"Ethiopian kids in seventh grade know as much as American second graders because the educational system is so terrible," Argaw says.

Upward Mobility?

Desperate to make money to support their immediate family and family in refugee camps relying on them, Ethiopian immigrants are forced to work two or three jobs, Argaw says.

"They do anything they can, in a factory, in a parking lot, in the laundromat," she says. "They do whatever gives them money for their children to survive. They don't want to have to depend on welfare."

And it is more difficult than it used to be to find a job without speaking English, Jeune says.

"It used to be that if you wanted it enough, you could find some sort of job," Jeune says. "Now, you need a basic knowledge of the language because people won't take the time to explain things to you. Now, you need a certificate even to clean a nursing home."

There are no longer any factories in Cambridge, Jeune says, which limits initial job opportunities for non-English speakers.

While the Portuguese population in East Cambridge is large and established enough to be able to employ new immigrants from Portuguese-speaking countries, Binyam Tamene, director of the Ethiopian Mutual Assistance Organization, says the Ethiopian community does not yet have that ability.