Fears for displaced people in Tigray region

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has expressed fears for tens of thousands of Ethiopians in Tigray region who were displaced from their homes during the war with Eritrea, following a decision to withdraw food aid at the end of the month, a WFP spokesman told IRIN this week. Almost 200,000 people who have returned home will be affected by the move. Donors, who have been funding a US $50 million a year programme for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are unwilling to fund families who have since returned home and are starting to grow their own food. Donors have urged WFP to scale down the programme and the regional government is to step in to continue supporting families. More than 307,000 IDPs have been surviving on WFP since the fighting broke out in May 1998. WFP said that of these, 12,500 people who are yet to return home out of a fear of landmines and a further 60,000 people who have returned home but whose land is unfit for cultivation, will continue to receive food rations. It added that those who have returned home will be taken off the programme. The situation is made worse by chronic food shortages long associated with the region - one of the poorest in Ethiopia. Families who have returned home after the conflict have received one-off payments of 1,000 Ethiopian Birr [US $118] and agricultural equipment. Thomas Thompson, WFP head in charge of food distribution to IDPs, is anxious that some peasants are still unaware their food aid might stop. “This place is highly food insecure and we are going to reduce food into the area. I don’t doubt this is going to cause some hardship,” he added. He said there is a fine balancing act between stopping handouts to families going home and ensuring that they do not suffer. Hewan Asfeha, 29, who has five children, said she would suffer severe problems if the assistance were scaled down. “It takes time to plant and wait for the crops to grow. At the moment the food we are given will last me about three weeks. I have to borrow to cover the last week. If we are given less our lives are going to be much harder. I sell a little bit of the oil we are given to raise some money [around 20 Birr or US $2.50 a month]. With this I can buy some sugar, coffee and fuel.” Hewan, who is divorced, fled from her village Sebo right on the border with Eritrea as soon as fighting broke out. If she does not return home she will still remain under the IDP programme although that programme may end next year. One UN aid worker at Gerhu Sirnay where they run food distribution sites close to the border in Central Tigray said: “It would be a disaster if the food aid to these people is stopped because they cannot meet their own needs. They are one hundred per cent dependent on food aid.“ The regional government has pledged to ensure all displaced persons are well catered for and has secured funding from the World Bank to help many re-integrate. At least four million Ethiopian Birr [US $460,000] has been poured into the village of Gerhu Sirnay, just a few kilometres from the border, but many still think it is not enough. At least 13,000 people who flooded into the rugged hilltop village - doubling the local population - are dependent on the aid and a quarter has still not returned home because of the danger of landmines. Much of the money is being used for reconstruction work for houses destroyed during the conflict and also agricultural equipments to help farmers get back on their feet. But food baskets for those who have returned home have been drastically reduced and the calorie content cut back. Under standard food assistance programmes only 12.5 kg of grain are handed out per person per month. Displaced people by contrast receive 15 kg of grain but more importantly are also given oil, pulses and high-energy food for children. The regional government is anxious to clear the mines but as yet no date has been fixed for the region - preventing many from returning to their homes. Zeru Berhane, the head of Social Services in the Ahferom district where 39,000 IDPs sought refuge and which covers Gerhu Sirnay, also believes they may face a shortfall in food. “We are aware of the situation,” he said at the food distribution centre at the edge of the small town. “The IDPs' food assistance will be scaled down. This is a problem area and it is very food insecure," Zeru said. "For those who don’t return home we hope WFP continues its assistance. We think there could be some shortfall for those at home but if there is we will have to work hard to meet their needs.” But, he said, programmes have been set up to assist such as food for work initiatives and employment generation schemes.