A Night on the Street in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - part 5

ethiopia journal – feb 19 part 5
“meskel square”

After what seemed to be about an hour we left Ephraim’s house and walked up the stone pathway toward the street. Two of the boys stopped to pee. This happened several more times. Ephraim said that all the street kids have very small stomachs and bladders because they simply don’t get that much to eat. Each of them stopped to pee two or three times in the next 30 minutes.

We decided, or I should say Ephraim decided that we should try to sleep at Meskel Square, a large open gathering place that was a few miles away. We began walking. The boy who didn’t feel good was very tired and I felt like I should have carried him, but I didn’t know how far I would have been able to. The other two boys got on each side of him and put their arms around him and his around them. It was then that I noticed that he didn’t have any shoes on at all. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t notice it before. The reason I noticed it now was that the oldest boy was taking off his sandals and putting them on the sick boys feet. It was another real/unreal moment. One that stunned me by the need present but also by the incredible care they had for each other.

Walking on each side of him, the two boys propped him up between them. A few minutes later I heard the two boys laughing and then a few minutes later they laughed again. I asked them what they were laughing at. They told us that the boy in the middle was falling asleep while he was walking. It was funny to them and a little to me – but overall my feeling was sadness. Sadness that this boy had no mom or dad to care for him – sadness that the boy had no bed to sleep in – sadness that suffering like this exists every night – sadness that I was actually one of the reasons he wasn’t laying down right now asleep already.

We walked a long way stepping over dry and not so dry puddles of urine. Most of which were two or three yards away from a person lying on the sidewalk completely covered with a blanket.

Soon we passed a woman standing alone on the corner. I didn’t see her face, but the setting told me everything I needed to know. Ephraim confirmed that she was a prostitute, one of the thousands upon thousands in Addis Ababa. We walked by her before she knew we were even close by. I didn’t turn back to look at her – I didn’t want to see her face or her pain – that is for another time. We continued our journey walking down the street and soon passed a few men selling little things (at 1:30 am???). They bothered us for a second and then we walked on. As I was leaving these men I turned to look forward and I glanced down to my left. Sitting in the window sill a few feet from me was a girl maybe 17 or 18. She was a girl probably trapped in prostitution with these men. She looked up at me and I was forced to see her sadness. She had a beautiful face and beautiful eyes, but the saddest most stoic look – a look of hopelessness. It is a look that I feel like I had avoided, but one that God wanted me to see… and feel. It is a look that I will not soon forget – a look of pain. She said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes to me.

Several blocks later we again attracted some attention, but of a different kind. We obviously passed a house of prostitution and after we passed, two girls came running down the street after us. They both called out for us in a brash, sickeningly-sweet tone that almost mocked at us. I could only imagine what they were saying. I didn’t look back and maybe I started walking a little faster. After a few minutes they finally listened to Ephraim and gave up their pursuits – their hope for the night of making money. It was a sickening experience, but very brief.

After a while we arrived at the meskel square. It was a huge open area with about 10 lanes of roads, an open courtyard and some kind of stadium type steps or rows. Each step was about five feet deep and was formed by a rise of concrete and then dirt. Climbing each step felt a lot like stepping over railroad tracks. The whole place seemed empty, but it is a huge place dimly lit. The area is probably 400 yards long and several football fields wide. We decided to climb to the top to settle in along the tree line. I didn’t see anyone around, which surprised me a little because during the day this area is packed with street kids.

We walked to the top and began to settle in quickly.