Abune Ermias and Sister Tesfanesh, who served Woldia residents during the difficult months

  Residents report that no international or government assistance has been received in the area during these months, including the city. E...

 

Residents report that no international or government assistance has been received in the area during these months, including the city.

Electricity, water, telephone and internet services were also cut off.

He did not know the condition of the residents as medical and commercial facilities were shut down.

The mother is separated from the child, the husband is separated from the wife. He never knew who he was.

Anxiety and depression were not easy.

In a city where most of the population lives in poverty, what do people eat and drink? It was the anxiety of many.

What was life like in the city?

After the city fell into the hands of the rebels, they all became homeless. No one was active in the city except the militants. Residents say Woldia is quiet.

Electricity, water supply cut off. She began to spend the night in the dark.

Telephone, internet, and transportation services were cut off, and relatives were no longer able to contact them.

Woldia is isolated from other cities and the world.

Everything is hidden.

If he had an affair or if he had just moved out of the house, it would have been difficult for him to get out of the house.

"They don't pay five birr. They try to move around without a phone or money, but they spend it in a house to avoid clashes because they are being insulted," said Nurhussein Ahmed, a resident of the town.

If you see one or two people in the piazza square, it is usually normal.

Residents also recall that looting and destruction of property by individuals and institutions was a daily occurrence.

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Since there was no banking service, the resident started calculating the coins in his possession.

"How long will it take me?" It became a question of both the rich and the poor.

That being said, weeks went by. But the problem is not just a matter of calculation.

Her residents, who are not strangers to helping and caring for her, realized that the only way to save their lives was to say, 'You bite, you bite.'

He began to eat and drink with the community.

"There was no medicine or anything in the towns that were not under the control of the TPLF at that time.

Participating in medicine

Nuru Hussein was supported by his brothers and his parents by earning a living from the woodworking business. He is disabled. His mother is diabetic.

One of his brothers was injured in a fall from Bajaj. It was not easy for him to care for both of them.

In particular, there is no one who has not asked for his mother's medication; But they could not find it.

"My mother, by the grace of Allah, is alive," he said.

Another resident, Eshetu Assefa, said he found his diabetic friend who lived alone two days later.

"He could not call us because he did not have a cell phone.

Speaking to the BBC in September, North Wollo Zone Health Department Head Selamwit Ayalew Woldian said there were more than 18,000 diabetics in the zone, more than 20,000 users of antiretroviral drugs and 1145 TB patients.

He says that despite the lack of food and medicine, the psychological pressure has not been easy.

"Someone was killed; we spent the night terribly, and in the morning we were worried about who would be killed," he said.

"The only thing that keeps us going is the two of us.

Eshetu, who is also a driver, says he spent the rest of the day breaking bread.

"Most residents, including me, do not shop for more than two months," he said, adding that the time was challenging because TPLF forces were blocking imports from Kobo and Dessie.

Price of food and commodities

Residents say food and commodity prices have skyrocketed. If he is found.

The usual table salt, which used to cost between 15 and 20 birr, was sold for 150 birr. Residents said the quintal was salted at an undisclosed amount of 6,500 birr.

"Because of the lack of salt, we used to eat bar salt and use it for food," said Eshetu.

A liter of oil cost 350 birr, and it was a luxury, not a luxury.

One kilo of shiro sold for 150 birr. "But pepper still smells like water," said the residents.

Teff sold for more than 7,000 birr per quintal.

Of course, the challenge was not just to increase food prices. How does it grind? What does it cook? That is to say.

Since there was no electricity, it was not easy to grind the purchased food into food.

Most people grind grain by hand. Later, Blessed Abune Ermias begged the TPLF forces and the generators of the banks were given to the mill.

However, a jerry can of diesel cost 7,000 birr, so the price of the grain was not worth it.

It costs 100 birr to grind one kilogram.

Even then the banks were closed and it was rare to get 100 birr and 10 birr. As a result, most people who get their daily bread are grinding with their hands.

What does metabolism produce? The city's water service has been cut off.

According to Eshetu, the first month was winter and the spring was everywhere. They were also collecting rainwater.

As winter approached and September approached, springs began to dry up.

At that time, the search for water had to travel miles. "We traveled about five kilometers from the city and fetched water from the Black River," said Eshetu.

The area was a war zone, so firewood and charcoal were not readily available.

"Pride and Mountains of Hara"

For the past four months, Woldiya residents have been working not only with people but also with rivers, springs, mountains and mountains.

The Kurta and Hara mountains are the towers where Woldia residents listen to Merdom and Bisrat.

Outside the city, anxious family members climb the stairs and say on the phone, 'We are alive.'

The relief is not easy. But this opportunity is not without its challenges. Once "Hello!" It takes at least 500 birr to think.

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Even with the money, it is not easy to reach the mountains safely. Their phones and money are only for the benefit of the rebels.

"Who are you giving information to? What are you saying to the defense?" Residents say they have been abused.

"They often do not touch mothers and the elderly, so they do go," said Eshetu.

However, those who have the money prefer to send a badge, as it takes energy to climb a mountain or to find a network that has infiltrated from another area.

There are young people who sneak up on Bajaj and make phone calls.

Gasoline is expensive to get there, so you have to pay 1,500 birr for a badge.

But only a few individuals can afford it.

Those who are able to leave send a message to the rest of the family, friends and relatives, saying, "Speak to those who have not heard."

"The city is safe, the family is alive," they said.

