One Aspect of the Ethiopians’ life in Washington their tense relations with the African American
is especially perplexing. In certain respects, says Yosef Ford of the Ethiopia Community Center, Ethiopians are drawn to this city because of its highly developed black community and its vibrant black political, economical, and social structure not to mention its well-established black artistic and cultural circles.
An excerpt from Sanford Ungar book: Fresh Blood: The New American Immigrants
Books are written by people, thus should be read with a grain of salt. Books are susceptible to relative thought, especially when qoutations from regular joe’s are used. I read something recently, I automatically classified as a blanket statement. Personally, I am not in opposition to generality. As I feel that they are just simplifications of the truth. Simplification is the only way we could maintain the sociological input we get in our daily life. I thought the excerpt above was positively enlightening explanation as to why many Ethiopians settle in the Washington DC area. That is till I read the below excerpt from the same page of the same book.
Published by April 2nd, 2006 in Social.As yet, Ford points out, the Ethiopian immigrants “see them-selves as Ethiopians first, and not as Africans or African Americans.” Even in Washington, he adds, “as newcomers, they would not want to be in position of the African American, noting that he is often on the ground floor, at the bottom rung of the ladder. Just because of their blackness, Ethiopians would not necessarily want to identify with the place African Americans hold in this society.“
?see them-selves as Ethiopians first, and not as Africans or African Americans.?
Generalizations are a necessary requirement in discussing particular people or nations… be it through polls or other statistics… you take your impression of the majority to represent that of the whole. What did you expect? A detailed analysis of the thousands of ethios over there and their attitudes towards America?…
The above line strikes me as valid…. (again, there will ofcourse be others who beg to differ, but most Ethiopians do adhere strictly to an ethiopian mindset and DO NOT regard themselves as “Africans” or “African Americans”)
?as newcomers, they would not want to be in position of the African American, noting that he is often on the ground floor, at the bottom rung of the ladder. Just because of their blackness, Ethiopians would not necessarily want to identify with the place African Americans hold in this society.?”
If you are inclined in a diametrically opposite view to the above description, I suppose it might be a bit insulting to be included in a lump and described the way above… but the fact is MOST ethiopians would rather NOT identify with other Africans as equals. This is a fact most easily observed here in the Motherland. A puzzle for sociologists perhaps… but an annoying trait for those of us who have to field inquisitions into our associations with African friends….
Once again, I’m not talking about exceptions here… You can go high and low and you are guranteed to meet Ethiopians who hold the views described above… much much more than the egalitarian “Pan-African” ethiopians….
I dont think its insulting to be included in the picture of african or even african americans. There is a sense of pride in me as an ethiopian. as well, i am also proud for being black, african.
I do feel that the above is accurate to a certain extent, but that doesnt mean i have to like that certain extent. It is becomeing more and more a global world, its time we accept our role as ethiopian, african, black and then human.
I’m an ethiopian but also an african
People has different experiences growing in a certain culture that tends them to categorize themselves as belonging to this group or that. Ethiopia is unique in terms of its culture from the rest of Africa. May be that is the barrier that tends to push us from identifying the rest of the black population here.
La la, I agree we seem to underestimate the sense of belogingness.
being ethiopian can make me being african but being african couldnt make me being ethiopian.
to stand together for human right thing can gave a power peoples who living such a place,they should waych there dicision clearly.
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