Turmoil in Ethiopia

[grapevine]

Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: hundred starve to death after food aid suspended - BBC News (3.22 mins)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hhC0WYhAQ8I

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66540039At least 1,400 people have starved to death in Ethiopia's northern Tigray since food aid was suspended because it was being stolen, an official has said.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and the US's leading aid agency halted food aid to Tigray about four months ago. A subsequent investigation by Tigrayan authorities found that almost 500 people were involved in the theft, the official told the BBC.

Tigray was hit by a brutal conflict in 2020, causing famine-like conditions. The conflict ended last November after the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a peace deal brokered by the African Union (AU). Eritrean troops fought in the conflict on the side of the Ethiopian army. For much of the war the region was under blockade, which largely halted humanitarian aid.

AU envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said around 600,000 people died in the two-year conflict. Researchers put the hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths down to fighting, starvation and lack of health care.

[Lunesoleil]

Ethiopia's history is punctuated by famines. Ethiopia's economy is based on subsistence agriculture that is sensitive to climatic variations, in particular the monsoon regime. This is why the harvests could vary greatly depending on the year and the region. Moreover, the weakness of the communication network did not allow the easy circulation of foodstuffs from regions with surpluses to regions with deficits. Finally, the fairly high density of inhabitants on the high plateaus leads to deforestation which causes soil erosion and a reduction in their fertility. These reasons largely explain the country's food insecurity.
Everything is said on wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Ethiopia

[grapevine]

Posted by Lunesoleil (here)
Ethiopia's history is punctuated by famines. Ethiopia's economy is based on subsistence agriculture that is sensitive to climatic variations, in particular the monsoon regime. This is why the harvests could vary greatly depending on the year and the region. Moreover, the weakness of the communication network did not allow the easy circulation of foodstuffs from regions with surpluses to regions with deficits. Finally, the fairly high density of inhabitants on the high plateaus leads to deforestation which causes soil erosion and a reduction in their fertility. These reasons largely explain the country's food insecurity.
Everything is said on wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Ethiopia

This is very true and has been ongoing in Ethiopia since I was a child. It's remarkable how resilient the people in Ethiopia are in the face of continued food shortages. We should be paying particular attention to food shortages developing into famine in the western world, given the weather fluctuations in the past few years resulting in floods and spoiled crops, and the (demonic imo) restrictions imposed on farmers worldwide. India are no longer exporting rice, which will put a strain on other basic foods and there's also a restriction on grains because of the situation in Ukraine. There'll be no point in waiting for help from other countries who will be in the same boat. Sometimes I wonder if there's a negative connotation to the recent media interest and promotion in fasting.

[Johnnycomelately]

Not political turmoil, but just the daily grind for poor working class folk.

A desert where nothing is alive except salt gatherers, out 3 days travel with camels to haul supplies and then back 3 days to the city with salt.

Poorly maintained railroad system and roads, with many accidents on both. Train breaks down twice on its 300 km route, passengers choose to walk, foodstuffs for market and for personal use deteriorating in the heat.

Charming interview of a taxi driver, rolling on a fare, 1960’s Peugeot 404.

Strange relation to hyenas, a man and his clan have been hand feeding them every night for 26 years.

L = 49:50

Ethiopia | The Most Dangerous Train in the World | Deadliest Roads

Deadliest Roads

Language is French, since ex-French colony. English subtitles are available.

1.21M subscribers

Oct 18, 2025

The oldest and most dangerous train in the world still runs in Ethiopia! In a country where roads are impassable, trucks slide on the mud, and planes are prohibitively expensive, this train is the last vital link between remote villages.
It covers 310 km in over 10 hours, connecting Dire Dawa to the Djibouti border, stopping at every station like an old bus.
But here, derailments, breakdowns, and dilapidated infrastructure are the daily lot of travelers.
Welcome to Ethiopia, from the scorching Danakil Desert to the humid Kaffa Mountains, aboard a legendary… and perilous—train!

Director: Alexandre Spalaikovitch, Guillaume Lhotellier

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qgz6nXLhuCo