1972–1975 Wollo famine

Famine in Ethiopia during Haile Selassie regime 1972–1975 Wollo famine 1973 famine in Ethiopia.jpg Mother with starving child in the region, 1973. Ethiopia Wollo province 1972–1975 250,000 Lack of government control to alleviate the famine Ethiopian Revolution 1958 Tigray famine 1983–1985 famine The 1972–1975 Wollo famine was a major famine in the Ethiopian Empire during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. The famine widely ravaged two provinces as well as converging areas such as the Afar-inhabited arid region by early 1972. During 1972 and 1973, the famine killed between 40,000 and 80,000 people. In response, the government initiated the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), a department that aimed to reduce the famine severity and coordinate international assistance.5 October 2022 EVIL DAYS - Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/ethiop991.pdf 5 October 2022 19 August 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220819091610/https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/ethiop991.pdf live The famine led to the mobilisation of pastoralists and nomads in general, while allowing feudal landlords to force tenants to pay high rents while escorting their retinue of armed guards. The Wollo famine is regarded as one of the main root causes of Haile Selassie's reign collapse. It has been estimated that the death toll reached 250,000 people in 1975.Webb Patrick https://books.google.com/books?id=4YujWY3vkccC&dq=wollo+Tigray+famine+end+1975&pg=PA27 Famine in Ethiopia: Policy Implications of Coping Failure at National and Household Levels Braun Joachim Von Yohannes Yisehac 1992 Intl Food Policy Res Inst 978-0-89629-095-2 en 2022-10-06 2022-10-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20221005122316/https://books.google.com.et/books?id=4YujWY3vkccC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=wollo+Tigray+famine+end+1975&source=bl&ots=Q8vBxq8a8f&sig=ACfU3U359Aa7aHPRNLrTHWgrdjMfEwhqkg&hl=am&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTt9jth8n6AhWPgP0HHTTkAxs4ChDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=wollo%20Tigray%20famine%20end%201975&f=false live This caused a peasant rebellion in Ethiopia, which continued through the successive but failed Derg. There was also the rebellion of Dejazmach Berhane Meskel, who assaulted former landlords and government security forces, while also attacking the Derg Militia for multiple years. Background Early signs of famine were reported in Tigray Province in 1958. In 1965, a report of famine in Were Ilu reached the Ministry of the Interior. Although local police were informed in November 1965, no immediate action was taken. The information reached the Emperor 320 days later, after which he instructed the Ministry of the Interior to coordinate with local Wollo officials to compile lists of those affected.5 October 2022 Ethiopia Drought 1 Famine https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABG233.pdf 5 October 2022 3 August 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220803224047/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABG233.pdf dead A limited relief effort was subsequently undertaken. Event During the years of 1972/1973, Wollo was struck by famine killing between 40,000 and 80,000 people.5 October 2022 Ethiopia's unforgettable famines: Here's why they really happen https://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/features/ethiopias-unforgettable-famines-heres-why-they-really-happen 5 October 2022 2 October 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221002073625/https://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/features/ethiopias-unforgettable-famines-heres-why-they-really-happen live Conley Bridget https://books.google.com/books?id=CO-MDwAAQBAJ&dq=During+the+year+of+1972%2F1973%2C+Wollo+struck+by+famine+killing+between+40%2C000+and+80%2C000+people.&pg=PA59 Memory from the Margins: Ethiopia's Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum 2019-03-13 Springer 978-3-030-13495-2 en 2022-10-06 2022-10-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20221006204018/https://books.google.com.et/books?id=CO-MDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=During+the+year+of+1972%2F1973%2C+Wollo+struck+by+famine+killing+between+40%2C000+and+80%2C000+people.&source=bl&ots=ObcV_3BkIx&sig=ACfU3U2GWpQmoPBrQe1FtnKAZc5qnI8Ixg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtqKjd5sj6AhX_g_0HHRS-AdwQ6AF6BAghEAM live In response, the government established the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) department to reduce future famines and coordinate international assistance.Vestal Theodore M. 1985 Famine in Ethiopia: Crisis of Many Dimensions https://www.jstor.org/stable/4186321 Africa Today 32 4 7–28 4186321 0001-9887 2022-10-05 2022-08-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20220826184805/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4186321 live The Wollo famine was widely blamed on drought, however was mainly a result of terrible government response, an impoverished social system, and a cover-up by the government.Lemma Hailu 1985 The Politics of Famine in Ethiopia https://www.jstor.org/stable/4005667 Review of African