Obama Obsession

“Obama: Yes we can!” was one of the first t-shirts we noticed here in Ethiopia. We continue to see Obama’s name everywhere – restaurants, stores, hotels. During our trip out to the Gmz area the education bureau official that we were traveling with stayed at the “Obama Hotel.” He said it was nice and it was less expensive than the hotel we stayed in (because the Obama Hotel didn’t have a bathroom as part of the room, just an outdoor shared facility).

The popularity of the current President of the United States here in Ethiopia is actually helping the American image here as well as in the larger international scene (We don’t usually look forward to telling people that we are American because of the connotations of “extreme wealth and power,” though Obama obsession makes this revelation easier). One of our coworkers told us about a conversation he had concerning Obama. The person he was talking to a very enthusiastic Ethiopian. Here’s the gist of the conversation:

Coworker: Why do you like Obama?
Ethiopian: Because he is going to help us.
Coworker: What has he done for you?
Ethiopian: Nothing, yet.
Coworker: What is he going to do for you?
Ethiopian: I don’t know. But he can do anything!
Coworker: How do you know he will help you?
Ethiopian: (his blunt response referred to Obama’s racial identification with them)

The help that Bush provided for AIDS relief in Africa seems to be largely ignored or unrecognized, as demonstrated in another T-shirt we saw saying “George W. Bush Hates Black People.” Misguided statements like this make me very sad. But maybe the most interesting Obama obsession t-shirt of all was one we saw down country on one of the elementary school children. It had a picture of Obama’s face with a large shadow of a mosque behind him. I guess it just shows how quick everyone is to claim Obama as their hero, not so much a declaration of truth concerning him or his predecessor. Obama’s message of hope has been successfully communicated and embraced here in Ethiopia. It is our prayer that he can deliver on this promise.