Welkayt Sugar Factory is located at Welkayt, Woreda administration, Western Tigray, 1,300 km north of Addis Ababa. The Woreda is among the most populous in the zone which has a population of 138,926 according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (CSA, 2008). Welkayt is known for its fertile alluvial soil, which grows cash crops such as sesame, cotton and sorghum.
The administrative center of Welkyt is Addi-Remets; other towns in the Woreda include Mai'gaba and Awura. Many of the Woreda’s administrative Tabias are rural areas from which two of them, Kalema and Tsebri were the displacement affected localities. These two Tabias administrations had many small villages under their administration. Bigger villages like Kalema, Emba-Beles, and Etanu, Tsebri and Tahtay-May-Humer which belong to Kalema and Tsebri Tabias, respectively include the bigger villages affected by the displacement. The resettlement camp was established down at the lowland area of the district with different distances from the project affected rural and pre-urban villages with the most faraway village having around 23 km.
From the systematic sampling, 254 of the total survey respondents of 347 were male. Only 27% of the survey participants were women who responded to the questionnaire as heads of their households or that their husbands were not in the house during the data collection period. The age categorizations of the survey respondents showed that only 8% of them were from 18 to 30 years, 45% were from 31 to 45, 44% of them were from 46 to 60, while only 3% were above 60 years. Ninety percent of them were married, 4% were divorced, 6% of them were separated because of death and migration, while only one respondent was unmarried.
The family size of the surveyed households showed that 45% of them had more than 6 family members, 45% had between 4 and 6 members, while only 10% had less than or equal to three members.
Reviewing the educational status of the respondents, 75% were illiterates, and 11% had grades 1 to 4 educational levels. Only 12% had the elementary and high school grades in education, whereas only 1% had diploma certificates. The demographic situation of the surveyed households mainly the marital status, family size, and educational level proved that these people are from the rural areas of the country as the average household size in rural areas is 5.2 and that the urban-rural education differential is almost double (Cuesta, 2018).
Socio-cultural and social welfare situation of the displaced people after the resettlement
After displacement, the affected people resettled to a new place called Korarit. The first resettlement happened in 2013; hence the Korarit town was established since then. Korarit is now a small town which has never existed before the displacement. Although initially, it was a home for the displaced people, nowadays it is a place where people could come from anyplace of the country and reside. As a result, currently, the town has a total resident of more than 26,000 households with the overall population size of more than 36,000, according to data obtained from the town municipality. The town formally attained a municipality status in 2018 and presently has four kebele administrations. For the displaced people, therefore, the resettlement area happened to be a new living environment, which has resulted in changes of their socio-cultural conditions.
Displacement loses the physical resources like productive land, job, and home, but again non-physical capitals such as social affiliation and ties, relatives, neighbors and so on (Tesfa, 2014). Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risk Reduction model identifies Social Disarticulation and Marginalization as the two main social risks of development risks. In this research, both Social Disarticulation and Marginalization were examined. Furthermore, cultural aspects mainly settlement patterns, religious practices, and language and identity were studied.
Social disarticulation
Any kind of displacement, including development induced displacement, is expected to result in social disarticulation. It dissolves and fragments groups, destructs forms of social organization, and that interpersonal and kinship ties became dispersed. The displacement that has happened in Welkayt sugar factory is not exceptional since it has resulted in social disarticulation.
From the surveyed households, 98% of them said that they had strong community cohesion, informal networks and interpersonal ties before the displacement, from which the percentage has decrease to 84% after the relocation. Only 2% of the surveyed respondents did not have that much strong social life before the dislocation, the rationality was that some of the displaced people were from per-urban villages of the displacement places with pre-urban life with scrappy social networks. Another factor for some people to have limited social life before the relocations was that, moving from highland areas of Tigray and Amara to Welkayt lowlands, they lived in the displacement areas for short period of time prior to the relocation.
