The Cause of Ethiopia’s Recurrent Famine Is Not Drought, It Is Authoritarianism

Dawit Ayele Haylemariam 

A concerned Citizen and Graduate Student of Political Science at University of Passau, Germany

(The Huffington Post) — Twenty years ago one Ethiopian Diaspora in Washington asked the late Prime minister Meles Zenawi what his vision for the country was. A rather polite and amiable Meles outlined his vision in a very human centered way. He said he hopes that in ten years every Ethiopian will have enough to eat three times a day and after 20 years Ethiopians will not only have enough food but they will also have the luxury of choosing what they eat.

Here we are now. Three years have passed since Meles died in office after 21 years in power. Once again Ethiopia’s food crisis is topping the headline. As seasonal rain fails in Eastern and Southern parts of the country, famine is threatening millions of Ethiopians. The UN estimates over 10 million are in need of emergency food aid.

Why is famine and hunger so common in Ethiopia?

Many experts relate Ethiopia’s cyclical famine with the country’s dependence on Rainfed smallholder agriculture, drought, rapid population growth or agricultural market dysfunctions. Although these factors do have significant role in the matter, they tend to hide the critical cause of hunger in the country – lack of rights and accountable government.

Nobel Prize winner and economist Amartya Sen has extensively analyzed the relationship between democracy and famine in his book Development as Freedom. Sen argues democracies don’t have famines, only authoritarian systems do. Famine tend to happen in places where the victims are oppressed by dictators.

A historical investigation of famine also identified 30 major famines during the 20th century. All happened in countries led by autocratic rule or that were under armed conflict, four being in Ethiopia.
Why does autocracy lead to famine? The most fundamental reason is that autocrats often don’t care enough about the population to prevent famine. Autocrats maintain power through force, not popular approval. This argument has been proven true in the case of Ethiopia.

During 1983-1985 the worst famine in the country’s history had led to more than 400,000 deaths. Extensive investigation by Alexander De Waal in his book Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia has found “more than half this mortality can be attributed to human rights abuses that caused the famine to come earlier, strike harder, and extend further than would otherwise have been the case.” The military government is not only spent between $100 and $200 million to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the revolution while millions were starving, Mengistu’s regime also attempted to impose customs duties on aid shipments.

Similarly during the 1973-1974 Wollo famine, attempts to hide the reality of the situation by the Imperial Feudal System caused 300,000 deaths. This particular famine was not a problem of food shortage in the country but lack of ability to access food. The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture Report of 1972 stated that output for 1972-1973 was only 7% lower than the previous year. Also, food price in Wollo were no higher-often substantially lower-than elsewhere in the country. The problem was the poor just couldn’t afford to buy. Meanwhile, Emperor Haile Selassie spend some $35 million to celebrate his eightieth birthday in 1973.

Unfortunately the trend of autocratic-led hunger has not changed under the current government either, if anything Meles’s regime took it to the next level.

In 2004 Humanitarian Exchange Magazine exposed that disregarding experts advise that the situation in the country was very severe and does qualifies as a famine, the government of Ethiopia and USAID conspired to downplay the 2002-2004 food crisis as “localized famine” in fear of global media attention and political dangers for the EPRDF. The report states “the lack of classic famine images….facilitates further disengagement by the media and Western publics, even as large numbers of vulnerable people face destitution, malnutrition, morbidity and mortality.”

Again 2010 in a report titled Development without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia, Human Right Watch extensively documented how the EPRDF is using development aid to suppress political dissent by conditioning access to essential safety net programs on support for the ruling party.

Today, once again the danger of another catastrophic famine is looming large on the horizon. Ongoing drought worsened by the El Niño global weather phenomenon has already caused deaths of many cattle and have put as many as 14 million people at risk.

After denying the problem for weeks; the government finally admitted to it but only to claim that it has enough food stock to tackle the problem. However, journalists on the ground have reported the government’s grain reserve has run out long ago. According to Barrie Came, WFP representative, the food supply by the UN is also not enough to curb the problem.

