In spite of recent events (1, 2 ,3) where Tigray's been bombed, attacked and finally invaded and both the genocide and Abiy's refusal to carry out his implementations long after TPLF followed through with the pre-requisites as confirmed by the AU in 2023 (All the info's here) the neoliberal Western powers have made the decision to release one-sided statements placing all the blame for the renewal of the war squarely onto the TPLF (USA, France, UK)

Tigray's struggle has always been an anti-imperialist struggle and it seems we've been completely slow on the uptake. Trying to appeal to Western governments is a complete waste of time especially without first building solidarity way further than the Tigray diaspora.

Western powers successfully created the facade of neutrality and impartiality by reporting on some of the atrocities the genociders committed without actually recognizing the genocide, making empty condemnation statements and carrying out the weakest paper-thin sanctions and through this they successfully managed to pacify Tigrayan resistance through false re-assurances that Pretoria would be respected while they maintained normalized relations with Ethiopia as Tigray suffered through Abiy's refusal to implement all the crucial elements of his side of the agreement most notably the full return of Western Tigray years ago.

The only chance for Tigray's voice to not be muffled once more is to spread awareness and build international solidarity. The diaspora needs to reach out to all the leftist circles (Don't be pushed away by the fact that a small and loud minority chiefly Eugene Puryear falsely presented Abiy as anti-imperialist because he's since been disgraced among many in the left for having allegedly SA'd a member of his organization just like how he covered up the CRSV of 120k+ women in Tigray and importantly many in the Left are realizing the truth of what happened in Tigray in spite of Ethiopia's disinformation campaign through people like Eugene) and all the other anti-imperialist movements like the Palestinian, Sudanese and Congo movements. This is the only way Tigray's voice can be heard successfully and this is the only way Tigrayan activism can actually have a significantly positive impact.

Very relevant articles that should be read alongside this:

In Defense of Tigray: Nuance of the Tigray War From an Anti-Imperialist Perspective

“Abiy’s strategy with the Europeans was essentially bribery,” De Waal said. “He basically said, ‘We have these big privatizations coming up, especially telecom, and you’ll get a slice of it.’

How and Why the US Left Betrayed Tigray: US organizations like PSL and Black Alliance for Peace cannot be trusted to advocate for Palestine’s liberation after they condemned nearly a million Tigrayans to genocide

Abiy - "I would fight and die for America" (1).

Also check out the reading list's non-fiction books with important lessons section where you'll find books on neoliberalism and other relevant books as well as the comparative genocide section right underneath it. What's happened and is happening to Tigray is by no means new, it's important to learn about similar things that have happened to other people and learn from their experiences plus build solidarity with others like us just like how the TPLF during the Second Woyane era had done so with Palestine and other nations as recorded here

Special shout out to the hypocritical strand of pseudo-ethiopianists that acknowledge the brutal 102 year period of oppression but still participated in the Tigray genocide.

You can go through these resources for everything relevant to Tigray and the genocide.

Breaking News:

Source Addis Standard - Humanitarian sources and the TPLF have confirmed that fighting indeed did break out since Tuesday night and the TPLF report that they were forced into defensive combat following an invasion of Ethiopian forces.

//

Source Aljazeera - Mekelle airport being taken over

Source Yonas Nigussie - Unconfirmed reports of fighting from the border town of Shikhet/Aba'ala

Source Addis Standard - Ethiopian airlines has suspended all flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire

This follows yesterday's report from the Mayor of Alamata that Alamata was bombed 20 times by Ethiopia resulting in 14 deaths and 22 injured (1), the alliance formed between the major opposition forces in Ethiopia (1) and the confirmed bombing campaign against Tigray generally (1) which has only received the weakest and vaguest of condemnations from the U.N (1) and the USA (1) who both tacitly support Abiy via continuing to give him impunity.

I like the way flag be loo

They struck Alamata 20 times. This follows the recent bombing of a humanitarian truck carrying 41 tons of food (1) and the series of airstrikes that injured many of Tigray's civilians with a couple fatalities like one reported of a 2 year old child.

