J. Abbink, 2006 'Slow Awakening.. the Ethiopian 'Diaspora' in NL'..(as Published)

Diaspora 15:2/3 2006

Slow Awakening? The EthiopianDiaspora in the Netherlands, 1977-2007

Jan AbbinkAfrican Studies Center, Leiden; VU University, Amsterdam

This essay offers a preliminary account of the development of theEthiopian diaspora in the Netherlands, charting the process of com-munity formation among Ethiopian immigrants posited within afive-phase diaspora developmental model (DDM) that has theoreticalapplicability to a wide array of migrant groups. The discussion tracesthe various stages in the emergence of the Ethiopian community inthe Netherlands, suggesting that by 2007, the community hadreached stage 4 of the DDM, a juncture at which people abandonplans to return to their homeland and invest in lives in the hostcountry. The important transition to stage 4 was achieved in 2007as a result of the dual impact of a new Dutch Law giving mostEthiopians resident status and of initiatives connected to the wide-spread celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium on 11 September ofthat year. The discussion ends with consideration of how the commu-nity will likely develop as a whole and what the prospects are for crea-tive opportunities, given its small size and the restrictive social andinstitutional environment of Dutch society. (December 2008)

IntroductionIn this essay I offer a preliminary account of the development of

an Ethiopian diaspora in the Netherlands.^ African migrant commu-nities or diasporas have been an integral part of the Western urbanlandscape of postmodernity since the 1970s. Migratory flows of refu-gees, economic migrants, students, or professionals of various kindshave produced substantial communities that have adapted to newconditions and transformed themselves in the process. Their emer-gence has posed challenges to the host societies with respect to iden-tity, ethnic pluralism, legal issues, and integration, evoking thefamiliar prohlematic of multiculturalism, with the nation seen as a

Jan Abhink, "Slow Awakening? The Ethiopian Diaspora in theNetherlands, 1977-2007," Diaspora 15.2/3 (2006): 361-380. © 2011Diaspora: a journal of transnational studies.

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cultural mosaic (Eriksen 123, 143). There are also obvious chal-lenges for the migrating groups themselves: they cannot simplymaintain their identity, and always underestimate the changesexpected from them by the receiving society in terms of education,sociocultural traits, and economic skills. The migrants go throughtransformation processes that redefine their identities in a personaland collective sense and that create new forms of both nearness toand distance from their country of origin, though in unexpectedforms.

The migrant or diaspora experience in Europe differs significantlyfrom that in the United States or other continents: there is anotherhistorical trajectory, and a quite divergent set of ideological andsocio-economic conditions that traditionally inhibited large-scaleimmigration and restricted receptiveness. Indeed, for many centu-ries Europe was itself a major exporter of people (to the UnitedStates, Canada, Australia, etc.).

In a few European countries, the formation and integration ofmigrant communities take place without prohlems, but Europeancountries do not have the "immigrant country" ideology. Theyseem to have more enduring concerns about national identity andcontinuity, although there is broad disagreement witbin Europeanautochthonous societies about the nature of this identity. Somecountries define their emerging multiculturality hy reference to adominant culture (in Germany called the Leitkultur,^ "leadingculture"); in others, even this concept is doubtful. In severalcountries, notably in Western Europe and including theNetherlands, problems are perceived to occur mainly with Muslimimmigrants from North Africa, who more than other groups attractattention because of their educational and socio-economic problemsas well as, in some places, their radical tendencies (Snidermanand Hagendoorn). They are seen to "resist" integration, and,indeed, their spokesmen are often themselves opposed to it.^

In Europe, public debates about immigration in the mass mediaand in national parliaments are lively and sometimes vehement;they are about the integration—or, at least, the accommodation—of the newcomers, the future of diasporas, and possible immigrationrestrictions. No one speaks about assimilation in the Netherlandsanymore, but the discussion of migrant integration, identity,rights, and duties is intense, with phases of critique of the multicul-tural model as well as accommodative responses (Scheffer, "Het mul-ticulturele," Het Land; Doomernik).

The demographic momentum of migration into Europe seems tohave slowed a bit in recent years, due to stricter immigration regu-lation/restriction, but the existing immigrant communities arealready large enough to have formed significant minorities thatonly partly interact with mainstream societies. Multiple

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The Ethiopian Diaspora in the Netherlands

identifications among migrant communities, as well as contestedprocesses of multi- or inter-culturalization, are a permanent feature.

Because of their small number and their lack of alliances withother (African) immigrant groups, Ethiopians in the Netherlandshave not made their mark and have long lacked a clear communalidentity. This situation is reflected in a—so far quite limited—range of cultural expression and innovation hy Ethiopian Dutch.At the same time, there is a growing interest and involvement onthe part of Dutch natives in discovering and using the religious,culinary, and musical traditions of Ethiopia.^ Yet, as I shall demon-strate below, the recent change in the legal status of manyEthiopians and the organizational work associated with the celehra-tion of the Ethiopian Millennium appear to have produced a series ofdramatic changes in the Ethiopian diaspora in the Netherlands.

