Monday 16 October 2006

Ethiopia, Italy, Cuba and Russia

I was reading my copy of Airways Magazine this evening and came across this passage:
In Europe, the airline operates a daily service to Rome, six times a week to London, three times a week to Paris and Frankfurt, and twice weekly to Amsterdam and Stockholm.
The carrier in question is Ethiopian Airlines. Most African airlines fly to a similar range of cities, but I couldn't help noticing that the top destination was Rome, rather than the usual London, Paris or Frankfurt. So what's different about Ethiopia?

The difference is that Ethiopia was occupied by Italy in the 1930's. I'm not suggesting for a moment that Italy should have occupied Ethiopia but find it interesting that the two countries seem to be closely linked seventy years later. In 2076 will Cuba still be closely linked with Russia?

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

Neil Craig
Cuba was captured by the US from Spain in the war of 1898 & became for some years a virtual US colony, & ceding Guantanamo. 
 
Somewhat less than seventy years later Castro was in charge. 
 
(Italy's relationship went back before Mussolini's invasion indeed paradoxicly it was Musso who first sponsored Ethiopia's membership of the League of nations. Prior to that (about 1870?) the Italians, at Adowa managed to get defeated in open battle by the Ethiopians, an almost unique achievement in European colonial history.)

19 October 2006, 18:26:34 GMT+01:00
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dearieme
I flew by these chaps London-Rome return, some years ago. Very vivid: we made an unscheduled stop at Frankfurt on the way out, and failed to make the scheduled Frankfurt stop on the way back. They handed out a wonderful booklet of Old Ethiopian Proverbs which were indeed very wise (It is the front camel that holds up the camel train but it is the rear camel which is beaten). And the stewardesses were stunning girls. Oh my.

19 October 2006, 16:44:24 GMT+01:00