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By Obang Ojowk Jobi*
March 20, 2008
Posted to the web on March 20, 2008 |
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As from March 09, 2008, the Ethiopian Federal Police and Ethiopian National Defense Forces have been carrying out a massive removal of illegal occupiers or immigrants, the Nuer tribe, from the Anuak lands. The removal of the Nuer from Uchom, Pinykow, Abol, Pokow or Akado, Itang, and other places in the Anuak lands is a joint effort from both the Anuak and the Nuer leaders in the local government. The Gambella regional government has attempted to remove the Nuer from the Anuak lands several times, but it had failed to do
Illegal immigrants, the Nuer, who have been displaced by the conflict in Sudan are finally heading home. Photo by Obang O. Jobi
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so because the stakeholders in the government did not put much resource to go ahead with the removal plan. One of the big obstacles in removing the refugees out of the Anuak lands was the Nuer leaders in the local government (some Nuer clan), who would always be in opposition to the plan. Whenever the government wanted to remove the immigrants, they sparked violence between the Anuak and the Nuer to hinder the removal of the refugees. The Nuer leaders who are opposed to the plan include Dr. Kong, a government official in Addis Ababa, who has been an advocate of the Nuer settlement into Anuak lands for decades. Thokwath Pal Chai whose political agenda is confused with national and ethnicity has been preaching to the Nuer in North America to settle wherever they want in the Anuak land. These Nuer do not simply want to take away the lands, but they also spark ethnic conflict. It should be clear to the authorities both in Addis Ababa and Gambella State that the presence of the Nuer in the region has political implication for the Nuer leaders inside and outside country. The Nuer have confiscated enough lands from the Anuak already. Had they wanted to be sedentary citizens in Ethiopia or Sudan, they would have enough lands to settle and live peacefully with whoever their neighbors would be. Rather, they chose to live a nomadic and hostile life for centuries. Whether they are being pushed by their rival tribe or clan out of their “lands”, the Anuak are not to be responsible for their destiny or payment of heavy price with their lives.
At the movement when the whole of Gambella region is gearing up to mend or develop its broken part of society or communities, the Nuer are migrating from their confiscated lands to where the Anuaks are living. Asphalted Road that stretches from Gambella town all the way to the Nuer villages is said to be under construction. This is a road to development (lemat). When this road is completed, business people will have access to all Nuer villages. The Nuer will have more schools, hospitals, and other social services in their areas. So, there will be no reason to roam with cattle or livestock around Gambella town when they can get whatever they need in their villages. Unlike previous governments, the current government gives a lot of opportunities to local governments to do their own developments in whichever way they choose; however, Gambella remains one of the least developed regions in the country because of its inherent social and political upheavals. The social and political upheavals could be blamed on the hostile demographic diversity imposed by the unlawful migration into the region. The Nuer, at least for those who know them, are known for their culture of violence, corruption and anarchy. Some of these Nuer clans are neither refugees nor Ethiopians, but they play in the middle ground causing havoc to the lives of the Anuak people. So, if the stakeholders in Gambella regional and Federal Government really want to find a solution to the chaos, they should clean up the mess, illegal settlers, first and then go ahead from there. During previous governments several removals took place, but did not last for long period of time. The Nuer came back and reoccupied the Anuak lands because there were no any kinds of laws or regulations to stop them from coming back. If the current one is enforced successfully and not empowered by some laws, it may not work toward a permanent solution. It would be the same old thing.
The governments in Addis Ababa are always reluctant to permanently create some kind of laws to prevent influx of the Nuer into the region because they are seen as the only potential tribe in the region to be used in divide and role politics. In the course of politics, the governments in Addis Ababa, and the highlander businessmen in Gambella have been using the Nuer as shield against the Anuak who the governments see as a threat to their authority in the region. However, the Nuer-government relationships turned ugly when the same Nuer joined Thokwath Pal Chai, the big criminal of the Derg Regime, and Oromo Liberation Movement to fight the regime in Addis Ababa. The Nuer officials in Gambella regional government and Addis Ababa including Thokwath Pal Chai’s brother are believed to have teamed up with opposition in the region to plot an assault in Gambella region. Unfortunately, the thugs were caught and are now in the government custody awaiting justice. Whether that incident changed the attitude of the government or highlanders in the region toward the illegal community, the Nuer tribe, it remains to be seen in the near future. If the government becomes aware of the danger the Nuer tribe brings along and start supporting the removal of them before they cause more damage to the region, the government and local innocent people destiny will be saved from possible political disaster. The Nuer are known for their political and economic corruption in Sudan. Thus, it would be a wise idea for the government of Ethiopia to sort them out. That is, to form some kind of laws to restrict their unlawful settlements and movements in the region. There is no doubt that the Oromo Liberation Movement and Thokwath Pal Chai’s elements are in Gambella regional government working day and night to plot an attack on Gambella. The potential forces are embedded in the Nuer and Oromo settlers in Gambella region. Therefore, their removal from the area and scrutiny of their movement in the region would be good to start with.
Gambella is one of the smallest regions in the country, but it has one of the biggest social and political problems which need very committed government to solve them. Removing the illegal occupiers, the Nuer, is one of the steps toward a permanent solution. Usually the Anuak grievances about their ancestral lands went unrecognized because both the highlanders or government and the Nuer have lust to annex the lands. Even today, as we are talking about the proposed removal plan, some of the Nuer who were told to pack up their belongings and go to “where they came from” did not go to the direction they were supposed to go, but instead they went to Gambella town with their livestock. Some even are trying to build shelters around Gambella town. All of these are hopeless attempts. Finally, they will go away. The stakes for fatal encounter are high if the Government of Ethiopia mishandles the removal process. You can reach Obang O. Jobi at
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