Dinaw Mengestu on immigrating

Jo Reed: There's a real difference between immigrating and being in exile. And I think because of that response to the Red Terror, I think the Ethiopian community—there's more a sense of being exiled? Dinaw Mengestu: Also 'cause in exile, you leave because you don't want to. You never have this desire to establish yourself in another place. Exile's a condition, not a sort of political idea. Being an immigrant is a political status, being in exile is a sort of existential condition. It's sort of how you feel about the community and the space that you live in. You feel never at home, never at rest. You feel detached and distant and I think that's very true for many people in the Ethiopian community. At least initially because a lot of them came—especially during those Red Terror moments—not because they wanted to, but because they had to. And I think a lot of people thought they would go back home eventually.