After two years of bloody war, the northernmost region of Ethiopia has finally found some stability, which has also allowed humanitarian aid to reach the exhausted population. The commitment of the Salesians and of the VIS
The bloodiest and least visible of the wars in Africa lasted two years: that of Tigray, in northern Ethiopia. Two years in which all communications – by land and by air, by telephone and via the Internet – were interrupted and in that black hole that was this region for very long months the worst atrocities took place and one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world.
Today, after the signing of the peace agreement, which took place last November in Pretoria, South Africa, concrete glimmers of peace can finally be seen. This is also testified by the Salesians who have always remained there and who have continued to assist thousands of children and young people, reconverting their mainly educational commitment into aid of the utmost necessity. And this is what Chiara Lombardi, general director of Vis, the international volunteering organization for development, born in 1986 on the promotion of the National Center for Salesian Works and inspired by the message of Saint John Bosco and his educational system, also tells us from Addis Ababa : «For the first time, the six members of our staff, who continued to operate in Tigray, were able to communicate with us and some of them were finally able to fly to the capital, where we met again after a very long and very difficult”.
In recent months, in fact, communications have gradually reopened: telephones and the Internet, rigidly shielded by the Addis Ababa government, have resumed functioning, as have internal flights, while the land borders have remained partially closed, even if since last November about 5,300 trucks loaded with basic necessities, medicines and diesel have been able to transit. “Sending humanitarian aid has become easier and we continue to assist people who have been involved in the two years of conflict – said Father Abba Hailemariam Medhin, superior of the Salesians in Ethiopia, where there are 14 communities, of which 4 in Tigray (Makallè, Adigrat, Adwa and Shire) with 25 religious: “People still need food and more – the Salesian points out -. We are slowly resuming the psychological assistance service and we are reopening the educational centers, but people need food and health services above all”.
It will not be easy to start afresh in a land that has been brutalized. Approximate and impossible to verify figures – also due to the total opacity on the information front – speak of 600,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced and 56,000 refugees out of a population of just over 7 million people. Not to mention the war crimes – massacres, torture, mass rape, looting and destruction – committed by all sides: the Ethiopian federal army that invaded the region in November 2020, the forces of the Popular Front for the Tigray, who oppose the government of Addis Ababa, and the Eritrean military, allies of the latter, but never officially recognized as a party to the war, despite the many atrocities witnessed by the civilian population.
Overall, about 9.4 million people, not only in Tigray, but also in the nearby Amhara and Afar regions, have been directly or indirectly affected by this conflict, which has aggravated an already critical humanitarian situation due to the prolonged drought, which occurred after the terrible invasions of locusts and the Coronavirus pandemic. A situation that also affects other regions of the country. According to the Ethiopian Humanitarian Response Plan, more than 20 million people are in urgent need of aid: two-thirds are women and children.
The latter, in Tigray, have also suffered the repercussions of the closure of about 2,300 schools caused by the war. Many have not been reopened for the third consecutive year. About 2.3 million children (including 1.8 million girls) had to leave their classes. And many suffer from malnutrition.
This is also confirmed by Chiara Lombardi who, before becoming director of Vis, was a co-worker for several years, alone and then with her family, precisely in Ethiopia, a country she knows very well both in its most problematic aspects, but also for its extraordinary historical, cultural and social wealth. «Vis has been present in Ethiopia for more than twenty years – she says. During the conflict in Tigray many activities were suspended or slowed down. In recent months, however, we have resumed various projects both to deal with emergencies, but above all to be able to look to the future. At the moment, we are taking action above all to enhance the nutrition of around 700 boys and girls under the age of five with food products with a high nutritional content and to support their families. Furthermore, through the Salesian network, we have resumed the distribution of food, in particular flour and cooking oil, to more than 900 families, we guarantee the supply of clean water for domestic use to 6,650 people and we have distributed basic necessities for hygiene personnel to almost 1,700 families, for a total of 8,350 individuals».
Despite the difficulties, Lombardi expresses a certain optimism and a good dose of trust, sentiments that he has also received and shared by the local staff. «The climate that reigns in recent weeks is certainly still one of fatigue, but also of the desire to rebuild. We also see it among our operators who, despite the difficulties, with many ups and downs and often without salary because it was impossible to get him to Tigray, have continued to provide assistance to the population, networking with other humanitarian organizations. And now that the situation is calmer, we can finally think about a recovery phase.
The Salesians themselves are gradually reactivating many activities especially with children and young people. About five thousand benefit from services, especially educational ones, in schools, technical institutes, youth centers and parishes. «With the Salesians – explains Chiara Lombardi – we are trying to restart short courses and training of vocational training to give young people the hope and skills to get back on their feet and build a dignified life in their land. Furthermore, we would also like to relaunch recreational activities and psycho-social support especially for the most vulnerable”. Schools represent a fundamental point of reference and restart for rebuilding a completely devastated region. However, many buildings are still occupied by displaced persons, who are gradually returning to their homes; others have been damaged and teaching staff are missing. And many children who dropped out of school during the conflict are unlikely to return.
«It will not be easy to reopen the schools after three years of closure – specifies the director of Vis -, but it is very important to rebuild this land and its people. We too, as an international cooperation body, are trying to think about the future, especially through development projects interrupted by the conflict. We are aware that reconciliation is not done in a day, but is a process. And yet we think that today we need to believe in the positive signs and have faith».
What happened
On November 4, 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declares a state of emergency in the “rebel” region of Tigray and launches a massive intervention by land and air forces. But what was supposed to be a blitzkrieg against the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray dragged on for two years, due to the reaction of the Tigrinya militias and the intervention of other non-state armed groups, such as the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) , while the federal government is unofficially supported by the Eritrean army.
On 2 November 2022, a peace agreement was signed in South Africa which provides for the restoration of federal authority over the entire Tigray region, the disarmament of the militias, the withdrawal of the Eritrean military and the reopening of humanitarian aid flows.