Generation Exodus

An Ethiopian teen’s leap from the Third World to the First

October 9, 2008

Articles, Nu Magazine - October 9, 2008

One might not expect an Ethiopian Jew and an American Jew to have much in common except religious beliefs. My experience was different.

When I was of bar mitzva age, I was paired with an Ethiopian Jew named Binyamin through an organization called NACOEJ, the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry. Binyamin had grown up in Ethiopia until the age of nine, when he and his family fled to Israel, leaving with virtually no possessions.

Binyamin had left a Third World country with no running water for a modern nation flooded with the latest technology. Because Binyamin’s family arrived with very little, they were forced to live in a small apartment in a poor community. However, with the addition of the Internet, television, and other media into Binyamin’s life, he was exposed to a very “Americanized” culture, and began to listen to rap, and desire high-tech gadgets.

When I met him in Israel for the first time, I was expecting big cultural differences between us that might make our meeting slightly awkward.

I was instead shocked to hear his favorite artists were popular American hip-hop artists like 50 Cent, Chris Brown, and Jay-Z.

His interest in American music was also apparent when we bought him an iPod as a gift. Prior to giving him the iPod, I had expected him to ask me what it was, or at least how to use it. Binyamin responded by asking how many gigabytes the iPod had.

When Binyamin showed me his bedroom, I was surprised to see posters of fancy cars like Ferraris and Maseratis on his walls, just like an average American teen.

Now 17, Binyamin enjoys MTV, ESPN, and is a huge fan of David Beckam. He texts his friends on a sleek, hip cell.

Even though Binyamin and I have had very different upbringings, the idea that we can find so much in common shows that teenagers around the world are still teenagers.

Ben Wainberg, 16, attends Livingston High School.