Ethiopia hunger crisis: when the last animal is gone

Life before the drought

Godana and his family used to live about 50km away from the camp where they are now. He says they had a better home there, but they had to leave it all behind. ‘We all left our belongings there. To save our lives we walked all the way and stayed here. 

‘We were living comfortably there. There were cattle, goats, horses, donkeys and camels and we prospered.’ 

But the community’s herds weren’t the only animals that lived there. Wild animals like leopards and hyenas became another reason that the family had to leave their home to find safety.

‘We were able to live alongside these animals before,’ says Godana. ‘When the wild animals became hungry, they ate from our livestock – but they didn’t eat people. Now, all of our livestock are dead and we have nothing between us and the wild animals.’

The journey from home

The decision to leave everything behind is, of course, not one people take lightly. Godana describes how they waited until they had no other choice left.

‘We stayed until all our cattle were dead. Then, we came here on foot. If a person even had only one animal left,’ he says, ‘they would stay. But, when they have nothing left, they start the journey. It’s the same for everyone. Some people have been here [in the camp] for a year already. Some only arrived yesterday. You leave when your last animal has died and you take nothing with you – only your family. You leave your home to save your life.’ 

Five failed rainy seasons

The drought in Ethiopia has been prolonged and unrelenting, leaving more than 20 million people across Ethiopia without enough food. Six failed rainy seasons have been followed by a patch of sudden, heavy rain in some areas that caused flooding and further loss of life and livestock as the parched earth presented a surface no longer able to absorb the water.  

For many in the region who were able to look after their families before, now their only hope is support from the government and aid agencies to provide for even their most basic, essential needs – like food and water.

Small shelter

Godana and his family, like the many other people living in the camp, have built themselves a small shelter to live in. 

‘It's hot during the day and cold at night,’ says Godana, ‘however, this mud wall is all the protection we have. This is what it’s like for us, staying under this roof.’ 

The effects of the drought have been widespread and devastating – affecting every area of life. Godana describes the torment of watching his livestock gradually become skinny and too weak to stand as the grassy pastures where they used to feed dried up. 

He tells of people struggling with their mental health and becoming ill as they face the situation. He describes nights that become long hours of worrying about the future. 

‘Watching your livestock starve will hurt you both emotionally and physically. Before, we used to provide for our families and send our kids to school. Now, we have lost everything. We can’t even buy an exercise book or pen for the children to use at school.

‘And this place that we are living in is not a proper place that a human being should be expected to live in. Humans need clothes, a place to live, food, and simple things like hair oil. Nothing is like it was before. Children need to go to school. People need a health centre and medicines. We need irrigation so we can farm.

‘Everyone spends their nights worrying – trying to think of a solution.

‘We’re just existing here, waiting to be destroyed by sun and rain.’

Prayers and hope 

‘If people want to pray for me,’ Godana asks, ‘let them pray for me about this: if a person has peace, he will get through the difficulty. Peace comes first. So, let them pray for me about peace and being well. And let them pray for my family. 

‘There is a parable in Borena [Ethiopia] that says: "A person who goes through bad times, will reach good times." This means, when a person comes through a bad time there are good things that come out of that. 

‘Two nights have passed since my new daughter was born. She comes during this terrible time – but it might be to see the good time. God knows. More than the treasure you lost, it's people who have value. A person who has people is rich. If livestock grow without a person, it's worth nothing. 

‘God has the power to take us out of this situation in just one day. We hope we will overcome this problem. If God helps us, we know we can come through this.’