Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas

Synopsis

Verdant, arable farmlands in Africa, especially in biodiverse but poverty-stricken countries like Ethiopia, have been called “green gold.” This is because of their exploitable, exportable resources and the relative ease with which local bureaucrats are able to evict indigenous people from their homes, thus clearing the way for foreign investors and land grabbers to step in. Swedish director Joakim Demmer’s eye-opening documentary, seven years in the making, brings international attention to the long-unchecked government corruption that has robbed many Ethiopian farmers of their livelihood. With the procedural rigor and pulse-pounding suspense of a detective story, Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas investigates the roles of the European Union, the World Bank, and the UK’s Department for International Development in allowing such injustices to occur, but focuses specifically on local officials (not only from Ethiopia but also from Kenya, South Sudan, and other areas) who put profits above the lives of their own people. Few films are as insightful about the negative impact of foreign aid and the dark undercurrents of developmentalism as this bracing example of journalistic cinema.