This might not have been a surprise if she was actually born in Italy, but she was born in Ethiopia. Her only association with the country is through the school she attended for 13 years; the Italian School in Ethiopia.
For Ruth, identity is an elusive subject, something you can choose, and she identifies with being an Italian. From the language she speaks to the men she dates to the music she listens to, her life is filled with Italy. She cannot deny the fact that in many ways, she cannot relate to “typical Ethiopians.”
All her interest is in being a “global citizen,” which, in her definition, means being closer to Europe. Ethiopian music, history, culture, rituals and customs are forgotten in her head, with only the city of Florence and its scenery vivid and romanticized in her head. Her career of choice, a freelance interpreter, comes from her love of the Italian language.
Starting from the age she started dating, 16, she has never dated an Ethiopian. Even though she says she does not see race in love, her preference seems to coincide with only white people. It is not only an attachment with Italy but the discarding of her home country.
Ruth is not the only one who feels this way; there are many Ethiopians who attended community, private and international schools who cannot associate with being an Ethiopian. There are so many who stagger when they read Amharic let alone write it, those who only read English, Italian, French literature who believe in the ‘global citizen’ with no association with Ethiopian identity.
Many of them, after graduating from high school, go to Europe despite the economic tightness for immigrants. Some of them come back to their country and others decide to stay there. Wherever they are, in one way or another, they are attached to the origins of the countries of their schools; Lycee Guebre-Mariam to France, Italian School to Italy, Sanford School to England, Indian School to India. Even after leaving high school, it is deeply engraved in their mind and is manifested through language, music, food, literature and culture. For some, it is simply an aspect of their life while some go as far as experiencing self-hate and discarding their own identity, not wanting anything to do with being an Ethiopian.
Looking at this phenomenon, there are people who criticize the whole process and associate it with the assimilation process in many African countries during the colonization period. The policy of assimilation was designed to make Africans more French through education. It was used to create a class of black French people with values, aspirations, culture and cognitive styles analogous to those of European educational institutions.
Some of them do not accept this argument and instead say the French and British educational systems are international and therefore better.
Even though this argument is controversial, most of the students know what is going on in those countries. They know the political environment and follow up on up-to-date information. Some of them even try to dissect the political situation or the psychological makeup of the French, Italian, British, American, and Indians to mention a few.
Zeresenay Baraki, 29, went to the Italian school and discusses Italy and Italians with his friend Azaria Reda who went to the same school. “Italians do not start implementation but rather wait for European countries and follow them,” says Zeresenay with Azaria agreeing with him.
His enrollment at the Italian school was accidental. His parents could not find a school like St. Joseph or Cathedral; so he joined the Italian school. With his 13th year enrolled at that school, he has developed an attachment to the country as well as the school, even though he is undoing it all now.
Regarding the education at the Italian school, although most of it revolved around Italy, there was still a lot worldly history and geography and literature. The literature was mainly composed of Italian and French literature. African history was insignificant and was mainly about Egyptian history. Ethiopian history was not included in their textbooks but the teachers tried to cover some aspects of it.
Reminiscing now, some of the texts were “surprisingly shocking.” For instance, on a chart of colonized countries and their independence days, Ethiopian Independence Day was listed on the date that coincides with the unification of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
“We created a commotion and they had to apologize,” says Zeresenay.
Many students were interested in the music, and even though Zeresenay was not into Italian music, their music classes covered a lot of technical issues, which he enjoyed and stuck with. Some of the Italian literature he read such as Dante Alighieri and Dieviskoji Komedija (Divine Comedy) fill his childhood memories, but he was not that much into readings either.
He says their batch was different, many of the students chose to speak to each other in Amharic outside of classes, which prompted punishments and restrictions on speaking Amharic on premises. They speak Italian when they leave the premises and want to talk in private. Zeresenay does not deny the fact that a lot of the students considered Italy their second home.
