ESAT News
Around 8000 Ethiopians of the Amhara ethnic origin, who have been evicted from BenishangulRegion and deported in FinoteSelam and Chagni cities, have said that they are suffering from organized discrimination as they return back to Benishangul Region though the pressures by Ethiopians across the globe.
Natives and other residents of the Region have refused to employ the returnees in any kind of job. Some of the returnee farmers that ESAT spoke to said that the Zonal and Woreda officials ofBenishangul Region have lobbied the people not to employ any returnee.
Similarly, expired and contaminated flour that the government gave them to for food has affected many children, mothers and families. Most returnees are now affected by diarrhea and contaminated diseases. To go to the nearest health centre, according to the affected farmers, one has to walk four hours on foot. Some of the farmers said to ESAT that they would prefer to return to where they were deported if they did not to find job. The farmers state that as they have lost most of their properties already they would not be able to pay for their own transportation this time if they were to go back to their native regions.
Hundreds of children are also out of school, it has been learnt. ESAT’s efforts to speak to Federal government officials were unsuccessful.
Deputy Minister of the Ethiopia Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Birhane Gebrekirstos said in a recent interview with the Amharic Service of the Deutsche Welle (DW) Radio that the citizens were evicted because they “invaded the land illegally”. The State Minister also responded saying that he had no information if the evictees were again made to return when the journalist mentioned that the Benishangul Regional Government had already admitted that the evictions were “blunders on their side” and allowed them to come back, in a follow up question.
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