An Ethiopian’s Path to From Refugee Camp to College Campus

How a refugee survived genocide and rebuilt a life in the United States.

Omot retelling his journey coming to the U.S. during our interview. Image courtesy of Ojullu Omit.

This semester, I had the privilege of connecting with Ojullu Omot, whose life was forever altered by tragedy. On December 13, 2003, when he was just 14 years old, Omot experienced a massacre at his hometown in south-west Ethiopia. As part of a Wake Forest University project to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees, a team made up of me and my classmates produced a 10-minute advocacy film that aims to shed light on the often-overlooked struggles refugees encounter while adapting to life in the United States. Omot’s story is a testament to the blend of heartbreak and perseverance that characterizes the ongoing global refugee crisis, capturing the resilience and fortitude of those seeking haven away from home.

Omot’s story began with displacement, as he fled the 2003 massacre in the remote Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia. From December 13-15, in a reprisal against a small ambush against Ethiopian federal government officials, ethnically Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan soldiers and rioters murdered hundreds of minority Anuak civilians. Human Rights Watch’s report suggests that these atrocities should be considered crimes against humanity. . The Ethiopian government claimed that only 57 were killed and that the violence resulted from ethnic tensions between rival Anuak and Nuer groups, in contrast to the claims of international human rights groups and the Anuak themselves.  Human rights NGOs have called for a thorough investigation into the incident, with concerns that others like it could occur. Despite facing deadly tragedy along with the immense challenges of settling into a new society as a refugee, Omot has found a new home in the United States, where he serves as a living witness to the egregious human rights abuses of his homeland. He remains committed to starting a new chapter in life.

By now Omot has gotten used to retelling the story of how he left his home in Ethiopia in the midst of genocidal violence, and his journey  from there to become an international politics student in the United States. The three-day-long massacre in Gambella town of southwestern Ethiopia was an outburst of ethnic conflict between the indigenous Anuak group and members of the Ethiopian military. As the situation in Ethiopia deteriorated, Omot moved to Sudan when he was a teenager, with the hope that things would get better in a year or two.

But they didn’t. The military confrontation neither started, nor ended with the massacre.  More than 10,000 Anuak people were forced to leave Ethiopia in 2004, the year after the massacre took place.

Omot left Sudan for Kenya after two years of waiting. The unrest had separated him from his family, and he lacked many colorful memories about his childhood in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. What he remembered is playing football with his friends in refugee camps everyday; many of those eventually being sent to Canada, Australia and other developed nations. Omot remembers planes from the United Nation hovered above their heads in refugee camps, dropping food and supplies and people hurrying to grab them. “We were dependent on the refugee program,” Omot said, “Resettlement in the United States was not a typical solution for refugees living in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) camp.”

Omot never dreamed about coming to the United States then. He was invested in the idea that everything will go back to normal in Ethiopia, and that he could then return home. Yet Omot’s life took a major turn in the year 2016. He was called for an interview, which he later found out was part of the application process by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees concerning whether he is eligible for resettlement in the United States as a refugee. The approval rate for a refugee status in the United States is 27%, according to World Data.  

Omot waited for roughly six months until he was called for a series of security checks, examinations and orientation. In February 2016, International Organization for Migration contacted Omot, telling him that his case is ready. He then boarded a plane to the United States on April 4th, 2016, his first ever flight. When he landed in Miami, Florida, it was like landing on a new planet- the shock of the novel language and lifestyle almost dazzled the then 28 year old. 

“There was something change, [such as] the day became longer, I was not even comfortable, and I cannot see where I come from, ” Omot recalled his initial exposure to the United States, “The first question I asked myself [was], is this the U.S. [as] I expected it?”

And the first few months continued to affirm to him that starting anew wasn’t easy. Omot often found himself alone in his house assigned by the government, since his roommates busied themselves working in the daytime, and went straight to sleep not long after walking in the door at night. Comparing the situation to the community life in Ethiopia, where everyone would sit down and share stories after a day’s work, filled Omot with homesickness at night. 

