15-year-old Nohe from Ethiopia finds joy despite the conflict
15-year-old Nohe* tells of his traumatic journey from the outbreak of war in Tigray to becoming captain of his displacement camp’s football team.
*Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Before conflict erupted in Nohe’s town, the 15-year-old was in the 7th grade, living with his parents and two younger sisters. He says: “On May 17, 2021, war broke out and I fled with my friends and many other children and adults in our village. But, when we came back, we were arrested, beaten and interrogated. I saw men wearing soldiers’ uniforms shooting at people in the street. I saw the bodies of my friends laying in the football playground where we used to play.”
Fleeing for his life, Nohe undertook the hard crossing to a city he’d never been to. He says: “I decided to go to Mekelle, a town I knew only by name and where I had no relatives. My only reason was to stay as far away as possible from my home village, where I lost my friends. I begged for some food at a restaurant I found along the street. The owners were generous and they gave some food and money for transportation along with directions to the IDP centre.”
Living alone at the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) centre since the end of May, Nohe is not alone in his harrowing journey –there are tens of thousands of children in the IDP camps in Mekelle– yet he feels lonely, separated from his family when he needs them most.
He speaks with remarkable honesty about his first few months there: “I always felt lonely and often dreamt about my family at night, panicking and shivering when hearing gunfire or any loud noise. I hated being in a gathering and the only time I sat with a large group was in the feeding room of the IDP centre. When I looked at other children playing football, I remembered my friends in my home village who lost their lives and I cried, and even if I played with the children there, we bickered and quarrelled over little things and those disputes usually escalated to physical fights.”
Before the current conflict, Mary’s Meals fed 24,320 children across 36 schools in Tigray. The schools are now closed, with many of the buildings destroyed or turned into temporary shelters. Working quickly to help where possible, a unique emergency education and feeding programme for children, funded by Mary’s Meals and implemented by our partner, Daughters of Charity, has been put in place in 17 camps around Mekelle City.
Two teachers living at the same camp as Nohe, Mr Abrhaley and Miss Almaz, spoke of significant improvements and some positive behavioural changes in the war-affected children living there after the emergency programme was put in place. They say Nohe has transformed from a lonely and shy teenager to now interacting with different people and has even become the captain of the centre’s football team. A positive change that Nohe himself notes: “At present, I have made so many friends, not only from the IDP centre but also with children outside. And now as a captain of our football team, I lead my teammates during training sessions and competitions with harmony and good understanding. When I remember my family and my friends and feel sad, I go to hear music or play with my friends, or I go to a nearby church to pray.”
In Tigray, displaced children face an enormous range of challenges ahead. Running emergency education and feeding programmes provides some comfort and support for the youngsters during the unbelievable hardship and uncertainty of their daily life.
