Ethiopia: Eritrean Movement for Democracy & Human Rights (EMDHR) – The human, social and economic cost of the war in Tigray (22.09.2022)

The origins of the war in Tigray in November 2020, like almost all other wars in the world, are political. By politics, we mean the power struggle between political forces when one tries to implement the unlimited desire to dominate the other by force of arms instead of politics. This Tigray war is between the Ethiopian political forces led by Abiy and the TPLF and the Eritrean political force led by Isaiah. All these political forces describe themselves as being forced into the war. Abiy says we should respect the law, TPLF says it is a question of existence, and Isaiah – Game Over! -He says we have no peace until the revolutionary is destroyed. They all try to appear to be truthful to the people they claim to represent.

Leaving the political analysis to politicians, we will try to look at the consequences of the Tigray war in terms of its human, social and economic impact on the peoples of Ethiopia, Tigray and Eritrea.

Human loss

War is destruction, the first and irreplaceable killer of human lives. How many tens of thousands of young people lost their lives in the last first round alone, not counting the second round that erupted in recent days? How many tens of thousands have been maimed?

When a young person dies, his father, mother, brothers, wife, children, and all his relatives in general are hurt. If he had children, they would be orphaned, grow up without a father, and the emotional trauma of his absence would torment them for the rest of their lives. His wife raising young orphans, the sudden heavy burden, the rough life she goes through is unimaginable.

How many parents have not died in grief after telling of the sacrifices of their children in the 1998-2000 border war for independence and Eritrea? How many have lost their endurance in old age?

Those who are blind, amputated, or otherwise disabled, who should have carried their families, become the burden of their families, their people and their country.

The human losses of war are very difficult to quantify. His scars for generations are incomparable.

Social loss

War is a blazing fire for everyone it touches! How many families have been displaced and displaced because of this war. How many women have been raped? This violence leaves indelible scars for the rest of their lives, leaving them with physical and psychological wounds, tormenting not only themselves and their families but the whole society, and has irreparable damage.

Because of this war, peoples who have lived together for centuries have become divided, revengeful and killing each other. The racially motivated massacre in a village called Qadra shocked everyone and showed that man can lose his humanity and become a beast.

When this war finally stops, politicians say goodbye, and the lucky survivors return home, how many of them will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

Prolonged war creates unwanted disruption in society. These young people who are dying in this war are losing time to study, work, get married and raise their children. Women who should have been married live unmarried, children who should have been born are not born, and those born do not grow up in families with stable fathers and mothers. All of this combines to create a huge disruption in the community.

Economic loss

As we watch in the media, we see the war in Ukraine turning cities into powder with our own eyes. That is the fruit of war. How many buildings, hospitals, airports, big bridges, factories have been destroyed in the Tigray war? Today the destruction may be in Tigray or other parts of Ethiopia, if it enters Eritrea tomorrow, we have no different fate. How many millions, billions of dollars would this damage be?

You need an immense amount of money to wage war. Modern weapons, fighter jets, drones, rockets, tanks, ammunition, other weapons, provisions, fuel, etc. As third countries, these modern weapons, arms, fuel and so on, we do not produce in our country, so they have to be bought from abroad in dollars (hard currency). It is unthinkable that we will have reserved dollars if we cannot provide basic supplies to our people. So everything will be bought on credit. When will this loan be repaid? Who will pay for it? Once the politicians who started the war are removed, it will ultimately become the burden of the country and the people.

The immense amount of money being spent on the war should have been spent on developing the country and building hospitals, schools, roads, farms, factories, universities, businesses, and other infrastructure. If these infrastructures are not built, students will not have schools, the public will not have access to basic medical services, drinking water and electricity. If infrastructure is destroyed, the economy is destroyed. If the economy collapses, the people plunge into extreme poverty that lasts for generations.

This is only a glimpse of the consequences of war from the sea. We hope that social studies scholars will write about the consequences of this war in detail and teach us.

What should be the public reaction

As mentioned above, this war was fueled by a few power-hungry politicians. These politicians are criminally responsible for the lives of thousands of citizens who are dying in vain. What is our reaction, peoples of Ethiopia, Tigray, and Eritrea? As the saying goes, the people are bearing the brunt of this war. If the loss and destruction is the burden of the people, the people themselves must find solutions without waiting for politicians to change the situation.

