As a result of researching other countries for our international adoption, I feel fortunate to have gleaned more global knowledge about Korea, China, Russia and Ethiopia. Below I have attached some background about Ethiopia's cultural and political history. I find it shocking how different ruling governments can so significantly alter a whole country's quality of life or literal ability to live.
"Ethiopia is a beautiful country situated in Eastern Africa near the Red Sea. It is one of the oldest countries in the world and was the home of the Queen of Sheba. Modern day Ethiopia is the product of many millennia of interaction among peoples in and around the Ethiopian highlands region. From the earliest times, these groups combined to produce a culture that at any given time differed markedly from that of surrounding peoples.
One of the most significant influences on the formation and evolution of culture in northern Ethiopia consisted of migrants from Southwest Arabia. Arriving during the first millennium B.C., these migrants brought very distinctive speech, writing, and stone-building traditions to northern Ethiopia. These migrants also seem to have contributed directly to the rise of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading state that prospered in the first centuries of the Christian era.
The ancient Ethiopian monarchy remained free from colonial rule (except for one brief period of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941). The empire which started with Menelik, son of the Queen of Sheba, continued until 1974 when Emperor Haile Selassie (who had ruled for 44 years) was deposed and a socialist state was established in Ethiopia.
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Following the death of Haile Selassie, there was a civil war Ethiopia until 1991, when a transitional government was formed. The 17 years of civil war bankrupted the country and left thousands of orphaned children. Ethiopia adopted a constitution in 1994 and held their first democratic elections in 1995.
Today, Ethiopia’s 67 million people are among the poorest in the world. Infant and maternal mortality rates in Ethiopia are among the highest in the world, leaving thousands of children orphaned and in need of loving families. The numbers of orphaned children continue to increase as the diseases of poverty cause the premature deaths of parents. In 2004, Americans adopted 289 children from Ethiopia."
One of the most significant influences on the formation and evolution of culture in northern Ethiopia consisted of migrants from Southwest Arabia. Arriving during the first millennium B.C., these migrants brought very distinctive speech, writing, and stone-building traditions to northern Ethiopia. These migrants also seem to have contributed directly to the rise of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading state that prospered in the first centuries of the Christian era.
The ancient Ethiopian monarchy remained free from colonial rule (except for one brief period of Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941). The empire which started with Menelik, son of the Queen of Sheba, continued until 1974 when Emperor Haile Selassie (who had ruled for 44 years) was deposed and a socialist state was established in Ethiopia.
.
Following the death of Haile Selassie, there was a civil war Ethiopia until 1991, when a transitional government was formed. The 17 years of civil war bankrupted the country and left thousands of orphaned children. Ethiopia adopted a constitution in 1994 and held their first democratic elections in 1995.
Today, Ethiopia’s 67 million people are among the poorest in the world. Infant and maternal mortality rates in Ethiopia are among the highest in the world, leaving thousands of children orphaned and in need of loving families. The numbers of orphaned children continue to increase as the diseases of poverty cause the premature deaths of parents. In 2004, Americans adopted 289 children from Ethiopia."
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