Paper short abstract

In 1973 I studied urban migration in a town in southern Ethiopia. In this paper I will report on the reactions of the new elite of the town when finally reading a book that was until now only hearsay and the local expectations of the findings to be of the new study.

Paper long abstract

Since 1974 Ethiopia has undergone overwhelming historical events. As a consequence, the town which I studied in 1973 today has a totally new elite with no, or shallow, roots in the place. All archives from previous regimes are gone. My humble dissertation, that was only known by hearsay when I returned in January 2008, was hoped to supply the new townspeople with a sense of their past and to provide material for tourist exhibitions and other things. In this paper, I will outline the response that I met when bringing this hope to an end while at the same time trying to fend off extravagant expectations of what the re-study would yield in terms of measurable success of "development" and increased welfare.