TITLE: A Village Welcome

On a blazing hot day, the women and children of the Dassanech tribe come out to greet us but more really look at us, as we approach their village. They are an ancient tribe of Ethiopia whose population is dwindling. Their future and that of other tribes in the region lies in the balance as the building of a dam on the Omo River affects their livelihoods. With an already diminishing population, development and modernisation, how long before their very survival is at stake?

AUTHOR: Shobha Gopinath (Singapore)