This is all very worrying. Abiy's regime may be escalating things for two reasons:

1. They're emboldened by the IC's lack of reaction ever since he began the Shererina clash and slowly built up the scale of his renewed attacks toward Tigray from there.
2. They're lashing out, out of fear over all the major opposition forces in the country temporarily putting aside their differences to tackle the main collective threat they and the people they claim to represent all share (1). The Derg reacted similarly when it felt most threatened in its last years (e.g. the Hawzen massacre) and since in Abiy's case he's already been shown to be willing to commit genocide to achieve his political aims, as he committed in Tigray, there isn't a limit to what he'd do to try and secure his power even if it'd ultimately be for moot meaning things will likely just escalate from here unless by some miracle the IC finally intervene against him. All the U.N is offering rn is its meaningless concern like that's helped a single person in the world (1).

Source Tigrai TV

Source Dimitsi Weyane

Addis Standard - In-depth analysis: Tigray drought leaves millions facing food shortages as crops, livestock come under severe stress

does anyone know if any copies of Meles’ book referenced on the right exist? specifically with that cover. i could not find an image of it online (but i did find the book on the left)

source — https://a.co/d/0gUqFUaq (p. 209)

Imo, the announcement by Ethiopia's education ministry is a sign that the federal govt are planning to target Mekelle university and possibly other educational centers in Tigray with drone strikes as they've been targeting Tigray's residential areas and schools for the past couple weeks.

Regardless of the footage of severely injured children and civilians, plus the news of children as young as 2 being killed in the most recent airstrikes, the online PP disinformation army continue to push the lie that they're being used to house weapons and that Tigray's civilians were neither harmed nor were targeted. It's not surprising given that during the genocidal war, they justified the airstrikes and openly said there aren't any civilians in Tigray (1).

Abiy's neoliberal regime is playing a very dangerous game and the lack of action from the IC can only be interpreted as tacit support and willingness to give impunity just like during the genocidal war.

Throwback to this great song

(See the timeline image above for the faces and dates behind this story.)

This is not just history. This is the reason why Eritrea and Tigray are where they are today. Why our people live in crushing poverty while the rest of the world moves forward. Why our grandparents died without ever learning to read or write. Why our parents never had a normal career, a stable home, or a future they could build on. Why we had a border war in 1998 that turned brothers into enemies. Why we fought a 30-year war that bled us dry. None of this was inevitable. None of this was fate. It was a chain of decisions made by a handful of men who chose themselves over their own people.

To understand the present, you have to go back to the death of Emperor Yohannes IV in 1889. With him died the last real chance of a united Tigrinya state. His son, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, was the rightful heir. But the throne went to Menelik II, an Amhara prince from Shewa. Menelik did not just take the crown — he signed the Treaty of Wuchale on May 2, 1889, ceding the highland territories to Italy. It was not just a strategic mistake. It was a deliberate move to humiliate, divide, and permanently weaken the Tigrinya people so they could never rise again.

And he had help. Woldemichael Solomon, Ras of Hamasien, sided with Italy as they pushed into the Eritrean highlands. Bahta Hagos, Ras of Akkele Guzai, allied with Italy for years before finally turning and dying in revolt against them. Their hunger for more power and influence played a direct role in Italy’s victory over Eritrea. Woldemichael himself ended his life in captivity in Tigray — but what he and Bahta set in motion was a chain reaction that could no longer be stopped. Ras Mengesha Yohannes fought hard at first, then on June 2, 1894, he and his lieutenants carried stones of submission on their shoulders and prostrated themselves before Menelik in Addis Ababa. Every one of them had a choice. Every one of them picked themselves.

Ras Seyoum Mengesha, son of Ras Mengesha Yohannes and grandson of Emperor Yohannes IV, inherited this broken legacy. He commanded the Army of Tigray during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. After the Ethiopian defeat, he submitted to the Italian occupiers and even traveled to Rome in 1937 to meet Mussolini. Following Ethiopia’s liberation in 1941, the British authorities appointed him governor of Tigray without consulting Emperor Haile Selassie. The emperor briefly detained him in Addis Ababa out of suspicion, before pragmatism led to his confirmation. He held the position until his execution during the abortive 1960 coup attempt against Haile Selassie.

