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Could it be the start of an Ethiopian Winter?

For the young Ethiopians who began to speak up last week, the frustration is terrific. The test will come in the coming months as the young activists, like the summer protest leaders, try to figure out what comes next.

By Don Futterman

One week ago, a new generation of young Ethiopian Israelis made their voices heard for the first time when 5,000 citizens marched and rallied against racism in Jerusalem. The gathering was timed to coincide with the arrival of 26-year-old Mulet Araro as he wrapped up a three-day protest walk from Kiryat Malakhi to Israel’s capital, intersecting with Ehud Sagahun, walking from Netanya. Scores of young Ethiopian Israelis painted half or all of their faces in white makeup, a visual statement of their frustrated desire for social inclusion; to fit in, they feel they must be white, but they insist on remaining themselves, even at the cost of feeling half in and half out. The messages of the summer protest – the people demand social justice – were repeated but eclipsed by more specific calls. This generation of Ethiopians is not going to put up with the endless slights their parents endured; they want integration, not separation, and are tired of being being kept at arm’s length from full acceptance.


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