In the southwestern part of Ethiopia, in the Highlands over the Rift Valley, live the Gamo people among other cultures. This quite isolated region has remained the same for many centuries both culturally and biologically. But things are changing and not always for the better; this is what the documentary film A Thousand Suns talks about.
These people have achieved a remarkable balance between nature and human beings that kept the land alive for generations to enjoy. Many species that have disappeared from other parts of Ethiopia still thrive protected in ancient forest that this culture consider sacred.
But globalization and foreign religions are threatening not only the culture of this region but also the fragile ecosystem that kept them alive for so long.
There are two main threats to the Gamo Highlands, the evangelistic aspirations of the protestant church that are destroying the Gamo’s indigenous spirituality and governance systems and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a Western aid organization which is bringing chemical pesticides, fertilizers and seeds to the country.
I think we should be very careful when trying to “improve” and “save” the lives of people about who we don’t know much and don’t even ask for help. Many places in this earth were transformed into deserts and cultures destroyed when foreign ideas were imposed.
I’m in favor of protecting cultures, no matter how small or remote they are, diversity is the key for the survival of the planet, and that includes the knowledge an beliefs of every human being.
This is what this blog is about after all, to learn and respect the culture of our adopted children, not to assimilate them erasing their past.
 

If the Gamo people survived in harmony with the land for thousand of years they should be left alone, it’s obvious that they know what they are doing. In fact people from western cultures should go there and learn from them and not impose their way of life.
It is evident that money is involved in this “invasion” and we know what happens when greed is the motor behind any human activity. Short term benefits for few and long term devastation for all.

Just watch the video and form your own opinion. Maybe something can be done before it is too late.

Links:
Sacred Land Film Project
Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society

Books:

Initiating Change in Highland Ethiopia: Causes and Consequences of Cultural Transformation by Dena Freeman

Woman between Two Worlds: PORTRAIT OF AN ETHIOPIAN RURAL LEADER by Judith Olmstead

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