These Ethiopia quotes will inspire you. Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa.
A collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging Ethiopia quotes, Ethiopia sayings, and Ethiopia proverbs.
Best Ethiopia Quotes
- “Ethiopia always has a special place in my imagination and the prospect of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England, and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African.” ~ Nelson Mandela
- “I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism.” ~ Abebe Bikila
- “Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up, Africa! Let us work towards the one glorious end of a free, redeemed, and mighty nation. Let Africa be a bright star among the constellation of nations.” ~ Marcus Garvey
-
“There were no ugly people in Ethiopia” ~ Oprah Winfrey
- “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” ~ Haile Selassie
- “In Ethiopia, the black people became Christians 1700 years ago, hundreds of years before Northern Europe turned to Christianity… And here, most of the saints are black.” ~ Henry Louis Gates
-
“I don’t think I knew how going to Ethiopia would affect my life, through a very simple choice of buying fair-trade coffee, we can take part in change.” ~ Hugh Jackman
- “I’ll be the first US president to not only visit Kenya and Ethiopia but also to address the continent as a whole, building off the African summit that we did here which was historic and has, I think, deepened the kinds of already strong relationships that we have across the continent.” ~ Barack Obama
- “In Ethiopia, food is often looked at through a strong spiritual lens, stronger than anywhere else I know. It’s the focal point of weddings, births, and funerals and is a daily ceremony from the preparation of the meal and the washing of hands to the sharing of meals.” ~ Marcus Samuelsson
-
“Many people know that Ethiopia is poor. When I break a world record, maybe people get to know something else about Ethiopia, something good. We can’t make planes or cars, we don’t have the materials. We do what we can.” ~ Haile Gebrselassie
- “Of all the exotic aromas and experiences from my sojourn in Ethiopia, it’s the frankincense I miss most.” ~ Cathleen Falsani
- “I hope that the day will come when the system will change and all of the people in Ethiopia will have equal rights and I look forward to a day like that where I too can go home and be part of the Ethiopian story.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
-
“Ethiopia did not have the same problem [of corruption]. African leaders looked at us with envy.” ~ Mengistu Haile Mariam
- “You know the marathon in my country is just exceptional. It’s like soccer in England. If England win the world cup and Ethiopia win the marathon – it’s the same.” ~ Haile Gebrselassie
- “This propaganda of dis-associating Western Negroes from Africa is not a new one. For many years white propagandists have been printing tons of literature to impress scattered Ethiopia, especially that portion within their civilization, with the idea that Africa is a despised place, inhabited by savages, and cannibals, where no civilized human being should go, especially black civilized human beings. This propaganda is promulgated for the cause that is being realized today. That cause is COLONIAL EXPANSION for the white nations of the world.” ~ Marcus Garvey
-
“There is not one soul on this planet, whether it is a person living in Ethiopia, or in Florida, or in Canada, whose life is not as complex and as rich as your own.” ~ Gary Zukav
- “When I run in Ethiopia, I look out and see eucalyptus trees and rivers.” ~ Haile Gebrselassie
- “As many as half of Ethiopia’s girls become wives before becoming adults. But Ethiopia is also a place where lasting solutions to child marriage are starting to make a difference.” ~ Helene D. Gayle
- “When I visited coffee farms in Ethiopia, the farmers could not believe we spend a week’s wages in their country on a cup of coffee in ours, because they see so little of the profits. Oxfam’s fair trade campaign helps right this wrong.” ~ Colin Firth
- “I’m Christian. Growing up in Ethiopia, it’s half-Christian and half-Muslim. You grow up with Muslim kids. I’m very much aware of their religion.” ~ Liya Kebede
-
“There were times when I was frustrated, and cried and felt helpless, but the reality in Ethiopia is that you don’t have much of an option. You either keep quiet or you get added to the list of people being jailed or killed.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
- “I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people’s eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.” ~ Haile Gebrselassie
- “Even if I wanted to run for Ethiopia, I wouldn’t expect the government or federation to choose me to do that.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
-
“A little child in Ethiopia will die before this song is through.” ~ Rod Stewart
- “Fiction is more dangerous than nonfiction because it can seduce better. I think we all know this, know that deeper truths can be approached in fiction than in fact. There are risks for the reader because after reading certain books you find you have changed irreversibly. There are risks for writers: in China, now, and Ethiopia and other countries right now, writers face real persecution.” ~ Chris Abani
- “Black men of Carthage, Ethiopia, of Timbuktu and Alexandria gave the likes of civilization to this world” ~ Marcus Garvey
