Pawe Special Woreda

Pawe is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Because Pawe is not part of any Zone in Benishangul-Gumuz, it is considered a Special woreda. 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.

Pawe acquired a sinister connotation amongst many Ethiopians, for it was the location of the largest of the resettlement projects under the Derg in the years 1985-6. According the governmental Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, 16,425 individuals had been moved from Gojjam to Pawe in that period. [ [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/p/ORTP.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 6 September 2007)] 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. [Henze, "Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia" (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 309. Henze argues that the resettlement projects were used as a weapon to deprive the insurgents in northern Ethiopia of a supportive population; however Bahru Zewde points out that none of the "volunteers" for resetttlement were taken from areas known to support these rebels.]

About 125,000 people were resettled in Pawe, according to Henze, where "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."

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 49,758, of whom 25,320 were males and 24,438 were females; 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. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.3]

Towns of Pawe special woreda

* Almu
* Felege Selam
* Ketema

Notes