Awra Amba RJ 300612 EN - Contacter un comité local d'Attac

an electric meter according to the village guides (Crespo, 2012).
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4. Social organisation
The family houses and all their supplies belong to the families and are managed by them (At05/52).
4.5. Mutual respect and solidarity
Solidarity is expressed between all the community members, in mutual respect. It is especially the
case of children, who are respected by adults, but also of adults in a disadvantageous position.
4.5.1. Children in Awra Amba
Children are respected in their bodies: no initiation rite, no corporal or severe punishment, no insults
or injuries, no public humiliation, unlike the behaviour of neighbouring traditional communities
(Me09/51; Crespo, 2011). In case of disobedience, the case is discussed in fortnightly family
conference (see section 4.5.2), but children are quite never in situation of resistance or hostility
towards adults (At05/44).
Children have three very distinct duties: go to school, play, and help the community in its work
(Crespo, 2011), since "our sons and daughters have the right to education and to play". In most of the
collective games, boys and girls play together; they are singing and dancing also together when the
heat of the day is over (At05/44).
Both boys and girls begin to help in their houses from the age of 6 to 8 (At05/75). According to the
survey of At05/76, children participate nevertheless 4 times less than adults to household tasks (see
the ratio of average participations of children and adults in last column of Table 5 page 50). They
care especially for young children, and deal very few with cooking, bringing products to market and
spinning.
According this same survey, children participate still less to farmer tasks, on average 15 times less
than adults (see last columns of Table 6 page 51). They participate mainly to land cleaning.
Atnafu (2005/75 & 93) explains this low participation of children to the various tasks by the reason
that parents are very permissive and make few, if any, demands to their children thanks to their age
and because they are going to school. Education to the value of work does not therefore come by the
way of obligation to participate actively to adult tasks, but by the way to go to school: the child is not
considered as a reduced adult, but as involved in specific activities: play, go to school, and help the
work.
Children are not sent off alone for wood gathering for instance; adults do not let their children out of
their sight. When the children go to school, located far from the village until 2009, or come back,
they make queue with the younger in front, in order to be protected by the older (At05/43; Yi07/80).
Girls and boys take part in the household chores almost close to parity (see section 4.3), participate
equally to school activities and get equal parental treatment in all aspects (At05/93).
All children attend school as long as possible according to their capacity and are encouraged to
continue studying after they come home from school (Jo10b/6). "Being educated means respect and
help each other in order to create brotherhood", said Zumra (Sisay, 2007).
At05/88-89 states a characteristic of Awra Amba, noticed unanimously by all observers, is the
attachment of parents to their children. No sacrifice is too great for their children, who enjoy better
living conditions than their parents (food, clothes, rest). The children and their parents have intense
relationship. The children are always encouraged to express their feelings and complain to parents
(At05/88-89).
Both parents exercise parental authority jointly, and equally (Me09/47). Children education is
nevertheless strict, because, according to Zumra, "when parents are permissive with a child, he lays it
on a bit thick" (Crespo, 2011).