![\"\"](\"http:\/\/addisnegeronline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Nairobi1-200x200.jpg\" "\\"Nairobi\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nNairobi<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Recently, Mahdere came to Nairobi from Kakuma refugee camp. \u00a0The Kakuma camp – a sprawling \u201ccity\u201d of tents, shacks, and thatched roof huts in the desert of Northwestern Kenya, – is inhabited by more than 90,000 refugees of various nationalities. \u00a0He is not settled there permanently. \u00a0He moves to and from Nairobi. \u00a0For a person like Mahdere, travel is not a big deal; as a teenager, he was forced to cross the Ethiopian border to Eritrea against his will.<\/p>\n
Mahdere was amongst the Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean decent who were victims of mass expulsion by the Ethiopian government at the outset of the Ethio-Eritrean war.\u00a0 At that time, he did not fully grasp the concept of mass expulsion. He had only known one country, Ethiopia, and only one locality, \u201cCherekos\u201d. He had never doubted his nationality, but Ethiopia disproved his certainty.<\/p>\n
He was a boy from Addis Ababa, from a popular locality called Cherekos around Genet Hotel, a kilometer away from Mexico Square.\u00a0 Cherekos is known for its poverty-stricken tales and urban legends.\u00a0 Here, Mahdere was born and raised \u2013 by a mother from Arat Kilo, Central Addis Ababa. \u00a0His outlook on life and identity was molded there, from the dust and the ashes of Cherekos and Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n
His entrenched attachment to the soil of Addis Ababa prevented him from understanding why Ethiopia expelled him. \u00a0\u201cAt the time, I was not capable of seizing the full reason behind the expulsion, let alone understanding one\u2019s \u2018Eritreaness\u2019. \u00a0I did not fully understand the real meaning of being an Ethiopian national. \u00a0For me, it was more meaningful to explain identity related with Cherekos than to the two nations,\u201d he explains. \u00a0It was only later that he understood why he was evicted from the country of his birth. He soon found himself in \u201cAbashawul\u201d, a locality inside Asmara associated with the city\u2019s poor. \u00a0Abashawul and \u201cHabesha Geza Menda\u201d reminded him of similar localities in Addis Ababa \u2013 \u201c<\/em>Arogew Qera\u201d of Arat Kilo and \u201cSerategna Sefer\u201d of Piazza.<\/p>\n Beniam Fisha<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before long, he became almost assimilated in Abashawul. Most of his new friends were as poor as him. \u00a0\u00a0But one thing excluded him from becoming \u201cThe Man from Abashawul\u201d: he speaks Amharic and broken Tigringna. \u00a0Accordingly, his new friends treated him as only their new friend, not as a part of their integral identity. \u201dFor them, I am not a pure Eritrean or Ethiopian. \u00a0I am an Amiche<\/em>,\u201d says Mahdere.<\/p>\n Amiche! What a name….<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Mahdere remembers the day when he heard the term \u201cAmiche\u201d for the first time.\u00a0 It was during a playful back-and-forth exchange between youngsters. \u201cDo you know what they are calling you?\u201d one of his new friends asked. \u00a0\u201cNope,\u201d he casually replied.\u00a0 His closest friend then affirmed his \u201cAmicheness\u201d. \u00a0For Mahdere, it was a bolt out of the blue. \u00a0He had never heard this nickname while he was in Addis.\u00a0 He had never thought of distinctiveness. \u00a0He had considered himself but another local boy in his new home, Abashawul. \u00a0Yet Mahdere was not a boy from Abashawul, he was abruptly informed, but an Amiche. \u00a0True, his friendship with the boys of Abashawul had not altered; their affection to him was immense and their companionship genuine. \u00a0But he ultimately remained a stranger next door. The term \u201cAmiche\u201d expressed to him more than its face value.\u00a0 \u201cI understood that I was neither of the two, but an Amiche,\u201d explains Mahdere.<\/p>\n The term \u201cAmiche\u201d was a late discovery for Mahdere, but Binyam Fisha had heard it before 1991 while he was in Addis Ababa. \u00a0It was the time of the Dergue regime; the civil war was at its pinnacle.\u00a0 Binyam, 40, was born and grew up in Addis Ababa\u2019s \u201c22 Mazoria\u201d district. <\/em>Now he resides in the capital of Southern Sudan, Juba. \u00a0Binyam states, \u201cThis is name given to Eritreans who were born in Ethiopia.