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WITNESS TO TRANSFORMATION: A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE AFAR MARGINS. [Abstract ID: 0501-01]
In 1985 the Afar community living in the present region of Adelele were stricken by a severe drought causing death to livestock and household members. The remaining community dispersed to resettlement sites in Gambella and a majority of their women, children and elderly collected in a feeding shelter run by an NGO on behalf of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. As the international response gained its traction in Ethiopia and NGOs began to work in the region one remarkable Afar woman stepped forward to represent her clan and 'engage' with government and intervening agencies alike to 'direct' aid and be a spokesperson for ensuing transformations in the community. Today the region is a zonal capital feed by a major road and in echoing distance to a new railway connecting the Awash to Makelle and the woman has an official role in the governance structure of the federal system. This paper based on a 30 year contact with this community will track the history of 'local interventions' in the southern Afar regions, examine changing gender and generational issues and document 'history from below' through the eyes of a local community leader and an external agency participant.