A walk on Good Friday: Suffer the Little Children

Mother and Child

Greetings from Hawassa!

Marty's Good Friday walk downtown: Suffer the Little Children

Ever since I came upon children rising from their sleep in a culvert under a driveway next to a thoroughfare, I have wanted to know more about the street people, mainly the children and mothers, of Hawassa. When we firenjis (Europeans) walk or bike downtown we are accosted and our consciences assaulted by beggars of all ages in torn clothing and no shoes asking for birr. At first I tried to eliminate them from my sphere of responsibility by labeling the children as urchins set up by adults for their own purposes. But the picture of those very small children waking alone from their hole under the road belied that fiction. They may be preyed on by adults, true, but they are essentially alone and vulnerable and have the right to assault the conscience of us lucky adults. 

Friends

Tough customer (or not!)

Tough customer with serious friend.

I had wanted to try to do some interviews, hiring a U. Hawassa student to help. However, the students have been gone on anthropological trips to the rest of Ethiopia, and this is a long weekend – today is Good Friday as Sunday is Easter by Ethiopian calendar – and I decided to do it in a much less formal way. I took my camera, my backpack and 200 birr and went for a walk to downtown Hawassa. To those who asked for money, I gave, and then asked if it was ok to take a picture. Always the answer was yes. 

Mother and Child

However, the process itself was not without its ethical burden. Despite their very public presence and open request for money, I still felt like a voyeur towards the adults. I felt like I was commoditizing the children. I did my best to make things more human – showed them the pictures, asked their names and thanked them – but still know that I was paying them for the only thing they have – their visages.

Disabled young man.

Disabled elderly man

The last four kids I photographed followed me home where I asked friend Beza to translate. Three were brothers, Woleyta ethnicity from Hawassa, whose parents had died and who were living in town with their aunt who sent them out on the street to collect cardboard, presumably to sell. The oldest appeared to be about 11 years old, his brothers probably 6 and 4. They all may be older – I think they were stunted. I gave them the bananas I had bought for Ell and they begged for shoes. I said I didn't have the money but hope that I can do it in the future. The fourth was a Sidama child, also 11 or so, living on the street with an older friend who had traveled with him from a nearby village after his mother was unable to care for him. His father had died.

Three brothers who accompanied me on my way home.

As we walked down the street, a group of students was walking towards us. One broke off from the crowd and came up to the oldest brother and deliberately shoved him. I stepped in and glared, then asked the child if he faces violence frequently. He said yes. Our conversation was limited to my total of about 50 Amharic words and his similar English capacity. A lot of sign language. As always, thank God for Beza and Walelign.

Also included is a picture from the store where I buy eggs – colorful and friendly.

Shouk for eggs.

Happy Easter and Good Pesach!

Mother and Child

Another sunset from our bedroom window.