Ethiopian Hospitality

I always hear to people saying we Ethiopians are hospitable, respectful, have warm heart.... all superlatives are used to paint Ethiopian behavior/culture colorfully. Unfortunately, I don't believe that our culture of handling customers is wise. We neither live in the traditional Ethiopian hospitality nor in a westernized customer handling technique. It’s a pain, headache, heartache...an agony to wait standing in long line to pay mobile bill, a bill for electric consumption, to withdraw or deposit money in Ethiopian banks etc. For any social services it seems a must to wait for hours, days even months and years. Even worse, especially, to get legal service years are not enough to wait. Almost always citizens don't get justices after waiting for moths/years.

The other day I had to get my blanket washed. I went to a laundry carrying the blanket in a plastic bag. The clerk was a middle aged lady. I asked her how much it costs to wash a blanket. She said it was 80 birr. I gave her the cash and the blanket. To my surprise the lady took the blanket out of the plastic bag and threw it on to the dirty ground. I felt so sorry. I gave her to get a laundry service, but she, the hospitable Ethiopian, dump it to the ground like a trash. What a misfortune to live among such a society I murmured. I asked her when to come back to fetch my blanket. She said after two weeks (15 days)!

I went back after 15 days to fetch my blanket contemplating how neat it might be washed. No! It was even dirtier than before, I could feel the dust, and it looked as if a pile of ash were all over it. You see, that was a service I got for 80 birr.  So where is our so called hospitality? Where is our respectful culture? For me these all seems fake…An empty boast.