Ethiopian governments have had a dubious distinction for jailing journalists for speaking, for writing anything the regime does not like. “Because if you have something disturbing you in your chest, you say it freely and you do not go to jail.” He says. “The new prime minister is a good man,” Aaron says between shifting gears. One of the attractions is the prime minister’s residence. ECOWAS to their member nations.īack in Addis, a taxi pulls up and I negotiate with Aaron, the taxi driver to guide me around the city. Kenya and South Africa have opened their borders to each other. It is rare, a good sign of things to come as African nations open their borders to each other. Or Nigerian.” This is why I take this special treatment at Bole International Airport seriously. “Sorry, we thought you were West African. I protested in Swahili and received muted apologies. This disease and health politics so entrenched in international development. This logic that decreed that only African looking people are thought to carry disproportionate risk of spreading infectious diseases. I protested loudly at this glaring discrimination. Only Africans were being pulled aside for questioning about yellow fever vaccination certificates. They were looking for yellow fever certificates. I was walking in the midst of Africans and white foreigners when I arrived at some random check point mounted by the airport health team. Haile Selassie Avenue in the heart of Nairobi permanently sealed this brotherhood in our national psyche.Ī few months before this trip, I arrived at Jomo Kenyatta National Airport, Kenya from Dakar, Senegal. Something about pre-independence Pan-African brotherhood. Something special probably between President Jomo Kenyatta and Emperor Haile Selassie. But this special treatment must be in appreciation of something Kenya and Ethiopia did to each other many years ago. This is one of the reason why Nairobi is a melting pot of African culture and those of other foreign nations, floating in the rich spirit of Ubuntu. And in most instances, Kenya has assimilated foreigners successfully without discrimination. Kenya is a home to many Ethiopian immigrants. We, Kenyans, do not need any form of visa to visit Ethiopia. I quickly learn that Ethiopia has special relationship with Kenya and Eritrea. First time ever, I am receiving privileged treatment based on my Kenyan passport. It signals a promise of African brotherhood, to fill any gaps an African passport may be too weak to fill. I have come to learn that any smile in an airport when one bears an African passport is always a good thing. I pull out my Kenyan passport and hand it over to him. Another one follows closely enquiring about our visas. He says something about Ebola and looks relieved that none of us has visited the Congo. Asks if any of us has visited the Congo in the recent past. A uniformed airport worker pulls every African looking person aside. A line of passengers form somehow within this chaos. Just new.īole International Airport is fascinating chorus of organized chaos. There are blue and yellow taxis at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.
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