Atlanta and Georgia Look to Strengthen Ties with Africa (Douglas: health insurance, purchase)

[bayarea-girl]

But a long way to go to what? Also, the entire country did not experience famine or drought just certain area. This is what many Americans don't understand. It is like thinking what happended in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina was the entire US. Many US companies are already in Ethiopia and they are an ally to the US as they help with Somali border and Middle East issues.

Don't think you are being critical as you are entitled to your opinion.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

But a long way to go to what? Also, the entire country did not experience famine or drought just certain area. This is what many Americans don't understand. It is like thinking what happended in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina was the entire US. Many US companies are already in Ethiopia and they are an ally to the US as they help with Somali border and Middle East issues.

I think it has a long way to go to get it's people out of poverty and to have universal political representation. Sorta like here 200 years ago.

[bayarea-girl]

AnsleyPark, you and I might have an entirely different definition of poverty. Many people there don't have a lot compared to our standards but doesn't mean they are poor or in poverished (some have more and or the same as we do). The people that live the simpliest are not poor to me at all.

What do you mean by universal political representation?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

But a long way to go to what? Also, the entire country did not experience famine or drought just certain area. This is what many Americans don't understand. It is like thinking what happended in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina was the entire US. Many US companies are already in Ethiopia and they are an ally to the US as they help with Somali border and Middle East issues.

Don't think you are being critical as you are entitled to your opinion.

A long way to go to raise life expectancy for the country beyond 56.1 years. To raise the mean years of education for the country to more than 1.5 years. Things like that.

You understand the U.N. data is a country profile, right, not just for a segment of the population?

And I haven't expressed any opinion about Ethiopia other than admiration and hope for its continued development.

[bayarea-girl]

arjay57, although I may disagree with you I am not making any personal attacks. So I respect where you are coming from just don't agree with you as you may not agree with me. It's ok, I'm gald we can agree to disagree politely since there have been other airheads on this thread.

First, in this country life expectancy for blacks is VERY low. Secondly, I thought I explained my position on life expectancy in that country so I won't go over it again. Only to say I know many 80-90+ year olds in Ethiopia and I see that as the norm.So I disagree with what you are referencing. What people read verses what is actually known is a huge problem when discussing any country in Africa.

The people of Ethiopia are VERY educated and usually are fluent in multiple languages (which I can't say the same for people here). People can go to school there for free up to 9th or 10th grade. Don't believe education to be an Ethiopian problem at all.

[Hobgob]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

How representative are the areas you show of the entire country? What percentage of Ethiopians are urban, suburban, and rural? How do the living conditions, available services, and other things compare between someone living in a large metro (as you show) and someone living on a farm a long distance away? Can I expect running water, power, and internet access in the entire country? How are the transportation networks?

Making life easy in a few cities is vastly easier than developing the entire country. What is life like in Ethiopia as a whole?

85 million people, roughly, and yet when I see stuff like this:

Ethiopia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wonder. The portion of that article I linked to doesn't paint a very positive picture.

Yeah, but why only focus on the bad stuff?

[JTJ1977]

I want to thank you bayareagirl for your pictures of the vast and diverse continent of Africa. Your pictures are needed to break down Western ignorance regarding the continent where humanity began.

[bayarea-girl]

Your welcome and thank you for noticing.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

arjay57, although I may disagree with you I am not making any personal attacks. So I respect where you are coming from just don't agree with you as you may not agree with me. It's ok, I'm gald we can agree to disagree politely since there have been other airheads on this thread.

First, in this country life expectancy for blacks is VERY low. Secondly, I thought I explained my position on life expectancy in that country so I won't go over it again. Only to say I know many 80-90+ year olds in Ethiopia and I see that as the norm.So I disagree with what you are referencing. What people read verses what is actually known is a huge problem when discussing any country in Africa.

The people of Ethiopia are VERY educated and usually are fluent in multiple languages (which I can't say the same for people here). People can go to school there for free up to 9th or 10th grade. Don't believe education to be an Ethiopian problem at all.

bayarea-girl, I'm willing to accept the United Nations data. It comes from a very wide array of internationally recognized sources. Many of these sources are from people who are actually in the field on a regular basis over many years. The U.N. has never been known for skewing its data in a negative way toward developing member nations. To the contrary, the U.N. is known as one of the most progressive organizations that has ever existed.

Now, do these statistics measure everything that is happening in a country? Of course not. But I believe they provide a pretty solid factual measure of certain factors that most of us consider important in assessing human development.

It's possible you're right that they have wildly misstated the mean level of education in Ethiopia. However, with all due respect I'm leaning toward the U.N. data over one person's anecdotal impressions.



(You can see the list of sources here: Indices & Data | Understanding the Data | Sources of Data Used | Human Development Reports (HDR) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP))

[bayarea-girl]

You can list whatever you want and that is fine and you don't have to take my word for it. Especially since I've actually lived there and my husband was raised there (he is 100% Ethiopian). One of my grandparents was also Ethiopian. But you don't have to take my word for it. The same sources you list have their own agenda. If you go to any Ethiopian forum you'll see the jokes they make about such data. But please don't take my word for it especially since most of the data would make you think that everyone in Ethiopia and or Africa for that matter lives in dirt mud huts and are starving and or have AIDS. But don't take my word for it.

Did it ever cross your mind how I was able to come up with the images I posted?

No matter what you post or you think, Ethiopia and other countries in Africa are growing and they aren't at all what you think they are like. The world needs Africa and it has no where else to go but up.