ASSESSMENT OF CONDITIONS THAT AFFECT HUMAN SECURITY, RESILIENCE, AND CIVILIAN PROTECTION: THE CASE OF CONFLICT-DISPLACED OROMO COMMUNITIES IN OROMIA SPECIAL ZONE SURROUNDING FINFINNE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Politically engineered violence along the Oromia-Somali border displaced more than a million ethnic Oromo in 2018. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) resettled in Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne (Addis Ababa) have become vulnerable to various threats. However, existing research gives little attention to the human security and resilience of IDPs. The main objective of this study was to examine the conditions affecting human security, resilience, and civilian protection among conflict displaced Oromo communities. A case study design and qualitative approach were applied to conduct this study. The data were collected through in-depth and key-informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observation. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that conditions such as unemployment, poverty, hunger, inequalities, pollution, oppression and political repression by the government affect the human security of IDPs. This study further reveals that coping was challenging for IDPs due to poor saving culture, weak social networks, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the high cost of living. Limited access to income, lack of working space, lack of psycho-social support, discrimination, lack of information, and a lack of robust institutions have limited IDPs’ adaptive capacities. The major stressorsthat have weakened IDPs’ transformative capacities include limited basic infrastructure, limited access to basic social services and financial services, lack of social protection, and lack of decision-making power. The government provided IDPs and their hosts with loans and social safety nets to empower them. However, the loans were inadequate, and social safety nets are available only in some towns. The study further reveals that the degree of social integration of IDPs is low. Participation in economic, social, and political life is limited because they are not well integrated. As a result of economic and other forms of insecurity, several IDPs, especially men, migrated to areas on the Oromia-Somali border to find jobs. The study also shows that different state and non-state actors assisted IDPs in cash and in kind. However, these actors focused on providing temporary aid rather than enabling IDPs to self-sustain. In conclusion, the protection of displacement-affected communities can be challenging unless a well planed and prepared intervention strategies are designed and implemented. Humanitarian interventions that undermine issues of empowerment and social integration may not help much in enhancing the human security and resilience of these vulnerable groups. Some recommendations were forwarded based on the findings.