U student group I Care’s recent showing of the documentary “The Essence of Terror” was aimed at raising awareness of atrocities in Eastern Ethiopia

By Andy Gutierrez/ Murphy News Service

Rape. Torture. Those were some of the crimes against humanity that filled the screen earlier this week at the first-ever North American showing of “The Essence of Terror,” which documents the atrocities happening in eastern Ethiopia.

The filmed was screened by the University of Minnesota chapter of the human-rights focused

I Care campaign that raises awareness of the atrocities in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia.

More than 130 supporters turned out Monday at Coffman Theater to show support and raise awareness of the extreme conditions in Ethiopia.

The screening came at a time when Abdi Mohamud Omar, the president of the Ogaden region, was visiting the Twin Cities to announce the dramatic economic transformations that have occurred there in recent years, reports show.

U sophomore Hilal Ibrahim, president of the I Care campus organization said she thought Omar’s visit was merely a public relations stunt aimed at restoring his image and undermining the human rights violations that have happened under his command.

“People are denied their basic rights, its 2015, how is that going on still? “ Ibrahim said. “The Holocaust happened and people said ‘Never again,’ yet it still happening.”

The documentary’s rights were granted to Ibrahim by members of the Blank Spot Project. The film tells the story of two Swedish journalists who were caught venturing into Ethiopia and sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of terrorism.

The subtitled film came to light after the advisor to the president took the videos recorded by armed military and fled to Sweden. There he met with the journalists after their release to compile all the evidence of atrocities and created the documentary.

Ibrahim believes the video will raise awareness and spark change.

“There is no media coverage in this region, it’s been blocked from the rest of the world, “ Ibrahim said. “There are no humanitarian organizations in this region to provide aid so there are no exact numbers to tell us how bad it is.”

International humanitarian organizations have confirmed that there have been more than 150 executions as warnings to those wishing to rebel against the oppressive government, Human Rights Watch reported.

“People live with less than $2 a day with a 55-percent literacy rate,” said Amal Ali, a junior at the U and vice-president of the campus group. “ I just don’t see where foreign aid from the U.S., that is in the millions of dollars for this region, is going.”

The showing represents the first step at putting a stop to these crimes against humanity for this non-profit, human rights awareness group.

“This is the first showing in the U.S. and it’s really humbling to have that,” Ibrahim said.  “Although it was released in 2012, it’s probably the most up-to-date news that we have on the region.”

As the genocide continues past the event, Ibrahim encouraged more awareness of international conflicts.

“People should care because it affects us to an extent, they are moms, dads, sisters, daughters, all people just like us, “ Ibrahim said. “When you have entire families seeing the government raping and killing as a form of oppression, their humanness is being taken away … we must stand against injustice.”

Reporter Andy Gutierrez is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.