Americanized Italian Food in Addis Ababa

Kerry Howley | March 7, 2005

Yesterday's Washington Post had a great piece on Ethiopian immigrants in D.C., who are picking up entrepreneurial skills here and bringing them home:

But increasingly, Ethiopians who made their fortunes in the strip-mall spice stores and bakeries of Fairfax and the packed restaurants of Adams Morgan say they want to do more than send money home. All over Addis Ababa, eateries and offices are opening with such names as The Olive Garden, New York, New York, and The Boston Professional Building.

Government officials said at least 1,500 emigres had returned to Addis and that they were launching an aggressive campaign to woo more, offering tax breaks on importing belongings and flexible land ownership laws. In Washington, they said, embassy officials had been going door-to-door in Ethiopian-American neighborhoods, urging patriotic entrepreneurs to move back.

At the moment, Ethiopia's single greatest source of income is $6 million in remittance money from the States. Post-tsunami, Will Wilkinson gave a cheer for remittances here.

Comments

MD|3.7.05 @ 4:59PM|#

$6 million? Per year?

I hope Ethiopa is not quite that poor, nor its emigres so stingy....

|3.7.05 @ 5:27PM|#

To quote Futurama's Hermes, "Haile H. Selassie!"

The Lonewacko Blog|3.7.05 @ 6:06PM|#

U.S. Amb. to Mexico Tony Garza a few days ago: "Reliance on remittances from the U.S. is not a viable economic policy."

|3.7.05 @ 9:22PM|#

What, not even $6 million in coffee exports?! What about dope sales at the new grave of Bob Marley?

|3.7.05 @ 9:29PM|#

So if Ethiopa legalized drugs and developed a $billion tourism industry, what would the rest of the world do about it?

Cut off Ethiopia's industrial exports?

|3.8.05 @ 5:41AM|#

Smoke a bowl?

|3.8.05 @ 10:10AM|#

I live in Northern Virginia and have worked alongside the very large community of Ethiopians (and Eritreans)in the area. I congratulate this community on it's success, but this area would be poorer for their having gone back. I'm not saying that they shouldn't. I would miss them is all.
Alongside their industriousness, there is the fact that many Ethiopian women are frickin' GORGEOUS. Also, Ethiopian food is like no other. It's like delicious, spicy baby food. Highly recommended.