One woman told IPS she had walked from Tigray to Dessie, a distance of about 250 kilometres, until a sympathetic truck driver who saw her seven year old's swollen feet gave them a ride to the capital. She was a widow, she said. The drought had made life so unbearable for her family that she was forced to flee to Addis Ababa to be able to feed her three children, aged seven to 11. They have survived by begging alms each day on the streets of the capital. According to various sources, the government has appealed for 427,000 tonnes of food relief.
Observers suggest various reasons for donors' failure to respond to the appeal.
Some cite donor fatigue. Others say it is because of the 1996 bumper harvest proudly announced six months ago by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The big question is why Ethiopia, with great agricultural potential, is threatened so frequently by famine. It is there as long as the peasant is not liberated and his productive capacity enhanced,'' said Mariam, who also chairs the Ethiopian Human Right Council. Restrictions on farmers' mobility are another drawback, according to Mesfin.