SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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13 Jan

Tigray & Ethiopia: Post-conflict displacement and the challenge of reintegration

Introduction

Three years after the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia ended, the human cost of the war is still painfully visible. Tens of thousands of people remain displaced and struggling to maintain their livelihoods and access basic services. Behind all of the basic needs and services after a war, we often forget or ignore the psychological trauma caused by violence, loss and displacements. For many, the mental scars of the conflict persist for a lifetime, even after the fighting has stopped, shaping their life and challenging their ability to rebuild.

 

Background

The Tigray war, which commenced in November 2020, is not a regional encounter but a complex and deeply rooted conflict born out of Ethiopia’s restless political landscape. The war represents a collision of competing interests, historical grievances and shifting power within the nation, mainly with the Tigray People’s Liberation and the most dominant political party in the country. It’s been about  three decades that the Tigray People's Liberation Front(TPLF) has been the leading party in Ethiopia’s government coalition and this reign of power ended after prime minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 (Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2025).

The prime minister introduced political reforms and moved centralised authority of power, which destroyed the long-standing ruling coalition and replaced it with a prosperity party. The TPLF rejected the changes, arguing that the federal government is undermining Ethiopia’s federal system and marginalised Tigray’s political leadership. As a result, the TPLF withdrew to Tigray and relations with the federal government deteriorated. Tensions escalated when the federal government postponed the national elections in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing the federal government to extend their mandate. In defiance to the postponement of the national elections, Tigray’s authorities held their own regional elections in 2020, which the government declared the votes illegal and the TPLF argued they were exercising their constitutional right to self-rule. From this point onward, both parties stopped recognising each other’s authority (Center for Preventive Action, 2025).

 

Life After Conflict

It’s been about 3 years after the war in Tigray has ended, with more than 2.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs), alongside over 240,000 returnees and more than 97,000 refugees & asylum-seekers in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray Regions (UNHCR, 2022). Communities are still facing a lot of challenges and consequences of the violence, displacement and the collapse of essential services. With people living in unacceptable and devastating conditions and beyond these physical hardships many individuals struggle deeply with psychological trauma, which worsens with the lack of care (Anonymous, 2023).

A few survivors spoke with doctors without Borders with most of them speaking out of their personal experiences the first person they spoke with his Gebreyohanes who is injured and displaced during the conflict, describes his daily struggle: “Life is very hard… The rain comes through the roof and floods the ground. I don’t have a proper place to sleep. Back home, I used to farm and feed myself… after I came here, I’ve been very sad.” Despite receiving care from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at Maiani Hospital, he still experiences stress, anger, and physical pain related to his trauma.  His story illustrates the profound and lasting damage the war inflicted on the people and their lives (Medicins sans frontieres, 2025).

Another war survivor named Azmera who refused to seek help said, “At the beginning, I was not willing… I also felt people would give me a bad name if I did it.” With counselling, she notes improvement: “When I come here, I feel free, calm, and good just as water satisfies someone who is very thirsty.” Still, she experiences occasional flashbacks and mood fluctuations (Medicins sans frontieres, 2025). MSF’s stall observed that some patients experienced a shift from acute to chronic psychological issues among displaced patients, some saying “At first, conditions were acute. People came in shock, overwhelmed by what they had witnessed. Now, we see more chronic issues such as sleep disturbance, aggression, grief, and the stress from poverty, as many have lost their homes, their income, and their relatives.”  Helina Tsegaye, MSF counsellor (Medicins sans frontieres, 2025).

 

Conclusion

The crisis in northern Ethiopia, particularly in Tigray and surrounding areas, remains one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. Lack of essential services, basic needs and special psychological care has left millions of people especially women and children in a difficult situation, where they are forced to survive without adequate food, shelter, healthcare and protection. Despite the efforts to restore stability and provide assistance, humanitarian needs continue to grow as access and conflicts hinder aid delivery. Nevertheless, the continued support from many humanitarian actors, has saved and impacted countless lives.

 

Photo by Lesly Derksen on Unsplash

 

References

Africa Center for Strategic Studies. (2025, March 24). Rising Tensions in Tigray Risk Regional Conflict. Retrieved from Africa Center for Strategic Studies: https://africacenter.org/spotlight/rising-tensions-tigray/

Anonymous. (2023, April 18). Ethiopia’s Tigray War and its Devastating Impact on Tigrayan Children’s Education. Retrieved from Wilson Center: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/tigray-war-and-education

Center for Preventive Action. (2025, March 20). Conflict in Ethiopia. Retrieved from Global Conflict Tracker: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ethiopia

Medicins sans frontieres. (2025, October 8). Life after conflict in Tigray: Why mental health care can’t wait. Retrieved from Medicins sans frontieres: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/life-after-conflict-tigray-why-mental-health-care-cant-wait

UNHCR. (2022, July 06). Ethiopia's Tigray Refugee Crisis Explained. Retrieved from UNHCR: https://www.unrefugees.org/news/ethiopias-tigray-refugee-crisis-explained/

 

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