You are a foreigner and you are looking for ways to support #Ethiopia and #Ethiopian people? Here's a list of actions that you can take and avoid.
1. Are you an academic, researcher, or think tank who tangentially works on #Ethiopia? Are you being asked to comment on the situation and give your take for media or speaking engagements? Politely decline and recommend an expert, preferably #Ethiopian
2. N.B. Avoid recommending and being a problematic old white dude. This applies to everything in life, but especially in this situation. @martinplaut especially you!
3. If you are not an expert on #Ethiopian history, have not been keeping up with what has been occurring in the last five decades at least, and are not directly impacted by what is happening, please don't share your unsolicited opinions and takes.
4. Don't be easily swayed by social media propoganda. Do your own due diligence to get the facts. Know who the real victims are and amplify thier voices; who the real perpetrators are; who the real anti-peace elements are and who are the visible and invisble hands behind them
5. Avoid simplistic narratives that paint the situation as an internal dispute between tribes and factions. If you're not acknowledging the historic and ongoing role of various actors, then you're contributing to misinformation.
6. Ethiopia houses the second largest number of IDPs in the world at the moment, arond 26 million, half of them in Amhara region alone. Reach out to your political representatives and leaders to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches these individuals and their families.
7. Call for accountability and justice against actors who help bankroll the #TPLF (and provide them with training fields and arms).
8. Hold the Human rights groups and mainstream media to be fair and accurate in their reporting. One example, the recent third round of war instigated by #TPLF was reported as “War in Tigray”, when the actual battles were happening in the lands of Amhara and Afar
9. Does your country sell illicit weapons, military equipment, and surveillance tech to non-state actors and insurgent groups? It's likely your taxpayer dollars are helping support the war in Ethiopia. Hold your leaders accountable
10. Speak out against the targeted attacks and ethnic cleansing of ethnic Amharas in Oromia region. In the shadow of the war in the North, Amharas were being attcaked in masses islently by Oromo armed groups.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun…
11. Acknowledge the disproportionate cost of this conflict on Amhara & Afar people. There has been a lot of rhetoric about Tigray blockade. Most of the infrastructure destruction happened in Amhara region, as it was the battle ground for most of the time in the last 2 years
12.Last but not least: stop legitimizing #TPLF in peace negotiations. TPLF won't suddenly respect peace. They should be outlawed & cease to exist as a political party. They should be held accountable for instigating this war in Nov 2020 & all crimes committed before that.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
