War in Ethiopia's Tigray region has left many disabled veterans without care
The 41-year-old veteran of the recent war in Ethiopia's Tigray region has metal shrapnel in his body that is yet to be removed, more than two years after the fighting ended.
Unable to get specialized medical care, Chandera is bedridden most of the time because of the pain. He is one of many casualties whose untreated or poorly treated injuries are a reminder of the war's toll.
'When I think about my future prospect and my ability to raise a child in such hardship and circumstances, I feel hopeless," he said, with a toddler at home.
Chandera, a former hotel worker in the town of Shire, found that health facilities across the region had been largely destroyed in the fighting.
The head of the Ethiopian National Rehabilitation Commission, Temesgen Tilahun, told The Associated Press there are more than 43,000 Tigrayan former combatants.
Thousands of people were killed in the war that pitted local fighters against federal troops who were allied with fighters from other regions, and ended in 2022. No one knows how many were wounded.
Some former combatants in Tigray returned to their homes to find there was no way to receive medical support for permanent disabilities.
Hiluf Haile managed to receive therapy in the Tigray capital, Mekele, to adjust to a new prosthetic leg at the only center in Tigray that offers such treatment. But he has witnessed the chronic shortage of support for other disabled ex-combatants.
Many who had serious injuries have limited access to orthopedic therapy and must navigate damaged communities that have little or no infrastructure to accommodate them.
They 'survive by begging, laying bare the scar of the war,' Haile said.
Tesfaye Kiros, another veteran, lost a leg and has been unable to find employment. He regularly begs at a busy bus station in Mekele, Tigray's capital.
He dreams of returning to his hometown of Zalambessa, near the border with Eritrea. That remains elusive as new tensions rise between Ethiopia and Eritrea, its former ally in the war.
The 31-year-old had been elated when a diaspora-led initiative, Rescue & Oasis Actions for the Disabled of War, chose him to receive a three-wheel electric bike to help him be mobile. But, still unable to find work, he sold it to feed his children.
'The bike would have helped me a great deal," he said.
With limited resources as Tigray recovers from the war, the regional government has appealed to the federal government in Addis Ababa, the capital, for more support — and for international donors to come to the rescue.
The government has offered veterans reintegration into the armed forces.
'Tigray has too many individuals with disabilities who need support, especially medicine, and the situation is extremely dire," said Gebrehiwot Gebrezgiabher, commissioner for the Tigray Disaster Risk Management Commission. 'We are too overwhelmed to support them without more financial support.'
The Mekelle Ortho-Physiotherapy Center, which has operated in Tigray for nearly three decades with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross, is trying to fill the gap.
The group has treated disabled combatants, providing prosthetic limbs and mobility aid such as crutches. But it is unable to help everyone who needs support without more funding.
'Over the years, we have delivered a total of 180,000 services. However, this number pales in comparison to the 65,000 we have provided in just the last three years,' manager Birhane Teame said.
Teame urged international organizations to assist his group 'in alleviating the burden" in Tigray.