Theoretical Positioning

The emergence of diasporas has always posed challenges for themigrants themselves as well as for the receiving society.Glohalization processes of the last few decades have led to a lessen-ing of assimilatory tendencies among migrants, as technological andeconomic conditions decrease the effects of time away from and dis-tance from the homeland and other countrymen. These technologiesallow migrants to maintain their links with fellow migrants at homeand abroad, including their country of origin, and to move in globaldiscursive spaces via digital environments (Internet sites, satelliteTV) and social networks (via telephone, fax, e-mail, and exchangeof DVDs and videos).

Comparatively speaking, there appears to he a developmentalcycle among migrant groups that follows a fairly consistent sequenceof community formation. I here propose a diaspora developmentalmodel (DDM) composed of five phases. I hypothesize that allmigrant groups, including the Ethiopian Dutch community, go orwill go through them. In each phase, depending on numhers, legalenvironment, and average economic position, there is a specific con-figuration of several elements: identity-forming processes, relationsto the individual members of the host society, internal interactionand community organization, and specific modes of culturalexpression. I contend that the nature, or even the very possibility,of cultural creativity or innovation on the part of a migrant/diasporacommunity is, apart from size, dependent on the phase in which itfinds itself

The first phase of the model is diffuse immigration, resulting in arandom and unorganized population, who share a country of origin.At this stage, immigrants are socially fragmented, singles predomi-nate, and people follow mostly individual strategies of adaptation.

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Often their host country is an accidental choice. Their main concernin this phase is to acquire legal status and some form of income—either relief, welfare, or employment, whether legal or illegal. A min-ority of people who have come to receive higher education do not fitthis picture, but these "sojourners" (Solomon 43) are neither inclinedto form nor capable of forming a community, given their specificpurpose for arrival and their expressed desire to stay onlytemporarily.

The second phase is that oi group consciousness and tentative self-organization, in which people from the same home country discovereach other and the prohlems they share with respect to language,status, work, and problematic personal background. They live inthe shadow of their past problems and traumas resulting from politi-cal repression, economic hardship, and so on experienced in theirhome country. They try to deal with problems of displacement.Often there is a high level of (symbolic) political involvement inexile politics (Sheffer) and only a hesitant involvement with thehost society, via some forms of instrumental but often still informalself-organization. In these first two phases of the DDM, migrants actlargely as what Peggy Levitt has called "recipient observers" (931).

The third phase is the transitional community phase. In thisphase the migrants gradually develop their survival skills(working knowledge of the host language, securing income from ajob or state social welfare, development of interest groups to nego-tiate with bureaucratic authorities) and loosen their orientationtoward their country of origin. Self-doubt, a culture of complaint,and feelings of political deception work to create an ambivalent com-munity that lives both here and there hut knows it has no choice butto reconfigure its identity in order to develop toward accommodationand possible citizenship in the new country. Here the migrants showthemselves to be "instrumental adapters" (Levitt 931).

The fourth phase sees the emergence of a diaspora community.Either by choice or by necessity, people abandon any plans to"return home" permanently—and invest in their lives in the hostcountry. They gradually concentrate on education and acquiringskills, raising families, earning money to support relatives in thehome country, and solidifying organizations for mutual assistance,cultural (e.g., religious) expression, and establishing partnershipsfor negotiating with the authorities and institutions. Acceptance ofdual identity emerges, and children are raised as members of thenew society. Those who can afford it occasionally visit theircountry of origin, but few settle there again. Interest in culturalaspects of and products from the home country greatly increases:music, films, culinary products, clothing, and other items areimported. In this phase, ethnic restaurants and musical groups

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based in the traditions of the country of origin emerge and find amarket.

The fifth and final phase is that of the transnational diasporiccommunity—the mature diaspora, so to speak. In this phase, thecommunity is no longer one of migrants but consists of citizenswith a dual orientation toward both countries, who are familiarwith and more and more at home in both, although based in thenew homeland, which affords economic opportunity and stability.As Steven Vertovec has suggested, this phase is characterized hynew modes of cultural reproduction and a new type of consciousnessand "sustained hy a range of modes of social organization, mohilityand communication" (450). The public self-presentation of such com-munities is strong, and their organizational efficacy has increased asthey try to make their mark in the puhlic sphere. There is a promi-nent presence in cyberspace, often with influential Weh sites (seeHafkin, this volume). Memhers of the diaspora engage in commercialand cultural exchange with their former homeland, and many regu-larly travel back and forth. In this phase, a growing number ofpeople may have two physical homes and networks—that is, thefocus on territoriality as such decreases, hecause hoth homelandand hostland, as well as the connecting networks, are important.Territory, for diasporans, chiefly becomes a (nostalgic) signifier,often with a quite dated or partial narrative framing. If possible,dual nationality is maintained. The Ethiopian American communitycan he said to have entered phase 5. Only in this phase do themigrants or diaspora members show themselves to he "purposefulinnovators" (Levitt 931).