Even in football matches they felt like “their country played”. It took him and his friends a while to figure out the attitude of the Ethiopians against Italians. He learned how many Ethiopians do not like Italians and it was interesting for him to find out how others feel resentment against the Italians because of the history, which clashed with their positive feelings and attachment. For them it was a different feeling. Even though the levels differ from one another, Italy, the different cities such as Florence, Rome and Venice, the architecture, the monuments, the painters, the art, the history, the celebrities and the politics are all engraved in their minds.
Going to Italy a year ago for his Master’s, the history of colonization was a bit changed when it comes to Italy “making them a better colonizer than the British and French, who portrayed them as brutal”. Living in Italy, he found out that people actually believe Ethiopia was colonized by Italy and refer to occupation as a technical term. Somehow for the Italians in Italy he was living proof of this because of his fluency in the Italian language. They assumed he was fluent precisely because “Ethiopia was colonized,” a situation that saddened him.
Even when he was in school there were moments of discomfort. Many students felt the mixed-race and Italian students were treated better than the Ethiopians. Apart from that they were told over and over again how privileged they were to be taught by these teachers who were paid thousands of dollars to teach them “we were told that we learned democratic virtue because we went to an Italian school,” says Zeresenay.
The Italian school is an Italian government school and the Italian government subsidized the school.
Their only connection with Ethiopia at school was Amharic class, which was a compulsory subject for Ethiopians. Apart from that they had to take private lessons, especially on weekends, in order to catch up with the Ethiopian curriculum to take the national exam.
Finishing high school he took the esame di maturità (maturity exam) and had to prepare for the matriculation exam. He had a tutor at home and studied on weekends. His Amharic results were bad and the exams were different. They did not have science or art classes. The choices they had were engineering stream, commerce or science.
After five years of learning they acquired a diploma and joining university was easy for him. After finishing high school some went to look for a job with existing Italian companies in the country and many made it to Italy. Zeresenay’s first choice was to go to America but it was not possible.
After finishing the 13th grade they went to the Ministry of Education to be considered for the university. The ministry was not happy at first but finally evaluated them and gave them a letter.
Joining university, Zeresenay says they needed adjusting with the ‘cold lecturers’’. Addis Ababa University was good for him in a way, making him see the bigger picture. It was a new experience seeing a different side of Ethiopia; the different classes and the dichotomy of schools.
For many, going to Ethiopian universities was not an option, with students preferring to attend a university in Italy or get a job. Even though schools are free they still have to pay taxes, which are hundreds of dollars as well as cover their accommodation and food. Some of them take very long to graduate and some drop out. Living in Italy is an eye opener “whether you know their culture, language or feel any more Italian than the others, at the end of the day you are a black immigrant,” says Zeresenay.
His connection was not only to Italy, with his heart drifting to America because of the music and film. He calls himself ‘an Americanized boy” He also developed a love for the English language. Looking back now he feels how lost he was, remembering how Amharic music was such an alien culture to him.
Many students used to go to Juventus Club to eat pizza and learn the Italian culture and in his words, be part of “little Italy”. There was a spirit of Italianess, the music, the food, the language and being among the Italians. He only went for a couple of days and was not part of that.
In the school everything was about Italy, the Roman civilization, the literature, the history and for many of the students this was their world and shaped their future.
When he went to Italy the economy was bad but he was not an alien to the country. He knew the language and history, which created a familiarity. It also gave him a chance to see the architecture he appreciates and monuments.
Even before joining the university and after graduation he worked with Italians. His experience showed him what Italians assumed about his kind, that they were the better Ethiopians because they were considered “different,” civilized, closer to Europeans. “Some of the Ethiopians bought that concept,” says Zeresenay.
Looking at some of the students, he knows many who go through identity crises, who cannot read Amharic, who see everything to do with whiteness as good, with no identification with Ethiopians at all. “It is a loss, sadly,” says Zeresenay.
According to him, the school wanted to produce ‘global citizens’ exposed to Europe.
These attachments pass limits and evolve into self-hate such as mixed parents who don’t want their children to get married with Ethiopians but rather with Italians or white people.
