eRes Course Resources

On the topic of poverty: On asking him the question "Is poverty prevalent?", he replies with an immediate yes, he didn't even take a second to think about that he was answering; it felt as if the word "poverty" triggered an immediate resistive and defensive reaction in the tone of his voice. It was rather eye opening because it told me that even though the citizens of the country knew that they were poor, and accepted it, they stood proud and rather defensive about with the "we're happy the way we are" feel to it. I then asked him "How many people live a life of poverty?". To this he said that he didn't know but told me that there were several million that were below the poverty line and the government hadn't taken much effort to even get a proper census. The moment I brought the government into the picture, he grew irritated. He seemed to feel that the government just wasn't up for the job of taking care of such a culturally rich country. He said that the government and its policies to allow MNCs to exploit workers would erode the sanctity and pristine nature of their cultural heritage. And when I asked him about how people escaped poverty, he told me by hardwork and commitment. He told me that his family had only made it to the US because of his father and uncle, who worked tirelessly to earn money for a ticket to this country when he was 4. He said that opportunities are very slim back home and that whenever people got the chance to make money, they would; it was all the hope they had to a better future. He also commented on the wealthy Ethopians by saying that they too were not playing their part in communal welfare. They rich interacted with the poor in a hierarchal and condescending manner- they were treated either as domestic workers or servile members of society that would obey the orders of the rich to earn the extra dollar. Overall, on the note of poverty, a rather sensitive topic, my Ethiopian friend exposed to the views of poverty from a citizen of such an culturally rich but impoverished nation. Through the words and examples he used it was clear that rich or poor, they stood by their heritage and values as a way out of poverty.