Alternatively, ‘in the day of the heat!’
Although the changing of the seasons here is not as dramatic as it is in Europe, (a change which at the present time, I’m sure all of you in the northern hemisphere are greatly relieved to be experiencing), we are having our share of drama here.
As the sun moves northwards to the Tropic of Cancer, it is about to pass overhead here as we sit at slightly less than 10 degrees latitude north of the equator. The temperatures are steadily and consistently rising, and whereas throughout February and into early March it was still quite bearable, especially as the nights still usefully cooled, something happened towards the end of March. The last ratchet of the temperature recently was like the straw that broke the camel’s back, or like the frog in the pot of water heating on the stove, you adapt to creeping change until suddenly reality hits. I do not have a thermometer and receive a surprisingly wide range of responses when I ask what the temperature is, but by my reckoning it is up to 36-37 degrees C early afternoon now, a time when there is also NO shade unless you are actually under cover of some sort. Buildings throw no relief, there is no shady side of the street.
What is worse is that the nights are now stifling. So how are I coping?
Exercise is now out of the question and even my little yoga sessions are too potentially exhausting to contemplate. I used to walk to work in the mornings, as it was still quite fresh, the dust settled and it was a good way to start the day. Now I take the staff bus service, even though it is only a 20 minute walk. The first of 3 showers for the day is taken on rising at 6.15am even though you now start sweating as soon as you are dry.
The classroom is relatively cool between 8-10am and with all the windows open and the sight and sound of industrious little weaver birds building new nests in the trees right outside, it is rather pleasant. However, the last few days we have awoken to early morning winds, so the dust is already swirling and the classroom windows are banging and paper displayed on the walls is being ripped to threads. So windows are closed if doors are open and vice versa. Not pleasant.
My Ethiopian colleagues seem to be feeling the heat just as much as me, but they are stoic and accepting, and this is the only way to survive. Any emotion, (I did briefly go through a stage of feeling sheer panic), just increases your body temperature. Everyone walks slowly and even Ethiopians are increasingly protecting themselves from the sun. Umbrellas are popular and women wrap scarves around their heads. The poor female manual workers on the windswept, dusty and baking campus strap old paperbags around their heads, bags now empty of their cement and sand contents. Students use their small notebooks. The kids seem unaffected and have as much energy as always, although I notice that the football marches outside our compound start by 6.30am on weekends and finish by mid morning. Late afternoon, although the heat still palpably hangs heavily, the matches start up again.
I shower again at lunchtime. In the afternoon the rooms are heavy with heat, unrefreshed by wind which has dropped somewhat since the morning. On the plus side this means there is not so much dust coming in if the windows are open. You simply have to accept that sweat will pour from every gland in your skin and that you are always damp. Dogs are prostate in any shade that can be found and little herds of goats (collective noun for goat eludes me) are rather amusingly huddled in patchworks of shade. Horses and donkeys are frequently not given that option by their masters! See the next blog.
Home by 5.45pm and straight into the shower. The fan in my bedroom (bought by VSO especially for volunteers in hot locations!) is switched on and the door facing the outside courtyard is opened. By bed time unfortunately the temperature outside is now lower than inside. I bring a bowl of water and sponge and wet myself all over, stand in front of the fan and then lie motionless on my bed with no cover, hoping that sleep will overcome me. Sometimes recently I have been kept awake with the heat, but other nights, well I guess I’m just so tired.
There is now no freshness to the air when the door is opened in the morning, and the whole cycle starts again, except the temperature will go up a little more today.
On the positive side, I can sense my body rapidly adjusting and although the next 2-3 months will be the worst in terms of heat, I think I will manage. I have not been dehydrated, no headaches, and apart from tiredness at the end of day, which is improving, I continue to feel very healthy. And then there is the swimming pool, but I need it here in the compound! The bad news is the heat will continue to increase and May is the worst month. I think people start to sleep outside then, a practice which is common in hot countries and I think of our colleague up in the true desert, not far from Danakil (the hottest place on earth), he has already only slept inside on one night since he arrived in September! Here it may be for 6 weeks in the year.
The other good news is that at the moment we are having a bit of rain and that is really reducing the temperatures. As I write the thunder is rolling overhead, the clouds are thick, wind is blowing and there is rain around. Much of the country does experience ‘small rains’ around this time, but we were told that Dire Dawa is unlikely to see rain. Well, any of it is welcome, long may it last. Especially as it seems that the small rains elsewhere are being reluctant to start, which is starting to worry some people, not least of all the farmers.
