The Rastafarians of Ethiopia: from Repatriates to Undocumented Migrants

Abstract

The Rastafarians, a Jamaican social group adopted and adapted by a large number of individuals at international level, had historically constructed a myth of return by defining themselves as Ethiopians abroad (construction of diasporic identity), creating a discourse on repatriation to Ethiopia. However, because the Ethiopian state does not recognize them as members of its diaspora, when these individuals migrate from different parts of the world to the so-called motherland, they have to go through a migratory process that usually places them into a undocumented status; in this context, the present article aims to present the reasons that have led the Rastafarians to migrate to Ethiopia, and the main legal consequences that they experience by acquiring the status of undocumented migrants.