Obviously this is a general model that is partly dependent on theparticular stage an individual finds him- or herself in depending onthe time of immigration. Recent arrivals may be in phase 2, strug-gling with the problems of loss, displacement, and suffering, whilethe community as a whole is marked as transnational (and canthus ease the inclusion of newcomers). In phases 4 and 5, thefactor of generational change also hecomes important. The modelis tentative and to he developed and tested further, hut it can heapplied to any diaspora. It could he filled in with reference tosocial, economic, and political-legal conditions that affect or deter-mine the status of the migrant/diaspora group, and thus come toexplanations of its stage of development and its identity processes.

I maintain that the Ethiopian Dutch community has heen goingthrough such a DDM since the late 1970s and hy 2007 hadreached phase 4, becoming a diaspora community. Their entry intophase 4 is a recent phenomenon and was accelerated specificallyhy two events that occurred in 2007: the celehration of theEthiopian Millennium in September, which led to a notablestaging of public activities and self-promotion, and the new Dutch

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government's reprieve law of May 2007,^ which gave most formerEthiopian asylum seekers (who had no legal status and were inlimbo for more than a decade) residence permits and thus the pro-spect of citizenship (see below).

Emergence of the Ethiopian Communityin the Netherlands

The number of Ethiopians in the Netherlands is only a fraction ofthe total migrant population in the country. According to 2006 offi-cial figures, they numbered 10,300—some 5% of the total Africandiaspora in the Netherlands, which officially numbers about230,000.^ The first Ethiopians in the Netherlands arrived for(higher) education during the later years of the reign of EmperorHaile Selassie I (r. 1930-1974), when agricultural experts, civil ser-vants, and engineers were trained. The flow of students has neverceased since, and, indeed, the Netherlands is still a popular destina-tion for Ethiopian students, as Table 1 shows. In the late 1970s, pol-itical refugees started to arrive as a result of the repression of theDerg government and the civil war in Ethiopia (the "Red Terror"and ethno-regional conflicts). Between 1976 and 1984, about 1,000arrived, nearly half of whom were Eritreans (then statisticallycounted as Ethiopians), and a further 6,309 asylum seekersarrived between 1985 and 1996 (Emebet Dejene 83-5). Since 1996,between 100 and 150 Ethiopians have arrived every year, most ofwhom are unsuccessful in obtaining asylum but remain in thecountry nevertheless.^ The steady flow of Ethiopian immigrants inthe late 1990s and 2000s continued after the Ethiopian regimechange in 1991, fueled by the persistent unrest, violence, andpolitical—economic insecurity in the country.

In 2002, as Table 1 shows, the main motive of Ethiopians (and ofmost Africans) who came to the Netherlands was to receive asylum(56%). But education was a strong second (20%), much more impor-tant than the average for Africans.^ For Ethiopians we thus see abifurcated migration: at the lower end of the social scale are theasylum seekers, and at the top end those seeking (mostly higher)education. In the past five years (up to 2008), the proportion of

Table 1: Immigration

AllAfricans

Ethiopians

Work

6

2

motivesAsylum

50

56

of African immigrants, 2002: Percentage of totalFamily

reunification

13

3

Marriage Education Otherpartner

24

9

5

20

2

10

Source: CBS data, 2003[ ¡

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asylum seekers has diminished somewhat and the proportion ofimmigration for purposes of family formation and reunification hasgone up.

Most Ethiopians live in the west of the Netherlands, mainly in bigcities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In the 1990s, the Dutchgovernment introduced an immigrant-distribution policy andassigned newcomers to smaller counties and towns all over thecountry, in order to prevent large concentrations of people fromthe same group in a single place, prevent "ghettoization," andenhance integration. However, immigrants assigned to the east,south, and north of the country still try after some years to moveto the western part, where facilities are better, where their relativesoften live, and where they can find organized community life(Ministry of Justice, Afrikanen 66).

In the Netherlands there is no sponsorship system; immigrantscannot be brought in hy family members or sponsors, exceptoccasionally for reasons of family reunification, temporary study,or acute social or health needs. Economic migrants are not acceptedexcept hy specific invitation of an employer. A small number comewith official work permits and are usually on temporary contracts.

Most Ethiopians arriving in the Netherlands have heen asylumseekers. From the moment they arrive, they fall into a subsidizedexistence: they are assigned to reception centers, are questioned,and may receive some basic language and acculturation courses.Then, without their status being clear, they are moved to temporaryhousing and finally to city council housing (rent paid hy the govern-ment). They are legally forhidden to study or work for the duration oftheir application procedure, including the appeals period. AsAndrew and Lukajo note, "An asylum seeker cannot attend anytraining of any kind, including learning the Dutch languagebecause this would lead to integration" (226).

These migrants often receive legal assistance from the DutchRefugee Council (VluchtelingenWerk Nederland), an importantvoluntary organization helping African and other asylum seekers,and from private asylum lawyers.^ If their request for asylum isnot immediately rejected, migrants are granted one of three typesof status permits: the preliminary temporary resident permit (inDutch, WTV), the temporary resident permit (VTV), or the"A-status," the highest and key to eligibility for permanent residence.^°

The suhsidy system and the very long waiting period for mostasylum seekers before a decision is taken and the appeals againsta rejection are finished—a process affecting several thousandEthiopians—has meant that any economic and social initiatives byEthiopians as a community were discouraged. Those rejected andwaiting for a decision on their appeals were in limho for years,living in conditions of lingering insecurity.


