The Humanitarian Crisis in Ethiopia
by Vennisa Owusu-Barfi
For almost a millenia, Ethiopia has stood as a symbol of African liberation and independence across the continent. As Africa’s oldest independent nation, it played an influential role in the Pan-African movement and the eventual formation of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) in 1963 in Addis Ababa, its capital. 1
Source: Financial Times
Current Crisis
However, in Tigray in northwest Ethiopia, an ongoing civil war has been raging with an estimated 500,000 people killed in the span of one year. Developing out of political and ethnic tensions, the war is currently being fought by the Tigray Defense Forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Force with the support of the Ethiopian Federal Police and other government security forces. 2
Source: Geopolitical Monitor
Though this is clearly a humanitarian crisis on the largest scale, the Tigray war has been ignored and underreported by mainstream media with NGO assistance though beneficial, proving insufficient due to the large scale of the current crisis. This has been exacerbated by the Ethiopian government’s tight control of information transfer and sharing across media outlets and social media platforms, making it extremely difficult to ascertain the full scope of damage and civilian casualties.3
Casualties
With nearly 500,000 individuals killed with concerns of systematic genocide and war crimes committed by both sides during the conflict (i.e. government forces and rebels), the UN Secretary General has described the civil war as a Rwanda-scale genocide and has called for support to help end the current conflict.3 However, with the war in Ukraine receiving majority mainstream media coverage and governments slowly recovering from economic inflation and other woes due to the pandemic, support has been slow and inadequate.
How to Support
Choosing to ignore this current crisis leaves millions of people at risk of genocide and war crimes in addition to the immense cultural and historical artefacts in the form of historical buildings, medieval manuscripts and artworks at risk of destruction and loss.3 The African Union is currently leading talks to establish peace among both sides with hopes of creating a ceasefire and ameliorating the current situation. However, you can also help by creating awareness of the current crisis on social media as well as supporting current NGOs working to support civilians affected by the civil war (listed at the end of the article).
Sources:
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Ethiopia. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ethiopia
Paravicini, G., & Endeshaw, D. (2020, November 4). Ethiopia sends army into Tigray Region, heavy fighting reported. Reuters. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict/ethiopia-sends-army-into-tigray-region-heavy-fighting-reported-idUSKBN27K0ZS?il=0
1121, 224, 220, & 348. (2022, February 21). Four ways the Ethiopian government manipulates the media. African Arguments. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://africanarguments.org/2022/02/four-ways-the-ethiopian-government-manipulates-the-media/
Guardian News and Media. (2022, May 18). Step in now to stop Rwanda-scale genocide in Tigray , UN secretary-general urged. The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/may/18/learn-lessons-of-rwandan-genocide-and-act-now-to-stop-ethiopian-war-un-urged?CMP=share_btn_tw
Gnisci, J., & *, N. (2021, February 6). Tigray's people and their heritage urgently need protecting. Apollo Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.apollo-magazine.com/tigray-ethiopia-conflict-cultural-heritage/