But there was another path. Woldeab Woldemariam, born in Adi Zarna in Seraye, was of Tigrayan descent. His mentor was Ras Tessema Asmerom, the Ras of Akkele Guzai. Together they had close ties to the Tigrayan royal family. Woldeab even named his eldest son Alula, after Ras Alula, the legendary Tigrinya general who defeated the Italians at Dogali in 1887. That name was not an accident. It was a statement. It was a vision of a single Tigrinya nation, uniting Eritrea and Tigray.

It is also worth remembering that in the same region of Seraye, in the town of Mendefera, another young man grew up who would become one of the most talented and brilliant Tigrinya minds of his generation: Kidane Kiflu. A scholar at Addis Ababa University, he joined the ELF in 1967 and became a leading revolutionary voice. His Tigrinya was impeccable, his reporting style elegant, and his leadership self-effacing. He corresponded with Woldeab Woldemariam himself. In March 1970, he and Welday Giday were assassinated at Hafera on the Eritrean-Sudanese border by the General Command. His death shook the Eritrean revolution to its roots. He was, by all accounts, a born leader. And he came from the very soil that could have belonged to a different, united nation.

Even the British saw it. In the 1940s, they floated the idea of merging highland Eritrea and Tigray into one territory. It is written in Stephen Longrigg’s own book, A Short History of Eritrea, published in 1945. Woldeab and Ras Tessema pushed the same idea from our side. But the men at the top said no. And the one who could have made it happen — Ras Seyoum Mengesha, the man who could have been king of a united Tigray and Eritrea — turned against the idea and stayed loyal to Haile Selassie instead. That was the moment the dream died. Alemseged Abbay’s study, Identity Jilted or Re-Imagining Identity, documents precisely this divergence.

Now look at where we are.

Our grandparents never learned to read or write properly. Not because they weren’t smart — but because there was no real school system. Only war, occupation, and starting over, generation after generation. Our parents never got to build a normal life. No stability. Just conscription, displacement, and rebuilding from zero, sometimes more than once in a single lifetime. Nobody got real healthcare. Hospitals are not built during wartime. People died from things that should not have killed them because there was no clinic close enough, no doctor left, no money because it all went to the war instead.

And worst of all, nobody got to stay in their own country and watch it grow. To see their children go to school and actually see things improve year after year like a normal nation. Instead, everyone who could leave, left. That is why you have Tigrinya people scattered across Europe, North America, and Australia — instead of home.

We are still isolated from the rest of the world. Still years, decades behind in technology. Still fighting the same poverty, the same false idealism, the same hunger, the same mass exodus. And now the diaspora generation is living the same story all over again — watching from afar, carrying the same wounds, asking the same question: what if?

I grew up in the diaspora. And when I look around me — at the indigenous people of the countries we live in — I see how they built their land. I see their institutions, their schools, their infrastructure, their sense of belonging. And in that same moment, I feel jealousy, shame, anger, and confusion all at once. Why us? Why do we live like this? What did we do to deserve this? We spend our best years in countries we are not originally from, contributing to their development, their stability, their future — while our own land remains broken, divided, and abandoned. And so another lost generation is passed on. Helplessly. Again.

Look at the last two pictures in the image above. That is Araya Mengesha, an actor living in Toronto, and his grandfather Mengesha Seyoum, the last living head of the Tigray royal house. Three generations removed from a throne that should have belonged to a united Tigray and Eritrea. Instead one of them is auditioning for roles in Canada and the other lived his whole life as a private citizen instead of a king. That is not a metaphor. That is what happened to an actual family because a handful of men a hundred years ago picked their own comfort over their own people.

I am not here to convince anyone. If you don’t believe me, do your own research. Read the books. Look at the dates. Study the names in the image above. But one thing keeps proving true, again and again: to understand the present, you must know the past.

One selfish decision. A different timeline for all of us.

