a Night on the Street in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - part 6

ethiopia journal - feb 19 part 6
"stone cold"

At first we all sat with our backs against the wall. Soon the boy who wasn’t feeling so well curled up on the ground. Ephraim covered him up with a light blanket that he had. The taller boy curled up next to him and the other boy stayed against the wall. Within five minutes of us sitting down all three boys were sound asleep. The boy against the wall didn’t seem very comfortable so I helped him lay down.

It was sad to me that these boys fell asleep so quickly. To me it meant that they were comfortable with their surroundings, they were used to the dirt, they were used to the hard ground, they were used to curling up and supporting their heads without a pillow, they were used to the cold, they were used to the smell, they were used to the fear of the unknown, they were used to being completely vulnerable, they were used to being exposed to the elements, they were used to not having a mom and dad tuck them in, they were used to being alone. I was overwhelmed with sadness as I looked at these boys resting. It was at this moment that I had another one of those REAL but very UNREAL moments. I couldn’t believe that we were sitting there with three homeless boys who were sleeping. I couldn’t believe that there were boys 8, 9 and 12 who lived like this and yet there was absolutely no denying it. They were lying all around me. I could hear their breaths. I could reach out and touch them.

It was true that even though we were there with them, we would never fully identify with them. Maybe they had no fear because this was all they knew. Part of my fear was the fact that I have a lot to lose if something happened to me. I have a wife and four kids to care for and a spiritual community to lead. On top of that I am a very wealthy person in this setting. These boys have nothing, why would anyone even bother them – even if they died would anyone even notice?

Soon I decided to settle in and try to sleep. I laid down on my back with one boy a few feet to my left, two others a few feet to my right and Andrew and Ephraim close by. I didn’t want to look at what I was going to lay on. I put my head on the stone riser and my feet rested against the other stone riser. I stared at the sky and wondered what kind of world we live in that tolerates and allows this kind of existence. It was sad but somehow I felt good just trying to identify with what these boys experience every night.

One of the boys was obviously cold so Andrew took off his sweatshirt and laid it over the little boy. That left Andrew with only a t-shirt on. One thing we had not taken into account was how cold it was. I think I went to sleep for a few minutes but soon I woke up because I was so cold. My back and my neck were freezing cold and I had to get off the ground. I laid there for a few more minutes, looked over at Andrew who was wide awake, and got up and sat on the wall. I tried everything to stay warm, but it didn’t work very well. I wondered how tired I would have to be to actually fall asleep like these boys. Throughout the night I tried several times to lay down and sleep but simply couldn’t. Ephraim seemed to be sleeping, but Andrew and I were in for a long night.

We ended up talking about the whole experience together – our thoughts and our feelings about the night so far. I started doing push ups to try to warm up and after several sets it started to work. I began to do those over and over again when I would get cold. Andrew and I were trying to guess what time it was because the night seemed endless. We guessed that it had to be close to 6 am, but found out later that it was probably just 3:30 or 4:00. The long night intensified in my mind the struggle that these boys face every day. It made me sick that they were so comfortable with their circumstances. I could only imagine the fear, anxiety and trauma that would happen if one of my children had to live for one night like these boys live every night.