Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Father of 77 rejects polygamy

|
|
 
  
Published: April 24, 2008 at 3:26 PM

GIWE ABOSSA, Ethiopia, April 24 (UPI) -- A man in Ethiopia with 11 wives says he has changed his mind about polygamy and is urging others not to go the same route he did.

Ayattu Nure, 56, said he married his 11 wives as a way of sharing his wealth but the costs involved in raising his 77 children have depleted his fortune, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

"I want my children to be farmers but I have no land, I want them to go to school but I have no money," he said.

Ayattu said his wives gave birth to 100 babies total but 23 of the children died at young ages. He said the size of his family makes it difficult for him to spend as much time as he would like with each of his wives and children and he often has trouble feeding them all.

"People see me as a funny man but there is no fun in my condition. I am a desperate man struggling to survive," he told The Daily Telegraph.

He said the government has refused to help him, despite his pleas for assistance in obtaining photographs of his children so they will be allowed to attend school.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars Cheerleaders of 2012 The Chicago Auto Show
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China The Most Desirable Women of 2012 The best kisses
Additional Odd News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
1 of 25
Meryl Streep and Colin Firth attend the "BAFTA" ceremony in London
View Caption
fark
It's a Jeep thing. You wouldn't understand
Baby shower ends with three people stabbed after a drunken argument between relatives of mom-to-be...
"Man charged with exposing himself to women while riding bike" which really is a lot harder than...
Florida man ran into his ex-girlfriend yesterday. Then he backed up and ran into her again. He misses...
Adam Adamowicz, concept artist for Fallout and Skyrim, passes away after losing his fight against...
If you are Australia's most notorious hired gun, brag about having killed 19 people, and go by the...