Man’s Culture in Sons Eyes

It was New Years. The Ethiopian New Years. The only reason I knew about it was because my coworker is from Ethiopia. I asked him why is he at work and not at home spending time with family and he said, “Over here you cannot really celebrate it the same way. You would want to invite friends but most of the Ethiopians over here forgot about our New Years. It’s not the same. In Ethiopia everyone is off of work, out of school, and we all gather and celebrate with food and music. It is amazing.”

The moment he started to gradually rotate his head back towards his tiring job position to continue working, you could see the pain, sadness, and yearning for a past that will never come back. You could feel the anger of a culture that is being lost in a mans eyes as he is struggling to hold on like someones sweaty hand as you dangle from a rooftop. Knowing that he will never get the money needed to go back for a simple vacation with his family and have his relatives and siblings look at him and say, “He made it,” he continues to work the same job he has had for years. He does not plan to change. He can only hope his kids can do better.