More than 1.5
million residents of Ethiopia have begun or will begin relocating away from
their ancestral lands in a program called villagization.
Ethiopia has a long and controversial history with resettlement, as it was a
major element of the Derg’s socialist agricultural
policies. By 1989, Derg’svillagization
program had resettled more than 13 million people; international
disapproval, degrading security and dwindling of resources caused the program
to slow down.
Today, the
government has resumed the program, stating that it is voluntary and justifying
it by claiming that it’s necessary to centralize infrastructure by having the
villages close to roads and available water supplies. Though this sounds like a
valiant attempt to supply access to services quickly, research and testimonies
from locals say otherwise.
One-way
deal
The Oakland Institute’s field research shows that a vast
majority of people in the targeted regions do not want to relocate, but have
been threatened by local police. As reported by a recent Human Rights Watch report, the forced relocation of
residents of Gambella has caused great hardship to
tens of thousands — including rape, other violent acts, coercion and
intimidation. Furthermore, there is a disturbing parallel between land being
vacated and the land being sold to investors for large-scale commercial
agriculture.
Despite the
government’s claims that this is purely coincidental, Karuturi, one of the largest foreign
landholders in Ethiopia, has stated publicly that the Gambella
Regional government offered to move the village of Ilea for them. Luckily, Karuturi chose not to pursue this venture. However, another
company, Saudi Star, is now clearing forests that had been used by former
residents who were forced to relocate to Pokedi as
part of the villagization program.
Loss of
livelihoods
Presently,
villagers grow their own food on permanent plots along the river and use
shifting cultivation techniques on higher ground to grow maize. This shifting
cultivation, together with fishing and harvesting of forest resources, provides
buffers against food insecurity.
In Gambella and Benishangul, the villagization concept involves giving each household a
small permanent plot of land of 2-4 hectares adjacent to the village site. However, this
will require new forms of cultivation and farming techniques and technologies
that are unfamiliar to the people. Training has been promised by regional
governments, but the government’s failure to live up to their promises leaves the
villagers skeptical.
While these
households were once largely food self-sufficient, they will now have to rely
on food aid, as promised by some officials. With the relocation to smaller
permanent plots, their only buffer against food insecurity will thus become
government handouts, to be funded by international donors. The loss of
traditional lands will result in the loss of livelihoods, changes in diet,
increased reliance on wage employment, and aid while weakening community bonds.
This process will also result in the destruction of natural resources such as
forests and grazing land. These adverse impacts of large-scale land investment
on the lives of local people will be dramatic, long term, and potentially
irreversible.
The time
for action is now
By continuing
to provide huge amounts of aid to Ethiopia, the U.S. is supporting a repressive
regime that puts large-scale agricultural investment and for-profit access to
Ethiopia’s fertile lands over the well-being and land rights of indigenous and
local people.
USAID should
not support such endeavors and ask for due diligence in respect to the human
rights of the people of Gambella and other affected
communities.
