the plight of Qemant people - Washington Post
Posted: 19 Dec 2021, 20:23
In Ethiopia’s civil war, violence against civilians is eroding support for the government
Minority groups like the Qemant are caught between competing visions of the country’s future
By Claire Wilmot
December 18, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST
Ethiopia’s year-long civil war between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is affecting civilians across the country. Members of the Qemant community, a minority ethnic group in the Amhara region, have experienced violence, arbitrary arrests and destruction at the hands of government security forces and militia.
Over 2,000 Qemant refugees have fled into Sudan since July, according to U.N. reports, and thousands more are believed to be displaced. In October, Al Jazeera documented the destruction of hundreds of buildings in Qemant communities along the Shinfa River, near the Sudanese border.
In the town of Aykel, attacks by Amhara regional security forces and Fano militia since April resulted in the deaths and displacement of many Qemant civilians. Photos geolocated to Aykel show burned buildings and disturbing scenes of violence.
As Ethiopia’s conflict drags on, minority groups like the Qemant are caught between competing visions of the country’s future. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his allies appear to favor a more “unitarist” political identity and a centralized Ethiopian state, and believe the identity-based politics of the past 30 years has fomented divisions between ethno-linguistic groups. The TPLF and its allies accuse Abiy of promoting assimilationist politics that prevents these groups from protecting their cultures and pursuing regional political interests.
To understand how experiences of violence have shaped the Qemant’s relationship to Ethiopia’s political divide, I interviewed survivors of violence, victims’ families and activists. Testimony from these remote interviews was corroborated by satellite imagery, photo and video analysis, and secondary sources.
Continue reading https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... overnment/
Minority groups like the Qemant are caught between competing visions of the country’s future
By Claire Wilmot
December 18, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST
Ethiopia’s year-long civil war between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is affecting civilians across the country. Members of the Qemant community, a minority ethnic group in the Amhara region, have experienced violence, arbitrary arrests and destruction at the hands of government security forces and militia.
Over 2,000 Qemant refugees have fled into Sudan since July, according to U.N. reports, and thousands more are believed to be displaced. In October, Al Jazeera documented the destruction of hundreds of buildings in Qemant communities along the Shinfa River, near the Sudanese border.
In the town of Aykel, attacks by Amhara regional security forces and Fano militia since April resulted in the deaths and displacement of many Qemant civilians. Photos geolocated to Aykel show burned buildings and disturbing scenes of violence.
As Ethiopia’s conflict drags on, minority groups like the Qemant are caught between competing visions of the country’s future. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his allies appear to favor a more “unitarist” political identity and a centralized Ethiopian state, and believe the identity-based politics of the past 30 years has fomented divisions between ethno-linguistic groups. The TPLF and its allies accuse Abiy of promoting assimilationist politics that prevents these groups from protecting their cultures and pursuing regional political interests.
To understand how experiences of violence have shaped the Qemant’s relationship to Ethiopia’s political divide, I interviewed survivors of violence, victims’ families and activists. Testimony from these remote interviews was corroborated by satellite imagery, photo and video analysis, and secondary sources.
Continue reading https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... overnment/