Language is also a major challenge to Omot. Going to a university was at the top of his wish list when he came to the United States, but he couldn’t even understand people’s accents when he asked for directions on his way to school. He had no idea how to open emails during his first semester at a community college. When one of his classmates finally taught him how to view the inbox, he found emails from professors flooded in there. In winter, the temperature dropped so low that Omot, who used to live near the equator, had to drop his English as Second language (ESL) classes to avoid traveling in freezing weather.

But Omot is determined to realize his dream. Instead of “wasting time” in ESL classes, he decided to push himself, taking the General Educational Development (GED) tests directly.  He works as a hospital janitor in the daytime for living; in the evening and before dawn, he dives into his study. Whenever he had free time, Omot would peruse his textbooks, went up to the library of the community college he attended everyday, asking every librarian what GED looks like, and tips and tricks to score higher. 

The global refugee population has reached crisis proportions, with more than 30 million refugees displaced in 2022, signaling a significant surge from the previous year's level. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a staggering total of 103 million people forcibly displaced as of mid-2022. In response, President Joe Biden has committed to revamping America’s current “inhumane” immigration policy. However, the administration's effort to admit refugees has fallen significantly short of its goal, with only 25,465 individuals granted admission by the end of the previous fiscal year on September 30, 2022, a mere 20% of the objective. The number of refugees received by the United States still remains one of the lowest among all nations, and the number continues to decrease.

Refugees face a plethora of challenges when they resettle in a foreign country, with attaining secure housing among the most pressing. Asylum seekers in particular struggle to obtain temporary housing due to a lack of government support and unfamiliarity with the US housing system. Non-profit organizations and shelters provide vital assistance to these individuals. Despite this aid, refugee and asylum seekers are disproportionately at risk for health problems, both physical and mental. They are more susceptible to severe mental health conditions like PTSD and depression, while chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease exacerbate their already challenging circumstances.

In 2017, Omot took the GED for the first time. And hard work pays off — he passed the test.

“It [passing the test] gives me hope that I could continue to do all of them,” said Omot, breaking into a smile. And he did. After he finished with GED, Omot is currently pursuing a bachelor degree in international politics at University of North Carolina Greensboro. When asked why he could recall his story in astonishingly clear detail, Omot answered, “I think my story is important because if other people, other refugees heard about it, they would think, oh, this guy did that and starting his new life. Maybe I could do the same.”

To Get Involved:

While Omot is navigating through his new life in the United States, it is not without support from various refugee organizations, such as Every Campus a Refugee (ECAR), an organization aiming to mobilize colleges and universities to host refugees on campus grounds and support them in their resettlement. ECAR provided nearly 4 years free housing and accessories to Omot, and provides several other services to refugees in the North Carolina region. Learn more about ECAR here.

---

Hope Zhu

Hope is a Chinese international student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina studying sociology, statistics, and journalism. She dreams of traveling around the globe as a freelance reporter while touching on a wide range of social issues from education inequality to cultural diversity. Passionate about environmental issues and learning about other cultures, she is eager to explore the globe. In her free time, she enjoys cooking Asian cuisine, reading, and theater.

Top 5 Sites to Visit in Ethiopia, Africa’s Hidden Gem

Boasting a stunningly diverse landscape, a rich culture and nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Ethiopia belongs on every traveler’s bucket list. As word gets out, more and more visitors are discovering – and falling in love with – the East African country’s seemingly endless charms.

Seen from above, the Church of Saint George looks impressive. From below, it’s simply unreal. Bryan_T. CC BY-ND 2.0

Lalibela

Painstakingly chiseled out of rock in the 13th century, the 11 churches of Lalibela stand as powerful symbols of Ethiopia’s devotion to Christianity. After Jerusalem’s fall to Islamic conquest, King Lalibela ordered construction of a “New Jerusalem” in his own land. The results are spectacular: the Church of Saint George rests in the shape of a cross, seemingly inaccessible due to its position below ground. It’s nearly incomprehensible that the churches of Lalibela were carved out by hand 800 years ago. You may come to believe, as many locals do, that angels alone could have built such a masterpiece.

