The Case of Wolqait, Tegede and Tselemt (Part II)

The following is part II of the article from Dr. Daniel Kinde's book: The Five Dimensions Of The Eritrean Conflict 1941 - 2004: Decephering The Geo-Political Puzzle. Continuation of Part I. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Daniel Kinde for his outstanding scholarly contribution.

...The annexed regions produce such crops as cotton, oil seeds, pulses, sesame, corn, millet, and sorghum valued in millions of dollars, and provided employment opportunities for millions of Ethiopians. If we take Humera, for example, it contains one of the best alluvial soils in the whole of Ethiopia. In the 1960s and 1970s, Humera became the second largest cotton producing region in Ethiopia next to the Awash Valley, and banks pumped millions of dollars in loans. Semi-mechanized, some 1,000 tractors were also deployed. Agricultural production was successful that for each dollar invested, the value of increase in crop production was $5.00. The labor force also increased from 13,000 in 1964, to 300,000 in 1972. Workers came from all over Ethiopia including Gondar, Eritrea, Shoa, Gojjam, and Tigrai.

Ever since Humera, Wolqait, Tegede and Tselemt were forcefully incorporated to Tigrai, what was built over the years has been destroyed. An extensive ethnic cleansing** has also been going on. The native inhabitants have been subjected to excruciating experiences, ranging from arbitrary arrests to summary executions, and mass eviction from their ancestral lands, for the sole purpose of exploiting the resources of the region for the benefit of the supporters and hirelings of the regime, and for settling Tigrean soldiers and peasants on the land. Those who resisted have been killed in hundreds. Many have been tortured, maimed, and crippled. Others still languish in noxious and abominable caves turned into prisons. Some have gone into armed struggle. Others roam the streets of such towns as Gondar, Dessie, Bahir Dar, and Addis Ababa as beggars, and many have either became refugees oversees, or have temporarily settled down elsewhere marking their time. The language of instruction in schools have also changed from Amharic to Tigrigna. All this is being done in order to change the demographic composition of these provinces and to Tigrianize them.

Equally disturbing is that, in a country where millions are still starving, the proceeds generated from the farms of the annexed areas are partly hoarded in foreign private bank accounts, and partly disbursed to finance the lavish and exorbitantly luxurious life of the ruling oligarchy, which among other things, includes the latest Land Cruiser per oligarchy member, exclusive private schools and kindergartens for their children chauffeured fighter-turned-private drivers, classy private clinics and the best referral hospital in the country catering for the medial needs for themselves, their wives, and their concubines, as well as fashionable villas of high standard with modern gadgets never seen at all anywhere in the country. Yet, it is the same "revolutionary Marxist" leaders who are doing all this, and who were swearing by dialectical materialism and Albanian socialism until a couple of years ago.

An organization which call itself the Ethiopian patriotic Front (Kefagn) is still fighting for the liberation of Humera, Wolqait, Tegede and Tselemt. This front may be either beefed up, or others may be organized. It is also possible that the people of Wollo and Gondar may carry out joint military operations against the TPLF, in order to liberate the forcefully incorporated provinces. There is no doubt that the people of the annexed provinces are determined to regain their lands as well as their local autonomy. It is most unfortunate that the innocent people of Tigrai are being blamed for the avarice and cupidity of the leadership. But if a bloody confrontation is to be averted, one hopes that the people of Tigrai do not share the insanity and psychosis of the TPLF leaders.

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**Coming soon: the names of the victims of Woyane genocide