Campaign to Contain a Humanitarian Crisis in Tigray

Multiple sources have reported about the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in the Tigray State of Ethiopia amidst the war between the state and the Federal Government of Ethiopia.

The Washington Post describes a man-made starvation of biblical proportions that is beyond any description.

The European Union has lamented the desperate situation in Tigray and complained about Mr Abiy Ahmed’s government’s recalcitrance in disbursing aid and letting humanitarian agencies in.

These and other reportage paint a heart-wrenching picture of a society teetering on the edge of a cliff, staring down at starvation, destruction and total collapse.

The Ethiopian government has created an information blackout to obscure the grim state of affairs. Moreover, government-owed media and its supporters online have been engaged in misinformation/disinformation campaigns, painting a rosy picture that belies the dire situation the people of Tigray have found themselves in.

The government’s malicious and inhumane efforts coupled with the regrettable fact that the Western world has been engulfed in a crisis of its own have meant that the Tigray people have been left completely alone at the mercy of a callous autocratic figure determined to subjugate them by any means necessary, including mass starvation.

In response, human rights activists with ties to Tigray have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis. The main points of concern can be summarized under the following Twitter hashtags.

Please join in the campaign by twitting the hashtags and through other means you think are effective.

1. #BidenTakeAction

The outgoing Trump administration has essentially been a complicit in the suffering and devastation of Tigray by lending legitimacy to the war Mr Abiy waged against Tigray. We hope the new Biden administration will follow a new course, one based on adherence to principles and recognizing the primacy of dialogue in resolving a conflict. Use #BidenTakeAction hashtag when twitting about issues you think the Biden administration should know or act upon.

2. #HumanitarianCorridor

People are dying of hunger as we speak. The Abiy government has refused to let aid in, presumably because starving the people of Tigray is part of the plan to make the people give in the fight for self-determination. Please use #HumanitarianCorridor to bring a sense of urgency to the acute shortage of food in Tigray. Millions could die if the status-quo is allowed continue.

3. #EritreaOutOfTigray

That the Eritrean army is in Tigray has now been confirmed, despite the Ethiopian government’s initial protestations to the contrary. Even the Ethiopian government does not deny it anymore. Not only does Eritrea’s involvement violate Ethiopia’s sovereignty, the sheer cruelty of the Eritrean troops deployed in Tigray has sent shock-waves around the world. Please use #EritreaOutOfTigray to demand that Eritrea withdraw its army immediately.

4. #TigrayGenocide

The war in Tigray, and war against Tigrayans in general, has all the hallmarks of a genocide in the making. Ethnic-Tigrayans through out the country are being selectively persecuted (furloughed, evicted from their houses, jailed, fired and killed). In Tigray, indiscriminate killing, bombings and shelling of crowded towns is the norm. In parts of Western and Southern Tigray, entire communities have been uprooted and replaced by aliens. Government-owned media bask in demonising ethnic-Tigreans, presenting them as culpable for all that’s wrong in the country. If this trend continues unabated, genocide at a scale not seen before is not out of the question. Please use #TigrayGenocide to bring awareness about the nature of the war and obviate another Rwandan Genocide-like dark chapter.

5. #StopWarOnTigray

Please use this hashtag to call upon all parties involved in the war and the international community in general to resolve the problems through a dialogue. War is never a solution.