Summary of article in Billed Bladet #14, 2019.
Written by Ulrik Ulriksen.
Mary and the Danish deleagtion, consiting among others of Minister for Development, Ulla Tørnæs, visited Ethiopia for two days recently.
The main purpose of the visit was to visit Danish supported projects that aims directly at helping women and girls in earning their own money on the their own projects and/or directly help women and girls' rights, be that economically or physically - I.e. self-determination in regards to when and who to marry, if any. When to have children and how many. Prevention and so on.
Women who do not enjoy the protection of their family or at least their clan are especially vulnerable, so it's crucial, not least for their own physical safety that they become economically independent.
On the first day Mary, wearing a green shirt matching the color of Ethiopia's flag, visited a fertility clinic and a center for reproductive health in the capital Addis Ababa. They were shown around by the head of the center, that is a part of a hospital, by doctor Senait - who is well known in Ethiopia for her commitment.
Mary also met a relatively new mother, who visit the center, a 21 year old Merkab with her eleven month old son. She lives only five kilometers from the capital.
While in the capital, Mary and the delegation attended an Ethiopian coffee gettogether, that's coffee and popcorn.
The first day also included a visit to the Parliament as well as visited female entrepreneurs.
(It seems there has been a shift from micro-loans. - Many women simply ended up ever deeper in depth debt, because as we all know, businesses does not necessarily create a surplus from day one. Instead the focus is on supporting specific ideas and projects. That can be copied elsewhere.)
The first day ended at the Danish embassy, where the ambassador's nine year old son acted as flowerboy. - Physically he doesn't look East African to me, so I guess the ambassador didn't marry/adopt locally.
The second day took Mary and the delegation to Shire near Eritrea, which at present is ruled by a strict totalitarian regime, that has basically drafted half the population in order to keep people under control. That's not something that many are keen on... so there is a steady stream of refugees across the border to Ethiopia.
The neighboring country Djibouti is stabil. There is a large French garrison there - who will ensure that it remains stabil.
Upon touching down Mary got a rapturous welcome by the locals and by refugees. Security was tight though. Both Ethiopian security as well as Danish special forces. It was PET who accompanied the delegation in the capital.
Here she visited the Hitsats refugee camp and planted a tree, a Tree of Hope - alongside several other trees planted by local school children.
Ethiopia has the largest number of refugees in Africa. 2.9 million internal displaced persons. - Mainly due to internal clan hostilities but also very much because with a population that has perhaps rounded 100 million (no one really knows) resources is a huge problem as well. Ethiopia used to be a country with large mountain forests, but the trees are being cut down with all the consequences that comes from that.
Mary visited refugee families and learned how life is at the camps.
One of the Danish projects in the camp is called Catch-Up. It's a programme aimed at teenagers in particular, where they go through a pretty intensive teaching programme in order for them to catch up with the lack of schooling that was the result of them being on the run and in the initial phase of settling down as refugees. It is hoped that a number of them through Catch-Up will educate themselves further.
Mary is as you know an eager photographer and she was seen many times with her camera, not least in the refugee camp.
At an interview at the refugee camp, she explained that she use the photos to illustrate her experiences to her children and to help them understand what it to live a life that is very far from the life her children lives.
One person in particular made a big impression on Mary. Beri, a mother of three who fled from Eritrea with three children. Despite her own problems coping she has taken under her wings two children who came alone. A lot of the children in the refugee camp are alone. Either having lost their adult relatives on the way, or been separated from them or they have simply been escorted by adult relatives to the border and send on, in the hope they will get a better life - even on their own - in Ethiopia.
The visit to Ethiopia ended with a visit to the President Sahlework Zewde, who is the first east African president ever. And at present the only female head of state in Africa.
Ethiopia is an ancient country, that somehow managed to remain independent until the Italian invasion before WWII. It has been a kingdom for most of it's history.
Stuffed lions were seen in many places in the Presidential palace. Lions (and killing them, male lions that is) are a traditional symbol of masculinity, bravery, authority and not least power.
But see for yourselves here:
https://app.box.com/s/p2zl8saoza7p4wvaqt1tux6m6f6cw8xy
And last week:
https://app.box.com/s/oakcvfg8pv9js5li2dzzi95om2hjzc0o
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As some of you may have noticed, I don't post as much these days as I use to do. That's mainly because I no longer work from home. So it's next to impossible for me to take a break and comment and post on something, there are too many distractions at work.
It also means that all the various tasks at home will have to wait until I get home. So scanning and writing summaries are, at least for the time being, a bit further down on the to-do list.
