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Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia since Live Aid PDF

297 Pages·2010·1.25 MB·English
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‘Th ank God for great journalism. Th is book is a much needed, ex- haustively researched and eff ortlessly well written recent history of Ethiopia. A book that strips away the cant and rumour, the pros and antis and thoroughly explains the people, politics and economics of that most beautiful nation. A superb and vital piece of work by some- one who clearly loves the country of which he writes.’ Bob Geldof ‘Th e great Ethiopian famine changed everything and nothing. It fun- damentally altered the rich world’s sense of its responsibility to the hungry and the poor, but didn’t solve anything. A quarter of a century on, we’re still arguing about the roots of the problem, let alone the so- lution, and—though there has been progress—Ethiopia’s food inse- curity gets worse, not better. Peter Gill was one of the most thorough and eff ective television journalists of his generation. He was there in 1984 and his work at the time added up to the most sensible, balanced and comprehensive explanation of what had happened. Twenty-fi ve years later, he’s gone back to test decades of aspiration against the re- alities on the ground. It’s a book that bridges journalism and history, judicious analysis with a strong, and often gripping, narrative. Always readable, but never glib, this is a must for all those who think there is a simple answer to the famine, still waiting in the wings.’ Michael Buerk ‘No outsider understands Ethiopia better than Peter Gill. He com- bines compassion with a clinical commitment to the truth. He writes with verve and an eye for telling detail. Th e result is a major contribu- tion to the compelling story of this remarkable nation.’ Jonathan Dimbleby ‘Famine and Foreigners is the essential book on Ethiopia, the world’s crucible for hunger and poverty—and development theory and prac- tice. Moving between the lives of ordinary Ethiopians and the con- troversies among their leaders and the theoreticians of international development, Peter Gill guides the reader through a fascinating story of suff ering, resilience and enthusiasm—often misguided—for for- mulae for development.’ Alex de Waal This page intentionally left blank Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid This page intentionally left blank Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid Peter Gill 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwidein Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto WithoYcesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress intheUKandincertainothercountries PublishedintheUnitedStates byOxfordUniversityPressInc.,NewYork qPeterGill2010 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted DatabaserightOxfordUniversityPress(maker) Firstpublished2010 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress, orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,orundertermsagreedwiththeappropriate reprographicsrightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproduction outsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisbookinanyotherbindingorcover andyoumustimposethesameconditiononanyacquirer BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008942646 TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India PrintedinGreatBritain onacid-freepaperby ClaysLtd,StIvesPlc ISBN 978–0–19–956984–7 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Contents Acknowledgements ix Note on the Text xiii Map of Ethiopia xiv Introduction: For Richer, for Poorer 1 I. THEN 1. Return to Korem 9 2. The Famine Trail 24 3. Hunger as a Weapon 45 4. Rebels with a Cause 63 II. TRANSITIONS 5. Economic Warfare 79 6. How to Prevent a Famine 97 7. Population Matters 120 III. NOW 8. 2005 and All That 141 9. Down with Democracy? 161 10. Free Association 175 11. Pastoral Affairs 196 vii contents IV. PROSPECTS 12. Spoiling the Party 221 13. Enter the Dragon 238 14. Us and Them 255 Select Bibliography 268 Index 271 viii Acknowledgements Several aid agencies made it possible for me to travel into the Ethiopiancountrysideandmeetthepeopleonwhoseexperiences and reflections much of this story is based. In the North I was generously received by Ambassador Tewolde Gebru, director of the Tigray Development Association. Yohannes Seyoum Sahle- mariam, head of public relations, was a wonderful travelling companion. With Action Aid I made stimulating trips into the hillsaroundKorem,epicentreofthe1984famine.Itwasthanksto Wuletaw Hailemariam, director of the Organisation for the ReliefandDevelopmentofAmhara,thatIspentaweektravelling through the highlands of Amhara to the border lowlands and backtotheshoresofLakeTana.Ontheway,Iwasassistedbythe organization’s excellent fieldstaff.FortwodaysinWolloIrelied on the expertise of Save the Children Fund UK, which first worked there 70 years ago. In southern Ethiopia I was aided by charities with a strong local presence: the Family Guidance As- sociation of Ethiopia, Community Development Initiative, and the Rift Valley Children and Women Development Association. During my stay in Somali Region, I was looked after by Guled Abdullahi, head of the president’s office in Jijiga, and made welcome in Gode by Abdinasir Mohammed, the zonal adminis- trator. I am grateful to them all. ix

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The Ethiopian famine of 25 years ago was the greatest humanitarian disaster of the late 20th century, killing more than 600,000 people before the world took notice. Peter Gill was the first journalist to reach the epicenter of the famine in 1984 and he returned at the time of Live Aid to research th
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