Ethnic Conflict: Perceived Causes, Actors, Psychosocial and Economic Consequences and Challenges of Displaced Persons the Case of Sululta Site IDP Shelters
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Date
2021-03
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AAU
Abstract
The conflict that took place between the Oromo and Somali communities in Ethio-Somali region
between 2017 through 2020 was one among the many waves of conflicts that displaced citizens.
The present study attempted to examine the perceived causes, main actors psychosocial,
consequences and challenges of those people who were displaced from their habitual places of
residence and resettled at three Sululta IDP camp sites. The study has employed concurrent
triangulation research design which means both qualitative & quantitative data were collected
from both primary and secondary sources.
Participants were selected using stratified random sampling technique, and a representative
sample size of 297(only 220 responses returned back) adults were drawn through simple random
sampling technique for the quantitative data and purposive sampling was employed for the
qualitative data. The quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire, and the qualitative
data through FGD, unstructured interview questions and household observation. As to the
method of data analysis, the thematic approach was used for the qualitative data, and the
quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages
with the help of SPSS Version 24.
The result of the study revealed that ethnic based systematic conspiracy of political authorities at
local, regional and central levels were mostly found to be one of the main causes and major
actors for the conflict and gave way for their eviction from their original places of residence.
Furthermore, economic impoverishment, malnutrition, shortage of potable pipe water, poor
housing, lack of health facilities & sanitation and absolute poverty were mentioned by the
respondents to be their present critical economic problems, and loss of lives of loved ones;
feeling of negative emotions like hopelessness; despair & bitterness; separation from family &
relatives; lack of trust in the state; feeling of distress & development of victim mental attitude &
traumatic mental experiences have been marked as the most serious psychosocial problems they
faced at their campsite and that need an urgent call of both the GOs & NGOs in order to prevent
their life from further deterioration to a more severe economic and psychosocial disorder levels
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Keywords
Ethnicity, ethnic conflict, politicized ethnicity, ethnic mobilization.