As usual, the weather in Afdera, in Afar State, is too hot. Even the unmoving leafless trees that upright in some places testify as there is no wind in the areas. The heat that comes down from the sun to the earth has turned the surrounding area as if it was a volcano that emitted fire.
Following the reinvasion of the terrorist TPLF, Afdera has become a temporary shelter for citizens displaced from Megale District.
In Afdera Woreda Primary School, over one thousand citizens evacuated from various areas of Zone one, have sheltered. Because, almost the whole structure of the school is being made of corrugated iron, it has doubled the temperature. Among the people sheltered in the school,there are also mothers who have given birth recently.
Fatuma Ibrahim is one of them. As she stated, it was only two weeks since she gave birth. The infant, because she cannot endure the heat is crying. On the one hand, the baby has kept crying, coupled with the feeling of the displacement has created uneasiness on her.
When the TPLF insurgents reinvaded Megale District of Zone one, she was in her due dates. Sadly, the heavy gunshots that were fired in the area startled her and her entire families. With the support of her relatives, she was able to escape to a nearby mountain during the midnight. She gave birth to her baby girl.
While she stayed in the mountain for two days, Fatuma was able to witness the heinous crimes that the terrorist enterprise committed on innocent civilians ranging from firing heavy artilleries, looting cattle to torturing elderlies.
Following this, she decided to flee. Fortunately, she fell into the hands of the Afar Special Force who took her and her baby to Afderare settlement center. Aside from what she had gone through, not knowing the whereabouts of her husband and her two children would not let her have a peace of mind.
Even though she has heard the inhuman crimes the insurgents of the TPLF group committed against the peoples of Afar in Zone three and four; as well as on people residing in Gondar and Wollo, in Amhara State, now she has witnessed group’s hardheartedness by her own eyes.
Luckily, she has now escaped from the callous acts of the rebels. However, the life she is leading along with her infants worries her a lot. “My little baby has a fever; I am not well too. Worse than this, I cannot stand the heat. With such condition, staying here for long is too difficult. Thus,if we return to our former places as much as possible, it would be good for all of us,”she added.
The other place where displaced people sheltered is SeidYassin’s Salt manufacturing Factory. In similar manner, over one thousand displaced citizens have protected in this factory. The situation existed in this shelter is as same as the previous one.
Just like Fatuma, AbeynaZenu is a woman who fled from Megale District and gave birth to her first baby on the street about a week ago which was truly a terrifying experience for her.
“We were leading a peaceful life till they invaded the town and displaced us. The sudden attack opened by the rebel group has changed everything. They massacred children, elderlies and women.The group should be held accountable for the crime committed,” she underscored.
She also urged the government to give them timely solutions.
BY BETELHEM BEDLU
SUNDAY EDITION 27 FEBRUARY 2022
