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Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes

The cover of Westerly, Issue 61.2 (2016): Image supplied courtesy of the Berndt Museum. Attributed to Srisakra Vallibhotam and Rote Sodersire, Thailand, Miniatures, c. 1968–1970, woven bamboo. R.M. & C.H. Berndt Collection, Berndt Museum.

Born Free, Created Poor: Coming of Age in Ethiopia

Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes & Rebecca Higgie, Westerly, Issue 61.2 (2016)

(Note on access: download the pdf and scroll to page 58.)

When I left Ethiopia to come to Australia, I was not destitute. I was a well-educated director of a respected NGO. Yet the label 'Ethiopian' made me poor in the eyes of almost every Australian I ever met.

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