Ghirmai SANDIEGO and His Antique Collections
Source: Haddas Eritra newspaper,
Translation: Khaled Aberra
Everywhere, there are people who have hobbies of collecting antiques. Mr. Ghirmai Yohannes (who is more known by his nickname of "Sandiego") is one of them. Most of us know Ghirmai as a comedian and an actor. Nevertheless, Ghirmai likes to collect antiques. You can find old watches, typewriters, cameras, radios, coffee grinders, traditional dresses, etc., in his home. A short interview based on Ghirmai's hobby of collecting antiques, especially about an old type camera, which is preserved in his house, follows:
Q. I have heard that in addition of collecting old photographs, you also like collecting antiques. why?
A. Life goes in a circle. I collect only mechanical or manually operated equipments. I've only a few electrical appliances in my collections. But these are mostly of the older type. Most of the stuff works with gears. They are still in operation.
In the past people used to grind salt with a pellet by hand. later a mechanical device with a hard driven gears was introduced. There were also lighters (for cigarettes), used mostly by the rich.
In some homes you can still find an old model coffee grinder. You pour the coffee over a box-like structure. Then using a hand driver handle you grind the coffee manually. The same goes for the salt grinder.
In the case of the lighter, the handle was revolved by hand. The friction created thus would light a near by thread. Afterwards you blow out the flaming thread.
There were also manual record players (gramophones); they didn't have electricity or batteries to power them. So just like in clocks, you had to wind up the appliance and use it either daily or every two days.
In the same manner of the winding watch, the record player turns around and plays the music of the record; music could be heard with out electricity or dry batteries. Now, when we see the change, we've reached the level of sophisticated CD players. You can watch movies on DVD. There are many appliances that work manually, such as typewriters, clocks and others. I can't remember them all.
Today's appliances are very complicated. They work with electricity or dry batteries. It's hard to understand how they operate. Only the experts in their field can understand them. We are living in a computerized world.
In the past, a simple device like a coffee grinder was a new important invention in its time. But now, nobody, not even children see it as a big deal. The iron of the coffee grinder has rusted now. Bt in the past, great amounts of mental energy and creativity have been exerted on its invention. It is the inundation of such inventions that has brought the world to its current level of development.
When someone looks at these old devices, he or she can compare them. Maybe only the experts can appreciate the devices fully. So, everything used to work by gears revolving around the wheels. But now everything works through electricity.
These old devices may inspire a youth to think; it may lend him to invent or contribute to the world's development. These devices were invented by people like us. They can help you compare the computerized devices with the manually driven appliances.
Q. What does a photograph mean to you personally?
A. I have photographs of me as a child and as a grown-up. When I compare the old photos with my current photos (taken together with my family) there are many differences. This gives me a certain feeling and brings back memories.
So a photograph is an important document, which preserves a picture or a situation forever, in its natural state. The look I had as a boy of 18 years is gone. The only way I can view it again is in a photograph.
Let us take another example. A city can change in time. It can grow or be destroyed. For example, the way Asmara looked in 1933 and today is vastly different. The only way you can see and compare these two views (scenarios) is by looking at the old photos of Asmara.
Words can explain the past or other distant objects. But only a photograph can give you the exact image or details as things were at the time the picture was taken.
Q. You have some old cameras in your collection. Would you tell us about them and the other items?
A. As I said, all the devices used to work manually. I have a wooden camera. I guess it was made in 1925. It has a sleeve-like apparatus. It has a diagram showing how you can take pictures with it. (A man is seen taking a picture under a blanket or a sheet.)
The camera is fairly large. You can compare it with today's tiny cameras and see the advance. It looks like a big box. I have 3 other later models and an old stand as well.
Today we have small mobile cameras. This shows you how far the world has advanced.
I have other equipments, too. Most of them are big. I have a radio set the size of a big box. Today's radio sets are so tiny that you can put them in your pocket.
Q. How do you evaluate the level of photography in our country today?
A. I'm not an expert on photography. But, personally, I like and admire black-and-white photographs. I feel sad that it's disappearing and being replaced by the color photographs. I don't know how long a color photo can last. The only time I can see black-and-white photographs is in newspapers and in photo exhibitions. I feel sorry at such a situation.
Q. Why do you feel black-and-white photo is better?
A. Nowadays most of the photo studios in Asmara work only with color photographs. Only a few operate in black-and-white pictures. This makes me sad, I believe the black-and-white photos and their paper quality are better and they can be preserved for a longer period. I also feel it's better in style and I appreciate it more.
Q. Which pictures do you like from the liberation struggle archives, from your own experience?
A. I'm not an expert on photography. What I admire most about the liberation struggle fighter-photographers is their bravery and dedication. I believe photography is best done while relaxing and in calm situations. But those photographers used to work in the heat of battle situations. They faced bullets and bombardments as they worked. Their weapon was the camera. I admire their work in such a situation. Some of the results are excellent; they also take good photos. I saw most of their work in photo exhibitions and some magazines. I appreciate the photographers and their work.