Letesenbet Gidey’s coach, Haile Eyasu, also expressed his emotions on the situation. Although happy to see peace being reached and athletes reunited with their families, he is heartbroken over the fact that he was not able to reunite with his own mother due to lack of access to medicine. Haile’s mother passed away during the war in Tigray and the coach did not see her for two years.
“I am happy that peace has been reached and my athletes can finally see their families again, but my heart is heavy knowing that I will never be able to see my own mother again” said Eyasu. He went on to say “It’s a reminder of the human cost of war and the importance of ensuring that all citizens have access to basic necessities such as medicine.”
A delegation led by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation President, Assistant Commissioner Derartu Tulu, headed to Mekele today with a special mission. The purpose of the delegation’s trip is to reunite athletes from the Tigray region with their families, following a deal that was reached between the government and the Tigray Regional Government. The agreement allows the athletes to return home and see their loved ones, after being unable to do so for an extended period of time due to communication blockades imposed by the government.
According to the Federation’s information, although the athletes of Tigray have repeatedly proved themselves to the country by achieving great victories, they could not share their joy with their parents because all lines of communication connecting the people of Tigray with the world have been blocked by the government.
Gidey Tadesse and Tekie Bokretsiyon are the parents of Letesenbet Gidey, who won the 10,000 meters race. When they were asked how they heard about their daughter’s victory, they said, “We forgot about our daughter’s achievements and heard about it through rumors. The reason for this is that there is no electricity so we cannot watch TV and there is no telephone so we cannot get information on the phone.”
With the new deal reached, the athletes will finally be able to reconnect with their families, and Letesenbet, for example, will finally be able to hear or see her parents who were happy with her results. Her parents could not see the joy of their child for two years, and in a televised message said, “Our daughter, stay strong wherever you are and we hope that this time will pass and we will meet again in peace.”
In the 18th World Athletics Championship held in Oregon, the mother of the athlete Gotytom, who won the gold medal in the women’s marathon, also expressed her happiness with the result and sent a message to her daughter from the Tigray region. Her mother, Berekhytu Kasa, and her father Gebreslase Teklezgi live in a house where the athlete Gotytom Gebreslase was raised in a village called Mai Qayah of Inderta woreda in Tigray region. Her mother said to VOA that they heard that she had won the marathon at 10 o’clock in the evening on the day of the competition. She added that due to the lack of telecommunication services in the Tigray region, she could not meet her daughter, but now, with the athletes returning home, the family will finally be able to reconnect.
