A campaign by the Tigrayan diaspora, supported by Ethiopians and Eritreans opposed to the current war, has taken off today.
Aimed at the Ethiopian rose export industry for Valentines Day, it has mobilised social media to raise public awareness of the issues involved.
Over 10,000 Tweets have had in excess of 3 million impressions.
Some have been in English, others in Dutch and German.
Many are generic, but others have called on supermarkets to think about where their flowers come from.
Rita is one of the organisers of the #BoycottEthiopianRoses campaign.
During the 100 days since the outbreak of war on November 3, she has had difficulty contacting her relatives in the region.
“Sitting and waiting for information was unbearable. If we got hold of relatives they could tell us who is alive and who has been killed,” Rita said.
The reports she heard are painful for her to describe.
These include stories about soldiers who went from village to village in search of people who opposed the Ethiopian government’s military operation, indiscriminately killing anyone they found.
Many were civilians. And about churches that have been attacked and children and women who have been killed and raped.
Rita says she recognised some of those who were featured in images on social media.
“I’m not an expert on these issue; none of us are. We have been forced to back this campaign out of desperation - from what we are hearing about what’s happening to our family members still in Tigray,” says Rita.
The goal of the rose boycott campaign is to reduce the finances available to the Ethiopian government to fight this war.
Ethiopia exported $400 million worth of horticulture goods during the first nine months of the year beginning in July 2019. It aimed to earn $500 million in 2020.
Valentines day campaign against Ethiopian rose exports seen by millions
Bycot Ethiopian flower for the vailantine day
It is tigrians blood so don’t buy the blood.
Does anybody happen to know the whereabouts of the Tigrayan women, who launched the movement of “Y’kono”, in Mekele? These brave women had raised a public alarm against a local official, who with impunity allegedly raped many women in Tigray, not very long before the recent war. In a largely patriarchal society (ruled by the sole party, TPLF); these women feminists had the courage to challenge the silence and hostility of the power elite. These activists broached a taboo subject: Unlike their sisters in the Ethiopian parliament and others; they fought to expose and bring a powerful rapist into court and bring an end to the practice. War has arrived since and mass rape is a common occurrence in Tigray! We should salute these women, and detest their Ethiopian sisters, who demand evidence for rape crimes.
The Alert was first raised to the International community by an Ethiopian army officialin an interview with Reuter. Which since has also been confirmed by the Ethiopian government. The perpetrators are not known. TPLF released thousands of criminal prisoners amongst whom were rapists. Could it be them?
Nice try! It is another attempt to exculpate the occupation armies and attribute the rape crimes to the Tigrean people. It is another campaign of war on ethnic Tigreans. The “released thousands of criminal prisoners” happen to be Tigreans; convicts or not. Right!? Keep obfuscating, but the perpetrators are now known to the word. Keep believing a “clean war” is in progress.
Stop the war in Tigray, Ethiopia.
Punishing the poorest Ethiopians who rely on these farms for jobs is a truly backward idea. You aren’t punishing the government, you’re punishing your own mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers.