December is Human Rights Month

Flyer+designed+by+Jillian+Manternach

Flyer designed by Jillian Manternach

Abigail King, Rampage Reporter

Since November 2020, the Tigray Region of Ethiopia has been involved in a civil war between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF). On November 4th, Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, accused the TPLF of attacking a military base and announced that the Ethiopian military had bombed the base in retaliation. A few days after this announcement, Amnesty International reported hundreds of people killed in an attack. Thousands of refugees from Tigray have fled into Sudan and report being caught between being bombarded and a campaign of killing and looting. The Ethiopian government has restricted communication and the flow of necessary supplies to Tigray.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provides emergency shelter, food, potable water, and health screening to refugee men, women, and children from Tigray. The UNHCR also distributes relief items including blankets, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, and face masks, as well as registers refugees and identifies the most vulnerable.

Statistics:

  • 3 million children have been cut off from aid.
  • 100,000 people internally displaced in the Tigray region prior to the crisis.
  • 50,000 refugees have fled into Sudan.
  • 3,000 refugees flee from Tigray a day.
  • 45% of those crossing the border are children.

Ways to Help:

Several international organizations are accepting donations to help deliver necessary supplies to refugees.

https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/

https://www.standwithtigray.com/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/

https://www.hrw.org/

Another way to help is to become educated about the issue and refugee human rights. December is International Human Rights Month and members from the Iowa Youth Congress are hosting a human rights zoom event to raise money for the Ethiopian Tigray crisis. The event is on December 30th at 6:30 and includes guest speakers, Mak Suceska, the Iowa Bureau Refugee Services Chief, and Sam Gabriel, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Genesis Youth Foundation, and human rights short films. Tickets cost $5 each and all proceeds go to the UNHCR. To purchase a ticket visit https://tinyurl.com/ihrights .