Preface

By the early twentieth century, Africa had been carved and claimed by European empires. Borders were drawn, powers imposed, and histories rewritten. Nearly all the continent fell under foreign rule.

One nation stood apart.

Ethiopia.

In 1896, at the Battle of Adwa, Ethiopia defied European imperialism, defeating Italy and preserving its sovereignty. Though invaded decades later by Fascist Italy, Ethiopia was never fully colonized, never absorbed as a permanent European possession. Occupied for five hard years, it emerged again in 1941—wounded, but unbroken.

History, however, is not lived in dates or declarations. It is lived by families.

In 1936, as Italian forces entered Ethiopia, my parents, Avedis and Rebecca Tilbian, made a decision born of necessity and courage. With their two daughters, Rosa and Anahid, they left their home and fled to Djibouti, then French Somaliland, carrying little more than resolve.

In exile, they rebuilt. A restaurant. A livelihood. A sense of dignity. On December 10, 1941, in the midst of a world at war, my brother Antranig Desiré was born—a quiet triumph in uncertain times.

When the occupation ended, another choice awaited. The climate was harsh, the future uncertain, but the call of home endured. My father knew it was time to return.

This story begins at that crossroads—where history meets memory, and survival becomes legacy.