The most unsuitable place on earth for human habitation
This is probably the most unsuitable place on earth for human habitation, with a 50-degree heat, a volcanic eruption of sulphur gas and acidic rivers, and the whole is a human stove.
But in order to survive, there are still people who venture to work here and earn two euros at a time.
This is Ethiopia's Danakir Desert, where there is little sign of life in the harsh environment. Survival and hunger prompt people to set foot here in search of the "white gold", or salt, hidden in the desert. They led a group of camels on foot here, then chiseled out the salt blocks with simple chisels, washed them and brought them back to sell to the grinders, which was their day's work.
Salt diggers earn 2 euros a day, which is equivalent to 14 yuan
Salt diggers earn 2 euros a day, which is equivalent to 14 yuan. The money was several meals for the family, and in order not to starve the family, they had to come to the desert every day to work, braving the scorching sun and high temperatures, coupled with the corrosive nature of the salt, the taste was simply ants on a hot pot.
The peculiarities of the environment make it impossible for them to transport goods by truck, and in fact they cannot afford to hire trucks, so the salt diggers' families will raise dozens of camels to transport goods.
When they had dug up enough salt, they would simply take a dip to cool off the heat, then hang hundreds of kilograms of salt on the camels and walk three days to the city to sell it. Although it is hard, it is all down-to-earth in life.
Since someone sells salt, someone sells water. The 60-year-old man carries a large bucket of water to and from the mountain spring and the roadside every day, and then uses his simple cart to send the water to the city to sell, and there are trucks speeding by on the road, and every time the scene of going downhill is seen, people are in a cold sweat.
The old man transports ten times a day, a trip to four barrels, a barrel will sell 0.15 euros, equivalent to a yuan a dollar, no matter how expensive it is, it will not be sold. This big bucket of water will be a little heavy for young and strong boys, not to mention the older ones. But what can be done? In order to have food to eat every day, he was willing to be this natural porter, tired and afraid to grit his teeth and insist.
But the hardships of living in Ethiopia don't stop there.
Ethiopia's roads are among the most dangerous in the world
Of the 36,000 kilometres of roads, only 6,000 kilometres are asphalted, and infrastructure is completely out of step with the development of the times, and modern trucks can often be seen driving on potholed rural dirt roads. Drivers are driving with their lives on the road, afraid that if they are not careful, they will really "get on the road".
Over time, drivers on this road have also figured out the "golden rule" of driving: that is, when the road is slippery, do not step on the brakes, as long as the steering wheel is avoided, you can avoid accidents.
It may sound a little scary, but it is true that most of the accidents on this road are caused by sharp brakes.
Such a backward place naturally does not have perfect public transportation, so in addition to being used to transport goods, drivers' trucks can also be used as means of transportation to make a quick profit, the fare is 2.5 euros per person, and these people who can only earn 1 euro per day can be said to be sky-high tickets. But the reality is this, if you have money, you can take a car, if you don't have money, you can walk, and everyone wants to live.
The driver can pull a large car every time, the lucky person can sit in the innermost part, the unlucky person can either stand, or squeeze in the crowd, or hang on the car, barely maintain balance, sometimes brake sharply, and some people will be thrown off the car. But this is an old driver, and this kind of low-level accident will not happen to him.
When encountering that kind of steep and muddy road, it is difficult for the car to move forward, at which time some passengers have to get off the cart and push the car, and the other part of the passengers have to walk first and wait for the car to drive over before getting on the car. When the weather is bad or it rains, the road directly becomes an ice rink, the risk is greatly increased, and many drivers overturn because they do not grasp the "golden standard".
But the old driver can drive 60 kilometers without braking for 10 hours, and arrive at the destination without any accidents. During this time, he will eat some kata leaves to wake up his mind, so as to avoid accidents in fatigue driving. As for Kataye, it is actually an East African poppy, which has a spiritually exciting effect, and if you eat too much, you will become addicted.
Not only is the road infrastructure poor, but the railway infrastructure is also miserable. In Ethiopia, taking the train is a long ordeal.
Ethiopian trucks are the "best" in the world
The train is also an old antique left over from the last century, the front of the train is in tatters, and even missing parts. There is no electricity in the train, and the driver has to take a flashlight for routine inspection before leaving, although every time it is also a lonely check, the train derailment is the norm.
Passengers got on the bus in an orderly manner in the chaos, and no one knew whether the carriages were sufficient, but some people were crowding up all the time. The people in the carriage should beware of being occupied by people, and the people outside the carriage are more dashing, one by one, like the Flying Tigers, hanging on the train or climbing to the roof, and some also play the dangerous game of chasing the train. Although dangerous, they enjoy it.
Even in the crowded carriages, it does not hinder business, some sell drinks, some sell kata leaves. When parking, the surrounding residents will also come to buy and sell, and the line feeds tens of thousands of families, perhaps these people will not take the train once in their lives, but they are also looking forward to the arrival of the train.
But the old antique, which had fallen into disrepair, finally surrendered to the heat, and during the driving process, the temperature was too high to cause the turbocharger to fail, and it had to be stopped for repairs before it could continue on the road. But the passengers know that with their abilities and tools, the repair is estimated to take several days, so some people choose to get off the car and walk, if the car is repaired to catch them before getting on the car is not too late; some people wait and see, waiting for the departure time to have fun; and some people begin to pray to God.
Because of the lack of parts, a group of people repaired for four hours, but there was no improvement, and they had to ask for help from the nearby train station to send a new locomotive. But in fact, the so-called new one is only a long-unused old thing, but at least it is stronger than the scrapped locomotive. The train driver on this side directly used the dead horse as a live horse doctor, threw a few pieces of wood into it, and the train miraculously started again.
But this was nothing more than a return to the light, and the train continued to linger for a distance, and finally declared completely scrapped. Some people got out of the car and rushed on foot, only the driver needed to stay where he was, he had to be responsible for the materials and equipment on the car, waiting in the vast desert for the rescue of the repair team.
And waiting, often without deadlines. It is as if this barren land is waiting for the country to pay attention to development, and it is far away after all.