Bishop from Ethiopia: “The people in Tigray have experienced hell”

“During the war we were completely cut off. Internet and telephones didn’t work, and we could hardly leave our house, because there were armed groups everywhere,” said Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia. During his visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he recalled the “real nightmare” of not knowing what was happening to the faithful in his diocese during those two years. 

This is the first time that Bishop Medhin has left his country since the official end of the war in the north of Ethiopia, which began in August 2020 and ended in November 2022 with a peace agreement. He described the war as genocidal act against the people of Tigray. “The people in Tigray have experienced hell: there were gang rapes and murders in front of families – even children and old women were among the victims. Over one million people were killed. Torture and massacres took place; relief supplies were blocked,” said the bishop, whose diocese encompasses the whole war-torn region of Tigray.

In September 2022, the United Nations International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia was already speaking of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Tigray”. In June 2022, the World Health Organisation said there were over 2.8 million displaced people. 

Bishop Medhin said: “In the currently accessible regions of my diocese the Church has suffered some 37 million euros of material damage. Yet the damage to human life and the psychological effects of the atrocities committed are immeasurable. Everybody is traumatised!” According to the bishop, some rape victims feel ashamed and have not dared to return home. Among them the risk of suicide has been very high: “These women have been physically and mentally destroyed.”

In December 2021, United Nations human rights experts were already expressing their “grave concern about the widespread sexual and gender-based violence”.

Bishop Medhin reports to ACN that during the conflict, he was already trying to build up a network of specialists to help the traumatised people and bring them medical assistance. “We were meeting together and rented a compound in the town that people could go discreetly for confidentially care,” said the bishop. Catholics make up only 1% of the seven million citizens of Tigray, but according to the bishop they are very significant for 25% of the population because of the commitment of the Catholic Church to the health and education systems as well as to society.

“I have the greatest appreciation for my colleagues in pastoral service,” he said. “Because of the dangers, NGOs left the country in the middle of the conflict. But the religious– including more than 30 missionaries from overseas – and diocesan priests didn’t run away. They stayed there, serving the people of Tigray. They gave a perfect example of the ‘Suffering Servant’ from the Book of Isaiah, who gave his life for the salvation of others.”

Since the end of the war, the diocese has been officially able to carry out projects for trauma healing for the countless people who have been maimed and disabled by explosions, and for all those unable to process the atrocities which they experienced or witnessed. According to Bishop Medhin, overcoming experiences is impossible without facing up to what has happened, and can hardly be done without considering the spiritual dimension. “Our trauma healing programmes are Bible-based, because in my opinion trauma healing is not complete without faith,” said the bishop. “In the courses, for example, we look at the suffering of Jesus on Good Friday, or we look at the Prodigal Son who – even if his suffering was his own fault – was traumatised at the end of his journey through isolation, rejection and the feeling of worthlessness.” 

In the future, ACN wants to support the diocese with further trauma healing projects. “ACN has always unhesitatingly stood at our side, but during the war we were deprived of the opportunity to communicate with the charity. That’s why I am here,” said the bishop. “In the face of the scale of destruction of human life, but also the fact that peace has still not completely returned to Tigray, all support is really valuable.”

Despite the peace agreement of November 2022, the situation in Tigray remains tense. A third of the 130,000-square-kilometre diocese is still occupied, leaving the bishop with no access to these districts. Initially because of the Covid pandemic, and then because of the war, he has not seen many of his priests for four years. In the occupied regions, the schools remain closed, and the children have not received any education for four years. In Adigrat, where the bishop is based, there are still more than 50,000 displaced people who have been unable to return to their homeland. Freedom of movement is generally still very curtailed, because the streets are still unsafe. The bishop explained that thousands of people continue to die through violence, food shortages and a lack of basic care. “How can the world simply look on?” he asked.

Tigray is the most northerly region of Ethiopia and borders Eritrea and Sudan. Some 95% of the population are Christians of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and belong to the Tigrayan ethnic group. Even though the war has led to the deaths of many Christians, the violence in Tigray was politically and not religiously motivated.