Samrawit
@AssefaSamrawit
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Joined July 2013
Thread about wartime sexual violence- Comparing previous GBV data in the community or the usual increase of GBV during emergencies with wartime sexual violence is being ignorant on the subject matter at best or purposely being malicious at worst. 1/n.
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I had a call with a humanitarian worker from Tigray, she told me "Don't ever think that the siege in Tigray is over, thousands of Tigrayans keep being denied food aid in Tigray because they are told that their names is not available online" ትግራይ ብጥሜት ትሕለብ ኣላ 1/5.
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Tigray is no longer the place we used to know, not even close to what we think it is. The scars of the genocide run deep, etched onto the lives of its residents. I had the chance of going to Mariam Shewito, in this area Eritrean soldiers massacred civilians mercilessly, 1/n.
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Three years ago today, Tigray was plunged into darkness, we woke up to no electricity, no phone, no internet, no water, no banks, no transportation. A genocidal war was declared on Tigray. 1/n.
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Wegahta means dawn, the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise. Who knows why her mother called her that two and half years ago. Just like our humanity, Wegahta is not with us anymore. This is the end of the appearance of light.
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My heart is heavy today, so much I would have loved to say. ዓኽ!.
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looted every household item, raped hundreds of women and girls, burned houses and so much more. The brutal crimes the residents have witnessed is hard to comprehend. Eritrean soldiers mass murdered the Tigrayan civilians more than a year ago. 2/n.
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Among them is a woman, who lives up a hill carries the weight of unimaginable loss and trauma. Her husband, a priest, a beacon of faith, was stolen in a brutal murder in front of her eyes. For days, she was denied the right to bury him, left to grieve under the constant 3/n.
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Up on complaint to head offices in Addis, they are told not to complain as same problems exist in Amhara and Oromia. While the denial of aid is being justified by the same inefficiency in other regions, children, women, elderly keep dying of hunger behind closed doors 2/5.
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The impact on children is even worse, I have not seen any child play, rather many stood in silence. Those who physically survived the horrors are starving to death. The world has failed Tigray and humanity. n/n.
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threat of violence.She spoke of her harrowing experience; from the look of her face, it feels as if her soul has left her, so hollow. Her body is so thin and frail. She didn’t smile but she told us to come into her house. She told us that for six days, she begged them so that 4/n.
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She added, the lack of fuel has exacerbated and it has been hard for local humanitarian organizations to function. The illegal selling of fuel and inane actions of the Tigray government keep worsening the situation, the government stands as a bystander in this situations 3/5.
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"How is it possible that their names is not online? Why has the Tigray government kept quiet? Aren't there other alternatives to solve this issue?".I don't have an answer to any of these but after all the years of halting food aid; & to keep denying them is inhumane & brutal 5/5.
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she can bury him, they prevented her and left him in the compound while they locked her in the house. At nights she guards him through the window so that hyenas do not eat his body. They destroyed her farm and looted her sheep, chicken and oxen. Now, she starves in silence. 5/n.
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As I see the destruction of the public institutions in Tigray, I kept thinking about the journey it took to build them. Mekelle University students might have heard this a number of times before, but Mekelle University was first established under a tree known as Momona 1/n.
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The funds from diaspora have slowly dried up both hoping that aid has resumed but also because they are worn out. In the meantime, Tigrayans continue to die but this time very silently. She finally says "We don't know where the aid that was allocated for the registered IDPs?" 4/5.
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She told us, now she can’t tend to her farm, not only because the oxen are stolen but also because she feels incapacitated. It has been more than a year since the people of Mariam Shewito have ever received any form of aid, there is no organisation that works on 7/n.
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"Peace for my mind," she said, the scars etched not just on her skin but on her very being. The trauma binds her, a heavy chain around her spirit. To heal, to tend to the land, to simply live - these are the dreams she clings to. 6/n.
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mental health issues or even other social services. The people support each other to prolong days that they stay alive but the whole town is already ransacked and many have gone mute due to the atrocities they have witnessed. 8/n.
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These Tigrayan doctors have not been paid for more than 8 months, but they have not mentioned their own challenges. Rather they are crying because they are stripped from the privilege of serving their community. What kind of love of community and sacrifice is this?
