In almost every culture food is central. Food connects people, bringing them together for a time to share something that creates bonds and memories. Some of these memories related to food will last a lifetime, as Ethiopian immigrants in northern Virginia can attest to. Two commonly mentioned dishes in several interviews were injera and doro wat. Ethiopians, like many immigrants, try to maintain connections to their heritage through their foods.

 Credit SpiceRoots

Injera is a spongy flatbread used as a utensil to eat other food. It can be found a nearly every meal and is definitely a staple to Ethiopian cuisine. Diners use the injera to pick up or scoop other food because Western utensils, such as a fork or spoon, are not used.[1] Injera is fairly easy to make which is good because it is needed at every meal. The grounded grain teff serves as the flour of the bread and it is mixed with water. Then it sits for a day or two before it is cooked in a saucepan. Although it seems somewhat similar to a pancake mix, it is much thinner and is only cooked on one side so that the other side remains spongy.[2] Keeping this spongy texture makes it easier for the consumer to soak up sauces, soup and the like.[3]

Credit The Daring Gourmet

Doro wat, like injera, is a traditional Ethiopian dish. Although quite popular and mentioned in several interviews of Ethiopian immigrants in northern Virginia, the dish doro wat is made more for special occasions. It is a spicy stew made with chicken and other ingredients, as well as a hard-boiled egg. Ethiopian immigrant, Zion Bezu, came over to America in the 1990s when she attended college in Kansas. She continues to make traditional Ethiopian food for her family and says her children’s favorite dish is doro wat. She only makes it on special occasions because it is very time consuming, taking hours of cooking. Bezu says doro wat is a traditional New Year’s dish, but Ethiopians celebrate their Enkutatash (New Year) in mid-September.[4] Immigrating at seven years old, Afomia Wendemagegn says doro wat is a traditional dish to serve at Christmas, also known as Genna.[5] Despite the long hours to make doro wat, it is a very traditional and valued dish to share with family on holidays such as Enkutatash or Genna.

Different traditional Ethiopian dishes have several meanings to immigrants and their families and often bring back memories. It is comforting to Ethiopian and other African immigrants to find traditional foods in northern Virginia or wherever else they may settle. Whether the consumers are as old as Bezu or younger like Wendemagegn, or even a second generation like Bezu’s children, traditional food is still very important, especially with their connections to holidays or just everyday meals. Passing down these dishes to descendants is important to the Ethiopian immigrants as well, so that they know the children do not lose their heritage. Food brings generations and nationalities together.

[1]Selome Araya. “Hands Instead of Forks: Eating Ethiopian Food.“ Skipping Stones 25, no. 3 (May 2013): 14.

[2] Heather U. Authentic Injera (aka Ethiopian Flat Bread), accessed October 27, 2016, http://www.food.com/recipe/authentic-injera-aka-ethiopian-flat-bread-96980.

[3]Selome Araya, “Hands Instead of Forks: Eating Ethiopian Food.” Skipping Stones 25, no. 3 (May 2013): 14.

[4] Zion Bezu, interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria, VA, July 23, 2015.

[5] Afomia Wendemagegn, interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria, VA, June 24, 2015.

Like other immigrants, Ethiopian parents living in Alexandria, Virginia have a difficult time instilling traditions from their homeland in their children. This is especially true for children who were not born in Ethiopia, or those who left Ethiopia for the United States at a very young age. There are many factors that control how much a second generation Ethiopian Americans engages the culture from their parents’ home country.

(Map of Ethiopia courtesy of CDC)

A common experience of the children of Ethiopian immigrants is situational identity.[1] Children can choose “how much” of their Ethiopian background they want to share with others based on where they are or who they are around. For example, kids would most likely act differently around their peers at school than they would at an Ethiopian gathering, such as church or meetings. Kids face enormous pressure to fit in in the United States, so it is understandable why they would not want to stand out or look different.

One factor that determines how much second generation Ethiopian Americans connect to their heritage is how much their parents or grandparents identify with their background. If parents constantly instill a sense of “strong pride” in their “national and ethnic heritage,” then their children will be more likely to follow suit and will be more inclined to have a “meaningful ethnic identity” in their new homeland.[2] In order for children to stay connected to their heritage, it is imperative that their elders are constantly fitting in Ethiopian activities and traditions into everyday life. One way that parents can do this is by transferring Ethiopian “legends, myths, memories, values, and special rites and rituals,” which allows children to feel a part of a community.[3] Kids also held onto their culture by attending festivals and Ethiopian churches. This allows second generation Ethiopians to “internalize Ethiopian pride and culture.”[4]

(Ethiopian Festival in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Ethiopian Heritage Society in North America.)

One example of a young Ethiopian American is Afomia Wendemagegn, a high school graduate who lives in Alexandria, Virginia. In an interview from the Alexandria Legacies oral history program, Wendemagegn discusses the ways that she has kept up with the traditions from her home country. Wendemagegn and her family travel back to Ethiopia every few years so she is able to stay connected to family, and she also believes that staying connected to her Ethiopian heritage is incredibly important. Wendemagegn explains: “…it’s nice to…feel like you’re a part of something else, alongside being part of American culture as well.”[5]

Second generation Ethiopian Americans connected at varying levels to their heritage. However, like most second generation Americans, they had a mixture of cultures from both their homeland as well as their new home. These children often became a mixture of the culture they were receiving at home, as well as what they were receiving from their neighborhoods, class backgrounds, friends, and lifestyles.[6] It is mostly up to parents of these children to ensure that ethnic pride is instilled in them from a young age to keep them connected to their heritage.

