Good morning, respected parliamentary members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Dr. Abel Giday Kebedom. I'm a recent immigrant from Tigray, Ethiopia. I'm a married man and have two kids. Up until January 2021, I served as a medical doctor in one of the largest hospitals in Ethiopia, the Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, which is the largest hospital that does referrals for the Tigrayan region. I'm one of the first witnesses to the war that began in November 2020.
I will start my speech by asking a question. The question is, imagine you have two kids. One of your kids is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and the other one is diagnosed with cancer, and you are told there is no medicine for either of them.
I would like to compile my speech into three circumstances.
The first thing that happened in Tigray was the mass destruction and mass killings. The air strikes, drone attacks and heavy shells all contributed to the mass killings and destruction of the city. It intensified as the Ethiopian National Defense Force and the Eritrean army approached to conquer the capital. Especially on the day before, there was heavy shelling ongoing the whole day long.
I saw 15 to 20 dead bodies and saw numerous injured people coming from the city. Unfortunately, four of them were from the same family: both children, the father and the mother. I was one of the first people to photograph everyone and present that to the international community. There were atrocities and unlawful killings on the streets of Mekelle. I had to walk over shrouded bodies every morning in the emergency OPD.
The second circumstance that was happening was the siege and the lack of basic medical services. I noticed suffering children gasping due to lack of oxygen, and the misery of cancer and diabetes patients. I saw women dying because of hemorrhages when trying to deliver on gurneys too.
The third circumstance is the rape and sexual violence. I had to hear unbelievable and unbearable stories of ladies who were gang-raped. Most of them were raped in front of their husbands and children, and their husbands were killed at the same time.
As a physician, the most important lesson I learned in life is how much a human life costs; I had to spend days and nights healing the soul of one human body, but I really wonder why the people, why the international community and why the world are ignoring the misery of six million people under siege.
Thank you very much.