- On June 5th 1998, I was going back from school as the bombs fell. I was injured in my leg, and they had to amputate it so save my life. I do not remember much, as I was only seven years old at the time. But I remember the loss I felt when my leg was gone. Now, I’m in 12th grade, I have an artificial leg, and I try to live like others my age. I did have dreams that were lost back then, but now I have to focus on the future, says Aynalem.
She is packed and ready to witness the important signing by over 100 nations to ban cluster munitions. The Norwegian Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid have been instrumental in the process to make it happen- to make cluster munitions history. All the way towards achieving a ban, people who have been victims of these weapons have told the world their stories about their plight.
Today, all one can see of Aynalems injury is a slight limp. She was injured in an incident that claimed about 53 dead, and 185 wounded. At the same time, her co-traveler Berihu lost both his legs. He was helping people who were hurt after the first wave of bombs. Then another plane came by and dropped its load. Berihu was hurt, and lost his consciousness. Two days after, he woke up and realized he had lost both his legs:
-The bombing was not what people expected. There was a war going on with Eritrea, but nobody thought there would be an attack with so many civilian casualties.
Today, he is using a wheelchair, not an easy instrument to use in Ethiopia where neither buildings nor other infrastructure are easily accessible for the handicapped.
- When I studied at the university, I had to go up and down many stairs. Luckily, I had fellow students helping me in that every day for the four years I studied, Berihu adds.
Bothe Aynalem and Berihu are giving a clear message at the meeting: neither of them want to see any more people being injured and loosing their limbs because of cluster-weapons!
Ambassador Kjemprud was in Mekelle a few months after the bombing, and has seen the reconstruction of the school. When talking to Aynalem and Berihu, he says
-You being there at the signing ceremony is a proof of what cluster munitions can do to people.
Ethiopia has not confirmed that it will be among the over 100 countries that will sign the treaty on December 3rd. However, there are strong indications that it is not a matter of if Ethiopia will sign, but rather when:
- The signing marks a momentum for continuing the process. When the ink is dry, the dialogue must continue to convince other countries, says Ambassador Kjemprud.