Minnesota’s Oromo Population
Doug McGill, at the Twin Cities Daily Planet, introduces us to Minnesota’s Oromo population.
They are teachers, doctors and lawyers; they run retail shops and corporations; they attend Viking games, relax at coffee shops and stroll at malls. They are sometimes called “Ethiopian immigrants” because they are indeed from Ethiopia.
But among friends and family, or if you ask them specifically, they carefully call themselves “Oromo.”
Who are the Oromo?
They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, numbering 31 million, and they are the subject of a new report, “Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of the Oromo Diaspora,” prepared by The Advocates for Human Rights, based in Minneapolis.
The report describes how the Oromo began immigrating to Minnesota from their homeland 30 years ago, and in the process explains why, despite their mostly successful assimilation, they remain relatively little-known here.
Doug’s story is far less dense than the report and provides some important, often overlooked facts about our neighbors. Do read the whole thing.
(via MinneAfrica)