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Somehow today I am very emotional and keep having these flashback about what happened a year ago. A year ago today, me and my family decided not to go to the mountains to hide even after the 72 hours ultimatum to bombard Mekelle was announced 1/n.
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Tigray is alone 💔, we have shed blood stained tears for two full years.
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Dear Tegaru ahwatey, .Please don't read all the reports coming out of Tigray in one go. If you did, please take a break. Please take care of your mental health. It is important that you check on your loved ones. To those who are experiencing it, I don't know what to say.
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This Tigrayan clothing is a precious thing that almost every woman owns in Tigray. This priceless clothing always represents very important celebrations in a Tigrayan woman’s life. Every dress has a story, weddings, baptism, engagements 1/2.
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The youth feel hopeless and spend their days in betting houses. Many students have not returned to school. But one thing remains true: Tigrayans have irreversibly changed. The scars remain printed in our minds, souls, and bodies.Despite the darkness,Tigrayans remain resilient.n/n.
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Ethiopian Airlines @flyethiopian has not located my and my other colleague’s luggage for three days and yet they still have not provided any compensation for the days that we are without our basic needs unlike the other airlines do.
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This is a voicemail from my mother that she sent me in January. In between her cries and broken voice she says these words. She starts saying “I won’t say much”, because if messages are past 30 sec, it will be impossible to send. Inspired by @GirmaiY 1/3
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I was in Tigray at the time, supporting a community-based organization. I had been due to travel back to Addis Ababa on Thursday, but on Wednesday, everything went black. The day before, I had told my best friend Fretta, who was living abroad, that I heard gunshots 2/n.
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Please pray for Tigray, the land that taught me faith, courage and resilience, please pray for my community who taught me humility, liberality and love, please pray for my family who gave their all to be where I am today. I am nothing without all three.
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I have never been this low in my life as today, my community is drinking holy water to stay full because they don't have anything to eat. I am watching my people starve to death from a distance. This place, Axum, is where my aunt died alone behind closed doors! ዓኽ
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Yesterday, my colleague Chuol was killed in Amhara region. He really loved life, joked around and was against the war since the beginning. May you rest in peace Chuol.
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my identity as a feminist, humanitarian, and pan-Africanist. I have seen Ethiopian feminists asking for eyewitnesses for rape survivors, and humanitarians justifying the starvation of newborns. Today, Tigray is deboned. Cities have become IDP sites with no end in sight. 8/n.
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We have seen it all: cutting breasts, burning, starving, torturing, and more. In today's Tigray, every trust has been broken in a way that seems irreparable. We have lost friendships with many of our Ethiopian friends, and I have lost what I felt defined me: 7/n.
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So much has changed since then that is has become hard to trust even the commercial air planed. Now, children still look up at the sky in fear, traumatized by the possibility of an attack. As one person said, "Tigray has become a laboratory of how to kill an individual." 6/n.
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and I was worried about a possible war. She had responded, "Please go outside and look at the moon dear, it is such a beautiful night." She had then sent me a song, which I don't remember. Since then, hell has been unleashed on Tigray. 3/n.
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Picking fallen wheat seeds for the purpose of eating should have been done by birds not human beings. This picture depicts Tigrayan mothers picking wheat seeds from the roadside that don’t amount to anything edible but what choice does a starved and ignored population have?
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When the war started, we all had plenty of time with so little to do, so we focused on discussions we never had. One day, I went to my father’s friend’s house and we started discussing Tigray’s resources. Is Tigray poor? ት���ራይ ድኻ ድያ? And he told me a story 1/n.
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There are some people who seem immortal, Abe was one. She is the wife a childhood friend, she used to love life, her family and Tigray. She used to be actively involved in changing herself, her family and other social behaviors in Tigray for the better 1/n
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On the second day of the war, I was walking with my sister around Qedamay Weyane Market when a military jet flew overhead. The sound was terrifying, but instead of hiding, people came out of their shops and looked up at the sky. This was unusual. 4/n.
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During the Ethio-Eritrean war, we used to hide the moment we heard the sound of a jet, but this time, everyone seemed to trust that the jets wouldn't bomb us. "They wouldn't do it," everyone kept saying. 5/n.
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Last time I was on this app, I posted about my hiking trip to Chom’a, retweeted @Rewina_IB trip to Cheleanqua,we were organizing to meet up with friends I have met on Twitter, most of which who came from Addis and who were supposed to come from Addis in the very peaceful Mekelle.
