Jewish Ethiopian men attend a morning prayer service at a compound while awaiting immigration to Israel in Gondar, on March 8. - Reuters

Unlike the Jews airlifted out in Operations Moses and Solomon, those now waiting to leave are believed to be descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity, sometimes under duress, in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Known as Falasha Mura, the community began to return to the practice of Judaism in the last decade.

Their immigration to Israel has been clouded by controversy over their heritage and whether they meet the religious criteria that would allow them automatic citizenship.

Thousands have already made the trip but thousands more wait their turn. Some families have been stuck in the crowded camp for years.

A recent push by Israeli authorities has speeded up the process. Over the past few months about 300 Falasha Mura each month have been boarding the long-awaited flight to Tel Aviv.

Can't wait

Israel says that by the end of 2008, all those who are eligible will have emigrated.

Maskaram and her family have been at Gondar for seven years and only recently received assurances they would soon be joining relatives already in Israel.

Maskaram can already picture her new life in Israel - and she says she can't wait.

"I need a clean house and a good school. This is what will make me happy," she tells me. She already has her future mapped out as a doctor.

For now, Maskaram has to be content with two meals a day, mostly rice and mashed vegetables, provided by the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry.

The Conference, a non-profit organisation, sponsors a synagogue, clinics, an elementary school and a community centre where Maskaram and her parents study Hebrew and Jewish traditions in preparation for their new life.

Watching Maskaram go through her studies, I remembered my horror when I learned I would have to share a bedroom with my brothers at the absorption centre.

Solid concrete buildings, glass windows, a bed and running water were not the stuff of my childish dreams of adventure in moving to a new country.

But for Maskaram, the dream cannot come true soon enough.

I just hope I can be at the absorption centre to greet her when she finally arrives.