The Washington Post: IN ETHIOPIA, FOOD IS A WEAPON OF WAR

The U.N. operation in Sudan ends up feeding Ethiopians who cannot obtain food in their home country. In 1984-85, about 300,000 refugees, most of them from Eritrea and Tigray, walked west to U.N. camps in Sudan to wait out the famine.

“I am not fed up with the war. I am on my own land. I am in my own village. The EPLF is protecting me,” said Hamed Fayid, 35, a father of four whose family has lived for four years on U.S.-donated food and who last year was given an ox by the Eritrean Relief Association.

“Participation in the struggle is not just carrying the gun,” said Hamed. “If there is an engagement, it is my duty to help with the wounded and carry water.”