Today has definitely been a travel day:
I departed Bahir Dar at 6:58 AM and made it to the Roha Hotel
(another Ghion property, like the Goha in Gondar) after noon. There
were a couple of slowdowns along the way: more rough road and a flat
tire. Fortunately, the driver had a spare tire in the back.
Economics and social policy
I will first take a moment to observe
that a lot of development is visible around me in every city. Roads
are being finished or resurfaced and high rise structures and houses
are actively under construction. I hear tell a lot of this is foreign
investment (China, specifically). It looks like Ethiopians are being
employed on these projects. The people will benefit not only from the
existence of these infrastructure projects but also the number of
jobs created. The foreign investment likely serves a purpose to the
investor, but in the meantime things are looking up for working
people who managed to snag these jobs.
Since I didn't get specific enough
about it last time (a link to "eye opening" laws somewhere
in a long post is probably easy to miss), I also want to mention that
I have been troubled by the existence of the anti-homosexuality law.
I expect it is the product of a conservative and religious tradition,
and since times have been bad in the country and only just improving
recently, I also expect that tradition remains powerful. It's what
seems stable, and when things are uncertain, many people think of it
as something that works. It does not necessarily work for the
advancement of rights, but that is not its purpose.
I believe the economic progress of the
country could move in lockstep with social progress. The extra
circulating money could help more people access higher learning and
could also increase the quality of that learning over time. Since the
science that I know supports social progress (or at the very least a
revisiting/repeal of laws which seem needless or harmful), I expect
that an increase in the proliferation of scientific knowledge and
higher learning could arm present and future generations with
different ideas for social policy.
The other factor is the emergence of
the internet and of personal computing. One of my guides once said,
"Having a laptop has turned me into a man who feels. I can share
what's inside, where before I might keep it to myself until I forget
it." At this time, he says, many people work six months to a
year putting money aside for a second-hand laptop which is being sold
at a high price. I suspect that if the economic condition in Ethiopia
improves, then the country may be seen as a better market for newer
models of computer and also better internet availability/bandwidth.
The sum of this could be an
economically enabled and politically active populace with a different
understanding of how to frame social policy. If any stable and
lasting change is to come, that would be how I imagine it goes. It is
ultimately up to the Ethiopians—and, perhaps, to continued foreign
investment on terms acceptable to Ethiopians as an economic booster
in the earlygoings—to decide what laws and policies they want in
their country; I am just a foreigner playing with ideas.
I felt the need to mention that because
I know people who could be as good at the tourist's role as me. They
can spend money, be courteous and respectful to Ethiopians, and
refrain from doing harm. They might even be able to do all that
better than I can. Unfortunately, due to the currently existing laws,
I can't honestly recommend this trip to them as it may put them in
danger. I have faith that this will one day change.
D. Madeley
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