The City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is home to a large population of Somali Americans. Historically, there have been a lot of conflict between Somalis and their neighbors in Ethiopia. For much of the history of the Horn of Africa, Somalia and Ethiopia have been rivals. What does this mean for Ethiopian and Somali diaspora living in the United States of America? Such a question weighs heavily on the mind of Menelik Girma, a young Ethiopian man wrestling with issues of identity and sexuality.
"Hate the sin but love the sinner," said Bishop Abraham Tilahun of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Minneapolis, one of the largest Ethiopian churches in America. The attendees, perhaps three hundred in number, nodded as the Bishop preached about the evils of sinfulness, sexual immorality and homosexuality. Menelik sat in a pew near the front next to his father Antonius Girma and his mother, Mariam Girma. Menelik's older sister Bethlehem Girma sat further down with her husband, a blond-haired white male named Joseph McMillan.
The Girma family had been surprised when their eldest daughter Bethlehem introduced them to Joseph McMillan, the young white guy she met at Augsburg University. Prior to dating Joseph, Bethlehem had been engaged to a young Eritrean man named Yohannes. While there are some conflicts between Eritreans and Ethiopians, at least their cultures are similar. Antonius and his wife Mariam wanted their daughter Mariam to marry a nice young man from the old country. Bethlehem loved Joseph and would not be deterred. Joseph and Bethlehem eloped, and that was that. Once the couple returned from their honeymoon, Bethlehem's parents had no choice but to accept them.
"The United States of America is becoming a land of madness, with women who want to become men, men who want to become women, and men who sleep with men, it's madness," said Bishop Abraham Tilahun. Mariam, the family matriarch pumped her fist in the air and shouted her agreement. Antonius, the family patriarch, squeezed his wife Mariam's hand and nodded in agreement. Menelik flinched upon hearing his mother's words, but kept his mouth shut. In the Ethiopian community, if a person is anything other than heterosexual, they should keep their mouth shut.
After the church service concluded, the Girma family stuck around to meet with fellow congregants. As Menelik mingled with the young men and women of the church, he wondered what was wrong with him. At the age of nineteen, Menelik stood six feet two inches tall, brown-skinned, slightly chubby, and a bit awkward. In the Ethiopian American community, things are done a certain way. The people of Ethiopia are hard-working, decent, and God-fearing. Menelik did not want to deviate from the blueprint of his people. Why must temptation come into the path of a decent man?
For quite some time now, Menelik had been struggling with issues of sexuality which he kept to himself. During his first year at the University of Minnesota, Menelik met a tall, gorgeous young Jamaican woman named Veronique Anglers. Menelik was in love with Veronique, and ended up losing his virginity to her. Menelik remembers feeling elated after making love with Veronique for the first time. He felt great. So great that he almost forgot about...the other stuff.
Menelik remembers being surprised at himself when he checked out certain guys, as well as transgender women, while browsing online. Menelik's porn tastes went from regular male/female and female/female porn to all new and very different stuff. Menelik remembers being both aroused and disturbed when he watched a porn video where two buff black guys fucked a big-booty black woman...and then fucked each other while she watched. Menelik also found himself turned on by videos where transgender women had sex with men. These new interests confused the Hell out of Menelik...
Menelik likes women. Nope, he loves women, romantically and sexually. Menelik remembers feeling proud as he walked through the streets of Minneapolis while holding Veronique's hand. Showplace Icon Cinema, located on West End Boulevard, was one of Menelik and Veronique's favorite hangouts. They made out while watching cool movies such as Spiderman No Way Home and Morbius. Veronique and Menelik had a whirlwind romance during their freshman year at U of M. Of course, that was before everything started to go wrong...
A young Somali American man named Bilal Aden approached Menelik one evening as he was waiting for Veronique at the City Center Mall. Bilal was tall and strongly built, and he looked like a college football player or something. The fellow carried himself with the swagger common to young Somali men in the Twin Cities. Wherever Somali guys go, they act like they own the place. Menelik remembered feeling oddly uncomfortable when Bilal made eye contact with him. Why did this guy make Menelik feel so damned nervous?
"What's good, homes? You need some company?" Bilal said as he approached Menelik, and casually introduced himself. Menelik looked at Bilal, a bit puzzled by the guy's brash attitude, and the fact that he looked so damned familiar. The University of Minnesota football jacket that Bilal wore should have been a dead giveaway. Bilal sat on the bench next to Menelik and continued to stare at him in that odd, disturbing and rather specific fashion.
