Exploring Ethiopia

Exploring Ethiopia

By: Hope Leman

My country that I learned about is Ethiopia which is located in Northeastern Africa. It is a very intriguing country to learn about. Government, history, and daily life are all very important traits to Ethiopia that you will learn about below. For example, some laws are to not handle illegal drugs, and to not drink alcohol before the age of 18. I feel like those laws are fair, because it is not safe for anyone younger than an adult to drink alcohol. Also, it would not be safe if there was people handling drugs because drugs are dangerous and can harm people. There is not a law stating that children must go to school though, unlike America. I think there should be, because it is important to learn so you can get a good job when you are older. Consequences will occur if a law is broken; the person usually has to pay a fine or even go to jail. The jails in Ethiopia are not very clean and unfortunately some police torture and abuse the prisoners until they confess that they committed a crime. This is a terrible thing to do, because someone could be tortured and have to confess even if they did not commit a crime.

Another interesting topic is Red Terror which is a historical event that occurred between 1977 and 1978. Mengistu Haile Mariam’s military went into Ethiopia and murdered an estimate that ranges from fifty thousand to over half a million people. They threw bottles with red liquid in them to symbolize “the blood of their enemies”. It was a mean thing to do and the leader, Mengistu, was sentenced to death because of it. I cannot imagine what it would be like if a military came into America and killed a lot of people and threw bottles at them. I would be terrified, and full of tears for all of the victims who were murdered.

The last topic that I will be describing is food, which falls under the category "daily life". Most Ethiopians eat a bread made of flour and grains called injera with their everyday meals. They eat a wide variety of foods which includes wat, a vegetable and meat stew, abesha gomen, timotim, and so on (look at the picture to see what the food looks like). This food is sometimes spicy and usually full of flavor. They drink beverages such as beer, thin yogurt, coffee, and tea, just like Americans. Ethiopian meals remind me of Indian food, because they both eat bread with their food. One difference of Indian food and Ethiopia is that Ethiopian meals have more meat usually. Overall, I thought Ethiopia was fascinating to learn about and I hope to visit it one day.

Here is my Pintrest link: https://www.pinterest.com/jgoldperiod1/hope-leman-period-7-ethiopia/

Below are some photos of the topics I talked about. On the left, you see a member of Mengistu's military, then you see some Ethiopian food, and finally an image symbolizing laws.