Have you heard of the Rastafari movement? It is the belief of those members of the sect that wherever they are in the world, their stay is only temporary because eventually they will be herded back to their New Zion (that is Ethiopia), a phenomenon much like the exodus of the Jews back to the Promised Land.
Ethiopia is the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, but as a nation it is landlocked in the northeastern region known as the Horn of Africa. The country rests on a high plateau and mountains at elevations over 4,000meters and the Great Rift Valley cuts the plateau diagonally. The western part gets summer rainfall, while the eastern side is mostly hot and dry, so naturally people flock to the western side.
The majority of Ethiopians are farmers and herders, but deforestation, drought, and soil degradation resulted in crop failures and the possibility of famine ensued in the past few decades. The country is experiencing a high birthrate, plus refugees coming from Somalia, and defeat at the 30year war with Eritrea, all strained whatever economic resource it had.
Through it all the people of Ethiopia endured and still pay homage to the
Ethiopia flag. Composed of three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a pentagram and single yellow rays emanating between the points on a light blue disk placed on the center of the three bands. The flag is intended to project both the diversity and unity of the country.
Being the oldest country in Africa, the color of the flag of Ethiopia was often used by other African nations, that later it became known as the Pan-African colors.
by:
The Flagman
