Word: ethiopian
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...implemented, the regime of Mengistu's handpicked successor, Tesfaye Gebre-Kidan, imploded. Government troops turned on one another. Soldiers wantonly looted state property. Desperate, Tesfaye summoned Robert Houdek, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Addis Ababa, to tell him he could no longer control the situation. The interim Ethiopian leader promised he would issue a unilateral cease-fire and tell the people of the capital to welcome the rebels into the city...
Last month, 14,000 more Falashas -- the Ethiopian pejorative means strangers in Amharic -- were airlifted to safety in another Israeli rescue operation. By plane, the trip from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv takes just under four hours. But for these rural and deeply religious Jews, who believe they are descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the journey spans centuries. Descending from C-130 transports and commercial jets, they discover that their new home is not the least bit familiar. Says Rachamim Elazar, an Ethiopian activist who arrived in Israel in 1971: "It's the distance...
...ethnic blender -- quickly induces a new sense of identity in the young, who account for two-thirds of the latest immigrants. But tanks and tear gas are easier to master than modern culture, especially for a people who revere silence and modesty. Says Addisu Messele, chairman of the United Ethiopian Jewish Organization: "I love Israel, but Israelis are very aggressive and loud and impatient." Says Leora Samuel, who emigrated from Ethiopia in 1984 and now counsels newcomers: "Basically, we have to learn how to use our elbows...
Since 1985 almost 50 Ethiopians have committed suicide, depressed by both family separations and culture shock. The Ethiopians' ingrained reluctance to complain may also be to blame. Says Samuel: "They hold everything inside, sitting and brooding, until one day they explode." Israeli officials say slightly higher suicide rates are endemic among new immigrants worldwide and expect the problem to decline now that most families have been reunited. Says Louis Rapoport, author of two books on the Ethiopian Jews: "You can always find some bitter cases but I think most of them have integrated extremely well...
...Israel's Ethiopian community now numbers 36,000, and veterans have been employed by the government to ease the transition for newcomers. The little things can make all the difference. Because making coffee is part of the daily Ethiopian ritual, the arrivals are allowed to boil their own brew in their hotel rooms, where some may live for up to a year while taking language classes. Other problems are more insidious. The sudden switch to a high-fat and high-sugar diet is likely to increase the incidence of heart disease and cavities, which until now have been unusually rare...