The Simien Mountains, often known as the “Water Tower of Africa,” are one of the top contributors to the Nile River. Thomas Maluck. CC BY-ND 2.0

Simien Mountains National Park

Known as the “Roof of Africa,” the Simien Mountains present a landscape of sheer cliffs, winding canyons and peaks once described by Homer as the “chess set of the gods.” Few places in Africa offer such breathtaking scenery; however, travel here takes some work. To fully experience the Simiens, prepare for long days of trekking and nights spent in remote villages. The trip may be tough, but travelers who persevere can expect jaw-dropping scenery unlike anywhere else on earth.

Eerily similar to the mazelike medinas of North Africa, Harar holds no comparisons across Ethiopia. Rod Waddington. CC BY-SA 2.0

Harar Jugol

Considered the fourth-holiest city of Islam, Harar gives off a distinct vibe from the rest of Ethiopia. Visitors head to Jugol, the fortified city, to take in the area’s maze of 368 alleyways and 48 mosques – all packed into less than a half a square mile.

Sulfur pools are one of the many anomalies that draw visitors to the harsh landscapes of the Danakil Depression. Ian Swithinbank. CC BY-ND 2.0

Danakil Depression

Lying 400 feet below sea level and recognized as one of the hottest places on earth, the Danakil Depression is downright inhospitable. Scientists flock to the region to test out whether microbes can survive the environment, believing its harshness to be about equal to that of Mars. Visitors are equally enticed by the Danakil Depression’s otherworldliness, seeking out neon-colored lakes, steaming fissures and bubbling lava patches. Travel to the area is not for the faint of heart; daytime temperatures reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and the condition of the “roads” is equally hideous.

Nearly anything can be found at the Mercato, the largest open-air market in all of Africa. Jasmine Halki. CC BY 2.0

Addis Ababa

Ethiopia’s capital and largest city may not hold many star attractions, but nowhere else does the country’s culture so vividly come to life. Indulge in a cup of coffee in one of Addis Ababa’s countless cafés; this is, after all, the birthplace of the drink. Lucky visitors may receive an invite to an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, a tradition that lasts for hours and is reserved for close friends. Addis also contains some of Ethiopia’s best food. Make sure to try injera, a spongy bread filled with meat, vegetables and countless spices. Finish off the stay by visiting the Mercato, Africa’s largest open-air market. A dizzying array of gifts can be found, helping to carry the delightful essence of Ethiopia all the way home.

---

RELATED CONTENT:

Ethiopia Is Making Maps to Help Improve Soil Health

ETHIOPIA: Suspended in Time

A Glimpse at Ethiopia’s Medieval Rock-Hewn Churches 

---

Stephen Kenney

Stephen is a Journalism and Political Science double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He enjoys sharing his passion for geography with others by writing compelling stories from across the globe. In his free time, Stephen enjoys reading, long-distance running and rooting for the Tar Heels.

A Glimpse at Ethiopia’s Medieval Rock-Hewn Churches

A group of 11 churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, has been known for centuries as the “New Jerusalem.” The churches were carved from the natural rock of the landscape during medieval times and are a popular pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. 

Rock-hewn church in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Rod Waddington. CC BY-SA 2.0

Lalibela, located in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, is home to 11 monolithic churches, each carved from the rocky landscape. The square and rectangular churches burrow more than 150 feet into the ground. Tall walls of rock rise around the churches on all sides, with their roofs sitting at the height of the natural rock. Worshippers and visitors at the churches access them through narrow, sloping staircases, and series of tunnels and passageways connect the churches to each other and to other religious areas like catacombs. Everything in each church is carved from the same rocky mass, including windows, doors, pillars, stairways and all decorative elements. Ethiopia is home to over 200 rock-hewn churches, but these 11, which make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are some of the best maintained and most impressive examples of this type of architecture.

