|
I had an encounter this week that showed me the
fundamental difference between how we as Ethiopians
view ourselves and how others, that are unfamiliar
with this nation and her many charms, view us. There
is the knowledge that outsiders may not be as
familiar with your way of life or the things that
are common to you, just as we would not be as
familiar with the things we would encounter were we
to go to a place that was alien to us.
But I have always assumed, whether in my travels or
encountering outsiders right here in my own country,
that there is always a certain level of gained
awareness that goes along with travelling to an
unfamiliar place. That would be the only polite and
logical thing to do.
How else are you supposed to put your best foot
forward? If you are spending the time, effort and
money to go some place that is completely strange to
you, the least you can do is read some tourist
guides or Goggle it on the Internet so you do not go
there looking like a complete fool.
But, as I came to find out this week, not all
travellers take the time to read a sentence or two
about the countries that they are getting ready to
visit. In fact, the most common modus operandi
seems to be simply jumping in the deep end of the
pool and hoping that they will catch onto the doggy
paddle. This, though bold, often has more glitches
than it does smooth occurrences because those
jumping in have not got the slightest idea what type
of water they encountering or if they are able to
swim through it at all.
Early in the week, I had the pleasure of escorting a
visitor all over town that came to Ethiopia for the
very first time. This person had friends and family
that have travelled here before and has been given
the second hand experience of Ethiopia through the
opinions and musings of others such as himself, who
had travelled here just as blindly without first
taking the time to inform themselves about the
country that they were preparing to visit.
The information that he came armed with were
warnings such as do not eat the local food, or eat
at restaurants outside of Bole, watch out for the
beggars because they are going to harass and hassle
you the minute you step out of your hotel room and
so on and so forth. Outside of these musings, he had
no idea of the country he was coming to visit, even
if it was for a short time. He did not even know who
the Prime Minister of the country was!
How difficult is it to find out the leaders of the
nations that you are going to be travelling to?
Finding their currency's name, national language, or
at least some basic information allowing you to hold
a semi-decent conversation with people living there
does not take much more effort.
But that was not what got me ruffled about the whole
experience. It would have been forgivable that he
did not take the time to find out some information
about the country had he not been here for a
specific purpose looking for historically influenced
art. He assumed that the black experience or that
found in other parts of Africa would also be found
here, because we were, after all, on the same
continent and all black, of course.
He was shocked to the level of being upset and angry
when he did not find any of the "negro influence" as
he so tactfully called it, that he had found in all
other parts of the continent that he had visited
thus far. He was confused at the language, food, the
fact that he could not find the common thread that
he had been able to identify in many other African
countries, and most of all, he was shocked to find
performance calibre beyond his wildest expectations.
But I was shocked that he would not listen when it
was being explained to him time and time again that
there was nothing of the black experience to be
found here, he could not fathom that there existed a
nation that had a history unique and excluded from
the rest of the world. Although he had the
opportunity to see things that would have otherwise
remained hidden from him, he could not wrap his mind
around it because it was not something that fit his
mental frame.
I was offended to a certain extent, but also
forgiving because I could not expect everyone to be
well informed. But would a little effort have hurt?
|