[1] Elizabeth Chacko, “Identity and Assimilation among Young Ethiopian Immigrants in Metropolitan Washington,” Geographical Review 93, no. 4 (October 2003): 494-495.

[2] David Levinson and Melvin Ember, eds., American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation (New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997), 269.

[3] Elizabeth Chacko, “Identity and Assimilation among Young Ethiopian Immigrants in Metropolitan Washington,” Geographical Review 93, no. 4 (October 2003): 500.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Afomia Wendemagegn, interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria Legacies, Office of Historic Alexandria, June 4, 2015.

[6] Levinson and Ember, 268.

From the late 1970s until 1991, Ethiopia was under the control of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who was responsible for creating its infamously harsh communist regime. Due to the rise in fighting and violence, many individuals fled to the United States. Not only was the United States extremely fearful of communism, but there were refugee acts in place that made it easier for those coming from communist countries. Those who did immigrate, however, discovered a country that was just beginning to recognize civil rights for African Americans. Although this changed later on, individuals immigrating from Ethiopia found themselves subject of the same racial biases.

Leaving Ethiopia for the United States was vastly different than what many expected. While they were safe from civil war and communism, Ethiopian immigrants still face discrimination due to the color of their skin. Tom Gjelten’s book, A Nation of Nations, discusses in detail the racism that Ethiopians faced. He takes time to mention the opinions of a politician from North Carolina named Sam Ervin who states that he “doesn’t know of any contributions that Ethiopia has made to the making of America.”[i] During the mid-twentieth century, racism against African Americans was an ever present issue. Despite the 1960 U.S. Census showing that “Americans of African descent outnumbered Scandinavian Americans by a margin of two and a half to one,” those with dark skin were still forced to endure the cruel treatment of Jim Crow while living in the southern United States.[ii]

Thanks to modern technology during the twentieth century, historians have been able to conduct interviews with individuals who experienced what it was like to move from Ethiopia to the United States during the presidency of Mengistu Haile Mariam. One of these individuals was Aida Abdul-Wali. Abdul-Wali was born around 1966, and lived in Ethiopia until the age of eight. Abdul-Wali describes the suddenness of the civil war breaking out in Ethiopia, stating “it was a peaceful time, and the next thing you know, it was like a military takeover.”[iii] After moving to both Yemen and Egypt, Abdul-Wali moved to the United States at the age of fourteen to reunite with her mother in 1980. Abdul-Wali and her family stayed in the area of Northern Virginia, moving back and forth between Annandale and Alexandria. When asked about being an immigrant, Abdul-Wali considers herself and her family lucky. “My father was an American citizen, so when we came here he basically sponsored us. So we had our green cards and what not when we arrived.”[iv]

Unlike Abul-Wali, Rhoda Worku’s move to the United States was not so smooth. The civil war greatly affected the Worku family. Worku’s father and uncles, who were all members of Haile Selassie’s government cabinet were executed by Mengistu Haile Mariam regime.[v] Worku and her family were not allowed to leave the country at first, but eventually she was able to escape to live with Presbyterian missionaries in California. However, Worku agrees with Aida on the subject of naturalization. She states that the process was “very nice,”[vi] and that the exam for naturalization “wasn’t that hard.”[vii] Worku was also fortunate enough to escape the harsh racism that plagued the African American community until the early 1970s, but she also had a more difficult experience finding a job due to her lack of citizenship. It is not surprising that Rhoda has found success in running her own business, because that would have been her simplest option as an immigrant.

While both Abul-Wali and Worku never experienced full on crimes against their civil rights in the United States, they still had the difficult task of becoming citizens and acquiring jobs. Each group of Immigrants faced their own unique hardships when arriving in the United States, and each individual had his or her own special story that caused them to leave their first home.

[i] Tom Gjelten, A Nation of Nations (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 120.

[ii] Gjelten, 121.

[iii] Aida Abul-Wali, interviewed by Apasrin Suvanasai, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, and Future, Adept World Management, August 25, 2015.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Rhoda Worku, interviewed by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, and Future, Adept World Management, May 20, 2015.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.

[vii] Rohda Worku, interviewed by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, and Future, Adept World Management, September 10, 2015.

With the political upheaval in Ethiopia in the 1970s, many Ethiopians fled the country in search of safety. Several came to the United States, and as a result, the decades of the 1980s and early 1990s saw an increased number of Ethiopian asylum-seekers.[1] The majority of these migrants settled in the Washington Metropolitan Area, creating the “largest subset of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in the region.”[2] Living in a new country that spoke a different language was not easy, and many feared how or even if they could fit in. Though forced to adapt to their new surroundings, Ethiopians still maintained their cultural heritage through many means, such as celebrating holidays and especially food.

