cannabisnews.com: Rastafarians Flock To Their Mecca Rastafarians Flock To Their Mecca Posted by FoM on December 21, 2000 at 08:30:51 PT By David Gough, Special To The CSM Source: Christian Science Monitor Four weeks ago, a young African-American gave up his job in a supermarket, withdrew his savings from the bank, and booked a flight to Ethiopia. Tree, as he now wants to be called - "new life, new name," he says - packed his bags and headed for a small village in southern Ethiopia to join a small community of Rastafarians - whose faith he adheres to. "America makes no sense to me," says the young man from Washington D.C. - or Washington "D-Blind" as he prefers to call it. "The only thing it has to offer is luxury, and that offers nothing to the spirit." Tree is just the latest in a long line of Rastafarians who have made their pilgrimage to the "Rastafarian Mecca" - Ethiopia. And by doing so he has fulfilled a 10-year-old dream that one day he would return to his African roots. His savings were enough to get him to Ethiopia, and he hopes enough to buy himself a small plot of land in Shashemene - the Rastafarian village that he now calls home. 'Back To Africa' Movement: But there are now growing signs that the enthusiasm of the followers of the "Back to Africa" movement that enticed Tree to leave Washington for Shashemene, is waning. The community of Rastafarians who call Shashemene home stood at more than 200 less than two years ago - today there are less than 40 of them. They struggle to make a livelihood in one of the world's poorest countries; few of them have any meaningful employment and most depend on money transfers from relatives abroad and the food that they grow on their small plots of land for survival. Hundreds of acres of land were donated to Africans in the diaspora - who wished to return to where their ancestors were taken from as slaves - by the former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in 1955. Most of the people who heeded Haile Selassie's call were members of the Rastafarian faith - a unique interpretation of Christian Orthodoxy, which 25 years previously had identified Emperor Haile Selassie as the new Messiah. Isaiah Kelly's sweeping dreadlocks - which when unleashed tumble down well below his waist - and the knotted wisps of his beard have turned grey, but the spiritual aesthetic of the simple word "home" has, he says, added a spring to his awkward step. A Jamaican of African descent, Mr. Kelly is a Rastafarian of 45 years standing. "It is a must that all black people should repatriate back to Africa," says Kelly. "This is where we were taken from as slaves, and this is where we belong. It is our home." For Rastafarians like Kelly, their homes in the West are the contemporary Babylon - which in biblical terms represented enslavement of the Jews. And Ethiopia, the birthplace of their God Haile Selassie, is the Holy Land. Starting a new life in Ethiopia represents the fulfillment of their religious beliefs. Next door to Kelly - in a small, two-room shack painted red, yellow, and green - lives Adolphus Sewell. Wandering around his perfectly kept garden, scored by neat lines of budding fruits and vegetables, Mr. Sewell, or "Dread" as he is known, says he came to Shashemene for a three-week holiday three years ago and never left. "This is the only place that as a black man I have felt free. That is what drew me to this place, and that is why I stayed." It's hard to know exactly what Sewell expected when he came to Ethiopia, but it's clear that the reality of life in a desperately poor country does not quite live up to the way it was in the dream. He has been robbed six times since he came to live in Shashemene - 150 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa - and admits that there have been plenty of times when he has considered going back to London, where he lived for 22 years before coming to Ethiopia. A Hard Decision: "I was taught in school that we are not European, and that we are not Jamaican - that we were slaves from Africa. That's why I came back." Most of Shashemene's resident Rastafarians live a simple subsistence lifestyle, growing the food they need on the small but fertile strips of land they own. They attend daily church services and spend much of the day smoking marijuana, which is part of their religion. According to Mr. Kelly, marijuana, or "herb" as Rastafarians call it, is a sacred weed which God commanded them to use as a means for achieving closeness to God. "If you are meditating and doing good, the herb will develop that goodness within you. It will help you develop your relationship with God." He says that poverty and bureaucracy are the only reasons that there are not more Rastafarians at Shashemene. "There were two obstacles to me coming here," he says. "One is called 'visa,' and the other is called 'passport.' " Another stumbling block is money. "We were taken from Africa without money, passports, or visas, why should we need these things to come back again?" But what the Rastafarians of Shashemene learn soon after they arrive here is that money is a fact of life in Ethiopia as much as it is in their previous homes. "I have to find a way to make money when I'm here," says Tree. "I didn't expect there to be so much poverty." Note: Despite financial hardships, Jamaican faithful still make a pilgrimage to Africa.Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)Author: David Gough, Special To The Christian Science Monitor Published: December 21, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society.Address: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115Fax: (617) 450-2031Contact: oped csps.comWebsite: http://www.csmonitor.com/Forum: http://www.csmonitor.com/monitortalk/intro.htmlRelated Articles: Rastafarian Wins Religious Defensehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/7/thread7042.shtmlRastafarian Meeting Bans Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/6/thread6715.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Rastafarianhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Rastafarian Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by Nefertiti on January 21, 2002 at 13:12:29 PT: Rastawoman persecuted by ACS in NYC Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Eyesus Kristos. In October 2001, as a result of intentionally false allegations of abuse and neglect, I became one of the many Rastas persecuted for my personal choice and religious freedom. Two of my close friends, deliberately reported me to the NYPD and ACS as abusive and neglectful of my children. This was done because the couple, Joe Schuyler (black) and Anne Marie Baronowsky (white) were angry at me. My 15 year old daughter told me that Joe deliberately lied to NYPD and ACS about me because his girlfriend, Anne Marie, told him that I told her to watch out for another woman in our housing complex that had been flirting with Joe. She knows that I have never had that conversation with her. But, because her man was upset, she went along with the lie to NYPD and ACS. If there are other Rastas out there who have been wrongfully accused as well as who have had their privacy invaded, PLEASE, contact me. Strength is in numbers. Moreso, our children are continuing to be victimized because of who they are related to -- us. And we, as Rastas are persecuted for Jah's namesake, as it is written in the Beatitudes. For these few words I give thanks. A Voice in the Wilderness [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by moses on February 09, 2001 at 19:17:13 PT could i go there? I would like to experience the beauty that is there at Shashemene. Those people i love. Although i am white and what would that be like. i would like to help them if i could. ethopia might not be my home land, or not in this life? I admire what they are doing and think it would be good to get out of this garbage altogether and live free away from babylon. Atleast they have a start. positive vibrations!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by moses on February 09, 2001 at 19:09:45 PT lets speak good people Some people just keep on hating, nigluv, you probably don't feel that good in your self. and that kind of attitude is not what we need. and what were you doing looking at rastafarian info, look at what you like and let the rest of the beautiful people live in peace. we love you. JAH LOVE [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Smokeless in Seattle on December 26, 2000 at 07:47:50 PT Worst Apple of All is the one that grows on the tree of hate. And I'll say this for these 'pilgrims' to Africa from the USA- only rats leave a sinking ship. He didn't expect to find "this much poverty" in africa?! What planet has he been living on?Oh and another thing, Mr. 'nigluv' - you're a little too 'spooked' yourself, and that's what this War on Drugs is about, the politics of fear.SiS [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by nigluv on December 22, 2000 at 10:02:41 PT something for thought Isn't that a beautiful thing....a black boy finally feels free. Now if the rest of the spooks in the US would follow this fellow, the US may actually start to accomplish something. I know I know.....there are some good blacks, but as they say, "one bad apple spoils the bunch"......and there are plenty of bad apples......al sharpton....the rev jesse jackson etc.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by ras james rsifwh on December 21, 2000 at 12:28:00 PT religious freedom the issue for the united states of america is religious freedom. how and where does the rastaman get cannabis sativa for religious purposes? even during the prohibition of alcohol (a very dangerous drug), catholic priests had wine. 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