I heard a friend saying that a European colleague of his remarked Addis is a very safe city; her roads are better than most of the cities in East Africa. And that Sheraton Addis is one of the most luxurious hotels in the whole of Africa. And that people are friendly and polite.
Well, this European’s image of Addis was quite different before he came here on business trips a couple of times. He thought of knife wielding muggers and hungry pedestrians, roads with potholes every few meters, expensive hotels with rats jumping around in the hotel room.
For us the natives, it’s true that we see a lot of problems in Addis: housing, unemployment, abject poverty, molestation, the semi finished roads, etc. More over, with the rising inflation, it’s hard to dwell on the good things this city can offer.
I’ve often heard people say the millennium celebrations will give Addis (for that matter the whole country) an opportunity to get rid of the famine/ poverty and related images that have been associated with the country for many decades now. I may have my misgivings to the hype surrounding the new millennium; however, I believe that Addis has a better side to offer to the visitors, which we, the residents, have been enjoying this every day.
Well, this European’s image of Addis was quite different before he came here on business trips a couple of times. He thought of knife wielding muggers and hungry pedestrians, roads with potholes every few meters, expensive hotels with rats jumping around in the hotel room.
For us the natives, it’s true that we see a lot of problems in Addis: housing, unemployment, abject poverty, molestation, the semi finished roads, etc. More over, with the rising inflation, it’s hard to dwell on the good things this city can offer.
I’ve often heard people say the millennium celebrations will give Addis (for that matter the whole country) an opportunity to get rid of the famine/ poverty and related images that have been associated with the country for many decades now. I may have my misgivings to the hype surrounding the new millennium; however, I believe that Addis has a better side to offer to the visitors, which we, the residents, have been enjoying this every day.
Resting in the knowledge that one’s parked car is safe because a parking attendant (teenage/ young girls or boys in most cases) is around astonishes me. One would normally imagine that a serious crook could blackmail these unarmed, wretched attendants and do whatever he/she wants. But that’s not normally the case here. Isn’t it amazing!
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