Ethiopians want more from sacred Nile waters
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GISH ABAY — Here in the shadow of Mount Gish, the spring water that forms the Blue Nile is believed to have healing powers, but Ethiopians say that is the only benefit they get from the mighty river.
“These waters are sacred, they perform miracles for the sick,” Berhanu Melak, an elderly farmer, told AFP as he filled a metal trough with water for the throngs of white-cloaked men and women who have been queuing since the early hours in this town 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Addis Ababa.
The sparkling stream in Gish Abay spills first into Lake Tana then makes its way towards Sudan as the Blue Nile. There, the river joins the White Nile in Khartoum before draining into Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, spanning in all nearly 6,000 kilometers.
“But look around you, there is nothing here. The big river doesn’t feed us,” Berhanu says, his voice almost drowned out by the nearby bathers.
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Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101002com3.html
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