Six months after the conflict began, governments need to be doing more to help those affected by the fighting
In any given humanitarian crisis, anywhere in the world, it is always the most marginalised, the most vulnerable groups that suffer the most. It is no surprise then that women and children are so often the bearers of the brunt of war.
“I never thought I would fall in love with earphones like this, but trust me, sometimes it is the best solution to escape from reality,”
“The Diary of Anne Frank is so relevant in different ways to what is happening to so many teenage girls in Tigray. The current situation has forced teenagers and young kids to stay at home, away from school,”
IOM achieved major milestones in Ethiopia in 2019. To list just a few, over 130,000 returning migrants were aUNICEF has denounced that over one million people have been displaced in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Fighting is continuing after the Ethiopian government’s military offensive started on November 4, 2020.
“The personal statements I received from children who had been raped or testimonies of women who were victims of sexual violence were harrowing”,
“The situation in Sheraro is beyond dire. Despite families arriving every day, no aid has been delivered for weeks. Food, water and medicine are running out fast. People could die unless they get humanitarian aid now,” warned Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“People have told us that they fled sexual violence, killings and widespread violence in Tigray, only to arrive in Sheraro and find a desperately helpless situation. We also heard accounts of refugees hiding in remote villages scared to be identified, which puts them at the risk of being cut off from any assistance. Lactating mothers also told us that they have been unable to produce milk for their babies,” he added.
Shire has a population of approximately 170,000, and now hosts at least 52,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are trucking water to the town, where there was no drinking water as the water treatment plant is not functioning. The mobile network, Internet and banking services are still not working.
Many IDPs are sheltering in schools, none of which are operational, and conditions at displacement sites are dire.
“Many families were separated as they fled, and there were many unaccompanied or separated children among the IDPs”, said UNICEF. “Many families reported deep psychosocial distress and said they did not feel it was safe to return home, speaking of a persistent and pervasive fear of present and future harm.”
