Culture Clash

Culture Clash

Kate took off her sunglasses and wiped her face with a tissue. 

“That's disgusting. Look at this dirt!” Kate showed a blackened tissue to her boyfriend, Will.

Fine lines appeared on Will's forehead. “What do you expect? We are in Ethiopia.”

“Air conditioning.”

Solomon, their driver heaved a sigh. He eased their Land Crusier over the bumps and ruts in the dirt road they had been travelling on for hours. Dust swirled through the car windows and stuck to their faces.

People and heavily laden donkey carts lined the road.

The car passed a group of ragged children who waved their hands in the air.

“Faranjis.”

Kate clutched Will's hand. “Will, what does that mean?”

En masse, the children ran after the car. Each child held out an out stretched hand.

. “Highland, Highland,” a nearly naked boy called out. 

“You, you, you, you,” a girl in a tatty dress repeated.

Kate glanced nervously at them. “Will …”

“Relax.”

“Do you know why they are shouting, ‘Highland’?” Solomon queried. “The first water company in Ethiopia was called ‘Highland’. The children call empty bottles, ‘Highland’. They sell them in markets.”

“Who would buy them?” Kate scoffed, tittering to herself.

The car continued past the children but a similar scene occurred every half an hour.

An hour later, the car ground to a halt as herd of cows obstructed the road. Solomon snaked the Landcruiser through them. A young child appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to do a number of squat thrusts up and down whilst waving his hands wildly through the air.

Kate laughed. “He looks like a frog. A frog doing a dance.”

The boy finished his dance and walked up to the car. He stared through the window.

“Highland.” The boy pointed at an empty bottle on the floor of the car.

Kate lent over, grabbed the bottle and passed it to the boy. She rummaged through her bag, gesturing for the boy to wait. She pulled out a melted chocolate bar and handed it to the boy. The boy beamed before running away with his two new treasures.

Solomon clenched his teeth and raised his eyebrows. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not? The boy was obviously hungry.”

“Maybe I should have explained this earlier but giving to children only teaches them to beg.”

“But he is only four or so!  Surely one bar of chocolate can’t hurt?”

“It’s might.”

“I would rather the boy begged than go hungry.”

“It isn’t always your choice. The children here don’t need bottles, pens, bread or sweets. It is a game. They only ask for things to see if they can get them.”

“That child was hungry.”

“We don’t like to see the youth of our country growing up to depend on farjanis.”

Will cut in, “So, Solomon tell me about the Konso tribe we are going to see.”

Solomon launched into a lengthy description of the Konso who inhabited the Southern part of Ethiopia. Kate let his words float over her as she retreated into her own thoughts.  Anger towards Solomon surfaced. Who was he to tell her what to do? How could he expect her to ignore suffering children? Couldn’t he understand that she felt guilty having so much when the people here had so little?

After Solomon finished his lecture about the Konso, the passengers fell into a heavy silence. Kate picked up a book and escaped into it. Will closed his eyes and struggled to get comfortable on the back seat of the car.

“It is hot!” Kate exclaimed after half an hour. She peeled off her shorts from the back seat and put her hand under her legs to swipe the sweat away.

“What's this?” She held up a tiny fragment of glass that had been sticking to the underside of her shorts.

Soloman glanced in his rear window. “Sorry. I had to change the windscreen. I had a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Solomon rubbed the side of his nose. “It was nothing. All fixed.”

They fell into a dark silence again.

Three hours later, they reached a dry river bed that they had to cross.

“Konso river.” Solomon bit on his lower lip and looked anxiously around. A ragged collection of children stood in the distance watching the car.

Solomon edged the car forward. Thick mud caught in the tyres and the wheels span around futilely. The car ground to a halt and Solomon muttered something in Amharic.

Kate laughed. “Was that a swear word, Solomon?”

Solomon grunted and eased his foot onto the accelerator but the Landcruiser only growled defiantly.

The children babbled excitedly and ran up to the car. One child bent down and picked up a rock. Solomon watched him through the corner of his eye as he tried to engage the car’s 4 by 4 and get it moving again.

