Arrival of the first Red Cross aid convoys in Adwa

UPDATE OF 18/12

In recent days there has been no encouraging news from the Tigray front: the commitments and agreements made by the Ethiopian federal forces, humanitarian agencies and diplomacy did not seem to be maintained.

The first Red Cross aid convoys arrived in Mekelle only on 12 December, but we learned of:

• shooting on UN convoys trying to bring aid to Eritrean refugee camps
• confirmation that Eritrean troops have been involved in the conflict from the beginning, moving it to an international and no longer internal scale
• well-founded fears of Eritrean refugees forcibly blocked in the most dangerous areas or even brought back to Eritrea from where they fled
• there is concern about the fate of the bishop and the religious of whom they have not heard from the Vatican for some time, as communications in the eastern part of the region have not yet been restored

BUT…

at this moment we received some wonderful news:

SOME CONVEYORS OF THE RED CROSS HAVE REACHED THE MISSION AND THE ADWA HOSPITAL !!!

State hospitals were damaged, looted, rendered unusable, while Kidane Mehret hospital was spared and is now the only point of reference for the injured and the sick within a radius of many kilometers. All the generous donations collected in recent years will now be a fundamental resource for the survival of many civilians hit by the conflict.

The Italian, Cuban and Kenyan workers and missionaries remained courageously next to Ethiopian people and now we hope they will be put in a position to be able to provide assistance.

Thanks to the agricultural project, there has never been lack of fresh milk, fruit and vegetables for the most needy, and now that the stocks of many basic necessities were running out, reinforcements arrived!

The general situation remains tense and critical, but a new hope finds its way into our hearts, thanks for always being close to Adwa’s children and mothers!