The minute you live home in the morning you pray that you’ll be hearing only good news. There is so much bad news making the rounds that for once you pray for a bad news-free day.
You are in a minibus taxi. The chuffer is playing some local music. At least that is better. Nothing nicer than listening to love lyrics first thing in the morning. Then the booming voice of one passenger echoes, “Change that music!” It was an order and not a request.
The music keeps on playing. The man nearly shouts; “I said change the music!” Look, it is all about the words. He is not asking for the player to be turned off. He’s asking for it ‘to be changed!’ Some of us could guess what kind of music he would have chosen had he succeeded in.
The assistant cuts in; “If you don’t like the music you can take another taxi!”
The rest is history. The tsunami that follows makes you wonder, “Why am I in this cab! It is only a half-hour walk to my office!”
A couple of hours later you’re at your table and this guy form the opposite
office comes. “Did you hear?”
You feel your nerves tightening. Even before he says a word you know you’re not going to like it. The bad news-free day is unraveling in ways you were trying to avoid.
“Did I hear what?”
“Well…”
The rest is history. According to him, some prophecy told thousands of years ago was happening.
“You better get ready.”
“Get ready for what?”
“We’ll have a few more years of trouble.” That is vintage bad news, isn’t it? I mean if it is an Armageddon of sorts what’s there to get ready about? We’re in the same boat! The guy must have watched too much of 2012!
Lunchtime and you decide to dine out: the last time you ate stake a kilo of meat went for one hundred twenty Birr. Extra calories, that’s what you need.
You are busy chewing on a terribly unresponsive piece of stake when this lady you know comes. She doesn’t even give you the usual greetings.
“Didn’t you hear?”
Oh no. not again.
“Didn’t I hear what?”
“They say the food in restaurants is poisoned. They say it is a deliberate…”
The rest is history. You are halfway through your meal and she talks about poisoned food! The funny thing is she herself is there to dine! What’s wrong with people these days!
Working hours over you decide to have a couple of drinks just to wash away all the doomsday talk of the day. Two rounds down you’re about to finish the third round and call it a day. Just then this guy comes;
“Did you hear…”
What, oh what did I do wrong to deserve this!
“Did I hear what?”
”They say such and such political party is funded by…” Why, in the world, should I care who funds what! If they’re doing things illegal why tell us! Lock them up and throw the key!
The rest is history.
Once home, sweet home you eat that middle-income dinner with the family and retire to the bedroom. Before you start snoring one last task remains; Time for some current affairs. You pull out your smartphone and login to Facebook. Let’s see what has been happening in the country. What! All this happened in the same country I am in! And…what the hell is this? I was in that place just last night and they are telling me it has been sort of a war zone for several days!
Well, posts after posts according to Facebook the world has ended. Yes, that is what has been happening; the world as you know it is over. And your own country! Well, it has ceased to exist. I mean if you’re a Facebook buff believing everything you read it just doesn’t exist.
And if you pull out a map and still find it somewhere in the Horn of Africa that will be a miracle; a miracle worthy of pushing Noah’s ark story into a distant second place. You are the survivor! You‘re on the modern version of Noah’s ark! And the lady by your side on the bed is there to make sure the species continues.
What a day!
Look, we certainly are not on the side of the angels. If that has been the case things would have been a lot better. But still life goes on. And making everything bleak isn’t helping anybody.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 6 March 2020
