Ethiopia: Land of My Father

Ethiopia, a landlocked African country about the size of Texas, is the place of my ancestry.

A Short History of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is unique among the other countries on the African continent. Ethiopia, as an ancient civilization and monarchy, maintained its freedom from colonial invaders for hundreds of years, until WWII, when Italy occupied it from 1936 until 1941. When 1974 rolled around, the reigning emperor, Emperor Haile Selassie, was deposed by Derg, a military junta (a small group ruling a country.

Derg quickly established a socialist state. The Regime finally collapsed under the weight of bloody coups, drought, refugee problems, and uprisings in 1991. The EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) can also claim to have brought down the previous regime. In 1994, a constitution was adopted, and in 1995 Ethiopia held its first multi-party election!

Land of My Father

During the hazardous times of the Derg, my father thought it wise to leave. He thanks God everyday that he happened to meet a missionary family that was willing to help him immigrate to the United States. Leaving Ethiopia at the time wasn’t as easy as flashing a passport and boarding a plane. My father was escorted to the border of Kenya, where he met up with another missionary family. He was able to stay with them until he was able to afford the passage to America.

The Land Of Opportunity and American Women

Once my father arrived in the US, he set to work finding a place to live, and employment. He found a cheap apartment to rent in Fresno, California, and quickly found a job as a custodian for the Parks Department. It was one of the few jobs where his broken English didn’t keep him from getting paid. After two years, my father was able to enroll in an ESL class. There is where he met my mother. My mother was a counselor in the school where my father was attending his ESL classes. She thought he was charming and he thought she was beautiful. After dating for three years, they married and I was born in 1981.

Long Story Short

My father saw my birth as a sign to him that his life was complete. He escaped a country that was, at the time, a deadly place to be. He came to a country where his life was his own and he flourished. He found a woman who loved him despite his low education and his heavy accent. And he fathered a child that could carry his family heritage. My father has lived through much, and experienced much.

I am proud of him and all that he has accomplished in his life. I am also proud of the fact that I am an Ethiopian American!