Summary

In “The Street Sweep,” a man named Getu living and working as a street sweeper in Addis Ababa prepared to go to a party at the Sheraton Hotel in honor of a man from a non-profit he recently met, whom he refers to as “Mr. Jeff” (35). Getu did not know how to tie his tie, so he stuffed it in his pocket. Getu believed Mr. Jeff was going to give him a job, and that the money provided from that job would save his mother's house. The government had been buying and razing houses that were smaller than four stories tall. Getu's mother expressed skepticism about people who work for non-profits.

Getu arrived at the Sheraton and told the guards working there that he was Mr. Jeff's aide. They did not believe him until he demonstrated that he...