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IRIN Humanitarian Web Special: Surviving disaster
I N T E R V I E W S
Mark Bidder, deputy-coordinator of the Ethiopian Emergency Unit and a member of the team
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Bidder - There is no doubt that the situation in the Ogaden this year was a major crisis
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A major food crisis in the Horn of Africa this year led to the establishment of a special regional UN team based in Ethiopia, led by UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, Manuel da Silva. At the epicentre of the crisis was Gode, in the Ogaden, southeastern Ethiopia, where death rates of people and livestock rose alarmingly in March and April. An international humanitarian intervention was later commended for preventing a full-scale famine, but locally, people complained that the operation did not reach out as far and as fast as it should have.
Mark Bidder, deputy-coordinator of the Ethiopian Emergency Unit and a member of the team, has worked with operations in the Ogaden since 1991. He talked to IRIN about the disaster in the Ogaden.
QUESTION: In the Somali Region, people say they suffered a famine, but the international aid agencies say it was a food crisis. Was it a famine, or not?
ANSWER: There is no doubt that the situation in the Ogaden this year was a major crisis. We have tended to avoid the term "famine" simply because of the connotations that term has in Ethiopia - mass movements of people, mass starvation, mass death. But it was certainly extremely acute, and certainly famine conditions in the traditional sense did exist in certain areas of the Ogaden, particularly around Gode and the Shebelle River, Imi, and other areas in the Somali Region (Somali Region, southeastern Ethiopia). It had the potential for becoming more widespread. Thankfully, because of the more or less favourable rains later in the year plus a pretty effective relief operation, the situation was contained. But it remains very difficult, the people are extremely vulnerable - we have to work at avoiding slipping into the same kind of crisis again.
Q: Locally, the emphasis was on how the crisis affected the livestock. It was seen as a "livestock famine" - why?
A: That is the issue because there, people's lives depend on animals. It is the basis of the local economy. It is what underpins food security in the area for the bulk of people. A large number of animals died, particularly among the cattle. Figures are quoted of up to 50 percent and more of cattle - in particular areas - which died in the middle of the year. That's a major disaster for many people... it'll take many years for them to recover because the livestock herds themselves will take many years to get back to the same numbers.
Read the full interview
Zeinab Sheikh Muhammad Khalif, livestock trader
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Khalif - "When you have drought the world comes to your aid, but with the livestock ban, no-one helps"
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Nearly three years of drought in the Somali Region, Ethiopia, led to a major food crisis and international humanitarian intervention this year - which focused on the Ogaden, southeast Ethiopia. The Ogaden is populated by ethnic Somalis, who maintain a strong cultural, economic and political link with neighbouring Somalia. The predominantly pastoralist community exports livestock - the economic backbone of the region - through Somalia to the Gulf States. But a new disaster recently hit when the Gulf States banned animal imports, including from Ethiopia and Somalia. The ban was imposed in September when an outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) was reported first in Saudi Arabia, and then in Yemen. The affect of the ban has already had a disastrous economic effect on pastoralist communities struggling to recover in the Ogaden.
Zeinab Sheikh Muhammad Khalif, a prominent livestock trader from Warder, told IRIN her business had been destroyed:
Q: What sort of business do you do?
A: I trade in livestock, such as goats, sheep, camel and cattle. I sell them to Somalia and exchange them for food stuffs, like sugar, rice, and flour. We sometimes sell the livestock two or three times in one month. Sometimes we will sell, 500-1000 heads, and other times more. But this has now stopped, because we have been told (by the Gulf States) that our livestock is sick, and export is banned. All the livestock we bought we are now holding, and we have nowhere to sell it. On top of those losses, we have pay people to look after the animals. And we have to buy water to keep them alive.
Q: You bought them before the ban - can you give an idea of what the value of the livestock is?
A: We buy them according to their category. Goats and sheep we buy from 130,000-150,000 Somali shilling per head. Small camels cost from 200-250,000 Somali shilling, while cattle goes from 150-200,000 shillings.