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After the jet strike at Ayder School by the Eritrean Gov. during the Ethio-Eritrean war, we were told to stay at home, so school was disrupted. We were told to dig trenches in our homes that looks like a periscope (for those who remember their physics class) laid on a floor. 1/n.
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Many times we relive our trauma, in Tigray many of our songs, actions reflect what we have been through or what we have been deprived of for generations. One thing I have noticed is that there are many songs about small birds and crows. 1/n.
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My friend gave birth in Mekelle, mother and baby are both well. My friend is born and has lived her whole life in Addis. When the war started her two children and her husband (my best friend) were in Mekelle visiting grandparents. 1/n.
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The energy is so vibrating and the happiness takes you into another planet. It hasn’t even been 2 years since I took part in it, the nostalgia of feeling happy, the luxury of feeling safe, the privilege of being surrounded by our own people, 3/n
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In Tigray, we say in a human’s life there are 3 events that are considered to be very important and sacred, day of baptism (for Orthodox), day of wedding and day of death/funeral. Baptism and wedding are very colourful to celebrate the beginning of life and also togetherness. 1/n.
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Tegaru ahwat, . For your own sanity, please adjust your settings on privacy and safety so that you don't see videos unknowingly. Lately, many are emotionally not okay so please take care of your mental health.
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As much as I refrain from commenting on anything, I can’t understand the aim of this tweet. While it is completely untrue, but even if it were true what part of foreign invasion does it make you relieved? What part of the terror of the community makes you happy?.
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My friend once told me when it is so painful that you find it hard to pray,ask others to pray for you. Tigray has started a three days fasting and prayer for people from all religions to end suffering,I ask @DalaiLama @muftimenk @Pontifex @EcuPatriarch to pray with us for #Tigray.
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When you see a Tigrayan child being stitched on his/her head without anesthesia after a bombardment, without crying or showing any emotions, it doesn’t mean that it hurts less than it does to any other child. It means that they are bewildered to even have the capacity to cry.
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A couple of days before the capture of Mekelle end of 2020, me and my childhood friends met in a cafe with lots of uncertainties and more importantly as a form of goodbye if we don’t make it alive. We didn’t utter the word goodbye, but in our hearts we were all fearing 1/n.
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Those of you who find it justified to mock, belittle and make jokes about the famine in #Tigray, I feel sorry for the parents/caregivers that have raised you. Please have some self-respect for the sake of the people you represent.
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I have donated $125 so that @TdrFund can buy one desk chair which will be used by three students each year. I believe sitting on a desk chair preserves the dignity of Tigrayan students who have lost everything.
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In Tigray, we say “The tongue doesn’t have bones but has the power to break the bones of people” (መልሓስ ዓፅሚ ዘይብላ ክነሳ; ዓፅሚ ሰብ ትሰብር):: Being careful with what we say is important as it leaves stains behind for years to come. 1/n.
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Very recently, I have been seeing some Eritreans on social media feeling that good deed from them has never reciprocated. I have seen some of them say “ንሕና ኢና እምበር ንሕግዞም ንሳቶም ካሕዳማት ጠላማት እዬም" 1/n.
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I envy people who said they had a blast in their university days, I hate mine. I went to Haromaya University many years ago, I was one of the very few females that made it to University from Mekelle. Back then there was only one high school in Mekelle and I think there were 1/n.
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Four years ago, I traveled to Tigray to support a local organization. My plan was to meet with an Eritrean refugee studying for an Engineering degree at Mekelle University. I had spent countless hours on the phone with him, helping him with his scholarship application to 1/n.
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Today is @DrTsion birthday, one of Ethiopia’s pride. She is a hardworking, compassionate, loving and a strong advocate on issues she strongly believe in. She is a hero on the COVID frontlines. Wishing you a lifetime of blessings Tsi. @dahabesha here is to celebrating our hero.
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Few days ago, we heard that our friend’s mother died in Mekelle because she was sick. My friend’s husband (my childhood friend) was so anxious on how to tell her. In the #Tigrayan culture, it is the elderly who tell about the death of a loved one, the elderly would gather 1/n.
