By Jekap Omod
Ethiopia is one of the countries in east Africa that host a larger population of refugees. Among the regions in Ethiopia, Gambella is hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees in which most of them are Nuer from South Sudan. This gives a positive view about Ethiopia in the eyes of the international community, and it also generates incomes and creates job opportunities for many Ethiopians. Welcoming refugees with open arms and caring for those who are fleeing deaths and atrocities should be a responsibility that every country accepts and embodies. But when it comes to Gambella, Ethiopia, the refugee programs have been having more negative impacts on the local population. Which makes us question if the federal government thoroughly studied the program before implementing it. Have they considered the safety and wellbeing of their citizens, or did they only care about the benefits the country receives and the appreciation they get from the international community? I asked this question because the local ethnic group, mainly the Anywaa people, have been highly impacted by the massive existence of South Sudanese refugees in Gambella for the last decades. They feel abundant and left to disappear from the face of the earth without protection from the governments of Ethiopia. In 1984, the Anywaa people were identified by the Cultural Survival (an organization in the US) as being an endangered ethnic group. The continuing encroachment of refugees and the approval of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework by the government of Ethiopia will exacerbate and accelerate the diminishing of Anywaa population in the region.
The insecurity problems in Gambella started when the first civil war broke out between the northern and southern part of Sudan in 1955. When the second Sudanese civil war started in 1983, the indigenous of Gambella, mostly the Anywaa people, faced an existential threat as most of the refugees were residing in their lands. The refugees came to Gambella in larger numbers exceeding the population of the local communities. In addition to that, they were fully armed as they were fighting the government of Sudan. Without any protection from the Derg government, the Anywaa people faced unprecedented atrocities and crimes against humanity in the hands of the refugees. Those refugees committed tortures, killings, gang rapes, intentionally destroying crops, displacement of the Anywaa people in Gambella town, Dima woreda, Itang woreda, Pignudo, and Bonga. In 1990, the refugees in Pignudo brutally massacred hundreds of the Anywaa women, children, and elders without any government’s intervention. The same atrocities were committed on the Anywaa people in Itang and Akado where Anywaa women and children were burned alive in their huts. The government of Ethiopia was quiet and the international community was deafened. The Anywaa people in Baat-Openo villages had to leave their ancestral lands in order to escape these atrocities. One of the places they left is Jikaw, which is now occupied by the refugees who stayed even after the Sudanese civil war was over and they renamed it to Lare. The refugees who were in Itang stayed as well, thus Itang has become a “special woreda.”
The conflict that took place between president Salva Kiir and his vice president Riek Machar caused hundreds of thousands more of Nuer refugees to move to Gambella. This exacerbated the situation forcing the local population to leave their villages due to the insecurities and the massive influx of the refugees. In the woredas that host refugees today, women can not go to collect cooking woods anymore; children can’t go to the rivers; and people can’t freely go from one place to another. The insecurities in Gambella are very concerning because when Riek Machar’s militias along with civilians entered Gambella, they were keeping weapons in the refugee camps. The situation today is even worse since the refugees are also highly involved in illegal weapons trades, and the border is widely open for illegal guns smuggling. This is a pure violation of international law, and a threat to national security as well. Every month, if not weeks, there are illegal weapons getting captured by the local security. The refugees are out of control, and they are free to claim any land they want in Gambella. The ordinary Anywaa people have no voice when it comes to making decisions related to the refugee program in their land. Yet, they are the ones who are getting killed day and night by the refugees without anybody considering their cries and sufferings. The refugee program in Gambella needs to be reexamined by the federal government, and involve the local communities before making any decision. The responsibility of any government should be to care and protect its citizens. But the reality in Gambella is that the safety of citizens is not as important as the safety of refugees. The life of one refugee is more important than the lives of ten local people.
It is only in the Gambella region where the refugees are actively involved in land grabbing, and the displacement of the local population. The Anywaa people of Baat-Openo are displaced from their lands and most of them now reside in Itang woreda. They left their villages behind due to the frequent killing, unrest, and kidnapping by the refugees. In Gambella town, the local population in Cangkwaar, Tier-Jwieni, and Ye-cway are forced to leave their homes and move to the other side of the Openo (Baro) river. The name of Changkwaar kebele was then changed to Newland. Most people in the areas like Addis-sefar, Tier-kidi, Golli, and Agul-Nyang are also leaving their areas in large numbers due to frequent attacks by the Nuer refugees who are residing in Cangkwaar, Tier-Jwieni and Biher-bireseboch. The only time that the refugees go to the camps is when it is time for food distribution, otherwise they live in Gambella town, mainly in Newland, and the recently occupied place called Biher-bireseboch. The refugees are also provided with the regional ID cards, birth certificate, passports, and they also participate in the regional government just like any other Gambellans. They vote during elections, and also get elected for higher positions in the government while still receiving assistance from the refugee program. Such generosity and care for the refugees should be appreciated by the international community. But has the government of Ethiopia considered the rights and safety of the local population?
