Ethiopia: Information on whether Seventh-day Adventists are active in Ethiopia, can freely worship and access their churches, are harassed or sought by the government, and on whether any Adventists have been arrested
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ETH24211.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ethiopia: Information on whether Seventh-day Adventists are active in Ethiopia, can freely worship and access their churches, are harassed or sought by the government, and on whether any Adventists have been arrested, 1 June 1996, ETH24211.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac5738.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following information was obtained in a 19 June 1996 telephone interview with a former Department Director for Youth and Lay Activities in the Seventh-day Adventist church in Addis Ababa, now resident in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The director, who worked in Ethiopia until April 1996 was only aware of the situation of Adventists in Addis Ababa and stated that the situation in rural Ethiopia may differ.
The director stated that Adventists can freely worship and have access to their churches in Addis Ababa. The source was not aware of any government harassment or arrests of Adventists in the capital, although, outdoor rallies organized by Adventists were sometimes disrupted by Orthodox church members. The Orthodox church is the largest Christian church in the country and is very influential. The source added that the Orthodox church has serious differences with Protestant denominations and that Orthodox priests sometimes refuse to bury Adventists or Protestants in Orthodox burial grounds, and may refuse to conduct a funeral service for someone who is related to a Protestant.
According to Europa 1995, there are 64,000 Adventists in Ethiopia (1995, 1135).
Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Former Department Director for Youth and Lay Activities, Seventh-day Adventists of Central Ethiopia now residing in Berrien Springs, Michigan. 19 June 1996. Telephone interview.
The Europa World Year Book 1995. 1995. 36th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential. 1995-1996.
Africa Research Bulletin. 1995-1996.
Amnesty International Report 1995.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995.
DIRB Ethiopia Amnesty Country File. 1995-1996.
DIRB Ethiopia Country File. 1995-1996.
Focus on Africa. 1996.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1995-1996.
Horn of Africa Bulletin. 1995-1996.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1996.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter. 1995-1996.
New African. July 1995-June 1996.
News from Africa Watch. Various reports.
On-line search of media articles (NEXIS). 1995-1996.
Oral sources.
Two sources consulted did not provide information on the requested subject.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact oral sources.
Note on oral sources:
Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information could be found among the sources consulted." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable. Long distance calls to Africa are often constrained by limited telecommunications capacity.
