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Seka Chekors is not too different from many other
similar towns as it struggles to pull itself out of
the poverty that grips much of one of the poorest
nations on the planet. One additional challenge to
the town's residents that puts it in a unique
category of towns is resurfacing after being
relegated to bad memories for many old enough to
recall.
One of the 230 districts within Jimma Zone in the
Oromia Regional State, the township Seka Chekors is
Located 347Km southwest of Addis Abeba.
Twenty-thousand people inhabit this rural town 20Km
along the main road from Jimma township.
Springtime in 1991 not only brought the normal belg
rains but also the overthrow of the Derg military
regime in power since 1974 and installation of the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Forces (EPRDF).
The ensuing power vacuum rendered government
facilities vulnerable to looting and general
insecurity of property.
In Seka a number of the residents stormed the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD)
warehouses removing whatever their hands and
shoulders could bear.
Ibrahim Abageno, a 50-year-old resident of Seka and
father of three who earns a living growing chat and
corn as well as cattle ranching, vividly recalled
what went wrong back then.
"The change in government left the warehouse
unguarded," Ibrahim told Fortune.
Some of the materials were a rather nefarious bounty
and turned out to be more of a curse than a
treasure.
Expired chemicals, such as DDT
(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a colourless
pesticide that kills insects and is also harmful to
animals and humans, was among the items carted off
by ecstatic looters.
This chemical was heavily used in many parts of the
world until later being found to possess effects
reaching far beyond the intended purpose of ridding
crops of pests. DDT was pivotal in the formative
stages of the United States (US) environmental
movement beginning in the 1960's as Rachel Carson's
investigative journalism book Silent Spring revealed
the chemical's role in killing huge bird populations
in the US's Midwest.
Along the hurried journey from the warehouse to home
some of these people chose to empty the chemical
from the containers thus spreading the toxin on
various plots of land in the area.
Soon the impact started to become tragically
apparent in the lives of residents, domestic animals
and the environment, area residents told Fortune.
"Sadly some of these people involved in the robbery
of the warehouses must have mistaken the fine
white-powder stored in the containers for wheat
flour and made porridge out of this chemical only to
die instantly," Ibrahim recalls.
Ibrahim's three cows were among the 20 cattle were
found dead after grazing on contaminated grass.
"Remains of dead hyenas were also found not too far
away from the dead domestic animals as well as
scavenger birds," Ibrahim recounts.
In 1992, concerned by what was going wrong, the
Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau of Jimma in
collaboration with Jimma University, formed a
committee to bury the chemicals scattered here and
there.
Fifteen years down the road, however, this chemical
is now more than a disturbing memory as the
potential for its effects are feared to be revived.
About 500m away from where these obsolete chemicals
were buried a well was sunk that is servicing many
residents in the town with potable water.
Teshome Tafesse, plant health clinic expert under
Jimma rural and agricultural bureau, is among those
concerned that the hasty manner in which the
chemicals were disposed was a short-term solution
that did not close the tragic chapter in the book of
Seka Cherkosaa
"Although the move taken to burry the chemicals back
then was useful in the short-run in the face of
emergency, it is time to find a permanent solution,"
Teshome told Fortune.
Fears of toxic chemicals haunting citizens with
their disastrous effects are not limited to Seka
Cherkosaa.
In 1996 the government identified 1,500tn of
obsolete chemicals that needed proper disposal. Upon
forming a partnership with international
institutions such as the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in 1998, the government began a
project to incinerate the expired pesticides using
international experts and finance.
After funds were made available and these
institutions assessed the situation from 2000-2003,
under the auspices of FAO, the United Nations (UN)
established specific mechanisms to remove the
pesticides.
This programme cleared a total of 243 chemical-prone
sites through the successful incineration of 1,575tn
of obsolete pesticides of which 1,511tn have been
safely repacked. In 2004 an additional 705 sites
were cleared having safely repacked 1,000tn of
obsolete pesticides.
The work is not complete however, as the country's
stock of harmful chemicals is not thoroughly
depleted.
From the period of 1983-1993 Ethiopia imported
around 4,000tn of pesticides annually at a cost of
21 million dollars.
"In order to advance into the next step based on
what we have accomplished we are now prepared to
conduct comprehensive studies," Biratu Oljira,
national project manager under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, who says further
progress is being made, told Fortune.
Two months ago 850tn of obsolete pesticides have
been repacked and are being transported to a major
collection centre in Addis Abeba. An additional
640tn of these chemicals from as many as 593 sites
are to be shipped overseas for incineration.
The overseas incineration would be done after these
chemicals are safely repacked and brought from seven
major sites - Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Kombolcha, Awassa,
Nekemt, Jimma and Dire Dawa - where they are stored
to the main collection centre in Gotera.
These chemicals originate from numerous places and
are intended for various agricultural uses after
being imported by various state farm enterprises and
stored at MoARD facilities. However, their short
life span relegates great volumes to obsolete
states. Although many chemicals are usable for about
two years of manufacture, the transport period to
the site of intended use often cuts this time by six
months, a loss of time that is often too great for
recovery.
Once these chemicals expire they become highly
poisonous and dangerously harmful to all living
things, according to a chemical expert in the
private sector.
Residents of Fiche, located 112Km north of the
capital in North Showa Zone of the Oromia Regional
State, suffer from the pungent smell emanating from
these warehouses. While the aroma is a nuisance, the
process with which these pesticides are transferred
to the site from where they would be transported for
incineration has become more of a danger in the eyes
of some residents.
An expert from the District's Agriculture and Rural
Development Office told Fortune the chemicals are
being exposed to the soil and air and causing
employees to fall sick.
"Although the first phase of incineration of the
chemicals is given priority, the warehouses that
have been storing the chemicals should be closed
down and subsequently cleaned up," the expert said.
"In order to avoid possible contamination of the
soil around this area the surface should be dug at
least one metre deep."
The national project sets three phases by which to
rid the nation of harm from the expired pesticides.
The first one starts with shipping the chemicals
overseas to be eliminated as such chemicals require
1,200 degree centigrade heat to be effectively
incinerated, a very costly proposition.
The second and the third phases would deal with
destroying the containers of the chemicals and
removing the surface soil where contamination is
found, as this land is sterile and only poses a
threat.
The nationwide effort, however, does not address the
household level as many families are thought to be
using the dangerous containers.
Tadesse Amerra, a public health professional and
coordinator of the African Stockpiles Programme NGO
voiced professional concern that the exposure of
obsolete pesticides has tremendous negative impact
on the safety of human habitation and would affect
the delicate balance of biodiversity.
"Some of the main consequences that would result
through the exposure of these chemicals are cancer,
miscarriage and sterile, Tadesse told Fortune. "Once
the chemical entered into the human body, it would
lodge in fatty tissue and cause serious illness."
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