Aid community silenced in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia had more internally displaced people than any other country in the first half of 2018, but NGO workers are having a hard time talking about it.

Representatives from humanitarian aid and human rights organizations working in Ethiopia say they can’t speak about the internal displacement crisis without fear of backlash from the government.

“If you talk about this issue, either you will end up in jail, you will be beaten, or other bad things will happen to you.”

When asked to comment on aid delivery, the situation inside the camps, and challenges to tackling the multiple drivers of displacement, eight representatives from aid organizations did not respond or said doing so would be “too sensitive.” Most of those who were interviewed asked to speak anonymously, citing potential consequences that ranged from being restricted in their access to deliver aid, to being beaten and arrested.

“If you talk about this issue either you will end up in jail, you will be beaten, or other bad things will happen to you,” said Dan Yirga, a senior human rights officer with the Human Rights Council — Ethiopia’s only remaining human rights monitoring and reporting NGO following the country’s 2009 CSO Proclamation, which criminalized most human rights work in the country at the time.

Read more :https://www.devex.com/news/aid-community-silenced-in-ethiopia-93890#.XBO5hHDqguM.twitter