Social Profile of Ethiopians in the Netherlands

At least 32% of Ethiopians now in the Netherlands are second-generation immigrants, that is, born in the Netherlands. Most ofthe migrants came in their twenties, either as political refugees oras economic migrants, and then gradually started forming families.Interestingly, the Ethiopian community some years ago (CBS datafor 2000) had a relatively higher rate of intermarriage with Dutchpeople than other African groups: an estimated 15% of men weremarried to Dutch women, and some 28% of Ethiopian women toDutch men (Ministry of Justice, Afrikanen 66). While the numberof intermarriages is now declining (Ministry of Justice,Integratiekaart 50), the earlier high rate may partly reflect the popu-lation composition of the community in the 1980s, which includedmany singles (mostly men), reflecting the earlier pattern of politicaland economic motives for migration.

In 2005, 54% of the Ethiopian community was male and 46%was female (van Heelsum 83). Some 28% of the community (overage 18) was single, and 9% were single-parent households, wellabove the Dutch average and also above that of African migrantsin general.

Only scarce data are available on the educational profile ofEthiopians in the Netherlands. A 2002 survey found that 14% haduniversity education, 44% had finished high school, and 41% had fin-ished only primary school and/or junior high school or vocationaltraining (van Heelsum 86). Ethiopians in the Netherlands statethat education is very important both for themselves and for theirchildren, who are encouraged to perform well at school.

Nevertheless, complaints about their lack of opportunities asvulnerable newcomers are frequent. Ethiopians are also critical ofthe Dutch education system, which they view as characterized bylax attitudes, little respect for teachers from pupils, and littleexercise of authority by teachers. Ethiopian Dutch children,however, are generally doing well in school. Statistics show thatof all migrant communities, Ethiopian children (together withChinese) are the most successful in secondary education, showingno difference in this metric from native Dutch children (VanRijna et al. 7).

The integration or well-rootedness of a migrant community in ahost society is usually measured by a number of key indicators,notably language mastery, employment, access to housing, and edu-cational achievement. Self-organization also seems important.

Language, more than in the United Kingdom or the UnitedStates, is key to migrants' participation and visibility in Dutchsociety. But there are prohlems here. Ethiopians have no familiaritywith Dutch before their arrival. Moreover, while many can manage

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on a hasic level, most do not master Dutch, and the few who succeedtake a long time to do so. In the Netherlands, however, a good knowl-edge of Dutch is vital. As one informant said, "If you don't master it[Dutch] you don't count, you get slighted. Already a foreign accent isseen as a liahility, except in educated, intellectual circles, perhaps"(personal interview, 18 Sept. 2007).

Once in the country, Ethiopians have not had the opportunity tostudy long enough to attain mastery, hecause the Dutch law prohib-ited many asylum seekers from enrolling in serious (subsidized)language courses. All have pursued some form of language educationat some stage (van Heelsum 86), hut most did not finish and did notattain fluency. Those who did attain fluency did so hy studying ontheir own and hy insisting on speaking Dutch with everyone. Thebest speakers are obviously found among the younger generation,those horn in the Netherlands. When hoth parents are Ethiopianand speak Amharic (or another Ethiopian language) at home, thechildren are usually fluent in both Amharic (or Oromiffa orTigrinya) and Dutch, and switch languages effortlessly; in a mixedmarriage with a Dutch partner, the children often do not speakgood Amharic but usually understand what is said.

The lack of language skills has led to problems in the lahormarket, where Dutch is a necessity, except perhaps in academicenvironments (e.g., research) or occasionally in the higher echelonsof husiness. African migrants often know either English Q.\ke theEthiopians) or French, the other leading colonial language, butthis does not help them much in the Netherlands. Data in Vanden Tillaart et al.'s field study suggest that at least half of thosewho work do so at a joh helow their level of education, training, orexperience. In 1999, 50% of Ethiopians had a joh and 14% wereunemployed (63); the rest were employed in domestic services offthe books (16%),̂ ^ were unfit to work, or were enrolled in edu-cational or vocational training. Of those employed, only half had per-manent employment.

Virtually all Ethiopians live in rented housing, either provided bycity councils after the asylum procedure has ended or assigned bythe Central Asylum Agency. Ethiopians do not own houses, due totheir low income, lack of savings, and lack of secure joh prospects,as well as hecause of the extremely high real-estate prices in theNetherlands.

A remarkable aspect of Ethiopian Dutch life is the plethora of self-organizations that has emerged over the years (Lindenberg), includ-ing, in 2004, no less than 114 organizations of Ethiopians andEritreans. ̂ ^ In early 2008 it was estimated that there were aboutsixty to seventy organizations of Ethiopians (not counting eitherEritrean groups or Dutch organizations that work on developmentprojects on or in Ethiopia). This phenomenon could he seen as a


sign of division and discord in the community hut also, as someDutch are inclined to say, as a measure of integration, hecauseDutch society is itself equally marked by a huge number of similarand duplicating organizations and associations. Most importantly,voluntary organizations of minorities and other civil-society groupscan receive subsidies from local and state authorities, as they areseen as working in the public social interest.