The government also argues the country has already realized food security at a national level, that is to say we have enough food in the country to feed everyone. The inherent flaw in this argument is that the presence of food in the country doesn’t necessarily mean those affected by drought will have access to it. As it was the case during the 1973 Wollo famine, when a crop fails it not only affects the food supply, it also destroys the employment and livelihood of farmers, denying them the ability to buy food from the market.

Reports have also shown that the government was informed of the risk of seasonal rain failure forecast as early as two months ago but it chose to keep it to itself. Had the government shared the information with the media and local governments to inform pastoralists to move their cattle near rivers or highlands, much of the animal loss would have been avoided and relief supports would have been delivered on time.

Democracy can effectively prevent famine

Why is the Ethiopia government acting so irresponsibly? The answer is simple – because there is no incentive for the government to work hard to avert famine. Amartya Sen argument related to absence of political incentives generated by election, multiparty politics and investigative journalism is also true in the case of Ethiopia.

The EPRDF led government has successfully wiped out all groups that might pose any form of threat to its power. Fresh from its 100% “election” victory, with very fragmented opposition parties, no civil society and no scope for uncensored public criticism, Hailemariam’s regime doesn’t have to suffer the political consequences of its failure to prevent famine.

If there were a democratic system to keep the government accountable, the state’s response would have been much different. For instance, Botswana, like Ethiopia, is prone to drought but a democracy since its independence in 1966, Botswana never had a famine. Botswana’s democratic government immediately deploys relief efforts during every drought, and even improves them from one drought to the next. Had the government in Botswana failed to undertake timely action, there would have been severe criticism and pressure from the opposition and maybe even bigger political cost in future elections. In contrast, the Ethiopian governments did not have to worry with those prospects.
Another Sen’s key argument is information flow and free press – democracy contributes greatly to bring out information that can have an enormous impact on policies for famine prevention. If it weren’t for the foreign media reporting and social media activists outcry, the government might have kept the current problem a secret for long and caused much greater damage than it already has. In Sen’s words “free press and an active political opposition constitute the best early warning system a country threatened by famine can have”

If aid organizations comprehensively and immediately deploy humanitarian assistance, the current crisis could be impelled with minimal damage. However, the argument that famine in Ethiopia is caused by drought doesn’t hold water anymore. Unless the problem is addressed from its roots, another famine is just a matter of time. For Ethiopia to truly achieve food security and avoid any dangers of famine in the future, nothing but building a democratic, transparent and accountable system is the solution.


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In Ethiopia, Running From Sexual Abuse

By Hannah Borenstein

Tucked in a lush valley surrounded by mountains, Yaya Village is nothing short of a runner’s mecca. There’s a four-star resort complete with a 3,500-square-foot gym and access to physiotherapists, not to mention meals “optimized for athletes” and a nearby forest with miles of jogging trails. And why shouldn’t there be? After all, runners are considered a national treasure here in Ethiopia.

But pull aside some of the women who’ve passed through during training stints and they’ll tell you about their sport’s skeleton in the closet. Today, one long-distance runner recounts when she moved from the rural area of Bulga to practice with a club in Addis Ababa. She says that her coach called her into a meeting to discuss her upcoming plans for a race, and then suddenly started kissing her. Stunned, the runner says she grabbed a fork from a nearby table and stabbed her coach in the leg. His explanation to others? “He said that I had injured myself and he was just trying to massage the injury,” she says.

To the international community, Ethiopia is a star of the running world. The country of 96 million always has a slew of long-distance athletes on the podium. But is the nation quietly allowing its patriarchal approach to creep into how young female athletes are being treated? According to interviews with a dozen female runners, many say they are sexually exploited and abused by male coaches and agents at an alarming rate. The common complaint is that male coaches expect sex from their female runners, and the runners say that reflects broader societal norms there. After all, forced marriages among girls as young as 15 affect 16 percent of women in Ethiopia, according to UNICEF, while over 40 percent of girls end up wed before their 18th birthday.

Few runners in this region of the world are likely to report abuse, in part because there’s just too much on the line financially.