Political Economy 12 33 44–58 10.1080/03056248508703632 4005667 0305-6244 free 5 October 2022 Does the Idealism of Untouched Nature Contribute to Famine? https://escholarship.org/content/qt7rq2f9tf/qt7rq2f9tf.pdf?nosplash=b5f1701a57d449c9521b9c554e5beadc 5 October 2022 6 October 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221006204016/https://escholarship.org/content/qt7rq2f9tf/qt7rq2f9tf.pdf?nosplash=b5f1701a57d449c9521b9c554e5beadc live A BBC News reportDickinson, Daniel, "The last of the Ethiopian emperors", BBC News, Addis Ababa, 12 May 2005. has cited a 1973 estimate that 200,000 deaths occurred, based on a contemporaneous estimate from the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute. While this figure is still repeated in some texts and media sources, it was an estimate that was later found to be "over-pessimistic". De Waal Evil Days 1991b http://hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/c3wollo.pdf 3. Rebellion and famine in the north under Haile Selassie 58, n. 7; from .De Waal De Waal Alexander Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia 1991 Human Rights Watch 978-1-56432-038-4 https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/Ethiopia919.pdf cs2 Although the region is infamous for recurrent crop failures and continuous food shortage and starvation risk, this episode was remarkably severe. A 1973 production of the ITV programme The Unknown Famine by Jonathan Dimbleby https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/beyondhunger.shtml The Unknown Famine in Ethiopia 1973 BBC 12 September 2010 2 June 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130602193233/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/beyondhunger.shtml live Dimbleby Jonathan https://www.theguardian.com/print/0,,4470116-110800,00.html Jonathan Dimbleby and the hidden famine The Guardian London 28 July 2002 12 September 2010 relied on the unverified estimate of 200,000 dead,Eldridge, John Eric Thomas (1993), Getting the Message: News, Truth and Power. Psychology Press. 0-415-07983-7, p. 26. stimulating a massive influx of aid while at the same time destabilising Selassie's administration:De Waal 585 October 2022 LAW, DEVELOPMENT AND THE ETHIOPIAN REVOLUTION https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29562/1/10731718.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20211016173229/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29562/1/10731718.pdf 16 October 2021 5 October 2022 The famine also affected Afar pastoralists during early 1972.- THE LOOMING FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-106hhrg67167/html/CHRG-106hhrg67167.htm 2022-10-05 www.govinfo.gov5 October 2022 THE INTRICATE ROAD TO DEVELOPMENT https://www.africaportal.org/documents/13361/August_2015-_Book_on_Pastoralism-_Road_to_Development.pdf 5 October 2022 6 October 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221006204021/https://www.africaportal.org/documents/13361/August_2015-_Book_on_Pastoralism-_Road_to_Development.pdf live The Afars used pasture over the large area to support their herds. The drought forced them to move into Tcheffa Valley, on the rift valley escarpment, and pasture along the inland delta of the Awash River where water was abandoned to the desert. The valley was the location of sorghum farmland in the 1960s, where small farmers in its vicinity moved to the area for commerce. Meanwhile, large cotton plantations developed along Awash River. By 1972, 50,000 hectares of irrigated land had displaced 20,000 Afar pastoralists.Kloos Helmut 1982 Development, Drought, and Famine in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia https://www.jstor.org/stable/524399 African Studies Review 25 4 21–48 10.2307/524399 524399 144678122 0002-0206 2022-10-05 2022-08-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20220824150338/https://www.jstor.org/stable/524399 live subscription 5 October 2022 MIRACLE OR MIRAGE? https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/ethiopia-miracle-mirage.pdf 20 January 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220120160250/https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/ethiopia-miracle-mirage.pdf live In the early 1970s, the Afar mobility was restricted by supply of weaponry to their neighbor nomads and competitors - the Issa - who were ethnic Somali.Ethiopia: Afar-Issa land dispute, Flash Update (As of 27 January 2021) - Ethiopia ReliefWeb https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-afar-issa-land-dispute-flash-update-27-january-2021 2022-10-05 reliefweb.int 30 January 2021 en 2022-08-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20220821003918/https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-afar-issa-land-dispute-flash-update-27-january-2021 live 5 October 2022 a critical analysis of issa-afar violence in ethiopia https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/70597/Alemu_Critical_2018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 5 October 2022 11 May 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210511183316/https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/70597/Alemu_Critical_2018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y live The second group who suffered