First, he must believe that war is not the solution. He should not be deceived by the propaganda of politicians. Like it or not, the people only benefit from living in peace with each other. Hatred is not the solution.

If the people unite, there is no obstacle. “Dir Biabr, binds a lion,” as the Amharic proverb says, a thread that ties, binds a lion. The people of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Tigray, to all political leaders, “Refuse to fight! We will not give our children to death! ENOUGH OF THE PAST!” They must tell them.

conclusion

Because of the Tigray war, our region has been devastated and our people are on the verge of death and destruction. Our social fabric is being destroyed, our economy is being devastated, and our people are suffering from poverty, misery and persecution. We fear that this war will plant hatred that will last for generations. We are not blessed with wise political leaders who put the interests of their people and country first. The peoples of this region must stop the war that is destroying these poor countries without waiting for politicians to stop it so that their future and the future of their children can be secured! ENOUGH! and what his stage demands. It is not too late for people to talk to people, to find a way of reconciliation and peace. The people must raise their eyes and stop the destruction of their youth. He should hold these politicians accountable for the blood of the thousands who are dying.

Peace to the peoples of Ethiopia, Tigray and Eritrea!

Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR)
September 2022

Ethiopia: Tigrai Universities Scholars Association (TUSA) – A call for immediate meaningful intervention (20.09.2022)

Ethiopia: FDRE Permanent Mission to the United Nations – Geneva – Ethiopia is committed to peace and human rights in the country (21.09.2022)

Ethiopia: Tigray Pharmacy Association (TPA) – Open Letter – Re: Plea for ccess to medications, medical supplies and laboratory regents to the collapsed health system of Tigray (15.09.2022)

South Sudan: World Food Programme (WFP) – WFP calls for access to conflict-affected communities in upper Nile and Jonglei states (16.09.2022)

Somalia: Somali NGO Consortium – NGOs Call for Urgent Action to Avert Famine in Somalia (12.09.2022)

Ethiopia: Maternal & Child Health Coordination Team of Tigray Regional State letter to GAVI and the Vaccine Alliance directorate office – Ethiopia’s Tigray ongoing war and Siege (06.09.2022)

Somalia: NGOs Call for Urgent Funding Surge as Somalia is Expected to Face Famine (05.09.2022)

Somalia’s latest food security analysis shows that parts of the country will face famine by October 2022 if significant funding is not urgently mobilised. This projection reflects a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Somalia where at least 1.5 million children (nearly half the total population of children) are already facing acute malnutrition, farmers can no longer feed their families due to the loss of livestock and crops, women and girls face increased gender-based violence, and over 1 million people have already been forced to flee their homes due to the drought.

Further suffering and loss of life must urgently be prevented, not only in Somalia, but in neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya, where interconnected factors including drought, inflation, and conflict are pushing millions of people towards catastrophic levels of hunger. Just over a decade since more than 250,000 Somalis died from preventable famine — half of whom died before the famine was officially declared — the international community must immediately disperse funding that enables humanitarian organisations to deliver cash, food, safe water and other lifesaving services to people whose lives now depend on it.

While important funding contributions by the U.S. government and other donors have been made in recent months, substantially more is needed from more corners of the globe to match the current scale of needs in the Horn of Africa. The quality of funding is also crucial. As it currently stands, the funding supplied is insufficiently flexible or predictable, and does not flow directly to the actors best placed to respond quickly and cost-effectively: international, national, and local non-government organisations (NGOs). The majority of resources mobilised for the Horn of Africa has been received by UN agencies so far, and I/NGOs face serious barriers in accessing and operationalising the funds on the ground. In Somalia, only 20% of funding was received by INGOs, and a mere 2% was directed to local NGOs. It is time for other donors to share responsibility, ensuring that funding is predictable, flexible and delivered directly to NGOs working in the region.

Humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa will continue to grow into 2023. Forecasts indicate a fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the coming months, and recovery from drought will take time. In order to effectively avert famine in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya and prevent a protracted hunger crisis in the region, we, the undersigned organisations, call on global donors to:

  1. Fully fund the Humanitarian Response Plans for Somalia and Ethiopia without delay, and ensure that all sectors and areas are adequately covered. This includes in Kenya, where even though the Drought Flash Appeal currently appears to be well supported, some sectors such as protection suffer from funding gaps.
  2. Prioritise funding to local, national and international NGOs and consortia of NGOs who have a demonstrated capacity to respond when supported with direct, fast and flexible funding. This includes funding to women-led organisations, who are especially well placed to respond to and mitigate the gender-based violence risks magnified by the hunger crisis.
  3. Urgently convene and engage all relevant stakeholders – including relevant authorities, as well as local, national and international NGOs – to better coordinate funding streams. Together, we must find ways to ensure that predictable, multi-year nexus funding can expedite life-saving assistance, and enable communities to adapt to climate change and become more resilient to future shocks.

It is unacceptable for the international community to delay action until a famine is officially declared.
Famine is not a natural disaster, but the result of lack of political will, a consequence of inaction. Any chance at preventing further deaths, widespread illness, protection concerns and displacement depends on the immediate disbursement of funding, directly to NGOs, to ensure quick, life-saving assistance for millions across the Horn of Africa.

Signed by:

Action Against Hunger

Care International

Christian Aid

Concern Worldwide

Danish Refugee Council East Africa & Great Lakes

International Rescue Committee

Mercy Corps

Norwegian Refugee Council Somalia

NEXUS Platform Somalia

Plan International

Save Somali Women and Children

Save the Children

Social-life and Agricultural Development Organization (SADO)

Wajir South Development Association (WASDA)

World Vision Somalia

Somalia: World Food Programme (WFP) Assistance in Somalia Reaches Unprecedented Levels in Race Against Time to Avert Projected Famine (05.09.2022)

Famine is now projected in several districts of the Bay region of Somalia from October to December, unless resources can be secured to sustain and expand the scale-up of humanitarian assistance.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, September 5, 2022 – In Somalia, the United Nation World Food Programme is delivering life-saving assistance to more people than ever before, reaching 3.7 million people with relief and over 300,000 with nutrition support – but famine is now an imminent reality unless immediate and drastic action is taken.

With the country gripped by a devastating drought and forecasts of an unprecedented fifth consecutive failed rainy season, famine is now projected in several districts of the Bay region of Somalia from October to December, unless resources can be secured to sustain and expand the scale-up of humanitarian assistance.

We know from experience that we cannot wait for a formal declaration of famine to act. Even before we first warned of the risk of famine, we were working to scale up our life-saving support in Somalia as far as resources have allowed. Since April, we have more than doubled the number of people we are supporting with humanitarian assistance, reaching record numbers in Somalia,” said Margot van der Velden, WFP Director of Emergencies, speaking from Mogadishu.”But the drought crisis is still deteriorating and famine is closer than ever. The world must respond now, while we still have a chance to prevent catastrophe.”

Additional information for journalists:

Famine is now projected between October and December in the Baidoa and Burkhaba districts and displaced populations in Baidoa town of Somalia’s Bay region, unless humanitarian aid is scaled up. The last famine in Somalia, in 2011-12, killed over a quarter of a million people – and while the scale of humanitarian assistance is much larger now than it was then, the scale of need is also much greater.

According to the last official national update, close to half the population of Somalia were facing acute food insecurity in June. The situation has worsened since then, and updated figures are expected in coming days.

The hunger crisis in Somalia is primarily the result of a drought of historic severity. Four consecutive rainy seasons have failed and forecasts for the fifth are poor. This is compounding the impact of other recurrent climate shocks, coupled with conflict and instability that exacerbates hunger and restricts humanitarian access.

Food prices in Somalia were already rising sharply due to drought-induced livestock deaths and poor harvests. They soared even higher following the crisis in Ukraine. In June, the average cost for a household to meet its basic food needs was at its highest in five years.

Without waiting for a declaration of famine, WFP has scaled up humanitarian assistance to unprecedented levels in Somalia, despite the very limited resources available – especially in the early stages of the drought crisis.

In July 2022, WFP reached 3.7 million people in Somalia with life-saving relief assistance – more than double the number in April, when WFP and the UN first warned of the risk of famine, and the most ever reached by WFP in Somalia in a single month. We also reached over 300,000 people with treatment for malnutrition.