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My best friend’s mother is from Nebelet, sadly it was one of the areas that was continuously occupied by Eritrean soldiers. During their occupation, they killed a mentally disabled person named Tesfay, later residents asked them "Why would you kill a mentally disabled person?"1/n.
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I never watched any of the videos of massacres, my sister however she watched many of them. When people were talking about the Mahbere Dego Massacre, I stayed out of any social media and I told my sister not to watch it. By the time I went to bed, 1/n.
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I don’t know where else in the world Humanitarian aid being hindered until peace is attained. Had it been the case, international humanitarian law was never needed. Tigray is a test of humanity.
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Baba Gebremeskel, as I call him, is my father's best friend. Before the war both of his kidneys failed and his niece was kind enough to give him one. He did his transplant in India, and just before he left I invited him and my father at MK's in Addis. 1/2
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Some of my regrets are filled with the very minor actions I took or didn't take. Yesterday I decided to call home for today, today the phone lines in Mekelle are down. I could have done it yesterday, I should have done it yesterday.
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💔💔.
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Me and my best friend, who is loving, kind and humble, have been friends for more than 20 years; her mother has been the rock of her family and her community. During the 20 years we have known each other; I have never asked her about her father; she has never told me either. 1/n.
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ኣብ ማሕበራዊ ሚዲያ ትነጥፉ ሰባት በጃኹም ናይ ተጋደልቲ ተማሃሮ ኣሕዋትና ነጥቢ: ፎቶግራፍን ሽምን ኣይትለጥፉ:: ሳዕቤኑ ከም ንግምቶ ኣይኮነን:: መን ኮይንና ኢና ሕጂ ኣብ ክንድኦም ንጃሃረሎም? እተን ዝተለጠፋ በጃኹም ኣጥፍእወን::.
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About a couple of weeks ago, me and my sister were mourning the death of a loved one who committed suicide. A very bright young man, he returned from the country that offered him scholarship and decided to end his suffering. Whenever he is on a break in Tigray, he is the one 1/n.
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Just as the one year anniversary of the destructive war is fast approaching, so many memories are flushing back from when it started. Few days before the war started, I was making plans to meet up with friends I met on Twitter. 1/n.
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Someone on Twitter with a closed Twitter account posted a song by the late singer Ataklti with its lyrics. I have probably heard the song before but never paid attention to the lyrics, the music starts with these melancholic lyric.If your mother dies, you mourn for a week 1/n
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The ones who checked on us despite our irresponsiveness, the ones who have asked in what way they can help, the ones who had more humanity than their politics because love always trumps hate. We will keep you deep in our hearts. Thanks for all you do n/n.
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This is ኣብርሆት library in a very small scale that was established by the community in Mekelle in 2019. It is nice to see the name scaled up to a state of the art library in Addis.
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Hey everyone look at this short but informative documentary. The Frankincense and Myrrh on this documentary are from Ethiopia and one of the producers is my sister @nebyatina . Guess I should be proud of her 🙄. @ProfKindeya I can see you in this documentary as well. @Tseday.
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Long🧵 .In Tigrigna there is a saying “ቀታሊ ወደይ ለባም ግበረለይ” which is translated as “[God], make my son’s killer wise”. This saying is used both in Eritrea and Tigray, I have heard Tigrayans say that repeatedly specially after the start of the genocidal war and one 1/n.
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,beautifully branched tree. I remember how my father’s friends moved both from abroad and other parts of Ethiopia, left all the comfort and payments they had and contributed their fair share for it be what it was 4 months ago. (Here is a picture of their first office) 2/n
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She is bringing it home!!! Oh my God! She won.
"Reach out and help your sisters. Wherever you are, together we can make this issue a thing of the past." #CNNHero Freweini Mebrahtu is stamping out the stigma surrounding menstruation — all while paying women premium wages.
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Ayder hospital was born from the ashes after Eritrean jets bombarded Ayder elementary school killing 48 children and their parents who came to support. It is a Tigrayan story of transforming from trauma, and that even such horrific events can lead to healing and growth 1/2.
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Carrying the burden at this young age, the 5 year old Freweini is trying to protect her family's farm from desert locust. Women and children are usually the ones that are highly impacted by such disasters. Today is the International Day of the Girl Child #DayOfTheGirl.