The City of Alexandria embarked on an oral history project in which members of the Alexandria community were asked to share their personal stories and experiences. Four Ethiopian immigrant women were interviewed and all of these women commented on the importance of food and maintaining their cultural heritage. Rhoda Worku, a restaurant owner, discussed how “doro wats are very traditional” and are cooked around big holidays such as Christmas and Easter.[3] Worku explained that doro wat is a chicken dish that is very spicy. It is made with caramelized onions, berbere (a spice mixture), butter, and served with a boiled egg. Zion Bezu, a mother who also teaches Amharic (one of the main languages spoken in Ethiopia) to the community, also mentioned doro wat saying, “my kids—they love doro wat,” but stated she would rather go out and eat it because it takes a long time to cook.[4] Afomia Wendemagegon, at the time of the interview a senior in high school, raved about her mom’s doro wat saying “doro wat is probably like one of the top things” she loves to eat.[5]

 

Another food which all four interviewees discussed was injera, a staple in the Ethiopian diet. Injera is a sourdough flatbread with a spongy with a spongy texture made from teff flour. It is used as an eating utensil to scoop up stews and meats.[6] Aida Abdul-Wali, a computer engineer, described injera as a bread that is eaten with the hands.[7] Zion Bezu also described injera as a bread and laughingly said “everything comes with the bread.”[8] Since injera is a staple for the Ethiopian diet, it can be found in Ethiopian grocery stores. Bezu also commented on the popularity of injera saying, “you can find it in gas stations and in 7-eleven.”[9] Rhoda Worku described injera as “a spongy bread…it looks like pancake.”[10] Worku originally did not make injera in her restaurant but her customers begged her to make it so she did. Afomia Wendemagegon also discussed injera and the different dishes it is served with such as kitfo a “ground meat, fried a little bit, with some spices on it. And you eat it with injera.”[11]

Ethiopian foods, such as doro wat and injera help migrants connect to their native country. In addition, cooking these foods also provides a means of maintaining cultural heritage as generations are educated in Ethiopian cuisine.

1. Elizabeth Chacko, “Identity and Assimilation among Young Ethiopian Immigrants in Metropolitan Washington,” Geographical Review 93, no. 4 (2003): 491-92.
2. Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography 20, no. 2 (2003): 21-22.
3. Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” interviewed by Krystyn Moon transcribed by Adept Word Management. Caboose Café, Alexandria, VA. September 10, 2015. 7.
4. Zion Bezu, “Interview with Zion Bezu,” interviewed by Krystyn Moon, transcribed by Roberta L. Chew. Alexandria Archaeology Museum, Alexandria, VA. July 23, 2015. 21-22.
5. Afomia Wendemagegn, “Interview with Afomia Wendemagegn,” interviewed by Krystyn Moon, transcribed by Kim Janoff, Adept Word Management. Alexandria Black History Museum, Alexandria, VA. June 4, 2015. 25.
6. “Ethiopian Recipes Doro Wot Wat Wet,” Ethiopian Recipes, digital image, accessed October 24, 2016. Howtocookgreatethiopian.com.
7. Aida Abdul-Wali, “Interview with Aida Abdul-Wali,” interviewed by Apasrin Suvanasai, transcribed by Adept Word Management. Aida Abdul-Wali’s home, Alexandria, VA. August 25, 2015. 9.
8. Bezu, 21.
9. Bezu, 22.
10. Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” interviewed by Krystyn Moon. Transcribed by Adept Word Management. Caboose Café, Alexandria, VA. May 20, 2015. pg. 13.
11. Wendemagegn, 26.

Rhoda Worku’s Caboose Café in the Del Rey neighborhood of Alexandria opened a little over a decade ago in 2004. The name alone is an homage to the neighborhood’s former train station where a caboose still sits.[1] Worku did not initially include Ethiopian food on her menu, but catered to the palate of her non-Ethiopian patrons from the neighborhood.[2] Afterward, she was asked to include Ethiopian staples, such as injera, by vegetarians from the local yoga studio who sought out the healthy Ethiopian dishes.[3] Alexandria is known for its diversity of ethnic businesses and the large population of Ethiopian immigrants; however, few Ethiopians live in or near the Del Ray neighborhood.

Ethiopian businesses certainly are not hiding their ethnic appeal. It is commonplace for these businesses to include either “Ethio” or “Ethiopian” on their English signage and the Caboose Café is no different.[4] Their window cling reads out their offerings in fun fonts and different sizes, but in clear bold type “Authentic Ethiopian.”[5] A glance at the menu, shows exactly that healthful preference those yogis were looking for while showing the diverse community the Caboose Café is located in. The breakfast menu has the traditional sandwiches, waffles, and toast. The omelets come in the variety of Greek, Farmers, California, and Smoked Salmon.[6] The option that stands out here is the Greek option because the Caboose is advertised as an Ethiopian joint. However, in her oral history, Worku discusses her integration into the diverse Alexandria community, which included several years of employment at Bread and Chocolate in Alexandria. This business was owned by co-owned by two immigrants, one Greek and the other Swiss.[7] Though she had not been cooking there, it is possible that exposure to the culture and dishes. The non-Ethiopian dishes continue in the lunch menu with items like the Greek and ceviche salads, the Taste of the Mediterranean sandwich, and an array of paninis and quiches.[8] The tides turn, however, on the dinner menu.

