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Ethiopia - Headed South

20 images Created 18 Jan 2010

This series of photographs follows the long journey from Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa to the Omo River Valley in the southwest on the borders of Kenya and Sudan. Addis Ababa is busy with traffic, construction and a mix of all of Ethiopia's ethnic groups quite often living on top of each other in shanty towns. Heading south the landscape changes to smaller towns, less infrastructure, and areas of distinctive groups that define the different regions. After passing city's like Awassa or Arba Minch the road turns to dirt and small towns are simply meeting places for tribal groups to sell and buy needed goods.
The Omo River Valley is a harsh landscape of seasonal floods and droughts. Famine is not uncommon and this area is often a focal point of international aid. Government efforts have been made to develop this region but governments change and projects are abandoned.
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  • Driving through the busy streets of Addis Ababa in the common blue cab.  The driver displays two photographs of Bob Marley and plays African Reggae on a small radio in the front seat.
    Welcome to Addis Ababa 5402.jpg
  • A homeless man sits against tempory wall covered with posters for job offers and musical concerts.  Behind this wall land is being cleared for new apartment buildings.
    Reggae Splash 5393.jpg
  • The main road out of Addis is full of transport trucks headed south and the occasional cow in the middle of the road.
    Headed out of Addis-5432.jpg
  • A young worker riding on the back of a truck gives a thumbs up.  This truck could be carrying food aid to the south, equipement for the new roads or on it's way to Kenya.
    Thumbs up 6484.jpg
  • Teenagers smile and wave as the foreigners pass in there car.
    A smile and a wave 6507.jpg
  • Mid day in Awassa slows down as people try to escape the heat.
    Escaping the Sun 5671.jpg
  • People crowd into  an open market beside the last stetch of paved road south of Arba Minch.
    The market 6703.jpg
  • South out of Konso the dirt road shows signs of the new highway but where are the workers?
    Ethiopia-6504.jpg
  • Cows roam free in the lush green area just north of Konso
    River crossing-6509.jpg
  • Dikes and levees have been built to help manage and control the seasonal rainfall and reduce the possibility of famine.
    Irrigation-6741.jpg
  • The farther south you go the bumpier the road becomes and the less you see managed agriculture and aid.  Local kids run along the side of tourist vehicles hoping to receive gifts or just have some contact with the strangers.
    Chasing tourist 6715.jpg
  • If the rains come on time there is no famine.  If they come late there is a green famine where there are crops in the fields but not ripe enough to eat. If they don't come at all there is nothing but dry fields.
    Seasonal rains-6913.jpg
  • The region around  the Omo River Valley is home to more than 50 tribal groups.
    Tribal groups 6768.jpg
  • Children from the Karo tribe cover in full body paint.
    Karo Children-6860.jpg
  • Even though the Omo Valley is less than a days drive from Awassa, many Ethiopians from the north have never seen the people of the south.  A camera on a mobile phone is still a camera and 1 Birr (Ethiopian currency) is demanded.
    Ethiopian meets Ethiopian-6905.jpg
  • In the Omo Valley the tribes live from month to month.  Money and infrustructure are needed to build up supplies and stave off famine. Efforts have been made by previous governments to introduce farming and settle the nomadic tribes.
    Abandoned Project-6789.jpg
  • Left behind are the ruins of the abandoned attempts... and the local tribes.
    Rotting away-6834.jpg
  • The costumes and body paint may not be for the tourist but this female elder knows that money comes from the people with the cameras.
    Female elder 6816.jpg
  • The tribes hover in a no mans land somewhere in between settling down and continueing to be nomatic. Tempory homes are made from a mix of sticks, mud and the plastic bags.
    No mans land-6817.jpg
  • As big trucks roll south, the question is will this new road project be completed and will it bring the needed infrastructure and money that the Omo Valley desperately needs?
    Hope is on the way--6937.jpg