International African Friends of Abyssinia International African Friends of Abyssinia The International African Friends of Abyssinia (IAFA), also known as the International African Friends of Ethiopia, was an organisation established in London, England, in 1935 to protest against Italian aggression against Abyssinia (see Second Italo-Ethiopian War). Its membership was composed of many important Pan-African figures, several of whom later formed the International African Service Bureau. IAFA's first public meeting was held on 23 July 1935, with another public meeting taking place on Sunday, 28 July at Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street, London, and was widely reported in newspapers. Throughout the summer of 1935, the IAFA
SS Abyssinia All five of the new Cunarders on this route were quickly rendered out of date by White Star's revolutionary "Oceanic" of 1871. For example, "Abyssinia" and her sister burned 90 tons of coal per day as compared to 58 tons for "Oceanic". While Inman and other rivals quickly installed compound machinery and modified passenger quarters to match White Star's new fleet, Cunard did not. Finally, in 1879 the privately owned Cunard line was reorganised as a public stock corporation to raise the capital needed to rebuild the fleet. On the other hand, "Abyssinia's" near sister, "Parthia" did utilise compound machinery.