Though Ethiopian food is found on both the both of the Caboose’s menus, the dinner menu specifically has a section of Ethiopian dishes. Moreover, Rhoda Worku’s dinner menu is truly a taste of Ethiopian cuisine and culture. An ‘R’ adorns her staples, and the second page presents a variety of dishes that an unfamiliar tongue can only guess at pronouncing correctly. Luckily, the menu comes with an English description of each meal and, equally as interestingly, the bottom of the menu presents an English to Amharic dictionary.[9] Amharic was the language Worku spoke growing up in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa. However, her school was run by British Presbyterian missionaries, teaching her British English.[10] Interestingly, not a single British staple such as; Beef Wellington, pork pie, or Yorkshire Pudding made it to Worku’s menu. Nevertheless, a decade of business with a loyal local customer base and rave reviews on Yelp show that her diverse menu and welcoming atmosphere works.[11]

The success of the Caboose Café could, to the untrained and unquestioning eye, be due to the large Ethiopian community in Alexandria. Nationally speaking, this area of the US hosts the largest Ethiopian community of all African immigrants at roughly twenty-five percent.[12] However, Worku’s restaurant caters to the diverse community first and later implemented her native dishes at the request of non-Ethiopian health enthusiasts. Worku’s desire to encourage the integration of Ethiopian culture into the community does not stop at the doors of the Caboose Café. Worku has discussed the importance of hospitality to the Ethiopian community and there is a brief mention of her partaking in a program with Girl Scouts as a representative of the Ethiopian community, though she does not feel it is a title she holds permanently.[13] This business is just as diverse as its community and, undoubtedly the food and hospitality are the reason for its success in spite of the significant increase in the cost of living in the area which could easily lead to an exodus of minorities.

 

Endnotes

1. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 7-9.
2. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 13.
3. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 13.
4. Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography20, no. 2 (July 2003): 33.
5. Paulette Paglia, “Caboose Cafe,” digital image, Google Maps Images, September 2016, accessed October 28, 2016, https://www.google.com.ezproxy.umw.edu/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x89b7b12030d432cb%3A0x25bf840a08c917ac!2m13!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m7!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Fcaboose%2Bcafe%2Balexandria%2F%4038.827512%2C-77.058905%2C3a%2C75y%2C92.31h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211s7LQef-C0DdXzeiuDPwSF_g*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x0%3A0x25bf840a08c917ac!5scaboose%20cafe%20alexandria%20-%20Google%20Search&imagekey=!1e3!2s-UGQsXu7EM2o%2FV9A-ax6K3NI%2FAAAAAAAAGlA%2FRwegXWanduQ3hh6I9QVuUzJiTyNqvlDEwCLIB&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiY5arwvfzPAhUJFj4KHbwCAeUQpx8IeTAM.
6. Rhoda Worku, “Caboose Cafe: Breakfast Menu, Lunch Menu,” 1, accessed October 28, 2016, http://caboose-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CC17-BreakfastLunch_full-2015_05-5-1.pdf.
7. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 7-8.
8. Rhoda Worku, “Caboose Cafe: Breakfast Menu, Lunch Menu,” 2, accessed October 28, 2016, http://caboose-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CC17-BreakfastLunch_full-2015_05-5-1.pdf.
9. Rhoda Worku, “Caboose Cafe: Dinner Menu,” 2, accessed October 28, 2016, http://caboose-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Caboose-Dinner-Menu.finalprint.pdf.
10. Rhoda Worku, “Caboose Cafe: Dinner Menu,” 2, accessed October 28, 2016, http://caboose-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Caboose-Dinner-Menu.finalprint.pdf.
11. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 13.; “Caboose Cafe: Bakeries, Coffee & Tea, Ethiopian,” Yelp, accessed October 28, 2016, https://www.yelp.com/biz/caboose-cafe-alexandria-4.
12. Elizabeth Chacko, “Identity and Assimilation Among Young Ethiopian Immigrants in Metropolitan Washington,” Geographical Review93, no. 4 (October 2003): 491.
13. Interview with Rhoda Worku, by Krystyn Moon, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present, Future, May 20, 2015, 13-14.

Dr. Elizabeth Chacko argues in “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area” that, by the 1990’s, Ethiopian immigrants formed the largest subset from Africa in the region, accounting for nearly 24% of all immigrants from the continent.[1] Once settled into new neighborhoods, Ethiopians have gone to great lengths carving out places for themselves, creating a density of businesses, stores, and restaurants. Such pursuits ensure jobs while serving as cultural and communal gathering places.[2] Food is central to the Ethiopian ethos in terms of hospitality, celebration of holidays, and preservation of culture. It is a complex culinary art that is centuries old, handed down like family heirlooms.[3] Principles concerning treatment of guests dictate that anyone who enters the home is invited to sit and eat.[4] When conducting my research for this class, I experienced this hospitality first hand by being invited into an Ethiopian home to enjoy delicious injera and doro wat.

 

Injera is a thin and spongy pancake like bread, which is made from teff flour, water, and a starter called ersho, which is a portion taken from previously fermented bread. [5] Josh Weil, writing for the New York Times says that, “to Ethiopians in America, bread is a taste of home.”  Ethiopian immigrant and New York grocer, Frehiwot Reta says that she grew up with the bread, and it is undoubtedly central to the culture.[6] At some point, the grain became expensive to import from Africa, making it difficult for restaurants and families to cook the bread. Now Ethiopian Americans are increasingly able to buy teff from American farmers who recognize the niche market. [7]

Another food important to the Ethiopian ethos is doro wat, which is a rich stew made of chicken and boiled eggs, prepared traditionally for Christmas and Easter. It is a dish that takes almost 8 hours when prepared correctly, which involves cutting up a full chicken into 12 pieces, caramelizing onions, and adding the berbere spice. Berbere spice is a mixture of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil, korarima, rue, ajwain (like celery seed), nigella (called black cumin), and fenugreek (similar to clover). It is the key ingredient in the cuisines of Ethiopia.[8]

 

