Migration and Rural-Urban Linkages in Ethiopia

Table 9: Location where household members would seek workFrequency PercentageThis village 236 31Urban area of this wereda 218 29Rural area of this ward 191 25Addis Ababa 30 4Urban area of this region 27 4Major city of this region 14 2Other rural area 13 2Rural area of this wereda 10 1Non-neighbouring country 9 1Rural area of region 6 1Rural area other region 4 1Other urban area 2 0Other urban area of this town (not this wereda) 2 0Neighbouring country 1 0Table 9 shows that half of the locations for seeking employment mentioned were in anurban area in the wereda, and just over a third were in a village bordering Turufe. Of thetotal thirty-nine percent mentioned working in urban areas, including four percent inAddis Ababa. Nine household members mentioned non-neighbouring countries. The datawould suggest that there is a great interest in looking for work outside the communitywith the hope of maximising opportunities for their future livelihoods.Yetmen, Amhara: In-migration trendsGiven land shortage in the area, out-migration is more common than in-migration forwhich there is very limited potential. The people of Yetmen are Amhara Christians andmost of the in-migrants are of the same ethnicity and religion, with the exception of a fewMuslims in town. Most of the in-migrants are women marrying into the area, some menlooking for work in the town, or wealthier traders establishing themselves in the town.Relations between the in-migrants and people living there have until recently generallybeen good and migrants have become integrated in religious and burial associations.In 1985-1988 many people were resettled by the government in Yetmen from Wollo,Gondar and other areas of Gojjam. They were all Amhara and Orthodox Christians. Mostwere men or men with families and their relations with local people were good. Recentlymost migrants are poor people who have arrived from the surrounding rural areas. Someof the youths have been accused of theft and relations with locals have not always beenharmonious.Yetmen: Out-migration trendsOur FGDs informed us that men migrate out due to shortage of land, indebtedness(mainly fertiliser debts), bad harvests and occasionally disputes. They are attracted33