- “I tend to prefer traveling in the Third World countries. Like Ethiopia. Or Eritrea.” ~ John Gimlette
-
“I look and there’s our boy from Vietnam and our daughter from Ethiopia, and our girl was born in Namibia, and our son is from Cambodia, and they’re brothers and sisters, man. They’re brothers and sisters and it’s a sight for elation.” ~ Brad Pitt
- “What I want people to know about Ethiopia is that it is a country of nations and nationalities. Oromos are the majority. But Oromos have been so good to Ethiopia but have been marginalized for years.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
- “Raphael painted, Luther preached, Corneille wrote, and Milton sang; and through it all, for four hundred years, the dark captives wound to the sea amid the bleaching bones of the dead: for four hundred years the sharks followed the scurrying ships; for four hundred years America was strewn with the living and dying millions of a transplanted race; for four hundred years Ethiopia stretched forth her hands unto God.” ~ W. E. B. Du Bois
-
“In Ethiopia, democracy is in its infancy and it must be nurtured along by its leaders.” ~ Jack Kingston
- “I went to Ethiopia, and it dawned on me that you can tell a starving, malnourished person because they’ve got a bloated belly and a bald head. And I realized that if you come through any American airport and see businessmen running through with bloated bellies and bald heads, that’s malnutrition, too.” ~ Dick Gregory
- “Will we go explore? Absolutely. That’s what humans have been doing since we left the caves in Ethiopia. Why? Because this is part of our nature. We’re curious. We want to push the envelope. That will never stop. We will see people on Mars, hopefully in our lifetime. My hope is that the endeavor is so large, so complex, so technically challenging, so demanding and so uplifting, that it will be done with a consortium of nations. I hope the people who do set foot on Mars will do so for all mankind, and not just one nation in particular.” ~ Julie Payette
-
“The nearest approach I have ever seen to the symmetry of ancient sculpture was among the Arab tribes of Ethiopia. Our Saxon race can supply the athlete, but not the Apollo.” ~ Bayard Taylor
- “What the guys have learned is that whether you’re preaching to one or 10,000, it really doesn’t matter. That one person you touch may change the nation – could be the Billy Graham of Ethiopia.” ~ Michael Scott
- “Well, talking about Ethiopia is like talking about the whole continent. A month ago we played against AIDS and famine. We also played in Dakar. It is not only the music which is playing an important role on this issue of problems affecting Africa, but the activities of doctors, sportsmen, and journalists are also helping in various ways.” ~ Manu Dibango
-
“As Ethiopia goes, so goes the whole Horn of Africa – a region where instability can have major security and humanitarian implications for the United States and Europe.” ~ Eskinder Nega
- “Elijah Muhammad teaches us the truth of God beautified the planet by separating everybody in different countries for themselves: Chinese in China, English in England, Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico, Ethiopians in Ethiopia, Arabians in Arabia, Egyptians in Egypt, and Americans took that country and stole it away so there’s always going to be trouble and chaos.” ~ Muhammad Ali
- “Famines occur under a colonial administration, like the British Raj in India or for that matter in Ireland, or under military dictators in one country after another, like Somalia and Ethiopia, or in one-party states like the Soviet Union and China.” ~ Amartya Sen
- “To save my child, I’d rather go hungry. I got all of Ethiopia inside of me.” ~ Neneh Cherry
- “I actually did ponder doing the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie thing and get a kid from Ethiopia. But you know, I already have an ashtray.” ~ Zach Braff
-
“I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22 and became a member of Parliament in Holland.” ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- “People are demanding their rights and not backing down and I hope that change is on the horizon and change will come to Ethiopia soon, so I don’t have even go that far to seek a U.S. citizenship.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
- “The people of Ethiopia are saying they’ve had enough of the killings and are tired of being exiled, imprisoned, beaten and we are done. We have had enough. We want peace now.” ~ Feyisa Lilesa
- “It never stops me from saying what I want to say about Ethiopia, the fact that a tour company is paid for me to go there. Book reviewers don’t pay for the books they review.” ~ John Gimlette
- “We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia; that’s what’s happening. Too many people there. They can’t support themselves — and it’s not an inhuman thing to say. It’s the case. Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a coordinated view about the planet it’s going to get worse and worse.” ~ David Attenborough
-
“With respect to the situation in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, in both countries, the Soviet Union had been working hard to create an infrastructure of those who shared their point of view and were prepared to take over the countries.” ~ Paul Nitze
