Title: Resettlement and famine in Ethiopia : the villagers' experience /
Authors: Pankhurst, Alula, 1962-
Publisher: Manchester University Press ; Distributed exclusively in the USA and Canada by St. Martin's Press,
Year: 1992
Subjects: Famines Ethiopia; Land settlement Ethiopia.; Agriculture and state Ethiopia.; Land reform Ethiopia.
Abstract: This book is the inside story of the Ethiopian resettlement programme, carried out in the mid-1980s by the Ethiopian government amid fierce international controversy. It relies on the views of the settlers themselves, and is based on an in-depth study carried out by an anthropologist who lived in a resettlement village. Alula Pankhurst dispels current myths about resettlement; while showing the importance of famine and coercion, he highlights social factors in the mosaic of settlers' motivation. He documents the attempt to institute a collectivist model of agriculture and analyses the reasons for its failure. He also examines the effects of Ethiopia's recent economic liberalisation and the impact of aid agencies. The book addresses an increasing Third World phenomenon: state organised relocation. It is a major contribution to the literature on mass-migration and on refugees. By focusing on the interaction between people and the state, it also reassesses a fundamental development problem: the gulf between local and national priorities. Accessible and thought-provoking, Resettlement and famine in Ethiopia will be of interest to anthropologists, students of development studies, and practitioners, and all those concerned by famine, forced migration and socialist attempts to transform societies.
Contents: Glossary of Amharic and Oromo terms. I. Resettlement in Ethiopia. Resettlement: concepts, theories and practices. History of resettlement in Ethiopia -- pt. 1. The Logic of Resettlement. II. 'The cruel days': survival and surrender. The 1985 Ethiopian famine. Peasant views of famine and resettlement. Survival strategies. Aid and surrender to the State. Conclusion. III. The riddle of resettlement. A national imperative. The Action Plan and its implementation. Registration, coercion and separation. The costs of the programme. The Government's orphan. Conclusion. IV. A mosaic of motives. Individual factors. Social pressures. Conclusion -- pt. 2. Settling for a New World. V. Starting from scratch. Gurra Ferda and the journey west. Village Three. The aid environment. Conclusion. VI. Production and exchange. The intermediaries. The structure of production. Land, crops and diet. The Service Cooperative and the market. Changes in production and exchange. Conclusion. VII. Social life. The life cycle. Religious belief and practice. Relations beyond the village. Conclusion. VIII. Marriage, divorce and the State. Marriage and resettlement. The State in marriage and divorce. The Constitution: negotiating tradition and change. Conclusion. IX. Conclusion. X. Epilogue.