The Shadows of Forced Displacement and Rays of Hopes: Livelihood Practices of Households at Koye Feche Resettlement Site, Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia

Forced displacement is one of the most devastating anxiety-causing social, economic, and political problems that needs more intervention based on rigorous investigations. Accordingly, this study was planned to describe the livelihood practice of households in post-forced displaced resettlement in Koye Feche resettlement site, Ethiopia. The study used mixed research design in which qualitative data supplemented to quantitative data. Accordingly, findings of the study revealed that even though the host community residence area, the Koye Feche, is located near the periphery of the capital city of Ethiopia, the Finfinnee, at Oromiya Regional State, their level of education and awareness about the opportunity around them and making better livelihood practices is very low as compared to forced displaced households. The majority of host community livelihood practices depend on farming activities, while all of the relocated households' livelihood practices depend on non-farming, different types of petty trade’s activities. The resettlement area, which was agricultural land before 2018, now became a village having accessibility to electricity, the main road, and better houses. Despite the settlers’ households’ current level of income being low as compared to the previous status, they have strong morale in getting two-bedroom houses at a good location near Finfinnee/Addis Ababa. The houses given to relocated households were not only used for a place to live, but also utilizing parts of their homes or surrounding spaces for business activities such as small-scale trade.