Even though all the displaced people were moved to one resettlement area, 84% of the survey respondents had the feeling that there was social disarticulation that their former social structures had been dismantled. The well-established neighbored and informal institutions like ‘Iddir’ of each rural village were no more active in the ‘urban life’. The relocated people had been forced to form new social ties in their new residency localities. The kinship structures of the community, however, were not affected since the entire community was moved to one location.
Marginalization
Marginalization refers to the loss of economic power and when displaced persons experience a reduction in social status and confidence, and when they practice injustice and heightened vulnerability. In their new sites, displaced people may be regarded as “strangers” and deprived of opportunities and privileges that they had admittance to, and depend on, in their preceding setting (Cernea, 2009).
Before the realization of the relocation, the project affected people had economic power and social status and confidence, opportunities and entitlements that they had access to, and relied upon, at their original place of recidence. To illustrate, only 9% of the surveyed households said that they did not have stable and resilient social and economic status before the resettlement.
Losing economic power and the experience in a reduction of social status and confidence, exposure to injustice and heightened vulnerability is compromised for a significant proportion of the displaced people. As also validated by the focused group discussions and interviews, 73% of the surveyed households indicated that they were marginalized as a result of leaving their original settlement areas. The feelings of injustice and vulnerability had increased after the resettlement. To illustrate, the displaced persons had lost economic power and had experienced a decrease in their social status and self-confidence. Hence, they had experienced vulnerability.
The resettlement location is in the same district from which the project affected people had been displaced. Moreover, the relocated people were transferred to an area which was not occupied. Hence, taking the other connotation of marginalization, consideration of people as newcomers or outsiders, and relegation of the project affected people in the resettlement area does not exist. Considering the displaced people as “strangers” and rejection of opportunities and privileges that they had admittance to in their earlier place does not occur in the new residence area.
Settlement pattern and religious practices
The settlement pattern of the rural villages before the displacement was very scattered. After the relocation, however, all displaced people were transferred to one area, Korarit. The crowded ‘urban life’ cannot allow them to have open spaces like they had in the rural villages. Safety and security are bargained as the people could not fence their respective houses in the town like their customary practice in the rural villages. More importantly, they had a strong territorial attachment to the place where their ancestors had lived for many years. Many of the study participants were not pleased with the new way of residency.
In the rural areas from which the displaced people were originated, there were nine churches which had been relocated to the resettlement location. Almost all villages had their respective churches. The nine churches had been compensated for their removal, fences and transportation. The maximum compensation went to ‘Abune Agerawi’ of May-Humer that was entitled for a compensation of ETB 1.7 million.
With the change of the resettlement arrangement from very scattered rural villages to just one small town, however, erecting nine churches in the relocation place happened to be challenging. The community was forced to merge four churches with others, hence, currently, there are a total of five churches in Korarit town. Although to have two arks symbolized with different angels or/and saints in one church is customary practice in Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the community does not feel comfortable about the merge of the churches since they had a special attachment with their previous corresponding churches.
The buildings of the relocated churches were not removed. They were expected to stay long, although items of the buildings like the doors and the corrugated iron sheets were being stolen from some of the churches. As a result of the desire of the community to construct good quality structures for the newly erected churched, the provided compensation was not enough to fully build them. As a result, the community had to subsidize the erection of the new churches, another burden, according to one of the FGD participants.
One significant enquiry of the study was that all funeral grounds in the nine churches had not been moved. Although the government proclamation declared that compensation could be given for the removal of burial grounds, this issue was not raised during the relocation in the study case. There happened to be a ‘cultural contradiction’. To illustrate, to remove burials from nine churches would result in a social crisis and that this was not even asked by the community. To dig the interments of relatives deceased years ago and collect their bones would have a cultural implication that this is not a simple occurrence which could be simply acted upon. Let alone burials of people from nine churches, to move a funeral of a single person would require a gathering of people and practice of rituals. Paradoxically, to just leave funerals in an area where the church has already been relocated is not morally acceptable, according to the Orthodox Christian’s beliefs. Many of the displaced people are not emotionally comfortable for they have left the burials of their relatives back in their former villages. There is noticeable psychic complication in the new resettlement setting which resulted from the inconsistency of leaving the burials as they are and the option of moving them to the new resettlement areas. Although further study is required to exactly know the level of stress, researcher has observed some sort of tension which resulted from the aforementioned challenges.
