WHO Director’s Heartbroken Cry

He is the doctor of the world, and for months he has tirelessly led the global response to the coronavirus pandemic while privately treating an poignant anguish.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the general manager of the World Health Organization, he generally kept his pain a secret and displayed a stoic attitude in public.

But when I insisted on talking to him in person, he couldn’t help it.r cry.

Tedros is from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which since November has been the victim of crimes against humanity committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers.

US Secretary of State Antony blink correctly described the atrocities committed in the western region of Tigray as a ethnic cleansing, but the world has shown itself, to a large extent, indifferent.

Children in the Tigray region are starving, men are beaten to death, and women and girls are victims of mass rape.

Ethiopian opposition parties claim that more than 50,000 people they have been murdered – this data cannot be verified and the number of victims is unknown – and the extent of torture, starvation, murder and destruction in recent months could be the worst in the world.

“Hunger and rape are used as weapons, there are indiscriminate killings,” Tedros said.

“The whole region is starving.”

“It’s too painful,” he added.

“I have no words”.

His cousin, a 68-year-old woman, was killed as she tried to take refuge in a church, he said.

Another parent, a 16-year-old high school student, was shot dead in the street.

Telephone lines and Internet access have been unplugged, Tedros therefore cannot contact his relatives in Tigray to find out more about who was tortured or killed.

My Times colleague, Declan Walsh, reported atrocities such as a 26-year-old man who was beaten to death with beer bottles and girls as young as 8 who were sexually assaulted.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, described a woman whose husband was murdered, lost her unborn baby, and then was gang raped in front of her children.

Although Tedros is one of the most recognized public servants in the world, he has perhaps become refugee.

He is currently based at WHO headquarters in Geneva, but he likely would not be safe if he tried to return to Tigray.

The Ethiopian military leader called him criminal.

I know and I admire to Tedros for 15 years, but every now and then we discussed his deference to dictators.

I asked Tedros about it, but he didn’t want to discuss politics of any kind, including whether countries should pressure Ethiopia to stop the tiger slaughter.

Tedros seems to have a deep conflict, torn between what he sees as a professional duty of impartiality to his organization and the horror of the ethnic cleansing of his own people.

The one who carries out these crimes against humanity in the Tigray region is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, came to power in 2018 and initially hailed as a great reformer; he even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Abiy is a pro-Western figure over whom the United States has considerable influence.

If only we used this influence!

The crisis in the Tigray region is based on ethnic tensions and in a struggle for power.

For nearly three decades, the residents of Tigray ruled Ethiopia’s central government; during this period,

Tedros went on to become a highly respected Minister of Health in Ethiopia and later became Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This government led by a tiger was efficient and raised the standard of living considerably, but it was also repressiveCritics tortured, journalists imprisoned and aroused deep resentment against other Ethiopians.

After taking power, Abiy controlled the Tigrinos and sent troops in November to crush what he claimed was a rebellion in the region.

This sparked a civil war against the Tigray fighters and the army of Eritrea got involved to support the Ethiopian forces.

There is also the risk of a larger war which includes Sudan.

All parties involved in the conflict have committed atrocities, but by far the gravest and most credible accusations are directed against the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies and their allies.

As director of the WHO, Tedros tried to get vaccines distributed more fairly around the world, in addition to facing the president’s horrific decision. Donald trump withdraw the United States from the WHO (decision overturned by the President Joe biden on his first day in office). In public, Tedros is focusing on COVID-19 and has generally remained silent about the atrocities in Tigray.

“The public see Tedros dedicating himself to dealing with the pandemic every day, but privately he is also dealing with his pain for Tigray,” the doctor said. Annie Sparrow, assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who was a consultant to Tedros.

Tedros was reluctant to give this interview, but when he did, his pain was evident.

“We are dealing with COVID-19 and we are doing our best. But besides having to suffer from this pain, ”he started to say, but the stoic side in him broke.

During more than a minute, Tedros could not speak. I just cried.

I respect to a man who loses control when considering war crimes.

I wish they had done more.

I hope President Biden and other world leaders hear this agony on behalf of so many in Tigray who are being murdered, raped and starved, and use their influence to end this catastrophe.

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