We are working to increase this still further in coming months, to reach 4.5 million people with relief and 470,000 with nutrition treatment.

WFP is the largest humanitarian agency in Somalia, with 12 offices across the country providing coverage in every state. We are in ongoing collaboration with United Nations agencies, all levels of government, partners and donors to push assistance still further into the most challenging areas.

WFP’s massive scale-up has largely been made possible thanks to timely support from the United States. But the broader international community must act now to enable us to sustain and expand this scale-up, including in hard-to-reach areas – such as the Bay region, where famine is now projected.

Ethiopia: The Full-Scale War is now on against the Tigray region [and the Tripartite Alliance attacks the region on multiple fronts]

Today, we can assess and with the knowledge that is out. That the Tripartite Alliance has now issued their forces in and around the Tigray region. That’s why you will not hear of Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) advances in the Amhara region or within Afar region. Since, the TDF will be busy defending the Tigray region on several of fronts.

The Tripartite Alliance, Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) and Amhara Regional Special Forces or Amhara Para-Military Group “Fano” against the Tigray Defence Force (TDF).

The Eritrean Forces are entering the Tigray region today. While there has been movements of troops to Lalibela, as well as in and around Kobo in North Wollo Zone in Amhara region. There are also reports of drones being stationed in Semera in Afar region. Which has been used to target locations and specific targets within Tigray. It is also reports of bombardment of civilian areas in Mekelle, which the ENDF air-force claims or alleges to be “army compound/bases”. However, they have hit a playground and around a hospital. So, the military instalments hasn’t been hit.

So, the TDF will be stretched with attacks from every sort of area around the Tigray region. This is a deliberate act and been planned. They are trying not only to continue the occupation of Western Tigray. While the Tripartite Alliance is now surrounding every corner with brigades and possibly weaken any sort of defence the TDF can have.

The ones that was expected the TDF to be able to advance in the Amhara region now. They will have enough struggle to cope with the movements and insurgencies from all sides. The TDF will not have a moment to breathe. They will be defending and need to strategically consider where they will loose ground to ensure the Tripartite Alliance doesn’t get control of the region like it did after the invasion in November 2020.

The movement away from Kobo and such seems strategically done now. As they have moved to Lalibela and other areas too. The chaos of North Wollo and South Wollo will cease, especially if the reports of possible insurgencies from Eritrea and elsewhere. Therefore, don’t expect to hear of victories or any sort of movements in Amhara region from the TDF. They will have enough to just defend itself.

The brigades and the troops moved to both Amhara region and the deployment of Eritrean forces into the Tigray region. This just shows the intentions of the Tripartite Alliance. They had prepared this ahead of the deployment of the TDF outside of Tigray. It takes time to move troops and get them ready to the various of fronts. The stationing of soldiers and mechanical divisions takes time and doesn’t just happen over night. Therefore, the Tripartite Alliance was prepared ahead of this and they knew perfectly well the plan to attack Tigray on several of fronts.

The bombing of Tigray region in Dedebit happened before the “humanitarian truce” ceased to exist and resumption of the conflict. While we know the FDRE and the clique of Addis Ababa will pin all blame on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). While the peace talks and such only makes sense to be stalling and not legit. This is why the besieged region never got peace or ability to run as normal. While everything ill of the Republic is pinned on Mekelle.

Surely, Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar and Asmara will continue to do so. The ones now acting in self-defence will be at fault. Just like it is Tigrayan people fault for being born so and being arrested for their ethnicity. That’s the sort of government in power and how it acts, while calling TPLF and Tigray terrorists. Because, that’s how they are defending their actions…

So, expect more nonsense ahead. As the famine and genocide continues. The plights and tragic circumstances isn’t changing anytime soon. Tigray is already facing hunger and starvation… and now they are also being the frontline of the war. This will be bloody and this prolonged war will destroy Tigray for about a generation or possibly even more. That’s the legacy the Tripartite Alliance leaves behind. This is their enforcement of law and how they want to operate.

The warlords is returning to Tigray with forces on all sides. The TPLF and the Tigray will get all the blame. While the men and the leaders of Addis Ababa and Asmara will prolong the agony, which they started in November 2020. They are the ones that has besieged, blocked and ensured the tragedies to happen on a regular basis. Peace.