Tigray Herald፡November 10,2024 (Mekele)
Written by Batseba Siefu
A World Without Hunger? The Hypocrisy of Celebrating in Ethiopia While We Starve
The World Without Hunger conference, held from November 5 to 7, 2024, in Addis Ababa, is an event shrouded in irony and hypocrisy. At its core, this international gathering aims to chart a global path toward ending hunger. Governments, NGOs, UN agencies, and business leaders from around the world have convened to declare their commitments to “Zero Hunger,” making ambitious pledges to address food insecurity worldwide. For the rest of the world, this may seem like a hopeful moment—a chance to recommit to eliminating hunger. But for Tigrayans and others facing starvation in Ethiopia, this conference is a cruel charade. It allows the Ethiopian government to whitewash its reputation as a leader against hunger, even as it stands accused of inflicting hunger as a weapon of war against its own people.
As Tigrayans, we know that hunger is not always the result of failed crops, poor weather, or a lack of resources. Hunger is often political, wielded as a tool to dominate and punish. In Tigray, hunger has been weaponized in the most literal sense, with the Ethiopian government imposing blockades, preventing access to humanitarian aid, and actively destroying the region’s ability to sustain itself. These deliberate actions have left millions in Tigray to famine, where mothers struggle to find a handful of grains to feed their children and entire villages watch their harvests rot or be stolen by occupying forces. For us, hunger is not just a policy issue; it is a crime inflicted on us by our own government.
The Cruel Irony of Ethiopia’s Host Role
The choice to host this hunger conference in Addis Ababa, with Ethiopia’s government as a proud co-sponsor, is not just ironic—it is an outright insult to the people of Tigray and all those across Ethiopia who have suffered from hunger policies enforced by the state. The same government that celebrates “Zero Hunger” on the global stage has enacted policies that deepen hunger within its own borders, especially in Tigray, where a brutal siege has left millions without reliable access to food, medical supplies, and essential resources.
In Tigray, starvation was not a consequence of neglect or mismanagement—it was a planned outcome. The Ethiopian government, with the support of allied forces, imposed a total blockade on the region. Food aid was deliberately withheld. Humanitarian convoys were attacked or denied entry. And as a result, countless Tigrayans have died not because of a natural disaster or crop failure, but because hunger was used as a weapon to subjugate and punish. So when international leaders stand side-by-side with Ethiopia’s government at this conference, applauding its commitment to ending hunger, they are endorsing a regime that has orchestrated one of the most deliberate acts of mass starvation in recent history.
Hunger as a Weapon of War in Tigray
Since the genocidal war in Tigray began in 2020, hunger has been systematically weaponized against the people of the region. Starvation was used as a calculated method to weaken and control us, to break our spirit and force us into submission. The Ethiopian government, in collaboration with regional, Amhara and Eritrean forces, enforced a total blockade that prevented even the most basic necessities from reaching our families. They shut down transport routes, destroyed food supplies, and even burned crops, leaving Tigrayans without a means to feed ourselves. Livestock was slaughtered, not for food, but to ensure that nothing remained for the people to survive on.
Reports from international humanitarian organizations and media outlets have revealed the depth of this atrocity, yet the world has largely stood by, offering statements of concern but little action. The Ethiopian government claims to be a partner in the fight against global hunger, yet for Tigrayans, they have created a landscape of despair where hunger kills not from neglect, but by design. Entire communities have been displaced, and families are torn apart as they struggle to find food and survive. This conference on hunger, taking place in Addis Ababa, becomes a bitter reminder that the world is willing to look away from our suffering, willing to let those responsible for our starvation stand as champions of food security.
The reality of Ethiopia’s hunger crisis extends beyond Tigray. In Oromia and Amhara, similar tactics have been used to deny resources to local populations, with conflict and displacement disrupting traditional agricultural practices and creating severe food insecurity. These policies are part of a larger strategy to use deprivation as a method of control, keeping communities impoverished and dependent while allowing the government to manage public perception.
