denny Ethnic & National book

Dragabaa Production presents the annual cultural festival of the Oromo People of East Africa who gathered at federation square to celebrate their identity, language and culture in Melbourne, Australia for the fourth times. The purpose of the festival is to draw attention to their national cause and continued plight. The Orormo are Indigenous African people from Oromia in Africa and thier traditional dress looked amazing on all the beautiful girls! On December 18th the Oromo's gathered in Federation Square, Melbourne for a day of celebration, music, and fun. It is also important to note that many Australian authorities were there in support of the event, and even there for the symbolic dove release-- representing the liberation of the Oromo people. The Oromo people have a long history of difficulty with Ethiopia, even having their language banned in the country from 1955 -- 1991, even-though around 40% of all Ethiopians identify as having a Oromo background. Today they are forced to live outside of their homeland, dreaming of one day returning. There are around 40 million Oromo people on our planet (the largest ethnic identity in East Africa) -- yet Oromia does not exist on paper. In Australia there are about 5000 Oromo people, most of whom fled Ethiopia following the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam's "Red Terror" campaign in 1978. You can find out more about the Oromo community in Melbourne at: www.oromoliberationfront.org, oromocentre.org, www.oromocommunity.com.au