BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
War is ugly. That is what everyone in most of the media says. If that is so, why is there always news of war and violence in all corners of the world? The answer is simple. Unlike peace, it is relatively easy and simple to wage war. And there are people who make money, survive and thrive by waging war. Moreover, it does not take as much coordination and cooperation to make war as it does to make peace. It just takes a bunch of a few heartless warmongers who have the guts to do crazy things that cannot be left unanswered. An old Ethiopian proverb goes as follows: “Just one bad ox is enough to make the stable noisy and restless all night long.”
In addition to the tragic loss of innocent lives, the ugliness of war is also evident in the economic and humanitarian, and psychosocial crises it causes. One could be forced to go to war without intentions and desire, only for self-dense and survival with the provocation of lawless aggressors.
History teaches us that several generations of Ethiopians have been involved in various wars without wanting to, only in defense of the sovereignty of their nation and their liberty against aggressors and terrorists.
The other sad point about war is innocent civilians, especially women and children are the ones that face the biggest share of suffering during and after the war ended. While civilians suffer in IDP comps battling the elements, the aggressors who masterminded the war continue enjoy in the warmth of their secured home surrounded by their families and friends hundreds of miles away from the war zone.
But the situation is directly the opposite when it comes to peace. Building peace from ground zero and clearing the rubbles made by the war is an uphill task. It takes negotiation, and cooperation of several interest groups, and involves hard bargaining and difficult compromise. Peace needs time and patience to grow. It can not boom and spread fast like war and violence with little effort. In a briefing he gave last week here in Addis Ababa, The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has hit it right on the spot when he said, “Peace is never easy — but peace is always necessary”
Building Peace entails much more than signing treaties, burying the hatchets, reinstating constitutional law and order, opening the roads, and offices, and fixing the cables. The process also involves understanding the root cause of the conflict of the past, strategizing the best possible solution not to return to it, and addressing the major psycho-social issues affecting people in the war-affected communities.
Now, the war days are behind us. The long arduous journey has began with signing of the Pretoria peace deal. One month later, after the signing of the peace, the dawn of peace is breaking fast in northern Ethiopia, pushing away the dark shadows of war. The sound of guns has been silenced, the roads are opened, and the power lines are going operational.
This week Ethiopian Telecom announced it has completed the rehabilitation of lines in much of the Tigray region. That is big news for those living outside the region who have been in anguish guessing about the fate of their loved ones in Tigray. They have been waiting for this news since June 2021, the time when the Ethiopian forces left Tigray declaring the first unilateral humanitarian truce.
Asrat, a resident of Adama town who had been living and working in the Tigray region says: “Arahaley and Berihu are cousins. They were Mekelle residents. Both of them were my close friends. Abrahaley was my best friend since my college years. Later, I met Berihu and we worked together for several years. Our bond was so strong, we maintained contact even after I moved out of Mekelle to live here. The last time I heard from them was during a few weeks before Ethiopian forces withdraw from Mekelle in the summer of 2021.”
It was after that time that the ugliest and bloodiest episodes of the two-year northern Ethiopian conflict happened. That was also the time many Tigayans civilians were forced to join the war in their civilian clothes to form a human wave. Unfortunately, most of them perished in the maws of the fire gushing out of the mortars, guns, and air-borne munitions.
Asrat continues with his story; “At that time, the majority of men in Tigray in their primes and sound health conditions and who have no kinship and contacts in the political circles have been sent to the military camps. So it is a high probability that both Berihu and Arahaley may have been conscripted to join the war. I am wondering whether they are still alive and in good health as they have been or not. Hope I will find out in the next few days.”
Asrat’s Tigryan friends may have died in the war as he feared or lay wounded in the rehabilitation centers. Or if lucky may be in an IDP camps alive and one piece, along with their families. If they are a bit luckier, they could be in the safe hands and care of the Ethiopian forces after being captured on the war front.
Asrat is keeping his fingers crossed that he will hear the laughter and the happy voice of his friends in Mekelle when the telephone lines are open for public use in a few days time. In addition to the resumption of telecom services, Ethiopian Airlines announced last week it has finalized preparations to resume passenger flights to the Tigray region.”We can start any day. It could be today or tomorrow. At any time when we are told to start, we will,” said the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
It is indeed a thrilling experience to hear from a lost loved one after a long time. The situation is quite exceptional when it is under the circumstances of war, where anything could happen to the person we are trying to reach out to.
Last summer, I myself had a similar experience of that feeling when I meet my old friend, Kedir, a Wolidia resident, on the telephone, for the first time since we lost contacts for several months due to the war.
When the sights and the sounds of the war approached Wolidia at the end of august 2021, Kedir sent his wife, four children, and an aging mother to the safty of relatives residing in Addis Ababa, but he remained in Woldia to defend his hard-earned property against looters taking a potentially fatal risk.
“I was alone, hiding in the house for 39 days. During that time, I lost seven kilograms of my weight. I thought each day was my last one. Every knock at my door was a startling alarm. I saw neighbors turning on each other. I saw greed, treachery, and lawlessness at their worst. I also saw unbelievable kindness. You can fully appreciate the value of peace only when you experience a war situation. I will do everything in my capacity not to see the return of those dark days again,” says Kedir.
The Ethiopian Herald 11 December 2022
