The Ogaden: autumn 76/Dispatches

On the Ogaden chapter, we read about how Kapuscinski was bitten by an escorpion, he survied to that, eo be able to continue with his next adventures.

The most important thing about this chapter, is the fight over Ogaden, wich is the teritorry which Somalia and Ethiopia are fighting for. They both agree that the territory belongs to each of the countries. During Kapuscinski´s visit in Ogaden, he starts to travle and to know the place, in Somalia, he asked some drivers to take him. In the middle of the road, the drivers where very scared, because of the dust they could´nt see if they where in their enemies teritory or in their own territory. "That means that, in their opinion, we were in Somalia, since they belived that their country coverded the whole desert. Nevertheless, they drove the whole time in anxiety and tension, fearing that we could improvidently stary into the depths of Ethiopia and end up in enemy hands." Pg. 223 We can relate the Ogaden with the fight over Gaza, by the Palestinian and the Israelis. Eventhough the fight over Gaza was for different motives, it is a fight over territories, in which both sides think they are right, and think they deserve the territory, better than the other. In this kind of situations, it is very difficult to come to an agreement, in which both sides are satisfied.

In the chapter Dispatches, the thing that most caught my attention was the Nana´s. These are man in every village, which are more than supirior, and have more authority tha anyone in the whole village. "There is a Nana in every village, because Nana means boss, head man, a sort of mayor but with more authority." Pg 229 What caugh my attention was that in those villages they where very ignorant, when they asked Kapuscinski where was he from they didn´t know where Poland was, they asked him if they where only white, and they where amazed they all where. But Kapuscinski explained that woman loved to tan, because they loved looking dark, and he was amazed. "The ones that become dark are proud of it, and others admire them for being as tanned as black." Pg 232

I really admire Kapuscinski, and in a way I envy him, because I would love to get to know half of the places he had the chance to visit. I think he was a very brave man, and that not everybody can deal with everything he ad to go through in this adventurous trip he made. Peple like him need t0o have a special kind of soul and blood. An adventurous soul.