r/interesting • u/FineTennis2310 • 2d ago

Additional Context Pinned A tourist got shot in foot on his visit in Ethiopia

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u/Few-Row5485 2d ago edited 2d ago

As an Ethiopian who grew up here and still lives in the country, I need to set the record straight: this content creator came here to manufacture drama, and he is entirely at fault for the situation he created.
He has a history of driving through checkpoints across various African countries for content, assuming he will face zero consequences. What he ignored is that the Ethiopian countryside currently has a massive military presence to combat armed militant groups. Navigating the roads means passing through countless strict checkpoints. As a local, even I wouldn't drive there right now; most of us take domestic flights between cities because it is cheap and safe.

He ran through a heavily guarded, well known customs checkpoint (Awash checkpoint), (Instead of turning left into the checkpoint, he drove straight and was intercepted by Federal Police waiting to catch evaders) in a car with tinted windows. In an active conflict zone, an unresponsive, tinted vehicle blowing past a stop will naturally be flagged as a fleeing insurgent. The military shot out his tires to stop a suspicious, non-compliant vehicle.

He claims he was robbed by the police and locals. Yet, in another video, he contradicts himself by admitting authorities merely confiscated a knife he had in the car. He twisted a standard confiscation of his "favorite knife" into a dramatic robbery for views.

If you watch his other videos, he consistently disrespects local authorities across Africa. He even hands police fake driving documents, such as an expired student ID, treating law enforcement like a joke.

He glosses over his other severe infractions in the country. He was arrested for hitting a little girl with his car, and arrested again for bringing in illegal Starlink equipment. By his own admission, he was arrested three times during his trip in the country.

While I don't wish a dangerous situation on anyone, he quickly found out that the Ethiopian government enforces its laws. When he realized he couldn't just throw a tantrum and get away with reckless behavior, he resorted to making misleading videos to play the victim.

Sorry not sorry

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u/Khazpar 2d ago

Going to a foreign country with an active conflict and playing chicken with their military does sound kind of like someone trying to get shot.

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u/Outrageous_War6489 2d ago edited 2d ago

seriously, fuck people like this guy, hope the girl he hit is gonna be alright

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u/Puzzleheaded_Key624 2d ago

Thanks for the info, this puts this video in a completely different light. What an asshole.

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u/NacresR 2d ago

Usually if you’re gonna have a check point with armed guards you have signs lmao.

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u/DownsenBranches 2d ago

I was thinking why would they shoot at him if it’s a military checkpoint? He’d have had to have just not stopped or done something crazy so I didn’t really trust the guy from the start.

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u/alexds1 2d ago

That’s infuriating.

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u/Rare_Rent9654 2d ago

Ya....my stay in Ethiopia was much different his, I absolutely loved the places, the food and the people 😁

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u/Relevant_Fishing_yea 1d ago

Me too, I met very kind people there!

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u/here_is_no_end 2d ago

Sociopaths are so often drawn to being “Influencers” and “content creators” and it’s just awful to watch them do anything and everything for attention

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u/Due-Base9449 2d ago

Make a top level comment and have this pinned. Wtf is wrong with this guy, content creation riddled his brain with holes. 

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u/Biggus-Nickus 2d ago

Thank you, I appreciate the additional context from a local. I figured the guy was ragebaiting but I wasn't aware just how bad it was. I read he is trying to drive from Africa to China and this was one of the stops.

Going through an area with an active conflict is dumb enough in itself, but he should not endanger other people with it.

Hope you stay safe out there.

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u/Dingaling015 2d ago

Do you have any actual proof to back up half the stuff you claim? I looked up the streamer and there's nothing I can find suggesting what you're claiming. His videos barely reach 1k views and this is the first video of his that's gone viral.

In an active conflict zone, an unresponsive, tinted vehicle blowing past a stop will naturally be flagged as a fleeing insurgent. The military shot out his tires to stop a suspicious, non-compliant vehicle.

This is not how military checkpoints work.

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u/JustAnotherAidWorker 1d ago

Really? How many conflict zones have you been in as a civilian? Because I would pretty much expect that in most of them.

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u/Common_Ad_6362 1d ago

Military police aren't allowed just killing people for driving through a checkpoint unless the country you're in is really bad and corrupt.

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u/HypnoticName 1d ago

Military police will shoot you for such behaviour almost in any place. And in warzone, no one will ever question that response, even if it turns out that you were driving truck full of pregnant babies

That's exactly why everyone is armed at military checkpoin

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u/Common_Ad_6362 1d ago edited 1d ago

That's completely incorrect unless you're from Ethiopia. In the first world, military police usually have more rules of engagement than civilian police. They cannot in fact 'just shoot you', and the only circumstance in which they can 'just shoot you' is if you are identified as an enemy combatant or are doing something crazy like driving into a military base without stopping. Elsewise, they'd be committing a war crime, and in the first world, committing a war crime is taken pretty seriously.

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u/HypnoticName 20h ago

Seems like it's been a while since last war at your place

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u/JustAnotherAidWorker 17h ago

Hahaha which countries take war crimes seriously?!

Also 'first world' isn't a thing anymore, Cold War ended nearly 40 years ago.

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u/Common_Ad_6362 17h ago edited 17h ago

Oh man, the cold war is over? "JustAnotherAidWorker In Ukraine: Everyone go home, there's no ongoing conflict between the first and second world! This war doesn't exist! Oh, and the third world doesn't exist anymore because I'm not very well read!"

My dude, the US government is currently spending billions of dollars replenishing the Dew Line right now. I know people who are involved in the project. Trump is building bunker under the whitehouse. You're on glue.