In January of 2019, Ethiopia’s parliament adopted a new law (Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework) that would provide many opportunities for the refugees including local integration. Ethiopia was applauded by the international community for this bold move. However, this was done without considering the concerns of the indigenous people. It was enforced on the local population, and they have to face the consequences while the government reaps all the benefits. This resolution was questioned by MP Ojulu Gilo representing Gambella in the parliament stating that the decision on the CRRF was solely made by the parliament without consulting the communities on the ground. He stated, “when you look at other countries, they consider their potential and capabilities when they decide to take in refugees. My concern about this decision is that it may cause more harm to the indigenous population than the benefits it provides.” This unilateral decision by the federal government without involving the host communities conveys the message of carelessness and negligence the government has for the indigenous people of Gambella. Thus they pursued the benefits that they would get from the international community leaving out the local population. Though the resolution contains some positive features, the local people are totally excluded. Just like MP Ojulu Gilo said, the local people have been facing atrocities, deaths, and internal displacements due to frequent conflicts caused by refugees. This caused the Anywaa people to leave their country and escape to refugee camps in Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. Therefore, instead of enforcing such resolutions on Gambella, the local indigenous should have been consulted in a free and democratic setting where people are not threatened or intimidated when they freely speak out. In order to achieve a lasting peace and stabilization in Gambella, there should be a dialogue between the federal government and the local people of Gambella who are hosting refugees.
Lastly, the refugee camps in Gambella have always been a place for rebels recruitments. After Ethiopia’s election in 2021, Gatluak Boum, a Nuer politician, created a rebel group named Gambella Liberation Front (GLF). This organization collaborated with the TPLF and OLF/A-shene during the last two years of war in Ethiopia. Their main goal was to destabilize the Gambella region by working with foreign and domestic enemies of Ethiopia State. Mr. Thwot Pal, the uncle of Gatluak Buom Pal, was involved in diplomacy with the foreign foes of Ethiopia in order to get military logistics. Gatluak Buom used the refugee camps in the Gambella region to recruit rebels. During his collaboration with the OLF/A-shene and the TPLF, Gatluak Buom’s goal faded away when the government of Ethiopia and the TPLF signed a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa. After the defeat of OLF/A-shena and GLF in Gambella on June 14 2022, Gatluak Boum had no choice but to save himself by making an agreement with the local government of Gambella. Even though this agreement was welcomed by the peace loving people of Gambella, the restoration of frequent attacks by refugees on the local population was anticipated. The recent conflict that took place in Itang on May 22, 2023 was not what Gatluak Buom referred to as “historical conflict between two communities about the land and resources.” The conflict started after Murle criminals crossed the border and killed 10 people in Mekane Yesus church in Matar. This Murle attack was blamed on the Anywaa people by Gatluak Boum and some Nuer officials in the local government later on after they acknowledged that it was a Murle attack. The Nuer then attacked Ponywaa, Pinyman, and Itangkir. Ponywaa was totally burned to the ground, civilians were killed, and people were displaced. Then, the conflict reached Gambella town. This took place while the regional Deputy and some officials were getting ready to travel to the United States to meet South Sudanese Nuer who are given asylum in the U.S. The quick response by the federal government saved so many lives that would have been lost. This was not the result that Gatluak Buom and the people that he works with wanted. Anybody who wants to acquire a higher position by creating ethnic conflicts should be held accountable by the government.
In conclusion, Ethiopia is not the only country in east Africa that hosts refugees; however, it is one of the countries where refugees are actively involved in the local politics, and also can engage in arms-struggle against the government of the country. It is only in Ethiopia where refugees are armed, and consistently attacking their host communities with the goal of replacing them. In order to cover up any attack by the refugees on the local population, they [Local and some Federal officials] use the phrase “historical tribal-conflict” between the “Anywaa and Nuer.” Refugee program should not cause the local population to flee their country; it should not displace them from their ancestral land; and it shouldn’t put them in a position where they have to compete or fight over the resources. The refugees should not have any plan of killing the host communities with the goal of creating a new country for themselves. Any decision that the Federal government makes should involve the local population, listen to their concerns, and put their safety first. In the case of Gambella, it is undeniable that the indigenous population are negatively affected by this refugee program more compared to other regions in Ethiopia. Therefore, we the people of Gambella are asking the Government of Ethiopia and the international community to deeply look into the impacts of refugees on the people of Gambella, and listen to the cries of those defenseless indigenous. There should be a repatriation or relocation of refugees in order to have a long lasting peace in Gambella. The safety and security of citizens should be prioritized more by the government than any monetary benefits it receives in the names of refugees.