Facade of one of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches. Adam Jones, PhD. CC BY-SA 2.0 

Lalibela’s churches are intricate, awe-inspiring structures. Situated at the base of Mount Abuna Yosef is a rocky massif, a large, rigid section of the Earth’s crust. Ancient workers carved the 11 churches out of the rock from the top down, first isolating the outline of each structure and then sculpting the inside and the fine, ornamental details of the outer walls. The Lalibela church complex is divided into two sections of five churches separated by the River Jordan, one group on the north side and one on the south, and a lone church farther to the west. The churches date to the medieval era, and scholars agree that they were likely constructed in four or five phases between the seventh and 13th centuries. 

Interior of one of the rock-hewn churches. A.Davey. CC BY 2.0 

Ethiopian tradition credits King Lalibela, who ruled during the 12th century, with the creation of the churches. In the king's laudatory biography, it is written that angels helped him carve the churches over a period of 24 years. According to tradition, King Lalibela ordered the construction of the churches as a “New Jerusalem.” He is said to have visited Jerusalem just before the city was overtaken by Muslim forces, halting Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Ethiopia has been officially Christian since 330 A.D. and claims to be the oldest Christian country in the world, so the story of King Lalibela and the rock-hewn churches fits into the country’s history. 

In reality, the earlier structures in the Lalibela complex were most likely constructed for civic rather than religious purposes, serving as royal palaces or fortresses before later being converted into churches. Though not all of the Lalibela churches initially served as churches, the complex became known as a “New Jerusalem” and has been a popular pilgrimage site since the late 12th century. The churches remain a pilgrimage site today, and host daily religious services. 

The roof of the Church of St. George. A.Davey. CC BY 2.0

 Aside from the large numbers of worshippers that gather each day, Lalibela’s phenomenal churches draw curious visitors. Guided tours of the complex are available, and travelers can also explore on their own. The most popular church among visitors to Lalibela is Bete Giyorgis, the Church of St. George, which forms the shape of a cross when viewed from above. Bete Giyorgis is the church that stands alone, not part of the northern or southern groups, but it can be accessed from the other churches through the system of carved passages. The wonders of Lalibela’s 11 churches contain centuries of Ethiopian history and remain magnificent examples of a very unique architectural feat. 

---

RELATED CONTENT:

ETHIOPIA: Suspended in Time

Top 5 Sites to Visit in Ethiopia, Africa’s Hidden Gem

Ethiopia Is Making Maps to Help Improve Soil Health

---

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

No Peace for the People: Ethiopia’s Ethnic Groups Targeted

While citizens and officials alike fear a potential civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the country’s ethnic groups have become targets of violence. Many fear that the current struggles deepen existing ethnic divides. 

Women of the Tigray region in Ethiopia. Rod Waddington. CC BY-SA 2.0. 

Over the past several weeks, the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia has exploded into violence. The current conflict comes after years of mounting tensions between the elected government of the Tigray region and the federal government. The postponement of the September election sparked the most recent series of violent acts; existing ethnic tensions have now transformed into the slaughtering of local ethnic groups, forcing many to flee for safety in Sudan. 

A Rising Civil War 

The tensions in Ethiopia trace back along a labyrinthine history of political unrest, with the primary combatants being the proponents of the federal government and the officials in the Tigray region. Fighting escalated when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the Tigray region of attacking a federal military base and responded by sending an attack on the region. However, underlying issues began back in 2018 when Ahmed was first elected. 

For decades, Ethiopia’s main political party was the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which began around 1991 when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) aided the overthrow of the previously Marxist government. Up until 2018, the party had controlled both the political and economic components of the country. With Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s election, the TPLF’s power within the party it founded began to quickly disappear. Ahmed removed and attempted to convict many officials through potentially corrupt means, many of whom escaped to the Tigray region. He also attempted to combine parties that followed ethnic lines, which deepened divides among the groups. 

