Things were never the same

Saare

Tigray Region, Ethiopia

1998

Saare that was the name my father choose for me, Saare which means winner. To be fair he initially believed I would be a boy, the son he always wanted but he was sorely disappointed they day I was born nonetheless he let me keep the name.

I was born in the Tigray Region in Ethiopia- the horn of Africa. The second of two daughters,my older sister- Ayesha was two years older than me. My mother doted on us but her love and affection

I always cherished my name, always wanted to live up to it, be a winner. But I never imagined I would have so soon.

May 6th 1998 is a day forever embedded in my mind.

It started out like any other day. I woke up, bathed and made breakfast for my parents. After I began my house chores whilst my father went out to tend to his animals on the farm.

My family wasn't particularly wealthy but we were better off than most people in my village.

The once great kingdom of Ethiopia had become a shell of its former self. I often wondered what the likes of Menelik and Haile Selassie would say if they saw what we had become.

I remember the exact moment my life was changed forever. I was stepping out of the house, about to call my father in for lunch when a loud thud stopped me in my tracks.

My body froze as a loud scream erupted,I realised that it came from me.

I watched groups of men armed with large guns running into my village, tearing into shreds.

Nothing and no one was safe. Women, men and children, we were all just a pebble in their step.

The Eritreans had finally invaded.

The had been some conflict for a few months, verbal conflict.

The Eritrean believed that our land belonged to them as it sat near the border of our two lands.

Leaders had met up and tried coming to an agreement. But it was all futile. Men, especially old men were stubborn and it baffled me why people continued choosing them to lead us.

Oh,yes because they wouldn't dare ever elect a female leader. Because in their eyes were supposed to be weak and submissive. Attend to their every need and bare their children. That was the purpose of our lives, to please a man!

Man

The cause of destruction and war. When I was at school my teacher and I often disagreed on this. She believed that differences, if people could accept each other's differences there would no war.

I thought different, it was men. Their arrogance, entitlement and egos caused war.

Women were smart, we were able to solve conflict worth words rather than violence as it had been ingrained in us from birth that a lady should never lose her temper.

Whilst for men, it was a symbol of their masculinity. To be angry, to violent, to be a bully. Bully those weaker than you. These were the cause of war. Men resolved problems with their guns instead of minds and we all had to suffer the consequences.

Here we were again in the middle of a war, because of the incompetence of men.