Most of the Ethiopian Dutch organizations are either politicalgroups (e.g., political party hranches or support groups), religiousgroups or congregations, public-interest/advocacy groups focusingon Ethiopia and the Horn,^'' or development organizations run bya few people. There are also some consultancy agencies. Growingin numher recently are cultural associations. An important generalorganization claiming to represent most of the Ethiopians in theNetherlands is the Vereniging voor Ethiopiërs in Nederland(VEN), the Union of Ethiopians in the Netherlands, which in 2006said it had almost 600 memhers. Various ethnonational groupsfrom Ethiopia also have their own organizations; for example,there are at least three Oromo organizations^'* and four Ogaden-Somali organizations, which stand outside the mainstream ofEthiopian organizations. The latter two communities may be saidto form an Ethiopian sub-diaspora, de-emphasizing theirEthiopian-ness.^^

The complex organizational picture in the Ethiopian Dutch com-munity in 2006-2007 revealed plenty of small-scale activities butneither a strong presence in the public sphere nor an assertiveand independent leadership that set the agenda for Ethiopian dia-spora presence. Most active was a group of politically concernedpeople (first-generation refugees) who sought contacts with NGOsand with various Dutch ministries, seeking to advise them ahoutdevelopment cooperation and Ethiopian political conditions. In theearly 1990s, religious activities also emerged in a more organizedform with the establishment of branches of the EthiopianOrthodox Church, the Catholic Church, and various Evangelicalcongregations.

At Home Abroad: Rebuilding Ethiopian Sociabilityin the Diaspora

Most Ethiopians note that their first years in the Netherlandswere very difficult because of the unintelligible social environment,homesickness, and the behavior of the Dutch. Ethiopian culturalcodes are in general more suhtle and sensitive than the Dutchcode of directness, which is often rather blunt. Political refugees inthe 1980s may have been more tolerant of this becausetheir arrival in a new country made them feel safe and out of

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danger; nevertheless, few Ethiopians found that Dutch people orinstitutions understood their background and problems. Those whowere able to adjust did so primarily through the support of friendsor relatives.

First-generation Ethiopian adaptation in the Netherlands (inphases 1-2 of the DDM) could be characterized as a quest for therenewal of solidarity, community, and social identity. As the commu-nity went through phases 2 and 3 of the DDM, they remained activein exile politics, trying to influence Dutch institutions and agencies(e.g., NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where frequent con-tacts were sought) and to maintain contact with other sections oftheir diasporic political organizations abroad. Several members ofthe community initiated their own Web sites and newspapers, orga-nized conferences, published in the Dutch press, and hecame activein diaspora politics.

To some extent, politics and ethno-politics still divide the commu-nity. One can speak of a numerically dominant general Ethiopiancategory (the largest, with people of mixed hackground, includingAmhara, Gurage, Käfa, Wolaitta, and some other southerners), aTigrayan sub-group, an Oromo sub-group, and also the previouslymentioned Ogaden-Somali sub-group. These four sub-groups (aflfth would be the Ethiopian-Eritreans) stand somewhat apartfrom each other in community affairs and rarely mix socially. Thisdivision has its origins in the period of the Derg (1974-1991),when most of the Ethiopians now in the Netherlands came fleeingthe Red Terror or the ethno-regional conflicts, and has been main-tained in the post-1991 period. Common features of the full rangeof Ethiopian sub-group diaspora/exile politics—including the radica-lization of views, the use of strong and polemical language, andemphasis on homeland ethnic and geographical boundaries—tendto be reproduced in the Netherlands, hut have by no meansreached the level of some US Ethiopian Web sites (see Lyons, thisvolume; Hafkin, this volume). Ethno-regional sub-identities amongthe Ethiopian Dutch exist (at least the four main ones mentioned)and partly map onto their Web sites and socio-political associations,which tend to avoid each other.

Attempts are made to minimize this political tension through reli-gious activity and neutral cultural events for both the communityand the general Dutch audience (see below). Indeed, Ethiopiansmake an effort to rebuild sociability, notably through weddings,religious holidays and celebrations, and funeral gatherings.The preparation and exchange of Ethiopian food for such occasionsis a major aspect of socializing and of bonding, in which mutualhelp is well developed and strict rules of reciprocity are in place.Thus communities are created or re-created in the new hostlandsetting.

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Ambivalent Integration

For most Ethiopians, the Netherlands was not their country offirst choice. It is a difficult society, they say. Dutch society allowedthem to stay, and provided them with procedures and support struc-tures, but did not really welcome them or give them sufficientopportunities.

