【Adventures in Ethiopia and Djibouti】-上集 楊達倫

1.Adventures in Ethiopia and Djibouti

I call this experience an adventure because it was more foreign than any other international project that I was engaged in. Both the project and the two African countries involved were very unusual. This project was concerned with an evaluation the conditions of these two countries’ railway technology.  But the people and culture as well as political environment added a deep and unforgetable page to my memory.

During 1983–1985, ENSCO Inc., the company I was with, subcontracted to Luis Berger Group to do an assessment of the infrastructure and the operation of the Djibouti–Ethiopian (D-E) Railway (the only railway in the area). A sizable project team was formed that consisted of several companies to provide specialists in different disciplines. We were dealing with an old railway that was completed over many years during the early 19th century by several European countries. Geopolitically, Ethiopia was one country that was not colonized by European countries, except for five years by Mussolini of Italy from 1935 to 1941. The French assisted in the initial design and during early-stage construction. Subsequently, the British assisted in completing the construction of the entire line. The D-E Railway was a meter-gage, single-track rail line that ran between Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Djibouti, which is the capital of the independent country of the same name. Djibouti is a seaport at the southern end of the Red Sea; Addis Ababa sits on a high plateau at 7,726 ft in Africa. The rail line is close to 800 km long and lies on a steep incline that rises from sea level to almost 8,000 ft.

Figure 1: Djibouti-Ethiopian Railway

Final report from the project was to be used to support the application for an international loan to fund the desperately needed repair and upgrade of their railway. Six colleagues from ENSCO, all engineers, traveled to Ethiopia and Djibouti for different periods to support the project. About the same number of people were on the team from other partner companies. Each week, a work plan was developed, each project team member was assigned a specific task to work on. We worked separately and often at different locations. I made two separate trips to Africa and spent a total of about two months in the two countries. Team members often formed small groups to travel together to cities where the railway reached. On weekends, we would venture away from the hotel to explore the city and interesting sites nearby. We always went out as a group to improve safety. No matter where we went, our small group would be surrounded by a larger group of beggars, mostly children and young adults. Every beggar makes the standard gesture of hand-grabbing something to put into the mouth. We created a name for the begging gesture: the “Ethiopian salute”. They were not begging for food; money was what they wanted. As a background, just a few words on the history of Ethiopia leading to the time of our visit. In 1974, a revolution overthrew emperor Haile Selassie, who was relatively close to the West. The new rulers were socialists backed by the Soviet Union. Ethiopia was converted from a monarchy system to a Marxist-Leninist system. During our visit in the mid-80s, Ethiopia was in a desperate situation. A famine was ongoing in the area due to drought and war. A revolt was on the go in the north.  The years of war with Somalia have just subsided, with significant infrastructure damage in the war zone, including segments of the railway and bridges. The drought, the military conflicts, and the government policy missteps have caused major famine in the country. The socialist/communist government in power at the time was antagonistic towards the West, especially the United States. Our project team was somewhat surprised to be awarded the study contract. The office space in the railway headquarters assigned to us has anti-American cartoon posters on the wall. We requested and they agreed to immediately removed the posters. In fact, my limited exposure to Ethiopia was probably during one of the worst time periods in recent years. I have been writing about the memorable experiences since returning from the trips to Ethiopia and Djibouti. By now, it has been some 40 years. Many things have changed since then, and a lot of my memories have partially faded. I have done the best I can to describe the unusual and vivid experiences from my recollection.

Figure 2: Old Coach Fitted with ENSCO’s Track Inspection Equipment

Figure 3: ENSCO Portable Track Inspection System

Figure 4: Typical Passenger Train at a Station Stop

Figure 5: Ta-Lun Inspecting Repairs on War Damaged Bridge

In this article, the names of all people mentioned (except for myself) have been changed to protect their privacy.

Figure 6: Kevin, Rick and Ta-Lun Waiting for the Test Train

2.Preparations for the Trip

Aside from travel documents and flight arrangements, each of the team members had to follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization to get vaccinations for the target area. There were several vaccines, I only recall a multiple injection for Malaria.

Furthermore, for spending time in Africa and working on the project, experienced international consultants on the team provided us with valuable suggestions and what to bring. One unexpected item is toilet paper, which we were so pleased to have brought with us. Two early-day portable computers were purchased for writing reports. These were small suitcase sized vacuum-tube powered machines that ran on DOS 1 with a word processing capability. We also brought a teletype machine and rolls of paper for printing the outputs.

As part of my survival kit, I bought a battery-operated “Boom Box” that had a radio and could play cassette tapes which I transferred from CD’s. I also brought a high-end Sony shortwave radio to receive international broadcasts. It turned out that these gadgets made my trip more enjoyable and stayed informed. 

3.Alex

3.1Mutually Beneficial Relationship

Our project team arrived in Addis Ababa from different parts of the world. We were all booked into the Ras Hotel, a reasonably nice local hotel but less expensive than the American chains like Hilton or Sheraton. Each tourist hotel was surrounded by barricades with armed security guarding the entrance. A hotel guest inside the barrier would not be bothered by anyone. Outside the barricades, hundreds of local hustlers were waiting to accost deep-pocketed foreigners venturing beyond the protected zone. 

Alex was one of the hustlers that we talked to. He is an Ethiopian who knew Addis Ababa (Addis for short) well and spoke reasonably good English. We got to know Alex quite early on our trip.  Being “smart” travelers, we negotiated with him on the terms that:

·        We pay him no cash for his services.

·        We will cover the cost of his meals, transportation, etc. while he is working as a tour guide for us.

·        He can earn commissions from the merchants we buy things or services from.

·        He will help with exchanging US dollars for Ethiopian birr in the local black market. The exchange rate is quite a bit better than the official bank rate.

We had an easy handshake on this verbal agreement.

Figure 7: Alex, Rick and Ta-Lun at a Roadside Bar

Things went reasonably well for several weeks. We had Alex with us wherever we went (outside of our business duties).

Alex took us to his home to meet his wife and children. Lovely people live in essentially ghetto conditions in Addis Ababa. We treated him as a real friend.

Ken and I wanted to try a real Ethiopian restaurant. Alex took us to a restaurant in a top-rate local hotel. The attendant took us upstairs to a private area. The table and stools were made of woven straw. The tabletop was circular and about four feet in diameter. The edge of the tabletop curled up to make the whole table look like a huge dish. Injera breads (a giant gray and slightly sour pancake) were piled on top of the table in layers. All the dishes were poured on the bread in piles. Lamb, chicken, vegetables, etc., plus bottles of local beer. We used fingers to tear the bread and wrap it around the meat and vegetables. Delicious. 

Figure 8: A Nice Ethiopian Dinner