Professor Haregewein Assefa was born in a small village near Adwa town of Tigray State, Ethiopia. She attended primary and secondary school education in Adwa. Professor Haregewein’s name was only related for her outstanding academic achievement earning PhD from University of Mississippi and being post doctoral fellowship at college of Pharmacy in University of Tennessee. She is professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and worked for nine years in the pharmaceutical industry.
Having this impressive resume, Professor Haregewein wanted to come back to her country of origin and contribute her part. It is this time she found herself trapped in war between Ethiopian forces and terrorist Tigray peoples liberation front (TPLF). The coincidence however helped her to witness the lies and atrocities of the terror group first hand and be a voice of critic against the terror group. Professor says she never engaged in politics before but this time she couldn’t be silent at face of lies, propaganda and atrocities by the terror group. She challenged the crime group when it redirects its crimes of rape and ‘genocide’ to Ethiopian forces.
Professor Haregewein Assefa was also joined her daughter Hermela Aregawi who is an American based journalist. Hermela ignited #NoMore movement across the globe nullifying TPLF’s, its lobbyists and western media coordinated smear campaign against Ethiopia. Influential people and nations from the region also came in solidarity with Ethiopia as it stood firm amid western pressure. The two have been victims of harassment by TPLF lobbyists while doing this. But the professor says “I choose to follow her mind and keep her professional integrity.”
The Ethiopian Herald got time to talk to Professor Haregewein Assefa about her struggles coming out of a region war is recurrent and what she has witnessed about terrorist TPLF since her childhood and the recent war in Tigray. Understanding the very nature of TPLF, Professor Haregewein Assefa started condemning the war mongering propaganda and activities of TPLF especially following the recent war in Tigray.
In another interview, I heard you saying Tigray has been at war for 50 years. How much of this war affected your life and Tigrians at large?
TPLF was established on 18 February 1975, Dedebit north Western Tigray. When the war began, I was seventh grader. My youth was through that throughout. Since 1977, I have never lived with my parents. What happened was my parents were in a small town. My school was in Adwa. The place where my parents reside in was under the control of TPLF. However, the high school was under the command of the government. During that time, I was homeless in ninth grade I can say.
However, I had good academic potential that helped a lot. And being a woman also makes you resilient. It wasn’t easy. It was a time of socialism. There was a red terror. It was a bloody experiment everywhere. Tigray wasn’t targeted for nothing as it was a founding place for EPRP and TPLF. Any government fights rebel groups but Tigray wasn’t unfairly targeted. So, if you are TPLF recruit, there would be red terror. At least, the red terror kills in front. We know their names. That was the life we knew. At night TPLF came and took out our teacher because they were like EPRP members or EDU sympathizers. I have seen my Biology teacher from central Ethiopia who took him at night. I still remember him. He had fair skin. Good biology teacher.
Then (Ethiopian Democratic Union or EDU) sympathizers: Kegne Azmach, Gera Azmach our classmates’ parents were taken and vanished. So, that is what we survived. I didn’t have a choice.
If the war affected your life this much, how do you describe the suffering of people in Tigray by the recurrent war for the past 50 years?
It is self-imposed to me. Looking back, that fight wasn’t necessary. Given Tigray wasn’t economically feasible, there was locust, drought coupled with resistance to modern education, the fight wasn’t necessary. I don’t know why it started. Sometimes, I wonder if there was anyone behind this. Someone from outside seeks us to be at war. If one part of Ethiopia is at war, the impact affects the rest. It didn’t make sense to me for Tigray to start an independent struggle. Many of TPLF back in time were too young to engage in such politics. They started the war. It became a culture. They think war solves everything although they should be the first one to know war doesn’t solve anything. They should know how bad war is. How many people died? How many people were disabled? It was adapted as a culture. They couldn’t look back and say that wasn’t good for us. We lost our children. Schools were closed while the rest of Ethiopia was operating. They join them. It was disruptive for 17 years. The education gap is hell. Maybe that has contributed to the fact that there aren’t rational people now. What comes next is water down education.
What led you to come out and expose TPLF?
After twenty six years, I was hosted by Addis Ababa University. I got my PhD. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for seven years and academy nine years.
I was in Mekele a year and a month ago. It feels like God sent. I was there for a mission. It liberated me. If I didn’t see what is on the ground, I may be misled. As a human being, I might have believed them. When they talked about rape for me it feels like an insult. Rape is rampant in Tigray. I am sure it could be number one in the nation.
The recent says number one but I guess they haven’t taken adult rape in to account. In a forum that Mekelle University organized I heard very shocking things from activists, journalists and physicians. There was a critical rape case before the war. Nobody could challenge it when I put in on my facebook page. Imagine what people, who were used to all crimes during normal time, were doing during the war and the criminals get out by the power vacuum.