___
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
___
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Smoke from Canadian wildfires brings unhealthy air to large swaths of the Midwest
Smoke from Canadian wildfires hovered over several Midwestern states Saturday, bringing warnings of unhealthy air for at least the third day. Air quality alerts were in effect in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as eastern Nebraska and parts of Indiana and Illinois. Forecasters said the smoky skies would remain for much of the day. People with lung disease, heart disease, children, older adults and pregnant women are most susceptible to the poor breathing conditions. Canadian environmental officials said smoke from forest fires that was causing reduced visibility and poor quality would persist into Sunday for some areas. The Switzerland-based air quality monitoring database IQAir, which assesses air quality in real time, listed the city of Minneapolis as having some of the worst air pollution in the world since Friday. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to reach the red or unhealthy category in a large swath of Minnesota and will likely remain through Saturday. AQI is a system used to communicate how much air pollution is in the air. It breaks pollution down into six categories and colors, and advice on what isn't safe to do. They range from 'good' (the color green) to 'hazardous' (maroon). The smoke could start to decline beginning Saturday before spreading as far south as Tennessee and Missouri. The air could remain unhealthy for sensitive groups through Monday, state health officials said. The EPA's Air Quality Index converts all pollutant levels into a single number. The lower the number, the better. Anything below 50 is classified as 'healthy.' Fifty to 100 is 'moderate' while 100-150 is unhealthy for 'sensitive groups.' Anything above 150 is bad for everyone. Parts of Minnesota exceeded that number on Saturday. Health officials advise people with asthma and other lung disease, heart disease, children and older adults to avoid prolonged exposure to smoke and limit strenuous activities. They said to avoid burning things that could make the air pollution worse, and keep windows and doors closed to keep the smoke from getting inside. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
8 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Israeli fire kills at least 18 in Gaza, and US envoy visits hostage family protest
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hospitals in Gaza reported the killing of more than a dozen people, eight of them food-seekers, by Israeli fire on Saturday as Palestinians endured severe risks searching for food amid airdrops and restrictions on overland aid delivery. Near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site, Yahia Youssef, who had come to seek aid Saturday morning, described a panicked scene now grimly familiar. After helping carry out three people wounded by gunshots, he said he looked around and saw others lying on the ground bleeding. 'It's the same daily episode,' Youssef said. In response to questions about several eyewitness accounts of violence at the northernmost of the Israeli-backed American contractor's four facilities, GHF said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites.' The episode came a day after U.S. officials visited one site and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the distribution 'an incredible feat.' International outrage has mounted as the group's efforts to deliver aid to hunger-stricken Gaza have been marred by violence and controversy. 'We weren't close to them (the troops) and there was no threat,' Abed Salah, a man in his 30s who was among the crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, said. 'I escaped death miraculously.' The danger facing aid seekers in Gaza has compounded what international hunger experts this week called a 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the besieged enclave. Israel's nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to deliver food safely to starving people. Seven Palestinians died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday. They include a child, it said in a statement, bringing the total deaths among children from causes related to malnutrition in Gaza to 93 since the war began. The ministry said 76 adults in Gaza have also died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. From May 27 to July 31, 859 people were killed near GHF sites, according to a United Nations report published Thursday. Hundreds more have been killed along the routes of food convoys. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel 's military has said it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, though on Friday said it was working to make the routes under its control safer. Israel and GHF have said that the toll has been exaggerated. Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three transported from the vicinity of a distribution site to a central Gaza hospital along with 36 others who were wounded. Officials said 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza. Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people. The dead include two brothers and a relative, who were killed when a strike hit their tent close to a main thoroughfare in Khan Younis. The health ministry's ambulance and emergency service said an Israeli strike hit a family house in an area between the towns of Zawaida and Deir al-Balah, killing two parents and their three children. Another strike hit a tent close to the gate of a closed prison where the displaced have sheltered in Khan Younis, killing a mother and her daughter, they said. The hospital said Israeli forces killed five other Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid near the newly constructed Morag corridor in Rafah and between Rafah and Khan Younis. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes or deaths near the aid sites. Hostage families push Israel to cut deal In Tel Aviv, families of hostages protested and urged Israel's government to push harder for the release of their loved ones, including those shown in footage released by militant groups earlier this week. U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff joined them, a week after quitting ceasefire talks, blaming Hamas's intransigence and pledging to find other ways to free hostages and make Gaza safe. Of the 251 hostages who were abducted by Hamas-led miltants, around 20 are believed to be alive in Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, released separate videos of individual hostages this week, triggering outrage among hostage families and Israeli society. Israeli media hasn't broadcast the videos, calling them propaganda, but the family of 21-year-old Rom Braslavski allowed the release of a photograph showing him visibly emaciated in an unknown location. After viewing the video, Tami Braslavski, his mother, blamed top Israeli officials and demanded they meet with her. 