Bleak prospects await refugees from Ethiopia - San Francisco Chronicle - August 24, 2008

In Somaliland, Cadre, whose father had been a supporter of a militant separatist group, expected a respite from a three-decade civil conflict between Oromo rebels and the Ethiopian military. Instead, he and an estimated 3,000 other displaced Oromos deemed rebel sympathizers by Ethiopian authorities have encountered a new set of daunting challenges.

Each month, some 200 Oromos arrive in Somaliland, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), creating increasing tension in a clan-based state suffering from a 70 percent unemployment rate. Along the dusty streets of the capital city of Hargeisa, Oromo children beg for food and spare change, while their parents toil at such menial jobs as hauling trash, cleaning toilets and working as domestics. Many Oromos worry about being kidnapped by Ethiopia's Secret Service, which has been reported to be active in Somaliland and paying off corrupt police to avoid deportation. Read More.