Rhoda Worku discusses doro wat in her interview conducted by the Office of Historic Alexandria in Virginia. Worku explains that the dish is very traditional and tied to important holidays, such as Christmas and Easter.[9] Quite endearingly, she mentions how labor intensive the dish is and therefore you will want everyone to show up.[10] Worku, who was born in Ethiopia, was the first in her family to migrate to the U.S. on a tourist visa and then sought asylum.[11] She quite beautifully discusses that the “American Dream” for her is defined as starting with nothing and working hard to achieve home ownership and owning a small business.[12] Most importantly, however, is being able to eventually bring her family over with her. [13]

 

 

Ethiopians bring strong networks of kinship with them to the United States, which is integral to the vitality of the immigrant family.[14] It is more than a social unit; it is one of production, whereby the contributions of its members raise the standard of living for all. Group goals and collective needs are emphasized over individual expectations. This model is often used to help one another invest in starting of businesses, buying homes, and with educational needs. It is therefore with little doubt that Ethiopians remain each other’s greatest source of survival and success within the U.S.

“We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook. We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community.”   ~ Haile Selassie. [15]

 

[1] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography 20, no. 2 (2003): 27.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Mohammed, Jemal et al., “Revisit to Ethiopian traditional barley-based food,” Journal of Ethnic Foods, 3, no. 2 (June 2016): 135-141.

[4] Laura Hammond, This Place Will Become Home: Refugee Repatriation to Ethiopia (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004), 109.

[5] Mohammed, Jemal et al., “Revisit to Ethiopian traditional barley-based food,” Journal of Ethnic Foods, 3, no. 2 (June 2016): 135-141.

[6] Josh Weil, “To Ethiopians in America, Bread is a Taste of Home,” New York Times, Aug 01, 2007.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Harry Kloman, “Exploring Doro Wot,” Ethiopian Food Mesob Across America, August 27, 2015; accessed November 01, 2016, https://ethiopianfood.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/exploring-doro-wot/.

[9] City of Alexandria Archaeological Standards (Alexandria, VA: Alexandria Archaeology, Office of Historic Alexandria, 2015), Interview 2, pg. 7 (http://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29562#RhodaWorku).

[10] Ibid, page 8.

[11] City of Alexandria Archaeological Standards (Alexandria, VA: Alexandria Archaeology, Office of Historic Alexandria, 2015), Interview 1, pg. 5.

[12] Ibid, page 7.

[13] Ibid.

[14] John A. Arthur, Invisible Sojourners: African Immigrant Diaspora in the United States (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000), 96.

[15] “Address to the United Nations,” Address to the United Nations, accessed October 27, 2016, http://www.ethiopiancrown.org/address.

Mass Ethiopian immigration to the United States is a rather new phenomenon. With the US enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act (1965), it was not uncommon for an Ethiopian to travel to the US to pursue higher education. However, from 1974 to 1991, the Ethiopian Civil War prompted several key changes in American immigration law, including the Refugee Act (1980), Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986), and Immigration Act (1990). These new laws were responsible for allowing hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian refugees to flee the war zone and come to the US in the late twentieth-century, and many settled permanently in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

(Image Courtesy of Google Maps)

Ethiopian refugees quickly established a distinct community within the region, and their large footprint is apparent in Bill Broadway’s Washington Post article from May 2, 1998, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home: Orthodox Christian Community Keeps Tradition Alive in D.C. Area.”[i]

The article begins by describing a church service led by Reverend Abba Melaku Getaneh at Debre Mehret St. Michael’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Northeast Washington, DC. According to St. Michael’s website, “[t]he Debre Mehret St. Michael’s Church was founded on May 30, 1993. Initialy [sic], the Church was established in a small room by about 30 parishioners on the initiative of Komos Abba Melaku Getaneh (Abune Fanuel) in the Woodner Building located on 16th Street in Washington, D.C.”[ii] The article explains that there were four other Ethiopian Churches within the DC area at the time: Medhane Alem in Capitol Heights, Maryland; Debre Selam Kidest Mariam (also known as St. Mary’s); Debre Haile Kedus Gebriel (also known as St. Gabriel’s) in Washington, DC; and Kidane Mihret in Alexandria, Virginia.

(Created by Dino Reschke Using GoogleMaps)

Much can be learned about late twentieth-century Ethiopian immigration to the United States from just this one Washington Post article. First, Broadway describes St. Michael’s church service being held “in a converted electrical warehouse ….”[iii]

According to Elizabeth Chacko, who is a geographer and one of the most prominent Ethiopian immigration researchers, the conversion and use of warehouse for church service is a prime example of heterolocalism and ethnic place-making.[iv] Like other late-twentieth century immigrants, Ethiopians resettled in a very densely populated area, so space for new construction and funding for a new establishment was not available. Therefore, Ethiopians took what they could get and re-purposed a warehouse into St. Michael’s Church with the idea that it would be a temporary facility until assets became available. As a result of converting an old warehouse into a church, Ethiopians had an ethnic institution that they could use to freely practice their religion and language, and it also created a place to network with other immigrants like them.

It is evident that due to the Washington, DC metropolitan area’s dense population at the time of their arrival, Ethiopian immigrants could not all live in one ethnic neighborhood like the Italians, Irish, or Chinese did in the early twentieth-century US metropolitan cities. Ethiopian refugees were forced to find homes wherever there were vacancies in the area.

As demonstrated in the image to the right, this resulted in immigrants becoming highly scattered throughout the DC region, which is a classic example of residential dispersion.[v] This data also coincides with Elizabeth Chacko’s later survey of Ethiopian establishments in this region, which is provided on the right.