'They broke my child, I want him home now,' Braslavski told Ynet on Thursday. 'Look at him: Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out.' Protestors called on Israel's government to make a deal to end the war, imploring them to 'stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels' 'Do the right thing and just do it now,' said Lior Chorev, chief strategy officer of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Airdrops expand despite limited impact Alongside Israel, several European countries announced plans this week to join the Jordan-led coalition orchestrating airdropping parcels, though most acknowledge the strategy remains deeply inadequate. 'If there is political will to allow airdrops — which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X on Saturday. 'Let's go back to what works & let us do our job.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians , according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___ Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Israeli fire kills at least 18 in Gaza, US envoy visits hostage family protest
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hospitals in Gaza reported the killing of more than a dozen people, eight of them food-seekers, by Israeli fire on Saturday as Palestinians endured severe risks in their search for food amid airdrops and restrictions on overland aid delivery. Near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site, Yahia Youssef, who had come to seek aid Saturday morning, described a panicked scene now grimly familiar. After helping carry out three people wounded by gunshots, he said he looked around and saw many others lying on the ground bleeding. 'It's the same daily episode,' Youssef said. In response to questions about several eyewitness accounts of violence at the northernmost of the Israeli-backed American contractor's four sites, the GHF media office said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites.' The episode came a day after U.S. officials visited one site and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called GHF's distribution 'an incredible feat.' International outrage has mounted as the group's efforts to deliver aid to hunger-stricken Gaza have been marred by violence and controversy. 'We weren't close to them (the troops) and there was no threat,' Abed Salah, a man in his 30s who was among the crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, said. 'I escaped death miraculously.' The danger facing aid seekers in Gaza has compounded what international hunger experts this week called a 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the besieged enclave. Israel's nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to deliver food safely to starving people. From May 27 to July 31, 859 people were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites, according to a United Nations report published Thursday. Hundreds more have been killed along the routes of food convoys. Israel and GHF have said they have only fired warning shots and that the toll has been exaggerated. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel 's military has said it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, though on Friday said it was working to make the routes under its control safer. Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three whose bodies were transported from the vicinity of a distribution site to a central Gaza hospital along with 36 others who were wounded. Officials said 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza. Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people. The dead include two brothers and a relative, who were killed when a strike hit their tent close to a main thoroughfare in Khan Younis. The Gaza health ministry's ambulance and emergency service said an Israeli strike hit a family house in an area between the towns of Zawaida and Deir al-Balah, killing two parents and their three children. Another strike hit a tent close to the gate of a closed prison where the displaced have sheltered in Khan Younis, killing a mother and her daughter, they said. The hospital said Israeli forces killed five other Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid near the newly constructed Morag corridor in Rafah and between Rafah and Khan Younis. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes or deaths near the aid sites. Hostage families protest to end war Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, families of Israeli hostages protested and urged Israel's government to push harder for the release of their loved ones, including those shown in footage released by militant groups earlier this week. U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff joined them a day after visiting Gaza and a week after walking away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas's intransigence and pledging to find other ways to free hostages and make Gaza safe. Of the 251 hostages who were abducted when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, around 20 are believed to be alive in Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, released separate videos of individual hostages this week, triggering outrage among hostage families and Israeli society. Israeli media hasn't broadcast the videos, calling them propaganda, but the family of 21-year-old Rom Braslavski allowed for the release of a photograph showing him visibly emaciated in an unknown location. After viewing the video, Tami Braslavski, his mother, blamed top Israeli officials and demanded they meet with her. "They broke my child, I want him home now,' Braslavski told Ynet on Thursday. 'Look at him: Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out.' Hostage families and their supporters protesting in Tel Aviv called on Israel's government to make a deal to end the war, imploring them to "stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels' 'Do the right thing and just do it now,' Lior Chorev ,the Hostages Family Forum's Chief Strategy Officer said. Airdrops expand despite limited impact To circumvent restrictions on aid trucks crossing overland into Gaza, additional countries joined the Jordan-led coalition orchestrating parcels being dropped from the skies. Alongside Israel, several European countries announced plans this week to join airdrop efforts, though most acknowledge the strategy is woefully insufficient 'If there is political will to allow airdrops — which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X on Saturday. 'Let's go back to what works & let us do our job.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___