There are clear social frustrations and emotional dissatisfactions occasioned from this rigorous situation. One manifestation of social frustration is that the community is not effectively using the provided burial grounds in Korarit town with the fear that another relocation may occur after some time. Currently, deceased bodies of elderly and respected individuals are being transferred to a nearby monastery called Waldba with the communal conviction that the monastery would never be removed. The monastery is geographically difficult to reach. Hence, relatives of dead bodies must pay thousands of Birr for rental vehicles to carry the body and some men to realize the funeral. According to the key-informant from the local administration, there was no Muslim community from the project affected people.
Language and identify
Since the relocation happened within the same district, the language and identity of the displaced people have not been affected. All the displaced people were from rural areas of Welkayt district, hence many of them were Tigrigna speakers. The resettlement area, Korarit, is still within Welkayt.
Referring to the 2007 national census report, the key-informant from the Woreda administration stated that there are two largest ethnic groups reported in Welkayt namely the Tigrayans (96.58%), and the Amhara (3.03%), whereas other ethnic groups made up 0.39% of the population. In the displaced people, the percentage of Tigrayans and Tigrigna speakers was even higher, the key-informant added.
The responses from the focused group discussions, the key-informants and the in-depth interviews were consistent that the resettled people had not been influenced in terms of language and identity. The project affected people did not have the fear of being assimilated with other ethnic groups as they had been relocated almost to the heart of the district.
Social welfare risks
The impoverishment risks of homelessness, food insecurity and increased morbidity and mortality are grouped under the social welfare risks (Andnet, 2015).
House possessions
Although absolute loss of shelter following displacement is rare, the absence of housing, or a house that its dwellers may not consider “a home” is another economic risk of displacement (Vivoda et al., 2017). The very common situation is the deprivation of housing than complete loss of the living quarters. Such incident occurs when compensation for housing does not cover the cost of a complete reconstruction of the building, or where substitute housing is of a sub-standard quality (Vivoda et al., 2017).
The conducted survey depicted that 97% of the study population had a safe and good house before displacement. However, 89% of the surveyed households had a safe and good house after displacement which means that 8% of the study population have lost their safe house or have degraded house after the transfer. Moreover, 86% of them said that the compensation of the removed houses included the cost of removal, transportation and erection of a property, but not to the extent that it could be moved, rebuilt and continue its service.
As also agreed by the FGD participants, the compensation committee argued that the provided compensation for the destructed house included the cost of removal, transportation and erection. The key-informant from the compensation committee also supplemented the idea that every item of the destructed houses was valued and compensated for. The maximum compensation for destructed houses reached ETB 550,000.
However, the erection of the new houses in the resettlement area attracted additional costs for the relocated people. The fundamental reason was that many of the destructed houses were traditional buildings made up of woods and grass as present in many rural areas, while the new houses constructed were done with corrugated iron sheets to match with the town’s house erection standard.
Morbidity
The health of displaced people was expected to deteriorate rapidly from the outbreak of relocation-related parasitic and vector-borne diseases which would then increase the morbidity rate of the displaced people. According to the IRR model, displaced people can be exposed to vector-borne sicknesses, such as malaria, and diseases resulting from inadequate accommodation or the poor choice of relocation place.
In this study case, the exposure to diseases such as malaria and illnesses associated with inadequate shelter or the poor choice of resettlement location was not that much different from that of their former location. That is 73 and 70% of the surveyed households said that there were no problems of such kind before and after the resettlement, respectively. Moreover, rate of unsafe water and unsanitary conditions which could increase vulnerability to epidemics, and chronic conditions, such as diarrhea and dysentery had no exaggerated variance for the situation of the displaced people before and after the resettlement.
