Bishop from Ethiopia: “The people in Tigray have experienced hell”
Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin tells the international pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need about the human rights violations that occurred from 2020 to 2022, during the devastating war in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, and particularly the sexual violence against women and girls. Parts of his diocese are still occupied, and many roads are insecure. In the accessible regions. the diocese is carrying out trauma-healing projects to help the many thousands of people whose lives are broken.
“During the war, we were completely cut off. The Internet and telephones didn’t work, and we could hardly leave our house, because there were armed groups everywhere,” said Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia. During his visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he recalled the “real nightmare” of not knowing what was happening to the faithful in his diocese for those two years.
This is the first time that Bishop Medhin has left his country since the official end of the war, which began in August 2020 and ended with a peace agreement in November 2022. He described the war as a genocidal act against the people of Tigray. “The people in Tigray have experienced hell. There were gang rapes and murders in front of families; even children and old women were among the victims. Over one million people were killed. Torture and massacres took place. Relief supplies were blocked,” said the bishop, whose diocese encompasses the whole war-torn region of Tigray.
In September 2022, the United Nations International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia was already speaking of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Tigray.” In June 2022, the World Health Organization said there were over 2.8 million displaced people.
Bishop Medhin said, “In the currently accessible regions of my diocese, the Church has suffered some 40 million dollars of material damage. Yet the damage to human life and the psychological effects of the atrocities committed are immeasurable. Everybody is traumatized!” According to the bishop, some rape victims feel ashamed and have not dared to return home. Among them, the risk of suicide is very high: “These women have been physically and mentally destroyed.”
In December 2021, United Nations human rights experts were already expressing their “grave concern about the widespread sexual and gender-based violence”.
Bishop Medhin reports to ACN that during the conflict, he was already trying to build a network of specialists to help the traumatized people and bring them medical assistance. “We were meeting together and rented a compound in the town where people could go discreetly for confidential care,” said the bishop. Catholics make up only one percent of the seven million citizens of Tigray, but according to the bishop, they are very significant for 25 percent of the population, due to the commitment of the Catholic Church to health and education systems.
Bishop Medhin reports to ACN that during the conflict, he was already trying to build a network of specialists to help the traumatized people and bring them medical assistance. “We were meeting together and rented a compound in the town where people could go discreetly for confidential care,” said the bishop. Catholics make up only one percent of the seven million citizens of Tigray, but according to the bishop, they are very significant to the population, due to the commitment of the Catholic Church to health and education systems.
“I have the greatest appreciation for my colleagues in pastoral service,” he said. “Because of the dangers, NGOs left the country in the middle of the conflict. But the religious, including more than 30 missionaries from overseas, and diocesan priests didn’t run away. They stayed there, serving the people of Tigray. They gave a perfect example of the ‘Suffering Servant’ from the Book of Isaiah, who gave his life for the salvation of others.”
Since the end of the war, the diocese has officially been able to carry out projects for the countless people who have been maimed and disabled by explosions, and for all those unable to process the atrocities that they experienced or witnessed. According to Bishop Medhin, overcoming experiences like these is impossible without facing up to what has happened, and can hardly be done without considering the spiritual dimension. “Our trauma-healing programs are Bible-based, because in my opinion, trauma-healing is not complete without faith,” said the bishop. “In the courses, for example, we look at the suffering of Jesus on Good Friday, or we look at the Prodigal Son who – even if his suffering was his own fault – was traumatized at the end of his journey through isolation, rejection, and the feeling of worthlessness.”
In the future, ACN wants to support the diocese with further trauma-healing projects. “ACN has always stood at our side without hesitation, but during the war, we were deprived of the opportunity to communicate with the charity. That’s why I am here,” said the bishop. “In the face of the destruction of human life, but also the fact that peace has still not completely returned to Tigray, all support is really valuable.”
Despite the peace agreement of November 2022, the situation in Tigray remains tense. A third of the diocese is still occupied, leaving the bishop with no access to these districts. Initially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then because of the war, he has not seen many of his priests for four years. In the occupied regions, the schools remain closed, and the children have not received any education for four years. In Adigrat, where the bishop is based, there are still more than 50,000 displaced people unable to return to their homes. Freedom of movement is generally still curtailed, because the streets are still unsafe. The bishop explained that thousands of people continue to die through violence, food shortages, and a lack of basic care. “How can the world simply look on?” he asked.
Tigray is the most northern region of Ethiopia and borders Eritrea and Sudan. Some 95 percent of the population are Christians of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and belong to the Tigrayan ethnic group. Even though the war has led to the deaths of many Christians, the violence in Tigray was politically, not religiously, motivated.
– Sina Hartert
