By Tesfaye Tekle-Haimanot

I began my career in the Ethiopian government service as a Junior Secretary in the Ministry of Education. This assignment included a period of service in Emperor Haile Selassie’s Private Secretary’s Office and also in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I continued my career as a diplomat serving in Japan, Sudan, N. Yemen, and Greece. My duties included political reporting, consular services, public relations and chancery administration.

I resigned my diplomatic post protesting against the policies of the Ethiopian communist regime. I was granted political asylum by the U.S. government in 1979.

When I first came to the U.S. as a refugee, I experienced cultural shock like the immigrants who came here before me. I got upset over the loss of my homeland, my status, my job, and possessions. I was in a state of confusion not knowing how to start life all over again. I was faced with the problem of getting a job with my diplomatic background. As an older man, I found it extremely difficult to compete with highly skilled younger job seekers. I felt empty when I gave up my investment of diplomatic service of many years. The fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of life puzzled me very much. It took me quite some time to overcome my fear of rejection, to build confidence in myself, and to be able to sell myself to employers and to finally adjust myself to the American way of life.

In talking about culture there are many people who don’t understand how this phenomenon affects the life of the immigrant. Some expect immigrants to behave the same way as the natives. It is difficult to understand the feelings of refugees unless one has lived in a different culture. Culture is the entire way of life of a particular people. It includes customs, religion, ideas, invention, tools, music, songs, dances, jokes, and the rites of passage.

Peoples are alike in their basic needs. They, however, are different in their ways of meeting their basic needs and in their perception of what is “good” and “bad” or what is “beautiful” and “ugly.” As there is no acceptable etiquette to be followed by all, attention should be given when using hand gestures and non-verbal communication. Some gestures send wrong messages and some may be offensive. We can communicate better if we understand a little about each other’s culture and mode of communication.

We, the newly immigrated parents and elders, have a responsibility not only to pass down our tradition to the next generation, but also to teach them how to use our manners and customs appropriately. We show respect and obedience to our elders. We treat elders, teachers, and parents courteously. We have good customs that we can share with our friends. There are also many cultural idiosyncrasies of our host country worthwhile to learn. By blending cultures we can create a good value system for the new generation. When we have a common value system we can eliminate
many social problems and make the world a safer place to live.

_________________________________
Tesfaye Tekle-Haimanot resides in Texas