The wars between Ethiopia and Er it r ea have resu l ted i n a greatrndeal of horrible effec t s on the live s o f thousands o f families.rnLarge numbers of families were destabi lized and di splaced fromrntheir homes in Eritrea. It is estimated that there are 1.67rnmillion displaced persons (1991 - 1994) in Ethiopi a . Some o f thesernpersons have been rehabilitated and r e integrated t o theirrnrespective communities . But an overwhelming majority is stil lrnliving in tents, kebele halls, grain stores, plastic shelters , andrnon streets. At present they are living I n an untold misery.rnDespite the magnitude o f the probl ems o f di s pl aced person s , therernis no adequate or c omprehensive informa t i on on t he ir soc i a l andrneconomic situation in the absence of which it is diffi cult to p l anrnlong-term rehabilitation programs and hence p lay ro l e in thernreduction of urban impover ishments and anomie. What is more, ve r yrnlittle attention has been accorded to d i splacement as a socialrnprocess that transforms existence, and i ts socio-culturalrndimension has a l so been grossly overl ooked. This research tries tornaddress those concerns as they refer specifically t o the displacedrnpersons (commonly called the I tefenakkai I, literally means thernuprooted) i n Addis Ababa wi th particular reference to the ones inrnthe Mekanissa -Qorre of the Nefasilk-Lafto Kifle ketema (KK) . Thisrng r oup is the largest of the 16 other similar ones in the city .rnEspecial emphasis is given to the situation of women and childrenrnthat constitute the l argest part of the displaced .