from the severe famine were farmers residing in the middle altitude of north-central Wollo Province, who were tenants. The Raya and Azebo Oromos, who were in a dominant position in opposition during the Woyane Rebellion, experienced land alienation, while others were forced to mortgage or sell their land in response to the distress of harvest failures in the early 1970s.A Mohammed 2012-07-30 Oromo Struggle: causes of the conundrum and towards a covenant https://www.opride.com/2012/07/30/the-oromo-struggle-in-ethiopia-causes-of-the-conundrum-and-towards-a-covenant/ 2022-10-05 OPride.com en-US Landlords took advantage of tenants' destitution by forcing them to pay large rents, often in-kind manner. The demand mainly took place by coercion as influential landlords had retinue of armed guards. As a result, the famine area exported grain to the provincial capital, Dessie and to Addis Ababa in 1973. At that point, the peasants and nomads of Wollo began starving, sabotaging Haile Selassie's reputation, who resolved to ignore them.5 October 2022 Famine and Forced - relocations in ethiopia - 1984-1986 https://www.msf.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/MSF%20Speaking%20Out%20Ethiopia%201984-1986.pdf 5 October 2022 6 October 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221006204021/https://www.msf.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/MSF%20Speaking%20Out%20Ethiopia%201984-1986.pdf live 5 October 2022 LAW, DEVELOPMENT AND THE ETHIOPIAN REVOLUTION https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29562/1/10731718.pdf 5 October 2022 16 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211016173229/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29562/1/10731718.pdf live The crisis was exacerbated by military mutinies and high oil prices, the latter a result of the 1973 oil crisis. The international economic crisis caused the costs of imported goods, gasoline, and food to skyrocket, while unemployment spiked.Mammo, Tirfe (1999). The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge. The Red Sea Press. 1-56902-049-3, p. 103. 1975 Northern rebellions The Wollo famine contributed to Haile Selassie's government collapse, not only the hunger among peasants and nomads, but also swept among the students and middle classes of Addis Ababa. In the early 1970s, there was a peasant revolution involving feudal leaders in each of the northern provinces; the Wollo group revolt was led by a feudal lord Dejazmach Berhane Meskel.5 October 2022 A Political History of the Tigray People's Liberation Front http://www.harep.org/Africa/7219.pdf 5 October 2022 3 November 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161103235510/http://www.harep.org/Africa/7219.pdf live 5 October 2022 Local history of Ethiopia : Lala - Lazole Reidabe https://www.fssethiopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Documenting-the-Ethiopian-Student-Movement.pdf 5 October 2022 30 December 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211230140408/https://www.fssethiopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Documenting-the-Ethiopian-Student-Movement.pdf usurped After the fall of Haile Selassie's government following the Ethiopian Revolution, he destroyed Ethiopian Airlines DC–3 at Lalibela on 14 March 1975.Guttery Ben R. https://books.google.com/books?id=vVr8AAAAQBAJ&dq=March+1975,+he+destroyed+Ethiopian+Airlines+DC3+at+Lalibela.&pg=PA64 Encyclopedia of African Airlines 1998 Ben Guttery 978-0-7864-0495-7 en 2022-10-05 2022-10-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20221005104148/https://books.google.com.et/books?id=vVr8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64&dq=March+1975,+he+destroyed+Ethiopian+Airlines+DC3+at+Lalibela.&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisv8ia88j6AhXRh_0HHYTjB7AQ6AF6BAgJEAI live Mols Jozef https://books.google.com/books?id=F_9zEAAAQBAJ&dq=March+1975,+he+destroyed+Ethiopian+Airlines+DC3+at+Lalibela.&pg=PT166 Ethiopian Airlines: The African Aviation Powerhouse 2022-06-20 Key Publishing 978-1-80282-152-9 en 2022-10-05 2022-10-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20221005104149/https://books.google.com.et/books?id=F_9zEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT166&dq=March+1975,+he+destroyed+Ethiopian+Airlines+DC3+at+Lalibela.&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisv8ia88j6AhXRh_0HHYTjB7AQ6AF6BAgLEAI live https://books.google.com/books?id=dbF64AKqLjsC&q=March+1975,+he+destroyed+Ethiopian+Airlines+DC3+at+Lalibela. Keesing's Contemporary Archives 1975 Keesing's Limited. en He again rallied supporters in October after spree killings of the former landlords by peasants and government security officers. Berhane's forces were eventually defeated by the Derg militia and air force attacks near Woldiya in December 1975, but continued rebellion against the government for years. See also 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia Famine in northern Ethiopia (2020–present) References Category:1972 in Ethiopia Category:1973 in Ethiopia Category:1974 in Ethiopia Category:1975 in Ethiopia Category:1970s famines Category:Famines in Ethiopia Category:History of the Afar Region Category:Haile Selassie Category:20th century in the Tigray Region