Food, Lies and War--Ethiopia

Food aid for hundreds of thousands of people in the eastern Somali-border area of Ethiopia known as Ogaden is being cut off by the government in order to squeeze what they view a rebel forces opposed to the regime. At the same time food as well as money  is being siphoned off and reallocated by members of the Ethiopian military.

According to the NYTimes, ..."food aid is embezzled in two stages. First, soldiers skim sacks of grain, tins of vegetable oil and bricks of high-energy biscuits from food warehouses to sell at local markets.

“The cash is distributed among security officers and regional officers,” a former government administrator from the Ogaden region said in a recent telephone interview on condition of anonymity because he still works with government officials.

Then the remaining food is hauled out to rural areas where the soldiers divert part of it to local gunmen and informers as a reward for helping them fight the rebels. The former administrator said he also knew of specific cases in which army officers stole food from warehouses and gave it to the families of women whom their soldiers had raped, as compensation.

Several Western humanitarian officials estimated that 20 to 30 percent of the donor countries’ food aid to the Ogaden — aid that last year was valued at more than $70 million — routinely disappears this way. To cover their tracks, the soldiers and the government administrators who work with them tell the aid agencies that the food has spoiled, or has been stolen or hijacked by the rebels, humanitarian officials said."

Comments

[Cynthia]

Is anyone surprised?

[Foodie]

According to an AP news item from the Blog's new feature Newsvine Food News ( scroll down lower left column,) the Ethiopian government has expelled the Red Cross from Ogaden, accusing the RC of "talking" with rebels.

[ak]

Imagin you livin in the areas we talking here(OGADEN)

all we see in OGADEN is soldiers with guns, A highly armored soldiers in front of the houses listenin if any men are in side, if they hear a man's voice they pick out and take away, we never ever know were they take the pple once they catch them.

we are deprived of live's most basics, FOOD WARER and SECURITY. dont the world really care at all? all the weopons they use to kill our mother ans sisters comes from the world, they give them money and every thing and all the world gives to ethiopia is used to kill our pple.

we are tired tired and over tired of being hororized, we are hungry and over hungry. we need nothing else but PEACE. PEACE. peace.

DO YOU CARE? please do some thing to stop killin in ogaden its goin on right now you read this. please act

[Foodie]

AK--We will try to help as we can. What do you suggest?