This week marks the 30 year anniversary of Michael Buerk and Mohammed Amin’s coverage of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia.  The report was first broadcast by the BBC on the 23^rd of October, “A day that shook the world”, before spreading across the globe.  The footage was shot in Korem, a small town, 100km to the North of Woldia, my hometown.

I had never seen the report until my sister shared it with me on the anniversary this week.  I watched, stunned, as a scene of almost incomprehensible grief and human suffering played out on the screen before me; a man-made plague of biblical proportions, in the twentieth century.  My response was visceral; my skin seemed to crawl.

***Please note, this footage was shot in 1984 and does not conform to Dóchas’ Code of Conduct on Images and Messages 2007.  People may find it distressing***

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOj_6OYuJc

I’m sure most…