Muhler
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 16,789
- City
- Eastern Jutland
- Country
- Denmark
I had the opportunity to watch the docu live and I'm sure one of our newsdiggers will be able to post a link here if and when it's online.
But here is a summary.
It was at the same time a charming, heartwarming and strong documentary.
There are an estimated 20 million people in Ethiopia living in extreme poverty.
1.2 million are estimated to be infected with HIV.
But as no one knows the number of people living in Ethiopia, that figure must be considered to be a conservative estimate. – In fact the population figure in Ethiopia is plus/minus some 25 million. Repeat plus/minus 25 million!!
Marie arrived in Addis Ababa which by African standards is considered a pretty well organized city and here she met with the local head of DanChurchAid (DCA), with whom she went and is seen conversing with throughout the documentary.
The day after they went on an eleven-hour journey, which they for security reasons had to complete before darkness.
As far as I could see there were no PET officers around, but the cars drove in a particular pattern designed obviously to confuse would be attackers and a car or two drove ahead of the convoy to scout and look for suspicious cars and other unusual signs. (That has FET written all over. I.e. special forces methods).
The areas they were going to had only very recently been made accessibly for the outside world and people there had literally rarely ever seen white people before.
Marie looked tired. No doubt the long journey was strenuous. Upon arrival to their destination and the only hotel, just as darkness set in, the convoy passed a mounted wedding procession and a bus on fire, which the locals tried to put out with sand and gravel.
The next day Marie went to see a project where women had been given a modest financial backing and a course in bookkeeping in order to set up a grocery store, which was doing very well.
The men were busy in the fields because a simple irrigation project now enables them to harvest three times a year. Result: Within a few years the local community had become quite wealthy by Ethiopian standards.
The keyword was water. A well and a simple reservoir ensured water throughout the dry season and women now only had to walk at most five kilometers to get clean water, - which on top of that was safe to drink! That has made a tremendous difference.
And as an appreciation – and somewhat unexpected – the locals presented Marie with a goat. That caused some panic among her entourage. They couldn’t refuse the goat, that would be most rude, but Marie kept her head cool and graciously and gratefully accepted the goat – Joachim can look after it…
Marie also met with HIV infected locals, who until very recently were facing a certain death, but not only that, a certain death alone and in poverty, because they were ostracized. Cheap medicine had changed everything. Now they can live a practically normal life and they are no longer kicked out of their social circles.
Marie was during this trip followed by a camera team from TV2 Syd, and yes you were in no doubt as to where the journalist came from! That was a genuine Southern Jutlander, an accent Marie will now be vary familiar with.
Marie also told on a personal level how the famine in 1984 had made a big impression and how she feels she cannot do nothing, especially with the priviledged life she lives.
Finally, and I know some will think I’m biased towards our Marie, perhaps, but I’ll try not to be.
Marie’s Danish is brilliant!
I was listening to her, while she spoke to the camera but in particular when she had private conversations with other members of the team. – No difference. Marie speaking on camera is the same as Marie speaking to everybody else. The same speech pattern, same speed, same choice of words.
She has a clear accent, but her pronunciation was next to perfect. At the same level as natives. In fact we natives may actually be sloppier with our pronunciation.
I could not spot any mistake in her grammar. No problems whatsoever with the endings, which is so difficult for foreigners to master.
She speaks a relatively simple Danish but nevertheless her meaning comes across easily. I’ll predict in ten years we won’t be able to distinguish her from a native, unless you pay close attention.
But here is a summary.
It was at the same time a charming, heartwarming and strong documentary.
There are an estimated 20 million people in Ethiopia living in extreme poverty.
1.2 million are estimated to be infected with HIV.
But as no one knows the number of people living in Ethiopia, that figure must be considered to be a conservative estimate. – In fact the population figure in Ethiopia is plus/minus some 25 million. Repeat plus/minus 25 million!!
Marie arrived in Addis Ababa which by African standards is considered a pretty well organized city and here she met with the local head of DanChurchAid (DCA), with whom she went and is seen conversing with throughout the documentary.
The day after they went on an eleven-hour journey, which they for security reasons had to complete before darkness.
As far as I could see there were no PET officers around, but the cars drove in a particular pattern designed obviously to confuse would be attackers and a car or two drove ahead of the convoy to scout and look for suspicious cars and other unusual signs. (That has FET written all over. I.e. special forces methods).
The areas they were going to had only very recently been made accessibly for the outside world and people there had literally rarely ever seen white people before.
Marie looked tired. No doubt the long journey was strenuous. Upon arrival to their destination and the only hotel, just as darkness set in, the convoy passed a mounted wedding procession and a bus on fire, which the locals tried to put out with sand and gravel.
The next day Marie went to see a project where women had been given a modest financial backing and a course in bookkeeping in order to set up a grocery store, which was doing very well.
The men were busy in the fields because a simple irrigation project now enables them to harvest three times a year. Result: Within a few years the local community had become quite wealthy by Ethiopian standards.
The keyword was water. A well and a simple reservoir ensured water throughout the dry season and women now only had to walk at most five kilometers to get clean water, - which on top of that was safe to drink! That has made a tremendous difference.
And as an appreciation – and somewhat unexpected – the locals presented Marie with a goat. That caused some panic among her entourage. They couldn’t refuse the goat, that would be most rude, but Marie kept her head cool and graciously and gratefully accepted the goat – Joachim can look after it…
Marie also met with HIV infected locals, who until very recently were facing a certain death, but not only that, a certain death alone and in poverty, because they were ostracized. Cheap medicine had changed everything. Now they can live a practically normal life and they are no longer kicked out of their social circles.
Marie was during this trip followed by a camera team from TV2 Syd, and yes you were in no doubt as to where the journalist came from! That was a genuine Southern Jutlander, an accent Marie will now be vary familiar with.
Marie also told on a personal level how the famine in 1984 had made a big impression and how she feels she cannot do nothing, especially with the priviledged life she lives.
Finally, and I know some will think I’m biased towards our Marie, perhaps, but I’ll try not to be.
Marie’s Danish is brilliant!
I was listening to her, while she spoke to the camera but in particular when she had private conversations with other members of the team. – No difference. Marie speaking on camera is the same as Marie speaking to everybody else. The same speech pattern, same speed, same choice of words.
She has a clear accent, but her pronunciation was next to perfect. At the same level as natives. In fact we natives may actually be sloppier with our pronunciation.
I could not spot any mistake in her grammar. No problems whatsoever with the endings, which is so difficult for foreigners to master.
She speaks a relatively simple Danish but nevertheless her meaning comes across easily. I’ll predict in ten years we won’t be able to distinguish her from a native, unless you pay close attention.
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