May 28, 2012
Blog 3 From Hinda
Hi to all of you!
As you will see below Peter has published a number of his photographs and his comments about our latest adventures in southern Ethiopia visiting the tribes in the Omo Valley.
And as you will see when you look at the photos, it was like being in a National Geographic special for a whole week. We visited tribes that lived in the most remote regions among their animals, mud, huts and families all with many children.
We got there by driving through beautiful country with fields of Teff,(fermented teff – one of the oldest grains is used to make injera, a daily staple of Ethiopians), corn, onions, bananas, etc., with fences of cactus plants. Farmers were busy plowing with oxen and old fashioned plows, while very young children, mostly boys, some as young as 5 or 6, were herding cows, goats, camels and anything else with 4 legs. While the boys are herding the girls are beginning to carry water at the age of 3 or 4 starting with a small jerry can. They progress to carrying more and more as they get older and in some cases they are carrying as much as a donkey, they are truly beasts of burden in rural areas. (see photos)
We were lucky to get to witness a “bull jumping ceremony” at the Hammar Tribe. These are usually held after the rainy season in late September and October. As Peter explains and you can see in his photos, a man must run across the backs of 8-10 bulls lined up and held in place by his friends and family. It was exciting to watch and cheer when he completed the run. Before the run, there is a ceremony where woman are whipped to show their respect and love for the man running. Peter and I have been having an argument about whether he should include the photos in the blog, and as you know we are opposites in some ways, and this is one of them. He thinks it is fine to include them and I do not, so he has included them with his explanation and I will voice my objection.
One of the other good experiences was at the village of the Mursi Tribe. These are people who live in a very remote area and continue to live as they have for the last hundreds of years. Many of the women have plates in their lower lip (see photo). However, we were told that women today have a choice of whether to have a plate inserted or not and the chief’s wife has chosen not to have one, so I think others will soon follow. The other interesting thing was that the chief was wearing an REI fleece vest which he seemed to really value, good advertising for REI.
Although we enjoyed this trip, I must admit that seeing the poverty in the rural areas and the multitude of children, with nothing to wear but an oversized t-shirt with holes in it, not enough to eat, forced to work and not go to school, 5 year olds who carry 2 year olds on their backs, and all begging every time we stopped the car, did make me sad and want to do something to help. I hope the work we do on these trips helps just a little to change things.
I will end on this note and say I miss you all and hope you are all well. Enjoy Peter’s photos.
Love, Hinda
Blog 3 From Hinda
Hi to all of you!
As you will see below Peter has published a number of his photographs and his comments about our latest adventures in southern Ethiopia visiting the tribes in the Omo Valley.
And as you will see when you look at the photos, it was like being in a National Geographic special for a whole week. We visited tribes that lived in the most remote regions among their animals, mud, huts and families all with many children.
We got there by driving through beautiful country with fields of Teff,(fermented teff – one of the oldest grains is used to make injera, a daily staple of Ethiopians), corn, onions, bananas, etc., with fences of cactus plants. Farmers were busy plowing with oxen and old fashioned plows, while very young children, mostly boys, some as young as 5 or 6, were herding cows, goats, camels and anything else with 4 legs. While the boys are herding the girls are beginning to carry water at the age of 3 or 4 starting with a small jerry can. They progress to carrying more and more as they get older and in some cases they are carrying as much as a donkey, they are truly beasts of burden in rural areas. (see photos)
We were lucky to get to witness a “bull jumping ceremony” at the Hammar Tribe. These are usually held after the rainy season in late September and October. As Peter explains and you can see in his photos, a man must run across the backs of 8-10 bulls lined up and held in place by his friends and family. It was exciting to watch and cheer when he completed the run. Before the run, there is a ceremony where woman are whipped to show their respect and love for the man running. Peter and I have been having an argument about whether he should include the photos in the blog, and as you know we are opposites in some ways, and this is one of them. He thinks it is fine to include them and I do not, so he has included them with his explanation and I will voice my objection.
One of the other good experiences was at the village of the Mursi Tribe. These are people who live in a very remote area and continue to live as they have for the last hundreds of years. Many of the women have plates in their lower lip (see photo). However, we were told that women today have a choice of whether to have a plate inserted or not and the chief’s wife has chosen not to have one, so I think others will soon follow. The other interesting thing was that the chief was wearing an REI fleece vest which he seemed to really value, good advertising for REI.
Although we enjoyed this trip, I must admit that seeing the poverty in the rural areas and the multitude of children, with nothing to wear but an oversized t-shirt with holes in it, not enough to eat, forced to work and not go to school, 5 year olds who carry 2 year olds on their backs, and all begging every time we stopped the car, did make me sad and want to do something to help. I hope the work we do on these trips helps just a little to change things.
I will end on this note and say I miss you all and hope you are all well. Enjoy Peter’s photos.
Love, Hinda
posted by Peter and Hinda Schnurman at 10:08 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks, Hinda, for that post. I admit I share your discomfort at the role of observer of poverty and customs so offensive to us. It's hard to figure out how to respond and what to share. (I suppose you didn't get a chance to talk to any of the women to hear their perspective. Sounds like you were traveling independently? Or did you have an interpreter?)
If there were other words to define charitable adventure, then I guess they would be Peter and Hinda. This was a wonderful blog.
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