የ5 ዓመት ህፃን ፍረወይኒ .የወላጆችዋ ማሳ ከአንበጣ መንጋ የመከላከል ጥረት.ትግራይ: ራያ ጨርጨር
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In the late hours when the 72 hours ultimatum to bomb Mekelle was announced people started fleeing far from the city. All we can see was people carrying that yellow Kurtu (or another brand)plastic bag with small(mostly red) blanket in it,carrying children .
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Thread about the beauty of Tigray-I had stopped watching or listening to music since the war started, but reading and watching the news of Tigray made me scared that Tigray will be a synonym with starvation, rape, gang-rape and destruction. 1/n.
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I went to Mekelle for very few days and I was stuck there . Fast forward, 100 days from that day, I have seen so much that talking about it makes me weak, I feel debilitated and broken, I feel the pain in my marrow to see the suffering my people are going through.
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In 2010, I attended a Human Rights Education course in one school in Canada, and as part of the training we visited the Holocaust Museum. After finishing visiting the Holocaust Museum, we are asked to reflect and then we dine with either a Holocaust survivors 1/n.
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In the end, everything will pass, the evil will be forgotten but kindness is to stay in the memories of many. When you can, be courageous and choose kindness. n/n.
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I met this child at Mariam Shewito, the burden and trauma he carries at this age is just beyond words. He still lives in the same house where Eritrean soldiers killed all of his family. He remembers how they placed the youngest child on top of his murdered mother’s body.
#TigrayGenocide .Child Daniel G lives in Maryam Shewto, Adwa, Tigray. He saw Eritrean army killed his mother, father, grandfather, aunt & 3 other civilian neighbors in Oct 2022. One story of 1000 stories in Tigray.
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A long thread about privacy and confidentiality. When I first started working in a very small regional town, a woman came to the Women’s Affairs Office (WAO) with her father and brother. She told me, my boss and another colleague that her husband has beaten her with electric 1/n.
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“Will there ever be justice for the women of Tigray?”.
Interviewing Azmera is one of those stories you will never forget, especially if you are a woman. She is 32 years old and was born in Adwa city, one of the hardest hit by the bloody war that ravaged Tigray from 2020 to 2022. ⬇️. @UN_Women @unwomenafrica @ONUMujeres
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On June 23, 2018, hundreds and thousands of Ethiopians held a rally for the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Meskel Flower was packed, not even a needle would find a land to fall. People were joyous, holding banners with peace, unity, and love written all over it. 1/n
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There is no question though, Tigray will be rebuilt as there is that same determination wherever anyone of us are but history remains to be the judge. The ones we will always remember will be the ones who shouted for no war, who advocated on our behalf 12/n.
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I grew up listening to songs about birds bringing messages to family. Awetash in this song says “Little birdie bring my messages to Tigray, because nothing will prevent you from flying”. 3/n
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I pray for a day that my people will have at least one meal a day, that they will have access to drinking water, access to medical services, feel safe and independent. I just pray for the bare minimum because that is all I can think for now.
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Lastly, here is a song by the freedom fighter Tewolde Djbouti with the title ትግራይ ድኻ ድያ (Is Tigray poor)? The song is more of an essay that clearly explain the compounding factors that made Tigray look poor.
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Every bit of mountain, land, institution, development has our footprints so the destruction of any of it is personal and painful. It feels like every brick we have thrown to what it was has been destroyed, in a way it makes me feel like part of me is destroyed 11/n.
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It was already a habit that students would bring water from their own houses, take care of the plants in the schools. On top of that I was also embarrassed to carry a yellow jerrican and walk on foot (as there was no transportation) but through time it became a habit. 6/n.
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They left all their life behind to have an office in a sunny, sandy and windy area with no office or office equipment for that matter. I didn’t grow up in Tigray, most of my friends didn’t grow up in Tigray as well. We were a collection of friends whose parents decided to . 3/n.
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On June 5 1998, 26 years ago, Eritrean Air Force bombarded Ayder Comprehensive Primary School while children were in school. A second jet flew in targeted the same school killing 53 civilians including 12 minors & injuring 183. Second jet targeted those who came to support 1/4.
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Beer companies keep eyeing/exploiting Tigray. Dashen beer has posted the below picture all over Mekelle, I am not sure if this is ethical but it gives me discomfort to see a cultural event to promote alcoholic drink. I wish this could have been regulated.
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