The Human Cost of Ethiopia’s Fighting in Tigray Grows

People who fled fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray area continue to tell stories of suffering as they gather in refugee camps.

At a simple medical center in Sudan, a doctor who is also a refugee cares for the hurt and sick. Tewodros Tefera sees many injuries: children hurt in explosions, wounds from axes and knives, and broken bones from beatings.

Recently, he treated the broken legs of refugee Guesh Tesla, a woodworker who just arrived at the camp.

He came with information about 250 young men taken from one village into neighboring Eritrea by Eritrean forces. Ethiopia denies Eritrean forces are involved in the fighting.

In late November, Guesh said he saw many bodies on the streets in his hometown of Rawyan. There, he said, Ethiopian soldiers beat him and took him to the border town of Humera. The Humera courthouse, he said, had been turned into a center for killing² by militias⁴ from the neighboring Amhara area. He heard the screams of men being killed, and quietly escaped during the night.

"I would never go back," he said.

It is impossible to know if these stories are true as Tigray remains⁵ almost completely cut off from the world. It has been more than 50 days since fighting began between Ethiopian forces and groups in Tigray. The Tigray people led the country's government for nearly 30 years, but are now marginalized.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continues to refuse international requests to bring humanitarian⁶ assistance to the area. He also refuses requests from those pressing for investigations⁷ of Ethiopian forces.

Last year, Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for political reforms. But this conflict threatens to end his peace-making activities.

"I know the conflict has caused unimaginable suffering," Abiy wrote last week. He argued, however, that "the heavy cost we incurred⁹ as a nation was necessary" to hold the country together.

No one knows how many thousands of people have been killed in Tigray since the fighting began on November 4. The United Nations has said there are reports of artillery¹⁰ strikes on populated areas, civilians¹¹ being targeted and looting.

Now, refugees are arriving from areas deeper inside Tigray. They have more severe trauma¹², Tewodros said. He said there are signs of starvation and dehydration¹³ and some gunshot wounds among the refugees.

In the future, the stories of refugees, like Tewodros and Guesh, and the people who are still in Tigray, will show how much abuse was carried out against people for ethnic¹⁴ reasons.

"Everyone looks at you and points out the part of you that doesn't belong to them," said Tewodros. He is both an ethnic Tigrayan and Amhara. "So, if I go to Tigray, they would pick up that I'm Amhara because Amhara is not a part of them. When I go to Amhara, they would pick up the part of Tigray because Tigray is not a part of them."

Such differences have become deadly. Many ethnic Tigrayan refugees have accused ethnic Amhara fighters of targeting them. The Amhara militias are fighting with Ethiopian government forces.

Abrahaley Minasbo is a 22-year-old dancer. He said Amhara militia³ members pulled him from his home in Mai-Kadra on November 9. They beat him in the street with an axe¹ and other tools, and they left him to die. He survived and made it to Sudan. His face is covered with scars.

For Tewodros, the conflict has been about the wounded civilians.

In November, he worked at a hospital in Humera that came under fire. He insisted some of the shelling came from the direction of Eritrea.

Fifteen bodies arrived at the hospital that first day, and eight the next, he said. The shelling continued. He and his colleagues fled, after moving wounded patients to a nearby village.

Tewodros and colleagues hid for two days in the forest, hearing gunfire. They later walked for more than 12 hours, crossing a river into Sudan, where he started treating wounded refugees for the Sudanese Red Crescent Society.

"Where we are now is extremely unsafe," he said of the refugee center near the border. He said the Amhara fighters threaten the refugees from the other side of the river.

The militias "are more dangerous than the Ethiopian national forces," he said.

Words In This Story

ax – n. a heavy tool used to chop wood

marginalize – v. to put or keep someone in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group

incur⁸ – v. to cause yourself to have or experience something unpleasant or unwanted

loot – v. to steal from a place such as a store during a crisis of some kind

trauma – n. a very difficult experience, or a serious injury to the body or mind

dehydration – n. to lose too much water

1 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

9 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

10 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

13 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。