Amhara, Ethiopian in Australia

Introduction / History

The Amhara people are related to the Tigray and Tigre people of Ethiopia and Eritrea who together make up the Habeshans. These people can trace their origins back to Shem, eldest son of Noah. They left present day Yemen and settled on the African side of the Red Sea inhabiting the Nile Delta and all land east of the valley down to the Ethiopian Highlands. These people are known in antiquity as the Ancient Egyptians who retreated back to Ethiopia and Eritrea after countless takeovers of Egypt. Here they established other great kingdoms such as Sheba/Saba and Axum. After the Middle Ages they soon split into 3 tribes: Amhara, Tigre and Tigray with their own languages that all derived from Ge'ez, their ancient language. Today most Amhara live in central and east/Northeastern Ethiopia. Some have migrated to other countries such as Australia.

A tiny number of them came to Australia in the 1960s as students. Others arrived in the 1970s as political refugees. They had already been in refugee camps in Kenya and Sudan for nearly 20 years. Most of them have arrived in the 21st century. They usually live in Melbourne.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Many of the Amhara Ethiopians in Australia have a good education. Like most Western countries, Australia prefers to admit people with wealth and education. Amhara Ethiopians still have a high unemployment rate. There are enough struggling refugees among the Amhara Ethiopians that they are often perceived as "starving Africans."

Commonly these immigrants start businesses that cater to other Ethiopians such as restaurants and small businesses. About one-fifth of the Amhara Ethiopians are business managers, professionals or tradesmen.

These Ethiopians have mixed feelings about dealing with the problems of their place of birth. Some want to do something about Ethiopian’s constant problems while others do not want to think about it. Those who are born in Australia would prefer to move forward without looking back to a place they don’t consider home.

What Are Their Beliefs?

From early encounters with the Hebrew people, many Amhara adopted the early form of proto-Judaism. Though the high and ruling class continued to practice the Egyptian pagan religion until Queen Makda of Sheba was converted by King Solomon to Judaism. Christianity came to the Amhara through Coptic missionaries. The Amhara were the first African converts to Islam after sheltering Mohammed's followers from their enemies in Mecca. Because of the Islamic expansion, Aksum was cut from other Christian kingdoms which created their own unique form of Coptic Christianity. They incorporated Jewish rituals and laws and added a focus on monasticism. Today the majority of Amhara people are Ethiopian Orthodox, and the minority are Sunni Muslim.

What Are Their Needs?

Pray for the Amhara people to have a Christ-centered faith that cannot be shaken.

Pray for them to study and obey the Scriptures.

Pray for Amhara disciples to make more disciples.

Text Source:   Joshua Project