A young girl recalls the day ethnic conflict erupted in her village

Tseganech Eko is the first child in a family of six. Born to Eko Kuno and Kulala Kusita 17 years ago, she has been in the Gelabo IDP camp for eight months now. The camp was set up temporarily by the government after ethnic conflict broke out in their village in Konso zone in the south of Ethiopia

Tseganech recalls how she and her family escaped from their village in anguish as violence erupted all around them that fateful day in July 2020. Media reports suggest 13 people died in the conflict.

“I had left home early in the morning to work at my neighbors’ farm. Around 11:00 o’clock, I saw people running and screaming, terrified by gunfire shots coming from the opposite direction, close to where our home was. At that moment, I became so scared that I didn’t even think of going back home to collect my belongings. Everyone started running for their lives and I followed them. We didn’t know where we were going. We were just running as far away from the chaos as our legs could take us.”

It was after they were brought to the camp that Tseganech managed to find her family.

“When I was brought to this camp, I could not stop crying. I thought my family were dead. I asked everyone I knew if they had seen my family. After three days of searching, I managed to find them. I was so relieved.”

Tseganech’s mother Kulala recalls the events of that day with much sadness.

“The fighting started in Arfude kebele. We were at home when suddenly, we heard gunfire. Houses started to go up in smoke. We managed to carry some clothes but nothing else. We neither had time to carry any grains nor our own children. The attack happened so fast and we had to escape. We had to run away and only found each other after we had arrived at the camp.”

“We had no idea that there were disputes brewing with our neighbors,” says Tseganech’s father Eko. “We speak their language, they speak ours. We are bound by marriage and friendship. Gunshots and torching of our cattle and houses? Who would expect such wickedness? It was such a shocking experience.”

The IDP camp where Tseganech and her family are sheltered is situated on the slopes of a hill at the tip of which lies a government-owned farmer training centre. In the far distance, one could make out the outlines of Kukubasala village from which Teganech and her family fled. The camp has a population of about 4,000 people.

Conditions in the camp are dire. Families live in makeshift plastic shelters provided by the government and each tent accommodates two to three families, depending on family size. The only source of water is a nearby stream and UNICEF prevents the outbreak of diarrhea diseases by supplying each family with water treatment tablets. Three latrines have been constructed by government, but they are inadequate. Human excreta are everywhere.

“The situation here is grave,” Tseganech says. “There is not enough food to eat. Since I came here, I have lost so much weight. Sometimes we scrounge for food from our surroundings, such as cassava and coffee leaves. Most people, especially the men, while their time drinking the traditional brew ‘cheka’ which is made from maize, sorghum and other grains.”

“Since we came to the camp, the government provided us with two rounds of food, including wheat and maize but it’s not enough to feed my family,” says Kulala. “We are hungry all the time. At one time, my 11-month-old baby became malnourished and had to be treated by the health workers. Thank God he has recovered now.”

At the training center, the government has set up a makeshift health post and two heath extension workers visit once a week to conduct health checks. Some 360 children were screened for malnutrition out of which 12 were treated for severe acute malnutrition and five critically ill were referred to the local hospital in Konso town.

Apart from malnutrition, other common diseases affecting children include diahorrea, pneumonia, scabies and eye infections.

The health post provides routine vaccinations to children and recently undertook a campaign to vaccinate girls against the cancer-causing Human Papilloma Virus. Sanitary pads are regularly provided to girls and women.

Tseganech says she is forced to work to support her family.

“I work as a daily laborer in the host community by helping out with farming and making cheka - anything I can do.” Tseganesh earns 20 Ethiopian birr per day (less than US$0.5).

“My mother also does the same type of work. Sometimes we may not be paid in cash but those who hire us might decide to give us two kilograms of maize instead. It’s better than nothing.”

UNICEF has partnered with Plan International to improve water supply to the camp and preparations were underway to upgrade the access road to ease the movement of water ferrying trucks.

Kebede Katusa, Head of Sector Development in Konso Zone, says the needs remain immense and a durable solution needs to be found to the chronic border and land disputes which have so far displaced 84,000 people in the zone. Six IDP sites have been set up to shelter displaced families.  

“The most urgent need is shelter. So far, we are trying our best to accommodate the IDPs by building them shelters using locally available materials. About a third of the IDPs have no access to clean water; 8 schools damaged leaving around 1,200 children without learning. And 6 health posts need to be rebuilt after they were completely destroyed in the fighting.”

Kebede says the process to resettle the IDPs has begun. “We are working with elders and setting up community conversations to bring peace to the conflict-affected woredas,” he says. “The government is also trying to address the border demarcations to settle the disputes once and for all. But all this will take time.”

Tseganech wants to go back home but is worried about the conflict recurring.

“I am still traumatized by what I saw and heard. I lost relatives and friends, and some were maimed. When I think about what happened, going back really scares me.”

Eko echoes his daughter’s concerns. 

“The government has been telling us that we will go back home soon so that we can start farming and become self-sufficient again, but nothing is happening,” he says. “On one hand, we are eager to go back home and resume our normal lives. On the other, we fear what might happen if the conflict recurs. We might die.”

Tseganech, who has never been to school, says she is considering enrolling. “If I manage to get exercise books, I want to go to school,” she says. “I would like to become a teacher so that I can change people’s lives. But I would also like the government to compensate me for the clothes and money that I lost [3,000 birr]. It is so sad that all our properties were burned.”