The money is to be spent on providing 2 million meals for those displaced in Ethiopia following attacks on elders and children, The Weeknd announced
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Canadian singer, songwriter and producer, Abel Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, announced on Sunday that he is donating $1 million US to support the humanitarian situation in the country caused by senseless murder and displacement of people, as he called it.
He made the donations via the United Nations World Food Program to provide a meal for about two million people affected by the security situation in Ethiopia.
The Weeknd also called upon all those who can to make donations to give for the same cause.
He said : “My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction. I will be donating $1 million to provide 2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Programmes and encourage those who can to please give as well.”
The Tigray region of Ethiopia has become a conflict zone since November 4, 2020 after Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the military bases of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force.
Thousands of ethnic Amhara have been killed for over two years now in the Oromia and Benishangul Gumuz region of Ethiopia. The Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has been linking the massacre targeting ethnic Amhara to the armed wing of the radical ethnic Oromo nationalist group, Oromo Liberation Front – Shane.
There is, however, growing accusations from activists and the people that the Oromia regional government is behind the massacres of innocent civilians in the region.
On Saturday, five major opposition groups in the country called for an independent investigation of the ongoing massacre on ethnic Amhara in the Oromo region. They openly accused the government of involvement in the massacre.
In 2017, The Weeknd donated $50,000 to Toronto University towards the launch of Geez language, ancient Ethiopian language, program.
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