The rather closed and regulated nature of Dutch society is asource of comment:

There is a huge misunderstanding here: the Dutch are easy-going,are not against marrying or having relationships with foreigners,including Africans, they lack respect for authority, and are indivi-dualists. But they still are very conformist and conservative intheir ways of doing things and their outlooks. It is fine for themto allow foreigners as refugees if situations in their countriesare so bad. Perhaps they like to show, or see it confirmed, hownice and peaceful and well-organized their own country is. Butthey, the Dutch, cannot get used to the idea of our staying hereforever, it seems. How often didn't I get the question, well-meant or not: "When are you going back?" or "Doesn't yourcountry need you, with your experience and skills gained here?"(personal interview, 2 Feb. 2008)

Furthermore, the first generation of political refugees saw them-selves as living in exile, and were waiting for a change of regimeand a chance to return home. Many still feel this way today, strug-gling with the question that one Ethiopian opposition leaderrecently posed:

... the thorny question that I suspect every exile must ask himselfto give a larger meaning to his/her existence. The question is howdo you justify your continued existence in exile once the mainreason for your exile in the first place is there no more? Whenthe reason for migration is voluntary and purely economic, thisis less a nagging problem. But, for political refugees, it is suchan emotional issue that most fail to take advantage of the oppor-tunities provided hy their new home, living instead a meager day-to-day existence, afraid that they will become attached to theirnew country and forget their country of origin. (Berhanu)

Obviously, the political situation and the violence in Ethiopiaremain foremost in the minds of many Ethiopians. There is constantconcern about the tensions and tragedies befalling their homecountry (see, e.g., "Petitie").

There is a perpetual ambivalence among Ethiopian Dutch as tohow and why they should integrate. While they are currently inphase 4 of the DDM, their hond with the homeland is more cherished

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and growing stronger in cultural terms. Interest in their religious,culinary, musical, and cultural heritage is persistent and ongoing.Defining and constructing "heritage" in the diaspora is a majortheme in most diaspora/migrant communities, and the Ethiopiansin the Netherlands are no exception.

In her survey of Ethiopians in the Netherlands during the 1990s,Emehet Dejene emphasized their "continued focus on the home-land." But recent interviews indicate that while there is still adeep affective link with the culture of the home country,Ethiopians are also coming to terms with their situation as citizensof a new homeland, the Netherlands.^^ Many no longer see them-selves as sojourners who will eventually return home, and attemptto live as new memhers of Dutch society. Nevertheless, theyremain proud of and publicize their heritage, and they show contin-ued commitment to giving material support to their relatives inEthiopia.

Ethiopians are one of the less conspicuous African migrant com-munities in the Netherlands. They are not seen as heing a prohle-matic community, and few Ethiopians figure in Dutch crimestatistics. Nevertheless, the community has its share of problematicteenagers and of disoriented and highly frustrated people whoselives have run aground because of their long wait for a status andtheir lack of prospects. Many of them were well educated inEthiopia hut were not successful in getting a joh in the newcountry. Most Ethiopians say they do not suffer from persistent,structural discrimination, and attrihute cases of individual discrimi-nation to the ignorance, ill manners, or stupidity of the "foreigners"involved.

The Role of Law and the Millennium Moment

With reference to the theme of this volume, one could say thatuntil recently, the general demographic, socio-economic, andperhaps psychological conditions for confident cultural expressionand experimentation among Ethiopians in the Netherlands simplydid not exist. This changed in 2007.

A Change in Legal Status

In May 2007 the Reprieve Law (generaal pardon-regeling)hrought significant change and a reversal of status for manyEthiopians in the Netherlands. The new center-left coalition govern-ment decided to review all cases of former asylum seekers and refu-gees, granting them resident status. Most of the candidates had beenin the Netherlands for more than a decade in limbo, often illegally.In 2007 these former refugees received permits and hegan the

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process of hecoming citizens.^^ The law sparked great relief amongEthiopians and created a visible optimism and renewed vigor tostart a new life, with language study, education, joh training, andemployment. The Ethiopian organizational leadership took up newinitiatives to assist the new status-holders, which in turn led tomore Ethiopian community building as well.

While the Reprieve Law of May 2007 thus gave a major boost tothe Ethiopian Dutch community, Ethiopian Web sites also exhibitedmore agitation and debate on Ethiopian politics and socio-economicprohlems after the suppressed 2005 elections and the two rounds ofstreet killings in Addis Ahaba in June and November 2005.

The Millennium Moment

The Ethiopian Millennium was ushered in on 11 September 2007with a flurry of activities. Ethiopians and their Dutch supportersused this milestone to mohilize the community, to appeal for per-sonal involvement, and to push for development efforts and forpublic attention to Ethiopia and its problems. A Web site announcedthe reasons and plans for the Ethiopian Millennium Foundation(Stichting Ethiopisch Millennium, or SEM) and a series of publicevents of a cultural nature followed. ̂®

The SEM organized a photo exhibition at the NationalEthnological Museum in Leiden called "Ethiopia on the Move," fea-turing work on contemporary Ethiopia by some Dutch and Ethiopiandiaspora photographers. In Amsterdam, Ethiopian films werescreened and the City Lihrary in The Hague mounted an exhihitionon the Ethiopian script. From September 10 onward, daily eventswere held featuring local and national Dutch politicians, public dem-onstrations for peace in the Horn of Africa, and other large partiesand meetings. On 16 September, events culminated with a marketfor Ethiopian products and a program of lectures hosted by theNational Ethnological Museum. In the course of the year 2000 EC(2007—2008), the SEM continued to organize various seminars onthe environment, gender, human rights, and migrant life; eventswere sponsored hy nineteen Dutch development NGOs, city councils,and cultural foundations.

