In 2020, ethnic conflict in Ethiopia was increasing and the war in its northern regions began. In response, SIL Ethiopia led an initiative to help victims, survivors, and witnesses of violence.
In times of armed conflict, it is often the soldiers who are traumatized or injured morally, mentally and physically.
So one key part has been trauma healing workshops for Ethiopian soldiers affected by the fighting. The very first was held in May 2022. This workshop included 31 Ethiopian soldiers: 28 men and 3 women.
The workshop was a condensed, two-day event where attendees experienced lessons like “What is a wound of the heart?” and “What can help our heart wounds heal?” They were part of small groups that worked through the lessons together: discussing, processing, and presenting to the larger group.
These soldiers, who we often think of as strong and unemotional, were now sitting in trauma healing groups. They thought of themselves as people who can contain their emotions and not cry. They never imagined themselves sitting at a table with tissues.
In one session, the soldiers symbolically took their burdens and pains to the cross, and they all knelt. Some even lay on the floor, holding their written pains on the paper in their hands. That moment was the long-awaited time to cry over past griefs – such as the friend on the war field whose body was left behind without even a proper burial.
Through this time, they experienced the benefits of weeping, sharing their pain, and being heard by others, and many gave testimonies about how it impacted their perspectives and lives. (See related Stories and Quotes)