In response to the prime minister’s recent postponement of the election, the unofficial leaders of the Tigray region made a decision no one in the country had done before: they held their own election. Tigray threatened secession, which is upheld in the nation’s constitution. The federal government, though, responded by withdrawing aid from Tigray and sending in troops. 

Ethnic Targeting

Now that the violence has furthered into increasing physical confrontation, many ethnic groups in Ethiopia feel under attack. Recent killings have left ethnic Tigrayans and ethnic Amharas slaughtered in the streets. Calls for peace talks between the two groups have been rejected, and now nearly 15,000 people have fled for safety. 

There are major criticisms on both sides, with calls for the TPLF’s unconditional surrender coming from the federal government. Meanwhile, the regional government of Tigray has been accused of igniting fear that is believed to have fed into the violent slaughtering of ethnic Amharas. 

Officials fear that these killings could turn into an ethnic cleansing and genocide. Tigrayan locals are dealing with the bulk of the chaos; many are being taken in for questioning and are too fearful to contact family members outside of the region. 

Experts warn that Ethiopia’s history of ethnic conflict will likely repeat itself as the nation spirals into political disarray. Only the potential for peace now holds the nation together as its ethnic groups continue to clash. 

---

Ella Nguyen

Ella is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.

Ethiopian Migrant Workers Left More Vulnerable After Devastating Explosion in Beirut

On Aug. 4, two massive explosions in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, sent a shock wave that destroyed many neighborhoods, killed more than 200 people, injured 6,000 and left approximately 250,000 homeless. The tragedy struck a country that is already suffering from a major economic crisis, an increase in COVID-19 cases, and the corruption and negligence of the Lebanese government—corruption which led to the deadly explosion. Reports emerged that the government knew about the over 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, which is used to build bombs, and left it unattended and unsecured for six years.

As the Lebanese people’s anger boiled over, protests calling for an end to the political elite erupted, leading to the resignation of the majority of the Lebanese government. According to The Wall Street Journal, on Aug. 10 Prime Minister Hassan Diab addressed the nation in a televised address: “I set out to combat corruption, but I discovered that corruption is bigger than the state. I declare today the resignation of this government. God bless Lebanon.”

But according to Foreign Policy, “the public is unlikely to be appeased by the resignation of Diab’s government” as “the rest of the country’s political elites, the sectarian warlords of the civil war era and their descendants, clinging to positions of privilege, are still busy looking for scapegoats.” As the public continues to fight for the fall of the regime, it is hoped that not only will the Lebanese benefit, but so too will the migrant workers whose plight worsens as crises continue to befall the country.

According to The New Arab, “around 250,000 migrants work as housekeepers, nannies and carers in Lebanese homes.” Most of the workers are women, many of whom immigrated from Ethiopia and the Philippines, according to The Associated Press. The migrant workers do not have labor law protections as they were brought in through the kafala system, an exploitative and abusive sponsorship system used in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation as the countries that practice the kafala system offer little to no protection for migrant workers—their right to work and legal presence is entirely dependent on their employer. The migration sponsorship system “increases their risk of suffering labor exploitation, forced labor and trafficking, and leaves them with little prospect of obtaining redress,” according to Amnesty International.

The ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon, along with the spike in COVID-19 cases, has made an already dire situation worse for migrant workers. According to Amnesty International, “many have reported that the value of their salaries has decreased by around a third because of the currency crash.” Their salaries were already as little as $150 per month before the severe economic crisis and pandemic, according to France 24. In June, BBC reported that more than 100 Ethiopian migrant domestic workers were fired and left homeless outside their country’s consulate in Beirut after their employers claimed they could no longer afford to pay their maids.

