Pawe special woreda
Encyclopedia
Pawe is one of the 21 woreda
s in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia
. Because it is not part of any Zone in Benishangul-Gumuz, it is considered a Special woreda, an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area
. Pawe is bordered on the south and west by Metekel
, and on the east and north by the Amhara Region
. The largest town in Pawe is Almu
; other towns include Felege Selam
and Ketema.
projects under the Derg
in the years 1984-6. According the governmental Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
, 16,425 individuals had been moved from Gojjam
to Pawe in that period. More settlers were recruited from the chronically land-hungry Kambaata and Hadiya regions, as well Welo
in the north. While the goals of the resettlement plans -- moving people from the overcrowded and famine-afflicted northern districts into underpopulated and more fertile ones in the south of the country -- were justifiable, the actual resettlement was done in an arbitrary and disastrous manner, according to Paul B. Henze:
How Pawe came to be selected as a suitable site for resettlement is no longer known; no adequate investigation of the area had been carried out before the choice was made, nor were the indigenous peoples consulted. Nevertheless, in October 1984 the area was presented by local officials to their superiors, and after a local visit President Mengistu Haile Mariam
endorsed the choice, pointing out that Pawe was endowed with large tracts of "unused" land, virgin soil, adequate rainfall, sufficient forest and mineral resources and a good climate.
At its peak, around 1987/1988 (1980 E.C.
), the resettlement population had a total population of 82,106 people (21,994 heads of households and 60,112 dependent family members) living in 48 villages.
According to Henze "many died and the site became a target of harassment by EPRP
remnants operating in the area. In spite of heavy investment of Italian [humanitarian] money and manpower over several years, it remained an unsuccessful experiment." Wolde-Selassie Abbute's statistics show that the population declined as time went on (most dramatically between 1990 and 1993 when the total population fell by over half), to stabilize around 1995 with the arrival of voluntary resettlers from the Amhara Region
who took over abandoned land, to rise to a total number of 41,691 by 1995.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 49,758, of whom 25,320 are men and 24,438 are women; 15,203 or 30.6% of its population are urban dwellers. With an estimated area of 567.51 square kilometers, Pawe has an estimated population density of 87.68 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 30,741 in 10,050 households, of whom 15,284 were males and 15,457 were females; 3,253 or 10.58% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in Pawe were the Amhara (75%), the Kambaata
(8%), the Hadiya (6%), the Oromo
(3.6%), and the Awi
(3.1%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.3% of the population. Amharic
is spoken as a first language by 76%, 8% speak Kambaata
, 6% Hadiya
, 3.3% Afan Oromo
, and 2.4% speak Awngi
; the remaining 23.4% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 64.4% of the population reporting they embraced that religion, while 20.4% were Muslim
, and 9.6% Protestants
. Concerning education
, 39.86% of the population were considered literate; 32.62% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school; 8.9% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school; and 1.62% of the inhabitants aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning sanitary conditions
, 100% of the urban houses and 91% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; 65.4% of the urban and 43.2% of all houses had toilet facilities.
Wolde-Selassie provides a further dimension to the woreda demographics. He has produced a table showing in 1995 75.3% of the inhabitants were individuals who were part of the resettlement project, 10.7% were voluntary or displaced migrants, and 14% were town dwellers.
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
s in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Because it is not part of any Zone in Benishangul-Gumuz, it is considered a Special woreda, an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area
Autonomous area
An autonomous area or autonomous entity is an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or freedom from an external authority. Typically it is either geographically distinct from the rest of the country or populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often...
. Pawe is bordered on the south and west by Metekel
Metekel Zone
Metekel is one of the three Zones in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, named after the former Metekkel province. It is bordered on the south by Kamashi, on the southwest by Asosa, on the west by Sudan, and on the north and east by the Amhara Region...
, and on the east and north by the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
. The largest town in Pawe is Almu
Almu
Almu is a town in western Ethiopia, the largest of three towns located in the Pawe Special Woreda of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.- Demographics :...
; other towns include Felege Selam
Felege Selam
Felege Selam is a town in western Ethiopia. One of three located in the Pawe special woreda of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2054 meters above sea level....
and Ketema.
History
Pawe acquired a sinister connotation amongst many Ethiopians, for it was the location of the largest of the resettlementResettlement and villagization in Ethiopia
Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia has been an issue since the late nineteenth century, due to the overcrowded population of the Ethiopian highlands...
projects under the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
in the years 1984-6. According the governmental Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
The Relief and Rehabilitation Commission is an Ethiopian government agency that was set up in Addis Ababa in the aftermath of the 1973 drought. It played a central role in bringing the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia to the public's attention, and helped to distribute international aid to the areas...
