Calgarian Amhara youth raise awareness, funds for victims of Ethiopian civil war
CBC
A group of 28 Amhara youth in Calgary are working to raise awareness and funds for displaced Amhara citizens in Ethiopia through the creation of a youth-led organization — Amhara Youth in YYC.
Three regions in northern Ethiopia — Amhara, Tigray and Afar — have been embroiled in conflict since the start of a civil war in November 2020. Amharas are the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and have become the targets of Tigrayan forces, with whom they have a long-standing dispute.
While no official government numbers exist, it's estimated that thousands of Amharas have been killed, with hundreds of thousands displaced.
Yohannes Nirayo, president of Amhara Youth in YYC, says the massacre back home does not only impact Amharas in Ethiopia, but also has effects on the Diaspora community in Calgary.
"The only reason I'm not dead is because I'm in a different country," said Nirayo, who moved from Ethiopia to Egypt when he was two, before moving to Canada around 12 years old.
He says many people are unaware of the ongoing tragedy in Ethiopia, which is why he co-founded the youth-led organization in November 2020.
The organization's mission is to raise awareness in Calgary and beyond about how the Amhara people are being harmed by "ongoing ethnic cleansing" in various regions of Ethiopia.
"People need to be informed of what is going on," said Nirayo. "We're creating this organization to help people understand."
Nirayo believes that the Ethiopian government is not doing enough to solve the crisis, and so public awareness is especially important.
"We just want the government to do its duty, to be able to care for the people and to not ignore the massacre that has been happening."
Lulseged Yimam, president of the Calgary Ethiopian Community Association, says that every Amhara family is being impacted by the war, and that each family knows at least one person who has died as a result of the conflict.
That includes his nephew, who died a few weeks ago because he was unable to get the medical attention he required.
"We knew that that's going to happen — that's why we're shouting," said Yimam. "We're just trying to let people know that things like this are happening."
Yimam says the loss of his nephew is something he can handle, but he's worried about other families who have lost multiple loved ones during the fighting.
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