Now, the explosions have left the domestic workers even more vulnerable. CNN reported, “In the aftermath, rights groups are warning that this vulnerable group is facing dire situations as many of them are stranded in the country and unable to go home.” Activists like Farah Salka of Lebanon’s Anti-Racism Movement are fighting for the migrant workers’ rights. Salka told CNN, “They are running from one escalating situation to the other and it is an endless stream of trauma. They have faced COVID, economic crisis, airport closure, quarantine restrictions in often hostile conditions and they want to go home.”

Finding a way home is proving difficult for the Ethiopian migrants. According to Middle East Eye, “Ethiopia has tripled the price of repatriation for its citizens in Lebanon to $1,450, including flights and mandatory quarantine, further prohibiting the return of dozens of women stranded and destitute outside its Beirut consulate.” This is approximately a $900 increase from a May 21 article from Quartz Africa which reported, “Ethiopia’s consulate had collected $550 registration fees for the repatriation flights.”

People on social media are calling for better treatment of migrant workers in Lebanon after footage showed an Ethiopian migrant worker saving a young child from shattered glass as the second explosion erupted in the capital. Lebanese journalist Luna Safwan tweeted, “Migrant worker grabs toddler and saves her from shattered glass and windows as the second big explosion erupted in Beirut earlier today. She did not even think. Migrant workers deserve better in #Lebanon – this woman is a hero.”

Asiya Haouchine

is an Algerian-American writer who graduated from the University of Connecticut in May 2016, earning a BA in journalism and English. She was an editorial intern and contributing writer for Warscapes magazine and the online/blog editor for Long River Review. She is currently studying for her Master’s in Library and Information Science. @AsiyaHaou

Nile Basin States Must Build a Flexible Treaty. Here’s How..

Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are a step closer to resolving their disputes over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The dam – a huge project on one of the River Nile’s main tributaries, the Blue Nile in Ethiopia – is designed to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity. Its reservoir can hold more than 70 billion cubic metres of water. That’s nearly equal to half of the Nile’s annual flow.

Filling the immense reservoir will diminish the flow of the Nile water.

Tensions have been particularly acute between Egypt and Ethiopia because more than 80% of the water reaching Egypt comes from the Blue Nile.

Despite decades of concerted effort, no comprehensive deal between all 11 countries that share the Nile’s river basin has ever been reached. But, after rigorous discussions in the US, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan issued a joint statement that lays the framework for a final agreement. The three countries agreed that the dam would be filled in stages, and that it would only take place in the wet season.

The framework also underscored the need for any agreement to be open to changes. This is important because the three countries must consider changes in weather patterns, among other factors, while developing the final draft.

Instead of allocating the Nile waters based on the assumption of a fixed, and often too optimistic, perpetual water supply, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt should do it in accordance with the social, economic and changing weather conditions in the Nile basin.

This is extremely important as existing studies and climate change models commonly predict potential changes in weather patterns and temperature.

Changing weather patterns

Studies suggest that there is likely to be an increase in the basin’s average annual temperature. This would lead to greater loss of water due to evaporation. Changes are also expected in the future rainfall, river flow and water availability in the Nile Basin, although there’s less certainty about these.

But there’s enough evidence to point to the need for flexibility around agreements on how the dam will be filled. For example, there must be allowances to respond to scenarios of increased water availability and flooding, or water scarcity and drought.

Building flexible and resilient legal and institutional arrangements into the new treaty is therefore key. These include drought provisions, flexible allocation strategies, amendment and review procedures, termination clauses and recognised river basin organisations.

Flexibility in watercourse treaties, due to the unknown effects of climate change, has been recommended by leading scholars in the field such as Stephen McCaffrey and Itay Fischhendler.

Drought provisions

Drought provisions are a common way to improve the flexibility of treaties. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt can include special provisions that allow for exceptional circumstances, like severe drought.

To deal with the hardships of the projected extreme drought years, the three countries will need to build more reservoirs and storage capacity. But given the tension the dam has caused, finding agreement on this is likely to be challenging. This is all the more reason to include specific clauses in the treaty about storage.

