Gebrezgabher rushed her injured neighbors to the hospital in a taxi, with the constant drum of artillery engulfing the city around her.
“I remember the kids,” she said. “They are dead now.”
“That day was really the worst day of my life.”
This was at the onset of the war in Ethiopia. And the other days, working as a doctor during the war, were not much better. In a conflict plagued by sexual violence, Gebrezgabher dressed in clothing aimed at disguising herself as elderly. She worked at a hospital about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from where she lived and passed through four Ethiopian military checkpoints to get there. Faking her age was her strategy to avoid getting assaulted.
“Every woman was scared to go to work, but we had to risk it because it's our responsibility to give health services,” she said.
Gebrezgabher fled the country in March. She spoke to Devex recently from her current location.
The health systems in Tigray are in a state of collapse. They have been pummeled with attacks, looting, and a de facto blockade of medicine and fuel. Health workers have said they have not received payment for seven months. Militants have used health facilities as bases. Patients with chronic illnesses have died from lack of medicines and children are experiencing severe malnutrition.
“The health system is not political,” Gebrezgabher said. “The destruction was done deliberately. It's not just collateral damage.”
Systematic destruction
People from Tigray describe two chapters of the conflict — the “war” followed by the “siege.” Following an attack by Tigray forces on a federal military base, the federal government launched attacks on Tigray in November 2020, resulting in the occupation of the region by the government’s military, military from Eritrea, Amhara special forces, and allied militias.
At the end of June, the Tigray People's Liberation Front took control of Mekelle and the other forces retreated to other parts of the region. Then began the government's de facto blockade of essential goods into Tigray, which has prevented the entry of medical supplies and fuel. United Nations food distributions are expected “to grind to a halt” because of the escalation in fighting.
The fighting continues in Tigray and has swelled into neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, with the U.N. saying there are “reasonable grounds” to blame all parties for atrocities. The extent of the damage is still largely unknown because of telecommunications shutdowns and access restrictions.
The health system is a key casualty of the war.
Continue reading https://www.devex.com/news/tigray-the-d ... tem-102252