\u00a0 The term overtly entails the process of being assembled in Ethiopia.\u201d \u00a0The term \u201cAmiche\u201d is also given to those people who are born of the union between an Eritrean parent and an Ethiopian mother or father. The term is derived from an abbreviation of Automotive Manufacturing Company of Ethiopia (AMCE), a car assembly factory in Addis Ababa. The parts of the AMCE cars are produced in Italy, but the majority of the assembly work is done in Ethiopia.\u00a0 Just as the foreign parts of the car were assembled in Ethiopia, so too, goes the analogy, the body parts of Amiches were from elsewhere<\/em><\/p>\n Jennifer Riggan, PHD, Director of International Studies at Arcadia University has studied the Amiches. \u00a0She explains to Addis Neger, via email, \u201cBeing an Amiche is a hybrid identity and a composite one that draws in creative and diverse ways on meanings of being Eritrean and being Ethiopian, as well as more localized identities associated with village of origin, town or neighborhood or city of residence and family stories\u201d.<\/p>\n “Amiches have a very strong sense of identity as Amiches and, as different from other Eritreans and Ethiopians, have a strong sense of solidarity and commonality with other Amiches,\u201d says Dr Riggan.\u00a0 \u201cAt the same time, it is different from a more institutionalized identity, such as a religious, national or ethnic identity. \u00a0It is a lived, experienced identity rather than one that is codified and carried out through state, cultural or other institutional forms.\u201d Some call the Amiches the \u201ctenth tribe of Eritrea\u201d.\u00a0 There are many Amiches who consider this identity as a source of pride. They call themselves \u201cthe beautiful people\u201d.\u00a0 Dr Riggan states, \u201d An Amiche identity is a powerful and very interesting one, but also a transitory and temporary one. \u00a0It is experience-based and situational.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Amiches bring this identity to the life of the cyber world.\u00a0 \u201cI love being Amiche\u201d is an Amiche Facebook page<\/span><\/a> founded by Eyerusalem Haile. The fans of this page are Amiches living in various parts of the world; its members are growing daily. \u00a0Together, they discuss things that were once dear to them. \u00a0Certain issues bind the group \u2013 namely, their stories of expulsion and life in exile.<\/p>\n There is no official numbers available on the Amiches. \u00a0Yet during the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, almost 75 thousand Eritrean-Ethiopians were evicted.<\/p>\n Who Was Deported?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Ethiopian government started the eviction of many Eritreans following the outbreak of the border war. The first operation focused on those who were accused of helping the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and accordingly considered a threat to national security. \u00a0Some Ethiopian residents of Eritrean descent participated in the referendum for independence, while others did not. Unofficial figures make the number of people who have an Eritrean heritage lives in Ethiopia is greater than 250 thousand. <\/em> Some participated in the referendum, and some did not. 57,710 residents in Ethiopia voted in the 1993 Eritrean referendum on independence–57,466 (99.5%) voted ‘yes’; 204 voted ‘no. The expulsion is not exclusively for those people who were participated in the referendum.<\/p>\n In 1999, the expulsion reached an average rate of 1500 per week.<\/em> Between June 1998 and February 1999, when hostilities resumed, a total of 54,000 people of Eritrean origin were detained and expelled, according to Amnesty International<\/span>.<\/a> The report stated that the expulsion was \u201ccarried out in an inhumane manner that amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” according to Amnesty International’s investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Many of them had been living in Ethiopia for a long period of time. They created wealth, had families and attached themselves to the people of Ethiopia.\u00a0 The majority had Ethiopian nationality.