There should also be flexibility in how much water is allocated, instead of a fixed amount. There are a couple of ways this can be achieved.

A simple way is to require Ethiopia to deliver a minimum flow to Sudan and Egypt to maintain human health and basic ecological functions.

The other option would be a percentage allocation. This would share possible water deficiencies, and surplus, proportionally among the three countries. Each country would get its agreed share of the total in a given year.

This would be the better option because it would respond to both wet and dry conditions.

Amendments and reviews

To make the treaty flexible, it’s also important to provide for amendments and reviews of processes. In this way countries could address unforeseen circumstances.

For instance, Ethiopia promised, under the joint statement, that it will fill the dam’s reservoir during the wet season, generally from July to September. But the wet and dry seasons could change.

The treaty can establish what might “trigger” adjustments or have set times for when a review should occur.

It must also have a termination clause which allows any riparian state to terminate the agreement, with a notice period.

River basin organisations

Managing water across boundaries needs river basin organisations. These are entities entrusted to manage water resources at the basin scale. They’re important because they can help introduce a level of flexibility in the arrangements between the riparian states.

A good example of how this can be done is the role played by a river basin organisation charged with applying the 1944 Colorado Treaty. The organisation was composed of an engineer commissioner from both parties – the US and Mexico – and was able to adapt, amend and extend institutional arrangements, including the main treaty.

In the case of the Nile basin, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have two options.

They can establish a joint body in the treaty that will manage the operations of dams in their respective countries. But this would exclude the other eight Nile riparian countries.

The other, and arguably better, option is to manage all dams through the Nile Basin Commission – an organisation envisaged in the Cooperative Framework Agreement. This was an attempt by riparian states to prepare a basin-wide framework to regulate the inter-state use and management of the Nile River. All the Nile basin states except Egypt and Sudan agreed to it.

This organisation has a wide range of powers, which include the ability to examine and decide how water is best used and distributed. Egypt and Sudan must accede to the framework agreement. And the treaty must empower the body to manage the filling and operation of the dams and reservoirs in the three countries.

Mahemud Tekuya is a JSD/Ph.D candidate, University of the Pacific

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

ETHIOPIA: The Omo Valley

The lower Omo Valley near the borders of Kenya and Sudan, is home to some of the most fascinating tribes on the continent of Africa and around the world. This land frozen in time is inhabited by different ethnic groups with ancient traditions that have remained untouched for centuries.

Why Abiy Won’t Succeed Unless He Listens to Ethiopia’s Majority – its Rural People

Abiy Ahmed has made a raft of radical steps since taking over as Ethiopia’s prime minister in April 2018. He has redressed some of the wrongs committed by his own party, brokered peace with Eritrea and released political prisoners. Abiy has also invited opposition political groups back into the country and overseen the reunification of a splintered Orthodox church.

Abiy’s approach is summed up by his philosophy of medemer, or inclusivity and unity. His reforms have led millions to believe that positive revolutionary change is on its way. But there’s one significant group he has yet to address: the rural majority.

More than 80% of Ethiopians live in rural villages beyond the reach of mass media. So far, they have not been included in the ongoing national conversation. Yet, they contribute significantly to the economy by providing 85% of all employment and 95% of agriculture outputs.

Past governments exacted revenue from rural people but ignored their voices in policy making. During Haile Sellasie’s rule, rural people had to pay a share of their produce to their chiefs in order to keep their land. Mengistu Haile Mariam’s marxist regime  introduced land reform based on its communist ideology but required rural people to fund and fight its wars.

The current government came to power with the promise of ensuring food security but it politicised ethnic identity and is currently focusing on rapid economic growth through the commercialisation of agriculture.

Consistently, Ethiopian governments created their own policies without listening to rural people first. But there can never truly be any hope for the country’s future if the forgotten majority continue to be ignored.

The reality for rural people

Since the 2000s, Ethiopia has been praised for fast economic growth. The government celebrates small holding farmers as the drivers of its success. But, so far, economic growth has not translated into a better life for the rural poor.

