VOA标准英语2011--Ethnic Politics Split US Ethiopians

Ethnic¹ Politics Split US Ethiopians

America's Ethiopian community has grown quickly since the 1980s and one of its hubs is the northwestern state of Washington. Yet, even though they live a half world away from Ethiopia, these immigrants are still influenced by politics back home.
Differences
In the middle of Seattle, a group of Ethiopian immigrants plays dominos at a community center for the city's Tigray immigrants - one of the many ethnic groups from Ethiopia.
Many people come to hang out at the lively place which has a bar inside. Similar community centers for other East African ethnic groups are practically within walking distance of each other.
Washington State's Ethiopian community is vibrant² and growing, with anywhere from 10,000-40,000 people. No one knows exactly how many, since many don’t participate in census³ counts or don’t report their ancestry⁴.
But the population is diverse, mirroring the variety of ethnicities, languages, religions and divisions in their homeland.
“Those social divisions sometimes also translate to political divisions because if you belong to a certain ethnic group you are automatically perceived or in reality you support a certain political ideology⁵ or grouping,” says Shakespear Feyissa, who came to America as teenager and is now a lawyer in Seattle.
According to Feyissa, at its worst, ethnic and political differences turn into economic discrimination against fellow Ethiopians.
“You could see people lobbying each other, saying, ‘Don't go to this certain business because he belongs to certain political group or political party,’ or they say, ‘Don't go to this business because he either opposes or supports the government.’”
Feyissa opposes the government of Meles Zenawi, who led a rebel takeover of the country 20 years ago, and says he's lost Ethiopian clients because of it.
“It is difficult for me personally, sometimes. Because I would hear certain ethnicity or certain groups saying, 'Oh don't go to him, he doesn't like certain groups', just because of my strong political conviction, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.”
The divisions are hard for people who support the Ethiopian government, too. Mekonnen Kassa works for Microsoft in a Seattle suburb while also heading a pro-government group in his spare time.
“I travel to Ethiopia and meet with the political party leaders," says Kassa. "And my group also invites government officials to come to the U.S. and meet with Ethiopians here.”
His political involvement has had personal consequences. One time, a stranger who saw him in a restaurant called him selfish - accusing Kassa of supporting the Ethiopian government for personal gain - and told him to leave.
“And at that point I got upset, and we got into a very heated argument, almost very close to a fist fight," says Kassa. "And those couple of guys who knew me that were at the restaurant had to drag me out of the restaurant.”
Since then, Kassa keeps to himself.
Coming together
Many people recognize that division is a problem within Washington state's Ethiopian community, and at least one group is trying to move beyond it.
At a summer camp, young Ethiopian-Americans learn Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. The program is run by the Ethiopian Community Center in Seattle. Even though there are community centers for different ethnic groups, the leaders here want to put ethnicity aside, and bring all Ethiopians together as Ethiopians.
“That is the first thing, and when people come here, we want them to feel that this is their home. This is their place equally,” says Mulumebet Retta, who heads the center. “What we are trying to do here is whether you are an Amhara, an Oromo, Tigrey, Guragi, Gambella, whatever ethnic group you are, you are an Ethiopian.”
Retta's group supports Ethiopian immigrants by connecting them with social services. The center staff works to solve problems which affect everyone in the community, whether it's taking care of their elders or educating their children.
Seattle lawyer Feyissa believes it's up to the next generation of Ethiopian-Americans to look beyond ethnic politics.
“The most important things for them, is not belonging to a certain ethnicity, but being Ethiopian, being immigrant," he says. "So I see hope in that regard.”

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

5 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。