While looking directly at Solomon, the boy launched the rock at the car, hitting it just above the wheel. A clanging noise vibrated through the car. Kate closed her book. Will forced his tired eyes open. They watched the scene unfold.

Solomon furiously undid his seat belt, stopped the engine and hauled himself out of the car. The children scattered in diverse directions. Solomon gave chase, targeting the young boy who had thrown the rock.  He waved his hands furiously at the boy and bawled at him in Amharic.

Kate looked at Will. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t know. Was asleep.”

The pair watched as Solomon caught up with the boy and grabbed his arm. He picked him up and hurled him over his shoulder.  The boys’ legs dangled uselessly down his back. He pulled at Solomon’s hair struggling to be free again. Solomon carried him to the car and, one handed, opened the passenger’s door and plonked the boy in the front seat. He slammed the door shut ensuring it was locked. He circled the car and got into the driver’s side. Switching the engine on, he pushed hard on the accelerator. The car spluttered into life. For a few moments, it appeared that the car was still stuck but mud slowly began to spin off. The tyres gripped the road and the car inched forward.

The boy whimpered in front seat.

“What are you doing? You can’t just take this child.” Kate asked.

“Can't stay here. More of them might come.” Solomon gritted his teeth.

“What? They are only kids. Let him out!”

“He needs to be taught a lesson.”

Solomon turned to the child and shouted at him as he drove away from the river bed. The boy slumped in his seat, his eyes turned downwards and lips firmly closed. Only once did he mutter a short sentence to Solomon.

Kate whispered in Will’s ear,“What shall we do?”

“We can’t do anything. This isn’t our country. Let Solomon sort it out.”

“Where is he taking him? He can’t just pick a kid up off the street.”

“How do I know?  His parents, maybe. Solomon’s a good man. He won’t hurt him.”

Solomon sped on a couple of kilometres and then pulled the car over to the side of the road. He switched off the engine and shouted something to the boy who shot a look of disgust at him. Solomon got out of the car, opened the boot and retrieved something from it. He yanked the boy out of the car.

“What are you doing?” Kate cried out of the window.

Solomon pushed the boy away from the road. Kate looked on in horror as she saw a long, knobbly branch in his hand.

“Don’t hurt that child.” Kate flung open the car door and clambered out. Will followed her.

Solomon, mate,” Will ventured.

Solomon raised the branch up above his head and flung it down fast and hard onto the boy’s ragged t-shirt.

“Stop!” Kate raced towards the boy.

“Stay out of this.” Solomon raised his arm up and once more lowered it rapidly onto the boy’s back. The boy’s water logged eyes glared at Solomon. His face was strong and determined. His teeth were clamped together.

Kate reached the pair and tried to grab Solomon’s wrist. He pushed her away firmly and she tumbled to the ground.

“What are you doing, Solomon?” Will questioned. “Kate, are you alright?”

“Help the boy!” 

Will strode up to boy and picked him up. The boy winced in pain as Will’s arm touched his battered back. “Solomon, you can’t do this.”

“You don’t understand.” He looked at Will and added, “Neither of you.”

“Tell me then. What did he do to deserve this?” Kate spat.

“He dented my car. Can’t you see that dent above the wheel?”

Kate gawked at him. “He is only a child. He didn’t know what he was doing.”

“It is more than that.”

“No child deserves to be whipped.” Kate placed her hands on her hips and gaze at the child. He was only about seven and was wriggling around to free himself from Will’s arms.

“Let’s forget about it. Our cultures are very different. Sometimes it is hard to understand each other. Let us continue on so we can see the Konso before lunch.” Solomon offered his hand out to Kate.

Kate glowered at Solomon. She waved a tight fist in the air. “Forget about it? How can I? You whipped a boy in front of me and now you want to go sight-seeing?”

“It taught the boy a lesson. A much needed one.” Solomon replied. “Don’t think badly of me. In our society, it is the responsibility of the community to educate the youth.”

Will put the boy down. He scratched his head and looked Kate directly in the eyes. “Kate, maybe Solomon is right. We can’t judge what we don’t understand. Let’s just go.”

“How can you say that? You saw what he did. I am not going to let this rest. We need to go to the police so they can sort this out. It’s abuse.”

