When asked about the reason she came to Sawwena, Fatima said, "Because we were told that this is where they distribute aid. Thankfully someone who had a truck saw me and gave me a ride to Sawwena," she recalled her arduous journey. "Imagine walking around with six children, in an empty and dusty road, fearing for your life all along. But since my husband was arrested two years ago and the rain started to gradually fall short, I couldn't do much to carry on the work of the farm alone, and I couldn't find water anywhere since water sources like seasonal rivers and lakes started to dry up."įatima took her two children and four other orphaned kids she she is taking care of from her area and left for Sawwena on foot, a 30 km walk. Recalling the circumstances that brought her to Sawwena, Fatima said: "We own a small piece of land that my husband and I used to farm and earn a living from. Fatima, like many other women in the area, took on the sole responsibilities of taking care of orphans in her community whose parents have either died of the drought or conflict for scarce resources between pastoralist communities. Her husband was arrested in the wave of massive government crackdown that swept Oromia in the aftermath of the assassination of famous Oromo artist Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June 2020. Multiple accounts from eyewitnesses who spoke with Addis Standard reveal marginalization, poor governance and corruption are exacerbating the already dire situation.Īmong a dozen interviewees Addis Standard was able to capture, the story of Fatima Siraj, 28, and a mother of two, is one that speaks to the government's neglect to the crisis. The food they provide is not sufficient and can't hold a family, which happens to be large in these areas, until the end of any given month."Īliyi is just one of the dozens of residents Addis Standard spoke to during an assignment trip to East Bale zone.īut the climate-induced drought is not the only culprit ravaging the communities down there. A resident of Rayitu woreda, in east Bale zone, Oromia regional state, Aliyi says "there is nothing there and what the government is doing is not enough, imagine demanding water and getting less than 10 liters of it. East Bale - "People are in trouble down here, all the way from Darako up to Sawwena, they have left their homes to find better pasture and water sources," Aliyi Sheik Osman told Addis Standard.
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