GENEVA: The head of the World Health Organization has made an impassioned appeal for his beleaguered home region Tiger in Ethiopia on Thursday, saying he has relatives he cannot communicate with or send money to amid a blockade by government forces.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in some of his most personal comments on the region which erupted into violence again on Wednesday after months of calm, lamented his inability to help his loved ones among the 6 million people almost trapped in the Tiger.
“I have a lot of relatives there. I want to send money. I can’t send money. They are starving. I know I can’t help them,” he said. said, the latest in a series of appeals about Tigray that he has made at regular WHO meetings. press briefings.
“I can’t help them. I can’t help them. I can share what I have. I can’t because they’re completely isolated,” Tedros added.
“I can’t talk to them. I don’t even know who’s dead or who’s alive.”
Tedros, an ethnic Tigray, insisted he was not playing Tigray favorites and spoke out about humanitarian crises in many places including Yemen, Syria, Ukraine and Congo.
But he has sought to overcome the perceived inaction and inattention of a world eaten up by other trouble spots and worries, and has previously said he believes his people have been overlooked because of the color of their skin. .
He said the Tigray crisis was exceptional because the region is virtually cut off from the world – including humanitarian aid shipments that its people need – by government forces in Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.
“Can you tell me any place in the same situation in the world?” he said. “We are talking about the six million people (who) are being collectively punished.”
On Wednesday, Tigray authorities accused the Ethiopian army of launching a “large-scale” offensive for the first time in a year in Tigray. Government officials countered that Tigray forces attacked first.
The conflict began in November 2020, killing thousands in Africa’s second most populous country.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in some of his most personal comments on the region which erupted into violence again on Wednesday after months of calm, lamented his inability to help his loved ones among the 6 million people almost trapped in the Tiger.
“I have a lot of relatives there. I want to send money. I can’t send money. They are starving. I know I can’t help them,” he said. said, the latest in a series of appeals about Tigray that he has made at regular WHO meetings. press briefings.
“I can’t help them. I can’t help them. I can share what I have. I can’t because they’re completely isolated,” Tedros added.
“I can’t talk to them. I don’t even know who’s dead or who’s alive.”
Tedros, an ethnic Tigray, insisted he was not playing Tigray favorites and spoke out about humanitarian crises in many places including Yemen, Syria, Ukraine and Congo.
But he has sought to overcome the perceived inaction and inattention of a world eaten up by other trouble spots and worries, and has previously said he believes his people have been overlooked because of the color of their skin. .
He said the Tigray crisis was exceptional because the region is virtually cut off from the world – including humanitarian aid shipments that its people need – by government forces in Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.
“Can you tell me any place in the same situation in the world?” he said. “We are talking about the six million people (who) are being collectively punished.”
On Wednesday, Tigray authorities accused the Ethiopian army of launching a “large-scale” offensive for the first time in a year in Tigray. Government officials countered that Tigray forces attacked first.
The conflict began in November 2020, killing thousands in Africa’s second most populous country.
