Addisisms
Driving past the Piazza today, I pointed out a ramshackle stretch of homes all seemingly connected via panels of corrugated iron, hanging precariously over a muddy river whose banks were being dug out by machines."What neighborhood is this?" I ask my co-passengers.
They both laughed and said, "Erri Berkantu."
"What does that mean?"
"It means 'No One Will Help You.'"
"What? Why not?" This prompted more laughing.
"It is a very poor neighborhood. Many of the men are leba."
Leba means thief. Perhaps this name serves two equally true meanings: one indicating that I should try to avoid getting myself lost around there, and the second speaking to the likely fact that the residents of those rusting shacks are not going to receive any help to emerge from the brutal poverty in which they live.
posted by Margot @ 9:42 AM
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