Ethiopia Twin Plagues of War and Famine

The problems begin at Massawa, the Red Sea port where hundreds of dock workers labor night and day to unload grain and other food destined for Ethiopia's hungry millions. Cranes are in short supply, as are trailers to store the grain. While wheat from the U.S. and Canada usually comes in bags, much of the grain from Europe does not and thus takes longer to unload. Grain sometimes arrives soaked with water; a recent shipment of milk powder was contaminated by oil.

Beyond Massawa, the problems multiply. With truck convoys that deliver the food to regional distribution centers frequently harassed by antigovernment rebels, the government's only solution to the problem is to close the roads -- and no food gets through. Airlifting is far more reliable: the giant C-130s can fly across the bone-white moonscape from Massawa to the interior city of Mekele in just half an hour. The unloading crews at the airstrip are a sight to behold. "Move it, move it, go ahead forward, go ahead forward, time is passing, time is passing," chanted a group of 15 barefoot men two weeks ago as they quickly emptied a transport of 22 tons of grain contributed by the European Community. Still, there is no guarantee that the supplies will ever reach their final destinations.

Two wars continue in Ethiopia: one against drought and famine, the other between government forces and well-armed insurgents. Long-suffering Ethiopians are the losers in both. In recent weeks rebels in the northern provinces of Eritrea and Tigre, where close to 3 million people are at risk of dying from starvation, have escalated their campaign against the government by ambushing food convoys, attacking grain-distribution centers, mining roads, firing on transport planes, and rocketing airfields. By last week the civil war had virtually halted the relief program in Tigre. Regional warehouses are mostly empty because roads are too dangerous for trucks to navigate or have been closed by the government. Says an official of the International Committee of the Red Cross: "In a month or two, we will be in a serious famine situation. It will be really dramatic."

The irony of Ethiopia's latest major food crisis is that only a few weeks ago international relief officials were optimistic. "This must be one of the best organized relief efforts ever," says David Morton, operations director of the U.N.'s World Food Program in Ethiopia. More than three-quarters of the 1.3 million tons of cereals needed in 1988 is already in the international pipeline bound for the east African nation; supplies are assured through October. Many countries have responded to the call for help with generous donations, including the U.S. with 250,000 tons, and the Soviet Union, Ethiopia's chief ally and a net grain importer, also with 250,000 tons.