Toronto's Little Ethiopia?

Toronto’s Little Ethiopia?

11 January 2011 235 views 4 Comments

By Samuel Getachew

I don’t usually like megacities, however, Toronto is an exception. There has always been something about Toronto that I admire. It is a huge city with lots of characters, much like the way former PM Joe Clark envisioned Canada in his successful 1979 election: a community of communities.

There is Greektown on the Danforth, Chinatown at Dundas and Spadina, Koreatown in the west Annex, Little Italy, areas that attract millions of tourists every year. Not to mention cultural festivals like Caribana, Taste of the Danforth, Luminato, etc. These areas and cultural gatherings help us showcase the rich diversity of our city not just in words but in deeds.

So a few friends and myself are asking the City of Toronto to name a section of Danforth and Greenwood as Little Ethiopia. The history of Ethiopian Canadians especially in the Toronto Danforth area is new. Ethiopians are one of the many new immigrants to have settled in Toronto. But what makes Canada different than most countries is that we can be passionate citizens without losing sight of our heritage. This distinction takes us back to where the idea of multiculturalism became a reality for Canada.

Yet, to date, there has not been an area named after an African country anywhere in Canada. So, just over a year ago, a few of us activists met with the Toronto Danforth Mosaic BIA for about 30 minutes about our idea. We spoke to them at length about our hope and dream for our city. They spoke of a multicultural mosaic they wanted to create and not one that is a ghettoized neighbourhood and rejected our idea. For the last four months, we worked long hours and helped defeat most of the members of the board that initially rejected our proposal. Today, for the very first time in the history of a BIA in Toronto, that board includes three Ethiopian Canadian business owners.

From Greenwood and Monarch Park, there are about 20 Ethiopian Canadian businesses and their contribution is very visible. And that number is growing fast. Governments can do much to help connect us to the area and have us take ownership of the areas we frequent. To clean it more, make it lovely and above all, take ownership of it. To have us believe in our BIA’s enough for us to join its boards and volunteer at the different activities in the community. The idea of Little Ethiopia is one of celebration not ghettoization.

From Greektown to India Bazaar, these areas named after a certain country or countries are not ghettos. Rather, they are a celebration of global citizenship. As a Black Torontonian, I get my hair cut at the heart of Greektown, buy the best and the cheapest beef in Chinatown and go for the best coffee in Little Italy. And the people I see when in these areas are as diverse as any on the planet.

That is the wish for a Little Ethiopia, a project of many cultures with some special recognition of the Ethiopian Canadian experience. We are not tourists, but citizens of this awesome country. I believe having a Little Ethiopia is just the start of many more to come. But we are only a very small group pushing this idea forward, even though we hold the hope of thousands. With passion, vigour and active involvement, we can accomplish this goal. And why not? These also happen to be the hallmarks of our heritage and what makes me a proud Canadian.

4 Comments »

Michael Sentayehu said:

http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20101229.escenic_1852687/BNStory/National/?tag=toronto

# 11 January 2011 at 4:42 pm

Tweets that mention Toronto's Little Ethiopia? | Sway Magazine -- Topsy.com said:

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ms. Tseday, Aklile Mariam. Aklile Mariam said: The Author of the article, Mr. Samuel Getachew sentiment that I agree with completely should apply everywhere "For… http://fb.me/yilOq11S [...]

# 12 January 2011 at 3:30 pm

Pat Silver, Chair, Danforth Mosaic BIA said:

Danforth Mosaic BIA is, in fact, celebrating global citizenship, as mentioned in the article. We proudly recognize the contribution of business owners from many continents and backgrounds, some of whom have been on the Danforth for generations. We look at inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, and therefore will not pick a single area to rename after a single cultural group. That defeats the goal of our BIA – to showcase the world of cultures on our vibrant strip. After meeting with Samuel and other representatives of the Ethiopian community, the BIA Board of Management offered to set up a working committee to see how we could, together, find ways to celebrate the contributions of the Ethiopian businesses to our community through festivals or special events. That was the board that Samuel and friends worked to defeat. Several of those Board members are returning, along with fresh faces. We all welcome the opportunity to work together to honour and celebrate our rich multicultural business community.

# 14 January 2011 at 1:38 am

Samuel Getachew said:

I like to point some disagreements with some of the statements the departing Chair of the BIA is making. The previous board decided to start a “working” committee without any consultation from the Ethiopian Canadian businesses and the activists. Even Councillor Janet Davis, a strong ally of Ms Silver, called it a “waste of time”. I also like to point out that Pat Silver was also tied for the very last place of the new board with two other people from the old board but she is being welcomed only if the BIA board seats are to be expanded, something the members rejected at the AGM and that is still in question. Her place in the new board in at the very best, up in the air.

Our vision is to be closer to the Greektown, a stone throw away from the future Little Ethiopia while Pat wants us to look like what we often see from Coxwell onward to Victoria Park. An area of high crimes and empty stores. We are not trying to take the area to Ethiopia – we are just trying to bring some kind of recognition of the Ethiopian Canadian experience in Toronto to the Greenwood area like its been done before (China Town, Greek Town, Little Italy). We want everyone to take ownership of the area and make it more attractive.

# 15 January 2011 at 11:19 pm