\u00a0 A survey completed by those among the first batch of evictees showed that most of the deportees were born in Ethiopia or spent a major part of their lives in that country. \u00a0\u201c59% of them lived in Ethiopia for 25 to 60 years. Nearly all of them held Ethiopian passports or identification cards bearing the words “Citizenship: Ethiopian.”<\/p>\n Those expelled came from many walks of life. \u00a0One group of 250 evictees, interviewed by a UN delegation, included many people over age 60 and people retired from business or civil service. \u00a0There were teachers<\/a>, mechanics, shop owners and managers, lecturers, a physician, and two Catholic priests.\u00a0 Many of the men had been born in Ethiopia, had never been to Eritrea, and did not speak Tigrinya – the main language of Eritrea.<\/span><\/p>\n The expulsion resulted in many personal social and economic crises. However, more than the loss of their property, the majority of the group felt deep sorrow in finding themselves and their families on donors\u2019 hands. \u00a0\u201cImagine how it was heartbreaking, getting those people who once had a well-equipped life to stand in line to receive bed sheets and other basic needs,\u201d say an Addis Neger source who worked with the first group of evictees in Asmara. <\/em><\/p>\n As for this source, who spoke to our reporter on terms of anonymity in Jinja town, 73 km away from Kampala, Uganda, the event clearly gripped the hearts of the people.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we received the first evicted people at Asmara University, our grievances were so deep. Many of them were confused; they could not believe what happened to them,\u201d he adds.\u00a0 Worst of all, the majority of family members were separated. \u00a0According to UNICEF surveys conducted in two accommodating stations in June 1998, 63 percent of households were evicted, leaving their children behind.\u00a0 The first batch of evictees was temporarily housed in Asmara University. \u00a0Accommodating so many people presented an immense challenge.<\/p>\n A decade has now passed since the last forced expulsion. But the expulsion has irreversibly changed the lives of many.\u00a0 Countless Amiches experienced one or more setbacks economic, social and psychological.<\/p>\n The Burden of Being Amiche<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Asmara is beautiful but, many claim, it is also lifeless. \u00a0The hardest thing for Mahdere in this beautiful city was to integrate with its native people.\u00a0 Most of the dwellers of Asmara are socially conservative and closed. \u00a0For the Amiches coming from the moderately liberal Addis Ababa, the restrictions seemed outlandish. \u00a0Language also presented another obvious barrier to integration with the people of Asmara.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can identify the Amiches even by pinpointing their style of walking,\u201d explains Binyam. The Amiches also listen to Amharic music. In small cities like Keren, the Amiches were known for the Amharic music they used to play in the bars.\u00a0 Even at the height of the border war, the Amiches did not abandon their habit of playing Amharic music. But the regime in Asmara did not share their enthusiasm, eventually prohibiting Amharic music from being played in public places. \u00a0\u201cIn relation with the expulsion from Ethiopia, most of the Amiches were psychologically traumatized,\u201d says Binyam. Mahdere was uprooted from where he built his worldview without his consent. The route by which he arrived in Asmara was paved with humiliation.\u00a0 He has not forgotten that. \u00a0Today, his heart inclines towards \u201cEritreaness\u201d.\u00a0 But \u201cEritreaness\u201d is also an imperfect fit. \u00a0\u201cAfter I heard the term \u2018Amiche\u2019 from my Abashawul friends, I felt bareness, even though my friends did not change the way they approached me,\u201d says Mahdere.\u00a0 \u201cI realized that Eritrea is not my home as Ethiopia once was.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahdere considers his time in Asmara as one of the toughest times of his youth. \u00a0He did not have a job, and the income from his family and his father was not enough to make ends meet. \u00a0Yet this is the normal Amiche life in Asmara – uprooted, and economically stricken.<\/p>\n The Amiches who managed to evade military conscription often actively involved in the black jobs of Asmara. \u00a0Some females even became prostitutes. Others are blamed for the theft that started to spread after the coming of the Amiches. \u00a0\u201cThey are accused of theft, cheating and the group fighting,\u201d says Betsega Sahele, a Nairobi resident who formerly lived in Asmara.