From Ethiopia to Red Deer: A Black History Month story

The Abyssinia Village Market is perhaps one of the city’s more unique fixtures.

Ethiopia, formerly referred to as Abyssinia, is the homeland of the market’s owners, Hanna and Ahmed Oumer.

Hanna, a former construction materials company worker in Ethiopia, married Ahmed 15 years ago, then moved to Canada about four years later with their two sons.

Circumstances finally allowed Ahmed, a post-secondary-educated surveyor, to follow in their footsteps and reunite with his family eight years later.

The Abyssinia has been open downtown, once around the block from where it currently exists, for the last five or six years.

rdnewsNOW recently sat down with Ahmed at the Abyssinia to talk about the happiness brought by operating such a business in central Alberta, and equally what Black History Month means to them in the context of their business.

“Most of the time, the Canadians who come in here, I appreciate them. They want to know new things, a new culture – most of the time,” says Oumer, explaining that in all their years here, racism has very seldom reared its ugly face within their store’s four walls.

“I tell them about our culture, show them the cultural foods we have here, and most of the time, they come back. Recently, one guy came alone and asked me a lot of questions. A few days after, he returned with his kids and bought a lot of things.”

What might you find on the shelves of the Abyssinia?

On one wall there’s a spectacular selection of spices, including berbere, a staple of many Ethiopian dishes.

Ahmed Oumer shows off his impressive wall of spices for sale, with tea above. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Frozen chopped molokhia, a vegetable similar in taste to spinach, can be used to make soup. Perhaps opt for okra, grape leaves, feta cheese or tahini, all from overseas.

The Oumers also serve up fresh enjera (or injera), an Ethiopian flatbread dish, hot and complete with toppings. Pictures and traditional Ethiopian textiles are also available.

“When Hanna came here to Red Deer, there wasn’t much for African stores or products here. So we thought, ‘Why can’t we do that?’ The business hasn’t always been what we thought it would be, but now, slowly, more different people are coming in,” says Oumer. People want different things, and a lot of Canadians have been coming in to buy enjera. They try it and start loving it.”

The 50-year-old admits that validates his family’s travels and endeavours.

“Growing up, we were in the capital city – Addis Ababa. It is different there from rural cities, where it is very hard. Maybe 90 per cent of people in Ethiopia live in a rural place. So for us, in the capital, hardships weren’t that much. We were lucky,” he says.

“However, there is a lot of bureaucracy there, which led Hanna to want to come to Canada. I eventually left everything there to follow her here.”

As for Black History Month, an observance originating in North America, the concept of it is quite foreign to Oumer.

“I don’t really know anything about it. I learned about it when you told me,” he says, laughing.

But when it comes to Nelson Mandela, a name oft referenced when talking about Black history, Oumer has lots to say.

Mandela was famously smuggled out of South Africa and into Ethiopia in 1962. There, he was granted that nation’s passport.

“Mandela was partially trained in Ethiopia. We know him well, and we support the movement he made. He is very important to Ethiopia,” says Oumer. “In Ethiopia, every person is inspired by Mandela. For many years of his life, he fought for his people – Black people in South Africa who had no rights, and had to live almost as slaves.”

Arriving in Canada for Ahmed, Hanna and their now high-school age sons, albeit at different times, was difficult.

The language barrier was the biggest struggle, he explains, and is especially for Ethiopians, who hail from an uncolonized country. This means English, nor other tongues, have overtaken traditional languages.

A decorative plate inside the Abyssinia Village Market in downtown Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“A lot of people here have helped us, but there’s room for improvement. I arrived in Toronto, and going through the airport full of white people, it was a new experience. I was scared. Most people in Ethiopia have never seen a white person, except maybe on television or in the movies,” says Oumer, now a nursing student at Red Deer Polytechnic.

“People coming here from Ethiopia, for example, don’t know what they’re doing or where they need to go. We need more advice and support when we arrive. After 10 years, they may finally start to get how things work, but only because of trial and error.”

For all they’ve been through, and the long road they’ve travelled, walking into the Abyssinia every morning is the delight for Ahmed and Hanna.

“You know what? We came here and we had to change a lot from what we were doing in Ethiopia,” Oumer says. “Canadians come in here and know about our country, and they are happy to find things. Very few have shown us anger, and good Canadians know we are all very similar. That makes us happy.”

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

From Ethiopia to Red Deer: A Black History Month story

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