Elegy to the Underground Children of Addis

(By Tewodros Abebe)
For more poems visit Tewodros Abebe’s website

“Blink and you will miss the underground children in Ethiopia's capital city. They live in tunnels, sewers and drainage holes, hidden beneath Addis Ababa's teeming streets. They move from one makeshift shelter to the next, chased away by police or the rivers of water and refuse that flow when the rains come. Growing up amidst the traffic, they learn to hustle at a young age seeking change or selling small items to drivers at traffic lights.” - BBC

This recent report by the BBC prompted poet Tewodros Abebe to write this touching elegy.

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