Of course, sexual abuse of athletes continues to be a problem in sports more broadly. In one famous case, Ugandan long-distance runner and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Moses Kipsiro was among a group of athletes that accused a coach of sexually harassing female runners, a case that led to rape charges. But Ethiopia as a country may be more prone to such problems, given its greater involvement in running.

Few runners in this region of the world, for example, are likely to report abuse, in part because there’s just too much on the line financially. Women who come forward risk getting blacklisted by running clubs or other coaches, jeopardizing prize money for races that generate anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $1 million for the world’s top marathons, plus sponsor bonuses that can top $100,000 — hefty sums in a nation where per capita income is only around $470, and “substantially lower” than the regional average, the World Bank says. Because running is seen as a way out of poverty, and many women leave their families and then end up without support systems, they can be especially vulnerable to sexual predators, says Jerry Rothwell, a director who spent 3 1/2 years traveling in Ethiopia while following runners for the documentary film Town of Runners. “Things can happen,” he says.

The country rose to fame for its runners when Abebe Bikila won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in 1960 — after completing the marathon barefoot. He won the gold again four years later (this time wearing shoes), before highly decorated runners such as Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele strolled into the limelight. It wasn’t until 1992, in Barcelona, when Derartu Tulu put her foot down and became the first Ethiopian woman to win that coveted gold medal. More recently, Meseret Defar (both in 2004 and 2012) and Tirunesh Dibaba (twice in 2008 and then again in 2012) also garnered top Olympic spots, while up-and-comer Genzebe Dibaba smashed a 22-year-old world record this summer during a 1,500-meter run, further fueling female empowerment back home.

Despite their growing prominence, women aren’t always included at the table when they’re looking to partner with an agency or coach. During meetings like these in Ethiopia, Malcolm Anderson, an athletics agent who founded the management agency Moyo Sports, says he’s been told to meet with a runner’s husband or boyfriend instead of the woman herself. “I am told he calls the shots,” says Anderson. Still, he now insists the female athlete be present, and the nonprofit he co-founded called Running Across Borders, which works in the Ethiopian town of Bekoji, has also hired a female coach because “females would feel far more comfortable speaking and being mentored by someone who understood their issues, especially younger athletes.”


Other running-focused groups are also trying to empower female athletes in Ethiopia. Girls Gotta Run Foundation provides young athletes with sponsorships to both train and stay in school, while Yaya Girls, a nongovernmental organization that promotes gender equality through running and education, provides a safe space for female runners to discuss sexual abuse issues, and also teaches them about human rights and gender equality. And though the Ethiopian Athletic Federation didn’t respond to requests for comment, the governing body for track and field events — the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) — tells OZY that sexual as well as physical, verbal and mental harassment is prohibited from athletics. “Anything of this nature should of course be immediately reported to the police and any other relevant legal or judicial authority in the country concerned,” IAAF spokesman Chris Turner says in a statement.


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U S Policy: Ethiopia A failing State Case of the Oromo

Oromiyaa: An Oromo family of Artists, Lemma Guya Gemeda

Lemma was born from his father Mr. Guya Gemeda and his mother Mare Gobena in 1921 in Ada’a Liben woreda. 

Until he was 14, he was engaged in traditional games like shooting the circles by sword, boxes, climbing trees, swimming water and so on.
Lemma was unique from his friend in that he always tries to practice painting different pictures and sculptures in his family wall by mixing soil, lime and ashes. He made sculptures on the wall of his family. Because of he was talentful, he was loved and respected among his parents, neighbor and friends.

When Lemma’s age reached for education, he did not go to school, rather his father made him to herd cattle as it was obvious.  Due to a pressure from a friend of his father, Lemma started  school, at around 14 in Bishooftu. He was admitted to teachers training college of Adama in 1943. But because of his interest in the army he left the college and joined the Ethiopian air force.

During all this time, he continued developing his art skills and continued drawings different pictures. In the air force, he was employed as a general mechanics after he admirably completed training. He taught as airplane technician in the air force.  Even though he was working in the air force and gaining good salary, Lemma did not give up to develop his skill.  He continued developing his skills of painting from Italians.

