helps me to carry things for some coins (10 and 50 cent coins).

Helen negotiating transport back in 2003

There are now about five ‘shops’ where I can access internet. It can be slow and tends to ‘drop out’ if the emails are too long but overall it is OK. Last time it cost about 20 birr for ½ hour. Need to explore sending attachments etc - my lack of I.Tech now showing.

The weather, for me is great. Cool at night but not really cold and about 25 degrees during the day - light trousers and a blouse - I usually start off with a jumper which I discard during the morning. I keep a plastic raincoat with me at all times - one of those you can roll up and keep in your bag. I have yet to be caught in a down-pour.

At the house the rain comes under the doors so next on my shopping trip I have to find some hessian bags to put against the doors to stop the water coming into the house. The water gushes out of the down-pipes into the ‘court-yard’ and then into the stree t- what a waste. I am going to buy a bucket to at least collect some for washing my clothes. Tanks are still unknown in Tigray!!!

There is a coloured TV in the house but there is only one channel which seems to broadcast during late afternoon and evening although I turned it on one morning and they were showing Sesame Street!!! The news is broadcast in about four languages and apparently an English version at 10.30pm but I have never been awake to listen!! So it is rather difficult to keep updated on world events. Satellite TV is available but I haven’t enquired about that yet. I brought a radio with me and sometimes I can get the BBC. Apparently there is also an English newspaper published in Addis so I need to find out if it is available in Tigray.

As I was rather overloaded with so many things to bring to Tigray, papers, laptop, printer, clothes etc I did not have much room for recreational reading materials (which as most of you know is my major recreation) so that is my major deprivation but slowly being overcome. Maria from Addis is sending some for me and once I am settled will probably find other folk here in Mekelle with whom I can trade. Books are available in some shops but are quite expensive.

There does not appear to be too many foreigners in Mekelle – at least not with white faces - I have only seen three to date. Apparently the Canadian and Australian Embassies have issued warnings for Aussies and Canadians to have money and passports ready to leave the country etc. I suspect that there may be concerns about post-election issues - the re-counting is still to be completed. There are no signs of any ‘trouble’ in Tigray. However my colleagues here will be looking after me.

I am somewhat rambling on but thought I would just sit down in front of the computer and let my thoughts run away with me and try and give you some impressions of life in this part of the world.

I have just taken a break and walked down to the local shop to buy water and a mop to mop up the water when it invades the house. Have great fun in the shop with the ladies who are helping me with my Tigrinya words potatoes (dinish) etc. As it is Sunday people are going into town (particularly the men) who walk around, chat, drink coffee (and probably beer). “Socialising’ is the most important part of the lives of most people. One evening this week four of my work colleagues arrived unexpectedly with gifts of fruit to celebrate my new ‘home’ with me. It was such a warm gesture.

Be with me as I go out of my gate. There is a vast open area and as the house is on a slight rise I can see the liberation monument and the hills surrounding Mekelle. In the middle of this open area is a large steel rubbish container to put all the waste from the houses - great idea. We empty our rubbish from plastic bags and women bring their donkeys there to let them eat whatever they can. I feel at home when I hear the donkeys braying. The sad side is that the poorer people also scavenge there and yesterday I had empty water bottles and gave them to one lady and it was as if I had given her gold or something - a humbling reminder again of the fragile existence of so many of the people here. I am one of the very fortunate ones.

I am not going to refer to my work in these ramblings only to say that to date the work has been very productive and I will provide a work update soon.

All for now.

In love and peace,
Helen

Tigray
10th July 2005