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Whenever this multinational holiday season creeps
upon us, I always find a way to complain even more
bitterly than usual, given the perfect excuse of
having the entire city overrun with members of the
Diaspora that have come in to party their heads off
during the little time in the year they have off.
With everything going at full swing and the city
changing its colours this time of year, it is quite
unnerving for someone such as me, who is by nature a
creature of habit who hates all of her spaces being
taken over.
As with most other things in life, this time of year
brings with it unexpected twists and turns as the
cast of characters grow exponentially and the
actions of the regulars change to mimic them.
I suppose the last year of the first decade of the
21st Century has made me sentimental and somewhat
more genteel, as I have not been as egged with the
takeover of our fair capital this year as I have
been in years past. So far, it has been nothing but
a bed of roses, so to speak. I have decided, being
that we are residents of the political capital of
Africa, as our city is so inexplicably called, it is
only fair that we be as hospitable as possible when
it comes to making sure our guests have as enjoyable
a stay as humanly possible while they are with us.
I came to the realisation that this is a much
simpler path to getting our city back in one piece.
As much as we may consider the people and things
that occur alien to our day-to-day existences, they
are still happening and existing within our reality,
which will continue to remain ours once they make
their often ungraceful and exhausted exit. It is
much, much easier to simply let them have their way,
move over just a tad bit and make them feel like
they are the centre of attention. When the time is
right, we reclaim the place that we call home and
sweep their remnants under the rug until we pull
them out with the Christmas decorations again next
year.
Some of the Christmas decorations that made it on
the tree that is Addis Abeba this year are much more
familiar and comforting than those of years past. I
perhaps speak from a place of bias because it seems
as if every person that I have not seen for ages and
ages has somehow made their way to town. I had the
pleasure of hosting them in our own "backyard." This
smoothed over the annual "Diaspora takeover" for me.
It always holds true that people consistently see
more positive things than not when we are surrounded
by familiar faces and long-lasting relationships. It
is even more enthralling when we get to show them
all the new and glorious things in our life and they
can do the same. All the cons that can be noted for
the "Diaspora takeover" are completely eliminated
despite the fact that they are there, glaringly in
front of our face, taunting us for ignoring them as
a result of some fuzzy emotions.
The excessive spending and sudden hikes in prices
that come along with this season, which can have a
dire effect on local consumers, does not seem to
bother me in the least this year. Think of it as
being Christmas, what better time is there to be
spreading the wealth around?
The great hike in business that the commercial sex
industry gets, something that I already identify as
a form of excessive social decline that is
increasing exponentially, does not really irk me
this year. The ridiculous amounts of alcohol that
are consumed and the violence, overall social
upheaval; and loss of character that comes along
with it does not seem so bad.
It is the merry season of the year, and it sure is
fun to drink and be merry is it not?
But then we can always look at things from a
different perspective. It is a great time for the
supermarket sector to empty out their junk food
stocks. What better customer base to finish off the
chemical infested foodstuffs than those that have
already adjusted their taste buds to them?
The service industry also finally gets great tips,
something that they cannot claim with the horrible
habit of bad tipping that is rampant in the city.
There is a definite boost in hotel occupancy and
tourism; people need a place to stay and they like
to go out of town to really get the feel of having
taken a vacation. All of these are great and
positive things for the city and for the country.
So this year, I welcome the "Diaspora takeover" with
open arms and say to all of those that have made the
trip home this year, "Welcome back." I do hope they
enjoy their stay and make sure not to make this a
regular thing.
Happy holidays everybody! |