One remarkahle initiative was the Amen Ethiopia project, aDutch-Ethiopian initiative involving a forty-day overland tour inJuly-September 2007 from Europe to Ethiopia hy Ethiopian peaceand civil-society activists, with visits to religious, civic, and politicalleaders in the countries they crossed. This "pilgrimage of hope" wasintended to draw worldwide attention to Ethiopia and the Horn ofAfrica as trouble spots in need of reconciliation and development,linking Ethiopians abroad and in the home country with supportfrom the wider world.


In the wake of the millennium fervor, other initiatives includedthe development and presentation of a new Ethiopian coffee hrandcalled Meleya ("identity") hy (Dutch) students from the NewBusiness School Amsterdam and (Ethiopian) students fromSt. Mary's University College in Addis Ababa. This initiative, devel-oped hy two Dutch Ethiopians, was intended to make good andresponsihly produced Ethiopian products hetter known in theNetherlands, since the Dutch associate Ethiopia with hardly anyproducts apart from art items (icons) and Ethiopian traditionalclothes. ̂ ^

The Ethiopian Dutch Network for Development Cooperation(Ethiopisch-Nederlands Netwerk voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking,or ENNOS) was founded in 2006 as the main vehicle for gearing upto the millennial events. Seminars, lectures, training courses, andother gatherings sought to bring together the Ethiopian Dutch dia-spora hy circumventing internal divisions and underlining social,developmental, and cultural aspects.

On 8 March 2008 (International Women's Day), some Ethiopiansin The Hague, at the request of the City Health Board, organized aworkshop on gender issues. The subject was the place and problemsof women in Ethiopian culture, focusing on female genital alteration.At a presentation given hy an Ethiopian Dutch woman telling herown story, many Ethiopians present were discomfited by thesuhject, and some walked out. Someone later remarked that thiskind of gathering was designed mainly to cater to the subsidy-pro-viding Dutch circles, to score easy points on a controversial issue:"This is not cultural renewal or interest creation for a widerpuhlic, but only bowing to färänji [foreign, i.e., non-Ethiopian]agendas." As a "Millennium event" the meeting did indeed seem illsuited. Many Ethiopians, while appreciating the city authorities'interest in their community, expressed their deep reserve aboutthis issue and about the woman telling her story, perhaps becausein some way the occasion might "shame" them as a community.

The millennium activities, including the surge of cultural eventsand of development efforts in Ethiopia, have increased the statureof the Ethiopian community in the Netherlands, whose puhlic cul-tural profile had previously heen shaped largely by musical perform-ance. For years, there have heen regular performances hy Ethiopiansingers and hands, mostly for mixed Dutch and Ethiopian Dutchaudiences. One of the most famous Ethiopian Dutch singers isMinyeshu Kifle, a dynamic singer-songwriter who performsEthiopian and other African songs supported hy her band,Ch'ewata, which includes some Dutch members. Her songs aboutlife and memories of Ethiopia do not address the Dutch diasporabut are all set within an Ethiopian frame of reference. Ethiopianscome to listen to her, she says, because they are happy to hear

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songs about their country, about home, which they all miss(Carvalho). Minyeshu performed at several millennium events in2007-2008, where she was well received by non-Ethiopianaudiences.^°

It is remarkable that there is no production to date of diasporaEthiopian literature: no novels, autobiographies, plays, or poetryhave been published by Ethiopian Dutch authors, either in printor online. Lack of fluency in Dutch may be one reason, but themain one is the lack of full and secure integration of the community.One might expect an upsurge of such products in phase 5 of theDDM (see above). This contrasts notably with the situation in theUnited States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel. The firstDutch Ethiopian book published in the Netherlands was AlemDesta's popular-historical work on Ethiopian women, whichappeared in 2007.

The recent upsurge in the number of cultural events and thoughtsabout self-presentation and about the changing links with thecountry of origin has been substantial among the Ethiopian Dutch.A focus on cultural events in the wider sense and on social issueshas allowed the community to move toward a more confident self-expression of positive elements in Ethiopian culture: sociability,music, art and material culture, religious experience/spirituality,customs of mutual support in life-cycle events or crises^ ̂ —and, ofcourse, Ethiopian cuisine, both in the home and via a growingnumber of Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants (see McCann, thisvolume). In this respect, the millennium year has enabledEthiopians in the Netherlands to move decisively toward fuller par-ticipation in the wider society.

We might cautiously conclude that the Ethiopian Dutch commu-nity is in the process of gradually becoming a more mature diaspora(phase 4 of the DDM, above), rediscovering and redefining elementsfrom the Ethiopian (cultural) tradition. But it has not yet reached areal "transnational" character (Anteby-Yemini 62—3)̂ ^ and is stillmarked by a certain passivity inherited from the past. Only a fewpeople have been able to take full advantage of and think throughtheir dual positioning as Dutch and Ethiopian. There is, however,a steady expansion of cultural and business links, with youngerpeople and women playing a prominent role in creating the con-ditions for larger-scale cultural exchanges of both a commercialand a non-commercial nature. Gradually, members of the diasporahave also begun to transmit social remittances in their contactswith the home country (Levitt 933). In noting this transition, wemust recall that not all Ethiopians feel committed to community for-mation and to providing aid to the home country. Apart frominternal divisions, there are those who want to live their own livesand resent social control and obligatory reciprocity. The marketing

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of Ethiopian heritage, as some see it, is in the hands of professionaland organizational leaders and their Dutch partners, and does notinvolve all Ethiopians.

