Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Western Oromia, particularly the East Wollega, West Wollega, Kellem Wollega, and Horo Guduru Wollega zones have endured dire humanitarian crisis for years in an area where relief operations are constrained by continued security threats.
Government sponsored forced returns have exacerbated the crisis pushing IDPs to street begging.by the non-state armed militia called Fano. Districts that border the Amhara region such as Abe Dongoro, Agemsa, Jardaga Jarte, and Amuru in Horro Guduru Wollega, as well as Kiramu, Gida Ayana and Gute in East Wollega have been the epicenters of the displacements.managed to obtain, out of estimated 1.
In Harar Jarso village, she began to rebuild her life once again. She started farming with determination and hope, and managed to make a livelihood for herself and her kids. However, fate seemed to have another plan in store for her. Unexpectedly, Halima found herself uprooted from her newly established home following a cross border attack by the Fano armed group in September 2022.
Like Halima, Abebech Tefera used to reside in the IDP site at the Shambu bus station. Abebech and her family were forced to flee their home in Haroo village, Kiramu district of the neighboring East Wollega zone on 12 August 2022, following a raid by the Fano militia. Together with her husband and her two children she crossed to the Horro Guduru zone and sought shelter at the IDP site.
"We told them that no one hates to go home but we didn't want to go back to death since the source of the problem that evicted us is not solved," Tesfaye said. After several failed attempts to convince the IDPs to return to their areas, the police coerced the displaced individuals into cars, including Isuzu trucks, mini-buses, and Sino trucks and forcefully took them back to their homes without any assistance or guarantee for their safety, he added.
Marga Fekadu, a human rights lawyer and lecturer at Wolkite University School of Law, asserted that the return of IDPs to their place of origins must be voluntary, and before the return the cause must be addressed and the IDPs shall be compensated for damage they incurred. He also stresses the need to ensure justice and accountability to make the return a success.
According to Abdi, these internally displaced people have sought refuge in various locations within communities while a significant number of them are engaged in begging on the streets of towns and cities including the zonal capital Nekemte.
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