BBA Betty: Moral Decline or a reflection of capitalist Ethiopia?

July 6, 2013

Bethlehem
Aberra is the much talked about Big Brother Africa contestant of 2013.    This beautiful, smart and astute girl was representative
of Ethiopia in BBA house South Africa.  I
don’t know what it takes to be elected as a contestant to the Big Brother house
but listening to Betty explaining herself on Admas Radio; it is a pretty tough
competition to say the least.  First, an
on-line application followed by four different phases of selection; each phase,
producing winners and losers just to be a contestant.  Our Betty won all those phases and made it to
the BBA house.  This is an achievement
that merits acknowledgement.  Good on
you! 

I
must admit I never watched BBA   during
its broadcasting.    I had an overdose of
it when it first came to England.  Like
millions of others I was hooked on it, any spare time was entirely dedicated to
watching Big Brother so it was not something that interests me anymore.

However,
this year BBA keeps popping up in conversations wherever I go around my circle
of Ethiopian friends and family.   I keep hearing this Ethiopian girl and her
Sierra Leonean mate with whom she had something going on so and so forth.   This was until I heard what she did live on
television, apparently there are other “acts” as she calls it nevertheless this
one  scene was more than enough for me to
understand what the whole thing is about.  

When
I did, all sorts of emotions were flying in my head.  One minute I feel they are acting but very
bad at that, another minute I am asking why she needed to do it, and then I was
annoyed that they did not exactly look an item, in fact they both looked disappointed
after wards.  Whatever the truth, (Betty
claims to be acting)!  What really upset me
was  when she began slowly to move the
sheet further down and gave the whole world the full Monty, what!  I could not believe my eyes.   Disgusting, nasty, cheap.  You name it; I screamed it all on the screen.
Why, there was no need for that. 

After
the initial shock, I questioned my own emotion. 
Why did I feel so angry?  I am not
Betty, she does not represent me or my country then I realise of course she
does.  May be not me but she represent
our country and this is what our Betty decided to sell us as to the outside
world. 

The
debate is raging all over the world.  As
they say we live in a global village and nothing is hard to reach to a village
gossip of global scale. Now she is finally booted out of the BBA house, Addis
Admas Radio had managed to conduct a phone interview with Betty on the phone
from South Africa.    The
interviewer made a lot of effort to make her feel ashamed. Nop;
not our Betty.  She is quite
defiant about her behaviour on BBA.  She even
has the audacity to blame her society’s lack of understanding as to what Big
Brother is all about.  She also pointed
out the lack of internet access in Ethiopia as the reason why her people
misunderstood her. Really?  What has that got to do with how you chose to
be shameless knowing you are going to be viewed by millions.  I get it. 
What Betty means is we don’t understand that sex is not a taboo
elsewhere.  So, on the
process, showing total disregard to her country and her culture.  Betty clearly sees herself as a separate
entity from her culture.     But is this possible.  Can any one of us see ourselves any different
to the society from which we emerged? I don’t think so.   In
another attempt to justify her action, Betty said she did what everybody is
doing in private.    Her arrogance is
staggering. 

She
went on to defend herself from this national anger that has engulfed her by
pointing out why all the good things she taught her room mates about Ethiopia
during her stay were never mentioned. 
She repeated this question to the interviewer and demanded he asks his
audience why this part was ignored.  Oh Betty,   It is not rocket science love; even if you
conduct a live operation and saved a life and then you went on to show your
vagina – as you just did,   it is the latter that would make it to the
News – As you have just discovered!!!

So
in the grand scheme of things, who is Betty? 
A naïve beautiful young woman who did not realise what she has done or is
she a reflection of the moral decline in our county hence shrewd enough to make
a name for herself by whatever means necessary? 
  Let’s see why I raised these questions.    I have
read  this young
woman has a BA in Biology, she has a job as an English teacher, and she appears
confident and stunning.  So why on earth would
someone who has so much going for her decided to sink so low?   A lot
of people have come to the conclusion that is for money.  The winning prize is $300,000.   Betty denied this emphatically. 

There
are three things that I want to bring into this discussion.  Materialism, Individualism and
Internationalism – all of which are features of Capitalism and I will try to
emphasise and link it with the story here. 
   There has been huge wealth
accumulation in the last twenty or so years in Ethiopia.  Many have become rich beyond their
dreams.  Many more are left just
salivating about what they see around them but overall, everyone wants to be
rich instantly in today’s Ethiopia.   A
lot of people want quick and easy money. 
I am not talking about money for one needs or survival.   I am
talking about in search of riches.  Women
have been bought and sold for money so to speak.   That
is liberal capitalism for you! Wealth does not just trickle down to the lower
level of society through normal economic activities as they would like us to
believe but evidently, through exploitation of one kind or another. 

I
can tell Betty had a good upbringing. She most likely comes from a middle class
back ground, where she her needs and wants were met and access to good
education.  But, this does not appear to
be enough.  She is also a product of
globalised world; i.e.  Betty probably
knows everything that happens in the US or any western city than those of us in
it – such is the level of integration and awareness about Global culture in
Ethiopia among the metropolitan, middle class, city dwellers.  All thanks to 24 hrs television and If one is as cleaver as Betty is, there is all sorts of
other things that social media can provide. Therefore, she would be constantly
fed who the celebrities in the west are, what they do and how they have acquired
this and the other.  So here begins the
idolisation of those who are faraway places and yet to the likes of Betty this   feels
tantalisingly close.  Thanks to modern
media. 

All
these things have a huge impact on the thinking and formation of individuals in
any metropolitan city.  Betty’s
appearance and behaviour here is not reflective of the culture or upbringing she
has come from but the culture she idolises and identifies with.  She believes this sort of behaviour is the
norm around those she believes are as enlightened as her( western)    That
is what she buys, that is what is sold to her.   You are wrong Betty.  Modesty is universal.  Selling your body in any form of sexual act
may bring fame and money but it won’t earn you any respect anywhere!  This is a sad reality of the modern capitalism
system.  Everything is up for sale.  Even your precious body is a commodity!!!   

One
has to listen to Betty’s interview to understand where I am coming from.  I am not judging her from the outset but
based on her own explanation.   She pleaded that we watch what happens in the
British or Aussie BB reality shows before judging her.  She claims worse things to have taken place
and we Ethiopians are taking this out of proportion.  For your information Betty, No one before you
has shown their private parts on BB to my knowledge.   Even
if they did, so what, must you follow such degrading path?   Betty  also try to teach us  this is “acting” if so, such “acting” is not
going to be shown in National Theatre is it Betty“There is a name for this sort
of “acting”.  It is called
Pornography.  

You
have stated about your forthcoming photo shoots. Who knows, at the rate you are
going, there is all sorts of possibility.   Once you show your bits, It is been known
opportunities in films, modelling and advertising to have come knocking your
door.  Our Betty is fully aware of that
and ready to exploit it.   But I urge Betty to think again.  What has been done is done but I believe you
are better than that.  My sisterly advice
is, be assertive in the future.  Use this
experience to bring something positive that does not involve taking your kit
off.

 There are thousands of Ethiopian women in
exploitative situations be it in the Middle East or at home, they have no mouth
or power  to defend themselves, you
have.  You are an intelligent girl.     Why
not use your abilities, qualities and your new found platform to bring positive
changes to your sisters in need and your country in general.  Don’t get carried away by what you believe is
the norm because it is not.  There are so
many good things you can do that would bring you popularity.  

The
writer can be reached: [email protected]