The "Singing Wells" of Ethiopia - Borana People

THE WELL - Water Voices from Ethiopia THE DIRECTORS Paolo Barberi Anthropologist and filmmaker, teaches cultural anthropology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza". Mario Michelini Geographer and filmmaker, works with the international development cooperation. He is specialized in indigenist issues. Riccardo Russo Geographer and filmmaker, an expert in communication and development. His research focus on social and environmental issues; he collaborates with several universities and NGO’s. INTRODUCTION The Well describes the life of the Borana people, a semi-nomadic shepherds tribe of South Ethiopia that struggles perennially for survival. In a dry land of astonishing beauty, during the long periods of annual drought, the Borana life revolves around ancient perpetual wells, the only...

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ETHIOPIA: Special report on the Borana

Field health clinic in a remote part of Borena        Photo: IRIN Yabelo, 26 June 2002 (IRIN) - The sick often walk day and night for medical help at Yabelo Health Centre in southern Ethiopia. For many it is a wasted trip: the centre, which serves some 103,000 people, has no doctor, electricity, or running water, only a handful of medical supplies, and just four beds. The nearest doctor is over 100 km away, and for surgery, patients would have to travel more than 300 km. "If they are seriously ill or in need of urgent surgery they will probably die," said Alemu Tuji, a nurse at the centre, which is situated in...

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Reduce suffering in northern Kenya

Posted Tuesday, June 15 2010 on Daily Nation Northern Kenya was described by a British writer as one half of Kenya which the other half knows nothing about and cares very little to know what is happening. This area has suffered inequalities due to historical injustices, a situation that has denied locals their fundamental civic, political, social, cultural and economic rights. It is a well-known fact that Northern Kenya, and specifically upper Eastern Province, has a low literacy rate of 8.3 per cent compared to the nation’s 61.6 per cent. This is a major contributor to poverty. The region suffers marginalisation and the levels of insecurity betray characteristics of an ungoverned area. The Shifta War, which ended in 1967, contributed to insecurity and persistent banditry. The...

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http://tvblik.nl/kruispunt/missiepost-boranal...

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BORANA WOMEN NARRATE THEIR ORDEAL DURING THE SHIFTA WAR

Posted: June 16, 2011 The Borana community was forced into prostitution during the shifta war of the1960’s to the 1990s the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission heard yesterday.    Former Moyale Member of Parliament Guyo Halake who served in the 4th Parliament told the TJRC hearing in Moyale, that their women were forced to have sex with state security officers to ensure their men were not suspected or arrested for being part of the shifta militia and to earn money. The small payment received from the security officers would be used to provide for their families who were economically challenged as the war escalated, Mr. Halake said pointing out that the government crippled the community economically as it tried to retrieve firearms allegedly in its possession. “The...

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Borana’s Ethiopian king fails to endorse aspirants.

Updated Friday, December 21 2012 at 00:00 GMT+3 By Ali Abdi The Borana traditional king who reigns in Ethiopia has spoken again on the community’s politics in Marsabit County. The Abba Gadha, Guyo Gobba met delegates representing Moyale MP Mohamud Ali and his rival Chachu Tadicha, an NGO official, in Moyale, Ethiopia on Tuesday afternoon but never endorsed any candidate for the Marsabit governor seat. Mr Gobba was reported to have asked both sides to go out and seek votes from the electorates peacefully. The man whose decision has never been defied in the past addressed the delegates on the sideline of a gathering meant to discuss new Ethiopian policy for residents of southern Ethiopia. During a previous meeting held last July, he endorsed Tadicha, a decision that caused an uproar...

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