Echoes of Hunger: Unraveling the Story of Famine in Lasta awraǧǧa, 1960s–1980s

Abstract

The area of Lasta awraǧǧa has suffered from recurrent droughts which exacerbate the poverty of the people there. The main objective of this article is to reconstruct the history of famine in the Lasta awraǧǧa from the 1960s to the 1980s. Data have been collected from the archival records of the National Archive and Library Agency (NALA) of Ethiopia and repositories from the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) at Addis Ababa University, published and unpublished sources, and interviews of eyewitnesses. These eyewitness accounts include people who were themselves victims of famine, the beneficiaries of relief aid, and local employees of relief organizations. This study shows how the people of Lasta faced recurrent famine in the second half of the twentieth century and explores the ways governments attempted to respond to these crises. The study identifies natural and human-made factors which make the area vulnerable to famine. It also explains how the people of Lasta devised their own indigenous coping mechanisms, including praying to God and appealing to the government, selling personal property, borrowing, adapting to unusual foods, and migrating.