Jane Kurtz: Visit to Africa
Ethiopia and Other Countries (2003)

Until February 8 (2003), I thought I was going to be flying to Bahrain on February 26 to speak at the Arabian Reading Association. But with two weeks to go, the organizers of the reading conference looked straight into the eye of the octopus and quavered. Fearing for the safety of their speakers, they postponed things for one year. Suddenly, my trip of seven weeks shrank to one of 32 days. Not that 32 days in Africa didn't feel unnerving. Here is a sample paragraph from the U.S. Department of State Consular Information Sheet for Nigeria.

Visitors and resident Americans have experienced armed muggings, assaults, burglary, kidnappings and extortion, often involving violence. Carjackings, roadblock robberies, and armed break-ins are common in many parts of Nigeria. Visitors to Nigeria, including a number of American citizens, have been victims of armed robbery on the road from Murtala Mohammed International Airport during daylight and at nighttime hours. Law enforcement authorities usually respond to crimes slowly and provide little or no investigative support to victims. U.S. citizens have experienced harassment and shakedowns at checkpoints and during encounters with Nigerian officials.

Oooookay.

In the fall, I got an email from a person with an adopted Ethiopian child. How safe did I think it was to travel to Ethiopia this spring? I told her that Ethiopia felt like the blissful and cozy part of my trip.

"Good," she said. "Would you write to my mother?"

"Yes...and you can have your mother write to my mother," I said, "because my mother thinks I'm a wimp to even consider backing out of this trip." (Warning: my mother now denies having said any such thing.

The opening of the Ethiopian Children's Book Center (April 5, 2003) was one of the highlights of the trip. Read the announcement of the opening from the Addis Tribune and about the Ethiopian Books for Children and Educational Foundation (EBCEF) which is responsible for the Children's Book Center.

©1997-2003 Jane Kurtz