Afar regional report: 2018-2019 refugee and host community context analysis

The Afar region of Ethiopia hosts around 38,000 Afari Eritrean refugees in two camps in the far north and east of the country, alongside a total population of 1.8 million people, of whom 91% are ethnic Afar. This study focuses on the eastern camp, Asayita, which hosts around 15,000 refugees. Perhaps...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2020
Main Authors: Carver, Freddie, Gebresenbet, Fana, Naish, Dominic
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Overseas Development Institute
Refugees
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:The Afar region of Ethiopia hosts around 38,000 Afari Eritrean refugees in two camps in the far north and east of the country, alongside a total population of 1.8 million people, of whom 91% are ethnic Afar. This study focuses on the eastern camp, Asayita, which hosts around 15,000 refugees. Perhaps the most important feature of the wider region for this study is the extent of Afar marginalisation, both geographically, at the edge of the country in an area facing extreme climatic conditions, and politically, with under-resourcing and historical discrimination by the Ethiopian state. Poverty is extreme, with up to 75% of the population receiving some form of food aid in recent years from humanitarian programming and the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The level of ethnic solidarity between Ethiopian and Eritrean Afar is striking, with the phrase 'Afar Afari' recurring among respondents: 'Afar are Afar no matter where they come from'. This strong sense of solidarity is in part responsible for the extent of de facto integration in the region: more than 25% of recognised refugees live outside the camps, though they are still able to access monthly rations and other benefits available to refugees.