Wednesday, September 26, 2023- it was a day Ethiopians mark the Demera festival. I woke up early in the morning to join the team led by the Ministry of Government Communication Services, consisting of experts drawn from 11 media institutions.
The destination of the trip was South-West Ethiopia region. The trip aimed at visiting destination’s potential as well as infrastructural development activities that are being carried out by the government and investors to inform educate and entertain the society.
As the team’s vehicle was to pass by my residential neighborhood found in Zenebework, I waited it there than heading to the starting point.
Celebrants from the Gurage and other ethnic groups from the south with assortment of fully filled backpacks were hitting the road with so many buses. Whether it was to visit friends or relatives, or celebrate a holiday with their respective family; with jubilant mood, all were just on their way to home sweet home in the rural parts of the country.
My cell phone buzzed. Answering the phone I realized a camera woman from my Agency was among the team. “Get into the Coaster car ahead,” she said. I hoped up into the car and sought a seat to my left. All media professionals were reclining here and there like hens hit by some sort of epidemic.
Indeed, it was not difficult to figure out that all of them stayed awake from 3:00 o’clock at night, snatching a sleep with one eye and waiting for the herd with the other eye. As darkness gave way to dawn; everyone who slept woke up. A group of journalists used to eating junk or fast foods; had no better choice than to travel with mouthful of cakes and water. The logo of the coaster read Jimma’s Travel Line.
The sky darkened. The gloom released from heaven to earth seemed to be an impotent curtain was a rare sight to behold. We arrived at a mild rural town called Tefki. The asphalt was flanked on both sides by a lot of water. It made the place look like a tarred snow.
As the clock ticks on; we were roving forward. Soon the Gibe Desert drew close. At that juncture video and camera professionals began to capture the beautiful natural scenery through the right and left windows. Gibe desert is still in its former glory. The trip went well except that we were forced to change the route due to asphalt maintenance works at some spots. We also relaxed marveling the wonderful natural beauty.
From a tiring journey, we reached Jimma town at half past three. Even after taking lunch, every traveler got out of the car to taste what was found at the stopover place to further satisfy their hunger with delicacies and fruits. Jimma, which is known as the city of love, like other parts of Ethiopia, was simultaneously celebrating the Demera and Mawlid holidays on that day.
“You can be a follower of any religion but when you live in Jimma, religion is a reason to strengthen social interaction and love, but not a cause for conflict,” said a young man who was eating meal in a hotel where I stayed for lunch. We team members reunited in the car after an hour.
In the evening concluding our stay in Jimma we started to hit the road to Ameya. The road from Jimma to Amaya was difficult to pierce by a coaster car. Although there are indications that the road is under construction, it is evident that the delay in the road work has cost a lot.
Darkness was enveloping the surrounding. Then a dense forest, reverberating with insect’s movements and at times the howling of wild animals, made the journey terrifying. As such no one could imagine what might happen next. We were frozen with fear. All of us were observing everything out of the window helped by the headlights of the car. A car at times might get off the track around hairpin turns to go up and clatter down. This is one epitome of a difficult journey at night.
It was ten o’clock, in the middle of our journey, a shocking incident happened. Our car started emitting a different noise from behind. The driver who had already understood the difficulty of the road was already complaining. Soon his tone and facial color changed. The shock of the driver shocked us too. The car screeched to a halt on the side of the road. Everything went dark. We all fell silent. Nothing can be heard except the Sounds of insects moving on and under the leaves and grasses. The driver lit up the pitch black rainy night with a battery to check what happened around the back wheel of the car.
When the driver hoped on his seat, everyone asked, “What is it?,” “The car’s leaf spring are broken,” he replied. His clothes were drenched by the down pour. We had to close the car door and wait for the car behind us.
After a moment; the second car tagging behind arrived. After the other driver understood the problem, as a Samaritan from unexpected corner in style said; “Hop up into my car. The damaged car could come slowly,” he said. After a long travel both awake and asleep, we arrived at a small rural town called Ameya. The warm welcoming ceremony accorded to us by Ameya people, who were eagerly waiting for our arrival, was special. As soon as we unpacked our bags we were served a mouth-watering dinner. Some who thought that they were suffering from the long journey voiced complaint that; “our eyes are not open for food, but for sleep.”
However, after eighteen hours of travel, our fleshes, which had been exhausted by many labors, at long last found comfort. We slept from dawn to dusk. On the morrow, it was the children of the village who nudged us from our sleep to open our eyes and wake up from the bed we fell on. They give a special place to the Demera festival; the founding of the true cross .They eagerly awaits it as they get it once in a year.