“Don't be so extreme! Hitting children is normal here. This isn’t England.”

Kate shook her head. She reached out for the boy and delicately lifted up his t-shirt. Big red welts stared back at her. “We are going to the police and that is final.”

“Kate…”

“No. It’s alright, Will. If Kate wants to go to the police, then we can go. She will only be disappointed though.”

The weary foursome trudged back to the car. Kate led the boy by the hand and placed him gently into the car. She got in next to him and put her arm around him protectively. The boy twisted free and positioned himself as far away from Kate as he possibly could. Will sat in the front.

Solomon got in the car, tutting. He manoeuvred the car along the rutted road strumming his fingers on the steering wheel. The boy gaped out of the window refusing to look at anyone in the car.

After what seemed an indeterminable amount of time, the car reached a small village. A scattered collection of huts with pots precociously placed on their tips and the odd concrete buildings could be seen. The village was crowded with people, donkeys, and goats.

Solomon parked the car in front of a rundown building.  “This is the police station. Now you might learn something about our culture.”

They climbed out of the car and entered the dilapidated building. Kate tried to hold the boy’s hand but he pushed her away.

A man approached them. Solomon shook his hand and fell into an animated conservation with him. Kate guessed he was describing the incident as Solomon was gesticulating at her and the boy. The police officer patted Solomon on the back and shook his hand heartily.

Kate frowned. “Will, what is going on. Why are they laughing?”

“How do I know? I don’t speak Amharic.”

After a few more minutes of conversation, the police officer turned to the boy and began to shake him violently, bellowing at him in Amharic.

“What has he told you?” Kate pulled the boy’s t-shirt up, exposing the red slashes across his back. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Solomon has told me what happened. This boy needed to be taught a lesson.”

“But he whipped him! What kind of lesson, is that?”

“It is our culture. In our communities we all take responsibility for the education of our children. Solomon was right to punish the child. Without punishment, children cannot learn. He should have already have learnt about the dangers of throwing rocks.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Something bad happened here a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was over.”

“Are you not going to do anything about this then?”

The policeman shrugged his shoulders.  “The boy has already been punished. What else is there to do?”

Kate felt her face grow red. Anger rose up inside of her. She marched outside dragging the boy along with her. “Will, come on. We are going.”

Will traipsed out after her and put his arms are her neck. Kate pushed him off and tried to hug the boy. He moved away from her.

Solomon came out of the police station followed by the police officer. Kate watched as he shook his hand and slapped Solomon on the shoulder. “Is this some kind of joke? Have you taken us to your friend’s station?”

“It is not a joke. I tried to tell you the police wouldn’t be interested. The boy deserved it. They remember last time.”

“This is ridiculous. Is there anybody in this god forsaken country that understands the difference between right and wrong? How can you believe it is okay to hit a child?”

“Look. Why don’t we take the boy back to his parents? It is long past lunchtime and I am sure all the boy wants to do is go home,” Will pleaded with Kate.

“What else is there to do?” Kate got into the car. The others followed her example.

Solomon stuck up a conversation with the boy who grunted his answers in monosyllables. He began to shake and tears rolled down his face. Kate pulled him closer to her assuming it was fear of Solomon that made him afraid. He squirmed out of her arms.

“What did you ask him?” Kate retorted

“Where he lives.”

Kate sighed and let silence engulf the car. They drove out of the village and back towards the river bed. Before they reached it, they turned off the main dirt road onto a narrow, overgrown dirt track. A few huts lined the track. The boy began to shake more violently.  He moved as far as away from Kate as he could and huddled up against the car’s door, hugging himself. Kate watched him, confused.

After a slow twenty minute battle of being jolted up and down the uneven track, the boy grunted something incoherent. Solomon stopped the car. The boy got out and pointed towards a hut. Solomon moved towards the hut. Kate and Will followed him. The boy stood watched motionless. Eventually, he began to drag his feet behind him and slowly followed the others.

A man came out of the hut as they approached it and shook Solomon’s hand. A flash of recognition passed between the two. The father eyed Kate and Will wearily. Solomon began to talk to the man in Amharic.

Kate interrupted them. “Do you speak English?”

“Yes.”

