Humanitarian Aid & The Danger of Genocide in Ethiopia

By Halie Schuster

            Humanitarian aid, in the simplest terms, is assistance that is used to relieve suffering and save lives during emergencies. The underlining principal that international humanitarian aid organizations adhere to is the “golden rule” or “humanitarian imperative” being that “above all, our job is to save lives and alleviate suffering” (Concern USA, 2020). However, not all humanitarians approach the subject with the same perspective. Linda Polman discusses two major humanitarian figures in her book The Crisis Caravan: Henry Dunant and Florence Nightingale. These two have had a significant influence on the history of humanitarianism and while their associating philosophies may differ, it is important to recognize their impacts and their opinions. 

[Red Cross Flad]

            Notably, Henry Dunant founded Red Cross, an international organization dedicated to providing aid and relief in the face of natural disasters and other emergencies. After the deadly 1859 Battle of Solferino, Dunant came to the realization that it is everyone’s moral responsibility to help one another regardless of the situation and circumstances. He coined the phrase “tutti Fratelli” which is Italian for “we are all brothers”. During the battle, Dunant tended to injured soldiers on both sides of the conflict and concluded that it would be more beneficial to the world to save all lives in danger rather than focusing on sides. By focusing on this philosophy throughout all of his subsequent humanitarian aid efforts and campaigns, he effectively lobbied funding for Red Cross which remains a major relief organization to this day. 

            Florence Nightingale, on the other hand, had a different philosophical approach to humanitarian aid. She rejected Dunant’s philosophy outright, arguing that “the higher the costs of a war, the sooner it would end” and that “voluntary efforts, which reduce the expense faced by war ministries, merely made it easier for governments to engage in wars more often and for longer” (Polman, pg. 5, 2011). Essentially, Nightingale argued that the interference of independent and neutral humanitarian aid actually enabled wars because it is more advantageous to have privatized medical relief to tend to hurt soldiers instead of governments having to provide support to them themselves. Despite her public and relatively popular rejection of Dunant’s philosophy, Dunant went on to establish the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) adopting his philosophy and which became the forerunner of all Western humanitarian aid organizations.  

            In The Crisis Caravan, Polman also touches on the “total ethical disaster” regarding Goma and the Rwandan genocide. Humanitarian aid efforts, particularly Red Cross efforts, failed to accurately support the victims and resolve the conflict. The main problem issue in this disaster, as Polman points out, Western media reporters and journalists insinuated that the aid being provided was benefitting victims of the corresponding cholera epidemic and turned a blind eye to the unfolding genocide. In actuality, humanitarians like Red Cross were sustaining Hutu extremists as they violently murdered Rwandan Tutsis. Polman goes on to explain that “no matter how often the Red Cross rules may be trampled underfoot by warlords, generals, rebel leaders, agitators, local chiefs, insurgents, heads of splinter groups, militia commanders, transnational terrorist leaders, regime bosses, mercenaries, freedom fighters, and national and international governments, the humanitarians persist in brandishing their Red Cross principles and accept no responsibility for the abuse of their aid” (Polman, pg. 11, 2011). The mismanaged and morally misguided humanitarian aid efforts in Goma were indeed, as Polman writes, a disaster.  

[Ethiopian Oromo singer and activist Hachalu Hundessa]

            As ethnic tensions rise in Ethiopia, violence and hate speech has been dangerously spreading leading many to believe that the country may dangerously close to a genocide. The June assassination of Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa set off a wave of carnage and hostility throughout the country. In Ethiopia’s Oromo community, the activist and singer was a source of hope and affirmation during the country’s widespread protests from 2015 to 2018. His music was demonstratively political and provided a powerful soundtrack for a movement led by farmers, youth, and activist groups to address anti-Oromo suppression. The USHMM reports that “his assassination was met with widespread grief and anger from the Oromo community, expressed through social media and mass demonstrations throughout the Oromia region” (USHMM, 2020). As a result, hundreds of Ethiopians have been murdered, particularly minorities Christian Amharas, Christian Oromos, and Gurage citizens. Since June, Ethiopian military have begun to use deadly force against demonstrators and detain thousands of protestors including prominent Oromo figures. Widespread sharing of hate speech and incitement to violence on social media platforms also incited mobs to destroy and burn property, lynch, behead, and even dismember victims. “The calls for violence against a variety of ethnic and religious groups happened despite the government shutting down the internet within hours of Hundessa’s murder” Vice writes, adding that “soon, the same people who’d been calling for genocide and attacks against specific religious or ethnic groups were openly posting photographs of burned cars, buildings, schools, and houses” (Vice, 2020). The bloodshed and conflict currently ravaging Ethiopia is major cause for concern as it appears that the impending genocide is a serious and real threat in the country. 

 

References

Concern Worldwide USA, (2020, February 7). Humanitarian Aid: 5 Things You Should Know. 

Concern Worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.concernusa.org/story/humanitarian-aid-explained/

Gilbert, D. (2020, September 14). Hate Speech on Facebook Is Pushing Ethiopia Dangerously 

Close to a Genocide. Vice. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en/article/xg897a/hate-speech-on-facebook-is-pushing-ethiopia-dangerously-close-to-a-genocide

Jager, T. (2020, June 29). Violence in the Wake of Musician’s Murder Indicates Risk of Atrocity 

Crimes in Ethiopia. USHMM. Retrieved from https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/blog/violence-musicians-murder-risk-of-atrocity-crimes-ethiopia

Polman, Linda, et al. The Crisis Caravan: What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid? Picador, 2011.