<span style="font-size: 1em">Evolution of the Qeerroo as a space for young people to participate in politics</span>
In 2017/2018, the emerging Qeerroo movement was focused on defending Oromo villages from attack during the Oromo-Somali regional confict. The fghting was centred around the GAGE research site of East Hararghe zone. Even parents supported their adolescent sons’ participation in the confict, given the peril their communities were facing:
Our parents supported us to fght with the Qeerroo… They were con vinced that it’s better for one to die than the whole community perishes. If I died, then others like my little brothers and sisters could survive… I was relatively older and bigger… They had actually prohibited me [from fghting] frst, because mothers have a caring heart for their child and cannot bear the loss. But I had gone, hidden from her… I wanted to defend the community.
The Qeerroo also provided a space for older adolescents to educate them selves (sometimes through regular and structured sessions) about local, regional and national issues. Given the high rates of school dropout in rural areas, the importance of this in terms of political mobilisation cannot be underestimated:
We hold sessions and have discussions together in the evenings… We meet every Friday evening, beginning from [when young people are] 15 years old. We set the agenda by discussing together… We discuss how the people who are assigned to defend our territory shall be supported with food. The Qarree assign females who can prepare food and the Qeerroo focus on taking that food to the confict area.
Overview of key socioeconomic development indicators: Oromia in comparative perspective
Oromia
Amhara
National
People living below the national poverty line (World Bank, 2020)
24%
26%
People living below the food poverty line (UNICEF, n.d.a, n.d.b)
21%
31%
25%
Primary completion rate male/female) Ministry of Education, 2022)
81%/ 71%
72%/ 80%
77%/73%
Net secondary enrolment male/female) (Ministry of Education, 2022)
29%/ 26%
35%/ 46%
33%/33%
lliteracy among adolescents aged 15–17 (UNICEF, n.d.a, n.d.b)
48%
29%
46%
Marriage by age 18 (of women aged 20–24) (UNICEF, n.d.a, n.d.b)
43%
40%
Person deciding on woman’s first marriage was self (of women aged 15–49) (Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) and CF, 2017)
35%
15%
Current use of modern contraceptive (of all women aged 15–49) (CSA and ICF, 2017)
28%
47%
Has ever used modern contraceptive (married girls aged 17–19, GAGE sample) (Presler-Marshall et al., 2020)
7%
79%
NA
Has begun childbearing (girls aged 15–19) CSA and ICF, 2017)
17%
8%
13%
Facility delivery (CSA, 2019)
19%
27%
Skilled birth attendant present at delivery CSA, 2019)
20%
Maternal mortality (per 1,000) CSA, 2019)
.88
.44
.67
Used a bank account (of women aged 15–49)
Women who have primary decision-making over their own earnings
22%
30%
Note: Amhara is the second most populous region in the country after Oromia, and thus we include it as a point of comparison to underscore the disadvantageous socioeconomic indicators that characterise Oromia.
TABLE 21.2: Qualitative research sample and timeframe in East Hararghe zone
Timeframe for GAGE data collection and political context
Adolescent girls
Adolescent boys
Parents
Key informants
2017: GAGE baseline data collection coincided with the confict between Oromo and Somali regions in late 2017/early 2018, which resulted in the orced displacement of hundreds of housands of people
36
21
48
42
2018: GAGE participatory work
32
n/a
2019: GAGE midline data collection occurred soon after the peaceful econciliation between the two regions
45
7
2022: GAGE follow-up data collection occurred following the coming to power of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a period of optimism about political ransformation
34
57
The Qeerroo movement also gave voice to students who had previously been targeted by authorities due to their political views. This was seen by Oromo adolescents, especially those in remote rural areas like East Hararghe, as a major shift in their political participation.
The unemployment of students is directly related with the political sys tem of the past. Now, there is great revival in the political spectrum and we, the upcoming generation, shouldn’t be discouraged by what they tell us. We have to press on with full energy and hope. In the past, Oromo politics was diverted and many of our students were targeted because of their political views. The politics are now in the hand of Oromos… There is change now. The Qeerroo started the struggle.
In the past we used to worry… because people were imprisoned. Now, you are free to do anything you like… Yes, if you [were to] go out and cross your arms like this [crossing her arms; a sign showing dissent with the past government and allegiance to the Qeerroo, which could previously have led to imprisonment], you would be in danger. But now, you are free to show your dissent in any ways you like… Before, many youth were beaten and imprisoned just for opposing the government… So, after the Qeerroo came to the area, everything is in a good condition… It is the contribution of Abiy [Ahmed, Prime Minister], Lemma [Megersa] and Jawar [Mohammed] [well-known Oromo political activ ists] together with our Qeerroo.
It is notable that the young people who took part in ethnic-based protests saw them as having both positive and negative dimensions. While the move ment served as a vehicle for young Oromo to express voice and agency on the streets protesting against the EPRDF regime, the rise of Oromo ethnic nationalism was also perceived as provoking a negative reaction from other ethnic groups. Some young people identifed this as a key driver of the vio lent confict and forced displacement of Oromos and Somalis in late 2017/ early 2018.
Now, we live in freedom… We fought the regime with what we have. The Qeerroos struggled to the death… But… the revolution created fertile ground for other people to attack Oromo people, especially the Somalis. They used the chance as a shield and attacked our people to leave Somali area. They killed our people and evicted them by the thousands.