Thread by @XimenaBorrazas

Hayla (name changed at the victim’s request) is 21 years old and was born in a village near Adwa.

During the war she was intercepted at her home by 10 Eritrean soldiers and kidnapped for four days at their military base. ⬇️

#Tigray

“They started asking me where are the TDF men? I said, “I don’t know, I’m a civilian, I’m a student”.

Did they rape you? I asked her through Sister Mulu from the Ayder one stop centre, who was acting as interpreter.

“Yes,” Sister Mulu said. “They raped her one by one.

Hayla wanted to be more specific so she began to explain the event:

“First they locked me in a room and then raped me for four days on the base. They finally threw acid on my head”.

How did you managed to leave the place? I asked.
“I don’t know, people helped me, I was unconscious,” she replied.

“I appeared on the road, the Eritreans had thrown me there, like an animal”. “The migrants saw me and helped me,” she said.

Were there other women with you? There were about 60 women of all ages," she replied.

60? I asked again, the number had shocked me and I wanted to make sure I had heard correctly.

"Yes, 60, six o'," Sister Mulu replied.

What happened with them? I asked.
Hayla replied "I don't know because I was separated in a room".

The young woman said during the interview, in tears, “I can’t rest at night because it always hurts and itches so much”.

Hayla needs to undergo plastic surgery which she cannot afford due to lack of money, her days are agony, she is burdened with these wounds that prevent her from sleeping and also with psychological trauma.

Although she lives in the custody of Mekele’s women’s affairs office, lack of resources and budget prevent her from receiving psychological care.