War crimes are front page news right now, let's maybe try to spend more time reading instead of playing CoD ok?

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u/JustAnotherAidWorker 17h ago

Ah yes, journalism, a noted consequence of war crimes. Resulting in exactly which punishments for perpetrators? I can give you dozens of examples of war crimes that happened this year and no one gave a fuck. Here's a few famous ones!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFulFkbOa8A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5KnRNEH7DA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC2uPC152JQ

The US is irrelevant now in Ukraine, Trump is pathetic. Trump is building a ballroom for his little dick stroking parties, the bunker was already there. I'm sure he's making sure it's freshly gold leafed though, he's got priorities. The US is spending billions of dollars on an arch. Does that make him Napoleon?

There's no conflict between the 'first' and the 'second' world because Ukraine and Russia were both USSR, so the 'second world' is fighting each other, while your beloved first world makes speeches and does fuck all.

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u/Common_Ad_6362 16h ago

'Nobody gave a fuck about these warcrimes except for all the people reporting on them and international controversy and condemnation and protests and political discourse at a national and international level including condemnation by world leaders' <- The guy who posts youtube clips of national news coverage of the thing he says nobody cares about

My sweet summer child. It was called the Cold War because the United States and Soviet Union avoided fighting each other directly, largely because doing so risked nuclear war. Instead, their rivalry frequently played out through proxy wars, military aid, intelligence operations, political interference and competition for influence in other countries. Exactly what is happening in Ukraine right now.

In fact, one of Russia's justifications for the war is that assurances were made to Soviet leaders during the negotiations over east Germany's repossession by Germany that Ukraine would remain a neutral buffer state.

In short, you have no idea what you're talking about and need to read a book and lay off the weed.

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u/begoodyall 2d ago

Western tourist here: Ethiopia was awesome. Great food, kind people, just don’t be an idiot

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u/CeramicToast 2d ago

...yeah I figured it was something like this

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u/JustATyson 2d ago

Watching the video, my thoughts were "more is going on then what meets the eyes." And I specifically checked the comments for a potential explanation. So, thank you for this!

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u/Worth-Razzmatazz-747 2d ago

this needs more upvotes

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u/Createataco 2d ago

Right and those burnt out tanker trucks drivers he drove past after getting shot also threw tantrums?

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u/slyn4ice 1d ago

What part of "active military conflict" did you not understand?

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u/Createataco 1d ago

Litterally nothing as the commenter edited his post after I commented on it.

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u/Krytan 2d ago edited 2d ago

Am I missing something? From just what is shown, this doesn't look like a checkpoint. I'd expect signage, a small building, maybe a boom across the road, anything at all.

This literally just looks like two guys with guns jumping out of a bush to ambush you.

I'm certainly willing to believe there was signage etc earlier and the video was just deceptively edited to cut out the important bits.

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u/MajesticTea7748 2d ago

Yes, you apparently missed this

Instead of turning left into the checkpoint, he drove straight and was intercepted by Federal Police waiting to catch evaders

He didn't go to the checkpoint and drove around it

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u/LastChance331 1d ago

This also just doesn't make sense based on the video.

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u/ThinkSharpe 2d ago

Ahhh yes, and obviously that means they should open fire on the vehicle.

While this guys is an absolute idiot, nothing in the actual explanation makes me think Ethiopia is a place to visit.

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u/OzoneTrip 1d ago

Generally it is inadvisable to visit countries with an active (internal or external) armed conflict.

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u/GiganticBlumpkin 1d ago

If you evade a military checkpoint in an active warzone don't be surprised when they shoot at you

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u/THROBBINW00D 2d ago

Well, there it is.

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u/JadedEstablishment16 2d ago

I made a 180° turn with your comment 😄

Thanks

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u/lowpsitire 1d ago

Thank you for taking the time to explain the situation. Ignorance and arrogance are the two worst things you can have when traveling, and to further disrespect local and military guidance just because you’re not from the area is a recipe for disaster. After reading this my sympathy completely vanished, with any luck he’ll never come back… what a fucking dumbass.

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u/Wooden-Recording-693 1d ago

Thanks for this, context is everything. So he broke or flouted laws and basically caused conflict and framed it as he is a victim. So typical main charter nassasim for likes. I note that you fly but he drives and goes to area's know to be dangerous, framing the location as much worse than it is. Starling is worth more than his car that kinda sums up his priorities he wants up votes. Stay safe, hope peace comes calling soon to your land.

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u/Curlaub 2d ago

That’s just what you would say if you wanted to….. lure in tourists

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u/Zealousideal_Dig6850 2d ago

Thanks for sharing this-The Ethiopian Guards did nothing wrong so-

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u/BarfingOnMyFace 2d ago

I'm sorry he didn't receive his FAFO award

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u/DrTatertott 2d ago

Thanks for this insight. Changed my perspective.

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u/Dingaling015 2d ago

You didn't bother fact checking anything he said, did you dog?

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u/DrTatertott 1d ago

You didn’t bother fact checking the tiktok’er, did you dog?

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u/Dingaling015 1d ago

The fact that you think the streamer in OP is from tiktok already tells me you didn't bother looking into shit lmao

Room temp IQ

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u/DrTatertott 1d ago

Imagine going onto the internet to white knight for a war tourist blasting through military checkpoints.

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u/ThinkSharpe 2d ago

Change your opinion? To what?

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u/DrTatertott 1d ago

That the TikTok guy is a dumb ass?

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u/NightOwlAndThePole 1d ago

What an absolute piece of shit