In 2015, some 18 million (20% of the total population) were affected by drought, the worst in 50 years. This year alone, 7.4 million, mostly children and women, are in need of help.

In addition to natural disasters, rural people are victims of an ill-conceived land policy. Land is controlled by the government. Farmers don’t own their land. They’re simply granted the right to use it. Land scarcity is a major problem. More than 60% of rural households survive on less than one hectare of land. A lack of access has led to young people being uprooted from rural areas.

Yet, the government leases large tracts of land to private investors to spur economic growth. From late 1990s to 2008, almost 3.5 million hectares of land was rented to investors at very low prices for a period of up to 99 years. The government advertises that 11.5 million hectares of land is currently prepared for private investment. Investors mainly focus on producing flowers, biofuel, and other export products. These in turn cause water shortages and environmental problems.

In a country of 103 million, where the survival of 80% of the people depend on subsistence agriculture, the priority given to private investors raises significant concerns.

Urban Ethiopians view foreign investors as a sign of progress. They see this land-grabbing as a sign of development. Yet the commercialisation of agriculture is being used to concentrate wealth in the hands of a small ruling class. It has increased food prices for the poor.

In Gambella, 70,000 people have been moved to new areas. Many more are believed to have been moved off their ancestral lands to make way for the country’s vision of becoming the world’s leading sugar producer.

Abiy has yet to address any of these issues. So far, he has shown no signs that he intends to change the government’s land policy.

Colonial mindset

One of the major hurdles facing the forgotten rural majority is the colonial mindset of many urbanites and people in power. The exclusion of rural people from the affairs of the state is not new. But it has intensified since 1974.

Traditionally, rural Ethiopians had institutions that influenced the power of their leaders. Leaders needed to fulfil and be accountable to tradition. They were respected more than feared.

But since the beginning of 20th Century, Ethiopian leaders sought to gain global legitimacy by bringing western institutions and knowledge to the country, excluding traditional knowledge and Ethiopian languages from higher education. Students learnt western history, culture and philosophy in English, and started to internalise the western gaze that saw Ethiopian traditional knowledge and institutions as primitive.

This colonial mindset, that has internalised western knowledge as progressive and Ethiopian knowledge as backward, is one of the major factors excluding rural people from reform and political debate. Rural people are seen as antithetical to progress, or simply ignorant of how things can be done better. For example, ten years ago the World Bank blamed Ethiopia’s “backward farming system” for acute food shortages.

Across the country, rural people understand land not as a natural resource that can be converted into cash, but as a source of life, spirituality, culture, and identity. Any cursory study of land-grabbing in Ethiopia shows that government policy has resulted in ongoing violence against the livelihood and culture of rural people. Rural people still feed the majority of the population; protecting them protects the rest.

Everything Ethiopians are proud of today, from their ancient culture to their independence from colonialism, came from the culture of rural life. It is this rich cultural knowledge that should be drawn upon, rather than continually looking out to the west.

Despite all of Abiy’s inspirational reforms, there can be no true progress for Ethiopia without listening to the rural majority.

YIRGA GELAW WOLDEYES is a lecturer of Human Rights at Curtin University.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE CONVERSATION

Ethiopia

Filmmaker Leo Plunkett takes viewers around Ethiopia through shots of the mountains, farmland, and red rocks. The short film shows the natural beauty of Ethiopia and captures many different areas of the country. Music by Jon Hopkins.

Strictly Beza: Combating HIV Through Dance in Ethiopia

In a country where more than half of the younger population was born during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Ethiopia is in dire need of education for its youth on practicing safe sex. To address this issue, a young dance troupe by the name of Addis Beza are utilizing their talents and passion for music and dance to educate community members about HIV prevention. During their public performances, the 15-20 member crew hands out informational pamphlets about HIV and encourages their spectators to get tested.

CONNECT WITH ADDIS BEZA