‘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 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York q Peter Gill 2010 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2008942646 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Clays Ltd, St Ives Plc ISBN 978–0–19–956984–7 13579108642 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 Ethiopian countryside and meet the people on whose experiences 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 hills around Korem, epicentre of the 1984 famine. It was thanks to Wuletaw Hailemariam, director of the Organisation for the Relief and Development of Amhara, that I spent a week travelling through the highlands of Amhara to the border lowlands and back to the shores of Lake Tana. On the way, I was assisted by the organization’s excellent field staff. For two days in Wollo I relied 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 acknowledgements Ambassador Berhanu Kebede in London kindly recommended me to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Addis Ababa where Teferi Melesse, head of public diplomacy, went beyond the call of duty in arranging appointments and smoothing my path. Through him I met Bereket Simon, minister for communica- tions, who helped me at key points in my stay, not least in introducing me to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Among foreign officials in Addis Ababa, I received help and encouragement from Ken Ohashi, the World Bank’s country director, Sukhwinder Singh, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative, and Gavin Cook, at the British embassy. Patrick Gilkes, advisor at the foreign ministry, provided astute guidance, and I am grateful to Irene Beard and members of the London embassy Think Tank for their encouragement. Myles Wickstead, formerly British Amb- assador to Ethiopia, introduced me to the group and then sup- ported the book at every step. I also had the support of Professor Stefan Dercon, Dr Sarah Vaughan and Beverley Jones, and all of them took on the additional burden of reviewing the text and preventing me from making too many errors of fact and judge- ment. Yemeserach Belayneh gave me advice on the population chapter, Stephen Devereux reviewed the chapter on the Somali Region and Wout Soer guided me on matters of food aid and the ‘safety net.’ None of them has any responsibility for the mistakes and judgements which remain. For contacts with the Ethiopian opposition in exile, I am grateful to Wondimu Mekonnen. Alex de Waal, Keith Bowers, Akbar Noman and John Markakis were generous in sharing their contacts and giving me advice. This book owes its existence to two commissioning editors at Oxford University Press. My friend Andrew McNeillie intro- duced me to Sarah Caro who brilliantly steered my proposal through to a commission. Andrew and Sarah have both moved x acknowledgements on from OUP, but it is my ambition that their faith in the project should be justified. I have continued to have great support from Aimee Wright and Emma Lambert at OUP and from Sarah’s successor Georgia Pinteau. There were times in my research when I doubted whether I could contribute anything new or worthwhile to an understand- ing of one of Africa’s most complex countries over 25 years of its relationship with the aid-givers. Good friends insisted I keep at it, and I want to thank Roy Head in particular. When the writing was done Ned Campbell brought a grammarian’s eye to bear on the text. Ethiopia and this narrative have been my obsession for several years, and I finally thank my wife Nimi for having managed to put up with it all. Peter Gill London, January, 2010 xi This page intentionally left blank Note on the Text For the sake of simplicity I have not used the Ethiopian forms for Mr/Mrs/Miss, but have nevertheless followed the Ethiopian custom of addressing people by their first names. Thus Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is referred to, for instance, not as Ato Meles or Mr Zenawi, but often simply as Meles. No overfamiliarity is intended. I have used the same approach in the index. I have also kept the alphabet soup of development abbreviations to the bare minimum. A few Ethiopian and international ones remain. CRDA Christian Relief and Development Association CSO Civil Society Organization CUD Coalition for Unity and Democracy (opposition grouping) EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (ruling coalition) FGAE Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia ONLF Ogaden National Liberation Front ORDA Organization for the Relief and Development of Amhara TDA Tigray Development Association TPLF Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front xiii This page intentionally left blank Introduction For Richer, for Poorer thiopia is one of the richest countries on earth—in its E civilization, history, and culture.