Act of Living

Di Nunzio Marco

Description

The Act of Living explores the relation between development and marginality in Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Replete with richly depicted characters and multi-layered narratives on history, everyday life and visions of the future, Marco Di Nunzio's ethnography of hustling and street life is an investigation of what is to live, hope and act in the face of the failing promises of development and change. Di Nunzio follows the life trajectories of two men, "Haile" and "Ibrahim," as they grow up in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, enter street life to get by, and turn to the city's expanding economies of work and entrepreneurship to search for a better life. Apparently favourable circumstances of development have not helped them achieve social improvement. As their condition of marginality endures, the two men embark in restless attempts to transform living into a site for hope and possibility.By narrating Haile and Ibrahim's lives, The Act of Living explores how and why development continues to fail the poor, how marginality is understood and acted upon in a time of promise, and why poor people's claims for open-endedness can lead to better and more just alternative futures. Tying together anthropology, African studies, political science, and urban studies, Di Nunzio takes readers on a bold exploration of the meaning of existence, hope, marginality, and street life.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Etiopía
• Ethiopia
• History of Africa

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501735134
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

THE ACT OF LIVING

THE ACT OFLIVING Street Life, Marginality, and Development in Urban Ethiopia

MaRCO Di NUnziO

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON

Copyright © 2019 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2019 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Names: Di Nunzio, Marco, 1984–author. Title: The act of living : street life, marginality, and development in urban  Ethiopia / by Marco Di Nunzio. Description: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical  references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018050332 (print) | LCCN 2018051959 (ebook) |  ISBN 9781501735134 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 9781501735530 (ebook  epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501735127 | ISBN 9781501735127 (hardcover;  alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501736261 (pbk.; alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Marginality, Social—Ethiopia—Addis Ababa. | Street life—  Ethiopia—Addis Ababa. | Poor—Ethiopia—Addis Ababa. | Informal sector  (Economics)—Ethiopia—Addis Ababa. | Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)—Social  conditions. | Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)—Economic conditions. | Ethnology—  Ethiopia—Addis Ababa. Classification: LCC HN789.A93 (ebook) | LCC HN789.A93 D56 2019 (print)  | DDC 307.1/41209633—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050332

Cover photo: Adelaide Di Nunzio,Mikias,December 4, 2010

Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Glossary

Introduction

1.  Migrants, Gentlemen, and Thugs 2.  A Thug’s Life 3.  Donkeys with Ashes 4.  Do Not Cross the Red Line 5.  Keep on Hustlin’ 6.  Life Is a Paradise 7.  The Time of the Bumpkins 8.  Embracing Uncertainty

Conclusion

Works Cited

Index

vii ix xiii

1

28

58

78

102

129

151

167

189

211

227

241

Illustrations

Fig. 1.1. A partial view of Arada © Marco Di Nunzio 40 Fig. 1.2. A bar in Arada © Adelaide Di Nunzio 53 Fig. 3.1. A line of container shops © Marco Di Nunzio 90 Fig. 3.2. Asuq92(retail shop) © Marco Di Nunzio Fig. 3.3. “Gizachew” © Marco Di Nunzio 94 Fig. 7.1. Addis Ababa’s construction boom © Marco Di Nunzio 170 Fig. 7.2. A real estate venture in Addis Ababa © Marco Di Nunzio 178 Fig. 8.1. Mikias’s house © Marco Di Nunzio 193

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Acknowledgments

This book is the product of a long journey to which many people have contrib uted. First of all, I thank the Wenner Gren Foundation, the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Wolfson College and All Souls College at the University of Oxford, the British Institute in Eastern Africa in Nairobi, and the Fondation Wiener Anspach and Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique in Brussels for their support of the different stages of my research in Addis. In Addis Ababa, I was affiliated with the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and the Department of Sociology at Addis Ababa University and the Centre Française d’Etudes Ethiopiennes. I am deeply grateful to Aklilu Yilma, Zelalem Teferra, Ezana Amdework, Selam Esayas, and David Ambrosetti for their support and understanding. Wondwosen Admassu, Seble Ayalew, and Nolawit Teshome helped me with my archival research on crime and urban life in Addis Ababa. Without their help, I never would have been able to write a history of street life. The care and companionship of Marco Pittalis, Alessia Villannuci Mattia Grandi, Elisa Barracu, Marianella Lippi, Graziano Savà, and Kate Fayers Kerr made my life in Addis Ababa more joyful, especially when my ethnographic restlessness became overwhelming. I owe my knowledge of Amharic to the kindness and devotion of the teachers of the Joint Language School in Addis Ababa. Among them, Yenesaw Wasihun assisted me and supported me as both a friend and an attentive mentor. The generosity of my neighbors and friends in Arada, their willingness to help me in my research, and their patience in listening to and answering my insistent and naive questions allowed me to learn much more than I had anticipated dur ing the initial stages of my research. My friends Tadious Genebera and Wasihun Gebre and my research assistant Zelalem Yilma made me feel at home and wel come. The people in the book I name Fasil, Teshome, Wondimu, Gizachew, Fatima, Sara, and Netsanet were always ready and open to talk to me about their lives and experiences. The men I call Ibrahim, Mikias, and Haile deserve a special mention. They were my source of inspiration in Addis Ababa and continue to inspire me in life more broadly. This book is a testament to your search for openendedness, living, and hope. Your friendship and trust are humbling and precious to me. Over the years I received mountains of generous comments and suggestions. Laura Camfield, always prompt with comments and suggestions, supported and advised me at the early stages of my research. I am deeply grateful to Shiferaw

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