It was a cold and misty morning and the dew drops were falling off the tall and majestic eucalyptus trees. The breathtakingly beautiful Dessie, a little town in central Ethiopia with its snow-clad mountains, looked like a picture postcard. We were on our way to Addis Ababa (“new flower”), the capital of the so-called Hidden Empire then ruled by His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, the Conquering Lion of Judah.
We were four adults and two babies — a six-month old and the other a mere 35 days’ old. We were taking my wife who fell very sick after her delivery to be flown to Delhi for better treatment. My wife experienced continuous and disturbing bouts of bronchial spasms and the American doctors had advised us to take her patient to India, preferably Delhi.
The journey from Dessie to Addis Ababa takes about a day, through ill-maintained forest roads. My friend Babu helped us by driving us in his car and took care to send his family along to India. We started the long drive early morning and both our wives felt very sorry in leaving us behind. We were not in a happy mood.
It was Christmas Eve and our plan was to join our friends in Addis Ababa to celebrate the festival. We had planned a mid-day stop at Debre Birhan, one of the coldest mountain towns in the country. But our plans got a rude shock when suddenly a small truck came from the opposite side and all we could do was to turn our car to the side of the rocky road. My friend lost control and our car skid and overturned. Barely 20ft away there was a ravine, over 8,000ft deep. We had a very narrow escape.
We were all the while worried about our two babies who were in the lap of their mothers. Soon the first bus from Dessie reached the spot and in no time all the passengers started the rescue mission. They straightened our car. We started looking for our babies. My friend’s babe was right in the lap of his mother. But my daughter was missing until we found her in the lap of a kind and loving Ethiopian woman trying to put her to sleep. It was a touching sight. The woman asked for forgiveness for not passing the baby to us before and she started crying!
All the passengers from the “auto bus” (their term for a bus) started comforting us. They told us not to worry about a thing. The driver and conductor took our bags and said that we could collect it from their office in Addis Ababa.
Had it not been for the timely help of the Ethiopian people I would not have survived to tell this story of human kindness. They were godsent. The passengers began their journey only after seeing us start our car (which was in somewhat driving condition) to resume ours.
As was planned we could have lunch with our friend George in Debre Birhan. And we proceeded to Addis Ababa after celebrating Christmas Eve. Next morning we could enjoy Xmas in perfect peace.
Even in a distant mountainous region, we could find good Samaritans who ensured an unforgettable experience for us.
Long live Ethiopian hospitality!