I will finish teaching the Diploma programme at the end of June, which is less than 3 months away now. With the end of that programme and the end of the academic year, my responsibilities here will be complete. However, because I am only here for one year and planned to return in September I have applied to do a 6 week summer project which will mean being sent somewhere else in the country. It is not the best time in Ethiopia as July-August is the main rainy season and in some parts, it does really rain at this time. I could be swapping dust for mud. Alternatively I could be sent up into the desert!! I have already told VSO I would decline that offer!!
Monday, 11 April 2011
Animals
Most of you know that I am an ardent animal lover and to some of you I have already made reference to my concern for the treatment of animals in this country. I know that it is no different here to other ‘less developed’ countries, but I still have difficulty with the logic that says it is poverty and its ensuing culture that dictate this, and wonder why, what I would describe as basic humanity, is apparently different in this respect, in different parts of the world.
It would not surprise some of you to know that I am rapidly winning over many of the local dogs and I really wonder what the local population thinks when they see this ferenji talking in this strange language to animals that hold fear for them, and further more touching and stroking them. And horrors, she doesn’t mind if they jump up – I see them recoil physically. If a dog follows me into the compound, the guard automatically goes to pick up a stone with which to hit it. Some dogs I will never succeed with of course, they have been too damaged by humans, are far too feral and thus aggression or a rapid retreat is their only defence. I must not paint an unrealistic picture, for although they roam the streets, the dogs that are the most friendly, are normally those in the best condition which inevitably means they are cared for and fed by humans, and thus have developed what we might call a normal relationship with humans. However even these apparently cared for dogs have required my tender loving care with dettol and water to address their wounds from time to time.
Dogs are real survivors and it seems are generally pretty self-sufficient. The goats come out on top every time and the donkeys, despite their heavy loads seem to look OK.
However, it seems to me that it is the horses that suffer most and I have seen some awful sights. They are generally very frightened of humans and are frequently clearly mistreated, malnourished and overworked. Again, I must not exaggerate as there are plenty of horses that look really healthy and are clearly well cared for.
However, these are work animals, so what happens when they can no longer be productive. On 3 occasions I have seen horses with bad deformities or injuries, that have simply been abandoned to suffer a long, slow death. On all 3 occasions I have tried to get food to them (long stories, not for now!), as that is really all I can do.
Two evenings ago, I was walking back home from the market and almost fell over a horse lying on the ground. I recognised it from a week previously with a very swollen knee joint which appeared to have had some application of orange ointment. Clearly this did no good, the horse could no longer pull its loads and serve its master, and now was being abandoned on an open piece of waste ground. I swore to myself and got upset, went home and realised I had spinach and lettuce in the fridge. Back I went with my parcel and sat on the ground and fed the horse. He was painfully thin and I noticed its skin was marked with deep scars all over from past wounds. Don’t ask what the poor animal must have been through. He seemed very calm and I was able to stroke him and he ate the food. By this time I had attracted the inevitable audience. The people were quiet and just watched. I have no idea if they were sympathising with the horse, or possibly with me, for being so foolish! I walked away but said loudly, (because they wouldn’t understand a word) to get things off my chest, ‘you should all be bloody ashamed of yourselves’! This poor animal who has given a lifetime of service to human beings is now left to die. If it was fed in health, why can it not continue to be looked after now?
I got home, upset, found we had no water in the tank – more upset, that the loudspeaker on the nearby mosque had been restored – more upset!
Our night guard was in the compound, and suddenly I saw him go with a broom into the thick foliage of the tall shrubs/trees in our little plot of garden, thrashing around for a few minutes. I wondered what was going on and then saw that he emerged with something in his hand. It was the little weaver bird’s nest that the birds had so industriously and energetically been working on for 3-4 weeks. I thought their little brains had been de-programmed as this nest was taking ages, but now finally it seemed finished and the birds had been flying around with great fervour and seeming emotion, hopefully ready to lay eggs, (again, long story, this was their second attempt and they were already paired).
So, why had this old man suddenly decided to destroy this little home, this miracle of nature?? As he can not speak any English I may never know, but I expressed my anger to him in my language, he looked bewildered.
All this in one day. I wonder about my own motives, is this all about self? Am I being self centred, do I expect that the way I look at things is the right and only way to see things. I will continue to try to understand these actions from the local point of view. Am I being self righteous, is this all ego driven. Am I just stupid and distorted in my attitude to animals? Other Brits would no doubt sympathise, so is this a cultural mindset and if so where does it come from, when did it start? I’m sure our ancestors would not have worried about a dog’s wounds, or a dying horse, or a destroyed bird’s nest? Is it linked to economic development? Why do I see it as simply a humanity issue?
