Thank you.
The devastating part of the story is that it's not only women. It's also very young children. There is documented evidence of children as young as eight years old being raped. It's not only young girls. Nuns are also being raped. Soldiers go into homes or churches and attack very young children. They attack members of the church and clergy. It's all very psychological. It's not only the physical aspect I want to point out. It's very psychological. These people are being used to break the morale of the Tigrayan people. They see nuns being raped. Religion is very important to the Tigrayan people, so when they see this, it is something that breaks down their morale.
Like I mentioned, there are so many stories of young women and girls, and even very elderly women, being raped by these soldiers and used for sexual slavery. There are so many accounts of women taken from their homes. These soldiers go into ordinary homes, where they kill the men and abduct the women. They take them to a remote area as sexual slaves. There are stories—I apologize, because this is very graphic, but it's very important these stories get told—of women who are so significantly and severely raped that their spinal cords are injured. They are just thrown in the streets like trash and paralyzed. They can't move. They can't do anything until they are found by whoever is crossing the street.
There are women with long-lasting injuries. They have issues urinating. They have rectal issues, because objects are being inserted into them. It is so horrible. It's very graphic. It's very barbaric. This is just everyday life for the Tigrayan women. They don't have any medication, as well. Many of them are obviously being impregnated. There is no such thing as abortion, because doctors are not able to work. One of them mentioned that doctors are dying themselves—they are starving. These women don't have access to medication. They don't have any antivirals to protect themselves from things like HIV.
Thank you.