We’re Still Breathing: Amhara Genocide In Ethiopia – OpEd

Ignored by western governments and largely overlooked by media a genocide is taking place in Ethiopia. The Amhara people, a large ethnic group, are being ethnically cleansed from the region of Oromia, the largest region on the country.

Tens of thousands of Amhara have been killed by Oromo fanatics, over three million have been displaced, homes, land and livestock stolen.

The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF or Shene) are responsible for the violence, with the support of the local authority (the Oromo Regional Authority), the regional militia, and the consent of the federal government.

In addition to mass murder and wholesale displacement, estimates claim that more than 30,000 Amhara have been arrested this year alone. Journalists, human rights workers, parliamentarians, academics, protestors and students, are all among those interned without trial, often in undisclosed locations.

Hundreds of Amhara men and boys have been herded into industrial detention centres (that some are calling concentration camps), where they are held without charge and reportedly injected with contagious diseases.

At the request of an Ethiopian human rights group (Amhara Association of America) I travelled to Ethiopia earlier in the year, spending time in Internal Displacement Camps and meeting people affected. Their stories were deeply distressing: children murdered in front of their parents; young men slaughtered en masse; pregnant women attacked, their bellies stabbed, the baby killed. Whole communities eradicated.

The purpose of the film is to raise awareness of this appalling issue, and to add to the many voices, mainly Ethiopian, calling on western governments (the US, EU and UK in particular), to apply pressure on the Government, led by Prime-Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Screenings of the documentary have taken place in Washington DC and Dallas, and on 19 December it will be shown in Toronto, Canada. More screenings in the US, Europe and elsewhere will follow in the new year.