Ethiopia: The last Greeks of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – « Make you consider the true fact that Ethiopia will get its name from the Greek be conscious Aethiopia, first used by Homer? » Greek Ambassador to Ethiopia Nikolaos Patakias says proudly.

Sitting in his pronounce of job in the capital Addis Ababa, Patakias reveals an extinct Greek romantic novel, The Aethiopica. It be a adore memoir concerning the connection between the daughter of the queen of Ethiopia and a Greek descendant of Achilles.

Additionally in his possession are pictures of relics from the extinct Ethiopian Kingdom of Axum. These encompass the renowned Ezana Stone and a few gold coins, each of which bear extinct Greek scripture written on them.

« Custom counts for plenty in Ethiopia and Greece, we put collectively it by the e book, » says businessman Odysseas Parris, 57, sitting in a Greek restaurant shut to the ambassador’s pronounce.

« We’re very fortunate resulting from we fetch to revel in festivities from each cultures. »

As he sips his frappe – Greek iced coffee – and his wife Anastasia Mitsopoulou smokes and talks expressively with guests, they’re unmistakably Mediterranean.

Anastasia Mitsopoulou and Odysseas Parris [Alice McCool/Al Jazeera]

But Parris and Mitsopoulou are two of Addis Ababa’s 2d generation Ethio-Greeks. Both of Parris’ grandfathers were Greek and grandmothers Ethiopian. He, and his fogeys sooner than him, were born in Ethiopia.

Mitsopoulou’s memoir is same, though she is furthermore piece Italian. But being piece of what are arguably two of the enviornment’s proudest and most extinct cultures is just not consistently easy, says Mitsopoulou, a teacher on the Greek Neighborhood College.

« Neither nation in fact accepts us as one among them. In Greece we’re Ethiopians, and in Ethiopia we’re Greeks, » she says with a pronounce.

Greek sailors and merchants began emigrating to Ethiopia in significant numbers in the late 1800s. It is probably some were refugees of the Greek Genocide, Greek Civil War, and later the militia dictatorship.

In its heyday, the embassy right here estimates the Greek crew numbered between 5,000 and 6,000 folks.

Influential participants of society

Eleni Tsimas, eighty, is on the Greek Orthodox Church in Piazza, Addis’ used Italian quarter. Though an ethnic Greek, Tsimas used to be born in Ethiopia to fogeys who ran a tiny alternate. Asked if she feels extra Ethiopian or extra Greek, she quick replies, « I am Ethiopian. In Greece I am a foreigner. What to attain? »

From age 18, she worked at Bambis, a pharmacy, grocery and in the end supermarket owned by a prosperous Greek family who moved to Addis in 1890. Within the following many years, Greeks grew to vary into influential participants of Ethiopian society and were among the many closest advisers to Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor and Rastafarian messiah renowned for resisting Italian dictator Mussolini’s invasion.

« I met him time and all any other time, we would crawl to the palace. He used to be one thing particular. He would quit the auto and give us golden coins, » remembers Tsimas, who ended up marrying into the Bambis family.

But be pleased thousands of diversified Greeks, the Bambis fled Ethiopia in the ’70s following a revolution that overthrew the royal family, installing the Derg communist dictatorship that ruled the nation from 1974 to 1987. With this got right here the nationalisation of all property and hostility in opposition to foreigners, so loads of the Ethio-Greek crew left.

This included Tsimas and her husband. « They got right here with guns to interact over the shop, claiming it as public property, » she recalls.

Eleni Tsimas [Alice McCool/Al Jazeera]

Always yearning to come abet to Ethiopia right by means of their Twenty years in Greece, after the Derg regime fell Tsimas’ husband noticed Bambis used to be up for public sale and gained the list. This day, they travel the supermarket collectively.

« I started at age 18 and at age eighty I am abet all any other time. The day prior to this I worked from eight in the morning except eight in the evening. I consistently work. I even delivered my childhood in the grocery, » Tsimas says with a snigger.

Greek crew nowadays

On the eve of Greek Independence Day there might per chance be a buzz in the Santorini Greek Restaurant as participants and guests of the crew descend internal and out, frenetically discussing occasion plans. As all people sits at one gargantuan table chatting, popcorn – made traditionally as piece of Ethiopian coffee ceremonies – is introduced as a snack to bear with drinks. Greek salads, souvlaki and tzatziki rapidly put collectively.

Around the table are 2d generation Ethio-Greeks, half-Ethiopian Greeks who bear just now no longer too prolonged ago moved to Addis, and Ethiopians who are somehow linked to Greece by means of explore, work or marriage.

