How Did the Government Make the Famine Worse? By: Prisha Rathore
Ethiopia was one of the two countries that stayed independent when the Europeans conquered most of Africa; however, that doesn’t mean that Ethiopia didn’t have as many struggles as the other countries did. Ethiopia has a very diverse geography which many people live throughout. Many people living there have found ways to survive in the harsh climates when there were droughts; however, a famine came when another drought came into Ethiopia. Many people blamed the drought, however, the fault was in the government. The leader of the government, Selassie, annexed Ethiopia’s northern neighbor, Eritrea, which started a civil war. Inflation increase, corruption was high, and in 1972,
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200,000 people died in a famine. In 1974, the Derg was a communist regime, which overthrew the Ethiopian government; however, it’s power dwindled and conflict spread southward and westward, throughout all of Ethiopia. When famine struck Ethiopia again in 1983, there was lots of international attention brought to Ethiopia. News organizations, charities, and celebrities all blamed the famine on drought, that essentially ignored the government’s role in the famine. The government worsened the famine in three ways: taking food, moving people, and blocking aid. The government worsened the famine by blocking aid that the other countries were sending in.
In document E, it states that “We have been seeking authorization to open an intensive feeding center in Kelala for four months…Since June, we have been asking the Ethiopian authorities to just give us the go ahead because MSF will take care of everything in the field…” The government have been receiving offers for aid from countries and organizations across the globe, however the government saw the aid as a threat to them. The doctors could help the rebels in their fighting against the government and the government could be overthrown. Another example of refusing the aid was that the government establish feeding centers in the major cities and towns underneath the control of the government, but refused to authorize the movement of relief supplies to insurgent-held areas and has hindered international efforts to reach those most at risk (Document F). The government is scared about the rebels, that if the rebels got resources from other countries, the rebels could fight back and overthrow the …show more content…
government. The government worsened the famine in moving people from their homes. According to Document A, it shows us where the insurgents are located throughout Ethiopia. Most of the insurgents live in the North, which the government knows. One could tell because in Document C, the government resettled people living in the North to other places in the west, which made the insurgent groups move outside of Ethiopia. The government resettlement made the people made, however. The people were used to living where they were because they have survived many droughts there, in their homes. The government are moving them to areas that are unstable and they would have to struggle against nature (Document D). The people are moving to foreign areas that they have never seen before. They have to grow food somewhere they have never been to in order to survive here. The government worsened the famine by taking the food that the people grew in order to survive the next drought.
In Document B, it states that “First, because of current government programs, they are no longer allowed to produce enough extra grain for those years without rain. Second, because they are now forces, at gunpoint, to give all surplus grain to the government (for taxes and “voluntary” payments), they can no longer retain sufficient foods for periods without harvests. And third, even in good years now, they had to sell and slaughter their animals for food and taxes.” This interview with the refugees living in Ethiopia shows that the government are forcing them to give up all extra grains for taxes, which they used to use for the years without enough water to grow the grains. This forced the government to move them into other places, and because of the insurgents’ groups that were made against the government, the government has to now block the incoming aid so that the country can stay under its
control. The famine in Ethiopia was worsened by the government in three ways: taking food, blocking aid, and moving people. Moving people caused the insurgents to move away, however, now the people have to survive in unfamiliar territory. Taking food away from the people for “taxes” caused many people to starve because they used the extra grains for the years that there was not enough rain. The government had to block aid from the countries and other organizations because the doctors could help the rebels overthrow the government. Ethiopia’s government worsened the famine in many ways, but only because they wanted to stay in control.
Ethiopia is one of the most unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule, with the short exception of an occupation by the Italians from 1936-1941. A socialist state was established in 1974 with the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, who had been in control since 1930. A junta or group of military officers called the Derg was responsible for the coup. Yet, this corrupt administration has lead only to warfare and wide scale public suffering. In 1991, the junta was finally brought down by a combination of revolutionary forces who called themselves the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. In 1994, a constitution was drafted and 1995 marked Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections. Recently, a boarder feud with Eritrea, that lasted over 2 years, was ended in December of 2000; yet recent objections by Ethiopia have delayed a final declaration of border.
The emperor of Ethiopia is arranging for expatriated persons of African origin to return to Ethiopia
middle of paper ... ... 8.4 (2006): 29-56. Print. McVety, Amanda Kay. Enlightened Aid: U.S. Development as Foreign Aid Policy in Ethiopia.
There have been many famines that have greatly impacted Ethiopia. One of the famine that is very famous in Ethiopian history and World history is known as the Great Famine. Due to the lack of the support of the government and other organizations, about one million people died of starvation. The conditions of Ethiopia in the beginning of 1984 were not well. “The Ethiopian government predicted that the agricultural yield of the nation was going to be considerably lower in at the beginning of 1984 because there had been less rainfall than expected. However, preventive measures were not taken by either the government or the rest of the world to prevent the mass starva...
