The Myth of ‘medemer’
The Addis Ababa corridor project
The fact that when I was researching my journey from Gobekli Tepe to Cape Town all indicators were that Ethiopia was now a peaceful, unified country shows just how little mainstream media cares about the continent of Africa.
Indeed when i searched the BBC ‘News’ website this morning the last mention of conflict in this huge sub Saharan country was dated November the 23rd 2023! There is a brief mention in an article about the installation of the new President Taye Astike Selassie that government forces have been accused of committing crimes against humanity.
When I arrived at Bole international airport the first thing I saw was a huge sign extolling the government's commitment to creating a unified Ethiopia for all of its people to thrive in.
Prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed is adamant that his policy of ‘medemer’ or, coming together is the blueprint for national unity and prosperity in the war torn country.
Within 5 minutes of leaving the airport though, I received my first glimpse of what life is really like for millions of normal Ethiopians. I witnessed bulldozers destroying whole streets of houses, the fact that they were being guarded by armed police told me that this perhaps wasn't being done with the people’s support.
The official aim of what I later learnt is called the ‘corridor project’ is to turn the capital into a modern metropolis, increase GDB by 2% and create 50 '000 jobs.
The reality is that Addis Ababa is now full of virtually empty and half completed apartment blocks, mile after mile of wasteland where people's houses used to stand (as much as possible the authorities erect high metal panels to hide the devastation) and a large percentage of residents becoming increasingly angry at the actions of Prime Minister Ahmed’s Prosperity party. Many referring to his repeated promises and reassurances as ‘honey words’, they sound sweet but mean nothing.
The history of politics and social upheaval in Ethiopia could, and has filled entire books.
My role as a Gonzo Journalist isn't to speculate about what may have been nor what could be.
My job is to report on what I witnessed myself and recount what I was told by the people I spoke to.
What I saw in Addis Ababa was tens of thousands of people being made homeless, often claiming to have had no warning that their homes were the next to be destroyed. In fact I witnessed entire communities being dragged out of their homes by armed police as the bulldozers and demolition teams moved in. In one street in the Kazanchis area I watched with horror as residents tried to retrieve their belongings as the walls were collapsing around them!
According to Ethiopian law, this is entirely legal IF it is in the national interest and as long as residents are compensated. In reality most receive what was universally described as a little amount, many I spoke to said they had received nothing.
It's not just homes that are being destroyed though. Shops, businesses, schools, medical centres and community hubs, built up over decades are being wiped from the city skyline. Generations of community links have been destroyed, families separated, friends lost.
One local businessman told me that thousands of people were made homeless in the area in the last 6 months. When they tried to erect temporary shelters these too were torn down, leaving many residents with no option but to move to suburbs on the edge of the huge sprawling city as the rental for the new apartment blocks was far beyond their reach.
Others told me that many people had been forced to return to the rural areas of Ethiopia where. Although the government denies them, there are increasingly frequent reports of starvation in more than one area of Ethiopia.
Cultural bodies have also pointed to the destruction of historical landmarks and sites of national heritage being destroyed.
It was to those rural areas that I travelled next, the ancient cities of Lalibela and Axum, each with its own megalithic wonders, are high on the list of must see sites for any visitor to Ethiopia. In both cities, as was the case in all of Ethiopia, I was greeted warmly by the local population, treated as an honoured guest and a lifelong friend all at the same time. The hospitality I received in the homes of local residents, some of whom I now for a fact were struggling to survive with what they had themselves, will forever be a source of humbling gratitude for me. I am still in regular contact with friends I made in Ethiopia. As well as telling me about their day to day activities, they have also provided me with evidence of the devastating consequences of what I witnessed first hand during my stay in Lalibela.
Drone and artillery strikes by the Ethiopian army against its own civilians!
UPDATE 6/6/2025:
I have since been provided with footage of multiple acts of brutality carried out by the Ethiopian army against civilians. This includes images showing bodies lying buried amongst the rubble of houses targeted by the Ethiopian army and carried out using Turkish drones, as I witnessed myself when I was in the Amhara region during a bombing raid.
Yes NATO weapons are being used to bomb civilian targets in Ethiopia.
