Tigray, Ethiopia Two Years On: An Anniversary of Medieval-like Siege, Massacres & Famine

💭 A N.H. Activist is Speaking Out About The War in Tigray, Ethiopia: ‘This is Your Responsibility, Too’

This month marks two years since the civil war broke out in Ethiopia, with troops from the Ethiopian government and surrounding countries deployed to attack the northern Tigray region. Since then, a UN led investigation has found evidence of ethnic cleansing, massacres and sexual violence. Famine-like conditions are widespread.

All Things Considered host Julia Furukawa spoke with Samrawit Silva, an activist who was born in Tigray and lives in Concord, who has been speaking out about the conditions in her home country. Below is a transcript of their conversation.

Julia Furukawa: Samrawit, you're from Tigray and you still have family there. Can you give us an idea of what the conditions are in the region right now?

Samrawit Silva: I can try. Obviously, or for those who don't know, Tigray has been in a complete blackout, so there's a lot of unknowns, but things that are for certain: I have my mother, I have my siblings there that I'm not able to talk to. So, Tigray is currently facing one of the world's longest Internet shutdown. Hunger is being used as a weapon of war. Sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war. Medicine is not able to get to the people and so already there's 600,000 Tigrayan civilians that have been killed, including my family members. It's been called the world's deadliest war, basically "Hell on Earth," as the director of the [World Health Organization] called it.