- Title: ETHIOPIA: ETHIOPIA FACING FAMINE THAT COULD RIVAL THAT OF 1984.
- Date: 27th November 2002
- Summary: (W6) WESTERN HARARGHE ZONE, ETHIOPIA (NOVEMBER 19, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV/CU: VARIOUS OF DEAD CATTLE CARCASSES (4 SHOTS) 0.18 2. GV/MV/PAN/GV: FAMILY LEAVING; BOY WALKING AWAY CARRYING A MAT ON HIS HEAD; MORE OF FAMILY WALKING AWAY (3 SHOTS) 0.40 3. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Oromigna) NURIA MOHAMED, A VILLAGER SAYING: "We are going to the nearest place where we can beg till the rains comes. All our cows have died because of the drought, now we don't have anything. But if it rains again we will return to our home, in Bedaessa". 0.55 4. GV/MV: PEOPLE AND ANIMALS HEADING TOWARDS A WELL; WOMAN WITH WATER CONTAINERS; WOMEN GETTING WATER AT THE WELL; WOMAN ROCKING HER CHILD TO SLEEP; PEOPLE FETCHING WATER; CATTLE DRINKING WATER; PLASTIC CONTAINERS LINED UP WAITING TO BE FILLED (8 SHOTS) 1.35 5. MCU: (SOUNDBITE)(English) AHUMA ADODOAOJI, EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN CO-ORDINATOR FOR CARE-USA, SAYING: "From what I gather, most of the food you need in the pipeline you do not have enough, so you have crop failure when you should be harvesting and you don't have enough to eat. Though the people may appear to look OK now, it looks like if nothing happens, we are looking at a serious situation in the coming month". 1.56 6. GV: FARMER CUTTING DOWN AFFECTED SORGHUM CROP; FARMER CUTTING MORE CROP AND GIVING IT TO HIS LIVESTOCK (3 SHOTS) 2.12 7. GV: WIDE OF RELIEF CENTRE AT ASSEBE TEFERI 2.17 8. CU/MV/GV: FACES OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR FOOD; MAN CHECKING THE REGISTER; PEOPLE SIGN FOR THE FOOD; MAN PUTTING HIS FINGER PRINT ON A DOCUMENT; MAN BEEN GIVEN FLOUR IN A BAG; MAN CARRYING A BAG OF FLOUR (9 SHOTS) 3.04 9. MCU:(SOUNDBITE) (Oromigna) ADAM UMER, A VILLAGER SAYING: "I left my village last night and got here this morning. We have problems at home and no food for my six children. We are in the fasting period I have to feed them, so as soon as I receive this relief I will start walking back to my village". 3.16 10. MV/PAN: ADAM UMER WALKING AWAY 3.22 11. TV: WOMAN SHARING THE FLOUR AMONG HER FAMILY MEMBERS 3.29 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 12th December 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: WESTERN HARARGHE ZONE, ETHIOPIA
- Country: Ethiopia
- Reuters ID: LVA8W1I9RL92EMZTKJAQPFPO283O
- Story Text: After prolonged period of drought Ethiopia is facing
a food crisis which the country's officials fear could be
worse than the famine which killed nearly one million people
in 1984.
Dust swirls rise from the parched fields, eclipsing
the sun which has dried up the earth and shrivelled the crops
in what was once a fertile corner of Ethiopia.
With the failure of this year's rains, drought has sucked
the life out of once-green fields, and left millions of
Ethiopians desperate for food.
Almost 1.4 million people in the West Hararghe region, 320
kilometres from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa are at
risk of eminent starvation.
Signs of the disaster are evident: livestock has died, and
the seeds have not germinated.
The drought - affecting both Ethiopia and neighbouring
Eritrea - has intensified in recent months. Aid agencies say
that if enough aid is received quickly, a major crisis can be
averted. But if it is not, there may be worse to come.
Many people have died from diarrhoea, marasmus or
kwashiorkor - all diseases associated with malnutrition. Most
at risk are the elderly and young children.
Hundreds more have abandoned their homes in search of
food, and those left behind can do little except loiter in a
patch of shade, surveying their withered crops and shooing
away flies.
Nuria Mohamed has five children and decided to leave in
search of food. She left her farm and went to the nearest
village but had no money to pay for house rent. Now she's on
the road again.
"We are going to the nearest place where we can beg till
the rains comes", says Nuria. "All our cows have died because
of the drought, now we don't have anything, when it rains
again we will return to our home," she said.
Ethiopia suffers from cyclical droughts, which aid
agencies say have been increasing in frequency. With less time
in between to recover, the country becomes more vulnerable to
each successive drought.
"From what I gather, most of the food you need in the
pipeline you do not have enough, so you have crop failure when
you should be harvesting and you don't have enough to eat, "
Ahuma Adodoaoji, the Emergency Humanitarian Co-ordinator for
Care USA said. "Though the people may appear to look OK
now, it looks like if nothing happens, we are looking at a
serious situation in the coming months," he said.
A relief centre in Assebe Teferi seems to be the only
hope for the people in West Hararghe.
"I left my village last night and got here this morning.
We have problems at home and no food for my six children. We
are in the fasting period (Ramadan) but I have to feed them,
so as soon as I receive this relief I will start walking back
to my village", said Adam Umer.
Humanitarian agencies say that 14 million Ethiopians will
face famine next year, if more food aid is not made available
soon enough.
President Meles Zenawi warned earlier this week that next
year's food crisis could be worse than the famine which killed
nearly one million people in 1984. Others have downplayed the
comparison, saying that food aid can resolve the crisis.
The government has appealed for two million tonnes of
food to feed up to 14 million people it expects will need aid
in the coming months.
cah/
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