اشک‌های سرخ: جنگ، قحطی و انقلاب در اتیوپی

This is the second edition of a book that tells the inside story of the Ethiopian Revolution and the Great Ethiopian Famine of 1984-5 with a new preface from the author, 40 years later. Red Tears is an exposé of a ruthless dictator and his regime—how they came to power in the Revolution of 1974, how they transformed a people’s hopes for a better life into an oppressive Marxist society, and how they chose to ignore the greatest crisis their country had ever faced. It is also the story of the relief effort and the unprecedented outpouring of aid from every part of the world that rescued many of the victims of starvation. The author was an officer in the army of Emperor Haile Selassie and an early participant in the Revolution that overthrew the empire, serving as Deputy Foreign Minister and later governor of Eritrea. In that role he writes of his attempts to improve the lives of Eritreans who had suffered for years from a war of rebellion and from the brutal government response. Disagreements over policy in Eritrea led to his transfer to the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission just as the Great Famine was about to begin following a year without rain. He and his team were well aware of the dangers of a major drought, but could not convince the government or donor nations that millions of Ethiopians were already starving. Red Tears paints a truly horrific picture of suffering on an unimaginable scale as the leaders focused solely on the tenth anniversary celebration of their revolution. When the news finally broke worldwide that thousands of Ethiopians were dying every day and millions more were on the verge of death, the author led the efforts to save the survivors as people from every part of the globe flocked to Ethiopia to help, including celebrities like Senator Ted Kennedy and Mother Teresa. This is a book that is a must-read for anyone interested in Ethiopian and Eritrean history, communism, and the challenges of feeding a nation in a region where drought is never far away. But it is also a book of hope. It tells the story of how a catastrophe in a distant country brought the whole world together. Of special interest is the new preface, where the author, who has continued to actively write reports on African politics, reflects on events in Ethiopia in the decades after Red Tears was first published. His recently published autobiography What a Life! is also a must-read for students of Ethiopian, Eritrean, and African history, filling in the years since the Great Famine and the fall of the dictator’s regime, the independence of Eritrea, and the current unrest in parts of Ethiopia. Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Chapter 1: The Revolution Chapter 2: Ethiopia under Mengistu: The Politics of State Control and Repression Chapter 3: The Northern Region and Ethiopia’s Internal Conflicts Chapter 4: Famine, Official Neglect, and International Relief Appeal Chapter 5: Fighting Apathy, Misinformation, and False Priorities Chapter 6: International Responses to the Ethiopian Famine Chapter 7: The Relief Operation Chapter 8: A Historical Reflection on Famine in Ethiopia Chapter 9: The Causes of Famine Chapter 10: Resettlement and Villagization Chapter 11: Rebels and Refugees Chapter 12: The Scapegoat Chapter 13: The Aftermath Afterword Index