October 26, 2005
Haile and the big foreign nanny
I was at a big UNICEF event yesterday, launching a national campaign [PDF] for the country's orphans and vulnerable children. The guest of honour was Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie. He spoke to the crowd for about 15 minutes in Amharic.
As it is not every day that you get to hear what Haile has to say, I thought I would post a copy of the English translation. I particularly liked the bit about UNICEF and other aid organisations being like foreign nannys.
Today – I am going to speak to my own people in Amharic – because this is important. As you know UNICEF and other NGOs – they did a lot of things here in Ethiopia. I would like to say thank you. Specially for UNICEF – for what they have done, what they are doing and for what they will do for Ethiopian children.What is important now is – our own people – what we are doing. What we have done and what we need to do. That is very important.
(The following is translated from Amharic)
We are sitting here today to talk about the situation of children, and we can say many things. What he (Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia) said earlier was to ask what my dream was. My dream was to be like Abebe Bikila and Miruts Yifter. That dream has become [reality]. But that doesn’t mean that my dream is finished and has achieved its ultimate success.Now in order to make the dreams of other children come true, as Ethiopians, what is it that we have to do? Or do we want them to grow up under the care of nannies who have come from other countries? Sometimes when we think about it, UNICEF is becoming like a nanny from abroad for our children. It is when we start to forget this that we started forgetting our own children.
What is expected of us as Ethiopians?
It is not that we each have to feed or clothe every single child. There are many things that we can do for our children that don’t go so far. And when I say ‘for our children’ I don’t just mean those that we have given birth to. All of them – including the children living on the street – are our children. We do not know who they will become tomorrow. Leaders, doctors, pilots could emerge from among them. If they become doctors they can heal and operate and do many things for us. If they become pilots they will be responsible for carrying our lives into the air with them. So what do we have to do for these children?
There is a saying. A king and his son were traveling on the road. I will never forget that fable. It reflects my thinking on children. A man came across [the king and son] and greeted the son exceedingly well – but didn’t pay much attention to the king. Then the king was upset and asked, ‘How come you have honored my first born son, who may or not be king, with such a lavish greeting and not me?’ And you know how the man responded? He said, ‘Your Majesty, you have already become king and we have gotten to know you and the way that you administer the land. We don’t doubt that you will do anything different. However, we do not know what this child will do when he grows up.’
Therefore, because they are the future, what must we do for children? – because we do not know what these children will become. From now onwards, for all the children that we meet, we must not just give them money and change. We need to advise them when they do wrong. We need to support them when they fall on bad times – just as if they were our own children. We love our own children – each one of us when we return to our homes – we show our children love. We need to learn how to treat these other children as if they were our own. We need to support them to achieve their dreams.
As you may know, a child who loses his mother or his father in the countryside – they will be able to live a good life, embraced by their community in the rural areas. I believe that this type of thing is disappearing in urban areas. All of you, especially those of you who have come from the rural areas know it. If a child loses his mother or father, members of the community will get the child to help on their farm – in fact they are treated with special care because they are orphans – their parents have died. But now we we see their numbers growing on the streets and it is reaching frightening levels. The way that we are going to reduce this problem is not by ignoring it. As much as possible we need to help these children achieve their dream.
In Ethiopia today more than half the population is made up of children. The other day we were out at a march and I heard people saying, ‘what kind of march is this – full of children?’ We realized that we had forgotten something - that the largest segment of the population in Ethiopia are children – whether we like it or not it is children. There is something that has been forgotten by us, by the society and the government. There is a Ministry of Youth in Ethiopia but is there a Ministry of Children? We have not even realized that we need to establish a Ministry exclusively for children. We have a long way to go. That is something that we have to realize.
As Ethiopians, what I would like to say is that our children should not have to be raised by nannies from abroad. If we raise them ourselves then we will be able to guide them – they will retain our traditions and culture, they can grow up in a good way.
One of the reasons that I am here today is to support the dream teams as part of the Great Ethiopia Run. UNICEF is doing a great job with the run every single year. I have not come here today to say that UNICEF has done this or said this or created this. I have come just to say what I must say and move on. And for the future – the population – as we are Ethiopians, please, all of us, those of us who are here and at home, if there are ten people here – next month they could have reached and influenced 100 people. This is what I have to say. Thank you very much.
Posted by aheavens at October 26, 2005 10:37 AM
Comments
Hi Andrew,
This was a most touching speech that I cherish and will share with others. The very fact that we took for granted the gifts of others and neglected the moral and national mandate of looking after our very own, makes me shrink in shame.
A year ago, when I visited Addis with my little boys, I was shocked by the hopelessness and the misery that blanketed the city. The faces of innocence, shattered by poverty, the tiny hands stretched out for handouts were all too much to bear and explain to my kids if they were big enough to ask for explanation. That experience broke my heart and I shudder every time I recall my trip making me wonder what every parent dread...
It is about time that we Ethiopians take care of our own. A revolution for the children of tomorrow should begin without delay. I pray that people like Haile take the helm in leading the race to save - not the tomorrow that these kids might not be able to see - but the "NOW" where the pain of sleeping on the muddy and dusty streets of Addis is unbearable for their malnourished bones.
Let us all save the street kids, the orphans, the forgotten and the unfortunate little souls, who, thru no fault of theirs are among us in this world. Let us all make it a better place!!!! Although from afar, I will be happy to be part of this revolution and sponsor an unfortunate little soul to be fed and schooled.