In fact, there were some FGD participants who said that they had greater access to clean water before the relocation than their current situation as there were hand pump water at points near to their rural villages. Although there is clean water coverage in the resettlement area, Korarit town, the FGD participants asserted that the price for the water was very expensive, one birr (sometimes 2 birr) per jerrican. The participants added that every household required a minimum of two jerricans per day which then means they must pay a minimum of ETB 60 per month. Every time they failed to purchase the pure water, they fetched water from the rivers even for drinking which then led them infected by the water-born parasites. Nevertheless, the morbidity rate was assessed to be better after the displacement.
Although it would not have a clear linkage with manifested sickness, the resettled people said that they had many issues to worry about, hence had a certain level of stress. The reduction of their food security, deterioration of their social status, and fragmentation of their social ties had exposed them to stress and trauma.
Food insecurity
Food insecurity and undernourishment are both symptoms and results of inadequate resettlement, also another risk associated with displacement (Cernea, 2009). Food insecurity can occur when means of subsistence, which includes farming, seasonal or full-time employment, are interrupted due to dislocation.
As part of the impoverishment risks of displacement, food security status of the project affected people was one of the research subjects. Access to enough, safe and nutritious food for household members to live active and healthy lives before and after the displacement was examined from the survey respondents’ and qualitative data participants’ perspective. The findings from the survey showed that 97% of the displaced people rated their food security status before the displacement either
‘very good’ or ‘good’, only 3% rated it as ‘poor’, while none of them said ‘very poor’. After the displacement, however, 83% of the households rated their food security status as ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’, the remaining 17% regarded their food security as ‘good’, while none of them said ‘very good’.
The outcome on the deterioration of the foods security status of the displaced people was consistent in all data collection means that the FGD participants, interviews with the displaced people and the stakeholders had shown that the project-affected people had been affected to expose serious food insecurity condition after the relocation. The fundamental contributing factors for the decline of food security of the displaced people include the reduction of agricultural land and difficulty to rare livestock.
The finding from the survey shows that there were no households with ‘very good’ food security status after the displacement, while 97% of them rated their position before the resettlement as ‘very good’. This result depicts an absolute deterioration of the food security situation of the project affected people (Figure 1).
3. Iddir is an informal socio-economic institution, usually has a large membership. The members are required to appear in funerals and must continually be ready to help. Iddir is usually formed by a community or village, although it can be established at the workplace, or among friends. It assures grieving families, for instance, the comprehensive support they pursue in times of emergency.
However, results from interviews and FGDs showed that there were households which managed to maintain their food security even after the displacement. Coping mechanism such as selling of animals and construction of more houses in the town which enabled them to get sustainable income from rentals were used by few well-to-do people. Likewise, as discovered in the FGDs, there were few people who left their livestock in adjacent villages with assigned herdsmen. Doing so, they managed to have better access to food even after the resettlement.
Economic situation of the displaced people after the resettlement
The displaced people usually lose land, property, livelihoods and access to health services and education in the process (Boase, 2010). The Michael Cernea’s Impoverishment Risk Reduction model identifies landlessness, joblessness, and access to common properties as the fundamental economic risks of development-induced displacement. The detailed analyses of the economic risk are stated in the following.
Land ownership
As clearly articulated by Vivoda et al. (2017), land is the core foundation on which many people build productive systems, marketable activities and livelihoods. The necessity to fully compensate or replace the productive systems, including land is part of international standards. According to the Impoverishment Risks Reduction model, if this does not occur, then the risk of impoverishment will increase. While replacement at full value is a prerequisite of many worldwide frameworks, land is rarely substituted or compensated in a way that replicates its complete productive worth (Vivoda et al., 2017).