Two examples of Ethiopian culture are also presented in this article. Broadway states that “[m]ost of the women and girls, including babies wore a yabesha lebse, an Ethiopian dress and shawl made of a gauzy white cotton fabric with colorful hems.”[vi] Broadway also explains through an observation that while the people were singing and dancing, they were “frequently bursting out with a trilled ‘Yi-yi-yi.”’[vii] While these may seem like trivial points, these two examples of Ethiopians freely practicing their traditions while living in the US, maintaining connections to their heritage through the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Though it has been nearly twenty years since the publishing of Broadway’s article, Ethiopian immigrants and their children have continued to make the Washington, DC metropolitan area their home. With modern-day technology and the limited number of available public records, it is possible to learn more about the immigrants who are mentioned in this article, and to also visualize the distance that they had to travel in order to attend service at St. Michael’s.[ix]

(Created by Dino Reschke Using Google Maps)

Bizuayehu Ayalew was described as 27 years old and a “choir member” at St. Michael’s.[x] In 1993, Ayalew lived at 1355 Peadbody Street NW, Washington, DC.[xi] Then, in 1994 and 1995, Ayalew’s address was 8715 1st Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland.[xii] Assuming that Ayalew did not move at the time that the newspaper article was written, Ayalew would have lived approximately 7.5 miles from the church via automobile or 40 minutes by walking and taking Metrorail.[xiii]

Dagne Gizaw was the “secretary of the board at St. Mary’s.”[xiv] Gizaw lived at 8008 Eastern Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland from 1994 through 2002.[xv] At the time of Broadway’s article, Gizaw lived approximately 6.5 miles from the church via automobile or 40 minutes by walking and taking Metrorail.[xvi] Additionally, the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 listed Gizaw as having a spouse, Zewiditu Nekenek, and a child, Abesha D. Gizaw.[xvii] An article featured in the Washington Post in 2006 included a statement from Gizaw, which identified him as now being a deacon.[xviii]

Fikre A. Gelaye was an “assistant pastor at St. Michael’s and secretary of a cooperative association for Washington area Ethiopian Orthodox churches.”[xix] Gelaye lived at 3010 Earl Place NE in Washington, DC in 1993 and again in 2000-2002.[xx] This address is very close to St. Michael’s Church, so being that Gelaye was an assistant pastor, it is likely that this property may have belonged to the church (such as a rectory). Additionally, it is plausible that Gelaye served in another church from 1994 to 1999 and came back to St. Michael’s in 2000, which would explain the gap in years reported for this address.[xxi]

Menen Yifru was described as being 32 years old, a refugee, and “a Marriott employee who left Ethiopia 12 years ago and has attended St. Michael’s since its inception.”[xxii] Yirfu was born on September 17, 1964, and lived at 5510 N. Morgan Street Apt 203 in Alexandria, Virginia in 1991, and in an apartment at 621 Hamlin Street NE, Washington, DC in 1996. Assuming that Yifru did not move at the time that the newspaper article was written, she would have lived approximately 2.5 miles or roughly 10 minutes away from the church via automobile (Metrorail is unavailable from this address).[xxiii] Additionally, records indicate that Yifru married at least twice while living in the United States. Yifru’s marriage license from October 1, 1987, reflects that she first married Michael Van Colbert while living on 617 Hamlin Street NE #2 in Washington, DC. The marriage license lists that it was her first marriage, that she was born in Ethiopia, that she had one year of college education as opposed to her husband who had three years, and that her parents were Yifru Gebeyehu and Abebaye Mengesha.[xxiv] Though there is not a divorce record available online from her marriage with Colbert, records indicate that she later remarried Teawodros Gebeyehu on November 5, 1994, and subsequently divorced him on August 25, 2000.[xvv]

[i] Bill Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home: Orthodox Christian Community Keeps Tradition Alive in D.C. Area,” Washington Post, May 2, 1998, D8.

[ii] Debre Mihret Kidus Michael Church, “About,” accessed October 27, 2016, http://stmichael.welela.com/?q=node/30.

[iii] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8.

[iv] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography 20, no. 2 (Spring-Summer 2003): 24, 28.

[v] Ibid., 11-12.

[vi] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8.

[vii] Ibid.

[ix] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8. Three other members of the church were identified in a picture in this article; however, there are not any public records available online for these individuals (Frehwoi Lema and her child, Elshadye, and Deacon Netsere Taye).

[x] Ibid.

[xi] U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[xii] U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[xiii] Google, “Google Maps,” accessed October 27, 2016, https://www.google.com/maps. While 7.5 miles may not seem like a long way to travel via automobile, the Washington, DC metropolitan area is known for its high amounts of congestion. It could take over an hour to travel a few miles during rush-hour traffic.

[xiv] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8.

[xv] U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[xvi] Google, “Google Maps,” accessed October 27, 2016, https://www.google.com/maps.

[xvii] U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[xviii] Debbi Wilgoren, “Ethiopians in D.C. Region Mourn Archbishop’s Death,” Washington Post, January 13, 2006.

[xix] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8.

[xx] U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com; U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, accessed October 26, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com. There are not any available public records online that list Gelaye’s residence between 1994 and 1999.

[xxi] Google, “Google Maps,” accessed October 27, 2016, https://www.google.com/maps.

[xxii] Broadway, “For Ethiopians, Church a Home Far from Home,” D8.

[xxiii] Google, “Google Maps,” accessed October 27, 2016, https://www.google.com/maps.

