Bethlehem Terrefe Gebreyohannes

Bethlehem Terrefe Gebreyohannes was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a direct descendent of Emperor S Menelik II and Haile Selassie. Her memoir, Fire Walkers (Mawenzi), tells the story of how her family crossed the brutal Danakil Desert on foot, betrayed by guides, robbed by bandits, lost without food or water, until they were finally rescued by a trading caravan of nomadic Afar tribesmen, complete strangers who fed and guided them on to Djibouti. It is also a portrait of our times, when so many everywhere seek safe havens. After her family’s arrival in Canada, they settled in Lethbridge, Alberta, where Beth Gebreyohannes finished high school. She now lives in Toronto.