Considering the current objective reality of Ethiopia related to the dire need of assistance for the displaced people in Tigray, the perverse act of some humanitarian aid organizations to worsen the situation is clearly depicted. The country needs a genuine contribution of the organization to alleviate the temporary food shortage and other required facilities without any string attached to them. Yet, despite their insignificant share which amounts to only 30 percent of the total need, they embark on blurring the real image or the true picture of the situation in the area.
For instance the success of their constant barrage of images in the media has become the main focus to engender the situation. The relentless remedial efforts of the federal government to address the crisis is least acknowledged by the United States and the some European nations, they seem to have turned blind eye and deaf ear only to appease the group they have rallied behind and ascertain the eventual destabilization of the country as a whole. Despite the withdraw of federal and Amhara regional forces from Tigray region, the aid agencies’ allegation of the human rights violation and the disruption of food aid by the federal and Amhara forces is still remains loud.
The irony is that, instead of the positive image of the beneficiaries getting on with the situation, some humanitarian aid agencies are out with pictures of famine and war victims everywhere in the media. The infamous promotional video, made in the film studio, with people persecuted, portraying shuffling zombies dying of hunger scrabbling in the dust for grains of corn, mainly reinforces the prejudice of many – the government is incapable of doing anything to address the problem. The insidious disaster appeals, the soft spot, of this sort pander to reinforce the widespread belief that the affected people of Tigray are fundamentally helpless and their case needs to be addressed by international community who are in turn intent on deliberately attacking Ethiopia economically through their diplomatic persuasion. They believe that victims of nameless crisis such as war, famine etc., can do nothing unless the rich and the powerful, intervene to save them. Being misguided by the misinformation of such humanitarian aid organizations, some of the big nations, without thoroughly analyzing the situation, threaten to impose sanction, an action which is profoundly fallacious. The agencies’ record in this field is blotted with failure, deceits and follies; it is nothing other than ridiculousness. Far from being isolated incidents, the fiascos or complete failure of some humanitarian relief that have been described, hint at an entire substratum of persistent structural problems which confound virtually all other forms aid as well. As I have tried to indicate a few lines above, there are other humanitarian organizations that genuinely enhance their life saving mission unreservedly; side by side with the government, they are easily dealing with difficulties which are specific to emergency relief prevalent in that region.
Another serious problem, also not beyond the bounds of human ingenuity to solve, is the sheer number of different kinds of organizations that flocked to the scenes of law and order maintaining operations in Tigray. It has been proven that not all of the agencies are there, with right motive of intervening or be involved to address and eventually prevent the crisis that they set out for. UNHCR could have much more thoroughly vet and screen the voluntary agencies to which it subcontracts its responsibilities in the field, thus hopefully weeding out some of the worst abuses inflicted upon the victims. It seems that it has so far instituted no such system, however.
Thus, the outcome has proven adverse to the interest of the people under the intolerable pressure of the crisis. With the unfounded allegation of the irresponsible agencies, through their misinformation which on one hand boosted the moral of the junta, while on the other hand international communities are easily and deliberately swayed and are routinely witnessed on their media unjustly condemning the Federal Government of Ethiopia for its failure to address the crisis in Tigray while the truth lies elsewhere. One hundred billion Ethiopian Birr, which is literary many years of the annual budget of the region, is invested for rehabilitation, rebuilding of the infrastructure and many other projects destroyed by the terroristTPLF. This is the stark truth that the agencies are trying to hide from the world – it was accomplished in broad day light. It appears as though the humanitarian agencies have blindfolded the international community. Any sane person who sets foot in Tigray can easily witness it.
Even after the Ethiopian defense force and the Amhara militia have withdrawn from the region, just in conformity with the demand the international community made, which is orchestrated by some humanitarian agencies, the killings, robbing, looting, destruction of infrastructure and rape were intensified beyond proportion. The cry of the people in the region was suffocated by the international community as if it is nothing to be considered. The agony of some of the voluntary organizations, their activities are often strained by inter-familial relations; all these agencies have to relate to the charities, to international commission and the like and their mission is heavily jeopardized to the extent of meddling in something that does not concern them. Inevitably, instead of pursuing their mission to which they are committed, their wrong activities, causes a nightmare coordination, ruffled feather all around. Thus, to justify their mismanagement, they go around defaming the nation where humanitarian crisis occur. This is what they are intently doing to please those who remotely control them. It is a proxy war that they are waging against Ethiopia to which Ethiopians sternly vow to stand up to it. It is a sheer indication that they, out of desperation, respond to the crisis subjectively. They give their personal or individual feeling and less concerned about others. They disregard what can happen to others due to their malicious acts. To achieve their wrong objective, they carry out a well-concerted effort with other agencies of a similar motive.
Pending for the right time of the substantiation of their vicious schemes, they remain in the hide and bite like venomous snake to destabilize the society. They rally behind anti-Ethiopia elements and create all kinds of havoc to drive their objectives home at the expense of the wellbeing of the citizens in the region and beyond. When the defense takes measure to extinguish the fire they have started, they spread fake news on their media that human rights are being violated and international community must intervene and save the perishing lives. At the same time, they do everything in their capacity to wage psychological warfare by influencing people’s ideas and beliefs. They encourage the remnants of the junta to violate the unilateral peace agreement and expand their temporary occupation to other zones that do not belong to them. In the presence of the international humanitarian agencies who are supposed to denounce the action, the junta’s forces, in violation of international war standard, line up under age children of 13, 15, and the like, to fight. The primary purpose of these agencies is to sway international community to put pressure on Ethiopia to yield to the desire of the enemy and give up its national duty of restoring the law only to forsake the sovereignty of the country. What’s to be done to these evil groups?
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
The Ethiopian Herald 29 July 2021
