In the old days we used to wonder how come any city holds so many people when we see clips of crowded cities on the TV.
“Do you know how many people live in so and so city?”
“No, how many?”
“Thirteen million.”
“What! Thirteen million in a single city! That is the population of an entire country!”
You’d be pardoned to think as such. But seeing what is unfolding in Addis, seeing the streets at most times of the day, you’d quiz yourself “Is Addis to become the next thirteen million?” Thirteen million could be that near, depending on the math you’d be doing.
There is a lot of shoving and jostling. Most of it occurs because you have to a Houdini to escape the bumps of shoulders and shoves of the arms. (Many indeed must be pumping iron these days; or else a slight shove wouldn’t send you tumbling five or seven meters!) After all, the old sidewalks of the city aren’t pedestrian-friendly’ and we’re paying the price for some engineering which failed to see decades into the future. (If I go further it would be the same old story…the ‘blame the others’ game which is so common these days.)
You might come up with somewhat plausible arguments about the jostling and shoving. “Look people have to go about their errands; they don’t have to waste precious time trying to come out of the crowd with ‘clean’ shoulders!”
But then what gets on your nerves is the indifference that comes with such acts. Not all ‘tackle’ you because there isn’t enough maneuvering space. They don’t step in your foot because there is no clear ground on which they could place theirs.
They do it because they are souls who haven’t the slightest idea of what social life means; because they are the types of guys who don’t care if everyone ends up on the ground as long as they stay on their own two feet. In fact, despite the ever-increasing crowd, and despite the uncomfortable sidewalks of the city, it is the case of ‘if there is a will there is away.’
If indeed we care about our fellow pedestrians, if indeed we know civilization is not about splashing dirty water on the innocent with your Lexus but respect the rights of others as well as we want then to respect ours. It is sad that we’re lacking on that front.
Say you’re in one of these ‘shove your way through’ crowds and some guy gives you the shove of your life. You stagger a little and as you regain you balance you look at the guy. You could only see his back! Forget the “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shove you.” “Did I hurt you?” sort of civilized discourse. He doesn’t even try to see if you have been a carpeted for good and you need the helping hand! He continues his way as if nothing has happened.
“Hey! Hey, you!”
Now the guy turns and glares at you. You are all Attila the Hun!
“What do you mean shoving me like that? Don’t see where you are going?”
He comes your way and gives you that stare The Terminator would have envied.
“What did you just say?”
Hold it! Hold it just a minute. If you’re thinking of answering back forget it; it isn’t worse it. A few weeks back I was told a guy in his early twenties tried to confront a burly guy and who jostled him ended up with a bloody nose. Hadn’t bystanders intervened the story would have been much different, so I was told! Anyway when shoved and jostled in the streets try to keep your cool. In fact, try to live with it because it isn’t going to go away anytime soon!
The Ethiopian Herald March 28/2021