Anxiety has become a recurring feeling for many Ethiopians today who are living abroad and constantly losing contact with their families back home. The problem was evident earlier this year when the government ordered a two-week internet blackout across the country, aiming to stop communication between opposing groups as violent riots erupted in the Oromia region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs long as it is deemed necessary to save lives and prevent property damages, the internet would be shut down permanently, let alone for a short-term,\u201d prime minister Abiy Ahmed said during a press conference<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar situation is happening again in November as political tension escalates in the Tigray region, northern Ethiopia. With the federal government engaged in a combat<\/a> with an opposing political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, communication has been blocked off in the region. The road to Tigray is also blocked, making it difficult for journalists to enter the area and preventing access to humanitarian aid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethiopians around the world now worry about the conditions of their family in Tigray, becoming increasingly frustrated by the day as they are unable to call or use the internet to reach relatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Ethiopian woman shared her sorrow in an Instagram video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m scared for my dad and my little brother and my little sisters,” she said with tears coming down her face. “This is madness. What kind of world have we created? Why did we learn how to hate each other?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pain, the heartbroken woman vowed to lead with love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m not gonna let the world turn me into another hateful person,” she said. “My dad, my mom, they didn’t raise me to be that person. They didn’t raise me to hate people. They didn’t raise me to look down on people who can’t defend themselves.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a>

We\u2019ve talked a lot this last week and really the whole year, but nobody is actually being real about how it feels. So yes, maybe you are mad that people weren\u2019t publicly going going hard for you. Most people I\u2019ve talked to are scared to even if they feel your pain. But we did that once and ended up with Trump because we underestimated how much hate people really have. When did it become okay to not stand up against things we know are wrong. Do we let our anger over rule our moral conscious? I have hope that we can and will be better. We saw that when we voted out this racist President but we\u2019d be fools to think that was it. So I\u2019m asking all of us to be brave and fight back against people willing to risk your families lives while they save their own. #iamtigray #istandwithtigray #stopwarintigray #stopwareverywhere<\/a><\/p>

A post shared by The Uprooted Podcast<\/a> (@uprooted.podcast) on Nov 9, 2020 at 3:18pm PST<\/time><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>