Call Me Gebyanesh

Will I ever belong here? Gebyanesh asked herself that very question on her first day in her new school in her new country. Her family had just moved to Jerusalem from Ethiopia, and already she was feeling unsettled by how different everything was. The other kids spoke Hebrew at warp speed and wrinkled their noses at her spicy lunch.

 

Even worse, when her teacher could not pronounce her name, she said, "We will call you Rakhel." That isn't my name, Gebyanesh thought. But she said nothing. From then on, she was Rakhel at school and Gebyanesh at home—until she found the courage to reclaim her name and her heritage.

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I am grateful that Gebby wanted to share her story and co-author our book .