[xxiv] Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014, accessed October 25, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[xxv] Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014, accessed October 25, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com; Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-2014, accessed October 25, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

Ethiopia’s immigration patterns have been greatly affected by political and economic struggles. According to Professor Solomon Addis Getabun of the University of Central Michigan, “The majority of the African refugees of the past decade have come from the Horn of Africa, an area that has been in permanent emergency for decades.” Ethiopia has accounted for 1,743,800 of these refugees, mostly caused by the misfortune of the Red Terror.[i]

An article from the Washington Post from June 1982 cited a skyrocketing rate of 1,457 Ethiopians applying for asylum in the United States. The first wave of the Ethiopian exiles in the United states arrived in 1974, following an increase in violence related to the Marxist takeover and assassination of Haile Selaisse. United States government policy shifted in reaction to the violence, allowing more Ethiopians to apply and become approved for asylum in the early 1980s.[ii]

Between 1976 and 1978, the Marxist government of Ethiopia executed as many as 500,000 citizens in a conflict called the Red Terror. The Marxist government abolished the parliament, suspended the constitution and arrested the emperor, who died in custody.[iii]  Just as so many Ethiopians escaped Ethiopia to the sound of gunfire, so did Aida Abdul-Wali. In a 2015 interview with Apasrin Suvanasai, Abdul-Wali discusses leaving Ethiopia and arriving Alexandria, Virginia around 1980.[iv] Abdul-Wali recalled: the Red Terror: “What I remember from that is it was a peaceful time, and the next thing you know, it was like a military takeover. And I remember one day—like the next day, there were just like bodies outside, like we’d never seen it before. But it was just like literally blood coming down the hill because they had just taken and killed so many people.”[v]

For some families at the time, the Marxist government takeover was a dangerous time. The Abdul-Wali family, like many others, attempted to leave Ethiopia in reaction to these events.  And–many settled in the Washington Metropolitan Area, especially Alexandria, Virginia.

[i] Solomon Addis Getabun, The History of Ethiopian Immigrants and Refugees in America, 1900-2000 (New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2007), 48-53.

[ii]Joanne Omang, “Policy Change Will Let Exiled Ethiopians Stay in U.S., ” Washington Post, Jul 8, 1982.

[iii]Tom McGhee, “Red Terror in Ethiopia killed thousands between 1976 and 1978,” Washington Post, July 11, 2013.

[iv]  Aida Abdul-Wali, interview by Apasrin Suvanasai, Aida Abdul-Wali’s Home in Alexandria, Virginia, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present and Future, August 25, 2015.

[v] Aida Abdul-Wali , interview by Apasrin Suvanasai, August 25, 2015.

Ethiopian migration to the United States began in the late 20^th-century as the result of civil war and political unrest. [1] The lifestyles of Ethiopian immigrants also had to be altered once they arrived in the United States. Ethiopian immigrants were subjected to “blocked mobility.” One could easily assume whatever job they worked in Ethiopia would transfer to the United States and they would find something in the same field; however, this was (and is) very uncommon. The “blocked mobility” thesis analyzes how immigrants are often forced to create their own jobs because they have been restricted in the host country due to structural or prejudicial reasons.[2] However, some immigrants find entrepreneurship appealing because an accreditation is not required and their language skills do not have to be perfect.[3] It should be noted that not all Ethiopian immigrants became entrepreneurs; some went to college and found jobs in new field, while others faced downward mobility.

Marie Price and Elizabeth Chacko describe the Washington Metropolitan Area as a community where immigrants, especially Ethiopians, built restaurants or took jobs to serve the diverse community, whether that be construction, driving a taxi, social work, or professional services.[4] These occupational interests are seen in the real lives of Ethiopian immigrants in the area today, which we read about in oral histories conducted with Ethiopian refugees who live or work in Alexandria, Virginia. A young Ethiopian immigrant woman, Afomia Wendemagegn, spoke about the downward mobility of her parents’ when they arrived in the United States. In Ethiopia, her mother worked in an office, and her father drove a taxi.[5] However, once they arrived in the United States, both her mother and father worked as servers in a sandwich shop.[6] Her parents most likely became downwardly mobile because of the language barrier.

Therefore, jobs were created by the Ethiopian immigrants because they offered more flexibility. Rhoda Worku immigrated to the United States and enrolled at a college in California in the early 1980s, and then transferred to Northern Virginia Community College.[7] She worked as an accountant for many businesses in Northern Virginia until 2004 when she opened the “Caboose Cafe.”[8] Worku enjoys working for herself, and serving her community. She caters to whatever the community asks in terms of menu items, and she especially enjoys interacting with the neighborhood children, something she may have not been able to do working another job.[9] Entrepreneurship has been a positive experience for Ethiopian immigrants such as Worku.

Rhoda Worku (on the far right) owner of the Caboose Café in Alexandria, Va.

(Photo Courtesy of the Alexandria Gazette Packet)

Downward mobility affects immigrants because of prejudicial or structural issues, eincluding Ethiopians. Wendemagegn’s parents settled with employment at a sandwich shop once they arrived in America. On the other hand, Worku worked hard to build her company from the ground. Other Ethiopian establishments in Northern Virginia include restaurants, beauty salons, fabric stores, clothing stores, and businesses specializing in Ethiopian music.[10] These businesses owned by the Ethiopian immigrants in the Washington Metropolitan area not only bring together the Ethiopian population but also serve the general community.[11] These businesses allow a place to explore Ethiopian traditions and ultimately reject the idea of “blocked mobility” that many immigrants face in the United States.