For Ethiopians living outside Tigray, the hunger conference offers a chance to present Ethiopia as a prosperous, forward-thinking nation committed to the welfare of its people. But the conference is a stark reminder of the cruelty that fuels the government’s agenda. Ethiopia’s “commitment” to ending hunger is little more than an international performance, a public relations strategy to hide the suffering that millions endure daily.
International Complicity and the Silence of Global Leaders
The silence of global leaders at this conference, their willingness to participate in this charade, makes them complicit in our suffering. By choosing Ethiopia as the venue, the international community is not only ignoring our plight but implicitly endorsing the government’s actions. Where are the voices demanding accountability? Where are the calls for transparency? By standing with Ethiopia’s government in Addis Ababa, global leaders are turning a blind eye to the siege of Tigray and the suffering of millions.
It is especially painful to see international organizations like the United Nations and the African Union endorse Ethiopia’s narrative. These institutions were created to stand for justice, to uphold human rights, and to protect the vulnerable. Yet, their support of this event and their silence during the Tigray genocide sends a clear message: the lives of Tigrayans and others suffering in Ethiopia are secondary to diplomatic niceties and political alliances. This willingness to overlook human rights abuses for the sake of diplomacy speaks volumes about the international community’s commitment to the people they claim to serve.
Declarations Without Accountability: The Cost of Empty Promises
As declarations and commitments flow from the conference, they ring hollow to us. What value do these promises hold when they are made on soil stained with the blood of those starved by policy? Will the conference address the specific actions that have made hunger a weapon in Ethiopia? Will leaders hold the Ethiopian government accountable for blocking aid, destroying crops, and perpetuating cycles of starvation? Or will these declarations remain empty promises, recycled each year without action or enforcement?
For Tigrayans, the promises of a hunger-free world are tainted by the knowledge that hunger in our homeland is not an abstract problem to solve but an active form of persecution. It is a tool wielded by the state to ensure our silence, to crush our spirit, and to eliminate our existence. If the conference fails to address this reality, its proclamations and commitments mean nothing.
The Path Forward: Demand Accountability and Confront Injustice
If this conference is to mean anything, if “Zero Hunger” is to be more than a slogan, it must confront the reality of hunger in Ethiopia. International leaders must demand transparency, accountability, and an immediate end to the policies that perpetuate hunger in conflict-affected regions. Humanitarian organizations must be allowed unrestricted access to deliver aid, rebuild communities, and restore self-sufficiency. The Ethiopian government must be held accountable for its role in creating and perpetuating food insecurity—not celebrated as a leader in ending it.
For the international community, this means a willingness to speak hard truths and confront uncomfortable realities. Diplomatic relationships and economic partnerships cannot excuse human rights abuses. The world cannot claim to care about ending hunger while ignoring the plight of those who are systematically starved as a matter of policy. To stand for justice, the world must stand with those suffering, demanding that hunger never again be used as a weapon.
A Call for Justice Beyond Declarations
The World Without Hunger conference could have been a beacon of hope, but for Tigrayans, it has become a painful reminder of the world’s indifference to our suffering. As long as hunger is wielded as a weapon, as long as governments use food to control, punish, and destroy, any commitment to “Zero Hunger” will remain a hollow promise. We cannot celebrate the end of hunger on the same stage where those responsible for starvation are given applause.
Ending hunger demands not just pledges and declarations but justice and accountability. It requires the courage to call out those who inflict suffering and the resolve to end policies that perpetuate food insecurity. For Tigrayans, Oromos, Amharas, and all Ethiopians who have suffered under these policies, this is our call to the world: Do not celebrate the end of hunger until you confront the hunger inflicted here. Hold those responsible accountable. Stand with those who suffer, not those who profit from their pain by working with local civil society organizations. Only then can “Zero Hunger” be more than a slogan; it can become a true commitment to dignity and justice.