Later in the evening, Ambassador Patakias and his family swing by for dinner and to negate their very enjoy praises posters they’ve made for the occasion, location to be even larger than long-established this 300 and sixty five days. As well to a run ceremony on the Greek Orthodox Church, and a showcase of Greek dancing and poetry on the Greek Neighborhood College, an official fetch collectively is being held on the Greek Membership – and Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs George Katrougalos will be in attendance.

These institutions in the metropolis are on the heart of the now 500-individual tiny Greek crew in Addis. But a quantity of those interviewed acknowledged infighting has left some Ethio-Greeks feeling excluded. Neighborhood leaders, some pronounce, lead with an iron fist and resist commerce. Some spoke of business disputes, others of backward attitudes, such as prejudice in opposition to Turkish folks who got right here to play a excellent sports match on the Greek Membership.

Gabriel Shebale, an Ethiopian doctor who lived in Athens for almost 30 years, is a buddy of the crew. He is of the same opinion there are issues « resulting from they frequently handiest work along with every diversified, and are now no longer a actually valuable crew. They construct a ghetto-be pleased system. The infighting makes the crew weaker, » he says.

The novel Ethio-Greeks

Barbara Gembiaou owns the restaurant, which she runs with the succor of her brother Filippos. Born in Greece however half-Ethiopian, Gembiaou moved to Addis eight years ago and location up Santorini quickly afterwards. Filippos adopted a 300 and sixty five days later.

Both now bear families in Ethiopia (novel Ethio-Greeks) they in most cases seem settled for now. Painted the Greek nationwide colours of blue and white, the essentially al fresco restaurant fats of dusty trinkets and used postcards has the unpleasant feel of a Greek taverna.

The siblings are two of an increasing quantity of Greeks – some with Ethiopian heritage, others now no longer – who moved to Ethiopia after the commence of the Greek monetary crisis in 2007. Here’s what introduced abet Shebale, the Ethiopian doctor, who acknowledged that with the crisis got right here extra and further adverse attitudes in opposition to foreigners.

Meanwhile, the embassy is encouraging Greeks to put money into Ethiopia’s agriculture, technology, textile and export industries. Ambassador Patakias just now no longer too prolonged ago acknowledged in the local media that alternate between the two countries has risen from 12 million euros (roughly $14.7m nowadays) in 2013 to 22.5 euros million (roughly $27.6m nowadays) in 2016, and he expects it to extend at a supreme quicker payment over the following couple of years.

Filippos Gembiaou on the Santorini Greek Restaurant [Thomas Lewton/Al Jazeera]

‘Magical culture’

But Gembiaou makes it run she didn’t location up her restaurant completely for alternate causes.

« It be our home and we invite folks in. As you are going to bear viewed this pronounce doesn’t feel be pleased a restaurant – you are handiest reminded it is whenever you would possibly want to pay sooner than you crawl away, » she says, along side, « It be the soul of this pronounce that makes it Greek. »

« Ethiopian culture is one thing magical for me and I accrued have not found all of it yet, » explains Gembiaou, who sees many similarities between the two cultures.

« First there might per chance be the faith which provides you a culture, even can bear to you don’t mediate. The indisputable truth that Ethiopia used to be never colonised is furthermore valuable. They’re very proud, because the Greeks are of how they freed their heritage from the Ottomans. So that makes our connection stronger. »

The restaurant owner goes on to focus on extra day-to-day cultural similarities.

« Ethiopian and Greek TV dramas are same. And low culture – we are in a position to each meet for coffee and pass three hours talking without realising it, » she says with fun.

Gembiaou’s preliminary explanation for visiting Ethiopia used to be private. « After my father died we found among his private things that we now bear a brother right here who he left on the abet of, so I got right here to search out him, » she explains.

Gembiaou found her brother – and even ended up marrying the Ethio-Greek who helped her stumble on him. They two bear one child collectively, though they’re now divorced.

A captain in the Royal Ethiopian Navy, Barbara and Filippos’ Ethiopian father travelled to Greece to put collectively as piece of a bilateral agreement between the two countries. He later went on to location up the first Ethiopian restaurant in the nation.

« My father used to be one among the committee to signal the contract between the two navies 60 years ago, » Gembiaou says with pleasure.

She adds right here’s particularly associated nowadays because the right by means of the Greek minister’s search the advice of with a same agreement will be signed, giving younger Ethiopian seafarers the different to work on Greek vessels.

Gembiaou pauses for a minute after which adds: « I enjoy extremely chuffed about this resulting from for me it be be pleased history making circles. »

The Greek Membership in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [Thomas Lewton/Al Jazeera]