The Capital Of Ethiopia’s Tigray Region Is Under Fierce Bombardment Right Now
A Poem On The Days Before
Child, do you notice the shuttered fear in your parent’s eyes The hushed whispers and the abruptness of their words The breaks in conversations when you happen by The increased shaded looks up into the sky
Do you wonder what it is that they fear might appear And do you hope it will pass, and not come too near The gathering of people around phones, the unison sighs All this you have noticed, I know, or else you’d ask why
What is it the grown-ups are preparing themselves for Have you heard the word whispered, the mention of war Better not ask and continue to play and hope the spectre Which haunts your family will soon disappear
Life once sunny and carefree is tightening its grip A darkness is looming to be read on the lips Food, a joy to be shared and however scant all were fed Is being stocked and piled high even under the beds
Your grandmother holds you in her arms and you notice a tear A rocking chair movement, as she comforts both you and her fear Memories of dark times are filling her heart unknowing to you And you wonder is there anything for her you can do
There are movements outside and you hear voices shout Not friendly but grim and through the door you look out Soldiers march by hastily along the dusty streets Rifles glued to their bodies, your heart skips a beat
This doesn’t look good, oh why can’t they talk and you tell That there’s nothing to worry about, and that all will be well
I’ve been following the events in Ethiopia in the news over the last few weeks. Up till now, hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced in a conflict between Governmental forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of the northern Tigray region. Today, 28.11.2020, the Ethiopian Government has announced they are now “fully in control” of the regional capital city, Mekelle.
Some analysts fear the situation could now turn into a guerrilla conflict — with the TPLF continuing to mount attacks on government forces even if Mekelle has been taken.
About half a million residents live in Mekelle, half of whom are children, according to UNICEF.
I only care about the children and the innocent civilians who have died, and will die, in another senseless military conflict.
My own experience as a ten-year-old child before the outbreak of the Biafran civil war