On Sunday, October 19, 2008, I went to the National Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend an invitation-only event hosted by His Excellency Girma Wolde Ghiorghis, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Yes, you read that correctly, yesterday, I went to an event hosted by the President of Ethiopia!
Let’s go back to the very beginning. On Friday night, I received a text message from my friend and colleague Sehen who works for the UN. She informed me that she had an invitation for me to attend the annual debriefing ceremony and gala reception for the Ethiopian National PolioPlus Committee of Rotary International at the National Palace. You see, every year, Rotary International conducts a 7-day intensive Polio vaccination program which sees healthcare professionals traveling door to door in rural communities in Ethiopia to provide polio vaccinations. The program is supported by Rotary International and has received around 100 million dollars in funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the end of the annual 7-day program, the President of Ethiopia hosts a debriefing ceremony and gala reception in his presence at the National Palace.
I arrived at the Palace as per the invitation’s instructions at 1:45 PM on Sunday and went through security screening before entering the Palace. The security kept all cell phones and cameras before allowing anyone into the Palace. We were seated around 2 PM and the ceremony commenced at 3 PM with the Grand Procession where the President and several Ministers entered the palace and walked down the center aisle.
There were a number of speeches by the heads of the different Rotary clubs and a representative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation made a presentation. The entire ceremony was conducted in the grand palace courtroom/chamber. You see, the National Palace, now the home of the President of Ethiopia, was once the home of Emperor Haile Selassie back in the day and he held court in this large ballroom/courtroom/chamber. Emperor Selassie had his morning meeting with the ministers in this room and in the afternoon, he sat as a judge of the Supreme Court of Ethiopia hearing cases in this very room. He was the Court of ultimate appeal and his decisions were both final and binding on the parties concerned. His royal throne still holds a place of prominence on a raised dais at the end of the grand chamber. In front of this throne, about 3 or four large plushy / formal chairs were set up for the President of Ethiopia and the Ministers who were in attendance. The podium was set up at the other end of the ballroom/court/chamber so it was very dramatic when people were giving presentations, because, as the audience, we were seated in rows all the way down the sides of the room, just as the junior ministers, bureaucrats and aristocrats would have been seated back in the day. The voices of the presenters echoed and boomed in the vast expanse of the room.
Let me just say that the Palace did not disappoint. It is a long, expansive ivory-coloured edifice with numerous columns. It is situated far from the main gate behind lush gardens. It reminded me a bit of the description Jane Austen gives of Mr. Darcy’s estate Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice. She talks about how Pemberley only comes into view after a winding path and is obscured from full view by trees. The only difference was there were no rolling hills leading up to the National Palace like there were leading up to Pemberley.
The best description I can provide of the palace is that it is nostalgic, expansive and completely exotic. The main courtroom/chamber has huge vaulted ceilings, crown moldings, marble and wood floors, chandeliers, huge windows, billowing tapestries and fabrics, rich carpets, ornate furniture and varied artwork. Similarly, the ballroom/grand dining room where the cocktail reception was held after the ceremony was a sight for sore eyes. It once again boasted beautiful chandeliers, gleaming floors and a vast collection of artwork.
Now, the one thing about the palace that was extremely interesting to me was the reliance on animals for art. During the ceremony, seated in front of the President’s chair was this huge, real (or at once real anyways), stuffed lion. It was killed during hunting and stuffed. Similarly, in the grand ballroom/dining room, there is this huge stuffed leopard that watches over everyone and there are tons (and I mean tons) of ivory artifacts and elephant tusks everywhere. There are many hunting weapons on display. Let me just say that I am pretty sure that Emperor Selassie and now the President are not vegetarians. The only piece of art that was not somehow war, hunting or animal related was this vintage TV and speaker set. I am not sure if the TV is still used, but it is one of those old models that are ensconced in the wood-panelled box/encasement. Very vintage. The animal art makes sense in hindsight, given what I have learned about Emperor Haile Selassie from reading The Emperor. He was apparently an avid animal enthusiast and had pet leopards, lions and other animals around the palace. The entire palace is frozen in time – it is like Emperor Selassie never really left or he did and they have just not gotten around to redecorating. It is so interesting to visit the palace because it feels like you are stepping through a time portal that takes you back to another era – very Back to the Future (Part 1).
Oh – I totally forgot to mention anything about the President of Ethiopia. Well, his Excellency gave a speech which he delivered from his throne/official seat thanking Rotary International and its many partners for hosting the Polio vaccination clinics. He is an elderly man, but extremely stately and regal. I was under the impression that we would all have a chance to shake his hand and exchange greetings, but he was surrounded by guards and did not take pictures with anyone.
I was also super excited to attend this event, because a few of my students from Cheshire Services Ethiopia at Menagesha were to perform a song for the President of Ethiopia as a part of the program. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, they were not able to perform their piece but they did have a chance to present the President with flowers. It was great to see them afterwards enjoying the reception and eating the yummy cake (the food at the reception was delicious by the way – juice, mini-pizzas, cheese, bread, cake, puffs etc.). They were excited to see me and a bit shocked to see me in a suit. Usually when I head to class on Saturday mornings, I have literally rolled out of bed and put on a polar fleece and some khakis. I think they were shocked that I owned anything else to wear.
All in all, the experience was extremely memorable. Thank you so much Sehen for the ticket!