In 1983 he established an art gallery in Bishoftu, Lemma Guya Art Gallery. The plot was granted to him by the late Emperor, Haile Selassie.  The gallery later upgraded to African arts and training museums where potential African artists began to  come for study there.  Lemma preferred the gallery to be known as Lemma Guya Art gallery.

Regular exhibitions displayed and visited by tourists from abroad and local.

 Through his works, Lemma tries to teach students about their culture, traditions at their break and spare time and he also invites them to the gallery and helps them visit the gallery by interpreting about the objects in the gallery. Lemma is an impressive person and a hero to those new generation by creating inspiration towards their culture and learn their root where the new generation need to protect, know and feel a sense of belongingness.

One of Lemma’s student is his own daughter, Artist Netsanet Lemma Guyyaa. The following pictures are few of her works.

Artist Netsanet Lemma interviewing

Artist Netsanet with family

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Oromo TV:Breaking news: OLF opens a branch office in Minnesota

Four Liberation Fronts, viz. OLF, ONLF, SLF & SHEPMODSOJ, Form Alliance/PAFD to Stop Repression by Current Regime in Ethiopia

STATUTES OF THE PEOPLES’ ALLIANCE FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY

PREAMBLE

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF),
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF),
The Sheckacho People’s Movement for Democracy and Justice (SHEPMODSOJ),
The Sidama Liberation Front (SLF)

Hereinafter referred to as the Parties,

Whereas united effort among the oppressed people has become essential in the struggle to stop a continuous and gruesome repression perpetrated by the current regime in Ethiopia,

Recognizing the fact that true and lasting cooperation to fight repression could only exist among the oppressed people and political organization that stand and promote the causes of the people, including genuine and unfettered acceptance of the right of selfdetermination for all peoples in Ethiopia;

Reaffirming their unwavering determination to put an end to the underlying causes of repression, bloodshed, insecurity, political instability and marginalization in Ethiopia and the region, which is inflicting severe hardships and suffering on all the people, and seriously hampers the prospects for sustainable peace, freedom, and the attainment of equality, social justice, and development;

Reaffirming their commitment to shape political order and system of governance inspired by the universal aspiration for freedom and founded on the values of justice, liberty, equality, democracy, good governance, pluralism, respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms, solidarity, mutual understanding, tolerance and cooperation and the right of choice;

Convinced that the realization of all these aspirations and ideals demands the cooperation of the Parties and the coordination of their activities towards the establishment of a genuine democratic process leading to genuine healing and reconciliation and lasting peace based on the free will and choice of all peoples concerned;

Conscious that the failure of the opposition political forces to develop mutual understanding and coordinate their struggle benefited no one but rather contributed in prolonging tyranny by the TPLF regime and perpetuated the misery and agony of all,  Resolved therefore to bring and guarantee freedom of choice and genuine democracy in Ethiopia and the region, Have in consequence decided to set up the Peoples’ Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (PAFD) and have for this purpose adopted this Statute:

Click Here to Read the Entire 13-Page Statues of PAFD (pdf)

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Amin Jundi:- ABOn jabaatu malee Carraan Oromoon qabu kan native warra USA fii Canada ala hinta’u

Qabsoon ummanni keenya roorroo diina jalaa bilisa ta’ee ulfinnaafi kabajaan jiraatuufi geeggeffamaa ture milkiin isaa bakka gayuu dhabullee injiffannooleen goonffatame kan akka salphatti shalagamuu miti. Keessattu qoodnni ABOn, kan ummata Oromootiin jaalatmu kan lubbuun ilmaan Oromoo qaqqaalii itti kafalameefi kafalaa jiran seena qabsoo Oromoo keessatti bakka oli’ana qaba.
Waggaalee diigdamman dabran kana keessa garuu ifaajeefi wareegaminni miseensonni ABO kafalaniin milkiileen argamani ergamittoota diinaatiin dhuunffatamee Oromoo gama abbaa biyyummaatti jijjiruun faallaye diinaafi ulee ta’udhaan miidhaa Oromoo irratti aggammatame osoo gatii keessa hingalichin yookan sodaachuun yookaan huminna itti dhabuudhaan alagaamma wajjiin Oromoo saamuufii hiyyomisuudhaan kan duraanii caalaa tofitaan abbaa biyyummaa dhabisiisaa hiyyummaa jaarraa haaraya jalaatti seenisisaa akka jiran hubachuun beekkumissafi qarooma guddaa hingaafatu.