Q: How much will this livestock fetch in the market now?
A: There is no market for now.
Q: What about the internal market?
A: There is no internal market here. The livestock we sell is of much higher quality and is specifically for export. The ones sold on the internal market are different. Here, people buy and slaughter what we call "dubaax" which is smaller and much cheaper than the export one.
Q: What about other business while you wait for the ban to be lifted?
A: There is nothing else I can do. A 50 kg bag of sugar today sells for 250,000 Somali shilling, where last month it was between 100,000 to 120,000 Somali shillings. And even at that price, you are hard pressed to find it. There is really not much trade and business going on in Warder. This ban has affected every one - from the one with one bag of rice up to those with 50 or more goats and sheep.
Q: Which has had the worse impact - the drought or the livestock ban?
A: The two things are different. The drought is an act of God, and you can not fight against it, but you pray to God to bring rain. The ban is an act of man, and that is worse, because they banned all our livestock, which is our livelihood. It has happened before, but it was less severe. When Saudi Arabia banned our livestock last time, we could continue exports by sending the animals through Yemen. This time, all the Gulf countries are participating in the ban, including Yemen. When you have drought the world comes to your aid, but with the livestock ban, no-one helps.
Q: Have the traders put pressure on the government to try and get something done?
A: We have passed the complaints on to our regional government. They are responsible for us.
Q: You are one of the most successful livestock traders in Warder. Is it tougher for women to trade and travel?
A. No, it is not tougher on women. It is the same as for men - that is, if you don't put yourself down and keep saying "I am a woman". I inherited nothing from my father or mother. I started on my own, by selling a bag of sugar and a bag flour and some dates. I sometimes sold one or two goat or sheep from our herd. In some ways trading is easier for women. We go into areas where men can not go because of conflict. Men are afraid they may be killed in revenge attacks. But that is not the case with women. We can and do go everywhere, whether in Somalia or Ethiopia. In fact, women are much more adept at business. The only problem now is the need to lift this livestock ban - and I think we need the world to help with that. All our activities are dependent on this trade.
Federal MP Korfa Garane Ahmad
Ethiopia's Somali Region recently completed elections, which had been postponed since May because of a major food crisis and insecurity in the Ogaden, southeastern Ethiopia. Since Ethiopia introduced a federal democratic system in 1992, the Somali Region has seen a succession of regional presidents elected and removed. The area is one of the most underdeveloped in Ethiopia, with successive central governments using a military presence as a means of asserting control over a region which is intimately connected with neighbouring Somalia. Since coming to power, the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has attempted to establish a "friendly" administration. However, the main armed opposition group, the Ogaden National Liberation front (ONLF), continues to call for the independence of the Ogaden, and emphasises the cultural, economic and political ties with neighbouring Somalia. Even the staunchest supporters of the central government are intimately connected to Somalia, as MP Korfa Garane Ahmad explained to IRIN. Korfa is MP for Kelafo, Mustahil and Ferfer, southeastern Ethiopia, and is a member of the region's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Q: What difference do you think the recent elections will make to the Ethiopian Somali Region?
A: There is a very big difference between the last election and the previous ones. The main difference was participation. A lot more people participated in this one, and people were more aware of their democratic rights: they understood better the choice of candidates, and knew they had the right to elect... The people really tried to understand and select the parties whose programmes they agreed with.
Q: As an elected MP, what are your priorities now for your own area?
A: The first priority is that we want to concentrate on social services, such as education, health, and the fight against hunger. Telecommunications is another area we must concentrate on, and the lack of good roads. We hope to have a digital telephone service in place soon.
Q: Why has it been so difficult in the Somali Region to establish an administration? This is the sixth Somali president - the biggest turnover of regional presidents in the country.
A: It is not in the Somali Region alone, but it is typical of areas where changes are taking place. It is a part of the transition to democracy and happens anywhere in the world. It is not something peculiar to the Somali Region.
Read the full interview
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