- “When I first came into international running, most runners did about 60-70 miles or running a week. I guess that is still the standard except for Kenya and Ethiopia. I was doing 150-250 a week and some weeks as high as 350. It was unheard of! But, because I did not have access to what was possible and standard, I had to set my own possibilities and standards. I was just lucky enough to be out of the loop and not know.” ~ Gerry Lindgren
- “As I searched the atlas for somewhere to run to, Hugh made a case for his old stomping grounds. His first suggestion was Beirut, where he went to nursery school. His family left there in the midsixties and moved to the Congo. After that, it was Ethiopia, and then Somalia, all fine places in his opinion. ‘Let’s save Africa and the Middle East for when I decide to quit living,’ I said.” ~ David Sedaris
- “One tragic example of the loss of forests and then water is found in Ethiopia. The amount of its forested land has decreased from 40 to 1 percent in the last four decades. Concurrently, the amount of rainfall has declined to the point where the country is rapidly becoming a wasteland.” ~ Al Gore
- “I unequivocally condemn the striking of the soldier from the Ethiopian community and those responsible will be brought to justice but nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands, immigrants from Ethiopia and their families are dear to us and Israel is making great efforts to ease their integration in society.” ~ Benjamin Netanyahu
-
“From 1971 to 1993 my family lived in a number of African countries, including Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, as well as Uganda itself.” ~ Giles Foden
- “Civil society people – these are the people – civil society groups are the people who need to monitor the aid to ensure that the aid is directed to what it is supposed to. And in order for them to do so, they need to have the space, they need to have the freedom, and they need to have the right to demonstrate and to petition their government. They can’t do that in Ethiopia; they can’t do that in Eritrea; and so this is why I was cautioning that we may be repeating some of our old mistakes.” ~ George W. Bush
- “What’s most striking is that the world as a whole has made remarkable progress against hunger, poverty and disease. I believe in God, and I see that hundreds of millions of people have escaped from poverty in places like Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Britain. That’s why, for me, it makes sense that this is God moving in our history.” ~ David Beckmann
- “We all know about the big world conflicts: Israel and Palestine, Zimbabwe, and so on. But there are smaller conflicts that aren’t even on the world’s radar screen; most of the world has no idea that Ethiopia invaded Somalia a year ago. It makes sense for the Elders to sit down with both sides and see whether leaders can come to an understanding.” ~ Richard Branson
- “You know, by 1936, Hitler was already talking very loudly about his desire to expand to the east. Mussolini, in 1935, went and then in the next year, conquered Ethiopia, acquiring himself a colony. So people at the time really saw fascism not just as an evil but as an aggressive evil that seemed to be spreading.” ~ Adam Hochschild
-
“Netflix knew I was going to North Korea and Ethiopia and Iceland. They saw the film and liked it and that was that.” ~ Werner Herzog
- “I lived with a coffee farmer called Dukale on a trip I made with World Vision to Ethiopia and realized there’s no good reason for the disparity in opportunity around the world.” ~ Hugh Jackman
- “U2 was involved in Live Aid, and I ended up going to Ethiopia and working there for some time with my wife, Ali.” ~ Bono
- “The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx. Throughout history, the powers of single blacks flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.” ~ W. E. B. Du Bois
-
“I used to live in Ethiopia as a child, and I lived there when Haile Selassie was the emperor.” ~ Jack Kingston
- “My mom is American, so I was raised in her household in my formative years. But as I got older, my pops tried to keep me involved with the culture by telling me the stories of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, how he came to America, and about our family back home, because all that side of my family, my aunties, grandparents, is in Africa.” ~ Nipsey Hussle
- “There are still hungry people in Ethiopia, but they are hungry because they have no money, no longer because there is no food to buy… we strongly resent the abuse of our poverty to sway the interests of the European public.” ~ Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher
- “The monarchy of the Greeks for want of an heir was broken into several kingdoms; four of which, seated to the four winds of heaven, were very eminent. For Ptolemy reigned over Egypt, Lybia and Ethiopia ; Antigonus over Syria and the lesser Asia; Lysimachus over Thrace ; and Cassander over Macedon, Greece and Epirus .” ~ Isaac Newton
- “Nowhere is this challenge more critical — and the need for action more pressing — than in the Horn of Africa. From Kenya to Ethiopia, Djibouti to Somalia, the devastating consequences of drought, desertification and land degradation are playing out before our eyes. The worst drought in 60 years has placed more than 13.3 million people — predominately women and children — in need of emergency assistance.” ~ Rajiv Shah