Knowing deeply about a country other than yours, belonging to a nation more than yours might be a reality for some. Many parents, especially those who can afford to send their children to these schools, do so, so that they can be a part of the “international school system” and “get a better education”. Through this process some lose any connection with the country while others try to create a balance. Even though the distance is overwhelming between Ethiopia and those countries, the students easily associate with the music, culture and language. There are also those who do not have anything to do with the country, even though they learn about it deeply.
Mahlet Kebede went to the Indian Community School but says she does not have any connection with India. But remembering her childhood, everything was Indian and it was only in her 7th grade that she was introduced to Ethiopian history.
In the second grade, she was introduced to Amharic. It was still an option for Ethiopians. They were introduced to Indian culture and songs. English was based on a British system but even the literature covered Indian folk tales and the characters of the stories had Indian names such as Ashock and Kuma.
Now, thinking about it, she does not understand why she learned Indian history, the cities of India and its political system. Even the science and nutrition classes were based on India; they had to learn the fruits that grow in India. After finishing the eighth grade, she joined American Mission, which followed the Ethiopian school curriculum, which, she says, by itself is problematic. Looking at old friends, she sees how they want to alienate themselves from other Ethiopians. There are those also who are proud to not be able to read or write Amharic. She says she does not want to have a connection with India but still everything she learned is in her head and somehow unconsciously she knows too much about India, creating some sort of attachment with the country, whether she likes it or not.
Helen Hg, who attended Lycee before going to France knew about the language, social system, politics food and much more.
She was not into French music but she got used to it after living in France. Since their focus of education was France, lessons such as Ethiopian history and geography, in order to prepare for the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) exam, were tiring. Finishing high school, her first choice was to go to France. Addis Ababa University was another option but she was lucky enough to go to the south of France.
Speaking the language made things easy. In that university there were many international students from Africa who went to French school who she could relate to easily. She stayed in France for almost five years while working to cover her accommodation and food. It was not easy for her, while working she used to have to deal with racism. She remembers one time a woman would not rent her and her sister a house because they were Ethiopian. In other ways, she also felt all the education and the dream became a reality after visiting Paris. “I fell in love with Paris. I don’t think all the books are enough to explain the beauty of Paris,” says Helen.
After coming here she felt she was not built for the Ethiopian market but was rather taught to work for international organizations and felt that she was different. Analyzing her education, she says that their knowledge only revolved around France.
“I still say I have to work on Ethiopian history. Many of us don’t know,” says Helen.
Since the school system was designed to be part of European and American universities, many of them go abroad to Europe directly after finishing high school. Most of the high schools facilitate that process such as Lycee, which registers all the students to universities in France. A couple of them get scholarships but many of them go to those countries and face everything on their own and still keep the deep attachment. There are those like Menyeshu Hailu who received a half scholarship.
Menyeshu adores French films and still downloads music, and reads French literature. The lessons she took, which she says revolved around French history and geography, grew in her. Writers such as Madame de Scudery and Molière’s satirical plays, also have a deep meaning for her. She is also very familiar with the works of Emile Zola, Anatole France and Simone de Beauvoir.
Growing up listening to history, even African history, which is told through colonization, having French teachers and French friends had an impact on her. After receiving a half scholarship she went to France for two years to study chemistry and mathematics and then went to the states to do her Masters. Now she misses France but connects with it through films, music, literature that she can find.
Now, in Ethiopia, many community, private and international schools are flourishing. Some of them are related to a specific country or have “international” status. Lycee, built on the premises of five hectares of land, is one of the pioneers of these schools. The school was established in 1947 with the collaboration of the two governments of France and Ethiopia.
It is a public school subsidized by the French government with 4 million Euros annually.
According to its director, the school was established because of a political strategy to balance the dominance of British education.
With the coming of the OAU, many students started enrolling in the school. According to Jean-Pierre Pasquiou, they had an agreement with the Emperor for the school to enroll 70 percent Ethiopians. In 1950, from the 60,000 students all over the country, 1,000 were at the Lycée.
The agreement was to mix the curricula of the two countries, which he believes is how the system works. Lycée is one of the 500 French schools that are found all over the world and he says it is the place where they learn the cultures of many countries. Talking about the attachment of the students to France, he believes it is not only French culture that they learn but a mix of many cultures.
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