Ethiopia: "We need to turn to the true God"
The northern region of Tigray in Ethiopia has been at war since November last year. The biggest victims of this conflict are the local people who are short on food and other basic necessities. ACN managed to speak to a priest in the region about the current situation.
By ACN Staff
Refugees in Tigray. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need/Magdalena Wolnik)
The situation in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray is dire. Conflict began in the region in November 2020, as the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) went to war. The TPLF had held elections in the region against the wishes of the federal government, who had delayed elections due to COVID-19. The relationship between the TPLF and the Ethiopian Government was already tense with the elections being the last straw causing the situation to turn into open war. Ethiopian federal troops, local militias allied with the federal government and troops from neighbouring Eritrea invaded Tigray to oust the TPLF. After intensive fighting the TPLF was defeated in conventional conflict. As is often the case in modern conflicts, the TPLF has now begun an insurgency campaign having been defeated in open battle.
An ancient monastery in Tigray. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need/Magdalena Wolnik)
The biggest victims of this conflict are the people Tigray. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke with an Ethiopian Catholic priest, who is remaining anonymous for his own safety. He said that the region of Tigray is still a warzone. The local people are scared and hungry. The priest was only able to speak with ACN on the telephone after five months of being completely cut off from the world outside of Tigray. He said the situation is worsening. Children, particularly orphans, are suffering the most from lack of food and neglect. He is regularly coming into contact with mothers who are desperately trying to find lost children. Electricity supply is spotty at best. In fact the priest’s call with ACN was interrupted by electricity outages several times. There is almost no internet connection and if someone does have a connection it is very intermittent. The priest said the following words:
“I don’t have the words to describe their suffering; there is great despair and the people are traumatised.”
The priest did not wish to disclose his location but said three parish priests have been threatened and beaten during the conflict. Soldiers have looted the parish property and cleared everything out. Hundreds of people have been killed. The priest is insistent that the Church will continue Her mission in Tigray and tend to the local people. The local Church is preparing for Easter. Both the Ethiopian Catholic Church (one of the Eastern Catholic Churches) and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrate Easter using the Julian Calendar, with Easter falling on the 2nd of May this year according to the Julian Calendar. The priest explained that God is with the people of Tigray:
Tigray’s landscape. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need/Magdalena Wolnik)
“God is faithful to his promises, to his holy words and to his infinite love for humanity, which he has created in his own image and likeness…God is love and beyond our comprehension in His mysterious ways. What is darkness for humanity could be light for Him. What seems real death to us, for Him can mean life eternal.”
This Ethiopian priest had previously been a missionary in the south of Ethiopia. This is when he came into contact for the first time with ACN. Part of his mission the south was to help reconcile opposing ethnicities and tribal groups. The same is now needed in the north of the country, where there is a great need of forgiveness and reconciliation. The priest is however very aware the situations in the south and north are completely different. On the south he said the following:
“the environment, mentality, culture and status of people were completely different. The people there are pastoralists who never got a chance of formal education, never heard of Jesus Christ before and lived worshipping idols confined with their ancestral cultural beliefs.”
Meanwhile in the north he explains there is:
“a history of almost two thousand years of Christianity. Our problem in the North is that we start depending on ourselves and forget the true God. When we put God out of our lives, death comes in and that is exactly what is happening now. It is a totally different path. We need to turn to the true God who loved us and gave himself for us.”
Eucharistic adoration, part of youth ministry in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa ACN supported project. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need/Magdalena Wolnik)
The priest is planning on carrying out a youth development project to start reconciliation in the north. Re-evangelisation, the priest explains, begins with the family. ACN is supporting priests in the Eparchy of Adigrat, which includes Tigray, by providing Mass stipends.
The priest that ACN spoke with wished to pass on this message to ACN benefactors:
“Please continue to pray for us and support us. We need your help, both material and spiritual. Given the difficult situation we are experiencing, the Church is called to work harder than ever during this critical period. Many thanks for your solidarity and sincere concern during these dramatic times.”
Around one tenth of Catholic priests around the world receive support from ACN though Mass stipends provided by our benefactors. Please join us in prayer that peace may be restored to Tigray in northern Ethiopia.