Comunidades de Etiopía y Eritrea en Seattle

  • By Catherine Hinchliff
  • Posted 11/16/2010
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 9615

Los etíopes y los eritreos han vivido en el área de Seattle desde fines de la década del 60, comenzando con estudiantes universitarios. Desde 1980, al promulgarse la Ley de Refugiados, hasta alrededor del 2000, miles de etíopes y eritreos llegaron a Seattle como inmigrantes y refugiados, como resultado de regímenes políticos opresores, sequías y guerras. A comienzos del siglo veintiuno los etíopes y eritreos han llegado a los Estados Unidos a través del programa de Visas para Inmigración Diversa, que otorga tarjetas de residente permanente a inmigrantes potenciales en base a un sistema de lotería. En 2010 se estima que la comunidad etíope de Seattle incluye más de 25,000 personas, haciéndola una de las mayores comunidades etíopes en los Estados Unidos. La población eritrea en Seattle oscilaba entre 6,000 y 8,000 personas, lo que la hace una de las mayores comunidades eritreas en los Estados Unidos. Ambas comunidades han prosperado en Seattle, pero también enfrentan desafíos similares. Estos incluyen preparar a la primera generación de inmigrantes, ya de edad avanzada, para su retiro, y mantener a los niños en la escuela ayudándoles a convertirse en buenos ciudadanos a través de programas después de clases en sus respectivos centros comunitarios. Los centros comunitarios proporcionan un espacio social y muchos programas, incluyendo los destinados a ayudar a preservar la cultura y la herencia. La Asociación Mutual de la Comunidad Etíope (Ethiopian Community Mutual Association) da la bienvenida a todos los etíopes. (Los etíopes son de etnias diversas y hablan idiomas diferentes). La Asociación Eritrea (Eritrean Association) en el Gran Seattle sirve a la comunidad eritrea.


Sources:

Mike Carter, Susan Kelleher, Eric Pryne, and Keith Ervin, "4 Children at Sleepover and Aunt Killed in Fire -- Firefighters Struggle with Equipment at Fremont Blaze," The Seattle Times, June 13, 2010 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Doug Merlino, "Soccer to Reunite Ethiopians Who Fled Strife in Homeland -- 20,000 from North America Converge Here," The Seattle Times, June 27, 2004 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Vanessa Ho, "Kids’ Troubles Shake Seattle’s East Africans," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 12, 2006 (http://www.seattlepi.com); Jennifer Sullivan, "First Hill Shooting Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured -- Suspects Sought," June 13, 2006 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Lornet Turnbull, "Africans, American Blacks Try to Defuse Tensions,"  The Seattle Times, July 20, 2006 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Andrew DeMillo, "Ethiopian Community Celebrates -- Ceremony Marks Opening of New Orthodox Church in Seattle," The Seattle Times, July 22, 2000 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Sally Macdonald, "New Church in New World -- Ethiopian Congregation Follows a Dream," The Seattle Times, December 25, 1998 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Janet I. Tu, "Archbishop of Ethiopian Church, in Exile, Dies at 72 in Seattle," The Seattle Times, February 17, 2010 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Allen Berner, "Archbishop Mourned," The Seattle Times, February 21, 2010 (http://www.seattletimes.com); John Iwasaki, "Ethiopian Churches Meet Spiritual, Practical Needs," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 7, 2003 (http://www.seattlepi.com); Scott Gutierrez, "Local Ethiopians Seek Help to Open a Community Center,"seattlepi.com, August 5, 2010 (http://www.seattlepi.com); Matthew Craft, "Ethiopian Christmas Celebrations Begin -- Central Area Church Provides ‘Little Bit of Home’ for Members," The Seattle Times, January 5, 2003 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Catherine Hinchliff interview with Ezra Teshome, September 29, 2010, Seattle, Washington; Catherine Hinchliff interview with Sultan Mohamed, September 28, 2010, Seattle, Washington; Catherine Hinchliff interview with Dr. AlulaWasse, September 27, 2010, Seattle, Washington; Catherine Hinchliff interview with Mulumebet Retta, September 27, 2010, Seattle, Washington; Catherine Hinchliff interview with Assaye Abunie, September 15, 2010, Seattle, Washington; Catherine Hinchliff Interview with Tsegai Abraha, September 12, 2010, Seattle, Washington; "African Immigration" in In Motion: the African American Migration Experience, ed. by Howard Dodson and Sylviane A. Diouf (Washington D.C.: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Geographic, 2004), 198-215; CIA World Factbook, "Ethiopia"and "Eritrea," https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ (accessed September 29, 2010); Ethiopian Community Mutual Association website (http://www.ecmaseattle.org/); Joshua Robin, "Eritrean Community Here Follows Strife Back Home -- A Faraway War Strikes in the Heart of Seattle," The Seattle Times, May 31, 2000 (http://www.seattletimes.com); Mary Spicuzza, "Eritreans Gather Today to Celebrate New Center, "The Seattle Times, June 14, 2003 (http://www.seattletimes.com); John Iwasaki, "New Eritrean Community Center Prepares for a Housewarming, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 13, 2003 (http://www.seattlepi.com); Manuel Valdes, "Settled in Seattle, Eritreans Hang onto Heritage that Sustains Them,"The Seattle Times, July 7, 2008 (http://www.seattletimes.com); "Association History," and "Services," Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle website accessed September 29, 2010 (http://www.eritreanassociation.com/); Hidmo Eritrean cuisine (http://www.hidmo.org/); Donna R. Jackson, Jimmy Carter and the Horn of Africa: Cold War policy in Ethiopia and Somalia (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2007), 106-111.


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