Humanitarian Emergency in Ethiopia
By Rod Waddington/Wikipedia
The violent conflict in Ethiopia started in November 2020 and has been marked by alleged massacres, widespread looting, destruction of private property, and most recently, sexual assault as a weapon of war. What started this conflict and what can we do to help relief organizations trying to support survivors and newly displaced refugees?
A brief, fraught history.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was formed in the 1970s to advocate for self-determination, but in the 1990s the TPLF became instrumental in national governance. Until 2019, they were part of an alliance of four ethnic political parties, called the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), that led the government. When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power in 2018, he sought to end ethnic-based politics. In November 2019, before receiving a Nobel Peace Prize for normalizing relations with Eritrea, the prime minister dissolved the EPRDF and created the Prosperity Party. Only one former EPRDF member, the TPLF, refused to join.
Remember the 4th of November.
In November 2020, the TPLF was accused of attacking and seizing a federal military base. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called it a "treason that will never be forgotten," and launched a federal offensive against the Tigray region. Since then, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 56,000 people have fled Ethiopia due to extrajudicial killings and widespread violence in Tigray. CNN reported a massacre at a church, prompting the United Nations to request an independent investigation into human rights violations and potential war crimes.
Assault as a weapon of war.
According to medical reports shared with CNN, women are being sexually assaulted and held hostage by the forces attacking the Tigray region. Their attackers have openly discussed ethnic cleansing. Dr. Tedros Tefera, who is based at a refugee camp in Sudan, told CNN, "The women that have been raped say that the things that they say to them when they were raping them is that they need to change their identity," adding, "practically this has been a genocide."
Support aid groups trying to reach Tigray. The UN and humanitarian organizations said they have been blocked from moving personnel and aid into the Tigray region. It has been a daily challenge, but here are two organizations that have reached Tigray:
1) Save the Children: "Right now, Save the Children is on the ground in Tigray delivering life-saving assistance. We are working to provide urgently needed medical and food supplies to children and families. We've also set up a child-friendly space, where children can play safely and are continuing with distributions. Our humanitarian response spans across the central and eastern parts of Tigray, Northern Amhara, and the Afar/Tigray border region, as well as in Sudan where we are supporting refugees displaced by the Tigray conflict."
2) UNICEF: In early February, "a UNICEF team accompanied by the Regional Health Bureau Head travelled from Mekelle to the town of Shire in Central Tigray, with six trucks filled with 122 tons of emergency supplies. This was the first UN mission to Shire since the conflict erupted [on November 4, 2020]."