WITH their flowing dreadlocks and blaring reggae music the Rastafarians in Shashemene look slightly out of place.
The beaches and rum bars of the Caribbean are just a distant memory, swapped for the dusty, landlocked streets of southern Ethiopia. Despite the town being crippled by a massive famine, the Rastas, as they are commonly known, insist they are home and
happy.
Teddy Dan, 54, who is originally from Oxford and father to 16 children, told The Scotsman: "We are African. It's eight years now, going on nine, since I returned home."
Mr Dan is typical of many of the Rastas who call Shashemene home. A former reggae singer, he became disillusioned with life on the road and the materialistic lifestyle.
He said: "I went to school in England in the Seventies, we were taught all about the slave ships, but I thought there had to be more to this history than they taught in school.
"Coming home (to Shashemene] you see good people stay silent. We need good people to agitate for Africa, in Africa people are suffering more than all."
Another Rasta, Papa Rocky, who has lived in Ethiopia for 30 years, holds a similar view.
He said: "I speak for the oppressed. I've been oppressed all my life, I've been beaten across my loins … I want to be what I am, an African."
In 1947, in reward for their worship, Emperor Selassie gave the Rastas 500 hectares of prime land , 250km south of the capital Addis Ababa.
The first 12 families arrived in 1963, but after the overthrow of the emperor by Mengistu Haile Mariam, a Marxist military leader, the land was whittled down to 11 hectares.
However, the number of families has increased and today there are about 500 families, mainly migrants from the Caribbean, who all call Shashemene home.
The majority of Rastas live a holistic lifestyle, eating only vegetarian food and eschewing alcohol. Controversially, they also believe that marijuana is a gift from God. And their substantial intake of the drug has led to some suspicion from locals in Shashemene, many of whom believe that they have introduced it to their young.
One local, who didn't want to be named, said: "We don't mind them here, but they're always smoking."
It is thought the Rastas don't grow the marijuana themselves, but are supplied by local farmers who bring it in for them. And perhaps as an indication of how locals appreciate and respect the Rastafarians, many of those in the town that speak English do so with a Caribbean lilt.
Mr Rocky said: "It's a herb.
"Why are you sending a man to prison and blighting his prospects for a herb? You need to legalise it, God created it."
In the face of criticism, the Rastas have worked hard to improve their image, undertaking a number of charitable projects in the area, including, bizarrely, funding the refurbishment of the local police station.
"A Rasta man building a police station? That's never been done before, only in Ethiopia," said Mr Dan, who has bought three of his children to live with him.
However, locals claim the Rastas have done a deal with the police – they help build a station, for which they have raised $10,000 (£5,000), and the police turn a blind eye to their drug intake.
Sergeant Getachew Kebede, the officer in charge, said: "I'm happy about the new police station, not only me but the whole police, the society and the government are happy. "
To spike worries that Rastas have bought nothing to the area but drugs, they have also set up a school that teaches 600 children and have pumped money into the economy by opening two local hotels.
Sister Benji, 48, who is Mr Dan's wife, from Ipswich, said: "My mum is proud of me for being in Africa and doing something positive."
Rastafarians believe they have a strong obligation to speak out against poverty, oppression and inequality. The dreadlocks on a Rastafarian's head symbolise rebellion against the system and the "proper" way to wear hair.
Ras Kabinda, a convener of the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), a Rastafarian non-governmental organisation (NGO) is also promoting alternative farming techniques and youth development programmes.
He said: "We want to break the perception that we Rastas just sing reggae music and smoke herb all day. We are serious development workers."
"Now is the time for nation-building. We have to stop all the idle talk and get things moving," adds the Dominican-born Kabinda, who moved to Ethiopia in 1992.
"It's one thing to talk about Africa and fantasise about it but when you come home and see the conditions of the youth here you realise you have serious work. We need to have serious training programes for them," he stresses.
The EWF currently runs two schools in the Shashemene community – one for primary students and the other at junior secondary level.
There are plans for a demonstration farm on a 500-hectare of land. Also in the pipeline is a computer centre for about 200 students under the auspices of the Haile Selassie Institute of Higher Learning, a branch of the Federation.
The project has the blessing of the Shashemene Municipality and the organisation is now waiting for a response from the federal government.
BACKGROUNDCORE to Rastafarians' belief system is that Haile Selassie, who was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, is an incarnation of God. The Rastas call him "the king of kings" or Jah, the black Messiah.
When black people in Jamaica were persecuted, Emperor Selassie was one of the few independent black rulers the Rastas felt they could look up to.
The term "Rastafarian" is taken from Haile Selassie's names before he was crowned, Ras Tafarai Makonnen.
Also fundamental to the Rasta beliefs is that Africa, and specifically Ethiopia, represents a modern-day Eden.
The Rastas in Shashemene believe they should be able to put down roots in Ethiopia, where they lived before being enslaved and shipped to the Caribbean and forced to forget their African heritage. However, despite their strong sense of being African and the fact that Shashemene is their home, the Rastas have still not been awarded Ethiopian citizenship.
Bob Marley, the late Jamaican singer-songwriter, was one of the most famous proponents of the Rastafarian movement. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands the Wailers and Bob Marley & the Wailers. He died nearly 30 years ago but remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread Jamaican music to a worldwide audience.
Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as Zimbabwe, Africa Unite, Wake Up and Live and Survival reflected his support for the struggles of Africans.
The full article contains 1148 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
