Oromo In Exile

From the Horn of Africa to the Suburbs of Australia

By: Gow, Greg

Write A Review

Paperback | 15 August 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
196 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.39 x 15.29 x 1.14

Paperback

$52.79

or 4 interest-free payments of $13.20 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

In this totally original book, Greg Gow provides a privileged insight into the values and meanings of lives that could easily be seen as marginal.

The movement of thousands of refugees from the Horn of Africa to Australia has only recently begun to attract interest among the media and general public. Perhaps the least known among these refugees are the Oromo people who have fled continued persecution in Ethiopia. By the year 2002, more than fifteen hundred Oromo had found their way to Australia.

In this totally original book, Greg Gow provides a privileged insight into the values and meanings of lives that could easily be seen as marginal. Packed with insight and imageful observation, The Oromo in Exile communicates some of the vibrancy and complexity among these people from the Horn of Africa who are now living in Australia.

Arising out of a series of dramatic and sometimes startling encounters, the book addresses the question of identity and place by giving voice to the pain of exile-not only among the Oromo but displaced people more generally. As Gow narrates, although now 'free' in Australia, the Oromo experience anguish and divided loyalties as the dominant values of individualism, privacy and self-advancement in mainstream Australian society conflict with their longing for cohesion and community.

Gow discovers that 'home' does not necessarily exist physically, but the overriding desire to construct 'home' even away from 'home' is pervasive. The Oromo are a people committed to creatively performing 'home' while in exile-a process the book both reflects and contributes to.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Language & Linguistics Reference, Dictionaries & Guides Sociology & Anthropology Anthropology Social & Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography Society & Culture Social Groups Ethnic Studies Social Issues & Processes Refugees & Political Asylum Migration, Immigration & Emigration

History Regional & National History Australasian & Pacific History African History

Acknowledgements
Glossary
Author's Note
Mapping of Oromiya
Prologue: A Sort of Homecoming	p. 1
Millennial Conversations	p. 6
Startling Encounters of the Personal Kind	p. 20
The Bizarre Language of Nationalism	p. 31
Mourning/Yearning	p. 44
Musically Feeding the Imagination	p. 56
The Legend Continues	p. 71
Commemorating Calamity	p. 86
Inside, Outside and the In-between Space	p. 107
Halfway Houses	p. 123
Epilogue: Another Sort of Homecoming	p. 143
Notes	p. 150
Bibliography	p. 155
Index	p. 165
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Oromo In Exile

From the Horn of Africa to the Suburbs of Australia

At a Glance

Paperback

In this totally original book, Greg Gow provides a privileged insight into the values and meanings of lives that could easily be seen as marginal.

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in History

Bondi Terror

The tragedy, the courage, the aftermath

A History of the World in 51 Heroes and Villains

The rip-roaring new book from the hosts of The Rest is History

Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea

Journeys through Ancient Literature

Queens and Kings

An Unusually Personal History

The Cauldron

The Making of the Modern Middle East - The No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller

A Suitable Man

The Eccentric Empire of Fletcher Jones

Betrayal

Trump, Putin and The New Age of Conquest

Don't Say Palestine

How the Media Manufactured Consent for Genocide

Outside the Wire

On the front line with the SAS in Australia's war in Afghanistan

How the World Works

Blackbirding

A reckoning with the Australian slave trade

Biological War

A Scenario

The Most Interesting People You've Never Heard Of

The Women Are Not Fine

The Dark History of a Poisonous Sisterhood

The Burning Blue

Stories of the Navy's warriors in the skies

House of Two Pharaohs

Step into the world of gold, gods and deadly ambition with the perfect Father's Day gift from the master of adventure

Great Australian Bush Festival Stories

Weird, wacky & wonderful tales from the heart of Australia

Major Hashida's Notebook

A Japanese spy's mission to Australia in World War II

Fighting for Country

The extraordinary life of Reg Saunders, Australia's first Indigenous military officer, hero of two wars

Nuclear Archipelago

Secrets, Power and the Biggest Atomic Blast in Australia

All We Say

A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches

Athens and Sparta

The Rivalry that Shaped Ancient Greece

Half of a Yellow Sun

The Fourth Turning

An American Prophecy: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny

This product is categorised by