, 16,425 individuals had been moved from Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
to Pawe in that period. More settlers were recruited from the chronically land-hungry Kambaata and Hadiya regions, as well Welo
WELO
WELO is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards format. Licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, the station serves the Tupelo area. The station is currently owned by Jmd, Inc..-History:...
in the north. While the goals of the resettlement plans -- moving people from the overcrowded and famine-afflicted northern districts into underpopulated and more fertile ones in the south of the country -- were justifiable, the actual resettlement was done in an arbitrary and disastrous manner, according to Paul B. Henze:
Derg operatives soon resorted to drastic methods, e.g. surrounding busy market places and loading people onto trucks. Families were divided. The resettlement sites were poorly prepared. Destitute "settlers" found themselves dumped in unfamiliar, malarial terrain. Tens of thousands died.
How Pawe came to be selected as a suitable site for resettlement is no longer known; no adequate investigation of the area had been carried out before the choice was made, nor were the indigenous peoples consulted. Nevertheless, in October 1984 the area was presented by local officials to their superiors, and after a local visit President Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
endorsed the choice, pointing out that Pawe was endowed with large tracts of "unused" land, virgin soil, adequate rainfall, sufficient forest and mineral resources and a good climate.
At its peak, around 1987/1988 (1980 E.C.
Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar , also called the Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea...
), the resettlement population had a total population of 82,106 people (21,994 heads of households and 60,112 dependent family members) living in 48 villages.
According to Henze "many died and the site became a target of harassment by EPRP
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party
Founded in April 1972, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party was a prominent Marxist-Leninist organization in Ethiopia during the 1970s. It is also known as "Ihapa" from the acronym in Amharic...
remnants operating in the area. In spite of heavy investment of Italian [humanitarian] money and manpower over several years, it remained an unsuccessful experiment." Wolde-Selassie Abbute's statistics show that the population declined as time went on (most dramatically between 1990 and 1993 when the total population fell by over half), to stabilize around 1995 with the arrival of voluntary resettlers from the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
who took over abandoned land, to rise to a total number of 41,691 by 1995.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 49,758, of whom 25,320 are men and 24,438 are women; 15,203 or 30.6% of its population are urban dwellers. With an estimated area of 567.51 square kilometers, Pawe has an estimated population density of 87.68 people per square kilometer.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 30,741 in 10,050 households, of whom 15,284 were males and 15,457 were females; 3,253 or 10.58% of its population were urban dwellers. The five largest ethnic groups reported in Pawe were the Amhara (75%), the Kambaata
Kambaata
Kambaata is the name of the people who speak the Kambaata language. It was a province of Ethiopia beginning in the early 15th century and ending in the mid-17th century before Ethiopian rule was once again established under Emperor Menelek II...
(8%), the Hadiya (6%), the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(3.6%), and the Awi
Awi people
The Awi people are an ethnic group in Ethiopia, and are grouped as one of the Agaw people. The Awis live in Agew Awi Zone in Central Gojjam, and have a few communities in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.- Population :...
(3.1%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.3% of the population. Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
is spoken as a first language by 76%, 8% speak Kambaata
Kambaata language
Kambaata is a Highland East Cushitic language, part of the larger Afro-Asiatic family and spoken by the Kambaata. Dialects are Donga, Kambaata and Tambaro. It is one of the official languages of Ethiopia. The language has a large number of verbal affixes. When these are affixed to verbal roots,...
, 6% Hadiya
Hadiya language
Hadiyya is the Afro-Asiatic language of the Hadiya people of Ethiopia. Most speakers live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region in the Hadiya Zone around the town Hosaena....
, 3.3% Afan Oromo
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
, and 2.4% speak Awngi
Awngi language
The Awngi language, in older publications also called Awiya , is a Central Cushitic language spoken by the Awi people, living in Central Gojjam in northwestern Ethiopia...
; the remaining 23.4% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 64.4% of the population reporting they embraced that religion, while 20.4% were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, and 9.6% Protestants
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
. Concerning education
Education in Ethiopia
Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. Prior to 1974, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 90% and compared poorly with the rest of Africa in the provision of schools and...
, 39.86% of the population were considered literate; 32.62% of children aged 7-12 were in primary school; 8.9% of the children aged 13-14 were in junior secondary school; and 1.62% of the inhabitants aged 15-18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning sanitary conditions
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people...
, 100% of the urban houses and 91% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; 65.4% of the urban and 43.2% of all houses had toilet facilities.
Wolde-Selassie provides a further dimension to the woreda demographics. He has produced a table showing in 1995 75.3% of the inhabitants were individuals who were part of the resettlement project, 10.7% were voluntary or displaced migrants, and 14% were town dwellers.