Lining up in rows about ten children on top of their voice in the Konta language began to sing. They chanted over and over again saying “hio…. hio beaale… hio.” It means that the Almighty has allowed us to witness this festival. Glory to the Almighty! They chant this over and over again heading door to door. In response; some give them money or invites them into the saloon to offer them cultural dishes. In connection with the celebration, slaughtering of oxen and sheep according to economic status, take place at the doorsteps of dignitaries of the locality. When the distribution of meat is conducted, the poorer segment of the society is taken into consideration.
There is a common belief that everyone should be happy. No one is expected to harbor a sad feeling during the festival. When a member of the community is invited for coffee, it is seen a shameful act to go to that house without carrying a flower. When celebrants arrive at the door, they chant saying “hio… hio beaale… hio.” Then they dine and drink together with the relatives who came home.
Siliso, Sulso, Usta, Kutokubwa and other dishes lends grace to the festival. Culaculo, Borde and similar drinks also accentuate the festival.
We finished our stay in Ameya and went to Koysha. In our journey, we talked about the wonderful natural beauty of the area; the wild animals that emerge here and there from the forest to immediately disappear out of sight. We roved 13 kilometers and entered into Koysha. Although this small rural town was bustling with people, it seemed to be overpopulated. The livelihood of the inhabitants of the town is its being a trading center for pure honey, butter and fruits. Anyone who passes by or a stranger to the place is bound to buy and carry honey with them. And team members agreed that we will buy honey up on our return journey.
At last, we arrived at Koysha hydroelectric power plant. A cordoned checkpoint awaited us. Just showing a letter of permission is not enough to pass through the checkpoint. Checking and registering a laptop and camera is a must. After meeting all the requirements, we were allowed to enter. Guided by the security staff of the project, we headed to the place where accommodation had been arranged for us.
Near the power plant project, on a mountainous area, sleeping quarters for workers are seen. The quality of the quarters was better than a mid-level hotel, but not less. For guests who come to the project, they offer free turndown service. We also received the keys to the guestrooms and unloaded our bags from the car. Each accommodation unit has bedrooms and bathroom. After the shower we headed to the meal hall.
The dining hall, which is modernly built in the shape of a hut on the top of a mountain, is foregrounded by the beautiful and attractive mountain ranges. These mountains, wearing a green carpet, are covered with a dense forest. What make the mountain ranges special are the plains at their base. We captured its beauty with our mobile phones and cameras. As soon as we helped ourselves to the cuisines; we received work instructions. As it is important to work with a new spirit free from fatigue, we went to our rooms and rested.
On the morrow, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast at dining hall. The next destination of our trip was the Koysha Hydroelectric Dam, so we headed there. The coaster minibuses that we had come with before could not go down the winding and steep road down to the dam, so they were compelled to stay where they were.
Divided in to groups, we got into small cars that are ideal for this route. After a short walk, we reached a tower, from where one can see all the works of the dam unobstructed. Many Ethiopians are paying huge sacrifices to make the dam a reality. They strive for 24/7. In the few minutes we stopped for an interview; sweat trickled down our backs. Our tongues dried as hell. If we were in their shoes; how could we perform day and night coping with the heat? I \could not get answer to my question which was attended by conscience nag.
We got at the place where the civil and mechanical works of the dam are being carried out and saw everything closely.
The power generation project, on Omo River, has continued its progress to become both food and electricity. The dam is also serving as a knowledge and technology transfer center for Ethiopians. Currently, the project has created job opportunities for 5000 Ethiopians.
The project is not only allowed these workers to increase their knowledge and experience, but also increase their job and salary. Many serve as a living billboard of rising from menial jobs to professional ones. It is not difficult to imagine that this type of own capacity building work will contribute greatly to the country’s muscle to build similar projects in the future.
Koysha hydroelectric power generation project has now reached 61 percent of the total construction work and will be completed after three or four years. We also learned from the visit that it will generate 1800 megawatts of electricity into the country’s power grid. We gathered the information that we thought would be useful for our work and rode to our lodgings.
The division of labor and cooperation among the media professionals to conduct the interviews were wonderful methods that allowed us to complete our work on time. After dispatching our news to our media outlets, we headed to the dining halls for dinner. The menu was full of traditional dishes of the Konta nation. Let us delicious and taste the buttery food.
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
The Ethiopian Herald October 29/2023
