Comments on: Addis Clamping down Beggars, Prostitiutes

By: Getachew Teklu

Getachew Teklu — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:23:06 +0000

What really is poverty? According to the World Bank, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go to School and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is Powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.” This is the reason we have all these forms of poverty. Why are we so poor?
First, Conflict and poverty are the closest of relatives. Look we are in conflict-either within or with our neighbors Somalia, Eretria, and that is why we are poor. Peace is an essential prerequisite to prosperity. Without peace there can’t be any poverty alleviation.
The basic question really is: why we did not modernize fast enough and thereby doomed our people to poverty. This is the harsh truth about Ethiopia today. Thousands of young adults today are unable to find jobs. Our natural resources have been ravaged and they are not renewable. Our tremendous population increase eats up all of our economic gains. There is hunger in this country now; our poorest eat only once a day. But this physical poverty is really not as serious as the greater poverty that afflicts us and this is the poverty of the spirit.
We are poor because we are poor – this is not a tautology. The culture of poverty is self-perpetuating. We are poor because our people are lazy. I went to Addis Ababa last year and saw – dozens of adults do nothing but idle, gossip and drink. We do not save. Look at the Japanese and how they save in spite of the fact that the interest given them by their banks is so little. They work very hard too. Second, it is due to graft and corruption. It is believed that the surest way to ruin a nation is to put corrupt leaders in office. Graft and corruption is the problem that continues to burden the country. Many young Ethiopians can’t afford basic education, health and other social services because of graft and corruption in every government office.
Poverty cannot be eradicated without political reform. It is now time to make some vital changes. If we want a country free of corruption, then we have to help each other. If we want to take off economically, we have to get rid of all forms of corruption. If we want to be a First World country, the key to realizing this dream is right in our hands. We pray for our leaders. We pray for our nation. We pray for our success, but we must act now.

By: Bluebird

Bluebird — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:42:12 +0000

I feel this goes much more than self-glorification.It’s a nactive hiding of the truth, propoganda, by Woyane.they knew that the public were able to analyze the true situation, sooner or later would have come to the conclusion that it was wrong.The news in the goverment contorlled media has long become something of a joke, because it is so propagandist.

By: Global Voices Online » Bloggers on the Ethiopian Millennium

Global Voices Online » Bloggers on the Ethiopian Millennium — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:02:56 +0000

[...] the government of Ethiopia is doing to the homeless and prostitutes in relation to the millennium. Addis journal writes: Every journey across the city entails the inevitable encounter with these ‘anthropologically [...]

By: Lamrote

Lamrote — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:01:10 +0000

This government has no sense of justice or equality.Thus it has to settle for lip service.”Assume a virtue, if you have it not” says Hamlet.The poor are required to ‘know thier place”.For now, only those with money matter.
But soon Addis will be a testing ground for the idea the goverment has been mouthing for the past 17 years.It will not go anywhere alienting the majority of its sunjects.

By: Yaya

Yaya — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:37:37 +0000

How sad! Is what we should do to these hapless creatures as if the cold and the hardship isn’t enough?

By: alem

alem — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:18:19 +0000

This brings back another memory of Mengistu’s time, he also once did the same with the beggars and prostitutes, hulled them all out of town for a while. That was like a face lift for the 10 year anniversary. I guess we need another face lift for the millennium too. What’s that Amharic saying.. Gulicha bekeyer wot ayataftem

By: Kehulu

Kehulu — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:10:56 +0000

I think the government is doing a right thing by taking such measures.Begging by displaying swollen legs and other body parts is disgusting.I suspect some of the beggars are deliberately disfiguring thier body to get sympathy from the alms giver.
If this goes unchecked, the city will have a bellyful of them.