Ethiopia is Bleeding: Stories of the Tigray People

 

Hey Readers,

For those of you who are reading this blog post today, December 24th, before I go into today's story, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas Eve!!! Hope you are all having a great time with family and friends!

Today's blog post is to shed light on what is going on in Ethiopia. The Tigray people in Ethiopia report an increase in discrimination and abuse from authorities. Nearly 50,000 Tigrayans have fled Ethiopia, in what the United Nation calls as the worst exodus of refugees Ethiopia has seen in more than two decades. Many ethnic Tigrayans who live in the capital and other parts of Ethiopia say they have been treated like criminal suspects and subjected to various forms of discrimination, harassment and abuse by government officials.

They report being detained without charges, put under house arrest, and barred from traveling outside the country. Tigrayans say they have had their businesses shut down, homes ransacked and money extorted by security officials.

My next blog story I will go into a little history of the Tigrayan people and what led up to current attempt of ethnic wipe out of them. Stay tuned for that, but lets dive into today's story: This is a disclaimer that Huyeet's story is violent and a bit bloody. 

                                                                        Huyeet's Story

When CNN interviewed Huyeet he was 24 and like many other refugees he was scared to share his surname. Huyeet is one of the thousands of Tigrayan's who have been attacked by the army. He states: 

    "When the Ethiopian Army captured his hometown, Humera, its soldiers reassured Huyeet and those     with him that they would be safe.

Then the Ethiopian troops withdrew.

    "The Amhara militia [Fano] came and I was shot in my leg with a bullet and as I fell on the ground         the blood of the other wounded bodies splashed onto my face,"

    "As the militiamen came to inspect the bodies to see who was living and who was dead, they saw that     I was covered with blood," he recalled. "They thought I was dead, so they threw me into a stream."

Huyeet said he was saved by a group of Tigray refugees, who fished him out of the water and bandaged his leg.

    "The Fano, they left me for dead," he told CNN, as medics cleaned his wound.

The Fano are an ethnic Amhara militia which is allied with the Ethiopian Army.

A spokeswoman for the Ethiopian government denied the existence of the "Fano" Amhara militia but --confusingly -- did acknowledge that "the militia of the Amhara Region were engaged to the extent of securing border towns between the two regions." " 

Huyeet's story echoes the stories of several other survivals. Many are still very scared to share their stories. Fortunately there is an organization on ground called the Internation Rescue Committee. They are focused in providing proper health care, food and housing/tents for the refugees in the Tigray area. To donate to their foundation or to learn of other ways to help the Tigrayan people click here 

Thank you for reading today's blog post. Tomorrow I will begin my Faith Filled Friday post, which I think is a perfect start, because we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Please if you have not subscribed yet to my blog, please make sure you subscribe to my newsletter and follow Life,Faith&Love instagram page @Titiana_Love.

Always keeping it real,

Titiana Ngongang

Life,Faith&Love

References: 
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/08/africa/ethiopia-tigray-refugees-sudan-border-intl/index.html
The NewYork Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/12/world/africa/Ethiopia-Tigray-ethnic.html