But prices for coffee, Ethiopia' s chief export, are low. As a result it lost millions more in aid from disapproving donors. Now the urban poor cannot afford the basics and unemployment is at an all-time high. Five of her six children have died and she and her only surviving son struggle to bring up her seven grandchildren. Oil is expensive.
Wood is expensive.
Public discontent surfaced last month when student protests for academic rights were joined by angry jobless youths and degenerated into the worst public violence Addis Ababa has seen in almost a decade. Many say the April riots are a key indicator of the dissatisfaction that Ethiopians are currently feeling. However, critics say the problems are not just caused by the government's socio-economic policies. Many also believe the democratisation process is too slow. What is in the constitution about democracy and what we see being put into practice are diametrically opposed.