On the other hand, I have seen Ethiopian soldiers helping the community before the war. They never leave their compound. They never involve rape cases. But when this all happened they start to tell the reality.
My neighbors and the TPLF supporters were lobbying me to stay quiet, to hide their crime. When I came here they wanted me to say Mekele University is bombed by government. But I know it wasn’t. You shut your mouth or say this. When they do this reenacted video of rape and try to make a case, for me as a woman is insult. The fact that, I don’t go down there. I don’t chant Genocide bothersome because they wanted to use my credibility to propagate lies. I know it isn’t genocide. These are the two weapons they are still chanting: rape and genocide.
You said the political culture of Tigray has to be changed. What political culture did you want to see changed?
Now we see adult faces but when TPLF started they were thirteen, fourteen. You may hear she joined TPLF when she was thirteen, fourteen. They were fed Tigray behind so and so. They fed them hate and send them to the bush. This is the political culture. I say current TPLF is a victim by itself. It has a culture of romanticizing war as if war solves everything. Can’t they wake up? No, this is 21st century. This culture of romanticizing war has to change. And women have to have maternal instinct. Because for them to be called heros, only in Tigray mothers push their children to war.
At recent war, one mother said “I sent five of my children to war.” Why? You brought these kids. You can’t feed them lie, hate and give them guns to be called heros. Motherhood is a big responsibility. I don’t see that come. That comes from a deep misogynistic society. They have to conform to that culture to the extent they abandon maternal instinct. This is where started: from misogynistic society has to change and romanticization of war. This has to change. Even professors and doctors who have achieved good in their field are biased when it comes to Tigray politics.
They are biased by false narrative and hate. I am not defending whatever TPLF has done. It won’t be fair for victims I don’t want to look like insensitive but TPLF themselves are the symptoms, the result of this culture. They are pushed out of their school in childhood. Many of their friends died. They saw their friends died there. It was deeply traumatic. So, my concern is the rest of the world and Ethiopia should have to learn from Tigray if we have to see the culture and social aspect. Whatever is solved by politics, it should be solved politically. Criminals should be held responsible for their actions, but going forward is what the rest of us can learn from Tigray case.
What do you think about the role of the international community in the case of TPLF and the war in Tigray?
Everybody is busy with their affairs. The West, for example, Americans are good people. They work against their own values. When we say America sometimes we miss it, they have few bad actors; bad representatives. Life in America is tough. Yes people live well but at the expense of working hard. Many Americans work sixteen hours a day. They are busy. I don’t think many of them understand what their representatives are doing. America isn’t perfect but no country opens doors like America. So, there are few bad actors, politicians. They have their own interests. Maybe they say that is good for Americans, you know. There are also arm manufacturers everywhere. They have to sell their arms anyway. Probably some of them run for office. Running for office in America is very expensive. You have to be rich. In general, they don’t have time to analyze all this. Some of them will know for sure. But if Americans have time, they have to know some of their representatives aren’t doing well on the international stage. Really, they are working against their value.
What must the rest of Ethiopians do?
I think this one has to be solved whatever it takes but for the rest of Ethiopia, we don’t want extremes in any ethnicity. I think the Tigray case has gone for 50 years. For the whole society politics has become a religion. But there are also some extremes in Amhara and Oromo. So, please learn from the Tigray case. We don’t need extremes from any ethnicity. We want to live together. In my time, somebody from Asmara, Mekele, Bahir Dar, we were all classmates. It didn’t matter. I know that kind of atmosphere. This ethnic division, this division! Please let’s work together. Let’s get together by our shared values. We have to stop division. To the outsiders we are all poor black Africans. Let’s live in harmony. There are good people everywhere. I am a living witness. I have lived in a polarized society. I lived in a place where ethnicity never mattered. I long for that. It will come.
On your Face book page, you have been talking about aberrant people from Tigray. How is that going on?
They are very few in number. They tell us that we are born by err. Whenever I get aberrant people from Tigray, I would be happy and embrace them. I feel like some are getting it. Some of them are afraid of their parents. They are trapped, I can understand. Many of them fear to associate with me. Luckily, I stand strong. But I am insisting people who are awake to join me and falsify this wrong narrative. I am faithful at the end of the day the truth will win. People will see the direction we are taking.
From the start, I knew the end would be this. Not good. Still people they don’t want admit it. They fear to come out. A friend of mine who says “lier” recently said sometimes she is right. We have this herd mentality. She is right. I don’t always but I saw progress. It is a dead end. There is no going back. At this time we have to stand and think about it. It is sad that it took this long. I think there is no choice going forward.
Thank you for your time and willingness.
It is my pleasure.
BY KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
The Ethiopian Herald 28 May 2022
