Photos for Press Release - Ethiopia - 19 June, 2019
Inter-communal fighting in West Guji and Gedeo zones of Ethiopia forced over 1 million people from their homes in 2018. Many of them have not yet returned home.
“I have been displaced twice. The first time was in April 2018, when a conflict began in our village and a group of youth destroyed the roof of my house,” says 34-year-old farmer Abraham Dube, recalling what happened. Abraham was born and raised in West Guji. During the conflict, he was forced to walk for six hours with his wife and five kids to Gedeo. He currently lives in a camp for displaced families with about 3,800 other people.
Before the conflict, Abraham and his wife owned a coffee shop. He also cultivated coffee, false banana and maize. “We were living a good life. I was earning more than 10,000 Birr ($357) a year. Now we have lost everything, they burnt our coffee shop and farm,” explains Abraham.
Abraham’s two boys Ephrame, 11, and Yohaness, 9, used to be students. “It has been a year since they stopped their education. I don’t have money to buy them the basic materials to go back to school. I hope peace will be restored soon and we return home,” says Abraham.
About 3.2 million Ethiopians are currently displaced within the country. Most fled inter-communal fighting in recent years.
Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council
- No Comments