Migrants Narrating: Challenging Received Wisdom on the Causes of Rural-Rural Migration in Ethiopia

Abstract

Migration in rural Ethiopia has largely been from north to south in recent years. People have been moving on thier own, some to escape the threat of death and others further to improve thier lot based on the information obtained from different sources about better opportunities in the south. The processess of movement are influenced by many factors and the departure and arrival give rise to contradictory pictures of hope and despair. Decisisons to move out are made long before the actual migration starts and the later 'takes a long time and involves several stages' (Shami 1994:4). In some instances, migrants experienced back and forth movements between two or more potential settlment areas, an indication of step migration, occasionally to the home areas as well. The case studies discussed in this paper light a complex circumstance surrounding migration and settlment. They help us grasp the dynamics of migration, including sources of information, the ordeal of long distance travel, and in some instances returning home with no hope but to re-experience the suffering that poverty inflicts on them.