Location-Ethiopia is a country located in the horn of Africa and its capital is Addis Ababa
...uropean imperialism and colonization of various areas. Many of these countries remain poor to this day and simply cannot for a strong lasting government. Somalia sits among these nations plagued by seemingly never-ending war and poverty. Other nations step in and attempt to help the third world, providing their own theory on how to fix it, and perhaps one day poverty in the third world will be no more.
Friedman, U. (2011, July 19). What It took for the U.N to declare famine in Somalia. Retrieved
Most reactions are seen through letters written by African leaders to these European powers. An example of this is in document 3, where the emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, writing that he does not think that God will “divide Ethiopia among the distant powers” (Doc 3). The audience he writes to contains powers such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia because he wants to show them that they are hopeful and have faith that their land won’t be taken because of Jesus protecting them. It seems like he is asking for Ethiopia to be spared because they have been protected by the Christian faith since then and remain in denial of the the idea that their land can be taken. Lastly, not all reactions by the Africans were as calm and collected. In document 6, the polar opposite is seen by the Ashanti queen mother, Yaa Asantewa, who delivers an aggressive and fiery speech to the chiefs of the region. She wants the men to wake up and realize the importance of the situation, saying, “If you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then… we the women
Problems began for Africa when there was the “scramble for Africa. Africa was extremely divided throughout the continent. There was no nation intact. Even though they were divided into colonies, they still had no sovereignty. Since they had no form of nationalism it made it impossible to succeed as a nation. This really hurt Africa economically. If they would have been able to come together as a nation they could have pulled all of their assets together and exploit them in order to make money. By not doing this it allowed the government to exploit the people. This is why there are starving people in Africa on television. The states of Africa were created in order to make money by exporting all the various resources, whether it was slaves, minerals, or agriculture. There was much to gain by owning a chunk of land in Africa. This reason being because Africa is so rich in their resources for trade. After the race was over it left Africa severely divided.
After the Italian second defeat, Haile Selassie led Ethiopia by the vision of modernization and advancement of his people live. Emperor Haile Selassie established modern schools, universities, and military, naval, air force and police academies. He even donated one of his palaces to the first university in th...
... as an independent country and not just another African territory that is ready for colonization. As for the economy, Menelik introduced many innovations improving and modernizing Ethiopia. Menelik implemented many things such as stone buildings, paved roads, piped water and plumbing, and electricity. He established a government post office, and had concession for a railway which he later built. Menelik also made an advance in education and health through establishing many new schools and hospitals. He managed to create a press as well, along with making the first bank of Abyssinia. All of these changes were extremely beneficial for Ethiopia, which all contributed for making it a better place to live. Overall, Menelik was a superb leader who maintained Ethiopian independence, raised the status of his country and African Americans, and modernized his country as well.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html> "Ethiopia." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web.
Laura Smith – Spark on www.cnn.com writes, “Half of the 258,000 Somalis who died in the famine were children younger than 5.” (Smith-Spark et al. May 02, 2013) Somalia was once considered to be one of the most prosperous countries in Africa, but now is considered as one of the worse. How did this horrible transition occur to such a prosperous country? This horrendous result is due to the famine, lack of resources, and lack of trade. Oxfam International states, “Famines result from a combination “triple failure” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions"). This triple failure includes production, access, and response failures. Somalia has been the victim of a two-year drought. Oxfam International states, “particularly in the expectation of the next harvest being 50% of normal.” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions") Because Somalia cannot feed its people, this issue creates malnutrition and affects all ages, especially the young. This is a massive problem in their economic system. The young die too early, therefore creating a gap in the age distribution, which can affect Somalia’s work force in the future. This could also make the economic system weaker. If the only people living in Somalia are old, then there will not be any work done. One reason that they die so young is because of the lack of food. The availability of the food is minimal. Oxfam International states, “The drought has killed off the pastoralists’ prime livestock assets (up to 90% animal mortality in some areas), slashing further their purchasing power.” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions") Somalia ‘s access to its food is limited because the people of Somalia cannot feed their animals. The people of Somalia also cannot trade for food, because dead...
John Kerry, an American politician and current Secretary of State, is pushing hard to advance peace and democracy in Ethiopia. He has made a great impact in the country through continued repression. He strongly urges the Ethiopian government to end arbitrary arrests, release all activists and journalists who are unjustly detained or convicted, and to promptly amend the draconian laws on freedom of association and terrorism that have frequently been used to justify arbitrary arrests and political prosecutions. He has met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom for these discussions over trying to transition into a democracy and to grant the Ethiopian people the basic human rights that they deserve. < Secretary Kerry says the threat of violence or all-out war "prevent even the first shoots of prosperity from emerging." But he says Africans today have an opportu...