ABSTRACT
This chapter calls to attention the extraordinary situation of Rastafari who have repatriated to Africa, with specific reference to those who live in Ethiopia on the Shashemene Land Grant. It explores themes of power and mobilization, creativity, conflict, contradiction, integration and resilience in the quest for formal recognition, meaning legal status, of the people Bonnaci calls 'transatlantic migrants' and who lay claim to the land grant. Mortimo Planno's letter is significant not only in its assertion of Ethiopian identity but also in its recognition of the Shashemene Land Grant and more importantly, the matter of Repatriation as a right – the Right of Return. Repatriated Rastafari are confronted in many ways with their status as determined by the immigration authorities of Ethiopia. Repatriation, however, can be distinguished from either traditional migration or what has come to be known as transnational migration, who 'live their lives across borders, participating simultaneously in social relations that embed them in more than one nation-state'.
