In 1984 I remember hearing Bob Geldof explain Ethiopia on TV. Like many other African-born people at that time I was surprised by how enthusiastically pop music fans were moved by images of starving African babies into a flurry of generous benevolence, conducted by the mop haired Irishman with no African background to speak of.

He sounded like he didn’t have a clue about Africa. Why didn’t he seek out accurate information on why African babies were filmed starving I wondered. Why not consult with any of the many African people best able to advise?
Certainly wanting to aid Africa is not a new idea. Well-intended missionaries have been raising concerns for Africa for centuries.
But Bob’s brand of aid is A Band Aid?
To help Ethiopia?

There he was, with his a soon-to-be legendary fellow-Irish singer from the band U2 to attach the Christian message of compassion to this most worthy of Christian causes so appropriately associated with that most holy of days.

Clearly, I thought at the time,  little more than shrewd opportunism by almost all involved who saw their careers uplift by believing singing songs and imploring fans to donate money was going to change Africa in any positive way.

Aid agencies at the time bemoaned this unruly intervention for its disruption to the informed and valuable work they were doing in Africa. Many of whom I knew personally to be trained and educated to a high level of awareness in the complexities of African aid from the Christian west.

From the outset I thought this was Bob, Bono and many others making out like bandits – hero’s rewarded by the Queen for making so many Brits feel good about their contribution to helping poor African’s without actually having to learn a single basic fact of why Ethiopia, or indeed all of Africa, needed a Band Aid in the first place.

The image of an emaciated African child and a TV platform with big name singers; and Bob’s your uncle. Bob made a fortune even as Ethiopia lost more lives to famine and war than before Bob’s intervention. Today, almost forty years later, if you consider them, then and now;
Bob and Bono are extremely rich.
The starving Ethiopian beneficiaries of their generosity? Not so much.

More people starved when the band Aid planes arrived with food the Warlords promptly acquired. And before long the world stopped playing “Do they Know it’s Christmas.”   But that one glorious Christmas on Radio One everybody sang that song believing they were helping put some meat on that emaciated Black babies bones. A well-chosen picture for the purpose, that was, to exploit a tremendous opportunity to win fame and shape a career direction. Saint Bob. Saint Bono. (Everytime I click my finger an African child dies.) An anonymous African child.

In 1984 Aid organizations, including World Vision, tried enthusiastically to bring relief to starving children and families, but their press release read; “much more help is needed.” When BBC reporter Michael Buerk, traveling with World Vision, brought stories and images from a feeding site to home television sets in October 1984, that starving emaciated baby picture became ubiquitous on BBC programming. Bob saw the opportunity.
Masses of pop music fans were moved to donate to the relief effort. I am sure, despite what was then obvious to those who know Africa, Bobs intentions were well meant, just like Bono, whose currency as an international Christian figure soared after Band Aid and his career uplift as a leading savior for Africa’s poor and hungry.

One positive to come out of Band Aid was giving world attention to the challenges that Africa faced. After the Band Aid flag, many who knew little or nothing about Africa, at least knew that Black people lived there.
And many were hungry.

That marked a change in disaster response fundraising as well as new approaches for learning from the environmental and societal factors that lead to food insecurity, assisting support initiatives in future famines. Although the reality of meaningful aid, on a societal level impacting the nation, meant IMF funding invariably went to kleptocratic governments run along traditional African tribal corruption lines. A few strong men would end up with Swiss bank accounts and retirements in the South of France, while the majority of poor and hungry Africans continued to be poor and hungry and subject to enormous deprivations. In Africa only might is right.

Mostly the legacy of that 1985 Band Aid interest appears to be no more than the new total indifference to Africa and it’s tragedies of child abuse and distribution of wealth. Perhaps our interest in bad news is Trumped out.

On one side, no doubt it’s worked out well for Bob and Bono and friends in the Aid-for-fame business. Charity gig audiences created many new pop millionaires.

On the other, let’s look at Ethiopia today – some 34 years after it was last headline news. This comes at a time when Afghanistan, another impoverished Country besieged by never ending civil war is occupying the interest of many millions of first world TV owners who suddenly care about poor people far far away for reasons that are confusing.  The newly qualified PhD’s in foreign affairs, formerly sofa TV football watchers, are now expert commentators in everything Fox or CNN project.

Ethiopia in 2021 is far far worse off than it was in 1984. After the Band Aid food supplies aided arms acquisition for local warlords, more bullets were fired than before this newfound opportunity arrived. Powerful clans emerged, fighting for local control in that most inappropriately named politic called Civil war. Civility is unrelated to this conflict.

The Ethiopian Civil War ended in 1991.  Ethiopia became a dominant-party state under the rule of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of ethnically-based parties dominated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front led by TPLF key man Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia until his death in 2012. 

On 2 April 2018, the now wealthy and entitled TPLF was ousted after 27 years of repression and typical African governmental corruption.  Members from Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ regions voted for a new leader, Abiy Ahmed, and the TPLF were duly removed from power.
 
Following this political defeat TPLF officials relocated to the region of Tigray and continued administering there for three years, frequently clashing with the federal government until events kicked off on November 4th, 2020, the start date for the new and current Ethiopian Civil war, popularly known as The Tigray War.

The Special Forces of the Tigray Regional government (The former Government now the rebels) are fighting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and their federal allies including the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). 

