Ignorance isn’t Bliss, it is just embarrassing

Understandably some days here in Ethiopia are tough, people have been pushed to their max, with hills, altitude, rain, children, rocks, and more people around than anyone is used to in their lives back home. However within this frustration I feel like it is important to remember how fortunate we are to have been born in a developed country and just by that fortune to have the things we do and to not take these things for granted, especially health care and education. These are two of the things that if you look close enough, past the rock throwing and shouting; that is evident that this country is lacking. It has been frustrating for me at time to see how some of the riders have retaliated from the rock throwing and their ability to show compassion and empathy towards a country that we are guests in. I am not claiming to have not been frustrated at times, especially on days that I have been punched, had dirt thrown point blank in my eye, been whipped with sticks, been spit on in my face and laughed and mocked. However despite all of these things I can honestly say I do not feel ashamed of anything I have done in return, as I rarely do anything, except slow down and try and help them to understand why this is not okay.

Some riders I have heard have stolen children’s school books or shoes and rode ahead and dumped them. Some riders have thrown rocks back, or threatened them. Today one of the more educated riders, came into lunch very frustrated and said that we should “firebomb this whole country” because clearly it is a “sess pool”. I was shocked at this unbelievable and very offensive comment. To say such a thing about a country that we all chose to ride through, knowing the risks ahead of time of what we might face is a clear example of ignorance and the cause of so many of the injustices in the world. At times things like this make me embarrassed that I am a part of a group that has members that believe this type of behavior is acceptable.

When things have gotten me down or stressed me out I remember how lucky I am for the opportunity to see this part of the world. I remember that a lot of people in the world do not have the freedom to cross the borders and see other parts of the world. I feel incredibly blessed that I have had the opportunity to quality health care and that my life expectancy is more than 43 years old, and that I did not have to do manual labor at the age of five. I remember that I got the opportunity to go to university and high school and junior high and elementary school for that matter. I feel privileged that I go to bed every night with enough food to eat and I can drink the water out of the taps and I don’t have to worry that I might get diarrhea that will eventually kill me. I feel privileged that I was not pregnant and expecting my first baby when I was 12 years old or raising my 5th child before I was twenty years old. I think being in Africa has opened my eyes to the incredible injustices that we face every day in the world, and a lot of them occur solely based on where people are born. I always think about the poem “if the world was only 100 people” it is eye opening. We have enough, a lot of the world does not and that is an important reminder that Africa gives us on a daily basis. I want to thank Ethiopia for opening its arms to us in the ways it has. Although not all the interactions were great, in fact some of them were very difficult and frustrating, for every rock I had thrown at me, someone else said “welcome” or showed interest in my trip through their country. For every aggressive tone, there was a smiling face waving and cheering on the side of the road. Ethiopia has taught every rider on this tour a little something about themselves, their tolerance, their resolve and their ability to pick themselves back up when the going gets tough and keep going, this is something that I believe every Ethiopian does every day of their lives. If this is all Ethiopia has been for some people on this tour, let it be, but they do have this place to thank.