<\/em> Such prejudices and allegations forced them to form their own circles, building strong attachments to one another.<\/p>\n The regime in Eritrea requires citizens aged 18 to 40 to participate in the country’s National Service Program of forced military conscription. \u00a0No one knows when the national service ends. \u00a0This program remains part of the Eritrean regime\u2019s plan to militarize the state of Eritrea, molding its citizens under the militarized Eritrean nationalistic eye of the incumbent.<\/p>\n “Ethiopian” and “Eritrean” nationalism are not mutually complimentary; rather, both have a competing national discourse. \u00a0 The Eritrean nationalism was sewn alongside the struggle for independence from Ethiopia; the leaders of the Eritrean political elites are ultra radical Eritrean nationalists.<\/p>\n But the \u201ctraditional\u201d Ethiopian nationalistic discourses consider the Eritrean nationalism as treasonous.\u00a0\u00a0 Historically, the Ethiopian nationalism discourse does not offer any recognition of the Eritrean version of nationalism.\u00a0 The identity of the Amiches was built along the seams of two polar antagonists crafting their identity. \u00a0But the identity of the Amiches has not been recognized in political discourse either in Ethiopia or Eritrea. \u00a0Neither country\u2019s political space seems to have a place for it.<\/p>\n Dr. Riggan, however, sees points of commonality. \u00a0\u201cThere are certainly versions of each national narrative that are not complimentary and see the other nationalism as a threat. \u00a0But what is more interesting, I think, is that each nationalism is in the process of being negotiated and reworked,\u201d notes Dr. Jennifer Riggan.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIn both countries, a traditional, compelling, government-sponsored narrative of the nation is being challenged by a variety of forces. \u00a0This is a threat to both governments and to the ruling elite in both countries. \u00a0I think Amiches found very creative ways to draw from both narratives in ways that the official versions do not allow for,\u201d says Dr. Riggan.<\/em><\/p>\n Another Exile: Amiche Exodus <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Many Amiches who were unable to begin a new life<\/em> <\/em> in Asmara left Eritrea by crossing its borders – either to Ethiopia or the Sudan. \u00a0But crossing these borders is incredibly demanding\u2014requiring a large sum of money, extensive travel on foot and luck enough to escape the border guards. \u00a0The unfortunate ones who are caught are either arrested or shot and killed.\u00a0 The brokers, who receive 4000 USD per head for arranging the exodus, necessarily have different routes of escape.\u00a0 The Teseney- Kesela route is one of the ways out.<\/p>\n Binyam was one of the Amiches who escaped in this way. Binyam was not expelled from Ethiopia like most other Amiches. \u00a0He voluntarily went to Asmara in 1991, after the fall of the previous government. \u00a0He used to sell goods – electronics, cigarettes and chewing gum – in Asmara by bringing them from Addis Ababa. \u00a0When the border conflict broke out, Binyam was in Asmara; the border was closed and many were expelled. \u00a0Binyam was forced to stay.<\/p>\n Binyam was married and a father of two. He continued his business in order to support his family, until he was called for national military service. He did not want to enter he service and leave his wife, who was expecting their third child, behind.\u00a0 \u201cI was left with only two options,\u201d says Binyam, \u201cEither to join the service or to leave the country.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Binyam, leaving the country was not easily accomplished. \u00a0It involved passing many checkpoints and snipers. \u00a0Nevertheless, he traveled from Asmara to Teseney by bus. Then, traveling on foot for 17 hours, he passed the checkpoints on the border. \u00a0\u201cThe path we chose was relatively safe,\u201d remembers Binyam. \u00a0\u201cBecause there were not many snipers on the way, the leaders who knew this path charged a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/addisnegeronline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Bineiam-Fisha.jpg\" "\\"Bineiam")
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