Tigray's road to recovery

and calling attention to migration

Apr 29, 2024

Hi there,

I was in Ghana last week for the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum, where spyware was one major topic of conversation; especially the increasing use of this technology in many countries in Africa, targeting not only journalists and human rights defenders but other marginalized communities as well. It’s something to keep an eye on.

On a slightly related note, one of the highlights of my trip was on my flight back home where I came across the recently released movie produced by the Ethiopian government; the National Intelligence and Security Service to be specific (it had secured a place in the selection of inflight movies on Ethiopian Airlines).

I can only assume the movie was supposed to depict government technological prowess through a story about intelligence agents who foil an attempted terrorist attack. Watching this movie, all I could think about was how they could have done so much better if only they had the right people working on visuals. I know so many talented Ethiopian artists who could have helped create a much more believable plot line but I guess that’s the crux of what we’re facing in our country; not enough talented people in government service.

Anyway, between the lack of conviction in the actors playing Al-Shabab militants and the (badly) photoshopped dead cows at minute 28, I give it a 3/10. If you’re into hate-watching, like I am, this might be for you next time you find yourself on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Now, to the news.

Tigray: continued clashes, continued displacement

Fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has started again, in the region’s southern part. This area, and the western part of the region, are what are considered contested areas.

Formerly under Tigray’s regional administration, these areas are now under Amhara forces, taken over during the two-year war. The clashes restarted in the southern towns of Raya in February of this year (the first since the peace deal was signed) and have now escalated to other nearby towns, resulting in 50,000 newly displaced people, according to a UN report.

The African Union, which brokered the peace deal in November 2022, put out a statement calling on both sides to, ‘urgently halt hostilities’.

I spoke to people in Tigray who were displaced from these contested areas at the outset of the conflict (in 2020) and are still living in what were supposed to be temporary camps across the region.

Here’s an excerpt of a conversation I had with one woman, Muna Yesuf, for The New Humanitarian:

A former businesswoman, she regularly travelled between Sudan and Tigray until her last trip in 2020, when she was trapped by fighting in the western Tigray town of Mai Kadra, where hundreds of ethnic Amharas were stabbed and hacked to death by TPLF forces.
She lives in Sabacare, Mekelle’s largest IDP camp, which was set up as a temporary shelter at the outset of the war but is now a refuge for close to 27,000 people.
Muna, who serves as the representative for displaced women across Tigray, told The New Humanitarian people in Sabacare don’t want handouts – they just want the chance to go home and restart their lives.

The story talks about what Tigray’s trajectory looked like before the war in terms of agriculture (‘proliferation of micro dams, irrigation schemes, and successful conservation-based agricultural initiatives), the toll that two years of war has taken, and the new initiatives to get people back on their feet again.

The full story on The New Humanitarian here, the statement from the African Union here, and the UN report on the effects of the latest fighting, here.

Migration: another boat has capsized

A few weeks ago, Reuters reported the death of 38 migrants, most of them Ethiopians, shipwrecked off the coast of Djibouti. Last week I wrote an update on 170 Ethiopian migrants, victims of human trafficking, who were caught by coastguards in Somaliland.

This week I’m sharing another brutal update; 33 Ethiopian migrants have died after their boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, according to a story on BBC. They were on their way back home to Ethiopia from Yemen, ‘because life had been a greater struggle there than in their home country.’

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

People fleeing the aftermath of civil war in landlocked Ethiopia frequently pass through Djibouti and Yemen towards Saudi Arabia and beyond, in search of better opportunities.
Some get stuck in Yemen, which is also in the grip of war.

During this same week, Reuters reported that the European Union has passed a decision to restrict visa provisions for Ethiopia.

Why? Because of a ‘lack of co-operation from Ethiopia's government over repatriating those who stay illegally’.

The full story on BBC here, and on Reuters here.

Law: another opposition in prison

Earlier this month, I wrote an update when prominent opposition political figure, Bate Urgessa, was killed. Bate was the spokesperson for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). You can go here to read more about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Last week, Shamen Begna, ‘a central committee member’ of another opposition political group, the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), was reported as detained by Addis Standard.

Here’s an excerpt from that story:

Shamen, who holds a position on the executive committee of the OFC’s East Shewa branch, is a lecturer of law at Arsi University and is currently pursuing his PhD at Addis Abeba University. He has been held in custody at a police station in Adama City since his arrest on 17 April.
OFC spokesman Sultan Kasim verified Shamen’s detainment and indicated that several other party leaders have been in custody across different zones and districts of the Oromia region for a considerable duration, with the whereabouts of some individuals still unaccounted for.

Another story by The Reporter from last week, says that more than 150 former defense force members are being unlawfully imprisoned across detention centers in the country.

The story, which cites a report, adds that they are ethnic Tigrayans who had served in the national defense force for decades but were imprisoned when war broke out in November 2020 (accused of supporting the Tigary People’s Liberation Front).

The full story on Addis Standard, here, and The Reporter, here.

Tech: upcycling waste (and building toilets)

I covered the story of plastic upcycling start-up Kubik, in June last year, when the company first got seed funding for 3 million US dollars to scale production in Ethiopia.

Kubik, which works on changing ‘plastic waste into interlocking building materials like bricks, columns, beams and jambs’, has now secured another round of 1.9 million US dollars in funding.

Here’s an excerpt from a story in TechCrunch:

The startup currently recycles 5,000 kilograms (and can do 45,000 kg at capacity) of plastic waste a day. It has signed partnerships with corporates and Addis Ababa municipality for a regular supply of plastic waste.

I thought this story was worth sharing, especially considering the social media frenzy surrounding #CleanEthiopia last week.

The latest initiative of the Prime Minister, “Clean Streets, Healthy Lives,” as explained in a video shared last week, is aimed at ensuring dignified sanitation, and building restrooms (toilets) across the city to make that happen (finally an idea I can get behind).

This came with a call, a digital telethon, for people to donate money that will go toward building toilets (which is where they lost me).

The full story on TechCrunch here and the video on “Clean Streets, Healthy Lives” from the Prime Minister here.

Immigration: ‘plans are underway’

The past few years have been especially ugly (full stop?) for anyone trying to get a new passport. So bad that in July last year, employees including the director and deputy directors for the Immigration and Citizenship Services were removed from their jobs (with some arrested after).

Since then, I wrote another follow-up edition in September, when 190,000 passports made their to Ethiopia. At the time, the institution’s newly appointed head had promised to clear the backlog within a year. As we quickly approach this promised timeline, the institution has now announced that they’ll be starting e-passport production in the country according to a story on Addis Standard.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Officials anticipate a major boost in efficiency with the introduction of e-passports. Local production, expected to begin next year, will enable them to distribute nearly two million passports annually. While local production costs will be seven times higher than current imports of three dollar price, Deputy Director General Bikila Mezgebu emphasises the long-term benefit: "It'll save forex" as payments will be made in local currency.

The full story on Addis Fortune here.

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That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!

In the meantime, you can help support my work by forwarding this to friends and family (and help them keep up with what’s going on).

Sifter

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