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Transcript/ScriptETHIOPIA AMHARA TPLF RAPE (TV)
HEADLINE: VOA Speaks to 14 Women Raped During TPLF Occupation of Ethiopia’s Amhara Region
TEASER: Survivors say they were ostracized by communities after sexual assault by soldiers on a shocking scale
PUBLISHED AT: Thursday, 05/23/2022 at 9:50am
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins
DATELINE: NORTH WOLLO, ETHIOPIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, ZOOM, Yohannes Abraha
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO__
TRT: 2:47
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Since Ethiopia's war with Tigrayan rebels broke out in November 2020, rape has been used as a weapon by both sides. VOA interviewed 14 women in the northern Amhara region who say they have endured horrific sexual assaults by Tigrayan fighters and have been ostracized by their communities as a result. Henry Wilkins reports from North Wollo, Ethiopia.]]
((NARRATOR))
The Ethiopian Highlands, stark in their beauty and largely peaceful since the civil war here ended in December.
But beneath the surface, there is trauma and pain. Women tell stories of rape by occupying forces with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, between August and November last year.
VOA spoke to 14 women in the towns of Mersa, Weldiya, Gashena and villages close to the town of Lalibela. They asked VOA to protect their identities due to security concerns.
One survivor is in her 70s.
((Rape Survivor (in Amharic))
“He asked me to go and sleep with him, and I begged him not to. ‘Why on earth would you want to do this?’ I replied, ‘You are young, and I am old enough to be your mother.’”
((NARRATOR))
A mother of six children says the fighters kept her for days.
((Rape Survivor (in Amharic))
“One of the nineteen soldiers who raped me came to my home. He hit me on my waist and tied my hands behind my back. One of them raped me, there in my house. Then, they took me with them and kept me for a week without food and raped me every day.”
((NARRATOR))
A hospital nurse in Weldiya says she has treated dozens of women allegedly raped by Tigrayan forces during the occupation.
A report this year by Amnesty International says there is evidence of large-scale rape in other parts of the Amhara region, too.
Some of the assaults are believed to be revenge for mass rapes carried out by Amhara forces in Tigray, also widely reported by rights groups.
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom)))
((Fisseha Tekle, Amnesty International Horn of Africa Researcher (in English)))
“We are doing this because, ‘your forces of Amhara or the ENDF [The Ethiopian National Defense Force] did this to our women, to our mothers, to our sisters ... It’s not a justification.’”
((NARRATOR))
Asked by VOA about reports of rapes by Tigrayan forces, a Tigrayan government representative said...
((Yohannes Abraha, Member of Tigray Government (in English))) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Yohannes Abraha))
“In fact, one of the unique traits of the Tigray army is its unshakable principle of civilian protection. ... The government of Tigray has offered an independent investigation, taking into [account] all the atrocities committed.”
((NARRATOR))
Rights groups, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, say they have uncovered crimes against humanity committed by each side in both the Amhara and Tigray regions.
This 21-year-old says her fiancé called off their engagement after she was raped.
((Rape Survivor (in Amharic))
“They gang raped me in my vagina and anus. I couldn’t sit. I was overcome with pain when I used the toilet.”
((NARRATOR))
Ostracized by her community, she now lives with her former schoolteacher.
((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, North Wollo, Ethiopia))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)NORTH WOLLO, ETHIOPIA
Embargo DateMay 23, 2022 18:14 EDT
Byline((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, North Wollo, Ethiopia))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
