I get it, there has been an over saturation of coverage on the on-going crisis in Ethiopia, to the point that every media outlet (whether it be terrestrial or social media) is banging on about it ad nauseam. Okay, I got you! We all know that this land of sunshine is once again being ignored, let's hope this time we don't need a bunch of superficial celebrities coming together (circa 1985) to recognise some 110 million of our fellow earthlings.
I will not stop highlighting this great nation that speaks the language of Christ (Aramaic), until such time it garners wall-to-wall coverage. If you have forgotten or God forbid didn't know already, Abiy Ahmed (4th Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. I think I lost most of you (blame your addiction on a Superpower that shall remain nameless), which is a shame. Ahmed was bestowed this honour for his efforts to bring peace with Eritrea. Only one problem, he is now waging a war with the Northern separatists in Tigray (one of nine regions that make up Ethiopia) aligned with Eritrea, Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
For good or bad, I think the Noble committee stuffed up this time around. Ahmed has a lot going for him, well, not really. He has us fooled with his charisma and youthfulness (being a product of a Muslim father, Christian mother is also appealing), the man is undertaking ethnic profiling, we all know where that leads - you hear me, 1936 Deutschland. Since coming to power in April 2018, nearly 2 million Ethiopians have fled their homes, creating a mass internal refugee problem. All for Ahmed's preoccupation with controlling Tigray. Autonomy should be the name of the game here, last thing Ethiopia needs is taxpayers money going towards a civil war, especially seeing as in 2019 it recorded an impressive 8.97 jump in GDP (not to mention life expectancy of 66, pretty solid for a nation three decades removed from famine).
Breaking news: the land of 3.2 humans per square kilometre (Australia) has agreed to take in the displaced from the land of 115 humans per square kilometre (Ethiopia). Who am I kidding? Australians whine about traffic, and there's that little thing they master (racism), so good luck getting this empty continent to help its fellow man. Reminder: all of us originated from Africa, even pasty white bigots.
Back to the Tigrayan people, they make up nearly 10% of the population and are 90% Christian. The TPLF was a major part of the ruling coalition until Ahmed came to power, after which he dismantled a coalition of ethnically diverse parties to create one national party. Many might think Ahmed (who identifies as Muslim) is out to get the Christian north. This looks more like a territorial issue, but sadly humans sometimes only notice a conflict if it fits our own worldview. For instance, a religious organisation will only help if it can grow their congregation. Here's a novel idea: how about we do the right thing, help anyone in need unconditionally. Many greedy First World inhabitants will be asking: why care about Ethiopia when we have our own issues? To those particular in the West, let's see, you spend way too much on four-legged creatures, so maybe divert the funds to actually sponsor a refugee.
People love to go to Ethiopian restaurants and consume coffee with Ethiopian beans. The time has come to rise above your foodie interest in the Horn of Africa and actually pressure the leadership in the countries you reside in to take action against this "man of peace". A leader of the second most populous nation in Africa is having a mini Mussolini moment, let' nip it in the bud before it destroys one of the great civilisations.
