:: Sights from Moyale town

Moyale is a border town split between a larger Ethiopian area (which lies in the Oromia region) and a smaller Kenyan zone. It is the main border post on the Nairobi-Addis Ababa road.

This market town lies north of the Dide Galgalu Desert. The temperature ranges from 17°C to 30°C depending on the time of year. The region is hilly with the ethnic popualtion consisting mostly of Borana (Oromo), Burji, Gabra and Rendille tribes. Pastoralist Somalis also reside on the Kenyan side while other Ethiopian tribes (Oromo, Amhara, Tigre, Urage) populate the town across the border. The main languages spoken on the Kenyan half are Borana (an Oromo dialect), Kiswahili and English. A few hundred metres on the Ethiopian side, Amharic and Oromo are the only spoken languages.

During World War II, the town was captured by Italians from Ethiopia in 1940, and retaken by the British on 15 July 1941.

The road is tarmacked on the Ethiopian side all the way to Addis Ababa, while a murram road runs from the Kenyan border to Isiolo (which is then tarmacked past Nanyuki and Nyeri to Nairobi), often inaccessible during periods of heavy rain.

The Pictures:

Ethiopia Border - The other side. Here you begin to speak in Amharic, an ancient Semitic language written with the Ge’ez alpahabet. Salaam, Denane? Strangely though the Ge’ez alphabet is written from left to right, which is at variance with other Semitic scripts (Arabic, Modern Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac) which are written from right to left, just the way God intended it. And in Ethiopia, you also travel back in time. Suddenly I found myself in 1999.
Kenya-Ethiopia Border - The Border crossing from the Kenyan side. The road rising on the far end is Ethiopia. Kenyans cross over with ease between 6 am and 6 pm. After 6 pm, all Ethiopians must leave Kenya. Kenyans can stay on the Ethiopian side after 6 pm after obtaining a special ‘sleeping over’ permit from the Ethiopian Immigrations. To go beyond Moyale, Ethiopia, one needs to have a passport. Kenyans do not require a visa to Ethiopia.
Moyale Memorial - a memorial plaque at the ‘government’ square that houses the DC’s office, the Police Station, the Prisons Department, the courts and the County Council. Love thy neighbour.
Moyale Hills, Ethiopia - compared to the Kenyan side, the Ethiopian side is more populated and there is evidence of terrace farming on the hills. The population is predominantly Christian (Ethiopian Orthodox) and Muslim, with some Protestants (Full Gospel Church). I saw no SDA Churches on either side of the border. Help!
Moyale, Kenya – the road is undeveloped and the town sparsely populated, being very rural in resemblance. Most Boranas here are Muslim, but there is also a large Christian population, Catholic mostly. Newspapers arrive 2-3 days after the date of publishing.
Moyale, Ethiopia - The Ethiopian side is more developed with a trading culture, mostly in ‘genuine fakes’. One Ethiopian Birr exchanges for 7.8 Kenya Shillings. They eat a lot of Injera. They have never heard of chips. And its goat meat for breakfast. (You can see the Safaricom antannae on the far side in Kenya encroaching into Ethiopian airspace, without permission.)
Moyale Hills, Kenya - the region is hilly, reminiscent of the topography of the Taita Hills at the Coast, although of course the coastal towns of Mwatate and Wundanyi are far more pleasant J
No Man’s Land - this is actually a bridge on the No Man’s Land that is above a seasonal stream, which must be the natural boundary between the two states.

Ps: The Ethiopian Orthodox church recognises the papacy of the Patriach of Alexandria and All Africa, currently His Holiness Papa Shanouda III of Egypt, the Head of the Coptic Church. It split from the Catholic Church after the Council of Ephesus (something to do with the structure of the Trinity), and is one of the largest of the Eastern Churches. Its churches house beautiful frescoes and relics but I was not allowed into the one in Moyale, because I probably was akin to the profile of a ..........Ethiopians claim that the real Covenant of the Ark is in the Chuch of the Holy Virgin in Axum, having been taken there by Menelik, the son King Solomon had with the Queen of Sheba. The State of Israel says: bolloks.

Abdulkadir Noormohamed
Senior Legal Counsel
Kenya National Commission On Human Rights
CVS Plaza, Lenana Road
P O Box 74359
00200 Nairobi
Kenya
+254-20-271 7900
www.knchr.org

Sent in by Mango Jack. Ta mate

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