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  • Homelands:Interviews with Swedish Ethiopians
  • Lena Bezawork Grönlund (bio)

The seven individuals introduced on the following pages do not speak Amharic or Oromo or any other Ethiopian language, yet they were all born in Ethiopia.

They were adopted to Sweden from Ethiopia.

Adopted Ethiopians may have a lot in common with Ethiopians born outside of Ethiopia, as they are both physically removed from Africa. Other Ethiopians have, however, in most cases grown up at a much closer proximity to the Ethiopian culture, while many adopted Ethiopians have not grown up with any immediate Ethiopian culture, although they may, at the same time, also have a bond to Ethiopia that Ethiopians born outside of Ethiopia do not necessarily have.

Sweden has a high percentage of international (meaning non-European) adoptions. The individuals interviewed on the following pages were adopted during the 1970s. They came to a country that had not yet seen its population diversify. Several also testify that growing up in a sometimes prejudiced context was far more problematic than growing up adopted. Today Sweden has a large population of individuals born outside its borders or born to parents who were themselves born in another country.

The individuals interviewed on these pages have all gone back to Ethiopia at some point. Some of them have met their biological families upon returning. They are proud of their history and origin, but at the same time, to varying degrees, acknowledge that they are also Swedish. Some define themselves as Swedish-Ethiopian, some as Swedish, and some as neither. Any such definition might not be necessary either. Today, national boundaries do not necessarily determine a person's cultural or social identity. Many, not just adoptees, see themselves as global citizens. [End Page 177]


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Figure 1.

Forest Road in Umeå, Sweden (2007) by Marie Grönlund.

Viktoria Walldin

Viktoria Walldin was adopted in 1973, at the age of three months. She lives in Kista, Stockholm, and works for the company White Arkitektur.

GRÖNLUND:

Do you use your Swedish or your Ethiopian name? Does it hold any specific significance for you?

WALLDIN:

I use my Swedish name, but in Ethiopia and also among Ethiopians in Sweden, I use my Ethiopian name. It has a pretty large significance for me. I would never change my name, but I don't feel connected to my Swedish or to my Ethiopian name. I make it a point to play with them a little as I want to, sort of as a protest to the fact that whatever I choose is wrong. [End Page 178]

GRÖNLUND:

Have you felt that it's been necessary for you to go back to Ethiopia?

WALLDIN:

Yes, I've always taken it for granted that I would go back someday. I've been back once when I was thirty and once when I was thirty-one.

GRÖNLUND:

What has your relationship to Ethiopia looked like over the years?

WALLDIN:

It's been very present and strong. I've always had a lot of friends from Ethiopia and Eritrea. I listen to Ethiopian music all the time and I eat injera at least once a week.

GRÖNLUND:

Do you define yourself as Swedish or Ethiopian?

WALLDIN:

Neither. I've noticed that I define myself in much the same way as second generation immigrants. My experience as adopted has been less problematic than my experience of being black in Sweden.

GRÖNLUND:

Some state that adoptees have a large frame of reference and a wider perspective than many others-would you agree with that?

WALLDIN:

I think we have a different frame of reference more than anything. It's difficult to distinguish what in my experience has had to do with me being adopted. Sometimes I meet other adoptees that I feel an instinctive solidarity or connection with, and then I realize that she (it's seldom a he) has had similar experiences, which, in turn, makes me wonder if a lot of my experiences have had to do with the fact that I am adopted.

A larger frame of reference or wider perspective might have to do with us experiencing the world...

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