Gama birootiin Adunyaan keessa jirru mirggi ilma namaa fedha biyyota guddataniifi (national interest) abbooti qabeenyaatiin lagatamee lubbuun nama tokkoo gatii dollara tokkoo hanqatte keessatti haqa keenya argachuufi carraaquun sakaallaa guddaa yeroo horate keessatti, yeroo dinootiin haarofinni biyya keenya dhuunfatan ummata keenyatti tofitaa haarayaan dureeyyi guguddoo adunyaa (wealth Corporation) wajjiin harka walitti naqatanii qabeenya biyya keenyaatiin tuuta qabeeyyii adunyaa keessatti ufi galmeessuufi carraaqan keessatti Oromoon mala xaxaa kana keessaa nubaasu walgaafachuufi carraaquu caalaa falli hafe hinjiru.

Qabsoo hanga ammaa mirga keenya deeffachuufi carraaqaa turre keessatti mooyachuu dadhabuu keenyarraa ufi keessa deebinee walkommachuufi walbaaleffachuun walqooduu fii walirraa baqachuu malee dhibeen guddoon qabsoo keenya qancarsse toofittaa wayyaaneen abbaa qabeenyaa ta’uudhaan mooraa dureeyyii adunyaa keessatti ufi galemeessudhaan biyya keenya gurgurittee ittin qabsoo qabsoo ummata Oromoo mataafi miila nudhoorguufi nurratti hojjatte kanaa gadi fageenyaan hubachuu dhabuudhaan diina caalaa walirratti hoachaa dhufuun keenya diina keenyaafi carraa guddaa laachuu caalaa qabsoo keenya qancarsse.

Dhiyyenya kanaa wayyaaneen filmaata barataamaa umrii isii ittiin dheereffachuufi yeroo hunda waggaa shan shaniin itti adunyaa fii ummata keenya gowwomistu namoonni hedduun akka waa jijjiirran tokko dhalachuufi deemu tilmaama yeroo argu hedduun raajawe. Wayyaaneen toofittaa biyya san keessatti filmaataan keessattu Oromoon akka sadarkaa oli’aana mootummaatti hindhufiine yeroon iisiin lafa kaayyatte dhufiisumma isii irraa ture. Wayyaaneen gaafinni isiin Oromoo angoo irraa fageessuufi shira bareeda lafa kaayatte gaafa sirnna bulchiinssa biyya yookan sirna bulchiinsa parlamaa sanii kan Presidantin ummataan filamu irraa gama muummicha ministeratti jijjiiriteedha. Osoo biyyiti sun akka USA, France, Brazil fii kkf filmaanni nama biyya bulchuu ummataan filama ta’ee Oromoo hedduminna waan qabuufi carraa qaba ture. Kanaafi toofittaa bareedaa taphataniin dhaaba ufii keessatti mooti ta’an kan ufii ijaarataniin akka mooyu waan beekaniifi dura ta;an dhaaba ammoo bulchaa biyya akka ta’u sirna filmaata biyyaa akka biyya Canada, British fii KKF tutti gaafa jijjiiritte sagaleen Oromoo akka bakka hinqabaanne goote. Eega filmaataan Oromoo akka angotti hindhufinne qindeeffatte Oromoo hedduminna isaa bu’aa dhoggite booda biyyaa fii qabeenya Oromoon ittii dhaadatu ammoo mala biroo itti baafittee maqaa investemnet jedhuun biyya keennya saamitte irra hedduu ufii guurattee kan hafe ammoo mutumoota adunyaatii qooddee abbaa biyyummaa Oromoo dhabisiisuun qabsoon Oromoo abbaa biyyummaafi geggessu irratti adunyaan waldura nudhabuufi mala isiin kaayatteen arra akka ummanni keenya buqqa’aa jiru hubachuu nama hinrakku.

