ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG THE ETHIOPIAN AND ERITREAN MIGRANTS: ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDIES IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. METROPOLITAN AREA By MUSSA SULTAN IDRIS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2013 1 © 2013 Mussa Sultan Idris 2 To my family for their love and determined care throughout my academic endeavor 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Anita Spring, and my dissertation committee members, Dr. Abdoulaye Kane, Dr. Willie Baber, and Dr. Richard H Davis, Jr., for their mentorship, guidance, and support. I would also like to thank Dr. Leonardo A. Villalón for his support and academic advice. I also would like to thank the Ethiopian and Eritrean migrant communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in general, and my research consultants in particular. This dissertation would not be possible without their willingness to share their life and entrepreneurial stories with me. I would like to express my appreciation to Pauline Kulstad for her support and for getting me in contact with the Russin family, who welcomed me into their home during my fieldwork periods in Washington, D.C. I also would like to extend my thanks to both the Center for African Studies and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida for offering me assistantship opportunities to support my graduate studies, and I would also like to thank its faculty and staff for nurturing my academic journey at the University of Florida. During my graduate studies at UF, I have met and enjoyed the company of many friends and colleagues. Thank you so much to all of you for making my graduate school journey more than worthwhile. I have learned so much from comments and discussions on my research with Dawit Woldu, Zelalem Haile, Irvin H. Bromall, Ghirma, Moges, Said, Tamru, Salih– thank you to all of you. I would like to say a special thank you to Dr. Brooke Barnett, Associate Provost Inclusive Community, and Dr. Larry Basirico, chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, at Elon University for their wise advice, genuine support, and encouragement. I would like to thank Dr. Tom Mould, Dr. Anne Bolin, and all colleagues 4 and students in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Elon for their support and enthusiasm in a pre-doctoral year that allowed me to finalize my dissertation work. I am boundlessly thankful to the memories of my parents, Emma Asha Salih and Yibba Sultan Idris. I cherish memories of my brothers Mahmud and Saied. I am thankful to have had unconditional encouragement and inspiration from my sister Saedu, my brother Mohammed Salih, my nephews: Fethi, Khaled, and Amer, my nieces: Ferha, Saedia, Rayet, Nura, and Kawser, and my sisters-in-law Hayat and Nejat. I would like to extend my thanks to my affinal family: Alfonso Bravo, Carmen Herrera, Monica, Alfonso, Alvaro, and Jimena. Finally, I am forever grateful to Vanessa Bravo, my beloved wife, for her love and for her unwavering encouragements and care. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 11 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 12 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 13 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 16 Statement of the Research Objectives and Questions............................................ 16 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 19 Research Objectives ........................................................................................ 30 Research Questions ......................................................................................... 31 Dissertation Organization ........................................................................................ 32 Final Remarks ......................................................................................................... 33 2 THEORETICAL VIEWS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MIGRATION ............... 35 Integrative Theoretical Framework to the Study of Entrepreneurship and Transnational Migrants ........................................................................................ 36 The Supply-Side Perspective .................................................................................. 39 The Demand-Side Perspective ............................................................................... 42 The Integrative Perspective .................................................................................... 45 Assessment of Theoretical Views on International Migration .................................. 50 On the Origin of International Migration ............................................................ 51 Neoclassical macro- and micro-economic theory ....................................... 52 New economic migration theory ................................................................. 53 Dual labor market theory ............................................................................ 54 World systems theory ................................................................................ 55 On the Perpetuation of International Migration ................................................. 56 Network theory ........................................................................................... 56 Institutional theory ...................................................................................... 57 Cumulative causation theory ...................................................................... 57 The New African Transnational Migrants in the United States ................................ 58 Final Remarks ......................................................................................................... 64 6 3 CONTEXTUALIZING MIGRATION PATTERNS OF ETHIOPIANS AND ERITREANS TO THE UNITED STATES (1960-PRESENT) ................................... 66 Ethiopian Migrants to the United States in Three Phases ....................................... 70 The First Phase of Ethiopian Migration to the U.S., 1960s-1974 ...................... 71 The Second Phase of Ethiopian Migration to the U.S., 1974-1991 .................. 75 The Third Phase of Ethiopian Migration to the U.S., 1991 to the Present ........ 81 Eritrean Migrants to the United States: Four Phases .............................................. 92 The First Phase, 1960s-1970s ......................................................................... 92 The Second Phase, Early 1980s ...................................................................... 94 The Third Phase, After 1986 and Early 1990s .................................................. 94 The Fourth Phase, After 1993 to Present ......................................................... 95 Eritrean Migrant Agency in the U.S: From Refugees to Transnational Migrants ........................................................................................................ 97 Final Remarks ....................................................................................................... 107 4 ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODOLOGY IN THE WASHINGTON AREA ................... 110 Ethnographic Fieldwork Methodology ................................................................... 112 The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Research Settings ............................... 116 Adams Morgan ............................................................................................... 121 U Street .......................................................................................................... 126 Virginia and Maryland ..................................................................................... 128 5 ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS ....................................... 132 (A) Restaurants and Café Businesses .................................................................. 134 Case 1:Taweke Ethiopian Restaurant................................................................... 134 Demography and Migration Experience of the Entrepreneur.......................... 134 Business Development ................................................................................... 136 SWOT Analysis .............................................................................................. 139 Case 2: Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant ...................................................................... 140 Demography and Migration Experience of the Entrepreneur.......................... 140 Business Development ................................................................................... 142 SWOT Analysis .............................................................................................. 149 Case 3: Adi Eritrean Restaurant ..........................................................................