Famine in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has never been a place of wealth, which is due largely in part of the many unfavorable situations it has faced. During the nineteen seventies, Ethiopia experienced an immense famine, while later it was hit with a lengthy drought. It was caused due to the lack of spring rains that were absent in the past years, as well as disease that destroyed numerous crops. A couple of years after their recent agricultural loss, the country began to pay again for the previous climate problems. In the early nineteen eighties, lack of rainfall started to effect this part of Africa which then led to the decrease in the growing of crops. In this period of time nearly five hundred thousand farmers lost a large part of their income, which resulted in a collapse of state run commercial farms. Since agriculture was affected by the drought, Ethiopia was once again faced with deprivation. The conditions that the citizens were living in were devastating. Early in the year of nineteen eighty-four, citizens were warned that soon five million people would be at risk of starvation. The daily fears everyone was faced with included exhaustion, abnormally thin physiques, tragic and unclean living conditions, and scavenging for daily food. This focus of survival also suspended food production, which was no help to their current, dismal economy. Because the famine took such a massive toll on the citizens of Ethiopia, it was expected that the government would go through problems as well. More so, the Western government was resilient to become involved. Beside the fact that Ethiopia was going through a Civil War, they did not make the famine and the citizens affected by it a high enough priority. Instead, they continued to spend large amounts of money on the war. Even when the county was supposed to be receiving humanitarian aid, the civilian famine food was being delivered to feed the troops. The few steps that the government actually did help out with in the famine crisis were the decisions to transfer peasants who lived in effected areas to the southern part of the country. Between the years of nineteen eighty-five and nineteen eighty-six, approximately six hundred thousand people were moved into the less effected areas. These intentionally designed areas were to be centered close to water, schools, and medical services. Many people were convinced that relocation would improve their families’ lives but like the government had done before; they failed to provide these recourses for the citizens. Some peasants fled instead of having to be relocated. Later it was found that because of the resettlement, tens of thousands of peasants died. For the most part the Ethiopian citizens were left to fend for themselves. By nineteen eighty-six Ethiopia was at a better place within their agriculture and economy, but had still not reached complete stability. This event affected eight million people and the death toll was over one million lives. Even though drought and famine have been a reoccurring problem in Ethiopia, they have yet to experience conditions equally as troubling as this one was. Today the country has since doubled its population from what it was in nineteen eighty-four, and is now working as hard as possible to prevent it from ever happening again.

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