Kate gawped. How is it possible that he has learnt English when they live in the middle of nowhere?

The man stared at Kate’s open mouth. “Just because we live in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean we are not educated. I went to school in Addis.”

Kate explained to the man what happened. The man began to tremble and turn redder. Now Solomon will get his lesson, she thought.

The man walked up to the child and grabbed him by the back of his t-shirt. He slapped him hard in the face.

“What are you doing?” Kate screeched. “You are punishing the wrong person!”

“Maybe I am.”

Tears ran down the man’s face. “How could he do it?  After what happened before.”

“What do you mean?”

“His brother… his brother, he threw a rock.  A Big rock.”  The man’s body shook.

“And what happened?”

“They took him away. He is in jail.” The man collapsed onto his knees and buried his face into his hands.

Solomon watched the scene. His jaw dropped slightly. He looked at the boy and then the father. Will watched him.

“Solomon,” Will begged, “tell us what you know. We need to know now.”

“The kids always throw rocks at cars. It’s a game to them.”

“And …?”

“A couple of weeks ago, a boy threw a rock and it went through the windscreen. It hit a tourist on the head.” Solomon petered off.

“Go on.”

“She died.”

“And this boy is the brother?” Will asked. Kate’s pupils grew larger.

“I didn’t know it before. But now that I am here and I see the father, I can’t believe I didn’t recognise him.”

“Recognise him? … Oh my God, you were there!” Kate exclaimed.

“She was my tourist.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kate asked.

“It is not good for tourists to know such things. At least you can now see why I was so angry.”

All of a sudden the boy looked intently at Kate and blurted out, “You took away my brother. It is your fault.”

“You speak English?” Kate asked incredulously. His dad must have taught him, she thought.

“We are not stupid.” The boy glared directly at Kate “Tourists are bad.  You shouldn’t be here.”

The boy’s father stood up and walked carefully over him. He raised his hand as if to slap him again but at the last minute, he lowered it and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“He misses his brother. We all do. I know what he did was wrong but it is difficult for them.  Tourists have so much, we have so little. They don’t care about us.”

He shook Solomon’s hand and then ambled into the hut with the boy leaving Kate and Will reeling in surprise.

“Come let us put this behind us.” Solomon said as he directed them to car.

Kate shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

Just at the moment the boy charged out of the hut brandishing a large branch in his hand. He waved it furiously in the direction of Kate and Solomon

Kate laughed. “See, look what you have taught him. Violence only breeds violence.”

The boy sped past Solomon and collided with Kate. With all his force he slammed the stick down on Kate's thighs.

“What are you doing?” Kate cried at the boy. “I saved you!”

“Saved me? It's your fault!” The boy raised his arm again and attempted to bring it down on Kate's legs. She tried to grab him but he twisted free and the stick whipped against Kate's ankle.

“Stop it!”

“I hate tourists and I hate you.” The boy repeatedly hit Kate's legs while she attempted to grab the branch. The boy's father stood at the edge of his hut, watching.

“Will! Why are you just standing there? Help me.”

Will stepped slowly towards them and made a half-hearted attempt to intervene. The boy moved out of his reach and raised the stick up again ready to strike. This time Kate was able to snatch the weapon out of his hand.

The boy fled back into the hut.

A tear rolled down Kate's cheek. “Thanks for your help!” she spat.

“I’m sorry. Kate. I am just so angry with you at the moment.” Will replied.

“Me? What have I done?”

“What haven't you done?” You are so obnoxious. It is embarrassing to be around you. You judge everyone and everything by your own small minded, pathetic view of the world.”

Kate’s face creased up as a flow of tears ran down to her lips.

“I’m not bad.”

“You are.You judge everything by your pretentious English standards. You see the world in black and white. But it isn’t like that. You are not in England now. And there are grey areas too.”

“Is that why you didn’t help me?”

“I did …” Will trailed off.

“Don’t kid yourself.”

“You needed to be taught a lesson. He is tiny. He couldn’t have hurt much!”

“And have I learnt my lesson now?”

“Only you can answer that question, Kate.”

Kate turned and walked over to Solomon and held out an outstretched hand to Solomon. “Can we start again?”

Word count: 3,437.