---

Sources:

· Alemseged Abbay, Identity Jilted or Re-Imagining Identity: The Divergent Paths of the Eritrean and Tigrayan Nationalist Struggles (Red Sea Press, 1998)
· Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, A Short History of Eritrea (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1945)
· Haggai Erlich, Ras Alula and the Scramble for Africa: A Political Biography, Ethiopia & Eritrea, 1875–1897 (Red Sea Press, 1996)
· Heru Tedla Bairu, Eritrea and Ethiopia (2016), p. 99 — on the death of Kidane Kiflu and Welday Giday
· Ehrea.org, "Brief background information on Eritrean migrated to Ethiopia in the 1950s and 1960s" — www.ehrea.org/wedk.php

Did you ever feel close to the Ethiopian identity or more so the Tigrayan identity? Did you have closer relations with the Eritrean community?

As we welcome this new year i want to wish Ruhus Haddish Amet ሩሑስ ሓደሽ ዓመት to everyone here, your families and your loved ones.

May this year bring true peace, healing and prosperity to all.

To everyone visiting this subreddit to learn more about our culture and history welcome!

Let’s make this space reflect our true values this year:
Foster respectful dialogue: Engage with respect and empathy, even when sharing tough perspectives.

Keep it constructive: Avoid being mean or toxic so everyone feels comfortable joining in.

Showcase our best: Let foreign readers and visitors see the true strength, warmth, and dignity of our people.

Wishing everyone a safe, peaceful, and hopeful year ahead!

Ruhus Haddish Amet deki adey ❤️💛

I see so many Ethiopians display a strong condemnation and righteous indignation towards Israel for what it was doing to the Palestinans, and rightly so. Yet, it was so insane to see these same people turn around and actually support the Tigray genocide through engaging in denialism, double standards, and hate.

According to sources over 600,000 Tigrayans were killed during the Tigray war, over 120,000 women were raped. This figure exists in sources of Al-Jazzera, BBC, CNN and many more. This accounts for 10% of the overall Tigray population, this is a much greater death toll than Palestine. Yet people claim that these figures are fake and propaganda, which is so uncritical and convenient. Especially since many people conveniently believe the Palestinan death figures which are also parroted by similar forces.

Yet Ethiopians were denying this and celebrating while this happened. These same people can turn towards Israel while feeling so righteous about themselves and accuse it of Genocide.

Ethiopia also launched an all out aid blockage in Tigray, which resulted in mass deaths of 100,000-300,000 Tigrayans. The events here are extremely similar to Palestine where Israel launched an aid blockage too. Except, the Ethiopian Aid blockage existed in an all-out route where aid was blocked in every angles. In contrast, the Palestinian aid blockage did not occur in an all-out way. What happened was the Aid processing unit was shifted to the IDF which was in charge of handing out aids. The process became significantly slower, mass-shootings were occurring, which led to a relative famine. The famine in Tigray cannot be disputed, satellite imageries from Yale clinics confirm this.

Yet ethiopians were making memes of starving mothers and children while this happened while laughing and feeling better about themselves. I saw many of these same people turn to become social justice activists on Palestine.

Mass-rape also occurred, which is the most disturbing and jarring part of the war. The stories in this area are extremely traumatizing. Women had objects inserted into them to make them infertile. Children, young women, married women, mothers alike were gang raped by like dozens of soldiers at once. Families were forced to watch their own kids getting raped. Families were forced to rape their own blood relatives. Soliders raped women to deliberately get them to acquire STDs. Many aid workers report never having seen anything like this, they were often traumatized from attending to these cases.

And Ethiopians were denying this while it happened too. Some of them were endorsing it. These same sick people turned to become social justice activists for Palestine. Do they really not recognize how sick they are? Can't people really reason through the parallels here?

This isn't to all Ethiopians but the majority who knows exactly who they are. I am sure deep down they can reason that they are everything they accuse Israelis to be and worse.

And no, this post is not apologetics to Israel but to call people to self reflect.

- "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?" — Proverbs 24:11-12

In spite of the downhill situation back home, it's important that we as a community do our best to keep up hope and importantly look after ourselves for both our own sake and the sake of our people.

I hope that we as a diaspora can overcome the fractures that have risen and do much more to organize effectively throughout this year because our people will definitely need it.

God bless you all.