Thomson Foundation

By MARY PRICE

It wasn’t an option. March 2 is a public holiday in Ethiopia. Everybody celebrates, there are families to visit, there is a parade to watch, nobody works and certainly journalists on a course could not be expected to turn up for a day on the beat.

So, we worked. The minibus tipped us into the crowds to find new stories buried in the annual celebration of the Battle of Adwa.  For one or two of the group this is a diary item they covered in the dim past, but for the majority being confronted by thousands of  people and told to find a story – any story – is terrifying. ‘Think of Adwa’ was hardly a reassuring brief.

For all Africans, but especially for Ethiopians, the Battle of Adwa is significant. It is seen as the battle that stopped the European march into Africa. In 1896, led by King Menelik II and – thanks to a few strategic suggestions by his wife Taitu – his troops defeated the Italian army and so sent the Italians packing.

Decades later they turned up again, but failed again. Ethiopia has never been colonised, a fact which sustains the people here no matter what nature and politics throw their way.

Ethiopia runs on a twelve hour clock twice a day. Public transport is erratic and the city is huge, perhaps that’s why we missed the military band and the official salutes. But there had to be something out there in the crowds.

Being a journalist here is a challenge. The press is tightly controlled. After the last election, anything up to twenty newspapers went out of business, so those who remain mind their Ps and Qs.

There is one national radio and television service; all others are local and, again, are careful in what they cover and how they cover it.  There is no shortage of hard news or issues to cover, but – coupled with self censorship – facts are hard to verify, access to official sources is all but impossible and material which is said to be in the public domain is rarely available.

New industries, handshakes and promises

Add to that a shortage of funds and a somewhat erratic internet supply and you soon understand why succeeding here calls for a determination and a thick skin. Nevertheless, at the time of writing this is a nation in receipt of the largest aid package in the world, so there are endless press conferences, press releases, facility trips and goodwill tours on offer from Embassies, NGOs and agencies to fill the pages. Plus every expansionist from Russia through Turkey to China pops in with new industries, handshakes and promises on an almost daily basis.

All of this largesse has dulled the edge of editorial demands. ‘Go forth and dig’ is not the usual editorial directive.

The plan is to stick with the gang and lend a hand. Not a chance. Within a minute everyone is devoured by the crowds leaving this tutor to be the stand alone tourist, a fact spotted by Joseph.

In normal circumstances the Josephs of this world are best avoided, but this one served as historian, translator, guide and protector. The facts turned out to be a little blurred but it didn’t matter.

Joseph was my passport to the 90-year-old veteran who had not only seen off the last Italian attempt to grab his country but had also done his bit in Congo, Korea, Albania and all points north, south east and west from Addis. Medals to prove it all sparkled on his threadbare uniform. Would anyone in the team find out that this old soldier, like most of his comrades here, live in poverty?  “We are forgotten,” he laments.

Joseph pushes on. St George’s Cathedral next stop.

St George, it turns out, played a significant part in the battle of Adwa. Before the battle the king and his troops prayed to the Saint. People believe that the power of the saint, coupled by the presence of the Ark of the Covent, ensured victory.  So St George leads on here.

But what will the journalists make of it?

The cathedral courtyard sways with the faithful singing his praises. A passing Rastaferian whacks everyone on the back with his prayer beads lest they forget. For a visitor it is all exotic. What will the journalists make of it?

The excitement on the bus back to the British Council is bubbling. ‘Women in war’, an almost completely unknown fact, is Selyana’s story.  ‘The power of Adwa today’ is popular. A sound picture of celebration is new for one radio reporter. Hardly hard news but it does have the benefit of being an innovation. The photojournalist has captured every vet and flag and is determined to do an online photo essay. Both agency reporters have picked up on the poverty amongst the young people hanging around the celebrations. Unemployment in Ethiopia is the norm, not a percentage of the population. Asked what angle they were taking, each wanted to use the inspiration of Adwa in fighting the 21st Century battle against being dirt poor. Even the vets are given a profile.

Getting all the ideas on paper, pixels and digits was a learning experience all round. Pulling copy out of the air is not the norm here. It is easier to defeat foreign invaders. Little of what we produced would make the Sun let alone the Indy. Radio 4 would doubtless say there wasn’t a slot, but each and every one gave it their best shot and took their finished work back to their media houses with the hope of having it published.

As we all said goodbye the editors were still pondering … but maybe something made it. And if  it doesn’t, at least each of the eighteen who took part had won a personal battle.

As Joseph said as his parting shot: “if you want to know a country look at its backside.”