Addis Abeba is chained by an unprecedented rate of marginalisation of its poor. If you have nothing you may be back to the bush. Street dwelling is another alternative. But the kids I have discovered in the dark, sitting on tree branches, have suffered from both modes of survival.

The tragedy is happening in front of the Spanish Embassy and at the junction where the US Embassy is within view. A colourfully painted advertisement is installed adjacent to the tree exhorting; "Stop Child-Labour Exploitation."

The kids have nothing: no home, no custodian and no family. What they have in common is not only a miserable life, but also the language of their origin, Wolayta Sodo/ Dorze Higo.

Wolayta is a highly populated region in the southern part of the country. It is popular for its traditional apparel known as "Tibeb cloth", which its craftsmen spin artistically. In fact, its tribes love art and are best known by their traditional break dance. They enjoy music in good times and even assume it during a funeral service.

Although the region is located at about 200Km from Addis, part of its population is residing in the capital, around the area known as Shiro Meda, close to the above-mentioned embassies. Leaving to historians the whys and hows of the original Wolaytas exodus to Addis, their migration still continues at a noticeable pace as judged by new-comers who have scrambled to customise themselves to the new life in Addis.

Shiro Meda appears to be an extreme contrast to the Bole area in the capital- the hub of Africa. For instance, in Bole you can find an Internet café or a cosy bar at a close distance to enjoy at a hefty price or admire at a distance if you are lacking the thick pocket.

In contrast, the Internet is alien to these new Shiro Meda migrants; instead you come across a big congested hall at every footstep in which 'tej' (a local alcoholic drink) is available, affordable and accessible for all times. Hence, drinking tej is regarded as an essential habit to live life; although a foul chemistry of tej making is believed to penalise one's life duration, much like that of "changa" in Kenya.

Fortunately, when you want Tibeb Cloth, you can go to Shiro Meda where it is spun and sold everywhere. The producers use manual labour, applying artistic designs and utilising different colour dyes, sometimes the low quality or banned types.

Sadly, the units exploit child labour and then expel them to the street. Some of the victims are those sitting on the tree, and blame unknown agents that subject them to such conditions, others do not know the cause of their plight.

As the sun set, the kids have come to hand over the tree to bring down their night cloths and chat about where to spend the night.

It is common in Addis Abeba for native kids to live on the ground holes and ditches. To my surprise, one of the kids told me that his sack serves as a sleeping bag. He also told me that he sometimes spent the night on the tree when his elders bullied him. The other common place for street dwellers to hide their seemingly out of use property is on the station roof of the Anbessa city bus centre, which its commuters dub 'doomsday'. In fact, the space under the roof serves as a comfortable guest house to spend the night.

In general street kids' problems are exacerbated by day. For instance, the occurrence of kids renting for begging purposes is rampant. Many such unbearable plights have left kids without hope.

Curbing the problem seems to be a daunting task, particularly for a country like Ethiopia in which the source of its double digit inflation is a controversial issue and its assumed economic growth boils down to an unprecedented poverty quagmire.

In spite of such burdens, Addis Abeba is smiling with its shiny new buildings, while contemplating its postponed grievances on the eve of celebrating the 2nd Millennium. In the city, we have seen a shower of new business everywhere; some of which is pressing us to use life style and saving drugs; others exhorted us to stop AIDS, rape, female genital mutilation, corruption and malnutrition, amongst others such as child slavery.

We know that an abundance of NGOs and government offices claim to play a role behind such messages as they cruise the streets in four-wheel drive vehicles. An advertisement by itself is nothing, unless its meaning is translated into action. Because sometimes the talk disguises the problem and people consider it corrected.

Here is my message: "Stop Child Slavery in Action".