Why are the Eritreans there, you might ask. Good question.
Simple answer. Africa has always been a great employer of mercenaries. If your good (or even average) with an AK-47, you will always find work in Africa.

The Tigrayan Special Forces received reinforcements from defecting ENDF soldiers and civilian volunteers who were integrated into the Tigray Defense Forces.  

All sides, particularly the ENDF and Eritreans in the EDF have committed war crimes during the conflict. Typical African barbaric nasty-as-you-like child raping war crimes. Entirely unsuitable for Christmas songs or even, any Fox News coverage.

Just two years ago, in 2019, prime minister Abiy Ahmed merged the ethnic and region-based constituent parties of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition and several opposition parties into his new Prosperity Party. The former Government of 27 years, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), refused to join the new party.

They (The TPLF) called the 2019 election fake alleging Abiy Ahmed became an illegitimate ruler after the general elections scheduled for 29 August 2020 were postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The TPLF, led by chairman Debretsion Gebremichael held their own regional elections in Tigray in September 2020 declaring themselves the winners. The federal government then declared the Tigray election illegal.  

For anyone familiar with Africa, this will all make perfect sense. For the rest, it may help to color code the two groups. The Former Government, now in Tigray are the Rebels. Call them Red.

The current government are Blue. They are the Ethiopia-Eritrea-Amhara alliance. America likes them.

Soon after the former Government, now turned rebel, (Red) declared their disrespect, the federal government (Blue) set about raising their army, supplemented by Eritrean and Amhara forces, on Tigray’s borders.

Fighting between the Tigray forces and the Ethiopia-Eritrea-Amhara alliance began with the 4 November attacks on Northern Command bases and headquarters of the ENDF in Tigray Region by Tigray security forces and with counterattacks by the ENDF in the Tigray Region on the same day, that federal authorities described as a police action.

The federal forces captured Mekelle, the capital of Tigray Region, on 28 November, 2020 after which Prime Minister Abiy declared the Tigray operation “over”.
But wait Prime Minister.
That declaration was rebutted by the Tigray Government who, in late November declared it would continue fighting until the “invaders” are out. Eventually,  on 28 June 2021, the Tigray Defense Forces retook Mekelle.

And all the while it turns out some serious human rights violations were happening. No surprise there for African born readers.

During this conflict mass extrajudicial killings of civilians took place mostly during November and December 2020 in and around Adigrat,Hagere Selam,  in the Hitsats refugee camp,  and in Humera, Mai Kadra,  Debre Abbay, and Axum. Read a few of those links if you dare.
These are some bad people.
Beyond redemption.

At least 10,000 impoverished poor people have died. War rape has become a “daily” occurrence, with girls as young as 8, and women as old as 72, raped, often in front of their families. British parliamentarian Helen Hayes stated on 25 March 2021 that 10,000 women had been raped in the Tigray War.

An Amnesty International report based on over 60 interviews described how: “Over an approximately 24-hour period on 28-29 November in Axum, Eritrean soldiers deliberately shot civilians on the street and carried out systematic house-to-house searches, extrajudicially executing men and boys”.

As well as attacking people, there is also evidence of soldiers engaging in widespread looting, including of religious heritage sites both in Axum and more widely in Tigray. A recent report from the Europe External Programme with Africa describes how “Eritrean troops climbed onto the 6th century [Debre Damo] monastery and looted old manuscripts and treasures”. Despite the information blackout, reports and images have also emerged of soldiers damaging many other important sites, from several ancient churches to the 7^th century Wukro al-Nejashi mosque, one of the world’s oldest and most important Islamic sites. All part of their scorched earth approach, popular in Africa since the British Christian occupiers introduced ‘Torch it all’ to Africa in the Anglo Boer war in 1900.

Peace and mediation proposals for Ethiopia are as abundant was you would expect. These included early November (2020) African Union (AU) mediation proposed by Debretsion and refused by Abiy; 
an AU trio of former African presidents who visited Ethiopia in late November;
an emergency Intergovernmental Authority on Development summit of East African heads of government and state that met in late 20 December 2020 in Djibouti;  
and peace proposals on 19 February by the Tigray government  and on 20 February by the National Congress of Great Tigray (Baytona), Tigray Independence Party (TIP) and Salsay Weyane Tigray (SAWET).  
All to no avail.
The fighting must go on.

A deep humanitarian crisis has developed and continues to worsen by the day.

Today the BBC reports; “The Ethiopian military claims it has killed more than 5,600 members of the Tigray rebel forces it is fighting in the north of the country.”  

The statement from senior general of the Government forces Bacha Debele (A previous guest of the US Military) gave no timescale for the casualties. Correspondents say they may be from recent battles. The general said a further 2,300 rebels had been injured, and 2,000 captured.

Millions of civilians face starvation due the conflict, the UN says. The war goes on. Black against Black. Raping children and grandmothers with equal disdain for their personal or national wellness. Over 90% of Tigrayans are Christians. The great majority are Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, but there are minorities of Muslims.

In 2021 there is no Bob Geldof to rally the singers in a rousing Carol of Christmas cheer. Even worse is the blinding silence of a world that really does not care preoccupied as we are with all-consuming Christian behaviors like banning abortion in Texas.

Ethiopia, September 2021.

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