Wayyaaneen tofitaa Isreal ittiin warra filisxeen dachii isaanii irraa bitachaa kan humnaan irraa dhiiba warra filsixeen biyya malee hanbifitetti dhimma bayuudhaan gama tokkoon ufi duroomisuudhaan bakka fedhanitti Oromoo irraa dachii isaa irraa bitaa kan ammoo humnaan irraa buqqisaa gama kaaniin gama waraanaafi tikaatiin ufi utubaa humnna qabeenyaan guddate waraanaafi tikaan tikiffamu ufi godhuufi halkanii guyyaa ogeeyyota adunyaa irraa gorssa fudhataa nurratti hojjachaa Oromoo biyya dhabeessa godhaa jira.

Kun bifa kanaan osoo jiruu xaxaa fii shira qabsoo Oromoo marsee jiru kanatti nullee walqoqqooduufi walbalalffachuun tofittaa diina ittiin moonu osoo hintaane toofittaa itti walballeesinuufi walmoonu irratti hojjachaa wayyaaneefi yeroo laannee umrii gabrummaa ummata keenyarratti dheeressuu bira dabarree qooda seena qabsoo Oromoo keessatti laannes gatii dhooggaa jirra.

Arra yomiyyu caalaa qabsoon keenya marffama dangaa hinqabnne keessa seenittee ufii waajijjiiruufi tattaffachuu caalaa jijjiirama olloonni keenya kan akka ogaden fii Amhara biyya sani keessatti godhuufi tattaaffatan teennee irraa haasayuu dalagaa godhanne. Arra hamileefi abdiin ummanni keenya qabsaawota Oromoo irraa qabu baqaa dhufee sadarkaa dhaabota mormitoota Oromoo biyya keessa heerumma dhiigaan cuuphame wayyaaneen ittiin ummata keenya dararaa jirttu san akka waa jijjiiruutti kan itti ija deebisa jiran agarra.

ABOn ummata Oromoo biratti kan jaallatamuufi kan wareegaminni guddaan itti kafalameefi, ABOn kan ummata Oromooti kan isa jechisiise murnaaan maqaa ABO moggaaffachuu, maqaa hayyu duree ufitti moggaasuu, miseensa gumii sabaa qabaachuu sagalee radioo fii website qabaachuu akka hinta’in ummanni keenya ragaa nutti bayee tumsa isaa nurraa qabatee jira. ABO kan ABO isa jechisiisu moora Oromoon qe’ee hundaa keessaa burraaqan ta’uu isaa qofa akka ta’e hubataa hinjirru fakkaata.

Kanaafi carraan tokkochi qabnnu qabsaawota faffaca’anii maqaa dhaaba ABO moggaaffatanis ta’ee kan ABO irraa abdii murnnan fa’acanii jiraniifi maqaa birollee moggaafatani hunda moora tookkotti deebifiinnee ABO Oromoonni dangaa Oromiyaa hundarraa keessatti qabsaawan deebinne jabeessuun malaafi tofitaa diina kan kan midaalu qindeeffachuun qofa xaxaa dinni keenya tofitaa adunyaa qoratee itti dhimma bayuudhan qabsoo keenya mataa fii miila nudhooggee ummata keenya akka nativa warra USA fii Canada kanatti abbaa biyyaa kan mirga abbaa biyyummaa hinqabnne nugodhuufi carraaqan kana jalaa bayuun yoo waliifi araaraminnee tofittaa ittiin walmooyachuufi waggoota 15 dabran kana shaakalaa turre gama tofitaa diinaan itti mooyachuutti jijjiirachuu caalaa carraan tokkolle hinqabnnu.

A. Jundi



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