I remind myself about acceptance, yet something nags at me and says it is wrong, it shouldn’t be like this.
By the way, if anyone would like a small and healthy puppy from Ethiopia, I know of 3 going at the moment. Well, come to think of it, I have only seen one over the last week – oh dear!
It would not surprise some of you to know that I am rapidly winning over many of the local dogs and I really wonder what the local population thinks when they see this ferenji talking in this strange language to animals that hold fear for them, and further more touching and stroking them. And horrors, she doesn’t mind if they jump up – I see them recoil physically. If a dog follows me into the compound, the guard automatically goes to pick up a stone with which to hit it. Some dogs I will never succeed with of course, they have been too damaged by humans, are far too feral and thus aggression or a rapid retreat is their only defence. I must not paint an unrealistic picture, for although they roam the streets, the dogs that are the most friendly, are normally those in the best condition which inevitably means they are cared for and fed by humans, and thus have developed what we might call a normal relationship with humans. However even these apparently cared for dogs have required my tender loving care with dettol and water to address their wounds from time to time.
Dogs are real survivors and it seems are generally pretty self-sufficient. The goats come out on top every time and the donkeys, despite their heavy loads seem to look OK.
However, it seems to me that it is the horses that suffer most and I have seen some awful sights. They are generally very frightened of humans and are frequently clearly mistreated, malnourished and overworked. Again, I must not exaggerate as there are plenty of horses that look really healthy and are clearly well cared for.
However, these are work animals, so what happens when they can no longer be productive. On 3 occasions I have seen horses with bad deformities or injuries, that have simply been abandoned to suffer a long, slow death. On all 3 occasions I have tried to get food to them (long stories, not for now!), as that is really all I can do.
Two evenings ago, I was walking back home from the market and almost fell over a horse lying on the ground. I recognised it from a week previously with a very swollen knee joint which appeared to have had some application of orange ointment. Clearly this did no good, the horse could no longer pull its loads and serve its master, and now was being abandoned on an open piece of waste ground. I swore to myself and got upset, went home and realised I had spinach and lettuce in the fridge. Back I went with my parcel and sat on the ground and fed the horse. He was painfully thin and I noticed its skin was marked with deep scars all over from past wounds. Don’t ask what the poor animal must have been through. He seemed very calm and I was able to stroke him and he ate the food. By this time I had attracted the inevitable audience. The people were quiet and just watched. I have no idea if they were sympathising with the horse, or possibly with me, for being so foolish! I walked away but said loudly, (because they wouldn’t understand a word) to get things off my chest, ‘you should all be bloody ashamed of yourselves’! This poor animal who has given a lifetime of service to human beings is now left to die. If it was fed in health, why can it not continue to be looked after now?
I got home, upset, found we had no water in the tank – more upset, that the loudspeaker on the nearby mosque had been restored – more upset!
Our night guard was in the compound, and suddenly I saw him go with a broom into the thick foliage of the tall shrubs/trees in our little plot of garden, thrashing around for a few minutes. I wondered what was going on and then saw that he emerged with something in his hand. It was the little weaver bird’s nest that the birds had so industriously and energetically been working on for 3-4 weeks. I thought their little brains had been de-programmed as this nest was taking ages, but now finally it seemed finished and the birds had been flying around with great fervour and seeming emotion, hopefully ready to lay eggs, (again, long story, this was their second attempt and they were already paired).
So, why had this old man suddenly decided to destroy this little home, this miracle of nature?? As he can not speak any English I may never know, but I expressed my anger to him in my language, he looked bewildered.
All this in one day. I wonder about my own motives, is this all about self? Am I being self centred, do I expect that the way I look at things is the right and only way to see things. I will continue to try to understand these actions from the local point of view. Am I being self righteous, is this all ego driven. Am I just stupid and distorted in my attitude to animals? Other Brits would no doubt sympathise, so is this a cultural mindset and if so where does it come from, when did it start? I’m sure our ancestors would not have worried about a dog’s wounds, or a dying horse, or a destroyed bird’s nest? Is it linked to economic development? Why do I see it as simply a humanity issue?
I remind myself about acceptance, yet something nags at me and says it is wrong, it shouldn’t be like this.
By the way, if anyone would like a small and healthy puppy from Ethiopia, I know of 3 going at the moment. Well, come to think of it, I have only seen one over the last week – oh dear!
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