Serge's Diary

The long journey home

Posted by Serge - Sunday, April 20, 2008

Our flight left at one o’clock in the morning. Technical problems caused a 40-minute delay. I wasn’t happy about that. Certainly not when, at the last minute, some technicians feverishly tried to tape a window shut, my armrest dangled brokenly from my chair and the back of Sadie’s chair collapsed while in reclining position. Ethiopian Airlines, really something else! But now we’re on our way home. By plane from Addis, with stop-overs in Rome and London. To St. Pancras Station by tube. I take the Eurostar to Brussels. Change trains for Antwerp and…rain! Not a good idea to provoke the weather gods now that I’ve experienced drought and water management issues in Ethiopia first-hand. I walk down the Keyserlei (famous shopping street in Antwerp Belgium) without a coat or umbrella…through the rain, home to my family.

I’ve found answers to many of the questions I had before starting on this journey. An overview:

What is Ecover doing over there exactly?
Ecover will be working together with WaterAid Ethiopia and their local partner, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to provide safe and clean water, usable sanitary facilities and hygiene education to people in Hintalo-Wajerat, Northern Ethiopia. More specifically, we’ll be building wells, installing hand pumps, and developing systems for the recuperation of rain water in 11 villages for 15,000 people; as well as building toilets for 1350 families, drains for 1600 families, launching promotional campaigns for 10,000 people, providing hygiene education for 2000 households and training for village leaders: in other words, helping to ensure that these people can live – instead of only survive – under more decent circumstances.

Did I become ill?
No, fortunately not.
But Mark, our cameraman, told me that you usually start feeling queasy after 1 week – so that would be tomorrow…

Was the confrontation tough?
Yes. Even though I had already seen enough grinding poverty in other parts of the world and was mentally prepared. In spite of all this, there were situations that made a deep impression on me, and which I couldn’t reconcile by being analytical, let alone could I come up with solutions. Trying to put things into perspective with clichés like ‘the globe was split up unfairly’ or ‘those people don’t know any better anyway’ didn’t really help.

Was my passport still valid?
I had my passport renewed especially for this trip, with all the necessary signatures and stamps - and had made it to Ethiopia without any problems – but during the return journey the very last customs official at Heathrow Airport in London pointed out that my passport wasn’t valid!!! There was a mistake in it. Luckily, this attentive guy was swayed by the charms of my 3 female travelling companions and I was able to pass.

Did I make it back in one piece?
Sure. No George Clooney scenes. On the contrary, Ethiopia left a safe impression on me. Also in the capital, and at night. No petty or capital crimes. Ethiopians are a very considerate, helpful and polite people. Even when they begged for ‘money’ or ‘pen’, they weren’t pushy about it. The only wounds inflicted on me came from a silly skirmish I got into with an enormous cactus.

What about hygiene?
That’s a different story altogether. The jar of disinfectant hand gel is almost empty. Hygienic circumstances in Ethiopia just don’t compare to those in Belgium. Sometimes my stomach churned at the sight of cutlery, plates and glasses and always at the toilets of the well-known French campground variety. Also their way of eating - with several people eating from the same plate with their hands, licking their hands and then digging back into the food - wasn’t really suited to my prim and proper style.

Ethiopia ecological?
Ecover is well-known for its ecological values, which are applied to all phases of production. Our products are efficient, and above all, ecological. They are based on natural ingredients and minerals; they are completely and quickly bio-degradable, gentle for your skin and can be used with a minimal impact on aquatic life. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the average Ethiopian is ecologically-minded. I came across different recycling methods, making the most of and the inventively using whatever natural resources are available.

Did I have a hard time?
I’ve already described the emotional impact. It was physically exhausting as well. Because we wanted to take full advantage of our time, we usually travelled during the night or very early in the morning. To shoot the best pictures and to respect the water scheme of the indigenous population, we would usually arrive at our destination before sunrise and return only long after the sun had set. Staying alert and concentrating while interviewing the indigenous population, often in the most desolate places, demanded an enormous effort. Result: I took my kids to school today at 8:30, crept back into bed and didn’t wake up until it was time to pick them up again at 15:30!

Was it worthwhile?
I’ll answer this with a wholehearted YES! Sometimes it was pretty rough, both physically and emotionally, but it was an enriching, humanizing experience. I’m also proud to be part of a company that contributes financially as well as conceptually to issues such as these. I also feel that Ecover did well in choosing WaterAid and EOC as their partners. My impression is that these are all passionate and professional organizations, willing to do everything they can to successfully combat with water management problems in Ethiopia.

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