The relocated people had residential and agricultural lands. The conducted survey showed that 94 and 98.5% of the people, before displacement, had land for food production and cash cropping, and land for residency, respectively. After the relocation, 99% of the resettled people have a residential land in the area where they have been transferred to. Agricultural land, however, happened to be challenging that 86% of the surveyed households did not have the essential land for agricultural practice after the resettlement.
The FGD participants, as also supported by key informant interviewees from the government, further illustrated that all relocated people did not get the perfect substitute land for their means of subsistence. The provision of replacement agricultural land was not fulfilled in a manner that the new plot of land would provide a similar purpose. The key-informant from local government officials confirmed that only 50% of the land taken was replaced with another plot of land as the local government could not find enough space to provide the required replacement area. The idea was that the remaining 50% would be compensated with cash, as promised by the local government. The key informant from the regional office had evidenced that the regional state had pledged to provide cash compensation for the 50% un-replaced agricultural land. However, the FGD participants portrayed that not all displaced people have not been compensated for the land taken.
Joblessness
Joblessness can happen in both rural and urban relocation cases. People can be employed in both the formal and informal jobs as agricultural laborers, service workers or artisans. Since the project affected people were displaced dominantly from the rural areas, the opportunity for formal job in the community was very minimal that approximately 90% of the surveyed households did not have a family member with a formal employment. After the displacement, the survey showed that 20% of the study households had a family member that had short term or long term paid formal jobs with fixed monthly payment rates. This finding was better elaborated by the in-depth interviews that some people benefited from getting jobs in the project. There were few jobs such as security guards, cleaners, and cook in the factory and the town which were easily accessible by the settlers.
The key-informant from the local administration, likewise, stated that the Welkayt Sugar project management had worked to support the livelihoods of the displaced people. He stated that there were people from the project affected people which have gotten employment opportunities and that 95 small and micro business enterprises containing 420 youth had been organized and provided with vocational and business development trainings. This figure, yet, is very limited comparing the magnitude of the project affected people, he argued.
In view of joblessness as losing wage engagement such as agricultural activities, however, the displaced people were underprivileged that the newly settlers had lost an opportunity to work in their agriculture and animal raring activities which were readily available in their original settlement. As one of the in-depth interview participants stated it, men are sitting idle and spending their days taking coffee and chatting with their associates.
The survey also showed that 74% the respondents had permanent means of income before the displacements, while only 26% of them said they had permanent income after the resettlement. This depicts that nearly 50% of the respondents had lost their enduring means of income, hence forced to spend their time being idle.
Access to common property resources and animal ownership
The loss of access to common property like grazing land, forests and woodlands, coastal and inland water bodies, and burial grounds was one of the main impoverishment risks of development induced displacement, conferring the IRR model. In this study case, 97% of the survey respondents said that they had communal properties, while only 3% of them said they did not have some communal properties like protected grass. Even after the resettlement, 80% of the survey participants said that they have common resources. As also validated in the FGDs, the relocated people were provided with a communal area for grazing, forest and woodlands, and burial grounds adjacent to the area where they had been transferred to.
However, the scales of the communal possessions do not replace the resources they had in their previous areas. The grazing land, forests and woodlands, and burial grounds are very narrow than the former comparable belongings, hence, expropriation of shared resources has been revealed. In a more detailed discussion with the conducted interviews, half of the initially provided gazing land had been taken by the sugar factory and the provided burial grounds were not being effectively used because of some social frustrations discussed earlier.
The project affected people were displaced from the rural area of Welkayt and that their means of subsistence was agro-pastoralism. The interviews and FGDs results showed that many people had numerous livestock before the displacement. There were people who had up to 120 livestock and 150 shoats. After the relocation, however, it was challenging for the community to practice animal raring. In addition to the limit of the communal resources, the new settlement pattern in the town is not convenient to produce animals, that is, shoats, cattle, and chickens.