Occasionally there is a rumor going around that people in some parts of the country are talking about the situation and the family.

Another source of information was radio.

Thanks to His Holiness Abune Ermias

Nur Hussein is a Muslim by faith. The Archbishop of North Wollo Diocese, His Holiness Abune Ermias, will never forget his gratitude.

"His life has become a life for Woldia's youth and the residents," he said.

During that difficult time, Abune Ermias was helping the residents of the mosque and the church to eat and drink.

"We are here because of his ability and power. We want him to prolong his life and keep us alive," he said.

Residents say that after the city fell to the rebels, Abune Ermias formed a peace committee with Islamic leaders and elders.

Abune Ermias' committee appointed people in mosques and churches, mobilized local investors, and distributed aid to those who were not in need and who were in dire straits.

Abune Ermias initially reduced the grain from his house to a church and began distributing it to those in need.

But as the day wore on, that was not enough.

They mobilized investors in the city, raising millions of dollars and distributing the proceeds to the needy.

"Although the money raised by local investors was intended to give 2,000 birr to the needy, many people came, including me, to give us 1,000 birr," Eshetu said.

Abune Ermias devised another plan, for it was not possible to reach all the people.

At that time, the local farmers arrived, and they sent people to each area to share what they had. The farmer began to give generously of what he could. And the day went on.

According to Eshetu, everyone faced the same problem, regardless of race or creed. This brought the people closer together.

Not only this, with the looting of private homes, Abune Ermias shouted, "Please!" They were begging and saving, ”said the resident.

According to the residents, they heard Abune Ermias to some extent because they feared that if the rebels touched him, the people would get into trouble.

In fact, Abune Ermias' car and another church car were confiscated by the rebels.

Other civilians, including church students, were killed.

In the midst of all of this, Abune Ermias has been working tirelessly to ensure that he does not lose his temper.

In an interview, Abune Ermias was asked why he did not leave the city: "I am a shepherd. Where am I going to leave my sheep ?!" They replied.

According to Eshetu, Abune Ermias was the one who coordinated the treatment of the rest of the doctors in the city, saying, "You have to work for your soul."

"The doctors were treating the injured civilians. Although they could not perform surgery, they provided simple obstetrics and wound care services," Eshetu said.

She is a witness to this.

Sister Tesfanesh says, "There is no limit to him! Without him, Woldia would have been destroyed; his existence would have saved us from many plagues. Without him, we would not have been able to keep the rest of the people alive."

Sister Tesfanesh says this about Abune Ermias, but she is also a woman who stood by the people in the day of trouble.

Sister Tesfanesh, the hope of many

Sister Tesfanesh is the mother of three children. They have taught many cousins, many of whom are close to them, and have made a name for themselves.

Sister Tesfanesh holds a bachelor's degree in medicine. They operate their own private clinic.

The city was captured by the rebels shortly after Woldia arrived, where he underwent a kidney transplant.

Although they had the opportunity to leave the city, he did not want to leave his home and career.

Sister Tesfanesh, who has been in the medical profession for more than 30 years, said: "I was in my profession when the TPLF came to Woldiya 30 years ago. I saw many women and mothers injured. I was hurt inside. They say they are determined to do what they can.

For the 12th grader, their son was worried, but they had nothing to do.

"I was locked up in an invisible house," he said. Businesses where their children work have also been destroyed and looted.

In this case, however, they have been treating, giving birth, and preparing the dead.

Sister Tesfanesh says several private and public institutions, including health facilities, have been looted. They claim to have been able to treat some people by hiding certain medical supplies in the past.

They had a laboratory technician and three nurses who called together from home and treated mothers and babies.

"We could not start a generator at night. We only worked during the day and did not wear medical gowns," said Sister Tesfanesh, who said she had given birth to 90 mothers last week.

However, he said: "Four babies were abducted and died because they could not provide surgery."

He also remembers the death of a mother who came to him for treatment a week after giving birth in a rural area called Kalim.

"They brought this mother to me during the week of her birth. Her baby died shortly after she was born. Unbeknownst to her, the baby was in her womb and she died an hour later," said Sister Tesfansh.

All of this, however, makes them happy that they have been able to save the lives of many mothers in difficult times.

"My body swells when I stand up, but I like it when mothers hug their babies in peace and hug them," he said.

Woldia now

Last week, four months after government forces entered the city, people took to the streets to greet them.

A resident of the town said that it was this opportunity that gave me the so-called freedom of Nuru Hussein.

"We just go out and laugh; we go in and out freely." He recalls feeling at the time.

Eshetu, on the other hand, noticed that the city was in a state of flux.

Of course, electricity and water supply did not begin until December 15, 2014, when we spoke to the residents.

Residents say there is still no international aid agency in the city.

"People are still in trouble. Banks have been looted and it takes a lot of work to organize them. Even the lid on the university has been looted. It is unfortunate that this has been done by our brothers who have spent a lot of time together," Eshetu said.

Heavy looting and destruction of health facilities, banks, schools, businesses and infrastructure, including Woldiya University, was reported.

Eshetu says there is a lot of killing going on in the city. He noted that there are many people whose whereabouts and whereabouts remain unknown.

"They are expected to come. The missing person is still being searched," he added.

Sister Tesfanesh, for her part, said that neither the public nor the private health facilities have started working so far, but that they continue to operate freely.

"The mothers I gave birth to during that difficult time are also showing me their babies. I have shamed a lot of families," he said.

They are now three and four months old, waiting in their mother's womb for peace.