Livelihoods and Mobility in the Border Regions of Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia’s borderlands are key sites of population mobility and migration. Not only do these areas host most of the 800,000 refugees who have entered Ethiopia from neighbouring countries, they also are home to populations whose movements are heavily influenced by the livelihoods, trade, environment, and border management regimes working in their areas. These systems create opportunities for, and blockages to, movement within borderlands and across the country’s borders. This chapter analyses the social, political, and economic influences on mobility decisions in the border regions of Ethiopia. It considers the ways that these decisions are undertaken differently according to gender, youth, and wealth group, given the different resources and constraints that people face at individual and group levels. The chapter also considers the ways in which shocks—including natural hazards, violence, political turmoil, or economic pressure—impact upon livelihood systems and influence mobility decisions.