One and a half months has passed since the year 2016 started according to our calendar and we landed in the airport of the Ethiopian capital. We arrived into the year 2008 and it was the fourth month according to the Ethiopian calendar.
Escape from the newyear’s rumble with a special companion in the midst of the winter cold did not make the departure that hard. Warmth and sun seemed special.
Besides this departure has become an annual routine. Every time when leaving the return seems distant and far and an unknowingness gives a little fright. Actually this fear is not that little. Being away from home for the last couple of days I have a completely different feeling.
We arrived in Ethiopia with bags we could hardly carry to rid ourselves of everything that has become useless back home. Here all of these things are going to be a turning point in lots of people’s lives. In Estonia I don’t contemplate daily on the symbolic meaning of shoes. That bare feet imply to poverty or sometimes even to slavery. Shoes are for the rich and the mighty. Shoes protect from snakes, they offer safety and protection. I read the symbolism of shoes from the eyes of a lot of people at the moment they get handed a new pair of them. Even now when few weeks has passed it still makes my eyes watery.
Unfortunately the actual realization and feeling overwhelms me once I am back here and can take a hot shower at any given moment and cook bread in the oven. When a generator turns itself on in case of a blackout and all my needs are filled to the brim.
I am sitting as if at home even though the distance is still a ten hours of flight. For the second year already I am staying in a special home in the middle of Addis Ababa. This is the home of Karin, Aare and Richard. The only thing that bound as at first was Estonianhood. Plentitude of hospitality and of everything that is taken for granted in Estonia is available here. Security, garden, flower, water and everything that makes living humane.
This is like a time of reflection before going on the airplane. I am looking at water pouring on flowers from a hose. During the last month we often waited for three days for the same water to wash ourselves. Water that is obtainable to most citizens of Soddo in exchange of a 4-5 hour wait and the toil of carrying the water home in a yellow canister.
When I first landed up in Ethiopia six years ago I wasn’t aware of the local culture and nature in detail. However, after two months had passed I knew I would be coming back here in a hurry. The plan to return was obvious when leaving. Despite the immense difficulties in understanding these people thoroughly I have never left Ethiopia thinking this was the last time. The way the locals think impedes my selfishness, pride, ungratefulness and helps to grind down all the negative sides of human nature. It is worth while coming here!
Merle Voola