“Little Ethiopia” in Washington D.C.

(Photo Courtesy of the Ethiopian Times, Online Newspaper)

[1] Jill H. Wilson and Shelly Habecker, “The Lure of the Capital City: An Anthro-Geographical Analysis of Recent African Immigration to Washington, DC,” Population, Space and Place (2008), 433.

[2] Marie Price and Elizabeth Chacko, “The Mixed Embeddedness of Ethnic Entrepreneurs in a New Immigrant Gateway,” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies (2009), 330.

[3] Marie Price and Elizabeth Chacko, “The Mixed Embeddedness of Ethnic Entrepreneurs…,” 330.

[4] Marie Price and Elizabeth Chacko, “The Mixed Embeddedness of Ethnic Entrepreneurs…,” 332.

[5] Afomia Wendemagegn, “Interview with Afomia Wendemagegn,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria.gov (June 4, 2015), 5.

[6] Afomia Wendemagegn, “Interview with Afomia Wendemagegn,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, 6.

[7] Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, Alexandria.gov (May 20, 2015), 5.

[8] Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, 7.

[9] Rhoda Worku, “Interview with Rhoda Worku,” Interview by Krystyn Moon, 16.

[10] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography (2009), 33.

[11] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” 33.

Many Americans believe that immigrants, especially those whom do not speak English and are not white, create miniature versions of home in American cities. It is true that, in Washington, D.C., Ethiopian businesses and homes have existed since the late 1970s. In her article “Ethiopian Ethos,” Elizabeth Chacko calls these neighborhoods ethnic sociocommerscapes where “Ethiopians sustain their ethnic identity and heritage in ways that leave imprints on the urban and suburban landscapes.”[i] However, as seen through maps from the 1980’s to the present, the boundaries of these “Little Ethiopias” evolve over time. While many commercial locations remain inside the city, Ethiopian immigrants today are more likely to live in Alexandria, Virginia and or Silver Spring, Maryland. These neighborhoods and commercial areas are separated from one another, and additionally far less homogenous than perceived.

Figure 1

Courtesy of Emily Wax, “Ethiopian Yellow Pages: Life, By the Book,” The Washington Post, June 8, 2011, accessed October 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ethiopian-yellow-pages-life-by-the-book/2011/06/01/AGM64YMH_story.html.

According to the information available in Mama Tutu’s Ethiopian Yellow Pages (Figure 1), a directory for Ethiopian businesses throughout the area, it appears that the first recorded concentration of one of these ethnic sociocommerscapes was in DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood in the late 1980’s.[ii] In the 1990’s, another concentration of Ethiopian businesses and homes appeared on U Street, not too far from Adams Morgan.[iii] Today, many of the newer businesses listed in Mama Tutu’s Yellow Pages are things like camps, churches, and soccer teams in Arlington and Silver Spring.[iv] This is important because it means businesses by and for Ethiopian immigrants in the surrounding suburbs of D.C. are advertising elsewhere.

This trend of Ethiopian ethnic sociocommerscapes stretching beyond the D.C area in multiple locations can also be seen in Chacko’s article. She includes a map of where Ethiopian immigrants live and have businesses in Washington D.C. that she created using census data from 2009. As seen in her map (Figure 2), there are still businesses, like grocery stores and restaurants, in Adams Morgan , but more Ethiopians are actually living in Silver Spring, Maryland or Arlington, Virginia.

Figure 2

Courtesy of Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography 20 no.2 (2009)

In an article from 2015 in the Greater Greater Washington, a Washington D.C. online news source, journalist Dan Reed also explains the evolution of Ethiopian neighborhoods. In a map created by Reed (Figure 3), it is evident that most Ethiopian immigrants have moved entirely out of the district. Although they have many businesses inside the city, most of them by 2015 live either in Silver Spring or Fairfax.[v] Reed explains that this is likely due to the high costs of living inside the city (and possibly the inner suburbs), crime rates, and the quality of schools in the surrounding areas.[vi]

Figure 3

Courtesy of Dan Reed, “Little Ethiopia has Moved to Silver Spring and Alexandria,” Greater Greater Washington, September 14, 2015, accessed October 27, 2016, http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27954/dcs-little-ethiopia-has-moved-to-silver-spring-and-alexandria/.

What these maps show is that “Little Ethiopia” is not isolated to one area nor is it excluded to Ethiopian immigrants. Currently, Ethiopians in America live in different areas than they work and develop new businesses all throughout the Washington area. Although they have commercial areas inside the city, they live in the surrounding suburbs. While they undoubtedly create communities, or ethnic sociocommerscapes, they are far more integrated into the city than a term like “Little Ethiopia” would let us believe.

[i] Elizabeth Chacko, “Ethiopian Ethos and the Making of Ethnic Places in the Washington Metropolitan Area,” Journal of Cultural Geography 20 no.2 (2009): 29.

[ii] Emily Wax, “Ethiopian Yellow Pages: Life, By the Book,” The Washington Post, June 8, 2011, accessed October 26, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ethiopian-yellow-pages-life-by-the-book/2011/06/01/AGM64YMH_story.html.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Dan Reed, “Little Ethiopia has Moved to Silver Spring and Alexandria,” Greater Greater Washington, September 14, 2015, accessed October 27, 2016, http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27954/dcs-little-ethiopia-has-moved-to-silver-spring-and-alexandria/.

[vi] Ibid.