Thanks!
Posted by: Mengistu at October 27, 2005 3:56 AM
There are so many of us who would like to help by sharing our professional skills and experiences. I personally want to return back home and volunteer to help the children and young people. But the opportunity is for those with money and the foreigners. It is sad but this is the reality.
Posted by: abyssinia at October 29, 2005 7:51 PM
Andrew,
I see lately you are becoming apolitical. I just wonder if you got the TPLF/EPRDF spanking for the past truthful reporting. I hope you go back to the old self.
Respectfully,
Posted by: dan at October 31, 2005 11:33 PM
I agree with Dan. Andrew seems to be avoiding politics at a time when the political barometer in Ethiopia is boiling over. May be he is afraid of being labelled a "colonial viceroy[sic]."
Ordinarily, journalists and bloggers will have a field day feasting on the political melée in Ethiopia.
Hey, Andrew, go back to your roots.
Posted by: chemeri at November 1, 2005 12:24 AM
What an absolutely beautiful speech! I have always liked Haile, now I have a great deal of respect for him.
What a speech. We really do forget that most Ethiopians are children-that fact alone explains so much about us and our desperate situation. If more than 75% of the population is under 18, it means that adult Ethiopians are over-burdened and over-streched caregivers.
Those of us who live in the west take for granted that most western citizens are adults and hence self-sufficient.
It is so important that all able-bodied Ethiopians try even harder to look after the children of Ethiopia-UNICEF or no UNICEF.
Safiya
Posted by: safiya at November 1, 2005 2:00 AM
What an absolutely beautiful speech! I have always liked Haile, now I have a great deal of respect for him.
What a speech. We really do forget that most Ethiopians are children-that fact alone explains so much about us and our desperate situation. If more than 75% of the population is under 18, it means that adult Ethiopians are over-burdened and over-streched caregivers.
Those of us who live in the west take for granted that most western citizens are adults and hence self-sufficient.
It is so important that all able-bodied Ethiopians try even harder to look after the children of Ethiopia-UNICEF or no UNICEF.
Safiya
Posted by: safiya at November 1, 2005 2:00 AM
Hey Andrew,
Stop your bulshit and come back to your senses. A lot is happening in Ethiopia right now. But I don't know why, you started ignoring the real issue and focus on bizarre stories. I know you have a right to do so, but you don't have any right to make it look like things are in order in Ethiopia, business as usual. Who knows, you may have already got some bribe from the government or a threat not to write the real issue on the ground about Ethiopia.
It is a shame to see a journalist of your caliber to shy away from the reality.
Thanks
Posted by: manyiferalmot at November 1, 2005 7:04 AM
There is serieus fighting going on at Merkato after the police was trying to stop taxidrivers blowing there horns according to instructions from oppositionparty CUDP.
Hundreds of youth in the Merkato (Autobus terra area) are fighting with the police and security officers at this moment. Students of Addis Ketema High School rallied behind the taxi drivers when the police started beating the latter. The riot then spread instantly to the adjoining Kebele, whose residents were victimized in the June 8 violence. Residents of the kebele are not out with machettes (gejeras) and confronting the federal police. The police has sought more help from the Special force near Kolfe. At this moment, all shops in Mercato are already closed, and more are being shut down in Piazza. There are messages coming in about shooting in the air.
The other parts of the city seems to be normal routine and quiet.
Posted by: Urael at November 1, 2005 8:17 AM
I guess Andrew is again AWOL at this crucial moment. I am giving up coming to this site for an update.
Posted by: dan at November 1, 2005 9:02 AM
Update 16:15 local time Addis Ababa.
At least 5 people are killed and 20 injured while police was shooting indiscriminately at protesters and people passing by near Auto Pistera, Merkato. The rest of the town is very quiet, people started to head home early while public transport is still functioning. The internet has been shutdown from 11:45 up until 15:45 ; now working again. Also telephone communication with Piazza and Merkato was blocked. See:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4395874.stm
Posted by: Urael at November 1, 2005 1:25 PM
What is wrong with you crazy fanatics?! This is his blog not the newspaper! Give the man a break! Besmam! For someone who one has this as a reference of Abesha behavior, you guys make us look very bad. There’s a time for everything!
Posted by: aa at November 1, 2005 5:37 PM
What a great speech! It reminds me that the Ethiopian culture still has decent representatives who are intelligently humble!
Posted by: F at November 1, 2005 10:29 PM
Im just about fed up with negative comments. at least you could praise his taking of the photos and distributing them so we can see what is going on. Which one of you is willing to go home and risk your life taking pictures?!!! Yewenber nefetegna!
Posted by: TequrFit at November 2, 2005 3:48 PM
Andrew!
At least show as more pictures.
Posted by: LO at November 3, 2005 6:24 PM
Andrew is working for UNICEF these days, which of course limits his latitude in what he can or cannot say.
And anyway, as "aa" said, this *is* his blog, and I don't seem to remember him ever promising to give full coverage of whatever is happening in Ethiopia.
So, again as "aa" said: give the guy a break.
Posted by: Michael at November 8, 2005 6:13 AM
Together as ONE we will win........ Thank you, Andrew.
Selam,
Rebekkah
Posted by: Rebekkah at December 22, 2005 12:21 AM