In reflecting on the various phases of the DDM, it may be statingthe ohvious to say that to claim that the community as a whole is in aspecific phase does not preclude specific individuals from attainingsuccess in cultural achievements, regardless of their communityinvolvement or the phase they are in. But it remains to be seenhow the community as a whole develops, pursues creative opportu-nities, and relates to and makes use of its Ethiopian heritage.That it took so long to realize the conditions for self-expressionand visihility within the larger Dutch society—certainly as com-pared with the Ethiopian American community, which also startedto emerge in the late 1970s—is not only a result of the community'ssmall size, its difficult struggle with the heritage of loss, and a needto overcome socio-economic prohlems hut also a product of therestrictive social and institutional environment of Dutch society.

Notes

1. Very few studies of Ethiopian or other Horn-of.Africa migrants in the Netherlands have beenconducted. For some examples, see Dejene; Andrew and Lukajo. The information in the presentessay refiects the situation up to early 2009.

2. The term was introduced by the German sociologist Bassam Tibi in 1996 ("Multikultureller")and in 2000 was taken up in German political debate (Europa).

3. Some groups argue for radical Islamization of the migrant communities originating fromMuslim countries and for their dissociation from the "impure" host society, but they are a min.ority. The (Moroccan-Dutch) killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004 came from sucha group (Gerlin).

4. Apart from secondary sources, data in this essay come from six years of participant observationin the Ethiopian community in the Netherlands, mainly in the west of the country (attendingmeetings, weddings, parties, and funerals); eight formal interviews with community spokesmenand leaders; study of lawyers' files and advisory work on Ethiopian asylum cases; and informalinterviews with forty.three individuals on specific matters in 2007-2008. Statements not citedto specific sources are based on participant observation.

5. In fact this was a legal agreement, approved by Parliament, between the Dutch Ministry ofJustice and the Union of Dutch Local Authorities (gemeenten\ see Ministry of Justice, Regeling).

6. The total population of the Netherlands in 2008 was 16.4 million, ahout 3 million of whom weremigrants (Central Bureau of Statistics). There are no reliable data on illegal Africans, estimatedat ca. 50,000-60,000.

7. Several hundred have found ways to move on to other countries; only some 5% went back toEthiopia.

8. For Moroccans, on the other hand—a community formed since the mid.l960s and statisticallynot counted as Africans—the figure for family formation/reunification motives was a staggering91% in 2002. This figure remains largely the same in 2008.

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9. All costs are paid by the Ministry of Social Affairs and local authorities as long as their statusis not final. For information on the Dutch Refugee Council see their Web site at <http://www,vluchtelingenwerk, nl>,

10. As explained on the Web site of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).

11. Asylum seekers and others waiting for clarification of their status often took clandestine jobsto add to their meager income,

12. I.e., a density of 11 per 1,000 Ethiopians (Van Heelsum 87). Only Somalis had more organiz-ations (Mohogu 206-7).

13. E,g,, the PADA (Peace and Appropriate Development in the Horn of Africa) Foundation andthe DIR Foundation (<http://www,dirnet.nl/english/index.php>), both led by Ethiopians, Dir isthe Amharic word for "thread" and refers to the Ethiopian saying "Many small threads cantogether tie up a lion,"

14. E,g,, the Oromo Komité Nederland [OKN] and the Vereniging Hawaasa Oromo,

15. Segments of both the Oromo population and the Somali population in the Ogaden have beenengaged in separatist initiatives directed against the Ethiopian state since the 1970s. These move-ments are based on a blend of geographic, religious, and ethnic factors (Abdi; Yusuf).

16. In 2009, between 75% and 80% of Ethiopian migrants in the Netherlands held Dutchcitizenship,

17. The majority of these people (ca, 80-90%, according to experts and the IND) were economicrefugees who could not ask for asylum on political grounds.

18. SEM has since been renamed Stichting Ethiopie Morgen (Ethiopian Tomorrow Foundation)and can now be found online at <http://www.ethiopie-morgen.nl/>,

19. Apart from coffee, Ethiopia's (weak) image in the Netherlands is associated with long-distancerunning (e,g,, Haile Gebreselassie's coach is Dutch),

20. Ethiopians have for years come from abroad to give concerts in major Dutch cities. Some col-laborate on recording CDs with Dutch groups; in 2006, for example, a Dutch punk-funk band. TheEx, recorded with the well-known veteran Ethiopian jazz saxophonist Getachew Mekuria,

21. E,g,, the rapid pooling of financial resources after the death of an Ethiopian to support thetransport of the body to Ethiopia,

22. In contrast to the Ethiopian Jews in Israel,

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