FryingPanFire

A bit like Fulham?

In the background, the Sheraton Hotel. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The poshest place in town…possibly in the country. Owned by the richest man in the country who’s half Ethiopian and half Yemeni. He’s also one of the richest men in Saudi Arabia…more wonga than the entire Bin Laden family. He reckons he can throw billions into Ethiopia and turn it into a progressive African economy.

In the foreground is a local Addis neighbourhood where corrugated steel roofs are de rigeur and entire families live in spaces 4m x 4m on around $70 a month. If you’re lucky. The road on the way down to the Sheraton is smooth, paved, marked by security checkpoints to keep out the undesirables. The roads in the neighbourhood are patted down through years of footfall and litter where you’re asked to “drop a note” if you want to photograph anything. Which is only fair if you’re gonna gawp at the poor people.